ᴾʰᵒᵇᵒᵖʰᵒᵇⁱᵃ [ᴶᵃˢᵒⁿ ᴳʳᵃᶜᵉ]

ι.

Agorophobia - Fear of leaving home

Aza woke in the infirmary with a pounding headache. Whilst she was very groggy and dazed, it took her less than a second to figure out where she was - it wasn't her first time at the infirmary of Camp Half-Blood, and it certainly wouldn't be her last. Her ears rung a bit, but she could faintly hear two people talking.

"Don't go giving away my secrets, Piper. And don't worry. Things will work out - just maybe not the way the way you plan." A wide smile stretched at her lips, and Aza shot up in bed at the voice, her wavy hair whipping furiously behind her. "Rachel!" She saw a flash of red, and then a girl stood by her bed, grinning down at her through thick red curls. "Nice nap, Az?"

Aza chuckled, running her fingers through her hair and trying to tame the bedhead she gained after passing out, wiggling her fingers through it and wincing at a particularly painful knot. "Brilliant," Aza snarked, rolling her russet eyes. Rachel's eyes flashed momentarily with sympathy, and Aza shook her head slightly. "I'm fine, Rach. Don't worry about it."

Before Rachel could respond, a conch shell blew in the distance. Argus grumbled, opening the door and Rachel held out a hand, gently pulling Aza to her feet. "Dinner?" Piper asked from the corner of the infirmary, tilting her head slightly.

"You slept through it," Rachel said. "Time for the campfire! Let's go find out who you are."

Piper trudged far ahead of Rachel and Aza as the two discussed what had happened, catching up on the events. It seemed the chesnut-haired girl didn't want to discuss what went down in the Hera cabin, and definitely didn't want to talk about what happened between her and Aza in the Athena shed. Besides, Aza could feel the fear radiating from the girl increasing as they grew closer and closer to the amphitheater. Aza and Rachel made their way to the front of the amphitheater at Annabeth's beckoning, and Aza squeezed Piper's. After singing Down By the Aegean, and I Am My Own Great-Great-Great-Great Grandfather, the sing-along ended with rowdy applause. It was one of the best they had - all the campers wanted to get their minds off their missing comrade, and singing dumb songs with their family was the best way to do so.

Chiron trotted forward, brandishing a spear with a toasted marshmallow impaled atop. "Very nice! And a special welcome to our new arrrivals. I am Chiron, camp activities director, and I'm happy you have all arrived here alive and with most of your limbs attached. In a moment, I promise we'll get to the s'mores, but first—"

"What about capture the flag?" Sherman Yang yelled, causing grumbling to break out from the Ares cabin. The group of rowdy teens sat below a red banner with the emblem of a boar's head. Aza rolled her eyes as Chiron responded, "Yes. I know the Ares cabin is anxious to return to the woods for our regular games."

"And kill people!" Ellis exclaimed, causing whoops and hollers to come from his siblings. Aza stood to her feet, sending a pointed glare towards her aunts and uncles. "Shut up, Ellis," She sneered, shaking her head pointedly and causing her deep brown waves to whip in the air slightly behind her. Ellis faltered, but sat down, and the rambunctious cheers of the Ares cabin silenced abruptly.

"Yes, thank you," Chiron muttered to Aza, sending a grateful smile to the girl as she sat back down in her spot between Rachel and Annabeth. He raised his voice once more to address the entire camp, breaking the bad news. "However, until the dragon is brought under control, that won't be possible. Cabin Nine, anything to report on that?"

He turned to the Hephaestus cabin, where Leo sat awkwardly next to Nyssa. She stood uncomfortably, fiddling with the hem of her army jacket and fixed her red bandana before she spoke, "We're working on it." Her voice was rough and deep, and caused grumbles to erupt from the crowd.
"How, Nyssa?" Mark, another of Aza's uncles, demanded.