There were two visible lights within the forest; one more vibrant than the other. The less vibrant light was a small campfire, which sat outside the safe border of Camp Half-Blood. A boy was sitting on a log silently, peering into the flames. A cheering in the distance made the boy look up from his D'Angelo sat alone at his makeshift campfire celebrating the success in his own way, by nursing the remains of his brokenspirit. At the bonfire, the real party was happening. Happiness was overwhelming, even reaching out to Nico's darker corner of the forest. He wondered if anyone actually cared that he wasn't there, even though the seven wouldn't have been successful without him. Laughing aloud, he said 'probably not' to himself.
Quickly sobering, he realised why he was away from the festivities. Sure, he was glad they had won the war and all, but he was still lonely as hell... Ironic, considering he was a Son of Hades. Nico felt like it was his destiny to be alone, to be an outcast forever. Staring into the flickering glow of his pathetic excuse of a bonfire, he wondered if he could ever be close to someone, to have a true friend who fully understood him. Would he ever change back to his ignorant, yet happy self?
Far away from Nico's lonely corner, a youthful goddess watched him from her hearth in her quiet corner of Olympus. She yearned to comfort the dejected soul, because she knew him better than most; she had seen the kindness and compassion he hid from others. What she did next shocked her, she never acted without thinking. Hestia called upon the power of her hearth to transport her to Nico's pathetic excuse of a bonfire. Keeping him company was the best she could do as an apparently useless goddess. She appeared silently behind him, unsure of when to alert him to her presence. 'Snap!' Oops. Too late, a twig snapped beneath her feet. Luckily it didn't seem to frighten Nico. 'Come here to force me to join in, have you? Good luck, I don't care about parties,' he said sardonically to the mysterious party goer who had finally found him. He didn't know who it was, and didn't care either. If only people would just leave him to his solitude, he was happiest in the shadows outside the border. No one would judge him there, or treat him different because of his father. Gods, he hated his father at times. Why couldn't he be a normal son of Hermes, even being a son of Ares would have been better than a son of Hades. Nico would actually fit in at Camp Half-Blood, if it weren't for his father.
'You're not even going to tell me you missed me?' Hestia said with a fake pout. 'How rude, whatever happened to the kind gentleman I once knew?' Nico whirled around, surprise clear on his face. 'Hestia? What on Olympus are you doing here?' 'Well, you looked like you could use the company' she replied, smiling, without trying to offend him. She remembered him being just a bit touchy at times. Nico half smiled, he knew she meant well, but he wasn't too sure about the whole 'company' thing. He had spent months avoiding the people he was in the same ship as, all he wanted right now was to be truly alone. 'Hmm, OK, if you insist' Nico said. 'I guess some good company would be nice'
Hestia blushed slightly with the compliment, and sat next to him on his rotten log. 'Comfy seating you've got here' she joked, hoping he hadn't lost his sense of humour. 'All the best for milady,' he replied in jest. And with that comment, all of the ice built up between them melted. Both of them smiled at each other, remembering the other times they sat at the hearth together. Hestia's good mood helped turn the pathetic bonfire into a real one.
Time flew past for the goddess and the demigod, they talked the hours away, not realising the dangers of letting their guards down outside of the safe border. Without their knowledge, many small, yet dangerous monsters had seen the enlarged bonfire in the area they could roam in, and had gone to investigate.
'You know, once you get past all of the doom and gloom, you're a really decent guy, Nico' she looked up at him through her fiery fringe. 'And once you get past the fire hazards involved with hanging around you, you're a really nice person to chill out with,' he replied with a sheepish smile, not sure what to do from here. Just as his arm was starting to go around her petite waist, their unknown guests made their timely appearance.
'Get back Hestia! Their size is deceiving!' Nico shouted protectively. Why in Hades did he have to bring his pity party out of the borders again? Oh yeah, no one at Camp Half-Blood liked him.