hello! this is taking place in an AU where there never was, is, or will be, a camp half blood or camp Jupiter. instead, when half bloods find each other or stayrs, they just kind of travel in packs. this "pack" got particularly large and ended up settling down in two houses (across the street from each other). Reyna and Annabeth run the girls, but I haven't decided about the guys... the prophecy of seven already happened, so the seven (plus nico) are there, amongst others. yes percabeth went to tartarus. yes frazel. yes the hunters of artemis are still a thing. things will make more sense later. I swear it on the styx.

I liked days like this. So far, nothing had happened to our cozy fortress. Reyna was in the kitchen making lunch, and I had some free time to sit and relax. We had spent basically all of yesterday cleaning, so the girl's house was already spotless. I wasn't really sure about the boys, but… well; let's just say that I'm surprised they're still alive sometimes. Some of the other girls ran around upstairs, but no one bothered me. Once in a while I would pause my music playlist, just to check that everything was okay. No one was screaming about stolen items, or crying because they missed home. It was just….. bliss.

But, of course, good things never last. Do they? Argentum barked from behind the sofa, sending me practically ten feet in the air. Well, I guess that meant the ending of this peaceful afternoon. Aurum scampered up with my laptop bag in his mouth. I looked behind me, leaning my head upside down as I removed my ear buds and set them on the coffee table.

"We'd better get going. Two of them are trapped and frightened to death. I'm bringing the dogs, but…" Reyna trailed off for a bit. Something must be really wrong.

"Rey,… what is it? It doesn't sound like we have time-"

"it sounded like…like Arai. Alright?" she cut me off. "You don't have to come if you don't want to. I could ask Hazel-"

"No, I can do this. I should. Plus, it wouldn't be fair to ask anyone else."I stated flatly.

"Are you sure about this? I just don't want you to…" Reyna bit her lip. I knew what she meant. Freak out. Have an episode. They didn't happen as much anymore, but it still scared most of the other girls to death. Sometimes they would avoid my gaze at breakfast, or, even worse, ask me what it meant. Shaking, crying, and screaming got you nowhere but dead in the heat of battle. My illegal visits with Percy in the wee hours of the morning probably didn't help my case either.

"This time it'll be different; and don't you DARE even THINK about calling in the boys for backup," I said as I got up from the couch. The world turned right-side-up as I grabbed the bag from Aurum's mouth, then turned to snatch my armor from beside the door. Reyna gripped my shoulder and spun me around.

"Annabeth. Are you SURE, you're sure? You'll be okay?" Reyna's voice wavered.

"Rey." I gritted, looking straight into her eyes as I spoke. My hand reached up and plied off hers. "I. Am. FINE. There's no time for this. Let's just go and get this over with, alright?"

"Alright then." She replied bitterly, "Let's get this show on the road."

please review! more to come very very soon!

-Megi :) 3