I do not own the Percy Jackson characters in this.

I checked over my weapons and my bag, ignoring the confusion. I had tried to question Annabeth, but she had refused to answer any questions until I packed and met her at Thalia's pine.

My packing had been very efficient. My bag contained two changes of clothes, a few bottles of water, a few granola bars, a canteen of nectar, a baggie of ambrosia, and a blanket. I had two knives hidden up my sleeves and a bow and quiver at my back. All ready.

I cast a cursory glance around the cabin. None of the demigods had so much as stirred. I shouldered my bag, and headed outside.

I jogged toward the borders of the camp. With my sharp eyesight, I noted Annabeth heading in the same direction, a little ahead of me. I picked up my pace so I could catch up to her.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on now?" I demanded, not bothering with pleasantries. Annabeth turned to face me, not breaking stride. Her stormy eyes were dark with anxiety.

"A friend of mine just contacted me," she explained. "She says that the Hunters of Artemis need my help. Apparently, I have to grab another camper and meet up with her. Thalia's the toughest person I know. She would never ask for help...unless something really bad was going on."

I shrugged. Annabeth reached for the hilt of her dagger, gripping it tightly. "I hope you can walk far, Atalanta. We've got ten miles to go."


I took a sip of water, tossing a bottle to Annabeth. She caught it without comment, unscrewing the cap to gulp some down. "How much farther?"

Annabeth hesitated, glancing around. "I'm not sure. I'm not..well, I've never..."

"Needed to learn how to measure distance in the middle of nowhere?" I completed. She bit her lip in vexation. "It's a useful skill, you know. You should know how far you've gone when you walk."

"Don't be condescending," Annabeth hissed, her eyes narrowing. I held back a soft laugh, pushing strands of dark hair out of my face. "Shouldn't you know how far we've gone?"

"I do. That wasn't what I asked. I don't know where we're going, so I don't know how far there is to go," I explained with mock patience. Annabeth's anger seemed to dissipate slightly. She sighed heavily, glancing up at the sun.

"Just keep heading this way. We'll know when we get there." Annabeth's voice was edgy, tense. I didn't know why. Then it hit me.

Annabeth was brave. There was no denying it. Her fear wasn't for herself. And that was the source of her anxiety. She had known Thalia, and apparently she needed help. There was no way Annabeth could get to her any faster. She was scared she would get there too late.

The Hunters of Artemis. We were going to meet with the Hunters of Artemis. Damn. If there was anyone who could figure out who my mom was, it was them. She wouldn't give it away if she was there. But none of these Hunters were idiots, and they had all spent years by her side.

"Annabeth?" I asked, my usually confident voice hesitant. "Can you tell me how you met Thalia?"

Annabeth reached for her leather necklace, rubbing a white bead. Her eyes were distant. I didn't think she was going to answer me. That doubt had hardened into certainty when she spoke up, her voice barely more than a whisper.

"I ran away from home when I was seven," she told me. For the first time since we had met, she didn't seem to want to meet my eyes. "I wandered around on my own for a few weeks, before I met Thalia and...someone else. They were happy to take me along with them.

"They had been wandering together for about two years. They kind of adopted me as a little sister. A bunch of monsters cornered us on Half Blood Hill. Thalia told me, our Keeper, Grover, and...that other guy to go run the remaining few metres to safety. We didn't want to leave her, but she insisted. She took her final stand at the crest of Half Blood Hill."

I didn't comment. But I noticed that Annabeth had quickly turned away from me., her grey eyes brighter than normal, glittering with tears.

"Hey," I said suddenly. Annabeth's blonde head jerked up. I pointed toward a little bit west. A group of teenage girls sat in the shadow of a grove of trees. A dark haired girl was waving at us. I couldn't make out features from here, but Annabeth's eyes, so recently glimmering with a film of tears, lit up.

"Thalia!" she exclaimed, breaking into a full out sprint. I loped after her, a few paces behind. Annabeth nearly crashed into the dark haired girl, throwing her arms around her.

The girl hugged her back, then extricated herself from Annabeth's embrace. She looked at me with piercing, blue eyes. She wore the silver circlet that marked her as my mother's lieutenant. "Do I know you?"

"No," I answered quickly, before Annabeth could say anything. I held out my hand for Thalia to shake. "My name is Atalanta. I'm a new camper."

Thalia slowly reached out to take my hand, looking vaguely impressed. Her eyes sparkled with life. "Really? You've survived on your own for this long? You're, what, fifteen?"

I held back a rueful smile. Over three thousand, I wanted to say. But despite that, I would say the age I had become immortal. "Sixteen. But I'm not the child of a major god, so not too many monsters come after me. I'm a daughter of Aether."

Thalia nodded. She turned back to Annabeth. "I need help, Annabeth. I had my Hunters split into two hunting parties after two monsters. Mine was fine, no major injuries. I had Phoebe lead the other one. A couple wounds, things we can easily heal."

"Then what's the problem?" Annabeth prompted. Thalia paused.

"Artemis wants Phoebe, Alanna, Diana, and I to meet her at Mount Othrys. Can you and Atalanta take my younger Hunters to Camp Half Blood?" Thalia asked in a rush. "Some of them will be staying around here, but only the ones who I am positive can take care of themselves."

Annabeth nodded. Her grey eyes were narrowed with worry. She reached out to place a hand on Thalia's shoulder. "What about you? Take care of yourself, Thalia."

Thalia flashed a cocky grin, exposing white, even teeth. "Who, me? Come on, an army of monsters wasn't enough to kill me. Nothing's enough to keep me away from this fight."

By now, the rest of the Hunters had drifted over. Two stood on either side of Thalia, flanking her. The others stood behind them, weapons within reach. Thalia clapped her hands together. "Okay, Hunters. Phoebe, Alanna, Diana, you're with me. Kathryn, you're leading the group I spoke to, and staying here. The rest of you..."

Thalia's blue eyes were gleaming. She allowed a slow smile to spread across her face. "How do you guys feel about a trip to Camp Half Blood?"