"Piper?" A small voice whispered from somewhere in the hazy void, growing louder the more it repeated stirring the girl awake. "Piper!"
"Five more minutes" Piper Mclean complained lazily.
"Piper, wake up!"
The chocolate haired demigod whined as she forced her eyes open, blinking in the harsh morning sun blinding her. She brought her hand to her face to shield her eyes, groggy from sleep trying to make out the silhouette hovering over her. "What!" She asked in an annoyed tone.
The face looking down at her hesitantly pressed her lips together, looking rather embarrassed and worried. "Are you okay?" The small voice asked glancing around them. It sounded like a child, no older than ten.
"I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?"
"Well…it's almost breakfast. You were asleep outside. And you are naked."
Piper rubbed her eyes sitting up slowly. "I'm what?" She asked shaking her head awake. She saw the young boy glance down at her and turn even redder. She looked at herself and realized he wasn't kidding. She was completely naked and lying at the foot of a tree. "Shit!" She hissed jolting wide awake, attempting to cover herself with her arms and legs. She stared up at the boy, startled and horrified. "What am I doing here?"
"I don't know" he shrugged innocently, glancing around the open area. There were a few early risers stepping out of their cabins a few yards to the left but so far he was the only one who'd discovered Piper out here in her current state. Now Piper flushed red from embarrassment as she pulled her knees up and crossed her arms. The boy reached into a backpack he was carrying and pulled out a towel, barely big enough to hide what little dignity she had left. He offered it to her asking "why were you sleeping outside?"
"I don't remember" she answered grabbing the towel, her memory of last night a blank. She had a vague recollection of getting up to go for a shower but after that things felt cloudy. She looked around and said to the kid "you'd better go. I please…don't ever tell anyone about this."
She laced the request with charm-speak. She couldn't take the chance of this turning into camp gossip if she could help it. The boy nodded and turned to leave, running off letting her compose herself. She didn't hang around, jumping up to her feet and holding out the towel. It was wide enough to cover her chest but not much else so she immediately sprinted back towards the circle of cabins.
She pressed herself to the outside of the circle, avoiding the emerging demigods and their prying eyes. She felt very exposed as she snuck around the back of the buildings, racking her brain trying to figure out why she was found under a tree, why she was naked, why her skin felt really sticky, why she couldn't remember anything. She reached her cabin and was forced to creep around to the front entrance. None of the windows were open or in reach. Pressing her back to the wall, hiding her bare ass while covering her groin with her hand, the other arm pressed around her midsection keeping the towel in place, Piper shimmied over to the door watching carefully for any onlookers who might prove a problem. One such problem, Travis stroll noticed her out the corner of his eye. She darted inside before he could call out to her and ask any embarrassing questions.
She slammed to door and sighed. Crap, now it'll be all over camp. Her head fell back in shame, the towel falling at her feet. She opened her eyes and found her cabin mates staring at her, various stages of dress and make up and alertness. A dozen questioning eyes on her. "Don't ask" she told them through heavy charm-speak. They gasped mutely as she walked past them and slumped to her bed wondering if she could just hide out here for the rest of her life.
Around the same time Rachel was waking up in her bed at the big house, stretching out the kinks nice and refreshed. She rolled out of bed and walked over to the dresser, examine herself in the mirror. She wasn't wearing her nightgown, which she didn't find odd. It wasn't the first time she'd undressed herself in her sleep. She walked over and checked her cameras, which were all still recording. She turned them off and set them to the side, intending to review the footage later. She showered and changed, stepping out into the morning air with a smile.
She walked through the camp on her way to the dining pavilion, crossing paths with a very happy couple. "Morning everyone" she called out as Percy and Annabeth strode into her path arm in arm. "You look very refreshed. Sleep well."
"Eventually" Percy chuckled.
Annabeth blushed mildly humiliated. "I'm really sorry for waking you up like that. I don't know what came over me."
"Hey, I'm not complaining" he grinned kissing her on the cheek. Rachel didn't need to be the oracle to know what they got up to last night. He turned to the red head and asked her "you coming for breakfast?"
"Sure. But then I'm heading to the cave. I'd hate to think what state it's in after I've been gone for so long."
The three of them walked together and they made idle conversation. When they got to the dining area Annabeth paused gently taking Rachel's arm asking her to hold back. "You got in last night right?" She asked quietly. "Di you see anything last night?"
"Like what?"
"Anything weird? Strange?"
"Said the demigod to the oracle" Rachel pointed out. Annabeth looked nervous, unsettled. "No, I remember seeing anything. Why? Did you go out last night?"
"Yeah" she replied. It was becoming common knowledge Annabeth's PTSD sent her out into the woods late at night, mainly between their close friends. "The thing is…I don't remember coming back. I just woke up in Percy's arms. He said we'd… I don't remember it."
"I thought you remembered everything?" Rachel queried? She shrugged. "Probably just a long night. It'll come back to you. Come on, let's eat." They got breakfast and didn't speak much of it after that.
A hour later Rachel reached the cave where she liked to set up shop. She found it in relatively good condition, examine the entrance carefully before pulling aside the thick drapes covering the opening. When she looked inside she saw it was already occupied, her eyes widening seeing a large bulging body and a mass of limps encircling it. It's appearance made her gasp in horror.
Then suddenly she froze, her eyes glazing over, her voice of terror lost somewhere in her throat. She let the drapes drop obscuring the creature from sight, turning around and taking a seat outside crossing her legs. Rachel sat quietly, patiently standing guard of the cave with a blank expression while the creature inside slept.