Seeing as I would be noticed as absent come bedtime, I went back to the Hermes cabin and pretended to go to sleep, hoarding my backpack with all my belongings in it as I had since discovered that some of the Hermes children liked to pocket things they liked the look of. Someone had taken my books and I had demanded they be returned immediately. Thankfully Luke stepped in before I could get really angry, calming me down and instantly collared the kid who had done the thievery, though the kid only sounded annoyed to be caught and excused that as the son of Hermes, being a thief wasn't unusual. Luke forced him to apologise and return my books and put him on clean-up duty for a week at the stables as punishment. "Fine. Not like they're any use anyway, there's no words." I fought the urge to hiss and smack the kid with one of the books.
So now that I had learned my lesson, I kept my belongings close like I was a treasure hoarding dragon. I kept quiet and still as I listened to the breathing patterns of everyone around me, listening as they gradually deepened. It had roughly been over an hour since lights out, so I figured it would be safe to sneak away by now. I got up as quietly as possible, somehow managing to navigate the mass of sleeping bodies on the floor without tripping or stepping on anyone, then once I was at the door I quickly left. The night air was crisp and refreshing so I breathed it in deeply before starting to count my steps, working my way back to where Percy was being kept. I felt quite rebellious, and this put a slight spring in my step as I continued on my way, beginning to congratulate myself on sneaking away without anyone noticing, but then my praise proved to be premature, because about halfway to the infirmary I heard someone speak behind me. "Sneaking off in the middle of the night? Kind of thing that gets people into trouble, you know." Instinctively I had whipped around and had to clamp my hand over my mouth to keep from shrieking and blowing my cover. Once I'd recovered my composure, I then hissed towards where I heard Luke struggling to laugh quietly.
"Luke! You almost gave me a heart attack!"
"My bad. But come on, did you really think you could sneak out of a cabin full of campers and a guy who's lived here five years and has seen many first day campers try to make a run for it without getting caught? Rookie mistake, Lils." His voice grew more distinct the closer he came towards me until he was directly in front of where I was standing, scowling in annoyance towards him. "You really do make a lot of faces. Come on Lils, I didn't mean to scare you. Where are you going anyway? You're not thinking about running away are you? Because I can tell you now that it's not going to work out for you."
"Of course not, I'm just going to stay with my brother. I want to be there in case he wakes up in the night." Thankfully Luke didn't tell me off for breaking the rules and leaving my bed when I shouldn't and wandering around the camp. He seemed to understand that I was worried for my little brother and even promised that he wouldn't tell anyone I'd snuck out. "Really? You mean it?"
"Sure I do. Come on, at least let me walk you there." I tried to tell him that I could find my own way, but Luke just told me pleasantly that he'd feel better if he saw me himself to the infirmary and that if I wanted, he would just walk next to me and wouldn't try to steer unless I went off in completely the wrong direction. "It's either this or I throw you over my shoulder and take you back to the cabin, so what do you think?" I promptly chose the former option. Chuckling warmly, Luke let me lead the way. He didn't say anything else after that, but he had this sort of bright and bubbly energy that was rather pleasant to be around, so he made for a good companion. I was rather proud of myself that I was managing the paths and directions without any help and that little glow of pride grew in my chest. We weren't far now, I was certain of it. "So I'm not sure if I should tell you…but you're going in completely the wrong direction."
"What?!" Squeaking in disbelief, I came to a sudden halt which meant that Luke bumped into me by accident as he hadn't expected me to stop all at once. "What do you mean? I was so sure this was the right way!"
"You were doing great, but then you turned right instead of left at the fork and now we're heading towards the strawberry fields." Luke told me and I groaned, heat burning my cheeks from embarrassment and even my neck grew warm from the feeling. "They're pretty tasty though, fancy a midnight snack?" Of course I didn't, but Luke didn't really give me much of a choice. He grabbed hold of my hand and I could have sworn he skipped over to the fields. Either that or he was just extremely lively, and I had to jog to keep up with him though somehow I didn't trip or stumble. The strawberries smelled sweet in the summer night air as we approached the fields, Luke shushing me before then sneaking us both passed the sleeping satyr whose rumbling snores ended in light bleats which made me giggle though I staunched the sound in order to not wake him up. Okay I'll admit, this was pretty fun. "Don't worry, satyrs are dead to the world once they're asleep. Follow me, I know where the best pickings are." Still holding my hand, Luke took me down the long line of the strawberry field before then sitting down, telling me to sit with him. He then proceeded to instruct me in how to pick the strawberries, and this I could actually do because I just needed to find the fruit then pluck them free. After a few goes, I was picking strawberries rather quickly, filling my lap with them so that I had a good hoard going before then selecting one, huge and fresh, studded with tiny seeds as I rolled it across my fingers to feel the texture before then biting into it. Sweetness burst into my mouth and I unwittingly groaned, sucking at the juice that almost overflowed. It was perfect. Sweet but not oversweet, a perfect balance of flavour to sugary goodness that I doubted I would find anywhere other than right here. "Good, right?" Luke must have been watching me to see my reaction, and I don't think I disappointed.
"Amazing! Wow, I could easily live of these things." Reaching for another, I stuffed another strawberry into my mouth as Luke chuckled and reached out towards me.
"You already collected quite a bunch, let me have some." My hand quickly slapped his away, telling him to pick his own berries and leave mine alone. Amused, Luke didn't tease me any further and instead started helping himself to the bush as well, its vines and leaves rustling with each disturbance.
"Won't they notice a whole bunch of strawberries missing in the morning?"
"Not at all. They grow like crazy because of Mr D and the satyrs. Even if we picked this entire field dry they'd all grow back by sunrise." To me this was astonishing, unable to believe that magic like that was actually a real thing here. I hastily stuffed some more into my mouth, deciding that since they'd grow back anyway I might as well have as many as I wanted. "So I noticed you were by yourself at the campfire sing-along." Luke began to say tentatively and I immediately darkened, sending him a look with a strawberry halfway to my mouth. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but I want you to know that my door's always open if you needed someone to talk to about…anything. A lot's happened to you the past couple of days, it's understandable if you feel overwhelmed and upset." He was talking about my mom, which meant he must have noticed me crying.
"Thanks, but I'm fine." It was a lie and we both knew it, but like so many other time Luke didn't press, and I liked that about him. He had a very easy going nature about him that made him very open and approachable. I guess he knew that I'd come to him in my own time if need be, so there wasn't any point trying to force me to open up here and now. He was cool. I liked him. I think Percy will too, he'd probably worship a guy like Luke without a doubt. "I don't think I ever thanked you for saving me from that monster, by the way." I suddenly noted, thinking back and realising that with everything going on, it had completely slipped my mind. "Thank you, and for looking out for me today. I promise I won't be a nuisance for long. I'll have gotten my bearings soon and won't need to be led everywhere."
"You're welcome, and you're not a nuisance." Now I sent him a dry look, and I'm pretty sure he grinned at me in response. "You're not, honestly. All things considered I think you're adjusting well, and you've got a good head on your shoulders and some sharp senses. I mean, what you did to Clarisse today? I wish I'd caught it on camera." This made me feel a little better about myself, because although I hadn't seen Clarisse's face I did feel a rather strong sense of satisfaction knowing that she'd been the one to end up on the floor and not me. "So whilst we're here snacking like thieves, why don't you tell me something else about yourself? All I got out of you today was you liked books and music."
"To be fair that pretty much sums me up." But Luke wouldn't accept that and insisted I tell him at least one other thing about me. I asked him why he was so curious, wondering why an awesome nineteen year old like him would bother with a scrawny fifteen year old like me, however he just said that he thought I was interesting and worth getting to know. I took it as a compliment. "Well…my real name is Nerida. Like the nereids? Lily is my middle name, but Nerida is just so…Greek. I never understood the reason why mom gave us such weird names before but now it all makes sense, I mean Percy's real name is Perseus. My mom…must have known all along." I faltered slightly at the mention of my mom but Luke didn't bring attention to it, rather sat there listening to me with a thoughtful hum.
"Nerida…Nerida…it's a nice enough name, but I think Lily suits you more, personally."
"Oh don't worry, I agree." I told him, eating another strawberry. I have no idea how many of these I've had but I'm pretty sure I could just keep on stuffing my face with them all night. We talked a little more after that, Luke telling me some stories about his past years at the camp, catching me up on some of the highlights though some of them were so wild and outlandish that for while I thought he'd been joking. I ate strawberries until I felt sick and was certain that if I'd thrown up, it would be bright red gunk and still tasted like strawberries. Still I picked some more and took them back with me as Luke snuck us past the satyr guard once again, and this time helped me find my way back to the infirmary. "Thank you for this. It was fun. Sorry for sneaking out and waking you."
"No problem, I totally expected you to sneak out so I was just waiting up to see." Luke assured me, making me feel all the more guilty. He told me to try and get some rest and that tomorrow would be better, though I didn't exactly see how that could be true. But still, after all he'd done for me and for the fact that he'd helped me steal strawberries in the middle of the night when he probably would much rather be in bed and asleep, I smiled and nodded my head, hoping that he was right. I went in and immediately zeroed in on Percy still asleep, though his breathing sounded much easier than it had been earlier in the day. I put my strawberries down on the table beside him then went to one of the beds in order to pull off the blanket and pillow in order to wrap myself up and sit down in the chair beside Percy, placing the pillow against the wall and there I slept, feeling better for being nearer my brother and patiently waited for him to wake up.
