Word spread quickly that Artemis was about to sign Casey Jackson into the hunters of Artemis. Casey had retreated to the lake before the ceremony or whatever began. Thalia had told her to take some time to think it over.

Thalia was a smart woman. She was glad to accept any girl as a hunter, but it was different with Casey. She'd love to have Casey join the hunters, but she knew how distraught it would make Annabeth. So she made a plan to convince Casey not to join. This plan had one step: Tell Nathan Gardner.

"Nathan," Thalia called his attention. He glanced at her, but turned around when he saw who it was.

"What do you want?" Usually he'd be on his bets behavior towards her but he wasn't in the best of moods.

"You heard about Casey? She's talking about joining-"

"Yes, I heard. Why are you here? You got what you wanted."

"But Casey didn't."

Nate hesitated. He felt so torn; betrayed, almost. But what was he supposed to do? This was Casey's decision and he had to respect that. He cared about her so deeply, so much, that he had to let her go. Maybe she'd find Jase. Maybe by the time Nathan died she'd still be fourteen.

"What do you mean? She wants her brother back, joining the hunters is the best way to do that."

"If you thinking joining the hunters will make her happy, then go say goodbye and run back to your cabin and cry. But if you don't think this is what she truly wants, then you should probably tell her before it's too late to turn back because once she joins, she can't very easily quit," Thalia suggested.

Nathan looked at her with a whole new understanding. "You don't want her to join, do you?"

Thalia took a deep breath and glanced around to make sure nobody was listening. "I have many sisters in the hunters. Many girls that have been beside me for years, that have given their lives to save mine. But before they were there, before I joined the hunters and when I still thought Apollo was hot, there was Annabeth. When I think of my sisters, Annabeth it the first name to appear. And if Casey joined us and gods-forbid something happened to her...Annabeth was just a little kid when we first found her," she explained.

"We?"

Thalia's expression hardened. "You should go find Casey."

Nathan took the hint. He knew exactly where Casey would be. "Thank you," he called over his shoulder as he ran toward the beach.

He had slowed to a jog by the time his feet hit the sand. Casey was sitting with her toes in the waves, her back to him. She was too deep in thought to hear him coming. He sat down next to her.

"So, the hunters, huh?" he whispered hoarsely.

Her eyes widened and she went stiff, refusing to look at him. She swallowed and nodded awkwardly. Oops. She'd forgotten about Nathan. Nathan, who she'd kissed, Nathan who she'd told wasn't ready for a relationship. Nathan who now knew she said she was going to give up relationships all together. Oops.

"Uh," came her intelligent response. Casey was smart. She had the brain of Athena, but Athena's brain was missing something that Casey could have really used at that point... Athena was not an emotional god. She didn't know how to talk to people very well in any form that didn't include a cited argumentative essay. Neither did Casey.

"Immortality seems cool," Nate said dryly.

"They're going after Jase," Casey tried to explain. "His arm was the one found on the hill-"

"I heard."

Casey still hadn't looked at him. She was staring straight ahead with eyes wide enough to resemble her grandmother's sacred animal. "Nate, I'm sorry."

"Save your apology, Casey. If this is what you want, then go for it. I told you before, as long as you're happy then I will be too. But if this isn't what you want, if this won't make you happy, then you're going to live a life on the run without your family. You're going to outlive your parents and your siblings. And if that's how you want to live, then go do it and do it amazingly," Nate said.

Casey sighed, finally averting her gaze to Nate's feet. "Nate,"

"You don't have to explain anything to me," Nathan said in nearly sharp tone. "I'll let you think. But Casey, you're parents can't lose another kid, and I can't lose you."

AU: I've been gone a really long time... but the story is finished, so I figured I'd give it to whoever is still reading!