A/N: Thank you to everyone who interacted! Y'all are cool!
Persay: Thank you so much for commenting! The Doves on a basic level are just this author's shameless self-indulgence. Other than Aphrodite having been initially a war goddess and me deciding to run with it, there's not much about the group that's based on mythology and instead is vaguely based on my idea of a friendly sorority. They look after each other. They're a long network chain of warriors going back to Ancient Greece. They care for and look after each other. They defend their siblings, whether from taunts or people being jerks or whatnot. But keep in mind, just because their less warlike siblings don't train as much, they still have other means of defending themselves and are not completely helpless.
Also, at this current moment in time, the war has not fully picked up. Yes, the war is starting but the gods haven't made any moves yet. It's only tiny movements and even that is only of those dedicated, such as Clarisse, Annabeth, Percy, and the Satyrs. The Aphrodite cabin has for this part, been mostly sheltered.
As for Arlynne being able to leave. I guess I didn't explicitly mention this but it's the end of the summer and she's an adult now. She's about 18 and going on 19. She graduated high school and becoming a ballerina has been her dream all her life. She survived the most dangerous part of her life. As for the monsters that she will attract, she's a highly trained warrior, very light on her feet. She's got them handled. Though I am not done with her character so she'll return.
Also, super happy you like my Drew. We'll see how this goes from now on. Drew is really completely devoted to Aimi, and Aimi is just as devoted back. Hope this long response didn't scare you off. Thank you again for commenting! Come again!
Camp was different. That was Drew's first impression. It felt emptier. There were less people—far more shadowed faces. The sounds of the forges were nonstop. It seemed everyone was wearing weapons and armor openly.
Still, that did nothing to prevent the surge of warmth as Drew and Aimi stepped into their cabin and began to unpack. Sure, Drew spotted hundreds of bruises and a handful of blackeyes that no amount of concealer could properly conceal, but the way they lit up at her and her sister's arrival. Silena immediately ran over and grabbed Drew in a massive hug.
"Welcome back! There's so much to catch you up on!"
Drew pushed her way, grinning, out of her sister's embrace.
"Listen hon, let me unpack first. You can tell me over dinner."
Silena rolled her eyes. "How about we have a meeting after dinner?"
"You got yourself a deal," Drew agreed and started unpacking. Terry and Chad, being dears as usual, immediately ran to help her and Aimi. No matter what news Silena shared, nothing changed the fact that she was home.
So camp wasn't as safe as she had imagined.
Long story short, during a war game, Percy and Annabeth had fallen into the Labyrinth, thus prompting a quest that naturally, they managed to squirm into. In the meantime, patrols and setting defending camp fell onto the regular campers' heads. Add on, the 'weak' point of camp just happened to be in the middle of the woods... and Silena, such a sweety (sarcasm), had happily dumped the responsibility of assigning patrol duty on Drew.
"You left me alone all school year, I'm going to take full advantage of having you around."
They both agreed the best thing to do was get all the cabin trained, Dove or not. Training the whole cabin would fall on both of them. Training the Doves, Drew could handle that.
Then Drew brought up Aimi.
"Listen hon, now that we've got the whole cabin settled, I think it's time we figure out what to do with my sister. I brought her here because you promised me, she'd be safer here. If we have to worry about a literal army being brought to our front steps, I'm not totally set on not having her living in that danger."
"We'll keep her as safe as best we can," Silena promised. "I've already talked Chiron into talking with the Council of Cloven Elders to see if they have a protector they can spare. They should say yes. We can't spare you and war or not, your sister is definitely safer where we can watch out for her not where she's just a monster away from being snatched. Particularly with Kronos having set his eye on her."
Drew forced her hand to relax. "What does Kronos even want from her?"
"Pygmalion's gift isn't something to scoff at," Silena sighed. "I heard... there's a cabin legend, that if properly trained it could apply to more than drawings. Like stories where demigods with Pygmalion's gift who could make dreams become a reality. Like imagine a possibility, see it play out in full details, and then bring it to reality."
"But my sister's eleven! She can barely bring drawings to life. It's not like she can influence the fates or, gods forbid, the great prophecy... right?"
Silena shook her head. "Thank the gods no. I highly doubt Aimi can do anything like influence the fates. If she could, I'm not sure even mother could protect her or our other siblings with that power. Honestly, it's so rare that we know so little about it. I barely knew it beyond the basics until Aimi revealed that gift and I asked Mr. D more. A part of me is shocked that Kronos even knew the importance of it."
"Even if he had, how did he even find out about Aimi? The golden fleece adventure last summer totally overshadowed our claiming." It was the question that itched constantly at Drew all school year.
Silena's face seemed oddly cold. "I would guess one of his recruits must have mentioned it."
"Recruits?!"
Silena froze. "Our missing siblings. The ones I told you about. Arlynne graduated, but Alynna, Esme, and Tyler were supposed to return... I haven't heard anything from them. Their parents haven't even noticed them missing. If they joined Luke and told Kronos. They could have told him. Even still, they wouldn't be the only ones who might know what Aimi can do. We're low on numbers. We can't afford to lose anyone else. I need to rely on all of you. I can't keep this up. I don't want to lose anyone."
As a fellow counselor, it was easy to see the amount of strain Silena was under, compared to when Drew had just been a camper. It was easy to see how stressed she was. How one mistake away from crumbling she was. It wasn't like Drew wasn't starting to feel the same. She felt a burst of jealousy towards Arlynne who had managed to get away just in time. Even if she had left a business card filled with emergency numbers that Drew was too proud to use.
Drew sighed. "Listen dear, we're going to be fine. We're not going to lose anyone else and I can promise you that when I'm done with our cabin, no one will be able to touch us. In fact, the entire camp will the rue the day they wrote us off."
Silena laughed, sadly. "If you'd been here while the hunters had been, I bet we would have shown those jerks not to underestimate us."
During the middle of Winter Break, Silena had called Drew to rant about the Hunters of Artemis showing at camp (apparently Artemis had been briefly kidnapped and the hunters had stayed at the camp waiting for her to 'recover'). They'd dealt with their frustration by doing nothing but cause trouble and bullying the entire Aphrodite cabin for liking 'shallow' things, such as feeling pretty and dating. Drew hated people like them. The sort of people who underestimated a girl (or boy) just because they were feminine. Unfortunately, assuming someone was shallow because they giggled and wore makeup seemed to be an increasing trend, even in mortal society. Drew had taken to letting anyone who held that philosophy know exactly what she thought of them and their tastes. It wasn't mature, nor did it make many friends, but it sure was cathartic.
"By the time I'm done with our cabin, the next time the Hunters of Artemis show up, they won't know what hit them."
They had to focus on what could be done. They couldn't afford to let their fears control them. That's what being a co-counselor was all about.
But for now, Drew rubbed the dove charm on her bracelet for the first time, knowing full well it would wake her Doves for training that night. It was time to see just how strong her Doves could be.
A/N: I meant for this to um... literally be the Battle of the Labyrinth. Unfortunately, my characters didn't behave and instead wanted to do things before the actual battle. So instead of people dying, you get build-up. But don't worry, everyone will be fine. Also, I'm definitely not an unreliable narrator. Anyway, feedback is appreciated.
What do you think of Silena and Drew's friendship/partnership? Do you feel like Aimi is getting far too much attention that doesn't make sense? Anyone find any glaring out-of-character moments for anyone?
Let me know how you all feel! I promise I don't bite. Also, commenting means I get brain rot more often. Bonus!
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