Despite hating Camp Half-Blood the hunters were all smiles as they hiked up Half-Blood Hill towards the large pine tree that marked the border. Giggles broke out every minute as gleeful hunters pictured Thalia's enraged expression at her newly-pink hair.
Despite being in the middle of winter the girls were dressed in silvery t-shirts and shorts. Camp Half-Blood's magical borders kept the weather toasty-summery all year long and all of them planned to hit the beach as soon as they arrived. Well, almost all of them.
Thalia marched at the head of the group, not because she was their Lieutenant, but because every single one of them had bunched up behind her, pushing and prodding her onward every step of the way. Unlike the rest of her companions she was dressed in a black hooded jacket and black jeans, with a matching scowl lining her usually placid features. A plain black cap shadowed her face and only the silver Lieutenants' tiara perched on top of the cap marked her as one of the group. She was still fuming from the paintball attack the day before and not even the prospect of meeting Percy and Annabeth could break her dark mood.
Peleus the dragon lifted his head from around the trunk of the pine tree as the band of girls approached, steam curling from his nostrils as he regarded them warily. The hunters held no fear of him, but all the same gave the tree a wide berth as they crested the hill. The dragon shifted once and then settled back onto the snow, content to watch the hunters as they passed.
"Cabin Eight," Thalia told Lanesra. "You know the way?"
"Of course." Lanesra scoffed. "I've been coming here before you were born."
"I'm off to meet my friends," Thalia turned to the rest of the group. Don't make any trouble."
"Yes, mother," The Second Lieutenant rolled her eyes.
Thalia marched towards the sword arena, where she knew Percy and Annabeth would be conducting classes. The hunters ambled in the opposite direction towards the cabins. Lanesra deliberately stayed at the back of the group, watching Thalia's receeding figure, then when she was satisfied the daughter of Zeus was out of earshot she turned to the group. They were all waiting.
"Right." Lanesra broke into a wicked smile as she pounded her fist into her palm. "Here's what we're going to do…"
If the campers had been hoping for a peaceful Christmas it was long gone. The Hunters of Artemis had arrived and Camp Half-Blood would be turned upside down by the time they were done.
Thalia ignored the mixed stares from demigods as she marched across Camp. Being dressed in all black was bad enough, but the temperature inside Camp Half-Blood was close to twenty-seven degrees celsius. Everyone else was in orange t-shirts and shorts and she felt like a goth mannequin for autumn wear compared to the other campers. Thalia clenched her jaw as she felt sweat trickling down her back, thinking of the bright pink underneath. Her cap already felt soggy and she knew she'd need a shower before lunch just to keep things fresh.
"New camper?" A tall seventeen-year-old sidled up to her, a group of his friends a few paces behind.
Thalia gave him a glance. Good looking, confident and athletic. She'd dealt with his kind a thousand times before in shopping malls.
"Not really," she answered. "I've been here before."
"Don't think I know your face," he said. "What's your name?"
Thalia noticed a group of other boys trailing behind them and groaned internally as she realised she'd made a mistake. No boy would have dared to take a shot at her if she was wearing the hunters' trademark camouflage. She was already in a bad mood and decided to lash out.
"I date men, not schoolboys."
"Burn!" The boy turned bright red as all the other guys cracked up laughing.
"Suit yourself," he said, trying to salvage whatever shreds of dignity he could. "It's a big place, is all I'm saying. Friends can come in handy if you happen to wander into the wrong place."
"She's got friends." A new voice made Thalia turn and her eyes widened as she caught sight of the speaker.
"Hunters of Artemis." Nico di Angelo's voice was sour. "Big group just arrived. You want to keep your distance if you want to avoid getting a concussion on Friday."
The boys backed up fast, evidence that Nico's reputation had not changed since the last Thalia had heard of him.
"Seriously?" The boy's casual demeanour had evaporated like morning mist. "Look, I'm sorry." he said to Thalia. "I just wanted to be friendly, you know?"
Thalia lost it.
"Why don't you just piss off already?" she yelled. Thunder boomed, making the boys jump. Her bow appeared in her hands, arrow nocked. "I'm this close to putting an arrow in your fat head."
The boy turned and bolted so fast could have rivalled Usain Bolt for speed. His friends were only slightly slower.
"Bad day?" Nico asked wryly. "Or didn't sleep?" He smiled knowingly, a rare smile.
"You want to get shot?" Thalia rounded on him.
"Both then." Nico deduced, unfazed by the threat of an arrow.
"Damned boys and their damned ego," Thalia snarled. "So annoying."
"You forget I'm right next to you." Despite Thalia's fast stride Nico kept up with her effortlessly.
"Don't remind me," Thalia growled.
"If you weren't so pretty, this wouldn't have happened." He seemed to be getting a kick out of winding Thalia up.
Thalia thought about landing her fist into the centre of that sardonic expression, but knew it would only give him greater satisfaction. She could never touch him anyway, and besides, it was Nico. Even in her worst of moods she wasn't fool enough to try.
"If you're looking for Percy and Annabeth," Nico smiled again, like he knew what she'd been thinking. "They're not in combat class. They had a bad night so Chiron let them sleep in. You want Cabin Two. Poseidon's."
Thalia gave a grudging nod, turned on her heel, then stopped. "They?"
Nico's smile widened. "Yes. They sleep together now."
Thalia's eyes widened to the size of ping-pong balls. "They-"
"It's nothing like that." Nico scoffed. "You hunters are always barking up that tree."
"Then…" Thalia was too lost in her thoughts to register the barb. Annabeth had a clearer head than the entire hunt put together. The information didn't make sense.
Nico's expression turned guarded so fast that Thalia was taken aback. "You aren't the same after being through Tartarus. It's been hard on them." He turned to leave. "Knock down the door if they're too deep asleep."
He vanished in a swirl of darkness, leaving Thalia still gaping into space.
"Annabeth!" Thalia hammered on the door of the Poseidon cabin, cursing the sea god's stone architecture that was making her fist hurt. She drew one of her knives and pounded the door with the pommel. "Percy! Wake up, you seaweed brain!"
Still no response. Thalia thought about breaking a window.
Then the door cracked open.
"Thalia?" Annabeth blinked sleepily at her. "What are you wearing?"
I'm doomed, Thalia thought. Annabeth was a bloodhound once she smelled a rat. "Hey," She smiled, trying to ignore the sweat trickling down her neck. "Long time no see."
Thalia thanked her stars they bought her story (I met an arai, it hit me with a cold spell!). Annabeth must have had a really bad night. She was usually great at sniffing out lies.
Thalia was concerned as she took in her friend's appearance more closely. Annabeth had worse panda eyes than anyone Thalia had ever seen. She looked awake, but Thalia noticed her piercing grey eyes were dull with exhaustion. Percy wasn't any better. Tartarus had clearly taken a bigger toll than she'd realised.
"You look terrible," she told them.
Percy smiled faintly. "We're getting by."
His stomach said otherwise. It growled loudly.
"Isn't it lunch yet?" he wondered out loud. "I'm starving."
"Seaweed Brain, you had a massive stack of pancakes." Annabeth reminded him.
"That was yesterday." Percy corrected. "Today we missed breakfast."
Annabeth frowned. "Did we?" She knuckled her eyes. "Ugh. I can't even think straight anymore."
"Maybe you should rest." Thalia suggested. "I can bring some food over."
Annabeth shook her head. "I've been cooped up for too long." She stood and stretched. "I'm thinking a shower." She turned to Percy. "Join me?"
"What?" Thalia yelled.
"You want me to-" Percy began.
Annabeth turned bright red. "I meant to ask if you were going to have one as well."
"Of course." Percy stood and started after her.
"There's only one shower," Thalia pointed out.
Both of them froze.
"You go first." Annabeth said. "I'll wait."
Thalia waited as Percy disappeared inside and the bathroom door slammed. The moment she heard the water start running she rounded on Annabeth. "Spill."
"What?" Annabeth yawned.
"You sleep together-" Thalia began.
"In different beds," Annabeth countered, pointing to the messy bunk beside Percy's.
"Shower together,-" Thalia persisted.
"I misspoke!" Annabeth protested.
"Did you?" Thalia folded her arms over her chest. "I call bullshit."
The two girls stared each other down.
"You're fully awake now, aren't you?" Thalia said, trying to keep her voice steady.
Annabeth's lips twitched. Thalia felt her own face crease. Both of them dissolved into laughter.
"I…forgot how much of a riot you are." Annabeth wiped tears from her eyes.
The bathroom door clicked and Percy stepped out, hair wet from his shower. "You're next," he said to Annabeth, then noticed them. "What did I miss?"
"Nothing," Thalia waved a hand at him. "Nothing at all."
"I forgot how great the food is." Thalia mumbled through a mouthful of barbecued ribs.
"Me too," Percy agreed, shovelling spaghetti and meatballs into his mouth. He was on his second plate in five minutes. Thalia was convinced his gullet had blender blades. There was no other explanation.
Annabeth rolled her eyes.
Thalia opened her mouth to respond, then frowned as a shadow fell over her plate. She turned around to see Lanesra and Cynthia smiling down at her.
"What?" she said irritably.
"Nothing," Lanesra said innocently. "Only…"
Before Thalia could react Cynthia yanked her hood down and pulled her cap off.
"It looks even more luminous than last night," Lanesra commented.
Both hunters stepped backwards as Thalia shot furiously out of her seat. "You wanna mess with me?"
The dining pavilion fell abruptly silent as everyone turned to gape at the daughter of Zeus. Thalia's pink hair seemed to glow in the afternoon sun. By the head table, Chiron the centaur stifled a laugh.
Thalia realised she'd made a mistake. If she had remained seated only a few people would have noticed. By standing and yelling she had practically announced her hair to the entire camp. She felt the campers' attention on her like beams of heat. The hunters collectively burst into laughter and, in that moment, her temper snapped.
Lanesra dived out of the way as Thalia tried to shove her. A howl of fury escaped Thalia's lips as she leaped the bench and pulled her spear from behind her back.
Thunder boomed so loudly that the cutlery rattled. Cynthia threw herself across the Poseidon table as a bolt of lightning lashed out from the tip of Thalia's spear, blasting the spot she'd previously been.
"Cool it," Cynthia collected herself, rolled, and sprang athletically to her feet. Percy's spaghetti and meatballs was now a massive stain down the side of her t-shirt. "It's just a prank."
"HEY!" Percy, who was still starving, waved his spoon furiously at her. "That was my breakfast!"
Cynthia gave him a glance. "So?"
A jug of water on Percy's left lifted into the air, splashing Cynthia in the face. The hunter gasped as she stumbled backwards, almost slipping on the wet floor.
"Jerk!" Cynthia growled.
The spaghetti and water had given Thalia an idea. She summoned the wind spirits, giving them mental orders as a wicked smile spread across her face.
"You think that was funny?" She climbed a table, pointing her spear at the hunters' table.
"Pinkie Pie," a hunter called.
"I'll show you," Thalia snarled. "Get them!" she ordered the wind spirits.
A half-dozen bowls of condiments and sauces shot towards the hunters' table like artillery shells. Barbecue and spaghetti sauce dive-bombed the girls, splattering them in sweet-spicy brown and red. Hunters threw themselves out of their seats as a barrage of every condiment imaginable from sesame seeds to croutons rained down on them.
The hunters were thrown into chaos. Some summoned their bows and tried shooting the condiment bowls out of the air, but the wind spirits blew the arrows out of the air. Others tried to shield themselves with their trays.
Thalia twirled her finger, causing the winds to swirl around the hunters' table like a tornado. Flying sauce and garnishings pelted the girls at a hundred miles an hour. The rest of the campers laughed as they watched the hunters stagger back and fourth, holding trays ineffectively in front of their face.
"You look much better now," an Apollo camper teased.
"Thalia!" Chiron shouted, giving her his trademark you'd better stop or you're on kitchen duty look. "You-" An off-target splash of barbecue sauce splattered his face, cutting him off.
One flying bowl got a little too close to Lanesra and she smacked it away with her tray. Meatballs and tomato sauce whipped into a row of Aphrodite campers like a shotgun blast, shocking them into silence.
"Did you just-" one gasped.
"You ruined my hair!" another wailed. He grabbed a meatball and threw it back. The whole cabin started screaming and throwing dips, condiments and whatever food they could get their hands on.
The hunters retaliated as best as they could, but their usually deadly aim was spoiled by the wind and most of the stuff hit the other campers instead.
"STOP THIS AT ONCE!" Chiron yelled, but went unnoticed amidst the escalating chaos.
Annabeth, who until now had been only watching the spectacle while eating lunch, swore and ducked as some sesame seeds hit the side of her face. Her brother Malcolm picked a sprig of parsley off her shoulder as she shook seeds out of her hair.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" He grinned at her.
"Those girls need to be put in their place." Annabeth declared. The Athena cabin cheered as their head counsellor climbed onto the table and brandished her spoon at the hunters.
"FOOD FIGHT!"
If it had been messy before, it was nothing compared to what happened next.
Campers surged out of their seats as food flew in every direction. Percy swept his steak knife in an arc and two cauldrons of soup exploded out towards the hunters, splattering everyone between the soup table and the teenage girls.
Nico di Angelo took that exact moment to materialise in the middle of the pavilion. A wave of minestrone caught him in the face and he sat down hard, spluttering.
"Tasty," he muttered, then laughed out loud at the chaos all around him.
The Athena campers, led by Annabeth, took control of the serving table, strategically commandeering the bulk of the day's ammunition. All the sleepiness had gone from Annabeth. Her eyes were alert as she scanned the pavilion and rapped orders to her siblings, organising volleys of blueberries and grapes.
"Fire!" she yelled, then gasped as an entire roast chicken filled her vision. She staggered a few steps then righted herself, glaring around.
"Who did that?"
"Wasn't me," Malcolm shrugged, his hands covered in roast chicken sauce. "Maybe one of the Ares kids." His lips were twitching as he fought not to laugh.
Annabeth slammed his head onto the table and emptied a bottle of ketchup on him.
Thalia stared at the carnage she'd caused, half amused, half incredulous that things had escalated into such a big mess.
"You're unbelievable," Percy told her.
Thalia laughed in response. "I missed this place."
A shadow fell over her. She turned to see Chiron towering over her, a distinctly unpleasant look on his face.
"Thalia," he said. "You are in so much trouble."
Before she could react he shoved his bowl of strawberry and yogurt into her face.
Thalia collapsed onto her bench, choking on a slice of strawberry. She swiped yogurt from her eyes to see Chiron staring down at her, eyes twinkling mischievously. "It's good to have you back, my dear girl."