A/N:

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I just had my weeks of high school and my life is really hectic.

The camp is starting to fill up. When we get to the dining hall there are about forty campers seated at the long wooden tables. Harley gestures for me to sit and leaves to get Cynthia and I some food.

I struggle to sit comfortably with the two sheathes. He returns balancing three trays on his arms. (How is he still wearing a sweatshirt in summer?) He slides them onto the table. "Bring those and come with me." We frown at each other and then scoop up our trays and follow him. He leads us over to a bronze brazier. The flame is burning an unnatural golden colour. Harley scrapes some of his food into the flames "Dude!" I protest. "That was a waste of good barbecue!"

Harley sends a glare over his shoulder. He glances up at the sky. "Hey Dad, I just wanted to thank you for allowing me to reach camp safely and I pray to you that my friends are claimed at the campfire tonight." He turns back to us. "This is a brazier. We use it to burn offerings for the gods. In ancient times they used to slaughter animals to pay tribute but we figure that this is the better option."

"Who is your father?" Cynthia asks.

Harley rubs the back of his neck. " My father is Hephaestus the God of Blacksmiths." Cynthia nods like it's no big deal. Meanwhile, my jaw is almost on the floor. "Hephaestus? As in the Hephaestus?!"

Cynthia gives me a look. The kind of pitying glance that someone gives to a person that they think is particularly slow. Cynthia steps forward and dumps a portion of her meal into the flames. "Mother." She says closing her eyes. "I know who you are, but if you claim me at the bonfire tonight, that would be much appreciated." Harley raises his eyebrows at her. The smoke drifting upwards doesn't smell like the beef brisket she put in. Instead, it smells sweet and rich. Like cinnamon or burnt brown sugar. Cynthia steps back and gestures for me to come forward. I shake my head and back away. "I'm not doing that."

"Why not?" Cynthia asks. I turn my back on the braizure and walk away. "For one, I'm an atheist. And two, I'm still not sure you're telling the truth."

Cynthia rolls her eyes at me, but it's more tired than anything else. She leads us over to an empty table and Harley slides down on the bench beside her. I plonk myself down on her other side and gingerly place my bow and quiver on the table. The silver gleams dully in the sunlight.

"We won't get to sit just anywhere when everyone comes back." Harley tells us. "You sit with your cabin." Neither of us replies.

We eat in silence, the chatter of the other campers filling the void between the three of us. Harley keeps glancing sideways, as if I might suddenly stab him with a fork. Then Harley's head snaps up. I follow his gaze to see two boys walk into the pavilion. One has curly brown hair and has grease stains on his face. The other has shaggy black locks and pale skin, he is dressed all in black and has a wicked looking black sword strapped at his waist.

"What's up everyone?!" The brown haired boy crows. "Leo McShizzle in the house!" The dark haired boy rolls his eyes at the other. "And look who I brought!" The curly haired kid had the kind of manic smile that you would cross the street to avoid "Death boy!"

"This is why everyone- ''Death boy began, but he didn't get to finish his sentence because he was tackled by a blonde boy who came rushing out of the crowd at him. The two fell to the ground with a thump. "Will!" The dark haired boy protests from his position, pinned under the boy called Will. Will laughs and hauls to his feet planting a kiss on the corner of the other boy's mouth. Even though there aren't many people around, the dark haired demigod flushes a bright red and buries his face in Will's shoulder. I fiddle with my bracelet, turning it around my wrist as I watch the curly haired kid greet Will. Then he looks over and smiles even wider than before. He grabbed the dark haired kid and Will by the wrists and drags them over to our table.

"Harley!" He says, his smile turning into something softer. Harley stands up to hug him. "Hey Leo." He turns to look at us.

"Amaris, Cynthia. This is my big brother Leo." He spoke the words with such pride and joy that I didn't have the heart to ignore him, instead, I offer Leo a genuine albeit small smile. Cynthia grins at him. "Hello, fire eater."

Leo nods at her, not even fazed. "What's up, crazy." He glances sideways at Harley. "Dude, you have to stop growing. You're already taller than me!" (Granted, that wasn't hard. Leo was tiny.) "I remember when you were this small." Leo held his hand at his waist. "I might have to start borrowing Pipers heels." My mouth quirkes upwards.

"You better not." Will snorts. "Remember what happened last time?"

Leo winces at the presumably painful memory. "Those stains didn't come out of a week."

"Anyway." Harley says. "Amaris, Cynthia, this is Will Solace and his boyfriend-"

"The Ghost King." The words come from Cynthia's mouth. "Who holds the key to endless death." The dark haired boy looks at her in surprise. "I haven't heard those lines for a while now. How do you know them?" Cynthia shakes her head dreamily. I was really worried about her, without her meds, her bipolar disorder was really acting up. "In the stars." She replies.

"Anyway." Harley intervenes quickly and I shoot him a grateful glance. "This is Nico di Angelo." The boy inclines his head but he doesn't smile. Will elbows him in the ribs. "Don't mind him. He's just grumpy 'cause he hasn't had breakfast yet."

Nico frowns. "Shove off Solace." Leo blows out his lips and ruffles Nico's hair. "You wouldn't believe how much grumbling I had to put up with on the way here."

"Watch it Fireboy." Nico bats Leo's hand away and scowls even more fiercely. "Or I'll remove one of your limbs."

Leo quickly shoved his hands into his pockets.

The rest of the day passed quickly and uneventfully. Harley showed us around the rest of Camp Halfblood, though he seems an extremely unwilling guide. The camp slowly gains new arrivals as Demigods straggle over the camp boundaries. Cynthia and I get to meet some of them but the real excitement comes when the sound of helicopter blades could be heard echoing through the camp.

A chopper appeared over the hill, it was sleek black and had the letters D.E in red paint along the side. It landed in the middle of the Camp green and out of it stepped a girl with hair the colour of autumn leaves. She wears a preppy uniform with a pleated skirt and neatly pressed blouse.

She looks like a bohemian schoolgirl, with her marker covered backpack, a peace sign stitched into the side of her green hightops and the braided headband shoved messily into her hair.

A few of the campers ran to greet her, voices raised over the whoop-whoop of the copter blades. The red haired girl smiles at them and says something that makes them all laugh.

"Rachel's here." Harley's face lights up like a lamp. "Come on." He doesn't even wait for us to follow, just takes off. Jogging over the camp green.

He reaches the girl and throws his arms around her, even though he has to bend down to do it. She reaches up her arms to twine them around his neck. When he finally releases her, his face is alight. "Rachel, how have you been? How is managing your father's company?" Rachel gave out a high pitched snort of laughter. "Oh, I got fired from that. I now am the proud owner of an urban art gallery. It's a non profit organisation."

Harley smiles at her, obvious affection in his gaze. Chiron canters up in full stallion form. "Rachel, my dear." There is evident relief in his voice. "You are late, I was beginning to worry."

Rachel laughs and shakes her head. "Just helicopter troubles." Cynthia and I stand off awkwardly to the side until the campers trickle away. Harley beckons us forward. "Guys, this is Rachel Elizabeth Dare. Rachel, this is-"

"Cynthia," The girl interrupts. "And Amaris. Yes, I've been expecting you." Harley shoots her a sideways questioning look but doesn't say anything.

I hold out my hand to Rachel. "I've seen enough weird stuff today that I'm not even going to question it." Rachel smiles and takes my hand, her grip firm. I step back after she releases me. Cynthia reaches out, a grin on her face, but as soon as she touches Rachels hand, the smile disappears. "You're her." She says, "The Snake Oracle." She closes her eyes. Rachel frowns, but then Cynthia begins to speak in a voice that is not entirely hers. It's high and melodious and resonating.

"Daughter of the Moon ventures to the place of death.

Through the place of a hero's dying breath."

Rachel opens her mouth, maybe to stop her, but then her eyes roll back in her head and she collapses into Harley's arms.

"The Daughter of Magic must lend a hand

Child of Fire must also take a stand. "

Their voices blend together. High and lyrical, and deep and gravelly.

"The silver titan they must find.

God of the sun, they must unbind."

Then Rachel's voice dies away and its only Cynthia speaking.

"The Starbound huntress will lead the way

The Autumn Solstice or the Moon's decay."

Cynthia's mouth snaps closed and she seems to shake herself out of a trance. Rachel opens her eyes and they flash green for a second before they fade back to a chocolate brown. She struggles to stand and Harley holds her up with a hand in her back. "Those lines.." Rachel presses her fingers to her temple. "How do you know them?"

"I don't know." Cynthia's voice is small. Chiron interrupts her, " My dear, where did you hear them?"

"I dreamed them." Rachel tells him. "All but for those two last lines. I have no idea what they mean. Or who the mentioned heros are."

"I do." Cynthia says. "The Daughter of the Moon and the Daughter of Magic and the Son of Fire."

We turn to her and I gasp. Hovering in the air above Cynthia's head, the symbol of two crossed, fiery torches." No one says anything for a long minute and during that forever, most of the campers gather back around. There is silence for a long moment then Chiron says quietly. "All hail Cynthia, Daughter of Hecate." Cynthia stares up at the symbol above her head. Her face is devoid of emotions. No surprise. No joy. The campers slowly and hesitantly each fall to a knee. Some with more reluctance than others. After Chiron has risen from his own half bow, he gestures to the campers to leave. "Put your things away my dear." He tells Rachel. "Get comfortable. Then you and I will discuss this prophecy more."

A/N:

I am really sorry for referring to Clarisse, Rachel, Leo and stuff as 'boys' and 'girls'. It's just hard for me to picture them as anything but children. Just to clarify. They're probably around 24/25. It's been 8 years since the Great prophecy and Trials of Apollo never happened.