An hour later, Connor and Madeline leaned against the railing of the Big House's front porch with Chiron standing nearly as tall as them on the ground below in his full centaur form. They had given orders to each of their siblings who would be Head Counselor in their absence - Madeline to Noel and Connor to Rebecca. Noel was one of the more low-strung children of Demeter, with a laid back smile and demeanor that seemed to calm those around him. Madeline was grateful to have him as her brother and right hand man in many high stress situations. Rebecca was one of the most clever and observant people Connor had ever met, though not without a love for fun, and he trusted the Hermes cabin would be in good hands with his sister while he was away.

Harley, a formidable army tank of a 10-year-old, ran up the front steps to them. Still young enough to live in a constant state of obliviousness, he was completely unaware of the serious conversation he was interrupting. Looking between him and Connor who smiled down at the child, Madeline was again struck by how much Harley's infectious smile and the crazy gleam in his eye reminded her of when she had first met Connor over three years ago. Now, although she would describe her boyfriend as anything but calm, he had definitely mellowed out since Travis had left Camp Half-Blood. Once the two brothers lived separately for the first time in their lives, the inner workings of their prank system became more apparent. While his older brother had a chaotic approach to pranking, Connor was more methodical in his mischief. Those campers still around for his solo reign were not sure which they preferred. At least with Travis, you could more easily sense the impending danger even if you didn't know what it would be. Connor enjoyed the thrill of surprise more. While this meant the infamous Stoll pranks were now farther and fewer between, their caliber had not diminished in the slightest.

Connor had grown more over the years, and Madeline was relieved that he seemed to be done growing since he now towered over a foot taller than her. She had only grown an inch since coming to Camp and now stood at 5'1" in an almost comedic contrast to Connor's 6'2" height. He still had some of his distinct lankiness to him and a boyish quality to his face, but he had filled out since they first met as well. What especially made him look older now was his well-kept haircut, which was a significant change from the unruly mop of brunette curls that he had worn his hair in practically since birth. After his unfortunate encounter with Peaches the grain spirit the year before, in which the angry sprite had ripped out chunks of Connor's hair, he wore his hair in a short fade that showed off his curls on top. Lorna, a daughter of Aphrodite, was a great barber and had taken pity on him after the spirit's attack had left Connor with nasty, although temporary, bald patches with a curse that even Madeline could not break through prayer and offerings as a child of Demeter. All of his physical changes left him with a much sharper look now, though Madeline knew well that he was still as goofy as ever.

Madeline looked older now, too. However, most of her changes had happened internally and could be seen only in her eyes. Several years of missions and unexpected attacks in the world outside of the camp's magic border in which you are pinned to the ground by a monster, fighting for your life, are bound to harden at least some parts of anyone. Connor had always known it would happen, as he saw it in every camper eventually. Seeing it in his Madeline only made him more sure that he would do anything to stay by her side.

Ever since they had first collaborated on a special project two years ago, Harley had a habit of running up to Connor at least twice a day in the buzzing excitement of some new idea or improvement to an invention he had. Not because Connor had any mechanical expertise that Harley, an engineering genius even at his young age, did not already have, but because Connor was especially skilled at encouraging Harley's wild imagination with thought-provoking, and frankly dangerous, questions that the kid couldn't get from anyone else.

While the most boisterous parts of Connor's personality had externally toned down over the years, he had also become what could only be described as more unhinged. The Stoll brothers had always been overwhelming in a way that made a lot of campers, especially new ones, uncomfortable sometimes. As far as anyone who saw Madeline and Connor together was concerned, she was completely unaware or unbothered by this, as the loving smile on her face as she watched his trouble-making never wavered. Similarly, Harley had never been off put by Connor's intensity and commitment to his craft. On the contrary, the son of Hephaestus adored the older boy and the two had quickly become close friends over their kindred spirits of curiosity when the then eight-year old first arrived at Camp Half-Blood.

Madeline knew Connor sometimes still had nightmares from his dark time in Tartarus back when he was 15 years old, and he would probably always have them to some degree. His obligation to return to the Underworld for one month every winter did not help matters. But it was the price to pay for being alive, as Nico had saved him with one pomegranate seed, and he never complained. Madeline had quickly come to realize that he had been able to survive Tartarus, which would have driven most people completely insane, because Connor was in fact already a little insane. It was a secret weapon which she had come to learn had also grown from his difficult childhood and the lasting trauma of the First War. She loved him all the more for it.

Campers still told the story of the first time Connor had recruited Harley for a project. After arriving at Camp, Connor had quickly noticed how talented Harley was, and his ability to blend in as a little kid in a way Connor could no longer pull off made him even more invaluable. Madeline also remembered that day as clear as if it were yesterday, despite being two years ago now. On that morning of July 1st, Connor had been waiting outside the front door of the Demeter cabin with a small box of chocolates, sneaked into Camp of course as they were against the rules, and a sweet declaration of his love for her on the first anniversary of when he had asked to be her date to the summer fireworks celebration. To the dismay of those around them, the couple seemed unable to stop smiling or pull themselves apart from each other for about 20 minutes after this. One poor boy who had been stupid enough to make a joke about how "easy" girls were these days if all it took was some chocolates woke up to a bed full of scorpions the next morning. Connor made sure they were nice and large, since bigger scorpions were usually not poisonous.

That night as dusk set in, Madeline led Connor through an intricate, maze-like path of dense vegetation and young trees through the forest. While no one at Camp could consider themselves an expert navigator of the magical, if not slightly cursed, forest, he did not understand how it was possible that he did not recognize where they were in the slightest. After all, he had his own stash of contraband hiding places scattered throughout the woods. After an painfully slow hike of Madeline showing Connor where to step, which bush to peek around and which curtain of vines to move aside to find the next opening, they reached a small clearing padded in low-growing wildflowers and mosses in a rainbow of shades of green. Several camping lanterns awaited them, providing a ring of soft light around them.
"You…made this place?" Connor observed in wonder, slowly stepping forward and looking around in awe. Madeline made a dismissive face and waved away his comment. She still wasn't one to take a compliment easily.
"I just hid it, so no one's ever getting here by accident from now on," she corrected him. "It can be just…for us."

That secret place became where they disappear to every now and then for time alone. By now, Connor could practically reach their hideout in complete darkness if he had to. A little known skill Connor had as a less-common manifestation of his powers as a son of Hermes was his ability to navigate and remember nearly any map after seeing it just once. While Travis was slightly better at that, Connor would certainly never forget this route. Of course, no other campers knew about their secret spot. Instead, it was what had happened earlier that day that made it one for the Camp Half-Blood hall of fame.