I have a goal today: don't get out of bed. XD

The rest of the week went by pretty soon, and I kept up my training with Gemini and went to other activities. Eli hadn't talked to me at all since I snapped at her. I wasn't about to go up to her apologize anytime soon.

I hadn't seen Percy or the blonde at all either. Even Chiron avoided me, only talking to me during classes and such. I felt like a ticking time bomb, and everyone was wating for me to explode. Truthfully, I really did want to explode. I had screamed and hit, but there was still bottled up anger inside me, growing bigger every second. I just wanted to scream pure death and destroy everything around me.

Yeah, I might have anger issues.

It was the day before the forest games, and I had archery class with Chiron after lunch. Nothing else. I had the entire day to mope around in the Hermes cabin or wander around the forest. The rest of the week had been jam packed with activities. I had a feeling Chiron was trying to keep me distracted. It wasn't working.

I walked to the archery practice field. Chiron was waiting there, his expression blank.

He handed me a bow and a quiver of arrows without a word. Then he went to demonstrate how to shoot the arrow and aim with as little talking as possible.

I did as he didn't really say, and the arrow went flying. It hit the target only an inch from the bulls eye.

Chiron looked impressed. "Very good for your first time." It was the very first full sentence he had spoken since I got there.

I pulled another arrow out of the quiver and nocked it on my bow. Again, I aimed and shot. This time it landed right on the red bulls eye. There was no doubt this time. Chiron looked completely shocked. I guess being this good was odd.

I kept practicing until I ran out of arrows, most of them hitting the small red dot or near it. Over the thwacks of the arrows hitting the target, I could hear Chiron muttering. "Archery, the Laelaps, water, what is she?"

I was annoyed, that's what I was. I just wished that someone would tell me what was going on and truthfully. I probably wouldn't believe anything that came out of Chiron's mouth though.

After I finished my arrows, I asked Chiron what I should do. He just gestured away from the practice field. "Just go back to your cabin."

Sent to my room, huh. Not gonna happen.

I walked to the cabins as if I was returning there, but instead of going inside the Hermes cabin, I ducked behind it.

Then I started walking towards the forest. Something drew me to the dark woods, even though I knew the dangers. As I walked, I made sure Gemini was on my back. I did not want to be caught in the monster-infested trees without a weapon. It was almost a death wish if you went in without a blade of some sort..

Instead of heading back to the Laelaps, I went more left once I left the clearing with the thrones. As I kept walking through areas I hadn't seen before, I stumbled upon a small creek with a small swimming pool right above it. The water from the swimming hole trickled down a waterfall into the creek. It was extremely peaceful, and I could imagine herself relaxing here all day.

Instead, I spotted a few pieces of trash floating in the waterfall's froth. The sight of it made me angry, angry that someone could be so careless to allow trash to invade such beauty.

I picked up every piece and stuffed it in the extra pouch on Gemini's sheath.

Once I had finished cleaning up the litter, I sat down on a mossy stone next to the creek and just ran my fingers through the water.

The next time I came here, I told myself, I was going to bring a bathing suit and get in. The water was just too inviting to not swim in.

I stood up,ready to explore a bit more, and I saw a tiny bunny hopping around a few feet away. Standing super still, I watched the bunny come closer and closer. It finally reached me and nuzzled my leg with it's pink nose. I slowly knelt down, and pet the bunny. Instead of running away, like a normal bunny would, it rubbed it's head up and down my hand. The bunny almost looked like a cat.

"Hello," a voice said. I was startled for a second, thinking the bunny was talking. Then I remembered that would be crazy, and I turned around, looking for who spoke.

A young girl about my age stood leaning against a tree. Her skin was extremely pale, so pale I could see bluish veins running up and down her arms.

She wore a flowy blue dress that was dripping wet, as was her black hair. It was braided with long grass, and she wore a small crown of moss and twigs. Her feet were completely bare. The oddest thing about her was her pointed ears, which were definitely not human.

"Thank you for cleaning up my waters." Her voice reminded me of water gurgling between stones.

Her waters… "You must be a naiad." I replied.

She nodded. "I am the naiad of Zephyros Creek. To other nature spirits, however, I am known as Sophronia."

I winced at the long and odd name. "Can I just call you Sophie?"

Sophronia nodded. "Sure."

"Well, ok." I felt my face fall back into a scowl. I just wanted some peace, which I guess was hard around Camp Half-Blood. Even the trees and streams could listen.

Sophie stared at me. "You looked troubled. What is wrong?"

At that moment I kind of broke down. I spilled all of what had happened since I woke up in the Big House for the first to time to Sophie. The nymph was a good listener, and stayed silent the entire time.

After I finished, I sighed and sat down on the soft grass.

Sophie looked thoughtful. "Why can you not just apologize to this Eli?"

She voiced the concerns I was thinking myself. "No," I said to both my thoughts and her, "I won't do that."

I half expected the nymph to leave with some vague advice, but Sophie didn't move a bit. I was surprised she wasn't the nymph of a rock instead of a creek.

"You are very stubborn, are you not?" she asked. "Well, I have a feeling you might need your friend soon. I happen to know what the forest games are about, and she seems like a good teammate to have."

I perked up. "Forest games?"

Sophie nodded. "Every century or so, Chiron holds a forest game. They are, of course, held here and are quite fun to watch."

My eyes widened. "Every century?"

Sophie waved her hand. "Or maybe every week. I cannot be sure, but I do know that there will be multiple teams, and you will be fighting in the dark!" She said it dramatically, and spoke very enthusiastically.

"Speaking of the dark," I said, "It's about to get that way."

Sophie looked shocked. "You need to leave. You of all people should know that the forest is dangerous at night, even for yourself." With that, she faded away, only leaving the smell of fresh water behind.

I stood up and ran towards the cabins, pondering what the nymph could have meant.

That night, as I slept in my sleeping bag on the floor of the Hermes cabin, I had an odd dream.

It started out like any other dream, except that I could see everything perfectly and feel the grass through my toes. I was in the forest at night, a part that I didn't recognize. Of course, I had barely seen any of the forest, so I really could have been anywhere in any woods.

As I was inspecting my surroundings, from behind me came a searing light that seemed to bore into my skin. I quickly moved behind a tree and shielded my eyes with my hands.

When the light subsided, I glanced up to see what had caused such a phenomenon. Around five feet away was the silhouette of a girl that looked around my height. She started to walk forwards, as I strained my eyes to see her face. Something long and curved was hanging on her back.

I followed her all the way to a huge oak tree, careful not to make any sound. The girl, still in shadows, stood serene in front of the tree. It was thick around it's trunk, and a spot facing towards the girl was all lumpy, like the bark was bubbles and they froze there forever. It's bottom was huge, unnatural for an oak tree.

The stranger leaned forward, more into the shadow of the huge tree's leaves, and I noticed something odd. Even though it was so dark around her I couldn't make out details, she seemed to emit a small glow that didn't light up the area around her.

I was too busy focused on her light bulb powers that I didn't notice what she was doing, until the tree opened, of course. (- That sentence though.) The odd knobbly spot rolled away into the tree until a dark hole was left facing me and the mystery girl.

Out climbed an old lady that probably had lived as many years as the wrinkles on her face. Her back was hunched so far over I actually winced at how much it must have hurt to walk. Unlike the girl, I could actually make out her face under the moonlight. She reminded me of Grandmother Willow from Pocahontas, with her wise eyes and the grandmother smile, like she's about to bake some cookies with milk.

The grandmother figure hobbled over to the small girl and bowed, again making me cringe. I could see every knobbly bone on her spine jut out, raising her tweed dress. I doubted they had any chiropractors nearby, but she desperately needed one.

"I understand you are keeping watch on her?" the girl said curtly. I couldn't see her face move, but her voice was very curt and commanding. Whoever that girl was, she was obviously in a position of power.

I didn't hear the old woman's response, but it must have been what the girl wanted to hear, because she stood up straighter and an edge to her voice was gone when she replied. "So she is safe? I want to know where she is? Where is my-"

Finally, I heard the old grandmother's voice. "Stop right there m'lady," it sounded like popcorn sizzling and crackling in a hot pan, "she is here now and listening to our every word. You wouldn't want her to know early, would you?"

I gasped, knowing they meant me, and my vision changed.

I was running down a beach, with a storm right overhead. It was sending charged bolts of energy down all around me, almost hitting me, but not quite. It was like a cat playing with it's food before it eats. The ocean's tide seemed aggressive, sending crashing waves that almost knocked me off my feet, and no matter how far up the beach I would go, they would reach me.

Everywhere that I stepped, even on the wet sand, tiny flames would erupt on my feet, making me scream in pain. I wanted to collapse right there, but something kept me running.

I felt like I was going mad. I would see crazy people near me, then look away, and then they were gone. Maybe the entire thing was a hallucination.

I was too busy running and screaming to notice that the end of the beach was coming up. The blades tickled my feet as I leapt through the air and landed on solid ground.

The sky immediately cleared, the sun shone down from a cloudless sky. The ocean looked so far away, with tamed waves that just slightly lapped the sand. There was no more fire, and the area looked completely free of any other people.

I started jogging towards the faint outline of a large shape in the distance. I couldn't tell what it was, but it was the only thing around that might help. I certainly wasn't going on the beach again.

As I ran, it got hotter and I started sweating buckets. I wasn't really dressed for hot weather, with my long jeans and thick t-shirt. It was like someone had designed slow torture from heat for me.

The sun seemed to burn brighter in the sky, and I fell down, seeing red burns show up on my arms. My face must have been raw, and it felt that way too. The heat kept intensifying, making my skin peel and red dots appear all over my body. It was like a sunburn on fast forward, and it hurt.

I curled up into a ball, now thankful for the clothes that I was trying to wrap round myself to keep my skin from getting harmed. Even then,I could still feel the severe heat seeping through my clothes.

The air felt like it was charged with radioactive molecules, and every time I tried to take a breath, I would choke on the heat. I was suffocating and burning at the same time.

I felt the air turn blistering hot, the highest dial on the sun's thermostat, and with that came a high pitched ringing in my ears that seemed to come more from the inside than the out.

The grass around me had withered and died, leaving a cracked patch of dirt for me to die on. I heard a loud hiss as the entire ocean evaporated into hot steam, thankfully no where near me.

I finally thought of the people I knew, ending with my mystery parent, hoping this wasn't reality, and I would get to see them again. I eventually passed out.

Well… btw I changed the rating for this to T just to be safe, especially with this chapter now out and posted. Sorry the guest that guessed Tayen's parents, but you were incorrect. I won't say who they guessed, so you have to guess yourself. :) I hope you liked this chapter, I spent a lot of work coming up with the last bit, and the character Sophie. :)