Will wasn't sure why, but he hated Robin. When Kivese had said her cousin would help, Will had thought she meant their cousin. As in another son of Apollo. But then, she would have said her brother, Will thought. Still, Will felt a surge of aggression towards this arrogant, pompous boy.
Robin thought he was special because his mother raised him. Well, Robin could jump off a cliff for all Will cared. Demigods were lucky to get a message from their parent at all, let alone be answered every single time they had a question. And Apollo had taught Robin archery. That killed Will. His dad, his own father, had thought some Muse's son more important than Will. More important than his own children: Lee, Michael, Austin, Kayla, and all the others back in Cabin 7.
It didn't help that Will had once heard that Calliope was Apollo's favorite mistress in all of heaven and earth. No, that didn't help at all.
Now Andy was staring at Robin like he was some kind of god or Adonis reborn or something. Even Cletus seemed taken with him. Robin's back was still turned, looking out into the woods for these traders, or whoever they were.
"Andy, I think we should leave," Will said.
"What?" Andy asked, looking confused.
"But you must stay," Robin insisted, turning around. "You must meet them!"
"Andy, I think we need to leave now!" Will insisted. "Cletus?"
"What is wrong with you?" Andy demanded, finally coming to. She turned towards WIll, hands on her hips. "You've been... weird, ever since we got here."
"Yeah, man," Cletus said, backing Andy up. "Not cool!"
"Look, this might be a trap," Will insisted. There were the sounds of several people moving towards them through the woods, the crack of twigs underfoot and a few indistinct words said back and forth between them.
"Sam wouldn't have sent us here if it was a trap!" Andy fumed.
"Sam isn't here!" Will shouted. "Stop pretending like she's around! You've been following her orders this entire quest, haven't you? Can't you just stand up for yourself for once and listen to reason?"
Will didn't know why he'd said it, and he felt terrible as soon as he had. Andy looked furious, like he'd just slapped her across the face. Cletus shifted nervously, his face pale and eyes flickering nervously from Andy to Will and back again. The approaching voices had gone silent, like they'd heard the disturbance.
"Robin, are you okay?" a voice called. Andy relaxed her stance and looked into the woods incredulously.
"Thalia?" she asked.
"The one and only!" Thalia called back. She appeared from between the trees, looking slightly concerned. She immediately went to Robin and clapped him on the back, looking over the others warily.
"Thalia, it's us!" Will said, stepping forward. "Will, Will Solace! And Cletus and Andromache! Don't you remember us?"
Thalia studied their faces and then smiled. "Of course I do. What are you doing here with Robin?"
"You... you know him?" Will asked, disbelieving.
"Yeah I do!" Thalia smiled, ruffling Robin's hair and causing the feather entangled there to be even more tangled. Robin was grinning like a fool, pleased to see so many visitors. Other Hunters were emerging now, and the white wolves who were their companions. The immortal girls nodded to Robin, more friendly than Will had ever seen them with anyone of the male sex. They looked over Will with as much distaste as if he were a piece of gum they'd found under their seat. Andy waved at one or two of the girls who smiled back. Cletus was overlooked like so much air.
"Well, what have you got for me today?" Robin asked, looking eager. "It's been so long! What's been happening out there?"
"Oh, a war and all that," Thalia shrugged. "Actually, we're looking for a friend."
"A war?" Robin asked, astonished.
"He didn't know about the war?" Will asked, furious. "And he didn't fight!"
"Which friend?" Robin inquired. A few of the Hunters wandered over to Andy and started talking to her. One or two went to the table of books and began thumbing through them.
"A boy called Perseus Jackson," Thalia said. "A son of Poseidon."
"He doesn't know Percy?" Will asked. "Where the Hades has he been the past five years?"
"No one by that name has come to the forest," Robin said, shaking his head. "But the other day I found large tracks, the size of my hand or more, outside the boundaries on the south side."
"Look, I'm sorry Robin, but we don't have time to track some monsters..." Thalia sighed.
"That's too bad," Robin said, shaking his head with a small, knowing smile. "Because they will lead you to a clue." Thalia looked sharply at him.
"What sort of clue?" she demanded.
"That is all I was told," Robin shrugged, looking truly apologetic. Will would've bet anything it was an act the other boy was putting on. Robin took Thalia's arm and drew her aside, whispering softly to her. She looked troubled, and shook her head. Robin seemed to droop slightly and Thalia put a gentle hand on his shoulder and said something else. He nodded, then turned back when one of the Hunters called for him.
"Robin, what have you got for us?" she demanded teasingly.
"That depends on what you for me," Robin said, lightly bounding to her side. The girl laughed and pulled a chocolate bar out of her pocket. Robin looked at it hopefully and the girls all laughed, like he was an amusing puppy begging for a treat.
Will was stunned that the Hunters were so accepting of the boy, or any boy for that matter. They usually treated members of the male sex as though they were pond scum, or worse. But Robin... they acted like he was their brother.
"For such a price," Robin thoughtfully considered. "I have four eagle-fletched arrows." The Hunter immediately handed over the chocolate and Robin went to the bag of arrows. Pulling it out from under the table he drew forth four of the silver arrows whose shafts were set with golden feathers.
"What would seven turkey cost?" another girl, possibly Phoebe, asked.
"What do you carry?" Robin asked. Apparently this was jerk speech for "what have you got in your pockets?" because Phoebe produced a Little Debbie Snack cake. Robin wanted two of them for the seven arrows, so she had to fork over a second snack cake.
"Does he always trade arrows for sweets?" Will asked Thalia. She snorted and then proceeded to ignore him.
"Can I interest anyone in swan feathers?" Robin asked, pulling out a few dozen shafts of pure white feathers.
"What are they good for?" asked one of the girls who had long red hair braided over one shoulder.
"Grace, serenity," Robin said, twirling the feather. "They can bring calm to an archer before her shot. Do not be fooled by rumors that they bring love, for the swan has ever been the bird of virgins."
The swan feathers sold out quickly for various prices. It seemed that Robin would take anything - chocolates, pens, gum, extra buttons. He always asked what the girl had, she would answer, Robin would accept whatever the price without questioning if the girl was lying. He was too trusting, Will thought. An utter fool.
"What's this one?" A Hunter with dark hair and slanted dark eyes knelt down and picked up a black feather.
"Raven," Robin said. "I don't think you'll want it. The raven is for death and demons, and it is sacred Apollo." Robin smiled like it was a joke, but the girl dropped the feather as though it was venomous.
"Perhaps our friend would like it, though," Robin said, picking up the shaft and twirling it between his fingers. He offered it to Will. For the first time, the Hunters focused their attention on Will; their gazes were sharp, disgusted, and distrustful. Will took the feather and ran his finger along it.
"How much?" he asked.
"Free," Robin smiled at him, but his hazel eyes were searching. "I wouldn't charge a son of Apollo for what is rightly his."
"What about me?" Andy asked, standing among the Hunters of Artemis as though she were one of their own.
"Well, what lacks in your life?" Robin asked, his eyes sparkling.
"I... I dunno," Andy said, suddenly looking embarrassed.
"Perhaps a sparrow," Robin said, pulling out a somewhat drab feather. "She has many lessons for us. For instance, small though she may be, she is certainly powerful. We do not have to have the loudest voice in order to be heard." He placed the feather in Andy's hand and closed his fingers over it. Will tensed as Robin leant forward a whispered something else in Andy's ear. She looked amazed and gazed at the dull brown feather with wonder.
A/N: Footnotes:
Adonis: a handsome youth loved by Aphrodite