Heyyyy! Don't hate me for neglecting my SYOT! I'll get a chapter up tomorrow if I remember! This chapter will mostly be a quick filler before the actual quest starts! I'll have a proper AN beneath! So yay.

Rick is a man. I lack the *ahem* parts to be a man.

Skylar

That night I didn't sleep well. I didn't have any dreams: I COULDN'T have had any dreams! I was up till nearly four just tossing and turning. I knew I wanted to go on this quest but was it a good idea?

I fiddled with my white streak. The piece of scalp above it still felt tender sometimes but the slight twinge of pain helped ground me.

I had woken up about 3 hours after getting to sleep with the worst case of bed head I'd ever seen. There wasn't a strand that wasn't sticking straight up!

Finally I'd managed to get it under some degree of control and I began to leave for the meeting we four had set up to discuss where we would go. I realised with a start this was the last time I'd sleep in my Cabin for the next few weeks.

Fuck.

On an impulse I shoved a few outfits and some feminine products like pads into my rucksack deciding not to come back until the quest was over.

Goodbyes were hard, even to a building.

I walked into the big house and met the other 3 with a small smile. No use starting the quest on a bad note even if I did find most humans annoying.

Two of them gave me small smiles in return but what surprised me was the Aphrodite girl. She gave me a big grin, stretching to her eyes. I blushed and my heart fluttered slightly.

Kerry

Me and Eric were talking quietly when Skylar walked in. She gave us a small smile which seemed to completely change her face for a second. I flashed her a quick one back before continuing my conversation.

"I think we should go to Alaska." Eric said. "It's out of the control of the Gods isn't it. So the tables have turned line would make sense!" I considered this thinking it to be pretty accurate.

"Why Alaska," Skylar mused. "With that logic it could be anywhere in Canada!"

"Fair enough," I put in, "But with THAT logic it could be ANYWHERE! We could go to Russia and it would still mean we were out of the God's protection!" I was only joking around but I could have sworn I saw Skylar's face turn pale and closed off.

"Shall we just go to Alaska then if there's nothing there try Canada?" Clara suggested successfully breaking up the beginnings of an argument. Everyone seemed to agree to that so we arranged to meet in 2 hours to give us time to pack.

We were about to leave when suddenly Eric stopped us. He looked strangely bashful. "Could I bring my dog along?" He said. "He's a husky so he won't mind the cold weather and I don't want to leave him."

Me, Skylar and Clara had a quick conversation- involving a lot of strong words from Skylar. We were split. I was all for it but neither of them seemed particularly enthusiastic so we were two two. We agreed to allow it along but if we had to we'd leave him.

Everyone seemed happy enough with this solution so after that we left.

Eric

Although I was happy I could take Tostey, I wasn't sure if I would be able to leave him if it came down to it. I hadn't left camp for the past four years and he was my only constant.

I went back to my cabin to shove a load of clothes in my bag when I was ambushed by my friend, Bark. Unlike most thought he wasnt actually a kid if Ares but he spent most of his free time with us, considering the Athena cabin to be too snotty for him.

After a quick, kinda meaningless conversation I got into the cabin and shoved a few of my favourite jackets into a bag. After contemplating I decided not to take a camp t shirt, partly out of fear of loosing it.

It sounded stupid but it had sentimental value. Actually that sounds even worse! I'm a kid of Ares and here I am sounding like an Aphrodite sissy.

I shove a few other things in my bag and lift it experimentally, making sure it wasn't too heavy to carry. I then pack another small bag with a few tins of dog food and a spare lead.

Perfect.

I allowed myself a small smile and then left the room.

I almost reminded myself of a kid about to get reaped (What? I read!) but I guess like them I had a chance of dying, just a lot less high.

All too quickly the hours had passed and after a quick goodbye hug from Bark and a punch on the shoulder from my cabin mates I went to get Tostey.

"Come on boy, walkies!" I crooned softly. I guess it was true. Just a really long walkies.

We walked up to meet Skylar and Kerry. I guess Clara wasn't here yet.

I have brilliant observation skills.

A few minutes later we were all here. We had decided to take the bus to New York where we'd take the plane to Alaska.

Skylar was noticeably worried about that, being a big three kid but she'd made an offering to Zeus and Thalia, his daughter had promised to try and influence him not to do anything.

Clara

During the 2 hour ride I sat by Skylar whilst Eric and Kerry sat opposite.

Skylar was noticeably tense so on impulse I grabbed her hand. For a second I thought I'd made the wrong decision as she tensed up even more but she relaxed slightly and looked at me. For the first time I noticed she had blue eyes, a strange colour for a Hades kid.

I guess she got them from her mother.

Once Skylar had calmed down I took my hand away from hers and blushed lightly. I decided to look out the window. The scenery was beautiful and I could have gotten lost in it.

Then I heard a strange snapping and suddenly felt dizzy.

As quickly as it came it was over and I felt completely fine. The others looked at me slightly weirdly but I ignored them in favour of continuing to look out of the window.

Then the journey was over. I absent mindedly wondered how Chiron had gotten plane tickets within two hours but I had decided not to ask.

A little later we were about to board the plane. We'd decided to keep the same pairs as on the coach. I offered Skylar the window seat but she instantly refused. The journey was almost 12 hours with a short stop in the middle so I got ready to sleep for a while.

The last thing I remember before succumbing to my tiredness was the weight of a hand on mine.

Hi! Fans of my Hunger Games story are probably cursing me but whilst I have inspiration for this one I'll dam well use it. I hope you guys liked this chapter. I've began to hint at a few things about the characters backstory and maybe a few other things.

Here's a few facts about each of the characters.

Skylar:

She has ALOT of tattoos.

Her hair is actually shorter than Eric's

Kerry:

She's only 13.

She's SHORT for her age.

Eric:

He was born in California.

He wears contacts.

Clara:

Her eyesight is really good to the point she can see things others might not be able to.

She refuses to wear makeup.