Hey again! I'm so, so sorry, that it took so long of me to update! I had some schoolwork to do, but now I'm back with another chapter. First of all I want to thank all of my reviewers! You've given me joy to write. Also a special thanks to Annabeth Supporter, who has given me some critique and so helped me develop my writing. But without further ado, here's the third chappie! Enjoy!

Thalia's POV

We were starting to get a bit worried, when it took so long for Percy to get out of the bathroom. The bus was about to leave in five minutes and there wasn't a sign of him. We were gathering up our stuff so we'd be ready to go when Percy would come and then he showed up, not a minute too early. Boys, you always had to wait for them. One good thing about running with the hunters – you never had to wait for boys. He walked to us, eyed us all and said in an urgent tone:

"I need to talk to you."

We climbed into the bus and went straight for the back seats. There we could talk in peace.

"So... What's going on?" Nico asked Percy the moment we'd sat down.

"Well, just when I was done with my business..." he started.

"Do you seriously think we want to hear about you using the toilet, Seaweed Brain? On with the important stuff!" Annabeth interrupted him.

"I was just coming to that, so shut up and listen!" he snapped and continued.

"So yeah... I was washing my hands and got an Iris message from Chiron."

"Why did he I-message you?" asked Annabeth. "He said he'd be in touch with me! This is my quest after all! I got the prophecy!" She sounded really irritated. But Percy was annoyed too, now that Annabeth had interrupted him again.

"Do you want to hear what Chiron had to say or not, Wise Girl?" he asked, his voice full of ice.

For a second it looked like Annabeth would start a fight, but instead she shut her mouth. Percy continued:

"He told me that he'd been in touch with Zeus, who had said there was something going on on Olympus, but he wouldn't say exactly what."

We were shocked. If there was something big going on, we'd better be ready. Oh, shit! My camping plans were about to be ruined by yet another problem of the gods.

None of us made a sound, until the silence grew so heavy, that Grover started to nibble on his shirt. I eyed the others. Annabeth was playing with her necklace, Nico was staring at his hands. Percy stared at us.

"Come on!" he said.

"We have to think about something! There's something going on and we've got a proph..."

"I've got a prophecy, Seaweed Brain", Annabeth snapped. "And I'm trying to make a plan here, so stop whining." She started to draw random patterns on the back of the seat in front of her.

I hoped that she and Percy would stop fighting. I really didn't want our camping out to be ruined by their arguing too. The quest was inevitable, so that would definitely do something to our trip, but with them arguing I probably would go completely bananas.

Annabeth didn't talk much during our ride to Shawnee. She was apparently trying to make a plan. I wasn't sure how she could plan anything, when we didn't even know what we were up against, but that didn't seem to keep her from planning. The boys and I were talking, playing poker and sometimes we tried to entertain ourselves with a staring contest. I always won, thanks to my electric blue eyes. I knew I could look very scary. Although we tried to act normal, the atmosphere was uneasy, our minds packed with thoughts. What was the strange place Annabeth had seen in her dream? Who was going to die? What in the name of Hades was going on at Olympus? Why wouldn't my father tell more about it? We had to find out.

We got out of the bus at the edge of the Shawnee National Forest. Everyone had calmed down a bit on the ride, although Annabeth was still in her thoughts. I'd have to talk with her later. Then again, it would be a suicide mission; Annabeth would kill me if I interrupted her planning.

"So..." Grover turned to face me. "Where to, Thalia? Lead the way."

I put my backpack on. The others followed my advice.

"Alright, heroes and a satyr! Follow me!" I announced. Grover frowned at me, but I just smiled.

Annabeth's POV

I was unspeakably mad. It was my quest! I had finally got a quest of my own and PERCY got all the first hand information! Arrgh! I was so, so mad at him for that. And at Chiron too! Why in Hades he'd told Percy but not me? He said he'd get in touch with me. Well, there was nothing I could do about it now. All I could do was make a plan. What were we going to do? I started to doodle patterns on the back of the seat in front of me. Was it really necessary of the others to make so much noise? I was even more irritated.

I was relieved when the bus stopped and we jumped out of it to face the gate, which led into the forest. We threw our backpacks on our shoulders and Thalia started to lead us down the path. The forest was amazing! No wonder she'd liked the place. It almost made me forget that I was angry with Percy and Chiron. I caught up with Thalia, who was on the lead.

"Hey, Annabeth. Are you ready to talk like normal people, huh?" she teased.

"Yeah well now that I have a decent plan..." I answered her. She nudged me on my shoulder playfully.

"Okay, Wise Girl. But strategies aside now. It's camping time!" She started to hum a tune, which I recognized as a song by her favorite band, Green Day.

I looked at my friend. I hadn't realized before how much she'd changed after she'd joined the hunters. When I'd met her (and Luke, but I really tried not to remember him being there. It still hurt) she had been so... well... rebellious. Her appearance had matched her personality so well with all those badges on her jacket and everything. Now she seemed much more calm. She was in peace with herself and the world around her. Yet she was just the same as she was back then. Funny.

I was woken from my thoughts by a sudden cry. It sounded like a crow or something, but much, much bigger. And the source of it wasn't far. The five of us gathered together, all with a dumbfounded expression on their face.

"Whoa! What the Hades was that?" Percy wondered. "If you don't mind my choice of words, Nico."

"Not at all", Nico said.

Grover was trembling like mad. His eyes had turned to slits like a goat's. He was eyeing his reed pipes as though he might soon start eating them.

"Do you smell anything, Grover? Monsters?" Percy asked. Grover sniffed the air.

"No... I don't smell anything weird", he said shaking his head.

"I don't think we should stay here", I said. It was no use just standing there. We had to get moving.

"Yeah, I guess you're right, Annabeth", Thalia agreed, but as a precaution, she opened her shield, Aegis. Percy copied her and we started creeping forward.

It was quiet. The only thing I could hear was the rasping sound coming from our feet and the sound of Grover's clattering teeth. We couldn't risk talking. Although Grover didn't smell anything unusual, there was something in these woods that made a heck of a noise and that couldn't be good.

Suddenly Thalia stopped. She waved us to go down and closer to her. We crawled to her. She put a finger on her lips and pointed at something behind the shrubbery, of which we were under. I tried to see what she was pointing at, but couldn't see anything. Behind the bushes was a small clearing lined with great oak trees. Nothing freaky. Thalia was glancing around. Maybe she'd lost the thing she thought she'd seen.

Then we heard the screeching noise again. We scanned the area. The source of the noise was close.

Behind us.

We turned around and faced the monster. The first thing we saw was its gigantic beak. It shined in different shades of copper and the last thing I wanted was to feel how sharp it was. The monster's head was covered with golden feathers. I would've considered its head beautiful if it weren't for the fact that it was facing us and it was probably hungry. Then I noticed that something about the creature wasn't quite right. When its head was one of an eagle (AND it had enormous wings with shiny gold feathers), it had the body of a lion – a griffin.

"Holy mother of Chaos!" Grover yelled and we all ran for it.

The griffin charged at Percy, its wings flapping wildly as it let out another cry of pure rage. Percy had uncapped Riptide and struck at the monster's paw. The sword cut a bleeding wound on it, but that just made the griffin angrier. The monster charged again, now Grover as its goal. Grover let out a frightened bla-ha-haa and ran out of its way. Too bad, that a tree had grown just on Grover's way. We heard a sickening 'CRACK' and Grover was lying on the ground, blood dripping out of his nose. The griffin was striding toward him, a feral snarl erupting from its throat. We had to act. I had to act. I put on my invisibility cap and took my bronze knife, which I always carry with me, wherever I go (thank gods for that). I ran towards the monster and threw my knife at it. It hit just where I'd wanted it to; it sunk deep into the griffin's hip.

The monster let out another cry and turned to see who'd hurt it. Thalia used the opportunity and with one well-planned shot the griffin dissolved in golden smoke.

Nico was the first to reach Grover. Thalia, Percy and me ran after him. Grover was still lying on the ground, unconscious.

"It's okay", Nico told us as we all gathered around him. "His life aura is strong."

As soon as he'd said that, we heard Grover's muffled voice:

"Ouch. My nose hurts."

We laughed at him and picked him up. He had needles, leaves and dirt all over his clothes and blood was dripping from his nose, but apart from that he was okay.

"What in the name of Hades was that thing?" Percy asked. I rolled my eyes.

"Wasn't it quite obvious?" I asked him. I still hadn't gotten over the fact, that Chiron had told him and not me.

"Well I'm sorry, Wise Girl, for the fact that I'm not as smart as some daughters of Athena around here", Percy snapped back at me.

"Could you please stop fighting?" Grover asked and for his sake I dropped it. Instead I said:

"It was a griffin."

"A griffin? Wow! They have 3000 attack power and 2500 defense!" Nico mused. He still hadn't gotten over Mythomagic.

"Yeah, whatever", said Thalia. "But aren't they supposed to guard treasures and stuff?"

She was right. Griffins were normally known as guardians of treasure and the divine. What could one have been doing here? In the Shawnee National Forest!

"I don't like the feeling of this", said Grover. The wimp!

"Hey, come on!" Percy said. "We've done with him for good."

Thalia seemed thoughtful. I was pretty sure she was thinking exactly the same thing as I; why was a griffin here? What was he guarding? Then all of a sudden Thalia's expression brightened.

"Guess what, people?" she said.

"What, person?" Nico sneered. Thalia poked him in the ribs.

"We've arrived in our destination!" she then announced. We all cheered.

Making the camp didn't take long – Thalia had made a camp so many times while running with the hunters. She'd got a tent as a gift from lady Artemis.

"The fabric is magical. Nothing can get through it, except celestial bronze. It will protect us from monsters", Thalia explained. Apart from super durable, the fabric was also beautiful. It was deep blue silk (though reinforced with magic) with a hunting bow embroidered on it.

"Errm..." Nico said, when we'd put the tent up. "Are we all going to sleep in one tent? I mean, boys and girls in the same?" he asked, his voice unsure.

"Aww, is little Nico afraid of girl germs?" Thalia teased. Grover, Percy and I laughed at him.

"No! I'm not... STOP LAUGHING AT ME!" he tried his hardest to get us quiet. No way, Jose!

The first evening at our own little camp was jubilant. We set a fire and grilled some corn. Percy and Thalia dropped theirs in the flames and we watched them as they carbonized there. The rest of us followed their advice and gave our daily offering to the gods. Grover played his pipes and we sang campfire songs and grilled marshmallows... and watched them fall in the flames and carbonize there. Grover tried to grill one of his cans, but according to him, it didn't taste as good grilled as it did raw (can you really use the word 'raw' of a tin can?).

We stayed up late, at least it felt late to me. It was summer, so it was still bright when we started to get a bit drowsy. We had arranged our sleeping bags in the tent so, that Percy and Nico were on the sides and Thalia, Grover and me were in the middle. Thalia had, on purpose, of course, left the place next to Percy for me. She'd obviously forgotten I was mad at him at the moment. We snuggled into our sleeping bags and soon all I heard was the snoring sound of my friends.

I couldn't sleep. My mind was still filled of thoughts of our quest. I felt like there was a very important piece missing and I couldn't find it anywhere. Whenever I was even close, it slipped away. It was maddening. I needed some fresh air. I scrambled out of my sleeping bag and out of the tent. It was chilly outside. The tent was not only protective, but it also kept us warm. While searching for some wood for the fire, I'd found out that very close to our little clearing was this cliff with an amazing view from it. I thought, that it would be a great place to think. Grand landscapes inspired me. I walked through the bushes and undergrowth until I reached the edge of the cliff. I saw a medium sized rock and sat there. It was quiet and beautiful. The forest was peaceful. I could hear a river somewhere near. I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with fresh air and cleansing my brain. Suddenly I heard a crack coming from behind me. I jumped up, turned around, took my knife out of my sleeve and pointed it at the intruder. It was Percy.

"Whoah! Calm down, you lunatic!" he cried out. I lowered my knife and put it back in my sleeve.

"Well sorry. I couldn't have known who you were", I said, my voice as cold as ice. Again, he had interrupted my thinking. Percy looked resigned.

"Please don't be mad at me, Annabeth", he pleaded. "I've come to apologize. I know Chiron should've told you about the little details and I don't know why he didn't. But please don't take it out on me. We're friends, right?"

Wow, Percy just apologized. Fresh forest air had done him good. I stood there, saying nothing.

"Right?" he repeated and made a puppy face. Aww, he was so cute! I'd been so mad at him I hadn't even remembered how cute he could be.

"Apology accepted", I said. His face brightened.

"So... You couldn't sleep?" he asked.

"Yeah. I needed to think", I told him.

"Oh, did I interrupt your thoughts?" he sounded apologetic. "'Cause if I did, I suppose I should let you continue..."

"No, no, no, it's okay. You can stay", I said. I didn't want him to leave. I guess, that deep inside I had missed him while not talking to him. He sat on the rock next to me.

"Wow, this is really something", he said, marveling the view, that spread in front of us.

"I know, right", I smiled at him. I was glad I could share the beautiful landscape with him. He smiled back.

"Annabeth..." he said.

"Yeah?"

A moment of silence. Then his smile grew even wider and he said:

"It's good to have you back." Then he pulled me into a hug. He was warm. I hadn't even realized how cold I was until he'd pressed against me, the heat of his body radiating on me. After a few seconds he pulled away and I felt a bit chilly again. I shivered.

"Aww, are you cold, Wise Girl?" he grinned at me, my nickname rolling from his lips softly, just the way I liked it.

"Yeah", I admitted.

"We should get back to the tent. If the others have woken up, they must be worried", he said and raised his arm.

"Come here", he said.

I gladly let him wrap his arm around me.

"Cold anymore?" he asked.

"Nope", I said. He grinned.

"Haha, that's because of me. I'm sooo hot!" he laughed. I elbowed him in the ribs.

"Yeah, right, Seaweed brain, the godling of modesty! I said, rolling my eyes at him. He laughed and held his arm tighter around me. We walked to the tent. I zipped the door open, peeped inside and almost had a heart attack.

"Where, I want to know exactly, where have you been!" Thalia was sitting in her sleeping bag, her eyes gleaming electrically in the dark. She was furious. "And just like your disappearance weren't bad enough, Percy is also... Oh!" Percy had pushed his head inside the tent too. Thalia's expression changed from anger into curiosity.

"My, my. I see some people have been having a midnight walk", Thalia chuckled.

"Yeah", grinned Percy. "And oh, the time we had! You missed one hell of a walk, Pinecone Face", he teased. Thalia jumped at him, saying something about calling names and Seaweed Brain and they started wrestling playfully among the sleeping bags and the sleeping Nico and Grover. They woke up with a start, when Thalia threw Percy on top of them.

"Aargh! Get your ass off my face!" Nico yelled. Grover had been so frightened of Percy, that he had jumped on his feet, hit his head on the ceiling and fallen on his backside. I watched the comedy laughing my ass off. Percy saw me laughing in the corner and stopped wrestling with Thalia.

"Hey, I sense there is someone, who hasn't joined the fight yet!" he exclaimed, grabbed me by my waist and threw me on the tent floor.

"Hands off me, Seaweed Brain!" I giggled, while swinging my hands in the air, trying to get a hold of Percy. He didn't obey me, but instead he waved Thalia, Nico and Grover around us and started tickling me. The others helped him. I was rolling on the messed up sleeping bags laughing, water flowing from my eyes. I was kicking and hitting my friends, trying to escape their tickling fingers. Eventually I was laughing so hard, that I couldn't breathe. That was the point when Percy ordered the others to stop. I lay on the floor, catching my breath. The others were giving each other high-fives. They turned at me. I sat up.

"So, are we even now?" I asked.

"Errm..." Percy thought theatrically. "Yeah, I guess we're even", he decided and shook hands with me. Thalia was sitting behind Percy and she winked at me. I grinned.

"What time is it, Percy?" Grover asked. Percy looked at his watch.

"It's two am", he said.

Knowing the time made us feel tired. We'd been up almost twenty hours straight. We decided it was time to hit the sac. We snuggled back in our sleeping bags, said each other good night and I closed my eyes. Before I fell asleep I could've sworn I felt a warm hand brushing the hair off my face.