I woke up very early the next morning to a strange glowing by my head. I rubbed my eyes vigorously and blinked. Gasping, I quickly waved my hand over the rune that had magically popped upon the floor by my cot. Almost as soon as it had disappeared, I was up and throwing warmer clothes over my pajamas. Practically jumping into my boots, I dashed off into the woods. Realistically, that isn't the smartest thing to do. There are all kind of not-so-nice creatures hanging around the woods, but I was not really thinking straight. I went straight to Zeus's Fist and saw the person who had made the rune appear in the Hermes Cabin. Standing by the rock formation was a tall fourteen year old with brown hair. When he turned, his bright green eyes focused on me and even in the early morning light, I could see the freckles across his face.

"Alabaster!" I squealed, jumping into his arms.

To the boy's credit, he expected it and caught me, spinning me around. I laughed as he hugged me as I hadn't seen him in months. I looked up at him as he put me back on my feet. Alabaster had apparently been sent to me after my mother had claimed me. He would come and see me every so often, but his visits were getting farther and farther apart. He had taught me how to use my magic and had tried to teach me how to fight.

"Hey, little sis, how have you been?" he asked, ruffling my sandy blonde hair.

"Okay, but I've missed you! Are you going to come stay here now?"

Alabaster's face darkened.

"No, I can't. I...have things to do. But, you can come with me if you want to."

Excitement welled up inside me. A life with a brother came to mind. We could be a family, living anywhere at all. We could find other half-siblings and create mistform beings so no one would question us about not having parents. Mistforms looked like normal people, but they were just there for us to make do our bidding. At least, that was how Alabaster explained it to me.

"I can? Where will we live? Can we have a big house? Can it be-"

"Woah, woah. Slow down. We wouldn't be settling down anywhere, yet. There's...well a war brewing and I'm asking if you want to join up."

He noticed how my face fell, because he pulled me into a hug.

"Hey, someday, kiddo."

"Alabaster...I can't fight, though."

He pulled out of the hug and scoffed.

"So? I've never seen any of our siblings be able to cast spells without speaking an incantation. I may be the strongest according to mom, but you are by far the better spell master. You learn quickly, too. You're just getting discouraged about the fighting, if you take your time and-"

He stopped talking, seeing that I wasn't interested in going into a war. He sighed and scratched his ear.

"I knew coming to you was a long shot, but I needed to make sure one last time. I probably won't be able to see you for a really long time. This camp isn't going to be one hundred percent safe in the future. You'll even have to pick a side."

I glared at him.

"How can I pick a side when you won't tell me anything!?"

Alabaster frowned and pointed a finger at me.

"You are only ten years old. You wouldn't understand."

"How do you know?"

"I just do! It isn't my fault you're one of the youngest Hecate kids! Most of our siblings are with me, but you're being a big baby about this whole fighting thing. Just pick up a weapon and learn."

My lip trembled and my eyes filled with water. All I wanted was to live peacefully with people I loved. To be around people I cared about. I wanted to help Alabaster, but I couldn't...not knowing that I could barely fight.

"I'd just die anyway..." I sniffed, a tear rolling down my cheek," I'd just be in your way."

Alabaster sighed and kneeled on the ground in front of me. I began to fully cry as he pulled me into his arms. I could just tell he was thinking quickly to himself as he patted my back.

"This is why I know you won't understand," he said softly," You can't just cry and solve things in the real world. Out there, you cry, you die. Since you're my little sister, I feel bad, but I still have to go."

Leaning back, he wiped my tears away with his gloves before taking them off and putting them on my hands, since I hadn't worn any. He made sure my tears had almost stopped before standing up again.

"I'll give you time to think about it. When you're ready to join us, just send me an Iris message."

He handed me three golden drachmas. Not like he was breaking the bank, but I felt touched by the gesture. I gave him a hug before watching him run off into the woods with a wave. I plodded back to camp, finally feeling the cold weather around me. The idea of being completely alone now didn't help warm me up, either. As I stepped out of the woods, I was surprised to find Nico up. He was walking back to the Hermes Cabin from the dining pavilion. I tried to recall if he had been in bed when I'd left, but I had honestly paid no attention to anyone else as I'd run to meet my brother. Nico spotted me as well, his head tilting in thought. As I was walking much slower than he was, he passed by the cabin to reach me.

"Morning..." I greeted, half-heartedly.

"Hey...what are you doing up this early?" he asked, pulling his jacket tighter around him.

"Uh..."

He waited for a response, but I wasn't sure I wanted to answer. It wasn't like Alabaster had told me I couldn't talk about him to others, just that I should be careful about who. Nico looked back and I could have sworn his eyes stopped on the stables before looking back at me.

"My sister is on the quest, so...I wanted to go, too, but...I, um...thought better of it."

I could tell he was lying, which made me smile. It was strangely comforting that he felt he had a secret to keep as well. Oddly enough, that made me feel like I could trust him.

"I'll tell you my secret if you tell me yours," I said, nudging his arm.

He bit his lip before moving closer to me.

"Okay, but don't tell anyone. Percy Jackson went after the quest group. He promised to make sure my sister stays safe."

I felt my heart jump when he mentioned Percy, before I brought myself back to focusing on Nico. On impulse, I hugged him. He seemed a little stunned at first before he gave me a brief hug back to express that he was grateful. He pulled away shortly after, his face red.

"A-and your secret?"

I looked back at the woods for a moment.

"My older half-brother came to see me. He wanted to see if I would go with him, but...I'd just get in his way. His name is Alabaster. He's my mom's strongest child and he can take care of himself, so he doesn't really need me to follow him around."

Nico gave me a sympathetic look.

"Sucks to be the useless sibling, right?"

We both sighed before turning toward the Hermes cabin and marching back. Though the both of us had sibling burdens on our hearts, the rest of the week seemed to go well enough. Alabaster's words about not trying really got to me, so I did my best to start using my staff. Nico even trained with me. I could already tell that he was going to be a really good swordsman. It was kind of jealous, but Chiron insisted that I was getting better. I'll always be grateful to Alabaster for pushing me to get better at fighting, because my life was about to change, permanently. I would never have known that a week from seeing my brother, I would be choosing my path in life.