Will Emerson/Jon Clark:

Justice is brought through anger. It's not the way the way it should be, but more often than not the consequences for ones actions are determined by the victim or the one with the most to gain. Not even a third party in a struggle is always perfect. People are always biased. That is why true justice can be guaranteed by assigning value to everything. But then how do you determine the value of time, or life, or the life of a baby versus the life of a murderer?

Will sighed in defeat at the infinite intricacies of ideal justice. When his father was alive they would discuss such matters at length always arriving at the same question they had initially asked. No matter how heinous the crime the situation always matters because you have to understand how a man justifies his actions in his own mind. But we can never really know how another man thinks. No one except father, it seemed.

Of course I don't really believe he could really peer in to the minds of the ones he was assigned to judge, but he always seemed to be able to take in every perspective and judge them against each other to find a fair judgment. But now he was gone and Will was left to ponder what justification fate found in his demise.

So here Will lay. Alone, at the top of this grassy hill with the sun beating down on his lidded eyes and the ancient leather book laying at his side while he fled the mortal world to the path to truth and justice that his father had set him on.

"Hey princess!" Maybe not as alone as he thought.

He lazily opened his eyes and sat up as a courtesy to whoever had so rudely disturbed him. He was unsurprised to find Jake and some of his Athenian brothers coming, no doubt to torment him to requite my patrons treatment of their cabin leader. Such are the constant woes brought to camp by Hera, my patron.

"Oh, sorry did I wake you?" he asked sarcastically.

There was no point in playing games with him. As cruel as he could be Jake was no idiot. He, like many of the Athena cabin, had a keen eye for weakness in his enemies and I was a regular target. No it was easiest to simply be honest and endure the tormenting.

"No," I said, "I was just pondering."

"Is that what you call it?" he said. "You realize that intelligent men usually ponder when they're conscious?"

A subtle insult with low impact. Nothing to be afraid of. No reason to run.

"Conscious or not the journey to truth is the same," I said.

"But how can you say that when some of us are actually pursuing truth while you bury yourself in books waiting for the truth to come to you?" he asked referring to my refusal to participate in violent activities.

"But surely you, of all people don't underestimate the minds ability to seek the truth independent from the world?" I say.

"But the mind only creates its own world thus keeping the truth of reality just out of reach," he said. "When you experience life you see the truth. But I forgot you've seen the truth and rejected it like a true fool raised on a fool's faith in justice."

And that was it. He insults my father and casts aside everything my father believed in. And I want to be angry I can't. Because I rejected violence I can only fall to fear and sadness.

"Hey," a new voice says, "what's going on here."

I turned to find the son of Hermes known as Jon Clark. Jon is pretty well known around camp for his pranking and mischievousness, but he's also known as one of the nicest kids you'll ever meet. It was just like him to stick up for someone, but at this point I don't think he can do much for me.

"Hey Jon," Jake said. "We were all just having a little discussion."

"Really?" said Jon walking straight up to Jake. "Well it doesn't look like Will is enjoying this 'discussion' too much."

"Well in every debate someone has to lose. Someone has to be wrong," said Jake shifting his gaze to me.

Jake was unaffected by the statement. "Well when majority rules you could hardly call this a fair fight."

"If you want a fair fight all you have to do is ask," Jake said.

"Go ahead. Make a move," was Jon's reply.

Then without warning Jake threw a punch at Jon's head. Jon narrowly avoided the assault put was thrown off balance leaving himself open. Jake was going in to finish the attack when he suddenly stopped with a knife pointed at his chest. Jake wore the most stunned expression as he stared at the knife that had, a minute before, been hanging from his belt, now pointed at his chest.

Jake glared at Jon and growled "Let's go," to his friends.

Jake then walked over to me grinning and twirling the knife between his fingers. I grinned at this boy's childish antics letting the tension from recent events fall from my shoulders.

"How did you do that?" I laughed.

Jon laughed and said "Athena kids think there so smart but they could learn a thing or two about a little sleight of hand."

I laughed some more. "Well thank you for helping me out," I said.

"Yeah, no problem," he said. "Hey, you want to get some real payback?"

"Uh… What exactly do you mean?" I asked.

"Just a harmless little prank," he said. "Come on. You don't really want to sit here reading for the rest of the day do you?"

I laughed again. "What's the plan?" I asked thinking to myself, as Jon's grin spread farther across his face, this friendship might just get me in to more trouble… but it'll be worth it.