"I'm guessing you guys realized you didn't know where you were supposed to go, huh?" Piper and I nodded sheepishly as Will's face turned red and Nico just huffed. "Go to the Clear Creek forest in Pennsylvania. Rachel says you need to look around for an ancient plant known as the Gilgamesh plant. You'll know it when you see it."

"That's a bit specific. Aren't oracles supposed to be cryptic?" I asked. Piper shrugged. "Usually, but odds are it's not what you're really looking for. Nothing involved with Greeks or Romans are ever easy." Piper waved goodbye before she headed back to her cabin.

"I'm going to go say bye to Hazel real quick. You coming, Nico?" Sophie didn't wait for an answer as she grabbed the dark-haired boy's hand and began to pull him toward the Hades cabin. He relented after a moment or two and just walked with her.

"Not very patient, is she?" Will smiled in amusement as I nodded in agreement. "I'd say I was surprised he followed if I didn't know how much he adored her and Hazel."

"Even children of Hades love their siblings," I stated right as my grandmother began to call my name. I looked to see she was by the lake, probably still awaiting my return after being ushered into the Big House. I ran over to her and waited for her to speak again.

"Chiron filled me in. I must warn you, I have a feeling Demeter is behind this. She never quite forgave Hades for taking her daughter, and she's not known for being too friendly towards their children," Grandmother said. I didn't really know what she was talking about at the time, but I figured it had to be important if she felt the need to warn me about it.

"She wouldn't hurt us, though, right? I mean we're not exactly typical demigods," I replied. She turned to see if anyone was listening in on us.

"I'm not entirely sure, child. All I know is that she has eyes and ears everywhere. Be careful. I'll try to help as much as I can. Especially with Sophie," at that last part, Aphrodite lost her serious face and winked at me. I felt my face heat up.

"I don't need help in that department, Grandmother," I directed my eyes away; one major downside of having parents (and grandparents) in the love business was that they were always keeping tabs on my love life and attempting to make it more "interesting".

She simply smiled and patted my head. "Of course you don't dear. Doesn't mean I won't try anyways." And with she, she vanished in a puff of pink smoke along with rose petals floating in the air. Gods sure loved to be dramatic.

"Everything okay?" I turned to see the others, all looking right at me. I smiled and walked over to them.

"Sure am. Now, how are we planning on getting to the forest?"

"Shadow Traveling, of course," Sophie replied. Nico nodded, though Will didn't seem too happy with that response. "You both know how unhealthy that is," Will scolded. Nico rolled his eyes and I got the feeling they'd had this discussion several times before.

"We'll trade off, that way we both get a break, get to rest, and neither one of us gets too tired," Sophie compromised. Will looked to me and all I could do was shrug; it sounded like a fair deal to me. He shook his head but didn't interfere when Nico had us grab each other's hands and I got to experience the wonder *note sarcasm* that is shadow travelling.

AN: A little short, and I apologize. If things go according to plan, this story will only be about eighteen chapters long. Until next time….

Kitkat Out!