December 2006

As expected, things did not go well.

Camille was somehow in a tree chasing Mason who was father up said tree. George was cackling like the maniac he was. Daniel and Alexandra had dissolved into a fistfight over the name of their snowman. Will had disappeared probably to wherever Charlotte went. A pounding headache attacked Kiara. Kiara gave up on calling the two chaos bringers down from the tree. She was not going to get anywhere with asking—begging—so they left her with only one option. Kiara set Harley down and let out an ear-piercing whistle. Everything and everyone stilled. The forest quietened.

"You all have three seconds to be right here."

Seeing their reluctance Kiara started counting. "One…"

The trees shook. Camille and Mason rapidly made their way down. Their feet touched the ground before she even finished. Daniel peeled himself away from Alexandra who clambered upright.

"Two…"

The kids scrambled closer almost tumbling over each other in their haste.

"Three."

All six kids were in front of her, even Will and Charlotte. They were all in various states of disorder. Will had leaves in his hair, Alexandra had a bruise forming on her arm, Daniel's jacket looked close to torn, Camille had scratches on her hands, Mason's knee was scraped, Charlotte had mud everywhere, and the sweater Kiara had lent George was trailing in the snow. After glancing at them and their injuries, Kiara closed her eyes and prayed to her father for strength. None of their obvious scrapes and bumps were life-threatening so medical care would wait until she dealt with their actions. Kiara pretended to ignore them, petty enough to let them fret, and picked Harley back up. The lovable two-year-old seemed to know what was going on. He glared down at the others, hands still clenched on her necklace.

"You are all in trouble." Kiara held her hand up to halt their excuses. "I don't care who did what or why. All of you—yes, George I meant all—are in trouble. No marshmallows and no free time for three days."

Kiara ignored their protests and ordered them to grab their stuff. She waited until all their belongings were back with their rightful owners.

"I'm going to take you each back to your cabins after you're checked out. We have to get ready for the solstice so no sneaking out."

Kiara walked over to her cabin with the sullen group trailing behind her.

– o – ️ – o –

"Who left them alone?" Kiara demanded entering the cabin with her dejected ducklings.

The cabin was mostly empty, only five beds were being used. Based on the mess around their beds, Kiara could see where her brothers and sister were staying. The rest of the room was decently clean for a place that housed twelve campers. It had to be as their health center. The infirmary was for severe injuries or long illnesses while their cabin hosted the random scratch and bruise victims. The medical part of the room held two beds and a curtain that could be closed around it for privacy. Random instruments were sitting in a corner. Although not all the cabin members could play, Kiara was one of them. The room was warm both in temperature and in color. Someone long ago had decided that all Apollo kids loved the color yellow. On its own Kiara thought it was fine but when everywhere you looked was a different shade of yellow it grew exhausting. Slowly over the years, she sneaked in blues and greens trying to mellow the room.

Three boys stopped in their tracks at her furious glare. She dropped the kids off on the bed by the door and strode over to the medicine cabinet.

Lee let out a strangled laugh, "So that's what the whistle was about."

A muffled thump and yelp told Kiara that a pillow found its home in his face.

"What our dear, idiotic, crazy, possibly insane brother is trying to say is that…" Michael trailed off trying to come up with a way to appease Kiara.

The kids snickered before a sharp look from Kiara stopped them. Lee's hair was messed up by Michael's throw and Lee looked close to attacking him.

"Sorry Kiki. I thought the Hermes cabin was watching them." Bryan rubbed the back of his neck.

Kiara shook her head before turning back to the medicine cabinet.

"Well, that doesn't matter that much right now. Danny and Lexi got into a fight, George is miraculously fine and I'm pretty sure the rest of them were in trees," Kiara called over her shoulder.

They all knew their roles when treating anyone injured. Kiara returned with band-aids and ice packs. Lee rushed to the back to grab more wraps and towels. Michael pulled Alexandra and Mason onto a bed and looked over them as the most injured. Bryan plopped Harley onto his bed and took Kiara's necklace exchanging it for a broken stethoscope they kept for him. Kiara dealt with Daniel and Camille's scrapes after sending Charlotte to the showers to get off the copious mud on her. Lee who was the worst at healing magic focused on cleaning the wounds before letting Michael or Kiara finish with the kids. The children were silent, listening to the older campers as they healed their wounds.

Eventually, all injuries were dealt with and Kiara pulled them together to bring them to their cabins. She left Will and Charlotte to the mercy of Lee's preparing.

– o – ️ – o –

Slamming open the door of the Hermes cabin jolted everyone from what they were doing. Everyone froze—except Rosamie who fell from her bunk. The cabin was as chaotic as normal, with beds messy and belongings thrown haphazardly around. Travis was standing guiltily by the door as if about to leave.

"I was just told that you were supposed to be watching them," Kiara hissed poking a finger at his face. She loved the babies of camp but having them thrust onto her before even putting down her bag was too much.

Travis, who did not need an explanation of 'them', stepped back at her fury.

"I found the kids outside. Alone. Do you know what happened? I'm sure you already do. Care to tell me why none of you were there?"

The Hermes campers looked anywhere but her hard glare. "Kiara, we-I-um." Travis looked to the others for help. "We just let them out for a second. We were getting ready and there was a lot going on and the kids were bored but they said they'd be good and stay near the cabin. I needed to make sure things were good to go and then Rosamie couldn't find her stuff and we were looking for it and it was taking a long time and then I forgot to check on them. I was going right now."

"Travis! They got hurt. Daniel got hurt. What if they got into the forest? What then?"

The Hermes Cabin's light-hearted atmosphere dropped at her volume. Travis paled and looked at Daniel. He noticed the telltale signs of healing glittering on Daniel's skin. For the first time since Kiara had stepped into the cabin his cheery demeanor cracked. His smile slipped off his face worry filling in its space and he reached out to Daniel before drawing back. He seemed to notice the silence in the room and straightened up like he was sliding a mask into place. His demeanor was different though, posture a little too straight and his smile not quite right. Kiara could see the tension running through his body just barely holding him together.

He was too young to have the burden of cabin leader thrust upon him. He did not have the advantage of Annabeth or Clarisse who had grown up and into the role, one day he was goofing off with his brother and the next he was in charge. The shoes Luke had left to fill were too great. All cabins were a mess but with the overcrowded campers, the responsibilities were insurmountable. They had never known the time Luke had dedicated to his cabin mates until he was gone. It had hit them all the most and it was not just him. Unclaimed and Hermes kids alike started disappearing, one after another. Friends that had become like family slipping away without a word. The remainders had to pick themselves up and carry on. There was no time.

Kiara's anger deflated at his defeated gaze. She could not berate him for a mistake he would never redo when he was trying his hardest every waking moment. Kiara pried Daniel away from the group and gently pushed him towards Travis. He knelt, running his hands over Daniel's arms as if making sure he was alright. Daniel's shoulders slumped under his desperate actions, his face riddled with guilt. At that, Kiara's stony expression faded. She knelt by him balancing Harley on her hip and gave him a one-armed hug.

"I'm not mad at you. I was just worried," Kiara whispered to him.

His frown smoothed out a bit and he gave her a small nod. He trudged over to where Alice and Connor had been playing cards. His siblings welcomed him and Connor cuddled him close, no doubt having heard Kiara and Travis' conversation. Kiara got up from the floor allowing Travis to pull her up. She gave him an apologetic look for earlier and hugged him. He eventually relaxed and squeezed her back.

"You aren't alone, Trav. You've got us. Just ask."

– o – ️ – o –

Returning the rest of the children took much less time than with Daniel. A knock on their doors and a brief explanation were all it took for an annoyed Clarisse and Katie to usher their respective siblings in. Kiara heard muffled shouting from the Demeter cabin right after the door shut. She could not tell if it was Katie or the twins. With one look at the others she had with her, they unanimously decided to leave them to deal with whatever was happening. Silena had stared disappointingly at Alexandra until the ten-year-old mumbled out an apology and rushed to get ready. The cabin head gave Kiara an apologetic look before disappearing back into her room. Beckendorf had been almost frantic with worry searching outside for Harley. They found Beckendorf by the forest looking like he was already mourning the young child. When he saw Harley safe in Kiara's arms he stumbled before running over to them. The younger boy had thanked her vehemently before hurrying back inside.

Kiara could not waste any more time, there were two hours till they went to New York for the solstice. She raced back to her cabin waving at the random campers still outside. Those who were still out on the campgrounds were either already prepared or did not care. Going to the solstice celebration was one of the most important times of the year, specifically one of the few times they would see their parents. Kiara both loved and dreaded seeing her father and this time was no different.

This chapter frustrated me. I don't super like it. I hope it makes sense...

Any questions are welcome. If you liked this chapter, please consider giving it a comment. Thanks for reading!

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- Natalie