The silence clung to the surroundings. Kaelisia didn't move. Not yet. It was Zoe that spoke first "Go. Talk to her" Kaelisia simply nodded before turning away. "Someone make sure camp knows we'll examine tomorrow how prepared they are for the upcoming war" she vanished in a purple blur. "You owe us an explanation Miss Nightshade" Thalia exclaimed from her spot.

Kaelisia had known Virelya for long enough. Having grown up in these woods she knew where a 'Virelya thinking spot' was. She had started them calling that after their third mission together. Some inhabitants of a planet had overtaken their planet, enslaving their own people. Initially the duo had come to plant the seed of rebellion and eventually they returned with the army to liberate the planet. Making her way through the woods towards the small pond she sat at and talked to Artemis all those years ago. Upon stepping she saw Virelya sitting by the side of the pond. Kaelisia made her way over and plopped onto the ground next to her.

Virelya remained seated beside her, arms crossed, silver gaze focused on nothing in particular. She looked unbothered. She always did. But Kaelisia had known her long enough to recognize the tension in the stillness, the coil behind her eyes that only years of war and wear could plant. "You said Zoe," Kaelisia murmured after a moment, her voice barely above a breath. "I know," Virelya replied, voice low and cool. "Even I have empathy" A pause. Then softer, almost reluctant: "You should know."

Kaelisia looked over at her. "I do know. But I don't know why you changed your ways and started calling her Zoe now. After what 1550? 1600 years I don't know how long exactly you guys were all there before me" Virelya tilted her head, the corner of her mouth twitching in a ghost of a smirk. "One thousand five hundred and fourteen years" Kaelisia laughed—a short, breathless sound that broke the tension like a crack of lightning through storm clouds. "Of course you kept track" The two sat there for a while, not needing to fill the space with words. They had shared lifetimes of silence together. Quiet didn't scare them. Eventually, Kaelisia rose. She extended a hand without looking. "Come on. I want to show you something." Virelya eyed the hand but took it without hesitation. The pair vanished exactly when Zoe stepped onto the clearing.

They reappeared many miles north. All the way in Maine on a cliff. In the background you could faintly see Westover Hall. Bathing in moonlight they separated. "This is where I first met her," Kaelisia said. She knew she couldn't hide anything from her best friend. Her sister. So while alone with her she reluctantly accepted her own feelings. "This is where I first lost–" her voice failed at the memory. Virelya scanned the area slowly. Then she looked at Kaelisia questioningly "Why did you bring me here?". "I'm not actually sure." "Only you Kae. Only you" For a moment they just stood there enjoying each other's company. "I thought she needed it. After earlier" Virelya broke the silence first. Kaelisia smirked "You know I considered letting her win as well" "What do you mean as well?" "Come on Vee, I know you could've not made a mistake if you wanted to." Virelya didn't answer at first. "I didn't mean to." Kaelisia's head snapped around "You mean?". Her almost sister nodded "She beat me fair and square. That's probably what caused my shift as well–" She paused, inhaling slowly. "You know even before Lady Chaos brought you back they could never compete in anything with me." Kaelisia nodded. The two probably had this discussion for the 100th time by now. "I guess it was a sign of respect" Silence fell upon the two sisters again.

Minutes turned into hours. Virelya suddenly started silently laughing. Upon a questioning glare she explained "I was thinking about your face that time after the Staddaryon thing" "I thought you died Vee," Kaelisia responded sharply. "2 fucking months. No note. No communication. Nothing. I thought I lost you. And then you show up again shrugging it off like you just went for a quick walk" her voice barely more than a whisper towards the end. Her glares at her friend, filled with something that is best not put in words. Virelya gulped slightly "Kae your aura." "You shouldn't have brought IT up then Vee," Kaelisia responded. She didn't care for her Aura. She didn't care that she probably put a beacon on her head. Every slightly mythical being probably was hiding under their bed after experiencing her full Aura while she was enraged.

Her aura—normally a tightly held cloak of muted void and twilight—shivered outward in a raw, uncontrolled pulse of pure emotion. The space around them warped slightly, the moonlight dimming, the stars above flickering uncertainty. The air grew heavier, denser, charged with unseen weight.

Far away, Artemis felt it. Sitting alone in her moon chariot, watching the stars lost in thought, she had snapped her head up the instant Kaelisia's emotions flared like a beacon through the fabric of the world. Fear. That was all she felt. Compared to what she felt, her own Aura. Or even the combined Aura of all Olympians was nothing. Yet this Aura, It felt somehow familiar. The moon goddess curiosity got the better of herself. She located the Aura before it vanished. Putting her moon chariot on auto pilot she vanished in a flash of moonlight.

When Artemis appeared on the cliffs beside, she found two figures standing next to each other. One heavily breathing while the other looked at her worriedly.
Kaelisia noticed her first. She blinked, turning around to the goddess. "My Lady," she said quietly, Virelya mirroring her movements a heartbeat later. Artemis lifted a hand, palm out, as if calming a startled doe. "I don't think the titles are needed," she said softly. Her gaze swept the two of them—assessing, not judging—and she took a careful step forward. "I felt your aura," Artemis said, voice low and concerned. "It rippled across the world like a cry." She paused, eyes narrowing faintly at the cliffs surrounding them. "What happened?" Neither of the girls answered. For the Second time silence settled upon the Cliff.

"I recognise this place" Artemis broke the silence. "This is where–" she didn't continue. She didn't need to. "I'll check on the others" Virelya spoke next. She shot a look at Kaelisia – Don't mess this up Idiot – Kaelisia stared back – DON'T YOU DARE Virelya smirked as she vanished in silver mist. "Sooo" Kaelisia exhaled slowly, a faint, rueful smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.
She turned to find Artemis watching her with a quiet, unreadable expression. The goddess didn't speak immediately. Instead, she let the silence stretch, waiting with an endless patience that was somehow more comforting than words could have been. Kaelisia shifted awkwardly, for once unsure what to do with herself. Her armor, her wit, her usual sharpness—all felt too heavy, too sharp for this moment. Finally, Artemis broke the quiet, her voice gentle. "Why did you bring her here, Omega wasn't it?" Kaelisia hesitated, then gave a small, almost bitter laugh. "There is no reason to call her Omega," she said. "Her name is Virelya." Artemis smiled faintly. She stepped closer, close enough that Kaelisia could see the way the starlight caught in her auburn hair, the way her eyes reflected the endless sky above them. "Why do Zoe and the others call her omega?" Artemis asked simply. "She's been the one leading them before Mom brought me back. She's the one that has had the most contact with Chaos. And Chaos herself trained her, add that with her not talking about herself ever not asking about stuff and you get a cold mysterious figure that only calls any of them by their codenames" Artemis raised an eyebrow after that explanation. "So that's what you meant when you said we witnessed History" Kaelisia nodded silently in response. "You know I thought she let Zoe beat her on purpose? To give her a chance to make up for her slipup. These competitions always end up with Vee and me. Every single time." "How? Didn't all of you train together" Kaelisia simply shook her head. "Mom took Vee every now and then before I arrived and trained with her herself. I've been told each of those training sessions were a day of time in Chaos' palace while it was a decade for her. A decade of sleeping less than an hour a week doing nothing but practice. She didn't have to eat or drink or anything due to some enchantments my mother had placed wherever they trained. And i" Her eyes trailed off into the distance "well i was Chaos' daughter. The others tried to keep up but there is only so much you can do against someone that has thousands of years more practice and someone that can bend space and time. While I rarely do it since it's very straining it gives quite a number of advantages even when not doing it" Artemis just stared at the daughter of Chaos gaping slightly before dryly responding "You know I didn't expect to hear your life story". Kaelisia chuckled slightly "My apologies I didn't mean to. How is the hunt? How many are there nowadays?" Artemis thought briefly naming every hunter there was now "24. 26 counting you and Zoe. Most are still demigods but we have a clear sighted mortal girl as well now. She joined just before the summer solstice. Her parents were murdered by monsters previously and she had no family left." Kaelisia's eyes narrowed at that yet she didn't know why. Deep inside her there was a feeling she should know this girl yet she couldn't place her finger on it. "Kae" Artemis gently touched her shoulder as she spoke using the nickname for the very first time. "Do you trust me?" Chaos' daughter looked confused after that. Her purple eyes bore into Artemis' own silver eyes "Why?" "Because– no before I say it you have to swear to not do something stupid" "Artemis" her voice was nothing but a low growl "I–" the goddess stuttered. Taking a deep breath she started talking slowly. "Before tending the moon chariot tonight I talked to her again. There was nothing much we had gotten out of her before. She was shy and well her parents just died. But tonight I asked her for her story, her life." She took another deep breath before finally snapping blurting it out "Hernameisestellejackson"
A/N:
Maybe i'm just a tiny bit evil for that. But i might be able to put out the next chapter in less than 24 hours.
For some reason writing this Chapter was particularly hard and i'm not really happy with it either
Sooo- Apologies for the bad (and giga short) chapter i guess