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𝘼𝙡𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙖 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙝 𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧, 𝘼𝙣𝙣𝙖𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙝 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙢𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙛 the woods, alone. No Percy, or Grover, or Tyson. She ran right to the big house, into the rec room, where she and Chiron talked. They emerged, faces ashen with worry, about a hour later.
Then a day passed, then a week, then two, and Percy or the rest of their group never showed up.
Burning a funeral shroud wasn't at all like burning the shrouds they make while you're away on a quest. It was the first funeral in years, and Andy didn't want to think about how many more they'd be having in the years to come.
But then Jackson crashed his own funeral. It honestly should have come as more as a surprise than it did.
Clarisse had just huffed and mumbled, "of course he's back."
Clarisse and Andy spent lots of time in the sword-fighting arena and with the Telkhines at the Big House. Nick and Hank were working on a secret project, with occasional assistance from Brad and Chad, but Andy didn't pressure them into telling her. They were teenagers, and they deserved privacy.
Unfortunately a lot of demigods didn't agree. Andy had had to physically fight someone in order to protect Brad, not to mention the countless jeers and taunts from campers as the Telkhines walked past.
The Hephaestus cabin took care of them whenever Clarisse and Andy weren't around, thankfully. Once a couple of Apollo campers warmed up to them, they discovered Hank' natural talent with medicine, too.
Andy had an idea—a faint inkling at the back of her mind that she knew Clarisse wouldn't like. It was dangerous, too, but wouldn't do much good until later. She shoved it out of her mind until night fell and she was alone, where she did some of her best planning.
She felt useless at camp, a feeling that hadn't really occurred before. There was always something do to, of course, so she was never bored. She just felt like she could be doing more to stop the war from even happening. Alas, it was destined to happen, so she'd probably fail.
She imagined what it would be like, returning home after convincing Kronos to give up the war. She'd be seen as a hero, and she'd have single-handedly prevented the deaths of so many campers and other allies.
She rolled her eyes.
You've never done anything for anyone else, she reminded herself. It's always been just for you and Clarisse.
She'd do anything for Clarisse.
Besides, the center of attention wasn't where she was most comfortable. She was versatile, of course, but usually preferred to work behind the scenes.
