𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒚 𝑰𝒏 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑫𝒂𝒓𝒌 ꨄ

t h i r t e e n

Two days later, when Percy, Annabeth and Grover left for their quest to find whatever had been stolen, Luna didn't know if to feel bad or relieved. On one hand, she had been right. Zeus was no longer interested in her and Nyx, which meant she didn't have to worry about idiotic quests and the burden of being framed for theft. No one payed attention to her anymore, much more focused on the son of Poseidon who supposedly had dared to steal Zeus's most prized weapon.

Luna rolled her eyes whenever she heard any of the campers whispering about it:

"can you believe it?"

"-yeah they say he took it-"

"-Poseidon ordered him-"

"-child of the prophecy, that's what I heard-"

What a bunch of gossips, she thought. In truth, she felt tremendously sorry for Percy - if it wouldn't have been him, it would have been her. No one else around here seemed to really have it going for empathy, as she very well knew already. At least he had Annabeth Chase with him, which Luna knew was somebody you'd want along if you were going on the quest they were. And there was that satyr, too - Grover Underwood. If it had been her, she'd have chosen another demigod, but she supposed a satyrs nature powers could come in handy if they needed them.

Before they left, Percy came up to her, looking grim. Luna hadn't expected anything less.

"You were right," He said. He had a bag slung over his shoulders, and was carrying a bizarre pair of shoes- they had sprouting wings, for some reason.

"Kinda wish I wasn't though," She muttered. The whole camp had gathered to see them off, right at the half blood hill, and Angus - who was driving them- had given them time to say their goodbyes.

"Yeah well," Percy uncapped a pen, and a full length sword sprung out. "At least I've got this,"

Luna laughed in amazement, staring. "And I thought my sword was cool,"

He chuckled, but it was strained. "I also wanted to say thanks - again."

She blinked. "For what?"

"You saved my life," He said, like it was obvious.

Her eyes widened, clueless as to what he was talking about. "I did? When?"

Percy stared at her, amused. "When the hound came? Don't you remember? You were the one that killed it before it could make me its meal."

"Oh. Oh. Right! Oh gods I completely forgot about that-"

He was laughing now. "Its cool,"

But she felt kind of bad either way. It was just that because of her fight with Clarisse, she hadn't focused on much else of what had happened that night - how Percy had gotten claimed, almost maimed by her cabin mates and killed all within the hour. 

They said their goodbyes, and she watched as the van drove away from the hill, standing with the rest of the campers who had gathered there. She didn't want to think morbidly, but still, she wondered if she'd ever see them again.

With that lovely thought in mind, she headed for the arena, wanting to blow off some steam. There were only a few campers there - three boys and two girls with whom she'd never spoken before. Until one of the girls turned around and her mouth dried up. Luna hadn't seen her in a while. If she was frank, she'd kind of forgotten she existed.

Cora Arunn however, clearly hadn't forgotten about Luna. She was standing near the weapons rack, chatting with one of the other boys - hair thrown back in a pony tail, clad in shorts and a training bra - the picture of ease. When she turned and saw Luna, she did a double take. Then her face split into a happy, surprised smile.