Divine Retribution | Luke Castellan

4. You, Sir, Do Not Bring Me Joy

When he turned around, it was clear that their conversation was over, leaving Rin with another plethora of questions. She had never been one for obedience, and so she headed off in the direction of the camp borders where Luke had wandered off. This was her chance. He had a quest and she wanted in. 

As a year-rounder, it would be the first time she stepped out of grounds, and although Camp Half-Blood had become her home in ways a place becomes a home when you have nowhere else to go, she longed to be in the mortal world once more, even if it was briefly. 

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As Rin continued on her way through the camp, she passed by the mess pavilion, where the warm glow of firelight spilled from within, casting dancing shadows across the clearing. The scent of smoke wafted through the air, mingling with the gentle rustle of leaves in the evening breeze.

It was there, that Rin spotted one of her friends—a girl from the Hephaestus cabin—perched at the base of a marble pillar. Her copper skin glistened with smudges of grease, she wore strange goggles atop her nose, her focused gaze fixed on the intricate device cradled in her hands.

As Rin approached, her friend started at the sound of her footsteps, dropping the contraption into her lap with a clatter. An annoyed expression crossed her features until she recognized the intruder, at which point her demeanour softened, and she let out a hearty laugh.

"Gods, Rin, you always do this," she exclaimed, shaking her head in amusement. "It's like you melted out of the shadows, and there aren't even any here."

"Hello to you too, Sam."

"No, seriously, how do you do it? It is weird!"

Rin simply shrugged in response, a faint smile playing at the corners of her lips, "I just have quiet footsteps, I guess."

Her friend chuckled, a loud hearty sound. "Well, I suppose that's one of your many talents," she remarked, pushing her goggles up onto her forehead to get a better look at Rin. "So, what brings you here past curfew, isn't your cabin counsellor going to miss you?"

Her voice was teasing and Rin rolled her eyes, knowing very well that the Hermes counsellor was most likely sitting out by the pine tree at the camp's border, with no care for who made it back to the cabin in time for curfew. 

"Funny, I was going to ask you the same thing."

"Certain perks of being me, I guess," the Hephaestus girl, Samarah, winked.

"Right because you definitely weren't planning to sneak into our cabin for a clandestine meeting with Cybil?"

For a moment, Samarah looked abashed, a hint of guilt flickering across her features. However, she quickly composed herself, shaking her head with mock innocence. 

"Oh, please," she scoffed, feigning indignation. "The Hermes cabin is far too crowded to sneak into unnoticed. One misstep, and I'd have over two dozen sleep-deprived campers glaring at me. Trust me, I don't need the headache of dealing with their pranks for the next few weeks."

"Oh, so you have Cybil meet you instead, huh?" 

Samarah's cheeks flushed a bright shade of red, and she rolled her eyes, swatting Rin's arm.

"Shut up!"

 "Not a chance."

"Oh yeah, let's talk about you then."