Behind the Shadows

Stitch On a Smirk

Any other kind of excuse would of been nice. However this one hurt. The pain it caused was unforgivable. Grover spoke with a nervous tone and his eyes never left the ground. What he said could of been true or could've been a lie. What he told Sapphire was bizarre and rather hard to take in. Chiron had apparently disappeared. Grover said it was so sudden and that there was nothing left behind to inform anyone of his whereabouts. It was clear that all this was upsetting Grover but it was strange that no one was looking for Chiron. Why had he left? Is he safe? Maybe the gods had summoned him for something. The gods did that sometimes but Chiron always let everyone know. This was different and very strange. For all anyone knew Chiron could of been kidnapped. The campers behavior made sense now. They hadn't noticed Sapphire because of the panicked state that camp was under. Sapphire's sudden return was a speck of dust compared to the bigger issue of Chirons disappearance. No one had even gone to visit Jake in the medical cabin where he lay unconscious. It was like a dark shadow had covered the camp and everyone was left acting like they were being controlled like puppets. For no one to visit Jake or to of looked in to where Chiron is it was all starting to look odd.

Sapphire jogs back out of the woods and heads to her cabin. Her mind swirls with thoughts of everything going on at camp. A desperate hope for Jake to wake up keeps her from tearing the camp over looking for clues. When she gets into her cabin Sapphire pears at the mirror and smiles when she imagines herself as some sort of detective. She laughs when a thought of her being the camps Sherlock crosses her mind. The sun was setting and the cabins light becomes poor. Sapphire squints her eyes while she looks for her sword and her boots. If she couldn't go hunting for clues at the moment then she could tear a practice dummy to shreds. Curfew was in a couple of hours so it gave her a good amount of time to think. The door slams shut behind her as she exits and walks towards the arena. Her boots crunch on the gravel and her sword clacks against her leg where it hangs. Only a few campers are out but its not the normal evening banter. They just sit about huddled together whispering. Sapphire eyes a few sitting on a bench as she passes them. Not a single one looks up. Sapphire huffs and kicks a stone away. If she had another burger handy she would have splatted them. Clarisses expression for dinner time makes her smile.

The arena comes into view and it looks empty. No surprise there since the campers are now a flock of mindless sheep. The moon is her only source of light as Sapphire stumbles along the path leading to the arena. Feeling lonely was a foreign feeling to Sapphire and it was a bitter feeling. All her life she had always been surrounded by friends, and even when she left camp for school she had either Luke or Jake at her side. The pair always seem to go to the same schools as her.

Running away at a young age had taught her that no matter her circumstances she could always create a family out of her friends. Its not blood that makes a family it is loyalty. Luke had told her that once when they were on the streets and Sapphire was feeling her worst from homesickness. Luke had knelt beside her and held her hand and said "I have never felt homesick before because my home is always standing at my side. A home does not have to be a warm house with a happy family. A home can be the people around you and the people who stick by your side and make you smile. Saphy, blood does not make a family its loyalty that makes it." That day made Sapphire realise that Luke was her family and always had been up until now. Then came along Thalia and Annabeth and that made them a complete family.

"Are you just gonna stand there and stare into space?" Her thoughts crashed away and Sapphire gasps when she notices she had stopped halfway along the path. The voice belonged to the new guy from the Ares cabin. Sapphire glares at him and begins to walk forward to the arena. The new guy chuckles and the gravel crunches and it tell Sapphire that he was following her. Her pace quickens before she breaks into a run. Sapphire crashes into the arena and head to the centre where all the practice dummies stand begging to be smashed to a pulp.