LEO
Leo didnt wait very long before running after Kyra. The look on her face terrified him; she looked like she'd seen a ghost. Or in Kyra's case more likely someone from her past. He wasn't sure which was worse. Jason and Piper followed quickly behind him after he ran off. Kyra was fast, but he was able to see that she was heading toward the Artemis Cabin.
"Leo, Piper! Wait up!" It was Audrey, Kyra's friend from the Apollo cabin. He didn't want to stop running but skidded to a halt as Piper stopped directly beside him, grabbing his arm to stop him from continuing without her and Jason.
"What's going on? I just saw Kyra run past here; she didn't even look at me when I called her name. What's wrong?" she asked, concerned. Leo could see it on everyone's face, they were all worried about what had caused Kyra to run away so suddenly. All Leo wanted to do was see that she was okay.
"I don't know," Piper responded. "We were talking and suddenly Kyra just went pale and ran off," Piper explained, catching her breath.
"Crap," Audrey spoke softly. "Do we think she's hurt?" she questioned.
"I don't know," Leo answered, frustrated by the group's lack of movement. Why were they wasting time talking about what could be wrong when they could be spending their time finding Kyra and checking on her? "But I saw her heading toward her cabin, let's go!" he urged.
Leo didn't wait to see if the group was going to follow him before he took off running again. He had lost sight of Kyra but he hoped that she had made it to her cabin by now and was safe inside.
He heard Piper calling after him once more as he neared the cabin but he didn't stop this time. If something was seriously wrong with Kyra he didn't want to waste any more time not helping her.
Leo wasn't thinking as he ran straight into Kyra's cabin door. But wished he had thought his actions through more as he was projected backward by the same invisible force that had taken him and Jason out the first time they had attempted to enter the Artemis Cabin.
"Leo!" Piper called out as she ran up to him, followed quickly by Jason and Audrey. "Are you okay?" she questioned, kneeling down in front of him.
"Ow," he responded dumbly. "I don't think the cabin likes me very much."
Piper rolled her eyes, "You're fine. I'm going to check on Kyra," she informed the group quickly rising and running into the Cabin.
"I'll stay and make sure Leo's okay," Audrey spoke, eyeing the Artemis Cabin warily.
"You sure, Audrey?" Jason asked. "Leo seems fine but Kyra might need you."
Leo watched as conflict danced in Audrey's brown eyes. Piper was checking on Kyra and Leo didn't hear any cries coming from the cabin so he assumed she was at least alright for a little while.
"My head hurts," Leo lied, rubbing his head for effect. He was a great actor. Audrey knelt down beside him, examining his head in concentration while Jason observed the two before looking toward the Artemis cabin, obviously stressed for his girlfriend and Kyra.
"Did you even hit your head?" Audrey questioned softly once Jason had looked away.
"Maybe not," Leo admitted sheepishly with a grin. Audrey smiled back at him. She was obviously uncomfortable about the idea of going into the Artemis cabin, he wasn't sure why, but he wasn't one to judge.
"Thanks, Leo," she spoke gratefully, offering a hand to help him stand up. He nodded to her as they joined Jason by the entrance to the Artemis Cabin, standing as close as possible without being blasted away again.
Leo watched as Annabeth ran over to the group. "Is everything okay? Malcom told me he saw Kyra run off and you guys follow her. What's wrong?"
"We don't know yet," Jason responded. "Piper's in there with her now."
Annabeth looked at the group, he grey eyes landing on Leo, taking in his disheveled appearance.
"Did you try and go inside again?" she questioned.
"I don't know why it didn't work," Leo responded. "It worked last ni-" Leo trailed off, taking in the looks from the demigods in front of him. They ranged from disbelief from Annabeth to somewhat giddy excitement from Audrey. He felt his face flush.
"What were you going to say?" Annabeth stuttered in disbelief. Audrey and Jason looked at him with equal amounts of shock.
"Nothing," he dismissed quickly, trying to cool his face down.
"I don't think that was nothing; We'll talk about that later. I should go check on Piper and Kyra," Annabeth spoke, fixing Leo with a look that he couldn't quite decipher.
"Audrey, you coming?" Annabeth questioned, looking at the girl in question.
She looked distressed. "Annabeth, I can't" she spoke softly with tears in her eyes.
Annabeth's gaze softened, seeming to understand something that Jason and Leo didn't.
"Audrey," Annabeth spoke softly. "You're already in the cabin," she finished.
The group looked down, seeing Audrey's foot resting at the entrance of the doorway, her body slightly in front of the boys.
The tears began to flow down Audrey's face and Annabeth gave her a smile. "Come on, let's go check on Kyra," she spoke, taking Audrey's hand in her own as they walked into the cabin.
"You want to explain what you were going to say earlier?" Jason questioned, fixing Leo with a knowing smirk.
Crap.
---
KYRA
Kyra tried to take deep breaths to slow her breathing, recognizing that she was hyperventilating. Now that she thought about it, running away probably wasn't her best idea in the moment. But she hadn't really been thinking. Not after she saw him: Luka.
She remembered almost everyone from the foster home she was in before finally being adopted. And almost everyone she remembered had hurt her in some way, shape, or form. While Luka had never physically hurt her, it hurt to think that he knew she was being hurt, that he watched them hurt her yet did nothing to help her.
What was he doing here? Was he a demigod? Or was he a monster that had somehow made it past the camp borders?
Kyra took gasping breaths, trying to stop herself from crying but she couldn't. She had been doing so well at adjusting to her new life but seeing Luka had put her back what felt like months of work.
"Kyra?" A voice questioned from the entrance to her cabin.
Kyra watched as Piper walked in slowly, her gaze concerned. Kyra felt bad. She had just left her friends behind without any kind of explanation. She owed them more than that. She opened her mouth to explain, but couldn't seem to get any words out.
"Are you okay?" Piper questioned as she approached Kyra's spot on the floor of her cabin. She had sat herself down in a corner of her room, trying to keep her body as covered as possible so no one could sneak up on her.
Kyra wanted to say yes, she was fine, but she couldn't bring herself to. Words weren't leaving her lips so she shook her head as another quiet sob left her mouth, Kyra taking another shuddering breath in.
Piper knelt down in front of Kyra. "It's alright, Kyra. Just take deep calming breaths, can you do that?" she questioned.
Kyra nodded and found herself trying to match Piper's breathing. When she no longer felt lightheaded and her sobs had quieted to whimpers, she found herself longing for Leo. She was extremely grateful for Piper, but she still felt on edge. Piper hadn't made any moves to touch her, something that Kyra wasn't would help, or if only Leo's touch would be able to calm her.
Piper smiled at her, her stunning smile a nice distraction from Kyra's racing thoughts. Kyra stiffened as she heard the cabin door open once more.
Annabeth and Audrey walked into the room, hand in hand. Audrey had tears in her eyes and Kyra frowned at the sight of them. She didn't like seeing her friends upset.
"A-Are you okay?" she questioned, the first words she was able to spit out since running away.
Audrey chuckled softly, wiping her tears as Annabeth smiled widely. "We should be asking you that, Kyra. But thank you, I'm alright," she answered.
The girls joined Piper and Kyra on the floor, now sitting around Kyra. Normally, she'd feel trapped or enclosed by the formation, but it felt strangely safe to be around the three girls.
"Do you want to talk about what happened back there?" Piper questioned.
Did she? Did Kyra want to talk about why she had run off so suddenly? The girls around her looked at Kyra but she didn't sense any judgment or pressure from any of them. They genuinely looked like they would accept any answer from Kyra, whether she wanted to talk to them or not.
She nodded. "I saw someone I recognized," she began, the three girls looking at her intently.
"Another camper?" Annabeth questioned, her brows furrowing.
Kyra nodded, taking a shaky breath. "Yeah. He was at the foster home I was living in before the monsters took me away," she explained.
"Did he-" Piper started. She had told the girls a little about what the orphanages and foster homes she had stayed at had been like. None of it good. "Did he hurt you?" she questioned, concerned.
Kyra shook her head. "No. He never hit me or anything like that. He knew though. That the other kids would hurt me. He hung around with them. Sometimes he'd just watch when they'd hurt me. He was there the day I got this," she explained, motioning to the scar on her cheek the word 'freak' still visible even after all these years.
"I know he was just a kid. I shouldn't blame him for not doing anything. But I was a kid too," she finished softly.
Audrey looked at her sympathetically. "You're allowed to feel however you want about him, Kyra. You don't have to justify his actions. If what he did, or didn't do, hurt you in any way then you're allowed to feel upset," she explained.
"Do you know his name?" Annabeth questioned, her gaze once more calculating.
Kyra nodded. "His name was Luka," she answered.
Annabeth nodded. "Blonde kid with spiky hair?"
"Yeah," Kyra responded.
"I think he's an Ares camper. I remember it being strange when he got here. He knew all about the Gods already. Said his mom told him about them. He was a bit delusional from being attacked by a gorgon. He kept going on and on about the Fates," she thought out loud.
"What do we do about him?" Audrey questioned, she looked ready for a fight.
"That's up to you, Kyra," Annabeth answered. "We can talk to Chiron if you want, make sure you're not in any training sessions with him or even get him to have Luka stay away from you."
Kyra shook her head. "No, I don't want to cause any more trouble," she didn't want to keep on getting special treatment just because of what she had been through.
"I'm sure it's not any trouble Kyra," Piper explained gently.
"He never actually did anything to me. He shouldn't be punished for not helping me," she explained, unsure why she was defending the boy.
"Alright, if that's what you want Kyra, we'll support you," Annabeth spoke.
Kyra nodded with a small smile. They were letting her make this decision for herself. It felt nice.
"Feeling better?" Piper questioned. Kyra nodded, giving her a warm smile.
"Good, now you can explain what Leo meant when he said your Cabin let him in," Audrey spoke with a teasing smile. Kyra felt her face begin to warm again.
"WHAT?!" Piper shrieked with an excited grin.
Author's Note
What do we think about Luka's return? Do we forgive him?
As always, feedback and comments are appreciated!