Introductions
Nico di Angelo woke up too early. This got him confused. For someone who doesn't have time to rest, he sure picks out a good time to wake up. He guessed he had to wear the heavy eye bags for another day.
But Nico can endure. After all, he had just returned to his favorite place in the world. He never felt so at home again as he roamed the grassy fields of Camp Half-Blood.
He closed his eyes as he walked, letting the breezy wind greet him. He inhaled the heavy scent of strawberries, thinking how this atmosphere was far better than that- hellhole as he calls it- below.
But his moment with nature abruptly stopped when he was knocked down, along with a shriek that made his ears vibrate.
"Ow! What gives...?"
Nico's eyes snapped open and he was startled when he felt the weight of another body on top of his. He looked down, and a pair of eyes with the shade of turquoise was staring back at him in surprise.
Both teenagers scrambled away from each other a good two feet. As they stared at each other in bewilderment, Nico saw that it was a girl that bumped into him. Although her stringy auburn hair was a tad messy, he can't help but notice how good-looking she was.
Nico quickly shook the thought off as both of them had regained their balance. He forced to think he didn't assume that the girl was beautiful.
"Erm, sorry," the girl spoke with a British accent as she dusted off her clothes. "I didn't see you."
"It's fine," Nico grunted with a slight strain in his voice. His body didn't expect to crash down at seven in the morning.
He expected the young woman had gone, but he was muddled to see her still on her spot. The girl seemed to stare at him, as if imagining him as someone else.
Now Nico was quite offended. He knew his appearance looked careless and unhealthy, with his black outfit, long messy hair and pale bony body. He didn't think it was a necessity for people to look at him as if he was to be pitied.
"What?" Nico snapped as his jaw tightened.
The adolescent instantly averted her gaze. "Sorry," she apologized again. "I reckoned you were... familiar."
And the redhead trekked swiftly away.
As Nico set foot upon the marble floor of the Pavilion, almost everyone had surrounded him (mostly girls). His close friends Annabeth Chase, Percy Jackson, Jason Grace, Piper McLean and Leo Valdez were first to welcome him, and Nico thought it was good to be back.
-
So he came back, Iris thought. I'm done for.
Iris' fingers massaged her forehead after knocking on the massive door of the Big House. She paced through the porch as she waited.
She compelled herself to think that Nico di Angelo was not the person she thought he was. She had entered Camp Half-Blood almost the same time as he did but they never became much as friends. But she couldn't help regard him because, no doubt, Nico looked so much like her late brother. So much, that the only thing that told them apart was their attitude, the way they dressed, and their eyes. While Nico had dark brown, her brother had black ones.
And her brother wasn't someone to forget easily. Once, she had gone so far as to hug Nico crying her brother's name, but he wasn't him, which added to the Iris Stone's Most Embarrassing Moments. She hoped he wouldn't remember that incident after seeing her again.
Iris finally heard the sound of hooves strut its way toward the door. It opened, and a centaur had come out of it.
"Oh, it's you, Iris-"
But Iris had already slipped inside before the centaur had even greeted her. He followed her as she continued her pace throughout the living room.
"Is something bothering you, my dear?"
"Definitely!" Iris said as she continued to glare at her floor.
"What happened?"
She ignored the centaur and crashed down onto the couch.
"Oh, I'm done for." She muttered, clasping her hands together tightly. She could hardly contain her panic.
The centaur stood in front of her. "Iris, calm down and speak to me."
"Apollo talked to me," she said. "I-In my dream."
"Yes, and?"
"H-He said he was going to get kidnapped," Iris recalled, breathing deeply. "And he told me that it would be my duty to rescue him and bring him back before the winter solstice."
She and the centaur discussed more about her encounter with Apollo. When they had finished, the centaur had warned her not to tell anyone about it until dinner.
"It was just like how Artemis was kidnapped, Chiron." Iris said.
"Yes, somehow..." Chiron agreed. "I suggest you go back to the Pavilion, Iris. Wait until tonight."
-
Iris ate in the Pavilion beside her siblings. She noticed that Will didn't wait for her- that rarely happened- and she remembered that he was in charge of the cabin inspections today so she thought he ate his breakfast quickly and left. Iris didn't have the appetite so she had already stood up to catch up with Will after just a couple of spoonfuls. She hurried out the Pavilion even faster because she was tempted so much to look at the almost empty table a few feet away from hers, where the son of Hades had been staring at her.
She wondered what cabin Will would be inspecting, but she didn't want to just barge inside cabins. Luckily, Leo Valdez had seen her and asked what she was up to.
"I'm looking for Will," she said.
"Me, too!" Leo said exasperatedly. "We're supposed to inspect cabins together, but I guess he left without me."
Iris shook her head and stifled a chuckle. "Running late as ever, are we?"
"It's the Leo way, doll." he winked at her. "But if my calculations are correct- oh, check out that big word I used- I think he's on his way to Cabin 13 by now. Let's go!"
Leo happily jogged ahead while Iris hesitated. But after sighing and scolding her mind to get a grip, she tailed behind Leo. Cabin 13 as a matter of fact, much to Iris' dismay, was the Hades cabin.
-
Iris heard voices as she and Leo made their way towards Cabin 13. It was made of solid obsidian which she had been always intrigued with as its dark color gleamed every time she would pass by it. As they landed on the front porch, she was face-to-face with a skull that was hung on the doorway. Beside the door stood two torches where green fire blazed from them. Iris had this uneasy feeling because this was the closest she had ever gone from the cabin. Nevertheless, the voices grew louder.
"-told you to pack those skulls away!"
"I don't move them, Solace! They're decorations!"
"Would you like me to decorate your zero with a skull then?"
"I don't care about cabin grades so get out!"
"Ah, love quarrel." Leo said, trying not to laugh.
"What?" Iris asked.
Leo just clicked his tongue and opened the door. Abruptly the voices had stopped.
Iris mouth gaped open when she had finally entered. Her eyes swept through the shiny dark room. On the left side was a tall empty bookshelf beside a door that stood ajar. At the right, there was a fireplace with green live fire and a sleek couch rested in front of it. At the very center lay a wide table filled with utensils and kitchenware. The shrine of Hades glinted intimidatingly at the back of the area. The whole area was decorated with bones, skulls, and blood red-colored fabric and Iris was close to thinking she had just entered a vampire's lair. At the very center of the cabin two boys stood, surprised at them. Will Solace beamed at Iris but Nico only stared at her. Iris suddenly wondered how he got to his cabin first when she had left from the Pavilion earlier than he did.
"Hola, di Angelo!" Leo greeted.
"Why're you here?" Nico asked Leo, his voice monotone and his face expressionless.
"Ouch," Leo acted hurt and placed a hand over his chest. "I was nice enough to come visit you and that's what I get?"
"No, you came to see Solace." Nico said dismissively.
"Yes, and you're late." Will added, hitting Leo hard in the head with his clipboard. "You even brought Iris with you."
"Hey, she wanted to come!" Leo rubbed his head roughly, wincing from the pain.
"Yeah, I came along." Iris rolled her eyes. "I can decide things on my own accord. Did you know?" she said in a sarcastic tone.
"I could do without the sar-"
"And it's not like you don't want her around." Leo said as his lips twitched upwards slyly.
Will's face had turned pink. "What-"
"Would you just talk about this outside my cabin?" Nico uttered.
"Yeah okay, whatever." Leo raised his arms and left the house.
"Fine. But first," Will placed his hand on her shoulder and gestured at Nico. "Iris, this is Nico di Angelo. Di Angelo, meet Iris Stone."
Nico nodded slightly at Iris, whereas the latter only grunted in acknowledgement. She still didn't like the fact that he was vividly someone she used to be with.
"Yo, Solace! We gotta skiddat!" Leo called from outside.
"Sorry Iris, I gotta go," Will told her. "I'll see you later, a'right?"
"See you." Iris said, and he disappeared from the room.
Seeing that only she and Nico remained inside Cabin 13, she cleared her throat.
"Erm, I should go-"
"So, you and Solace, huh?"
Iris' eyebrows furrowed before she could reach the doorknob. "Sorry?"
Nico only looked at her. After a moment she had realized what he meant into which her face felt hot.
"Oh, n-no. He's my brother." Iris chuckled nervously, her hand gripping the knob tighter.
Nico smirked in amusement. "Sorry," he apologized. "My mistake."
"It's alright." She opened the door. "I think I'll be going now-"
"Wait."
Iris faced the boy again, and she noticed that he had gone closer to her and his hand was stuck out.
"I'm Nico." He whispered.
"I think we were introduced to each other just earlier." Iris said plainly.
"Yeah, but I didn't think it was proper."
"Why does it have to be proper?"
"Because."
"Because?"
Again, Nico expressed a smirk. "Maybe because I don't want to get pinned to the ground again the next time I see you."
Iris released an uneasy grin as she heard him say this even when she forced herself not to. Before she knew it she had introduced herself again as well and shook his hand once, which felt cold.