“Woooohooooo! Now that is a battle!” Liara laughed as she thundered through the War Games on Hannibal. The War Elephant gave a triumphal trumpet as Liara easily convinced the pachyderm to switch sides so he could impress his lady.

The cohorts on the receiving end were less than enthusiastic by the ensuing chaos and loss of rank. Frank felt like he was losing his hair about what was happening. “Someone gotta stop her.”

“Nah, she's doing just fine.” Hylla grinned. “She's making us Amazons proud by winning.”

“If there's even someone left to celebrate,” mused Hazel, putting a hand to her cheek in worry. She leaned over to Frank. “Your niece is pretty wild.”

Frank sputtered, “She's not my niece!”

The Praetor and Amazon Queen laughed at how flustered Frank was. He read the files of a notorious Amazon and a former member of Camp Jupiter, and he was not particularly thrilled about it.

“Come on, everybody, give it more fire!” Liara laughed eagerly as her brown hair whipped through the cold air, and her glasses shielded her eyes. “This is much more fun, isn’t it?”

“It is!” Half the cohorts yelled and charged at where their leader pointed her spear at.

Liara C. Shepard II was the daughter of a former Praetor, Frank’s apparent sister from his father, and she was a legacy of both Venus and Mars. She was a powerhouse to boot already.

To their surprise, Liara wasn’t using Charmspeak to inspire everyone to her side—since she didn’t inherit it. The reason why the cohorts followed her alongside the Amazons was because of her natural radiance and leadership skills.

Ok, no, that was a lie.

Liara was just that good at convincing the others to let loose for once and have some fun instead of having a rigid training exercise. It was partly the reason why she was so often punished for insubordination at Camp Jupiter, giving her centurion a hard time.

Her parents thought the camp life would be educational for her to learn some discipline, but in the end, she joined the Amazons, who only bolstered her natural skills and mischievous behaviour.

To Frank's dismay, who got a letter from a former Praetor and his sister to get Liara back on track before the end of the festival.

Hazel patted his shoulder in sympathy, and Hylla laughed in amusement as Liara, with the Amazons and cohorts, broke into the fortification and cleared the flag for her team.

Frank sighed. “This cereal festival is going to be exhausting.”

“She's not that bad,” Hazel reassured him as they walked the streets of New Rome. “Also, it's the Festival of Cerealia, Frank.”

The white marble and red-tilted houses were already being decorated for the upcoming festival. Flowers were arranged, shops stocked up, and fresh cake baked.

“I'm sorry, Hazel. This festival is going to be big with Camp Halfblood, the Amazons, and The Hunters of Artemis joining us. It’s a lot.” Frank's stomach grumbled. “And I'm hungry. I haven't eaten anything this morning since Amazons arrived today.”

“Everything will be alright,” Hazel reassured him. She walked to a nearby shop and returned with a fresh muffin for Frank. “Here, for you. And don't worry. I can take care of her for you. We're in this together.”

Frank sniffed, his smile widening at Hazel’s gesture—and the muffin. “Thank you, Hazel. I know I can count on you.”

Hazel blushed. Frank was about to bite into the muffin if Liara hadn't snatched it away.

“Yoink, thanks, Uncle Frank.”

Frank stared at his large, empty hands, devoid of the tasty—probably blueberry—muffin, and watched in all jealousy how Liara ate it in front of him.

“My muffin…” The Praetor sulked.

“Liara, that wasn’t nice,” Hazel reprimanded her. “That wasn’t yours.”

“But it was easily available,” she said in a mouthful. “And I deserve a treat for winning the game.”

Hazel folded her hands before her and took a gander at the Amazon. Liara was roughly the same height and age as Hazel and wore black skin-tight battle attire and armour like the other Amazons.

Her brown hair reached just barely past the chin of her olive skin, with her green eyes framed by a pair of glasses and glinting with underlying mischief. She looked both fit, confident and charming, which befitted a legacy of both Venus and Mars. “She probably was even smart and battle-proven,” Hazel thought.

“Guess I'll be punished then, no?” Liara asked with a cocky grin. “What will it be? I like the hikes in full gear the most, but I don’t mind giving Hannibal a scrub.” Liara leaned in conspiratorially. “He got a hot date and wants to look his best, too.”

Liara winked at Hazel and knew the only thing Liara’s weakness could be was her overconfidence as a half-blood. Hazel returned the smile and unwrung her hands. “No punishment. How about you help me instead with the festival preparations?”

Liara’s eyes widened. She took a step back. “You need my help? N-no, I don't think I can-”

Hazel linked her arm around Liara’s and pulled her away, not giving her the freedom to protest. She gave Frank a happy wink with a thumbs up before leaving, telling him she would take care of it.

Slouching, Frank reached out for the wink before it got away in the wind. Hylla munched on her own muffin.

“She would make a fine Amazon.”

Frank shook himself out of his stupor. “Don’t,” he said as softly as a child of Mars could.

Liara wasn’t above helping around with the preparations. The thing was, she just didn’t want to. She willingly would do hell marches or manicure an elephant's toes—she did it once and had some ideas for the next time her centurion would punish her.

But doing honest chores was a different story since Liara was used to getting punishments from her centurions, teachers or when she forgot to do the dishes for her parents—yet with Hazel, it felt different.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Hazel breezed down on the streets of New Rome with the confidence of a Praetor and the giddiness and cheer to help that befitted her age.

They inspected the shops, helped with decorations, and Liara got the occasional fight between two shopkeepers to break up under Hazel's guidance.

Liara had little respect for her former centurion, but respected Hylla for her leadership and the strength to lead a full group of warrior women. At first, she had doubts about Hazel by her outside facade, but she quickly knew there was something deeper in her character.

“Much deeper,” thought Liara when she looked at Hazel. Looking into the girl’s eyes, Liara knew Hazel's outside behaviour hid the abyss she would only ever show her enemies. A scary side that made Liara shudder and be at her best behaviour.

“Hm, I think you're right. We might need more flowers,” said Hazel, furrowing her brow as she talked with the shopkeeper. “What do you think, Liara?”

“Ah, yes‌, the abyss is still a girl.”

“More doesn't equal better.” Liara took the flowers into her hands and put them away. “Just rearrange what we already have in the right position to give it the illusion that you have twice the amount.”

Hazel and the shopkeeper looked at her confoundedly, so Liara showed them by shuffling the benches, tables and other shelves around and reorganising the flowers until they saw what she meant. By the end, the shop looked ready for the festival.

“Seems like we're just about done.”

“Finally,” complained Liara, dropping herself on a bench near a fountain. When the shops saw what she did, they all asked for her help. She thought about refusing until Hazel agreed they would help them all. “Don’t want to help any further.”

“For you.” Hazel placed a cake before Liara’s face, smiling at her. “How was it?”

“Wwht whas wwht?” Liara asked in a mouthful.

“Helping with the preparations,” Hazel repeated. “How was it?”

“Meh, it's OK,” Liara finished her cake before Hazel started with hers. “I'm not particularly looking forward to the festival, though.”

Hazel placed her cake down on her lap. “Why not? I can’t wait for it. I can even use work as an excuse to go on a date with Frank.”

“Heh, shameless,” Liara laughed, noticing Hazel chuckling lightly with a slightly reddened face—suggesting it was all new to her, too. “Wish I had someone to go with, too.”

“Didn’t you make friends with the cohorts? What about the Amazons?”

Liara shook her head and wore a tight grin. Sure, she was popular among the Amazons, even among her former comrades in the legion, but she didn’t have a bond with either of them that went beyond being acquaintances. Liara had travelled around so much with her parents that she was too restless to care about friends.

Hanging out with everyone was her coping mechanism not to feel lonely, but it wasn’t enough to form a strong bond.

“Something up?” Hazel meant to ask before an eagle perched up on her shoulder. “The other Camp has arrived. I should go.”

“The others? The Greeks,” Liara mused. “This should be interesting.”

Camp Half-Blood received a formal procession through New Rome by the Praetors and the cohorts of Camp Jupiter. The camps exchanged gifts, and the demigods quickly mingled with each other on their way to dinner together. Hazel and Frank flanked Chiron while the Amazons and Hunters of Artemis showed interest in exchanging pleasantries as one of the only female demigod groups.

Liara found the new group exciting for their activities of hunting dangerous monsters, immortality and receiving a blessing of strength. However, not the celibacy thing. She didn’t know if she could ever go without a relationship.

“How was the hunt of the Teumessian Fox?” Hylla asked, only to receive a collected groan from the hunters.

“Felt like a vacation,” Reyna replied by nudging her sister and giving her a tight hug. “It’s good to see you and be back at Camp Jupiter.” her eyes wandered to Hazel. “How’s work?”

Hazel gave a quick salute. “Everything’s under control. We’ve only had two large fires and a few public destructions, but no deaths or major injuries.”

Reyna nodded, approving of this as that was some kind of enormous achievement for the former Praetor. “Glad to hear that. Let’s not wait and get together for a joint camp dinner, right? The ride from the east coast to the west was long and dangerous enough.”

The campers laughed and gathered at one of the larger Roman houses to eat together. Usually, the campers of Camp Jupiter had to sit with their cohorts and those from Camp Half-Blood by cabin, but since it was a special occasion, they decided to ignore the rules for once.

Liara switched seats multiple times throughout the evening, talking with all cohorts, Half-Blood Campers and the Hunters alike. She had her fun, though Liara quickly grew bored after switching around so much.

That's when Liara noticed a hunter sneak away from the groups. Liara saw others sneak out in groups, but this one went alone. Hazel stopped Liara when she tried to go after her.

“Where do you plan on going?” Hazel asked strictly, sipping on her cocoa. “This is a gathering for all groups. You can't just sneak away.”

“Well, someone else did. And I wanted to check on her.” Hazel pouted—she didn't buy the excuse. “I’ll check on them and pop right back in.”

“Promise?”

“I-” Liara stumbled on her words. The innocence in Hazel's words caught her off guard. “I promise.”

Hazel let go of her, and Liara exited the hall into the chilly evening. She rubbed her hands and breathed into them, trying to find the huntress. Snow drizzled from the sky, covering New Rome in a white blanket. Liara hoped to find some trace of her, maybe footsteps, but there was nothing. It was like the huntress disappeared without leaving a single trace.

“So that's a hunter of Artemis, huh? She doesn’t want to be found.” Liara mused and took a walk around the hall.

She stopped near a window where Chiron, Hylla, Thalia, and Frank talked. Were it gossip, Liara would have listened, but it was mostly about building relations and fostering bonds between the groups with lots of sappy, cheerful talk.

Liara gagged like a cat.

“Eavesdropping on others isn't your strong suit, is it?” Lotte asked, sitting on the rooftop and startling Liara. Lotte laughed, took a large bite of her grapevine, and put the ravished tendril down. “No need to be so spooked.”

Liara stared wide-eyed at the huntress.

“What's wrong?” Lotta asked, exhaling tiredly and leaning forward. “Why did you follow me?”

“You saw me?”

Lotte cocked a brow. “It’s hard not to address the elephant when she follows you. I watched you from up here.”

“Well then, ehm, what are you doing here?” Liara tried to change the subject. “Leaving a party alone.”

Lotte leaned more forward but didn’t reply. The awkward silence grew as Liara grew anxious to break it. The stare of Lotte’s stormy grey eyes made her both uncomfortable and drawn into them. She wanted to know more.

Then, an invisible servant arrived with a goblet and a new plate full of purple and green grapes for Lotte.

“Thank you,” Lotte said before Liara grumbled.

“Hey, where's mine?”

Lotte inclined her head, listening to what the servant said. “She said you're rude to them.”

“I'm not!” protested Liara. “At least she could get me a drink.” A Fanta bonked against Liara’s head a second later. She picked it up with a grumble. “Terrible service!”

The huntress lay down on the roof with a chuckle as Liara leaned against the wall, drinking her Fanta.

“So, why are you alone out here?” repeated Liara.

Lotte didn’t reply immediately, opting to listen to Chiron’s voice as he talked about the future of the camps with others—a brighter future than Lotte knew could exist. One that she had missed in all the years of her absence.

“Peace and quiet,” Lotte said. “I don’t like being near groups or people‌. I’m not used to them, but Chiron’s voice helps me calm down.”

“That old centaur? I guess if you say so.” Liara sipped on her drink again. She felt like she was hitting a wall there with Lotte. Not being able to talk with someone always gave Liara a nervous itch. “He sounds comforting.”

“Like a father.” Lotte smiled bitterly.

Liara shrugged. “Can’t emphasise. I was raised by two mothers. Can't say I understand the feeling fully. Though my moms always seemed fine whenever I brought back a boy or girl… How was your father like- Hello?”

Liara craned her head. “Are you still there?” She climbed up the wall but found no signs of the huntress. There was only an empty goblet and a half-eaten plate of grapes. “Did I say something wrong?”

She picked up a green grape and grimaced at the taste. “Bitter.”