Her powers were different from anything she had ever seen before. Estella crouched on top of one of the toilets in the bathroom by the Hermes cabin, no one was in the room but she was still nervous about being caught like she was in the woods the other day.

She focused on their own shadow and, with an intense focus, managed to get it to change. Estella gasped in astonishment as their shadow moved into the outline of a cat. It skipped in a circle before settling down by the bottom of the toilet.

It was almost like she had created a creature all of its own. It had its own movements that Estella wasn't making it do. They had no control over the cat, which had replaced their shadow.

The door banged open and their concentration was cut, the cat was gone and in its place was Estella's own shadow, simple and plain.

"Estella?" A younger voice called out. "Estella, it's time for dinner."

She hopped off the toilet and swung the door open, "I'm coming, Nora. Don't freak yourself out."

Nora stood by the sink with her arms crossed in front of her chest. "I'm not freaking out," She said, glaring. Estella smiled, it was nice to have what felt like a sister.

Estella banged the stall open and went to wash her hands, despite the bathroom not being public it was still a certain level of nasty. A level only Hermes kids can achieve. There was most definitely contraband hidden in the ceiling or in the toilet paper holders.

"Any idea who's leading the campfire tonight?" Estella asked, trying to start small talk, hoping the normalcy of the conversation might slow her rapidly beating heart.

The younger girl shook her head, "Probably a nymph, hopefully Clarisse or something. It'd be funny, don't you think?"

Looking over at Nora it was impossible to tell that she was 12. She looked eight or maybe even five. Her eyes were large and her cheeks rounded, very obviously pre-puberty. It didn't seem wrong, as Nora felt like a child. Estella ruffled Nora's hair with her wet but clean hands and giggled slightly at the gasp of annoyance Nora made.

"Clarisse would never lead a campfire," Estella said, steering Nora out of the bathroom and across the lawn towards the pavilion. They'd probably eat together as Estella tried their best to keep their anxiety in check and Nora babbled on about how ridiculous it was that Zeus had made it rain early that morning despite it being sunny outside the camp.

🔦

Later that night, Estella Wineheart sat next to Nora on a metal bench the Hephaestus kids made for the firepit. On the other side of Estella was one of the Stolls, Travis maybe, it was hard to tell. The missing Stoll was probably off committing some type of hazardous crime or setting up a prank, probably on the Athena kids. The fact that one Stoll was missing was definitely weighing on Estella's mind.

Despite wanting to know where the second Stoll could have gone, Estella was still able to sing along to some of the campfire songs and even feel a little bit less as if she was looking in on someone else's life.

As the campfire drew to a close, with campers standing up and walking back to their cabins or meeting up with friends to head to the arena for a little extra practice before bed, Estella stayed behind.

Her eyes were drawn to the cooling embers of the fire.

Nora stood up, citing the late hour for the way her eyes drooped, and Estella watched carefully as Nora made her way back to the Hermes cabin.

They'll make their way over in a second.

Eventually, it had gotten dark enough outside that Estella was the only individual sitting by the fire. The metal of the bench was cold under their bare legs but Estella couldn't find it in herself to mind.

The coals were almost pure ash, only a few bright embers blinked in the deep darkness. Estella felt warm, her body reacting almost as if they were being hugged by some unknown entity hidden away in the darkness.

"Mom?" she whispered, her hopes high.

Nothing responded, only the flapping wings of a bat in the distance.

Estella shook off the soft feeling of being loved and belonging as she stood up. It was stupid to get her hopes up.

As they walked away towards the Hermes cabin the last of the embers died down with a slight hiss, sounding almost like her name. If only Estella had waited to hear it.

🔦

They awoke to soft sobbing. The sun was just peaking its way under the door, caressing the foot of Estella's sleeping bag.

She sat up, her eyes readjusting to the light and noticed Melissa Findlay, an unclaimed kid like her, sitting against the wall, cradling Nora in her arms.

Nora's tears were winding down, seeming as if she was on the last gasp of air before it became a steady stream of breathing. So far Estella hadn't found anything about Melissa to like however there was nothing about her to dislike and Nora was Estella's friend so that had to count for something.

She crawled over to where the two were huddled, noticing that they were the only three awake in the whole cabin. "Nora?" they whispered. "You okay?"

Melissa met Estella's eyes and an understanding passed through them 'This was for Nora.'

Nora's teary face emerged from where it was buried in Melssa's chest. "Just a nightmare," Her small voice hiccuped quietly. "It was just a nightmare." It almost seemed as if she was reassuring herself.

Melissa ran her hand through Nora's soft curls. "It's okay, you're safe."

Nora nodded as Estella reached out to rub the younger girl's back in large circular motions the way she had wished someone would do for her when she was younger and afraid.

Eventually, Nora's breathing slowed and smoothed. It was evident that the child was asleep. Melissa continued to hold the girl and Estella readjusted to sit, back against the wall next to Melissa.

"Does she do this often?" Estella asked softly so as not to wake Nora or the many others in the cabin.

Melissa shook her head, "This was the first time, as far as I know." Melissa's voice was final as if she didn't want to be questioned anymore or even be awake. It made sense, she had probably been awake for a bit and it was irrationally early, Estella didn't want to be awake either but something about this interaction didn't seem over.

"She didn't say what the dream was about did she?" Estella whispered.

"Even if she did I probably wouldn't tell you what it was about. It's Nora's business, not anyone else's."

It was harsh but Estella understood. There was just something about Nora that made you want to protect her, keep her safe. It might be her godly skill or her age, either way, it was a part of her and Estella didn't mind it in the slightest.

Melissa's soft voice broke the silence, "You don't seem like a bad friend."

It could have been construed as an insult but Estella didn't see it as one. She saw one emotionally stunted teenager trying to connect with another.

"Neither do you."

🔦

The day was long. They later found out that it had been around 5 a.m. when Nora's cries woke her up and Estella didn't have a minute to rest between camp activities.

Melissa, that bastard, didn't seem tired in the slightest bit, shooting perfectly aimed arrow after perfectly aimed arrow. Estella had trouble even nocking the arrow without ripping the fletching off. Nora on the other hand was dozing off as she nocked her arrow, eyes blinking as she tried to aim. Her arrow went off into the woods and Nora jumped when a wood nymph squealed.

"Sorry!" Nora called out as her eyes jumped open.

Later in the day, Nora fell asleep during Crafts led by one of the Stolls, probably Connor as he seemed like the guy more likely to teach people how to make lanyards for three hours straight.

Finished with her own, Estella grabbed a few shades of blue to weave together a lanyard for Nora, whose mouth had fallen open and was drooling on the table she was using as a pillow. Despite being generally terrible at weaving the lanyards Estella was enjoying herself, to the best of her capabilities.

Nora was on her left and Melissa to her right. Melissa was quiet, not talking if she could help it, Nora was asleep, and Estella relished in the silence. The camp was loud and Estella had grown up in a very quiet environment so it had been an adjustment. Every drop of silence they got they savoured.

Melissa spoke up, her voice soft enough that Estella didn't feel as if the silence was ruined or broken, just shifted, "You're unclaimed, right?"

The question, despite the soft tone of voice, was a harsh one. Estella knew there was a correct answer but it felt almost wrong to say. "Yes."

"So am I and Nora is too," Melissa said, her eyes trained on her yellow and grey lanyard. "We should stick together."

Estella took a moment to weigh the pros and cons

PROS

-People to eat with

-They never had to feel alone

-They understood the feeling of not being wanted

-Nora would be taken care of if something happened to Estella

CONS

-Estella didn't trust Melissa Findlay as far as she could throw her

There were more Pros than Cons however the con was a big one and Estella didn't know if she could get past that.

It had been quiet for longer than Estella had planned and Melissa's eyes were glued to her project, though her hands had stilled in their tracks. Melissa looked almost nervous as if the question wasn't one she had planned to ask but more of an impulsive blurt of words.

"Sticking together seems safest."