[1] reflections ; annabeth chase

o2.

chapter two

     WAKING UP to the sounds of the Apollo and Ares cabin fighting sounds almost like war noises.

     (God, her little cabin is already practising for the war with Kronos. Lorelai is so proud of them.)

     Lorelai groans as her eyes flutter open only to be immediately blinded by a bright light shining from outside her cabin, before a flurry of blasts sound around her room. She sits up with a start and looks over at her door, trying to figure out where they're coming from, only for her eyes to fall on the figures of Austin Lake and Kayla Knowles hurriedly trying to clean up the inside of their camp.

     Right. Cabin inspection.

     Lorelai's back hurts, her legs are sore, and all she wants to do is die a quick and painless death, but she swings off her bed, stretching her arms high above her head. As she walks down the length of her cabin, she notices that there are multiple cracks in the walls. She turns to look at Austin quizzically, who gives her a smile that looks more like a grimace.

     "The Ares cabin has been trying to bomb ours," he says. "Lou Ellen, the Hecate kid, was able to put up some enchantments so that our cabin wouldn't, yanno, collapse, but her magic is wearing out."

     Lorelai sighs, coming over to the two to hug them, kissing each of their foreheads in turn.

     "Fuckin' hell," she mutters. "Your eldest half-sibling dies, and the shortest half-sibling from the camp decides to wage war."

     Kayla snorts, her arms wrapped around Lorelai's. Lorelai is in awe of how much older both Kayla and Austin look. Both of them have had growth spurts (although they're still not as tall and lanky as Lorelai is ... she's 6 fucking feet tall ... god help her ...), really growing into themselves. Kayla's chubby cheeks have vanished, leaving her with a more defined jawline and cheekbones, and her freckles are more defined and brown. Meanwhile, Austin has had his hair cut, with cornrows shaped like a double helix instead of his usual curls that Lorelai always liked to braid during training sessions.

     "You guys okay?" she asks, squeezing them tighter to try to convey just how thankful she is that these two idiots decided to stick together at these times. "Where's Will?"

     "Here's Will!" calls out a voice from right behind Lorelai. Like his siblings, Will's also growing, though unlike them, he looks more athletic, and he's cut his hair so it looks shaggier. Lorelai thinks it suits him.