I am Katniss, Daughter of Apollo (Percy Jackson/Hunger Games Fanfic)

Chapter 23

Katniss' POV

Katniss slept like a rock that night, but in the morning she was jolted awake by a loud trumpet inside the Apollo cabin that made her shoot straight up in her bunk.

In the center of the room was Will Solace, parading around the cabin and blaring a horn into the ears of some of the Apollo kids who were trying in vain to block out the sound with their pillows over their heads.

"Rise and shine, brothers and sisters! The sun is about to rise and you know what that means, it's time to greet our father on the horizon! Everyone out to the strawberry fields in five! On your feet!"

Katniss hurriedly got out of bed and pulled on a black hooded sweatshirt with the letters 'CHB' across the front. Not for the first time, she wondered how her brother was so capable of commanding an entire cabin of kids to get a move on this early in the morning. She looked out the nearest window and sure enough, sunlight was just barely starting to creep up past the horizon.

Katniss hastily ran a brush through her hair and made her way to the front of the cabin where Will was standing in the doorway, ushering kids out towards the strawberry fields. She raised her hand in greeting. "Good morning, Will."

"Hey Katniss, glad to see you're not one of the stragglers I'm gonna have to forcefully drag out of bed this morning. I know it's early but sunrise in the strawberry fields really is something to see and if our dad can do it every morning why can't we every now and then, huh?"

Katniss agreed but she couldn't help but think of her father's impending punishment. It seemed wrong that they should just keep acting like everything was fine, but she figured it was also probably best not to cause worry when there wasn't anything they could do about it.

Will seemed to pick up on her thoughts and his expression shifted to concern. "Hey, I heard Zeus is planning on punishing Dad, basically blaming him for the whole war we just had?"

Katniss nodded. "Yeah. I mean, I don't really understand all of it because I wasn't here for that obviously, but it sounded like it was going to be pretty bad...Will, look, I don't want to lay this on you now that I'm leaving but whatever it is I think Dad's going to need all the help he can get. If I could stay any longer, really I wish I could, but--"

Will put up a hand to stop her. "It's okay, Katniss. I'm sure you've got all sorts of problems to deal with back in your reality, so don't feel responsible for dealing with ours. Dad knows his kids, Camp Half Blood, we're always here to help those in need. If he wants our help, we'll be here."

Katniss really was going to miss it here. Camp Half Blood may just be a camp, but if there was one thing it took seriously it was family. Katniss smiled and pulled Will in for a hug.

"You're the best little brother I never knew I had. You're gonna do amazing things, I can tell."

Will chuckled but embraced her. "Okay, okay, let's get going so we don't miss the sunrise."

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In the strawberry fields, the Apollo kids lounged on picnic blankets and gathered strawberries in small green cartons. The sun was rising, and it washed everything in warm, golden red light. The sight was so beautiful it brought tears to her eyes, and Katniss hugged her siblings. One little boy who couldn't have been more than ten years old proudly presented an overflowing carton of strawberries to Katniss. "So you can have a taste of camp even when you're far away," he said.

As the sun rose higher into the sky and the rest of camp began to wake up, the Apollo kids drifted out of the strawberry fields, off to practice archery or collect medical herbs or go back to the cabin. At some point Nico di Angelo had appeared at Will's side and the two held hands as they looked out over the fields. Seeing them so happy together made Katniss' heart twinge, and her stomach did a somersault as she thought of Peeta and whatever was happening to him right now. Will caught her eye and winked at her. Katniss smiled and waved as she turned towards the dining pavilion to see if any of her other friends were awake for breakfast.