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—JUDITH wanted to be out of the Sun God's car as soon as it 'landed' in Camp Half-Blood's lake. Thalia had practically reinvented the concept of climate change in the span of the half hour she was at the wheel. That, and Apollo must not use air conditioning because everyone was practically boiling alive by the time they were at camp. Luckily, they were about to be cooled off by the chill December lake water.
"Alright, everyone out," Apollo called around the bus and everyone started filtering out to swim to shore. Judith stared at the murky water as it flooded into the vehicle, soaking her ankles and rising to her knees. She hadn't gone in the water since summer, hadn't felt compelled in the slightest to ever go in again, frankly. Water had only brought dark things — dramatic, she knew, but it was true. Judith tried to not dwell too long on Bryce and how he possibly could have died by drowning. It was equally likely he had died before then, but something told the girl he had been lost to the sea and not the smoke.
Percy was almost out, having made sure Nico got through before him when he turned to see Judith still in her seat, stiff as a board. "Hey, let's go."
Judith was startled out of her stupor and steeled her face as he looked at her curiously. She stood up in the aisle on shaky legs. "I just don't want to get my hair wet," she said strictly and went to wade into the water, refusing to meet his eyes. She made absolute sure to keep her face above the surface, leaving no chances for getting caught beneath the surface.
Percy surpassed her and made it to shore, no doubt having used his mermaid abilities. She slowly reached the beach and climbed out sluggishly, feeling a draft of icy air hit her skin. A dryad came up to offer her a towel but saw that she wasn't wet in the slightest and Judith looked down curiously, picking at her hoodie around her waist like it was playing tricks on her. But as she looked up, her eyes couldn't stop from honing in on the son of Poseidon's back as he walked away.
Something twisted uncomfortably in her chest and she only barely recognized it as gratitude.
Ellis, one of Judith's half siblings, had found her rather quickly considering the whole camp heard and felt the crash of Apollo's chariot bus. "Hey, kiddo," he greeted with a smirk.
Judith rolled her eyes and continued walking to their cabin. "Don't call me that."
"Ooh, what's got you riled?" He asked.
"Nothing, I'm tired and hungry," Judith grumbled. "Is she ...?" The girl let the question hang.
Ellis shook his head and didn't meet her eyes. "No, she's not back," he answered, knowing what she was asking.
Clarisse had been gone for over a month on a 'special' quest for Chiron. Judith had practically demanded the centaur to tell her where her sister had gone but he had refused to tell her anything. She hadn't been in contact with the older girl at all and didn't know if Chiron had been either since the quest was 'top secret.' It was all very suspicious and Judith didn't like it one bit.
