**Song: Campus by Vampire Weekend**
~Nico's POV~
When we woke up that fateful morning, we didn't expect what came next. Solana wanted to check on Luna, to make sure she's sane. Will wanted to apologize too, but we sent Solana first just to be safe with Luna being a loose canon and all. I didn't want to admit it at the time, but I missed hanging out with Luna. She was my sister, after all.
When Solana told us, we didn't know what to do. Me, Will, and Percy were nervous, but we didn't know where she was or what to do to find her. She could be half across the ocean at this point. For all we know, she could be in China.
Will had the idea to Iris-message her. I agreed, as that was the safest thing we could do to contact her without having to hunt her down. Percy set up the mist and Will threw a golden drachma in.
"O Iris, god of rainbows, please take my offering and show me Luna Naese." We all hoped that it would be able to connect. To show us the person we all missed. Suddenly an image of Luna popped up.
"What?" Luna's tone suggested we were skating on thin ice.
"Luna! You're alive!" Solana's face lit up with joy.
"So what?" Luna sounded like an angsty teenager who was over everything.
"You need to come back." I sounded more stern than worried.
"No." She said it plainly, like it was common sense or something.
"Yes." This time it was Will who spoke. "You can't do this quest alone."
"Oh yeah? Bite me!" She then broke up the iris message, leaving us to try and brainstorm ideas to find her.
"That was for sure one of the Hawaiian islands. My bet? The one closest to us." Solana seemed to know her geography or something. Or, at least I think that's geography. Don't blame me, I dropped out of 8th grade and can't remember any of the work stuff.
"Should I go get her? I can make it a quick trip." I hope Will says yes. It would give me some time to apologize for being rude to Luna.
"I wouldn't. We'll probably see her at Circe's island anyways. Let's just focus on getting there." Will seemed to have a path set out. He was no Annabeth, but he was the voice of reason here so I'm all for doing that instead. I really do want to see Luna though. I want to apologize for being rude, disregarding her feelings, and ultimately being the worst brother ever. I mean, I already let Bianca down, I can't do the same with Luna.
I go to my room. I need to do something to at least try and convince Solana to come back. If I shadowtravel to her, have a good conversation with her, then come back fast, no one will notice. Suddenly Will comes in, and I realize it's going to be harder than I think.
"It's not your fault, you know." I don't want his pity right now, but I can probably use it. "If I hadn't snapped at her-" I cut him off.
"No. Don't blame this on yourself. We all were jerks to her, not just you." I feel guilty for Will's face. His normally glowing face is dark, like if he were watching a camper die right in front of him and he can't do anything to save them. it's happened before.
"Okay." He seems to lighten a little bit, though I know he's still internally blaming himself. I know the feeling, and it hurts. I give him a hug, partly because I want to ease my own guilt, and partly because I want him to feel better. Sometimes it hurts even though you know what to do, because you feel guilty for them feeling hurt.
"I'm headed for thee mess hall. Join me?" I wanted to do something to take his mind off of it. You know, the funny things is that a couple years ago I would never have even thought about doing this. I would have been locked away in my room, killing myself over it. I guess I learned how to love.
"Sure. I'll come." Will and I walk to the mess hall, and I hope he can just forget about Luna for right now. She's too stubborn for us to mess with her for right now. I know that for sure.
I immediately see Solana and Percy talking. I pick up bits of their conversation.
"I miss Luna." Solana says something after that, but I can't hear it.
"It's okay, she'll be back soon." Percy replies.
"I don't think-" Solana starts, but Will begins to talk to me, so I can't hear her.
"Earth to Nico" He sounds like he's been trying to talk to me for a couple minutes now.
"Oh, yeah?" I tried my best to sound like I haven't been eavesdropping on Will and Solana.
"Are you the one regretting Luna? 'Cause I thought I was." Will laughs a little bit, clearly trying to mess around.
"Haha. No, I'm fine." I reply, going along with his 'joke'.
"Okay great, because I am ready to eat!" We go and grab food. For breakfast we have some waffles with syrup. It's a basic breakfast, but I've missed it. I haven't had it since I was in the Lotus Casino. It all brings back memories that have been long since buried.
"You okay?" Will seems concerned. I'm probably making a sad face just thinking about them.
"Yeah, just" I pause for a minute. "remembering."
"Oh" Will says it like he should have known. I guess he would think that. He is my boyfriend after all. "You okay?" He asks me.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAyEMDXbyal
"Yeah. This just reminds me of the Lotus Casino." I look around the room before my eyes landing on him again.
"Well, that's either a good thing or a bad thing." I guess it could be both. It could cause more PTSD than I already have from the past few years, or it could be a sign that I'm healing. A sign that I'm beginning to accept that I can't change the past, and learning how to deal with the future.
"Do you think Luna will be okay?" I change the subject. I am still really worried about her, and I know Will is too. You can learn a lot about people from just their demeanor.
"Yeah, she'll be alright. She's independent and resourceful, some of the many things that make people good at living alone. She also had you as a brother." I smile at that thought. The thought that she'll be alright out there on her own, just like I was. But a memory floats up to the surface. The jar. The pomegranate seeds. Everything from those worrying days.
"But I still got into trouble too. The jar, cupid, all of it really. It's what keeps me up at night." Will got this puzzled expression, as if he were trying to process this information.
"I mean, we'll get to her in time, right? We're going to the same place." Will was trying to see the bright side of things. Suddenly a verse from the prophecy crept it's way into my mind.
One voice will face the witch’s snare, fierce and true, While kin are torn apart by tides that pull askew.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwkjkYiQ7g5
What if? No, it can't happen like that. Luna can't be the one to go through that. If anything, I wanted to take on that pain and suffering, not her.
"Will we need to get to Circe's island now" My tone was strong. I was clearly not playing around
"Why?" Will seemed confused.
"Because. Luna is in trouble."
ns216.73.216.13da2
and then Add to home screen.