"I, your name, pledge myself to the goddess Artemis."
"I, Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, pledge myself to the goddess Artemis."
"I turn my back on the company of men."
"I turn my back on the company of men."
"Accept eternal maidenhood and join the hunt."
"Accept eternal maidenhood and join the hunt."
Silence followed as Thalia looked up at the moon shining high above their heads, waiting for Artemis to send her some sign of approval.
The wind blew quietly through the trees as the silver flames danced around in their pale marble basins. It was weirdly peaceful for such a tense moment.
Suddenly the moon grew brighter, almost blindingly bright. It drowned out the stars and the faint lights coming from the cohort cabins. Then it faded into its normal brilliance.
"The goddess Artemis has accepted you. Welcome to the hunt, Reyna." Thalia smiled, spreading her arms, gesturing to the twenty or so hunters who were watching with smiles on their faces.
"Thank you, Thalia." Reyna was smiling softly.
After they all said their congratulations and Reyna got her signature silver coat the hunters slowly moved out of the little clearing they were in, taking the basins of silver fire with them. Eventually, only Reyna, Thalia, and Nico were left in the clearing.
"...you're really quitting huh." Nico hated how choked up he sounded. He frantically wiped at his eyes, willing himself not to start bawling. That would be embarrassing, it wasn't like Reyna was dying.
"Yeah. I've been thinking about it for a while. I believe it's the best choice for me." Reyna walked over to him and crouched down, so she was squatting down in front of his perch on a fallen tree log.
"It's a bummer that I won't be able to see you all the time." He mumbled, refusing to meet her eyes. He probably looked like a wreck.
"Dude, it's okay little Cuz." Thalia plopped down on the log next to him, throwing her arm casually over his shoulder, her quiver and bow digging into his side. "I'll make sure we stop by both camps regularly so we can hang out with everyone. You'll just have to make sure you can take a break from everything you're doing to come and meet up with us."
"I just... I'm going to miss you so much." Nico hiccupped.
"You can Iris Message me whenever." Reyna chuckled, reaching out and gently grabbing his hands in her own. "If I'm not in the middle of doing something then I'll stop and talk to you."
"What if you get hurt? Or you get into trouble?" He started, squeezing her hands in a desperate attempt to get her to stay.
"Eh, Reyna can absolutely handle her shit. Besides, she'll have the most badass group of gals to help her out." Thalia clapped him on the back. She sounded like she was joking but Nico could tell she was trying her best to actually comfort him. It wasn't doing much.
"Thalia is right. I'll make sure to stay out of too much trouble and if I do manage to slip into a mess I'll pull myself out as fast as I can." Reyna straightened up and sat down on his other side. "I promise you that."
"...camp won't be the same without you." He sighed, letting his body relax into the two girls.
"I know it won't. But I also don't think I could run Camp Jupiter anymore. I mean, two wars and now a rough battle, I want to... move on." Reyna gently patted him on the shoulder. "And I know Frank and Hazel can lead this camp just as well as me, maybe even better. And it should be better. I was running this camp by myself for longer than I should have, which meant that I didn't always have time for certain camper needs, which meant that some aspects of the camp suffered. And I know... actually."
YOU ARE READING
From Camp Half-Blood to Gotham (Nico x Batfam)
Fanfiction**All characters belong to the writers of DC and Rick Riordan.** Nico is careless, he's always known that. But he never expected himself to wind up in the LITERAL worst place in all of America. China would have honestly been better than this. But l...
