“she is not an ally..”

winter gently opened her eyes. she looked around and realized that she was in an unfamiliar place. everything around her was gold and white in color. there were gigantic doric columns that surrounded her and the brunette couldn't even guess where she was.

as she looked around once more, she noticed a gold-plated gate that protected the whole place.

winter gasped as an idea came out of her head.

“am i.. dead?” she uttered, immediately standing up then walking further to check if she really was in heaven.

because hell wouldn't look this comfortable and relaxing, right?

“winter kim..”

a deep, spine-thrilling voice echoed throughout the whole place. she searched for where the speaker was but unfortunately found no one.

yet winter knew she wasn't alone.

she could feel a lot of eyes watching every move that she made.

“winter kim..”

the voice echoed once again.

“who are you? show yourself!” winter bravely exclaimed.

“she is not an ally.. she will be the reason once olympus crumbles down..”

the ground suddenly cracked open, showing another dark world full of rivers of fire and terrifying monsters. the doric columns and other greek architecture that appeared to be sturdy crumbled down into pieces and fell deep down, 

including winter. 

“winter kim!” 

the brunette jolted up from her position, causing her head to hit the top bunk of the wooden bed that she slept in. she groaned in pain as she rubbed her forehead. 

she looked up, only to see a raven-haired girl wearing a thick, white hoodie and a pair of sweatpants. 

“.. karina? what are you doing here?” she asked, wondering how long the girl was standing there. 

“i just got back from my morning jog and i heard you screaming so i decided to barge in to check on you,” karina answered. 

“i was.. screaming?” 

“you were screaming incoherent words in your sleep and i could not understand a single thing. were you having nightmares?” 

winter sighed. 

“i.. i guess.” 

karina sat on the empty space beside the brunette. 

“do you want to talk about it?” 

winter immediately shook her head. 

“i– it's fine. i'm probably just stressed. it's not a big deal.” 

surely, the raven-haired girl didn't buy it. but knowing that it would just invade the girl's privacy, she decided not to push her even further. instead, karina swiftly pulled winter into a tight embrace, letting her long limbs wrap around the smaller girl. 

the action made the both of them blush. 

“do not get me wrong. it is just to make you feel a bit better,” karina suddenly blurted out. 

“i wasn't even saying anything. why are you being so defensive?” 

“nonsense. i am just explaining it to you, just in case you think that–” 

“karina,” winter cut her off. 

“huh..?” 

the brunette chuckled. 

“it's fine. it's just a hug.” 

karina softly sighed. 

“right, just a hug.” 

the two of them stayed in that position for almost fifteen minutes, none deciding to break the silence. at some point, it made them feel safe and sound. just like winter, karina has been having a lot of deep and stressful thoughts and she didn't know whether to prioritize them or just leave them that way. 

“uhm..” 

“what?” karina asked. 

winter was the first to untangle herself from the tight embrace. the both of them suddenly felt cold all over again. 

karina was about to speak when the door of winter's cabin opened. 

“winter, chiron is looki– oh, karina? what are you doing here?” giselle's jaw almost dropped when she saw karina inside winter's cabin,

and they were alone together. 

“i.. just paid winter kim a visit after my morning jog. do not get me wr–” 

“i just asked you what you are doing here, yoo. i did not say anything else. what is with you?” giselle asked, her eyebrows raised. 

karina's facial expressions turned sour. 

“i am not being defensive. that is nonsense!” 
she exclaimed before taking her leave. 

giselle and winter looked at each other with confused facial expressions. 

“what happened to her?” giselle asked before settling on winter's bunk bed. 

“i honestly don't know. she's acting weird. anyway, what were you saying earlier?” 

“ah, right. chiron is looking for you. this is a very serious matter.” 

“.. give me a moment to clean myself first.” 

and with that, giselle left the cabin. winter immediately took a quick shower, thinking about the 'serious matter' giselle talked about. she also remembered what happened to the camp's barrier. right after she was brought to her cabin, winter didn't get the chance to see whatever the state of the barrier was. 
karina was the one who brought her back despite feeling all wrecked because of the fight with the minotaur. 

the raven-haired girl stayed until midnight just to make sure winter was already fast asleep. 

remembering it now, winter couldn't help but to smile. 

soon as she finished brushing her hair, winter headed out of the cabin, only to be welcomed by complete silence. 

there were no demigods in the training field. winter wondered if they were all probably guarding the entrance of the camp. she shrugged her thoughts off and immediately went to chiron's cabin. 

giselle, ningning, and karina were already there. 

“am i late?” 

“not at all, winter. have a seat,” chiron said. 

the only empty spot was the one beside karina. winter felt shy but it would be even more embarrassing if she chose to just stand up so she swallowed her pride and sat beside the raven-haired girl. 

“so