Chapter Text
It hadn't even been a month after the second giant war and yet, even as she was drowning in her guilt at not being able to protect her friends, Bloom was having strange dreams of winged women in her sleep. No, not Nike or any other Greek/Roman goddess with feather wings. Some tan chick with golden-brown eyes, golden blonde hair with platinum blonde roots, pointed ears, and a sun/moon tattoo on her. She’s also always wearing a… sparkly orange and blue outfit of some kind with transparent fairy wings coming from her back in her dreams. Bloom can’t understand any of the dream, no matter how many times she’s had it since the second giant war ended. She shakes her head clear as she slips on a cropped-version of the orange Camp Half-Blood shirt she’s seen since she was 3. She can’t think about that dream right now, not that she wants to think about it in the first place since they just came out of a war, not when she needs to stay calm and collected so she doesn’t break down while speaking at the shroud burning of those who had fallen during the second giant war. She lets out a soft, quiet sigh as she ties her long, fluffy orange-red hair which fades to black out of the way, only her bang left out of the pony-tail so her grey streak of hair is visible. Her heterochromia may give her one sea green eye and one cyan blue eye, but both of them shine equally with the weight she feels as co-leader of the Greeks.
Just as she's about to step out into the camp she feels one of her half-brothers, Percy Jackson, slip his hand into her hand and squeeze it gently as they then both walk out into the bustling camp… or what’s left of it at least. The once bustling and vibrant camp was originally full of lush green fields, a big forest of trees, a clean lake, a fresh river, 12 beautiful and pristine cabins as well as other buildings/structures. Now it was all burnt and destroyed except for random patches of green, fallen trees, and the leftover rubble of the cabins/buildings that had once stood tall and proud. In the places of those cabins were tents. That is how the demigods now sleep. Oh how she missed when things were as simple as they could be for a demigod. Before the betrayals, before knowing of the Romans’ existence. She missed life as it had been… Just her, Micheal, Lee, Connor, Travis, Pollux, and Castor training together and driving the others nuts with their chaotic antics. Now it was just her, Connor, Travis, and Pollux. Micheal, Lee, and Castor had all died during the second Titan war. Bloom could feel the soft, fluffy fur of Mrs. O’Leary, the camp’s hellhound, pressed against her legs as the tank-sized dog stayed close to her. Mrs. o’Leary had always favored Bloom since being left in the camp’s care. The giant, monstrous dog, understood the human’s pain and loneliness despite being surrounded by people.
As they reached the beach, where the new but temporary burial burning pit is for the time being, Percy went over to one of their Roman cousin’s side(Hazel, daughter of Pluto) and hugged her. Bloom bent down and gave a 15 year old Will, one of the children of Apollo left after both wars, a quick hug before climbing up to the podium and taking her spot besides Chrion and Dionysus. Her eyes shine sadly as she sees all of the shrouds. There are 4 silver shrouds with a bow and arrow for the four fallen hunters of Artemis(Phoebe, Naomi, Celyn, and Kinzie), some green ones with vines for some Demeter campers, a orange-ish/brown one with a hammer for Leo, and lots of others that Bloom can’t see through the pile. Shrouds belonging to the Romans have purple embroidery while the one’s belonging to the Greeks have orange embroidery. Bloom takes a deep breath as Chiron stamps his hoof for silence before nodding to the young leader. Bloom breathes out and steadies herself before clearing her throat and saying, “I know it hasn’t been as long as we all would like since the second Titan war ended. Believe me, I really wish we could have had time to find new demigods and bring them safely into the camp without the threat of war. But I do believe that something good has come out of this no matter what way we look at it. While it would have been nice to meet our Roman counter-parts without trying to murder each other-"
She had to wait for the laughs and snickers to die down before she continued, “This war is the reason we’ve come together now and is the reason we now have more friends to help and rely on. We may have lost many in this war but we have also gained many and have become stronger than before! Nothing can keep us down for long and we will continue on in memory of those lost as I strongly believe that is what they would want!” She raises her sword in the air as she shouts out, “Nobody will forget their stories as long as we live! For our fallen friends!” She could hear cheers and shouts of agreements from the sea of Greeks, Romans, and Hunters/Amazonians as they responded in kind to her shout. With a slash of her sword, a wave of fire hit the pile of shrouds as they began burning and the smoke rose into the air with a sad but comforting scent of familiarity.
~~~~ The Next Day ~~~~
The next day, after a good and filling breakfast with their Roman and Hunter/Amazonian siblings/friends, the rebuilding process began. It was also going much quicker than it would have thanks to the gods helping. The Demeter/Ceres children were regrowing the grass, flowers, and fallen trees with the help of the tree nymphs and their mother. Bloom, Hazel, Nico, Thalia, Jason, and Percy were all helping the Hephaestus cabin and the blacksmith god himself with rebuilding the cabins, even if it was just bringing the materials to them. Left and right demigods, legacies, gods, and nature spirits were working to rebuild the camp that had fallen during the fight against the giants and Gaia. Everyone pitched in and helped wherever they could, even if that was just keeping this light with jokes or making sure everyone took regular breaks and ate something. Soon, by the end of two or three weeks, there were newly built cabins that were furnished and sturdy that campers were able to live in. No more sleeping on the uncomfortable ground in tents. The infirmary and big house had even been fully replaced as well. Even though it would take a bit longer for the grass to return and MUCH longer for the new trees to be fully grown… the camp was beginning to feel like home again to all the Greek campers that had been there for as long as they could remember. Of course it wouldn’t be the same as it had been before the wars, nothing could ever be the same after seeing so many friends and siblings killed brutally like it was nothing. There would still be those countless amounts of sleepless nights with those terrifying nightmares and it would take time for many campers to heal, both physically and mentally. But in the end… they have each other and their new allies. With time and healing, they would heal and come back stronger than ever. For once… it was peaceful and that is what they are truly grateful for. If only they knew how short that peace would be…