For the first time after fifty-five losses

                                    

                                          



Paths intertwining,
Prophecy's shifting currents,
And Rhea ponders.
***
The next morning after breakfast, Rhea told Grover about her dream.
They sat in the meadow watching the satyrs chase the wood nymphs through the snow. The nymphs had promised to kiss the satyrs if they got caught, but they hardly ever did. Usually, the nymph would let the satyr get up a full head of steam, then she'd turn into a snow-covered tree and the poor satyr would slam into it headfirst and get a pile of snow dumped on him.
Grover started twirling his finger in his shaggy leg fur.
"A cave ceiling collapsed on her?" he asked.
"Yeah." Rhea said while playing with the floating bubble of water changing its shape, freezing it, turning it to liquid again, changing its shape, freezing, and repeating.
Grover shook his head. "Right after what Zoe dreamed—"
"Huh?" Rhea gave Grover a weird look.
"I... I don't know, exactly. About three in the morning she came to the Big House and demanded to talk to Chiron. She looked really panicked."
Rhea deadpanned. "How do you know this?"
Grover blushed. "I was sort of camped outside the Artemis cabin."
"Why ?"
"Just to be, you know, near them."
"Stalker with hooves." Rhea said. "You don't spy on me when I bathe with the nereid and nymphs do you ?" She teased.
"I DO not!" Grover turned red. "Anyway, I followed her to the Big House and hid in a bush and watched the whole thing. She got really upset when Argus wouldn't let her in. It was kind of a dangerous scene." Grover grimaced. "She starts talking really old-fashioned when she gets upset, so it was kind of hard to understand. But something about Artemis being in trouble and needing the Hunters. And then she called Argus a boil-brained lout... I think that's a bad thing. And then he called her—"
"Don't wanna know the insult, Argus has quite the mouth on him when he wants to." Rhea said.
"Yeah, and I... well, finally Chiron came out in his pyjamas and his horsetail in curlers and—"
Rhea snorted.
"Well, Zoe said she needed permission to leave camp immediately. Chiron refused. He reminded Zoe that the Hunters were supposed to stay here until they received orders from Artemis. And she said..." Grover gulped. "She said 'How are we to get orders from Artemis if Artemis is lost?' I guess when she said lost she meant like ... you know what happened to Persephone."
"The Goddess of Spring and Vegetation." Rhea said. "At least Hades is treating her the right way unlike a shabalalala up in the sky with his wife."
Apparently, this wasn't enough to lighten the mood a bit.
Grover bit his lip nervously. "Kronos...He can't be that powerful already. Can he?" He then sighed "What am I saying ... I think somebody would know if Kronos had re-formed. The gods would be more nervous. But still, it's weird, you having a nightmare the same night as Zoe. It's almost like—"
"They're connected," Rhea said as a matter of fact.
Over in the frozen meadow, a satyr skidded on his hooves as he chased after a redheaded tree nymph. She giggled and held out her arms as he ran toward her. Pop! She turned into a Scotch pine, and he kissed the trunk at top speed.