Finally, the praetors had allowed Mila's idea to come into fruition. For the last few weeks, she had lobbied to assign demigods to go on rescue missions for any stragglers from Camp Half-Blood. Mila had been all too aware that there were still many Greeks missing, and her concern for her missing camp-mates had grown by the day. Some of the missing were very young and / or vulnerable, and it itched at her that she was sat comfortably in Camp Jupiter while there may be children out there being hunted down by monsters, or lost and confused and unable to find their way to camp. Despite what any Roman might say about 'survival of the fittest', Mila knew it was highly unfair and she had to do something about it. In fact, she was pretty ready to go out and do it herself, regardless of what any of the Romans thought, but it seemed that compassion had won over the Roman management. Mila wondered who or what might have been the cause for the change of heart, but in the end, it didn't matter. She had gotten what she had asked for, and she was pretty ready to go the very next hour.

Unfortunately, the Romans had decided to spend the rest of the afternoon and evening needing to plan the logistics of the rescue operation, and so Mila had spent the time checking and rechecking weapons, tack, and grooming Oreius repeatedly to the point that the pegasus threatened to bite her if she tried to pick his hooves one more time. That was when Mila decided it might be time to go to bed. She had retired, sleeping fitfully, and was the first out of her cabin before the sun was even out. She was beyond ready to just get out there and go. She didn't know where to start, or how to find any of the lost ones, but she was going to go around and around their designated area until she found someone or Oreius dragged her home. Mila had a funny feeling the latter would become the reality.

As she waited outside the border, Oreius' hooves clattering on the concrete path towards Caldecott Tunnel, she glanced around impatiently. She had been told to wait at this spot at this hour and that she would be having some Roman demigod as her companion - pairs, they had decided - but they were late and Mila was beyond antsy. Another five minutes, she would give them, and then she would go on with or without them. Mila felt she was plenty capable of going by herself, and while she could see the merit in sending demigods in pairs, she also felt they could be covering a lot more area if they were sent out individually. But she was not going to be fighting the praetors, not when they could so easily retract the assignment and not let anyone out of camp at all. Mila would take what few wins she could get, but that would not excuse her late partner. With a bit of a huff, Mila blew a strand of blonde hair out of her face as she glanced around again for her Roman partner.

WORDS: 536 | TAG: Corbin Blake