Chapter Text
Celia was young when she learnt how rough the world was, too young, she was eleven when she reached Camp. At the time, the young Quileute found herself lost in the crowd of demigods.
They travelled for ten days, almost died three times and she was there with Charles. She found him on her way. She reached Camp with dirt on every inch of her skin and a torn-up jersey she had when she left Washington, her hair was a mess and the little girl could swear she had a broken arm from the important swelling.
Celia huffed as she was taking in the stake of the video Luke just showed her, she was a half-blood. A demigoddess. She felt the tears prick her eyes as she understood it all. Why she was attacked at school several times, why she could feel the feelings of plants, why they could grow under her fingers, why her mother stayed distant with her, the mortal one. It all clicked in her little head.
At dinner that night around the pit, she was claimed right on spot, A heavy silence sat on the tables. All at once, all gazes turned to her directions and poked at her head or above it. A sign of golden wheat appeared right in the air above her head. The young Native girl looked beyond confused and sought the eyes of the children in worry. Chrion the centaur stared at her with a light grin.
“Kids, let us welcome Cecilia Mae Black, daughter of Demeter, goddess of harvest, the seasons and fertility.” All at once, all the crowd bent for what felt like an eternity when it lasted three long seconds. The centaur darted towards a group of kids on a wooden table between an empty table and another filled with troublemaker kids."Cabin 4, I'll expect you to welcome your new sister."
A ginger-haired girl and brown-haired boy rose up from the little group to greet the Native American girl who arrived at Camp. Both had the same of brown eyes, and this aura of leaders. The boy was older and somehow goofier, and he bent to her size, pinching her cheeks with a light smile. "Hello Cecilia, I'm Katie, your vice-counselor and he's the head councelor." interrupted the girl pushing the boy aside.
"And I'm Casey, gosh! You're so cute! I'm so happy to have such a cute younger sis". "ignored his uptight younger sister.
The young girl faked a thin smile, "Hi, I'm Cecilia, but please call me Celia." she taught them, with a fleeing gaze.
Katie sighed and glanced at Casey, she was only two years younger than Katie, but she'll have to grow fast if she wants to survive. Celia eyed them with worries and the cuts on her hands betrayed how desperate she was. She must've lacked sleep these last days. "So we're all siblings? Can you make plants grow faster too? Do you feel it too?" her chesnut eyes were taking in every little bit of detail she could.
Katie was about to respond when Casey cut her in.
"We'll show you the dorms and the showers, you surely need it now." He chuckled, returning a warning glare to Katie, silently saying. Not now.
Katie nodded to her older brother, Casey was the oldest of their cabin, he was 16 years old, almost seventeen. Casey's heart tightened as he witnessed the fate of an-eleven-years-old girl being torn up like this. Every Demeter kid looked up to him and she too relied on him. Casey led Celia to the dorms and presented every member of the 'farm' as they called themselves.
"Tomorrow, we'll answer all your questions. But, for now, just rest." Casey reassured the tribe girl.
During her first day at Camp, Celia carefully observed every little thing of the Summer Camp, the buildings, the demigods, the swords, the goats? all of it fascinated her as much as it frightened her; how was she supposed to survive now?
Two months later, Celia went back home in La Push. At first, the whole reservation throbbed knowing the little Black disappeared, Charlie Swan the police chief searched through every clue. The man only heard of traces of fights in the forest, but her prints stopped after a few kilometers. There were no more traces, nothing, it was as if she vanished into thin air.
The Black family was devastated, Billy cried for his poor daughter, the father had imagined the worst. How could she disappear like that? The second day of the research, Billy Black cursed himself for his diminished legs, he craved to be able to run with all the others outside and search for his Celia.
One day, Billy broke down in his chair facing the fields before the porch. Jake caught him as he couldn't find sleep in the night. It had been several weeks since Celia disappeared and it wore out on the Black household, especially the patriarch.
"Dad?" asked the young voice of Jacob.
Crying could be heard, then suddenly they died down.
"Dad?" he repeated.
It was the first time Jacob found his dad crying, the boy missed his sister terribly. He hoped they would find the tiny bit of information now, at least in order to reassure his poor dad.
Billy quickly waved off the tears from his sights and slid his chair towards Jacob. "Jacob, what are you doing here?"
The young Quileute boy just approached his father with uncertainty. "I couldn't sleep," he admitted. Jake and Celia were the two youngest among the Black siblings and also the closest. Though Rachel and Rebecca were preoccupied with the disappearance of their sister, they weren't as affected as Jake was. Jake and Celia almost share a connection, Billy would think sometimes. He hoped they would always stay close to one another with time.
The heart of the father tightened as Jake came towards him with a blanket over his shoulders. Jacob picked a wooden chair he'd put next to his father's wheeling chair and sat to his side.
"Do you think they'll find her?" asked the young boy with an unreadable look in his brown eyes.
Billy looked towards the fields facing their porch, he sighed heavily. He couldn't reveal it all to Jacob, it would endanger his daughter and he would be taken for a madman if it wasn't already the case. Somehow, the elder of the Quileute Tribe regretted his life choice, especially when it came to Celia's birth.
"She'll be okay, Jake." he asserted, patting his son's head. "Our Cece is a force of nature." The man added with a sardonic tone only he could comprehend.
Eleven years ago, Billy had broken his faith to his wife. One night, he met a strange woman, strangely attached to nature, always praising organic products and the benefits of cereal between romantic rounds. Billy would always think about her long flowy golden hair and her hazel eyes. From the moment his eyes landed on her, he knew she wasn't human by any means.
Nine months after their meeting, a baby girl was left in a basket at the Black's doorsteps. Billy and Sarah decided to adopt her and care for her nonetheless. Sarah nurtured the same love for Celia as any of her children.
At some point, Billy studied the other creature, otherworldly beings and he found something, a clue. All the weird accidents around Celia amplified as she grew. And Billy had no ways of contacting her mother, yet he knew something or someone was watching over his daughter.
Let us just pray for her and that she is still protecting her now.
Jacob and Billy fell into a ritual after that. They would observe the front poarch in the evening hoping for a sign of return. Anything.
And after two months of being missing, one day, a silhouette came out of the high trees. The silhouette became one of a girl, one from the tribe, her brown hair fell on her shoulder, she wore an orange t-shirt and a pair of jeans. She carried a bag and a worried strain on her face. A few cuts had marked her skin over the summer, and the innocent feature she had faded during these two months. Celia didn't look like an eleven-year-old girl then.
When Billy came out of the house rolling down his chair, he felt as if his legs could've made him reach her. In the span of seconds, the face of Celia broke into a hopeful smile, the girl left her bag and ran to her father.
"Dad!" she cried out.
She didn't care anymore to play the cool kid, or the chill girl. She was alive and she arrived home, safe. Her father was there to greet her; she couldn't ask for more. She would thank her mother after dinner.
But now, the only thing Celia wanted to do was to tell her father, how much she missed him, how much he was important, and mostly, how much she loved him. The most important thing of them all.
Hopping up the marches of the Black's threshold, the girl engulfed her dad into a long hug. Billy barely had the time to react when his dear child surrounded him. His arms welcomed her and all at once, both father and daughter melted down.
"Dad, I'm home." she whispered, her voice wavering. Billy could see the small scars lingering on her arms, how muscular she became and how scared she turned. How she shivered in his arms, and the tears which tainted his shirt.
"There, there, birdy. Everything is fine." he hummed in her ears, rubbing her back reassuringly.
"I'm so sorry. I couldn't..."
"Sh...." the father calmed her. "It's alright, sweetheart. You're home now."
Soon after their reunion, hearing the hushed cries on the porch, Jake noticed his sister back, the boy ran to her and almost knocked her down on the ground. His grasp tightened around the body of his sister, he could sense her flinch, but he didn't care, she was home. That's all that counted.
Billy was brimming with joy, he looked at his children with relief. "Kids, I think it's time to go inside, it's getting cold."