Early Morning Literature

The sun wasn't quite up, when Lily woke up. The sky was still cold, still dark. The clock on her bedside table told her that it was roughly 6 AM. Rubbing away the sleep from her eyes, the blonde pulled on a sweater and stepped into her boots.
The crisp winter air nipped at her face, as she crept outside. After all, the rules never specified a time when you were allowed to get up. And 6 AM was definitely okay. Maybe a little early, but still acceptable. Or so she thought.
The camp was quiet. Quieter than usual, which would've been odd if it wasn't in the early morning. Many of the campers were still away, and the camp was otherwise barren. But Lily liked the camp, regardless of the number of campers, or the weather. School, on the other hand, was tedious and boring. There was one thing that Lily Rivera hated, and that was being chained. Forced to be like everyone else. Lily was a wild horse, refusing to be tamed.
She reached the edge of the woods, and looked back at the camp.
If only it was always this peaceful.
She trekked deep into the woods, before selecting a nice, tall tree. Adjusting the little bag on her shoulder, the daughter of Poseidon climbed the tree, and perched upon a nice, sturdy branch that would probably support her. Probably.
She shivered a little, before reaching into her bag, to produce a book.
This was the little moments of joy that she relished, the moments when she could get away from everything. Forget about the past, forget about the future, and just focus on the words in front of her. She opened the book, stuck the sticky note/bookmark on the cover, and began reading.
She was so immersed in the book, that she didn't even notice the little slip of lavender paper, loosened by the wind, gently floating to the ground.

Shay was up early. She didn't know why she woke up, but she did, and the cool and crisp air beckoned her outside. The camp was quiet, and it was kinda eerie, without the usual yells as campers pretended that it was a suitable time to yell “THIS IS SPARTA” or pretend they were defeating Vegeta. She changed into a jacket and wandered outside, wondering what time it was. It was probably early in the morning, as it was peaceful. She kept walking, and then she heard a twig snap. Was that me? Oh well it probably was. Shay thought. She then realized that she was in the forest. She shrugged. The monsters in the forest probably aren't awake at this time. She kept walking, mentally mapping her route as she went along deeper and deeper into the forest. All of a sudden, something smacked into her forehead and kinda clung on using her hair. Shay picked it up, stroking the surface of the object. Is it...paper? What’s paper doing here? She really couldn't tell if there was writing on it, unless someone stabbed it a particular way.She tentatively called out, “Hello? Is anyone there?” She awkwardly held up the paper thingy and waved it around. She then waited for a response.

A twig snapped, and Lily broke herself away from the book, and her thoughts.
She had company.
Was it a monster? The blonde was largely unarmed, and virtually defenseless.
Was it a camper?  Being discovered would lead to being forced back into the camp routine. And Lily was still unsure about that. Somehow, it felt as if she was being restrained.
"Hello?"
Lily froze, trying to stay as silent and unnoticed as possible. The ivory sweater had been a grave mistake.
But then again, her hair was a grave mistake in the first place. Anyone could spot her blonde locks from any distance.
"Is anyone there?"
What had given her away?
Lily sneaked a look down, hoping to catch a glimpse of the person below her.
She was waving something around....her bookmark.
Lily mentally slapped herself, until she noticed the girl.
The blind one. Daughter of Apollo, she recalled.
Maybe she wouldn't sell her out.
"Um...yeah. Up here." Great phrasing, Rivera. Lily bit her lip, before adding a quiet "Like, in the trees."
Slowly, she uncurled herself, to get a better look at her.
Yep. She was right.
"...Shay, isn't it? I'm Lily. From cabin 3?" Lily genuinely hoped inside that she'd gotten her name right.

Shay jumped in surprise when she heard another human voice. Honestly, she was expecting just silence. She then looked up, just to make it seem like she was listening. Shay nodded in response to the other girl’s inquiry. And now she had learned that her name was Lily. Shay kinda waved around the piece of paper. “Do you want this back? Or, um..." She walked in a random direction to about where Shay thought Lily’s voice came from. She tripped on a root, then stumbled, nearly crashing into a tree. Shay scratched the back of her head and breathed in through her teeth. How was she going to get up there?

"Wait, No, I wouldn't adivse you to..." Lily pursed her lips as Shay stumbled.
She didn't need the bookmark. It wasn't anywhere near expensive, and she could always get away with dog-earing the page.
But the sun was steadily coming up, and Lily figured that Shay would need a little help going back.
Maybe she should've trekked deeper into the woods, so that no one would come.
It wasn't that she didn't want friends. It was simply that sometimes, she felt better alone. Sometimes, it was nice to just be somewhere, knowing that you wouldn't be the last one in the group, the last one without somebody to talk to. The last one that might get paired up with a boy, since there wasn't a girl who wanted to team up with the blonde.
"Just stay there for a moment." Lily advised, then closed her book.
So many memories. Bittersweet, sunkissed memories of the past.
She wanted to get rid of them all.
"I'm going to get down, okay?" Lily put the book away, then started to go down, carefully putting her feet on each branch.