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People would tell me how much they hated this place. Why they thought it was awful.

I used to think that it wasn't so bad, really.

[Hazel's expression is stone-faced and her tone calm, but there was a noticeable tightness to her shoulders. She was sitting on her bed with a borderline defeated aura, closet door behind her partially open and a...bow in hand.]

[Those who had known him may or may not recognize it as Frank's bow.]

[Her fingers gripped it so tightly, it was a wonder the wood hadn't broken in half yet.]

Now? I finally get it.

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[Hey, James.]

[Normally, the sight of her friend would have brought about even the tiniest of smiles. She wasn't in much of a smiling mood.]

This.

[She held up the bow.]

It was bad enough when all my friends started disappearing. Nico...Annabeth...Percy...even Frank. But now, it's like my own closet is mocking me.

Frank's gone too?

[ He hadn't realized that. ]

I'm sorry, Hazel. Is there anything I can do?

Yes. Just before the latest excitement started.

[She'd thought about announcing it. For the people who knew him and deserved to know. But one day had turned into the next, and before the proper words could ever come, Armin appeared with information and plans on how to fight. Instincts kicked in, and she had prioritized the mission over personal feelings.]

[It was the Roman way. The reason why Leo had trusted the two of them with his Secret over the rest of the Seven. Because they would understand. And they did.]

I'm not sure there's anything anyone can do.

I'm sorry.

[ Excitement... all that... no. He's going to worry about that later. Right now, he's got a friend to cheer up. He'll go down and see Armin tomorrow. ]

Would you like to join me for a movie? I don't know that many, but there's a few floating around we can get?

[ That's what normal friends do, right? ]

[It was what normally friends did.]

[And normal boyfriends, too; the moment he suggested a movie, she had to turn away. Shutting her eyes to will the tears back. She and Frank...taking full advantage of the luxuries and magic of Wonderland, he had been regularly introducing her to Disney movies. Every film she'd missed in the seventy years she was dead. They'd started with Snow White and worked their way up through the classics by year.]

We...were supposed to watch Oliver and Company next.

At least, I think that was the title. The one with the little cat and the girl.

[ He says nothing while she composes herself. He can't imagine Torrun, Pym or Azari being here and then not. He can't imagine Francis being here either... to lose someone as close as Frank was? It has to be heartwrenching. ]

I don't know what one that is. You've probably seen more movies than me. I've been trying but some of the movies just aren't that great.

[ Star Wars had hit too close to home. ]

Do you have it?

[Debatable. Every movie she had ever seen had been here, in Wonderland.]

No. I don't.

Frank had been the one to set everything up each time. [She'd looked forward to their movie date nights. Which they could no longer have; not even back at Camp Jupiter. There were no movies there.] But...

Maybe when the closets stop acting up. Though I don't know why they're acting up now.

I have a couple of movies that we could watch. I don't know how good they are.

[ Wall-E and Tarzan. He's been trying to get around to watching more. At least with his broken arm he's got more time. ]

[At first, she wasn't sure. Watching those movies...it had been her and Frank's thing.]

[But then she thought of all the movies he must have gotten to watch without her. Before Camp Jupiter. Which already put him ahead of her.]

...not Disney.

[Her one concession. She wanted to keep those for when she saw him again.]

But anything else should be fine.

[ Well, that negates Tarzan and Wall-E. But doesn't he have...? A quick glance says he does. ]

Alright. I can do that. Want me to come to you? Or you can come down to my room?

[She thought about it for a moment. Weighing the pros and cons of either option. In the end, the only major factor was whether or not she was willing to navigate the mansion hallways.]

I can come to you. [The fresh air would do her good. And she had always been good at mazes; she was one of the few people who never got lost around here.]. Which room?

Seventh floor, room 18. I'll leave the door open for you.

[That would (hopefully) save her the trouble of asking if he could leave it open. There were a lot of modern customs and conveniences she had gotten used to, but in her heart, Hazel was still a 1930s girl.]

Seventh floor, room 18. Got it.

I'll be over in a little while.

I'll be here.

[ frantically cleaning his room and putting things away because he's a boy. ]

[Dont worry, James. She's friends with Leo. There's no clutter that will ever compare with his.]

[And with that, she quietly hangs up to...basically just grab a hair tie before heading out the door. Primping = not really her thing.]

[ James is just picking up the last of the paint for the shield. He spends a lot of time painting it. Well, did. Nowadays it's pretty spectacularly plain, since he can't use it often. ]

Hey Hazel, come on in.

[ His room is pretty typical of a kid. there's still bits and pieces everywhere that he just doesn't see. There's a TV with a DVD player on a dresser across from the small loveseat that's in his room.

At least the bed is made? ]

[It was the paint that momentarily caught her eye. Not the state of his room, or the things strewn about. Not even the bed--it wasn't as if she was going to go anywhere near it.]

[In fact, after a moment, she even forewent the love seat in favor of positioning herself directly on the floor, back resting against the bottom of the couch. The door behind her remained very conspicuously open.]

So...what are we watching?

Not that shark movie again, I hope. It was weird, even for a movie.

I really did not understand that movie at all. Either of them.

[ James doesn't mind admitting that. ]

But I have something different.

[ He pulls out a DVD. ]

It's called Shrek.

[She knew what a DVD was now, and leaned forward in attempt to get a better look at the picture on the cover. It looked very...green.]

What's a 'Shrek'?

I don't know. I asked the closet for some kid movies, and this is what it gave me. Maybe it's the green guy on the front?

[ James shrugs and puts the DVD in. He isn't sure, but maybe it'll cheer Hazel up some. And it's definitely not Disney. ]

[That would be her first guess, yes. Which just left one more question before she settled down to watch the opening credits:]

...why kid movies?

[Not that she was offended. Like she had said, anything that wasn't Disney would be fine. And only then, because of Frank. She was simply curious as to why he wouldn't think to explore any other genres.]

[ James settles on the couch next to where she's sitting and shrugs, putting his arm on his lap. He scratches around the edge of the cast. ]

I wasn't sure where to start and at least it wouldn't give me anything that would be too bad?

[ Another shrug. ]

[It was...fairly telling that Hazel could only guess at what too bad might be. Her initial thoughts went to violence and foul language, two things which she would actually have been okay with. Considering her life.]

Fair enough.

[...though the first few glimpses of Shrek's home life were making her seriously reconsider. Her nose scrunched up slightly.]

I think I knew a giant like him once.

[ James does not understand why that thing - ogre? - is brushing his teeth with something out of a bug's butt. But, it's cute animation at least. ]

You've met a giant?

[ James is curious. ]

[He had a very bizarre definition of cute.]

Met...fought...

[Same difference, really.]

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