Micah let go of Ray's wrist, putting his hands on his waist. "Don't get cocky, Riley. This isn't gonna be easy."
Nicole walked over, looking at the three. "How did that monster get past the barrier!?"

"I don't know, but you can ask this guy here and he'll probably tell you a really long, boring explination that'll waste the time we have to fix the problem." Riley says, pointing to Ray.
Ray snarls at Riley, deciding he didn't like him and wouldn't care if this guy got devoured alive by a pack of Wnellad. "It's your barrier. Why don't you figure it out?"

"Maybe something's wrong with Thalia's tree?" Micah suggested, looking towards Half-Blood Hill. Nicole thought for a moment, then said, "but what could be wrong?"

Ray shrugs and keeps silent, glaring at Riley, who was glaring right back.
"Perhaps it got blown practically to bits?" Austyn suggests, bouncing up to them. He noticed the hatred between Ray and Riley and started to back off.

Micah looked around for Janet. He didn't want someone so young to be involved in any of this. Nicole glared at Austyn, shaking her head. "It didn't get blown up," she scoffed. "We would've noticed."

"Alien invasion! It took the tree but nothing else." Austyn suggests, grinning warmly in an attempt to thaw her cold glare. "Oh, or maybe... I don't know. Monsters undug it? It got poisoned? It died? Trees die." Riley was only half paying attention to Austyn, already getting annoyed by his foolish guesses. None of those could have possibly happened.
Ray quietly asked Micah what he was looking for, wanting to help.

"Janet," Micah mumbled. "I don't want her involved in this." He turned to Riley. "Thalia's tree couldn't have died- it's enchanted... And the last time it got poisoned was when the second Titan War happened.. if we're about to have to fight another war like that, then this is way worse than we thought."
Nicole rolled her eyes and looked away, sticking her hands into the pockets of her jacket.

Ray nods, preparing to go and fly around to search for her. "Should I bring her back when I find her?" He asks. It wasn't an 'if' I find her, it was a 'when' I find her.
Riley stares at Ray's wings, shocked that a human could have wings... unless... Ray was a monster pretending to be a human and had everyone tricked so far. He drew his sword and attacked Ray with it. Ray yelps, barely dodging the first attack, getting nicked by the second, before flying high in the sky where Riley can do nothing but glare at him and say mean comments to him.
"I'm not a monster." Ray tries to tell Riley, but he wouldn't have any of it.
"Any monster would say that. Maybe you were the one to somehow stop Thalia's tree from working. That would explain how you and the other monster got in." Riley says, prepared to use his sword again if Ray tried anything.

"Riley!" Micah looked up at Ray, then glared at Riley. "What is wrong with you!? He's trying to help us!"
Nicole just stared, wide-eyed with awe and admiration, at Ray's wings.

"The only thing he's done to help us is supposedly warn us about a monster invasion. It looks as if it's already happening. He could very much be a spy or some distraction the monsters sent our way." Riley says, not yet ready to put his thoughts aside.
Ray shudders at the death glare Riley gives him and decides that he should start moving if he wanted to keep his hide. He takes the opportunity to fly and keep an eye open as he looks for Janet.