Nico diAngelo:
I was back at camp for the summer when I was fifteen. It was a lot different than it was a few years ago. It was bigger and there were a lot more people. I had been there for a few months already when it happened. If I thought my life couldn't get any stranger than it already was, I was dead wrong.
The sing-a-long was getting boring. I had heard all of these stupid songs at least a hundred times. When Percy and Annabeth started being all mushy next to me, that's when I finally decided to just get up and leave. I began to weave my way through the crowd of demigods and satyrs to try and get the the exit. I earned a few protests from people I stepped on (or nearly stepped on) on my way out, but I had said "excuse me." They just hadn't bothered to get out of the way. So yeah, not really my fault. Chiron raised an eyebrow at me as I went past him. I merely said "bathroom," even though I had absolutely no intention on coming back.
I got out of the crowded amphitheatre and just walked. I didn't really know exactly where I wanted to go; I just needed to get away from all those people. I still wasn't used to being in crowds. People agitate me, especially a lot of them at once. And especially Percy. I mean, he didn't make me nearly as anxious as he used to, but still.
Okay, so where to go now? Well, I was sort of hungry. Maybe I could go steal some strawberries from the fields. Or I knew the Hermes cabin kept a stash of food in there. Then again, they'd probably get me back tenfold if I tried anything. Eventually, I decided to just go sit on a bench by the lake, of course stopping back at my cabin for my sketchbook. Not too many people know this, but I'm actually pretty good at drawing. People don't really know that much about me. I tend to stay closed off most of the time.
So I walked into my cabin, which was fairly dark and gloomy as usual. I did pride myself in this cabin, though, seeing as I pretty much designed it (with a little bit of help from Annabeth, of course). The obsidian walls really brought out the darkness and gloominess of the rest of the cabin. I did add a few personal touches, like some purple curtains- purple was Bianca's favourite colour. Since I was the only person in the cabin, I'd made my area of the place a little more decorative. I had bought some cool black sheets and a proper mattress for myself, and on a small nightstand I had, there were some candles and the mythomagic figurine of Hades that Bianca had left me. The rest of my old mythomagic stuff was under the nightstand. I always told everyone that I didn't like that stuff anymore, but I took it out and played with it every once in a while. I mean, I didn't really have that much else to do. I sometimes train, like with my powers, or with physical strength. I sometimes study, mostly necromancy and stuff about ancient Greece. But beyond that, I didn't really do much. I mean, I didn't like people very much, and the people I did like, liked each other more (talking mainly about Annabeth and Percy here). So really the only stuff I did besides the occasional training and studying was drawing and mythomagic. And sometimes I read a book. It sure was boring. It was a nice break from all of the travelling though, I had to admit.
So I grabbed my sketchbook from underneath my bed and headed back out of the cabin. I went down a down a path to get to the lake, but as I was walking past the showers and toilets, I heard something from above me. I looked up. What the Hades was flying- or falling- towards me? It was yelling. That couldn't be good. I staggered backwards and tried to run but before I could, I had basically barreled right into me, sending me flying back towards the ground, several feet away from where I was originally standing. After I coughed out the dust that had gotten into my lungs, I opened my eyes, only to see a great big mass of black feathers. It took me to a few seconds to realise that a person was attached to all those feathers- which were wings, and that that person was clearly injured and unconscious. I looked around frantically. I didn't want to leave him- it- whatever it was. "Help!" I yelled. "Somebody help!" Thankfully, the crash had made a very loud noise that had carried all the way over to the amphitheatre, and people were already running over with swords at the ready. Chiron came forward, saw me holding the thing with the black feathery wings, and his face went grim.
"Oh dear," he said. Really? Oh dear? This thing was injured!
"Can someone take him to the infirmary? Please? He's injured!" I exclaimed, rather annoyed that no one was doing anything. A group of the Apollo kids ran forward with a stretcher. We heaved the thing with the feathers onto the stretcher and the Apollo kids started to carry it up to the Big House to be taken to the infirmary. I followed them, seeing as I was the one who originally found this thing.
When we got there, they told me to go wash up in the bathroom, because I was a pretty huge mess after being crashed into. I went into the bathroom and washed my face with a wet paper towel, then straightened out my clothes, attempting to get a few stains out with the same paper towel I had washed my face with. I also smoothed my hair back out, because it had gotten really messy from the whole ordeal.
I went into the infirmary after I had cleaned off a bit to try and figure out what had happened to the thing that crashed into me, or what it was. I saw the feathers before I saw the rest of the body attached to it. He had a few cuts or gashes here and there, and he was unconscious, and he just looked so peaceful laying there. He looked to be about my age, maybe a bit shorter than me. He had silky jet black hair, sort of like mine except his would be neater once it was brushed, and he had the most beautiful pearly white skin. Like Snow White, pretty much. I went to sit in a chair beside him. I marvelled at, despite his injuries, how perfect he was. I gave a start when he opened his eyes and looked at me. They were a radiant, absolutely beautiful shade of emerald green…..
Shit.