Chapter 1: The Arrival
I ran through the woods, exhausted. The Cyclops was chasing me with fire-breathing dogs that were the size of oak trees. A voice had guided me to the forest to seek shelter. My internal radar was tingling like crazy as I ran. I was getting closer. A scent of warm fields and strawberries wafted over. I immediately felt at home. A pine tree loomed over me, a glittering golden fleece hanging from its branches. As I fled past it, a pricking feeling washed over me. The huge Cyclops barrelled behind me, then crashed into an invisible wall, groaning. He angrily bashed at me with a metal pole, but the hits bounced of the barrier harmlessly. The beast groaned at the prospect of losing a meal and shuffled back into the woods. I smirked and turned around to see a huge group of people wielding heavy artillery staring at me. A fat, dumpy man wearing a leopard-striped shirt sighed. "Chiron! Another one."
A centaur galloped over and eyed me for a second. I narrowed my eyes and drew my long knife, crafted out of Celestial bronze, mortal steel, Stygian iron and Imperial gold. "What do you all want? Are you allies or what?" I shouted, brandishing my weapon threateningly. A small gasp came from the crowd. "Hey, look at her blade…" "Yeah, FOUR metals…" "Luke's sword Backbiter…" The horse-man chuckled. "That depends whether you trust us," he said.
Suddenly, a voice shouted out, "How do you know she's a demigod? She may be a…" The assembly suddenly stopped whispering and stared at my head, mouth agape. "Whaaa? What's going on…" My hands brushed something furry on my head. A pair of furry wolf ears sprouted on my head and my face elongated into a long snout. I look at my snout in surprise. "What's happening to me?" I tried to say, but all that came out was a long howl. I shrinked down and landed on fours, my limbs growing fur and my hands and feet turning into paws. I felt bones recreating and dissolving and I howled in pain. I felt a furry tail grow out from the bottom of my back as my tattered clothes fell down to reveal me as a wolf.
There was an awkward silence before the fat guy snickered. "Well, THAT was interesting." I snarled and prowled towards him, baring my sharp teeth. He flicked his hand, but I leapt over the bush he created. The audience was shocked. "Werewolf…" "Full moon tonight…" "Immune to magic…" they whispered.
Chiron stamped his hoof on the ground. "Silence!" The entire group shut up. "And you, young lady," he said,gesturing towards me. "Try not to rip Dionysus to shreds and please change back to human form. We need to have words." I glared defiantly and switched back to my normal form by thinking about my appearance: Dark auburn hair, golden-chestnut brown eyes and a slight tan. I turned back to human wearing a silver shirt and black combat pants, accompanied with brown leather boots. My old, ripped-up clothes appeared in my hands and I tossed then in a garbage bin as I followed the huge centaur reluctantly.
"So, my dear, I presume you are a child of Lupa?" I nodded at Chiron. "Hmm, very strange… Anyway, I see you are a skilled fighter. You can sleep in one of the cabins tonight. Tomorrow, you can build your own cabin. Seeing that you are Roman," Chiron chuckled. "You can build very fast. You and Annabeth will be fast friends, I think. Annabeth!" Chiron called out the door.
A blonde girl with stormy grey eyes burst into the room. "Yes, Chiron?" she asked. I noted that she was one tough and smart girl. She was no 'dumb, giggly blonde'. "Annabeth here is a child of Athena, or Minerva. She will direct you to the Hermes cabin for tonight." Chiron said. I reached out my hand in greeting. "Hi, my name is Luna," I said. Annabeth took my hand wearily and shook it. She nodded to Chiron and pulled me out the door.
"So, you're…Luna." Annabeth said as we walked towards the cabins. "Yeah. Chiron said you're an Athena child, right? I'm guessing you want to be an architect." I replied. She looked surprised. "Me too," I added. Annabeth smiled. "You designed any good buildings, so far?" I smiled. "Yeah. It's an idea for my cabin-building tomorrow." Annabeth gasped. "You thought of one THAT FAST?" I nodded. Reaching into my torn backpack, I pulled out my pad of sketch paper and drew out a rough diagram of my ideal cabin. We began to chat about good materials and stuff like that.
By the time we got to the Hermes cabin, Annabeth and I were firm friends. When she opened the door, the room was filled with people. "Regular or undetermined?" a voice called. "Determined, but her cabin isn't built yet," Annabeth replied. They groaned, then cleared a small space on the floor for me. Annabeth waved to me. "See you tomorrow!" I waved back, just as someone shouted, "LIGHTS OUT!" The light turned off and I fell asleep on the floor at once.