Hey guys! Long time, no see! :P
This is the first chapter in my new story, Afterthought. It follows Moira and Nico's son, Cameron. It's the sequel to The Millenium Child, and if you haven't read that, this might not make any sense.
Also, this story is less rigid in it's following of the PJO universe, so I am aware that some people will enjoy this less. Please no flames, as I am already aware of the flaws. :)
So, without anymore babbles from me, on to the story.
"Hey dad?!" Cameron yelled, sticking his head out of his bedroom. "Have you seen the bow Aunt Annabeth gave me last Christmas? I shoved it under my bed and now it's gone!"
The teen's eyes were flashing, their usually light hazel turning a threatening shade of hunter green. His dark brown hair cut short (The best reference I have for how his hair is cut is Liam Payne's hair. I really don't want to use 1D as a reference, but I was left with no choice *Insert dramatic music*). He was taller than his mom and quickly catching up to his dad. His skin was tanned from the countless hours spent with his surrogate uncle, Percy, who was teaching the sixteen year old to surf.
"If you shoved it somewhere, it's not my job!" His father, Nico, shouted back. His voice echoed from the kitchen, where he and his wife, Moira, were packing a picnic lunch. They smiled at each other as their son groaned and stomped back into his room. There was a crash and a triumphant yell, and the boy emerged, holding the bronzed bow and a set of arrows over his head.
"They were under the book shelf." He said, letting them clatter on the counter top. "When are we leaving?" He asked. He stretched his arms above his head, yawning. Cameron had never been a morning person.
His father glanced at the wall clock. "We need to head out in five if we're gonna make it on time."
"Are Perce and Annie-B meeting us there?" The ever-questioning boy asked. His mother rolled her eyes and smiled.
"Yep. They said they wanted to be there." She said, her eyes bright.
They quickly packed everything into their small car, and moira handed Nico the road map. She slid quietly into the passenger seat and glanced at her son in the rearview mirror. He was stretched out across the whole backseat, his headphones turned up loud enough for his mom to make out the lyrics to Pompeii, by Bastille:
I was left to my own devices,
Many days fade away with nothing to show…
She smiled at her son's love of music that was now considered old-fashioned. She closed her eyes and rested her head against the back of her seat, knowing they had a two hour drive to Camp Half-Blood.
After multiple stops for food, the small family reached Half- Blood Hill. The pine tree was still standing; the Golden Fleece perched on the lower branch.
Cameron could see through the mist, and he bent down the scratch the nose of the dragon sitting beneath the tall pine. He started down the hill, not waiting for his parents to unpack. His dad yelled something, and the teen waved over his shoulder. There was an exasperated sigh from his mother.
Cameron reached the bottom of the hill and saw a gaggle of campers standing next to the big house, and he nodded at his 'cousin' Lia, Percy and Annabeth's daughter. She smiled back, her grey-green eyes wide with excitement.
Percy was on the porch behind her, glaring at any of the boys who came near his daughter. Lia had 'blossomed' the year before, and she had been giving her dad fits ever since. The tight orange tee shirt and short-shorts she was wearing weren't helping things.
"Hey, Cameron!" Annabeth yelled, walking up behind Percy. Her eyes hadn't changed since she was seventeen.
Cam jogged over to his 'family', and swung himself over the railing and onto the porch. His parents were dragging his suitcase down the hill.
"Aren't you so excited!" Lia asked, bouncing on her heels. Her cheeks were red and splotchy, and it reminded Cameron of when she was little. She would get over-excited, and her face, arms, and neck would quickly become red.
Cam nodded. He shifted the weight of the bow strapped across his back.
"I guess. It's not like we haven't been through this before, though." As Cam finished, his cousin giggled. She had started to ignore his comments by the time they were ten, knowing half of them were cynical musings more than actual thought.
"Mom?" She asked, turning around to face the tall blonde. "Can we go now, please? I am begging you to let us go. I mean, we don't get to do stuff like this every day, and it would be awesome, since me and Cam are only here in the summer, if you would-" Annabeth held up her hand, silencing her daughter. She shook her head to same way she did when Percy was annoying.
Nico stomped up the steps and set a large duffle loudly on the wooden planks.
"You two can head out, just don't die or kill anyone. And Li," She said, eyeing her daughters clothing. "Borrow Cam's sweatshirt before your dad goes ballistic."
Lia rolled her eyes, but slipped on the baggy hoodie Cameron pulled from his duffle, which was now sitting on the porch.
"Cam!" Shouted Moira, her eyes vibrant. Her son edged away from her, knowing what was coming. She reached out a hand and started to tickle her son's stomach. He doubled over from laughter, and quickly ended up curled up on the floor.
"Mom," He said between fits of laughter. "Please, please stop." Their grins were almost identical, perfectly white teeth flashing in the bright June sunlight.
Moira relented, grabbing her son's hand and helping him to his feet.
"Let's go!" Yelped Lia, dragging Cam around to the back of the Big House and down the steps. A group of three teens stood off to the right hand, each seemingly waiting for the arrival of the other two.
"Lia!" Squealed a heavy-set brunette. Her brown eyes shone brightly in the harsh sunlight, and her rosy cheeks were splashed with new freckles.
"Hey Cassidy, how goes it?" Lia said, embracing her old friend. The two had known each other since the blonde's first year at Half-Blood. The Demeter cabinite had been assigned as her tour guide. The girls broke off, arm in arm, leaving Cameron on the steps.
"Hey Cam," Said a short, spindly-looking red-head. His pale blue eyes glinted mischievously as he greeted his friend. The Hecate camper had always struck the others as slightly deranged, but they never thought much of it.
"Hey, Emmet." Cam said, again shifting the weight of his bow, which seemed to grow heavier with every passing moment. "Jamie." He nodded at the tall, Hispanic boy. The Aphrodite camper nodded in return.
"I'm dropping my stuff at my cabin, and then I'm heading down to the arena." Said Cam, walking off.
"We'll meet you there in fifteen!" Yelled Emmet. He started in the direction of his cabin, which had been expanded during the winter months. Jamie quickly made his way to his cabin, which had been painted an unfortunate shade of pink.
Cameron opened the door to the Hades cabin as quietly as he could, knowing his cabin mates, Andrew and Amelia, twelve year old twin from Austin, Texas, would be sleeping.
He dropped his bag on his bed, the largest one in the cabin. Not being a 'full' Hades camper hadn't kept him from being the head of the cabin.
When Chiron realized there were more and more demi-gods having kids, he appealed to Olympus to open the camp to them, too. The gods agreed, and the kids were welcomed into the cabin most prominent in their skills and interests. For kids who had one parent who was more powerful, like Lia, it usually meant they would inherit some of their parent's gifts.
There was a shuffling sound from one of the beds, and Andrew's head pocked out from under the sheets. His deep brown eyes were irritable, and he clearly was upset about being woken up.
"Hey, little buddy. Ready to head down to the arena?" Cam asked, ignoring the younger boy's glare. There was a second, louder 'flop' sound, and Amelia fell out of her bed.
"Oww." The girl complained, rocking up onto her hands and knees. She looked up at Cam and smiled, showing her crooked teeth. They had been close the past summer, and he not being there all winter had left her with only her biological brother to talk to. Talking to her nephew was much more fun.
"Are you going to go outside sometime today, or are you planning another hermit summer?" Cameron said, reaching down and pulling the girl off the floor. She gave him a quick hug, but pulled away before he had time to hug her back.
"I have plans with the Hecate girls around four. We're going to prank the Apollo cabin. Stupid sunshine freaks." She said, scrunching together her light blonde eyebrows. She was incredibly pale, and her hair followed suit. Naturally a platinum blonde, the girl's only feature that wasn't startlingly fair were her equally startling eyes, the same shade as her much darker-skinned twin brother's.
Cameron smirked at her 'stupid sunshine freaks' insult, knowing she had held back from using profanity only because he said she was too young to curse.
"I was heading down to meet Emmet and Jamie at the-" Cameron was cut off by Amelia, who raised her hand sharply.
"I refuse to associate with Emmet. He is… insufferably irritating and obnoxious and... I'm out of synonyms for vomit-inducing." She said, stomping her tiny foot on the black floorboards.
"I'll tell him you said 'hi'." Cameron said, smirking again. There was an indignant shout from the pre-teen, but Cam was already sprinting down the gravel pathway.
He kept running until he reached the arena. Barely winded, he slowed and walk inside the large space. Lia, Cassidy, Emmet, and Jamie were all standing off to one side, watching a match between two Ares campers and one of Lia's three cabin mates, Kenneth. The sound of metal on metal rang out clear in the air, and it filled Cameron with a sense of belonging. His dad had been bringing him to this arena since he was five years old, and the worn benches were more comfortable to him then his couch at home.
He made his way over to the supply shed, walking strait to the back. He turned the lock on the safe that he and some of the other summer-only campers kept their more valuable weapons in.
Reaching into the far back of the large metal container, he brought out his father stygian iron sword, which his dad passed down when Cam had turned thirteen, and Lia's set of golden daggers, which had been custom made by the Hephaestus cabin for Lia's tenth birthday.
He made his way back out of the shed, grabbing a spare sheath off of the wall and strapping his sword to his hip before walking out again. He tossed the shining knives up to Lia, who caught them and squealed with glee.
"Hey, mixed-blood!" Shouted an Apollo camper. Cameron turned in the direction the voice had come from, but the insult hadn't been directed at him. He followed the camper's eyes and saw a blushing Lia slowly backing towards Cassidy, whose posture had gone stiff.
Cam felt a pull in his stomach. His mind racing, he didn't stop to think about how best to attack. He launched his body at the blonde boy, and their swords clashed. Cameron's arms strained against the force, trying not to lose his grip on the hilt of his sword.
The adrenaline pumping through his veins was enough to keep him from dropping the weapon altogether. The boy he was fighting flashed a crooked smile, and Cam recognized him as someone his mom had introduced him to when he was fourteen.
The boy's name was Curtis. Cam had never liked him, mostly due to the never ending teasing he had endured at Curtis's hand. The boy had a distinct dislike of demi-god's kids, calling them mixed-bloods, half and half, and multiple other insults that made no sense. Cameron didn't think Curtis would ever be able to gather together enough brain cells to figure out all half-bloods were mixed-bloods.
"Hey, Cam." Curtis said, his blue eyes shining maliciously. Cam's temper flared again, and he started attacking with renewed fury. Within thirty seconds, Cam had Curtis backed up against the wall of the arena, sword resting under his chin.
"Hey, Curt." Cam said, spitting out the name like it tasted sour. He leaned in close to Curtis's ear and whispered threateningly, "If you come near her again, or any of the other 'mixed-bloods', I'll cut off your thumbs and feed them to Cerberus, you worthless-" Cam was cut short for the second time that day.
"Cam, leave him alone. He looks like he's about to pee his pants, anyways." Jamie shouted. For the first time since he had backed him against the wall, Cameron looked at Curtis's face. His usually sunny complexion had gone chalky, and his sword had clattered to the ground.
Cam shoved him to the left, his shoulders burning from the effort of his fight. He looked up in the stands at Lia, who was seated next to Cassidy. They smiled at him, knowing to leave him alone for a while before trying to approach the enraged teen.
Cam walked back out of the arena and towards the forge, knowing his favorite ADHD mechanic would already be working full time on his newest endeavor.
Thanks for reading. Feel free to leave critisism in the comments, I joined this website to learn, not to be coddled.