I stared at the tall archway of Camp Half-Blood, my eyes looking over that rickety old sign that'd been hanging there since the Titans ruled. The tree still glistened with the Golden Fleece; oh gods, that fragile little thing had to be millennia old.

I looked up at my mother pleadingly. "Mom, I don't want to go. I obviously don't belong. Where would they put me?"

Daughter of famous Perseus Jackson and Annabeth Chase-Jackson; I was Thalia Jackson, the sandy haired thingy that they still couldn't name. After all, what would they call the child of two demigods? Would I still just be a half-blood, or a god? Or did I just go back to being human? The unanswered questions roamed my mind as my mother smiled at me.

"Calm yourself," she answered irritably. "Dionysus is an old friend. He'll make sure you're in a safe place."

"Yeah, right," I muttered to loud for her to hear. Safe place? There was no such thing for people like me. They say I'm strong, really strong, because I've got the power of Athena and Poseidon at my free use, but not coordinated enough to defeat a monster. Mom and Dad tried to keep me away from that sort of stuff.

"How many are there?" I asked.

"Excuse me?"

"How many?" I repeated. Gods, I would have to clarify it. "How many of… us?"

Mom bit her lip, something she did when she didn't know what to say. "Four others," she finally managed after several dull seconds. "You'll share a cabin with them. They built one just in case, but it only came into use very recently, when demigods began mating. Most demigods just go with mortals, to try and keep the gene away from their children."

"Why?" I asked.

"It's a dangerous life, Thalia, but I believe you can do it. Besides," she said in a whisper, "Grandmother will watch over you. I know she will."

I left my mom at the entrance, us both thinking it'd be best if I went to Dionysus alone. He was sitting at the Dionysus table, sipping a Dr. Pepper while shouting at a pair of Ares who'd started fighting. He wore a ratty Hawaiian-type shirt with a straw hat and lobster red sunburn. He gave me a sideways glance as I looked him over.

"New kid." He sipped his Dr. Pepper before turning to me. "What do you want?"

"I'm Thalia Jackson," I said, putting out my hand for him to shake. When he declined I brought it back to my side. "I'm Annabeth Chase-Jackson and Percy Jackson's daughter."

Dionysus turned to me with sudden interest. "You're a Hybrid?"

Hybrid? So that's what we were called. Hybrid, like a car. How nice. "Sure."

He stared at me utterly amazed for a second before standing up and walking toward a place between the Nemesis cabin and Hestia cabin. It was a span of almost twenty feet, with nothing there but scraggly patches of grass and dirt. "Okay. There you go."

I stared at the space and rolled my eyes. "Nice," I said sarcastically. "What is it?"

Dionysus turned to me but didn't say a word. Instead, he shoved me into the air with all the might his human form could muster.

But I didn't land in the space, but a cabin. It was gorgeous, with ornate designs on frames of all the gods and white carpets and white walls. There were also five twin-size bed, each with its own nightstand. Each bed was decorated differently, except for a plain bed in the corner that wore only standard camp bedsheets. I assumed it was my bed.

"Um, can you let me in?" asked Dionysus. "The force shield around it keeps out monsters or other demigods, and will only show if needed. You have to invite me in."

"Come on in."

He came in and looked over my bed. "How do you want it decorated?"

"I don't care. Half and half, I guess," I answere as I looked around. There was books for Athena, weapons for Ares, and so on, each god or goddess (even the minorities) having its own element in the room.

"There."

I turned to see my bed. It was sea blue with moving images, Athena and Poseidon side by side, actually getting along. A surfboard shelf hung over it like a canopy, and fresh olives in a bowl. I also saw a saltwater fountain gurgling by my bed. Poseidon's element.

"That was your father's," he said. "A gift from his father."

I looked at it in amazement. Dad had told me about it, illustrating how it worked. He said it, other than his sand dollar, was the best gift he'd ever gotten from Poseidon.

"Now, you will be granted access to both the Poseidon and Athena cabins, as all the other Hybrids to their grandparents. I may introduce you to the other four now, if that is fine. They've been anxious to meet you," Dionysus said as we ventured out. "We also must take you to the Big House. I have a feeling you might be one."

"One?"

"Never mind," he ordered. "Let's go meet your new cabin mates."