[1]Boy Meets Girl...And Her Little Brother
"Stupid demigods," the dark-haired boy muttered to himself as he walked through the forest alone, hands shoved in his pockets. "Stupid life." He stopped at the top of the hill, overlooking the deserted road on one side and Long Island Sound on the other. He watched as a dry Percy laughed at a drenched Annabeth. He smiled slightly. Sure, he had had a small crush on the son of Poseidon back when he was younger, but now he was over it. Percy and Annabeth had gone through so much together that if they weren't a couple the entire camp would make it happen.
He looked back to the road and was surprised to see a small figure running toward the hill, a larger one running after it. He quickly shadow-traveled to the Big House and warned Chiron. The centaur's eyes widened, assuming the worst: a monster chasing a young demigod. The defenses were formed in less than a minute.
His eyes strained to find the small figure until he finally did. It was a little boy, no older than the age he was when Percy, Annabeth and Thalia found him and his sister. Curly blonde hair flopped in the wind as the small boy ran toward them.
After a moment or two they caught sight of the larger figure. The defenses raised their bows, sheilds, or swords. The figure stopped dead.
He furrowed his brows. Why did it stop?
"Uh...hi."
That was a feminine voice. Not a growl, or a roar, but a feminine voice. Empousa, maybe?
"I, uh, come in peace."
Now she's an alien.
The girl crouched. "Miles James Lyra. Get your tiny butt over here."
The little boy frowned. "But-"
"Miles!"
The boy, Miles, sighed and walked over to the girl. The defenses, now confused, lowered their weapons and watched as the scene unfolded.
"You do not run when I tell you not to. Understand?"
Miles nodded slowly, his eyes full of tears. "I'm sorry, Ellie."
The girl sighed, softly wiping away a tear. "I know, you just scared me."
Chiron cleared his throat. He was now in his wheelchair form, as to not frighten the young one. Ellie's head swung in his direction quickly and she rushed to her feet, grabbing Miles' hand and pushing him behind her.
Now that he could see her, he noticed her long, dirty blonde curls framing her tan face. Freckles sprinkled across her features, accentuating her bright blue eyes.
"If you don't mind my asking, who might you be?" Chiron inquired.
"I mind it." Ellie's eyes flickered across the defense lineup, stopping for a moment longer on him. But she quickly moved on to the rest.
"Then allow me to show you to our headquarters." Chiron had a twinkle in his warm eyes, and he instantly knew he was planning something.
Ellie hesitated, but Miles didn't. "Okay!" He ran over to Chiron, who began to wheel to the Big House. She closed her eyes, muttered something under her breath, then started after them. She met his eyes as she passed him, but for just a moment.
For a minute the defenses watched her, but then they put away their weapons and continued what they were doing before the interruption.
He debated, but then his curiosity won. He shadow-traveled to the Big House.
She caught up to the two, snatching Miles' hand. He looked up at her through thick eyelashes and grinned. She rolled her eyes at him. They approached an old blue house and climbed the stairs, the man in the wheelchair using a ramp. When they entered, the sweet smell of a hickory fire drifted through her nose.
"Take a seat," the man said, gesturing toward the couch.
Miles ran to it, jumping up and sitting Indian-style, but she remained standing. "I'm fine."
"All right. May I ask for your name?"
"I'm Miles, and I'm seven years old. I like superheroes. Do you like superheroes? I do, because they can do anything and-"
"Miles."
The little boy blushed. "Sorry."
"He gets a little...carried away." The corners of her lips lift slightly. "I'm Eliana. Eliana Lyra. But call me Ellie. Miles is my little brother."
"I'm Chiron. Ellie, do you know where you are?"
"Uh...somewhere in Virginia?"
Chiron's features went slack. "Virginia?"
"That's what I said. Last I checked the map, that's where we were: the border of Virginia." She took out her map and unfolded it, handing it to Chiron.
He scanned it. "This map is strange. It's been enchanted to lead you here, but tell you a different location."
She swore under her breath. "When I get my hands on Hermes, I'll-"
"Hermes?"
Ellie's eyes widened. "Uh, nevermind. Where am I?"
"You're at Camp Half-Blood, a safe place for demigods, children of mortals and gods, Greek gods. Which means that you are a demigod, as well as Miles."
"I know."
"You know?"
"Yeah. I was claimed years ago. Personally. Miles was a little after." She paused. "Do you think they'll reclaim us?"
"It could happen. If they want to be dramatic," Chiron answered thoughtfully.
"Trust me, they'll want to be dramatic," she muttered. She got up and grasped her younger brother, pulling him off the couch. "Thank you for the lovely chat, but we should go."
"Are you going to stay for dinner?"
"Can we? Please?" Miles pulled the puppy dog eyes.
She grimaced. Her weakness. "Fine." Miles cheered. "But," she said, "only if you're well-behaved the whole day."
"Okay!"
She turned to Chiron. "Thank you. I'll see you at dinner."
"You'll sit with me at the head table."
She forced a smile. "Great."
Center of attention? Me? Come on, can't I catch a break? she thought. At least Miles gets a real meal for once. Her eyes wandered to her little brother, who was skipping next to her. She smiled.
All right, he thought. I can do this. Just go up to her, and say 'Hi, I'm Nico.' No, that sounds stupid. 'Hey, the name's Nico.' What am I? Aphrodite spawn? He groaned.
Suddenly, he was knocked off his feet and landed butt-first on the ground.
"I'm so sorry!" The voice sounded familiar. It was the girl from earlier! "Miles, you need to look where you're going! Apologize."
"I'm sorry."
"Yeah, it's fine." He finally looked up to see blue eyes staring back at him and a hand. He gripped the hand and was pulled up. The blue eyes were a beautiful shade, like the sky on a warm summer day. An orange ring circled the pupils like the sun.
"I'm Ellie. This is my little brother Miles."
He cleared his throat, looking away. "Nico."
"Well, nice to meet you, Nico."
"You, too."
He watched her retreating figure, now so different from the first he saw earlier.
I'M BACK! Did y'all miss me? No?! Why not?! Eh, *shrugs* can't please everybody. Anyway, can you believe that I actually posted?! NEITHER CAN I! But I am really sorry about that hiatus I took without any explanation. It's just I got writer's block, then SCHOOL CAME IN LIKE A WRECKING BALL! And I was just lying on the ground, twitching a little, wondering if my brain could take all the information being forced into it.
So tell me what you think!
Love always,
Cali 3
