Author's Note: Just a little thing I did a while ago... I'm not sure I'm going to continue it, but if you guys like it... then I might :3 give me some reviews, and I'll think about it 3 I tried to make it as funny as I could 3

Chapter One:I Find Out Why I'm Obsessed With Cereal

Have you ever woken up with the feeling that it was going to be just a normal day, but it turns out it isn't? That's what happened to me that fateful day, at the beginning of summer. My name is Freya Byrne (pronounced "Fray-yuh Burn"...weird, I know) and I am all of nine years old (and proud of it). I live in a tiny cabin-house in Gatlinburg, Tennessee with my dad, Smoky Mountain National Park ranger Audie Byrne. When I woke up that morning, he was eating his cereal in the kitchen like he always does. My cat, a fat tabby named Durum, after the type of wheat (my dad was kind of a wheat fanatic), jumped up onto my stomach, squashing the breath out of me. I shoved him off and sat up, looking around my room.

It was a small room. My twin sized bed barely fit, leaving no room for my dresser (but my dad had shoved it in anyway). My walls were covered with pictures of all the places I wanted to travel, but would never go.

Hm. Shows me not to say never, huh?

I tromped into the kitchen, my eyes half closed. That was probably why I ran into the wall next to the doorway into the kitchen. Or maybe it moved. Yeah, I'll go with that. I collapsed into the only other chair at our tiny table and laid my head down. My dad looked up, a spoonful of wheat cereal halfway to his mouth. He grinned, "Morning, Freya. You're up early."

I think I said something like, "Mmph, ah." Dad laughed, getting up to pour my cereal. He glanced out the window into the woods, frowning slightly. I didn't pay much attention to him. If he saw even a wisp of trash out in the forest, he would run out there and get it, pajamas or no pajamas. He cast a worried glance at me and headed for the door. I looked up at that, my eyes bleary.

"Where ya goin?" I asked sleepily. He paused and turned to give me an unusually stern look.

"Stay in here, Freya," he ordered, "No matter what you...see outside. Everything'll be fine," with this last mysterious bit of prattle that made my head hurt, he practically sprinted out the door. I stared after him and actually dragged my sleepy self over to the window to see where he was going. He stopped at the edge of the forest, and somewhere along the way, he had picked up his shotgun. He held it pointing out into the trees, and he yelled something before firing. He ran into the forest, gun at the ready. I started to get worried when, even after ten minutes, he didn't come back out.

I made up my mind. No matter what my dad had said, I had to go out and make sure he was all right. I grabbed the hunting knife he always had near the door (in case of bears knocking on our door at night-trust me, it had happened). I ran outside just in time to hear a shout of pain, almost covered up by a growl that shook the branches on the trees. I froze. That was no bear. It sounded like a really, really big dog.

Another shout got me moving again. I followed the path my dad had taken into the forest and saw a flash of white up ahead. I slowed down, my hand shaking as it held up the knife. Soon, I saw what my dad had run out to fight-a humungous white wolf. It was bigger than my dad's Dodge Ram and it's fur was coming out in clumps. I stared at it. It looked like it's muzzle was red, but...

Then I realized-it was blood. Blood covered the wolf's muzzle and dripped off its fangs. I looked down at the person slumped at the wolf's paws. It was my dad, and his right shoulder was ripped open and bleeding. He was grimacing in pain, trying to use his shotgun with his left hand. The wolf was lowering its head for another bite, it's glowing red eyes glazed with bloodlust. Before it could touch my dad, I gave my bravest battle cry and ran at it, knife held out in front of me. My dad started dragging himself away, his eyes locked on me. He was shaking his head, telling me to leave him and save myself.

It's a good thing I've never been good at following my dad's orders. I hit the wolf in its side, but the knife didn't seem to do much. The wolf turned its crazy eyes on my, opening its huge maw in a vicious smile. I backed up, keeping the knife raised. The wolf took a single step towards me, saliva dripping from its teeth. It's mottled red and purple tongue lolled from its mouth. My dad saved me, dragging himself to the wolf and weakly grasping it's paw in his good hand.

"Run...Freya," he gasped as the wolf turned on him and closed its jaws around my dad's entire torso. The wolf started shaking him like a dog with a squeaky toy, and I saw my chance. I dove for the shotgun my dad had dropped and lifted it. It was heavy, and I was barely able to fire it. When I did, the recoil knocked me back a few feet. I hit my mark though. The wolf howled before disintegrating into a bunch of tiny ice crystals. My dad hit the ground with a sickening thud. I ran to him, dropping the shotgun.

"Dad!" I cried when I saw his face, pale from blood loss and pain. He tried to smile at me, but couldn't quite manage it. I was sobbing, tears streaming down my face as my dad died. He open, staring eyes gazed up at me, and I knew I would never forget that look for the rest of my life. Those empty, lifeless eyes, the same violet color as mine, staring up at me. His hair, dark red like mine, was matted with blood that blended in with the hair. His face was so familiar, and yet so strange in death. I closed his eyes and stood. I couldn't tell anyone what had happened to my father. No one would believe that a giant white wolf killed him. I could say that he had been mauled by a bear, but the bite marks were so much larger than a bear's would be. In the end, I left my father where he lay and ran back to the house, not forgetting to grab the shotgun on the way back.

It was two weeks later that they found me. I was all alone (Durum had run off), sitting in my room with the shotgun clutched to my chest, when I heard people talking outside my window. I shuddered, turning the shotgun to face the window. The voices got louder, and I could make them out.

"That's odd...the house looks abandoned," one voice said.

"But this is where Demeter said she would be!" the other voice exclaimed, "Where could they have gone?"

There was a sound like an animal sniffing, "Do you smell that?" the first voice asked.

The second voice sneezed, "Yuck! What is it?"

The first voice answered, sounding grave, "Death."

They came into sight finally, two skinny boys wearing t-shirts and baggy jeans. They had goatees and curly hair under hats. I stared at them as they went around the side of the house. They walked funny, and they were sniffing around. They went into the forest and stayed for a long time before coming back. They went to the front door of the house and knocked on the door.

"Is anyone hoooome?" asked one of them in a bleating voice. I crept up to the door, the shotgun resting in my hands.

"Wh-who's there?" I called, hating the quaver in my voice.

"Are you Freya Byrne?" the other one asked.

"Who's asking?" I growled, sounding braver. They whispered to each other for a moment before answering.

"I'm Alhiya," one said, pronouncing it 'Al-hi-ya.'

"And I'm Mish!" bleated the other. They sounded friendly enough. Maybe I should open the door... but then I remembered the wolf, how it had attacked for no reason. What if these weird boys were in league with the wolf? What if I hadn't really killed it? I shook my head, held the gun pointed at the door, and opened it. Alhiya and Mish seemed shocked to have a gun pointing at them. They immediately backed up. Mish started chewing on his shirt.

"Now, uh, is that friendly?" Alhiya asked nervously, looking like he wanted to chew his shirt too. I shook as I held the shotgun, swinging it from Alhiya to Mish and back again.

"That monster killed my dad, and you guys seemed suspicious! Why shouldn't I shoot?" I yelled at them. Their eyes softened, and Mish's chewing of his shirt slowed. It was probably a good thing, seeing as he wasn't going to have a shirt in a few more minutes. I made a rash decision, stepping back and allowing them into the cabin. They tottered inside, looking around at the mess that had accumulated during the past two weeks. I felt ashamed-ashamed that I had holed up in here instead of meeting the outside world with my head held high. That was what my dad would have wanted me to do. I felt like I had let him down.

"What was it that attacked your dad?" Alhiya asked softly, sitting down at the table. Mish peered at the furniture like he wanted to take a bite out of that too. I glared at him, and he sat down meekly.

Without looking at Alhiya, I answered, "It was this huge, mangy white wolf with red eyes. It... it attacked my dad and..." I started crying, even though I had promised myself I'd never cry again. "It-it killed him!" I sobbed. Alhiya looked thoughtful, while Mish was crying too.

"It's-It's so saaaaaaaad!" he bleated pitifully. Alhiya cast him a funny look.

"Wh-why are you guys here anyway?" I sniffed, wiping my nose on my arm.

Alhiya and Mish exchanged glances before Alhiya (who I was beginning to think was either the calm one, or the smart one) asked in a tentative voice, "You don't know who you are?"

I shook my head, unable to answer while I was sobbing. Mish looked around for some tissue, leaving me the seat. I sat gratefully, laying my head on the table. Alhiya looked at a loss for words.

"Well, for starters, do you know who your mom is?" he asked.

I shook my head, "Dad said...he said she left."

Alhiya picked up a spoon I had left on the table and started gnawing on it, "That's true enough, but didn't he tell you who she is?"

I stared at him. What did he mean "who she is?" That seemed like an odd question to ask. Dad had never told me her name, or even showed me a picture of her, but he had said she loved me, and wanted me to be healthy-"so I had to eat my cereal," was what Dad had always said. I kept staring blankly at him until Mish returned with a tissue box in tow. He handed me a tissue and ate one himself. I frowned at him, wondering why he was acting so weird. I also noticed that the spoon Alhiya had been chewing on had mysteriously disappeared.

"Your mom is Demeter, the goddess of grain and agriculture," Alhiya said gravely.

Mish piped up, "She's the goddess of cereal!"

"Shut up, Mish."

So here I was, traveling back to the camp Alhiya and Mish (not very helpfully) had told me about. They called it Camp Half-Blood, because it was a camp for half-bloods, or demigods. Which apparently I was. Wow. They had told me about how the Greek gods sometimes had children with mortals (of which my dad was one) and how demigods were produced. Apparently, I was a demigod, and Demeter was my mom. I was going to join the other half-bloods at camp. The reason I had to go to said camp was because (as Alhiya and Mish told me), now that I knew about myself, the monsters would start attacking me more frequently. At Camp Half-Blood, I would be safe from that. It was the only safe place for half-bloods.

I also found out why Alhiya and Mish kept eating things-they were satyrs. Basically, they were goat men. From the waist down, they were furry, and they had little horns on their heads. They told me they were young satyrs, seekers sent out to find young half-bloods. I took this better than I had being the daughter of the goddess of frickin cereal. So they were goat dudes? That was fine with me.

We were in a plane now, on our way to New York-Long Island, to be exact. But we would land in Manhattan, and then make our way to the camp. I had never been in a plane before, and I had some questions. My dad had home-schooled me, making a big to-do about Greek mythology. I had always wondered why, and now I knew. He had wanted me to be prepared. That caused me to burst into tears again, making Alhiya and Mish look uncomfortable. They may be goat guys, but guys are always uncomfortable when a female starts crying.

We had also noticed something else-flowers kept randomly popping up wherever I walked or sat. This happened only after I'd started believing that what they were saying was true. Now the flowers wouldn't stop. Mish had started eating them, since he wasn't too fond of the salted peanuts the stewardess had brought us. I leaned my seat back and tried to sleep, but I was worried. Finally, I asked Alhiya about it.

"What?" he asked, "No, Zeus won't attack us in the air. He isn't fighting with Demeter right now. Poseidon, on the other hoof..." he grimaced, "Were one of Poseidon's children to fly, he might not be so...friendly...about it."

I nodded and rolled over, about to try to sleep again. I sneezed as a flower tickled my nose but finally made it to sleep. When I slept, I dreamed.

White wolves. White wolves ran through the trees, chasing something. I couldn't see it through the shadows of the forest, but I knew it was big. One of the wolves got too close to it, and the creature swatted it away. The wolf yelped when it hit the trunk of a tree, and I felt glad that it was hurt-me, the daughter of a park ranger. I was surprised when girls leaped out of the trees and ran after the beast, shooting silver arrows at it. They bounced harmlessly off of its golden pelt.

"Go for the mouth!" one of the girls yelled, "Or the eyes! That's its only weakness!"

One of the other girls dodged a paw swipe, "That's easy for you to say, Thalia! It's not like it's opening its mouth and-ugh! (another dodge)-saying 'hit me here! hit me here!'"

They continued trying to fight it, but it escaped them. My dream changed, seeing a little boy-about my age-crouching in an abandoned building while monsters sniffed around the outside of his hideout. The monsters were odd-looking snake women-scaly women from the waist up, but they had two snake trunks from the waist down. They kind of walk-slithered-the oddest thing to watch. I held my breath (if you can hold your breath in a dream), hoping they wouldn't find the boy. They were hissing to each other, the words hard to make out.

"I sssssssmeeelllll a haaalfling!" one of them hissed, sniffing at the ground in front of the building. The other went around the side of the building.

The boy, his brown hair matted with dirt and twigs, scooted towards the front door of the building. I noticed that above the back door was a bucket, balancing precariously. When the snake ladies came through the door, they would be doused with whatever was in the bucket. I wondered if the kid had anything that would harm those two beasts. Looking at their scaled bodies, I recognized them from one of the mythology lessons with my dad. They were draconae, or dragon women. Basically, really ugly snakes.

I watched as the draconae came through the door. The bucket fell on them, splashing them both with a green acid. Their scales steamed, melting together. They screamed, and while they were distracted, the boy ran out the front door. I was impressed. I never would have thought of such a good plan. I wondered where he had gotten the acid. The dream faded as he ran through the streets.

"Freya! Freya!" came Mish's frightened voice. I blinked open my eyes, but nothing got any brighter. I also realized I couldn't talk, or move my arms. Had we been kidnapped? Was I tied up in a sack in the trunk of some sicko's car?

"Keep eating, Mish!" Alhiya ordered. "The flowers have to stop growing sometime! Freya! See if you can stop the flowers and vines from growing!"

Flowers? Vines? Was that what was covering me? I knew the flowers had been growing at a phenomenal rate when we got on the plane, and flowers had cushioned my seat as we flew, but how could they grow over me? It was weird, but I felt them around me-felt their life. They even spoke to me.

Bad dreams, mistress, one murmured.

We will cover you. Nothing will harm the mistress, another vowed.

Sleep peacefully, mistress.

Well, that wasn't creepy at all. I asked them silently, I'm awake now. Can you let me get up?

The flowers joyfully withdrew, most of them with only one thought. It was something about getting the goat to stop chewing on them. I glanced over at Mish, who had a couple of stems in his mouth. He froze when I looked at him, and the flowers fell from his mouth. He leaned back into his seat.

Alhiya leaned back as well, looking relieved, "It seems you've begun to control your powers."

I shrugged, "I don't know about control, but when I asked them to let go, they did. I don't know how I'm going to get them to stop popping up, though. They don't seem to listen to that." It was true. After I realized that I could talk to them, I had been trying to tell them to stop following me and just come up when I need them. I had gotten an odd reply.

We're here to guard you from things unseen, one, a pansy, said.

Nightmares, a dandelion whispered.

And to lead others to you when you need them, but do not know, a bright red rose told me gently.

"What does that mean?" I asked aloud, not meaning to. Mish and Alhiya looked at me funny.

"Are you still talking to the flowers?" Alhiya asked.

"What are they saying? What are they saying?" Mish bleated excitedly.

I shrugged, kept from answering by the plane staring to land. I got off with Mish and everyone else, though some people stared at the flowers behind me. I wondered what they saw. Alhiya had told me about the Mist that clouded the vision of mortals. They were probably seeing a girl carrying a bouquet or something. I wonder what they had thought about me being covered with flowers. I laughed at the idea of them seeing a strange teenage boy eating the bouquet.

We followed everyone out of the airport. I wondered how we were going to get to the camp, but then I saw the man waiting to take us in a dark van. He had eyes all over what I could see of him (basically, his head, neck, and hands), blue eyes everywhere. I paused when I saw him, but kept heading towards the van, since that was obviously where Alhiya and Mish were going. He didn't speak, but they introduced him to me as Argus. I said hi and said my name, to which he nodded. We got in the van and headed for camp, and all the time I was remembering one of the mythology lessons with Dad, where he'd told me about Argus. Supposedly, he was supposed to guard a cow, or something, and Hermes (the messenger god, the god of thieves and travelers) had come to him in the form of a shepherd and lulled him to sleep (it was supposed to be hard to put all of his eyes to sleep). Hermes had killed him in his sleep, and Hera (the goddess of marriage and family-also Zeus' wife) had taken his eyes and put them on the tail of the peacock. I wondered what he was doing here, in New York, alive. I caught about three of his eyes watching me from the driver's seat, and that was how I came to have a staring contest with Argus, the man with a hundred eyes.

Apparently, the camp was disguised as a strawberry farm. We drove out into the middle of nowhere until we came to a hill with a lone pine tree at the top. We walked up to the tree, and I heard it calling out to me. I went over and laid my hand against the tree's gnarled trunk, ignoring the golden fleece resting in its branches and the dragon that guarded it. The tree seemed to hum, and the fleece glowed brighter.

Welcome, mistress, the pine tree hummed. We have waited long for your arrival.

I sensed a strange power in the tree, a lingering essence of some powerful being. I asked the tree about it, and it told me the tale of how a girl had come to be made into a pine tree, and how when the tree had been poisoned, heroes had gone out to find the Golden Fleece and bring it to heal the tree. When the tree had been healed, the girl had been healed as well. She separated from the tree, and went on adventures. She was Thalia, the daughter of Zeus (the god of the sky, and lightning) and a mortal woman.

I remembered that name from my dream on the plane. Thalia had been one of the girls who ran with wolves. I didn't take the time to ask the tree more questions, but thanked it for its story and followed Alhiya, Mish, and Argus to a big farmhouse. Two men were sitting on the porch playing a card game of some sort. One man, who was sitting in a wheelchair, looked up when we approached.

"Ah! Alhiya, Mish! I see you found her. Was there any trouble?" he asked, a kind look in his eyes. I like him immediately.

"Not much trouble, Chiron," Alhiya said, bowing to him and the other man. The other man barely acknowledged him, but the one called Chiron smiled.

"Yeah, she didn't actually shoot us!" Mish, always the thoughtful one, said cheerfully. Chiron looked confused, and instead of looking to Mish to explain (smart guy), he raised an eyebrow at Alhiya.

Before Alhiya could begin, I suddenly had an epiphany of sorts, "Chiron!" I yelled. He turned his gaze to me, and I continued, "I learned about you! Aren't you a centaur?"

He chuckled, and I immediately felt embarrassed. I ducked my head, trying to hide my blush. "I am, indeed, a centaur. One of the oldest, in fact. All I wanted to do was train heros for as long as I could, and the gods answered my wish. So here I am," he looked to the other man, who was sipping at a Diet Coke, "Allow me to introduce Mr. D. He is the director of Camp Half-Blood."

I nodded to Mr. D. He peered at me disinterestedly, going back to his hand of cards, "So you are Flicka Barns," he said, sounding as if he were extremely bored.

"Um, my name's Freya Byrne," I said uncertainly, looking to Chiron for help. He shrugged, as if to say Mr. D did this every day.

"Whatever, Fertie," he muttered, "What matters right now is that I think I've won!"

Chiron shook his head, "Sorry, Mr. D. I believe I've won again."

Mr. D sighed again, "You're on a winning streak, Chiron. I may have to do something about it." He still sounded bored. Chiron moved, throwing the blanket off of his legs and...getting to his feet? It was odd, like he was stretching, but his legs never moved... then I realized that he had been hiding his centaur body in the wheelchair (which was apparently a magic box of some kind). He rose up, revealing himself to be a white stallion. I thought his horse body was beautiful.

He pawed the ground with one of his hooves, "Would you like me to show you the camp, Freya?" he asked. I nodded and waved to Alhiya and Mish before following him. They stayed to talk to Mr. D.

"So, um, Chiron?" I started tentatively, "What am I going to do now that I'm here?"

He looked down at me, "We will train you-weapon training, training on your ancestry and mythology, training on how to best use your powers. You will stay in a cabin with the other sons and daughters of Demeter. No longer do we have to stuff children into the Hermes cabin, now that the gods have shown us where all their known children are." He smiled, "I see you have a great affinity for plants," he was looking behind me, where flowers followed my every step. They waved in the gentle breeze, healthy and happy.

"There are other children of Demeter?" I asked curiously, trotting to keep up with his long stride.

"Several, and we will be getting a lot more, hopefully. We have been very pressed to find all of the half-bloods since we were told their locations. We don't have enough satyrs to find and protect them all," he stopped at the cabins. There were many, and I didn't understand why. I asked, and he answered, "Originally, there were only twelve, but a young man named Percy Jackson came and changed everything around. He thought it was unfair that only the children of the main gods were recognized, and even then, they were stuck in the Hermes cabin for a long time, sometimes forever. Most of the gods were too busy doing other things to claim their children. These children grew angry, and joined with the enemy instead of fighting on our side." He sighed sadly, "It was terribly sad, all of those young lives gone to waste because of their hate of the gods. It is better now, though. Percy had the gods promise to recognize even the children of the lesser known gods, like Nemesis and Hecate and have cabins built for them, too. So here they are," he made a sweeping gesture, encompassing all of the cabins.

I nodded, "Wasn't Percy Jackson the boy who was plastered all over the news a few years back?" I asked. I could barely remember it, but Dad had seemed really interested in it. I understood why now.

Chiron nodded, "Now, let me show you your cabin."

He led me to a cabin whose roof was covered in grass (or made of grass), "This is the Demeter cabin. Katie Gardener is your counselor," he said this as a girl came out of the cabin. She was about seventeen or eighteen, by my standards, maybe older. She smiled at me, and then looked confused as she spotted the trail of flowers behind me. She cast a significant glance at Chiron, who shook his head. I attempted to ignore this, seeing as I had no clue what they were going on (silently) about.

"She's in good hands with me, Chiron," Katie told him, putting a gentle hand on my shoulder. I waved bye to Chiron as he left and followed Katie into the cabin. She looked behind me again, worry in her eyes, "Does that ever stop?" she asked, meaning the flowers.

I shook my head, "I've asked them and asked them, but they won't leave me alone," I noticed Katie looking at me funny. I seemed to be getting that a lot lately, "What?" I asked, a little irritably.

"Nothing, I suppose," she replied, apparently trying to drive me insane, "This is your bunk. The other campers are out at weapons practice, but we've been expecting you all day, so I stayed behind to get you settled in your new home."

I felt tears prick at my eyes again. The flowers started weeping silently, mourning the pain in my heart. They gathered more thickly around me, and a singe vine rose up, twining itself around my leg and traveling up to caress my cheek.

No tears, little mistress, it whispered, Don't be sad.

I stroked it with my index finger, "I'm sorry. I'm okay, really." Katie just stared at me, not saying anything, as I set my few belongings down beside my bunk and sat down. This was going to be hard, but I would do it, in memory of Dad. I held that thought to me throughout the rest of the day, and the day after, and the day after...