Nico di Angelo and Percy Jackson returned to camp after almost two weeks, having finally succeeded in recruiting a new demigod the satyrs had been struggling to track down. At the Big House, Chiron and Mr. D sat in the porch playing pinochle. When the centaur spotted the boys, he set his cards down and turned his wheelchair to greet them. "Welcome back, boys. You took a bit longer than we expected."

"Sorry about that, Chiron," Percy apologized, "The kid was pretty hard to find. Turns out he moves around constantly."

"So that's why the satyrs were having trouble," Chiron nodded in understanding. The new demigod peeked out at Chiron from behind Nico, then ducked back behind the older boy. "Come on over, child. You're safe here." The boy stepped out and approached Chiron shyly. He was small and pale, with a mess of black hair tucked under a knitted grey hat. Chiron mused, "Goodness, you're quite a bit younger than I thought you'd be. How old are you, young man?" The boy let go of the straps of his dirty green backpack and held up six fingers. "And what's your name?" The child made several quick gestures with his hands, but said nothing.

"We tried talking to him," Percy piped up, "But he won't respond."

Nico snipped at Percy, "He does respond, using those hand signs. He just doesn't talk. Like I said on the way here, he probably can't." The boy nodded vigorously in I affirmation.

"I don't think anyone here knows sign language, Nico."

"That doesn't mean he can't communicate," Chiron reasoned. "Percy, could you dash inside and grab a pen and a notepad? There should be plenty of extras in the office." Percy ran into the Big House and didn't come out for several minutes. "So, Nico, where did you find our new friend?" Chiron asked to pass the time.

"We found him in a supermarket deli," Nico replied, sounding bored.

"A deli?" Chiron muttered, "That's not quite what I expected, given how difficult he was to find. No matter. Did you have any trouble convincing his parent to let you bring him here?"

"None at all. He was all by himself."

Chiron's incredulous gaze flicked between the two boys. "He was alone?" Nico nodded. "Where was his family?"

Nico shrugged, "No idea. Nobody came for him when the Laistrygonian on his trail attacked, so I doubt they were around. From what I could understand from this kid, he's been on his own for a while."

"Is this true, young man?" Chiron asked the boy, his voice filled with pity. The boy only nodded silently in reply. "Oh dear. I wish we'd located you sooner. A child as young as you shouldn't be left alone in this world, especially a demigod. At least you're here now." The boy gave a small half-smile and a tiny nod.

Percy finally emerged from the Big House, pen and notepad in hand. "Sorry I took so long. Mr. D really needs to hire a maid or something. That office is a disaster."

"Quite." Chiron took the items, "Thank you, Percy." He then handed them to the new boy. "Take these. You can use these to write out whatever you want to say if you want to have a conversation with someone. Does that work for you?"

The boy uncapped his pen and wrote on the pad a clumsy 'yes.' The 's' was written backwards.

"Very good. Let's try the introductions again. I'm Chiron, and these two are Percy Jackson and Nico di Angelo. What's your name?"

The boy's misspelled response surprised everyone: 'dont no.'

"You don't know your name?" Percy asked this time.

The boy shook his head. 'cant reember,' he wrote clumsily, 'bin long time sense i use it.' Despite the terrible spelling and incredibly clumsy letters, they all understood his message well enough.

"I see," Chiron muttered, stroking his beard in thought. "What would you like to be called, then?"

The nameless boy looked at the ground for a moment, then looked at Chiron and shrugged.

The centaur sighed and decided, "I suppose it can wait. We can work out a name for you tomorrow. Dinner will be starting soon, so getting you settled in is more pressing. One of you two, could you escort him down to Cabin Eleven, please?" The boy's eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. "Cabin Eleven is dedicated to the god Hermes," Chiron explained, "All demigods live there until their parent claims them." The boy nodded like he understood, but his face remained crunched up, though if it was out of confusion or displeasure, none of them were sure. "Well, off you go. I'll see you at the dining pavilion." With that, he wheeled himself into the Big House.

"Come on, kid," Percy said with a smile, "Let's get you down to the cabins. I'll show you some cool stuff along the way. The boy didn't approach Percy. Instead, he stayed close to Nico.

"Go on," Nico nudged him a little, "Go with Percy." The boy shook his head and grabbed Nico's sleeve.

Percy sighed, "You really don't like me, do you?" He then smirked at Nico, "I guess I'm not-"

"Don't." Nico gave Percy a pointed glare and turned towards the rest of camp. "Come on, kid. I'll take you to the cabins."

As they walked, the boy would point at nearly everything, from nymphs and satyrs to weapon racks and activity areas. Nico would tell him what they were, but did so with as few words as he could get away with. When they reached the ring of cabins, the boy seemed somewhat awestruck by all the buildings, especially the ones dedicated to Zeus and Hera at the very end, standing tall and magnificent. He looked up at Nico, excitement sparkling in his black eyes. Nico then directed him to a somewhat shabby-looking brown cabin with a caduceus hanging on the door. Cabin Eleven.

The boy tilted his head, his excitement somewhat dimmed. He looked up to Nico as if asking for an explanation.

"This is Cabin Eleven. Chiron just told you this is where you'll be living for now."

The front door burst open and a stream of Hermes campers poured out, though judging by the raucous laughter from inside, there was still quite a large number of people within the cabin. The boy's eyes grew large and he hastily scribbled something on his notepad. He tugged on Nico's sleeve and showed him the message, 'pleaze no.'

Nico felt bad for the kid. He didn't need it spelled out to see how scared the boy was of living with the Hermes kids. "Sorry, kid. It's just how things work around here. New and unclaimed demigods have to stay in Hermes cabin."

'can i stey with yuo?'

"Sorry, no. It's against camp rules." Seeing the kid's sad, anxious face, Nico sighed, "I'll tell you what. See that black building right over there?" Nico pointed at his cabin, "That's where I live. You can come visit during free time, okay? We can find games to play, or something." The boy bowed his head and nodded reluctantly, but the frown on his face said he still wasn't happy about living in Hermes. Nico guided him up to the door and was about to knock when the door opened again. The camper on the other side seemed surprised to see the son of Hades standing on their porch. "Are the Stolls here?" Nico asked without missing a beat. "I've got a new camper for you guys."

The Hermes boy looked down at the new boy. "A little young, isn't he?"

Nico shrugged. "The monsters didn't seem to think so."

"Oh," the Hermes camper said dumbly, unable to think of anything else to say. "Well, come on in, kid. I'll take you to meet Travis and Connor. They'll find you a spot in here somewhere." The boy cast Nico another pleading glance, begging with his eyes to not be left in this cabin.

"Go on," Nico urged him, "I'll see you at dinner."

Of course, Nico didn't mention to the new boy that they weren't supposed to sit at the same table. They had to sit with their cabins, meaning the kid would be stuck at the overcrowded Hermes table, and Nico would be sitting alone as usual.

But he didn't know that.

When the Hermes campers arrived with their typical fanfare of loud voices, the new boy made his way over to Nico's table and sat down with him.

"Hey, kid," Nico greeted him, ignoring the table rules. The boy greeted him with a wave, dead silent as always. "You get settled in okay?"

The boy glanced at the Hermes table out of the corner of his eyes then scribbled, 'ther crazy. i hope i get clamed.'

That particular misspelling put quite an odd visual in Nico's head involving shellfish, but he knew what the kid meant. "You will," he assured him, "Eventually. Why don't you run up to the buffet table up there and grab yourself some food?" Nico suggested, "And make sure to drop a little bit into that big fire over there. It's for the gods." The boy seemed a bit confused as to why they were supposed to burn perfectly good food, but shrugged and appeared to accept it. Nico watched as he scampered away with his plate.

"Aww, how cute," said a voice Nico knew very, very well.

"Go away, Percy."

"I'm serious, Nico," the son of Poseidon rested his hand on Nico's table and grinned at him, "It's freakin' adorable how you and the new kid are so attached to each other already. It's not every day that the son of Hades takes a liking to someone. Especially a little kid."

"Leave. Me. Alone."

"Oh, don't be so snippy. I just want to understand why you're being so nice to him, that's all. It's weird for you."

Nico glared at Percy, deciding whether to use his fork to stab his food or his friend. Eventually, he wound up stabbing the chicken. "I just feel for the kid, you know?" he mumbled, "I guess he kinda reminds me of me."

Percy leaned to the side, trying to get a glimpse at the boy. "Really? I guess your coloring is kinda similar, but-"

"That's not what I meant. I mean that he's a clueless little kid and he's all alone, like I was." Nico poked at his chicken halfheartedly. "With the way he's clung to me since we picked him up, I feel kind of responsible for him, I guess. It would feel wrong to push him away."

Percy's grin grew wider. "Well look at that! You do have a heart after all. And here comes your little buddy. See ya later!" Percy wandered away to his own table right as the new boy returned to the table with his food.

"Did you sacrifice some of it in the fire?" Nico asked as soon as he sat down. The boy nodded. "Good. The gods can be a bit fussy, so they might get offended if you forget. Keep that in mind."

The boy nodded in understanding. Then, he scrawled out another note to Nico, 'who is yuor perent?'

At first, Nico didn't want to tell him. Nobody liked anything to do with his father, including Nico himself, much of the time. Still, he felt compelled to answer. Maybe this boy wouldn't care. "Hades," he eventually said.

'who htat?' the boy wrote back.

"He's the god of the Underworld."

'is he nice?'

Nico wasn't sure to answer that question. The quick answer was no, but that was probably something he shouldn't say out loud. Fortunately, he didn't have to answer, because Chiron showed up right then.

"Good evening, boys," he greeted them, "Enjoying your dinner?"

"Sure," Nico mumbled while the boy gave an enthusiastic nod.

"Good, good." Chiron looked down at the new boy and said, "Come with me, young man. You need to sit at the right table."

The boy stayed put and gave Chiron a look that clearly expressed his intent to stay.

"Campers aren't allowed to sit at tables that don't belong to their godly parent," Chiron explained gently, "So, until you've been claimed, you have to sit with the Hermes campers, just like how you have to stay in their cabin."

The boy turned and wrote on his notepad, 'i dont went to. i went to stey wiht Nico.'

"I understand," Chiron said gently, but sternly, "But I'm afraid it's against the rules. Come on, let's go back to your table."

Begrudgingly, he picked up his plate and trudged over to the Hermes table with Chiron. The old centaur lurked for a while to make sure he stayed where he was supposed to, and wandered away once he was confident the child would stay with his cabin. The moment Chiron was out of sight, he picked his plate back up and ran back to Nico.

Nico stared at the younger boy in mild surprize, slightly amused that he would so quickly and blatantly defy Chiron. "You know, you'll probably get in trouble if Chiron sees that you came back."

The boy scribbled, 'no. Kyron is nice. he wudent punesh me.'

Nico chuckled at the note. He had to admit, the kid had confidence. "Well, I won't make you leave."

Chiron did come back and make the little guy go back to the Hermes table. Twice. He was about to move him back a third time, but he and Nico finished eating and left before he could.

By bedtime, Nico was ready for it. He was ready for the rest of camp to be quiet and for everyone else to be fast asleep. It was peaceful.

Lights-out was at 11:00. That meant everyone was either asleep or on their way to dreamland. At 11:30, Nico was about to get in bed himself when he heard a knock on his door. For a moment, he thought he had imagined it, but then he heard it again. Confused, he opened the door, and there stood the new camper in his blue pajamas, dotted with bright yellow duckies.

"What are you doing out?" Nico hissed quietly, "Didn't anyone tell you that the harpies will rip apart anyone out after curfew? Go to bed!" The kid didn't respond in any way. He merely stood, looking up at Nico with an expectant smile. "Go back to your cabin! You're not supposed to be here. Go! Before the harpies spot you!" He didn't move. The two stared at each other for a solid minute, then Nico caved. "Alright, fine. Get in here." The boy walked in, looking quite pleased. Nico sighed, "You do know you're not supposed to sleep here, right?"

'I no,' he scribbled, 'but i wamt to be heer.'

Nico didn't feel like arguing. He already knew the boy had no desire to be with the Hermes group, and would not be convinced to go back. "Yeah, whatever. Pick whichever bunk you want. I'm the only one living here."

The boy happily sat upon the bed nearest to Nico's, as if he were a cat declaring it MINE.

"Are you always this uncooperative?"

The boy shrugged and wrote lazily, 'wen my instinks say so.'

"What's that supposed to mean? Don't your parents ever scold you for disobeying them?"

'mom is gone.'

His mind clouded by drowsiness, Nico almost asked where his mother went, but then he realized what the kid had said. She was gone. "Oh," he said sadly, "So that's why you were alone when we found you." The boy nodded. "Can I ask what happened?"

He wrote for a few minutes, then handed the notepad to Nico. 'monstrs. mom hide me in a dumster adn sayed to run awey wen htey wer gone. mom left and thye folowed her. i ran. nveer saw mom agen.'

Nico took a few moments to read the note due to the misspellings and switched-around letters. Once he understood, he stared at the clumsy words blankly. "That's… Wow. I'm sorry. That must've been hard on you."

The boy took the notepad back and wrote, 'yes. i was skared for hte frst few munths but i got ust to it.'

Nico re-read the line a few times just to be sure he was reading it correctly. "First few months?" The boy nodded. "Wait, how long have you been on your own?"

The boy's eyebrows scrunched together as he tried to count on his fingers. He shrugged and scribbled, 'i was 5.'

With every new fragment of his story, Nico felt worse for the kid. "You've been fending for yourself for an entire year?"

'mor i tink. my birtday is in janyuarie.'

It was almost the end of August. That meant this little kid had been living on the streets and running from monsters for a over year and a half, all on his own. Suddenly, Nico didn't feel quite as bad about his own early life. At least he had his family until he was ten. "Oh man. I'm sorry. You shouldn't have had to go through that for so long. Or at all. You're quite the little soldier." Suddenly reminded of his sister Bianca, he continued, "You know, my sister used to call me that in Italian. 'Il mio soldatino.'"

The boy's eyes lit up and he scribbled, 'can yuo call me that?'

"What? Soldatino?" The boy nodded vigorously with a large smile. "Well, if you like it, I don't see why not." The newly-named Soldatino clapped happily. The notoriously grumpy teenager couldn't help but smile a bit at the younger boy's delight. "I think it's time we both went to sleep. If we're lucky, Chiron won't yell at us too much."