"My name is Perseus Jackson, but I've always preferred Percy. I'm from New York City, where I was raised by my mother, Sally Jackson. I never knew my father. I've never attended the same school twice, because I'm a jinx," Percy looked her reflection in the eye and took a deep breath. "I am a demigod."

Her reflection didn't change. She was still too skinny and her short black hair was still a mess. She still had small scars over her hands and elbows. There was nothing remarkable about her at all, but somehow she ended up in a camp of heroes. She was a demigod and her best friend was a satyr and she fought the Minotaur and her mother was dead and she needed to keep breathing around the lump in her throat before she passed out again.

Leaning against the sink, Percy focused on filling her lungs. She turned on the cold water and splashed some over her face. A large part of her was still waiting to wake up, but Chiron the millennia-old freaking centaur, told her that would wear off. She hoped it was soon.

A knock made her look back up. Using a hand towel, she dried her face and opened the bathroom door.

"Andy, what's good?" She said with a strained grin.

"It's 'Andrew'. Mr. D said you're out of the Big House tonight, so I need to introduce you to Luke," Andrew said shortly. looked mildly uncomfortable for a moment. "Luke's a little... weird, but she'll take good care of you while you're in the Hermes Cabin."

"She?"

Andrew acted like he didn't hear her, just turned and started to walk away. Not having much choice, Percy quickly grabbed the shoe box she was keeping her things in and followed the boy to the sword arena. He kept a brisk pace, not leaving her a lot of time to look around. Still, Percy couldn't help but study all the people she walked by. Everyone seemed to be so happy, chatting and smiling, as if nothing was wrong. When they caught sight of Percy, though, they would immediately start whispering to one another. It was like she was some museum piece to be gawked at, rather than a girl who'd just been thrown into some strange world of eternal sunshine and monsters.

Percy thought that it wasn't worth it.

When they finally reached the arena, Percy let herself get distracted by the building. It was beautiful, carved stone and shimmering bronze inlays. She'd only seen places like it in movies, but even Hollywood couldn't compare to the towering walls and polished wooden benches in the spectator areas. She was torn between awe and hatred.

When the pair made it to the floor of the arena, Percy finally turned her attention from her surroundings to the commotion they were headed towards. There was a large group of campers all dressed in jeans and ridiculously bright orange t-shirts mixed with worn leather armor. They were surrounding two people sparring, the taller one with a long sword and the other, broader one had a spear.

"That one is Luke," Andrew told her, pointing to the tall one. Percy squinted at the pair. "The other is Clarisse, from Ares Cabin. They've got a long standing… frienemy-thing going. Nobody misses their fights if they can help it. Even Mr. D shows up sometimes."

Percy watched, half amazed, as Clarisse stabbed forward and Luke danced to the side, shouting out a taunt. She quickly made a downward slash towards Clarisse, but the other girl blocked it with her spear shaft and shifted her thumb. There was a soft 'zzzpt' sound and Luke jumped back quickly.

"Cheat!" Luke said with a laugh. Clarisse smirked, but before she had a chance to say anything, Andrew stepped in, pulling Percy with him.

He raised his voice loud enough for everyone to hear, "Calling it a draw for today, folks, get back to your regularly scheduled activities."

"You ain't in charge here, Chase," Clarisse said with a scowl. Percy didn't know whether or not she was actually scared of the Ares girl. She didn't look any older than Percy, but Clarisse was a little taller, a lot thicker, and definitely more muscled. On the other hand, with the choppy haircut and over use of camo, she also gave off the vibe of trying too hard. Andrew certainly didn't think much of her.

"I might not be in charge, but the powers that be want Luke to give the tour to Percy. And if I remember right, you have a rock climbing class in fifteen minutes, anyway. Off with you."

Luke started to chuckle as Clarisse stomped off and Percy turned to her. She quickly dropped her eyes in an effort not to stare. Luke had softly tanned skin and dirty blonde hair pulled into a messy bun, leaving her bangs loose. Her face was thin and delicately featured, but there was a thick scar running from her hairline to her jaw. It was pale and slightly jagged and tight at the edges when she smiled.

Percy jumped when Luke threw her arm over her shoulders.

"You must be Percy, yeah?" Luke grinned, "Grove's talked about you a lot. I would have come up and introduced myself before, but I don't really like being in the Big House. More specifically, the infirmary."

"That's okay. I wasn't up to visitors for most of it anyhow."

Looking back at Andrew and seeing the sour look on his face caused Percy to snort. Luke reached over and ruffled the boy's curly blond hair, making Andrew flush and duck away.

"Look, Luke, I've got to get to the stables soon. You know if one of us isn't there, the Stolls will try and talk the others into something ridiculous, like setting all the pegasi free again. Can you just make sure she's settled quickly?"

Luke agreed with a lazy salute, before turning back to Percy.

"So, is it true you fought the Beast of the Labyrinth all by yourself?"

Percy fidgeted a bit, surprised by the blunt attitude. She just shrugged and opened her shoe box to show Luke the horn. The older girl whistled as her eyebrows made a jump for her hairline.

"Now, that's impressive. Not many people would have been up for that, ever, but their first time out? No way," Luke shook her head. "And keeping it in an Adidas box? Really?"

"Grove got me the box. I'm more of a Vans person, myself."

"Fair."

"I'm curious about something."

"Can you ask about it while we walk?"

Percy nodded and the two girls started an easy stroll out of the arena. Luke looked completely at ease, despite that she was still sweaty and armor-clad. She looked like she was just walking around a park, rather than a mythic army camp.

"Okay," Percy started, trying to get back on track. "Can you tell me why nobody around here seems to like names?"

"Names have power," Luke said.

Percy shot Luke a deadpan look and the older girl sighed, pursing her lips.

"It's a pretty simple concept, but hard to put into words. It's just… well, you know that scene in Peter Pan where they have to get a bunch of kids to believe in fairies to save Tinkerbell?"

"Yeah?"

"It's kind of like that. The gods and monsters and most other mythic creatures, they feed on belief. It's part of what gives them strength and keeps them alive. So, every time someone says their names, they get a little boost. The school year is always a big time for them all, because they're names and memories are being invoked so often and in such mass.

"As demigods, it's our job to fight monsters and not piss off the gods and get punished," Luke waved at a group of nymphs as they passed the woods. "So, we avoid speaking names. It helps keep the things we fight from getting tougher."

"Why would saying the name of a god be bad, then? Wouldn't they want the extra strength?"

The air around them seemed to get a little colder, but Luke kept smiling as she led Percy into a building. There was a plaque next to the door that read 'Armory' in ancient Greek.

"Naming them isn't exactly a bad thing, no, but the gods can be fickle and vicious. See, their fighting leaks into their feelings about the children of other gods. Like, say, a child of Athena saying the name of the Sea god too often might get them into trouble, because he and Andrew's mom have had a feud for ages. Or maybe a god feels like a demigod is getting too familiar with them and needs to be reminded that they aren't on the same level as us lowly mortals. So saying their names too much will just end up putting you on someone's radar, and that never ends well."

Percy blinked slowly, trying to digest it all. "But you just said Athena's name. And the cabins are named after each of them, right?"

"Yeah," Luke started taking off her armor, hanging it up, "but that's not quite the same thing. The cabins themselves are places of power for the gods, though very weak ones. Each is dedicated as a place for one of the twelve Olympians. So, using their names in reference to the cabins or their children is like referring to their temples or disciples rather than the actual gods."

"Huh."

"Yeah," Luke chuckled, "Anything else?"

"Can I get a list of titles I might need to know?"

"Sorry, you've just got to learn as you go. Not a bad idea, though, I might bring it up to Chiron later."

Percy sighed, "Glad to help."

Luke patted Percy's shoulder and lead her back outside.

"The fields are usually tended to by the Dionysus and Demeter cabins, but everyone chips in during the monthly harvests. Chiron usually tries to make it sound like a bonding thing, but we take bets on who can collect the most."

Percy raised her eyebrows. "Monthly?"

"Magic."

"Right."

"That way is the forge, but only the Hephaestus kids really go there. It also has a habit of exploding every now and then, so, you know, caution."

They moved north, their pockets lined with stolen fruit for lunch. Between the two of them, they only managed about twenty strawberries, each one the size of a baby's fist and a brilliant red.

Luke sucked some juice off her fingers, "You know, that's probably why we sell the strawberries. For the most part, we're self-sufficient, but raw materials can be a pain to get a hold of for a place that doesn't technically exist and usually only deals in gold."

"You what?"

"Sell the-"

"The gold."

"Right. Drachma." Luke pulled out a few large golden coins from her pocket. "We've just about got the simplest currency in the world. Just the one kind of coin, anything else is bartered. We do keep a bank in case of quests, too, but... they don't happen that often any more."

Before Percy could press, Luke continued, "Those are the stables, where we keep the pegasi. You'll learn to ride first, then fly."

They passed a group of campers, all dressed in the same shirts again, who all seemed to be watching Andrew and a handsome boy leading a winged horse around. Luke waved at them and most of them waved back. One, a young Asian girl who'd bedazzled her shirt and wore too many bracelets, even winked.

"The boy there is Sel Beauregard. He runs the stables and is the councilor for the Aphrodite cabin. Right beyond that is the forest. It's filled with all sorts of things, some for training, some just because that's where they live. No entrance without permission."

They continued east along the border of the trees, passing the armory again but not going as far as the beach. Percy suddenly remembered thinking that it looked like the sky and the sea were fighting. Maybe they were.

They came up on a pavilion with thick gleaming pillars and an open roof. Twelve tables of polished mosaic were set in an oval around a large fire pit. A few campers were cleaning everything, directed by a woman with dark green skin and flowers growing in her hair.

"This is the dining hall. I'll show you proper etiquette tonight, but, basically, it's separated by godly parent. You, as an unclaimed, will sit with us at the Hermes table over there. Mr. D usually sits at table twelve with his kids."

"He eats with us?"

"Yup. Chiron and most of the nature spirits eat with him, too. Which reminds me: if you ever see woman trying to lure you into the woods, ignore them. The nymphs aren't that bad, but maeands will show up sometimes and they tend to be violent."

"Uh... right." said Percy. "Stranger Danger."

Luke grinned and nodded.

As they left the other end of the pavilion, someone came running towards them. Her long dreadlocks streamed behind her and her hooves pounded the cobbled path.

"Grove!" Percy shouted, rushing down the last way to her friend.

The girl panted, but smiled when she hugged Percy, "Hey! I would have meet you with Andrew, but... Well."

"You don't like the Big House?"

"Yeah." Grove smiled sheepishly.

Luke came up to them, patting Grove's shoulder. "It's good to have you back. How was the outside world?"

Grove shrugged halfheartedly. "It's alright. I prefer it here, though."

"How'd the hearing go?" Percy asked.

"Not great," she answered grumpily.

Luke blinked. "Hearing? Not the Council."

Grove nodded.

"What happened?"

"They don't think I did my job right with Percy. She protected me more than I protected her."

Percy opened her mouth to protest, but Grove barreled on.

"In the end they called Mr. D in to break the tie. He said that I hadn't succeeded or failed yet, so we're still bound together. I'm stuck unless you get a quest and I somehow help."

"But... Luke said people don't get quests anymore."

Grove ducked her head. "Yeah, but. They do happen sometimes. I mean, they're not much, but that should just make it easier, right? Not that you'd want me on a quest, even if you got one, bu-"

"Of course I'd want you to come with!"

Luke frowned. "Quests only happen once every other year or so, and never to anyone so young. Plus, being unclaimed halves your chances again."

"But there is still a chance. I'll do what I can, G. Promise."

Grove tried to smile. "You're on the tour, right? I can take it from here if you want to go back to the arena."

"Thanks, kid," Luke said with a grin. Grove rolled her eyes. "I'll catch you later, Percy."

Percy waved as the older girl ran off. "So, where to next?"

Hooking an arm over Percy's shoulder, Grove lead her away from the hall.

"You can see the climbing wall from here, but you can't go on that until Chiron says you're ready. Too many injures."

"Is that lava?"

"Don't worry, that'll be turned off the first few times."

They started to head back towards the Big House. They came up on an open air theater with six rows of polished pine benches circling a round dais in the middle. In the very center was another fire pit, though this one had obviously been polished.

"The amphitheater is where we do nightly singalongs. Technically anyone can lead them, but it's usually the Apollo cabin making us all sing praise to their dad. Not that there's anything wrong with that, he is the god of music, but just once it'd be nice to get some Hillary Duff."

Percy stifled a laugh, trying to nod seriously. Not that it mattered, since Grove was waving at a satyr playing a lute near the bottom. The satyr froze. There was a tense second where Percy thought she might have to punch a stranger, but he just tilted his head back towards them sharply and went back to playing. Percy felt Grove relax as they walked on.

"That's the canoe lake, over there," Grove pointed unnecessarily. There were some people out in the water, but the most interesting thing was by the dock. A group of blue and green people were gathered there, giggling. They were beautiful, with long hair that flowed like they were still underwater. They winked and blew kisses at Percy and Grove.

"It's fed through the creek and taken care of by the naiads. They're awful flirts, the lot, but they don't try to drown people like some of the wild ones. Not if you're polite to them, anyway."

A few of the naiads had knocked over two people in a canoe.

"This is weird," Percy said.

"You'll get used to it," said Grove.

Percy shook her head, watching the clouds. There weren't any over the camp, but all around it they were thick, dark, and gray. It was like they were standing in a vortex of some kind, sunny and warm when everything outside was tearing itself apart.

"You know the Big House," Grove pointed to the left side of the path, "And the volleyball court is pretty self-explanatory. We have summer tournaments, but Ares and Apollo teams are the only real competition. Some times the Athena or Hermes cabins will luck out, and the Hunters always kick our butts when they visit. That's the arts and crafts pavilion."

To the right side of the path was a low, open building, filled with campers painting and sculpting things that Percy swore could go straight to the MoMA. A few of them were playing musical instruments and one person seemed to be making a life-size cyclops out of paper mache.

"So weird," Percy sighed.