Anyway, I hope you will enjoy discovering this fanfiction
Drew would have liked to feel compassion for Will Solace, after all, her past hadn't made her completely cold, but his head when he saw his flying chariot crashing into the lake of Camp Half-Blood was priceless.
- Annabeth and Butch will hear me... grumbled the child of Apollo.
Drew smiled, amused.
- You can go right now, Golden boy, she laughed, pointing to a blond head known to all who emerged from the lake.
And while Will was heading to Annabeth to reprimand her, Drew stretched her neck to see if Captain Nemo was coming out of the floods. No luck, four demigods also regained the bank, but it was only Butch and three teenagers unknown to the battalion. As the daughter of Aphrodite was going to move forward to look at the three news, Will asked Annabeth :
- Any sign of Percy ?
- No...
Merde, thought Drew in French by advancing in turn to look at the newcomers.
The first guy, a tall blond with blue eyes, wasn't bad, but it wasn't him. The second, a Hispanic boy much smaller than his friend, didn't inspire confidence. He had the head of people who liked to make bad jokes. The third, a pretty Amerindian, might have looked cool, but something about her was disturbing Drew. Perhaps it was her hair shredded with care while her clothes were banal. When someone wanted to try not to look after his appearance, he had to play the game.
So Drew commented on exactly what she thought :
- Well, I hope they're worth the trouble.
The Hispanic kid snorted :
- Gee, thanks. What are we, your new pets ?
Drew frowned, but before she could say anything, the tall blond continued :
- No kidding. How about some answers before you start judging us... like, what is this place, why are we here, how long do we have to stay ?
Ok then, Drew was beginning to feel a trickle of compassion. After all, she had asked herself the same questions when she arrived here.
- Jason, Annabeth said, I promise we'll answer your questions. And Drew...
Drew kept a straight air while the daughter of Athena turned to her.
- all demigods are worth saving. But I'll admit, the trip didn't accomplish what I hoped.
You think the same thing as me, Chase, don't hide it, Drew thought.
The new pretty girl protested then :
- Hey, we didn't ask to be brought here.
The accusing glance which the girl addressed to them refrigerated immediately Drew. She loved less and less this newcomer. Without waiting, she folded her nose and answered in a caustic tone :
- And nobody wants you, hon. Does your hair always look like a dead badger ?
Well, it was terribly petty, but enjoyable.
Her future enemy then stepped forward as if she wanted to fight. It didn't bother Drew. When she wanted to, she could hit someone. After all, she had faced Kronos's army and survived. The pretty Amerindian would certainly not scare her. But Annabeth prevented the confrontation.
- Piper, stop ! the blonde with gray eyes ordered.
The so-called Piper receded immediately, probably frightened by the stormy gaze of Athena's daughter.
- We need to make our new arrivals feel welcome. We'll assign them each a guide, give them a tour of camp. Hopefully by the campfire tonight, they'll be claimed, Annabeth resumed in such a harsh tone that she wouldn't have needed Drew's Charmspeak to be heard.
Piper reopened her mouth to ask in a jaded tone :
- Would somebody tell me what claimed means ?
As soon as she had finished talking, all were bathed in a red glow. The campers didn't have long to look where the glow came from.
A hologram representing a fiery hammer floated over the head of the smallest boy. The symbol of Hephaestus.
- That, Annabeth revealed, is claiming.
Anyway, the kid widened his eyes and shouted in horror :
- What'd I do ? Is my hair on fire ?
And he began to run to the lake to see if the water couldn't extinguish the flames. Without success. So he ran round, the hologram following him incessantly.
- This can't be good, Butch muttered. The curse...
The curse ?- Butch, shut up, Annabeth said. Leo, you've just been claimed...
- By a god, Jason interrupted. That's the symbol of Vulcan, isn't it ?
Drew shrugged an eyebrow. Vulcan, as in one of his old middle school history lessons on Roman mythology ? To think that Jason had smoked something unclear to quote a Roman god.
Probably thinking the same thing as Drew, Annabeth asked carefully :
- Jason, how did you know that ?
The lost gaze, the Blondie muttered :
- I'm not sure.
- Vulcan ? Leo asked. I don't even LIKE Star Trek. What are you talking about ?
Drew was restrained by an amused smile. Even though she felt sorry for Leo, the situation was at least comical.
- Vulcan is the Roman name for Hephaestus, Annabeth explained, the god of blackmists and fire.
The glowing hologram vanished immediately but Leo kept a panicked air. Drew wasn't so surprised. She, too, had to admit that she had had a little moment of panic when Aphrodite, her mother, the goddess of beauty and love, had blessed her in front of the whole company. A passage of her life as pleasing as embarrassing.
- The god of what ? Leo asked. Who ?
Without repeating, Annabeth turned to Will to ask him :
- Will, would you take Leo, give him a tour ? Inrroduce him to hishis bunk-mates in Cabin Nine.
- Sure, Annabeth.
The anxious gaze, Leo intervened :
- What's Cabin Nine ? And I'm not a Vulcan !
Will put a hand on his shoulder and steered him off toward the cabins.
- Come on, Mr Spock, I'll explain everything !
Of the three newcomers, so there remained only the hippie and the guy fairly passable but apparently mentally shifted, plus Drew and the other chiefs councilors. As for Annabeth, she was looking at Jason as a complicated calculation. Then she abruptly ordered :
- Hold out your arm.
Drew saw what Annabeth was looking at, and failed to jump.
On Jason's arm were engraved twelve lines as a barcode, surmounted by an eagle and SPQR letters.
- Holy Demeter, what is this thing ? Miranda Gardiner mumbled, her eyes widened.
- I don't know, Drew whispered.
- I've never seen marks like this, Annabeth said. Where did you get thim ?
Jason shook his head.
- I'm getting really tired of saying this, but I don't know.
Drew trembled. These marks didn't inspire her trust, definitely. It looked like a declaration of war or something.
- They look burned into your skin, Annabeth noticed.
- They were, Jason said in grinning. I mean... I think so. I don't remember.
All campers kept silent and fixed Annabeth. Drew didn't particularly like the daughter of Athena, but she knew perfectly well that the young blonde was the one with the most experience. All that was missing was her decision.
- He need to go straight to Chiron, Annabeth decided. Drew, would you...
Drew jumped on this opportunity to take advantage against Piper who really looked at her as if she were the Evil Queen to be eliminated. Although she didn't like Jason so much, she's made him a big seductive smile, slipped her arm around his shoulders and, while casting a scornful glance at Piper, interrupted Annabeth by telling Jason :
- Absolutely. This way, sweetie. I'll introduce you to our director. He's... an interesting guy.
And she dragged him to the Big Blue House.
- Uh, I'm not sure... spluttered Jason.
Well, it wasn't very loyal to charm a newcomer, but Drew had no choice if she wanted to relax a tad Jason. So she commented using a small part of her power :
- Calm down. You're perfectly in your place here, believe me. I've been here for quite a while. I've seen a lot of people like you.
Jason's blue eyes shone, and then he commented in a voice devoid of her flavor :
- Yes, there are no worries to have.
Well, Drew just had to hope that he wouldn't panic again when they arrived at Headquarters.