School's almost out, so I'll be posting more often I hope. This one's a bit of a cliffie, so don't hang me. Also, if you have any plot suggestions, especially something for right after this chapter, let me know. Otherwise, things will be going rather quickly. I'm no good at drawing out the beginning of relationships.
Well, we made it to Camp Half-blood in one piece. But I nearly had a heart attack once we got there. Cause guess what? Brett hadn't told the entire truth when he said the Percy Jackson stories were true. Because a certain castle that looked an awful lot like Hogwarts loomed in the distance. Apparently, Camp Half-blood was significantly bigger than in the Percy Jackson books. "Hey, Brett, um, what is that castle? I've never heard of it in the books. Though it looks like Hogwarts from the Harry Potter books."
Brett gave me a sidelong glance. "Seems the story got broken up a bit. Both of those stories are most of the way true, except the Harry Potter ones are a bit farther off. Good thing too, or we'd have one more evil maniac on the loose. So, Harry Potter stories mixed with Percy Jackson, minus the love interests for both characters (they're just friends) and no Voldemort. Cool?"
"Cool? That's frickin AMAZING!" I cheered. Well, anyways, that guy with the bazillion eyes, Argus, met us at the camp gates.
"Hey, Brett. It's been a while. Finally found a way to bring her here without too much of a ruckus?" He asked, while I watched his hundreds of eyes blink. It kind of made me dizzy.
"Yeah, when her mom died and she got kicked out of her home, I figured it was a pretty decent time to get her over here. Can you get her over to the Hermes cabin? I'd like to check in with Aspen. It's been a while."
"Sure, man. I got it from here. Go hang with your girl." Argus thumped him on his back, then turned to me. "So what's your name, kid?"
"I'm Zalinka. You must be Argus. It's wonderful to meet you in person." I realized I sounded like an old businessman meeting the president or something. Oh well. It's not like I could take back what I said. Argus looked mildly surprised. "You've heard of the Percy Jackson books, right?" I asked, "Well, you're in them." Understanding spread across his face before a smile overtook it.
"Well, then, I'll bet you know what we do with new recruits, huh?" He winked at me with half of his eyes. That was creepy as hell - Hades, now, I guess.
I smiled. This was gonna be one awesome day... and the beginning of something amazing. I just knew it. So Argus led me up to the Hermes cabin, and it was just like I'd pictured it. That Rick Riordan author must have been to Camp Half-blood at some point. A tall, wiry dude with brown hair, hazel eyes, and tanned skin strode out of the cabin. The guy was so tall, even I had to look up. "Hey there, girl. What's your name?" He smiled down at me.
"I'm Zalinka. What's yours?" I responded eagerly.
"Agapios. But most people just call me Pio." He stuck his hand out to shake mine, and looked over the top of my head at Argus. "I've got her from here. You're off the hook."
Argus nodded and turned away. Pio lead me into the cabin. "We don't have all that much space, at least until your parent - Mom or Dad by the way? - claims you."
"Cool beans. And it's my dad. Hopefully he'll claim me soon so I can stop being an orphan." He wrapped his arm around me comfortingly. Not in a 'I wanna be your boyfriend' way but in a 'big brother' way. Suddenly, I felt at home. I looked up at him. "This may sound really weird and super awkward, but can you be my surrogate big brother? Even if I get claimed by a god who's not Hermes?"
He chuckled. "Of course. That's really why I'm here. Technically, I'm old enough to be sent out of camp, but they needed someone sorta like a counselor for all the new kids. I'm here for you whenever you need me." He ruffled my hair affectionately. Right then, the lunch bell rang.
"Sweet! I'm starving! Let's go!" I said. He looked at me funny.
"Uh, how did you know that was the lunch bell?"
"Well, first off, it's what, noon? And second, I'm starving. And third, Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson books. And there is how I know that's the lunch bell. But who cares? FOOD!" I practically jumped out the door. He shook his head and chased me to the dining hall. As I hurried across the lawn, I heard Argus and Chiron talking. "I wonder whose daughter she is," Argus said. "With that long reddish gold hair and baby blue eyes, she doesn't really seem to be Aphrodite's, but her figure says Aphrodite all the way!"
"I would agree with you, except for the fact that it's her father, not her mother. Maybe Poseidon?"
I shivered. I should hope not, otherwise I wouldn't have a chance with Percy.
Once everyone had filed in, Chiron stood to make an announcement. "Hello everyone! I'd like to welcome our newest camper, Zalinka!" I raised my hand to wave, when suddenly the hall fell silent. Everyone was staring at me. I realized I must have been claimed, so I looked up to see whose daughter I was.
"Apollo! Sweet!" I said, breaking the silence. I realized that may not have been the most auspicious way to start a conversation. I stood up, "Well I'll be going to the Apollo table then. Ah... Could someone maybe point me in the right direction?"
A tall boy who fit the description of Percy to a T (or would it be a P in this case?) pointed to an empty table towards the end of the hall. "You're right down there, Zalinka."
"Thanks, man." I said, walking down the hall, purposefully swaying my hips. I didn't mind if I got every single guy in camp on my tail with that. But hearing that I had the body of an Aphrodite kid gave me a little confidence in winning over Percy's body... all I had to do was get his head too. When I turned in my seat, I noticed every single girl at the Aphrodite table was glaring at me. And nearly every single guy in the place, with the exception of Chiron and Argus was staring at me with their jaws all the way to Tartarus and their eyes as big as saucers.
Chiron cleared his voice. "Well then. Let's get started with this excellent food. Tuck in!" And then I realized that Chiron must be 'Dumbledore' in the Harry Potter books. But then I noticed the wave of campers getting up to scrape food into the huge fireplace and remembered that you always had to give an offering to your godly parent. So I picked a couple of my favorite things, some sugar cookies, a bit of pork, and some deviled eggs (who made this meal? Deviled eggs for lunch? AWESOME!) and scraped them into the fire, as I silently thanked Apollo for claiming me so quickly.
Lunch was over quickly, so I headed over to find Pio. Finally I found him sitting on the steps of his cabin. "Hey Pio!" I called as I drew near. "Do you know where the Apollo cabin is? And where I can get some money to buy some clothes?" He looked up.
"Sure! Apollo's down at the end there, the one with a bunch of golden-y spikes around the door. And I'll take you down to the shop where the girls buy their clothes." He stood and put a hand on my shoulder, gently guiding me down the rows and through a few training grounds. "Everything's free here, 'cause so much stuff gets damaged during training we'd be broke if we had to buy it back."
"Sweetness. Thanks a ton Pio!" I set off towards the shop. I was going to reinvent my wardrobe. My mom and I had always had a knack for style, and I was gonna go for sexy.
I walked in and surveyed my hunting ground. This would be fun. My ultimate goal: get Percy. I'd need to appeal to his physical side first, and then I could work on getting his mind addicted to me. Right off, I picked out three or four lacy underwear sets (please remember I had nothing with me at all). I found a nice, tight, olive colored tank that showed the top of my cleavage. A bit more searching and I found some nice camo cargo pants and some black combat boots. Training gear collected! I'd leveled up in my personal game. Next goal: PJ's. After searching a bit more, I found a thin, sheer black spaghetti strap nightgown that skimmed the bottom of my ass. Next up, everyday clothes. I found a nice pair of skin tight skinny jeans and a couple pairs of boot-cut jeans with pocket decorations that highlighted my backside. Though I'd love to have a bunch of heels to go with it, I figured it would be better to stick with sensible shoes, so I chose some converse high tops and a pair of Jordans. I found a cute white shirt (how better to highlight my naturally tan skin?) that was tight up the torso and then fanned out in fluttery sleeves. I found a few other low cut shirts, and one that showed just a bit of belly - good thing I wasn't overweight. I found a nice brush, a straightener, and some hair products to go along with the pile of makeup I'd found.
I left the shop with all my new stuff in a plastic bag. Thankfully, my cabin wasn't too far away. I stepped in, and new I was at home. It was perfect! And since there was no one else, I had complete privacy. Excellent. Right off, I stripped out of my dirty clothes and took a shower. An hour or so later, I left the cabin, my hair glossy and straight, my face embellished with a touch of makeup, and looking so damn hot, few guys would be able to resist my draw. A fact proven when I stepped out of my cabin and every male within a hundred yard radius forgot to keep their jaws attached to their head. I flipped my hair over my shoulder and strutted to the Poseidon cabin. Several wolf whistles followed me. I smirked. "Percy?" I called in the door, unwilling to invade his privacy.
"Yeah! Just a sec..." He showed up at the door shirtless - damn that was hot - and his eyes raked my body, exactly what I had wanted. "Um... You're... ah... Zalinka... right?" He seemed to be struggling for words.
"Yeah, hey, I was wondering if you could show me around a bit? I'm kinda new, you know." I batted my eyelashes, hoping his head could supply him with a few words.
"Sure, babe - Zalinka. Sorry. Dunno how that slipped out." He managed to stutter.
"Oh, no worries! You can call me anything you like," I said seductively.
His eyes swept my body appreciatively. "Why don't you come in for a bit then, babe. I can show you around my place." His tone hinted that he might be showing me a little more than just his 'place' - which I was perfectly fine with.
"Only if I won't be in the way..." I said innocently. He shook his head, though his eyes remained firmly fastened on my chest. "Well, aright." I brushed passed him, being careful to let my hand brush over his crotch. I felt him stiffen slightly before following me into the cabin. I looked back to see a dazed smile on his face and his eyes focused on my ass. "So, what's life like here in camp?" I asked.
"Oh, uh, it's pretty fun. I mean, we can train all we want, and do anything we like, even only doing what we're good at." He managed to refocus on my face for a bit... before getting distracted with my hair. He reached out to touch it, but realized what he was doing when his hand was halfway there. "Ah, sorry. I seem to be having trouble making my head keep my body in line. Sorry."
I smiled. "No worries, I don't mind in the least. You can touch my hair whenever." Almost immediately, his hand flew to my hair. He stroked it, then tangled his hand in the reddish good strands, entranced with its motion.
"Er... come on in. Don't know why we're standing out here on the doorstep." He said dazedly.
