2

Sunlight streamed through the light blue curtains that waved lazily with the wind. It took me a minute to remember the previous night's events, and then I stifled a groan, covering my eyes with one arm. Chiron had instructed me to show Aaron around camp today. Why me?

When I'd taken Aaron back to his cabin the night before, it had become very clear that he knew nothing of his lineage. I tried to explain it as best I could in as few words as possible, but from the expressions on his face, it hadn't sunk in quite yet.

I wondered briefly if I had enough time for a swim before meeting him. But looking at how high the sun was in the sky, I realized I'd used up too much time sleeping in already.

That was one of my biggest problems here, I reflected as I pulled on my jeans and a cute navy sweater my mother had sent me in an attempt to patch up last week's fight. Because of how NOT interested I was in hanging out with the other demigods, I couldn't be bothered to make it to classes on time, wake up on time, do ANYTHING on time. Nobody was going to make a big deal out of it though, with my being one of the big three's kid, and also with the camp being all "kid-friendly" and whatnot.

Maybe I was hoping that Chiron or Dionysus would pay attention long enough to discipline me. At least then I'd feel I had a purpose, a reason to try harder. Perhaps training Aaron would give me that purpose, I thought optimistically.

Pushing my hair up into a quick ponytail, I ran out the door, heading to Aaron's cabin. Now, compared to me, Aaron had plenty of cabin mates. I thought of them as a herd of rabbits, constantly multiplying. This thought brought a smirk to my face.

Knocking on the door, I tried for a polite smile when Kevin opened the door. Kevin had always been nice to me, although I knew it was only because Kevin strove to be nice to everyone. Given the chance, he'd rather hang out with any of the other demigods nearby, this I knew to be a fact. But still, I had to give him credit, he grinned and gave me a sudden hug.

"Here for the new kid? I'll get him for you." With that, he shut the door and I heard him yell, "Hey fresh meat! Your chaperone is here!"

I rolled my eyes and sat on the steps of the cabin, waiting for my "charge." Chiron had said that Aaron was my duty because I'd found him first, but I wondered for a moment if perhaps he was trying to get me out of my shell, just as deep down, I really wanted him to.

The door opened and Aaron stepped out. I think my mouth must have dropped open, which was probably not attractive, but suddenly I was very concerned with my appearance. Gone was the dirt smudged face from the night before; Aaron had cleaned up very nicely. He wore black jeans and a t-shirt with some band's logo on the front, and while his hair still held that slight curl, it hung more about his face, making it so I could focus only on his eyes. Flecks of gold and red held my attention there, and I spent the next minute wondering if he got the coloring naturally, or if it were a part of his godly heritage.

Aaron coughed and grinned at me, head tilted down to meet my eye. "Morning."

I flushed and nodded. "Morning!" Standing up quickly, I brushed off my pants, giving me the excuse to turn my face away. "I thought we'd start off with me showing you around the camp, and then maybe we could grab some breakfast and start training. Sound okay?" He nodded, and shoving his hands in his pockets, walked over to join me.

We spent the next hour walking around, with me showing him everything I could think of. The training grounds, cabins, pavilions, ranges… Everything was fair game. And then we reached the lake.

I must have sighed in relief or something, because Aaron looked over at me and laughed then. "You come here a lot?"

I nodded. "Just as you are the son of Hephaestus, I am the daughter of Poseidon."

He scrunched his eyebrows together in thought and then snapped his fingers as the answer came to him. "The water god dude right?"

I smirked, "Yeah, something like that. Anyways, I like to come out here to think, relax, have fun…" I trailed off.

He smiled empathetically. "I know how you mean. I always end up crafting something when I'm upset. Made my first model airplane like that. I was 2." He laughed and blushed, running his hand through his hair. "I guess, looking back, that was a little strange huh? I don't know, this whole demigod thing is so new and weird. Feels like a dream."

I nodded. "I felt the same when I came here three years ago. You get used to it."

He smiled at me. "Well, if you say so, it must be true."

I blushed. "Come on then, on to breakfast." And in that moment, I knew this was good. I'd needed someone like Aaron to talk to for a long time. And here was my chance.