Perhaps it was shock. Perhaps it was acceptance. Whatever it was, Hector wasn't freaking out while being quite a ways up in the air without a seatbelt. As it was, he was holding on pretty tightly to the pen boy (Phil or whatever) as they flew.
His mind forlornly drifted back to his uneaten pancakes. Why couldn't they have waited until after breakfast? They would have been delicious. He mourned them in silence as they flew above the masses, descending into an odd looking camp. Campers gave brief glances before continuing on their way doing who knows what. The flying horses whinnied as they landed. The boy patted the black horse's neck in praise as Hecter loosened his grip and fell off the horse. Yes fell. Apparently his need to hold on for dear life had worn off and his body felt a need to reacquaint him back to the ground.
He laid there for a bit, now gazing up above toward the way too sunny skies. He narrowed his eyes and sat up, looking around at the grounds that he had been brought to for the week. Large cabins. Very large cabins. Each one with its' own theme. Mall, bank, beach, farmhouse, repair shop, gun shop, library, morgue, antique shop, another bank, pillow shop, party shop, and many other buildings, each somehow still having a cabin like feel. All in all, he was fairly disturbed. Was it too late to go to Waffle House?
"Percy, Annabeth. I see you have returned."
Hecter turned his head and blanched at the host of the new voice. His ass was a horse. His top was human. Many questions came into his head. Like we're his lungs in his human torso or in the horse body? Or did he have two sets of them? He was both disturbed and fascinated.
"Yeah. Though for once I would like not running into monsters every time we go to collect a demigod," Percy grumbled.
"Chiron, this is Hector. Thirteen and undetermined."
"Well, his parent should be claiming him tonight-"
"You mean my mom?"
"Ah, so your father is mortal."
Hector nodded but felt a slight uneasiness settle in his stomach with that comment. Almost an omen or forewarning.
"Well, until your mother claims you, you will be placed with the Hermes cabin."
"Hermes cabin?"
"God of travelers and theives."
Hector looked at the hotel like cabin. He felt a strange ache in his chest looking at it. It was unpleasant. But not unwelcome.
"Well I always did like traveling," he admitted, "And I'm going to guess there is no lady God of travelers?"
Percy choked back a snort.
"Uh no. That's all Hermes. Speaking of, there are your temporary counselors, Connor and Travis."
Two boys walked up with large grins. Thick curly brown hair on both their heads. Deep blue eyes sparkling deviously. Arched brows and pointed nose. Hector felt as though he was actually looking at some cousins he had never met. Both wearing orange shirts saying camp half blood. Percy and Annabeth excused themselves to focus on the upcoming campfire. The twins were not even two feet away when Percy and Annabeth were out of site.
They each held out a hand to shake Hector's. Hector hesitantly gave them his right hand. He wasn't surprised to feel a firm grasp and callouses on either of their hands. Thin spindly fingers, well set for picking locks. Something that Hector was more than familiar with in his years of travel much to his father's embarrassment considering it was a well protected bank.
Letting go he felt Connor move his hand to his shoulder.
"Welcome to camp kiddo!"
"Hector. My name is Hector."
"Hector what?" Travis asked, his grin still in place.
"Highland. Hector Highland."
"Bond. James Bond," Travis joked. Hector rolled his eyes.
"Very funny," Hector grumbled.
"Oh lighten up."
"Yeah, you're acting like some sulky Athena kid."
"Athena? Isn't she the goddess of smart people?"
Connor and Travis burst out laughing at Hector's question.
"Oh man! Remind me to tell Annabeth that later."
"She'll beat you up."
"Nah. I'm too fast."
Hector frowned as he followed their laughter to their apparent cabin.
"Went under some real renovation."
"Thank the gods for renovation of our cabin."
"Crazy enough when we had our cabin filled beyond reason and couldn't expand it."
"Much bigger now."
"Is that why your cabin looks like a hotel?"
Both Stolls looked over at Hector. Then back at their cabins. They rubbed their chins in what seemed to be in thought.
"It kind of does. Doesn't it?"
"Never thought about it."
"Anywho, let's get you comfortable until your mom claims you," they smiled walking forward, dragging Hector behind them showing him around the camp. The stables, the dining pavilion, Big House, and the large groups of cabins and campers along with their parent's cabin. None felt welcoming, not like he would have thought. None of them sounded or felt right. As if he didn't have a mother here. His mother he had always thought to be human.
Could they really be right about his mom? Could she really be a goddess?
His snorting, goofy, plaid wearing and believed dead mother? What goddess would snort or wear plaid? Whenever his dad spoke of ancient cultures, goddesses were unearthly beautiful, incredibly powerful and unbelievably confident. Nothing like the home movies or photos he had. She wasn't graceful or had any hint of being unearthly. She was just... His mom.
He didn't have much time to think as he went through the camp being bombarded by everything from the lava spewing rockwall to the kids singing about th it grandmother going to war. Before he knew it, the day had come and gone and he was sitting at the campfire, surrounded by presumably his family. His extremely large family.
He felt oddly comfortable here. As if he could be content to never travel again. To remain at the campsite had it not been for his dad who he had left behind. There the urge of travel remained.
He had stayed with the twins throughout the camp and it wasn't until campfire that something really happened. Campers were told that an unclaimed was thirteen. Each glanced over with mild curiousity, wondering which cabin was his. Which ones would he be living with. He had joined in without hesitation for the Apollo cabin singalongs. He could talk to just about anyone with ease. He wasn't afraid to gossip with the children of Aphrodite with their fashion despite a more homely appearance. He seemed weary around the children of Ares but was pleasant. He didn't seem to make much of an impression on others nor had outstanding qualities that favored any goddess that could be his mother.
But that night around the camp fire, as the end of his birthday drew near, a light appeared above his head. There were a few off comments about mother's and father's when he looked up.
"Looks like another son of Hermes."
To be honest I kind of forgot about this one. Damn.