Chapter 3

"Oh, come on, Irene! Just this once?" Travis Stoll put up an unconvincing puppy eyes. His brother Connor tried to imitate him, but failed miserably. Aww. Hermes children were all useless when it comes to making cute faces, since their upturned brows and mischievous looks betrayed their sweet-sounding pleas. Well, so far Luke was the only who could rock it, cause he's hot.

"No means no." Irene glared at them sternly.

"But it'll be fun!" Travis persuaded.

"And we can blackmail Annabeth about it later." Connor added.

"Sneaking a spider—a tarantula no less—into the Athena cabin is suicide. And I don't want to anger Annabeth until capture-the-flag ends. Don't you remember how she nearly killed one of you guys that time? Uh, which of you was then?"

Travis and Connor both paled at the same time. "It doesn't matter. Then, how about planting weeds in the Demeter cabin's garden?"

"I tend to kill plants instead of growing them."

"Right. Steal some make ups from Aphrodite cabin?"

"I don't want my face to be covered in permanent make ups. It'll scare the fishes when I dive into the sea."

"Steal the Hephaestus cabin's tools?"

"You're really bad at choosing things to steal. You know how dangerous stealing something from Hephaestus cabin. It's far worse than stealing make ups, planting weeds, and smuggling tarantulas."

"Irene!" Travis whined. "You're underestimating our superb thieving abilities!"

"We don't need you to point out the consequences! We just want you to help us!" Connor followed his brother's example. "Though I don't know why you think Hephaestus cabin is more dangerous than Annabeth and the rest of Athena cabin."

"Yeah, like I'll help you shorten your lifespan. And Beckendorf and the others actually have muscles to beat us to pulp. Why don't we plan out the traps we're going to set in capture the flag instead?"

"A water gun that spurts spit onto their faces?" Connor sugested hopefully.

"Whose spit will it be? I don't want to waste my spit on it."

"Hellhound spit?" Travis grinned.

"Or fire salamander goo." Connor smirked after his brother.

"Shaving cream." Being the *cough* nice girl she was, Irene suggested something less disgusting.

"Liquefied pegasus poop." Annabeth blurted sarcastically as she passed through. Irene stuck her tongue out in disgust. Travis and Connor beamed at her with admiration. Irene could practically see their brain spinning to add in something more repulsing.

"Irene! A giant sea snake got stranded!" Someone yelled. Irene wasn't sure who, but faintly she recognized it as Silena Beauregard.

"Di Immortales," Irene mumbled. It's the second time this month. If this continued for much longer, she would have to skip dinner everyday (it was hard and tiring to deal with stranded sea creatures, even the smaller ones).

"See ya' some other time, guys," Irene waved weakly. Travis and Connor waved back dismissively. Clearly they were planning to set a prank on whoever unlucky camper they got their hands on in capture the flag.

Stupid, freaking eel. Silena had mistook the giant electric eel as a sea snake. With all the fuss Zeus and Poseidon was making, Irene was not surprised that this eel got frightened and accidentally dumped itself on land. Gee, thanks for the work.

"Uh, is he alright now?" Percy asked from behind her. She had met him on the way to the beach, and he offered to help. Aww, such a sweet boy. He's not exactly the most delicate animal handler, but Percy had his own ways. Well, Irene was pretty much sure that he was her brother. There was too much similar points to be a coincidence. There was no way two people could exist with the same looks, age, and name...right?

"He'll be fine. Though I'm concerned with his brain. Getting scared to death by two Gods twice already. Believe me, a giant electric eel that goes nuts ain't a pretty sight."

"I have no problem believing that." Percy assured. Irene laughed and rubbed his head affectionately. "What do you mean being scared twice by two gods...?"

Uh-oh.

"N-nothing important!" Irene blurted too quickly. The look on Percy's face showed that he didn't believe her.

"Okay, it's important. But If Chiron haven't told you yet, that means the right time hasn't come."

"I'm getting tired of being told by adults that 'the time hasn't come'."

Irene feighned shock. "I'm not an adult yet! I'm still 16! Er, 17? I think Apollo told me I skipped a year…"

"Skipped…a year…?"

Irene sighed. Might as well tell him. No one aside from Chiron, Mr.D, and a limited number of campers knew this.

"You see, I'm supposed to be 16 this year. But her highness queen of the gods got pissed with me and turned me into a dog temporarily for a few months. And as you know, dogs age faster than humans, so..."

"When you turn back you skipped a year." Percy was surprisingly sharp. But it seemed like it was hard for him to imagine the fact that she used to wander around on all fours and wag her tail when she was happy.

"Precisely." Irene gave him a praising pet on the head. He still had a weird look on him. "Aww, come on, I couldn't be that horrible when I was a dog. I'm sure if you were there you would've think I'm cute! At least, Travis, Connor, and Luke all said that. But the deal with Hermes cabin is, they seemed to enjoy including me in their mischiefs, so maybe they only said that to gain my favor…"

"Uh..." Percy was at loss of words.

"You can go now," Irene shooed him softly back to Camp Half-Blood.

"...Okay."

Irene sighed and glanced at the water. She decided that a little swim could probably help her feel better. She might've said it as if it was no big deal, but being a dog was hard. She had felt useless and powerless; not even able to provide for herself. Irene was used to people counting on her, used to hear that she was strong and dependable. To suddenly lose all those qualities… ugh. Not pleasant times. The only thing remotely interesting about it was she could act silly and no one would think it was weird.

When she resurfaced, Luke was sitting on a rock near the shore, waiting for her. The sun shined on his blonde hair. His pale scar seemed almost nonexistent.

"Hey." He greeted with a smile.

"Hey." Irene smiled back. "So, what's the mighty Luke doing here?"

"Waiting for a beautiful daughter of the sea, perhaps," Luke replied with a playful wink. Really, Irene didn't get it, but Luke tended to get rather flirtatious around her. It's not like he liked her or anything, but ever since Irene admitted she used to have a crush on him, he found it amusing and teased her about it. Good thing it was not Annabeth he was teasing, otherwise the blonde girl might just melt.

"Oh, gee, how sweet," Irene rolled her eyes with a sarcastic smirk on her face. Luke laughed.

"C'mon, I'm just joking,"

"Yeah, a joke that would give people the wrong impression,"

Luke shrugged casually. "I would've cared less about what the others think. Besides, you are pretty. There's nothing wrong in stating the facts, right?"

"Fine, Castellan, you win. There's nothing wrong in stating the facts. So I'll tell you this: one, I don't like you anymore; two, Annabeth likes you; three, thank you and you're handsome too,"

Luke flinched at the mention of his surname, but he smiled and offered to accompany her back to her cabin. Irene saw no problem with that, so she accepted. They chatted along the way like old friends (which they were), sometimes imitating silly lines of their fellow half-blood or plainly teasing each other. It was fun, hanging out with Luke. And compared to the time when she liked him, she found that having him as a friend, not someone to crush on, was more enjoyable. No more 'OMG I'm so nervous I can't look at his face!' anymore.

"Thanks." Irene smiled as she reached her cabin. Luke grinned and bid her good afternoon. He went to his own cabin. Briefly Irene could see Percy, seemingly trying to get comfortable with the lack of space in cabin eleven, as Luke opened the door. But the image was soon cut off when Luke closed the entrance.

Irene dropped to her bed, inhaling the scent of salt that lingered to the sheets. She felt so sleepy that an early sleep sounded good, even if that means she has to skip dinner. She turned and watched the ceiling silently.

"It was a nice day, Dad," she blurted softly. "Really, even if Percy isn't really my brother, when it turns out he just shared the same name, age, and looks by coincidence (though I don't think coincidences like that exists), it's still good to meet him."

Unsurprisingly, silence was the only answer she got. Poseidon barely ever replied at all. She felt rather lonely with that. She knew she couldn't complain. Poseidon would never be able to take care of her like any normal father. But she still wanted to be selfish for once.

Irene paused for a long while. "Well, I guess I'll talk to you later. Even when you didn't answer."

Perhaps a bath and food would make her feel better. She wouldn't skip dinner after all. The conch horn blew right after she finished bathing. A bit disappointed that she couldn't use the hair dryer, she willed her hair to dry. People might found it odd that she liked to use hair dryer when she could just dry her hair without trying. But she liked the hot air blowing from the contraption.

She went out and 'lined up' in front of her cabin before settling on her table, alone as always. When the food was served, she dropped most of it to the fire, again. Her appetite had been bad lately. She started wondering if she was sick. At least, smelling the smoke of the fire made her feel better. The scent morphed into salty sea air for a brief moment. Irene apreciated that. It was the way Poseidon gave her attention, a sign that he listened, and that he would give her the answer one way or another.

When everybody had returned to their seats and finished eating their meals, Chiron pounded his hoof to gain the campers' attention.

Mr. D got up with a huge sigh. "Yes, I suppose I'd better say hello to all you brats. Well, hello. Our activities director, Chiron, says the next capture the flag is Friday. Cabin five presently holds the laurels." A bunch of ugly cheering rose from the Ares table. Irene felt slightly annoyed, but it was not important. She was positive her group would be the winning side at Friday.

"Personally," Mr. D continued, "I couldn't care less, but congratulations. Also, I should tell you that we have a new camper today. Peter Johnson."

Irene almost snickered. Chiron murmured something to Mr. D.

"Er, Percy Jackson," Mr. D corrected. "That's right. Hurrah, and all that. Now run along to your silly campfire. Go on."

Everybody cheered. As usual, they all headed down toward the amphitheater, where Apollo's cabin led a sing-along. When Irene looked at Percy, the teen actually looked happy and at home. And then Percy spotted her and gave her a small wave. Irene smiled brightly and invited him to sit next to her for the rest of the night. It was the first time Irene saw Percy laugh. He had a pleasant laugh.

Once the conch horn blew as a sign to go to sleep, Irene gave Percy a goodnight hug, and surprisingly the boy didn't protest. Irene returned to her cabin with great satisfaction, and she fell asleep a lot easier than the nights before.

Much to Irene's dismay, her sleep hadn't been as nice as the pre-sleep situation. She had a dream. She was standing in a dark alley, one she never saw before. She saw a little girl at the corner of said alley. She was probably around six or seven. She had messy hair that was covered in dirt, making the color dull and hard to determine. Her body was awfully thin. Obviously she hadn't been eating properly.

Irene could somewhat feel power from this girl. She must be a demigod. But whose child was she?

The little girl shivered when a breeze blew by, and she sat hugging her legs , desperately trying to keep the warmth in her body. But then a long howl resounded in the air, and the girl's head snapped up instantly, fear evident in her pale blue-grey eyes. Staggering, she stood up and run. Irene wanted to follow the girl, but then she felt like she was being sucked away into a vortex of nothingness, and she sat upright, fully awake and sweaty.

Irene didn't know what that dream meant, but she was sure she should discuss this with Chiron. She looked at the window, relieved to see the sky already starting to light up, and prepared herself for the day.

Her plans were smashed to the rocks when she met Percy, though. As much as she would like to discuss her dream, a chance that Percy was her brother still clung stubbornly in her mind, and she figured family bonding time would be great. She was ninety nine percent sure Percy was her baby brother. But her theory would still be in shambles if Poseidon didn't claim him.

So she spent a lot of time with the younger teen. And to her triumph, Percy exceled in everything a Poseidon kid exceled at. At least, the things she herself mastered well. He had bad archery skills, he did great in canoeing, and (much to her delight) Percy had actually managed to disarm Luke during sword practice. It seemed like a fluke, but Irene could spot talent when she saw one. All Percy needed was a proper balanced sword. So Irene dragged him back when he was free, and showed him her greatest treasure.

"Take a look at this," Irene pulled her necklace from under her shirt. Percy stared at it in amazement, even though obviously he was not the type to get interested in jewelries.

Her necklace was mostly made of a certain type of silver that would not lose its glow nor break as easily as normal silver. It was also much lighter. The material had been a sort of gift from Artemis. The goddess of hunting handed it gladly to Hephaestus when Poseidon requested the sword to be made. The pendant was shaped like the tips of a trident, being hung upside down to the chain. A small piece of round abalone shell adorned the junction of the trident. The middle tip of the trident was the only one not made of silver. As far as Irene knew, it could morph into three different metal : Celestial Bronze, Imperial Gold, and the same magical silver that made the rest of the necklace. It was still quite a mystery though. It might be capable of morphing into Stygian Iron too.

"So, what of it?" Percy finally asked when he finished admiring the masterpiece.

Irene chuckled. "Watch." She pulled the chain off, and instantly the middle tip of the trident elongated, while the rest grew larger and formed a hilt and guard. The abalone shell also grew in size and was adorning the border between the hilt and the blade. Brown leather covered the hilt to give it a steadier grip. This time the blade is Celestial Bronze. The leaf-like shape was less broad, causing it to look more swift and graceful.

"Some of us who have our own specific weapon prefered to keep it with us at all weapons can be turned into another item that is easier to carry. This is my sword, Thýella. Dad gave it to me after my first trip to Mount Olympus."

"Thýella...Storm." Percy translated. "It's beautiful."

"And deadly. I noticed you have trouble finding a sword that suited you. Try this one." Irene handed him the sword. Percy took it hesitantly, almost as if he was afraid of breaking it.

Yeah, even Irene had to admit, Thýella looked more like a decoration rather than a tool for fighting. It seemed fragile and almost harmless, much like Irene herself when she was not being serious. But Irene knew the extent of that sword's durability. It got squashed between the climbing wall and fell into the lava under it once, but it came out without a single scratch. Even the abalone shell on it was unscathed. Moral value: never underestimate Hephaestus' creation.

Percy tried to swing the sword. It was much lighter than he imagined, especially since it looked like it was made of solid silver. He tried to slash a nearby practice dummy, and it was sliced almost without an effort. It was very sharp. It felt almost right in his hand, much better balanced than the practice swords, but still not the right one for him. It was too light and slightly too long. He voiced his thoughts to Irene.

"Storm was made especially for me, therefore I won't be surprised if it doesn't quite match your balance. Everyone is different after all. But it is better than any you have tried, isn't it?"

"Yeah. It's great," Percy agreed.

"Then, I can lend it to you if you want." Irene smirked.

"What? But, it's from your dad, right? Isn't it something important to you?"

"It's not like you'll borrow it all the time. Thýella hadn't been used properly for a long time anyway. And there's always the possibility of you refusing to borrow it," Irene reasoned, a cheeky grin plastered on her face.

"I'll think about it. Thanks, Irene." In all honesty, Percy promised himself he wouldn't borrow it. It was Irene's treasured sword, a gift from her father. He wouldn't take it from her, even if it was just for a while. Besides, in all its glory, Thýella looked quite feminine. It was made especially for Irene after all, and Irene was not male.

He was thankful of her kind offer, though. So far, Irene acted much like an older sister to him. At least, that was what he thought having an older sister felt like. When Irene hugged him after the campfire, he felt save, the way he used to feel whenever his mother embraced him. He really grew rather attached to her. And he was looking forward to get to know her better.

To Be Continued