Hey Guys!:D Here's the fourth chapter!;) Hope you enjoy!;D I don't own PJO, copyright goes to Rick Riordan! :) Please review! :D
Carly POV
Okay, so Nico wants to introduce me to some chap named Chiron. I've never heard of Camp-Half Blood in my entire life, but when I saw it, I fell in love with the place instantly. It was everything a camp was yet it was everything a camp wasn't. Does that make sense? No, I don't suppose so.
It was everything a camp was; it had cabins, a camp fire, a dining hall, and different activities like art, horseback riding or volleyball. It was everything a camp wasn't; some wood nymphs and satyrs were teaching classes, the horses were actually pegasi, and besides art, volleyball and horseback riding, there was archery, hand-to-hand combat, wall-climbing and sword fighting, to make things short; it was heaven on earth.
Why? Just because I look like a snivelling, proper lady who's never touched a sword to save her life doesn't mean I am one.
Having a hunter for a father isn't for the weak hearted. I remember when my Dad and I would go horseback riding into the forest, he taught me how to use the bow and arrow, how to look for food when there wasn't any, he even taught me how to wrestle bears and tackle deer.
I remember his words ever so clearly, as if he was talking to me right now; "Carly love, you must always remember that the forest can be your friend but it can also be your worst enemy. You must learn how to defend yourself. Imagine that your bow and arrow are an extended part of your body, when you let go and aim for the prey or the target, think of the bow as part of your arm and the arrow as your fingers, you are simply reaching out to touch your target."
I also remembered the times were my dad would hold my hand tight and walk me through the forest, telling me stories of his childhood. Sometimes he would look at me fondly with the same sapphire blue eyes that I have, then out of the blue he'd say; "You remind me so much of your mother."
He'd get that distant look in his eyes as if he were remembering something sweet and unforgettable.
Then that accursed day came, the day that took my father way from me. I was only 9 when that happened.
It was a dark and stormy night, I wasn't scared since I had gotten used to this weather, living in London and all that. The phone rang; Gran answered it since Dad had gone out to the forest with his friends.
"Hello, this is the Blaire residence, Eliza Blaire speaking." Gran said in business like tone, after a few moments Gran's face turned as pale as a ghost's, "What do you mean gone? No, No, No…I-I…oh no!"Gran wailed, she dropped the phone out of shock and dropped to the floor her face was full of shock and grief.
I walked to Gran and helped her up, I was concerned and confused, I've never seen Gran act like this before. "What's wrong Gran? Who was that?" I asked curiously. She looked at me, tears spilling from her eyes, "Carly my sweet…it was one of your father's friends. Mr. Smith. Daddy…daddy won't be coming home tonight." she said in a soft whisper.
"Why not Gran? Why? What happened?" I asked; I wanted to find out why dad wasn't coming home, I wanted to find out when he was coming home.
"Carly darling…daddy's…daddy's…gone. Carly my sweet…he's dead." she said in a voice so soft it was barely a whisper.
I couldn't believe what she was saying, "Carly darling…daddy's…daddy's gone. Carly my sweet…he's dead."
I don't really remember what I did next, I cried so hard, it was all a blur. I didn't come out of my room for 3 days, I just kept crying. But I knew I had to stay strong, my father wouldn't have wanted me to lie around in my own depression.
I later found out that my father was attacked by a wild bear. Ironic, right?
Despite the fact that everyone had confirmed that he was dead, I had a little spark of hope that he will survive.
That spark died during the funeral.
It was a beautifully arranged funeral, but it was the worst thing I've ever experienced. I couldn't even remember what the people were saying during the whole procession, I just kept crying until my eyes were puffy.
I couldn't believe that I will never again get to see my father's warm and kind face, I'd never be able to hold his warm and rough hands, I'd never be able to see those kind blue eyes, I'd never be able to hug him when I feel down or tell him how school went.
"Carly…are you okay?" Nico asked his voice full of concern. I snapped out of my trip from memory lane and landed myself in the present time.
"Y-yes, I'm…I'm fine." I said my voice a little shaky. Nico smiled, I hadn't noticed that we had walked far from where we came from, I noticed that we were in front of a small cabin.
This is where you can usually find Chiron when he's not teaching." Nico explained. He walked up to the door and knocked, "Chiron, we need to talk. I've brought someone to see you." Nico said, his voice sounded formal, like bringing a new camper was an important matter.
The door opened and I could hear Frank Sinatra playing, a man stepped out. Okay, he looked very much like a man, the difference? He had the body of a horse. I didn't mean that as an insult, mind you, he literally had the body of a white stallion. Okay…not the weirdest thing I've ever seen but it was a little odd.
The man looked at me curiously then he turned to Nico. "Is this a new camper?" he asked, Nico nodded, "Yes sir. This is Carly Blaire. I found her lost in Los Angeles, but she's not from around here she's from London." he said.
Chiron looked at me, when I first saw him, I thought he would be all strict and business-like but he smiled kindly at me. "Welcome to Camp Half-Blood, child. I am Chiron, the camp-activities director." he said, his voice was full of hospitality and kindness.
I was still a little stunned that the camp-activities director was a half- horse.
"Pleasure to meet you Mr. Horsey, I mean um…um…Mr. Chiron sir." I said, I turned beet red at my stupid and insensitive mistake.
I thought Chiron would go bonkers and blow up at my accidental insult but he just smiled, I could see Nico was trying to stifle a laugh. "Child, as much as I love nicknames, I would prefer if you'd stick with Chiron. Is that fine with you?" he asked, I nodded, "Um…yes. Sorry bout' that." I said in my most apologetic tone. Chiron smiled, "It's fine child. You should clean-up and get dressed, you'll find some clothes in the dresser, dinner starts at six." he said.
"Nico, will you show her to the undetermined cabin?" Chiron asked.
Nico nodded, "This way Carly." He led me to a small, cozy looking cabin with two small windows.
"Here's the undetermined cabin, sorry if it's empty, most of the kids who come here are already claimed by their godly parent once they step foot on camp. I guess you're godly parent will claim you a little later than the usual." he said reassuringly.
I smiled, "Thank you Nico…for everything. If it weren't for you I would have still been stuck in Los Angeles with pennies being thrown at my head." I said jokingly, Nico laughed, "Glad I could help. I'll see you at dinner." he gave me one more smile and left.
I stepped into the cabin, it was old and musty inside but it felt warm and reassuring at the same time. It had about 5 small beds in one row, a woollen carpet, a bathroom and a dresser.
I sighed and got myself comfortable.
I showered and got dressed, my outfit consisted of denim shorts, an orange Camp Half-Blood
t-shirt and sneakers, and to top it off, my hair was tied down into a ponytail.
This was my typical outfit. Not a chiffon dress. I just wore that because my stupid school rules.
I decided to explore Camp-Half Blood before supper, so I stepped out of the undetermined cabin and headed towards the volleyball court.
As I reached the court, a volleyball was headed straight towards me. Normally, a person would run and scream or close their eyes and brace themselves for the worse. Me? I faced the ball head on and gave it a good spike.
A boy of about 14 ran to me, he was tall and lean with swift and smooth blonde hair, sparkling teeth and blue eyes. He wore a muscle shirt and running shorts with flip-flops. You could easily have mistaken him as a beach supermodel instead of a camper.
Did I like him? No. Honestly, just because my father was a hunter doesn't mean I fall head-over-toes for some beefy, hunky guy. To make my point shorter; he's not my type.
"Hey there! Wow, nice spike! Are you new here?" he asked, I smiled, "Yes…I'm not really from around here, I'm from London but I'm staying at Camp Half-Blood. My name's Carly. Carly Blaire." I said, the boy gave me a sparkling smile, "Well, a British gal, huh?" he said in a friendly voice.
"You sure know how to play your volleyball. My name's Tyler. Tyler Jones. Son of Apollo. Do you do any other sports?" he asked, "Yes. I can do archery and a little hand-to-hand combat and sword fighting. That's about all." I tried to sound as truthful as possible without having to sound like a snob.
"Wow. You're some athlete. Well, anytime you want to you know…get together, I'd be more than happy to share some of my archery secrets with you." he said this all in a weird tone. Was he flirting with me?
I've never had any close contact with boys my age, let alone having them actually flirt with me. Okay, that was weird. How do I respond to that? Do I just answer with a simple yes or no or do I perform some sort of ritual to slip out of this situation? You'll have to excuse me for my cluelessness. I told you I'm not good with boys.
"Um…" was all I was able to say. Tyler smiled flirtatiously, "I'll be seeing you soon then, during dinner?" he asked. I just gave him a small nod. I guess he thought I liked him that's why I'm so speechless but honestly, I'm only speechless because I'm absolutely clueless on how to respond.
He gave me one last smile and ran off to join his chums. All of a sudden, I didn't really feel like joining the volleyball game.
I walked to the strawberry fields and lay down on the soft grass. It felt good, after all that's happened to me today, lying down and just relaxing for once was just what I needed.
I sighed and breathed in the sweet fragrant air, it smelled of strawberries (obviously) and fresh spring dew. The sun was setting, it looked like a giant glowing disc, the clouds were in shades of deep pink and bright orange. It was so beautiful.
I heard someone clear his throat, I sat down and turned, Nico di Angelo had crashed my relaxation. "Do you mind if I join you?" he asked, I sighed and gave him a small smile, "No, not at all." I sighed and lay down, Nico lay down beside me, his hands behind his back, the way some people look like when their relaxing.
"So…what made you come here?" I asked, I didn't mean to be rude but I was just curious.
Nico smiled, "I need some relaxation too you know. This is the best place to start." he said in an as-a-matter-of-fact tone, I turned beet red, I wasn't sure if it was out of embarrassment on asking the question in the first place or for some other stupid reason.
I sighed and thought about my father, I missed him so much, I wish he was here now, he would understand what was happening, he would make everything better.
Nico looked at me, "Your thinking about your Dad, aren't you?" he asked. I stared at him in shock, "Are you some sort of mind reader?" I asked him, he laughed, "No, you just get this sad, far-away look in your eyes. You miss him don't you?" he asked.
"More than you can imagine…" I said, my voice was sort of cracked, I felt a searing hot pain in my throat.
Nico was silent for a while but he finally spoke, "I'm sorry Carly…about your father. I know how you feel…losing someone you love dearly. I felt it twice." he said in a sad voice.
I was so immersed in my own thoughts and sadness, I had never bothered to think about Nico.
"Nico…who were they?" I asked, Nico looked far off into the distance, "My mom…and my sister, Bianca." he said, I sensed so much sadness and grief in his voice, I couldn't bear to hear what happened to them.
"Nico I…I'm sorry. If it makes you feel any better, I'll tell you what happened to my Dad." I said. I felt that I owed him an explanation to my grief and my father's death.
I explained everything, my father, how he died and everything else, it felt good letting all my sadness out, sharing my story with someone I trust.
Nico listened carefully and told me about his mother and his sister as well.
"Can I let you in on a little secret Nico?" I asked, he looked at me and smiled, "Sure, what is it?" he answered.
"I'm mortally afraid of bears. After my father died, I couldn't stand even looking at a picture of those fuzzy monsters. I know it's not fair to them but, every time I see even a simple picture or stuffed head, I close my eyes. It hurts Nico…it really does." I said, my voice was shaky, I didn't want to cry but I couldn't stop the tears from falling on my face.
I sat down, turned around and buried my face on my hands, I didn't want him to see me like this, I had to be strong, I didn't want to show anymore weakness than I already have.
Nico sat down and moved closer to me, he turned me around to face him. Then he did something unexpected; he hugged me.
He hugged me tight, it was a reassuring and friendly hug, it was warm and soft. It was like something you would give to a friend who's been hurt.
He smelled of honey and cherry, his chest felt warm and comfortable. Okay, I've never hugged any boy in my whole entire life except for my Dad but the hug Nico gave me felt the same. It was warm, comfortable and reassuring.
I just sobbed in his arms, breathing in and out, thinking about my father.
Suddenly, I heard someone speak, "Well, well, well! Do my eyes deceive me? Nico di Angelo's got a little girlfriend!" I withdrew from Nico's hug and saw a girl who looked about 16, she was big, buff and burly, her hair was tied in a bandana, she had and a mean and mischievous glint in her eyes that said; 'If you mess with me, I'll tear you to piece by piece and dance on your grave.'
For some reason, I wasn't afraid of her, she looked like one of those typical bullies that messed with children and took their lollipops.
Nico didn't look afraid either but he was turning tomato red out of embarrassment, "Clarisse, you don't understand, I was just-" Clarisse cut him short, "You were just giving her a hug? Please punk, even that sounds pitifully romantic, no matter how hard you try to deny it." she said all this in a spiteful tone. (though with the way she speaks, it sounded more like a snarl.)
"Chiron wanted me to tell you that dinner's started, and you better bring your little girlfriend with you." she said girlfriend as if it was some sort of disgusting term.
Nico just gave her a scowl full of hatred, "Yeah we're coming, just go." he told Clarisse, clearly he was angry, but for some reason I was angry too. How can she just treat Nico like that? Oh well, you can't change a bully.
Clarisse gave Nico one last look full of hatred and walked off.
Nico stood up, "Come on Carly, it's time for dinner."
He helped me up and together we walked up to the dining hall.
Hope you enjoyed! Please Review! ;) More chapters to come! :D