Disclaimer: the only thing I own in this story is the characters I made up. The rest belongs to its rightful owner
The blessing of the moon
Chapter 3
Ow. That was the only thing Keriss could think as she shifted where she was lying. Her ankle screamed in pain, and her back felt like someone had dropped hot embers on it. She gritted her teeth and let out a hissing breath, trying to ease the pain. She opened her eyes, and gasped.
The last thing she remembered was lying unceremoniously under a tree, with dragon-fire blasting against her. Now, she was lying in a cot-like structure in a huge, airy room, filled with rows of beds and shelves adorned with vials of strange concoctions. Weak morning sunlight filtered through lofty, narrow windows, and people bustled about, seeming to overlook her. Keriss' eyes were heavy with sleep, so she raised an arm, and looked in surprise to see that she was wearing her lilac hoodie, which she had left crumpled on the floor in her tent. Suddenly, a delighted squeal came from across the room, and Fern, hair matted from sleep, came running up to her. Keriss winced as she was pulled into a tight hug from her friend.
"Fern! Fern! Stop it! Ow!" I cried, attempting to push her off me. She stepped back, dipping her head.
"Sorry. I'm just glad to see you." She explained. Keriss nodded.
"Where am I, anyway?" she asked, looking around the room, taking in the strange sounds and smells.
"Oh! You're in the infirmary." Keriss gave Fern a prompting look. Her friend could be so hopeless sometimes.
"And where exactly is the infirmary…?" She goaded, gesturing out of the window with a small inclination of the head.
"You're at Camp Half-Blood." Said another voice, and a man in a wheelchair came over. He had a short brown beard and deep brown eyes, and seemed to have the air and authority that one might expect from a school principal.
"Good morning, Chiron." Smiled Fern, dipping her head. A sudden thought struck me.
"Wait. Isn't Chiron that centaur who was Kronos' son?" I asked, thoroughly bemused. A distant look passed through Chiron's eyes, and he fixed me with a stern gaze.
"Fern will tell you everything." He promised, before pivoting on his wheelchair and rolling out of the infirmary.
"Wait a second. So you're saying that the Greek gods are real!" Keriss exclaimed, disbelief in her voice. Fern nodded solemnly.
"And sometimes they have children with mortals; called Demigods, or Half-Bloods." She continued. Keriss shook her head, and looked outside, eyes portraying a pallet of mixed emotions. Fear, awe, disbelief, confusion, betrayal: it was all there. It felt like everything she had ever known had crumbled beneath her feet and plunged her into a void where nothing was certain. The Greek gods were real. Her best friend was a Half-Blood. Either her mum or her dad was a god. The guy in the wheelchair was an immortal centaur. It was all too much.
"I found it hard to take at first too." Admitted fern, shaking her head at the memories. Suddenly, Keriss realised that Fern hadn't said who her immortal parent was. She opened her mouth to ask, but Fern replied before the words had even formed on the tip of her tongue.
"Demeter. Goddess of agriculture and harvest." Keriss snorted.
"That explains your fascination with plants." She laughed, giving Fern a light, playful shove. The brown-eyed girl shoved Keriss back, but she gasped in pain and clutched her arm.
"Oh my Gods! I'm so sorry!" exclaimed Fern, who sprung backwards and grabbed a cup of golden liquid from the small table beside her friend's bed.
"Drink this. You shouldn't disintegrate, you haven't had much nectar today…" Fern trailed off before thrusting the cup into Keriss' hand. She looked hesitantly at the nectar. She knew well enough that too much Nectar or Ambrosia (food of the gods) could disintegrate a mere mortal, however she raised the cup to her lips, and exclaimed in surprise.
"It tastes like cookies!" Fern laughed.
"It tastes like whatever you want it to." Keriss took another sip, and felt the strength returning to her limbs.
"Do you think you're ready for a tour?"
Later that night, after her tour of the camp, Keriss and Fern settled down in the dining pavilion for the evening meal. A huge fire blazed at one end of the pavilion, and, much to Keriss' surprize, it was burning a bright shade of gold, and spitting flames more than twenty feet high. Fern nudged Keriss with her elbow as she saw her staring, mesmerised by the flames.
"It changes colour depending on the mood in the camp." She informed. Suddenly a loud voice rose over the murmur of chatter from the dining tables- one for each cabin.
"Quiet please!" Heads turned to see Chiron, in full stallion form, towering over his audience of demigods.
"We have a new camper amongst us. Her name is Keriss Riese-moore." Keriss ducked her head as people from all the cabins turned to look at her. Suddenly, over the silence, a gasp splintered the air, and Chiron bounded forwards, a look of shock on his face.
"No…" he whispered, loud enough for Keriss to hear.
"That's impossible…."
A/N: Review please! Also, I am willing to take suggestions for OC demigods, as this story takes place ages after The Percy Jackson books, so I don't have any characters to have in the background! This is the format you should use to submit your characters!
Name:
Age:
Godly parent:
Other family:
Appearance:
Personality:
Weapon and skills:
Extra (special powers, events in their past):