Pyper

Am I the only one who thought it was a little bit cool? I mean, sure, the timing was terrible. My track meet just happened to be the Olympic trials that I will probably never get a chance to attempt again, but still… we were demigods. Like, real demigods. They gave us free makeovers that gave me curves that I had never been able to achieve as an athlete, and my face was flawless. The pain was a drawback, but even though I had seriously sprained my ankle trying to climb half-blood hill, Hope, my stylist, had just given me a pick-me-upper she called nectar, and my ankle healed.

Am I the only one who appreciates that?

Apparently so. The walk back from the pavilion was silent. Chiron had made an announcement after he finished painting his face with barbeque sauce (he was a truly disgusting eater) that we were to get into our pajamas and rejoin at the bonfire for s'mores before bed. I hadn't had s'mores in years; my coaches had always kept me on a strict diet.

I guess some of my excitement showed on my face because Percy, my new brother/ roommate, asked what was wrong. I just gestured to our cabin, a gorgeous, low cut building made of what seemed to be washed stone and driftwood. "Are you kidding? This is fantastic. Look at us. Look at me!"

Laughing, I spun around the cabin. "We're demigods. We can be heroes. Our names will go down in history books, how can you not be thrilled right now?"

Percy just looked at me oddly. Ignoring him, I checked out the drawers on what I assumed was the girls' side of the cabin. Inside was a light blue pajama set. Somehow, I knew it would fit me exactly.

"Do you think we can actually control water? I mean, how cool would that be? And I bet we're going to have to work together a lot because we're related now. I've never had a brother before, isn't this cool?"

Percy grabbed me by my shoulders to stop my whirling. "No." He said firmly, "No it is not cool. We've been kidnapped by a madman. He's going to make us fight monsters. We could die. None of this is supposed to be real. We need to be focusing on getting home."

I couldn't have deflated faster if he had taken a bronze sword to my hot air balloon of joy. "It's just…" I glanced up at his sea green eyes. They matched mine exactly. "I've n-never been able to have fun b-before. I t-thought… I thought maybe this c-could be something that I c-could… it seems b-big enough… I j-just…" I stomped my foot, hating myself for stammering over my words. That was something the real me did. Not Pyper. "I just want to be r-remembered, okay?"

Percy gave me a crooked half smile. "Pyper, I know that we just met, but I can tell right now that you're unforgettable. Don't give into this so easily, okay?"

I smiled back, knowing that no matter what he said I would work to be the best at this camp. A satyr knocked on the door, reminding us that we were needed at the campfire.

"We're on our way." Percy called, letting go of my shoulders. I stepped lightly to the bathroom to change and had to work hard to keep from trying out my potential plumbing powers. So maybe that's not true. I definitely played with the shower and sink faucets, trying to get them to explode the way Percy blew up the toilets in book one, until Percy banged on the bathroom door. I sighed, gave a wistful look at the toilet, and then casually strolled out to meet him.

"Well it's about time." I said, crossing my arms. "I've been waiting for you to get ready forever."

Percy blinked, confused. "Um…"

I laughed. "I'm kidding. Come on, we don't want to miss the bonfire. Cute pajamas, by the way."

His pajamas matched mine, a loose dark blue t-shirt with matching pajama pants. The color made his eyes pop and made his hair look even darker. As his sister, I could appreciate that he looked cute. As a total stranger brought to him by fate… well, Annabeth was a lucky girl. This brought a new thought.

"So…" I glanced around to make sure no one was within earshot. "Since we're all demigods now, does that mean you and Annabeth are dating?"

Percy frowned, like he hadn't considered that. "Huh. I don't know. I hope not."

I frowned back at him. "Why not? She's cute, especially after the makeover. She doesn't have those awful glasses anymore, and she's probably smart too."

Percy shook his head, "No, it's not…" he blushed, "I have a girlfriend, like, in real life."

"Oh…" I hadn't thought about that. Being trained around the same people my whole life meant that I didn't have much experience in the relationships department. I wondered if Chiron knew Percy had a girlfriend. Before I could ask, we arrived at the campfire.

The group had gathered around a low, orange fire, arranging themselves by cabin. A couple of satyrs were trying to lead some sing-alongs, but no one was really participating. The two girls from the Aphrodite cabin were arguing over something that looked like a tube of mascara. Next to them, Oswald was talking to Dylan while Alexix spoke to Sapphire. I tried to make contact with one of the groups to signal that the couples should get together, but no one looked at me. Then again, they might have outside relationships too. Maybe I was the only truly single one here. That was a depressing thought.

To distract myself, I walked over to where Annabeth was lecturing Derain. Percy followed; I was secretly pleased. I know he said he had a girlfriend, but seeing him with Annabeth was just too tempting for a fan girl.

"…really not possible." Annabeth was saying.

Derain shook his head. "I'm telling you, she was a tiger. She broke down my door!"

"Who did?" I asked, sitting next to him.

"Princess Charlotte." He said seriously, as though that explained anything.

"Right." Percy sat beside me, looking over the other groups. "So are we the last ones here?"

"No, Travis is still missing." I saw Annabeth blushing, and I had to smother a grin.

"So, Derain, want to help me find the s'mores? You can tell me about your princess on the way." Percy started to stand up with me, but I pushed him back down. "No no," I said quickly, "I don't want to leave Annabeth alone. I'll bring you both back some marshmallows, okay?"

Percy frowned at me, like he knew exactly what I was doing, but before he could say anything, I grabbed Derain's arm and pulled him away.

Once we were a few steps away, out of view for Percy and Annabeth, thankfully, Derain pulled away from me. "What are you doing?"

I blushed. "Sorry, it's just… They make a cute couple, don't they?"

He looked confused, "I thought you were in Percy's cabin."

"Yeah, so?"

"So why are you acting like an Aphrodite kid?"

I paused. He was right; matchmaking wasn't my thing. I was the one who went after a goal. Who shot higher than everyone else and then achieved it. Why was I so invested in Percy's love life? "I-I don't know."

His expression cleared, like my half answer cleared something up for him. "Oh. It's happening to you too, isn't it?"

Now I was confused, "What?"

He lifted up a couple of marshmallows off a table and handed them to me, lowering his voice. "Annabeth has this theory that they're making over our minds too, not just our faces. I'm finding it hard to act like myself, to remember what's real and what's just this camp. I think it's happening to you too."

I shook my head. "That's not possible. We've only been here a few hours."

"You don't think you've been acting differently? Think about it." He looked at me, and for a second, my brain froze. His eyes were the kind of brown that didn't have a bottom. They just kept spiraling down until forever met your soul. I couldn't remember what we were talking about. I couldn't remember my own name.

I was saved from looking like a fool by the arrival of Travis who was panting like he had just sprinted five miles, a feeling I could sympathize with.

"Ti... ti… monster!" he wheezed. He tipped over, but Dylin caught him by the shoulders.

"Where? Travis, where is the monster?" Alexix spoke like she was talking to a child, gentle but firm. He didn't answer her, just looked around at the rest of us gasping. Dylin eased Travis onto the bench Alexix had been sitting on so Alexix could look him in the eyes. "Travis, where's the monster? I need you to talk to me, hon."

Travis just shook his head, pointing behind her. Following his finger, I saw two glowing eyes appear between the bushes. A low growl cut through the air, so deep that I could feel it in my chest despite the distance between us. Apparently, Alexix didn't see or hear the monster because she stayed focused on Travis, but the monster saw her. As I watched, two white paws tipped with razor sharp claws inched forward; then the thing pounced.

I instinctively leapt forward, but I was too far away to do anything to help. I could only watch as the thing moved so quickly it became an orange blur lunging towards Alexix. Alexix still hadn't turned around, and I shut my eyes so I wouldn't see the violence. I heard a short scream followed by a heavy thud, like a body hitting the ground. I felt Derain moving away from me, but I still didn't open my eyes until he said, "Princess Charlotte? What are you doing here?"

Looking up, I saw Derain running towards a massive tiger, easily taller than any of the campers. Alexix was a few feet away from it, pinned under Oswald. All the other campers were standing now, watching Derain. When he reached the tiger, he reached up and scratched under its chin, somehow managing not to get eaten. The tiger obediently sat, still tall enough that Derain had to reach up to scratch its ears, and let out another growl that I now recognized as a purr.

As the tiger rolled onto its back, everyone seemed to unfreeze. I ran towards Derain along with Annabeth, Percy, and the two Aphrodite girls. Sapphire moved to Travis, making sure that he hadn't been hurt. Dylan moved past Derain to Oswald who had rolled off Alexix and was helping her sit up.

"Derain," I called, coming up to him, "How did you do that? How could you make it just stop?"

Derain turned red, "I, um, this is what I was talking about earlier. My cat... she turned into a tiger. She's been following me for weeks now."

"And you didn't think that would be something to warn us about?" Oswald stormed up, pushing past Paris who was swooning over how he was 'like, totally brave and romantic to, like, save Alexix,' and Selena who was looking like she wanted to smack Paris. "It could have killed somebody."

Derain frowned, "Princess Charlotte wouldn't hurt anyone. She was just playing. And anyways, when would I have brought that up? Oh, by the way, I know we were just attacked by a killer dragon, but you might also want to watch out for my cat? Don't be stupid."

Oswald's obsidian eyes seemed to smolder. "Stupid? You're calling me stupid? I'm not the one who let the demon pet into camp."

Annabeth stepped between them, "Hey guys, take it easy. It's not a big deal."

Oswald turned on her. "It is a big deal. As though we don't have enough to deal with, he's going to let a monster attack us?"

"It's a cat!" Derain objected, "It's not like she was going to hurt anyone."

"She did chase Travis." Dylan pointed out, "And she definitely went for Alexix."

Annabeth shot Dylan a look, clearly saying not helping, "Look, it's really not his fault. He can't control Princess Charlotte any more than—"

"Than what? Than you could be controlled by a computer?" Oswald shook his head, glaring at Annabeth, "Someone had to write this in, and Derain should have warned us."

"That's not fair." Percy argued, moving between Oswald and Annabeth. "Derain couldn't have written it in, but it could have been something worse than a giant cat. Derain stopped the thing."

"After it attacked us." Dylin supplied helpfully. Alexix stood next to him, but shook her head at this comment.

"Look, guys, we shouldn't be arguing about this. The cat was stopped, wasn't it?" She moved next to Oswald and set her hand lightly on his arm, looking up at him. "Sure, a little warning would have been nice, but I didn't get hurt. You got me out of the way in time. And Travis is fine, too, right Sapphire?"

Sapphire nodded, and Travis gave a thumbs-up though he still looked shaky. "Yeah," he managed, "Yeah, 100% over here. I'm good."

"Alright then." Alexix nodded decisively, "No harm, no foul."

"Good," Silena spoke up, "Then can we get back to the s'mores? Because this has been fun and all, but the satyrs are going to start to miss us."

As if they had been waiting for their cue, the satyrs approached as one and told us to get to bed. While walking back to the cabin, I leaned into Derain, careful to avoid the side that had Princess Charlotte on it. "For the record," I whispered, "I thought what you did was pretty brave."

He smiled at me, and I stayed up for a good hour after Percy called lights out thinking about the way he looked when he said, "Thanks Pyper."

So there you go, guys. Hopefully I'll be able to update again soon, but for now, enjoy the story. Please read and review, I don't mind flames, and if you have any questions (that aren't spoilers) feel free to leave them in the comments box or PM me. Thanks, ~NinjaB.