VIII Leo
The whole campfire idea sounded horrifying to Leo, considering what happened to his mom. Though it also sounded like a lot of fun, according to Will, who said that there were marshmallows, and corny, stupid songs.
The amphitheater steps were carved into the side of a hill, facing a stone-lined fire pit. Fifty or sixty kids filled the rows, clustered into groups under various banners, which Leo guessed was the symbol for each cabin.
Leo sat down with his new cabin mates, who totally couldn't take a joke, under a banner with a flaming hammer. Reyna was sitting next to Percy in the front row. Standing in front of the fire were a bunch of campers with different instruments, that looked like bizarre harps gone wrong, were jumping around leading some dorky song about armor.
After the song, some horse guy came to the front. "Campers! We have some new arrivals at camp!" he kept talking, but Leo zoned him out until he heard some redhead start saying something.
"Seven half-bloods shall answer the call. To storm or fire the world must fall-"
Reyna shot to her feat. She looked feral, as if she'd been tasered too many times. Before anyone could say a word, Reyna called out, "Ut cum spiritu postrema sacramentum dejuremus,"she chanted, as if in a trance. "Et hostes ornamenta adent as ianuam necem."
The redhead stammered out, "Reyna? You just finished the prophecy. And in Latin? How did you know that?"
Before Reyna could respond, some camper that was sitting under a golden banner called out, "Hot and smart!" Leo's blood started to boil. There were some whistles from random guys under different banners. What a bunch of jerks, Leo thought angrily.
Reyna glared at the offender then sat down, her posture perfect. Percy awkwardly put a hand on her shoulder and muttered something in an attempt to calm her down. The horse guy and the redhead kept talking. Leo was once again zoning out. He barely heard her talking about the Grand Canyon incidents. He did pay attention when she mentioned Piper fainting and the creepy mist lady appearing to Reyna, saying something about a patron and guardian.
"Reyna, do you remember you last name?"
Reyna put a hand to her head, as if the question hurt. "Avila… no… Arellano. Reyna Ramirez-Arellano"
"Well, Reyna, you have a quest."
Chiron proceeded to say something dark and scary about the winter solstice. "Well, thank you Captain Sunshine, "Annabeth retorted, glaring at Chiron. "I agree with Rachel. Reyna's been chosen to lead this quest, so-"
"Why hasn't she been claimed? Since she's apparently so important to camp!" some kid shouted.
Before anything else could be said, a woman in a Greek chiton appeared. She had blonde hair and grey eyes, and looked eerily like the campers under the owl banner. "Campers!" she shouted. "Yes, Olympus is closed, but I have something important to announce. Reyna is not my daughter, but the daughter of a …friend… of mine. Reyna's mother doesn't have a cabin, so I am allowing her to stay in my cabin with my children for the duration of her time here. Any questions?" she had a commanding voice.
Percy stepped forward. "Lady Athena, just two questions. Who is Reyna's mother? Surely we can build her a cabin? Also, is there any news of Annabeth? We've searched almost everywhere and can't find her."
"Young sea-spawn, I honestly do not know. I have also searched everywhere that I can. As for you first question, Reyna's mother is …detained… for now. Her mother and I are both goddesses of strategy, so I agreed to claim her. I must return to Olympus. Good luck in you quest." And with that, she was gone.
Green smoke started to come out of the redhead's mouth. "Child of battle, beware the earth,/The giant's revenge the seven shall birth,/ The forge and dove shall break the cage,/ And death unleash through Hera's rage."
Percy spoke up again, "I'm guessing Reyna is the 'child of battle'? According to tradition, she can choose two companions."
"Well, obviously you Percy!" someone shouted from the Hermes cabin.
"No, Travis. I'm pretty sure that Hera is the reason that Annabeth disappeared so… And also I'm setting out to look for Annabeth tomorrow morning. Besides, the prophecy says who Reyna picks. Forge and dove, that's Hephaestus and Aphrodite."
Nyssa stood up and said, "Since Jake is injured, I'll go on the quest."
Leo rocketed to his feet. "I'm going to go. I have a great idea for the whole transportation issue. At least let me try!"
Reyna almost cracked a smile. "Leo, if you can get transportation figured out, then you're in."
Leo jumped up and pumped his fist saying, "Yes!"
Drew stood up. "Well, I guess I'll go. I can at least give you fashion advise while we travel, Reyna."
Piper stood up. "No! I'm supposed to go. Hera appeared to me, not Drew! I'm supposed to go on this quest."
"Hon, you haven't been claimed yet. And you're obviously no daughter of Aphrodite. We hold ourselves to higher standards. I'm better for this quest. I've been a camp for years, while Dumpster Girl has been here for what, five hours?" Drew asked. Leo saw almost everyone nod as if they were in a daze, but Reyna shook her head.
Before anything else could be said, Piper started to glow. She glowed in a creepy pink way. Her hair was magically perfect, which weirded Leo out, and she wore a Greek dress with a plunging neckline. Her dagger was now hung on a golden chord around Piper's waist. "What's going on? What's everyone looking at?" Piper asked.
The horse guy, Chiron, called out in a loud voice, "Hail, Piper McLean. Daughter of Aphrodite, lady of the doves, goddess of love."
Hey guys! I have volleyball try-outs next week for high school and I'm super excited! Please review and tell me what you think! Bye now.
~Nerd and Proud~
