Just enough madness to make her interesting.
At the sound of the conch horn, Juniper got up abruptly and ran towards the sound dragging Katie with her.
"What's happening?" Katie asked startled.
"Chiron sounded the conch horn. Usually, it would mean time for a meal but seeing that dinner should be in two hours it's probably an emergency or announcement," Juniper explained still running. When she noticed campers and Chiron gather at the campfire she knew she was right. That's usually where they have their meetings.
As they ran Katie suddenly felt hot. Not from the running. She has escaped the police with Percy more than enough times to get used to excessive exercise. The temperature felt different. She looked around and saw the snow melt completely and in a matter of seconds. Well, Juniper wasn't lying when she said that they controlled the weather around here. But if it was their doing then why was everyone so confused. They were all taking off their coats and sweaters and looked at the vanishing snow with weirded out eyes.
"Everybody, settle down," Chiron said and the kids quieted down. He was telling the demigods not to worry and that they will figure everything out but he was interrupted by a sudden glow.
All eyes were focused on Katie. Well, more precisely on something over her head. She noticed something glowing something above her. Looking up she saw a gold sickle with a few sheaths of wheat appear hovering above her form. Her eyes widened.
"All hail Katie Penelope Gardner, daughter of Demeter the Greek Goddess of Agriculture, the grains, the fertility of the earth, and the seasons!" Chiron announced and everybody bowed. Chiron, the campers, nature spirits and other mythological Greek entities. She saw Juniper smiling at her brightly and the Dionysus twins exchanging knowing looks before bowing too.
What the heck, was the only thing Katie had in mind as she looked at the scene.
~xXx~
Katie has used her powers and switched the seasons from winter to spring. She didn't even know when or how did that happen. She remembered that she was just sitting at the Zeus' Fist and hanging out with the nymphs. When she first got here she felt confused and overwhelmed but with Juniper's help, she was getting more accustomed to her surroundings. The dryad and her friends made Katie feel a lot more welcome and with her emotions taking a sudden turn so did the weather. It changed accordingly to her emotions.
Right, when she realized she was the cause of this occurrence Katie immediately started apologizing but Chiron calmed her down saying they were about to let Lord Apollo melt the snow away in a few days anyway. The campers weren't exactly furious with her either. Just surprised. They haven't seen such powerful child of Demeter in a long time. It's not every day a newbie unfreezes the entire camp like that.
After she got claimed, her siblings (the fact that she has siblings was weirding her out so much) welcomed her to the Demeter cabin with open arms. There was very little of them. Mainly because it was offseason and most of them are currently in their mortal homes. The Demeter kids were very peaceful and passive kind of people. And after running wild with the most self-destructive person on the planet (aka Percy) the calm and soft atmosphere that dominated the cabin was almost unbearable for Katie. She didn't have anything against her brothers and sisters. She actually had a lot of things in common with most of them. She rather enjoyed her conversations about flowers with them.
It was just so boring most of the time. Katie has gotten used to her heart pumping erratically in her chest. And she grew to like this feeling of adrenaline. But among the kids of Demeter, it was just peace and quiet.
That's why she found herself in the arena quite often. Well, that was partly the reason. The other demigods had a rather negative opinion about Demeter's children. They almost never fought back when someone would start a fight with them and they hardly ever participated in the competitions or any physical activities. Katie was determined to show them that she wasn't some harmless little girl that can't stand up for herself. Especially after that incident with Clarisse, other Ares kids and Katie's head shoved down the toilet.
Katie was a fast learner and got the moves of hand to hand combat memorized in her muscles. It was a surprise for the other demigods. Children of Demeter aren't known to be that good at fighting. The new girl was certainly full of surprises.
A few days passed and she was able to beat most of her opponents that offered her a spar. One time she even happened to face Annabeth. Of course, Katie lost. No one has ever won against Annabeth. Especially not some new Demeter girl. But the daughter of Athena admired Katie's dedication and offered her to train with her.
"It doesn't matter how much stronger your opponent is," Annabeth has told her during training. "There will be a time when you'll have to fight against a cyclops or a giant. That's when you'll have to depend on your skills and wit instead of strength."
Katie took Annabeth's advice to heart. Following her teacher's instructions, she even beat some of the Ares and the Hephaestus kids.
She was quick on her feet and learned how to use her powers to her advantage during the fights. She was good with the regular fighting but when it came to weapons... she was a goner. None of them really suited her. The long-distance weapons like the bow or crossbow weren't her thing. They need precision and calm but whenever she was about to get into a fight this sort of rush of energy surges through her and she would get really impatient with the bow. Swords and daggers were out too. The sword was kind of awkward for her to handle. It just didn't sit right in her hands. And well, you needed way too much thinking and analyzing with the dagger. The only thing closest to home was a spear but it still didn't feel right.
Whenever Katie had enough of all the training and just wanted to kick back for a while she spent her time in the garden or the strawberry fields too. Behind Demeter's cabin was a lovely mini garden with all kinds of fruits and flowers. She and Juniper could sit there for hours. At the strawberry fields, she felt right at home. Castor and Pollux were always there to watch over the fruits and keep company the other campers visiting the fields.
Oh, but her most favorite place to visit at Camp Half-Blood was definitely the stables. Turns out she wasn't hallucinating. The horses really had wings. They were pegasi!
Katie headed straight to her favorite horse's stall. His name was Scout and he was a beautiful gray pegasus with a bit of black on his long legs and feathers. She really liked him because he reminded her of Steadfast. The same bossy attitude, greedy when it comes to apples and races like there's no tomorrow. She bonded with him quite well during these past few days.
"Hi, Katie!" Silena said cheerfully. She was a child of Aphrodite and you can clearly see that. She was probably the prettiest girl Katie has ever seen. Although Silena wasn't exactly like her siblings which was a relief to be honest. Most of the Aphrodite kids were too... self-absorbed. Silena wasn't the type to sit on the sidelines. She knew how to kick butt while looking like a supermodel. "Up for a race?"
Silena was just finishing grooming her pegasus. She was a gorgeous palomino with braids in her white mane.
Kate grinned. "Always!"
They never saddle up their pegasi so they hopped on and lead their steeds out of the stables. They started galloping but soon they were soaring through the air. It would never get boring. The incredible feeling of actually flying was like nothing she ever experienced. And that's saying something considering she was friends with Percy 'Let's Jump Into A Moving Train' Jackson.
The girls were laughing as they were making flips and twirls in the sky. Honestly, she had so much fun at Camp Half-Blood. Everything was perfect and well... divine.
Until she met those two.
~xXx~
"If I'm gonna die, I will seriously kill you guys!" Katie yelled. The statement didn't make much sense but the boys got the message.
Somehow Katie, Travis Stoll, and Connor Stoll ended up on landmine together. The brothers were putting the mines on one of the hills for some twisted, messed up prank and Katie happened to be nearby. Unfortunately, the Stoll Brothers forgot where exactly they buried the active mines. The three of them were huddled together in one spot trying to think of a way out of this ridiculous situation. One false move and they are all finished.
"How- No, Why do you even have the access to these landmines?!" Katie demanded. The boys were cowering from her hard glare but they were standing on a field full of bombs so they couldn't really keep their distance from the fuming girl.
"Well," Connor started. He was standing behind his brother using him as a shield. "Our buddy Jake likes to tinker and he thought that making the mines would be a fun challenge and we kind of... borrowed them from him." He laughed nervously.
For a moment she just stared at him ridiculed but then scoffed, "Ugh, sons of Hermes."
"Hey! We don't have anything against you, little miss turning winter into spring," Travis defended. "And we had so many planned pranks involving snow."
"Well, excuse me for ruining your plans on getting someone else's life in danger!"
Travis was about to retort something but Connor was quicker, "Guys, can we just focus on the matter at hand? Because I don't know if you lovebirds noticed but we are in a middle of a war zone so..."
"Don't call us that," Katie growled before sighing. "And yes, I think I have an idea on how we'll get out of this."
She took out blue candies from her pocket. Carrying blue food with her was a habit she picked up on from the Jacksons.
"Katie, this is seriously not the time for snacks," Travis said but she ignored him.
Thanks to all those times she went out on heists with her partner in crime she learned to think outside the box. She also remembered the tips from Annabeth to use her wits. The Stolls said that they covered only the top of the hill with mines...
Her idea was risky and maybe stupid but they didn't have much choice. Katie threw one of the candies to the ground in front of them. Instantly the place on the ground exploded and a loud boom was heard throughout the camp. The explosion didn't reach them but it was close.
"Okay, come on!" Katie ran up to the place where it exploded.
Travis and Connor realized what she was doing. She was checking with her candies where are the landmines buried by making them explode. Genius!
It continued like that. Katie making their way by detonating the bombs and using the grounds clear of the mines to escape. After a few more thrown candies they made their way off the deadly hill. They collapsed on the grass relieved that the danger of being blown up is off their shoulders.
"Katie, you are a true goddess," Travis said between pants.
She punched him in the arm but she couldn't suppress the wide grin forming on her face.
~xXx~
After the landmine incident, Travis and Connor were thoroughly scolded by Chiron and yelled at by Jake and other Hephaestus kids. They had to do the dishes for two months. And if you think it isn't such a big deal, you try cleaning dishes with lava after a hoard of kids who have three meals a day for two months.
But it was worth it because if not for the failed prank they wouldn't have met Katie.
At first glance, she didn't look like much. An ordinary Demeter kid. Mainly peaceful and calm behavior. Dirty clothes from sitting in the garden fields most of the time. But whoever thought of her as ordinary or gods forbid pointed it out to her, only ended up tied up to a tree by her vines and left as a target practice for the Nymphs armed in tomatoes. She may seem like a regular camper but she is known to be quite vengeful. And for some reason, the Stoll brothers took it as a challenge.
Since that fateful day, they met at that hill the two sons of Hermes were kind of drawn to her. They wouldn't call it stalking but they were observing her from afar from time to time. And from what they've observed Travis could confirm that she was a pro at the arena. He watched her train for an hour. Not creepy at all. Katie also wasn't all that bad at canoeing. Even when she's wet she managed to look nice, Travis noted. But she was the most content at the strawberry fields. Travis also noticed that when she thought no one was looking she would have this serene expression on her face when tending to the plants.
"Oh, hey there, Katie! Didn't see you there," Travis smiled nervously.
He was following the girl in the forest but accidentally blew his cover making her notice him. And now he was trying to make it look like he wasn't stalking her (which he wasn't, shut up).
"Uh... Yeah, hi." Katie raised her eyebrow.
"So whatcha doing here?" He failed to seem nonchalant.
"Just going to the mess hall," She replied. We have lunch in a minute and you should go too. You and Connor have to do the dishes after all."
His face fell. "Right. We-"
He was interrupted by a loud hissing.
They looked to their left and saw a gigantic snake. It was green serpent with a pair of dragon-like wings. And it was heading towards them.
The monster spit at them with green saliva. They barely managed to dodge. The place where the spit landed on made a sound similar to water spilling on hot metal. It started to fume and reek.
"Oh, gods. It spits poison," Katie noticed.
"Uh, you don't happen to have any weapons with ya by any chance, huh?" Travis asked as they backed away keeping their eyes on the serpent.
She shook her head.
There was only one thing to do then. Run.
The snake crawled after them with incredible speed. What now?! They didn't want to take this creature to the camp but they desperately needed help. The tree nymphs were running away but if the venom reaches their trees they would die anyway. Katie grabbed Travis' wrist and lead them to an open space so it couldn't harm any of the nature spirits.
Then she saw it. The landmines! She has never been so grateful for a field covered in bombs. She ran that way with Travis following her. He looked back and saw that the serpent was about to spit at them. He pushed Katie and himself out of the way. The venom landed on the ground right next to them.
They got up as quickly as they could. Fortunately, they could clearly see the safe pathway with explosions marks. When they passed the field Katie stopped running and turned around.
"What are you doing?!" She heard Travis yell.
As soon as the serpent's body was placed on the field full of the landmines the ground exploded with a thunderous boom with the creature's hissing as is exploded. The monster turned into yellow powder and vaporized on the spot. The powder was falling down like rain, the dust from the round filled the air around them.
Katie and Travis could hear other campers running to see what was the commotion all about.
The two just stood there dumbfounded.
"Kids!" Chiron galloped to them. "Are you alright?"
They nodded their heads.
"What happened?" He wanted to know.
Katie noticed something shimmering on the mascaraed ground. She walked up to the place where once stood the giant serpent. There covered in yellow powder was a golden scythe. She picked it up. The girl could sense a powerful aura coming out of it.
"It can't be..." Chiron whispered. He walked closer. "That's the scythe that was used to slay the Uranus by the Lord of Time himself." He looked at Katie. "Your mother has claimed the scythe as her own after he too was overthrown."
Writing about all our favorite heroes is so nostalgic. Especially about Silena... And Castor... And Luke. Why did they have to die?! Oh, well. it's not like I wasn't expecting sacrifices with all those wars they had to go through. Let your hearts be brave, demigods!
One more thing. To those who don't know, the Stoll brothers are NOT twins. It's a common mistake I see in a lot of fanfiction. Travis is actually two years older than Connor. So, yeah.
Next Chapter: Returning home.
Until my return.
Goodbye, my greek heroes.
