The camp had an interesting layout during the winter. Mostly, it was the same as the summer; due to the magical borders, it usually stayed at a constant 70-ish in terms of temperature. Starting in November, though, a little area was sectioned off. It was this big open area where the temperature was much lower, more winter weather, and light snow was allowed to fall and collect to form just enough of a layer to get a crunch when you step on it. In the center of this area was a big pine tree, at least thirty feet tall and covered with decorations made by…well, Percy wanted to say all of the cabins, but it was mostly the Hephaestus one, since they toyed with stuff the most.
For those wondering why Camp Half-Blood celebrated Christmas (with the tree), even though it's been proven that the Greek gods are real, there is an explanation…actually two. First, most of the campers were raised in some demonization of the Christian faith, with a couple Jews and other assorted religions, before they discovered that they were Half-Bloods. Second, in Chiron's words, physically the Greek gods exist, but philosophically; all gods exist and could be worshipped.
The few campers that were there stopped what they were doing to look at the group of Hunters entering camp. A few of the older campers grimaced when they saw them, as if it drew bad memories. Zoë gestured for the Hunters to follow her. "We will settle at cabin 8," she announced. "Onwards!"
Percy stared off after her, racking his brain trying to think of who she sounded like that he'd met. Grover nudged him. "Come on, Perce," he urged him forward. As they got closer to the Big House, Percy gradually felt Riptide's presence return.
"Hello? Hey, is this thing on again?" it wondered, as if it were communicating through a mic.
"What the hell, man? Where were you?" Percy questioned.
"Dude, I've been talking this entire time."
"Like hell you have!"
"You've been ignoring me!" Riptide accused.
"Like hell I have!" Percy snapped in his head. Grover nudged him again.
"Yo, Perce. You good?" he wondered. "You look like you're gonna murder an Ares kid."
Percy hadn't even realized he'd been scowling. "Nothing," Percy assured. "Just…a headache."
"You suck worse than Star Wars VII!" Riptide mocked. Percy successfully ignored its other comments as they entered the Big House to inform Chiron of their mission.
He smiled when he saw them. "Ah, you're back!" he said, having been reading a book or something. "Tell me, how did it go?"
Percy distinctly noticed that he looked to Thalia to answer, which she did. "We secured the two demigods that Grover had mentioned, though one of them elected to join Lady Artemis' Hunters," she explained.
"I see…well, it was her choice, I suppose. Where's the other one?"
"Right here," Nico said, having seemingly appeared behind Chiron, looking over his shoulder. Percy thought he might jump out of his wheelchair, he was so startled, which would've been a hilarious sight. "What are you?"
"Dear gods, boy!" Chiron caught his breath. "How did you do that?"
"Hey, it's your fault for not paying attention," Nico claimed, crossing his arms indignantly. Both Chiron and Mr. D blinked at the boy. Then Mr. D smiled.
"I like him," he claimed.
"I meant you too," Nico claimed. Mr. D frowned.
"…I don't like him."
"In any case," Chiron returned to the topic. "What else transpired? You mentioned the Hunters?"
"Yes," Thalia confirmed. "After a small blunder on the Cruel Spider's part, the Hunters were forced to step in."
"Excuse me, but I don't think that's exactly how it went," Percy interrupted the story.
"Well, you jumped off a cliff at that point, so it very well might be how it went," Grover chimed in.
"And what are you talking 'my blunder'? You're the one who disappeared in the crowd with Grover so I couldn't get you. I did what I had to."
Thalia didn't respond, either not having anything to retort with, or not wanting to waste her energy arguing. It was probably the latter.
"In any case, continue," Chiron said.
Percy sighed. "The di Angelo's were led out by the monster, a Manticore named Dr. Thorn. I followed them and tried to protect them, when a military chopper intervened."
"I see. So you were there, Thalia and Grover were dancing, and…where was Annabeth?" Chiron questioned. "Come to think of it, where is Annabeth?"
The tone of the farmhouse changed for the worse, almost instantaneously. Even the Christmas lights hanging around the walls seemed dimmer after he spoke her name.
Percy was going to answer, but the sound of her name made his voice catch in his throat. "She fought in the battle," Thalia answered. "But both she and the Manticore fell over the cliff where the battle took place."
Out of the all of the people that were there, Chiron seemed to be the most stricken by the news. He leaned back sullenly in his chair, and his eyes drooped. "I…see. Did she…?" he didn't finish.
"…It was my fault," Percy muttered, clenching his fist. "If only…I could've been stronger…"
"No, Perce," Grover assured. "It wasn't your fault. It wasn't anyone's."
"No, it was his fault," Thalia claimed. "If he hadn't charged in without me, Annabeth wouldn't have had to risk herself for him."
Percy shot a glare at her, but turned to Chiron. "I dove after them, into the ocean. If they were there, I would've felt it," he claimed. "I don't think Annabeth is dead; I think she was taken away."
Silence engulfed the room. Thalia and Mr. D averted the gaze from the conversation. "You think…Annabeth was kidnapped?" Grover asked.
"It is possible," Chiron mumbled. "But…for what purpose?"
"Does it matter?" Percy questioned. "If we think she's alive, we need to go after her, right?"
"Do we think she's alive, though?" Thalia interjected. "As far as I'm concerned, Annabeth was crushed against the rocks, and sunk dead to the ocean floor."
Percy grit his teeth, having had enough of Thalia's attitude. "What the fuck's your problem, Pinecone Face?" he snapped. "Annabeth is your friend, your only friend. And you'd just give up on her like that?" Thalia looked about to speak, but she held it back. "Oh no, go ahead," he lowered his eyes. "I want to hear this."
"And I don't want to waste my breath," Thalia claimed, pushing past him towards the entrance. "You're chasing after a fleeting dream, Cruel Spider," she warned, turning her head back and shooting daggers at him with her electric blue eyes. "Sooner or later, you'll have to wake up and face reality," she growled as she exited the Big House.
Mr. D was the first to speak after that, though even as a god, he was left speechless by the savagery of her comments. "Well, I think we've had enough fun for the night," he said, clapping his hands. "Perry-"
"Percy," he corrected.
"Whatever. Why don't you go ahead and show, uh…"
"Nico."
"Right, Nickel here, his new home, huh?"
"But I-" Nico started to argue.
"Chiron and I must discuss certain matters in private," he said, rushing the two outside with the snap of his fingers, before the door slammed shut behind them.
So now, Percy was left in a bad mood with a thirteen-year-old boy with no personality that he knew of. Great.
In all honesty, showing Nico around could've been worse. He could've been a hyperactive ten-year-old who played a stupid card game about Greek heroes, asking about every little thing and generally being a pain in the ass to everyone. Instead, Percy got a quiet, snarky kid; basically how Percy was but without the badass part of him.
"Perceived as it may be," Riptide commented.
"Shut up, Riptide," Percy said off-handedly.
"Who do you keep talking to?" Nico question, looking at Percy like he was insane.
"My sword," Percy answered without explaining.
"And they haven't sent you to the crazy home yet because…?"
Percy frowned. "Because I'm not crazy, idiot," he claimed, finding a strange satisfaction of being able to call someone else an idiot and it being correct. "My sword talks to me; something about the spirit of its original owner or something."
"And…who was that?"
"No clue. I even looked it up, and got nothing."
"Well…have you ever asked it?" Nico wondered. Percy stood there for a second, thinking it through. Nico smirked. "Pft, and you called me an idiot."
"Oh my gods…" Percy muttered. "Hey, Riptide, who were you? I mean, who originally-"
"Don't have a clue," it answered before he even finished.
"Dammit!" Percy snapped, letting Nico laugh at his expense. They soon reached the Hermes cabin. "Alright, whatever. This is the Hermes cabin; you'll stay here with the rest of us undetermined's until you get claimed."
"What if I don't get claimed?"
"Well, then join the club," Percy answered, with the two walking in. "Normally it's a lot more crowded. You're lucky there are spots open," Percy said, sitting on the bunk he'd procured after the summer campers left. "Make yourself at home; I'm gonna head out to change before dinner. Ask one of the Stoll's if you have any more questions," Percy said, off-handedly pointing to the two other people in the cabin, who waved mischievously at the newbie. He quickly grabbed a change of clothes and left.
xxxXXXxxx
On his way out from changing, he ran into Zoë. He rounded a corner, and was face to face with her. They both stopped, and Percy quickly stepped back. "Hey, Zoë, right?" he wondered. The girl didn't even look at him, just stared straight ahead. "Oh, so you're just, like, not gonna talk to me. Is that it?"
Zoë closed her eyes, contemplating whether to answer. "…Is that not my right?"
Percy raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Hey! She speaks!" he exclaimed.
"Tch," she turned away, and started walking forward again, passing Percy. "Men…"
"…Hey," he called after her, stopping her. "You'd better take good care of Bianca. She gave up being with her little brother to go with you."
"Unlike you Half-Bloods, we care equally for all of our fellow maidens," she claimed, walking away.
Percy sighed. "Jeez, she needs to get off her high horse…" Percy muttered, following her back to the cabins. Another pressure formed behind his eye, but this one felt like Riptide was trying to tell him something. "What? I'm not going after her," he claimed. "I'm just…whatever," he didn't bother finishing, just veered off back to the Hermes cabin, waiting for dinner.
xxxXXXxxx
During dinner, Percy found himself to be less personable than usual. "Because you've always been a social butterfly," Riptide teased. Percy chose to ignore it. He glanced over at the Artemis table; normally empty, the table was now filled to the last seat by the Hunters. The Apollo kids gawked at them, and the Hunters ignored them.
Percy tried his best not to look at the Athena table, and succeeded. The only issue was that he only then looked at the Zeus table. Again, it was normally empty, but Thalia Grace sat stoic and regal, just like her father had been when Percy had met him. She didn't look at anyone, just her food, seemingly bored.
Percy couldn't help but glare. "What's up?" Riptide questioned.
"Look at her, Riptide," Percy said. "She's content…"
"So?"
"So, how can she possibly be content given the circumstances?"
"…"
"…What?" Percy questioned. "You don't agree with her, do you?"
"I didn't say that. I didn't say anything, just…" it made something of a sigh. "You have to admit that she has a point. Even if blondie survived the fall, she's in enemy territory now. Even if Chiron knew where they might have her, sending anyone after her were be suicide."
"But-"
"Not to mention, Luke is probably trying to take advantage of you like this. He knows that you'd do anything to get her back."
"Then I'll beat him, just like I did last time," Percy claimed.
"Yeah, you got your ass whupped in a sword fight, and then you summoned a tidal wave. I'm sure you can do that in your condition," it chided. "Look, man. I'll tell you like it is. I think you should forget about her for now. Until something comes up, worrying is just gonna distract you from your duties around camp, and to the others."
Percy considered its words for a long time, through most of the meal in fact. Finally, he gave his answer. "…I'm sorry, Riptide, but I can't just forget about her. Because if she were here, and I was the one in her position, I know that she wouldn't give up on me."
Another sigh. "Fine then. I'll support you, bro, whatever you do," Riptide conceded. After everyone had finished eating, Chiron stood and got their attention.
"Please quiet down," he called, silencing the few campers complaining. "This will only take but a moment," he claimed. "Now, as you can tell, we have many guests among us. The Hunters of Artemis will be staying here for an indeterminate amount of time," the centaur announced. "As some of you may know, it is camp tradition to hold a friendly competition with them. Last time, it was Capture-The-Flag, with the Hunters taking their 56th win. Other activities include the climbing wall, volleyball, archery, footraces, and now chariot races, as they've been reinstated. Does anyone have any suggestions for which activity to do?"
"Capture-The-Flag sounds fun," Bianca piped up, probably not completely understanding. The other campers obviously didn't know that she was new.
"You just want to beat us again," an Ares kid snapped.
"I'm sure they want to get up to sixty wins this decade," a Demeter kid agreed.
"Alright, children," Chiron settled them. "Who votes for Capture-The-Flag?"
All of the Hunters raised their hands, along with a couple other random campers. Percy didn't raise his hand; his only real notable match was in his first year where he was used as a punching bag and a decoy. It wasn't fun. Every other time, he was able to just beat the other people without much issue, but maybe that was because Annabeth always put him on center, while most of the opposing team sent their best guys around the sides to secure a flank, leaving the small fry for Percy. He made a mental note to talk to her about that when she returned to camp.
With the piddly vote, Capture-The-Flag was out. Out of all of the other events, chariot races and volleyball probably had the highest chance of a victory for the campers, and after last year, Percy definitely wasn't up for chariot racing.
"I'm up for some volleyball," Percy called. Murmurs of agreement soon rose, particularly from the Apollo and Hermes cabins. "Three-on-three; our best versus their best. All in favor?"
It wasn't by much, but the vote was majority, meaning volleyball was on for the next day.
Author's Note:
Apologies if you expected a longer chapter this time, but hey, what can you do? For those of you who don't like volleyball or know nothing about it...I'm very sorry. I'll put a little disclaimer at the beginning of the next one with terms you need to know, but it's not that bad. I've just had this idea basically since the beginning and this was the best chance to put it in. Plus, we already had a Capture-The-Flag game in the Lightning Thief; I want variety in my camp activities.
Anyway, let me know what you guys think in a review!
