Pearl was amazed by Camp Half-Blood. It wasn't the whole deal of being the daughter of Poseidon; her mother had told her all about it when she was very little. Pearl had loved to hear her mother tell the story of how she and the Sea God had met. When her mother had been killed in a monster attack, she'd left her home in Northern France to find the fabled Camp Half-Blood, where she knew she'd be safe. Thanks to her powers, the journey by sea had been much easier than she'd thought. The trouble was getting to camp once she had emerged from the water in New York. Monsters had attacked at every turn, driving her farther and farther away from where she knew the camp was located.

When Percy had found her she had been surrounded by hell hounds, wounded on her leg and arms. He'd charged into the battle on Blackjack, Annabeth riding behind him, and saved her from the monsters.

Now, Pearl sat in the Big House, watching as Chiron inspected the long scar on her arm. Thanks to nectar and ambrosia, the gash had healed nicely.

"Well," Chiron sat back in his wheelchair. "On behalf of both myself and Mr. D," he looked pointedly towards the kitchen, where the camp director was currently rummaging through the fridge for a drink. "Welcome to Camp Half-Blood."

"Thank you," Pearl smiled. "I'm glad I finally made it here."

Percy and Annabeth walked her out of the Big House and showed her around camp. She saw the arena, the lava wall, and the canoe lake. Eventually they wound up in front of the Poseidon cabin. Percy couldn't stop grinning.

"I'm a big brother," he said to himself.

"Yes, we know that Seaweed Brain," Annabeth rolled her eyes. She glanced at Pearl. "You'd better prepare yourself to share a cabin with this one."

Pearl giggled. "I think I'll be fine. I'm used to boys like Percy."

"You mean strong, handsome, awesome boys?" Percy grinned.

"Nope. Boys with seaweed brains."

"Hey!"

Annabeth laughed. "We're going to get along great."

Pearl grinned. "I'm glad to hear it."

The bell for dinner rang, and the three of them walked up to the dining pavilion. Pearl sat with her brother at the Poseidon table and a plate appeared with her favorite meal on it: a chicken tostada from Cafe Rio. She stared at the food.

"What is it?" Percy asked. Annabeth sat down next to him.

"I... haven't had this in a long time." Pearl tentatively took a bite. It was delicious. "There aren't really a lot of Mexican restaurants in France."

"You're from France?" Percy almost choked on his blue pancakes. "How do you speak such good English?"

Pearl smiled. "I'm American. My mom was originally from Florida, and we moved to Europe for work when I was about ten."

"So can you speak French?" Annabeth pointed her fork towards the Aphrodite table. "You'll probably get along with Piper too."

Pearl turned and caught the girl Piper's eye. She smiled and waved. Pearl waved back. After dinner and the campfire, during which Pearl practically fell over laughing as she watched Percy and Leo Valdez sing the ridiculous camp songs, Pearl bid everyone good night and started back towards the Poseidon cabin. On her way, she noticed a dark figure following her. She stopped and turned, smiling.

"I know you're there," she said into the darkness.

A moment later Nico emerged from the shadows. "I figured you would. You're pretty perceptive."

"Thank you," Pearl waited for Nico to continue, but he just sort of stood there awkwardly, as if unsure what to say. She glanced towards the strawberry fields. "So, did you get enough berries for Will's birthday?"

"I still have no idea what I'm going to do with them," Nico admitted.

Pearl bit her bottom lip and thought for a moment. "My mom used to make this really good strawberry shortcake. I think I can remember the recipe..." She looked up. "Would that work?"

Nico smiled. "Are you kidding? That would be great!"

"Awesome!" Pearl grinned. "I bet if we worked together we could get it done in an hour. Do you want to meet up tomorrow morning to get ingredients?"

"Sure! What time?"

"When does Will usually wake up?"

"I dunno, about 7?"

"Meet me at the dock at 5:30 then." Pearl held out her hand. "Deal?"

Nico stared at her hand for a moment. What am I thinking? He wondered. I should be staying as far away from this girl as possible, not spending my whole morning with her! ... but... I really do want to make something for Will... He took Pearl's hand and shook it. "Deal. I'll be there."

"Excellent." Pearl waved. "Good night Nico," she turned and walked into the Poseidon cabin.

Nico stood in the dark, staring at the door Pearl had disappeared into.

"Good night."