If you see some strange girl with two snake tails for legs... just turn around and run as fast as you can the other way. Trust me, SheTHEY are totally not worth the trouble.. My dad might be the god of snakes, but I am not about that!

"Just hang on a little longer, Izzy," Chance said through gritted teeth as he half carried, half dragged his half-conscious companion. Normally, two teenagers in such a state would draw attention to themselves from some good samaritan passerby. 'Shame there's a total lack of such people in Manhattan,' Chance thought bitterly.

In truth, it was likely the state of their clothes; ripped and torn, and covered in the accumulated filth of living on the streets - or rather, under the streets. And the less said about the smell, the better. Most passersby could hardly be blamed for looking away... especially when the wind was blowing.

"Don't call me Izzy..." came the predictable response. Good, she was okay. Well... Would be okay. Just as soon as they got some Nectar and Ambrosia down her throat. 'If only I wasn't such a terrible healer,' Chance lamented.

"Yeah, you totally suck." Damn, he'd said that last one out loud enough for Isabelle to hear.

Nectar and Ambrosia - also called the food of the gods. But for demigods it can be the difference between life and death. As a restorative, they're super useful - capable of healing very serious wounds. Of course, too much of a good thing can be a very bad thing. Eating too much can have deadlier consequences than the injuries you were trying to heal. The same goes for Nectar. Of course, you can't get it just anywhere. Outside of Camp Half-Blood there're only a handful of places you can find it. And don't think you can find a recipe to make it at home... Some old guy tried it once and... well, it didn't work out so good for him.

"Tino!" Chance shouted as the familiar hotdog vendor's cart came into view. "We're gonna need an Olympian Special, man."

The vendor looked up at the sound of his name and bleated as he took in the sight. Shaking himself into action, he began assembling the requested hotdog as the disheveled demigod drew to a stop, slowly helping his wounded companion to sit against the cart.

"Here," Tino said, handing over a chili dog topped with a single dose serving of Ambrosia. "That'll be two drachma."

Drachma used to be made of silver back in Ancient times. Of course back then it was the currency used by everyone. Now they're just used by gods and demigods. And they're made of gold! We use them for lots of things - like sending Iris Messages, hailing a cab, or even buying Nectar and Ambrosia from a licensed dealer.

"Right," said Chance absently as he helped Isabelle with the dog before fishing out his last three coins, depositing two into the vendor's waiting hands and pocketing the last one again. "Thanks, man."

Chance's eyes widened as he took in the sight of the vendor. His hat had flown off when he'd shaken himself into action, revealing a moderately sized rack of goat horns sprouting from his head. Looking down, he verified that instead of shoes, the vendor had hooves.

"Dude! You're totally a satyr!"

Tino's hands flew to his horns and groaned. "Yeah, guess the horns are out of the hat, huh?"

"What's a Satyr doing slinging dogs in Central Park?" Isabelle asked, some of the color returning to her cheeks as she slowly ate her hotdog. "And aren't you guys, like, vegan?"

"It pays the expenses," Tino replied, and Chance got the feeling he wasn't being completely up front but decided not to press. Being a son of Apollo, he had a knack for discerning truth from lies. Still; some things were private, and who was he to pry? "And yeah, we are. That's why I don't use meat in my stuff."

"This isn't meat?!" Isabelle's eyes bugged as she looked at the half eaten hotdog. "No way this isn't meat! How's it so good?"

"Secret recipe," Tino said with a grin. "I tell you that, and I'm out of business. Now, finish up eating. It's almost lunch rush and you'll scare off the tourists."

Later that night, Chance sat watch as Isabelle slept. It had been a hectic day between the snake girl who wouldn't take 'no' as an answer, and getting Isabelle some much needed healing. Despite his words, Tino the Satyr hadn't minded the two demigods hanging around. They'd talked and even helped out when the rush got to be too much. Seemed that the mortals really liked his no-meat chili. He'd even paid them a couple drachma for their trouble.

Chance pulled out his battered journal, flipping to an empty page and began to write.

Satyrs are nature spirits, which is totally different than monsters. When you kill a monster, they turn to yellow dust that's really hard to get out of your hair, and tastes terrible when it gets in your mouth because you were breathing really heavy because the fight was taking a long time and you were getting really tired by that point and your traveling companion STILL DOESN'T HAVE A WEAPON...

Pausing, he looked up as Isabelle made a soft sound in her sleep - curling up on herself as the fire burned lower. He got up and stretched slightly, grabbing a stick to coax the flames back up before dropping another piece of wood to burn. A few moments later, Isabelle relaxed. He smiled fondly at the girl who was like a sister to him, sitting back down to finish writing.

...ANYWAY! As I was saying; Satyrs don't turn into dust when they die. Instead they become a plant. Some turn into flowers or tiny shrubs. I knew someone who swore he knew a satyr that turned into one of those bushes that are shaped like animals, but I think he was just trying to sound cool. Most Satyrs work for Camp Half-Blood (more on that later) and look for demigods in places like public schools so they can keep them safe. Some go out in search for their missing god Πάν (though everyone but the Satyrs seem to think he's actually dead). They're also diehard environmentalists and vegans - so don't litter or eat meat in front of one. They don't like that.