He looked the same after all these years- elvish, Latino, the same mischievous look in his eyes that made most teachers look at him wearily, and his height haven't changed at all (like, at all). He fidgeted, he grinned, his gaze darted around, unable to focus on one thing.

And then he stopped, a rare thing for Leo Valdez. His hand stopped moving, his eyes stared back unwaveringly, his grin was replaced by a look of surprise.

We were back in the dust attic, sitting on top of cardboard boxes and using a particularly large one as a table. A big, crinkly marker drawing spread out before us, a list of pranking ideas scribbled hazardously over it. I grinned as Leo dipped the stamp he nicked off Candice, our foster mom, in ketchup and stamped it on the paper, signaling another prank done.

Leo blinked to check if he was seeing things.

"Shhhh!" I shushed him, carefully concentrating on my thoughts. Slowly two large oatmeal raisin cookies floated through the thin air, albeit very wobbly. It threatened to drop on the ground more than once but somehow made it safely into Leo's hands. "Now some milk would be nice..." he elbowed me thoughtfully. Milk is a lot heavier that cookies but I tried anyway. Halfway through, the carton of milk exploded, drenching the cat that was peacefully sleeping on the toaster. "Well...that works too..." Leo grinned.

As if frozen in a trance, I watched as my dearest brother started walking towards me. My heart pounded in my chest. My feet was glued to the ground and there was nothing I could do but stand there.

"I bet you can't stuff ten marshmallows in your mouth at once." "Coward, I bet I can do twenty." The bet had ended up in an unexpected trip to the hospital and marshmallows were banned in the house. But did that stop us? No. Grapes work just as fine.

The smile on Leo's face grew as he walked closer. Would it be a tearful reunion like the ones on TV? Would we pull away from a hug, both pretending we didn't use this opportunity to stick a 'kick me' sign on the other's backs? Before I can come up with more what-if scenarios, Leo crossed the short distance between us...and walked right past to where Victoire was standing.

"Hel-lo gorgeous, you new here? Haven't seen you 'round camp before. If you ever need an exclusive insider's tour, just ask around for your one and only Supersized McShizzle Bad Boy Supreme!" He bowed extravagantly, gave what he thought was a charming smile, and wiggled his eyebrows all at the same time.

So yes, my supposed dearest brother had ignored me, his sister who he hadn't seen in about eight years to flirt with a girl, albeit a pretty one. If roles were switched...I admit I would've done the same. But because I was feeling like a hypocrite and a bitch that day, or maybe a hypocritical bitch, I decided to mess with him.

"Are you Leo Valdez?"

He turned his attention towards me, eyes narrowing as he tried to recall where he'd seen me before. Or maybe he's just wondering why the fuck a random stranger was talking to him. Let's stick with the first one. More sentimental.

"Do I know you?"

"I don't believe so. I'm a..." I tried to place a word for those people that tells you your family member is dead. The ones that stand solemnly on your doorstep, tipping their hats while breaking the news to you. The word inconveniently remain on the top of my tongue, refusing to come out of my mouth. I aimed for the next best thing. "...a friend of Reagan. Speaking of who, she died last month." I bowed my head and sniffed a couple of times. Someone give me an Oscar for that first class acting.

Leo looked dumbstruck as his ADHD brain worked over the words.

"Who are you again?" Yes, when facing tragedy, ADHD often makes you focus on things that aren't important. Annabeth says it's to pretend it didn't happen and save yourself from trauma. I took her words because she's smart and stuff. Then I suddenly remembered Leo was still looking for an answer. Here's the thing, I suck at lying. I usually have to prepare my story beforehand so that when people ask about it, there won't be a loophole. And when I'm put on the spot, my brain usually says some pretty stupid things. Like now for example.

"I'm... Mia Dulde, a friend of Reagan, your foster sister." Immediately I cursed myself. What kind of name is that?

"And how did she die, My Dude?"

I resisted the urge to punch him for getting my name wrong. And now I have to think up an excuse for how I died. As usual, my stupid brain blurted things before I can process it.

"She fell off a table." It was a likely story, not far off from what I would do. I applauded myself. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Jennifer shoot me a questioning look that says whyareyoupretendingyouaredeadandwhatkindofnameismiadulde. I winked at her and hoped she got my message to go along with it and not that her best friend has something in her eye.

"Why was she standing on the table in the first place, My Dude?" Damn Valdez and his twenty questions. Why can't he just accept it and weep for a while before I reveal the truth to him. Why does he have to play Sherlock Holmes?

"She was doing the Macarena on the table. And then she slipped, hit her head, and died. End of the story." The Weasley gang snickered and the Marauders (barring Teddy) began to do a synchronized version of the Macarena behind Leo while the adults facepalmed. How they even know the dance is beyond me. Annabeth and Piper both raised an eyebrow amusedly.

Leo leaned in until our faces were inches apart (FYI he was tiptoeing cause he's short), scrutinizing my every feature. "Oh? The Macarena? Really, Ray Ray, I expected better from you." He tutted, voice full of disproval.

I stood there rooted to the ground once more. Ray Ray. He called me Ray Ray. My childhood nickname. He knew who I was. He remembered. And yet, he pretended to not notice me. He played me at my own game and outsmarted me. Leo smirked at me and I tried to not slap that shiteating grin off his face.

"You! You little..." I muttered some not so nice words as he hooted with laughter, pumping his fist in the air.

"Wooooo! I outsmarted Ray Ray Andy Black! Point one to me!" Leo ran around, falling to the ground and imitated playing air guitar, rolled across the grass until he is right in front of Piper and Annabeth before throwing his hand up.

"You're dead, Valdez."

Annabeth's POV

After Reagan stalked off, Jennifer alerted me of the wizard's situation.

Years ago, when Camp Half Blood first migrated to Long Island, Lady Hecate placed a magical boundary, a hundred feet radius wider than the camp boundary. That magical boundary kept out wizards and witches alike, for there was always bloodshed and conflicts when the magical world clashed with ours. Demigods with magical mortal parents like Reagan had to swear an oath on the River Styx. From what I've heard, the hellhounds they encountered where inside the magic boundary, meaning either Hecate was too incapacitated to keep up the boundary or she purposely did that because she thought we needed help from the magical world. Both of which means that the threat we're facing is graver than we thought.

My hands clenched around my dagger. Don't think about that, soon you'll see your seaweed brain again. I smiled at that thought.

I led the group past the arena and to the armory, partially because I wanted to get that out of the way and partially because I wanted Reagan to have time to cool off in the arena.

Also, dealing with a regular Valdez was hard enough. A half delirious one? Nope. That's Piper and Jason's job.

"So this is where you pick your weapons. Some may prefer long distance weapons like bow and arrows or throw knives, others may prefer hand-to-hand weapons like swords or spears. I'm personally more of a dagger person. The material the weapons are made from is celestial bronze, a material that kills monsters. Most demigods have customized weapons but you guys can pick from the shed."

"So, we could all get weapons?" A boy asked eagerly, eyes sparkling.

"Absolutely not!" A red headed women reprimanded. "You're too young and would kill yourselves!"

"You opened the chamber of secrets and gossiped about your crush on dad with Voldemort when you were a first year! Don't deny me the right of a knife!" The boy yelled back.

I stepped in before things could get too heated. "They should get a weapon, we all need to be prepared for the battle coming up. In this camp, we have classes to teach them how to properly use this weapons so they won't accidentally kill themselves. I've had my dagger since I was seven years old." I added, hoping that could diffuse things.

"Keep in mind that when demigods get injured or stabbed, a little nectar and ambrosia would fix them up. But nectar and ambrosia would just burn you guys to ashes since you're mortal. So yeah, don't mess with those weapons, if you get hurt there's nothing we can do about it. We can't rush you guys to an hospital either since celestial bronze is a special property that bandages and stitches can't fix. Also all your spells and magic won't work inside camp border unless you're a child of Hecate, so healing spells are out of the question." Jennifer added. The adults looked even more scared and the eagerness in the boy's eyes dampen.

Carefully they examined the weapons, weighing it in their hands, and picking the ones that are most fit for them.

We entered the arena ten minutes later, with the wizards carefully holding their weapons at arm length. Clarisse was in the center going all out, slashing and parrying with Lamer Jr., taking on three guys at once. Others were practicing with the dummies. A brief scan located Reagan in the corner venting. Unlike the other demigods, she didn't let out her anger through fights. Instead, she complained and waved her arms around while my brother Malcom finished up with a couple of the younger kids.

"Whoa. Are we supposed to do that?" One of the girls pointed at Clarisse.

"That's Clarisse, daughter of Ares, gods of war. She's one of the best fighter here at camp. And to answer your question, no, you'll be learning basics." I waved Malcom over after he dismissed the younger kids. Reagan tagged along, still waving her arms.

"Hey sis, that's a large group. Older than I thought too. Are they claimed or undetermined?" Malcom wiped the sweat off his forehead as he greeted me.

"They're wizards. No godly parents, except for that one." I pointed at the boy with pale blond hair. "Legacy of Athena. Teach them the basics will you? I'll go check the Argo ll. Kayla's at the archery range if you need her." I ran off, praying that Valdez had calmed down since I left.

Reagan's POV

I calmed down once I saw them all armed. It was hilarious, all of them trying to not kill each other. I was so used to them at Hogwarts waving wands, now seeing them struggling with celestial bronze knives and javelins in a place as familiar as the arena, it almost seemed...out of place. It was like seeing a toilet seat in the middle of the kitchen, you clearly see and use it everyday but still mind blowing to see it just...sitting there.

Most of the boys chose some sort of a knife while the girls stuck to bow and arrow. How stereotypical. If they thought they were going to elegantly charge into battle riding sidesaddle on a white horse while shooting from the back like some Narnia characters then they're in for a big surprise.

The adults were more interesting. Fleur went with the stereotype and had bow and arrow, George found a javelin, Angelina had a pair of short swords, one in each hand, the blade longer than a dagger but shorter than a sword. Ginny found a double sided axe.

This is going to be hella interesting.

"So the basics." Malcom cleared his throat and looked around, unsure as to where to start. "Let's start with the proper grip."

For the next five minutes he went around to correct their grips while Jennifer escorted the girls to the archery range to work with Kayla, our camp's archery guru with Jen as a close second.

"Alright try swinging it, get used to the feeling of the bla-WOAH!" Malcom ducked as Ginny nearly decapitated him. I clapped at that amazing feat.

"Why don't you all stand further apart." He suggested, dusting himself off.

After a few tries, James decided he's got it and wanted to learn more advanced stuff. "Can you show us some fancy slashy slash stuff?"

Malcom decided they were prepared enough and picked up his own sword. It was bronze and had a small engraving of a owl on the hilt. "Sure, I going to swing it slowly, try to block it." This repeated several times as Malcom's pace (GET THE PUN?) slowly quickened and started feinted moves. Eventually James couldn't keep up and got disarmed. The others all had a turn. Malcom demonstrated a couple offensive moves, adjusting it to fit the different weapons.

"Alright I'm going to assign partners. You can practice with each other. James and Al. Angelina and Ginny. George and Fred. Scorpy and Louis. Try to not kill each other!" I yelled as Malcom gave me a thumbs up. Teddy raised an eyebrow at me.

"Haven't forgot you yet, Wolfboy. Oh look at that! An old number! Too bad, I'll have to work with you." I feigned surprised like this wasn't planned on purpose for shoving me in the lake earlier. My socks were still wet and it's sticking to my skin annoyingly. He visibly paled. "BAE, CAN YOU LEND ME YOUR SWORD?" I hollered at Malcom. He was so used to my antics that he just ignored me and tossed the sword to me.

I caught it by the handle. This was the only chance I have of kick Teddy's butt. A couple more lessons and he would've easily surpassed my hand-to-hand combat skills. Besides, right now I still have the element of surprise with me, seeing how he probably think I am this ninja fighter. The truth is I'm shit at close distance fighting. Like barely par. Also the hellhounds I encountered earlier weren't fully grown so they weren't as vicious and I had magic on my side. That was the only reason I won.

"Ready, Lupin?" I took in the look of fear on his face and tried to imprint it to my memory. No doubt it would soon be replaced by laughter after he actually saw me fight. He gulped and nodded, gripping his dagger tightly as he stepped forward.

I swung first, not wanting to give him any advantages. He blocked and twisted the dagger to force the blade away from him, also making me momentarily loose my balance. I had forgotten how his lycanthropy made him stronger than normal people. He saw an opening and jabbed his dagger toward my side. I dropped to the ground and rolled out of the way, barely managed to hold the sword up to block another strike. I jumped up and lunged, hoping to stab him but he ducked out of the way. I remembered a move Malcom had used every time we sparred. I attempt it but twisted my wrist along the way.

At least his dagger skidded across the floor. Ah, the satisfaction of winning a fight. Now that he's unarmed, I held the sword next to his neck. "I win."

"You're going easy on me, right? You've been doing this for years and I've been learning this for not even a day and even I know that lunge was sloppy." He picked up his dagger and said good naturally. I tried to ignore the fact that he had unknowingly hit way to close to home. In fact, I had been trying my best to beat him. And now my wrist hurts, my dignity hurt, my everything hurt.

Malcom, who was coaching Scorpy (his niece? Unclear) on positioning his sword higher, over heard and sniggered.

I can not wait for dinner.

At five thirty all the activities ended. Thank the gods. The two groups converged and excited chatter was exchanged. Jennifer was the official person assigned to giving them a tour so I trusted her to bring the group to the dining pavilion. I slipped out of the group and headed towards the infirmary for the second time that day.

"Please tell me you're here to change your bandages and not because you got injured again." Will shook his head exasperatedly.

"Nothing serious. Got any nectar?" I asked and held out my wrist for him to examine.

"She got beaten by a newbie." A voice sounded behind me. I spun around, ignoring Will's protests, and saw Malcom leaning against the wall, amused.

"Really? In case you missed it, I won." I shot back as Will handed me a small square of ambrosia after deeming the wrist was not a life threatening injury.

"A newbie? I knew you were bad, but I didn't think it was that bad." Will laughed.

"Like you could talk." I muttered under my breath and chewed on my ambrosia. It tasted like strawberry cheesecake and I found myself smiling at the familiar taste.

Will cleared off his desk and stood up. "C'mon don't want to miss dinner."

Just as we walked out of the big house, a hunting horn sounded off in the distance.

"Looks like the eternal bachelorettes are here."

Yasssssssss guys! Another chapter! Who da best?

Okay, now that I've calmed down a little...sorry sorry sorry for not updating. I had exams and got switched into two math class, which should be illegal. Now that I'm fully catches up, I have time to write. I think I've finally grasped Reagan's character so yay for me. I also figured Malcom Pace was a pretty misinterpreted and forgotten character so I added him to this fic. I figured he had a great character to expand on and not only the tendency to lose his pants or walk in on his sister's romantic life.

So yeah. I checked over, edited, and revised this several times already. Sorry in advance for all possible grammatical mistakes, I'm only mortal/muggle after all.

Some feedback would be greatly appreciated.

HAVE A NICE LIFE PEOPLE!