A/N: Okay, so. It's been a few hours since I posted chapter 5, and I was looking at it, and I was like, 'What the heck?' I mean, I already have this much written, and chapter 5 was just too short. So, I've decided to post yet another chapter in the hopes of making up for my months-long absence, not that anyone actually cares that much. Anyway, please leave a review!
Enjoy!
Kate cocked her head and inspected her sword for a second time while she walked. Tucking the small book into her pocket, she pulled the sword out of it's sheath. The sheath was still plain and very simple, so Kate didn't think she'd done anything to it. She held the sword up to the sun, looked at it from an angle, and even swung it around a few times, but she couldn't find anything that might make it easier to hold. Shrugging, she put it back in the sheath.
The stables were hard to miss, as horses meandered around the outside of the building. The stalls didn't seem to be holding the horses in. All had doors that opened to the outside, with a large patch of clover and grass surrounding the building. A few children who must have been Demeter kids played around in the plants, running their hands over the areas that had been eaten by the animals and causing new green sprouts to shoot up. She passed a room full of saddles and blankets and tacking before reaching the indoor stalls. About a third were occupied, the huge horses within them all munching on different snacks and feed.
At the end of the stable, Kate saw Holly and Austin, along with a young girl, talking softly to a horse who was snorting and shuddering in the stable. Kate walked over slowly, trying not to further spook the horse.
The mare was beautiful, a palomino with a white diamond on her forehead. Her mane was practically silver, but her sweet brown eyes were filled with fear, her ears pressed against her head. The young girl had a bundle of fresh carrots in one hand and a doughnut in the other, but the horse was not having it, jerking her head away from the food. The boy leaned down and asked the little girl to go check on Guido, whoever that was.
The boy suddenly looked up and noticed Kate. "Kate, right?" He asked, speaking quietly.
Kate nodded, warily watching the horse in case it swung its head in her direction.
Holly, too, turned and noticed her cousin, nodded, and returned her attention to the horse.
"If she's so upset," whispered Kate, "why is she in the stable?"
"I'm no expert, but I think Goldilocks here feels safest in the stable. She won't eat, but she also won't leave. I think she's afraid that the greek fire is still going to explode. She really doesn't like fire." Austin explained.
Kate frowned, wondering why a horse pulling a chariot outfitted for war was chosen if she didn't like fire.
Austin nudged Kate. "Between you and me, Holly here isn't helping much. I think she's actually just intimidating Goldi."
Holly turned, hearing his comment. "Well, I do better with Guido!" She whispered fiercely.
Kate looked at the horse, watching her powerful muscles quiver as she stomped.
"Is Goldi a warhorse?" She asked.
Holly nodded. "Sort of. She's really great in the sky, so with any monster that flies, we know Goldi can help us take them down." The horse shook her mane at that, as if the thought of monsters really wasn't helping her right now.
Kate chewed her lip thoughtfully. "Can I try something?"
Austin shrugged. "Be my guest. She really needs to calm down, but we haven't been able to help her so far."
Kate took a deep breath and gently opened the gate to the stable, only wide enough so that she could slip through, then closed it as fast as she could. Being careful not to block the exit, Kate reached out to touch the space between the mare's nostrils, making sure the pegasus could see her hand the whole time. Kate ignored Austin's soft yet worried warnings that it wasn't a good idea to be in the stall with a spooked pegasi.
"You're a strong one, aren't you Goldi? You pulled that chariot all the way until it fell right off, huh? I heard you were a good fighter. No other air charioteer stands a chance with you in the lead." Kate was stroking her now, and Goldi's eyes had stopped rolling, but she was still fluffing her feathers and shuddering slightly.
"What are you doing?" Holly asked, whisper screaming.
Kate continued as if she hadn't heard her. "You know, Goldi, I took care of the Greek fire. No more explosion. It's all gone now." That really seemed to calm her down, as the animal seemed to sense that Kate was telling the truth. "Yeah, you're safe. No one can hurt you, big girl." Kate said. Goldilocks snorted as if to stay, "Yeah, as if." Kate smiled and left the stall after another minute, ensuring that the horse was calm again.
The young girl had returned, and held the doughnut out to Goldi. The horse practically inhaled it, then gently nibbled the girl's hand and left the stall.
Austin and Holly just stared at Kate. "How did you do that?" asked Austin. "I thought only Percy could talk to the Pegasi?"
Kate shook her head. "I didn't actually talk to her. Chiron told me that horses were symbols of power, especially warhorses, which is kind of my dad's domain. I thought maybe I could calm her down through that connection."
"Well, it worked." Announced Holly, as if that wasn't already clear.
Kate picked up her sword from where she'd leaned it against the outside of the stall so that it wouldn't spook Goldi more. Without thinking, almost on accident, she twisted the pommel of the sword half-way around. She jumped as she did it, because it caused the sword to flash and disappear. In it's pace was a laurel made of pure bronze. Kate picked it up in astonishment. Each leaf appeared to be razor sharp along the edges, but where Kate touched it, the leaves smoothed out under her fingers. Frowning, she swiped it against a wooden post by Goldi's stall, leaving deep scratches. She widened her eyes and studied it closer, wondering how to make it a sword again. Where the two ends met at the front, there was a leaf not quite attached like the rest and a slightly different color. Without thinking, she twisted the leaf, and the laurel flashed, replaced with a tiny version of it, the size of the tip of Kate's pinky. It was a deep purple color rather than the bronze it had started as. Her eyes brightened as she thought of the perfect thing to do with it. Taking off her camp necklace, she threaded the little laurel through it, grinning as it fit perfectly.
"Did your sword just turn into a crown and a little crown?" Squealed the little girl. Only a demigod would get that excited about a sword turning into a laurel.
Kate nodded, simultaneously surprised and unaffected. Holly and Austin looked pretty unfazed as well. "Can you turn it back without taking off the necklace or decapitating yourself?" Asked Holly.
"Let's find out!" Said Kate. She rolled the bead between her fingers, and immediately the sword appeared in her hands, luckily facing away from her body.
"Awesome!" Cried Austin.
"But how are you going to put it back?" Asked the young Demeter girl.
Kate pursed her lips and glared at her sword, as if willing it to tell her its secrets. Suddenly, an idea popped into her head. "If I only turned it half-way around the first time…" She murmured, lifting her sword again. Kate wondered if she would have to use the sheath, which seemed to be unaffected by her magic. So, she put the tip of the sword on the floor and spun it, and gasped as it flashed into the tiny laurel and snapped itself onto her necklace.
"Wow!" Sighed the young girl. Austin's eyes widened in surprise, but he stayed quiet.
Holly eyed Kate suspiciously. "Did Hecate cabin give you that?" She asked.
"No, I made it myself. Sort of."
All three of them frowned, so Kate explained what had happened as best she could. When she was done with her brief story, Holly looked at her with new eyes.
"That's amazing. There's a huge stereotype around here that children of the minor gods aren't as powerful. Everyone who knows better has been trying to push that off, and I think you could really help with that."
Kate blushed. "Oh, well, maybe. I'm just glad my dad's one of the good ones, I guess."
Austin nodded, "Some gods, like Nemesis, just end up having really messed up kids that don't have any place being part mortal and part god. Not all gods mix well with humans."
The Demeter girl frowned at Austin, but Holly seemed to agree. Kate wasn't entirely sure what she thought. She felt that any demigod could use their power for wrong if they chose to. From what Chiron and some of the other campers had told her, plenty had, and recently, too. She decided not to mention it, though. Instead, Austin and the Demeter girl went to continue their work in the stables, while Holly led Kate to the Amphitheater.
"What are we going to do there?" Asked Kate. "Is there some sort of play going on?"
Holly rolled her eyes. "I wish, but no. Since it's winter, we still technically have to go to school. It's Saturday, but we still have to take Greek. You can test out of it once you're ready, but when you do that, you have to teach it."
Kate raised her eyebrows at Holly. "Is that why you're taking it with me?" She asked.
Holly looked away, and answered vaguely. "I've just never had the time to take the test, that's all."
Kate laughed.
"Was camp always like this?" Kate asked a little while later, looking at the new construction going up everywhere.
Holly shook her head vigorously. "Oh, no. Not at all. It used to be much more like a greek slash war-themed summer camp. There was always the year-round option, but it was still minimally educational. We recently realized that those campers couldn't just rely on the Athena kids anymore, you know? Plus, there was the Titan War. And the Battle of the Labyrinth. And the Giant War. Lots of fighting in a short period of time. Percy Jackson and Annabeth were at the forefront of it. Annabeth isn't the oldest living camper, but she's been here the longest. She doesn't visit anymore other than a month in the summer and Christmas, but she would be the one to ask about how it used to be. Percy was the one who changed everything. He was in the Hermes cabin while he was unclaimed. He met Luke, the one who betrayed us all, and became friends with him before he knew what Luke really was. Luke helped Percy to see what being unclaimed could do to someone. When the gods offered Percy immortality, he instead made the wish that all the kids be claimed, along with some other things. That provided us with a flood of campers. Annabeth and Chiron made some changes after that. I mean, we couldn't just be a summer camp anymore. Not only did we teach defense and Greek and Greek history, but we also had to do school stuff. It's only like actual school if you want it to be, though. Some people take virtual school, but most are satisfied with what the camp offers. If they aren't, they can move to New Rome in San Francisco. Oh! And after the Giant War, we started getting Romans here during breaks and stuff. When Camp Jupiter gets a Greek or someone who needs a break from the Roman lifestyle, they come here. We trade campers, ideas, methods, aid. We've got a nice alliance. It frustrates the gods sometimes, having to keep up with Roman and Greek, sometimes simultaneously, but they deal with it."
Kate nodded, wondering what a Roman camp would be like.
"Also," said Holly, "The camp is bigger than it used to be. Some people are comfortable with it, others aren't. This didn't use to happen, according to Chiron. Once campers got to a certain age, well, it was a miracle they survived. The barrier wasn't nearly as strong. It was really eat or be eaten. If they made it out of high school, campers would try to go to college and never come back. So they stayed. New Rome has been a life saver, since it has a college and a high school. Chiron was thinking about putting one here, but we decided against it, since it just doesn't go with the spirit of our camp. Camp Half-Blood is like those month long summer camps where you went rock-climbing and swimming and had your first kiss and learned how to tie-dye. We wanted to keep that aspect alive. Of course, our climbing wall is made lava, instead of t-shirts it's weapons and armor, and instead of horses its pegasi, but whatever. You get it. The designs of the cabins have helped a lot. Now everyone has a private spot to do homework or just have alone time. Camp is more chill than it used to be, but also less chill." Holly shrugged, obviously not knowing how else to explain it.
Kate thought she got it, though she did still have some questions. "Who's in the Prophecy of the Seven? I've heard about Annabeth and Percy, but the rest I don't know well. It seems kind of important."
Holly laughed. "Yeah, pretty important." She thought for a moment. "They aren't untouchable celebrities or anything, but they've got a special place in everyone's heart. Especially those who knew them in their glory days. The Greeks are Annabeth, daughter of Athena; Percy, son of Poseidon; Piper, daughter of Aphrodite; and Leo, son of Hephaestus. The Romans are Jason, son of Jupiter; Hazel, daughter of Pluto; and Frank son of Mars. They were all chosen specifically, and some played a huge roll in a lot of our wars. Well, Annabeth and Percy did. Jason fought for the Romans before we even knew they existed, so he counts. But all of the others came later, only fought in the Giant War. But it was our biggest, hardest war. The way they fought…" Holly shook her head. "It was amazing. It inspired everyone else. But they were just regular campers who were kind of dumped into a prophecy. The older campers all pretty much know their life stories, at least the Greeks, because of all the stories the Seven were asked to tell. Now though, we don't tell the little ones much more than the gist unless they ask. We try to respect their privacy."
Kate noticed that Holly had started to choke up when she talked about the Romans.
"Are they all…you know…okay? After all the fighting."
Holly scoffed angrily. "Of course, they all survived the wars. Percy and Annabeth traveled through Tartarus, literal hell. They were there. The Seven closed the doors of death. I mean, they went through the ringer. But they all survived it. Then, a few months after everything calmed down, Jason...h-he died. He sacrificed himself, really, so that a quest could be completed. It wasn't even the main event, either."
Kate kept quiet, knowing it was very out of character for Holly to be this emotional.
"Jason was like the poster boy demigod. He was pretty perfect, all things considered. He was a praetor for a while, a genuine sort of guy, son of Jupiter, ambassador between the camps. He didn't come out of the battles without his own personal scars, but we all thought he'd be fine. That was, until Triumvirate happened."
Kate frowned, but didn't ask for details.
"These three emperors were trying to take over the world, starting with the oracles. Apollo was turned human and sent to help fix it. In a battle that helped defeat the worst one, Caligula, Jason had to sacrifice himself. It was foretold in prophecy that either he or his ex-girlfriend would die. Her name was Piper, one of the Seven. They'd broken up, fallen out of love or something like that, but it was terrible. Piper completely removed herself from her Greek side. I know she still talks to the other six-I mean, five-but it's not like she comes to camp. Jason had even started a project in the Roman camp to the minor gods and goddesses shrines over there. Piper carried it out the rest of the way for him, but she just quit after that. Rumor is that the reason they broke up was because their relationship was built by lies manufactured by Hera, then manipulated at every turn by Aphrodite. They were doing fine, though, until everything calmed down. When they had time by themselves, I guess they just couldn't do it. The whole story, from start to finish, is something you need to set aside a day for. It's worth it." Holly paused, staring into the sky. "But we all really miss Jason. Heroes die, but he just…he wasn't supposed to."
Kate had been suspicious at first that Holly had known Jason more personally, but she realized that he must have just been that important to everyone. She found herself wishing that she had been at camp during those times, no matter how much fighting occurred.
Holly and Kate walked in relative silence until they reached the amphitheater. Kate was starting to think that the sides of Holly that she'd seen were not what other people saw.
The two girls entered quietly from an open door in the middle of the stands. Most older kids were lounging around the top, all of them with open books and journals, taking notes in Greek.
"What are they doing?" Asked Kate. They all appeared to be studying, but they were each using different books.
"Like I said, those of us that don't want to teach pretend that we just aren't there yet. Chiron knows better, so instead of forcing us to take the test, he just asks us all to translate these books and journals and things into English or Greek or Latin."
Kate frowned. "Latin?" She asked.
Holly nodded. "It's not required, but it is encouraged. We interact a lot with the Romans, especially during the solstices. It's nice if we know their language, too."
Kate nodded, and walked to the stage of the theater with Holly. Holly pointed out an older teenager sitting with a small group of young kids, reading to them in Greek. While Holly picked up a book to translate, Kate went up to him, waiting for him to finish. When he finally ended the story about what Kate thought was the Minotaur, he stood to look at Kate.
"The new kid! Kate, right? I'm Malcolm, Athena's son." The way he said it made it seem like he knew Athena personally and expected Kate to as well, but Kate ignored the tone, just smiled and shook his outstretched hand.
"Yeah. I'm supposed to learn Greek, I guess."
Malcolm laughed. "You pretty much already know Greek, actually. Your brain is made for it, not English. Have you ever had any problems reading? Dyslexia is super common."
Kate shrugged, though her cheeks reddened in embarrassment. "I don't have dyslexia, but I've been diagnosed with ADD."
Malcolm nodded, completely unsurprised. "ADHD, ADD, dyslexia, and other things are all super common. We're meant to fight monsters and read Greek, not sit around in a classroom."
Kate completely understood. She had always had this weird sense that she was wasting her time in classes, but she'd tried to quell the feeling by doing homework every time she felt that way. In the end, she'd become a good student, though she still felt unsatisfied. Coming to camp had changed that.
Malcolm handed her a small book. "This is a short story of Odysseus. Do you know it?" He asked.
Kate grinned. "Yeah, they made us read it in school last year, but I found more versions to read. It's one of the only books that I actually finished because I wanted to, rather than because I had to."
Malcolm smiled. "Well this version is in Greek on one side, and english on the other. This is all you have to read for now."
Kate took the book and thanked him, then walked to sit near a group of kids who looked her age. They seemed to be of mixed parentage, but Kate hadn't met any of them yet. Instead of butting in on their group and just sitting with them, like she wanted to, she sat off to the side and buried her nose in the book.
A little less than an hour later, people started leaving the theater, starting with the older kids near the top. After a few minutes, Holly tapped Kate's shoulder, and the two girls left.
"So," Kate said, trying to wake herself up, "What next?" It was hard to believe, but it wasn't even time for dinner yet.
Holly chewed her lip. "Now is like…mandatory free time, in a way. No one ever says it outright, but this is the time that most people do what being half-god helps them to do. Hephaestus kids are in the shop or the forge, Apollo kids will be in the theater or the archery range, things like that. You don't have to or anything, its just kind of what people do. On some days, this would be when we have capture the flag or some other challenge, but we don't have anything today."
Kate frowned. "What are we supposed to do?"
Holly sighed. "That's where it gets tricky. Not everyone has a set thing they do, so we pretty much just join in where there's room. I'm going to the arena; hopefully someone is ready to lose." A wicked smile came to Holly's face, but the usual competitive streak didn't stir in Kate. She was tired from the day, and honestly kind of wanted to take a nap. She looked at Holly hopefully, but the other girl seemed to read her mind. "The one thing we aren't allowed to do is stay in our cabins. Cabins are kind of off-limits right now."
Kate sighed. Suddenly, an idea occurred to her. "Can I go to the stables?"
Holly shrugged. "I don't see why not." Kate smiled and headed toward the stables for the second time that day.
Almost no one was working inside the stables. The same small group of Demeter kids were in the grass, now in a different area, trying to get some clover to regrow in a particularly chewed-up patch.
Kate inspected some of the saddles, which were of all different shapes, styles, and ages. A few were brand new, but others were definitely older. Oddly, the older ones, while dull and patched, seemed to be in perfect working condition. Kate shrugged to herself. She guessed that when you had the power of gods on your side, it wasn't hard to keep a simple saddle from aging. Kate continued down the barn, toward Goldi's stable. The beautiful palomino looked even more impressive when she wasn't terrified. She seemed to be half asleep, but when Kate walked over, she perked up. She rearranged her wings and lifted her head, drawing herself up like a Clydesdale.
Kate smiled. "Feeling better?"
Goldi snorted, as if dismissing the whole thing.
Kate laughed. "Oh yeah, I'm sure you were never scared at all."
Goldi thrust her head our of the stall and stared right into Kate's eyes. The intelligence she saw there took her aback, but she stared straight back. "Okay, got it. You aren't scared anymore."
The mare shook her mane defiantly.
Kate laughed again and looked up at her. "Wanna go for a ride?"
The horse seemed to know what she was doing better than Kate did. Soon Kate was on Goldi's back, testing the reins gently as she settled into the saddle.
When they were finally up in the sky, Kate realized that riding in the air was much different than on the ground. She had no idea how to lead up or down, and turning worked differently in the air, too. Still, Goldi seemed to know what she was doing just fine, and they spent the next fifteen minutes making a large circle around camp. They circled the arena an extra few times so that Kate could watch the fighting. No dummies were in use; campers were all partnered up and fighting each other. Next, Goldi took Kate over the lake, where they skimmed the surface and dipped just above the water. When they finally arrived back at the stables, Kate's face hurt from smiling and her head felt as clear as it had before the chariot crash.
Because she had some extra time, Kate gave Goldi a bath, which caused the four Demeter kids to come and help so they could play in the water. They were all freezing by the end, but all smiling. Kate placed a blanket on Goldi, who also was looking good as new.
After Lily, one of the youngest girls at camp and proud daughter of Demeter, informed her it was time for dinner, they all dusted off and hurried to the pavilion. Once there, Kate looked around for Holly and saw her at the Ares table. Deciding she didn't want to visit Sherman quite yet, she searched for a different place to sit.
The children of Hermes seemed to be playing some sort of game with the Tyche kids, trying to steal things without them noticing. Kate was about to try a different table when Julia waved her over. Kate smiled and sat down, watching them with interest. Chris and Connor were both looking frustrated, though Chris was soon reaching over again to the girl named Moira, seemingly aiming for a bright purple feather dangling from her ear. Just as he was getting close, Moira's hand came up to brush some hair aside and Chris jerked his hand away and adopted an innocent expression. She didn't notice, so he tried again.
Kate raised her eyebrows at Julia. "What are those two doing?" She asked.
Julia giggled. "The Tyche kids have these good luck charms that they never, ever take off. They told Connor about them the other day, so we've been trying to steal them. Moira and Felix have no idea, but every time Chris or Connor get close, something happens so that they can't steal it." Julia grinned. "They're getting pretty frustrated."
Kate laughed too, causing both boys to glare at her. Julia winked and they started giggling again, only making the boys more angry. Once they finally settle down, the two girls left to go offer some of their dinner to the gods. As Kate walked over to the fire, she thought about the events of her first full day at camp. She loved it. She didn't care that Holly swore that it wasn't the same anymore, or that Sherman and Connor were possibly out to get her, or that she had powers she didn't even know about yet. Scraping half of her roll and some gravy into the fire, Kate couldn't imagine a better place to be. Instead of asking for anything, she simply did her best to convey her gratitude.
Still smiling, Kate and Julia walked back to their table, maneuvering expertly through the now-dense crowd. Julia sat at her seat easily, but Kate stopped and looked around. She was getting that weird feeling that meant her abilities were acting up. Suddenly, it was like a curtain was pulled open, and she could sense that someone at the table was feeling very smug. Like they knew they were in complete control. She also felt that it was directed at her. immediately, her gaze shot to Connor. He was innocently eating a biscuit, stuffing his face like there was no tomorrow. But Kate had seen Chris with the exact same innocent expression when Moira had turned to investigate him. So, instead of sitting where she had been, she wedged herself between Chris and Carly, plopping her plate down across from her previous seat. She was rewarded when Connor started spluttering.
"How? How did you know?" He demanded. "You didn't look over here once! I was watching! Besides, NO ONE ever sees me set anything up! Ever!"
Kate drew her eyebrows together. "Whatever do you mean, dear Connor?" She asked innocently.
He growled at her, reached behind Julia, who was sitting next to him, and quickly slammed his hand down on her would-be seat before immediately drawing it away. Pink glitter exploded from a tiny hidden cannon right under the edge of the table, spraying the empty air with sparkling sequence and glitter. Kate could even smell a bit of strawberry perfume that made her want to gag. Julia snorted into her drink.
"I had to steal from the Aphrodite cabin for that!" He growled.
Kate smiled sweetly, keeping up her act. "You really do have a good taste, Connor. Pink suits you." She added seriously. Now even Chris was giggling, though he looked away guiltily when Connor glared at him.
Julia shook her head in amazement. "Are you a secret Hephaestus kid or something?" she asked.
Kate shrugged. "Who knows?" They finished their meal with no more incidents, except for when everyone froze when Chris touched the feather on Moira's head. Kate really thought he had it until Moira reached up to scratch her head, never even looking up from her meal.
Kate walked back to her cabin happily, especially after finding Holly and learning that capture the flag would be held on the coming Friday. When they were almost to the door, which was currently purple in celebration of Kate, they were stopped by a shout.
"Kate!" Yelled Shane, running towards them.
Holly nudged her. "See you inside. Remind me to show you how to get to the showers."
Kate nodded and turned to face Shane. "What's up?" She asked, wondering why on earth he wanted to talk to her.
"A few things, actually."
Kate kept her expression neutral, though she was surprised Shane had anything to talk to the new girl about.
"First, I wanted to congratulate you on your fight with Sherman. I wasn't there, but Paolo and Alice told me about it. I heard it was epic."
Kate blushed. "I only did so well because of that crash." She cringed realizing how weird that sounded. Confusion clouded Shane's face, so she explained as quickly as she could before he could ask.
"Cool. Okay. Wow." He said, obviously trying not to sound too impressed.
Kate blushed again. "It wasn't much of a challenge compared to you," Kate said, frowning. "I don't know how anyone expects me to be that good."
Now it was Shane's turn to blush, thought it was harder to see because of his tan skin. "I don't even hold a candle to Percy or Malcolm. Or even Travis."
Kate rolled her eyes at his modesty.
"Well, that's not all I'm here for. Here, I finished it." He said, pulling something out of his pocket. In his hand was a small knife, only an inch longer than his outstretched hand. The bottom of the tooth had been dipped in bronze and melded to the black handle, which was made out of a wood so deeply brown that Kate at first thought it was fake. The handle was carved perfectly, so that her hand fit into the grooves.
Shane pointed at knob toward the bottom of the hilt. "Press that."
Kate did, and another blade popped of the handle, leaving her with one bronze end and one polished white one.
"Shane how did you do all this in one day? It's amazing!"
Shane frowned. "Are you sure you like it?" He asked.
Kate stared at him, unbelieving. "Are you serious? It's prefect! It's a kind of weird size to have two ends, but other than that, its amazing!" And she meant it. One touch and she could tell the meticulous care that had gone into making it. The knife was expertly made, that was for sure.
Shane shrugged. "It just felt right, putting two edges on it. When you're a demigod, you gotta go with your instinct."
Kate nodded, knowing exactly what he meant. "Oh! Stay right here, I'll be right back." She called, hurrying through the door. Kate returned carrying two Dr. Peppers.
Shane raised an eyebrow. "I thought I only got one?" He asked.
Kate shrugged. "Two blades, two sodas." She said, tossing him the cans.
He immediately tucked them deep into the pocket of his orange hoodie. "Are you going to the campfire? It's a nightly thing. Marshmallows, homemade fireworks, songs, the whole deal."
Kate bit her lip. "If I don't fall asleep, I'll come."
Shane laughed, "Fair enough. It's been a long first day."
Kate nodded and went into her cabin, leaning against the door with a sigh as it closed.
Holly, who was digging around in the kitchen, raised an accusatory eyebrow at her. "Wow, your first day and you're already flirting with a camper." She said in mock disappointment.
"I was not flirting!" Insisted Kate, cheeks burning in embarrassment.
Holly waved her arms. "Fine, fine. Whatever you say." Kate stuck her tongue out at Holly when she turned back to the cabinets.
"Are we going to the campfire?" Kate asked nonchalantly a moment later, picking at her fingernails.
Holly wrinkled her nose. "Why would we do that? It's just a bunch of tired campers singing around a fire."
Kate sighed. "Uhh, because it's fun! Have you ever even been to one?" She asked.
Holly shrugged. "A few times, maybe."
Kate shook her head. "Well, we're going tonight. Get changed!" She said, examining Holly's sweaty look. "If you're fast maybe we won't miss the s'mores!" She called, already heading toward her room.
Holly turned and frowned. "How do you even know about the s'mores, newbie?"
Kate shrugged and smiled, then hurried to her own room to put on something warmer.
She walked up into her loft, admiring the way the setting sun made the world outside look. The room itself was slightly dark, but Kate didn't mind. She went to get her bag, which she had stored in a chest at the end of her bed, but when she opened it, she found her suitcase and duffel instead. She grinned and tore open both bags. Her step-father had apparently packed her entire room into the luggage, because they were both so stuffed that her belongings practically exploded out when she opened them.
Smiling, she grabbed a pair of jeans and her favorite sweatshirt, keeping the tennis shoes from camp. Ever since breakfast, they had been a darker grey color with purple accents. Looking at herself in the floor length mirror, Kate grinned. She looked like all the other campers, with a bit of her own flair with her now-personalized necklace and simple purple hoodie. Her smile grew wider when she realized that the color matched all of her other accessories perfectly. She hadn't thought about it in a while, but purple was her favorite color. She took her wavy hair out of its braid and brushed it, wanting to make a good impression at her first campfire. She didn't know why she was going to all the effort, but she loved it. It wasn't often that she'd been able to hang out with a group of friends so freely. The community atmosphere seemed to be bringing out a side of Kate that she didn't even know existed. A smile on her face, she hurried down the stairs.
Finally, they left for the campfire, though Kate was practically dragging Holly.
Kate's smile only grew as they neared the fire. It was huge, glowing in a bright shade of yellow, flickering to orange at the tips of the flames.
"It reflects the emotions of the campers. The color differs from night to night, but the brighter it is, the better the mood." Holly explained, noticing Kate's enthralled expression.
Kate could see that the fire certainly did reflect the mood. Though the benches were only half full, everyone was laughing, talking, singing, joking. Soon Kate and Holly had joined a large group of older kids, who were all singing along to a song that Kate recognized from the radio. They belted out the song as loudly as they could, to the amusement of the younger kids. After a few more popular songs, someone called for a calmer song. No one said anything, so Kate suggested "Hey There Delilah" to Austin, who was strumming his guitar. He nodded and started to strum the first few chords, causing everyone to smile and nod and whisper about how much they loved the song. It was perfect for the moment, and almost every camper new the song. The flames of the fire changed to an ombre of periwinkle and navy blues, crackling loudly and spitting out beautiful sparks ten feet into the air. Kate laughed at the display of campers high on sugar, belting out a song completely off-key. When the song ended, Shane came up to Austin, standing by Kate.
"Why don't you guys play a camp song? This new kid hasn't been exposed to any of the good stuff." Shane said, smirking at Kate.
Austin gasped, staring at Kate in mock horror. She grinned immediately and laughed at everyone's expression. Apparently the camp songs were a big deal.
Shane lead kate away from the group for a moment, so that they could surprise her with a camp song. They stood on the opposite side of the fire, so that there wasn't even a chance of overhearing the choice. Kate rolled her eyes at the precautions, but she couldn't deny how nice it was to be so wholly accepted into the demigod community. They were all already treating her like they'd known each other forever. Even Connor had warmed up to her during the bonfire, but Kate didn't think that their little prank war was over. She was also finally introduced to Harley, an adorable little kid with a scary knowledge of all things
machine, and who seemed to be a favorite in the Hephaestus Cabin.
After a few minutes of asking Shane questions about her new knife, which was safely tucked into the pocket of jeans, the two were called back to the group. Apparently, the teens had called in the judgement of the younger campers, too, and had settled on a suggestion from the Athena cabin.
Kate raised an eyebrow at Shane and whispered, "Is everyone always this enthusiastic about a new camper? I thought the camp got tons of new people every day during the summer."
Shane shrugged. "The bonfires always make the campers a little more welcoming to the newbies, but I also think it may have something to do with the fact that you beat Sherman and the giant, and saved Christopher, and killed a basilisk, all in one day. You're impressive, Kate."
Kate blushed at the compliment, but waved off the extra attention and said that it was just because she was their only new camper in a week. At this, Shane shook his head but before he could object, the Apollo kids had all started to play their instruments, creating a quick and upbeat tune that made everyone around the bonfire immediately sit down. Kate frowned as everyone fought for a spot on the logs and benches strewn around, but settled between Julia and Shane, neither of whom would answer her questions about what was going on. A few minutes later, Kate figured it out.
The song that had been chosen was a hilarious and interactive song that everyone, especially the young campers, loved. Each verse was about a separate cabin, and gave specific instructions on what to do for the rest of the song. The chorus required every camper to participate, and each verse was played a little faster than the last, until the end came and campers were falling over themselves with laughter and the effort to keep pace with the music. After twenty verses and four choruses, the music switched to a short, speedy story about the Hecate cabin enchanting everyone to dance. This part meant that every camper was dancing with the instructions of their own cabin, going so fast that some people just fell over, laughter too much to take. Kate loved it, even though she knew none of the words. It was a lengthy song, and by the end, everyone was tired and happy.
The rest of the bonfire passed by more peacefully than the beginning, but it was just as fun. There was a short appearance by Chiron, but all he had to say was that the chariots would be up in the air again on Monday, and that cabin inspection would be the upcoming Sunday. After that, there was one more song, and then campers started to trickle out.
Shane walked Kate back to her cabin, since Holly had gone on ahead earlier in the night and Kate still wanted to talk to Shane about her knife.
"It really is amazing that you were able to make this so quickly." Kate said, running her fingers over the leather-wrapped hilt.
Shane shrugged. "I mean, it's kind of my thing, being a son of Hephaestus and all."
"Still, it's beautiful. I can't wait to learn how to use it!"
"Easy, there, Crazy. You've barely got any experience with a sword."
"And yet I've already beaten Sherman. I'm sure I'll be able to handle a knife."
Shane put his hands up in mock surrender. "Yeah, yeah, okay. Actually, you should probably practice some more tomorrow with that sword. Spar, I mean. In the moment you're great, but you still need those foundational skills to rely on when you can't rely on your abilities."
"That's true. I'm actually looking forward to doing some more work in the arena. Not now, though. I'm so tired I'm not even sure how I'm still standing." Kate said, her yawn only emphasizing her point as they approached Cabin 17.
Shane nodded. "I'm beat, too. See you tomorrow, Crazy."
"See you tomorrow," Kate murmured, already trudging up the steps to her cabin.
When she finally collapsed on her bed after a shower in which she almost fell asleep, Kate couldn't stop thinking about the journal, which was sitting on her bedside table. Flipping through it, she realized that it basically looked like gibberish. She wasn't yet at the level where she could pick out anything more than the letters. After tonight, she knew that Duke's experience at camp had been different than hers. Where he was shoved into an overfull cabin and overlooked as one of the many, Kate had a cabin where she knew she belonged. Still, the odd connection she already felt to the author of the journal meant she wanted the ability to read it as soon as possible. So instead of fruitlessly attempting to understand the words, she pulled out the book Malcolm had given her, reading until she fell asleep.