Quite a few of the campers were older than him. Their satyr friends were bigger than Grover, all of them wearing orange CAMP HALF-BLOOD T-shirts, nothing else covering their bare furry bottom halves. They all stared at Naruto, like they were expected to him to do something.
When they got a better view of the farmhouse as they walked by. Four stories tall, sky blue with white trim, like an upscale seaside resort. There was a brass eagle weather vane on top when something caught their eye, a shadow in the top window of the attic.
Something had moved the curtain quickly. Naruto got the feeling he was being watched.
"What's up there?" Naruto asked Chiron, seeing the shadow too.
The centaur looked where he was pointing, and his smile faded. "Just the attic."
"Somebody lives there?" Naruto asked.
"No," he said firmly. "Not a single living thing."
Chiron didn't seem to be lying but he wasn't being on the up and up either. Something made him uncomfortable. "Come along," he said, his lighthearted tone now a little forced. "Lots to see."
They walked through the strawberry fields, where campers were picking bushels of berries while a satyr played a tune on a reed pipe.
Chiron told him the camp grew a nice crop for export to New York restaurants and Mount Olympus. "It pays our expenses," he explained. "And the strawberries take almost no effort."
Apparently Mr. D had this effect on fruit-bearing plants. They just went crazy when he was around. Chiron explained, it worked best with wine grapes, but Mr. D was restricted from growing those, so they grew strawberries instead.
They watched the satyr playing his pipe. His music was causing lines of bugs to leave the strawberry patch in every direction. When Naruto asked about how they did it, Chiron replied that they were using woodland magic, something only satyrs could do. This led to Naruto to think of Grover, wondering how he was doing with the god of wine.
"Grove isn't in trouble, is he?" Naruto asked Chiron, bringing Naruto out of his thoughts. "It wasn't his fault the Minotaur showed up, or that I challenged him to a fight."
Chiron sighed. He took off his tweed jacket and draped it over his horse-half's back like a saddle. "Grover has big dreams, Naruto. Perhaps bigger than are reasonable for his age. To reach his goal, he must first demonstrate great courage by succeeding as a keeper, finding a new camper and bringing them safely to Half-Blood Hill."
"All of which he has done," Naruto argued in favor of his buddy.
"I might agree with you on that," Chiron said. "But it's not my place to judge. Dionysus and the Council of Cloven Elders must decide. I'm afraid they might not see this assignment as a success. After all, Grover was nearly killed himself and had to be helped by you. Then there's the fact he couldn't keep you from challenging the monster's and that you survived only because you had your mother's old weapons. The council might question whether this shows any courage on Grover's part."
"That's bullshit," Naruto said. "I mean, whether he was incapacitated or not, he still brought me here. Mine own faults aside, he still did his job."
"I agree with you, Naruto," Chiron said. "But still, Grover's fate isn't mine to decide."
Naruto' brows knitted together in thought. "His first assignment… died, right?" he asked him, coming to that conclusion.
Chiron's long face was the only answer given. "Chaos knows, I advised him to wait longer before trying again. He's still so small for his age…"
"How old is he?" Naruto wondered.
"Oh, 34." Chiron answered with a simple shrug.
Naruto raised his eyebrow in surprise. "Wait, what? And he's only a sophomore?" Naruto exclaimed in mild shock.
"Satyrs age half as slow as humans. Grover has been the equivalent of a highschooler for the past six years."
"That's horrible." Naruto shuddered.
"Quite," Chiron agreed. "At any rate, Grover is a late bloomer, even by satyr standards, and not very accomplished at woodland magic. Alas, he was anxious to pursue his dream. Perhaps now he will find some other career…"
Chiron looked away quickly. "Let's move along, shall we?" he diverted, showing that it was likely true.
As they got closer, Naruto realized how large the forest. It took up at least a quarter of the valley, with trees from rainforests, in Naruto' opinion.
"The woods are stocked, if you care to try your luck, but go armed," Chiron said,
"Stocked with what?" Naruto asked before he got it, "Ah, Monsters and weapons."
"Capture the Flag is Friday night. Typically most camper's use the swords and shields here at camp. Do you have your own shield?"
"No, a round shield doesn't work for my style of fighting.The best defense is the best offense." Naruto said
They continued as they saw the archery range. Next was the canoeing lake. After that, were the stables, the javelin range, the sing-along Amphitheatre, and the arena where Chiron said they held sword and spear fights.
"Sword and spear fights?" Naruto asked.
"Cabin challenges and all that," Chiron explained. "Not lethal. Usually. Oh, yes, and there's the mess hall."
Chiron pointed to an outdoor pavilion framed in white Grecian columns on a hill overlooking the sea. There were a dozen stone picnic tables. No roof. No walls.
"What do you do when it rains?" Naruto asked curiously.
Chiron gave Naruto this weird look. "We still have to eat, don't we?"
"What, is it enchanted with magic?" Naruto asked jokingly. When Chiron smiled slyly at him, he realized he wasn't joking. "Wait, it's actually enchanted?" he asked, though Chiron's smile told him what he needed to know.
Finally, he showed them the cabins. There were twelve of them, nestled in the woods by the lake. They were arranged in a U, with two at the base and five in a row on either side. They were pretty bizarre.
Each had a large brass number above the door- odds on the left, evens on the right- , looking nothing alike whatsoever. Number nine had smokestacks, like a tiny factory. Number four had tomato vines on the walls and a roof made out of real grass. Seven seemed to be made of solid gold, which gleamed so much in the sunlight it was almost impossible to look at. They all faced a commons area about the size of a soccer field, dotted with Greek statues, fountains, and a couple of basketball hoops.
In the center of the field was a huge stone-lined fire pit. Even though it was a warm afternoon, the hearth smoldered. A girl about nine years old was tending the flames, poking the coals with a stick.
Just as he was about to tell Chiron about this, as it seemed a little odd that a young girl was playing with fire, he looked into the girl's eyes. What he saw surprised him. Where her eyes should have been were flames- her eyes were literally filled with flames. But these flames weren't violent; they seemed cosy, like a small, warm fireplace.
Also, her face was shockingly beautiful for a nine year old girl, which creeped Naruto out for a second, as he was not a pedophile.There was no way that was a normal girl, she had to be a Goddess.An Olympian, Naruto wagered, considering the aura she gave off.Suddenly, as he thought about the Olympian's, he knew who this goddess was."Hestia," He breathed. When she looked at him, she seemed shocked also, like she wasn't used to people seeing her. Then she smiled, and waved at him.Naruto also waved back at hero.
When he turned towards Chiron, he didn't seem to notice anything strange. The centaur just continued walking on, as if nothing happened. When Naruto looked towards where the girl was, she was gone. Deciding to deal with it later, Naruto quickly followed Chiron.
He rejoined with Chiron just in time to see the pair of cabins at the head of the field, numbers one and two. Naruto stared at cabin one, it being the biggest and bulkiest of the twelve, also obnoxious looking too. It looked like a damn bank, for fuck sake. Cabin two was more graceful and feminine, with its slimmer columns garlanded with pomegranates and flowers. The walls were carved with images of peacocks.
"Zeus and Hera?" Naruto asked.
"Correct," Chiron said with a nod.
Then, Naruto got a look at cabin three. It was sea-themed, they noticed, with a more slender and low look compared to cabin one or two. It was decorated with coral shells and had a mixture of blue and green colours.
Naruto made to step inside when Chiron said, "Oh, I wouldn't do that!" But it was too late.
Naruto got the smell of the sea breeze, like near the ocean. He felt a calming sensation when breathing it in.
Chiron then put a hand on Naruto's shoulders. "Come along, Naruto, there is still more to see."
As they got closer, Naruto could see that most of the other cabins were crowded with campers. Number five was bright red, a really messy paint job, as if the color had been splashed on with buckets and finger-painted by a caveman, but less artistic.
The roof was lined with barbed wire. A stuffed wild boar's head hung over the doorway, and its eyes seemed to be moving like googly eyes.
They kept walking until Naruto spoke. "I haven't seen any other centaurs," he observed.
"No," said Chiron sadly. "Most of my kinsmen are a wild and barbaric folk, I'm afraid. You might encounter them in the wilderness, or at major sporting events. But you won't see any here."
"Oh, look," Chiron spoke. "Annabeth is waiting for us."
Annabeth reading a book with what looked like Ancient Greek. She looked up from her book, her eyes studying Naruto intently.She stood in front of what seemed to be Cabin Eleven. Out of all the cabins thus far, eleven looked the most like a standard summer camp cabin, which seemed run down. Like a worn threshold, peeling brown paint, like it needed work done to it. Over the doorway there seemed to be a caduceus symbol. Inside it was packed with people, both boys and girls, with way more sleeping bags than people.
Chiron didn't go in. The door was too low for him. But when the campers saw him they all stood and bowed respectfully.
"Well then," Chiron said. "Good luck, Naruto. I'll see you both at dinner." "Sorry, I didn't introduced my self to you.I'm Naruto Uzumaki."said Naruto while placing an outstretched hand out for her to take, But she merely stared at the hand with disinterest before finally shaking his hand.
"Annabeth Chase." She replied back but her tone was indistinguishable so that Naruto couldn't tell what she was feeling, let alone thinking. She peered at Naruto's figure from the bottom-up and to the top-down before frowning. "So you're a demigod, huh?" She asked mostly to herself. Naruto merely nodded.
"You mentioned earlier while talking to Chiron that you were the child of Athena?" Naruto asked
Annabeth replied"Yes, my mother is a Goddess.Athena The Goddess of Wisdom."
'And Battle, Strategy, Arts and Crafts' 'Naruto thought as he eyed her. Annabeth met his stare and flipped her hair. Now that he thought about it, he kinda remembered she was helping take care of him while he was in the infirmary."I wanted also thank you for taking care of me while I was in the infirmary." Naruto said
"You remember that?" She asked in surprise.
"Some of it. I've been kind of in and out of it for a day" Naruto admitted.
He galloped away towards the archery range.
"Well?" Annabeth prompted. "Go on in." She urged him.
When he did, Annabeth announced, "Naruto Uzumaki, meet cabin eleven."
"Regular or undetermined?" somebody asked.
Naruto of course, knew who his father was, but decided to let the claiming work the usual way. Annabeth answered the guy who asked, "Undetermined."
Everybody in the cabin groaned at hearing that.
A blonde hair guy came up and spoke to the campers. "Now, now, campers. That's what we're here for. Welcome, Naruto. You both can have that spot on the floor, right over there." He pointed to the corner.
Naruto gave the guy a once over. He looked to be in his late teens, tall and muscular but lean. He had short-cropped hair and a nice smile. He wore an orange tank top, cutoffs, sandals, and a leather necklace with five different-coloured clay beads. He also had a scar, thick and white that ran from just beneath his right eye to his jaw. For some odd reason, Naruto's danger sense was going off around this guy, and not just because he was the son of Hermes. His instincts were never wrong, but Naruto had no reason to distrust him either. He would need to be cautious around this one.
"This is Luke," Annabeth said. "He's your counsellor for now. He's also one of the one's who brought you to the infirmary Naruto."
"Oh, thanks," Naruto asked.
"No problem," Luke said to him, then he explained. "You're undetermined. They don't know what cabin to put you in, so you're here. Cabin eleven takes all newcomers, all visitors. Naturally, we would. Hermes, our patron, is the god of travelers."
"Also thieves too, right?" Naruto pointed out, which got some snickers from the more mischief looking kids. "Yeah, I'm gonna have to get a drill and bolt my stuff to the floor." This got even more snickers from the occupants, including Luke.
"Come on," Annabeth told him. "I'll show you the volleyball court."
When they were a few feet away, Annabeth said, "Naruto, you have to do better than that."
"What do you mean?" Naruto cracked.
Annabeth rolled her eyes and mumbled under her breath, "I can't believe I thought you were the one."
Naruto heard her, and scoffed, "You got a problem, Annabeth?"
"I was just hoping that you might be able to help me, but clearly I was wrong," she responded, getting back to her point.
Naruto was going to argue again, but Naruto interjected, "Look, if this is about me killing the Minotaur-"
"Don't talk like that." Annabeth told him as she stopped and turned to him. "You know how many kids at this camp wish they'd have your chance?"
"What? To get themselves killed?" Naruto asked sarcastically.
"To fight the Minotaur. What do you think we train for?" Annabeth retorted.
"To survive,This camp is here for the Demi-Gods to train and survive in this merciless world" Naruto snarked.
Annabeth winced, like she suddenly realized how bitchy she sounded.
"Look," she said, calmer now. "I'm sorry for my outburst. And I'm sorry about it but It's just… it's serious stuff to us, what you did."
Naruto shook his head. "Look, killing the Minotaur was easy, only one require their brain and strength to use to defeat it besides I had killed a lot of monsters from cyclops to manticore to chimera etc...
"Woh!" exclaimed Annabeth in awe.
"I wouldn't mind hearing some stories about yourself, if you would be willing to share." Annabeth said. Naruto smiled and nodded his head.
"Well! Look what he have here!". "Clarisse," Annabeth sighed with annoyance at the girl."Why don't you go polish your spear or something?"
'That's what she said', Naruto thought, biting the inside of his cheek to not call it out.
"Sure thing, Princess," the big girl said. "So I can run you through with it on Friday night."
"Erre es korakas!" Annabeth said, which Naruto understood was Greek for 'Go to the crows!' "You don't stand a chance."
"We'll pulverise you," Clarisse said, but her eye twitched. Maybe she wasn't sure she could follow through on the threat.
She turned towards Naruto."See you around, Uzumaki." She said with a smirk. Naruto looked at Annabeth and wondered what she was thinking about. "What?" He asked.
"I'm thinking," Annabeth said. "That I definitely want you to join my team in Capture the Flag on Friday."
"Oh, joy," Naruto muttered.