You know what the books don't tell you? They don't tell you that camp is kinda boring when you're not out saving the world. Don't get me wrong, learning this universe's version of Greek myths was immensely interesting. For example, hephaestus isn't actually crippled in here. He was never thrown off of Olympus. Was he shunned and unloved because of his appearance? Sadly yes, but not lobbed like a sack into the river.

What the books did warn us about, was the cruel initiation the Ares cabin had planned. Unlike with Percy, ours wasn't immediate. They bided their time, and before long a week had passed and all they'd done was glare and whisper to each other. Until the incident.

They waited until they could separate the two of us. I had gone to get some training in with a group Luke was tutoring while Jax said he was going to the archery range with some of the Apollo campers. It wasn't until that evening that I saw him again.

He hobbled over, leaning on a spear that I knew wasn't his. He had a cut above his eye and his leg was an angry bruised purple. Even the smile he gave me was bloody.

"Jax!" I rushed over to him. "What the hell happened?! Do you need ambrosia? Nectar? A chair?" I led him to one of the stone benches in the common area. He wiped the blood from his eye before he sat.

He gave a small laugh. "Ares cabin. Decided the newbies needed to know the hierarchy." He pulled his own square of ambrosia from his pocket, taking a bite. I saw the cut above his eye start to close slowly. "Funny thing is, everything that could go wrong for them, did. Slipping on loose rocks during swings, getting in each other's way, the works."

He took another bite of his ambrosia square and stood up, testing his leg and letting out a sigh. "It was a good thing only three of them showed up, though. Don't think I would have held up as well as I did if there were more."

I pointed to his new acquisition. "Whats with the spear? I've never seen it in the armory"

He gave it a quick spin. "Oh this? The leader was using this. What was her name, Clara?" He looked to me for confirmation.

I stared at him for a second. "Do you mean Clarisse?" "Yeah her!"

I heaved a heavy sigh, closing my eyes. "I need you to listen very carefully. The only reason you're still breathing is because you one that fight and claimed the spear in the end. That was given to her by Ares." I stood up, holding out my hand. Jax handed over the spear, looking at it with apprehension now. "I have no doubt the entire cabin is gunning for us now. You because you humiliated them with basically no training, and me because they haven't had the chance to rough me up yet."

"So what do we do? I don't think they'll give up if we ask, so what's the plan?" Jax asked me, looking across the common area towards the Ares cabin.

I motioned for him to follow me. "I have a plan. Its gonna suck and probably get us beat to hell, but we'll be safe for a while." I started walking towards the Ares cabin.

While we walked, I admired the spear. It was perfectly balanced, the head was deadly sharp, and sparks flew from it every few seconds. It was beautiful, in a cruel way.

When we stood outside the Ares cabin, I felt an overwhelming wave of anger wash over me. The influence of the god himself to incite conflict.

"Clarisse! Why stoop to these underhanded tactics! Ares is the god of war, combat, and courage, so why use espionage?" I shouted at the cabin, slamming the butt of the spear into the ground.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Jax whispered to me. "You're gonna get us killed not even a month in!"

Before I could respond, the door of the cabin practically flew off its hinges. Standing in the doorway, looking the part of an enraged boar, was Clarisse La Rue. She stood a bit more than a head taller than me and was built more like a tank than anything. Solid, sturdy, and ready to destroy.

She stomped toward us, grabbing me by the collar of my shirt and lifting me a good two inches off the ground. "Insignificant runt. You come here and taunt me with the name of my father? Give me a reason I shouldn't gut you."

Jax looked like he was mentally making funeral arrangements. I just managed to give Clarisse my most unimpressed stare.

"I didn't come here to taunt you, La Rue. I came to issue a challenge." I managed to catch her off guard at least if the way her grip loosened was any indication. "My cousin and I, against you and one of your siblings. We win, and you respect us. You win, he and I will never do anything against the Ares cabin ever again and you get your spear back."

At the mention of her spear, her expression changed. It was subtle and quick, but she looked almost relieved.

She tossed me backwards and I only just managed to not end up sprawled on my back. "Fine. tomorrow before lunch in the training arena. Get ready to submit to the might of Ares, runt."

With that, she walked back into her cabin, slamming the door closed behind her. Jax immediately started shaking me.

"Are you insane?! We're gonna be killed! What happened to being a part of the world changing?!" His eyes were wide, and his voice had risen about two octaves. I grabbed his wrists, looking at him calmly.

"Jax, stop panicking. You beat her and two of her siblings today. Even if it was a fluke, it still happened. It'll linger in the back of their minds, they're bound to make some mistakes." I gave him a reassuring smile. "Besides, this time you won't be alone.

Now I'm sure you're wondering, 'How is Chiron allowing this, I thought he'd care too much for his students to let them maim each other.' And you'd be right. Except, Chiron wasn't at camp. He only happened to be at camp the day we arrived. I overheard something about a status report on Percy. Currently and for the next two month, chiron was at Yancy Academy keeping an eye on the Son of Poseidon

And before you ask, Lord D didn't really care what the rest of us did. He really only took great interest in what his sons were doing. Interesting loophole in the whole demigod-god interference law; Since Lord D was stuck here as camp director, he wasn't really bound by the law as strictly as the others. So he spent as much time with his sons as he could.

So imagine my surprise when he was in the stands, Castor and Pollux at his side, when we entered the arena. Even if I only challenged her yesterday, half the camp was in the stands. I'm pretty sure I saw Travis and Conner taking bets.

Jax and I walked into the center, arms and armor ready. Jax had gotten another spear from the armory after i told him using Clarisse's might be seen as disrespect. I went classic sword and shield. Surprisingly, the shield wasn't as heavy as I thought it would be.

As we walked in, some of the kids from Hermes' cabin started cheering, with the Ares kids booing loudly. Then Clarisse walked in. She carried a sword and spear, completely forgoing armor. One of her brothers walked beside her wearing only a simple helmet. He carried two swords.

Dionysus stood from his seat and all the cheering and jeers immediately stopped.

"Campers! Yesterday, a challenge was issued. Today, we see it fulfilled." His voice carried across the arena. "Sigurd and Jax Pallas will face Clarisse La Rue and Sherman Yang. The match will conclude when one side is either unable to continue or they yield. The only exception is if I see any of you go for a kill. In which case I will intervene."

He raised his hand high in the air. "Ready? Fight!"

As his hand dropped, I brought up my shield to block the sudden thrust Clarisse sent my way. I heard a clatter to my left and spared a glance in time to jump out of the way of a sword that went flying between the two of us. Jax had taken advantage of Sherman's over extension and knocked one his blades away. I didn't have time to admire his quick learning as I side-stepped another thrust.

I was on the backfoot. Her longer reach kept me out of range for doing any kind of damage. I was getting grazed more and more as time went on. Then, I had an idea. Another stupid idea, but an idea nonetheless.

As Clarisse stepped back for another heavy thrust, I braced my shoulder behind my shield. As soon as she moved forward, so did I. There was the sound of splintering wood, then a snap. When I looked up, she was left holding the broken shaft of the spear she had been using. Looking to my left, I saw Jax holding Sherman at spear point. Somehow, his sword had gotten stuck into the wall of the arena.

I looked back to Clarisse. If looks could kill, well, id be dead. I leveled my sword at her. "Do you yield?"

Throwing the splintered wood at me, she charged with all the anger of a bull seeing red. "Not a chance, runt!"

"Fine, be that way." I threw my sword and shield behind me, bringing my hands up. "Let's make it an old fashioned slobberknocker."

And just like that, our duel had turned into a boxing match. I'll be honest, Clarisse hits like a truck. Each of her punches rattled my skull. But I'd like to think I was dealing back what I was given. After another few minutes we were both bloody and exhausted. So of course, she wanted to continue. As she threw another haymaker, something in me snapped.

"Enough!" I ducked the knockout punch, grabbing her wrist and pivoting.

Now, I had only intended to throw her over my shoulder. Was that what happened? In a way, yes. Clarisse did in fact go over my shoulder. And then across the arena. She landed hard and slid until she hit the far wall.

For a moment, everything was quiet. Then the Hermes cabin burst into cheers so loud they scared the birds from the forest.

As they cheered, I ran to check on Clarisse. When I got to her, she was conscious at least. Just staring up at the sky. "Can you get up?" I asked, kneeling next to her. She tried to, but the most she could do was prop herself against the wall.

"No. Hurts to move." She forced out through grit teeth. I reached into my pocket and handed her a square of ambrosia. I'd have to thank the Hermes kids for making their stashes so easy to find.

As she ate the square and started to lose some of the strain that was on her face, I offered her a hand. She stared at it then sneered at me. "I don't need your pity."

"Good, that's not what I'm offering. I'm offering my opponent respect after a hard fought bout." After a second, she did the impossible. She smiled and let me help her up.

I slung her arm over my shoulder to help her walk as we made our way back to the center of the arena. "Next time, the match is mine, runt." She said, that genuine smile still on her face.

Seeing it, I couldn't help but smile back. "Well see about that, La Rue."

As the four of us took our spots center arena, Dionysus stood again. "Well, in an unexpected turn of events, our winners are-"

He stopped abruptly, looking at us with shock. That is, until an overwhelming smile overtook his face. "Oh now this is delicious. Father is going to be furious."

Looking around, the campers sitting in the stands all had identical shocked looks on their faces. I couldn't figure out what could have stopped everything.

"Campers." I looked back to Dionysus. "All Hail Sigurd Pallas. Son of Kratos, God and personification of Strength, Might, and Sovereign Rule. All Hail Jax Pallas. Son of Nike, Goddess and personification of Victory."

Suddenly the entire camp was kneeling where they were. I looked above my head and sure enough, red chains and flames floated above my head. I looked at Jax, only to find he had a pair of golden wings above him.

I Guess camp is gonna get more interesting.

-*

I was wrong. Now don't get me wrong, some things did change after the challenge and our claiming. They just weren't big things.

The first was the most disheartening. Considering that at this point the minor gods had no cabins, we still had to stay in Hermes' cabin. Now, that wasn't bad. The children of Hermes were all good people, and the other children of minor gods knew the struggle of not having our own cabins. No, the bad part was the bitter stares from the unclaimed demigods who had been here longer than us.

Sure they still acted civilly and friendly, but the moments when they thought we couldn't see. That's when you could see the resentment.

Luke continued to tutor us in combat, but now Clarisse would tag along. Clarisse was the ideal sparring partner. Being a child of Ares gave her more brute strength and durability than almost any other camper. Most of our spars devolved into fist fights, but we had too much to care.

Jax sparred with Luke most days. Apparently he got an all around boost. Speed, strength, durability, the works. Just more even. Seeing Luke's face when he got beaten in a race was worth the extra chores he assigned me out of spite. Jax got it worse for being the one to beat him. He got toilet duty by himself. Good thing they weren't that bad that week.

Soon enough, two months had come and gone.

It was late afternoon when I noticed the storm. Dark clouds loomed over the camp in a way that threatened so much more than rain. I decided to sit up on Half-blood Hill while the storm raged outside the border. It was strange to see the rain just stop before fully cresting the hill.

Soon enough, Jax joined me, having brought some more ill-gotten ambrosia. We sat there, waiting to hear that crack of lightning that meant they were here. It took another hour until we did.

First the sound of asphalt detonating, then a roar of thunder so loud and so close that for a second I was sure the vibration of it overpowered my heartbeat.

We ran over the hill, seeing their car overturned on the side of the road. I looked down the road and saw it. This was another thing that the books couldn't do justice. The minotaur. Even as far as he was, he looked massive.

I looked back to the car. Percy and Sally were pulling Grover from the wreck. Percy seemed fine, physically at least. Sally, not so much. She was leaning heavily to her left side, and a large gash on her forehead was bleeding heavily.

Jax looked at me, and we bolted down the hill to help as much as we could. They seemed startled by our arrival. "Jax, help her with the satyr." He looked like he wanted to protest, but I had my reasons. "With you, the deck is stacked in their favor. Please." He nodded, still not entirely happy with it.

"Ma'am, I give you permission to enter the camp." I looked to Percy. He was scrawny, painfully so. He was looking between us and the steadily approaching bull man. His breathing was heavy and i just knew he was running almost entirely on adrenaline. The poor kid was gonna need a nap.

"Get up the hill and past the tree, you'll be safe there." I hefted my shield, readying myself to fight one of Greece's most famous myths.

"But what about-" "The bull? Don't worry. I'm pretty sure my sparring partner is meaner." If Clarisse would have heard that, I'd be lucky to keep all my teeth. Percy nodded before sprinting up the hill to catch up with the others.

The minotaur was sniffing at the car, trying to get Percy's scent. I couldn't allow it the chance. Call it selfish, call it an insult to fate, but I wouldn't let him face the hardships that I could prevent. Same for the other half-bloods. They were children. Children sent to their death ill-equipped and sometimes forgotten. If I could, I'd save them.

I rushed forward, raising my shield and doing my best train impression as I barreled into the bull man's head. I managed to knock his head aside, but I also got very very angry.

It bellowed, loud and low, before it took a wild swing at me. I blocked it at the cost of being tossed down the road. I got up just in time to see the beast charging at me. And then i got another stupid idea.

I screamed. I screamed with all the fury I could and met its charge with one of my own. I heard my blood roaring in my ears, felt my heart pounding. And at that moment, I knew I was smiling. The thrill, the rush of the fight. If I wasn't already claimed, I would have guessed I was a child of Ares with the sheer and raw joy I felt in that moment. And then his horns met my shield.

I grit my teeth, bracing my arm as much as I could to stop the vibration from the hit.The minotaur reared back, holding its head as it bellowed in pain. I looked at my shield. It looked about as useful as a crushed can at the moment.

The minotaur recovered quickly, swinging blindly as it used one hand to hold its head. I ducked the swing and felt a sense of deja vu. I brought my sword up and stabbed between its ribs. I jumped away as it flailed before it melted into golden sand.

I grabbed my sword from the pile of slowly disappearing dust, only to find it had lost both its horns. They were probably cracked from the collision with my now useless shield. I picked them up and limped back to Thalia's pine. As I passed the property line, I looked down into the valley that housed so many children. Their last bastion of safety.

"I won't let you take them." The last thing I remember is Jax calling my name.