Hello friend, and welcome to the wild ride that is just as chaotic as the title implies! This is a rewrite of the former version, which is very cringy and is more of a rough draft of this version. For any previous readers, never fear, there are no big changes. This is technically AU - as there are OC characters - but I try my hardest to fit it in with canon. The first chapter isn't super exciting - try as I might it insists on being a bit boring. I promise it will get better! I'm currently tired, so I can't think of much to say. I love critiques, comments, suggestions, or questions, so feel free to leave me some! Please remember I'm a beginning writer and I'm trying my best, but I know it's still a bit messy. I'd really appreciate it if you'd give my story a chance and drop me a review. Welp, I'll stop my blathering (you'll get used to it if you keep reading,) so buckle up, and please keep all your emotions and limbs inside the ride until it has come safely to an end! Enjoy, folks :D
Disclaimer: Oh yeah, I almost forgot this important little thing. I don't own any of the Percy Jackson universe, sadly, I'm only borrowing them to play in my sandbox for a bit! Cat is my very special OC, however, as is Quentin, Episis, and any other odd names you don't remember. Alex and Jane are OC's created by some talented friends of mine.
A lone figure flitted through the forest, clothed in black leggings and a tight-fitting sweater. Her worn brown boots danced silently across the leaf-strewn floor as she ran. A fully loaded quiver hung casually across her shoulder, and her hands held a bow carved from white wood. Eyes almost glowing with millions of colors scanned the trees cautiously, looking for any sign of life. As her gaze met the river, a flicker of movement caught and held her eye. Slowly, she reached over her shoulder, sliding an arrow free from the quiver and resting it lightly on the string of her bow. The slight movements and sounds grew closer to her, and she crouched, concealing herself in a cluster of underbrush. She waited until the sounds were almost right upon her, then leaped up and aimed her arrow directly at the source of noise. She expected to find a monster, or perhaps a deer. Instead, wide blue eyes met hers and a loud shriek resounded in her ears as a girl stumbled away from her. Cat's grip slackened and she fumbled to catch the arrow as she stepped back, offering an apologetic smile.
"Oh geez, I'm sorry. I'm not used to seeing anything out here other than animals and monsters." Cat said, blushing slightly. Mentally berating herself for being so careless, she replaced the arrow in her quiver and slung her bow over her shoulders. The other girl smiled awkwardly and shook her head.
"Don't worry about it." She brushed her shoulder-length brown hair out of her face, then stuck out her hand. "I'm Jane, by the way."
"Thanks. The name's Cat, nice to meet you." Cat responded with a little bow, still feeling guilty for almost shooting her in the face. "Are you new to camp?"
Jane nodded, fidgeting with her own bow. "Yeah, I just got here about a few weeks ago."
Cat raised her eyebrows. "Woah, a few weeks? Then what the Hades are you doing hanging out in the forest? Even the experienced campers don't do that."
"Then what are you doing out here?" Jane countered, smirking slightly.
Cat grinned back and began to speak, but before she could, a low growl came from behind the two girls. They whipped around, both grabbing an arrow and aiming at the bush. For a moment, nothing happened, and Cat wondered if she'd just imagined the noise. She cautiously lowered her bow, glancing at Jane. The other girl's eyes widened, and Cat's gaze snapped back to the bush as a hellhound leapt at them with a roar. Two arrows fired almost simultaneously, slamming into the beast's side. The hellhound fell back with a pitiful shriek and crumbled into dust, but not before its claws stung Catalia's arm. She winced but didn't lower her bow, continuing to scan the trees as she reached for another arrow.
Jane turned to her, wide-eyed. "What the heck was that?"
Cat grimaced. "Hellhound. It shouldn't have been this close to camp." She scanned the forest once more before lowering her bow and replacing the arrow in her quiver. She turned her attention to the other girl as she strapped her bow to her quiver. "Good shot, are you an Apollo kid?"
Jane shook her head, frowning slightly. "Nah, Poseidon."
Cat jerked back and gasped, then hurriedly coughed to cover it. Jane seemed too distracted with the pile of monster dust to notice Cat's reaction.
"Well, at least you know." Cat said quietly.
Jane nodded, kicking at the dust pile, then stepped back with a grimace as the thick yellow dust blew in her face. "Yeah…I thought I'd be Apollo's daughter, but here we are." She coughed and turned back to Catalia with a smile. "How about you?"
Cat sighed. "I wish I knew, but here I am, in the Hermes cabin for the seventh year. Still unknown parentage…after seven years!" She growled out the last word, glaring at the sky accusingly.
"Woah...that's a long time." Jane said sympathetically.
Cat bit her lip, still thinking about Jane's parentage to give any more answer than a nod.
The dinner bell rang in the distance, and Jane jumped a little. "I should probably get going. My bro-Percy is probably waiting on me. But we should hang out sometime. Maybe shoot some arrows." she suggested, fidgeting with a charm bracelet on her wrist. She smiled shyly, then jogged back towards the camp.
Cat smiled distractedly at her as she ran off, trying to hide her clenched jaw. Percy is my brother, she thought, more than a little hurt. He hadn't even told her about Jane...
She shook her head, reminding herself that she'd only been here for a day and she'd barely seen Percy. He probably just forgot to tell me, she reasoned. She retrieved her arrow from the pile of monster dust, frowning at the fresh hellhound blood on it. Glancing around the forest once more, she turned and followed after Jane.
Cat dropped into her seat at the Hermes table, grinning at her cabin mates, who cheered and laughed as she joined them. After seven years at camp, more than half as second in command, it would be a miracle if she wasn't at least a little popular amongst her cabin-mates. She would be head camper if she was actually a child of Hermes, but she didn't mind being second to Travis and Connor. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a girl slip out of the shadows and sit down at the Hades table, hoodie and earbuds in. Cat frowned, trying to recall her name. After a mintie, she identified the black-haired girl as Alex, Nico's new half-sister, and just as grumpy. She'd met her briefly a few days earlier, and she had gotten the distinct impression that Alex did not like her. Looking away from Alex, she glanced around the pavilion, spotting Percy and Jane sitting together at the Poseidon table. Cat turned to her best friend, Lea, waiting until she finished telling a joke that sent the whole table into fits of laughter.
"Be right back." she said, standing. Lea nodded distractedly, and started telling a highly exaggerated story that had, in Cat's opinion, been told way too many times to still get any reaction. But everyone still laughed as she told it, and Cat rolled her eyes as she made her way over to the Poseidon table. "Hey Perc," she said quietly, sitting down across from the raven-haired teenage boy. Technically, sitting at another cabin's tables was against the rules, but since siblings in different cabins were so rare, Chiron made expectations for them .
"Uh...hi?" Jane said quizzically, staring at her. Cat just smiled briefly at her and turned to Percy with a grin.
"Percy. Guess what happened earlier?" He didn't answer and she sighed, following his line of sight. "Percy!"
He laughed and turned to look at her, smiling. "Huh? Oh hi, Cat."
Cat groaned and nearly rolled her eyes. "Percy! Would you stop staring at Annabeth for a minute and pay attention? There was a hellhound in the woods, really close to the camp border."
His eyes widened and the jovial smile vanished from his face, replaced with concern. "Wait, what?! How do you know? Did it attack you? Are you okay?"
Jane cut in before Cat could answer, earning a barely concealed glare. "Yes, it did. Both of us, and we're fine."
Percy swiveled to look at Jane, and Cat gritted her teeth, trying to dispel her unprovoked annocane. She doesn't even know that Percy is your brother Cat. She's new to camp and just as lost as all new arrivals are. Show her some grace.
"Cat? Did you hear her question?" The words cut into her thoughts and pulled her attention back to the conversation. She blinked, realizing Percy and Jane were watching her expectantly.
Cat shook her head, smiling apologetically. "No, sorry. What'd you say, Jane?"
"I was just double checking that you didn't get hurt, I didn't think to check in the woods." Jane said, biting into a slice of pizza.
Cat nodded, and snatched Percy's neon blue lemonade from his hand, slurping it loudly. "No injuries, I'm good." she smiled, grabbing a strawberry off his plate as well and biting into it. She wiped her face quickly as red juice spilled down it, smiling at the annoyed look on her brother's face.
Percy's eyes narrowed, and he grabbed her arm as she reached for another strawberry, examining it. "Then why is there blood?" he asked, eyeing the scratches decorating her arm as he took his drink back.
"Huh?" Cat stared at her arm, her face scrunching as she tried to recall the brief fight in the woods. "Oh, right! I forgot about that. Don't worry, it's just a scratch." She tugged her arm out of his grip and slid her sleeve back up, flashing him a reassuring smile.
Jane looked worried, but Percy just rolled his eyes and reclined back in his seat. "So you two met each other? I haven't gotten a chance to introduce you yet." he took another drink of his lemonade, not seeming at all apologetic for forgetting to mention that he had another sister.
Cat nodded, ignoring the slight pang of hurt his causal attitude caused. "Yes, we met. Anyways, do you remember what tomorrow is?" she asked, stealing his drink again and holding it out of his reach. Jane watched them, confusion growing on her face.
Percy stared at her blankly. "Umm... maybe?" He hesitated, grabbing for his glass, but she held it just out of his reach, grinning. "Is it a holiday?"
Cat groaned, setting the glass back on the table with an exaggerated gesture . "It's my birthday, you fish-brained dummy."
Percy stopped reaching for his drink, trying to save himself. "I knew that! I was just messing with you." He smirked, seemingly proud of himself
Cat laughed. "Sure you were, brother. Whatever you say." Jane looked back and forth between them until Percy noticed and gave his sister a quizzical look.
Cat's eyes widened as she realized how bewildered Jane must be. "Oh, I'm sorry Jane, I should explain. Percy is my brother. Well not biologically, but his mom is basically my mom. My parents...weren't around, so she raised me after she found me when I was-" Cat paused, debating. "-little. Percy is my adopted brother and Sally and Paul are the only parents I've ever known." she said it all with a bright smile, hiding the pain her past still held. Besides, it wasn't the whole truth anyway. There was that whole disaster with Smelly Gabe, but Jane didn't need to know that. Or that she didn't remember eight years of her life. Or that she'd lived on the streets. Those were her secrets, and only her family knew them.
Jane nodded, but she was evidently still confused. "Uh-huh. Wait. Are we related? Kind of? How does that even work?"
Cat grimaced, her head hurting just thinking about it. "Ummmm. Yes? No? You know what...just don't stress relations on the godly side."
Percy laughed and nodded. "Yeah. It's very confusing." he snatched his drink back from his sister and slurped it loudly, smirking when she glared at him.
Cat stayed with them for the rest of dinner, laughing and enjoying the carefree night. As the campfire died down and people began to trickle back to the cabins, Jane slipped away and jogged off towards the forest.
Cat watched her go with a frown, turning a questioning gaze to her brother. "Uh, what's up with her? She shouldn't be in the forest alone. She is new, right?"
"She just does that sometimes." Percy gave an unconcerned shrug, eating the last bite of his pizza. "And yeah, she's new, she got here during the spring, and I met her a week ago when I got to camp."
"Aren't you worried about her?" Cat asked, still frowning.
He shrugged again and stood. "She said she just needs space sometimes. She's pretty fierce about it too."
"Huh...okay then." she hesitated for a moment, staring down at the table. "Hey, Percy?" she said quietly, looking up at him. He turned around and met her gaze, his sincere sea-green eyes seeming to smile all on their own. "I turn 16 tomorrow, and I just have this feeling that everything's going to fall apart." Percy's eyes grew serious, and he sat back down, listening intently.
She bit her lip, choosing not to mention the terrifying dream the feeling had stemmed from, and continued. "I mean, your 16th birthday was a huge deal, so what if mine is too?"
He considered her words for a moment, nodding slowly. "It's...possible. I mean, we're demigods, anything is possible." he laughed quietly, then grew serious again. "Dreams usually mean stuff for demigods, but they're rarely easy to interpret. All you can do is be prepared as best as you can, and trust your instincts."
She didn't speak for a moment, surprised at his words but still unsatisfied with the brief answer. "Wow, who knew you were so wise. Thanks for the advice. See you tomorrow." She smiled at him and stood, frowning slightly when he patted the top of her head..
"Sure, sis. Especially since it was two of my sisters." He smiled again, giving her a brief hug as he left.
Cat nodded, trying in vain to quench the jealousy blooming inside of her. She had never even considered the possibility of Percy having a half-sibling, especially a sister. Children of the Big Three were so rare, she hadn't thought she would have to deal with it. But now it had happened, and so suddenly. She didn't know what to do.
"See ya." She gave Percy a brief hug, then walked towards her cabin, trying to sort through her feelings.
Cat rolled over in her bed again, staring at the shadowy ceiling as she considered the day's events. She thought about Jane and Percy again, and as she mulled it over, she realized it wasn't just jealousy. There was something more. Something just beyond her reach, as if seeing the two of them together had triggered something, a memory dancing around in the back of her mind, a word on the tip of her tongue. She tried to make sense of it, but before she could, the feeling vanished, and she let out a frustrated sigh.
She'd always felt like something was missing, a reasonable side effect of her brain's refusal to recall memories of eight years of her life. This was different, though. It felt like a shadow of something that was once there, but now hidden or taken. Butterflies swirled in her stomach as she considered the possibility of finally regaining her memories. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on thoughts of Jane and Percy, trying to trigger the feeling again.
Suddenly, a searing pain shot through her head, and she cried out involuntarily, her eyes flying open.
"Quentin!" she gasped, giving a name to the shadow lurking in the depths of her mind, the feeling of a missing piece. But the pain and slight memory were gone as quickly as they had come, leaving her with only a name, and even more confused than before. She sat up in her bed, breathing heavily, desperately trying to trigger the memory again. Suddenly a hand reached out of nowhere and rested on her leg, and she jumped, meeting Lea's concerned gaze.
"Cat? Is everything okay?" the younger girl whispered, yawning.
Cat nodded, trying to smile. "Everything's fine, Lea, it was just a nightmare. Go back to bed."
Lea nodded and shuffled back across the crowded floor to her bunk, disappearing into the shadows. Cat buried her face in her pillow with a frustrated sigh, then rolled over and stared at the ceiling again. For the rest of the night she turned the name over in her mind, trying to understand, but to no avail. The feeling was gone, and she eventually fell asleep, slipping into the same ominous dream as the night before. Only one thing was different - the shadow had a name.
Credit: A massive thank you to my wonderful beta, StarOfOlympus for the help and encouragement on this entire story. I couldn't have done this without you! And another thank you to Annabeth777 for her help on this chapter, it was invaluable.
Welp, you can now release any emotions or limbs. I hope you enjoyed this little chappie! Please take a moment to drop a review to let me know what you think. Have a wonderful evening (let's be honest, we all read fanfiction at night in the dark the majority of the time,) and till next time, which will be soon as I have four more chapters done already :D