I want to thank Addalittlesmoke for reviewing all my chapters so far. It is honestly my motivation to keep writing this story. And yeah, it is. :)
"Really?" Lee asked. Jennifer nodded, honestly a little amused that he was so interested. They were talking about siblings and how it was like growing up at Camp Half-blood.
"Yeah, and they have a massive bonfire like seven times larger than this one," She said, gesturing to the small fire in front of them. Flames licked up to the sky, roasting a small bird they had managed to catch.
"Cool! And they have like so many cabins, right, for all the different gods?"
"Yeah, they even made one for us legacy guys!" Jennifer smiled brightly, imagining her home. "It had so many bunk beds, all of the cabins, and once the Hephaestus cabin exploded!" Lee laughed as she mimicked an explosion.
"It was so cool!" She continued as Lee's laughter died down. "You could see it from the lake! I was talking to some water spirits, I was, I dunno, four maybe, and I was trying to find a squirrel I had named Mirror. So, then, suddenly I hear an explosion and people were running out of the cabin, literally smoking. Then, at dinner, Chiron announced that we would be playing capture the flag, Demigods versus Legacies."
"Did you win?"
"Of course, Solace. You mistake me for a looser?"
"I mistake you for a kid who can spell."
Jennifer snorted in amusement. "What'd you expect? I have dyslexia. D-i-s, wait no- D-y-s-l-e-c-k-s-i-a! There ya go! Boom! Spelt it."
"Uh... No. D-y-s-l-e-x-i-a. That's how you spell it."
"Look, a butterfly. I haven't seen one since the sky went red..."
"That's a dead bird."
"Same thing."
"Jen, are you mentally okay?"
"Are you," She asked, picking apart the bird and handing half of it to Lee.
He shrugged, taking a bite as clouds rolled in. "We should make a shelter. Looks like it might rain."
As the girl offered to do it she shoved the bird into her mouth. Grabbing a big log easily as tall as her she stacked another one against it and pulled a water resistant sheet over it. "Done!" She announced.
"How did you... You know what? I'm not even going to ask."
Jennifer gestured for him to sit under the small shelter. Gently she picked up a flaming log and pulled it over in front of it, just outside the space. Making sure that the dusty ground wasn't immediately going to set on fire, then repeated it so the fire was close enough to keep them warm and able to see.
"I'll take first watch. You try to sleep."
"I'm fine, you're tired, I'll take first watch."
Jen raised her eyebrows. "Solace, I swear, if you use the 'I'm older than you' or 'I'm a boy' excuse I will personally fire your scrawny a-"
"Fire me? I'm twelve, I don't have a job."
"Of course. Do not underestimate me, Di Angelo."
"Again, how do you know that name, Smartwater."
"And again, a girl never reveals her secrets."
"Yet I had six sisters and they always tried to one-up me by telling me their secrets. Come on, please Jen?"
"Six sisters? Wow, and I thought one was bad. Don't get me wrong, I loved her, but..."
"What was your siblings names?"
"My older brother was Jamie, my younger sister was Ellie."
"Yeah, so let's see... Julie was three, Billy was four, John and Joan were twins at six, James was eight along with Lily and Emily, Nate and Natalie were siblings at nine and ten, and Jake was eleven."
Jennifer whistled. "Large family."
"Yeah. A giant house up in Texas, my fathers were going to adopt another baby. I think her name was June."
"I was almost named June."
"How... How is that relevant?"
"My name is Jennifer, I could have been named June. And Bubbles. When I was two I blew up the bathroom... my dad campaigned to name me Bubbles. Nearly all of his friends were going to help him rename me Bubbles but then Mom came home... she nearly tore Dad's head off."
"That... Can I call you Bubbles? Please?"
"No! I am not a bubble, I am a kid who can blow up bathrooms! Fear me!" Lee bent over laughing, Jennifer 'Bubbles' Jackson-Chase soon laughing almost as hard as him as her poker face crumbled.
"That...Was...Awesome..." He gasped out between breaths.
"Mrs. Bubbles will always be scary!" She screeched. "Fear me, or parish!"
Fear Mrs. Bubbles.