Thank you, Addalittlesmoke for the suggestion!
Jennifer was skipping along the dirt road, her feet kicking up rocks and dirt. The brittle grass, dead from the winter season, stretched on for miles. The sun was setting, casting harsh shadows over the earth.
Ellie giggled from farther down the path, blond hair reaching past her elbows. The sound made Jennifer stop, looking at the girl. Her brown dress brushed her bare feet. "Come on, slow pokes!" The three year old yelled happily.
Seven year old Jamie teased his sister. "Yeah, come on JJ! You're so slow!"
"I'm faster than you!" She stuck her tongue out at him, taking off down the road to continue her skipping. Determined, the older boy started to run after her.
Jennifer, still only five years old, managed to get to the tall pine tree at the edge of the border before she leaned against the tree out of breath. Looking down on the camp, she grinned and waved at Chiron who was waiting for them on the porch of Camp Half-Blood.
Jamie, breathing just as hard as Jennifer, came up behind her with Ellie piggybacking, huge grin on her face. "Again!" She cheered. "Again!"
"Ten... minutes..." He said between breaths, crouching down to let her off his back. "And then... we can... go practice."
She giggled, glancing up at the sun to wave for a second before climbing up the tree, sitting on one of the stronger branches as her legs dangled down.
"Hey," A newer voice called. "Don't tell me you guys forgot about me!"
"Uncle Leo!" Jennifer grinned, standing up below the branch Ellie decided to sit on to hug him.
"Hey, Uncle Leo!" Ellie's voice called from above Jennifer. "Hey, Jennie, catch me!" She giggled again before sliding off the rough bark coating the tree, leaves already in her hair as she landed in her sister's outstretched arms.Tumbling to the floor, covered in golden leaves, she grinned up at Leo Valdez. "Uncle Leo!" She squealed.
"The one and only!" He smiled, closing the siblings into a hug. "How's my favorite trio doing?"
"Now I'm offended." Piper McLean said, a grin stretched across her face. "What happened to us being the best trio?" She popped a strawberry into her mouth, eyebrows raised.
Leo's grin faltered for a moment. Then he shook his head, pushing a lock of hair behind his ear. "Yet, here these three are. Speaking of, where are Mr and Mrs Jackson-Chase?" He looked at the three kids curiously.
"Mom and Dad sent us hear because Chiron offered to babysit. I guess Dad's birthday means something to a lot of people? Me and Ellie were gonna go practice."
Piper nearly choked on her strawberries. "You're going to give a three year old a sword?"
"Yes." Jennifer answered, pointing at the vibrating three year old who was jumping up and down. "Give her a sword, and she could most likely beat even you guys."
"Well, I don't know about me, but she could probably beat Repair Boy." The daughter of Aphrodite agreed, still wary about giving a three year old a sword.
"Hey!"
"Yeah, well, suck it up and-"
"Jennifer." Sammy said as he shook the girl awake. "Jennifer, it's time to wake up."
Jennifer opened her eyes, blink the sleep out of them as she met the golden eyes staring at her. A blush spread across her face as she sat up and brushed the hair out of her face.
"Sorry," She mumbled. "I guess I slept in."
Lee stood up. "None of that. You needed sleep. Now come on, we've got a long way till New York."
"Don't remind me." Emily groaned, throwing her purple backpack over her shoulder.
Jennifer grinned. "Too late. Now, come on. Say good bye to your home. It is, honestly, pretty good. Blocks the wind, has plenty of escape routs..." She trailed off, rummaging in her own backpack for a pair of socks and a jacket.
"Anyway," She said. "Dress warm. It's gonna rain."
"Wait, how the hell do you know that?"
"Cause I have skills, Sammy. So do you, so does Lee, so does your sister."
"Whatever, Smartwater."
Lee laughed, earning a death glare from Jennifer. He shouldered his bag, a deep green, and pushed his brown hair behind his ears. "Ooh, wait. One question. Can you two turn into horses? 'Cause that would make this thing go way faster."
Emily and Sammy turned to glare at the son of Nico and Will. "No, we can not." Sammy hissed. Jennifer handed Emily a sweatshirt, noticing how Sammy already wore three shirts, despite their sister only wearing one.
"We gonna leave already?" Lee whined. "I don't like this cave. Brings back bad memories."
"Yeah, yeah. Lets go." Jennifer motioned for them to follow her.
I could've kept going with this chapter, but I guess this is a good place to stop. I was going to have them find an animal in this chapter, and have them find a certain flower that will be important to the plot, but if I tried to fit all that in it would be twice as long and not as good. I'm rambling, though, aren't I? Anyway, have a good day/night, and please stay safe.