Author's Note:

Happy Halloween everyone! I don't celebrate it, but still, some of you guys probably do. Anyway, some of you may enjoy this chapter, in that you may have been waiting... I've already said too much...

Chapter 17

Just to Let You Know…

"This is our arena." Thalia announced. "I think the proper name is the Amphitheatre, but that's not really important. Here, we practise fight with our weapons, have combat lessons… some campers like to spar in their free time too."

Percy frowned. "You guys have a hot tub in your combat arena?"

"….."

"…What? You said people-"

"Spar is a fancy word for practise fight."

He turned a little red. "Ah. I… did not know that."

The more you know, huh?

Percy looked around the place, taking in the details. The ground was near bare, having almost no grass, and a few snow patches here and there. The steps where spectators would likely sit were a story high, and almost went around the entire arena. There was a wide gap at one end were people came and went.

Like most buildings here, but not all, it was mostly made of stone. There were a few steel torch sconces around the place as well, all of them lit.

"So, you feel ready for a little practise?" Thalia asked.

"I still just got here, I don't know…"

"Trust me, you put something off, you'll never get it done. Might as well jump straight in. You'll get into the swing of things sooner rather than later."

"… Fine. So, what weapons do we choose from?"

"You could take your pick from the camp armoury, but the knife you were given will suit you just fine."

Percy drew I̱miséli̱nos from his pocket. "You sure about that? How could you know what my fighting style might be? "

"Because I know you Percy."

"… you do know we met less than a week ago?"

"Just trust me. Now, you attack, show me your form, and I'll defend."

Thalia took out her mace canister and it became the same spear she'd been using on the quest, and held it horizontally. She didn't take out her shield.

"Okay then, okay…"

Percy got into a rough approximation of what he thought a good stance might be. He stood side on, left foot first and left hand forward, I̱miséli̱nos in his right hand. He slowly closed the distance between him and Thalia.

Percy brought his right side forward, swinging the knife as he did so. Thalia turned the spear in her hands and easily deflected the blow to one side. His own momentum was turned against him, and he found himself with his back to her.

Not a good move.

He felt a sudden impact against his back, and went sprawling forward into the dirt and snow.

"Not a bad stance you had there," Thalia said. "But with a knife surprise is your greatest ally. Don't go for wide swings. Go for the quick stabs."

Percy picked himself up of the ground, groaning. "Did you just kick me in the back?"

"Of course. How can you improve if you don't get your ass handed to you once in a while?"

"I think I might need a walking stick."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

Percy turned back to Thalia. "You said… you know me? Exactly what did you mean?"

Thalia held her spear in the same stance again. "I'll talk later. But for now… you'll need more practise, and we've only got a year to get you ready."

"So… again?"

Thalia smiled. "Again."

Percy fell into the snow and dirt for what felt like the hundredth time. He as pretty much acing all over. His arms felt like stone, and he couldn't feel his legs.

Every time Thalia sent him sprawling she gave another piece of advice, and Percy did his best to follow it, whatever it was. Though he still failed to land a decent hit against her.

He wasn't sure why, but for that he was annoyed with himself, yet thankful at the same time.

Percy managed to roll over onto his back, watching the sky, panting.

Thalia was suddenly there, standing over him. "I'm not going to lie, this may take a while."

Percy groaned.

"You're probably going to get knocked down a lot."

Percy groaned some more.

"But eventually, there is a possibility of you… being good at this.

Percy kept on groaning.

Thalia extended a hand to him. Percy took it and she helped him get up.

"Don't worry, it's around ten minutes until dinner. You'll feel better after that."

Percy walked over to the stone steps, and slumped down on a seat. Thalia joined him.

After a few minutes, Percy finally regained his breath, and ability to speak coherently. "Okay, again, you said 'I know you Percy'… can you tell me what you meant?"

Thalia sighed. "Well… you know how the other didn't pick up on your…"

"Homelessness? It's okay, you can say it. I'm past the point of being offended."

"Yeah, that. Well, that's because I… recognized something in you that I know others may have recognized in me."

Percy frowned. "I'm not entirely sure I understand…"

"I went through what you went through Percy… I lived on the streets too. For me it was three years. I ran away from my home at the age of nine."

If ever there was time Percy was at a loss for words, now would be a likely candidate. That and the time he discovered the whole mythical subculture too.

"You… I… you went through-"

"The same thing you did, yes. I learned to steal… pickpocket… hotwire cars… picklocks, everything you did."

"Actually, I only learned two of those things."

"My point still stands. I don't trust many people Percy…"

Thalia looked straight at Percy, with an intense looked of seriousness, and a little bit of… melancholy? It was at this moment, Percy realised she had more sadness in her then she let on. Though Percy felt like there was a hint of hope in her electric-blue eyes as well, and that gave him hope too.

"… but, I feel like I can trust you."

Percy wasn't sure what he should've been feeling at that moment.

"I… I…"

Then, they heard the sound of horn blaring into the air, not too far off.

Thalia stood up. "Let's go. That'll be the dinner horn."

They walked through the camp in silence at first, which was kind of fine by Percy. It gave him a few moments to think on what just happened.

It seemed very… sudden. Percy hadn't been expecting anything like that at all. Because they'd got along rather well, he had expected to share some common ground with Thalia. He just didn't expect it to be what it did.

Along the walk, Percy saw a fairly large group of girls wearing the same silvery clothes Bianca was wearing.

"They would be the Hunters I assume?" Percy asked.

"Yeah. They'll be here until Bianca gets back. They'll be leaving after that." Thalia frowned. "Hold on, that reminds me… damn it, forgot about Nico."

"Bianca's brother, right?"

"Yeah. Whenever we see him…" Thalia trailed off.

Percy followed her gaze, towards a rather hyper looking small boy with dark hair, dark eyes and olive skin.

He ran straight up to them, grinning. "Hey! You guys are back…" He looked at Percy and frowned. "Who are you? Are you another demigod? They said you guys came back with an extra camper. Do you have any powers?"

Percy blinked. "Uhhhh…"

"Hey, where's my sister?"

Thalia stepped forward. "Bianca is… fine Nico, but she's still at Olympus. She'll be back in the next few days."

Nico frowned. "Why is she still there?"

"She's, uh… recovering. It was a long and hard quest, and she needs to… rest for a bit.

Nico seemed to relax just a little. "Well, okay then. She'll be back soon right?"

"Yes, she will. Just be patient Nico."

Then, Nico turned and ran in the opposite direction, presumably towards the food.

"Well, he was… energetic."

"Yeah. He was very excited about the whole demigod thing, unlike most campers. Still is by the looks of it."

Percy knew from the quest that being a demigod and having superpowers wasn't as glamorous as it sounded, so he didn't need to ask.

They came into this little pavilion area, with a whole lot of picnic areas around the place. There were torches blazing around the marble columns that boarded the area. A rather large central brazier burned high and bright.

But, then he saw Chiron. Except he was no longer in his wheelchair. The bottom half of his body became a horse at some point. Percy wasn't quite sure how that worked.

"Well, I've got my own table to sit at," Thalia said. "So we'll talk later, ok?"

"Yeah, sure."

Percy turned toward Chiron to see him motioning to him, beckoning for him to come closer. He walked over to the horse-man.

"Uh, where am I supposed to sit again?" Percy asked him.

"You'll be sitting with the other Camp Director, Mr. D his two sons, and the satyrs. I'll be standing right here."

Percy looked to the table he gestured too. The man sitting there was small porky, had curly black hair, was wearing Hawaiian print shirt, and was undoubtedly a god. He gave off and aura, like all the other gods had. This one… when he felt it, he could've sworn he smelled alcohol.

The god of alcoholism then?

Not only that, he recognized him from Olympus. He was one of the gods who'd been sitting the twelve big thrones. Percy was pretty sure he was one of the gods who didn't vote for him to come to the camp.

Percy sat down hesitantly.

"Hey man, what do you think of camp so far?"

Thanks when he noticed Grover sitting next to him. Percy was inwardly relieved. He wouldn't have to sit with just a bunch of random people he didn't know each night.

"Oh, hey man. It's been pretty good so far. I took a nap. In an actual bed. It was great. But… I'm going to let the food be the final verdict. I'll probably eat whatever's in front of me though. Just saying."

"Ha. Yeah, they've got good food here, don't worry."

The table they were sitting at offered a pretty good view of the rest of tables. There were one or two tables that were empty. The Hunters smiled a little bit here and there, but for the most part they seemed rather down. Annabeth was sitting with people who had the exact same hair and eyes she had. Blonde and stormy grey.

The big mean girl, Clarisse, was sitting with a few equally mean looking kids, though they were laughing and joking with each other. The biggest table had people who were equally happy looking, and just plain sad.

There probably around forty campers in all.

Then, there was Thalia who had an entire table to herself. Except she seemed rather miserable about it. Everyone else had someone to talk to, but she was alone.

Chiron stamped his… hooves. Everyone in the pavilion fell silent. "Before we begin, there are a few announcements to make," He announced. "Hunters. Bianca is still up at Olympus, seeking medical attention. In a few short days, she will return, and you may be off to your travelling again. You are free to stay however long you wish, as always. As you already know… your lieutenant has fallen. Lady Artemis will select a new leader in due time."

"Campers. The quest was a success. The goddess has been rescued, and Annabeth is back safe and sound. And, for the first time, a quest has returned with a new camper. Everyone, this is Perseus. He joined the quest as they were passing through New York, and has comeback with them. That is all for now, dinner will be served shortly."

The eyes of every single camper gazed right at him. Having this much attention at once always made Percy feel a little paranoid.

Though Chiron finished his announcements, a lot of campers were still looking at him.

"Uhhhh…"

Let's hope most of them are friendly.