Anyway, so this ends up being a longer chapter. Five hundred more words than the last chapter. More than three times the length of the prologue.

Anyway, here we get to meet three new characters, ones that will be actual characters. We get Sloan, Trixie, and Alex. No Linda in this chapter, just a mention of her. I promise I'll put her in the next one.

Also, for those of you that are into RPing, I just revamped my Percy Jackson RP. I'll put the link at the end of the chapter. As I have completely erased everything from the original one, it hasn't started yet, but that means room for lots of characters. All gods that have children are open to be used (this included the Big Three). I highly suggest that you check it out. I would love to get it up and running.

Chapter 3

"We get arena time after the Big Three kids," Leiko explained to Addy as Cabin Four was currently collecting their preferred weapons. There were only five Big Three kids all together, two from Zeus, two from Hades, and one, the only girl among them, from Poseidon. "After the Big Three, we're kind of the strongest, because Demeter is their sister, Hera doesn't have demigod children, and Hestia is chaste. If you have the full potential of Demeter's children, you'll be amazed at how powerful you can become. That's why, when we battle in plains and fields, and even in forests, we prefer to be barefoot. It's a connection to our powers that we otherwise lose. The Arena has no grass, and we wear footgear there, but at least it's practice for when we're not in the grassy plains."

Addy nodded. So her cabinmates believed themselves to be super-powerful. She looked at the selection of weapons, and began lifting a few, trying to test them out. Of course, she had no idea what she was doing. Finally, she grabbed a dagger, similar to the one that she had held against the Empousa, not that she had ever had the chance to use it. She had instead discovered her powers just in time to save Izzy, and it had been Izzy that had stabbed the creature.

She walked over to her mother's sisters, each holding a short sword, or a thin sword, all light and easy to handle. The Big Three kids were just finishing up and Chiron hadn't arrived for the Demeter girls just yet. Apparently the Big Three kids no longer needed his guidance with sword-play.

"Your name is Addison, right?" The words came from behind Addy and her cabinmates from Demeter stared at the speaker with wide green eyes, all identical to her mother's eyes.

She slowly turned her head to see the smirking son of Ares that had knocked her off the climbing wall the day before. She really wanted to punch him on the nose, but decided against that. His arm muscle alone looked about double both hers together. "It's Addy," she said. "And you would be stalking me because...?"

He simply laughed. "You wish," he said. "But you've got spunk. I hear you've never held a celestial bronze weapon before."

Addy screwed up her mouth. "I've held one before," she mumbled.

"It doesn't count if you don't at least take one swing," the Ares boy said.

Addy spun away from him. "What do you even care?"

"If you want, I could teach you," the boy said. "But it would cost you." He walked around her, as if checking her out, until he was standing in front of her again.

"I'd rather be mauled by a Hellhound," Addy insisted with a smirk of her own. "Anyway, I've already faced down an Empousa and I did that fine without any of your help."

"I heard you took cover from anyone you could find while your sister charged it," he said with a laugh.

"Where'd you hear that?" Addy asked, frowning, threatening with the dagger she held. Okay, that was the truth more or less, but it was really the first monster that had ever attacked her.

"Miss Linda," the boy said. "She instructed me to come here to teach you." He pulled his sword from its scabbard and with a simple twist of his wrist, knocked the dagger from her hand. He tossed the sword to his left hand and held out his now free right hand to shake her now empty hand. "I'm Sloan Ryder, but call me Master."

At that, she threw the punch. He easily caught her fist, and flipped her to the ground. "I can see this is going to be a long summer for the both of us... but at least I'll enjoy some of it."

"He's not head of the Ares cabin," Trixie said to Addy as she was sitting with Izzy and one of the girls from the Hermes cabin. Trixie and Addy were painting their toenails, while Izzy just dug her feet into the grass.

Trixie was the only girl that Izzy could really stand from her cabin so far. She was pretty chill, and was the only one that had cleaned up after herself in the bathroom. Izzy knew she'd have to clean the whole thing every day, but for one hundred bucks a week, it would be worth it. It already proved to be much easier the second day than the first.

"But he is the most talented and Ares's obvious favorite here," Trixie continued. "He's got, like, three enchanted weapons and specially made armor. And, compared to his brothers, he's actually kind of cute."

"Ew, gods no," Addy shook her head. "And it's not like I want him to teach me... I think Linda just assigned him to me to annoy me all summer."

"It could be worse," Trixie said. "At least she gave you a really good teacher."

"That's true," Izzy said. She shrugged. "Maybe she's taking her job here more seriously than her hatred of us."

"I still can't believe that you two managed to stop the wedding of a daughter of Aphrodite. It must be the Hermes in you."

"Well, technically, our parents stopped it," Izzy said.

"But we did all the work leading up to it," Addy added. "And it was definitely the Hermes in us." She then proceeded to tell the story of how the twins had met, switched places, and arranged everything, Izzy adding a few details.

And Trixie, of course, loved every bit of it.

"You do realize exactly what all that was, right?" Trixie said once they were finished with their story.

"A lot of work?" Izzy questioned.

"No," Trixie said. "It was a manifestation of powers from my dad, your granddad."

"Wait, what?" Addy questioned, leaning forward. "So, I do have powers of Hermes as well?"

"It seems so," Trixie said. "A minor power or even just a knack for it, but a power nonetheless."

"Does the fact that I can name nearly every plant here count as a power of Demeter?" Izzy asked.

"I don't think so," Trixie said, shaking her head. "You don't want to move out, do you?"

"No," Izzy said. "I'm getting paid for something that I'd probably do for free. But, it doesn't seem fair that Addy gets powers from both our godly grandparents and I don't."

"Hey, you have a minute mile," Addy said, her tone of slight jealousy. "When you're going slow."

"Okay, you have a point," Izzy said. "But, still, I would love to be able to manipulate plants. I could, like, help Mother with her business."

"Your priorities are so skewed," Trixie said, rolling her blue eyes.

Izzy was pretty good with a sword, but when she was at the archery range, she quickly learned that she wasn't naturally gifted in all demigod weapons. In fact, she was the worst at the bow and arrow in her cabin. She could have sworn that she was better the year before, but maybe the fact that all the girls at that camp were rookies as well just made her look better.

"Lift your elbow," Izzy froze when she heard Sonny's voice behind her. He lightly lifted her elbow so that it was even with her hand. "It helps that arrow fly straighter." He chuckled. "And don't forget to keep breathing."

Izzy took a breath, aimed, and released the arrow. At least this time she hit the target. "Better," Sonny said.

Izzy smiled turning to him. "What are you doing here?"

"I help teach archery," he said. "When I can. Usually with the newer campers. Granted, your sister was already pretty good."

"Yeah, she was the best last year at our other camp," Izzy said, her cheeks turning red.

"You're not bad," Sonny said. "Everyone needs to start somewhere. And, believe me, I've seen some kids here who couldn't shoot an arrow more than three feet. One kid even managed to hit the person standing behind him."

Izzy giggled and blushed a little more noticing that his bright blue eyes were still on her. "How about we shoot a few more off," he said. "Just to improve upon your form, okay?"

Izzy nodded. "I'd really like that."

He pulled an arrow from his own quiver. To Izzy, it looked like any other arrow, except that it came from Sonny. She made note to remember exactly which one it was so she could retrieve it later... for practical purposes, so that she'd have a good arrow if she ever needed one, not one of the practice arrows.

She prepped again, this time feeling a little like jelly because Sonny was so close and adjusting her stance and arms and even her head. Once she was in the proper stance, in his eyes, he stood close to her, on the opposite side from where she held the bow. "Pull back," he said closely in her ear so that his breath tickled her face. "And release."

Izzy let go of the arrow, and it soared, striking the target just a few inches from the bullseye. Izzy smiled. "That was awesome!" she cheered and jumped up and down a few times. "I never shot that well before."

"That was great, Iz," Sonny said, holding his hand up for a high five. She timidly struck his hand with hers. "Let's see a few more, make sure you really have the hang of it."

"Oh Sonny!" Another girl from Cabin Eleven called. "I'm having trouble again."

Sonny sighed and looked at Izzy. "It seems that Angelia is need of help again," he said with a shrug. "But, keep working hard. I'll check on you later."

Izzy watched as he walked down to Angelia. Angelia was giggling and brushing her long blonde hair from her shoulders and it looked like she was purposely being clumsy with her bow and the arrows. And then Izzy looked at Angelia's target, which has several arrows within centimeters of the center.

Izzy slowly picked up the arrow and notched it, aimed, and then released. It was a perfect shot, soaring way over the target. The guys on either side of her snickered.

"Sonny, I think you'd better supervise this one a little more before she ends up hurting someone," another of the guys said. Izzy just looked innocent when Sonny looked in their direction.

Addy was heading toward what she was certain would be her least favorite chore at camp, though the rest of her cabin raved about it. Strawberry picking. Sure, Addy liked strawberries as much as the next person, but she doubted that she'd be too into picking them for two hours with girls who talked about plants nonstop. Even when they did gossip, it was about people Addy didn't know. Leiko always added on, "They were campers last summer," or "Unfortunately she died in a Hellhound attack in the fall. Tragic, really."

However, she suddenly felt the tip of a sword scratch the center of her back, when she was just two feet from the gate to the fields.

"You're exempt for today," a voice said. Addy immediately recognized it as Sloan Ryder, or as he wanted to be called, Master. She, of course, would not be calling him such.

"Oh, goody," Addy said, taking a step forward so his sword wasn't touching her anymore, and spun to face him. "I guess I'll just take a nap."

"Not a chance," Sloan said, grabbing her arm and he began dragging her, not toward the arena, as she expected, but toward the forge. "A knife is not your natural weapon. I figure you're more of a broad sword type of girl. So, we're getting you a sword that suits you. After all, I can only teach you so much if you have so little to work with." He glanced down at her. "Same applies to the Aphrodite girls when it comes to you."

Addy's eyes flashed and she tried to kick him. She instead missed him when he moved his leg, and then he kicked the legs out from under her within a second. She landed hard on her back again.

"Why is it that within a minute of every encounter we have," Addy said, groaning as she picked herself back up. He of course, offered no help. "I end up on the ground."

"You have to learn respect," Sloan said. "That's why." He turned her toward the forge again, and threw the doors open when they arrived.

Inside was a, well, Addy couldn't tell if it was a guy or a girl. The person had short hair, but it was styled almost like every famous lesbian that Addy could think of. As well, the person was tall and lean, but wore a thick hoodie, goggles around the neck, and a tool belt slanted at the hips, covering anything that might help her. The person was the most androgynous person she had ever seen.

"Sloan Ryder," it said. Even the voice didn't help. It could have been a feminine male's voice or a masculine girl's voice. It also sounded like it could be a boy her age, just before the it began to crack and change. "How can I help you today? And who did you bring."

The person regarded Addy in a way that was judging someone up. Not like she may be competition romantically in any way or a possible person to be romantic with. Addy almost felt like she was being looked at the way one looks at a dog while judging for a dog show.

"This is Addy Stoll," Sloan said. "I'm sure you've heard about the twins."

"Ah, yes, I had the pleasure of meeting Izzy at the arena the other day," the person said. "Good with a sword." The person smiled at Addy. "I'm Alex, but the way."

Addy smiled and shook the offered hand, which was covered in a huge glove. And Alex worked for either male or female.

"Is Alex short for something?" Addy asked, releasing the hand. She hoped that a full name of maybe Alexander or Alexis or Alexia or Alexandra would help.

"No, just Alex," the person said.

"Anyway, we're here to see if we can't find her a proper weapon," Sloan said. "So, we were hoping that there might be some spares here to see if any just seem to call her name."

"You know, I'm good with a bow," Addy said. "Sonny said that I could almost be a child of Apollo."

Sloan's eyes darkened, and almost seemed to burn for a moment. Alex also huffed. Addy quickly got the impression that she had said something wrong.

"Yes, well, if Sonny decreed it..." Alex said, pulling off the goggles. No Adam's apple. Alex then pulled off the gloves, revealing smaller hands than Addy had expected and chipped purple nail polish.

"I'm guessing that you two aren't fans of Sonny," Addy said. She turned to Alex. "Bad break-up?"

"Oh, no, you need to be together to break up," Alex said. Definitely a she. "No, he just used be and bruised me. Had me update his bow and arrows, and then was off with Char or Leiko, or whoever he was into that day.

"Leiko?" Addy asked. "Is she another one of his friends with benefits?" She wouldn't be surprised. Leiko was actually doing okay at archery until Sonny had shown up to help. Suddenly the whole time he was supposed to be teaching Addy he spent with Leiko. And they had been awfully flirty.

Sloan, who had not spoken, just frowned. "I don't want you spending time pretending that archery is your friend. It's a weak form of offense."

Addy blinked. "Okay, how about I get a new archery tutor. He'll probably just say that I don't need much work... maybe give me a pointer or two." Sloan huffed, but nodded.

"I, for one, think archery can be useful," Alex said. She opened a cabinet and pulled out a quiver. She then stocked it with arrows, nicer than the practice arrows, but otherwise nothing special.

"I still think she needs a sword," Sloan said.

"Calm yourself down, grumpy pants," Addy said. Sloan growled and stomped out. He said before slamming the door behind him, "And don't come back out until you've found a real sword, not a pin."

"Wow," Alex said. "What did you do to get under his skin? I mean, I know he doesn't like Sonny, but it's not like you're fawning over him..."

"That boy scout?" Addy asked. "So not my type. Too... peppy."

Alex laughed lightly. A female laugh definitely. "If I had called him a grumpy pants, he'd have just call me Vanilla Swirl or something."

Addy looked at Alex for a moment. "Are you two..."

"What, oh no," Alex shook her head. "He's like a brother to me. We have a working relationship where I make weapons, and then he teaches me how to use them... and then I make him one for himself. He has the most weapons of anyone here. The ones I've given him, and the ones his father bestows on him."

"But, you want there to be something more," Addy said, smirking.

"Um, not unless he shrank three inches, grew his hair longer and bleached it white blonde, got green eyes, and began wearing tight red pants," Alex said.

"Wait, that's Orion... Zeus's kid," Addy said slowly.

Alex's cheeks flamed. "Yeah, I know," she said. "I always fall for guys out of my reach."

"Oh, girl, he is so not out of your reach," Addy said. "You just have to get out there and get him to notice you."

"How do I do that?" Alex asked. She stepped closer to Addy, her eyes swirling with hope.

"Well, first, we might need to do some recon and find out what kind of girls he's into," Addy said. "And that is where your friendship with Sloan is going to come in handy."

Once again, my RP is just opening. Here's the site.

forum/Another-Camp-Half-Blood-RP/99012/

I'm sure you know the drill, replace and actual period, as will end this sentence.

Also, review, review, review. Constructive criticism. So, how about your first impressions on Sloan, Trixie, and Alex.