3. I Meet A Boy Named Saben

Raven's POV

The girl named Lou Ellen gave me a full out tour of the camp. She explained to me (in a much better way than Piper, might I add) about the whole 'demigod' business crap.

My satanic half poultry women attack made a lot more sense now that I got the full gist of it. Apparently, my dad had a relationship with a goddess who we don't know yet, got her knocked up (hee hee), and I was born!

Tada!

And because I'm half god (that part is still a little hard to process), I have a scent that smells good to monsters. Lou Ellen asked me what my favorite food was (my father's salmon, duh) and had me imagine having plates of my dads salmon everywhere.

Wouldn't I want to go and get that salmon?

Wouldn't I want to go eat it?

Of course.

So that's what it's like for monsters and demigods.

She also explained the two wars that most of these people have been through these past two years. She explained how there used to be only 12 cabins, but after the Second Titan War (or something like that), this fellow named Percy Jackson (who just so happened to be Annabeth Chase's boyfriend) made the gods promise to pay attention to their kids.

Lou Ellen said that Percy was the only reason why over half of these demigods were here.

I nodded and we came round to the cabins area.

There were 20 of them, and they were, by far, the most bizarre and unique collection of summer camp cabins I've ever seen in my life.

One of them was like a mini factory, complete with the smokestacks. Another one of them was pure gold. Another was silver. Yet another one looked pretty old and normal. Another looked like a Barbie dollhouse (I bet you 100 bucks… oh wait… drachmas that's the one Piper lives in). And yet another one looked like a bank.

Lou Ellen explained how the children of a certain god lived in a cabin for that god.

Like the kids of Apollo lived in the Apollo cabin.

It's really simple, really.

Finally, we came to a cabin made of stone. Weird glowing writing was etched all over the rocks. Two old fashioned reed torches were crossed over the doorway.

Lou Ellen turned to me and I noticed her purple eyes shined with pride. "This is Cabin 20, for the children of Hecate."

I nodded. "I'm assuming you're a daughter of Hecate?"

Lou Ellen smirked. "Obviously. In my opinion, I think that The kids of Hecate are the best. Who cares about Athena or Ares or Poseidon or Hephaestus or Apollo (don't tell Annabeth, Percy, Nyssa, Will, or gods forbid Clarisse I said that by the way)? Can any of them generate cold? Or manipulate the Mist? Or turn others to animals? Or summon fire? Or cast spells to become physically better at fighting? No. But us kids of Hecate? You got it. Magic is amazing."

I smiled as her pride grew and grew through her speech. "That sounds super cool. Can I see inside?"

Lou Ellen nodded, her expression morphed into something of seriousness. "Of course, but be careful. If any of these stones falls or drops, anyone within a half mile radius will turn into a tree for 2 hours. And there're some enchantments, so only children of Hecate can come in."

"Okey dokey,"

Lou Ellen walked up to the silver door that had the weird writing all over it that seemed to drift over material. She pressed her hand to a stone slab to the right of the door and muttered something under her breath. A dark purple light outlined her hand and scanned her palm. I heard a faint hum and a few locks unlocking with the sound of clicks and soft clangs.

Lou Ellen stepped away and placed the same hand on my forehead. She chanted, "I grant you, Raven Dahlia Rose, permission to enter the Cabin of Hecate, No. 20, at Camp Half Blood,"

I blushed at the sound of my middle name. When she pulled away I scared at her. "How did you know my middle name?"

Lou Ellen laughed. "I specialize in memories and the Mist, most children of Hecate do, as our mother is the goddess of it. Anyways, I didn't really have to place my hand on your forehead. I just wanted to know your full name. So when I put my hand there, I extracted one of your most faintest memories that involved your middle name, and voila."

I nodded. "Well, let's go inside, shall we?"

"We shall,"

xxxXXXxxxXXXxxx

The inside was not what I expected it to be. I thought the inside would resemble a medieval castle or something, with stone walls, ceilings, and floors, and torches placed at intervals for light and dark shadows casting into the corners.

Instead, I was greeted with a library/study setting.

The floors were a soft dark wooden paneling, with dark purple, soft gold, and blood red tasseled rugs lying under plush black suede couches.

Multiple overflowing bookshelves were placed around the room, and a grand staircase with a burgundy carpet runner lead up to an unknown floor upstairs.

The sound of crackling fire, like in a fireplace, echoed into my ears, though I didn't see a fireplace.

Several doors were along the east and west walls, which I assumed were the bedrooms/bathrooms.

A girl with black hair and emerald green eyes like mine was seated cross legged on a couch, reading a gigantic book. Her hair was pulled back in the messiest top knot I've ever seen and her tongue was poking out of the corner of her mouth. She was tapping a pencil to her knee and mouth and occasionally she would scribble something down on a page before turning to another sheet.

Despite it being warm outdoors, it was warm and cozy in here. Must've been the invisible fireplace.

The girl looked up and smiled. She obviously recognized Lou Ellen. She sent me a warm glance.

"Hey there, Lou. Who's this?" She questioned, her head slightly tilting to the left.

Lou Ellen grinned and turned to me. "Raven, this is Cassie Simmons," She turned to Cassie, "And Cassie, this is Raven Rose, a new camper. I'm showing her around."

Cassie nodded. "That's cool. I hope you like it here, Raven. Most of the people are awesome, just stay clear of a few Aphrodite chicks, like Drew Tanaka, the Asian version of Regina George."

I snorted with laughter. "Thanks,"

Cassie bit her lip and her green eyes sparkled with mischief. She shrugged, "Anytime. I love your accent by the way,"

Then she turned back to her book.

Lou Ellen pulled me out of the cabin just then.

"That cabin is amazing."

She laughed. "Yeah, it is, isn't it?" She glanced at the sinking sun and turned to me. "Look, it's almost dinner time. I have to drop you off at Cabin 11, you'll be staying there until you're claimed, which shouldn't take very long."

I nodded. "Thanks for the tour, Lou Ellen. See you later," I waved her goodbye.

She waved her hand in salute and started to walk off. Then she stopped mid step and spun around. "Are you sure you don't want me to drop you off?"

I nodded and waved her off. "I'll be fine, Lou. Thanks for everything."

She gave me a soft smile. "No problem, Raven. See you."

"See you."

Then she darted back to her cabin and disappeared inside its coziness.

I wandered back to Cabin 11. Thankfully, no one talked to me. I thought over what Lou Ellen had told me.

It was a lot to process, that's for sure, but it also made loads of sense.

It explained everything weird I've seen over the years, everything that I've done that shouldn't have been possible. Things that didn't make any sense, but made sense now.

I was so lost in my own thoughts that I didn't realize that the signal for dinnertime had sounded and everyone was lining up to march into the mess hall.

"Hey, New Girl? Are you alive?" A voice dripping with amusement and sarcasm (how that was even bloody possible was beyond me) brought me back to reality.

I looked up from my spot on my newly claimed bunk to see two pairs of bright blue eyes and mops of shaggy brown hair staring back at me.

The eyes and mops leaned back, revealing two identical boys with sharp eyebrows and upturned noses. My eyes narrowed suspicion as my hand immediately flew to my back pocket where my wallet was resting.

When they were fully extended, I saw that one of the boys was slightly taller than the other. I assumed that he was the older one of the duo.

"What do you want?" I snapped, annoyed.

The taller one placed a hand upon his heart, raised his eyebrows, dropped his jaw, and feigned hurt. "My, my, getting hostile are we?"

The shorter one shook his head in mock disappointment and tsked. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. We come to alert her that dinner ahs started and she snaps like a twig. Such manners,"

"Rightly said, Connor." Said the taller one.

"Why thank you, Travis." Connor responded.

I took a deep breath. "Alright, I'm coming. Just leave me alone, Jesus bloody Christ."

The boys shrugged, winked at me mischievously, and walked away. I stalked up to the back of the line and trudged my way to dinner.

xxxXXXxxxXXXxxx

I'll spare you the boring details of dinner time. All you need to know is that it was full of campers, satyrs, half tree things, an alcoholic fat man, and food.

All through camp fire, I patiently waited for my mother to claim me.

I noticed the glances out of the corners of the eyes that the campers were sending me; or rather, the space above my head.

It never came.

It never happened.

I left camp fire with a heavy heart, something that I haven't felt in a year and a half.

xxxXXXxxxXXXxxx

I tossed and turned on my bunk. Around me, the children of Hermes were snoring; some softly, some loudly, some blaring, and some barely audible.

Outside, the full moon cast a beam of silver light across the wooden floors.

I continued to toss and turn, getting hotter and hotter.

Eventually, I couldn't take it anymore and I got up. My bed creaked and I stopped dead as Travis snorted and rolled over. His snores resumed and my heart continued to beat.

I slowly got out of bed and pulled on a pair of sweats that Lou Ellen had lent me earlier. I laced up my combat boots, slipped on my hoodie, and left the cabin.

I ignored the tug at the back of my brain, reminding me of Lou's warning about the cleaning harpies. But what demonic chicken lady would be scouring the camp for rebel children at 4 in the morning?

A few dry leaves crunched soundlessly under my boots as I walked down to the beach.

I eventually found my way down to the shore line and was surprised to find another person there.

The full moon sat what seemed like a few inches over the horizon of the Atlantic ocean and cast a big reflection of the barely moving, glistening water.

The silhouette of the camper was just sitting there. It moved it's arm and picked up a smooth rock before it chucked the stone out into the water.

The rock landed with a perklunk and a few bubbles rose to the surface. The silhouette's form shook with chuckles.

I finally decided to go up to it. I plopped down beside it and stared out to the water.

The silhouette turned out to be a boy, though his features were hard to see in the shadows of the moonlight. He seemed startled to see me.

I hid a smirk and continued to stare out at the ocean. The boy finally decided to turn away.

"Can't sleep?" He asked. His voice was deep.

I shook my head. "Of course not. Too many things to process. Today was my first day here."

He nodded. "Oh, so you're Raven Rose?"

I cast him a questioning look? "How do you know my name?"

He laughed a little. "Everyone's heard of what happened between you and Piper at Thalia's Pine earlier."

I was relieved that it was dark so he wouldn't see my deep blush. I sighed. "I wonder what my dad is doing right now." I questioned aloud.

The boy cast me a sideways glance. "You like your dad?"

I nodded. "Why wouldn't I?"

The boy shrugged. "Not a lot of people here gave good parents. Like Annabeth, for example."

I shrugged also. "I love my dad. He's one of the best things that's ever happened to me. We're really close… It's sort of sad that I'll never see him again."

The boy hid a sympathetic smile, which I was grateful for. I despised pity.

"You can leave here during the school year. Most of us do. Only a few campers stay year round, 'cause it's too dangerous for them on the outside world."

I stayed silent, not knowing how to answer that. I was confused to why I was so open to this guy. I didn't even know his name.

I opened my mouth to speak. "What's your name?" I questioned.

The boy smiled. "Saben, Saben James. I'm the Gamma of Cabin 9."

"Cabin 9?"

"Hephaestus." He answered.

I nodded. "Of course. The cabin that looks like a factory, right?"

He nodded proudly. "That's us. The best of the best."

Funny, everyone here seems to think that their cabin is the best. Except for maybe Hypnos…

I turned to look at him fully. As we were talking, Saben had shifted so I could actually define his features.

He had thick and curly dark brown hair. The moonlight hit his eyes, and I saw they were a dark hazel brown. His skin was like chocolate.

And Saben was very good looking.

I finally noticed that he was dressed in sweat pants and a sweatshirt, but his feet were bare. They dug into the sand, dusting the soles.

He studied me, and I noticed a little ripple in the right hand corner of his right eye. The ripple was a light gold color.

"It's a beautiful night, isn't it?" He finally spoke.

I almost snorted. "Beautifully freezing. I doubt it's supposed to be this cold in September."

Saben chuckled. "That's autumn weather for you."

I nodded in agreement. I opened my mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a squawk of delight.

Turns out, many harpies would be out at 4 A.M. scouring the camp for rebel children.

There were only two of them, but I had more than my fair share of chicken ladies for today. So I did the only thing sensible.

I quickly waved Saben good bye and tore off towards Cabin 11.

I think Saben did the same, because when I looked over, I saw his foot disappear behind the door. I grinned a little and crossed the threshold.

When I sank down beneath my covers, I sighed in content. I was actually tired now.

I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

And that was my first day at Camp Half Blood.

Author's Note:

I think this is my favorite chapter (so far)! Thanks for reading this, lovelies!

I love you all for the reviews, favorites, PMs, and follows. You guys mean so much!

Thanks for reading again!

XOXO,

JeynaxPercabeth