I awoke to a gentle shaking of my shoulders. I groaned, and swatted the hands away not as gently as they were treating me. I opened one of my eyes, looking at the hands that had been shaking me. I followed the arms up to a pretty girl with brown eyes and black hair. She had thousands of freckles all over her face, shoulders and arms. Something that I found a bit charming, but I didn't voice it. Instead I just stared at her until she blushed and backed up. That's when I realized I was still in the van.
I sat up straighter and grabbed my bag before getting out of the van, and looked up at the hill that we were parked at. It was sort of steep but sort of not. At the top of the hill was a giant pine tree that had what looked like a golden sheet hanging in the lowest branches. Around the trunk of the tree was a purple hued dragon which stared down at me as if daring me to try and take the sheet. I raised an eyebrow. At this point, a dragon wasn't that far off from what I've faced.
I snorted and shouldered my knapsack, looking at the girl. "Hi." I greeted as I closed the van door. I watched as Rex drove to park the van some where. That's when I realized that Gage and Chiron weren't around. They must've went to the camp. And according to Rex's description of the place, the camp was right over that hill with the menacing dragon.
"Hi!" The girl smiled a little, wringing her hands some. She seemed nervous, yet excited to show me..something. Perhaps the camp. She was dressed in jean shorts, a bright orange shirt that said Camp Half-Blood, and black flip-flops. Around her neck was a leather necklace with three beads on it. Each bead had a different mark on it. She smiled a bit. "Oh, er, my name is Chole Carmichael." Her smile was a little too wide, and I quickly realized that Chiron or Gage must've told her what happened. I narrowed my eyes.
"Mitchell Hower." I replied, going to walk up the hill. She quickly followed, realizing she had made her pity a little too obvious. She blabbered on about her apologies. Finally I stopped and looked at her.
"It's fine. What cabin are you in? And what's with the necklace?" I asked, desperate for a different topic than my sister and this girl's pity. Her smile came back, but this it was more real. I liked it. We continued on as she answered.
"Demeter is my mother. She's the Goddess of Harvest, the Seasons, and she's basically Mother Earth. And the necklace is just to mark how long you've been here. I've been here every summer...every year, really."
"Thanks, then, for food. And that's pretty cool." I told her and she giggled as we breached the crest of the hill. That's when I got a very good look of the entire camp. It sort of surprised me, even though Rex had told me all about it. I glanced over the entire camp, sighing heavily, before looking at her. She had been watching me, and when I looked at her, she jumped and blushed, looking away.
"Oh, uh, Chiron told me to show you around. We can go to the store and get you some clothes so we can wash those...and you can take a shower. Then we can do a tour?" She offered. I smiled weakly, thankful that she offered the shower first.
"That sounds...wonderful." I breathed. She grinned and led me down to the showers. There I got out all of my clothes from my bag, which was one extra pair of socks and one extra t-shirt, and then undressed from the clothes I was wearing. With a towel wrapped around my waist, and gave the dirty clothes to Chole. She blushed when she saw me, but took my clothes and rushed off to get them cleaned. I, however, quickly returned to the showers and turned on cool water and scrubbed every last piece of dirt off. It took forever. I kept having to rinse off my body and rinse out my hair to rewash them. Finally, I was the cleanest I had ever been in my life.
I stepped out of the shower, noticing a pile of folded clothes on the counter. I ignored that for now, and instead looked into the mirror. For the first time in my life I realized that I was not a dirty blonde, but in fact just regular blonde. A bit on the lighter side, closer to platnium blonde. When I shifted and the light caught my hair just right, you could see strands of strawberry blonde, a gift from my mother. My skin was tan, naturally, but lighter than I thought. The dirt had been so engrained into my body, it had taken four hard scrubs to get most of it out. However, my palms and my knees were still stained with dirt.
I looked up to look into my eyes. They were still blue, not much could be done about that. But they seemed darker than I ever remembered. Olivia's had been so bright and pure and clear. Mine were light blue, but they looked grey, dark. Like a shadow had passed over them. I sighed and straightened up and grabbed the new clothes. Khaki shorts that I wore sort of low, my boxers peeking out over the top, and a bright orange shirt that said Camp Half-Blood on it in bold, black font. I pulled on the new pair of socks and then pulled on some new sneakers that I had been brought. They were black and yellow. I really liked them. I strapped my dagger scabbard through the belt loops on my shorts and sheathed the dagger. Afterwards, I tied my knapsack closed and flung it over my shoulder.
I left the showers to find Chloe sitting nearby, watching some kids at the archery range with...a fucking centaur. I stared at him. Chole noticed me and stood up. As she approached the centaur noticed me. Chole followed my gaze just as the centaur cantered up to us. As he neared I realized it was Chiron. I blinked dumbly then sighed heavily. "I'm not surprised by anything anymore." I muttered to Chole and she giggled with a shrug that seemed to say 'Yeah, we all get there'.
"Mitchell, Chloe. Have you started the tour yet?" Chiron asked as he stopped before us. He was tall, taller than any man. His body was white and his muscles twitched a little like real horses did. He rested one of his legs, his hoof digging into the soil a little. I almost couldn't stop staring but then Chloe shoved her elbow into my side. Grunting, I looked up at Chiron.
"No, sir," Chloe said respectfully. "Mitchell was taking a long shower." Chiron looked me over and I raised my head a little, a bit defensive. If I wanted to take a two hour long shower after being dirty literally my entire life, with meager bathing in between days, then I will. I was about to defend myself but Chiron chuckled.
"Calm down, Mitchell. I understand. Commence the tour, then meet for dinner." I nodded as did Chloe and he turned and returned to the archery field. Chloe grabbed my arm and dragged me in between two cabins. Looking around, I quickly realized these were the lovely cabins. Some kids lounged around, sitting in front of the cabin or on the porches that a few had. All of the cabins were arranged in a U shape, with Zeus and Hera at the front. I could tell just by the designs of the cabins which was which, not to mention that Rex had told me which was which on the way to camp.
"Do you know who your parent is?" Chloe asked politely, letting me go. I flexed my arm, and then put my hands into my pockets, looking around. I shook my head as I watched a group of kids leave what could only be the Ares Cabin. I frowned when they looked over at me and approached. Chloe stepped back as they stopped in front of me. I narrowed my eyes, handed Chloe my bag as the leader, a big brute, grinned. He was taller than me by a few inches, and his muscles were larger than mine. He had a thick neck and a wide nose. His eyes were beady and narrowed, and a dark brown, almost black. He had darker skin, so I assume his mother was African-American. He was dressed in shorts and sneakers. He clenched his fists as I clenched mine, glaring up at him.
"Hey, Brutus," Chloe whispered. He snickered and I rolled my eyes. Then, without warning, he swung one massive fist. I ducked on instinct and swept my legs under his. He didn't expect it and he fell quickly. His friends quickly went to converge on me, but they stopped when a large male stepped up to them. He had a large sword at his side. Chloe offered me her hand, but I got up without her help, taking my bag from her. Brutus also got up and stepped back from the man.
"No fighting." The man growled, his voice deep and low with an Irish tilt. The Ares kids snorted and sneered, but turned, going towards another building. The man turned towards me and I saw that he had grey eyes, like an eye wall of a storm. He had a five o'clock shadow, though it wasn't five o'clock yet. And he grinned at me. "Excellent reflexes." He eyed the dagger at my hip. My hand twitched towards it and he chuckled. "Better than some. Marcus Severt, swordsman and teacher here, Son of Athena," he greeted, offering his hand. I shook his hand, putting as much as my strength as I could into it. He grinned and squeezed back before letting go. "Good handshake. That's a mark of a man. Your father teach you that?"
"No. I've never met my father," I said dully as I shouldered my bag. Marcus studied me for a moment before nodding a bit, heading towards the big house at the base of the hill. Chloe relaxed as he lumbered away, letting out a breath she must've been holding for a while. She smiled a bit at me.
"That was really cool. I mean, we see that all the time in the arena, people reacting like that...but this is your first day and it looks like you've been training here for a year or so. That's pretty cool," she rambled. I just stared at her, frowning. Her smile faded a little before she coughed, motioning for me to follow her. I did so, and she showed me what she called the Big House. It was blue and four stories high and, well, big. I eyed the house before following her.
"That's the forge. Everyone is allowed to use it, but the Cabin Nine kids tend to use it the most. That's Hephaestus' children. You can make anything in there, shields, swords, bows, arrows. Whatever you need." I nodded, studying the kids inside as we passed. There was a black kid, hammering away at a piece of bronze. He looked up and nodded at me. I nodded back in that mutual "guy-greeting" as Olivia called it. I swallowed thickly, thinking of her.
"These are the strawberry fields. They grew year round thanks to us Demeter kids and Dionysus' kids. Also, Mr. D is Dionysus. He's the camp director because Zeus is punishing him for cheating on his wife." I looked at Chloe.
"Seriously? That's a bit hypocritical." I muttered. In the distance thunder boomed. Chloe paled just a tad.
"Careful what you say, Mitchell. Everything has a consequence."
"Right. Don't piss of Zeus...Sorry, Thunderer." I said to the sky, frowning, then going to follow Chole as she walked along the edge of the fields. A few kids were walking along the strawberries, talking. As they passed, the leaves looked like they were reaching out towards them, longing to be touched.
"We sell these strawberries to restaurants and stores in New York City. That helps pay for expenses here." I nodded in understanding and we continued on. We passed through the stables that held the horses and Pegasuses. I wasn't surprised that these creatures existed. I patted one on the nose, telling her that she was beautiful. She nickered and nudged my cheek. We moved on quickly, as dinner was fast approaching. "That's the woods. There are monsters in there that we can practice hunting and killing. That's also where we play capture the flag." Chloe said it lightly, but I could tell she didn't really like the woods. I watched the shadows in them, before following her towards the Armory. "Chiron says you'll be fitted for your armor tomorrow." She smiled, leaning against the threshold of the armory. "Every cabin has their own special weapons, but this is the general storeroom for them. You can find anything in there, if you look hard enough."
"Not Bruhmastra." I said without thinking. Her eyes widen a bit.
"No, of course not! That's Apollo's bow. Well, not his main one...It was never mentioned in Greek myths that the mortals know, but it was mentioned-" I gave her a look that cut her off. "Sorry...How do you know about that?" I debated telling her about it, then I shrugged, and lifted my wrist to her, showing off the golden bracelet.
"It was given to me." I said without much excitement. However she seemed completely awed, looking up at me like I was some hero or prince or something.
"Wow," she whispered, and we moved on. She was quiet for a while, then she motioned towards what looked like an arena. I was right, it was. "That's the Arena. We practice battle techniques there." As we passed it, I saw Brutus fighting another Ares kid. He was winning. I turned away, uninterested. We passed the mess hall, and continued on to look at the climbing wall, complete with earthquakes and lava. I was mildly intimidated by it. Okay, scratch that. I was greatly intimidated by it. I stared up at in before we circled around to look down at the amphitheater. Afterwards, we turned around and headed back to the mess hall.
The other kids were gathering towards it. I was about to ask Chloe which table I should sit at, but before I could two kids jogged up to us. They were about my height with brown hair and blue eyes. They were lean with large hands. They grinned and for a second I thought they were twins. But then the differences stood out. "Hey, new kid," one greeted, "I'm Travis."
"I'm Connor." The other greeted. I raised my eyebrow, smirking some. Something about these two amused me. However I just didn't feel like making nice. I let the smirk fade a bit.
"Mitchell." I replied. They exchanged a glance, then smiled a bit more warmly.
"Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. We're the Counselors of the Hermes cabin. Since you're undetermined, you get to bunk and eat with us until you're claimed." Travis said and Chloe smiled a bit. The four of us walked toward the mess hall. "Oh, to tell you before we sit down and everything, you have to make a...donation to the fire at every meal before you eat. For the gods." I sighed heavily. Too many new things, too many new rules. However I just nodded to show I understood. I sat with Travis and Connor as Chloe walked over to the Demeter table and sat down with her...siblings. I suddenly realized that at every table except for the Hermes table and the empty ones, they were all related. I frowned a bit. Had I just gained a bunch of siblings for the price of one? Was this a sick joke? I scowled a bit. I didn't feel like eating, but Connor informed me that I still had to fill up a plate.
So I did, piling my plate with steak, potatoes, and cheese. When we stood to make our 'donations' to the fire for the gods, I dumped my entire plate into the fire, glaring at the flames. Hope you know what you did, Apollo, bringing me into this world. I thought bitterly, returning to the table. Travis glanced at my plate, frowning a bit, but didn't comment on it. Connor informed me how the cups worked, and I got myself a big glass of lemonade. I gulped it down as everyone ate and talked. Then, unfortunately, we all headed over to the amphitheater for sing-alongs.
Apparently the Apollo cabin always led the sing-along with their guitars, lutes, and lyres. I didn't join in. Mostly because I didn't know the words, but also because I didn't want to act happy. All I wanted to do was sleep. The day had kept me pretty preoccupied with all this new shit, but now I couldn't stop thinking about my sister. Olivia. I swallowed and kept the tears back. I wouldn't cry in front of these people, these strangers. I crossed my arms, glaring at the fire. It was charmed, Travis told me, to match the crowd's mood. In the center was a tiny flicker of black. That was probably me, being the moody and depressed one. I sighed as another song finished. Travis patted me on the back, offering a smile. I didn't smile back. I didn't think I could give a real smile anyways.
Another song passed, then whispers started. I glanced around as a few girls from the Aphrodite cabin started to pointing towards me and the brothers. Then I realized they were just pointing at me. I furrowed my brows, looking at Connor who forced me to look up. Above my head was a glowing symbol. It was fading too fast. I didn't see what it was. It faded into nothing and I glared around me, my knapsack tucked between my feet. Everyone was staring at me, even Chiron. A few, the Demeter kids, the Dionysus kids, bowed a bit to me. Even Chiron bowed towards me. The others just stared.
"What?" I snapped.
"You've been claimed, dumb ass!" An Ares kid yelled. I turned to glare at him but it was just a voice among many faces.
"Yes. Congratulations, er, Michelle," a man said as he entered the amphitheater. Chiron sighed heavily.
"Mr. D, his name his Mitchell."
"Whatever."
I glared at the god, ready to snap. I was so, so stressed, tired, and depressed. I was looking forward just sleeping in the Hermes cabin, but now it seemed I would be moved. I glared around me. I almost stood up and stormed out. Usually I wasn't so angry but I just wanted to be alone. Dinner and this stupid, though slightly ingenious, sing-along was getting on my last nerve.
Silence settled over the amphitheater before Chiron finally motioned to the Apollo kids. One stood up and approached me. He smiled a bit at me, though he seemed nervous. I eyed him, then I recognized him. It was Rex. He looked...nervous. Suddenly I realized no one had wanted me claimed. Everyone seemed relieved, the Hermes' cabin in particular. I looked down at myself and I realized how fake I looked. I was the street kid, hardened and cruel, in the camp clothes. I was the loose cannon, the unpredictable kid, the one who had survived literally years without formal camp training. I was the kid that survived when I should've died. No one wanted that around, they were all nervous around me. They were intimidated. That made me even more mad. I wanted to scream that I didn't want to be brought here, that I didn't ever want to know any of them. Instead I just stood to look Rex in the eyes.
"Hey, Mitchell," he greeted calmly, offering his hand. I shook it as he glanced to Chiron who nodded a bit. He then looked back at me, smiling weakly. "Welcome to the Apollo cabin."