Letters Home
Camp Half Blood Campers' Correspondence a Year Later-[Coral Delacruse to Alice & Greg Hollmann]
Dear Mom and Greg,
Summer camp has been going surprisingly well. Nico has warmed up to me just a little bit, especially after we won the Capture the Flag game together. I think he's taking on something of a big-brother attitude, which is a pleasant change of perspective. Chiron, and even some of Nico's friends, have told me that Nico lost his big sister his first year at camp, and ever since then he distanced himself and seemed to try to grow up on his own. They think I might be helping him, by letting him feel what it's like to be the big sibling. From what I've heard, if he ever figured out that was what was going on, I don't think he'd ever leave me alone. His sister leaving him hurt him a lot. According to his friends, his father wasn't very nice to him, either. I've never met father, but you always painted him in a friendlier light.
Speaking of friends, I've made a few. One of the new Returnee counselors was claimed as a son of Thanatose, the god of the dead. He made himself a little gray-camo tent next to our cabin. He's a bit of a gangly fellow and his funny face all the time, where the top half never matches the bottom. He's got these dark, angry eyes, but this huge, toothy grin. Besides Nico's friends, he was the first person to talk to me. His name's Roger, but I've heard him called everything from RV to Bat-legs. While some people are scared of death gods, Roger was just happy to have a dad. He's been giving us advise on how to improve the cabin, not that he should be talking seeing as he's living happily out of a tent. Of course, after that, all of Roger's old friends started talking with me too. I haven't talked much about the new counselors yet, but there're a few of them that are quite rambunctious. And fearless, apparently. On odd days I seem to be an honorary adoptee for the Dionysis cabin, for reasons unknown to me, thanks to their new counselors. Of course, this then meant I was invited into the Hermes cabin, and a tidy little collection of the smaller cabins, like the Wind one, or the High one or the Sleepy Kids one. Every here has so much energy.
I talked Nico into letting me have a flower. I'm going to ask the Demeter kids what it's called. It's a cactus that has these pale leaves that look like petals arranged so that it kind of looked like a rose. It reminded me of Persephone's throne. Nico wasn't sure if a cactus was going to survive very long in our little light spot, which is probably why he let me have it. We set up this little shrine thing at our light spot. At the moment it's just got my cactus rose and this little Hades figurine of Nico's. He sets his sword up there sometimes too, since it was from his dad. It's kind of a scary sword, so I don't really mind not having one.
Speaking of parents, I was wondering if I could bring Nico to meet you. I haven't asked Nico yet, but Chiron said it would be all right to make a short visit together. Chiron agrees that Nico doesn't remember his mom much and I think meeting a woman who could talk positively about his father for once, along with being in a somewhat function family dynamic would help improve his mood. Plus you have all those drawings of him. Never really cared about them much until now. I think Nico should see them.
I'll write to you again soon,
Sincerely,
Coral Delacruse
Hades Cabin – Cabin 13