In Our Blood

Author's Note:

I realize that we've been absolutely terrible at updating, and we're trying to work on that. On that note, we have summer now, and things should be easier on the updating end of things. The other thing is that we still don't want spoilers for the fifth book of Percy Jackson – we haven't gotten around to reading it due to school work.

Hey, trivia time – Cielo and Ray, do you guys remember what their birthday is?

That's right, July 4th 1998! That means their birthday is this Saturday! Mint and I are going to celebrate. Join us if you may!

"You…" Cielo paused, thinking for a moment. She didn't normally think before she leapt. She was the one to ask the questions, the more vocal and pushy of the two, but normally, whatever action she decided to focus on was the path she took, no matter what she found out by investigating and asking questions. It was Ray who benefited from her asking, who thought things through and stopped his twin before she leapt headfirst off of a cliff. This was what he did now.

"I'm thinking that you have the wrong twins." Ray said, nodding with his sentence to improve his certainty. "You should probably return us now, and find those twins that are in danger." He nodded again, just to be sure, and crossed his arms over his chest. There was no way that his sister and him were the twins that these people were talking about. Their life was less than ordinary. So what if they'd never met their father? So what if their mother couldn't remember that they even existed or had a birthday? Those things didn't matter. The father that was absent could in no way be an Olympian god, no matter how cool he thought that could be.

"Yeah, yeah, that's a good idea." Cielo added. "Those twins are probably in danger, right now." She paused. "Don't worry, we won't tell anybody about what you told us. Cross our hearts and swear to die, right Ray?"

"It's cross our hearts and hope to die. But yes." He turned and faced the three others in the room with determined eyes. "So if you don't mind, we'll be leaving now. C'mon, sis." He swung his feet over the bed, only to stop short suddenly. "Er."

"I wouldn't advise that just yet." The one called Annabeth said. "You're not exactly healed… hold on." She disappeared out the door, Cielo and Ray staring after her as if she'd grown ten heads and was talking with all of them at once. With what they'd seen already that day, it probably wouldn't have surprised them in the least.

"We're sure we don't have the wrong twins." Chiron answered, his eyes level and reassuring. "There's no chance that you would have crossed the boundary into this camp if you weren't half bloods."

"But-" Cielo was saved from answering by the return of Annabeth, carrying two cups of something neither twin had seen before.

"This," Annabeth said, "is ambrosia, a drink of the gods. It'll return you to health more quickly. Just take a few sips, don't go drinking the whole thing." The blonde camper handed a cup to each of the twins, then returned to her prior sitting place on the window sill.

Cielo took a sip first, being the more adventurous of the two. She didn't know what in her right mind made her take a sip of the drink, but she did so anyway, swallowing a sip.

"What does it taste like, Ci?" Ray asked, his eyebrows raised as he looked at his sister curiously.

"She wouldn't be able to answer for you if she tried." Percy answered for him.

"It tastes like Mom's pancakes." Cielo said, nodding. "Definitely." She looked at Percy. "She stopped making them when we were six. That's when the boyfriends started."

Ray took a sip, squinting his eyes. "It does! Mom's pancakes, you're right!"

"There's no way that-" Percy started, but Chiron asserted himself.

"They're twins, Percy, remember."

"I'm still not sure, and everything." Ray said, putting down the glass.

"Maybe we're starting to believe – but how do we know we're not on candid camera? How do you know for sure?" Cielo asked.

"I admit, normally we find half-bloods at their schools, and follow them for awhile to make sure they're who we think that they are. It's unusual for a half-blood to find us – but seeing that you saw the monster in the first place means you can see through the Mist."

"The Mist?" Ray asked, furrowing his brow.

"The Mist is a sort of shroud that doesn't let mortals see what's really going on." Percy explained. "That's why mortals see monsters roaming the streets."

"Well, I still think you have the wrong twins." Cielo said defiantly.

Percy shifted in his seat. "Do either of you have ADHD?"

"I… I don't see what that has to do with anything."

"Do you?" He persisted.

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Dyslexia?"

"Yeah, that too. And it sucks." Ray butt in.

"But what's the point?" Cielo didn't like mentioning their learning disabilities.

"All half-bloods are dyslexic and have ADHD." Annabeth said, standing up from her window seat and pacing across the room. "Me, Percy – all of us."

"Really?" Ray asked, his interest piqued.

"Yeah." Percy said. "Our brains are hardwired for ancient Greek, and the whole attention thing is for battles."

"That – explains things." Cielo said. "But if we believe this, and I think I do– why now? Why on our eleventh birthdays?"

Chiron furrowed his brow, wise eyes on the ground. He raised them to the twins. There was something in them… "When were you born?"

Ray answered. "July 4th, near midnight. Cielo was born six minutes before me. 11:48 and 11:54. We always watched the fireworks on our lawn – that's where we were attacked." His eyes swung to the window. "By something." There was no mistaking the fear in his voice.

"It's gone." Percy assured him. Cielo and Ray let out a collective sigh of relief.

"Why did you ask for our birthdays?" Cielo said. She was the one who asked all the questions – teachers in school got fed up quickly. In fact, she'd been told to shut up by a teacher before.

"Half-bloods usually start attracting monsters around the age of eleven, sometimes earlier if they've got a highly powered parent. The oddity with the two of you was that you were attacked the moment you were eleven, as if someone were waiting."

"Great."

"That could mean a lot of things, which we'll deal with after a tour of the camp – and, if and when you get claimed."

"Claimed?" Echoed Cielo.

"Yeah – sort of like your Olympic father telling you you're his." Annabeth said, removing the cups from the twins. "Trust me, you guys – you're half bloods, there's no way around it."

"I guess…" Cielo said. "It explains some things. And I hate to say that it makes sense, but…"

Annabeth smiled.

"You said our Mom knows?" Ray asked, receiving nods in answer. "And she's okay with it?" More nods, and Ray looked towards his twin. "Then we're staying?"

She nodded without hesitation. "As long as we don't have to deal with anymore of those monsters… at least until we can wield a sword."

Author's Note:

I don't necessarily like the way this chapter ended, and the next chapter's going to be a lot more interesting – and the chapters are going to come much more quickly, now that a few things have been sorted out between the two writers of this story. This story does take place after the fourth book, it's as if the fifth book hasn't happened – we haven't read the fifth book yet, remember, so no spoilers – and the war still hasn't started and stuff like that, though it will be mentioned.

Also, I'd like to say – we saw the trailer for the movie. Awesome, absolutely awesome. We want to go do that, by the way – ask the man in the empire state building for a key to mount Olympus. If, in fact, we happen to, we'll let you know. xD