Percy's POV

I led her over to an restaurant, because I needed burgers so I could think. I was terrified of her, though I would die if anyone found out. The famous Percy Jackson, afraid of some 17-year-old girl? But I knew that she wasn't just any girl. She had my water powers… and more. I could tell that she wasn't lying about her powers because of the way all those leaves reflected her anxiousness. Even the gods were limited to their own domains, and the powers that they had; Poseidon was limited to the sea and water powers, and Zeus was limited to the sky and sky powers. I got the feeling she had both of those powers… and more. And I didn't like it.

"I'll order a veggie burger with fries, please. Uh, what do you want? Percy?"

"Oh! I'll have a regular cheeseburger, please." I didn't realize that the waitress was here. I guess because I was so deep in thought.

"So, what's your name?"

"Terra. Spelled T-E-R-R-A."

"Oh. That's an unusual name," I said. I thought that it sounded familiar…

"Isn't that one of the gods' roman names?" I just couldn't remember which one… I sucked at remembering all those ancient names and stuff, and usually I just had Annabeth remember them for me, but she was visiting her dad in San Francisco right now.

"Yes. It's Gaea's." she said. "The name means earth." She narrowed her eyes at me suspiciously. I suddenly realized that she was wearing a midnight-blue cloak that covered her face and a scarf, which is not typically the type of thing that people wear in New York, so people were staring at her.

"Uh… Terra, maybe you should take that cloak off. People are starting to stare."

"It really doesn't matter."

"Please? It would really be better for demigods to not stand out."

"Don't we just stand out no matter what we do?" she said. I laughed.

"It seems that way sometimes, doesn't it?"

"Yep. Okay, I'll take it off." When she took it off, I was very surprised, because she was really pretty. Not as beautiful as Annabeth, but pretty enough that anyone who met her would notice her beauty. She had long, curly auburn hair that was swept up in a simple ponytail, and really, really pale skin. Her skin was almost unnerving, because it was so light, lighter than I had ever seen someone's skin be before. She also had grass-green eyes that were very striking, and pointed ears, so she must be part nymph. I didn't know someone could be part demigod and nymph at the same time. However, you could tell that she was making a point to hide her beauty, with simple jeans and a T-shirt, and no makeup.

"So. What do you want with me?" Well, at least she was getting to the point. I cleared my throat, trying to sound important.

"Ahem. Well, the Official Court of Camp Half Blood, otherwise known as the OCCHB, have sent me as a messenger to formally tell thy that we wish thy to come to thy camp." I could see Terra attempting to not smile.

"Aha! You almost showed a smile."

"No I didn't! And please, you've got to be kidding me. Camp Half Blood has been ignoring me for my entire life, and now they suddenly want me to join them? The last time they asked me was before the war of Manhattan, and that was only because they wanted me to help them and not the other side. They didn't actually want me to join them! And don't even get me started about what happened when I tried to be part of the Roman camp."

"Who asked you last time?"

"Chiron."

"Okay, maybe last time it was because we were panicking about the war, but there's no war this time! We just want you to join us so you can be safe."

"I've survived alone for the last seven years. I think I can take care of myself."

"Please, Terra. You don't understand what's out there. Gaea herself-" I shuddered. "Well, let's just say that there's a lot of people… I mean, things out there that will try to turn you to their side. And if you say no… they wouldn't like that."

"Wait. Their side? So there is a war going on?"

"Well… maybe more like a battle."

"PERSEUS JACKSON, WAR AND BATTLE MEAN THE SAME EXACT THING!" I yelled. Everyone in the room turned to stare at me, annoyed that I had interrupted them. "Oops," I whispered, suddenly giggly because of all the people that I had managed to piss off at the same time.

"Actually, the definition of battle is a fight between large armed forces, while a war is a state of armed conflict between states or nations, so they are not the exact same thing," I said calmly. Ugh. I just sounded like Annabeth.

"Percy, I can't." she said, and I could see that she was about to cry.

"Why not?" I asked.

"I just can't!" she exclaimed. She slapped down a $10 bill to pay for our food and ran out, tears running down her face.