I am not human. I do not have a mortal soul. My best friend in the world doesn't know what I am. If he did, he'd be one step closer to knowing what he is. And once that happens, all Hades will break loose.
My name is Grover Underwood. I like long walks in a forest and my favorite food is enchiladas and tin cans. I'm a vegetarian, a nature-lover, and half-goat. Call me a satyr, not a faun. Fauns are Roman and I hear they're… well, let's just say they're nothing like us satyrs.
Hm, what can I say about satyrs? A lot of us are pretty cool. Several of us are brave (not really speaking from experience here). Some of us are rather violent (looking at you, Hedge). All of us serve Dionysius… erm, Mr. D. So, so sorry, sir. But really, the god we truly seek is Pan.
The Great Pan… man… it's been my dream to find him. I'm not the only one. My dad went out a long time ago. So did my Uncle Ferdinand. And, like the others, they never came back. It's kinda what we've come to expect: go out, disappear, Pan remains lost. Quite a cycle, right? Enough to discourage us, you'd think. Nope. Not one bit. We just keep going out. Each one of us claiming the same thing: "I will be the one to find him." We have yet to be telling the truth.
But this isn't my story. Not by any means.
You see, my best friend, who I was talking about before—who is, by the way, the best friend a goat could ask for!—is in danger. He's turning thirteen soon, and that means his scent (I can already sense it) is getting stronger. I'm not talking BO, though he sometimes reeks of his stepdad. I'm talking the scent monsters crave… the scent mortals can't understand… the scent seekers track. My best friend is a demigod.
Sure, you may be thinking: "That's pretty cool. Part-god? Sweet!" Wrong. They may inherit some godly powers, but they're mortal. Both celestial bronze (monster-killing stuff) and regular mortal weaponry is deadly to them. Monsters seek them out every second. And the more powerful ones? Oh, that's just all-around bad. Take my friend Thalia… Actually, (sniff) I don't want to talk about it.
But anyway, my best friend… I'm starting to have to think about how to get him to camp. We've been holding it off too long. He has to find out who he is. He needs to know. But he can't… because of the monsters.
What will he think of me when I tell him? Will he hate me? Probably. Some other satyrs told me they avoid getting close with the ones they're fetching because of that. They aren't tight with their demigod assignments. One satyr told me that his demigod hated him for not telling him sooner… and getting him to camp sooner… and avoiding a lot of tragedy that went with it. It's not the satyr's fault. It's tough to get to camp. Take my friends Annabeth and Luke… actually… I don't think Luke's really a friend anymore. I'm pretty sure he hates me for what happened to Thalia (sniff).
Time's running out though. He'll be thirteen and everything will go wrong… because that's just my sour luck. The Council will have my hooves as trophies. I'll be an outcast, an embarrassment, a failure… for the rest of my life.
I want to let him know that he's still my best friend. I've never known a demigod like him. He's tough but kind… stubborn and loyal… rash yet gentle-hearted… but in the end, he's brave. I know he'll make it. He has to.
It's going to be soon. I wish he could just live free as a middle-schooler forever… just an average mortal life. His life is going to get tough. I have no idea what's in store for him. All I know is he's my best friend, and whatever happens… whatever he needs to fight… whatever he needs to get through… I'll be by his side. …Even if he no longer wants me there.