She wasn't exactly prepared for a confrontation with anyone, let alone a fellow demi-god. Why, the last time she talked to another demi-god was-! Well, never. With that in mind, she said the only thing she could think of.
"A camper, obviously. What were you expecting? Ares?" Her voice mirrored Hera's when she was asked where her husband was. They do say sarcasm is a cowardly and facing a girl with arrows and a bow certainly can make someone a fearful idiot.
The girl narrowed her eyes for a moment before relaxing from vicious to annoyance. "Well, get back to the main room. The gods are rather protective of their temples, Artemis especially." She paused, a worried look coming into her vivid blue eyes. "You don't have some guy in there, right?"
Annabeth couldn't help the blush that came over her face. The only boys she talked to were godlings or gods. Seeing as how some of them were as old as her mother, the thought made her force down the ambrosia she had earlier that evening. "No, I don't have some boy in there."
The other girl looked at her oddly. "I'm Thalia Grace, if Artemis sees you on the way out just say I was talking to you about joining the huntresses or something."
Annabeth nodded, fighting the deep urge to ask what that was. Damn her inquisitive, Athenian nature. "Thank you," she rushed out before quickly skirting around the girl, still flowing as though she were in a dress.
After she was out of the blue eyed and raven haired girl's sight she closed her eyes and ran her earlier words through her head. She unthinkingly attempted to pull the sleeves down, used to wearing flowing sleeves of Grecian dresses. Now I find a camp leader, but what do camp leaders look like? Did they have special clothing? Or maybe special jewelry?
Her worrying was starting to kick in with vengeance, how could she not have thought of asking Brizo who to look for-! In her carelessness, she bumped into a boy on the few stairs before the party area. She immediately was on the defensive, backing up several steps with wide eyes.
"Oh, sorry-! Actually, I don't know your name," He looked as though that fact annoyed him. His hair was brown, slightly curly; his eyes held mischief that rivaled Hermes himself-Hermes! He was a son of Hermes!
She paused for a moment before blinking and realizing she looked like a freak for a moment. "I'm Annabeth, I just recently joined-."
"Travis! Is there an 'Annabeth' in our cabin? She says she's new, but I don't recognize her." At his call, an almost identical boy appeared. He was holding a box labeled AMBROSIA & NECTAR. There was a slight height difference between the two, which she noticed when he moved to get a closer look at her.
"Nope," The word was drawn out slightly, with a little too much pop on the last syllable. "She looks like an Athena kid though, Grey eyes and all. Maybe she came in when we getting supplies for Chiron." He shrugged indifference at the mystery before him, favoring instead to tinker with what was in the box.
She heard a clang. "There isn't ambrosia or nectar in there," she stated in her most innocent voice, though it raised the boys eyebrows all the same.
"Not at all, new camper," the one that ran into her said with a smirk on his face and a cunning glint in his eyes.
"Are you going to tell me what is in there?" she found herself asking before she had thought of it.
"No," Travis said with a grin plastered on his face. "You could ruin the surprise and tell dear old Chiron. Then we'd have extra chores without any of the fun before the chores."
She looked at them with anger and slight curiosity in her stormy eyes. Wait a minute, they said Chiron. If they were doing things for him that would make them camp counselors, right? Right?
Keeping up the act, she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "Well, would you mind telling Chiron I'm feeling sick so I'm gonna head back to camp? I'd rather not stay when I feel at any moment I could lose my lunch."
Seemingly not hearing her question, the first boy chuckled. "Imagine if you go sick on a god! No, no, on Aphrodite! You'd be washing the make up off your face for weeks!"
"Or if you threw up on Zeus! I think he'd strike you down right there and then, consequences be damned. "
"Ah! But knowing the gods they would threaten war over that and all Hades would break loose."
"So, truly, by telling Chiron where you are going and keeping you from entering the party we are saving the entire world! Ha! Wait until Percy gets a load of this."
Annabeth growled in her annoyance. "Just answer the question, for the love of Aphrodite."
They looked at each other before nodding together. "Sure."
She sighed, closing her eyes to try to stop the already forming migraine. "Thank you, now if you'll excuse me-."
"Hey! Where's your weapon?" Travis asked, pointing to her side as though there should be something there.
Weapon? What would I need that for? It's not like this is a war zone?
"I-uh, left it in my cabin before I left." She excused herself, waving her hand as though batting away a pesky fly.
The other one shook his head. "Rookie mistake, kid," he reached into the box his brother was holding before taking out what looked like a bronze dagger. She could see her reflection in it. "Here," he handed it to her easily, as though he gave girls deadly weapons daily.
"Thanks," she said, taking it in her hand and feeling the cold of the metal mix with odd warmth. Something felt right about holding something like it in her hand, like she was meant to be a warrior though hidden in a tower to be a mannequin. "What was your name again?"
"Oh, I'm Connor," he said before pointing to the boy waving while trying to balance the box in an arm and a knee. "This is my brother Travis. We're sons of-."
"Hermes, I could tell."
Travis's eyebrows closed into each other. "How?"
She felt herself tense. Saying she talked to him on an almost daily basis would be the wrong answer, right? "Just, intuition."
"Huh, well, you best be off." Connor advised before pushing his brother off. "We have places to go, cabins to prank, ambrosia to drink."
She nodded before scurrying to the elevator. Once you press that button, you can't change your mind. She pressed the button as quickly as she could.
The elevator doors opened, empty. She entered quickly and almost pressed the close button before she heard a voice. "Stop! Hold the elevator!"
Thinking it was a godling, she pressed the button, but not before the foot of the boy could stop the door long enough to squeeze into the small space.
"Sorry," she apologized when she saw the orange t-shirt. "I thought you were someone else."
He was staring at her with his head tilted ever so slightly to the side. "Who, exactly?"
"Just someone that's been following me." She remained vague as the elevator started moving.
He seemed to accept it. "By the way, I don't think we've met."
She chuckled, though it was forced friendliness. She didn't want to get discovered. "I'm new, so I don't suppose we have."
He stuck his hand out, he black hair in a mess and a smile that lit up his green eyes. "My name is Percy Jackson."
Taking his hand in hers, she tried to remain friendly and kind. That's how demi-gods acted to each other, right? "Annabeth," she paused, actually trying to remember her last name. "Annabeth Chase."
