It turned out the campfire really did change colour with people's mood. As Kally and Grover approached it, the flame was a happy yellow. Upon their arrival, however, it faded to dull beige. A neutral colour to match a neutral mood.

Kally felt all eyes on her as she walked past the campers. She thought that was a bit strange, seeing as she was walking with someone who was half-goat. Then again, the campers here were probably used to satyrs, whereas Kally was all new to them.

The music, provided by only a few of the campers on guitars, lyres, and pan-pipes, played quietly in the background.

Kally kept her eyes low to the ground. She skirted around campers, following Grover through the crowd to a log with only three people on it – a red headed girl, and a bond girl cuddled up to a dark haired boy.

The red-head stared into the flames that now matched her hair. The boy was murmuring quietly to the girl next to him and smiling. But the blond was looking directly at Kally. Her gaze was not hostile, nor was it friendly. It was more of an analysis than anything. Kally decided that it might be a territorial thing, kind of like with dogs. She knew in these situations you had to keep your eye contact and not back down. So she stared right back at the blond until she moved her eyes away.

It crossed Kally's mind that she had been out of touch with people for way too long.

'Grover!' The boy's smile lit up his face as the satyr approached him. He gestured for Grover to sit down on his other side. 'Hey, it seems like it's been forever man.'

'Yeah,' Grover agreed, taking his seat. 'You've been gone for too long Perce.'

The boy laughed. 'Actually I think you'll find it's you who's been away.'

'Hey I live here,' Grover countered. 'You're the one who disappears every year.'

The boy nodded in a fair enough type way. He suddenly noticed Kally was standing there awkwardly. 'Grover?'

'Hm?'

'Who's this?' he asked.

Grover looked up, as if suddenly remembering Kally was there. 'Oh yeah. Guys, this is Kally. She's new here.'

'Well obviously she's new, Grover,' the blond interjected. 'If she wasn't we'd probably know who she was, wouldn't we?'

The red-head laughed and the blond grinned at her.

'Yeah whatever Annabeth,' Grover grumbled. 'Anyway, her name's Kally.'

'Hi,' Kally mumbled, still looking at her feet. The red-head smiled kindly and patted the space between her and the blond, Annabeth.

'Come sit,' she said.

Kally sat obediently. Like a dog.

Get your head away from dogs, these are people, Kally, she told herself.

'So do I get to know your names as well, or this like a one way deal?' Kally asked.

'Right, of course,' Annabeth said, flustered. 'I'm Annabeth, and that's Rachel, and Percy.'

'Cool.' Kally lacked anything else to say.

After a moment's awkward silence, Annabeth spoke again. 'So do you know who your godly parent is Kally?'

'No.' Kally replied curtly. After another moment she added, 'I don't believe I have one.'

Percy and Annabeth turned to stare at her. Grover looked at Kally awkwardly and then excused himself to the woods nervously. Probably going to see his tree-girlfriend or something.

'If you don't have a godly parent,' Percy said, 'then why are you here?'

'You don't have to have to be a demigod to be here Percy,' Rachel said dismissively. 'I mean, I'm here aren't I?'

'Yeah but you're different,' Percy dismissed her.

'So you're not a demigod or whatever?' Kally asked.

'No.' Rachel smiled proudly. 'I am currently the Oracle.'

'The Oracle?' Kally repeated.

'Well, yeah.' Rachel responded. 'I hold the spirit of the Oracle Delphi. So she kind of speaks through me sometimes. Basically I give out prophecies and see the future and stuff.'

'So you're like a psychic?'

Rachel turned her nose up indignantly. 'I am not some sideshow attraction. I am an Oracle.'

After that Rachel didn't seem to want to speak to Kally anymore. She mumbled something about a cave before wandering off into the gloom.

'So if you're not a half-blood, why are you here?' Percy asked, after a short pause.

Kally thought about it, but she didn't have an answer. Grover and Nico wouldn't have taken her here unless they truly believed she was a demigod. But her parents were most definitely mortal. She couldn't be a half-blood.

She refused to think about Chiron's suggestion that perhaps her mother was lying to her about her father. But she told Percy about what he had said anyway.

He listened patiently, nodding politely now and then, but trying not to wake the now sleeping Annabeth on his shoulder. At the end of her monologue, Percy thought for a bit.

'From what I can gather about you,' he said, 'I would think it was your father that was lying.'

'What?' Kally said. 'Why?'

'Don't let Annabeth know I said this,' he whispered, like Annabeth could hear him in her subconscious. 'But I think you could easily be a daughter of Aphrodite.'

Aphrodite? The goddess of love? From what she remembered, Kally knew she was inconceivably beautiful, and so were her children. Men dropped at her feet and begged for her. She was an idol to all women in her time. However, her children were also known to be vain, conceited, manipulative, and vindictive. Kally wasn't like that. She never used her looks to get what she wanted.

'Thanks,' she told Percy anyway. It was meant to be a compliment. 'But I'd rather not be.'

Silence took the place of conversation. They sat listening to the laughter of the remaining campers and the occasional cracks from the fire.

'Is Kally short for anything?' Percy said suddenly. 'It seems like an incomplete name.'

'Is Percy short for anything?' she shot right back.

'Perseus,' he grinned a goofy lop-sided smile. 'Greek hero. Son of Zeus originally. Famously cut off Medusa's head. It's a bit of an old joke now.' He laughed lightly.

'Why?' Kally asked jokingly. 'You slay Medusa recently?'

'Well, if you call five years ago recently, then yeah.' His self-satisfactory grin made her somehow believe him. 'But you didn't answer my question.'

Kally looked at him. She sighed and turned back to the dying campfire. 'Yes. Kally is shortened.'

'What's it short for?' Percy asked again.

'Kalypso,' she admitted. At first she mistook Percy's silence for curiosity. But when she glanced up at him, his sea-green eyes were locked on her and wide open, incredulous.

'I know right,' she rolled her eyes. 'You probably know the story. Some sea princess or something, banished to an island. She has some magic powers that lure men in to keep them with her. Pathetic right?'

Percy's gaze became almost offended. His eyes welled up and he peered down at the sleeping Annabeth, as if he needed to remember she was there.

'I know the story.' He said abruptly. 'And you're wrong.'

'What do you mean I'm wrong?' she demanded. 'I think I'd know the story of my own namesake. You act like it's a personal issue.'

'It is.' He snapped. Annabeth stirred, and Percy rubbed her hand soothingly until she went back to sleep. He continued in a low hiss. 'Look, you don't know anything about Calypso. Don't you say a bad word about her. She doesn't lure men, she's cursed to always find men that she can't help but fall in love with. And they all leave her. So don't you tell me she's some sort of sorceress, because you're wrong.'

Kally was taken aback. The emotion behind his voice stabbed her in a much more real way than any sword ever could. She wondered what could possibly stir him like that. Obviously he knew Calypso – well, the original Calypso – and had some pretty intense feelings for her.

She decided it would be best to leave it alone, whatever the case.

'I'm sorry,' she said quietly. 'I didn't mean to… insult her or anything.'

'I know.' Percy said, waving his hand dismissively. 'I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped. It's just… She's not like they make her out to be. You know, in the stories.'

'Yeah.'

They sat in comfortable silence for a while longer. Then Percy spoke again.

'I should probably take her off to her cabin.' He nodded his head towards the unconscious Annabeth slumped against him. 'Do you know where to go to get to your cabin?'

'I don't have one.' Kally replied.

'You'll be in with the Hermes cabin then,' he told her. He began lifting Annabeth into his arms and stood up, her arms wrapped around his neck. He was taller than Kally had first thought, and much lankier. 'Ask around for the Stoll brothers, Connor and Travis. They're head counsellors of cabin eleven, the Hermes cabin. They'll help you out.'

'Okay. Thanks Percy,' she said. He smiled weakly and vanished into the darkness with Annabeth cradled in his arms.

Kally glanced around at the remaining campers. A pretty Asian girl sat surrounded by a group of equally pretty girls, all giggling. Kally immediately decided not to approach that group. Another group were all slumped against the ground and each other, snoring lightly. A couple of boys were mucking around on a patch of grass nearby.

One tall girl sat fiddling with a scrap of metal in her hands. As Kally watched it unfolded wings and fluttered from the girl's hands. This seemed pretty amazing to Kally, as before it had been a few pieces of scrap. But the girl frowned, snatched it from the air, and immediately began tinkering again.

She decided to ask the only reasonably quiet person sitting by the fading fire. He was a tall, skinny kid with dark hair and a pale complexion. He seemed vaguely familiar from across the fire. As she stepped around, she saw why.

In the dim light, the slim features all filled in. She could not escape the piercing brown eyes that locked on her now. Eyes that had once been crazed and unseeing.

'Hey. Are you new?' Chris said cheerfully.

Kally nodded mutely, not knowing what to say. I saw you three years ago, except you were crazy and couldn't even support your own body weight!

'Cool.' He smiled kindly. 'Do you want to sit?'

She nodded again and sat beside him, still staring at the boy that she knew to be crazy. She couldn't reconcile this healthy, happy guy to the boy she'd seen three years ago in that alleyway.

'So, do you have a name?' Chris asked. He laughed. 'Or a voice?'

Kally managed to choke out a response. 'Uh, yeah. Kally. Kally Anastas.'

'Awesome. I'm Chris. Rodriguez.' He told her.

Kally fought the urge to say I know.

'Percy.' She said instead. Chris gave her a funny look. 'Uh, he told me to find the Stoll brothers. He said they could take me to cabin eleven.'

'Oh,' Chris smirked. 'You don't need those two clowns. Just because they're head counsellors doesn't mean they're the only ones who can do things for the cabin.' He stood and bowed with a flourish of his hand. 'I am Chris Rodriguez, son of Hermes, and member of cabin eleven.'

Kally giggled and took his offer of a hand up. 'Allow me to escort you to cabin eleven.'

They walked in a happy silence down a path worn into the grass. Chris didn't seem to need the indented ground to guide him however, as he stepped off the path after a few moments.

As they walked, they talked. Chris made a lot of jokes that mostly made Kally laugh like a maniac. And then there were the cheesy jokes that just made her grimace and give him a gentle shove.

'Come on,' he grinned. 'That one was at least worth a chuckle.'

Kally tried to give him a stern look, but she almost immediately cracked up and laughed again. He beamed at her response.

Almost too quickly, they approached the cluster of mismatching buildings shaped in an omega that Kally had seen when she first arrived.

'These are the cabins?' she asked.

Chris nodded. He raised his arm and pointed to a regular looking log cabin that seemed like it had wanted to retire from its duties years ago. A symbol hung over the door, like you'd see at hospitals – a staff with two snakes wrapped around it. A caduceus it was called. 'And that's home.'

'That's cabin eleven?' Kally's eyes widened. 'It looks like it'd fall apart in a gentle breeze.'

'Granted it's a bit… aged, but it's just as sturdy as it ever was.' Chris seemed almost proud of the run-down lodge. 'Anyway, we should go inside.'

While the outside of cabin eleven had looked dreary, inside it was a bustling hub for kids of all ages. A small boy tripped over his own feet on his way to one of the bunks and almost went headfirst into a pile of junk at the end of someone's bed. Two older boys, twins they looked like, were arguing with one of the girls. She seemed frustrated but the boys couldn't keep a straight face. Another girl emerged from behind a bunk with a hairbrush trapped in her hair, crying out angrily at someone called Travis.

It was absolute chaos. Kally couldn't hear herself think over the din of thirty people all shouting at one another. Chris just seemed amused.

'Welcome to cabin eleven,' he said in her ear. Then he stepped forward and called for quiet. Immediately the noise receded. 'Everyone, this is Kally Anastas. She's been assigned with cabin eleven, so be nice guys.'

The two twin-like boys tripped over themselves trying to reach Kally first. She saw now that they were not quite twins. One was taller and slimmer. The other had the lightest and tiniest sprinkling of freckles across his cheekbones.

The shorter one spoke first. 'Hi. I'm Connor Stoll, head counsellor of the Hermes cabin.' He winked at Kally.

'Co-head counsellor,' the taller brother corrected. 'I'm Travis. The older Stoll. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask me.'

The girl with the hairbrush in her hair rolled her eyes and scoffed. 'Give it up Trav. She's way out of your league.' Connor smirked but hairbrush-girl turned to him and said, 'You too Connor. Both of you just lay off.'

She tramped over to Kally and hooked her arm through hers. 'Are you regular or undetermined?' she asked. Kally blinked blankly. The girl rolled her eyes again. 'Is Hermes you dad or not?'

'I don't think so. I'm not sure.' Kally responded.

'Right,' the girl said. 'Undetermined. Just like me. We'll be great friends.'

Kally smiled at her. 'Um, where do I sleep? I don't think there's room for a dog to sleep in here, let alone me.'

'Cabin eleven!' The girl cried. 'Is there any spare bunks or beds anywhere for Kally?'

A space was found for her. She dropped her backpack by the end of the bed and her newly acquired sword on the sheets. She sat on the bed as the chaos resumed and took a deep breath. Chris approached her and sat down beside her.

'You okay?' he asked. His brown eyes were concerned.

'I… I'm just gonna get some air.' Kally stood and strode outside, sitting down on the porch steps. It wasn't long before Chris re-joined her. He sighed a little.

'What's wrong?'

'Nothing.' Kally replied. 'Is it always that busy in there?'

'Pretty much,' Chris chuckled. 'We accept anyone that doesn't know who their godly parent is, or "undetermined" as we call them here. So it's always pretty full. Used to be way worse. Before Percy made the deal.'

'What deal?'

'The deal with the gods that they had to claim their kids by age thirteen and that the minor gods be represented here as well.' Percy sounded like a pretty good guy from what people said about him. 'There used to only be twelve cabins, ending with Mr D's cabin. Now there are twenty of them.'

'That must be better for you guys,' Kally noted.

Chris nodded thoughtfully. 'We don't get as many undetermined kids anymore. There's still a few of them – like you and Kelsey back there. But nowhere near as many as there used to be.'

Kally stared at her feet.

'Okay I know something's bothering you,' he said. 'Spit it out.'

'I'm fine.' Chris gave her a disbelieving look. 'Okay well… I just… I've never had a family. Everyone seems so close. I feel like I'm intruding.'

'Don't worry about it.' Chris brushed aside her concerns. 'Everyone feels like that for a while. But you'll become one of us soon Kally. I promise.'

He put his arm around her comfortingly and pulled her into a hug. Kally, for once, did not resist. She needed a hug after everything she'd been through today. Only when Chris moved to pull away did Kally start to cry. He held her until she managed to sob out some words.

'I-I-I'm s-sorry,' she sniffled. 'I don't know w-why I'm c-crying really.'

'It's okay.' He patted her back comfortingly.

Kally couldn't hide the truth from him any longer. She broke down and told him about her encounter with him and Clarisse three years ago, and how he'd been so mentally disoriented that he couldn't even support himself. Chris bowed his head and sighed.

'Yeah,' he said. 'I know. Clarisse told me about how, uh… irrational I was. But she never said anything about meeting you. Not to anybody here. If she did, we certainly would have sent someone for you a long time ago, just like she promised.'

'It doesn't make sense why she wouldn't say anything,' Kally said, frustrated. 'She promised me a better life. She promised me a family, and a home. She lied to me.'

'Look, I'll talk to her tomorrow, okay?' Chris said. Kally stopped.

'Wait,' she said, putting a hand up. 'She's here? At Camp Half-Blood? Right now?'

'Yeah.' Chris said, like it was obvious. In hindsight, it probably should have been. 'She's in her cabin – number five. The Ares cabin.'

Kally didn't know whether to be glad she could see Clarisse again and finally get answers, or whether to be furious that she hadn't received them from her before now.

'Why don't we go see her now?' Kally stood, gesturing to the cluster of cabins. 'We could demand answers!'

'It's past curfew,' Chris said. 'The harpies are out. And they will eat us if they catch us.'

Kally didn't bother asking about it. She'd decided to just run with whatever people said.

'Fine, we'll go in the morning.' Kally said.

'As soon as lessons are finished,' Chris promised.

'Lessons?' Kally repeated.

'Oh boy,' Chris grinned. 'You're gonna have a lot of fun tomorrow.'