The weeks passed quickly at Camp Half-Blood. With so much to do to keep her busy, Kally rarely even thought of her argument with Chris.

Strangely, she found her archery and sword-fighting improved greatly when she was mad. All she had to do was focus on her anger and pretend she was shooting at or fighting the person she was mad at. It gave her maybe a smidge too much satisfaction when she landed a devastating blow on her opponent or a bulls-eye on the target.

Even though her anger was an asset in training, outside of that people tended to stay away from her, afraid of getting on her bad side. Even Kelsey was keeping her distance. Whenever Kally walked by Kelsey would give her a disdainful look and turn her nose up slightly.

Of course, she had a somewhat plausible reason for being so childish. Kally had missed her being claimed at the campfire one night. She'd run up to her with a huge grin on her face and she appeared as though she might pass out she was so giddy.

Kally had never been one for caring about looks, but she would never forget how stunning Kelsey Hausman was that night.

Her mid-length blond hair was curled into flawless ringlets that framed her cherubic face perfectly. Her makeup was applied naturally and with a light hand, save for the smouldering lips that blazed bright red.

Her gown was just as spectacular – a silvery-white garment that almost swept the ground. It was simple, with a halter neck and a low-plunging back that gathered at the small of her back. Silvery heels were visible beneath the dress.

She seemed to be glowing slightly. She was truly radiant.

'Where were you?' she'd demanded, her eyes lighting up. 'Aphrodite just claimed me as her daughter. Can you believe it? I'm a child of Aphrodite!'

Of course she was. 'That's great,' Kally had said. 'Sorry I missed it. You look stunning.'

Kelsey had given a little I know right? shrug and smirk, but then fixed her coppery eyes back on Kally. 'So where were you?'

Obviously there was no worming her way out of this one. Kally sighed and told her truth. 'I just wasn't up to it.'

'Why not?' Kelsey's eyes had gone from accusing to worry in an instant. 'Are you okay?'

'More or less,' Kally had told her. 'Still a bit… miffed… about Chris. That's all.'

And then the anger came back to Kelsey's eyes. 'You missed my mother claiming me so you could wallow in your own self-pity?'

Kally tried to say something but Kelsey just kept going. 'You are so selfish! I would never have missed your parent claiming you for something as silly as that!'

'Well it's not like I knew you would-'

'And to think, I thought you were my friend!' Kelsey had started crying and shoved past Kally, despite her protesting.

Great, now you've lost two, possibly three friends, Kally had thought to herself. Way to go Kally.

Now she spent most of her day practising her skills or hanging out with the few friends she had left.

Percy and Annabeth took her side completely on the whole Clarisse thing, although she suspected it was mostly because they'd never really been friendly with Clarisse. Grover and his girlfriend Juniper often came out from the woods to hang out with them too. And the Stoll brothers turned out to be a good choice of friends – well, it was certainly better to be on their good side at any rate. Those boys pulled some pretty epic pranks.

Then there was Nico. He kept to himself mostly, locked away in cabin thirteen. He rarely came out except for meals, and sometimes he would disappear without a trace, even for days at a time.

Percy said not to worry about it. 'He's a pretty solitary kind of guy. He doesn't really like the company of people.'

Pollux seemed to think Nico and Kally were very alike. Only the gods knew why.

'You both like to be alone,' he told her now. 'You both hold grudges for way too long and you both find it hard to relate to people.'

'Oh, two weeks and suddenly you're the expert on all things Kally?' she said with a sideways smirk.

'Well, I'd like to think so,' he replied with a grin.

'Come on Pollux, I barely know Nico,' she said seriously. 'I've seen him all of, like, three times since I met him.'

Pollux considered this. 'That's three times more than some people here have seen their godly parent, and they could be clones of them in some cases.'

Kally gave him a look. He laughed. 'Look, I'm just saying you don't have to know someone to be just like them.'

'And sometimes the people you know are nothing like you,' Kally muttered in reply.

'Uh oh.' Pollux said, clasping his hands together and putting on a serious face like some sort of psychiatrist. 'Is this about Kelsey again?'

Kally sighed. 'Yes. She still won't talk to me. And she thinks I'm the one who's stuck up and selfish. Well, what else did I expect from an Aphrodite girl?'

Pollux made the face he did every time Kally insulted the Aphrodite kids. It was kind of like a mixture between a scowl and a sour face. It made his nose scrunch in a comical way that made it hard for Kally to take him seriously.

But she knew he wasn't happy with her, so she fought back the smile that desperately wanted to shape her lips and sighed again.

'Look I know everyone here seems to think differently to me, but I just can't see it any other way,' she told him honestly.

'So basically it's a case of "I can't help it that you're wrong and I'm not"?' Pollux rolled his eyes. 'I'm not saying that what Kelsey did was right but you are being really stubborn about this.'

'That's just who I am.' Kally stated plainly.

Now it was Pollux's turn to sigh. 'I know.' Then he smiled playfully. 'And that just happens to be one of the traits that I find attractive in someone.'

Wait what?

'Pollux, where are you going with this?' Kally asked cautiously.

'Oh relax.' He waved her suspicion aside. 'I just mean in general. I mean, if a girl can't stand by what she believes then that's a serious problem. However, it also becomes a problem when the girl won't stand down from what she believes in if she's wrong.'

'So you're saying I'm wrong?' Kally challenged.

'Yes. Yes I am.' Pollux grinned.

Kally stood from her seat on cabin twelve's steps and folded her arms across her chest. 'Well then, son of Dionysus. I believe there's only one way to settle this.'

'I guess so.' Pollux rose as well, meeting her eye and holding the contact with a smug expression. Then it faded. 'And what's that exactly?'

'A challenge,' Kally said, tilting her chin upwards and smirking. 'You and me. In the arena. One hour.'

Pollux's violet eyes lit up at the challenge. That was one thing Kally had discovered about him; he never backed down from a challenge. He delighted in new experiences and leaped at the chance to learn.

'You're on Kalypso,' he told her, narrowing his eyes at her.

She moaned, breaking the whole serious mood of the conversation. Pollux grinned again in anticipation of what she would say. 'You know I hate it when you use my full name.'

'Yep.' He beamed somehow wider.

'So why do you do it?'

'Reason one: it's your name. You were born with it and so that is what I shall call you.' He said. 'Reason two: it annoys you.'

He winked, but then turned and fled from Kally, who was chasing him with a mean looking blade in her hands.

'I swear to the gods, next time you call me that I will throw this into your head Pollux Birch!'

After their little chase, Kally went back to cabin eleven to clean up a bit before her big battle with Pollux. She couldn't wipe the smile of her face at his expression when she'd knocked him to the ground and held the sword to his throat.

'What are you smiling about?' Travis Stoll had sauntered up to her side as she laid her equipment on her bunk. He gave her a cheeky smile. She immediately mistrusted him.

'None of your business,' she told him, turning away, still smiling.

'Come on, tell me,' he insisted. When Kally still refused he took a guess. 'It that Pollux kid isn't it?'

'What if it was?' Kally asked him defensively.

'He's bad news,' Travis told her. 'No one likes him.'

'Yeah, well I do.' Kally snapped, returning her attention to her bunk.

Travis grinned evilly, like this was exactly what he'd been hoping for her to say. 'You do huh? Well now…'

'Uh, not in that way Travis.' She pushed past him and began searching for her dagger. She'd had it when she walked in…

'Oh you don't?' He said, his voice up an octave higher than usual. 'Well I'd better go and tell him then. Wouldn't want him getting his hopes up or anything.'

'Wait what?' Kally stopped and whirled around to face the older Stoll brother. 'What do you mean "get his hopes up"? What hopes?'

'Oh poor Kally,' he said sweetly. 'Poor, blind, innocent Kally.'

'Shut up Stoll, and start talking,' she warned.

He sighed melodramatically and gave her a pathetic sad face. 'Well, I don't want to give up anyone's secrets… But I guess I could this one time. Pollux is totally into you.'

Kally's jaw dropped halfway to the floor. 'Did he tell you that?'

'He didn't need to tell me that,' Travis told her, raising an eyebrow. 'It's pretty obvious by the way he acts around you. But if you're not interested…'

Travis sidled up closer to Kally in one smooth movement. He was slightly shorter than her, maybe by an inch or two. But his eyes were a perfect clear blue and they locked onto Kally's now.

'I'm always available,' he whispered with a wink.

Kally thought about it. She didn't think she had any feelings towards Pollux other than companionship. He was a good friend; that was all.

But did she have feelings toward Travis?

He was kind of cute. His messy brown hair matched his messy personality. And his eyes were just as clear as his intentions most of the time. He was funny, always telling jokes and making people laugh. And he could even be kind of sweet at times.

She made up her mind. 'That's cute Travis,' she said, 'but I think I'll pass.'

She spotted her dagger by the door and picked it up, turning only to look back at Travis. His expression was both overconfident and yet still accepting.

'Besides, until I become determined, I'm technically your sister.' She gave him a quick wink and then stepped outside the cabin.

She headed towards the arena, dagger in hand. She noticed storm clouds circling the sky. It didn't bother her; she'd been told by Chiron that the magical boundaries around the camp protected them both from monsters and the weather.

As she walked into the arena, she saw a small crowd gathered to witness the duel. Mostly girls from the Demeter cabin, and some of Apollo's kids too. She also spotted Percy, Annabeth, Grover, Juniper, and a grouchy looking Rachel.

Kally waved. Percy waved happily back, Grover and Juniper were too entranced with each other to notice, Annabeth gave an encouraging smile, and Rachel just huffed.

Then a smaller guy dressed all in black and an aviator jacket sat down a short distance from Percy – close enough to show they were friends, but far enough away to make it clear that Nico was on his own.

Standing by the weapons array was Pollux, dressed in bronze battle armour and wielding a simple double-edged blade. He smirked from underneath his visor.

'What's with the audience?' Kally called.

'I hope you don't mind,' he replied, 'but I invited a few friends to watch. That okay with you?'

Kally sneered. 'Fine by me Birch, but it just means there'll be more people to witness you lose.'

Pollux grinned and shouted back, 'We'll see Kalypso. We'll see.'

Kally merely smiled and walked to her own weapons array. She tucked away her dagger and ran her eyes over the selection.

She picked a sword similar to Pollux's. It was double-edged and razor sharp, shining bronze in the dying sunlight. It was slimmer, lighter, and easier to manoeuvre than Pollux's. His looked heavy, more for a direct assault than for evasiveness and smaller, less affronting attacks.

Already her brain had kicked into high gear and begun deciphering Pollux's movements before the battle had even begun. Her ADHD – her natural battle reflexes – had become more finely tuned during her stay at Camp Half-Blood. She knew how to strategise, to think, to win.

She stepped away and slid on her armour, ensuring it was done up tight. She reached for her helmet, but paused. Really, it would only impair her view of the battle. Pollux wouldn't try and hit her around the head anyway; he knew it could cause damage, even with a helmet. It wouldn't be an asset to her this time.

So she slowly stepped away, leaving her helmet behind.

And that was her first mistake.

Someone blew a conch shell, and the battle begun.

Pollux lunged towards her, swinging his blade to her midsection. She deflected it and rotated his blade around to his chest and pushed with all her might, sending him stumbling backwards.

He recovered quickly and thrust his sword again towards her midsection. Kally was prepared though, and sidestepped to avoid the blow. She used his own gravitational force against him and used her foot to assist him in toppling to the ground.

He got to his feet and smirked. 'You're pretty good.'

'Wish I could say the same to you,' she countered, grinning wickedly. He gave her a knowing smile and threw himself back at her.

Lunge after lunge, parry after parry, Kally felt herself tiring. She couldn't keep just dodging his attacks and deflecting his blade – she had to act.

It hadn't really crossed her mind before, but she now began to realise how much more training Pollux had. And not just training, but experience. He had been at Camp Half-Blood a long time, and had been training for the same amount of time. Who knew how many years he had under his belt?

Kally began to worry. What if she couldn't beat him?

Pollux didn't let up. If anything, he threw himself into it with more power than before. Kally wondered how he managed. Even with all his training he must have been tired.

Then she realised: he could probably pull energy from the earth, all the way from the big house where the grapevines grew. It was similar to what Percy did with the water. When he got tired, all he had to do was drench himself in water and he was suddenly good again.

Well great, Kally thought dryly, catching Pollux's next blow on her sword. He can just keep on going. I wish I knew what I could draw power from…

Her thoughts distracted her enough to allow Pollux to land a blow to her torso. She cringed as she hit the ground and dropped her sword. He twirled his sword so that the sharp tip was on her neck.

Damn. He'd won.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake. Tiny pebbles next to Kally's head jumped up and down slightly like hot kernels of popcorn waiting to be popped.

A tiny fissure in the earth appeared by Kally's feet. It quickly spread to across the whole arena and slowly became wider.

People started to panic. Demigods everywhere began to flee or stood ready to fight.

Percy stood and drew Riptide, his magical sword. Annabeth did the same with her dagger. Grover and Juniper were nowhere to be found. Rachel stood fast too, although she held no weapon that Kally could see. Nico joined his friends, his Stygian Iron sword at the ready.

Pollux lifted Kally from the ground in a panic. He glanced at her, silently asking what was going on. She gave him a hopeless look in return.

Then the ground split. A huge form was climbing its way out of the crack. It locked one giant paw onto the surface, then another, and hauled itself to the top.

Kally heard a scream. It might have been her. She didn't know. She didn't care.

Because she was staring down the salivating muzzle of a giant two headed dog with a huge serpent slithering from its rear end.