Re-uploaded this chapter, because mobile uploads always manages to mess up my editing. Anyways, I fine-tuned some of the choppier and straightforward segments. Please tell if there's any issues.
Annabeth didn't talk to Percy until they were out of the building.
"Who's your parent?" she asked bluntly.
"I don't know." Percy waited for her to mention hers, but she said nothing.
"Who's yours?"
"Athena. Goddess of crafts, wisdom and battle strategy." Percy couldn't help but notice the way her nose rose up as she said this. Wait a minute… Percy opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by an approaching Grover.
"Hi Annabeth." he greeted the girl, who greeted him back. Grover turned his attention to Percy. "Chiron talked to you about camp?"
"Yeah, he did." the boy scratched his head. "I still don't get how it's supposed to work."
"You'll get used to it." Grover said, joining their walk through the camp.
"This is the dining pavilion." Annabeth said, gesturing with her hands to the rather large tables on either side.
Percy wondered what it would be like to eat in this place. It was open-aired, no cover above. He frowned, "What happens when it rains, or something?"
Annabeth smiled, like he didn't know anything. "It doesn't." His frown deepened. Just answer the question, smartass. Grover snickered, causing both kids to glare at him. The satyr dipped his head nervously, which to an onlooker would be comical since Grover looked older than both of his partners with the wisp of hair on his chin and sparse but visible beard.
Pretty soon, they were through the dining pavilion, which was quite spacious. Too spacious, since the tables didn't cover most of the space. Crossing the dining pavilion, they came across sporting facilities on either side.
"I don't need to explain what these are for you." Annabeth said.
A bunch of kids were playing volleyball on the right, the court filled with sand. Percy narrowed his eyes. It appeared some of them had - okay, there were some satyrs playing as well. Two mischievous-looking and identical boys of his age glanced at the group while they whispered and snickered amongst themselves on the sidelines. Percy did his best to ignore them, shifting his attention to the left side, which seemed to have a soccer field. No one was playing at the moment, but Percy did wonder what he could do if it was full.
A few thuds brought his attention back to the right, where instead of a volleyball court there was a basketball court, a game in full swing complete with a small crowd cheering a bunch of teens on from the stands on the side. Percy was in awe. The skill and athleticism on display at even the barest glance was comparable with college games, and he had seen some in his lifetime.
Moving along, Percy could hear the clanging of swords from just ahead. "Here we have the sparring grounds on the right, and the archery range to the left." Annabeth announced in perfect tour guide fashion. Indeed, teens were fighting in various forms, some sparring with weapons and others hand-to-hand. They certainly looked strong and trained, but Percy didn't feel the fighters were much better than Luke. Or Thalia. Instantly, his mood turned glum. If she couldn't survive… Percy couldn't dwell on this.
As they walked ahead of the sparring grounds, Percy saw a structure on the left. "That's the amphitheatre." Annabeth continued her tour. "It's where most events are held."
"Events?"
Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Yes, events. Tournaments, competitions, plays. We all gather here for them. You'll see soon enough."
"Guys, I'll be headed to the Council. Wish me luck." Grover said as they were crossing the amphitheatre.
"Good luck, Grover. You'll get the licence." Annabeth called out to the retreating satyr.
"Ah, good luck." Percy also called out, though he had no idea what he was talking about. Grover did mention a licence back when they were in the parking lot, after killing the harpies. Maybe it was the same thing. Percy didn't know what the licence was for, but he hoped Grover would get whatever it was.
After the amphitheatre, the two remaining demigods came to a large clearing. It was quite populated, with a lot of teenagers hanging out. "And here, finally, are the cabins." Annabeth concluded. Percy looked to the sides, and sure enough there were 'cabins'. Six on each side.
The first he noticed was to his right. It was grand, sheer in size and quite noticeably the biggest of the bunch. The colour was white marble complete with the texture, with a strip above the door containing a line of clouds, and in the centre what looked like the lightning bolt that Zeus held on the painting above the main building. There were white, cylindrical pillars supporting the roof before the entrance. Overall, it felt less like a cabin and more like an Ancient Greek temple.
The one on the left was similar, with the strip trimmed golden and the pattern inside being that of a peacock's feathers.
"Zeus and Hera's cabins?" Percy guessed.
"Cabins One and Two, yes." Annabeth responded.
Continuing forward, to the left was a relatively smaller light-green wooden cabin. The roof was covered with vines and the customary strip was decorated with golden sheaves of wheat. There was even a small garden in the yard space that was given to every cabin, being tended by two teens.
To the right was another stone cabin, though this one was smaller than either one and two. The yard held a small fountain where the two teens were leaning against, one a girl slightly older than Percy and a boy with his back turned towards her. Percy gazed at the building a little longer the rest, distracted. The sea-green walls studded with seashells seemed to be alive, the pattern rippling like the waves of the sea. The customary strip was also filled with real shells, with a glowing green trident in the middle. He felt drawn towards it, and almost complied with his own wishes, if Annabeth didn't announce "Here you have Cabins Three and Four. Poseidon and Demeter."
As could be observed, all cabins seemed to be themed based on the parent to whom it belonged. Cabin Five belonging to Ares was coated a crimson shade of red, with the customary strip replaced by a stuffed boar's head. Cabin Six of Athena was similar to Zeus' cabin, except it was smaller and coloured grey, with both the door and the golden strip consisting of the image of an owl. Cabin Seven, Apollo's cabin, seemed to glow in the daylight. A white strip with a golden lyre in the middle decorated the outer wall with anything other than golden. The yard of the cabin was unexpectedly filled with flowers of all kinds. Cabin Eight reflected a dull silvery-yellow light, and there was a crescent moon above the door, surrounded by a bow and arrow on each side and the images of various animals. Its patron being Artemis, the goddess of hunting, maidens, and the moon. Cabin Nine was dedicated to the god of blacksmiths, Hephaestus. It was made entirely of bricks, with smoke blowing out of a chimney on the roof. The yard was filled with tools, which he assumed were used for smithing. A hammer could be seen hanging above the metal vault door. Cabin Ten had a modern look, with the roof being painted blue while underneath the walls were white, with the depiction of a pink dove in the centre above the door. The pillars in front of it were straight and rectangular compared to the typical cylindrical ones. It belonged to Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. Hermes' Cabin Eleven was simple, similar to Aphrodite's except for a duller shade of white. It looked like a regular inn, with no supporting columns outside and a square roof. The last one was similar to Zeus' again, except the door and roof were purple. There seemed to be strawberries growing in the yard.
Annabeth headed towards the Hermes cabin, motioning Percy to follow. The door opened up as two teens walked out. One was Luke, and Percy was so relieved to see him alright. He was worried that Luke might have gotten hurt in their clash with cyclopes. The dark-haired boy next to Luke was of the same height, although he looked slightly older.
"Hey, there. You the new kid? Percy Jackson?" the boy asked.
"Yeah." The boy gave him a smile not unlike the two kids from the volleyball court, with the corner of his mouth tugging upwards, and his eyes twinkling with mischief.
"Nice to meet you, Percy. My name's Martin. Martin Jackson, counsellor of the Hermes cabin. You already know your buddy, Luke, here." he said, gesturing to the blonde. "Since you're undetermined, you're going to be living with us. Our father being the patron of travellers, welcomes all demigods as guests in his shelter. Since you're a Jackson, I know you'll be great." His mouth spread out in a grin. "Welcome to the Hermes cabin."
"Thanks." He was kind of excited at the prospect of being in the same cabin as Luke. And Martin seemed cool.
"Well, you are free to go do whatever you want right now." He turned to Luke "You ready, bro?"
Luke grinned crazily. "You're on."
"Where are you guys going?" Percy asked curiously.
"The sparring grounds. We'll see what you guys learned on the streets."
Percy and Annabeth along with some other kids had just witnessed Luke beat the Hermes counsellor. He was quite ferocious, not giving Martin a lot of room at any point. Most of the onlookers were left wide-eyed and gaping seeing the display. Other than Percy, who wasn't that surprised. He had been amused at Annabeth's expression, staring at Luke in wonder.
After the spar, Martin congratulated the newcomer, and led everyone out to the dining pavilion. The pavilion was filled with demigods, as Percy sat alongside the other Hermes kids. Percy noted that their table was filled with the most kids. By far. He guessed it was because of Hermes being the god of travellers, as Martin told him. All kids ended up in their cabin, even the unclaimed ones.
They were introduced to the Camp Director, Mr D. Or as he was most commonly known as, the god Dionysus. He gave Percy and Luke a warm welcome. "Oh, and I should introduce you all to the new brats at camp. Lou Castle and Perry Johansson. Now, go do your thing and don't cause me any trouble." Nice guy.
Martin instructed Percy and Luke to sacrifice to their patron god, which happened to be their parents. Percy himself wasn't sure, so he just prayed to whoever his dad was to claim him if he actually cared. There was no reply, no answer, nothing. Percy sighed. and left to wander the camp once more.
He spent some time watching an intense game of basketball between a group of older teens. It was exciting, and Percy was thrilled as he walked back to his cabin. On his way, he could hear the distinct sound of swordsmanship and a man's grunting from afar. Not something you'd expect on a night. Curious, Percy went to investigate the sounds. They appeared to be coming from the sparring grounds, but from one look he could tell it was empty. Percy continued through the empty clearing, following the sounds which were growing louder with every step. He could see the light of a warm flame in the distance, but it was apparent that the flame was below level.
As he got closer to the light and the sounds, he could see that it was an arena of sorts. A boy who Percy easily recognised as Luke was in the arena, brutally attacking some straw dummies. His pattern of attack reminded Percy of the dream, where Luke ruthlessly turned monsters into dust within seconds. He approached the older boy warily.
Luke was too engrossed to even notice the kid, busy in hacking and slashing the helpless dummies. He stopped at one point, panting heavily and letting out a roar of frustration.
"Luke," Percy said softly, gaining his attention.
"Percy. Didn't notice you here."
"What was that all about?" Percy asked cautiously.
"It's nothing." Luke defended.
Percy kept on looking nervously, "Come on, man. Don't lie to me."
Luke took a deep breath, his features twisting into those of an angry and depressed individual. His normally mischievous blue eyes bore no expression, empty and glazed.
"She's dead, okay!" he said, with his voice cracking, betraying the anger and misery of its speaker. "Thalia died! And they did nothing to stop it. Nothing!"
"Thalia isn't dead, Luke." Percy reminded both himself and the blonde teen.
Luke let out a bitter laugh. "Of course she isn't. Thalia didn't die. She was turned into a tree. That's good, right. Like it changes things. Like it changes that she's gone."
He glared at Percy, sending chills down his spine. "Keep telling yourself that, Percy. Some day… some day you'll see. They... don't care about us. We can die for all they care."
Percy didn't say anything as Luke left the arena.
The following day, Annabeth caught up with him as he was headed to the sparring grounds after breakfast. "Hi, Percy."
"Hi, Annabeth What are you doing here?"
"Chiron asked me to take you somewhere. Are you coming?" she asked nonchalantly.
Percy shrugged his shoulders. "Lead the way."
They walked through camp, walking past the main building to another. It, too, looked like a Greek temple. In front of the building was a statue. A statue of a woman in a traditional Greek chiton presenting a scroll to the imaginary audience.
"This is the library." Annabeth told him excitedly.
Percy groaned. What's the use of going to a library at a camp for physical activities?
Annabeth huffed at his attitude, crossing her arms across her chest. "Don't act like that. Knowledge is a blessing you should always strive to acquire. By the way, I'm your new tutor for now".
Percy's step faltered. "What? Tutor?"
"Yes, tutor. As in someone to teach you academics." she replied. "New kids in camp are assigned tutors to teach them the basics of being a demigod in the US. Show you everything. I'm really lucky to have a dimwit like you as my first student."
"You know, I'm dyslexic. I can't read." Percy decided to inform his tutor.
Annabeth smiled deviously, making Percy slightly uncomfortable. "Just follow me." If this is a prank…
Annabeth opened the main gate, revealing another door behind it. Beyond that particular glass door, was quite the library. It appeared spacious at first glance, and there were a few kids occupying the tables.
Instead of walking in, Annabeth decided to take a turn into the corridor. They kept walking until Annabeth stood next to a room, checked the plate next to it and moved in. Percy tried to read the text. NICTO… Introduction Room 3.
"Take a seat." Annabeth instructed as Percy entered. He gladly obliged to her instruction, sitting down at one of the admittedly comfy chairs. Annabeth began to sift through the books on the shelf. Picking one, she brought it over. "This is our first lesson. Read it."
Percy wanted to remind her of his dyslexia, but decided it was of no use. He took a glance at the title. Beginner's Guide to Demigod Life. Percy's head jumped back, before he examined it more closely. How could he read so… Wait, this isn't even English!
"Uh, Annabeth…" he spoke cautiously, "this is not English…"
Annabeth smirked, "But you can read easily, can't you?"
Percy nodded slowly. Annabeth went on to explain how demigods were hardwired to understand Ancient Greek, which is why the mind can automatically translate it to whatever language the demigod thinks in. And sure enough, Percy found this to be a blessing. He could actually read for the first time!
He browsed the contents, as Annabeth lectured him. They started with brief descriptions of the Greek gods. Of course, he knew some of this stuff from school, but right now Greek mythology was personal.
"Wait, wait. Athena's a virgin goddess, isn't she?" Percy interrupted the lecture on said goddess.
He could clearly see Annabeth grit her teeth. "Yes."
"Then how… how does she, uh, you know, have kids?" Percy asked, asked, going a little red in the face.
"That's kind of complicated" Annabeth replied without hiding her annoyance. "I'll tell you some other day. Right now, let's continue the lesson."
The topic went from a brief overview of gods to some of the common monsters. Then they moved over to demigod life. By the end of the lesson, Percy had only one real question.
"So, I wanna ask. Doesn't Zeus have, like, a bajillion kids in the myths? Why doesn't he have any at Camp?"
Annabeth rolled her eyes. "'Bajillion' isn't a word."
Percy's mouth twisted in irritation. "You know what I mean!"
She smirked at his reaction, before collecting herself. "I don't know. Chiron says that the Big Three, Zeus, Poseidon and Hades swore an oath not to have demigods after World War Two. No one really knows why."
Percy was visibly confused. "But… the Poseidon cabin is full of demigods." He recalled them being one of the more populated tables at dinner.
Annabeth waved her hand in dismissal. "Cabin Three is… a special case. Poseidon has given permission to all children of sea and water deities. None of them are his right now."
"That's… nice."
"Oh, please, Poseidon isn't a nice god." Annabeth huffed. "He just likes to 'pretend' to care. Something about 'all children of the sea are his.'"
Percy stared at her with a dumbfounded expression. "I mean, it's still a nice thing to do."
"Whatever." Percy didn't get the outburst. It made no sense to hate on the sea god for no reason. Almost as if she hated him personally… Oh.
"Are you saying this because you're a child of Athena?"
Annabeth's eyebrow twitched in irritation, before she began a long rant about Poseidon, how he disrespected her mother and how he was a terrible god. Percy was starting to have a headache. "Alright, alright. Isn't the class over?"
Annabeth took a deep breath. "It is." She stood up abruptly, preparing to leave.
"Wait." Annabeth looked annoyed, but stopped. "Thalia," he said, his voice cracking, "she was a daughter of Zeus. How? If there was an oath then she shouldn't exist."
Annabeth grimaced, looking down. "That means that Zeus broke the oath." She turned to him, a glimpse of terror in her stormy grey eyes. Even in the library, Percy could hear thunder cracking outside. "That's… really bad." She then walked out, leaving Percy wondering about the implications.
Coming out of the library, he found Chiron, The centaur decided to personally supervise Percy's training in order to gauge the demigod. The first activity was archery, and that session went extremely well. He'd manage to hit the target a grand total of zero times at the standard range. Once, he managed to hit Chiron. An impressive feat for the centaur was standing behind his student. It was such a perfect start that the trainer decided that Percy didn't need archery training for the time being.
The next thing he was assigned to do was take part in the camp's obstacle course. Chiron told him to be a regular, as it was vital for all demigods to know how to move through the wild without being bothered by the obstacles. Percy was no slouch at movement, but being one of the younger kids and having grown up on the streets didn't prepare him for the deceptiveness of the forest. He stumbled, tripped and fell down more times than he'd want to admit. Still, he willed himself to complete it despite the setbacks.
After the course, Chiron suggested that he follow the Hermes cabin to the arena located next to the sparring grounds. Unlike the sparring grounds, the arena was reserved for cabins taking part in the class. The class they joined was a combination of Hermes and Ares.
They started with straw dummies, hacking and slashing at the inanimate objects to warm up. Percy went through the motions to the best of his ability, and found he was decent at swordplay. Now, being used to the knife, Percy had a hard time with the longer weapon. None of the swords seemed to fit Percy. They were either too long, or too short, or too heavy for him. He was a natural with the sword his father had gifted him, but thought it would be better to learn a little more before using it casually against other demigods.
After the warm up, the Ares counsellor gathered everyone into a grid. He was a buff guy, with broad shoulders, burly arms and a rough-looking face. "I want everyone to pay close attention today," he announced in a deep voice "We're practising the classic disarm manoeuvre. For that, I want la Rue, to come down here. I'd like to do a demonstration."
A burly girl strode confidently to him, sword in hand. He explained and demonstrated the technique on the girl. Quite thoroughly, Percy would add. Cody knew what he was doing. It felt simple enough; you had to twist the opponent's blade with the flat of your own, leaving them no choice but to drop their weapon.
He made the girl try the technique, which she did three times.
"Great, la Rue. Now," the counsellor said, turning towards the rest of the crowd, "I want someone to come over here to try this technique with la Rue." He began to scan the crowd, until his eyes landed on Percy. "You, new kid. What's your name?"
"What? Uh, I'm Percy."
"Alright. You're up first."
"Me?!" Percy was startled.
"Yes, you," the big guy replied with a sneer. "What are you, some coward? We don't want more of those in this camp. So get your ass down here before I make you."
"Go on, Perce." Luke whispered from beside him. Percy complied, going down to face the la Rue. He studied his opponent closely. Definitely another Ares kid. Percy could definitely see the resemblance with the counsellor, her only being younger and shorter than the behemoth. Her hair was stringy brown, the same colour as her eyes and her thin lips were twisted in a sneer similar to her brother's.
"Prissy, huh?" she raised her sword. "You should get something to eat. Too scrawny."
Percy raised his sword, which was a tad bit too heavy.
The counsellor shouted at them to begin, and la Rue immediately went on the offensive. Her strikes were sloppy and untrained, but had enough strength behind them to unsettle her opponent. Percy parried and parried, the wildly swung arcs not stopping even for a moment. His grip was loosening, with the sweat of his palms making it harder to grip and la Rue's strength only added to effect. She seemingly attempted the technique once, twisting Percy's sword, but it didn't work as Percy pulled his sword further away and deflected Clarisse's. This only managed to enrage his opponent, who was now slashing relentlessly. She gave up the idea of using the technique, just wanting to win by through sheer force.
The added force made the spar even more difficult for Percy, his sword weighing more and more each time it met the other blade, and the sweat trickling down his brow was taking away his concentration. He knew it was time to act, as la Rue was giving him more room in exchange for more power. He went for the manoeuvre himself, twisting the girl's sword after parrying it away purposefully.
The sword dropped, as the girl stood there stunned and empty-handed.
For a full minute, there was silence. Somewhere in the crowd, someone went "Whoa!" and the arena started to applaud. There was a lot of jeering from the Hermes side, even some Ares kids. "Clarisse got beaten by a runt!"; "Didn't know he could do that!"; "On the first try!". A buff kid from his cabin wolf-whistled, Chris if Percy remembered correctly, causing Clarisse to break out from her stunned state and glare at the stands.
"You're all dead next time I don't use this stupid weapon!" She turned towards Percy, "And you" a meaty finger pointed towards him, "You'll pay!". Clarisse stormed away to her side. Percy could see some of the other kids mocking her as she sat down, seething and glaring at nothing in particular.
Percy too returned to sit with his cabinmates, slowly because of the bruises he'd gotten from Clarisse. As he moved through, he received lots of pats on the back and shoulders, alongside compliments and jokes at Clarisse's expense. Martin gave him a thumbs up in appreciation, and Luke grinned from ear to ear "That was awesome." he said, bumping Percy's fist "I knew you'd be able to do it."
His eyes darkened, and he whispered, "Thalia would be proud, Perce."
Percy pictured the punk girl, giving him a proud, sisterly smile. Yes, she would.
That's the end of the chapter. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Leave a review. Constructive criticism would be appreciated.
Replying to the Guest, I haven't decided on a pairing. There wouldn't be any romance for the time being. However. Percabeth is one of those pairings I'm considering for the future.
Also, there wouldn't be an evil or dark Percy, as much as I want to entertain the idea. You'd see why in the next few chapters.