Chapter 4: Welcome To Camp Half-Blood!

Sally drove them to Camp Half-Blood, and the first thing they saw was a giant pine tree. Grover and Percy stepped in first; then Grover gave Sally permission to enter the boundary of camp. There, they met Mr. Brunner, who was not in his wheelchair—he was a centaur. Percy said, "I knew you weren't mortal, but I didn't expect you to be a centaur, Mr. Brunner."

Mr. Brunner raised his eyebrows and said, "I thought you would have figured that out by now. Given that a Greek goddess handled your education on this topic."

Percy explained that Lady Enyo had taught him first that you could come up with all the theories you wanted, but always remember that a theory could be wrong. Chiron understood that while Percy might have guessed he was who he was, Percy didn't want to chance the fact that he might be wrong.

Grover had informed Chiron of Enyo's wishes regarding Sally, much to the camp director's dismay; in his words, "at least she's polite."

At this moment, our trio was currently talking with Chiron and the camp director, Dionysus, also known as Mr. D. He was short, but portly. He had a red nose, big watery eyes, and hair so black it was almost purple. In all honesty, he looked like a grumpy cherub who was middle-aged and wore a tiger-patterned Hawaiian shirt. Mr. D said, "Well, at least we can skip the orientation film; do you know who your godly parent is?"

Percy replied, "Yes, but Lady Enyo wants my father to do the claiming. I'll be in the Hermes cabin."

Mr. D said, "Excellent! Now that this is settled, do you by chance happen to know how to play Pinochle?"

Percy said, "My step-father was more of a poker player, but he had learned a bit when he needed a palate change."

Mr. D said grumpily, "A palate change, the man has no taste."

Percy said, "On that we agree."

Mr. D asked, "Do you play Pinochle?"

Percy replied, "I have never actually played, but I know the rules and how to play."

Mr. D said, "We need to fix that, Chiron deal with Peter Johnson and Grove Undertree."

Percy sat down in front of Grover. "You don't seem mad he got your name wrong," Grover said.

Percy said, "No, you don't know why he does that. Do you?"

Mr. D asked, "Why is that?"

Percy said, "One because it pisses more people off, and two, NAMES HAVE POWER."

they all had very wide eyes. No one had ever considered this before. Mr. D clapped his hands and said, "Very clever; not even Athena's children could figure it out."

It was fun and Chiron and Mr. D won the game, but it was a close call. When the game was over, it was lunchtime, so Chiron took him to Cabin Eleven (AKA Hermes's kids) to eat lunch. There, Percy learned the cabin counselor(s)' names were Luke and Gremory Holden. Rumor has it, if the two were to fuse, they would be the closest thing to Hermes in mortal form.

Luke had the Hermes family resemblance, too a tee; he was also the best swordsman in three hundred years. Gremory was similar enough to Luke to pass as the siblings, his black hair contrasting with all his sibling's blonde locks and his face marred by a scar on his right cheek, crossing toward just above his right eye. He was the best in terms of the hereditary skills given at birth. He was the mark the current generation of Hermes children pushed to surpass.

Lunch had been eaten, and everyone went off to do their activities, except Percy, who was guided by a girl his age, maybe a couple of centimeters shorter, and just as athletic looking. She had a deep tan and her hair was curly blond, with streaks of white, like storm clouds. Pretty, to most people it might have seemed intimidating, but there was something in her eyes that gave her away—she was intelligent, studying him, looking for the weakness to exploit. Her name was Annabeth.

Percy thought to himself, "Daughter of Athena, I need to tread lightly with this one when I get claimed."

Annabeth was Percy's tour guide of the camp, and they got to talking. Annabeth started the conversation, "What's it like being trained by a goddess?"

Percy replied, "Can't speak for the other goddesses, but Lady Enyo is the patron deity of war. I believe that phrase ' Demons run when a man goes to war' might have originated from her."

Annabeth smiled at that and said, "Really? Most of the legends describe her as a bloodthirsty she-demon."

Percy replied, "She only does that with her enemies. Besides, there's a reason the Olympians consider her the balance between Ares and Athena. People forget; yes, she's the goddess of war, but she's also the goddess of peacekeeping, and she can't do that all the time acting like you say 'a bloodthirsty she-demon.' If you really think about it, most of Lady Enyo's bad press comes from the fact that most of the time she's seen in war, the other part of her domain can be done in the background."

Annabeth really thought about what she heard and it made sense. Enyo was a victim of mainstream media or simply put false news. While showing Percy around, a girl and some guys approached them. Honestly, Percy didn't care much for the guys; it was the girl that caught his attention. This girl was about thirteen or fourteen. This was Percy's thought, "Hem... she's wearing an XXXL Camp Half-Blood t-shirt under a camouflage jacket, clearly favors overpowering her opponents. O no, that sneer reminds me of when Enyo she is feeling particularly brutal during our spars. I can't tell if I should be scared of her or impressed. She's definitely a lot tougher than the rest of them here, and her hair is long, stringy, and brown."

Percy mused, "A daughter of Aries, perhaps?"

The girl said, "Not bad, new kid. Clarisse La Rue daughter of Aries."

Percy blushed and said, "Damn, I really need to get a handle on that habit. I can't have my enemies hearing my plans while we're fighting."

Clarisse laughed and said, "Are you by chance a brother of mine?"

Percy replied, "No, but my patron is your father's twin."

Clarisse let out a sound of acknowledgment, but the smirk stayed on her face for only a moment before it transformed into a mischievous look that promised embarrassment and possible pain.

due the lack of response to my poll I've decided to cancel the whole poll all together and just flip a coin and go with what it get. I apologize to those who have taken part and if you choose not to continue after seeing where I take this I understand.