Chiron followed her inside, clearing his throat, "Everyone," Rhea turned to him with wide green eyes as everyone turns to him, all standing and bowing at him, "Everyone, this is Rhea Jackson. I trust you will see to whatever she needs as she gets used to our world," Rhea gulps, waving a bit as she steps closer to Leonidas who growls a bit, clutching Murphy close to her chest. They were all staring at her, sizing her up. She knew this routine, having gone through it many times enough at school.
She sighs when they go back to what they were doing, ignoring her. She looks at Chiron with a frown and he grimaces, "Well them…I know you feel powerless but you're not," he smiles gently at her, patting her shoulder, "All will reveal itself in time. Now, me and Hilbert have our classes to go to…good luck Rhea," and with that he galloped away. Rhea turns to Hilbert who smiles, ruffling her hair before he took turns, leaving her alongside her two Pokemon alone with Cabin Eleven.
Taking a deep breath, she walks in. Naturally tripping coming in the door and making a total fool of herself but she quickly pushes herself up. Shaking her head, she walked further in, everybody was talking and goofing around and Rhea noticed that a lot of campers had similar features, sharp noses, upturned eyebrows, mischievous smiles. They were the kind of kids that teachers would peg as troublemakers.
"Regular or undetermined?" Somebody asked, making her jump.
"Uh…if you mean undetermined as…unclaim…I'm that?" Rhea couldn't help but frown as they groan, muttering angry about how another extra was push onto them when they hardly had any room. Shoulders slumping, she found a patch of floor that wasn't claimed and plopped down with the minotaur horn clutched in her hand and Murphy nuzzling her neck.
Leonidas whines, nuzzling her making her smile even as her lips wobble. Taking a deep breath, she grabs her bags, slipping them off his back and opens it. Rhea's breath catches in her throat as she shakily grabs the small bag of blue jelly beans. She stares at them, Murphy chirping sadly at her as she feels tears burn in her eyes.
"That's the kid. I think she's the one who killed Pasiphae's son," Rhea looked up at this, but a guy older than the rest of them came towards her.
Rhea quickly stands up, her hands closing into fists, "Look, if you want to give me a hard time, just do it tomorrow," she sighs shaking her head, "I can't do anymore today,"
The guy looked at her sadly with his blue eyes. He was about nineteen she figured, tall and muscular, with shirt-cropped sandy hair and a… friendly smile. He wore an orange tank top, cutoffs, sandals and a leather necklace with five different colored clay beads. The only thing unsettling about his appearance was a thick white scar that ran from just beneath his right eye to his eye, like an old knife slash. "I heard what happen to you on the hill. And I just want to say," he brings his arms up and gently grab her shoulders, squeezing them comfortably, "wanted to say I'm really sorry. I know what you're going through, believe me," he takes a step back and holds out his hand, "I'm Luke,"
"Rhea," she chokes out taking a hold of his hand and shaking it.
Luke smiles gently at her, "I found a sleeping bag for you...and I stole some toiletries from the camp store for you," Rhea gently takes them, nodding her head in thanks. She couldn't tell if he was kidding about the stealing part. "Tough first day?"
She nodded her head, leaning against Leonidas' side, "Yeah… I knew the Gods were real, I met one of my elder immortal brothers when I was eleven...but I.."
"Being on the other side is different than hearing it," Luke offers, a gentle smile on his face. He pats her shoulder, "That's how we all started...and while it doesn't get easier," Rhea frowns at the bitterness in his voice. It surprised her, Luke seemed like he was a pretty easygoing guy. Like he could handle anything that was thrown at him, "We have each other. The campers here, they're mostly good people. After all, we're extended family, right?"
Rhea smiles at this, and Luke nods his head outside the cabin, "Why don't I give you a true tour. Not that I don't trust Chiron...or at least Hilbert...but.." his eyes flicker about, and Rhea could see that the others were still staring at her and she nodded her head quickly. Following Luke out of cabin Eleven with Leonidas beside her and Murphy in her arms, she looks to the other boy, who had curly dark black hair, wearing the same Camp-Half Blood shirt as all the other campers, "This is Chris Rodriguez,"
"Welcome to Camp," he whispers, making Rhea smile at him, "Don't mind the groans...they did the same to me when I first came here...still do since I'm still unclaimed,"
Rhea frowns at this, "Why is that okay? Why do they get to bring us here to just ignore us?" Rhea knew that Poseidon had a reason for her. If Zeus knew who her father was he would send a lightning bolt straight at her...but the other kids, "Why are there only twelve cabins and why are all the ones not claim lump up in Hermes' cabin"
"Spend too much time trying to figure out why the Gods do whatever it is they do," Luke shakes his head, "you'll drive yourself crazy. Sooner you stop worrying about that, the sooner you can enjoy what this place actually does offer,"
Rhea frowns, "And what's that?"
"Glory," Luke grins, pulling a Pokeball free from his trainer belt. Rhea blinks at the Serperior that was released, watching as it slithers besides Luke, gazing her with its read eyes over its shoulders. "Demigods have always fought for glory. They use to call it Kleos. It's like this stuff that attached itself to your name. Makes it bigger, scarier, more important. People listen closer when you talk, they work harder to be your friend and they think twice about messing with you,"
Chris turns to her, "Which is why...some people think you should be doing better,"
"Better?" Rhea was getting better now, "Better how? All I know is I killed that bull gu-" she yelps as someone bumps into her shoulder, "Hey!" she turns and then yelps as a hand pushes against her chest, knocking her onto her butt. Murphy chirps angrily, as Rhea looks up to see the largest girl she has ever seen. She looked to be about thirteen and fourteen, wearing a size XXXL Camp Half-Blood Shirt underneath a camouflage jacket. She was giving Rhea an evil sneer, making her think of Nancy. Though this girl was much bigger and her hair was long, going past her shoulders and was brown and curly. Her eyes though, were a deep red that glared down at Rhea, in disgust.
"I suggest you don't talk like that new girl-" she growls, "You have no idea how many kids at this camp wish they had your chance,"
"To get killed?" Rhea asked, pushing herself up.
"To fight the Minotaur!" she growls, stomping forward, but Luke stood in front of Rhea, giving her a stern look.
"Hey, knock it off, Clarisse. Its her first day, come on,"
Clarisse scoffs, before turning her gaze to Rhea," As if she actually fought Pasiphae's son. Look, you want attention here, dummy? You better be ready for it when it comes," she jumps forward, making Rhea take a step back and the three girls behind her, all wearing camo jackets like her laugh. But then Rhea couldn't help the gasp that left her, holding Murphy tighter in her arms. Horns had appeared on her head, black horns that curled into spirals, the tips sharp. Blinking again, Rhea stares when they faded away.
Rhea frowns, watching them walk off, "Well...she seems nice," she mutters turning to Luke and Chris, "And why did I for a second saw horns on her head?
"Clarisse La Rue, Daughter of Ares," Luke explained, "And the reason why you saw horns is because...well the Gods..they're Dragons," Rhea blinks at this, staring at him in confusion, "You have to remember Rhea, is that while they take human forms, the Gods aren't human. The dragon forms they take is the closet thing that mortals can see of their true form without burning up," he then turns to Rhea, gently petting the Serperior's head as it softly hisses, "And of course being their children...we aren't fully human as well,"
Chris nodded his head, "Its why its the norm for Half-Bloods to come here at the age of twelve. That is when your godly blood starts to awaken, its also why the Mist is slowly fading away. Soon you'll be able to see all of our features," he smiles, and Rhea blinks at the sharp teeth, the feathers growing on his neck, to the antlers. When she blinks, they were gone.
Luke pats her head, "With glory, comes jealously and some...well some think that you are lying about fighting Pasiphae's son,"
"Lying?" she stares, snapping her neck at him "That thing killed my mom! I wish I was all a lie because then she would still be here," both Luke and Chris grimace, "How was he even there...didn't he die like… a gajillion years ago. Theseus killed him in the labyrinth,"
"Monsters don't die, Rhea," Chris explained," They can be killed, but they don't die,"
"Well that clears it up," Rhea rolls her eyes, making Luke snicker.
"What Chris means is that they don't have souls like you and I," Luke gesturing to himself and then Rhea, "You can dispel them for a while, maybe even a whole lifetime if you're lucky. But they are primal forces. Chiron calls them archetypes. Eventually they reform,"
Rhea frowns at this, clutching Murphy tightly in her arms, "So...if I killed one...accidentally…"
Chris nods his head, "Yeah, they're still out there. You just made them very, very, mad,"
"Great," Rhea whispers, closing her eyes, "Just great," she sounded whiny but right then she didn't care, "Just what I needed, a demonic math teacher after me," Luke snorts at this, patting her on the back before him and Chris showed her a few more places. The metal shop (where kids were forging their own swords alongside fire types) the arts and crafts room (where satyrs were sandblasting a giant marble statue of Pan) and the climbing wall, which actually consisted of two facing walls that shook violently, dropped boulders, sprayed lava, and clashed together if you didn't get to the top quick enough. Leonidas was very interested in that.
The sun had started to set when Rhea started to smell barbecue smoke coming from somewhere. And at that moment, a horn blew in the distance. Somehow, Rhea knew it was a conch shell, even though she had never heard one before. Marching up the hill to the mess hall pavilion, I saw campers coming from the other cabins too, except for the three empty cabins at the end. Cabin eight, which had looked normal in the daylight was now starting to glow silver as the sun set. Satyrs were joining us from the meadows while Naiads emerged from the canoeing lake. A few other girls came out of the woods, and Rhea meant straight out of the woods as a girl about the age of nine or ten melt from the side of a maple tree, skipping up the hill.
In all, there were maybe a hundred campers, a few dozen satyrs and a dozen assorted wood nymphs and naiads. At the pavilion, torches blazed around the marble columns. A central fire burned in a bronze brazier the size of a bathtub. Each cabin had its own table, covered in white cloth trimmed in purple. Four of the tables were empty, but Cabin eleven's was way overcrowded. Rhea had to squeeze on to the edge of a bench with half her butt hanging off. Luke and Chris sat across of her, and she looked around. She saw Grover sitting at table twelve with Mr. D, a few satyrs and two plump blonde boys who had the same eyes as Mr D, purple. One had a Purlion while the other had a Bounsweet jumping up and down his head. Chiron stood to one side, the table being too small for the Centaur. Annabeth sat at a table six with a bunch of serious looking athletic kids, all with the same gray eyes as her. Clarisse sat behind Rhea at Ares' table, laughing and belching right alongside her siblings.
Chiron pounded his hoof against the marble floor of the pavilion, making everybody silent. He raised his glass, "To the Gods!"
Everybody raises their glasses as their Pokemon cry out to the sky, "To the Gods!"
Dryads came forward with platters of food and Rhea couldn't help but swallow. Being at a boarding school like Asperita Trainer Academy, she had been fed well. But with Gabe using all the money that her mom gain from her job for either Poker, beer and cigarettes there was some nights that...she had to go hungry. There were grapes, apples, Oran Berries, Razz Berries, Pinap Berries, and all sorts of other berries, but there were also cheese, fresh bread, barbecue. Bowls filled with Mac and cheese, mash potatoes. Swallowing, Rhea loaded her plate, but turn to her glass that was empty.
"Speak to it," Luke explained, "Whatever you want- nonalcoholic, of course,"
Nodding her head, she stares at the glass, "Cherry Coke," her eyes widen as the glass filled with sparkling caramel liquid. Biting at her lip, she whispers, "Blue Cherry Coke," and she smiles as the soda turned a violent shade of cobalt. Taking a sip, she closes her eyes, drinking a toast to her mother. "She's not gone," Rhea thought, "Not permanently, anyway," Rhea frowns placing the glass down, "Mama...she disappeared in a golden light...I don't think that what happens to somebody killed by the Minotaur...since I remember that they fed him people...can't actually eat people if they turn into golden light...so...maybe she was taken?"
A cry made her burst out of her thoughts and Rhea yelps grabbing Leonidas, "Leo! No! You can't eat all the sandwiches!" she scolds pulling the Miradon away from the now empty platter that once held the sandwiches. She apologized furiously to the Dryad, who giggles, waving away her concerns.
Luke and Chris laugh at this, making them cover their smiles with their hands when Rhea glares at them. But then Rhea looks up when a bell chimes, and everybody started getting ip, carrying their plates towards the fire in the center of the pavilion, "What's going on?"
"Burnt offerings," Luke smiles, "the Gods like the smell, so it gets their attention before you say a prayer,"
Rhea frowns, closing her eyes, "They like the smell if burnt mac & cheese?"
Chris snorts, "They like the smell of begging,"
Luke rolls his eyes, "Come on," Rhea stood up, giving Leonidas a look before following the two over to fire. As she got closer, she everyone was taking a portion of their meal and dropping it inot the fire, the ripest berry, the juiciest slice of beef, the warmest, most buttery roll. She watches as Luke approached the flames, bowed his head and tossed in a cluster of fat grapes, "Hermes," he whispers before turning towards Rhea, "You burn what you miss the most,"
Rhea nods her head, biting at her lip, "To Hermes...thank you for allowing me to stay in your Cabin. To whoever took my mom...I don't know why but thank you for saving her...and to Triton...I'm safe...and I'll keep on the download as much as I can...just know that I'm safe and that I love you," she stated in her head before scrapping a big slice of brisket into the flames. She then blinks as she got a whiff of the smoke, blinking at the smell of hot chocolate and fresh bake brownies. Of pomegranates and so many more things that shouldn't smell good together. Blinking, Rhea shakes her head before moving back to the table.
When everyone had finished and taken their seats again, they began to eat, all talking excitedly to each other about plans for this summer. Chiron pounded his hoof again to gain their attention once they finished as Mr. D got up with a huge sigh, "Yes, I suppose I better say hello to all you brats," he grumbles, even as his two boys snicker by him, "Well, hello," he rolls his eyes, "Our activities director, Chiron, says the next capture the flag is Friday. Cabin Five presently holds the laurels," A bunch of ugly cheering rose from the Ares table, "Personally," Mr. D shouted a bit, glaring at them, "I couldn't care less, but congratulations. Also I should tell you that we have a new camper today, Rhea Jackson,"
Whispers broke out at this, and Chris leans over, "He said your name right...that never happens,"
Rhea frowns, "Really? He's been saying my name right the whole time,"
"It might be because she's name after the Mother Titan," the camper sitting next to Rhea mutters, "I mean…" she shrugs, turning her gaze back to Mr. D.
"Hurrah, and all that," Mr. D shakes his head as he waves his hand, "Now run along to your silly campfire. Go on," Everybody cheered as they all headed down towards the amphitheater, where Apollo's cabin led a sing-along. They sang songs about the Gods, and ate s'mores and joke around, and Rhea couldn't help but smile, feeling at home.
Later in the evening though, when the sparks from the campfire curling into the starry night and everyone headed back to their Cabins to get ready for bed, Rhea stayed behind, staring at the flames. Gulping, she pulled out the blue jellybeans from her pocket, Leonidas whining. Taking a deep breath, she took one from the bag, looking at it before she throws it into the flames, "Hi...hi mom," she whispers, Leonidas placing his head on her lap, Murphy nuzzling her side, "I don't know if I'm...doing this right, but I hope you can hear me," she sighs, "I think you use to hate this. When the phone would ring the night you left me at a new school. I'd tell you that the people are awful and I wanted to come home," she gulps, feeling her face burn, bringing her hand up to pet Murphy's soft fur.
"Well...the good news is...this isn't that call. I hope you sat down," she chokes out a laugh, "But I think I might have made some friends here..like real friends besides Murphy...oh and Grover is here...though I'm worried about him...I hope he didn't get into trouble because of me," she shakes her head, tears beginning to stream down her face at the thought of getting her first friend in trouble, "But… I think they might really like me… can you imagine that?" she bites at her lips, "But...he isn't here...my father...I understand why," she looks over her shoulder, making sure no was around, "Hermano, explico por que..but a part of me….it hurts...I want...I mean ignoring me is one thing, but he doesn't get to ignore you…" she sighs, "A part of me wants to make him come down here, to make him see me, to make him see us both...but...I can't," she whispers, swallowing, before she takes a deep breath, "I can't… so...just know that I love you mama...I love you so much…" she whispers before she sat up, looking to Murphy who now cling to her shoulder, "Lets get ready for bed.." she whispers before pulling out Leonidas' Pokeball and returning him for the night.
Noctowls hoots and Kricketunes chirp as she headed back to Cabin Eleven when suddenly, Rhea was grabbed by the neck. Screaming out, Rhea's eyes widen as she spotted Clarisse who grins, "We got an initiation ceremony for newbies here runt, espically for those who lie," she growl as she drags her towards a cinder-block building that Rhea knew immediately was the bathroom. She kicked and punch, even trying to bite at Clarisse's hand but the other girl had hands like iron. Hands that shoved her to the ground, making her hold her neck in pain as it throbbed. Looking up, she saw Clarisse's red eyes glaring at her, two other kids beside her. Murphy wasn't having any good luck either as a Torracat pins him to the floor, claws scrapping against his back, making him chirp in pain. "Every new kid shows up here and they think they're special," Rhea turns her head to Clarisse, "Do you think your special?"
"No," Rhea stares, and then she growls, which shocked her, as the other two grabbed her by the arms, lifting her up, "Let go of me!"
"Tell me you made it all up about the Minotaur, and I'll let you go," Clarisse stated and Rhea snarls.
"I didn't make anything up," Rhea snarls, and she was then pushed towards one of the toilets. Her nose scrunches up at the smell and she couldn't help but think, that if this place belonged to the Gods, they should've been able to afford classier johns, "My mother died," she reminded them, "She died, and you think I would make something like that up!"
"Some kids got to learn the hard way," Clarisse said as Rhea was bent over onto her knees and her two siblings began to start pushing her head towards the toilet bowl. She couldn't help but gagged at the smell of rusted pipes and everything else that went in toilets. She strained to keep her head up, looking at the scummy water. She gritted her teeth, lips curled, "I am not going into that..I won't," and then she Rhea felt a tug in the pit of her stomach, the toilet beginning to rumble as the receded, the pipes shuddering. The two kid's grip on her loosen, before they cried out as water shot out of the toilet and the next thing Rhea knew, she was sprawled on the bathroom tiles with Clarisse and the two others screaming.
Grimacing, Rhea turns her head just as water blasted out of the toilet again, hitting Clarisse straight in the face so hard it pushed her backwards into one of the shower stalls on the other side of the bathroom. It sprayed on her like a fire hose, pushing her so hard it pushed her down on her butt. Her siblings weren't spare either, but they still tried to help her. But then the other toilets exploded and six more streams of toilet water blasted at them, and then were joined bu the showers acting up too. Gritting her teeth, Rhea watches as the camouflage girls were sprayed right out of the bathroon, spinning around like pieces of garbage being washed away.
As soon as they were out of the door, Rhea felt the tug in her gut lessen and the water shut off as quickley as it had started, "Damn it" Rhea whispers, picking up Murphy as the Oshawott shakes out his fur. Stepping outside, Clarisse and her sisters were sprawled in the mud, her hair was flattend across her face and her camouflage jacket was sopping and she smelled like sewage. "You are so dead, new girl. You are totally dead!" she snarls, which her Torracat agreed with her, both looking at her with absolute hatred.
Rhea takes a shakey breath, watching as the Ares kids got up and ran to Cabin Five. She grimaces at the bathroom that was now flooded, except for the place where she was now standing. A circle of dry floor around her, with not even one drop of water on her clothes. "Way to keep a low profile Rhea," she whispers, as she turns, but stops when she notices Annabeth who was staring at her. "I...can explain?"
The other was leaning against the doorframe, and clears her throat, "No, you can't,"
Rhea grimaces, but frowns, "Are...are you stalking me Annabeth?" she couldn't help but frown, "You were there at the night of the infirmary...and now you're here,"
"Yes," Rhea blinks, staring at shock at how easily Annabeth just admitted to it, "The reason why, is I've been waiting to see if something like this," she gestures to the mess, "would happen. So I'd know if you can help me?"
"Help you do what?" Rhea asked, frowning, "Is this about what you asked me about the Summer Solstice?"
Annabeth's shoulders tense, and her gray eyes locked onto her green, "So you do know something,"
"I really don't," Rhea frowns, shaking her head, "Back at my school, I overheard Grover and Chiron talking about it. Grover mentioned the Summer Solstice. He said something like," she frowns a bit, "like we didn't have much time, because of the deadline. Though I don't know what deadline they're talking about,"
Annabeth clenches her fists, "I knew something was going on. Chiron, Mr. D, and the satyrs...they know, but they won't tell me, or anyone of us. Something is wrong in Olympus, something pretty major. Last time, everything see, so normal," she shakes her head, "After our visit, the weather got weird, as if the Gods had started fighting. A couple of times since, I've overheard the satyrs talking. The best I figure out is that something important was stolen. And if it isn't returned by the Summer Solstice, there's going to be trouble. When you came," she stares at Rhea, with a frown, before she shakes her head, seeing the perplex looked on Rhea's face, "You should get ready for bed, you look like you're about to collapse right here and then. But I'll talk to Chiron, you defiantly need to speak to the Oracle,"
"Who?"
"Not who. What." Annabeth shakes her head, "Just get some sleep okay. I'll figure this out later,"
Rhea stares, but gently picks up Murphy and started her way back to Cabin Eleven. Before she left, she could hear the other girl whispered to herself, "I've got to get a quest. I'm not too young. If they would just tell me the problem,"