The chaos started the moment Percy Jackson stepped onto Camp Half-Blood's grounds.
He had barely taken three steps before campers began to notice his arrival. A few heads turned, then a few more. Someone whispered, "Hey, isn't that the Sun Kid?" and suddenly a small crowd gathered, their curiosity quickly turning into an impromptu interrogation.
Before he could even think about answering, an argument broke out.
"He should be in the Apollo Cabin! He's literally co-owning the Sun!" shouted one of Apollo's kids, a lanky boy with sunglasses pushed up on his head.
"No way! He's Poseidon's kid! He belongs in Cabin Three!" another camper shot back, arms crossed stubbornly.
"He drives the Sun! That makes him a Sun God!"
"He's still a son of Poseidon!"
"He's literally part god at this point!"
"He's still mortal!"
Percy wasn't sure which side to take. On one hand, he really liked the Apollo kids—they were like adorable little balls of sunshine, chaotic and full of energy, and they adored him. On the other hand, his dad was Poseidon. And that apparently meant something here.
Chiron attempted to calm everyone down, trotting forward with his usual air of authority. "Let's not argue about this just yet. The gods—"
And that's when it happened.
Right in the middle of camp, in front of dozens of campers, a trident appeared over Percy's head.
But not the usual ocean-blue trident that Poseidon's children got.
This one was gold. Divine gold.
The arguing stopped instantly. Silence fell over the camp. Even the wind seemed to still, as if the entire world was holding its breath.
Someone coughed awkwardly.
"…That's not normal," one of the Hermes kids muttered.
A girl from the Athena cabin adjusted her glasses. "That's… not supposed to happen."
Chiron looked like he had just aged another century. His tail swished anxiously as he took a deep breath. "It would seem," he said carefully, "that Apollo and Poseidon have… come to an agreement of sorts."
"Or didn't," someone muttered.
More murmurs spread as campers tried to figure out what this meant.
"So is he a son of Poseidon, or is he Apollo's now?"
"Can you be both?"
"Are you… co-claimed?"
Percy groaned, rubbing his temples. "Look, I don't know what to tell you guys. I'm still me. I still have the whole 'breathing underwater' thing, and I still drive the Sun." He shrugged. "I guess they agreed to share?"
Cue even more chaos.
Percy could already see this was going to be a long summer.