[Other OPEN] Trials of Olympus [IC]

Groc · Aug 14, 2016

Barbara "Ash" Ashford
Daughter of Hephaestus

Ash didn't know exactly what was going on, but metal birds attacking the students seemed like as good a reason as any to evacuate the school. Some students apparently thought going out the window was a good idea, while others thought charging through the swarm of metal pigeons would be safer. Ash took a third option, going the other direction from everyone else, finding herself lost and alone in the school's hallways. On the bright side, she wasn't getting attacked by birds.

"Oh, sure. 'Go to reform school, Barb. You'll fit right in, Barb. It'll make your mother happy, Barb!' Well, look where that got me! Surrounded by robotic birds from Hell, in a school with geometry that defies human comprehension, and where even the boys are prettier than me!" Her angry tirade was cut short by the sound of approaching wings, making her hide in the closest room she could find.

It turned out to be a janitor's closet. Ash fought to contain an exasperated sigh, silently cursing her luck. She wasn't going to escape the school if she just hid in the closet, and she wouldn't last long alone and unarmed. After a moment, she couldn't hear the birds anymore, so she put her ear to the door to listen. All seemed quiet, and she let out a sigh of relief as she opened the door.

A bird screeched and swooped at her as she did. It had been waiting for her, but she managed to slam the door shut before it could reach her. It began attacking the door, tearing a hole in it with its razor sharp beak. Ash pressed herself against the wall, desperately searching for a weapon. Her hand closed around the handle of a simple claw hammer, giving her a bit of hope. The bird forced its head through the door, and Ash swung the hammer with all of her strength, denting the bronze beak and sending the bird tumbling to the floor. She quickly vacated the closet, running down the hallway as fast as she could. The sounds of more birds followed her as she found herself at a fire exit.

She kicked open the door, stumbling out into the bright sunlight. She staggered, taking a moment to put her goggles on, the thick black lenses protecting her eyes from the sun. There were more birds circling out here, many of them larger than the ones inside. Speaking of which, some of the metal pigeons followed her outside, landing on her broad shoulders and pecking at her head. In a panic, she swung her hammer wildly, trying to dislodge the avian attackers. She got lucky, hitting one and knocking it loose, but her luck turned sour when she accidentally hit herself in the jaw with the hammer, cracking something and knocking herself to the ground.

More birds swarmed her, pecking and slicing with their wings as she tried to fight them off. Fear and anger filled her, a steady fire building in her stomach. One of the birds got past her arms and to her face, trying to break her goggles and get to her eyes. Surprisingly, the goggles did not break, resisting the sharp beak of the bird, but Ash was too angry to notice, and her fury finally spilled over. Ash burst into flame, screaming in pain, fear, and anger. The birds leapt from her, the fires warping and melting their delicate feathers.

Ash rose to her feet, panting with exhaustion, not even noticing the flames which had repelled the birds, but left her unscathed. She shouted in defiance and rage, sending out a shockwave of heat and flame, driving the birds away. The fires extinguished, leaving Ash dizzy and covered in patches of soot, but alive. Her jaw hurt, and she was bleeding from a dozen cuts on her face and arms, but she had a chance to escape now. She ran for the bus, stopping at the door to help some other students get on, her red hot hammer ready to repel any birds that tried to get close.

ShaymieTheShaymin · Aug 16, 2016

Cornelia Marx

Nellie had just been absentmindedly drawing flowers on her wrist with a Sharpie, ignoring everyone else in the class. She had barely looked at them as she entered the classroom, though she had noticed that all of them were older than she was. She barely had experience with people her own age, let alone those older than her.

The next thing she knew, the entire classroom was in ruins because of a giant bird, some of the other students had jumped out of the window, and another was being carried away by the creepy hairy teacher who had turned into an even hairier monster.

Nellie screamed as the giant metal bird smashed through the window and ducked underneath her desk for safety. She had been told to do that if a tornado ever came, but she was sure that it would apply for this situation as well. She was frozen as she watched her classmates run from the room.

She took a deep breath and rubbed the stuffed rabbit she kept in her pocket for good luck. She ran out of the room and scowled when she saw that the hallway was filled with smaller birds. She shrieked as the birds started to attack her, pecking at her face and pulling her hair out of its pigtails. She swatted at them as best she could and ran towards the door, though she couldn't really see that well due to the blood running down her forehead and into her eyes from a deep scratch on her forehead.

She wiped the blood away from her eyes and pushed her sweaty bangs out of her face. She could see the bus outside and took another deep breath. She could do this. All she had to do was make it to the bus and she'd be alright… Hopefully the birds didn't know how to open doors or think to carry the bus away. They didn't seem to be that smart, after all.

Here goes nothing, Nellie thought with a huff. She took off her jacket and tucked her rabbit into her belt for safety. She used her jacket to push the birds away as she ran to the bus, or at least she attempted to. It only seemed to make the birds angrier, and they pecked at the jacket and pulled at it until she was forced to drop it. She held her stuffed rabbit close to her as she finally reached the bus.

One normal school. Why can't I have just one normal school?

Sephear · Aug 19, 2016

Window Divers: The last final completion of finale's end.

Birds, four or five, or maybe six, they divebombed what was quickly becoming a foursome. Too many people, and Tanith had no idea how useful any of them would be. Eamon at least tried to be, setting himself up between the witch and the birds before he braced for impact, but didn't exactly account for height. To their good fortune, though, Eamon was also the first target. His necklace glowed, and above him the primary airstrike dented its bronze beak on a magical shield, held over Eamon's head. The second did the same, but the remainder further back were a good bit smarter while slacker Callum fully joined the group.

"Well, I'm sure glad that happened again. Don't want to imagine the result if it didn't."

Tanith raised her hand up to block some of the sunlight, giving her a clear view of their quarry, and lifted the other to aim at them. She marked them with her fingers, one, two, three, four, then told them, "Burn."

As she commanded, just a moment later, each one was immolated in order. Before they managed to attack the students, they were reduced to ash. Their essence flowed in the wind, only to be helplessly sucked into the gloves covering Tanith's hands. "Aw, c'mon," Eamon added with a chuckle, ignoring the sense of urgency floating around. "You're makin' me look bad."

"You can do magic?" mentioned Callum as he came closer to the witch. She could do all the work while he ran away! Wait, he wasn't thinking out loud again, was he? No? Okay, good.

Eamon took charge with some suggestions, asking Tanith if she could pull off her magic on the move, and eliciting a nod in affirmation. "Guess we've got a plan of action, then, if the buggers keep trying for us."

Unfortunately, Sirus was more than panicked, cowering against the wall of the school. He clearly had no idea what to do, so he wouldn't be much help if bad went to worse. "Go ahead," Eamon assured him. "We'll keep 'em busy if they start going kamikaze again, so get out front." The ghost lover didn't hesitate to grant Eamon's request, rushing out to climb into the bus with all of the other students. Then Eamon turned to Callum when they started walking again. "Anything you've got up your sleeve?"

"Nope, I've never fought." He paused briefly. "Except in my dreams; that count?"

"Depends if your dream fightin' makes your real fightin' any better."

He shrugged as another bird was beaten away by Eamon, then destroyed by Tanith. "No idea."

"Might wanna get in front of us, then. We're almost to the bus anyways."

Callum nodded, and picked up the pace, avoiding birds as they attacked. He drew out in front before battering away a bird with his table leg. Eamon was right. The parking lot wasn't particularly massive, so after they finally got around the much larger school building, it was a pretty short walk to meet with everyone else.

Making it to the bus, Callum piled in with the others first, abandoning his bent table leg. While the other two stayed outside, Tanith had no desire to draw more attention to herself than the three to whom she'd already displayed her magic, so she helped Eamon onto the roof. She widened the range of his shield with some kind of air magic before joining the others inside, the latter happy to show off by comparison until everyone was securely inside.

Strange · Aug 19, 2016

Michael

Wind whipped through Michael's hair as he tried to manipulate his new pair of wings. Somehow he had magically grown a pair of intangible wings, which illuminated his back with a green glow. He flapped them a few times, articulating his back muscles, and even managed to change direction. But, he obviously wasn't very good at it, as a large bird followed behind him and was quickly gaining distance. His inability to fly saved him in the end, as he hit a strong breeze and was flipped backwards, plummeting towards the ground and out of the bird's way.

Pavement filled his vision as he grew closer and closer to the ground. Struggling to right himself and slow his fall with his wings, he was shocked to collide with one of the large birds instead. It provided him with something to push off of and doing so he regained his flight. He flew towards another one of the large birds, collided, and then pushed off and repeated the motion he did before, managing to down another of the avian attackers.

Pleased with his progress, he grew arrogant, and within mere seconds found himself crashing into another bird, but this time it pinched his pant leg in its beak, taking him down with it. As he fell he managed to kick the bird in the face with his other leg, freeing himself, but by that point all he could do was ease up on the speed of his fall, and steer himself to the roof of the bus. A loud bang sounded as he crashed into the emergency hatch in the roof, which buckled under his weight and sent him falling into the bus, probably breaking both his legs in the process. Everything seemed a bit hazy after that, the pain causing Michael to black out on the floor, wings sparkling before they too fizzled out.

Michael's last thoughts were worrying about who was going to drive the bus if everyone was as injured as he was, and if driving away was even going to help.

Strange · Aug 21, 2016

The bus creaked and groaned as it started up, shaking and spitting out smoke from multiple cracks in the hood. "Get ready!" a trio of old ladies yelled from the front seats, one sitting in the driver seat, and two in the seat directly behind her. They hadn't been there a moment before, but they suddenly acted like they were always there waiting for everyone to board the bus. "You're laaaaatttee!" they called out, although it was unclear which students they were talking to.

The bus rocked back and forth as birds smashed into the sides, making its way out of the parking lot. As soon as it reached the road the ladies cried out, "Hold on to your hats!" the first one yelled, "It's going to be a bumpy ride!" the other two finished. As soon as the sound escaped their lips the bus shot down the road like a rocket, the views outside the window turning to blurs, as anyone not holding on tight was thrust into the back wall. It continued for a few minutes, until suddenly the ladies called out, "Brace, for, impact!" they each screamed in order.

As if on queue, the bus collided with something that caused everyone to go flying forward, the windows bursting and colorful light cascading off of every surface and filling the passengers' vision. A crew of demigods rushed to the scene, pulling unconscious people from the wreck. The Fates, who had been driving the bus, were nowhere to be found. They had successfully gotten most of the demigods from their vision of the future to camp safely, and had gone back to monitoring the situation from afar, ready to intervene if necessary.

.

Characters will wake up in the infirmary anywhere from hours to days after their arrival to camp. After they wake up, they will be free to explore camp, and do anything they wish until the next camp event. Some ideas of things to do include: Join/build a cabin, impress a capture the flag alliance so they choose your character to join their team, practice/learn combat, find a weapon in the armory, meet new people, or visit the stables.

If you have any questions just ask me and I'll try to get back asap!

EDIT: You can/must make an npc which is assigned to explain to your character that they are a demigod and show them around camp.

Oddball_ · Aug 29, 2016

Sirus Osborne

17 | Male | Child of Hades
Main tasks: Explore camp Half Blood and find a Cabin
Side tasks: Meet the other Half Bloods

"Everyones favourite black haired ghost whisperer was last seen leaping from the second story window of his new school after it was mysteriously attacked by giant metal birds without his every faithful and dashingly handsome undead guardian slash babysitter to protect him..." The familiar obnoxious voice of Arty monolouged as he sat beside an unconscious Sirus in the infirmary of camp half bloods big house.

"Five more minutes i've almost hit the level cap..." Sirus mumbled in his sleep.

Arty rolled his eyes and pushed the boy off of the bed with a sigh. The loud thunk echoing throughout the eerily quiet room.

"Wha- What the **** Arty!" Sirus hissed as climbed to his feet and glared at his companion.

"Look i've been sitting here bored off my ass for like three hours so im going to make this quick. Your dads the god of death and benevolent ruler of the underword: Hades. You're a Demigod who is able to see ghosts and probably much more because of that, I was assigned to guard you when you were little until you came of age when your powers would start to draw the attention of ancient monsters that I wouldn't be able to guard you against. Since that day was clearly today, You along with many others like you were brought here to camp half blood because this is a safe place where monsters can't get you. Are you with me?" Arty quickly recited.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Dude what the **** are you on... Didn't you listen when they showed us all those anti drug campaigns in school? Drugs are bad Mkay. I didn't even know ghosts could do drugs. Actually wait, you're not all shiny and see through. So you get a... meat suit? And the first thing you do is get high off your ass?" Sirus eventually exploded throwing question after question at bodyguard and best friend.

Arty rolled his eyes and slapped the young demigod with a quick, brutal, and effective backhand.

"Thanks I needed that." Sirus grunted as he rubbed his sore face.

"I gotta say, I'm 'digging' the term meatsuit as you kids would say." Arty responded with a grin that said "Also digging the fact that I finally got to slap you. I've wanted to do that for years."

Oblivious to the context of said smile, Sirus rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He had forgotten to shave earlier and the tiny amount of stubble was already driving him nuts.

"Oh and the reason I've got a body now is because while we're here its better to be a vestige than a ghost. Ghosts can't make it into the barrier, it was a safeguard against Banshees and Poltergeists. Vestige is the term for people like me, Ghosts in a shell made by the big man downstairs. Well I doubt Hades himself made it, likely had his army of skeletal butlers do it. Theres perks to being a god I guess. Anyway, Not quite alive but more than your average undead."

"Okay then." Sirus said eventually.

"Thats it? Considering what I just said thats a bit of a lame response." Arty chuckled as he threw an arm around the boys shoulder and led him out of the Big House.

"Well lets see... I can see and talk to ghosts, can fight monsters, and today I saw a girl cast actual magic. I can cast magic too right? I'd be a badass wizard." Sirus said dreamily. "Anyway, I guess my life is already so crazy that I can't really say I don't believe you."

"Fair play... and not quite magic, try necromancy, shadow manipulation, and general death and darkness related stuff." Arty responded as they opened the front door.

Sirus rolled his eyes as he pushed his hair down to cover his eyes and adopted a sullen look.

"...What are you doing now?" Arty sighed as he watched his demigod companion.

"Sirus is dead. My name is Edge." The boy said in a monotone voice before erupting into laughter.

"I hate you." Arty sighed as a small grin etched its way onto his face.

"So you were saying this place is like a camp for people like me right?" Sirus asked as he returned his hair to its usual spikiness.

"Indeed, this is camp half blood. Everyone you see here is either a demigod like yourself or some sort of mythical entity. Dryads, Nymphs, Faeries, Satyrs, Centaurs, etc." Arty listed off as they walked down a worn dirt path and he pointed at each of the strange creatures whom waved back.

"Mermaids?"

"Yep."

"Top half human bottom half fish?"

"Yes... why?"

"Always been curious."

"You're weird curiosities aside, while you were enjoying your time at school, I found a cabin I think you'll take a particular shine too."

It was a short trip to said cabin. It was an old wooden building, similar to most of the other cabins. This cabin in particular was on the outskirts of the wood, a small garden filled with the remains of several plants sat within a busted up fence on the side of the building. An old rotted out porch swing sat collapsed on the to the cabin, and some form of ivy was growing up the side of the building. Several windows were busted and old shutters were hanging on their last hinge.

"Why do I have the feeling i'm about to meet an axe murderer?" Sirus asked as he 'admired' the building.

At that moment a strange sight to behold leaped through the window and landed on the grass. Said sight was a cat. Or rather the skeletal remains of one.

"Kitty!" Sirus gasped as the small undead creature came up and rubbed against his leg. "Skeleton kitty even." He chuckled as he picked up and cradled the cat in his arms as the cat (Somehow) purred happily.

"I found him here, I can only assume its a sign from your father. I'm not sure if its a sign to say you should stay here, or to comfort you and tell you he's been watching you and is aware of your... obsession with small animals. Regardless, I think this cabin is quite nice, despite needing a bit of repair." Arty mused.

"You're name is fluffy and you will be my fluffy." Sirus mumbled as he continued to cradle the kitten.

"For the love of... It doesn't even have fur!" Arty complained.

As if hearing his complaint. The cat suddenly leapt from the demigods arms and began to glow with a purple light before landing on the grass with flesh, blood and fur. Sirus, with his knowledge of all things cute and adorable, knew that the cat was an Egyptian Mau breed. It had silvery eyes and it held itself in what could only be described as the most arogant and cocky pose in the universe, but being a cat, that was to be expected.

"Mreowwww." The cat replied proudly, flicking its tail from side to side and seemingly grinning at Arty for having stolen Sirus' affection and attention.

As Sirus hyperventilated at having a transforming undead cat, Arty glared at the cat and crossed his arms. "You're still not calling it fluffy." He muttered after a moment.

"Fine, i'll think of something later." Sirus giggled as he played with the cats ears.

The trio then headed into the cabin. The interior wasn't nearly as bad as the exterior, but it was still going to need some touches here and there. Noticing that in one of the rooms there was a surprisingly well kept hammock hanging from the ceiling the prince of the underworld happily cheered and hopped into it, the cat hopping into his lap and curling into a ball in his lap.

"So?" Arty asked as Sirus relaxed in the hammock.

"Its a ****hole, but its my ****hole now." Sirus murmured lazily with his eyes closed as he mentally added "Fix the Cabin" to his side quest journal.

"Don't worry, i'm sure some other demigods will move in as well. If not then you have an entire cabin to yourself... As always, i'll be around if you need anything however i've been away from camp for seventeen years. I think its about time I get back to work as a sparring instructor. Oh and ignore the rumors anyone tells you about this cabin. I promise its not cursed or haunted or anything." Arty cheered as he walked over to the door.

"Other demigods?" Sirus mused as he stroked the kittens chin. "Maybe the pretty boy and the strange magic gal will move in. What were their names... Eamon and Tanith? Eh, maybe i'm only saying that because they're the only people I really talked to. Even then, leaping out of a window and fighting giant metal birds doesn't exactly give one the necessary time to judge the character of an individual." Sirus murmurred.

Suddenly some of Arty's words rang in his ears as he finally realized had been said and he once again opened his mental journal to add in another entry.

"WHAT CURSE YOU PRICK!"

Strange · Aug 29, 2016

Michael

Darkness and empty space surrounded Michael. He wasn't sure exactly where he was, but as time ticked by a room slowly materialized around him. It was a nice room, well lit, with huge thick walls, coated in a diamond patterned black wallpaper. There was a single door, tall and foreboding, stuck on a wall, sandwiched between two potted ferns.

"Hello?" Michael called out. As empty as the room was, he had no echo. It was almost as if the walls had consumed his voice. Actually, he didn't seem to hear any sound come out of his mouth. He almost panicked, but then noticed that the door was an elevator, although it didn't appear to have any buttons on it at all. There was a sudden flash of light, and there the buttons were. Stunned, he slowly reached his arm out to touch them, only to jump back when the elevator made a ding noise and the doors began to slide open. Out of them came a tall pale man with dark greasy hair that trailed down into a beard, which grew down to his feet. He was wearing raggedy clothing, and looked like he hadn't slept in weeks. Michael looked at him quizzically, before the man suddenly transformed in the same flash of light that caused the buttons to appear.

In seconds the man had gone from old ugly hobo, to a hadsome businessman. He was just as tall as before, with the same pale complexion, but his hair was neatly tied back in a bun, and his face was neatly shaven. He had sparkling silver eyes, and his mouth was contorted in a wicked smile. "Welcome to Hell!" he laughed. Hell? How what was this man talking about?

"Before you go asking questions, heh get it? Cause your voice doesn't work?" Michael wasn't amused. "Well, anyway, I'm your Father, this is Hell, and you're dead." Michael gave him a look that was both confused and concerned. "I'm Phobetor, greek god of nightmares, which makes you, a demigod. Or well, you were a demigod, now you're dead." he laughed again, seemingly amused by every little joke he made. "Anyway, you have powers and such, yadda yadda, you already figured out how the wings work." Michael glared at him. "Fiiiinnneee. I give up, we ca talk about you being dead first. I worked out a little deal with the fates, since they were the ones that killed you by going like three-hundred miles per hour down the road. I mean seriously, do those gals know how to have fun or what? Well, they didn't really care about the fact that they killed you, but they did owe me a favor, so they said they wouldn't kill you yet. You've still got another, what, ten years? Yeah I think that's what they said, anyway, I think you're starting to wake up now. See ya!"

The world of darkness was replaced with a blinding light in an instant. Michael tried opening his eyes, but considering he was blinded with his eyes shut, opening them was like looking directly into the sun. He screamed out in pain, thrashing for a minute before hearing someone rush over to him and stuck a cup in his hand. "Drink this" they demanded. He obeyed, regaining his sight the instant the delicious liquid touched his tongue. "Sorry about the wait. I thought you were dead." When Michael opened his eyes, there was a boy with long blonde hair standing over him, wearing what looked to be a lab coat covered in blood. "Uhh, yeah, I was. I think." he stammered out before realizing he was laying in a hole in the ground, with a pile of dirt next to him. His eyes went wide, and he quickly jumped up, and ran out of the hole.

"You almost buried me alive!"

Ewery1 · Sep 1, 2016

Illuminating the Truth

Lucas Samson
Son of Hemera
Camp Halfblood

Luke stood in a place completely shrouded in darkness. He looked around, but he could make out absolutely no features about the area he was in. A faint breeze blew over his skin, tickling it lightly, yet, somehow the air felt malevolent. Suddenly, directly in front of him about two hundred feet off, a sword appeared. It apparently levitated in the air, anything it may have been connected to was shrouded in darkness. The sword glowed intensely, a brilliant white blade attached to a dark brown hilt with a silver guard. The sword was about three and a half feet long; something about it exuded incredible amounts of power. Luke found himself drawn toward it, walking as if pulled by a mysterious force. The light emitted from the sword was immediately swallowed up by the darkness around it, but it still shone directly to Luke.

As Luke reached fifty feet away from the sword, a chill coursed through his body. Something very large and painful smashed into his back, sending him flying through the air in the direction of the sword. His vision flickered and he felt a sharp pain sear through his chest. Luke looked down. The sword was impaled to the hilt all the way through Luke's abdomen.

Suddenly Luke was in a forest. The sword was gone and his body was intact. He stood on the edge of a clearing in a forest, watching two people have a picnic in the center. He could not discern anything about them at all. The woods began to gray and darken, causing the two people to look up at the sky. Luke followed suit, but there did not seem to be a cloud in sight. He shivered again, very confused as the two people ran into the woods, leaving behind their meal.

All light quickly drained out of the area; it became very dark, the sky only lit very shallowly by the sun, which now appeared to be a vague blotch of dark red blood in a sea of ink. As Luke watched the clearing, forms began to move through it in troves. Luke could tell nothing about them at all. Some were gigantic, and some very small, but they might as well have been blobs of ebony paint on a sable canvas. Luke felt immobilized by a strange fear, shocked to the core by this outlandish sight. A figure neared him; he sweated, unable to work up the nerve to move. It stopped. Strange noises emanated from it, like the desperate, vague whispering of souls long lost, yearning to be remembered. The figure touched him and he awoke with a start.

As Luke's eyes shot open, the first thing he noticed was that his head felt like someone had smacked it with a brick. He stared up at an empty wooden ceiling as he came to his senses. After a brief moment of contemplation, he glanced about the room.

A series of beds and gurneys were set around the room near him in what appeared to be some kind of a hospital cabin. Various medical supplies were strewn about the area in a disorderly fashion, on cabinets and some even on empty beds. The nurse Luke met at Three Fates earlier, Ellie, lounged in an armchair outside of the opened doorway, reading a book. Luke glanced through all of the windows; all he could make out was some grass and two vague figures walking away from the cabin. The blond looked around the room at the other people in beds. He recognized most of them from Three Fates, although some that he did not recognize had some pretty nasty injuries.

Luke quickly moved to an upright position, immediately regretting his decision when his head throbbed with newfound vigor. He grunted. Ellie looked over at him and rolled her eyes. She spoke to nobody in particular, "Oh Iris, goddess of the Rainbow, please accept my offering." She threw a coin out of Luke's sight, "Show me Balthazar." She paused. After a moment she snorted, "Yeah, we got another one."

Luke swung his legs to hang over the edge of the bed and bent forward. He looked around for his backpack, but it was nowhere to be seen. The boy studied the room and Ellie barked out, "Stay put kid." She waved her left hand in his general direction and absentmindedly began reading again. Luke felt his headache subside.

After a minute or two, a girl entered the building and made a beeline for Luke. She was a little Indian lady with short, mostly black hair, twin pink-streaked tiny pigtails sprung straight up like miniature geysers off of her head. Her clothes were an outrageous neon yellow athletic hoodie and a pair of similarly grotesque orange yoga pants. She wore a vibrant smile, lips extended to their fullest, shining brilliant white teeth at Luke.

She stuck out her right hand, open palmed, and beamed, "Hi!! I'm Advika! I'll be giving you your tour around Camp Halfblood!! And who are you?"

"Um, Luke," He stuttered, "Excuse me, Camp Halfblood?? Where am I exactly?"

"So, how much exactly do you know about your parents?" Advika interjected

"Why?"

"I'm guessing your mom or your dad hasn't been in your life since you were a child, right?"

"My mom. How do you know that?" Luke asked suspiciously.

"Okay, this is going to be a lot to handle, but bear with me okay?" Her smile faded, "Are you religious?"

"A little."

"Well, you can throw all that out the window. We are what are called demigods," Luke's face was frozen in a picture of disbelief, "You know all of those Greek 'myths' about Hercules and stuff? Well, those are all true," She paused briefly, "For the most part anyway. Now your mom, most likely, was a goddess. This is a camp for people like you and me. For example, my mom is Keto, goddess of sea monsters." She chuckled, "I know, I don't look the part, do I? Well anyway, you've been attacked by monsters before, right? Things that probably other people say don't exist but you know are very real? That's because of your heritage. And so, here at Camp Halfblood, our goal is to train you and take care of you so you can survive in the real world."

Luke stared at her blankly. "I know, it's a lot to process," She smiled softly, "Come with me and I'll give you a tour. It'll start to make sense. Don't worry." She led Luke out of the cabin to Ellie and waved to her, "This here is Eileithyia or Ellie as we like to call her. She's the goddess of childbirth and our local nurse here."

"Don't remind me," She spat back, still fully engrossed in her book. Advika smiled and guided Luke across the campus. The camp was a large field with plenty of buildings and structures dotted across it. Campers ambled across the grounds, some looked like they were engaged in fights with swords. Behind the building they came from, a river extended into a large body of water; across which Luke could vaguely see some sort of city. On the far side of the field was a huge, thick forest. Luke looked up at the sky, and the weather was perfect above the camp, not a single cloud. As he glanced off toward the body of water, he noticed that there seemed to be a pretty sizable storm that was not affecting them at all.

"So you noticed," Advika smiled, "You're pretty attentive!! There's a magical barrier over this camp that stops anything we don't want in from getting in. That means bad weather and angry monsters. You're pretty safe here. Compared to the outside world at least."

Before the two were a series of smaller cabins, decorated with various colors and symbols. Some campers milled about them. "And these are the cabins," She gestured in their general direction with a gigantic smile. "This is where we sleep and live basically. The different cabins belong to different teams, hence the colors. That's a bit- complicated, though, so whatever team you end up being a part of will explain it to you," She chuckled, "Just try to be a part of one of the better teams. You don't want to be stuck with the Drunken Satyrs. Actually, anything except them would be okay. You don't look like you'd survive a day with Fern." She grinned widely, "I'm only joking."

They made their way along the river, Advika pointed out the Arts and Crafts Center and the volleyball court. They came to a large building unlike any of the others. It was a gigantic, three-story, sky blue building. A long porch wrapped around two sides of the structure, decorated with silver, unmoving wind chimes. On the roof, a bronze eagle weathervane lazily shifted back and forth.

Advika turned around to face Luke with a grandiose gesture, sweeping her arms upward in a circle, "This is the Big House." She grinned, "Here's where Buck stays, our camp director, and all of the other administrators. Like Ellie. There's also some other stuff here that you probably won't need to ever worry about. Okay. Let's move on!!" She took off across the camp and Luke followed he, begrudgingly.

They passed a colossal field of strawberries and a forge and armory that Advika told Luke he didn't need to think about. A large shape flew overhead. Luke looked up. He was shocked. It was a pegasus. "Yup, we've got pegasi here too! Those buildings right there are the Pegasus Stables," She beamed, "Always wanted to ride one…" Luke stood, flabbergasted. Advika smiled, "You'll get used to it."

"Uh, where can I sign up for lessons to ride one?" Luke asked, stock-still.

Advika beamed, "That's the spirit! You'll have to talk to your cabin leader about that. Hey, maybe if you're lucky it'll be me!!" She grinned.

They passed some arenas, full of people dueling it out, which Luke was fascinated by. Advika would not let him linger long to watch, though. They made their way to the edge of the forest, by another river.

"This is the forest," She said, her perpetual smile fading, "Don't ever go in there unless there's some kind of event. All sorts of monsters lurk in there and leftover traps. We play capture the flag in the forest, a big camp-wide event. Otherwise, I don't mess with it. Unless I'm practicing stuff, but you won't need to worry about that. That's just me. Am I perfectly clear?" She stared Luke directly in the eyes.

"Uh yeah," He stuttered back.

"Great!!" Her cheer returned. Advika showed him the Mess Hall and the Long Island Sound, before dropping him back at the Infirmary. "I hope to see you again soon!! But for now I'll leave you here in case you want to see any of your friends," With that, she waved at him and was gone. Luke haphazardly walked to the lake in back of the Infirmary and plopped to the ground, contemplating everything that he just occurred in a whirl of confusion.

Groc · Sep 2, 2016

Barbara "Ash" Ashford
Daughter of Hephaestus

Ash didn't remember blacking out, so suddenly waking up was a bit of a shock. One moment she was on a bus, going hundreds of miles per hour, the next she was lying in a bed, too weak to move. That scared her more than anything else, being weak. It wasn't something she was used to, and it filled her with dread.

She heard a door open, and strained to lift herself up. Footsteps approached, and she collapsed, breathing heavily. A doctor (judging by his white coat) stood over her, jotting down notes on a clipboard. Ash could swear she'd seen him before, but couldn't remember from where. He finally looked at her, apparently surprised to see her awake. "Oh, you're up! And here I thought you'd died in your sleep." He chuckled, putting down his clipboard.

"I guess I'll just have to kill you while you're awake." He calmly put a pillow over Ash's face, smothering her weak cries of protest and alarm. She struggled, but was too weak to move. As her vision started to go dark, she felt fire in her belly, burning away the feeling of weakness. She clenched her fist in fury, shouted "NO!" and swung with all her might.

A loud clatter awoke her, and she bolted upright in bed. She was in an infirmary, and she could hear birds outside. There was no murderous doctor, she could move just fine, and the fire inside her started to die down. "Wha... what the hell was that?" She asked, her throat dry.

She heard a soft groan from the floor, and she remembered the sound that had woke her up. "Wow... that must have been some nightmare! Are you okay?" A girl picked herself up off the floor, looking concerned, but offering a smile.

She was nearly a foot shorter than Ash, with curly brown hair tied in a ponytail that reached her waist, warm brown eyes, and a pink shirt and white skirt that were covered in flour. She was cute, in the same way a hamster is cute: small and a little chubby, but cheerful and energetic.

"How... *ahem*... how long was I asleep?" Ash asked, coughing a little. The girl smiled a knowing smile, offering Ash a cup of water. "About three days. You had a fractured skull and a slight concussion, but Miss Ellie patched you right up!" She took Ash's empty cup, refilling it for her. "My name's Alicia, Alicia Baker!" She pronounced it "a-LEE-see-a".

Ash was starting to grow tired of Alicia's cheery demeanor. "Right. Thanks for the drink, but I gotta get out of here." She pushed herself out of bed, wobbling slightly. Alicia stepped in front of her, looking worried. "Wait! You can't just go wandering off like that!" Ash sighed, looking down at the shorter girl. "And why not?"

Alicia grinned, taking a step back. "You should at least get dressed first." Ash looked down, realizing she was wearing a hospital gown. Her face flushed, which just made Alicia giggle. "All your things are in a box under your bed. I'll draw the curtains, give you some privacy." Ash rubbed her temples, feeling a headache forming as Alicia pulled the curtain shut. "I think I hate you!" She called out tiredly.

"I'm sure that will pass!" Alicia responded in a sing-song way. Ash facepalmed, but her exasperation gave way to panic when she realized her head was bare. "Where are they?! Where are my goggles?!" She hurriedly pulled the box from under her bed, tearing the lid off. To her relief, her goggles were on top of the stack, waiting for her. She quickly put them on, her panic and tension fading in the familiar darkness they provided. Her eyes soon adjusted, and she finished getting dressed in silence.

She paused when she got to the bottom of the box, where a singed hammer lay. It had served her well during her fight to freedom, although she didn't remember bringing it onto the bus with her. She'd have to see about getting another one, a more durable one. For now, she tucked it into her belt, pulling back the curtains. Her annoyance returned when she saw Alicia sitting on an empty bed, kicking her legs and humming to herself. "Heeey... Lookin' good!" She gave Ash a thumbs up, and Ash stuck up a different finger in response.

Ash headed for the exit, idly running her thumb along the head of the hammer. Alicia hopped down and followed her. "Hey, where are you going?" Ash ignored her, but stopped when she got outside. This wasn't the school, or anywhere else she recognized. She certainly hadn't expected a campground. "Hey, not that way!" Alicia stepped in front of her again.

Ash growled in frustration. "Look, Alice..." she started. "Alicia." "Alicia..." she tried again. "My friends call me Cia!"

"Alicia." Ash stressed, her headache starting to come back. "This is... a lot to take in, alright? I have no idea where I am..." "That's easy!" Alicia interrupted again, making Ash want to strangle the girl. "We're at Camp Half-Blood, a sanctuary and learning resort for demigods of all ages!"

"Demigods? What are you talking about?" Ash forgot her anger for a moment, letting confusion take over. "Didn't anyone tell you? No? I guess it's my job, then. You see, a man and a woman sometimes engage in recreational procreation, which is how children are made!"

"Oh, God..." Ash covered her face, wondering what she'd gotten herself into. "Exactly! Sometimes, it's a god or goddess involved, and the child is called a demigod! For example, my father is Deipneus, the Greek god of baking! Specifically bread, but he's branched out in the past millennium or so. I mean, can you imagine dedicating your entire life to just one-"

"Focus, please!" Ash resisted the urge to clap a hand over the girl's mouth, if only because her hands were currently clenched into fists. "Right! Sorry! Anyway... One of your parents wasn't actually your parent. They were a god! Isn't that exciting?"

Ash turned away, looking out at the camp. It seemed like just a regular summer camp, with kids roaming about, some playing games, others just talking... could they really be demigods, like in the stories? Could she? "Well... I'm adopted, so... I didn't know either of my parents..."

"Oh! Well, guess what? One was a god! How cool is that?" Alicia completely ruined the somber mood. Ash was about to yell at her, but she remembered the metal birds, the fire she had summoned... it all made a kind of sense. "Actually... it is pretty cool..." "Right?" "And it explains a lot about me, my past..." "It does, doesn't it?"

Ash turned back to Alicia, grabbing the hammer from her belt. "Alright, listen!" "Ooh, I know! You want to go build something, right?" "I..." Ash stopped, forcing the fire in her stomach back down. A genuine smile slowly spread across her face. "Yes. I would love to go build something." Her stomach rumbled loudly, making her blush with embarrassment. "But first... where can I get some food? I have been asleep for three days, after all."

Alicia gasped in excitement, her eyes shining. "Follow me! You're gonna love the mess hall! And you have to taste my muffins!" She grabbed Ash by the hand, running off towards the main lodge. Ash followed willingly, as the smaller girl couldn't actually move her. There were a lot of other kids heading for the Mess Hall, but Ash was able to clear a path with her size alone.

Alicia led Ash to a small table, directing her to sit down. A pair of boys, one a blond and the other wearing a red hoodie, sat across from her. "I'll be right back! With muffins!" The smaller girl practically floated in sheer happiness, as Ash resisted the urge to facepalm. "What have I gotten into?" She muttered.

ImMrRoboto · Sep 3, 2016

Amelia Ornstein

Amelia sat bolt upright. The last thing she remembered was being attacked by birds. Where was she anyway? Looking around, her eyes slowly opened wider and wider with excitement. She was home! Her old house in Quebec! She remembered it all so clearly from when she was little. Her bed, her desk, the TV in the corner.

"Amy! Are you up! We're going to be late! Dépêchez-vous!" Amelia grinned even wider. Amy. Her nickname as a little girl. It was her mom speaking in the mix of English and French that Amelia loved so much. Mainly because she had never understood a word of it. Since then, she had taken some classes on the language.

She leapt out of bed and rushed downstairs, seeing all of their old pictures and furniture like a frame on the wall with the words "La douceur du foyer" along with its English translation "Home Sweet Home." Most of the things in their house shared this pattern.

Entering the kitchen, Amelia saw her mother cooking breakfast. "Good Morning, Fille" her mother said, smiling. Amelia crossed the room to sit down at the table...

…and looked out the window…

There was nothing there. Nothing but darkness. A pitch black void of nothing was sprawled before her. Suddenly, Little Amy didn't feel so happy. She was gripped by a cold, hollow feeling. The friendly sounds around her faded as an unsettling silence took hold. She couldn't look away. Amy just stood there, looking into the deep abyss as a terrifying, cold laughter took hold of her. She felt small, helpless, alone, afraid.

She bolted straight up and looked around. She was in a bed, but not hers. It looked like she was in some kind of infirmary. There were a couple of other children on the other beds.

Amy... Amelia looked down and thought about her dream... or was it a nightmare? She was so happy, but at the same time, so terrified.

Fen-Fen · Sep 4, 2016

Cass Hawthorne

A striking image slowly materialized from the blackness. Cass found himself in a forest, dark and more foreboding than any normal forest he had ever encountered. He had a knife in his hand and a sense of unease. The darkness seemed to possess an otherworldly, chilling quality, almost as if anything could jump out of the shadows and ambush him. Before long, a group of human shaped figures appeared in the background, appearing to be his friends. Though he could not recognize the faces, he had a feeling that there were people he somehow knew. They appeared to be ready for a fight or combat of some sort. Before he could expand on that thought any further, a dragon-like creature emerged from the shadows and started to attack the other group of people.

Desperate to get to the dragon in time, he bolted towards the scene. All that was on his mind was saving the group. Feeling a shot of adrenaline, he charged toward the scene screaming at the monster, "Get the hell away from my friends!" Now, with the creature's attention directed at him, it too charged forward, engulfing his vision, until he blacked out.

Jolting awake before he could fully see what happened next, Cass found himself staring up at an unfamiliar wooden ceiling in a bed, breathing deeply. He sat up on the bed, feeling no pain, but nonetheless drained and shaken given the vividity of his nightmare. Cass' expression and disposition caught the attention of a girl a few years older than him, who he just noticed was walking by at the feet of his bed. Tall, almost as tall as he was and fairly muscular, the girl stopped and exclaimed in a thick East Coast accent, "Woah there, ya alright?" Dressed in a simple muscle shirt and a pair of jeans, her attire worn and smudged in grease and appeared to have been recently called away from a mechanic's shop.

Sighing, Cass stammered, "Y-yeah. Just a bad dream."

With a knowing, cynical smile, she replied, "Yeah, we get that a lot as demigods."

"What now?" Cass wore a puzzled look on his face.

With a look of realization on her face, the girl said, "That's right, you haven't been told who ya are. Must be one of them new kids." The blonde introduced herself, continuing her spiel "Name's Chelsea by the way. Chelsea Cassiano. So, I've been told you're one of our new faces to Camp Half-Blood. Tell me, one of ya parents not been around?"

Looking at Chelsea skeptically, Cass reluctantly replied, "Yeah...How do you know?"

"Everyone here's the same. We all have parents who are gods 'round here. Greek gods to be exact. Y'know, Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Aphrodite. They are all real. All as real as the sky above us and the earth below. My father, for example, is Hephaestus. God of the forge."

Unsure of how to respond, Cass stared wide-eyed at Chelsea, only able to enunciate a "Wha-"

Sighing, Chelsea looked apologetically at the other kid, and said to him, "Yeah, it's a lot to take in. Ya shoulda seen me first time I got here. Was nothin' but a stutterin' mess and just as confused as you are. C'mere, let me show ya around." Before Cass could fully get outta bed, Chelsea giggled, "Uh, but first, you may wanna get dressed in something better than a hospital gown. I'll give ya some privacy."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After being shown around camp, taking it in with a combination of awe, confusion and wonder, Cass bid his goodbyes to Chelsea, thanked her for the tour and wandered off on his own to the lake that he had been shown. He was really taken in by the pretty scenery of the lake and the sight of the canoes. Sighing, hoping to take his mind off of the confusion, neared the shore of the lake, before seeing a familiar face from before.

Ewery1 · Sep 4, 2016

The Sun's Warmth

Lucas Samson
Son of Hemera
Canoe Lake

Luke rested on the grass, limbs strewn out and staring at the sky. His mind was clear and he felt weirdly at peace. Through so much confusion, he was able to gain a sort of awed clarity for the first time in a while. The pure blue sky was completely unmarked by clouds, and the sunlight felt like rays of calm resting on his skin and warming him up to a comfortable temperature. He let his eyes relax into an open posture, staring up at the sun as it tended toward the west. He let his body sink into the grass, tickling his muscular legs lightly.

After having spotted Luke, Cass ran to where Luke was and exclaimed, "Luke! I'm so glad to see that you're okay!"

Luke looked up, surprised at hearing Cass's voice, "Oh, hey Cass!" He looked out at the lake, "Isn't it beautiful?" After the initial shock Luke cleared his thoughts and straightened his body. He focused on his voice briefly and disappeared into his mind, receeding again.

"Yeah. It is quite beautiful." He sat down next to Luke, surprised at his ease of mind and relaxation. After a period of tranquil silence, Cass followed Luke's example and lounged on the grass next to Luke. However, his mind was spinning on what it all meant to be the son of some Greek goddess. Cass thought it'd be helpful to ask Luke about his experience. "So, what do you think about all this? Being here, being sons of Greek gods?"

"I really have no clue to be perfectly honest," Luke grinned and shifted to look at Cass,"I believe them for some reason. And it's all pretty sick if you ask me." He stared up at the sky again, his smile fading as it left Cass's preview. "I'm super excited," He said with a totally blank face, his inflection perfectly capturing that of a kid's full of glee for their upcoming birthday.

"Well, yeah, so am I. It's not everyday you hear that kind of news." He chuckled at that, "And I just thought I was the son of a florist."

Luke laughed too, this time genuine, "I wonder what this means though. For our lives I mean. Like, I've always been good at keeping off... Monsters, I guess that's what they are, but like, I guess I need to study up on some Greek history." He pondered for a second and snorted, "Maybe I could meet Hercules..." He trailed off. After a hanging silence, a warm breeze passed across the two and Luke muttered, "I wonder who my mom is..."

With a wistful expression on his face, Cass replied, "Same here. Do you know anything about Greek mythology? All this kinda explains why my dad likes Greek myths a lot."

"I learned a bit in school but I didn't really pay attention, always was more interested in soccer," His voice dropped in pitch, "All I know are Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hermes, Apollo, Artemis, Hera, uh," He paused, "Hephaestus? Aphrodite, of course. She's super hot," He nudged Cass.

"Heh, what more do you expect from a goddess of love? Amour c'est tout à fait magnifique."

"Woah where do you learn French? That's bad... Uh, what does it mean?" Luke glanced at Cass.

Cass replied, "It means, 'Love is quite beautiful.' Apart from taking a class at my high school, I'm...actually not sure when I started to learn French. I think I must have had one of my dad's friends or something teach me, but I don't remember when."

Luke grinned, "Hey what if it has to do with being a demigod? I don't know anybody that can speak French so well by just taking one class, and I'm sure you'd remember taking it for years, huh?" Luke straightened up to a sitting posture and stared out at the shimmering lake. It sparkled like a pool of sapphires on a warm summer day. Canoes wafted back and forth through it causing trails of water in their wake. Peals of laughter echoed from them, soaring over the body of water into the boys' ears. It all just looked so peaceful.

Also enjoying the tranquil scenery, Cass felt more and more at ease. He was curious as to what would come of all this. With the intent of striking up some more friendly conversation, Cass turned to Luke, with a big smile on his face "This reminds me a lot of going to summer camp when I was littler. Nice people, fun activities, that sort of thing. Get what I mean?"

"I never went to any summer camps when I was a kid, my dad didn't let me. Thought they were too girly. I just stayed home and played soccer, it was a blast. Summer camp just probably isn't my thing anyway," Luke looked toward Cass grinning and laid back down. He shifted his body over to the side. He brought his arms over his head and clasped his hands together, resting his skull on them. His arms bulged a little in this position so he lowered them a little to a more comfortable posture. After a brief silence, Luke inquired, "Do you know anything about the whole cabin deal? My tour guide wouldn't tell me anything about them."

Scratching his hair, Cass shrugged and said, "I don't know. I wasn't told either. If it's anything like the summer camps I went to, I guess the counselors pick us out or something? I just hope we get to meet everyone else. It'd suck just awkwardly conversing with strangers."

"I hope we're in the same cabin, I don't know anybody else here at all," Luke snorted, "I mean I'm sure I'd make friends either way but this whole thing is just kinda crazy, right?"

"Yeah, this is all kinda crazy. I mean, doesn't it seem like something out of a comic, or what? No wonder our parents couldn't explain this to us." Changing the subject, Cass asked Luke, "Were you always able to glow like you did back at the school? That definitely seems to be related to you being a demigod."

"Uh, as far as I can remember it only happened once before, but I thought that was a dream. I honestly have no clue how to do it though," Luke shut his eyes tight and clenched his stomach. Nothing happened. He glanced to Cass, "Yup, I have no clue. Can you do anything like that?"

Cass snorted, "Oh no, nothing that flashy. I have no clue what kind of powers I'd have. Unless you consider attracting lots of girls a power." He chuckled at the comment, obviously not buying it and adding, "But I hardly think of that as a power."

Luke nudged Cass again and joked, "Hey we have a player here!" He thought for a second and said, "Well, those principals seemed to know that I could glow, so what did they ask you about?" He paused sheepishly and glanced at Cass, "I forgot."

"They asked me about my love life and my thoughts on relationships. I didn't really tell 'em much about myself, but I did say I had an eye for that sort of thing and how things seemed to fall in place for that sort of thing."

"So maybe it is something about love then huh?" Luke looked away. "I could use some help with that," He joked. He stared up at the sky again, but the sun started to fade away behind the forest and his inner peace slowly began to fade with the coming of the night. "Uh, I think we're supposed to go to that dinner now or something?" He ventured, rising back up to clutch his knees.

"Dinner? That sounds great about now. I'm pretty hungry." He was not informed much about the eating arrangements in the confusion, so he was curious as to what it'd be like. "Wanna go now?"

"Uh, sure," Luke rose quickly and helped Cass to his feet. He smiled, and the two began to walk toward the Mess Hall. He thrusted his hands into his jean pockets, walking casually. Luke's stomach grumbled and he chuckled, "Uh, haha, I guess my stomach knows I'm hungry too." They passed the cabins on the way to the building, and students streamed in from all over the camp. It was like a river of human bodies, all flowing to a low point. Luke's face became slightly tensed, but still held an air of calm and coolness. Peering through the crowd, Cass thought he could see a very tall red-head from class. She seemed to be the type to prefer their solitude. With that thought at the back of his mind, the two boys arrived at the mess hall and took their seats, eagerly awaiting the prospect of food.

ShaymieTheShaymin · Sep 6, 2016

Cornelia Marx

"Hey kid, are you awake? I saw you move just now."

Nellie groaned as someone poked her cheek and opened her eyes, screaming when she saw a pair of brown eyes staring right at her. The other person jumped back in her chair, the black hood falling from her head. She frowned at Nellie and ran a hand through her dirty blonde hair, a crooked grin on her face.

"For such a little thing, you have quite a pair of lungs on you. You might've just deafened me a bit."

"Um… Who are you? Where am I?" Nellie frowned as she looked around the room. The last thing she remembered was being at school, and then there were birds everywhere. The last thing she remembered was getting on a bus, and then after that, there was nothing.

"The name's Cecilia Taylor, kid. Though you can just call me Lia. Everyone else does. What's your name?" Lia sat back in her chair and popped a piece of gum in her mouth, smirking at Nellie.

"I'm Cornelia, but you can call me Nellie. You never answered my other question, Lia. Where are we?" She scowled at the older girl, who had stood up and was now walking around the room, her hands in her pockets.

"Whoa, one question at a time, Connie. First of all, you're at Camp Half-Blood. I'm assuming that since you're new here, nobody's told you what you are yet." Nellie pouted as Lia called her by the wrong name and narrowed her eyes, but didn't get a chance to respond, since Lia had continued to speak.

"You're a demigod, kid. Yeah, I know, sounds crazy right? But believe me, it's true. My dad's Hermes. You know, messenger to the Greek gods and all that? This camp's full of kids like us. So, got any questions?" Nellie tilted her head as she watched Lia walk around the room. She didn't really have any questions. It wasn't really that hard to believe. That explained why her mother had never been around, and why her father had given her up to Mrs. Marx. She wasn't normal, and he hadn't wanted to deal with it.

"So we're kind of like superheroes."

"Um, I guess. Normally people would be freaking out and going like, 'You're lying!' or 'You must be crazy!'. There's the occasional fainting spell. You're… okay with this?" Lia pulled her hood back onto her head as she sat back down next to Nellie, a frown on her face.

"Yeah! I mean, if Santa's real and can deliver presents to everyone at Christmas, then why can't my mom be a Greek goddess or whatever?" Nellie tied her hair back in its usual pigtails with the ribbons she kept tied on her stuffed rabbit and held it close. Lia stared at her for a few moments before bursting out into laughter.

"I like you, kid. You made this about twenty times easier." She ruffled Nellie's hair and smiled as she heard her stomach growl. "Why don't you get dressed and I'll show you around?"

~ ~ ~

"So that's everything, kid." Nellie huffed as Lia called her "kid". If she wasn't calling her kid, she was calling her Connie. She had barely paid attention to the tour since she had constantly been correcting Lia about her name.

"My name's Nellie!" she said for what felt like the fiftieth time. "It's not that hard to remember!"

"Sorry, Nell. I'm not really a people person, so I can't remember names that well." Lia shrugged as she looked back at Nellie. "Well, looks like my job's done. There's the mess hall if you're hungry."

Nellie sighed as Lia left her and hugged her stuffed rabbit tightly. She almost didn't want to go to the mess hall, but changed her mind when her stomach rumbled again. She kissed her rabbit on the head and tucked it into her belt before walking into the mess hall. She saw a table that didn't have that many people and walked towards it, but tripped over her untied shoelace and fell to the ground. She blushed as she stood up and dusted herself off, sitting down at the nearest table before she embarrassed herself again.

JukeboxTheGhoul · Sep 10, 2016

The Blood of the Gods

Callum dreamt. He was confronted with a misty, grey, dark image. It was England, midday. The lines of trees declared borders of farms, slotting together like patchwork. A metal wing stretched out beneath his vision. He peeled his eyes away from the small pill shaped window. He was on a plane, he felt there should be people on the plane but there was none. The lights were on and the seatbelt sign was on. The belt that was fastened around his waist fell away. He began floating up in his seat and then in a flash of light the dream changed. His vision pulled away from the heart of a fire. He felt disembodied. Strangely he was hovering above a wreck. A bumblebee orange bus with "CAUTION CHILDREN" on the severed rear. The front is dented a thousand times, crumpling inwards. The sound of running water in the nearby meander.

Zooming outwards, he notices tiny ants surrounding the now fist sized crash site. It was a mountain with a blue felt tip scribble that divided it diagonally. To the direct south, across the river was a large house that looked like a wild west ranch house, complete with porch and all. He wondered what it was called, and at that moment he caught a few words of someone's conversation. "The Big House" Well, that was a disappointing name, Callum thought. He then heard the same voice say "He said something!" but then it faded away again to the womb-like pulsating ambience.

He felt like he was flying above the camp, with his peripheral vision clouded with the smoke of an ancient Chinese Dragon. The mist closed in, his vision was white, a murmur came from outside. "He's going deeper."
"I'm going in."
Several still images came to him. A man and a woman, in a darkened kitchen, the people were silhouettes, mere shadows of themselves. The moonlight shone off the horizon of her cheek as she faced out the gloomy window. The light refracted through a frozen drop clinging to her cheek. The man had a clenched fist and was walking through the door frame. Subtle reflections his eyes revealed a violent stare directly at Callum.

He returned to the sky view of the bus crash site but instead of floating. He found himself standing on thin air.
"Hello." One of the voices from the outside was now inside. It was chirpy and energetic. He turned around to see the voice, but it wasn't there, there was just black. A light streamed out of a point like a spotlight. A silhouette eclipsed the light making it split in multiple directions. The boy had two shapes stretching out from his torso but the light was too bright. The teen landed on the invisible platform, flapping his wings but producing no wind.
"Hey," He swept back his light brown hair and put his hands in his stone-grey hoodie that formed over his tee-shirt as he put them there. "How are you doing?"
He was slightly confused by the winged teenager who simply appeared from a light and asked him as if it was a nice day though stranger things have happened in his dreams. The strange thing was that it was almost normal, in a weird way.
"I'm good, thank you."
"Dreaming about Camp Half-blood?" It was rare for a dream to be self-aware.
"Well, I guess. Why's it called that?"
"Well it's a Summer Camp, hence Camp. Half-blood because it's for people like you and me."
"People like us?"
"Demigods, Sons-" he cut himself off. "Or Daughters of Gods, Personifications and Spirits. I'm a son of Morpheus. I can enter dreams."
"So, you're an angel?" His head felt a bit hazy, not fully computing the implications.
"No, Greek pantheon, like Hercules and that"
"So why do you look like an angel?" He tried to think, "To make me calmer at meeting you?"
He unfurled his illustrious white eagle wings and brought one around to his front and stroked it. "Not really. I wish I had these kind of wings for real but like my father I've got the power to alter my appearance in a dream, I thought wings are pretty cool, especially in dreams because they don't ruin what you're wearing." He turned around to show the wings phasing through his clothing.
"Right, why are you here?"
"We gave you Ambrosia hours ago. Medically, you're fine, at least that's what Ellie says. However you've been in a deep sleep. We were worried you were in a coma, and needed helping out." He put his hands on his waist and stretched. "I see you're fine, feels like you'll wake up soon. You want the tour? Travelling in a dream is way faster than walking. I'll stay with you till you wake."
He hesitated, "Sure."
"You already seen the big house." They immediately dived in to the wildly not to scale earth and floated above the big western house. Callum was startled how he knew what was in his dream, does this mean he knew everything else in his dream? He pointed at a collection of tents painted in stripes of all of the colours imaginable, giving the place the feel of a circus. "The Arts and Crafts area. A lot of the smart girls go there." He points to a patch of astroturf. "The volleyball pitches, the satyrs love it there! Though they don't like that they can't eat the grass."
"Satyrs?"
"Oh, you know! The half goat, half human." He moved on forward hastily. "North of all that is the river and the lake, nothing special about that river whatsoever. It's not even an ancient river or powerful river it's just a river, thanks gods. Why couldn't you have made it like the..." he grumbled on to nonsense before returning to his chirpy self. "You got the amphitheatre where people do drama and stuff, but enough drama happens around here for my taste and the climbing wall." They flew over the river and to the far side of the camp. Hovering over a large wall-less house made of wood. It's purpose soon became clear when a six-limbed creature trotted out of it. "That's the-" The boy was cut off.
"Stables. Is that Pegasus?" Callum pointed at the magnificent white stallion with illustrious hair and thick prideful wings.
"A" He stressed the A, "Pegasus. One of thousands of children of him."
"Cool! Can you talk to it too?" Callum asked, imagining the thousands you could do if horses could talk.
"Nope, only demigods of Poseidon." Pre-emptively guessing the response, "Yeah, god of the sea, I don't get it either." The boy swam about in the air, kicking his legs. They came above the armoury. "Apart from being a place for Demigods of Ares to hang out, it's a place to train."
"Train for what?"
"Capture the flag, Charioteering, sword play, stuff like that." He hesitated. "And preparing for the worst." He admitted solemnly.
"The worst?"
The boy glossed over the question. "Over here is the Arena, a place to test your mettle and sharpen your skills. You don't want to be on the losing team in Capture The Flag." Callm could feel the boy was trying to go faster.
"Here's the cabins, where you'll be sleeping."
The two large cabins were quite large and rustic. "How many do they house?"
"However many join each team."
"Each team?"
"Capture the Flag."
"Right, that again." Callum paused for a moment, thinking about it. He couldn't get to sleep with all those people in his room all the time making all that noise. "But how can you get to sleep?"
"Well, you don't. I sleep at The Shrine."
"The Shrine?"
"I'll show it to you when you're awake. It's a very special, quiet space that my grandfather built."
"Your grandfather was a demigod?" Callum exclaimed, imagining a pensioner wearing a bright orange "Camp Half-blood" tee-shirt drinking whiskey with his arms around the shoulders of Satyr ladies or holding the flag and running with a bunch of kids in tow with laser tag-guns.
"Nope, my grandfather was a god, god of sleep." The boy quickly flew over to the large open Grecian building. Callum knew now, that the boy was rushing. "This is the mess, it is very cool for a lot of reasons, but I'll let you find that out yourself. Some of your friends are waiting for you there." He looked over the camp, flapping his wings. He then gasped and looked at Callum. "Oh! I totally forgot! I never told you my name. Most people know my name. I'm Trent." He hurriedly said it as if the door was closing for him to say it. His voice was getting farther and farther way and more echoey. Everything went black.

Suddenly, the dream changed. It was a valley, or mountain, he couldn't tell which. He couldn't perceive behind the mountains which were acting like walls either side. But it seemed he was on another mountain too, inside the mountain range. This created the rectangular cut out inside the mountain range and another mountain seemingly growing inside it. The massive valley was made by millions of steps going down from the peak of the mountain to the very bedrock of the earth where darkness clouded the end. Atop the hill was the Parthenon with a colour-less marble statue of Zeus out the front of it, twice the size of an adult but in a pose like the Statue of Liberty. Except with a scroll clutched under his arm and his would-be torch holding hand was empty. Trent wasn't near Callum until a few moments after he got a look at the surrounding. Trent returned for only a few seconds.
"I didn't do this!" He shouted as he faded away.
When he looked back down at the bottom. There were less steps. The darkness was rising. The shade was cast over the steps and cracks began to form as the shade did so. The longer they were under shadow the more damaged and decrepit they got. Just before the steps became too dark to see the cracks widened in to fissures and chasms. The darkness got faster. And faster. And faster.

The earth began to rumble. The clear sky was overcome with a great storm. Thunder reigned and Lightning slashed down at the darkness. The Shadows peeked out of cut-out valley. Callum was immobilized. The night invaded the sky. The Storm urgently attempted to strike it down by sending lightning horizontally, at the flickers of stars in midst of the night sky that so desperately kept itself free of clouds.

The ground battle raged on, the darkness ate the last few steps. It came to Callums feet, but ignored him. He was still fully illuminated as the darkness consumed the statue of Zeus. Whose feet buckled and cracked, crumbling shards of marble fell away underneath as the statue surfed the stairs until losing all structural cohesion. The leftovers were now pieces of rock which quickly wasted away in to dust. Storm was weakening. The shade crept up the front supports of the Parthenon. It cracked and fell away. The roof fell forward as it's supports were swept away under it. It crashed in to the ground and began sliding down the stairs right towards Callum. The roof slammed in to him.

He woke up.

Groc · Sep 25, 2016

Meeting in the Pavilion
Barbara "Ash" Ashford
Cass Hawthorne
Lucas Samson

The mess hall was crowded, noisy, and smelled delicious. Ash didn't consider herself a loner, exactly, but crowds like this always made her a little nervous. She told people it was because she had a hard time focusing with so much noise and movement, but in reality she was just worried she'd step on somebody or something like that.

Despite all that, she found herself at a table, awaiting food, with nothing to do but look around at all the other kids. Well, that or try to make small talk with the two boys sitting across from her. They had entered together, and appeared to be having a conversation, so Ash had respectfully turned away when they entered. The silence between them was starting to become awkward, though.

"Say something!" A voice hissed. "It won't kill you to make some friends!" Ash looked under the table, where Alicia was hiding. "I'm not here! Just say hello, or I'm not bringing you food!"

Ash was about to say something, but her grumbling stomach cut her off. She let out a sigh, turning to face the two boys across from her. "Uh... hello... so, apparently we're all demigods here? Sure would explain why everyone's so pretty."

Cass laughed a little at Ash's dry assessment and replied, "Apparently. Though that's not all to see in a camp full of demigods, no? Otherwise, it'd just be a bit flat."

"Of course. I'm just saying, some of these kids remind me of those old statues of Greek gods. In both looks and personality, am I right?" She tried for a smile and a joke. "Kinda surprised how many there are, though. Some are really young, too. You'd think people would've noticed if there were that many deities running around, having kids."

Without missing a beat, Cass smiled a bit and replied, "I see what you mean. It can be a bit stifling such to have such perfect kinda kids. But I don't think you should worry about that. Not when we're busy having a good time figuring how all this god stuff going on. I mean, I've been thinking that I was just a regular kid. And then, to think, I could be the son of some god from ancient Greece! Demeter, Aphrodite, Zeus, Hades, all those guys. What do you think?"

Ash shrugged, a little surprised how easy this conversation was coming to her. "Yeah, it is kinda cool. I mean, everybody wants to think their parents are cool, but an actual god? That's something else! I wonder which one it was, though... You think we're a lot like our godparent, or like the opposite? Wouldn't that be strange?"

Cass shrugged. "I guess it depends on who our parent is. Have any idea who yours might be? All I know about mine is that she is a goddess."

Ash looked around, thinking it over. Not that he could see her eyes anyway, but she didn't like talking about her biological parents. "No clue. I don't know anything about my birth parents, even before I knew one was a god. If I had to guess, I'd say it was probably a war god or something, since I seem to break things so often." Now a bit uncomfortable, she looked around for any source of food.

Realizing that the subject was sensitive and something that made her self-conscious, Cass offered her an apologetic look and said, "Oh. I see. I understand that it certainly must be something to finally find out who one of your parents is after all this time." He paused, looking at Ash's discomfort and decided to give her a compliment, "But I'm sure whoever your parent is, they must be proud of you. I mean, you're strong, tall, partially divine. I'm sure you must have some kind of great talent to go along with it."

Ash scoffed, but looked back at Cass with a grin. "Aww, thanks, Hoodie. You know, I'm mainly strong from helping my brother out all the time. He used to love fixing cars and junk like that, and I liked doing what I could. I'd love to get into that, you know? Fixing things, building stuff... if I didn't break things so much. You ever try to repair a toaster? They got like... all these tiny parts and stuff." She waved her hands, not wanting to get into a technical discussion. "But that's beside the point. What about you? Any hobbies, interests, secret powers?"

The boy replied, "Well, I like to garden, sew, read comics, draw and exercise. As for secret powers, uh, unless you consider speaking French and having good luck with the ladies a secret power, then no, not really."

Ash leaned back in her chair, raising one eyebrow and smirking. "Good luck with the ladies? I don't know if that counts, but major props for your confidence. Maybe you just haven't found your godly powers yet." She tried hard not to laugh. "You're alright, Hoodie. I'm Ash, by the way."

Cass scratched his head and chuckled a bit, "Thanks. My name's Cass. You're probably right about not finding my godly powers yet, but something tells me I don't have anything cool like breathing fire or anything like that. I wish I was joking, but my only leads for powers are gardening and love, since I have a reputation for being good at both. Not exactly the most...useful powers, huh?" He shrugged his shoulders at the thought.

"Nah, it's cool. Gardening is super useful, you know? Growing food, little flowers, medicine... more food... all kinds of stuff. Especially food." She aimed at kick under the table, earning a surprised and pained squeak from Alicia, who bolted out from under the table and ran toward the kitchen. Ash feigned surprise, looking back at Cass. "Who was that?"

"I don't know. Never seen her before. " He paused before realizing, "Wait, was she under the table the entire time? What was she doing there?"

Ash grinned, trying not to laugh. "I guess you do have good luck with the ladies." She cracked up at her joke, the look on Cass' face too much for her.

The red hooded boy couldn't help but laugh as well, thinking of the how well timed that intervention was. "I guess so. But it's not only me who has good luck with the ladies. People come to me a lot for advice too and I help them out with their relationships. It's almost as if my good luck rubs off onto others."

Ash shrugged, still grinning. "Well, you've got that going for you, which is nice. Some people need all the help they can get. Trust me, I've seen some guys who were just clueless. Plus, you can sew and stuff. It's good to make things, you know? Keeps you busy, and it's fun to invest something of yourself into your creations. Tell you the truth, if this place has a tool shed or like a shop class, I'd be all over it. I'd even settle for arts and crafts, you know? After dinner, that is."

Enjoying himself, Cass grinned and said, "I'm so glad to find another person that appreciates making stuff." After looking over, he notice that Luke had finished talking with another person and turned to face the two.

Luke glanced around, "Uh hey, Cass, any clue when we get food?" A soft gurgle emanated from his stomach and he grinned sheepishly, "I'm pretty famished. Also what was that whole thing about picking our cabins or whatever?"

The brown-haired boy shrugged, "I'm still not sure. Have any clue, Ash?"

Ash shook her head, looking for the food herself. "Honestly, I just woke up shortly before I got here. This girl dropped the demigod bomb on me, promised me there would be food, and then dropped me off here. If I had to guess, they're sorting us into cabins for sleeping. Maybe we draw cards from a hat or something?"

"Oh, uh, who are you?" Luke queried. He quickly smiled apologetically, "Didn't mean to be rude, sorry, I'm Luke!" He thrust out his hand across Cass's body, ready for Ash to take it.

Ash looked at Luke's hand, raising an eyebrow. She shrugged and gripped it, a little harder than she had to, offering a smile. "Hi, Luke. I'm Ash, nice to meet you! Always like making new friends." She was a touch sarcastic about it.

Ewery1 · Sep 25, 2016

The Fuzzy Glow of Food

Lucas Samson
Son of Hemera
Camp Halfblood

Luke glanced are the area for a second before venturing, "You know, I think I sorta like it here. The pond is really pretty, have you been?"

"Can't say I have. Probably something to do with our rough arrival, but I haven't had a chance to sightsee." In all fairness, Ash didn't much like the water, anyway.

Luke nodded and looked forward. He noticed some ladies carrying around trays of food and was about to flag one down, when suddenly a steaming plate of charred salmon clattered onto the table in front of him. He turned rapidly and an angry looking man stood, in the process of thrusting a similar plate of chicken and rice in front of Cass. Luke stared as he realized that the man had two short and stubby horns sticking out of his curly brown hair. The golden haired boy was about to say something, when the man bleated and Luke noticed that his legs were covered in fur, a similar color to the hair on his head. The legs were finished by grey hooves and Luke just sat, gawking.

"Here you go!" Alicia's cheery voice sang out as she appeared by Ash, putting down a plate of muffins. Ash looked at Cass' and Luke's plates, kind of annoyed. "Seriously? Where's my plate of actual nourishment?"

"Right behind me, silly!" Alicia stepped aside as a lovely young woman put a plate in front of Ash, with country fried steak and a cob of corn. Ash's eyes lit up, and Alicia giggled as the nymph put cups in front of Ash and her new friends. "Just point to the cup, tell it what to fill up with, and voila! Bon appétit!" The girl slipped away, leaving the trio to their meal.

Cass looked confusedly at Luke, and back at Ash. "Huh? How does that...work?"

Luke shrugged and pointed at his cup, "Uh, regular Fresca?" A swirl of liquid bubbled out of the bottom of the cup, like a reverse toilet flush. Luke gingerly lifted the cup to his mouth and tipped it back. He nodded and said, "Tastes right."

Needing no further prompting, Ash pointed to her cup. "Can I get an orange Faygo?" The cup filled up, bottom to top, and Ash happily gulped down a swig. "Hey, it's magic!"

Following the lead of the others, Cass pointed at his cup and requested, "Uh, Earl grey tea, with honey?" The cup instantly filled up with the beverage and stood out from the other kid's requests for sodas. He took the cup, took a sip and exclaimed, "Wow, this tea is great."

Ash snorted, hiding it behind her cup. "Is it? Fresh brewed and hot?" She put down her empty cup, grinning. "Cup, get me a TaB." The cup filled, making Ash grin. "Oh, I'm trying mixed drinks next!"

Luke raised an eyebrow, "Good luck with that." He began to dig in to his salmon, eating ravenously.

Out of the three of them, Cass ate with the most restraint, but nonetheless ate fairly fast, enjoying his delicious meal. He exclaimed his approval, and once he finished a mouthful of food he said to the two, "This food is great. "

Ash ate quickly, famished from her temporary coma. As she was finishing, she got an idea. "Hey guys, 5 bucks says I can get this corn cob into that bonfire." She grinned wickedly, gauging the distance. She chucked the finished cob over other students' heads, making it land right in the fire, which flared up momentarily. "Whoo!" Ash pumped her fist in triumph.

Luke glanced at Ash and chuckled slightly. He looked down at his plate for a moment and said, "You're on." With his salmon came a salad, including long sticks of celery. He took one in his hand and raised it above his head, planning his throw. He threw it with vigor, and it flew across the room, striking one of the servers in the face. Luke gasped in shock and rose to his feet quickly. He ran to the woman, who was blinking rapidly, unamused. "I am so, so sorry ma'am," Luke pleaded.

The lady snorted and raised her hand at Luke muttering, "Watch your aim next time." A jet of water shot out of her hand, colliding with Luke's ribcage and sending him toppling into the ground, soaking wet. The lady harrumphed and her entire body wavered, splashing to the ground as a puddle of water that rapidly flowed out of the pavilion. The tray she was holding clattered to the ground, sending food everywhere.

Cass looked on in awe, not believing what he just saw. He abandoned his meal and went to Luke's side, asking him, "Are you ok?"

Luke's mouth spread out in a lopsided grin, "Yeah, I'm good. It's casual." He sat up straight and looked around, everybody was staring at him. He waved, "Great first impression, I know. Hi. I'm Luke."

Ash came up beside the pair, taking the dropped tray off the floor. "I'll take this..." She offered her other hand to Luke, shaking her head and smiling. "Get up, you big goof. You're making a scene."

Luke grasped Ash's hand and hoisted himself up, "Thanks Ash," He smiled. He glanced around again, "Sorry everybody."

"Luke?" A voice called out. Luke turned and saw Advika staring him. "Come over here," She beckoned, "Bring your friends." Luke obeyed and stood in front of her, slightly awkwardly. The table had five people sitting at it, but room for maybe seven more. The Indian girl looked him up and down, her sprigs of hair shifting slightly. She smiled, "I was going to ask you this later, but now's just a good a time as any! Would you like to join our cabin? Your friends are welcome to come along if they'd like. We have enough room."

Luke glanced back at the other two for a second, but pronounced, "Uh, sure."

Another girl, also having a brownish tone of skin, amused by the antics of the nymph squirting down Luke, turned to him and said, "Heh, you alright there, dude? I see I'm not the only one who can do that sorta thing with water."

Luke shrugged, "Yeah, I'm fine." He turned to Cass and Ash, "Uh, so are you coming along?"

The boy in the red hoodie replied, "I guess so. We have all gotten to know each other and I've been enjoying you guy's company. I certainly wouldn't mind going to a cabin with you." He turned to the Indian girl and asked, "So we just choose who we wanna be with for the cabins?"

The red-haired girl took a seat with the others, nodding her greetings. "Thanks for the invite. So you guys already have a cabin?"

Advika smiled and nodded, "Yup. We're dormed in cabin 25, better known as Little Ithaca, a part of team Iron Owl. Our cabin's pretty new, but it's nice and we definitely wouldn't mind the new members. I'm sure you'll love all of us, you should definitely join! Everyone in the Iron Owls is pretty great, especially Rory, the team leader, I'm sure you'll get to meet him soon if you join. And if you don't like it, no sweat, you can join any other cabin that will take you. The system's pretty fluid!" She grinned.

The other brown skinned girl grinned and replied, "That'll be great. You guys seem to be chill guys." Realizing that she hadn't introduced herself to the boy in the red hoodie, the tall red-haired girl and the blonde boy, she introduced herself to them. "Oh yeah, name's Makana by the way. Makana Kai." Certainly among this crowd her slight accent and exotic name would draw a few questions.

"Well, having a cabin certainly sounds good, and you guys seem to know what you're doing. If you're cool with letting some new blood in, I'd be happy to be that blood. ...you know what i mean." Ash looked at Cass expectantly.

Cass nodded, reaffirming Ash's statement. In response to Makana, Cass replied, "Makana, huh? I can't say I've ever heard of that name before."

The long haired girl nodded and answered, "Yes, it certainly is unique...to Hawaii that is. That's where I'm from. You ever been?"

The brown haired boy shook his head no. "Can't say I have. I wish I'd have traveled there. Seems like such a pretty place to be."

Luke grinned at the other two, "This is sick! When do we go to the cabin?"

"After the bonfire," Advika smiled back, her smile matching the vibrant pink streaks in her hair in brightness.

Makana exclaimed, "Ooh, a bonfire. Seems like just the thing to wrap up this day. What are we going to do there?"

Ash perked up at the mention of fire. "Well what else do you do around fires? We stay warm, throw things on the fire, roast up marshmallows, or hot dogs, if you're still hungry. I dunno, it's a camp, right? Probably sing songs or something, I don't know."

Makana clarified, "Oh I know about what to do at a bonfire. I've had many on the beach. I just meant for here, at this kind of camp. Where we're all partially gods and stuff."

Cass added, "I've been wondering the same kind of thing. It'll be fun anyways though. Sure beats going to a school for 'troubled' kids, huh?"

Ash scoffed indignantly. "I'm not a 'troubled' youth! ...at least I don't think I am..." She thought about it quietly for a moment.

"Oh no no, I didn't mean that you were 'troubled'. I'm fairly certain now that it was just a cover to get us here. You seem like a perfectly lovely person."

Ash nodded slowly, thinking it over. "Yeah, that makes sense. Somehow I doubt 'School for Demigods' would go over well."

"Uh, yeah, I guess," Luke concurred. People around the pavilion began to rise and trail off across the camp in a similar fashion to how they arrived to it. "I guess this is it then?"

Advika nodded, "Off we go!"

Oddball_ · Oct 1, 2016

Sirus Osborne and Micheal Wayne

17 | Males | Children of Hades and Phobetor

A few hours after Michael woke up in a hole in the ground, almost burried alive, he was walking around trying to find a cabin to stay in. The boy he had met had filled him in on all the details that his father neglected to tell him, and even pointed him in the direction of an abandoned cabin he could stay in. Being that he was the son of the nightmare god, he doubted anyone would want him anywhere near them, especially not near where they sleep. He sighed. Yet another reason for people to hate him. It wasn't like he was the most friendly person in the world, but he seemed to make everyone around him's lives into living nightmares. Call it a talent or curse, whatever it was, he just hoped he'd grow out of it.

When he reached the spot where the boy said the cabin would be, he hesitated. It was much more run-down than the boy had made it out to be. It wasn't much worse than where he normally stayed though, but it still bothered him that even in a camp for demigods he was stuck with the broken remains of a shack. He walked up to the door, and shoved, which caused the hinges to buckle and snap off, landing the door in a loud crash onto the floor in front of him. Of course. He sighed, slight tears forming in his eyes.

With a loud bang the door to the cabin fell off, causing Sirus to open his eyes as he cradles his newfound kitten companion. "What the hell?" He thought to himself as he clumsily fell out of the hammock and made his way to the doorway. Standing in the doorway was ahe doorway was a tallish pale boy with jet black hair.. "Uh... hi?" Sirus called out awkwardly. The cat (Once again in skeleton form) poking its head out from between his feet.

"Oh, uhh, I was told this place was abandoned. I, uhh, sorry about the door." he itched behind his ear nervously, "Nice, cat?"

"Well it was, my uh... friend pointed it out to me." Sirus sort of shifted in the doorway. "He said others were bound to come around, so... I guess you can just sort of take a room or something... Why this cabin though? Surely you'd want one that doesn't have doors falling off their hinges and creepy weird kids with skeleton cats in them?" He chuckled nervously. He was clearly not a peoples person.

"Wait, I can stay? I mean to tell the truth this isn't much worse than what I usually stay in, but I figured as soon as anyone found out I was the son of the god of nighmares I wouldn't be around their cabin long. Thought I'd find someplace out of sight. And not in the good way."

"God of... Nightmares?" Sirus stared at the boy. "Well I suppose I shouldn't complain. My dad is Hades, lord of the underworld and god of the dead. Explains the skeleton cat I suppose." He paused to pick up the bony kitten, which purred happily. Although without vocal coords, Sirus couldn't help but wonder how. "So like... do you just sort of make people have nightmares? I'm generally a pretty lucid dreamer myself, so I guess that sort of counterunters your... gift?"

"I'm not even sure I know what, if any, uhh, 'gifts' I have. Unless you count my whole life being one big nightmare." he joked.

"At least you don't see dead people. You'll really learn to avoid public bathrooms." Sirus chuckled. "But yeah, you seem like a nice enough guy I suppose. Just promise not to secretly be an ax murderer or something. Because I can and will haunt you. And have other ghosts haunt you. And like make sure you go to hell. Or whatever the greek equivalent is. Really should have studied history a bit more." Sirus chuckled to himself.

"Well, the haunting thing sounds scary. But, I've been to hell, it's not that bad. I actually met my dad there. Turns out I died in the bus crash or something, and he somehow made a deal with someone to let me live? Its been a long day." Michael bent over to pick up the door, which he set up against the wall next to the frame. "I don't suppose you have a spare door?"

"Oh uh hold on. ARTY! ARTY GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE AND BRING ME A DOOR." Sirus shouted into the air. "Wait you... died? Weird. You look healthy enough I suppose, I can sort of... tell if things are alive? Weird ****ing power but yeah..." Sirus looked at the teen curiously. "So what was hell like? Most the ghosts I talk to simply never moved on. Wait how did you just end up in hell? There should have been an in between period of just walking the earth until you find a ferryman or something? Man this **** is more confusing every minute... I blame all the different religions trying to confuse ****." Sirus joked as he walked up and looked at the now doorless doorway. "I think he, my friend, said the Hermes kids were really good at 'aquiring' stuff. Maybe they'll have a door."

"Well, until then I guess we can deal with it. It's not like we really need it for privacy since we live in the middle of nowhere." he said while rifling through his backpack, which had been returned to him earlier after assuring the blonde boy he was not dead. He pulled out half of a sandwich and shoved as much as he could in his mouth. "So I'll just set up in this corner over to the left then?" he managed to get out in between chewing.

"Sounds good to me, I'm Sirus by the way. Sirus Osborne. This is uh... Felix. Yeah that'll work."

"Michael." he replied, laying out a towel he had in his bag as well as emtying everything hard out of his bag so he could use it as a pillow later. "So, wanna go wander around? I have absolutely no idea what we're supposed to be doing here."

"I think I saw a big ass firepit on my way here. I like burning ****. Lets go." Sirus chuckled as he picked up Felix and carried that cat off with him as he started trotting in no direction in particular as he was a terrible naviagtor.

JukeboxTheGhoul · Oct 27, 2016

Reality

The last thing in his memory was being slammed in the face by the front of the Parthenon. He came in to waking world and his hands flew to his face, this flipped the blanket off of him. "Good, my face is still there." It should have left his head pounding, if it was real, but it wasn't. A few seconds of silence had flew past and no one heard him speak out loud. He sat up, only opening his eyes when his body was perpendicular. He looked around, with all the medical equipment around he guessed it was some kind of First Aid Room. He looked around, noting his clothes on the table next to him.

To his surprise, there was someone in the room with him. Trent laid curled up on the two-seater sofa, notably without wings. The dream he did remember thought, he remembered it crisply, as if it was real. Here, sitting on the chair on the opposite wall, partially obstructing the through-corridor, was the boy from his dreams.

The boy opened his eyes and pushed himself up from the seat. "Hey, you're up." Jumping up from the sofa.
"You're real." Callum rubbed his head with surprise. He'd seen dreams based on things he'd seen before, but never seen things based on dreams. A strange pang of deja vu crawled over him.
"Don't sound so surprised. You remember the dream, right?"
"Vividly."
"Yeah," he scratched the back of his neck, "That's another gift of mine."
"Wait, wait, wait. Would you mind running by this again. You're a demigod. The son of a god."
"Correct."
"A greek god? Like El-... El-..."
"Elly" He nodded. "I help Elly out because I'm the son of Morpheus, they didn't name Morphine after him for nothing."
"So they exist."
A bit bored by his repetitive questions, Trent sat upside-down, putting his legs on the wall. "Yep."

"Right, so I think I got it." His stomach roared, his hand flew to his stomach.
"There's a dining pavilion, that way." He pointed in that general direction.
Excited, Callum jumped out of bed, he started to run up the hill. Trent called out "Stop, you need to change in to your normal clothes." He held a bundle of clothes in his clenched hands.
Callum ran back down and snatched the clothes out of his hands and stripped off his hospital gown. Trent went "Gah" and averted his eyes. Callum got on his trousers and his two tops. He ran to the pavilion. The sun beat down and heated up the camp. It became unbearable. He took off his plaid shirt, leaving his white T-shirt. Then, he indulged in his favourite food the spirits gave him.

[Other OPEN] Trials of Olympus [IC]

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Me but more fabulous

Ewery1

Local Red Panda

ShaymieTheShaymin

Cornelia Marx

JukeboxTheGhoul

Rocking Round the Clock

Groc

Ewery1

Local Red Panda

Oddball_

Magical Senpai and god of the closet.

JukeboxTheGhoul

Rocking Round the Clock