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!"