Once we stepped on the first step, it creaked in protest, "Do the floorboards hate us too," Tracy asked. "I don't want those attacking us after we were attacked by a human-spider hybrid," she added, and I groaned.
"Please do not remind me about that thing," I said as we climbed the porch steps, "hello?"
"Good evening," a man said. Coming up, he had a torso that was above the porch. He was built as if he was ready to fight. He looked old, with some grey hairs sprout throughout the mess of curly hair. The thing about him that had us questioning our vision were his legs.
"Are those hooves," Tracy asked in shock, and he nodded
"Yes, they are," he answered
"You're a faun," I said in admiration, "I am so sorry," I said quickly, shaking my head. "My name is Raine, this is Vanny, my soulmate and Ranee; Hanni and Stu told us to come here to meet the camp director and relax before dinner."
He nodded once more, "It is a pleasure to meet you," he began. "Yes, I am a faun, and I happen to also be the camp director. My name is Dallis Cratsley. Many of the campers here call me Dal," he finished.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, sir," I said with a smile, "what is this camp like? We flew in by Pegasus. It seems like a lot of people stay here," I asked.
"To some campers, this is a place to stay for the summer, while to others, this is their home. This camp is to house both demigods such as yourself, gods and goddesses when they get tired of being served, and mortals. The mortals are clear-sighted because they were either born that way. Either that or they are dating one of the other two groups I've mentioned," he explained. "Each cabin is a representation of every god and goddess that we both know and have. Even if their parents may have been evil, we don't see that in the child," he added, and I nodded with a smile on my lips.
"That is good to hear," I said, "this place must get a lot of people," I added as a group of campers ran past while laughing. "Are a demigod's life normally full of this happiness," I asked, and he shook his head.
"Sadly," he began, "not for some; some of the more seasoned campers haven't been so lucky when they first got here. Before our last war, many of the campers here weren't even claimed," he began. "Many of them resided in Neal's cabin, the god of trickery if I may shorten his title," he said as I tried hard to suppress a laugh. "If it wasn't for Stu, then many of these kids, and adults, wouldn't have been claimed," he added.
"What did he do," Aili asked as the old faun grinned.
"He made them promise to claim every one of their children after that an influx of campers came in both old and young," he explained. "You were brought here by both of the leaders of that war," he added with a wink. "Just don't go up to them and praise them because they don't exactly like it," he added once more, just as the two leaders of the last war came up.
"Dal," Stu began, "please don't tell us that you told them," he said with a sigh, "did you tell them?"
Dal only chuckled, "Yes, I did, but it appears to me that these three won't be clinging to you as much as you may think," he said before the shoulders sagged with the two seasoned campers.
"We won't," Tracy said, "a lot of people crowded these two once they were together thinking that they were the first soulmates."
"We're not exactly a fan of people crowding around us," I said, meaning it as a partial truth.
Hanni nodded just as Stu sighed in relief, "Thank you for that," she began. "Not many of you are that understanding. Come with us. We'll give you a tour of the camp," she said as the director smiled next to us.
"Go on," he said, "those two will show you where you'll be staying if you're not claimed tonight."
We smiled and nodded before following Stu and Hanni, "How long have you two been at this camp," Tracy asked.
"I've been here since I was ten while she was here since she was five," Stu answered. "A lot of us weren't so lucky before I came. The luck only came after the war, and then peace," he added. "I hope the rumors aren't true about there being another war," he mumbled, but we heard them.
I glanced at Tracy and Aili as my heart hurt even more for these campers
They have had peace for ten years, and here we are, me being a future King and Aili being my Queen; the bearer of bad news once we are claimed by whoever agreed to claim us. Even Tracy looked saddened once we heard this
As they led us on, we saw a beach with a volleyball court, a pier, and people crowding it as if it was a California beach. As we continued walking throughout the camp, I soon got the feeling that I was back on the college campus
As soon as I got this feeling, I found out that Aili had it too because she asked the question. "Why does this place sort of feel like a college campus," she asked
"I was going to say that or a friendly neighborhood," Tracy said, and I nodded in agreement
Stu chuckled, "This may feel that way because we have so many people here that we had to make it so that the elderly and children can live in harmony with the college students."
I nodded, "That's a good idea," I said as Hanni nodded while still pointing out the different buildings.
Soon we found ourselves in front of a cabin, "And this will be where you'll be staying if you're not claimed today," Hanni said, coming to a stop. "Any questions," she asked as we all shook our heads; the gods explained everything while explaining the war. She nodded, "See you at dinner," she said before smiling and running off with Stu.
We all looked at each other before we entered the cabin. It was a basic cabin, probably one of the few that doesn't house many people. "Did anyone catch her saying which god or goddess this cabin belonged to," Tracy asked once we stepped in.
"No, but I'm glad that this is empty," I said before turning around, "because you need to explain to us why you're here and how you got here."
Tracy smiled nervously before explaining she was getting some of the similar powers that I was getting, and she didn't find out until she saw the indents on her steering wheel. She told us that the gods told her that she was our right hand and that she was to help us no matter what
"So, you're our advisor," Aili as I leaned up against the wall, and Tracy nodded. "At least it's someone that we know and trust," she added, and we all nodded.
"What about your soulmate," I began, "does she have a part in this too?"
Tracy shrugged, "They told me that she would be somewhere else. Four people magically appearing in one high school would be too suspicious. I miss her," Tracy finished with a pout.
I shrugged, "You'll be reunited with her eventually," I said just as an alarm went off. I looked at saw that a light was flashing that read Dinner.
"I don't remember seeing that when we first walked in," Aili said, "either way, let's get something to eat; I'm starving."
I chuckled; a part of me didn't think that we'd be eating much, "Yeah, me too," I said as we exited the cabin taking our things with us.