//I'm gonna occasionally do some chapters from the POV of characters who'll be either main characters within the novel or hold potential weight within the story. I'll try to make the transitions as smooth as I possibly can and do the characters' justice. Please keep in mind for this chapter that I'm writing from the head of an 11 year old girl so...bare with me.
It might be kinda short because of that. I'll get better.
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There wasn't a person within the borders of the camp that hadn't heard the explosions, forceful waves of sound powerful enough to wake up a couple of city blocks with ease. It was big enough to immediately raise some alarms, causing those within the camps confines to take up their weapons and rush to confront the danger. Though Thalia's Pine Tree prevented monsters from crossing its borders, the echoes of such a large scale battle were enough to draw those bored inhabitants into action. Convening at the center of Camp, they rushed towards the commotion as fast as possible the moment they were prepared for battle.
Annabeth Chase had wanted to be one of those warriors. Unfortunately, she was stuck with the menial task of helping a fellow camper yank an arrow out of their foot.
Before the eruptions, the young blonde had been teaching a new arrival how to properly shoot a bow, the girl in question never having shot one in her entire life. It was only their third day within the camp, and the girl in question had wanted to properly make herself useful, so Annabeth had suggested archery. To her, it seemed like a good first step.
Things weren't going too badly at first. Until the first explosion went off, and the startled newcomer impaled herself in the foot. The blasts that quickly followed after the first didn't help the situation either as Milenia, the name of the girl in question, quickly panicked and cried, spiraling into a fit of pain and fear. So, rather than running off to battle a potential monster as she had wanted to, Annabeth was tasked with escorting the bleeding girl to the infirmary to get patched up. That was how she had wound up in the front of the Big House playing Pinochle with the Camp Director, activities director, and some white-haired kid she had never seen before in her life. Things had sort of happened in a direction she hadn't been expecting.
As for the white-haired individual, the one whom she was partnered with, he was an interesting looking one. Hair so white that it almost glowed, icy blue eyes that never seemed to sit still, taking in every detail around him, a set of teeth just as white as his hair. Even sitting down, Chion was slightly taller than she was, maybe by a few inches. His hoodie was soaking wet and sported thick blankets of mud in various spots such as the shoulders and arms, his face only slightly better with flecks of dirt near his ear. Despite his disheveled appearance, he possessed a sort of cool and calm nature about him, as if he had everything under control.
Annabeth had definitely seen a lot, but it wasn't too often that a new demigod showed up calm and collected, unless they were already aware of what they were and who they were.
Even then, such a transition would take some getting used to.
When the two of them eventually won the game, admittedly thanks to Chion's exceptionally risky strategy (her hand had been completely useless), she had tried to poke the proverbial bear. Taking a jab to see how he would react, to see whether or not the calmness was a facade. He hadn't even been bothered, only looking with a calm, calculative gaze and replying with a simple phrase.
For some reason, it irritated her.
"That's not the point. Is your brain frozen? Or maybe you left it in the explosion." Annabeth doubled down, trying to get some sort of reaction. She wasn't even sure why she cared.
"That reminds me. Chion, tell me about your journey here," Chiron interrupted the two before Annabeth could really get going, shifting the topic entirely. "How did you get here? What were those explosions?"
Mister D didn't say anything as he sipped away at his can of Diet Coke, merely listening in. Annabeth actually chose to do the same thing, letting out a breath as the white-haired individual showed some hints of hesitation.
Then, he began from the beginning. From when he had apparently woken up in the middle of Prospect Park with no memories and giant bronze bull the size of an elephant. With nothing but the clothes on his back and a few supplies gifted by a strange jogger, he had evaded the bull and a flock of man eating pidgeons, slept at a hotel, and then made his way to Camp Half-Blood after squirming through a trio of hungry hellhounds. The story was very simplified and had a number of holes or missing information, but it was still miraculous nonetheless. The thought of someone with no memory staying sane enough to make logical decisions and doing more than keep themselves alive was ludicrous.
Annabeth doubted she could do the same thing. Knowledge of being a demigod gone, no idea what she was facing, forced into on the spot thinking.
It was a miracle Chion was still alive.
"How'd you manage to find this place?" Chiron asked after the youth had finished. "Did someone send you this way?"
"I just.....found it," Chion replied, the most obvious lie coming out of his mouth. "On a New York map."
"How'd you manage to beat the Colchis Bull?" Annabeth leaned forward on the table.
Chion didn't say anything at first, just making a brief expression of exasperation, as if he had been trying to avoid the topic altogether. The white-haired youth dove into the story of how he had stolen a bike from a mortal and rode to Canarsie Pier, followed closely by a flock of Stymphalian Birds which were flying just out of range. He then explained the plan he had concocted along the way and how he put it into action. It was carefully detailed and covered almost all manners of bases, an almost perfect strategy given the time constraints and how quickly it was put together. Annabeth almost wanted to call it a lie.
He didn't even stop there. Chion then went on to explain his encounter with the Hellhounds.
"Greek Fire covered arrows. That's clever." Chiron touched his beard. "You did very well. It's lucky that Luke and the others managed to find you."
"It was hard not to," Annabeth muttered. "Louder than fireworks."
"Leon is quite spectacular, yada yada." Mister D spoke up for the first time in a while. "I believe it's time for lunch. Annie Bell. Show Pogo to his cabin after a look in the infirmary."
Annabeth made a face, but she followed her instructions as she rose from her seat, leading the way towards the inside of the Big House. Just like before, Chion was quiet and calm, merely watching and taking everything in. At that point, it was almost unsettling.
It was highly likely that this youth was the one she had been waiting for....or he was just antisocial.
It was really a toss-up at this point.
Making their way into the room, Annabeth spotted the other newcomer, Milenia, laying down in one of the beds, foot wrapped up in pads and gauze. Seeing as how she had stopped crying, it was probably no longer as painful as it had once been. Leaving Chion in the capable hands of an Apollo cabin member, the blonde moved to the black haired girls' bedside.
"Annabeth." Milenia quickly sat up a bit straighter. "I'm so sorry."
Annabeth waved off the apology. "How's your foot?"
"It's better. They said it should be healed up fine in a few days." The girl wiggled her bandaged leg slightly. "I'll be fine. I still have another good one."
"Alright. It's almost time for lunch. Head to the pavilion with your cabin when ready."
"Okay."
After a bit more conversation with the young girl, Annabeth walked back towards Chion.
The white-haired youth was in the middle of rummaging through his backpack, pulling out things like oreo cookies, energy drinks, twinkies, and a bunch of other sweets. Without any word, Chion grabbed one of the treats and tossed it towards Annabeth, of whom caught it rather easily, snagging it out of the air.
It was a Snickers Bar.
"Why do you have this?" Annabeth questioned, glancing over it as if he had somehow poisoned it.
"You need a reason to eat candy?" Chion popped open the bag of double stuffed vanilla Oreos and began munching away, putting everything else back into the bag. "Try it. It's good."
She didn't doubt that the bar tasted amazing, but she was skeptical about the youth himself, not the candy. Annabeth knew absolutely nothing about him and had only just met him somewhere within the last two hours. After examining it, though, it truly was just a plain old Snickers. Unwrapping it, the blonde took a bite of it.
"So. Your name is Annabeth?" Chion finished off his food before opening his mouth.
For the remainder of their time together before inevitably departing to get some lunch, Chion took the chance to grill the newly acquainted demigod about the finer details he had yet to learn about the Camp.
Normally, he would have just looked around himself, taking in the sights in an attempt to get a picture of what the camp was like, but he opted for the quicker approach. He wasn't in any hurry, and he still planned on looking around, but he wanted to garner some information that he just couldn't get by merely watching.
And he learned quite a lot.
As he learned from Luke, this was a place for demigods, a safe haven for those beings of divine descent. As such, this was a camp heavily devoted to the gods and goddesses of Greek mythology, the said parents of these demigods. The cabins that Chion had seen on his way in were each dedicated to a single god or goddess, and the halfbloods were further divided up from each other into the cabins based on who their all-powerful creator was. A good example Annabeth gave him was the Hermes cabin, otherwise known as Cabin 11, which housed the children of the Messenger God Hermes. It also housed those demigods who hadn't been claimed or for new arrivals such as the white-haired youth himself.
"Claimed?" Chion questioned, having heard the term used before. He slipped another oreo out of its package. "So the gods reach out and tell them? Or tell the campers?"
"In a way," Annabeth replied, eyeing the oreos. "Why are you eating sweets before lunch?"
"I'm in a new place that I've never been in before, surrounded by people I don't know." He followed her out of the Big House as they conversed. The table that had housed Chiron and Mister D was empty. "What if I don't like the food?"
"You'll like the food."
"Maybe, but I have backup snacks in case I dont."
Annabeth stopped walking, pausing at the bottom of the Big House steps. Turning around, her intelligent grey eyes locked onto Chions neon blue ones, causing the oreo munching youth to halt in his tracks.
"What?" Chion asked, trying his best not to talk with his mouth full.
"How're you so calm?" Annabeth just came straight out with the question, as if it had been weighing on her mind. "Are you not scared?"
"Of course I am," was the response, illiciting a surprised reaction from the blonde, as if she was expecting a different answer. "I've been nothing but afraid since I woke up yesterday."
"So, then-"
"Emotions should be controlled and ebbed. Fear is no different." Chion closed his packet of cookies. "I don't know why I'm like this, but don't be fooled. I'm plenty afraid. I doubt that will change any time soon. However, regardless of how I feel, time keeps moving and doesn't care if you're ready. Learned that when running from that bull."
"The Colchis Bull."
"Col- what now?"
Annabethe turned and continued her walk. "The Colchis Bull. It's a bull made by Hephaestus or at least coming from one of his forges."
Chion nodded as he slipped what remained of the oreos into his grey backpack. "Hephaestus being?"
"The God of fire, forges, metalworking."
"Okay-"
"If it isn't the fresh meat."
Chion had had enough problems that day, but the world didn't really seem to give a damn as a squad of three made their appearance. Three rough looking individuals garbed in leather armor, the same ones that the warriors from before had donned to help chase off the Hellhounds. Even without the helmet, Chion was able to recognize the girl in the middle based on her eyes and build. It was the one who had given him the Hellhound tooth, well more like shoved into his hand. Sturdily built, stingy pale brown hair, dark eyes, and a sneer that radiated arrogance and overconfidence.
Based on initial impressions, she seemed like trouble.
"Not now, Clarisse."
"Stow it, Owl Head." Clarisse La Rue shot the blonde a glare. "We're already gonna wreck you in Capture The Flag. Unless you wanna go now."
"Chion Pagos. This is Clarisse La Rue," Annabeth ignored the threat and introduced the two of them. "Daughter of Ares."
"And Ares is?"
"God of War."
".....I can see it."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Clarisse protested, her glare shifting over to Chion. "Got a problem?"
"Not at all."
(("Hot tempered. Easily controlled by emotions.")) Chion took note. (("Maybe she has a reason for approaching that isn't violent? But she has an entourage, and Annabeth had to tell her off."))
"Whatever. It's time for your initiation. It's a sort of tradition that we have here." Clarisses sneered, slamming a clenched hand into the palm of her fist, making it clear what she meant. "There's no escaping it."
(("She wants to fight?")) The youth frowned as he took a defensive stance.
Chion had actually never fought anyone before, or rather, he had no recollection of ever doing so. Up until that point, he had only really battled otherworldly beings that could crush him underfoot or rip him to shreds without the slightest bit of difficulty. In terms of actually fighting another person, Chion wasn't even sure he knew how. He could definitely learn to do so, but it was debatable on whether or not he could spar and win against someone like Clarisse, who seemed to know her way around a bare knuckle brawl. In all honesty, if the tradition was to fight, then the youth was gonna take a very hard pass, especially since he had only just been able to fully relax for the first time since regaining consciousness.
"What's the initiation?"
Clarisse smirked and made her way forward. attempting to grab Chion, her other two tag alongs also making a move. However, the moment the daughter of Ares grabbed onto him, clutching his arm, Chion smacked it away with the palm of his other hand before following it up with a swift elbow strike to the nose. Before the other two could snag him or lock the white-haired youth down, the teen immediately turned around and sprinted away, avoiding them entirely.
"You're just gonna run away!!?" Clarisse clutched her nose, anger in her eyes. "Coward!!"
(("Just picking my battles.")) Chion sidestepped a tackle, one of the Ares members trying to stop him by jumping at him. (("Not gonna stay and get beaten down."))
As far as the young man was concerned, he didn't have to engage them or play along with whatever they had going on. To others, it seemed cowardly. To him, it was even more foolish to clash head-on with someone who had the upper hand, especially standing on their home turf. Battling the Ares offspring wasn't a priority and Chion wasn't going to stand there and get his face kicked in after having just arrived.
He had better things to do.
"You aren't getting away." The sound of the two pursuers was extremely close, as if they were only a few feet behind him, breathing down his neck.
(("Tsk. Their faster than me.")) Chion sprinted towards the dueling ring where he had seen two other campers sparing with wooden swords. (("Probably have more stamina than me. Gonna have to engage them."))
Picking up a wooden sword lying against the ground, giving it a spin. He had never held a sword and it felt rather odd in his hands, but he used it anyways. The two stalkers saw this and immediately sneered before picking up their own weapons, a wooden sword, and a wooden spear with a blunted tip. They looked a lot more confident than Chion did.
Things were about to get ugly very fast.
(("A way out. Gotta even up the odds.")) Multiple plans flashed through the youths mind in under a second as he searched for a chink in the current development. (("I can't seem to catch a break huh."))
"Dang. It takes two of you to beat one of me?" Chion took a stance backing up into the dueling area. "I'm flattered."
Pride exploitation. That was the best course of action. He couldn't run, and he couldn't beat them both with a weapon he literally just picked up. A one on one was the best course, and it seemed to be working as the two children of Ares glanced at each other.
"I wonder what dear old daddy Ares would think of his kids." Chion didn't hold back, laying it on thick. "So pathetic that they have to resort teaming up for one guy. I guess even gods can have useless children."
"Shut UP!!"
The tactic had worked a little too well as the one with the spear came charging in, thrusting the nubbed end towards him with deadly speed. Chion barely had time to sidestep the strike and was immediately hit when the Spearman drew back and lashed out once more, attacking with a speed that was hard to follow. Whack! Whack! Whack! Three more strikes rammed into the amnesiac, driving him backward. The difference in skill was apparent within seconds, especially since the user was wielding a lengthy weapon that prevented Chion from closing the distance. If the sword user was just as good as the spear, then the youth might as well prostrate himself on the ground and beg for forgiveness. He wasn't going to but it was probably the most logical option.
Chion had driven himself into the corner. He would have to get himself out one way or another.
It just wasn't going to be with an apology. They had been the ones to start it.
There were now three viable options.
One. Get good with the sword right then and there, and maybe he could push them back enough to rethink their life decisions. Two. He ran and tried to somehow separate them in the process, then eliminate them one at a time.
Three. He even the playing field with magic.
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