Chapter 3: The Camp

Still, even if Hestia’s silence is all the answer Chiron needs, he does her the good grace of waiting politely for her response. Though he’s not remotely surprised when it finally comes. “… Not yet. After all, there’s always the chance I’m wrong.” Chiron raises an eyebrow at that. They both know Hestia isn’t wrong. But at the same time, he’s not going to call her out on it, is he? Hestia sighs, offering her assistant director a small smile. “Like you said, he doesn’t seem like the most handsome man in the world just yet, does he? Perhaps I’m misreading him. Perhaps he IS a reincarnation, but not Adonis’ reincarnation. I’ve only met the boy a single time so far. It would be… irresponsible and rash of me to go running off to Olympus with information that might prove inaccurate, wouldn’t it?” After a moment, Chiron bows his head, a small smile of his own playing across the centaur’s lips. “… As you say, Goddess. Very irresponsible indeed.” Nodding, Hestia looks towards the door that Annabeth had led Percy through just a little while before. Both she and Chiron know she’s not wrong about this. Percy IS the reincarnation of Adonis. And somehow… somehow Camp Half-Blood is just going to have to reconcile with that fact. -x-X-x- Percy can’t help his curiosity, even as Annabeth leads him away from Hestia’s farmhouse, back out into the camp proper. He glances at the cabins, though none of the ones nearby are apparently Hermes Cabin. That said… “Hey, Annabeth?” Looking back at him, the blonde lifts an eyebrow. “Yes?” “… Back there, the Goddess said that we have to be claimed by our godly parents before we can go to our proper cabins. That Hermes Cabin is… where the unclaimed go. Right?” Wordlessly, Annabeth nods. Percy frowns, before grimacing. “But what if I already know who my father is?” He’s expecting Annabeth to express surprise and interest, but to his own mild surprise, she just shakes her head. “It doesn’t matter. You might have your suspicions, but our relationships with our divine parents are thoroughly one-sided. Until you prove yourself in their eyes, you will not be claimed. Until you are claimed, you cannot be acknowledged by the Camp.” She sounds so certain of herself as she lays it all out like that, but then right after she’s done explaining things, a hint of curiosity DOES show up in Annabeth’s eye. The blonde tilts her head to the side and hums, clearly intrigued. “Though… who do you think your godly parent is? Father, you said?” Percy slowly nods, glancing in one specific direction to a cabin that he would swear belongs to the only Greek God who he feels could possibly be his parent. Long and solidly built, with all of its windows facing out towards the coast that Camp Half-Blood is built near, the outer walls of the cabin are made of gray stone and embedded with pieces of seashell and coral that sort of look like the bottom of the ocean floor. Annabeth and Grover’s eyes follow his as Percy opens his mouth to speak. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure my father is P-mmph!” Before he can say it, Grover’s hand covers his mouth, the Satyr silencing him with a pale expression on his face. Percy struggles out of his best friend’s grip, shooting him a surprised look. “Whoa! What the hell was that?!” And yet, when he looks at Annabeth, the blonde also has a wide-eyed look on her face, like she’s just now seeing him for the first time. “… Earlier you said swim practice.” Blinking, Percy slowly nods. “Uh yeah. I’ve always loved water. The ocean in particular. My mom would take me to the beach every summer. That’s why I think-!” Grover doesn’t cover his mouth this time, but only because Annabeth suddenly cuts him off, talking over him. “A long time ago, the three elder gods upon Mount Olympus swore an Oath. In the wake of World War Two, where their sons had taken up arms on all sides and nearly brought the world to ruin, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades all swore an oath to father no demigod children ever again.” Wait, what? Percy can’t help but be a little flummoxed by what Annabeth is saying. If that’s true, then who the hell would his father be? All his life he’s been like a fish, more happy in water than on land by far. If not… then who…? Pretending not to see his obvious confusion, Annabeth continues on in a purposefully light tone. “As such, if there were a son of one of those three gods suddenly in Camp Half-Blood… it’s not likely they would be claimed any time soon. And if a new arrival were to go around claiming that he was a son of one of the Big Three, whether he was or not… it would probably attract negative attention quite quickly.” … Oh. Now Percy got it. He flushes, feeling a little stupid for not quite picking up what Annabeth was putting down at first. Now though? Yeah, okay, he understands. Ugh, that was kind of lame, wasn’t it? But it didn’t sound like there was anything he could do about it. Percy shoots one last glance at what is obviously Poseidon’s Cabin, just before Annabeth clears her throat. “We’re here.” Their feet have carried them across the camp, and they’ve arrived in front of a worn-down looking cabin with chipped brown paint and a caduceus, a winged staff with twin snakes winding up it, overhanging the door. Percy blinks at the sight of the place. This must be Hermes Cabin, he supposes. But even still… it looks a little weathered, doesn’t it? Just as they’re arriving outside of the cabin, someone else is stepping out. A tall blond man with a scar across his face and a smile on his lips steps from the open doorway, his eyes alighting on Annabeth first. “Annabeth. Good to see you again. And I see our new arrival is up to. Is this Percy then?” Annabeth returns Luke’s smile with a soft one of her own that isn’t quite as wooden as a lot of her other facial expressions have been, and Percy gets the impression that there’s an almost sibling energy between the two of them, even as she nods in confirmation. “Yes, this is Percy Jackson. Percy, this is Hermes Cabin’s head counselor, Luke Castellan.” When the other man offers Percy his hand to shake, Percy takes it, finding himself blinking yet again. The guy has a solid grip, but then Percy is no slouch either. “Well met, Percy.” “Uh, you too. What does a head counselor do exactly?” Chuckling, Luke just shakes his head. “Not all that much. Mostly, we keep things orderly and show new arrivals such as yourself around. And of course, we attend Senior Council meetings whenever there’s war, prophecies, or quests to be discussed.” Percy’s eyes nearly bulge out of his skull on that last sentence. “War?!” Seriously? Did the demigods of Camp Half-Blood go to war very often? Well… hell, given the last day he’d had, maybe they did. His mom had been taken by a fricking Minotaur after all! A Minotaur he’d killed, but still… Percy could only hope his mom was okay. He wanted to go and find her, but he knew he wasn’t ready just yet. More than that, he didn’t even know where to start just yet. Luke nods seriously for a moment… before letting out another laugh. “I’m just kidding, Percy. Well, mostly. Hasn’t been much need for the Senior Council to discuss war in a long while. More often, it’s about prophecies or quests. As demigods, we tend to get a lot more of those than your average mortal would. Prophecies are attracted to us like flies to honey, and quests are how we go about proving to our parents and everyone else that we’re worth something.” Percy slowly nods at Luke’s explanation, though he completely misses the shadow that crosses Luke’s face at the last bit there. Glancing at Grover and Annabeth, seeing they have nothing to add, he grunts after a moment. “So I guess this is it then? Um, can you show me where I’m sleeping, sir?” Luke grins at that. “You don’t have to call me sir, Percy. We’re all adults here, after all.” That still felt strange to Percy. Technically Luke was right, since Percy had had his eighteenth birthday. Hell, it was his coming of age that had apparently kickstarted all of this bullshit in the first place. Even still, he hadn’t managed to graduate high school. His birthday had come before that could happen, and so had all of this bullshit. Instead, here he was, technically an adult but feeling like a kid surrounded by adults. Even though Annabeth was definitely closer to his age, Luke was clearly a few years older and Grover… well, Grover was Grover. A good friend, but Percy was still coming to terms with his Satyr nature. Slowly nodding all the same, Percy clears his throat and rubs the back of his neck. “Right… actually, can I take a rain check on showing me my bunk. Just… leave a note for me on it or something. I think I’d just like to wander around by myself for a little bit.” An expression of concern spreads across Luke’s face at that, and he glances at Annabeth and Glover, who also look somewhat concerned, each in their own way. Already able to sense that they’re about to question him, Percy is quick to hold up his hands and offer them all a grin that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Hey. I’m good. Just need some time to collect my thoughts. Promise I won’t wander far, okay?” In the end, it’s Grover who speaks up before the other two can say anything, the Satyr nodding and gracing Percy with a smile. “Sure, Percy. We’re here if you need us.” Luke and Annabeth both nod in agreement with that, which warms Percy’s heart. Though in Annabeth’s case, he’s reminded of how he woke up and how their first… conversation went. He’s still not entirely sure why that happened, or if Annabeth would be interested in doing more. Would HE be interested in more? Okay, the answer to that is beyond a shadow of a doubt yes. Sure, the blonde is rather taciturn and not very emotive, but she is hot and waking up to her giving him a handjob was very sexy. For now though, he gives them all a wave and walks off by his lonesome. He needs a chance to think about everything that’s happened so far, so he lets his feet wander, keeping his head down and stuffing his hands in his pockets as he considers his situation. He’s in a place called Camp Half-Blood. He’s apparently a demigod, and this place is for demigods. His mom isn’t dead, but she has been taken prisoner by a Minotaur. Except, he killed that Minotaur… so is she imprisoned somewhere but without a jailer? Does Percy just need to find wherever the Minotaur sent her and go and get her back? It seems like Chiron might know more about that, but then if he did, wouldn’t he have said something back when he was reassuring Percy? Either way, Percy would need to find the centaur and question him further at some point. … God, what a crazy sentence that was. Or rather, Gods with an S, Percy supposed. Shaking his head, the young man does his best to wrap his head around everything. He’s got a lot to think about. He has… his eyes widen as he’s suddenly hit by the need to pee. Shit, he needed to find a bathroom fast… -x-X-x- Luckily, there’s apparently a set of communal bathrooms located in the center of the camp that are pretty easy to spot. Percy lets out a sigh as he steps away from the urinal and over to the sink. Turning it on, he washes his hands but also lets his eyes drift shut for a moment, which is why he’s so startled when a female voice suddenly cuts into his thoughts despite this being a men’s restroom. “Sup, New Blood.” Opening his eyes, Percy blinks at the sight of what can only be described as an Amazonian blonde standing behind him. However, it’s not just her… there’s also three other women behind her, all looking physically fit though not nearly as statuesque as the blonde. Slowly turning around, Percy stares at them all for a moment. “… Hello.” The one in front smirks. “You don’t know who I am. That’s fine. The name’s Clarisse. Clarisse La Rue. These three are who they are. Their names don’t matter. What does matter is that we’re all daughters of Ares.” Ares, God of War. Just based off of that, the fact that the four women had invaded the men’s bathroom, and Clarisse’s all around machismo, Percy finds himself with his hackles raised. “… Percy Jackson. Nice to meet you.” Clarisse isn’t having it though. Her smirk turns into half a sneer as she leans forward, invading his personal space. “Yeah? What was with the pause, huh? Got something against children of Ares?” Percy opens his mouth to tell her that he literally just got to Camp Half-Blood and learned demigods were a thing, so he couldn’t possibly have problems with anyone yet. But before he can do so, one of the girls behind Clarisse pipes up. “Not sure this is a good idea. Director H already told us we aren’t allowed to do the old initiation anymore.” Clarisse’s smile fully drops at that, turning into a wrathful expression that she shoots in her half-sister’s direction. Percy tenses up, especially when she turns her gaze back his way a moment later. “Yeah. I know. We’re not gonna do the old initiation ceremony. This is the NEW initiation ceremony. Where we see just how much of a man Percy here really is.” Before he or any of the other women can speak, Clarisse steps forward… and grabs Percy by the crotch rather unceremoniously. His eyes widen as she roughly fondles his junk through his pants. “What do you say, Jackson? Up to see how long you last against us? It’s really simple. We take turns playing with your dick. A minute per for each of us. Whoever makes you cum fastest wins. You last ten minutes? You win. Either way, you’re initiated into Camp Half-Blood.” … This was all happening a little fast, wasn’t it? But the women behind Clarisse no longer look uncertain. In fact, they all seem very interested indeed. Meanwhile, Percy can only grunt as Clarisse gropes his cock. He’s rapidly developing a stiffy, something she notices with a smirk, dropping to her knees in front of him. She’s opening his pants now, while looking at him expectantly, clearly anticipating his agreement. After a moment of thought, Percy opens his mouth to give his response.