Chapter Text
ALL LILITH PARK WANTED to do was sleep. that's it. she just wanted to curl up into her soft camp bed sheets and pass the fuck out.
casting spells, doing tarot readings, and practicing making potions all day was extremely tiring. especially when you have multiple campers asking the same questions of: "does he like me?" or "can you make me a love potion for someone who doesn't even look my way??"
being a daughter of hecate, she didn't get much sleep. her mother was the goddess of the moon. so naturally, lilith would be wide awake at midnight or whenever the moon was out. which was an annoying yet useful trait.
most of the time she would spend her sleepless nights studying a spellbook or bashing a trashy romance novel that just so happened to include a vampire and a werewolf fighting over a socially awkward girl.
but that night, she was determined to sleep.
that was, until a specific daughter of athena quietly barged into the hermes cabin.
"lilith. wake up." annabeth whispered, softly shaking lilith's shoulder. the girl could faintly see annabeth's dark hair glowing in the moonlight that seeped through the curtains. tv
the exhausted girl on the bed ignored her bestfriend's attempts to wake her up and just shifted her position to face the wall.
instead of paying attention to her friend, she tried to focus on what activities she would do the next day. or what spell she would try and learn next.
annie, please, go away, she thought.
annabeth chase and lilith park had been friends ever since they locked eyes on eachother about two years prior. at the time, both of the girls were just ten years old. annabeth arrived at camp three years earlier than lilith. they originally met during a capture the flag game. the thing that brought them together was their ability to work alongside each other. the daughter of athena would come up with complex battle strategies, and the daughter of hecate would adapt to them perfectly. creating a deadly duo in combat.
they'd been inseparable ever since.
"this is important." annabeth continued, "chiron needs you." that made lilith shoot up in curiosity.
"what? why? it's the middle of the night." the black-haired girl asked drowsily, "wait...isn't he kinda afraid of me..?"
"lily. everyone's a little afraid of you." annabeth said, dragging her lazy friend out of bed, "now let's go. you have a new camper to heal."
lilith groaned as she slipped into her converses that she hid under the bed and tied them quickly. she also grabbed her bag that contained a spell book, different herbs, and ingredients to make various types of potions.
lilith always made sure to hide her things in the cabin ever since travis stoll decided to steal one of her spellbooks. she turned him into a ferret for a week.
the girl hastily followed her friend to the cabin door, making sure her steps were as quiet as possible.
annabeth and lilith ran to the infirmary, not wanting to keep chiron waiting.
"why'd chiron ask me to help?" she asked while climbing up the small steps leading to the door, "why not one of the apollo kids? they're way better at healing."
it was true. the children of apollo were known for their healing skills (courtesy of their father).
lee fletcher—the head counselor for apollo's cabin––had taught lilith an ancient greek hymn to heal others, but she preferred spells. they were more her style.
"they weren't awake." annabeth stated, "and you know how they get when they're woken up before sunrise."
lilith chuckled a bit. she remembered the time she was cursed to speak in rhymes for at least a week when she woke up one of her friends in the apollo cabin, taylor wright, before the sun had risen.
"alright, tell me more about this camper." lilith said while opening the door for annabeth.
the daughter of athena was about to speak up when a familiar voice cut through the conversation.
"ah, annabeth and..." chiron paused, eyeing the daughter of hecate warily, "lilith...thank you for helping. i'm sure annabeth has told you about the new camper that had arrived just a few moments ago..?" he said expectantly.
"yes, she did." lilith uncomfortably said while eyeing annabeth for help. she hated talking to chiron. not that he was rude or anything, that was mr. d's job. it was just that he seemed to always walk on eggshells around her. if centaurs could even do that..
she was used to people fearing her because of her mother. though most of the campers were kind, all of them were always freaked out by her.
"excellent. follow me, the patient is currently unconscious." the centaur explained, trotting away.
the girls just followed him in silence.
all of them entered the main room where the beds are. luckily not many campers have gotten injured yet considering it was the start of the summer session.
lilith quickly noticed a boy passed out on the bed in the middle of the room.
his hair was blond and wavy. while he was lying down, his hair fell on his forehead messily. his skin was tanned and littered with cuts and bruises. he couldn't have been older than her. he looked about her age.
"this is percy jackson." chiron explained quickly, "the both of you are tasked with nursing him back to health."
apparently, percy had been found passed out on the front steps of the big house, holding the minotaur's horn in his hands.
lilith immediately felt a bit sympathetic. he had killed the minotaur. not only that, but his mother died in the process. she knew that once the news of him defeating the minotaur spread through camp, almost everyone would be jealous of him. which wasn't a good thing in her eyes.
after he was done catching lilith and annabeth up, chiron excused himself to go talk to mr. d about the new camper.
lilith dropped her bag onto the floor and pulled up two chairs next to the unconscious boy. she sat down and pulled out her spellbook, quickly flipping the pages. annabeth sat down next to her.
"his injuries don't look too bad, nothing ambrosia and nectar can't fix." lilith stated while pointing to where they kept the food and drink of the gods.
annabeth hummed. "let's not give it to him just yet. we should wait for a while."
lilith nodded in agreement, finally stopping on a page that contained a simple healing spell.
she sent annabeth to grab some bandages and stuff to disinfect the wounds.
lilith applied pressure to the wounds to stop the bleeding. then, she asked annabeth to disinfect the cuts.
"he's the chosen one, i know—" annabeth tried to state, though she was quickly cut off by her best friend.
"annie. no. he's not..." lilith paused.
maybe he is, she thought. it's not impossible. i mean, he defeated the minotaur, no new camper can do that.
she stopped herself from thinking further. she knew if she were to overthink it, she would soon end up just as obsessed with 'the chosen one' as annabeth was.
"why were you up?" lilith changed the subject, looking back at her spell book, "pestering chiron for another quest?"
annabeth huffed. "of course not."
lilith looked up from her book with a suspicious expression on her face.
the other girl paused.
"alright. maybe i was trying to convince him to let me go on a quest," she muttered, "but it's for a good reason! ever since the winter solstice, things have been...strange. something's happened, i know it!"
"annabeth, not here!" lilith hissed, quickly looking around to see if anybody was listening. she lowered her voice, "look, all we know is that something was stolen...but it isn't our problem."
lilith put the book down on her lap and held her hands over the boy's chest.
lilith shut her eyes and took a deep breath.
her hands were hovering over his chest. she imagined the inside of her body with magic coursing through her veins, spreading to her fingertips and her palms. she knew that by now, her hands were emitting orbs that glowed a vibrant shade of purple.
she focused on the cuts and bruises that were scattered over certain parts of his body. lilith thought of them healing slowly, the cuts closing up and the bruises becoming less visible.
the daughter of hecate muttered a chant in ancient greek.
lilith suddenly felt a tug at the pit of her stomach. her eyes flew open.
the minor cuts on his arms and face had closed, just as she hoped. though, the bruises had only faded slightly. other than that, the spell has gone decently.
"lily, how are you so good at that?" annabeth said beside her. lilith had completely forgotten her best friend was still in the room, causing her to slightly jump when hearing her voice.
she smiled, "a magician never reveals her secrets. let's get some ice on his bruises."
lilith tried to stand, but her knees quickly gave out. thankfully, the daughter of athena caught her before she fell on her ass.
it was almost a common occurrence. whenever lilith performed a spell she immediately got tired. this mostly happened during the day, since her powers were dulled in the sun. but during the night, her powers were almost amplified by the moon.
considering that the spell she casted was one that she has never really had the time to practice before, it took a great amount of effort. also, in return to heal percy, the spell had taken almost all of her energy.
annabeth got up and retrieved the ice packs for her. both of them quickly helped heal some bruises.
after they finished, lilith said goodbye to annabeth and made her way back to the hermes cabin. once she opened the door she was greeted with the face of one of her best friends.
dante monroe, son of hypnos, was one of the people that lilith loved the most. they'd known each other for a small part of their life but are still very close. they met each other the year prior, when lilith needed to show dante around camp when he first arrived.
"what were you doing?" dante asked lilith, wiping the sleep from his eyes.
"healing a camper," she replied, pushing him out the way and into the cabin, "why are you up?"
both demigods made their way inside the cabin, making sure to whisper so they wouldn't wake anyone up, "i couldn't sleep, ironic isn't it?" dante whispered.
"very. there's a new camper here, his name is 'percy jackson'," lilith said, setting down her bag and sitting down on her bed, "chiron made annabeth and I take care of him for the rest of the time he needs to heal."
dante took in a sharp inhale, "that's absolutely horrible." he laid down in his bed next to lilith's. "do you think he's big three material?"
lilith paused. she didn't want to tell him about annabeth's suspicions of him somehow being the chosen one, especially with everyone around. this seemed like something to discuss in private.
she hummed, "i'll tell you later, dante. go to sleep, you're a son of hypnos after all." she laughed.
he rolled his eyes and smiled, then covered his head with a pillow. she was left in the dark of the cabin with her own thoughts.
the next few days for lilith were a blur.
some days she spent her time at the archery range, practicing the main skill she picked up when she first arrived at camp. she was always a great shot, whether it was archery or throwing small paper balls at her friends heads. other times she practiced fighting with a dagger against dante, they were always easier to fight with compared to swords. she even picked up a new book about 24 children forced to fight to the death in an arena. but she mostly spent her time caring for percy with annabeth.
for the afternoon, they were tasked with making sure percy ate.
"oh gods, that's disgusting.." lilith muttered, looking at a sleeping percy with drool on his chin.
"well, it's your turn today." annabeth stated, a smile creeping onto her face.
lilith walked over with a bowl of nectar and sat down on a chair. she grabbed a napkin and wiped the drool from his chin. lilith scrunched up her nose in disgust. she heard annabeth give a small chuckle from the seat in front of her.
she started to scoop some nectar into percy's mouth, "oh come on, don't laugh." lilith said, slightly annoyed.
"i'm sorry, i can't help it!" annabeth replied as she raised her architecture book to her face.
lilith spoon-fed him nectar and wiped off drips from his face. then, she saw his eyes slowly open. lilith gasped. annabeth looked up, her eyes widening.
"what will happen at the summer solstice?" annabeth demanded, sitting up in her chair.
"what..?" percy managed to croak. his voice was raspy from not talking for a while. or maybe that was how it always sounded, lilith wasn't sure.
lilith looked around, afraid that someone would overhear annabeth questions.
"what's going on? what was stolen? we've only got a few weeks!" annabeth said rapidly.
"i'm sorry," he mumbled, "i don't..."
someone knocked on the door.
lilith quickly set the nectar aside and placed her palm on percy's forehead.
"sleep. now." she whispered.
her palm started to glow a shade of purple. in a matter of seconds percy was out cold.
"where are they?" annabeth whispered to lilith.
both girls were leaning against the railing on the side of the big house.
next to them, sitting at a table, were mr. d and chiron. mr. d—short for dionysus—was the camp director. rumors spread through camp that he was punished by zeus and was sent to camp because he pursued an "off-limits" nymph. lilith wasn't sure if they were true but just stories, but she wouldn't put it past him. he was definitely the meaner of the two, he didn't even care about the campers like chiron did.
chiron was the activities director and the best archer lilith knew. he made sure that the kids didn't actually die when training. he had trained almost all of the greatest ancient greek heros. he was nicer than mr. d by a long shot.
"no idea.. maybe he hasn't woken up yet.." lilith whispered back. she was sharpening her dagger, getting it ready for capture the flag.
she heard footsteps coming from the other side of the porch. she put her dagger away and was suddenly interested in the boring architecture that annabeth was looking at.
grover and percy stepped to where the four of them were. grover was another one of lilith's friends. though they didn't talk much, since grover had been away for the whole year keeping an eye on percy, they were alright with each other. lilith even gave him her extra diet pepsi cans to snack on when she had them.
grover gave percy a second to process everything before muttering, "that's mr. d. he's the camp director. be polite. the girl with the braids. that's annabeth chase. she's just a camper, but she's been here longer than just about anybody. and the black haired girl. her name is lilith park. she's also just another camper." he paused, trying to decide what to say about her, "she's nice. and you already know chiron..."
percy studied chiron intensely before shouting out, "mr. brunner!"
who the fuck is mr. brunner..? she thought to herself.
chiron finally noticed him, "ah, good, percy. now we have four for pinochle."
ohhh..
he offered percy a chair next to the god. mr. d scowled like he usually did and sighed, "oh, i suppose i must say it. welcome to camp half blood. there. now, don't expect me to be happy to see you."
"uh...thanks." percy scooted away from mr. d.
chiron turned his attention to the two girls off to the side, "annabeth? lilith?"
the girls leaned off of the railing and stepped forward.
chiron introduced them to percy, "these two young ladies nursed you back to health, percy. annabeth and lilith, why don't you two go check on percy's bunk. we'll be putting him in cabin eleven for now."
lilith sighed. there were already too many people in cabin eleven. she didn't understand why they couldn't just build another for undetermined kids. or why they couldn't build separate cabins for the children of the minor gods.
instead of protesting she just said, "of course."
annabeth replied, "sure, chiron."
the daughter of athena turned to percy and stared at him. percy stared back. she glanced at the minotaur horn in his hands. lilith knew what was coming.
annabeth said flatly, sizing him up, "you drool when you sleep." then, she sprinted off the lawn and into the main area of the camp.
lilith giggled and her eyes met with percy.
now that he was up, she got a better look at him. curly blond hair covered some of his forehead messily. tan skin that was now not filled with small cuts and bruises from before. it was all the same except for his eyes.
his eyes were the only thing to catch her off guard. they were a deep greenish-blue. they looked just like the sea. they even shined in the sun. lilith couldn't get a good look at them before, but at that moment she was almost mesmerized. she immediately snapped out of it.
what the fuck am i thinking?
to distract herself, lilith pointed down at the horn and said, "you better keep an eye on that in eleven." then, she ran after annabeth, who was already at the cabin.
lilith ran up to her and joked, "you're such a bitch."
"just because i told him the truth?" annabeth said while walking into the cabin. cabin eleven was the hermes cabin, meaning the children of hermes mostly bunked there. also, because hermes was the god of travelers, undetermined kids and children of minor gods also stayed there. hospitality was still a big thing in the 21st century.
most undetermined kids got claimed by their godly parent, but some didn't even get a sign. they had to stay in the hermes cabin for the rest of their time at camp half blood. the kids of the minor gods also had to stay in the hermes cabin. which—in lilith's opinion—was idiotic.
all of these facts combined led to the hermes cabin being over populated, most of the kids had to sleep on the floor.
lilith looked around. she studied the faces of people she recognized and the faces of others she never even talked to. she tried to look for luke in the crowd, but she didn't see him. she spotted the face of heath wells, a son of nike.
"heath!" lilith shouted over the crowd, "heath!"
the dark skinned boy turned around, "oh shit, lilith. what's up?"
"nothing much. where's luke?"
the two of them were good friends, staying in the same friend group with three other people. they got along well. he had always been one of lilith's favorites. he was actually a good roommate unlike some kids (the stolls) in the hermes cabin.
"dunno. think he's showering after his lesson in sword fighting." he made a quick stabbing motion at the shorter girl, as if he was playfully killing her, "should be done in a bit, though. you good?"
"new camper, new problem. chiron says annabeth and i have to get his bunk ready. problem is, i don't know where to put him. tell luke when he's done showering and help him get a bunk ready for him. preferably on the floor."
"you got it, miss park." heath made a small salute and winked before walking off.
lilith didn't even care that he pronounced 'park' wrong. both of the girls walked outside and sat on the steps. annabeth took out her architecture book and lilith just looked around. she soon spotted percy and chiron approaching. the girls stood up.
"lilith, annabeth." chiron said, "i have a masters' archery class at noon. would you take percy from here?"
"yes, sir." annabeth responded.
lilith nodded.
chiron faced percy and said, "cabin eleven. make yourself at home."
annabeth, percy, and lilith walked towards the cabin. chiron stayed outside, but once the campers saw he was there, everyone bowed.
"well, then," chiron said, "good luck, percy. i'll see you at dinner." he galloped away.
percy stayed inside of the doorframe, looking inside. annabeth gave lilith a confused look. the black haired girl shrugged.
"well?" annabeth prompted, "go on."
percy stepped forward...and he tripped.
lilith took all her strength not to laugh. she put on a straight face and announced, "percy jackson, meet cabin eleven."
"regular or undetermined?" dante shouted from the back of the cabin.
"undetermined." annabeth answered.
everyone groaned.
suddenly, luke stepped out of the crowd.
luke castellan was the best swordsman at camp. he was the demigod that traveled with annabeth and grover to camp half blood. he was older than the rest of the campers in cabin eleven. lilith didn't know his actual age, she guessed nineteen. he was tall and muscular and had dark hair. a white scar flowed beneath his right eye to the tip of his jaw. she couldn't deny he was a little good looking.
"now, now, campers." he spoke, calming everyone down, "that's what we're here for. welcome, percy. you can have that spot on the floor, right over there."
guess heath told him my request, she thought.
"this is luke," annabeth's voice got an octave higher and she started to blush beet red. when percy looked at her she got her act together and returned to normal, "he's your counselor for now."
percy looked confused, "for now?"
"you're undetermined," luke explained patiently, lilith saw him do this over and over and over, she guessed he was used to it, "they don't know what cabin to put you in, so you're here. cabin eleven takes all newcomers, all visitors. naturally, we would. hermes, our patron, is the god of travelers."
percy looked around. then he asked, "how long will i be here?"
lilith could see annabeth getting visibly upset with each question.
"good question," luke answered, "until you're determined."
"how long will that take?"
all of the campers bursted out laughing.
"come on." annabeth told percy, "lilith and i'll show you the volleyball court."
"i've already seen it."
"come on."
annabeth grabbed percy's wrist and dragged him outside of the cabin. lilith followed shortly behind, grimacing at the cabin eleven kids laughing their asses off at percy.