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Everything sucked. Just when Percy had thought he’d finally found a place to belong, he finds out he’s some sort of ‘forbidden child’ his dad swore an oath that he wouldn’t have and now the whole camp was treating him like an outsider. It was worse than at school. At least there it was something Percy expected by now, something almost normal. But here, in a place where everyone was meant to be the same as him, he still ended up the odd one out.
Thanks a lot dad! Thanks a lot fate! Thanks a lot universe!
“You’re in my spot.”
“Huh?” Percy stumbled out of his thoughts, trying to get up on his feet in a battle-stance but failing miserably.
He looked up from his crumbled place on the ground and found himself being stared at by an angry girl. A very pretty, angry girl.
“What?” The girl glared. “Have you been struck death as well as dumb? I said you’re in my spot.”
Percy continued to stare up at her. He didn’t really get what her problem was. He was in the woods which was apparently infested with monsters (though he hadn’t seen any) and he was sitting by a river for some comfort. He usually preferred the lake but everyone else would be out there having cabin activities right now, and he really didn’t want to witness anymore whispered gawking or shunning.
The girl didn’t seem to share these thoughts. Her brown eyes narrowed into a glare. “Move!”
“You move! I was here first,” Percy said and pointedly sat more comfortably before splashing his feet back into the water.
The girl’s glossy lips pulled back into a sneer, “Look newbie, I’ve been having a really bad day and need my self-care now. This is my spot and you’re intruding. Now leave!”
Something tingled in his ears at the words and his head started to feel a bit warm and fuzzy but the cool water lapping at his ankles seemed to help. Percy shook his head. “Look, I’m not going and I don’t see your flag planted anywhere here anyway. But, if you’ll stop shouting at me, I’m fine with sharing this space with you. Deal?”
The girl blinked. She seemed genuinely confused. “You won’t leave? But I even-” she muttered something beneath her breath before going silent. She stood there for another moment before huffing dramatically and angrily plonking herself beside him.
“You really are weird,” she grumbled.
Percy frowned. “Actually, I’ve changed my mind. Leave before I douse you.”
The girl rolled her eyes. “Forget it or I’ll curse you to smell of heavy perfume or to wear hideous makeup for a week.”
Percy side-eyed her. “No way you can do that…”
The girl raised her eyebrow. It was probably the best eyebrow Percy had ever seen. Actually, everything about her was the best he’d ever seen, from her styled hair and pretty face to how she made the camp clothes look fashionable.
“Careful newbie, my mother is the goddess of love. I can do things that would haunt your dreams.”
Percy frowned but didn’t reply. Instead he sighed, “Whatever, I don’t want to test it. Not that it would make much of a difference anyway. I’m already treated like I’m cursed.”
The girl went quiet before she started taking off her shoes and placing her feet in the water as well. Even that she seemed to do elegantly.
“I’m Drew,” the girl eventually said. “Drew Tanaka. Remember my name. And that this is my spot.”
“Hello Drew Drew Tanaka,” Percy said just to be childish.
The girl, Drew, rolled her eyes. “Wow, I don’t know why everyone’s afraid of you. You’re such a baby.”
“Am not!” Percy glared. “Wait, afraid of me?”
“Why else do you think they’re alienating you?” Drew shrugged. “They’re scared of what your birth means. How the King of the Gods will retaliate.”
“But I thought they were just… I don’t know… being petty…?” But as soon as he said it Percy realised how silly it sounded, how it didn’t feel quite right.
Drew raised her perfect eyebrow again, giving him a pointed stare. “Look, newbie, you probably got told the generic stuff when you were shown around by that Blondie-”
“-Annabeth,” Percy grudgingly said. He was still pretty pissed about her using him as bait but she had shown him around camp and she had somewhat nursed him after the Minotaur thing… he thinks…
“Right, Annabeth,” Drew rolled her eyes again. “Daughter of the ‘Wisdom’ goddess,” Drew said, using air quotes around the word. Clearly there was some deep beef there. “Anyway, she probably told you about whose cabins were which and what domains they have and how we train blah blah blah. But I bet she didn’t tell you about how camp really works.”
“Umm,” Percy fiddled with his shirt.
“There’s a reason we use the word “claim” for when your godly parent formally recognises you. And there’s a reason the cabins are made to look largely like temples.” Drew splashed her feet a bit. The polish on her toes was the same as the sparkling river. “It’s because we belong to our parents. I don’t know if it’s a god thing or an Ancient Greek thing, but we’re basically tied to them and their actions. Similar to how our actions can impact their reputation too - why we show off our skills and honour our parents with our spoils. It all goes hand in hand.”
“Like worshippers…like tribes,” Percy started to realise. “Like factions…”
Drew inclined her head. “It always comes down to politics. It’s why everyone is freaking out about a possible war and talking about who’s siding with the Big Z or your dad.”
“Because it wouldn’t just be our parents going to war?” Percy nervously splashed his feet. “It would also… be… us?”
“Well, lookie here newbie, you’re not as dumb as you seem.”
“I can still douse you, ya know?” Percy warned.
Drew snorted, a sound which seemed even more ugly coming from such a beautiful girl like her. Then she pulled out a piece of pink gum and offered it to him.
Percy stared at it for a moment. It shouldn’t have meant much but for some reason it felt special… important even. He didn’t know if it was because this was the first act of… (kindness? No, despite only having met Drew, he knew such a thing didn’t fit her at all) …normalcy since he had been claimed by his father, or whether it had to do with something else… ever since he had been at camp and recognised others as fellow demigods, both good and bad actions towards him seemed to leave a deeper and lasting impression than usual. Almost like he felt everything more personally, even if it was only minor things or gestures. Maybe he’d ask Drew about it if it kept bothering him…
Drew waved the gum in front of him again with a bored look on her face.
Percy hurriedly grabbed it and blushed. “Umm, sorry, and thank you.”
They didn’t talk again after that but the silence wasn’t stifling or oppressive or lonely like Percy had been feeling from the rest of camp. Drew ended up (grudgingly) leaving first, but not before reminding him that this was her spot and he better not forget it.
Despite that, she never threaten to curse him again when she found him in the same spot the next day or the ones following that.
“You know, my cabin has a special ritual. Or maybe it’s more like an initiation.”
“Oh yeah?” Percy listened half-heartedly. The calm trickling of the stream not too far from their spot was a balm for his poor mood.
“We make someone fall deeply in love with us and then we break their hearts. Bonus points if we’re their first love too.”
“Damn, that’s cold.”
Drew rolled over and stared down at him. “Would you let me break your heart?”
Percy stared up into her deceptively warm eyes. “Nah, I need every piece of me fighting fit for what’s coming.”
Drew huffed and rolled back onto the ground beside him. “What a dull answer.”
Percy tiredly closed his eyes. He would never understand girls.
“It was stupid of you to reject godhood,” Drew said, head turned away from him.
“So I’ve been told,” Percy replied.
“…It was also kind of cool…”
“Thanks,” Percy said, though it wasn’t important to him whether it seemed cool or not, so long as the gods kept their end of the deal.
“…I’m glad you’re still here,” Drew mumbled quietly. The words were almost drowned out by the chirping birds and gentle river.
“Well,” Percy said with a smile and small nudge of her shoulder, “this is my spot, after all.”
Drew finally looked at him, unimpressed, and shoved him into the water.
Drew kept twirling a lock of hair around her finger. It was a nervous habit of hers and she hated it but she allowed herself this since no one else could see her right now. Not in her special spot by the river hidden away in the woods.
Our special spot, Drew corrected. Only in her thoughts though, never out loud.
Drew unconsciously gave a nervous tug and hissed when she felt the throb on her head. She tutted and fell back onto the grass. Despite it being December and cold with snow in the mortal world, the camp kept its beautiful weather as if it was still summer.
The sky above camp was blue and clear, the sun bright and warm, the birds happy and free.
Drew scowled. The day was too beautiful, just like the previous ones. It wasn’t fair. This was the third day since Percy had gone missing and the weather should have reflected the low mood at camp.
Where are you, Percy? Drew bit her trembling lip, ignoring her suddenly blurry vision. Clearly her eyes needed a rest from the bright sun.
She forced herself to move and eventually she made her way back to camp after checking over her makeup. She was barely out of the woods before a flash of bright blonde hair zapped past and nearly caused her to trip over.
“Hey, watch it you cretin!” she snapped.
“Oh, sorry Drew,” and when the boy turned she could see it was Will Solace from the Apollo cabin, “but Bruce and our chariot were spotted carrying multiple people! Maybe Percy’s finally back!”
Drew momentarily froze in shock as Will ran off towards the lake but she quickly came to her senses and ran after him.
When she got there she could see the chariot was indeed coming closer and carrying others. Her heart suddenly swelled with hope; not for Bruce, whom she only had a forced vague knowledge of from Percy’s mindless chatter, but because maybe Percy really was finally back and he’d have some silly or funny story about why he had been gone for three days without a word to anyone.
Drew couldn’t force her heart to stop racing but she was able to pull off her signature appearance of beautiful and aloof. She didn’t want anyone getting the wrong idea that she had been overly worried about Percy or that she had a crush on him, gods forbid.
She was just in the area and saw the commotion of the large crowd so she had to check it out too. Also, Percy was the leader of camp so there was nothing strange about her, the Head of her cabin, checking up on the latest developments about him. Gods, in the name of her mother, she was going to give him such a grilling for disappearing without a word!
Time seemed to stand still for everyone on the shore. Hardly anyone moved, impressive considering the large number of hyperactive demigods tightly crowding each other. It also felt hard to breathe, what with all the expectation for when the chariot finally landed…
…and then it was hard to breathe when it finally did, but not from relieved exhaustion or cheerful overexertion. It was hard to breathe because Percy still wasn’t there.
“Who are those randos?” someone muttered behind Drew and she had never agreed so much with someone she had her back turned to.
Drew stared at the wet mess of so-called people and felt like just calling it a day to storm back to her cabin. Gods, the noise was giving her a headache. Will was complaining about his broken chariot which had crashed into the lake, the horses were causing a right ruckus (Percy would have sorted that out immediately), and camp now had an addition of three strangers but was still minus Percy.
Drew could barely control herself. How on earth could the mission have been screwed up so badly and there was still no news for the most important part?
Drew gritted her teeth, took a deep breath, and stepped forward so she could get a better look. She sized up the strangers, now properly able to see them without the distraction of the crowd.
She gave a quick glance at the shortest one, a boy with curly hair and smudges on his face. He seemed to curl into himself slightly though his mouth was tilted in a grin. Drew knew the type, a self-conscious jokester who could take things too far if he felt belittled. He wasn’t the sort to keep his mouth shut, so if he was involved with Percy’s disappearance then he either wouldn’t have been told the important bits (thus making him irrelevant) or he would easily blabber if Drew so much as touched his shoulder (a laughably easy target).
Drew moved on. She scanned the boy next to him and could definitely appreciate his features. Tall, conventionally handsome, firm muscles - he certainly looked the part of a demigod, and a heroic one at that. But that wasn’t what truly drew her in. The air about him was one of power and he held himself like a leader - it reminded her of Percy. He would be a hard nut to crack but it would be worth it. If this boy knew anything about Percy’s disappearance then it was likely he would have been trusted with the crucial information, if he hadn’t been the one who orchestrated it in the first place.
Finally she turned her eyes on the last one. Drew’s lip curled when she realised it was meant to be a girl. Honestly, didn’t that thing try to take care of herself? Her hair was an absolute bird’s nest, her clothes were ripped in a style that was so 2000s and just cringy now, and her face had multiple spots which just screamed that her skin was oily and had no care-routine. By her mother, the least this girl could have done was wash her face each morning.
Gods, Percy was gone and in his place the camp gained these?
“Well,” Drew said, “I hope they’re worth the trouble.”