Percy Jackson: Camp Halfblood

[May Fair]

"Nice handshake," the girl said approvingly, returning Dreama's smile. "Yeah. Who would have thought -- demigods?" She said, an twinge of excitement creeping into her voice. "Just today I was getting in trouble at school, and now, I'm at a camp with..." Gabby raised a hand after Chiron, "...living myths. By the way, who's Luke?" Gabby asked, turning towards Milo. Other than Milo, the only other person who seemed to know more about their situation was the other boy. She didn't even know his name, she thought. She gave him a practiced smile, trying to appear friendly. "You know a lot about the gods?" Gabby asked Nathan.

 

[Axinite]

Milo grinned at the two girls, his day had gotten a lot better since they had been so nice. He hoped that at least one of them would be claimed by Demeter but he was doubtful; Gabby had been raised on a farm but she didn't seem like the other people from the Demeter cabin. He wasn't about to pass judgement just yet, it would probably take her a few weeks to get claimed and until then he would keep the bed next to him extra tidy.

"Luke?" He said slowly, wondering how the newcomer could know about him before he remembered Chiron mentioned him, "Oh Luke! I know Luke, he is a swell guy! Really friendly, head of the Hermes cabin. He's been here forever; the grapevine says that," he stopped mid sentence, sending a fearful look at Dionysus. He was afraid that the god would get upset at the phrase but he just rolled his eyes before returning to his wine catalog.

"The eh, tomato-vine," Dionysus sighed very loudly in the background, "says that he fought a bunch of monsters when he first came to camp with Annabelle which is totally cool!" Milo said excitedly, everyone in camp thought of Luke as a real hero and that had to mean something.

"You gotta be careful in the Hermes cabin though . . . keep track of your stuff, don't be too loud, be talented," He muttered the last bit too himself, wringing his hands nervously until he remembered that he was still talking to people, "Eh, but everyone in the cabin is nice! When do you think the satyrs are coming up with dinner? I am starving, hope they bring up some apple-crisps. My dad used to make the best apple-crisps, I can't be feeling down if I have a bowl of apple-crisps in front of me!" He said excitedly, hoping he could distract them from his previous statement.

 

[May Fair]

Gabby raised her brow, a cross of curiousity and disbelief held in her expression, and then shrugged. She didn't have much anyway. There wasn't a whole lot of time to pack, so unless these Hermes' kids found her Algebra II textbook or her Civics homework rather fascinating, she was safe from light fingers, she thought. "I think I'm okay," she said with a smile before it disappeared to be replaced by a frown. She had caught Milo's wrung hands in hers and asked, "You okay?"

 

[Axinite]

Milo pouted and looked away from gabby to some indiscriminate spot on the hill. He looked back and forth between this spot and Gabby a few times, thinking about something very serious. He wasn't sure if he wanted to tell her, most of the other people he told didn't care or made fun of him, but for some reason he didn't really understand Gabby felt different. With a heavy sigh he met Gabby's eyes again, although he couldn't stay focused on them once he started to talk.

"Well, as you may know most half-bloods spend their first couple months in the Hermes cabin before they are claimed. I was in there for what felt like forever and no one really liked me. I couldn't keep up with the other kids in most of the activities and I kept messing people up when we played capture the flag; something about giving off my teammates location?" he kicked a rock anxiously, looking up to see how she was reacting to this, "I couldn't make any friends in the cabin despite it being full of people, I was really lonely and I don't want you to be lonely to!"

He was surprised by how open he had been considering he had just met Gabby and then he was struck by a strange thought; what if he upset her? He had probably sounded really gloomy and made the Hermes cabin sound like a terrible place but it really wasn't. It just wasn't his place.

"But then I was claimed by my Demeter, my eh mother, and I moved into her cabin. I am really happy there and I get along really well with the other kids, probably because there aren't as many of them. The Hermes cabin is crowded and I don't like crowds, if you don't mind crowds it should be nice." He said with a weak smile, hoping he had remedied the situation at least somewhat. As he finished speaking a group of satyrs hurried up the hill, carrying small platters of sandwiches and a small variety of different sides. Milo was grateful for the distraction, partly because he was hungry and partly because he didn't know what else to say.

 

[May Fair]

"I won't be lonely," she said assuredly, following Milo's gaze. "I have a friend, and he's pretty cool." Gabby turned towards the boy and grinned, gently nudging him. Even though she was trying to cheer up Milo, she meant it. She liked the way his enthusiasm carried into everything, and he was kind -- a bit of an outsider, too, but she knew that feeling too. It didn't make him any less talented. She continued with a shrug. "Also, capture the flag -- it's just a game, right? How can anyone be butt-hurt over a game?"

"I wonder who my mom is." Gabby said softly. She hadn't even thought about her godly parent; she had been distracted with Chiron and camp to even process that she didn't know who her mother could be. Her father and gran always avoided talking about her when she was small; Gabby always figured her mom had died, and they didn't like talking about it because it was too hard. She was right, in one way; it would have been hard to explain, especially to a child. She sighed, lost in the thought, until the satyrs came into view over the hill. Gabby swallowed her feelings of pity and smiled again.

"Finally, I'm starving."

 

[Axinite]

It took Milo a few moments to catch onto what Gabby was saying, he was a bit slow when it came to figuring this sorta stuff out, and when he did he just stared at her with a confused expression. Had he really managed to make a friend so quickly? He hadn't even been trying very hard, he had only given her a single gift after all. Maybe she was trying to ask for more gifts? No, she seemed to sound sincere about it, maybe she was being honest. That was a good thought.

"Capture the flag is kinda stressful actually, people take it too seriously. Especially the bigger cabins, they can get really competitive about it. I guess it is kinda fun spending time in the woods but you have to find a good hiding place or people will try to mess with you, even if you aren't going after the flag." Milo knew he probably sounded whiny but for some reason he didn't think Gabby would mind, he grabbed a hamburger from the small plate brought by the satyrs and took a greedy bite.

"As for the whole mom thing, you can't really say until they claim you. I like to think they can recognize their kids but you gotta get them to take a good look at you. I know a lot of the unclaimed kids are real wallflowers, you gotta be out there trying really hard so they stop and look at you. I know a lot of people get claimed after climbing the wall, I am too scared to do it though. No one thought I would get claimed after the first week but I did, you gotta stay optimistic." he said.