Stargazer

Chapter 1

I stare at the stars, "Hello."

Hello again. The voice echos in my mind, it is soft and melodic, I know this voice.

"How are you Cygnus?" I ask.

Fine. Having another sleepless night?  She asks.

I nod, "Yes, I just can't sleep..." My voice trails off.

Callyn that's fine. Are you still having those bad dreams?

"I can't get what happened out of my head. I keep trying. But I can't."

They'll go away soon.

"I know." I shigh, Cygnus has been looking out for me since I came back to camp. She is like my replacement mother, I love her for that. The only problem is, only I can hear her. No one else.

Most people know about her constellation. It is most commonly associated with the myth of Leda, the Spartan queen who gave birth to two sets of twins – the mortal Clytemnestra and Castor and the immortal Pollux and Helen – after being seduced by Zeus, who came to her in the form of a swan. The mortal children were fathered by Leda's husband Tyndareus and the immortal ones by Zeus. Castor and Pollux are associated with Gemini constellation. The story is confusing but Cygnus is always there for me, supporting me through my life.

Do want to talk about them? Your dreams I mean. She asks. 

I smile, "Why not."

Okay, I'll be back in one moment... her voice disappears. Seconds later a new voice comes into my mind, I thought you might come, I know this voice too. Eridanus, the constellation of the celestial river.

Not many people have heard of him, Eridanus is the ancient Greek name for the river Po in Italy. In mythology, Eridanus is usually associated with the story of Phaëton, the son of the Sun god Helios who begged his father to let him drive his chariot across the sky. Helios agreed to this and Phaëton mounted the chariot. However, since he was an inexperienced driver, he soon lost control of the horses and the chariot plunged close to Earth, setting lands on fire and turning Libya into a desert. Zeus had to prevent further disaster and he struck the young man down with a thunderbolt. Phaëton fell into the river Eridanus and his father did not drive his chariot for five days after his son's death, leaving the world in darkness.

In the end Eridanus was turned into the constellation of the celestial river, to remind people not to drive the sun if you're not a god and not to be to greedy... blah blah blah...

Anyways, he's very smart. He has been watching since the day he was put in the sky, he has seen all the greatest heroes survive and fail, so he knows what has happened and can predict what might come. But no matter what, Eridanus will always listen to others.

So, I tell him about my dreams.

* * *

I wake up, still on the roof, I hear a laugh and turn. "Hey guys."

The Stolls grin at me, with matching smiles on their matching faces, "Chiron want to see you in the big house."

I nod, I figured the summons would come eventually. Instead of climbing down I jump. I land on my feet. And walk away. Connor laughs, and they both hook their arms through mine. They've kind of taken me under their wings ever since I came to camp, without knowing where I came from, or what I've done. I know they're both hoping for me to be a child of Hermes, to tell the truth I hope so too, so we can pull pranks together all the time. I love them, like brothers, but at the same time I don't want to get to close...

"What did you do this time?" Travis asks, pulling me out of my train of thoughts. 

I shrug, "Not sure..." That's a big fat lie, but I can't tell them the truth. From the big house, a girl waves to me, I wave back. It's Sybil, she's unclaimed, like me, but she's one of my friends. 

Beside me Connor let's go of my arm, he's scared of Sybil or something, it's funny most of the time... but every once in awhile... Travis grins at me, "I'd better get him back to bed and go get the doctor." he sighs, "I think he's lovesick again." I laugh, we have this joke, Travis and I, we tease Connor about liking Sybil, he hates it but it's true. He's liked her ever since she came to camp a few weeks ago. He never told me but I know. I'm not going to tell Travis because it's his choice to tell. 

As the Stoll's walk away Sybil approaches, trailed by her younger brother, Felix. It's funny, you wouldn't know that the two of them are related, judging by looks or attitude. Felix is about ten, super shy and has mouse brown hair and big, soft blue eyes. He's the nicest kid in existence. Sybil on the other hand... she has blonde hair, dyed red at the tips, and piercing, electric blue eyes. On top of all that, she has an attitude like a python, deadly and fierce. But really, she's great. We've been best friends for three years.

She smiles at me, her blue eyes flashing. "Ready to go?"

I nod and take Felix's hand. He's like a little brother to me, adorable and cute. He looks up at me with his big blue eyes, "We'll be fine." he squeezes my hand gently, I squeeze back and force a smile, "I'm all set, let's roll."