ANDROMEDA
The Hunters claimed the back of the bus, clearly wanting to keep their distance from Apollo and probably also Percy and Nico. Bianca didn't hesitate to sit with them. Nico barely even seemed to notice, too busy geeking out over the shuttle bus that was actually a sun, which, like, valid.
He was bouncing in the driver's seat. "This is so cool! Is this really the sun? I thought Helios and Selene were the sun and moon gods. How come sometimes it's them and sometimes it's you and Artemis?"
"Downsizing," Apollo answered. "The Romans started it. They couldn't afford all those temple sacrifices, so they laid off Helios and Selene and folded their duties into our job descriptions. My sis got the moon. I got the sun. It was pretty annoying at first, but at least I got this cool car."
"Wow," Andi said, storing her luggage in one of the overhead cabinets. "Even divine beings are negatively impacted by capitalism."
No one paid her any mind. Nico was looking up at Apollo with wide eyes. "But how does it work? I thought the sun was a big fiery ball of gas!"
If Apollo was annoyed by all of Nico's questions, he did a great job of not showing it. Instead, he chuckled and ruffled Nico's hair affectionately. "That rumor probably got started because Artemis used to call me a big fiery ball of gas. Seriously, kid, it depends on whether you're talking astronomy or philosophy. You want to talk astronomy? Bah, what fun is that? You want to talk about how humans think about the sun? Ah, now that's more interesting. They've got a lot riding on the sun...er, so to speak. It keeps them warm, grows their crops, powers engines, makes everything look, well, sunnier. This chariot is built out of human dreams about the sun, kid. It's as old as Western Civilization. Every day, it drives across the sky from east to west, lighting up all those puny little mortal lives. The chariot is a manifestation of the sun's power, the way mortals perceive it. Make sense?"
Nico frowned and shook his head. "No."
"Well then, just think of it as a really powerful, really dangerous solar car."
Nico's face lit back up. "Can I drive?"
"No," Apollo replied. "Too young."
Grover's hand shot into the air. "Oo! Oo!"
"Mm, no," Apollo said. "Too furry." His gaze drifted right over Percy and Andi (who was trying to hide behind Percy) to Thalia.
"Daughter of Zeus!" he exclaimed, beaming. "Lord of the sky. Perfect."
Thalia's eyes went wide with terror. "Oh, no. No, thanks."
"C'mon," Apollo insisted. "How old are you?"
"I don't know," Thalia admitted after a moment's hesitation. Andi pursed her lips, then realized she probably should've had more of a reaction to that. Luckily, it seemed like no one was paying attention to her in the slightest.
Some things never change, even in alternate universes.
"You're fifteen, almost sixteen," Apollo deduced.
Thalia furrowed her brow. "How do you know that?"
"Hey, I'm the god of prophecy. I know stuff. You'll turn sixteen in about a week."
"That's my birthday! December 22nd."
"Which means you're old enough to drive with a learner's permit!"
Thalia grimaced. "Uh—"
"I know what you're going to say," Apollo interjected. "You don't deserve an honor like driving the sun chariot."
"That's not what I was going to say," she mumbled.
Apollo waved his hand dismissively. "Don't sweat it! Maine to Long Island is a really short trip, and don't worry about the last kid I trained. You're Zeus's daughter. He's not going to blast you out of the sky." He laughed. No one joined him.
Andi was chewing on her bottom lip now, her nerves rising. She was never a huge fan of flying in the first place — she preferred to keep her feet on the ground — but knowing how this was going to go...she wished she had a hand to hold at the very least.
"Take it away!" Apollo declared, ignoring Thalia's protests. "You're gonna be a natural!"
For some reason, Percy decided to stand. Nico and Grover had taken seats in the front row, and Andi elected to sit with them. She took the spot in the middle and buckled herself in, then made sure Nico was buckled in too. The last thing they needed was either one of them flying through the windshield.
"Speed equals heat," Apollo was saying to Thalia. "So start slowly, and make sure you've got good altitude before you really open her up."
Thalia was gripping the wheel like a lifeline. She looked like she was seconds away from vomiting all over the sun bus. Andi probably didn't look much better. This was one of the reasons why Andi liked Thalia's character so much. They both hated heights.
"What's wrong?" Percy asked Thalia, his brow furrowing.
"Nothing," Thalia lied. "N-nothing is wrong."
She pulled back on the wheel and the bus lurched upward in the blink of an eye. Andi felt her stomach swoop like the way it did on rollercoasters. Percy lost his balance and fell backward into Grover, who let out a soft, "Ow."
"Sorry," Percy said.
"Slower!" Apollo urged.
Thalia looked paler than ever. "Sorry! I've got it under control!"
Percy got up and looked out the window. Just the thought of looking out there made Andi cringe. She felt like she was twelve again, on the plane to visit Dinah's parents, sitting in the aisle seat with Carol holding her hand and Dinah and Cass watching her worriedly from across the aisle. Cass had never had a problem with heights. In fact, she loved them. What a freak.
"Thalia, lighten on the accelerator," Percy advised.
"I've got it, Percy," Thalia grumbled. She did not lighten up on the accelerator.
"Loosen up," Percy added.
"I'm loose!" Thalia shot back. She was not loose. She was so stiff that a statue would be impressed.
"We need to veer south for Long Island," Apollo told her. "Hang a left."
Thalia jerked the wheel in the wrong direction and sent Percy tumbling back into Grover. This time, Grover yelped. Andi swore under her breath and latched onto Nico's wrist and the sleeve of Grover's shirt.
"The other left," Apollo said. Like an idiot, Andi glanced out the window to see they were very high up now. She let out a little yelp and squeezed her eyes shut.
Apollo's easy-breezy attitude was reaching its limits. "Ah...A little lower, sweetheart. Cape Cod is freezing over."
The bus pitched down and Andi screamed. Nico tucked himself into her side and Grover grabbed onto her arm. It suddenly started to get very warm, not that it really mattered for Andi — she was already soaked in sweat.
She heard Grover beg, "Take the wheel!"
"No worries," Apollo assured him, sounding very worried. "She just has to learn to — WHOA!"
Something smelled like smoke.
"Pull up!" Percy commanded. The bus shot back up.
"There!" Apollo shouted. "Long Island, dead ahead. Let's slow down, dear. 'Dead' is only an expression."
Andi silently thanked the gods that this dreadful experience was almost over. Then she remembered that if she survived to Heroes of Olympus, there was a chance she'd have to go on the Argo II. Hopefully, she wouldn't have to, but at least that would be moving at a reasonable speed. She could feel how the sun bus was hurtling through the air.
"Brake," Apollo said.
Thalia was mumbling to herself. "I can do this."
"BRAKE!"
The bus pitched forward and slammed into what Andi guessed to be the canoe lake at Camp Half-Blood. She could hear steam rising and opened one eye to see naiads fleeing the water as fast as they possibly could. The bus soon rose to the surface, and Andi felt like she could breathe again.
"Well." Apollo was smiling again like everything was fine. "You were right, my dear. You had everything under control! Let's go see if we boiled anyone important, shall we?"
Andi looked out the window and gasped. Camp Half-Blood was...it was gorgeous. A light covering of snow hid the grass from view. The strawberry fields and chariot track were coated in frost. All the cabins had been decorated with strings of tiny balls of fire. Andi tore her gaze away momentarily to grab her things, then shuffled off of the bus and gaped openly at her surroundings.
Nico was a step behind her. "Whoa. Is that a climbing wall?"
"Yeah," Percy said.
"Why is there lava pouring down it?"
"Little extra challenge," Percy answered. "Come on. I'll introduce you guys to Chiron. Zoë, have you met—"
Zoë cut him off. "I know Chiron. Tell him we will be in Cabin Eight. Hunters, follow me."
Grover's eyes lit up. "I'll show you the way."
"We know the way."
"Oh, really, it's no trouble. It's easy to get lost here, if you don't" — he stumbled over a canoe, but didn't stop talking — "like my old daddy goat used to say! Come on!"
Andi grimaced. Grover really didn't know how to take a hint, did he? Despite Zoë's obvious annoyance with him, she let him lead the Hunters to the cabin. Before Bianca followed after them, she whispered something in Nico's ear, then waited for an answer. Nico just scowled and pointedly looked away.
"Take care, sweethearts!" Apollo called after the Hunters. He winked at Percy. "Watch out for those prophecies, Percy. I'll see you soon. You too, Andi."
Percy frowned. "What do you mean?"
Apollo got back on the bus without answering. "Later, Thalia. And, uh, be good!"
He smiled at her, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. Andi turned away and fiddled with the strap of her backpack. She didn't want to watch him go. He made her nervous. This whole situation was bad enough as it was. She didn't need ominous warnings on top of it. There was a blast of heat, and then the bus was gone and steam was rising off of the lake.
Nico's face was all screwed up in annoyance. "Who's Chiron? I don't have his figurine."
"Our activities director," Percy told him. "He's...well, you'll see."
"If those Hunter girls don't like him, that's good enough for me," Nico muttered. "Let's go."
They started towards the Big House, making their way through the arrangement of cabins. All the cabins were so different looking but even cooler than she imagined, and as they walked, Andi found herself wondering which one she belonged to. Theoretically, her godly parent could be just about anyone, but in the context of how heteronormative the Percy Jackson series was, her godly parent was probably a goddess. Not Hera or Artemis or Hestia, obviously, although...oh gods, what if this was one of those cringy fanfics where one of the virgin goddesses (other than Athena, of course) had a daughter for no real reason other than the author thought it'd be cool?
But if she was to count out Hera, Artemis, and Hestia, that left Athena, Aphrodite, and Demeter out of the Olympians. She figured she probably wasn't a daughter of Athena — she wasn't intelligent or analytical enough for that, and she didn't have blonde hair or storm gray eyes. Aphrodite, possibly, but she didn't think she was pretty enough to be the daughter of the goddess of beauty. Maybe Demeter? But it wasn't like Andi had a real interest in gardening. She and Cass used to take those 'Who's your godly parent?' quizzes all the time, but for some inexplicable reason, Andi couldn't remember what result she used to get.
Andi was so in her head that she nearly tripped walking up the steps of the Big House porch. Percy grabbed her arm to steady herself, and she stammered out a meek "Thank you" as they walked inside. The Big House smelled of hot chocolate, and she could hear flames crackling in the fireplace. Their little group of four went into the parlor, where Mr. D and Chiron sat playing a game of cards.
Chiron looked kind and ancient, just like she envisioned. He was wearing this adorable sweater with a hoofprint on it. He smiled warmly at them. "Percy! Thalia! Ah, and this must be—"
"Andi Yoshino and Nico di Angelo," Percy finished for him. Once again, Andi tried not to pass out at Percy saying her name. "Nico and his sister Bianca are half-bloods."
"You succeeded, then," Chiron concluded, letting out a little sigh of relief.
"Well..."
Chiron's face fell. "What's wrong? And where is Annabeth?"
"Oh, dear." Mr. D sounded bored out of his mind. "Not another one lost."
"What do you mean?" Thalia questioned, her eyes narrowing. "Who is lost?"
Before either immortal could answer, Grover came in, smiling like he'd won the lottery despite his black eye and what appeared to be a slap mark on his cheek. "The Hunters are all moved in!"
Andi winced and moved to stand in front of him. "Oh, honey," she sighed, gently touching the skin under his eye. He hissed and jerked away. She let her hand fall to his shoulder. "Didn't anyone ever tell you not to hit on man-hating immortals?"
Chiron was frowning now. "The Hunters, eh? I see we have much to talk about." His gaze flickered to Nico, and then to Andi. "Grover, perhaps you should take our new friends to the den and show them our orientation film."
"And maybe we should get you an ice pack," Andi suggested, giving Grover's shoulder a comforting squeeze. "That should help the swelling go down."
"You get a lot of black eyes?" Percy asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Not since sixth grade," she answered. That was the year those awful girls took to bullying her and Cass. Andi was getting into fights with them nearly every day, but things only got physical when the girls found out Carol and Dinah had gone to the administration wondering why Andi was the one always getting punishment when it was Stacey Beck and her gang starting it. Stacey gave Andi a black eye, but Andi broke Stacey's nose, and after that, people learned not to mess with her. The two-week suspension was totally worth it.
"But..." Grover started to protest before cutting himself off. "Oh, right. Yes, sir."
"Orientation film?" Nico inquired. "Is it G or PG? 'Cause Bianca is kinda strict—"
"It's PG-13," Grover told him.
"Cool!" Nico gushed, and then she, Nico, and Grover left the room.
Andi made them stop at the infirmary for an ice pack — "You guys have a lava rock wall so you better have an infirmary or I'm leaving immediately." — before they headed to the den. Once in the den, Andi got her chance to watch the fabled orientation film. If she was being honest, she was having trouble paying attention. Her mind kept wandering to what Artemis and Apollo said and then to Cass, Carol, and Dinah and then to the fact that she was stuck in an alternate universe and then back to what Artemis and Apollo said, and so on, and so forth.
When the film was over, Nico was practically vibrating. He ran ahead of Andi and Grover, who had kindly offered to carry Andi's suitcase for her in his free hand, and back into the parlor.
"SO COOL!" Nico shouted as Andi and Grover trailed in behind him. "You're...you're a centaur!"
Chiron gave an attempt at a smile. "Yes, Mr. di Angelo, if you please. Though, I prefer to stay in human form in this wheelchair for, ah, first encounters."
"And, whoa!" Nico turned his attention to Mr. D. "You're the wine dude? No way!"
Mr. D glowered at Nico. "The wine dude?"
Andi let out a nervous chuckle and laid her hands on Nico's shoulders, pulling him closer to her and away from Mr. D. "Nico, sweetie, maybe you shouldn't refer to godly beings as 'dude.'"
Nico smiled sheepishly, then said, "Dionysus, right? Oh, wow! I've got your figurine."
Mr. D looked unimpressed. "My figurine."
"In my game, Mythomagic," Nico explained. "And a holofoil card, too! And even though you've only got like five hundred attack points and everybody thinks you're the lamest god card, I totally think your powers are sweet!"
"Ah." Now Mr. D seemed less annoyed and more confused. Andi could live with that. A confused god was less likely to smite someone than an annoyed god.
Chiron quickly cut in, "Percy, you and Thalia go down to the cabins. Inform the campers we'll be playing capture the flag tomorrow evening."
"Capture the flag?" Percy frowned. "But we don't have enough—"
"It is a tradition," Chiron insisted. "A friendly match, whenever the Hunters visit."
Thalia rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I bet it's real friendly."
Nico had started back up again. He was explaining how many defense points each of the gods had in Mythomagic. Andi watched him worriedly. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Thalia and Percy start to leave, and then there was a sound like the Big House door bursting open and a thundering of footsteps.
Someone ran into the parlor, completely out of breath. "I'm sorry, but I heard—"
Andi's eyes began to well with tears. "Cass?"
There she was, Andi's sister Cassandra Mills in all her glory. Her dark hair was tied back in a low ponytail, beads of sweat shimmering on her warm brown skin. She was wearing a pink hoodie over an orange Camp Half-Blood shirt. Around her neck was a camp necklace with five beads. She was clearly a seasoned camper, but most importantly, she was here. She was standing right in front of Andi. She was here and she was real and nothing else mattered because she was here.
"Andi," Cass said, choking back a sob, and then she was throwing her arms around Andi, and then then they were holding each other and crying in the parlor of the Big House in Camp Half-Blood, and holy fuck, how did Andi's life become this?
"Um, you two know each other?" Percy asked, effectively ending the tearful reunion between the two sisters. Thalia whacked his shoulder as Andi and Cass pulled apart, though they refused to let go of each other.
"Andi stayed with my mom and me for a while a few years back," Cass explained. Wait, did she say her mom? As in singular? She glanced at Andi, a strange look in her eyes. "Then she ran away, and I haven't seen her since. But Connor told me he saw Percy and Thalia taking two new campers to the Big House and when I asked him to describe them, the description sounded like Andi so I ran here to see for myself, and oh my gods, it's really you. You have no idea how happy I am to see you."
"I could say the same," Andi said a bit warily. Because Cass's story isn't what happened. What happened was Andi's social worker placed her with the Mills, and then about six months in, Andi ran away, but Dinah found her and took her home. But then again, that's how it happened in her universe. Maybe that's not how it happened in this one. Maybe...maybe this Cass wasn't her Cass.
Percy and Thalia finally left after receiving a pointed look from Chiron, and Cass turned her attention to the centaur in the wheelchair.
"Chiron, can I take her on a tour of camp?" Cass questioned, looping her arm through Andi's and shooting Chiron her best puppy dog expression. "Please? We have a lot to catch up on."
She elbowed Andi, and Andi realized she should be begging too. She managed a nervous smile and said, "I could really use a familiar face right about now."
Chiron hesitated, then nodded. "Alright. Grover, go with them and take Nico to Cabin Eleven, then give him a tour, will you?"
"Of course," Grover answered without a moment's hesitation. He, Nico, Cass, and Andi headed to Cabin Eleven, Cass making small talk with Grover and Nico on the walk over. Andi was silent. It was kind of funny how quickly she'd fallen back into the habit of letting Cass talk enough for the both of them. Andi only vaguely registered Cass pulling her into Cabin Eleven and then taking her backpack from her, saying, "Don't worry, your stuff will be safe. Connor and Travis owe me big time."
Then Cass was saying goodbye to Grover and Nico and leading Andi away, naming each cabin like Andi had no prior knowledge of camp. Andi's heart sunk. This really wasn't her Cass, was it?
"And this is my cabin, Cabin Seven," Cass told her. "Aka the Apollo cabin."
"You're a daughter of Apollo?" Andi rebuked, speaking for the first time since leaving the Big House. "What am I saying? Of course, you're a daughter of Apollo. You always have loved playing nurse for me."
Cass grinned and pulled Andi inside Cabin Seven. It was empty except for them. Cass checked the bathroom to see if anyone was inside, then whirled around and raced back over to Andi, her eyes wide. "Please tell me you know what the fuck is going on."
*
CASSANDRA
When Cass had woken up the previous morning in Cabin Seven, she thought she was having a really elaborate dream. She went along with it, just enjoying getting a chance to be a part of the Riordan-verse in any form she could get, until she got knocked on her ass during training and realized the pain she was feeling felt very, very real. She excused herself back to Cabin Seven to lay down, claiming she had a bad headache, and pinched herself repeatedly in an attempt to wake herself up.
It didn't work.
After that, she searched her bunk and found a diary. She'd thought that was funny. She was never really one for journaling — that was Andi's thing. But apparently, the Cass of this universe (because she was starting to realize that she was in an alternate universe) liked to write daily entries, which she quickly began to appreciate. The diary didn't look very thick, but when she opened it up, she realized it went back at least four years. She sat on her bed and read the whole thing twice.
That was how she learned that her moms weren't together in this universe. In this universe, they broke up when Cass was nine, and she hadn't seen Dinah since, which is why, in this universe, when Andi ran away, she never came back, because Dinah wasn't there to find her and bring her home. Cass also learned that in this universe, her relationship with her mom was abysmal, because, in this universe, Dinah wasn't there to act as a mediator whenever the two butted heads and this universe's Cass blamed Mom for being the reason Dinah left. Due to their awful relationship, this universe's Cass decided two summers ago to start staying at camp full time, and she hadn't spoken to her mom in months.
By the time all that information had sunk, Cass was in tears. Her sister and her mama weren't a part of her life and her mom barely was. She had all these siblings she didn't know, and depending on how long she was in this universe, she might have to fight in a war. Hell, she might have to fight in two wars! Sure, it was cool to know who her dad was — in her universe, he was nothing more than a sperm donor and that had never bothered her, but there was always a part of her that wondered about him every now and then — but even that kind of sucked because her dad was a god, and gods aren't exactly the most attentive parents.
The one saving grace was that she apparently had powers. This universe's Cass had written extensively about learning how to use her healing abilities and realizing she could perfectly mimic other people's voices. Like, yeah, she was practically alone in an alternate universe and might have to become a war veteran at age sixteen, but here, she was a badass and not just some loser doodling in the margins of her notebook. So at least she had that going for her. It wasn't much, but it was something.
And yeah, she didn't know her siblings, but she could get to know them, and she could always fix her relationship with her mom, and maybe she could get her and mama back together, and maybe she could find Andi and they could be sisters again. When she heard at dinner from Gracie that Percy, Annabeth, and Thalia had gone to answer a distress signal from Grover, hope bloomed in her heart. What if Grover had found Andi at Westover Hall? What if it was her Andi who'd also been thrust into this universe? What if she didn't have to go through it alone?
That hope kept her going for the rest of the night, kept her spirits up during the sing-along, and serenaded her to sleep. She'd woken up that morning and realized she'd dreamt about things that had happened in this universe's Cass's life, things that weren't in the diary. That could be helpful. There was only so much she could get away with when most people at camp had apparently known her for years.
She waited impatiently to hear word of Percy, Thalia, Grover, Nico, the Hunters, and possibly Andi arriving at camp. She felt a pang in her chest when she realized it would be Apollo, her dad, dropping them off. According to the diary, she'd never met her dad. The closest she'd gotten was when he claimed her. Maybe she could sneak away from arts and crafts to see him? But no, Silena (Cass almost started crying on sight) refused to let her leave.
Finally, finally, she'd been on her way back to her cabin when Connor ran up to her and told her he'd seen Percy and Thalia taking two new campers to the Big House. Her heart had soared. She'd read Titan's Curse enough times to know that Bianca had already joined the Hunters by now, and didn't go to meet Chiron with Nico, which meant the other person with Nico could be Andi. She'd grabbed Connor by the shoulders and demanded a description.
He described Andi, and she hugged him gratefully before taking off towards the Big House.
She'd nearly fallen to her knees in relief when she ran into the parlor and saw Andi. Beautiful Andi, wearing dark jeans and a light pink tank top peeking out under a sky blue sweatshirt, her hands planted on Nico di Angelo's shoulders as if she was his mom. For a moment, Cass had worried that this Andi wasn't her Andi. So she was taking a bit of chance when she got Andi alone in Cabin Seven and said, "Please tell me you know what the fuck is going on."
But then Andi pulled her in for a hug and exclaimed, "Oh, thank the fucking gods above!" and Cass realized that this was her Andi through and through.
"For a second there, I thought you were a part of this universe," Andi continued, pulling away, her hands sliding down to grip Cass's forearms. "Like actually a part of it and I was so scared, but you're you! You're really you!"
"Yeah, it's me, Andi," Cass laughed. "It's really me. And you're really you, and we're in the fucking Percy Jackson universe!"
"I know!" Andi crowed. She started giggling. "Oh my gods, Cass, you had no idea. So, you know when Thorn grabs Nico and Bianca? Well, he grabbed me too, and then Percy came after us, and Thorn got him with one of his spikes, and Percy was hurt, and he stumbled, and I caught him, and I got to hold him in my arms!"
Cass let out a sharp gasp. "You lucky bitch!"
"Oh, Cass, you don't even know the half of it," Andi gushed. "I got to meet Artemis and Apollo, and Artemis laughed at one of my jokes! Okay, well, she didn't actually laugh, but I could tell she found it funny, and Percy's been laughing at my jokes too, and I'm friends with Grover, and I've been making friends with Nico and Bianca and Percy and Thalia!"
"Yeah, well, I read this universe's version of me's diary," Cass told her. "That's how I knew that stuff about how you ran away. A lot's different here, but right now, I want to focus on the good, which is that apparently, I'm friends with Percy and Annabeth."
Andi bounced on her heels, grinning like a madwoman. "Cass, we're going to get to see Percabeth happen in real-time!" Then her smile fell. "Well, in between fighting a war."
"We were focusing on the good stuff," Cass whined. She sat down on her bunk and Andi followed.
"Cass," Andi started to say. She seemed to be having trouble getting her words out. Andi had never been great about talking about her feelings. Cass assumed it was a side effect of being in the foster care system — learning to keep things close, to have your guard up at all times. "Earlier, you said mom, like, singular. Did something happen to Dinah?"
Cass bit her lip. She'd been dreading talking about this. "She and Mom broke up when I was nine. They got into this huge fight, and Mama left, and she never came back."
Andi covered her mouth with her hand. "But...But they love each other. They would never break up."
"I don't know why they did, but they did," Cass sighed. "And my relationship with Mom is so bad that I'm staying at camp year-round." She forced herself to look at Andi and took her sister's hand. "I'm so glad you're here. I thought...I thought I was all alone."
"Me too," Andi said quietly. "Artemis...she made this weird comment about how me joining the Hunt would betray my fate. And then Apollo, he said, 'Well, isn't little Andromeda Yoshino? Fancy seeing you here. Bet you weren't expecting this,' like...like he knows this isn't my home universe. And he kept winking at me like we were in on a joke together."
Cass's throat felt weirdly tight. "Well, I guess it'd make sense for the gods to know the truth about us, especially Ap...especially my dad. Did anyone that wasn't a god react weirdly to you?"
"No," Andi replied. "Everyone at Westover Hall treated me like I'd always been there."
"Same here." Cass took to fiddling with a loose thread on her sheet. "Well, Chiron might've given a weird look once, but I might've just imagined it."
Andi pursed her lips. "You know, we're probably going to need to have a long conversation about what it means for us and for the story that we're here."
"Yeah, that'd probably be smart," Cass said. For a moment, neither of them said anything. Then Cass added, "But, you know, we should probably finish your tour first."
"Oh, definitely," Andi agreed. "And we should probably also eat first, and maybe also sleep first, to really make sure we're in the right state of mind to have this discussion."
Cass nodded. "And maybe we should just wait a day or two, you know? To see how you fit in at camp."
"Sounds good." Andi got to her feet and offered Cass her hand. "So, Miss Mills. Ready to finish that tour?"
"Yep," Cass replied, taking her hand and letting her sister haul her to her feet. "Wanna start with the armory?"
Andi's madwoman grin was back in full force. "Fuck yeah, I do."
*
It was weird to eat a meal at a different table than Andi.
The rest of the tour had gone fairly well, save for that bit where they got lost in the woods trying to find Zeus's Fist, aka the entrance to the Labyrinth. They had to get directions from a couple of dryads to find their way back. To make matters worse, they'd accidentally skipped lunch, which was especially a bummer for Andi who hadn't eaten since the night before. They'd also been unsuccessful in trying to find a weapon for Andi in the armory. She'd said none of them felt right.
But now it was dinner time, and Cass was sitting at the Apollo table with her siblings, and Andi was sitting at the Hermes table with Nico and the Stoll brothers. Nico, Connor, and Travis were chattering away while Andi just nodded from time to time. As good as the food was, it didn't change the fact that Cass was four tables away from her sister/best friend.
Cass couldn't stop checking in on Andi. If she wasn't checking in on Andi, she was checking in on Percy. He looked downright miserable. She wished there was something she could do for him, but it wasn't like she could go and sit with him without causing an uproar. She kept trying to remind herself that everything would work out, that soon Annabeth would be back at camp, and Percy would have his Wise Girl back.
"Why do you keep looking at Jackson?" her sister Gracie asked, yanking from her thoughts. "Do you have a crush on him or something?"
"Dude," Yan said, their 'they/them' beaded bracelet they made in arts and crafts catching in the light, "she's a lesbian, remember?"
Gracie frowned. "I thought she was bisexual."
"That was her compulsory heterosexuality talking," Yan told her, and then they smiled warmly at Cass. "See, Cassie? I listen!"
Cass couldn't help but smile back. "Yeah, Gracie, what Yan said."
It was surprisingly easy to get along with her siblings, even though they were essentially strangers to her. During the year, it was just the three of them. Lee, Michael, Will, Austin, and Kayla would be back in the summer, and probably others she didn't know the names of yet. Cass tried not to think about the fact that this time next year, Lee would be dead, and then Michael would die, and maybe some of her other siblings too. She knew Will, Austin, Kayla, Gracie, and Yan would survive at least. That brought her some comfort.
"Sorry," Gracie said, smiling sheepishly. "In my defense, I did get hit in the head a lot today."
"Clearly not enough to knock some sense into you," Cass teased.
Yan glanced at Percy. "He must be feeling awful right now. Did you hear what happened to Annabeth?" Gracie nodded.
Cass sighed, picking at her slice of pizza. "Yeah. Andi told me."
"Oh, right." Yan's gaze drifted to Andi. "I forgot she was there. How are you guys related again?"
"My mom fostered her for a while," Cass reiterated. She'd told her siblings this three times now. To be fair, Yan wasn't there the first time. "We were really close before she ran away."
Gracie tilted her head curiously. "If you were really close, why did she run away?" Then she winced. "That's none of my business, isn't it?"
"I don't know why she ran away," Cass lied.
She did know. It was because they'd gotten into a fight, but it was more than that. Andi had told her one night when neither of them could sleep.
"I guess I just got used to people not wanting me and shipping me off to the next home," Andi had said. "When we got into that fight, I thought it'd be easier...I thought it'd hurt less if I left."
But Gracie was right. That was none of her business.
After everyone finished dinner, Chiron made the toast to the gods, then formally welcomed the Hunters. The following applause was...well, to call it polite would be generous. The applause following the capture the flag announcement was the exact opposite. A few people even banged on their tables and whooped.
Then it was time for bed, and Cass dreamed of hiding under her bed while Mom and Mama screamed at each other.
*
a bit of an odd ending, but i didn't feel like going on for much longer lol
decided to give y'all a double update bc again, it's percy's birthday and percabeth's anniversary and i just really wanted y'all to meet my baby cass
also, in case anyone was wondering, yan is actually a canon character in the books, but their gender was never specified, so i decided yan is genderqueer and uses they/them pronouns :)