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LEO, PIPER, AND JASON stood near the back of the chariot with Veronica, who was watching the open back carefully. Yeah, it was open and there were no seatbelts. Really safe, Leo thought. Hopefully they wouldn't get sucked off into the unknown!
The bulky dude, Butch, controlled the reins while the blonde girl, Annabeth, adjusted a bronze navigation device. They rose over the Grand Canyon and headed east, icy wind ripping straight through Leos jacket. Behind them, more storm clouds were gathering.
"This is so cool!" Leo said for the 10th time. He spit a pegasus feather out of his mouth. "Where are we going?"
"A safe place," Annabeth said. "The only safe place for kids like us. Camp Half-Blood."
"Half-Blood?" Piper was immediately on guard. "Is that some kind of bad joke?"
"She means we're demigods," Jason said. "Half god, half mortal."
Annabeth looked back. "You seem to know a lot, Jason. But, yes, demigods. My mom is Athena, goddess of wisdom. Veronica is Poseidons daughter, the god of the sea. Butch here is the son of Iris, the rainbow goddess."
Leo choked. "Your mom is a rainbow goddess?"
"Got a problem with that?" Butch said.
"No, no," Leo said. "Rainbows. Very macho."
"Butch is our best equestrian," Annabeth said. "He gets along great with the pegasi."
"Rainbows, ponies," Leo muttered.
"I'm gonna toss you off this chariot," Butch warned.
"Demigods," Piper said. "You mean you think you're ... you think we're—"
Lightning flashed. The chariot shuddered, and Jason yelled, "Left wheel's on fire!"
Leo and Piper stepped back. Sure enough, the wheel was burning, white flame slapping up the side of the chariot. The wind roared.
Leo glanced behind them and saw dark shapes forming in the clouds, more storm spirits spiraling toward the chariot—except these looked more like horses than angels.
He started to say, "Why are they—"
"Anemoi come in different shapes," Veronica said, turning around and walking over to Annabeth. "Sometimes human, sometimes stallions, depending on how chaotic they are."
"V? Any luck controlling the storm?" Annabeth asked.
Veronica shook her head. "No. But maybe I'm a little rusty. Keyword, little." Leo couldnt help but keep glancing at her everytime she spoke. Her long raven hair, the sea-green eyes, her pale skin. Something about her pulled him to her. He was snapped out of his train of thoughts when the chariot lurched forward.
"Hold on. This is going to get rough." Butch said, jerked the reins. The pegasi put on an outburst of speed, and the chariot blurred. Moments later, they were in a totally different place. A grey, muted ocean lay out to left. Snow covered hills, fields, roads and forests covered the right. Under them, was a stunning green valley like a springtime escape, with colourful flowers littered around in bunches.
In awe, Leo saw a cluster of buildings like ancient Greek temples, a crystal clear lake, ball courts, an azure blue abode, and a climbing wall which.. was on fire? He gaped at the sight and tried to control the urge to jump to it. But before he could process everything else, the wheels came off of the chariot and they were suddenly dropping out of the sky. Great.
Leo turned around in a panic. "Uh.. guys? Any plans on how to not turn us into pancakes?"
Annabeth and Butch ignored him and tried to mantain control of the chariot, trying to calm the pegasi. The pegasi strained to gain back the hold of the chariots flight pattern, they were exhausted from the burst of the speed, and supporting the weight of the chariot itself, plus 6 people, was a little much.
Suddenly, Veronica roughly grabbed Leo by his arm and gathered him with Jason and Piper, who were terrified and tried to handle their panic.
"Hey-!" Leo exclaimed.
"Calm down, princess. Just hold on tight and dont panic when they grab you!"
"What?" Piper exclaimed, barely processing what she said.
"The lake!" Annabeth yelled. "Aim for the lake!"
BAM. The shock of the cold hit in an an instant. Though, it wasnt as bad as an impact as Leo had thought would happen. They were underwater, and unfortunately, you can't breathe underwater! Leo tried to claw his way out, realizing shortly that it was pointless. Then, strange faces appeared in the blue haze. Creatures with long black hair and glowing yellow eyes smiled at him and he tried not to scream. Suddenly they grabbed his shoulders and hauled him up, onto the shore.
Nearby, Butch and Veronica stood in the lake, cutting the wrecked harnesses off the pegasi. Fortunately, the horses looked okay, but they were flapping their wings and splashing water everywhere. Jason, Piper, Annabeth were already on shore, surrounded by kids giving them blankets and asking questions.
Somebody took Leo by the arms and helped him stand. A group of campers ran up with a big bronze leaf blower–looking thing and blasted him with hot air, and just like that, he was dry.
There was a large group of campers surrounding them. The youngest maybe nine, the oldest college age, eighteen or nineteen—and all of them had orange T-shirts like Annabeth's, Veronicas, and Butchs. The wreckage of the chariot was suddenly tossed from the lake and landed nearby with a wet crunch.
"Annabeth!" A guy with a bow and quiver on his back pushed through the crowd. "I said you could borrow the chariot, not destroy it!"
"Will, I'm sorry," Annabeth sighed. "I'll get it fixed, I promise."
Will scowled at his broken chariot. He then went straight to Veronica, examining her.
"Thank the gods your alive, Percy would kill me if anything happened to you." Will sighed.
Veronica grinned devilishly.
He then sized up Leo, Piper, and Jason. "These are the ones? Way older than thirteen. Why haven't they been claimed already?"
"Claimed?" Leo asked, he was not some prize for these randos.
Before Annabeth could explain, someone said, "Any sign of Percy?"
"No," Annabeth admitted. The campers grumbled to eachother in dissapointment.
A girl stepped forward— tall, Asian, dark hair in ringlets, plenty of jewelery and perfect makeup. She glanced at Leo, fixed her eyes on Jason like he might be worthy of her attention, then curled her lip at Piper as if she were a week-old burrito that had just been pulled out of a dumpster.
"Well," the girl said, "I hope they're worth the trouble."
Leo snorted. "Gee, thanks. What are we, your new pets?"
"No kidding," Jason said. "How about some answers before you start judging us—like, what is this place, why are we here, how long do we have to stay?"
"Jason," Annabeth said, "I promise we'll answer your questions. And Drew," —she frowned at the glamourous girl—"all demigods are worth saving. But I'll admit, the trip didn't accomplish what I hoped."
"Hey," Piper said, "we didn't ask to be brought here." She crossed her arms.
Drew sniffed and looked her up and down. "And nobody wants you, hon. Does your hair always look like a dead badger?"
Piper stepped forward, ready to smack her, but Veronica said, "Piper, stop." Piper did. She wasn't a bit scared of Drew, but Veronica didn't seem like somebody she wanted for an enemy.
"We need to make our new arrivals feel welcome," Annabeth said, with another pointed look at Drew. "We'll assign them each a guide, give them a tour of camp. Hopefully by the campfire tonight, they'll be claimed."
"Would somebody tell me what claimed means?" Piper asked. Suddenly there was a collective gasp. The campers backed away.
Leo realized their faces were bathed in a strange red light, as if someone had lit a torch. He looked up and almost forgot how to breathe. Floating over his head was a blazing holographic image —a fieryhammer.
"That," Veronica said quietly, "is claiming." She backed away from Leo, blending in with the crowd of campers.
"What do I do?" Leo backed toward the lake. Leo yelped. "Is my hair on fire?" He ducked, but the symbol followed him, bobbing and weaving so it looked like he was trying to write something inflames with his head.
"This can't be good," Butch muttered. "The curse—"
"Butch, shut up," Annabeth said. "Leo, you've just been claimed—"
"By a god," Jason interrupted. "That's the symbol of Vulcan, isn't it?" All eyes turned to him.
"Jason," Annabeth said carefully, "how did you know that?"
"I'm not sure.."
"Vulcan?" Leo demanded. "I don't even LIKE Star Trek. What are you talking about?"
"Vulcan is the Roman name for Hephaestus," Annabeth said "the god of blacksmiths and fire."
The fiery hammer faded, but Leo kept swatting the air like he was afraid it was following him.
"The god of what? Who?"
Annabeth turned to Veronica and Will. "Guys, would you take Leo, give him a tour? Introduce him to his bunk-mates in Cabin Nine."
"Sure, Annabeth." Will said.
"And, I'm out." Veronica said.
"V, you said you would at least try."
The campers went quiet, confusing Leo. What was so bad that she didnt want to go?
"No. Its alright. Will and I will show Leo around." Veronica said, closing her eyes tightly, then reopening them.
"Come on, Mr. Spock, we'll explain everything." Will put a hand on his shoulder and steered him off toward the cabins, Veronica crossed her arms and slowly followed.
"What's Cabin Nine?" Leo asked. "And I'm not a Vulcan!"
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LEOS TOUR WAS going great, until he learned about the dragon. The archer dude, Will Solace, seemed pretty cool, but Leo was still wary of Veronica.
Anything they showed Leo, he fangirled over. Real Greek warships moored at the beach that sometimes had practice fights with flaming arrows and explosives? Sweet! Arts & crafts sessions where you could make sculptures with chain saws and blowtorches? Sign me up! The woods were stocked with dangerous monsters, and no one should ever go in there alone? Definitely not as cool, but nice!
And the ladies. Whew. Leo wasnt sure how the whole related-to-gods business worked but he sure hoped they werent all related to him, especially Veronica. That would suck. Leo shook his head, trying to clear those thoughts. He had only just met Veronica. What was happening?
Will and Veronica also showed him the cabins, the dining pavilion, and the sword arena.
"Do I get a sword?" Leo asked.
Will glanced at him like he found the idea disturbing. "You'll probably make your own, seeing as how you're in Cabin Nine."
"Yeah, what's up with that? Vulcan?"
"Usually we don't call the gods by their Roman names," Will said. "The original names are Greek. Your dad is Hephaestus."
"Festus?" Leo had heard somebody say that before, but he was still dismayed. "Sounds like the god of cowboys."
"He-phaestus," Veronica cleared her throat. "God of blacksmiths and fire." Leo had heard that too, but he was trying not to think about it. After what happened to his mother, this seemed like a cruel joke played on him by the gods.
"So the flaming hammer over my head," Leo said. "Good thing, or bad thing?"
Veronica took a while to answer, kicking around a stone as she thought. "You were claimed almost immediately. Thats usually good."
"But that Rainbow Pony dude, Butch—he mentioned a curse."
"Ah ..." Will said glancing at Veronica, "look, it's nothing. Since Cabin Nine's last head counselor died—"
"Died? Like, painfully?" Leo gulped.
"We ought to let your bunkmates tell you about it."
"Yeah, where are my home dawgs? Shouldn't their counselor be giving me the VIP tour?"
"He, um, can't. You'll see why." Will forged ahead before Leo could ask anything else.
"Curses and death," Leo said to Veronica. "This just gets better and better." Veronica looked at him as if he was crazy, then she noticed Leo stopping in his tracks.
"Something wrong?" Veronica asked in a concerned tone. Leo was halfway across the green when he spotted his old babysitter. And she was not the kind of person he expected to see at a demigod camp. Leos face went as white as a ghost. Tía Callida—Auntie Callida. She was just standing there, in the shadow of a big white cabin at the end of the green, watching him.
"That old lady ..." Leo said. "What's she doing here?"
Veronica furrowed her eyebrows. Will tried to follow his gaze. "What old lady?" He asked.
"Dude, the old lady. The one in black. How many old ladies do you see over there?"
Will frowned. "I think you've had a long day, Leo. The Mist could still be playing tricks on your mind. How about we head straight to your cabin now?"
Leo wanted to protest, but when he looked back toward the big white cabin, Tía Callida was gone. He was sure she'd been there, almost as if thinking about his mom had summoned Callida back from the past. And that wasn't good, because Tía Callida had tried to kill him.
"Just messing with you, man." Leo pulled some gears and levers from his pockets and started fiddling with them to calm his nerves. He couldn't have everybody at camp thinking he was crazy. At least, not crazier than he really was.
Veronica raised a cautious eyebrow up at him, and he shivered. Great, he thought. Now this scary girl who can probably drown me in a second doesnt trust me. What a great start.
"Let's go see Cabin Nine," Leo said, "I'm in the mood for a good curse."
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A/N
Hey guys! If you havent already, go follow my tiktok @destroyerofworldzz because I regularly post fanfic edits and teasers! I also love this chapter and Vereo already so I hope you enjoyed aswell!
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