𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐘 𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐄𝐃 𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃.
as the trio passed the volleyball pit, the campers eyed them, and nudged each other.
one pointed to the minotaur horn percy was carrying.
they mumbled things under their breath, but cherry didn't seem to notice.
almost like it was normal for her.
percy eyed the students wearing bright orange camp half-blood t-shirts, and kept his eyes on the ground.
when cherry looked up, she analyzed the blonde boy beside her.
he didn't seem like the type to be shy.
him and chiron talked about the camp, while cherry admired the strawberry fields in the distance. there wasn't much for her to learn about camp half-blood.
"grover won't get in too much trouble, will he?" percy asked chiron. "i mean, he was a good protector. really."
"grover has big dreams, percy. perhaps bigger than are reasonable. to reach his goal, he must first demonstrate great courage by succeeding as a keeper, finding a new camper and bringing him safely to half-blood hill." chiron explained. "dionysus and the council of cloven elders must decide. i'm afraid they might not see this assignment as a success."
"i think grover deserves to pass." cherry frowned, feeling slightly guilty.
grover was sweet.
chiron revealed that grover was 28 years old, and percy couldn't believe it.
« ───── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ───── »
a girl named annabeth had been assigned by chiron to show percy to his cabin.
cherry went with them.
they'd checked out a couple cabins before-hand, including the ares' kids cabin.
a couple of the kids in there had glared at them when they entered, but a soft smile from cherry made them stop, just for a second.
everybody loved cherry.
percy noticed everything about the red-haired girl. she was the goddess of love, is that why he felt so strange around her?
annabeth prompted percy to walk into the cabin.
he did so, and tripped going through the door.
cherry tried not to make her laughter obvious, but she couldn't help herself.
"percy jackson, meet cabin eleven." annabeth announced.
"regular or undetermined?" somebody asked, from a corner of the room.
"undetermined." annabeth answered, shortly.
everybody groaned, but an older boy stopped them.
"now, now, campers. that's what we're here for. welcome, percy. you can have that spot on the floor, right over there." the older boy pointed. "are you staying here?"
cherry shook her head, and pressed her lips together, spreading the lipgloss.
"aphrodite cabin?" the boy took notice of the girls bright appearance.
"mhm." cherry answered, with a grin.
"this is luke," annabeth introduced. "he's your counselor for now."
cherry took in the cabins appearance.
the people in there were jsut a little friendlier.
"for now?" percy asked.
"you're undetermined," luke explained. "they don't know what cabin to put you in, so you're here. cabin eleven takes all newcomers, all visitors. naturally, we would. hermes, our patron, is the god of travelers."
"how long will i be here?"
"good question. until you're determined."
"how long will that take?"
the campers laughed again.
annabeth grabbed percy's wrist, and dragged him out.
cherry followed after the pair, waving goodbye to the campers.
"jackson, you have to do better than that." annabeth shook her head. "i can't believe i thought you were the one."
percy had no idea what the girl was talking about.
why was he supposed to be so special?
was he really the kid in the prophecy? everyone else seemed to think so.
but there had to be more than that.
percy was clearly upset.
he had just been through the most traumatic event of his life, and two girls were poking and prodding at him.
to make things worse, everyone was staring at him.
the red-haired girl next to him wasn't making stuff any easier for him.
"what's your problem?" percy was getting angry. "all i know is, i kill some bull guy-"
"don't talk like that!" annabeth cut him off. "you know how many kids at this camp wish they'd had your chance?"
"to get killed?"
"to fight the minotaur! what do you think we train for?"
"look, if the thing i fought really was the minotaur, the same one in the stories-"
"-yes."
"then there's only one."
"yes."
"and he died, like, a gajillion years ago, right? theseus killed him in the labyrinth. so.."
"monsters don't die, percy. they can be killed. but they don't die."
"oh, thanks. that clears it up."
"they don't have souls, like you and me. you can dispel them for a while, maybe even for a whole lifetime if you're lucky. but they are primal forces. chiron calls them arche-types. eventually, they re-form."
"you mean if i killed one, accidentally, with a sword-"
"the fur- i mean, your math teacher. that's right. she's still out there. you just made her very, very mad."
"how did you know about mrs. dodds?"
"you talk in your sleep."
"you almost called her something. a fury? they're hades' torturers, right?"
"you shouldn't call them by name, even here. we call them the kindly ones, if we have to speak of them at all."
"look, is there anything we can say without it thundering? why do i have to stay in cabin eleven, anyway? why is everybody so crowded together? there are plenty of empty bunks right over there."
"you don't just choose a cabin, percy. it depends on who your parents are. or, your parent."
annabeth continued to hint at him what he was, but percy just didn't get it.
cherry was facing an entire different set of problems.
for a moment, percy's eyes widened.
cherry could feel her blood run cold as he looked at her, and lost his breath.
there was no doubt about it.
he was the pure soul she was looking for.
but now what? how was she supposed to prevent a betrayal?
wait until something happened?
"well! a newbie!" a loud voice called out.
it was one of the girls from the ares cabin.
"clarisse." annabeth sighed. "why don't you go polish your spear or something?"
"sure, miss princess," clarisse scoffed. "so i can run you through with it friday night."
''erre es korakas!"
"we'll pulverize you."
cherry shifted from foot to foot.
she cringed at the bad energy that surrounded her.
"who's this little runt? and his loyal follower?" clarisse stared at the pair.
"you're insane." cherry looked between percy and clarisse.
"percy jackson, cher." annabeth introduced. "meet clarisse, daughter of ares."
"like ... the war god?" percy spoke, out of nowhere.
clarisse sneered. "you got a problem with that?"
"no. it explains the bad smell."
"we got an initiation ceremony for newbies, prissy."
"percy."
"whatever. come on, i'll show you."
cherry watched with a grin.
she had no idea what was gonna happen.
annabeth tried to stop clarisse, but clarisse warned her.
the girl did stay out of it.
cherry was a little guilty she wasn't helping.
percy tossed the red-head the minotaur horn, and a moment later, clarisse grabbed him by the neck and dragged him to the bathroom.
cherry cringed, as her and annabeth made their way into the girls bathroom after the pair.
they both knew what was gonna happen.
clarisse began to push percy's head into the toilet bowl.
suddenly, percy was sprawled on the bathroom tiles.
water blasted out of the toilet, pushing clarisse down.
all of the toilets began to spray at the trio, and cherry immediately made her way away from the bathroom, avoiding the toilet water as if her life depended on it.
the water shut off.
cherry was completely dry.
so was percy.
"you are dead, new boy. you are totally dead." clarisse warned.
"you want to gargle with toilet water again, clarisse? close your mouth." percy replied, easily.
annabeth and cherry shared a look.
who was percy?
both girls looked back at him.
"what?" percy demanded. "what are you thinking?"
"i'm thinking that i want you on my team for capture the flag." annabeth grinned.
cherry analyzed percy for a couple more seconds.
percy could feel the annoyance growing.
he could also feel his heart begin to thump faster and faster.
now, they definitely had gotten off on the wrong foot.
percy was disrespectful, stubborn, and annoying. all he did was make things difficult.
cherry was sarcastic, arrogant, and confusing.
but, percy couldn't stop himself from staring at her.