Well then. A halfblood...
Interesting huh? How your life can change in a literal day.
When I got claimed by Apollo, my father, Ryder had taken me to Cabin 7. It was a pretty normal cabin, but with the setting sun reflecting on it's walls it looked like solid gold. I had to squint a bit because of the overload of light when I walked up. The porch had a lot of potted plants and places to sit, it was really welcoming and comfy. I honestly thought I was at the wrong place, cozy and welcoming was not really what I've been the past few years. A dirty, bruised, bloody fourteen year old wasn't a really populair look for some reason.
Ryder and I stood in front of the door, the satyr looked at me and smiled. Then he turned back to the door, and knocked. Almost immeadiatly someone yelled from inside: "Come in!!". Ryder confidently pushed open the door and I (hesitantly) followed him in.
Inside, there was a huge living room. A few doors and openings leaded to what I guessed was the kitchen and bathroom. In the back were some stairs, supposedly leading up to the next floor. Just like the porch, inside it was comfortable and bright. There were couches and beanbags in the room, and I saw some blankets laying around. The thing that took me aback most though, was the amount of people. A bunch of teenagers, varying from 13 to about 21, were sitting on the couches or on the floor. Someone was even up in the rafters (with someone else yelling to get them down). They were laughing, playing games, baking something in the kitchen, generally just having fun. I looked around at the children and realised this was not where I belonged. I was supposed to be searching food in trashcans or running from people like the Hamiltons. I leaned over to Ryder and whispered something in his ear: 'Ryder, I don't think this is the right place..' Ryder was about to say something when someone interrupted him.
'Were you claimed by Apollo?' Someone said. A girl a bit older than me came walking over from one of the couches. She had long brown hair and brown eyes.
I stayed silent until Ryder nudged me.271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQWB4BtKnsM
'I think so?' I muttered. Ryder sighed.
'She has,' he said. 'Gold glowing Lyre over her head.'
The girl smiled. 'I'm Rain, and I will be your head counselor!'
'I'm Lily.' I said.
'Another one?' Someone asked in the back. Rain looked back at me and smiled.
'There's a lot of Lily's here at camp,' she explained. 'Your kind is going to take over the world one day.'
I could see Ryder smirk next to me, and I felt the urge to give him a stomp.
Rain looked around. Some other kids approached me and introduced themselves.
'Hello! I'm Izzy, nice to meet you!' A girl to my right said. She smiled at me.
Someone else jolted up from behind Izzy. The new person was holding cleaning supplies. 'I'm Katrina, also known as Kat, another counselor of the apollo cabin.'
After Izzy and Kat, a lot of others introduced themselves. There were A LOT of them. I was starting to get a little bit startled, since I was so used to being alone. One of the older children sitting to the side seemed to notice and alerted the others.
'Don't scare her off,' he said with a smile, before turning to me. 'I'm Kyl, nice to meet you.'
I managed to smile at him, but my fears started taking over. What was happening? I had the feeling this was all one big joke. I turned to Ryder, who was standing a bit to the side. Thank god he hadn't left yet. I walked towards him, and he smiled at me.
'Can we talk?' I quietly asked him. 'Privately?'
Ryder understood what I was hinting at and nodded, we waved the Apollo kids goodbye and walked out of the cabin again.
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In my eyes, the camp was enormous. While on our way to the spot where we could talk privately, we passed some interesting and unique buildings such as: a building – some kind of workshop or forge – with steam coming out of multiple chimneys, a building that looked a bit like a mini hospital, and a building with multiple arena's in which teens were sparring. Ryder and I walked all the way past those buildings, and entered the forest.
'This forest used to be out of bounds, wáy back,' Ryder explained. 'There used to be monsters crawling around regularly, but as more people entered, the monsters got scared off.'
He was right, more people entered. I saw a kid swinging from tree to tree, with another one chasing them on foot, screaming at them. Ryder scoffed.
'Looks like the Hermes cabin is up to something again' He said, like it was the most normal thing in the world.
We exited the forest again and stood eye-in-eye with a huge pile of rocks.
'Welcome to Zeus' fist!' Ryder said. 'A good place to talk and enjoy the views.'
We climbed onto the rock pile, which apparently was named after the king of the gods. An incredible honour, I'm sure. When we reached the top, the sun was just setting over the horizon of the Long Island sound. I leaned against a rock. Ryder had taken off his pants, (which sounds weird, but in this case, he had goat legs with white and brown fur.) And was now sitting next to me.
'So,' Ryder smiled. 'What did you want to talk about.'
I sighed. 'Everything.'
Ryder chuckled. 'You'll get used to it, i promise.'
He probably saw the look on my face, a mix of doubt and stress.
'The Apollo cabin is really nice,' he said, picking at his furry legs. 'They've helped me a few times with some other campers I brought back.'
I raised my eyebrows in surprise. 'You've brought more people like me here?' I asked.
'Yep,' Ryder said. 'But you are by far the half-blood I've spent the most time with.'
'And why's that?' I asked, a bit skeptical. Something about knowing that Ryder, my best friend, has led other people to this place made me sad. It was like I was just one of the many.
'Well first of all you were definitely the most stubborn,' Ryder grinned. 'Couldn't take you anywhere- only if it was absolutely nescesary.'
'I wasn't about to be scared away by some idiots and stupid monsters..' I muttered, which made Ryder giggle.
'And second,' he continued. 'I don't know really, you became such a good friend that I actually enjoyed being homeless.'
I gave him a lopsided smile. 'Thanks Ryder, thank you for being there.'
Ryder tousled my hair. 'Anytime, Lils.'271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡev6THSCaAJ
He stood up. 'It's about time we head back, c'mon.'
Ryder led me back to the Apollo cabin before trotting off into the woods again.
I looked at the big pine tree on what Ryder had told me was Halfblood Hill.271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw3RDy1O7YH
I could just book it, I thought. get a bus ticket and go back to New York.271Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡClppU53Wxt
But then I looked back at the Apollo cabin, which shimmered in the setting sun, and made a decision. I'd stay here, at least for a bit. I opened the door and stepped inside.
A/N: Hey guys! I'd like to know, if you are in this story and wish to not be, just dm me on discord and I'll write you out! Ly /p and see you in the next chapter! <3
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