Raised from the Depths: The Apple of Their Eyes [A Percy Jackson FanFiction]

Six: So maybe I'm not an only child...

After dinner, Sol had caught up with me to show me the rest of the camp. The only specific places I remembered throughout the tour were where the Hermes cabin was located, and the volleyball court I had noticed during my arrival.

And so that's where I sat, alone, listening to the sound of the animals moving through the forest surrounding camp. Directly above me, the sky was clear. I could even see some stars shining through the haze of the city lights. Encircling the sky above the camp, however, where fluffy grey clouds that were laying down the first layer of snow. I longed feel the crystals land on my cheeks. I always loved the first snow back in Marquette.

I missed home.

"Hey, there you are!" A familiar voice called, and I glanced over to see both Mico and Sol approaching, the latter with his lyre in hand. "What're you doing out here?"

"Just thinking." I answered simply, returning my gaze to the sky. I couldn't find the moon.

"This is... Kinda depressing. Everyone else is at amphitheater for a little bonfire." Sol plopped down next to me, his eyes following my gaze to the sky. "You're welcome to join. You know, instead of being the mysterious new girl who isolates herself for dramatic effect." When I glared at him, he laughed. "I'm joking. But seriously. You'll never get used to the idea of being a demigod if you don't open up and give it a chance."

"What if I don't want to give it a chance?" I inquired tersely. "I mean, come on. You can't really expect me to want to stay here when I was dragged away from my home, my parents, only to find out that my parents had me evacuated here, and that one of my real parents is a god from the Greek myths, can you?"

"Yeah, I'll admit, that's not the normal way of finding out." Sol muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "Usually there's no monsters. A satyr just, you know, tells your parent it's time to go camp, and you go."

"Is that how it happened to you?" I asked, raising a brow.

"Yeah. We used to live in Florida, but my mom moved up here so I could visit year round." Sol explained.

I looked to Mico. She was scraping her flip flops over the grass. "I would argue that my move here wasn't the most smooth transition... But that's not the point." She took a deep breath, and smiled at me. "The point is, however you got here, and however long you have to stay, it's very real, everyone here wants help you feel at home."

"Yeah, exactly!" Sol cheered, standing up and offering me a hand. "So let's show you how fun Camp Half-Blood can be! The fire starting soon, and you should join us."

"I'll go save us some seats!" Mico exclaimed, before jogging off towards the amphitheater.

I sighed, taking Sol's hand, and he pulled me to my feet. "I see you've befriended Mico. I'm kinda surprised. They don't really talk a lot." He stated, strumming his lyre absent-mindedly.

I furrowed my brows in confusion. "They? Who's they?"

"Oh, Mico's they. They're non-binary." Sol explained as we began after Mico.

"Ohhhh, okay, got it." I nodded. "So, what happens at the fire? We don't, like... Sacrifice anyone, right?"

Sol looked at me with disbelief, before he began laughing. "No, no! Nothing like that. We just sing songs, mostly. I like to play my lyre. Sometimes there's gossip. When it's someone's birthday, we'll make cake and have a little party. It's just a chance to wind down after I really intense day of training. Of course, you really didn't do anything today..."