Camp Wildheart

Secrets are really only secrets if everyone around you knows

Percy

Percy knew something was up, but he didn't mention it, mainly because the people who were acting weird included Sadie and Alex, who both scared Percy a little sometimes.

It was grove seven's turn to be in charge of the Sunday party that week, and Sophie had stumbled into the dining room with stickers stuck everywhere, including a pixelly heart under one eye. 

She hadn't said anything, but rather slumped onto the table, her face pressed against the shiny fake wood, groaning like someone punched her. Keefe sat next to her and nudged her shoulder with his.

"Hey, Foster. You okay, or do you want to go rest in the nurse station?"

Sophie groaned, turning onto one cheek propped on her arm to look at Keefe and replying, "I'm fine. If you thought six  year olds were crazy, though, you should see those eight year-olds! They are little MONSTERS."

Looking around the room, Percy saw various counselors all in frazzled states similar to yet nowhere near as serious as Sophie's.

The next morning, Percy had the same opinion as Sophie. Never had he felt more lucky for the more understated party by the ropes course.

Despite their turning the music up louder than usual, the entire chorus of 'Diamonds' felt like it was permanently burned into his soul and Percy had a personal grudge against those kids. 

So, it was with particular satisfaction Percy walked towards the riding ring on Monday after hearing one of the girls complaining of a quarter they had spent half an hour trying to pry off the sidewalk.

There was a bit of good news that morning, though. After Leo had guided his horse through an obstacle course of cones without trampling any plastic pancakes, she had declared that next Friday would be their first trail ride.

Alex

Alex had been impatient the whole week, and now that she was finally sitting in the saddle, she was ecstatic. 

Sophie was in the front, followed by Keefe and the rest of the group. Alex was towards the back, but she was fine with that. Since Hazel was one of the most experienced, she was heading up the back, a few people away from Alex.

It was a nice day, and the trail was so much more interesting than the others they had hiked solely because of the new perspective. Trouble's ears were flicking contentedly, and Alex knew how she felt. Keeping one hand on the reins, Alex pushed her bangs out of her eyes, looking around again.

A swish of movement caught her eye, and as they walked into the clearing she noticed that the horses were shying, their ears and tails twitching nervously. The mood changed pretty much instantly, and even the joking banter from Keefe (who really needed to stop sending such mixed signals) died down.

"We're going to stop here!" Sophie decided, and Alex swung down from the saddle, tying the reins to a sturdy branch. She shifted, her senses telling her to prepare for an attack. The counselors shared a look, and Sophie unzipped her backpack, her stance slipping into a battle position. 

There was a sudden crashing sound, and a creature that Alex first thought was just a hallucination. It looked exactly like the griffins she had read about in certain stories, but that was impossible.

Sophie's eyes narrowed, and she said in a dangerous tone, "Stay back, guard the horses. I'll subdue the griffin."

She sidled as close as the now puffed up creature would let her, then there was a burst of light, and she continued forward. Alex had to squint to make it out, but she saw Sophie bind the griffin's mouth with a rope and then pin its wings to the lionlike body carefully so as not to hurt it.