Reborn in The Lightning Thief

Chiron the Interrogator

Annabeth had given us the rundown on how things worked around Camp Half-Blood (as well as her heritage, after Percy asked) before the conch horn sounded, and we were called over to dinner.

At the pavilion, torches blazed around the marble columns. A large fire burned in a bronze brazier the size of a bathtub. Each cabin had its own table, covered in white cloth trimmed in purple. Four of the tables were empty, but cabin eleven's was way too overcrowded. Me and Percy barely fit onto the bench without falling off.

It was a shame too, seeing as some of the other tables (Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Artemis, etc.) were wide open. If you ask me, campers should be able to sit wherever they want. Not restricted to a single table with their bunkmates.

I looked around the pavilion. In all, there were maybe a hundred campers, a few dozen satyrs, and a dozen assorted wood nymphs and naiads.

I saw Grover sitting at table twelve with Mr. D, a few other satyrs, and a couple of plump blond boys who must've been Dionysus's kids. Hard to imagine that anyone would actually want to hook up with Mr. D though. Chiron stood to one side, the picnic table being way too small for a centaur. Annabeth was sitting at table six with a bunch of other kids who looked like her- all with blond hair and stormy gray eyes.

That got me thinking about the bathroom incident earlier. Clearly, Percy had controlled the scummy water to blast away Clarisse and her friends. Annabeth was a daughter of the goddess of literal wisdom. How hard was it to connect the dots and figure out that controlling water= water related god? Which equaled Poseidon? After all, it's not like Apollo or Hermes kids could do that.

I shook my head, dismissing the thought. It must be some weird plot thing. Or maybe she already suspects it. It can't be too important. I'm pretty sure they find out about Percy's heritage soon, anyway.

I began to tap the wooden table nervously. But what about mine? I've got brown hair and green eyes- not sea green like Percy's, but a different shade. More like summer leaves. Brown hair, green eyes. Average height and weight. (Though I'm around one or two inches taller than Percy, despite what he says.)

My thoughts were interrupted when Chiron suddenly pounded his hoof against the marble floor of the pavilion. Everybody fell silent. He raised a glass. "To the gods!" Everybody else raised their glasses. "To the gods!"

Wood nymphs came forward with platters of every type of food I could think of. The plates and drinks that magically filled themselves up astonished me, and I briefly wondered if they could end world hunger or something. "Here you go, guys," Luke said, handing Percy and me a platter of smoked brisket.

I waited for everybody to get up and offer some of their food before digging in. I didn't want to be struck down by Zeus or anything. (I didn't know if gods did that if you ate before offering, but I wasn't taking any chances.) The campers started carrying their plates toward the fire in the center of the pavilion. "Come on," Luke told us.

Everyone was taking the best portion of their meal and dropping it into the fire. It almost felt like a waste, watching the food go up in smoke. But I changed my mind when I scraped a slice of brisket into the flames and caught a whiff of the scent.

The rest of the night was... surprisingly smooth. I even had fun. I half expected some disaster to strike, but nothing happened. After dinner, we headed down to the amphitheater, where Apollo's cabin led a sing-along. We sang camp songs about the gods and ate s'mores and joked around.

I mostly hung out with Percy, Annabeth, and Grover, but I didn't feel so lost anymore. I felt less... how do I put this... far away? Isolated? Like I don't belong? Anyway, that night with the camp- even Ares's cabin- made me feel warmer, more at home- like drinking nectar. And it wasn't just because of the giant campfire.