Child of Artemis

Chapter 5

They were safe. From monsters, anyway. She had been plagued by them so long she couldn't imagine what it would be like not looking over her shoulder for the next one.

Aurora was whooping, running in circles and attracting a crowd of people. Among the faces of demigods, a centaur stood with a bow slung over his back. A cyclops also stood there, waving at them and smiling.

As Aurora ran by her again, Avalon reached out and caught her arm. "Stop it." she hissed. Aurora stopped and finally seemed to notice everyone staring at her.

'Hi." She said. Finally, the centaur stepped forwards and introduced himself. "I am Chiron." he spoke in a deep voice. "Welcome to Camp Half-Blood."

Aurora stepped forwards. "I'm Aurora, that's Avalon, and the silver wolf is Selene, and the injured one is Nova."

"Are you going to say something, or continue standing there with your mouths open gawking like idiots?" Avalon reprimanded them. They immediately shut their mouths.

A blond-haired girl with eyes like storm clouds stepped away from the crowd. "I'm Annabeth, daughter of Athena. Do you know who your godly parent is?" she asked.

"My mom is Aphrodite." Aurora said to them. Avalon mumbled something incomprehensible and turned away.

"Piper!" Annabeth called. A girl in an orange camp shirt came running up. She had warm brown hair and dark eyes. "Hi, I'm Piper, the senior counselor for Cabin 10, Aphrodite's cabin." Aurora was led away by Piper.

"What about you?" Annabeth turned to Avalon. "I don't know," she lied. "Okay, I guess you're going in the Hermes cabin."

Two identical kids jogged up and introduced themselves. They both had light brown hair and sparkling blue eyes and a mischievous grin. One was taller than the other, but that was the only difference.

"We're Connor and Travis Stoll, and we head the Hermes cabin. Welcome! Now, bye, I think I left something in the camp store." With that, they turned and headed towards a low building.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "They're probably going to try to steal that chariot again. So, they will show you the ropes. And if Connor and Travis try to get you to rob an ATM, just ignore them. Here, lets get your wolf friend to the infirmary."

She and another camper picked up Nova's stretcher and carried him away. Selene followed them inside the infirmary. The Stoll twins returned, and motioned for her to follow them.

A bunch of cabins made a ring around the campfire. The two cabins at the end of the ring were the grandest, with high columns and fancy ceilings. Connor and Travis led her to the Hermes cabin.

"This is cabin 11, Hermes cabin." one of them said. "Okay, so which one of you is Connor and which one of you is Travis?" The taller one stepped forwards and said "I'm Connor, he's Travis." His brother replied, "No, actually, I'm Connor!" Then the one who had spoken first said "Put a cork in it, Travis."

Avalon looked up at the cabin. It had peeling brown paint and a caduceus hanging on the door. Overall, the cabin had a worn-out appearance. She opened the door and stepped inside. The place was a mess. Clothes were strewn across the floor, blankets were tossed on the floor, and the beds looked like they had never been made. An acrid, overpowering stench filled the air, blocking out everything else.

The shorter of the Stoll twins said, "We have a new camper, her name is Avalon, she is undetermined, so she'll be staying here till she gets claimed."

All the campers in the cabin groaned. "Oh, come on, Connor, can't they build a cabin specifically for unclaimed kids?" Connor replied, "Well, there isn't one right now, so she stays here."