Tales of Camp Jupiter: Spawn of Sun

A New Friend

Tyler rolled over in his bunk. Jason was about two cots down, bundled tightly in his blankets. Tyler flipped onto his back and stared at the bottom of the bed above him. This was real. In the heat of the moment, it was hard to process everything that had happened yesterday. He'd made it to camp, had his parentage announced to thousands of teenagers, something about his arrival had worried the Auger, and he had, begrudgingly, been accepted into the fifth cohort of the Twelfth Roman Legion. It had taken him a while to fall asleep that night.

He tossed and turned a few more times before finally giving up on sleep and swinging himself out of bed. The first rays of light were barely piercing the horizon when he walked out of the barracks into the fresh morning air. He wandered over to the hill of temples and sat on the incline, the dew soaking his jeans. He took a deep breath and stared out at the panorama of Camp Jupiter. This wasn't where he'd thought he'd be. He should've been gearing up for 5th grade right now, buying notebooks and pencils with his mom, trying on a million pairs of tennis shoes until he found "the perfect" ones, practicing his best "I'm too sick to go to school" act. But fate had other ideas. His squeezed his eyes shut against the riling memories. He didn't want to have breakdown right now.

Tyler brushed his hand over the damp grass to distract himself. Bad idea. It was colder than he'd expected. He hated the cold. Pulling away, his fingers strayed to the thick black letters tattooed across the inside of his right wrist - SPQR. It stood for... something Roman. He hadn't exactly been paying attention when Taiya - the redheaded praetor - had explained. His brain was too caught up on Octavian's reading-thing. How could he be a threat to the Legion? What exactly had Octavian seen? The other campers' reactions told him that nothing like this had ever happened before. Just his luck.

"What are you doing?" The familiar snarky voice made him jump. Eliza stood behind him, apparently descending the hill from the temples.

He cleared his throat and tried to look nonchalant. "I could ask you the same question."

"Yeah," She replied without missing a beat. "but I asked you first."

Tyler narrowed his eyes at the girl. "I couldn't sleep. You?"

She shrugged and plopped down a safe distance away from him. "Me neither."

"So you... what? Wander around in the temples?"

Her face fell, the usual sass fading from her expression. The innocence of her age showed through for the first time since he'd met her. "Not all of them."

Tyler glanced at her wrist, catching a glimpse the letters, scrolling vines, and three solid black lines cutting across her arm. Three years. Eliza had joined the Legion when she was 5-years-old. That couldn't be legal, right? Not that he was surprised. From the moment he'd seen her, he knew Eliza was a fighter, but still... she was too young.

The silence stretched on awkwardly. Just as Tyler was building up the courage to say something, the bell rang, signaling breakfast.
                                      •   •   •
Tyler sat at a table in the corner by himself. The campers kept shooting him suspicious glances. He poked his food with his fork. The stares didn't help his appetite.

Jason wove through the crowd and plopped down next to Tyler. "Morning, Roomie. How's your first day been so far?"

Tyler gave him an uncertain look before going back to impaling his scrambled eggs.

"That bad, huh?" He took a long swig of his orange juice. "What did Eliza do?"

"Nothing." Tyler responded. "Why would you think she did?"

Jason shrugged as he chewed some eggs. "Because she always does." He answered after he swallowed. "She's not the best at dealing with change, especially where new legionnaires are concerned."

"Does she physically restrain you from accepting anyone into the fifth cohort?" Tyler asked. "Or am I just special?"

Jason chuckled nervously. "I don't technically have the authority to accept anyone into the fifth cohort, but, this time, I forced our Centurion's hand." He scooped up another bite of eggs and Tyler noticed his tattoo - SPQR with the silhouette of a bird over them and four black lines under them.

Tyler looked down at his own tattoo. The bold black letters with a small lyre emblazoned above them. One dark line underlined the capitol letters.

"So..." Jason's voice broke the silence. "How's Lupa? It's been a while."

Tyler stammered for an answer. "Umm... kind of intense."

Jason laughed. "Good to know nothing's changed."

Tyler saw several of the campers eyeing Jason and murmuring to each other. "Maybe you should go sit somewhere else." He shifted awkwardly. He didn't want to make anyone else's life difficult.

Jason gave him a knowing look. "I think I'm exactly where I want to be." A mischievous grin spread across his face.
                                  •   •   •
The clash of swords rang in Tyler's ears as Jason's blade collided with his. He fought to keep his balance. Jason was strong. His feet slid on the loose dirt and he almost fell. Ducking under the blow, Tyler managed to twist away from the strike, but, before he could retaliate, Jason had already spun to attack again.

Tyler struggled on, completely on the defensive. He couldn't get a clear shot at his partner. Before long, his foot slipped out from under him. He landed hard on his back and, by the time he recovered his breath, Jason's sword rested against his throat.

"You're insane." Tyler breathed heavily as he accepted Jason's hand up. "How are you so good at this?"

Jason shrugged. "Experience I guess." His gaze dropped to the tattoo on his wrist. "I've been doing this longer than most."

Tyler stared at Jason with a newfound respect. He had been with the legion since he was four. He hadn't even gotten a taste of a normal childhood. Tyler tried to say something, but didn't have the words.

Jason interrupted his thoughts as he straightened and raised his sword again. "Come on. You won't get any better by just standing there."