▃▃▃ ᴅᴏɴᴛ ʟᴇᴛ ʜᴇʀ ʟᴏᴏᴋ ᴏꜰ ɪɴɴᴏᴄᴇɴᴄᴇ ꜰᴏᴏʟ ʏᴏᴜ ꜱʜᴇ ɪꜱ ꜰᴜʟʟ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴇꜱᴛ ᴋɪɴᴅ ᴏꜰ ʙᴀᴅ-ᴊ ɪʀᴏɴ ᴡᴏʀᴅ
▃▃ ʙᴏᴏᴋ 1 ▃▃ In which the only daughter of Persephone sneaks on a quest to see the world for the first time since she's been at camp. The daughter of wisdom...
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𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⭑ ‧₊˚ ⋅ જ⁀➴๋࣭ ⭑๋࣭ ⭑
On the surface, things didn't look all that different. The Big House still stood proudly with its blue gabled roof and its welcoming wraparound porch. The strawberry fields continued to bake under the relentless sun. The familiar white-columned Greek buildings were scattered around the valley, including the amphitheatre, the combat arena, and the dining pavilion with its breathtaking view of Long Island Sound. Nestled between the woods and the creek were the same twelve cabins, each a unique representation of a different Olympian god.
But there was a palpable air of danger now. You could sense that something was wrong. Instead of playing volleyball in the sandpit, counsellors and satyrs were stockpiling weapons in the tool shed. Dryads, armed with bows and arrows, conversed nervously at the edge of the woods. The forest looked sickly, the grass in the meadow had turned a pale yellow, and the fire marks on Half-Blood Hill stood out like ugly scars.
As they made their way to the Big House, Elara recognized many kids from last summer. They were all returning for another season at camp. However, nobody stopped to talk. Nobody said anything. Some did double takes when they saw Tyson, but most just walked grimly past, focused on their duties—running messages, carrying swords to sharpen on the grinding wheels. The camp felt more like a military school than a place of refuge.
None of that mattered to Tyson. He was absolutely fascinated by everything he saw.
"Whasthat!" he gasped, eyes wide with curiosity.
Percy smiled. "Those are the stables for pegasi, the winged horses."
"Whasthat!"
Percy glanced around. "Um... those are the toilets."
"Whasthat!"
Percy pointed to a cluster of buildings. "Those are the cabins for the campers. If they don't know who your Olympian parent is, they put you in the Hermes cabin - that brown one over there - until you're determined. Once they know, they put you in your dad or mom's group."
He looked at Percy in awe. "You ... have a cabin?"
"Number three." Percy pointed to a low grey building made of sea stone.
"You live with friends in the cabin?"
"No. No, just me."
Annabeth nudged Elara. "What were those skeletons?"
Elara stared at Annabeth, feeling the weight of a year's worth of being ignored. "I've been practicing. But that was an accident."
