The Daughter of Hestia

Chapter 5

Lori took a deep breath. She was standing in the woods, waiting for Calypso and Leo. Tonight they decided to go to the campfire, and were cleaning themselves up, which was good. They reeked of machine oil and, for some reason, Tabasco sauce. Lori tapped her foot and ran over in her head what might happen tonight.

"Who are you?" Lori jumped at the voice, and saw a boy hanging back in the shadows.

"Hi. I'm Lori. New camper." She said.

"Daughter of Hephaestus?" The boy asked.

"I-I don't know." Lori said.

"Hmm. Well, you're a bad liar. By the way, I'm Nico."

"Oh. Lori." Lori watched Nico as he emerged from the shadows, and held out a hand with a skull ring. She shook his hand. "Pleasure." He smiled.

"I know Leo And Calypso take forever getting ready. Want to walk with me there? Just draw an arrow on the ground. Leo knows what that means. Plus, draw it that way." He pointed roughly in the direction of a gurgling stream.

"Okay." Lori said and hastily drew an arrow on the ground. She started off with Nico, and she soon learned he was surprisingly good at starting conversation. She soon felt like he was a little brother to her, and they laughed. By the time they reached the amphitheater, Lori was almost sad to see him go. She promised to go see him the Hades cabin soon. Nico didn't look at her weird, though, when she said that. He never had told her he was Hades's son. But Lori knew everything about him already, thanks to Hestia.

When Lori walked over to Chiron, he smiled and greeted her with his eyes. Then he faced the crowd of demigods. "Welcome, everyone. Today, we have a new camper. Please give a warm welcome to Lori!" Chiron said enthusiastically.

Nobody clapped. Or cheered. Or stood up. Everyone sat there, with unblinking eyes and a steel gaze. Lori gulped. Then everyone's faces lit up a soft orange color. Lori looked up, and saw the emblem pf Hephaestus. She balled her fists. She didn't understand why she had to hide her true parentage. It was stupid. She must've been frowning because Chiron nudged her shoulder. "Smile, dear," he said through clenched teeth. Lori forced a half-smile and watched as the Hephaestus cabin and Calypso stood up and cheered. Leo gave her a smile. Everybody else stood up and cheered, too. Lori scanned the crowd with her eyes. There was Percy and Annabeth. They weren't cheering, and Annabeth was looking at her through narrowed eyes. Lori nervously made eye contact with Jason, and, seeing no confusion, gave him a true and genuine smile. He seemed like a great person. She saw Piper, who was frowning in her direction. Piper kept glancing at Jason and then Lori, mostly because Jason was giving Lori a huge grin. Lori saw Nico, and standing next to him, Will Solace. She took a deep breath and smiled at Nico, who smiled right back.

After the campfire, Leo and Calypso took her to Bunker Nine, telling Lori that they already asked Chiron if she could stay with them. At Bunker Nine, Lori was shown to her own room, and then the couple was off to bed. Lori heard the nearby clanging-s of door being shut. She looked up, and saw constellations on the ceiling. Lori decided to get some sleep. It had been a busy day.