Aletheia━𝐢.( PJO/HP )

𝐢𝐯. CLAIMING

▬▬▬▬▬ CHAPTER FOUR ▬▬▬▬▬

ESMERELDA COUNTED AT LEAST THIRTEEN children of Hermes. There were seven demigods that were claimed, but were kids of minor gods. Then there were three unclaimed kids, which consisted of her, Ethan, and Presley. That was twenty-three kids all stuffed in one rickety cabin.

A horn blew in the distance, signaling that it was time for dinner. All twenty-three inhabitants of the Hermes cabin headed into the commons yard. They lined up in order of seniority which meant Esmerelda was at the very end. She watched as other campers filed out of their cabins—all except for the first three cabins and cabin eight, which belonged to Artemis. Satyrs, naiads, and dryads came out from the nature and joined in too.

There must be a hundred campers, she marveled. A few dozen satyrs and dryads and naiads too.

Everyone gathered in the pavilion and took their seats at their respective tables. Just like in Cabin 11, the table was overcrowded too. Esmerelda was about inches away from falling off her bench and so were the other campers that were sitting at the edge.

Tables one, two, three, and eight were all empty (naturally), so she looked at all the other tables. Table four had the Demeter kids. They all looked different from one another, but a noticeable feature was that a few of the girls had some flowers in their hair. Table five—the Ares kids—all looked big and mean, and they were throwing food at each other and stabbing one another with their forks and knives. Table six was where the children of Athena sat. They were all eerily similar, with blonde hair and startlingly grey eyes. At table seven were the Apollo kids. They had nice summer tans, blue eyes, and beach blonde hair. The kids at table nine—Hephaestus—were covered head to toe in soot and motor oil. Table ten consisted of the children of Aphrodite, who were all stunningly beautiful without even trying (admittedly, she was slightly envious of them for their perfect appearances). Lastly, there was cabin twelve. Dionysus sat there with his two demigod sons—Pollux and Castor—and a bunch of satyrs. Chiron stood off at the side, unable to sit with his... horse bottom.

Esmerelda grew increasingly worried when she realized that she didn't fit with any of them.

After a few minutes of waiting, Chiron pounded his hoof against the marble floor and everyone fell silent. He raised his glass. "To the gods!"

Everyone else raised their glasses. Esmerelda followed suit. "To the gods!"

The food finally came. Wood nymphs came over holding platters of what looked to be healthy food only. Fresh bread, pork chops, chicken, fresh bread, and a variety of fruits and vegetables. Esmerelda filled her plate up with some strips of chicken, a roll of bread, and some vegetables. She also accepted a small bowl of fruits.

Her glass, however, was still empty.

"Just say whatever it is you want to drink. No alcohol though." Ethan told her.

She wasn't really looking for anything special to drink so she just said, "Water, please."

The glass was automatically filled with water.

Nice, she thought. Before she could begin eating, she noticed everyone getting up with their plates in hand. They were walking towards the center of the pavilion, where the fire was at. She grabbed her own plate and followed after the rest of her cabin mates.

"Uh, any clue what's going on?" Travis Stoll whispered to her.

"No, I was just about to ask you." She whispered.

"Guys, why are they dumping their food in the fire?" Connor suddenly asked.

"What?" She and Travis said in unison. All three turned towards the fire. Connor was right. People were taking a portion of their meal—the best portion—and dropping it into the fire.

Luke saw their confusion and explained: "You have to offer burnt offerings for the gods. They like the smell."

The three of them stared at him.

He chuckled. "Just do it. Trust me. Follow my lead."

He went before them, and they watched closely as he scraped off the a chicken thigh and some fruits off his plate. "Hermes," he murmured.

The Stolls went next. They muttered something and gave up a portion of their food.

Then it was Esmerelda's turn. She offered up half of her chicken strips, a few of her broccoli, her only bread roll, and some of her fruits.

Whoever you are, dad, please claim me soon. She thought.

When everybody returned to their tables and resumed to their meals. Esmerelda relished as she ate. It had been a while since she had a decent meal.

Around the time everyone was finished eating, Chiron stomped on his hoof once more. There was another silence as he stared expectantly at Mr. D, who sighed in aggravation.

"Fine," he grumbled. "Everyone, we have new campers today. Trevor and Connie Spam, and Epiphany Something. Hurray."

"Can he ever get our names right?" Travis wondered.

"At least yours is better. He called me 'Connie'." Connor frowned.

Chiron corrected him.

"Travis and Connor Stoll and Esmerelda." Mr. D said. "Yay. Now go on with whatever you want to do."

Everyone erupted in cheers and began running for the amphitheater where the Apollo kids led a singalong. They all sang weird songs about the gods, ate s'mores and joked around. Esmerelda was talking to the Stoll brothers when it happened.

A holographic caduceus appeared above their heads. They clearly didn't know what was going on because they tried to swat it away.

For some odd reason, the Hermes kids whooped and cheered.

Chiron bent down to a kneel, everyone followed. Esmerelda felt a pressure on her shoulder and saw Ethan mouthing at her to follow along. She did so, but she was entirely lost in the situation.

"Hail Travis and Connor Stoll, Sons of Hermes, God of travelers and thieves, roads and merchants, trade and sports, and border crossings."

Their eyes widened. "Wait, so we've been claimed?!"

"I officially welcome you to the Hermes cabin, little brothers." Luke said as he approached them, grinning.

"Does this mean we don't have to sleep in the floor anymore?" Connor asked hopefully.

"Nope." Luke replied. "We'll get a bunk set up for you."

"YES!" They fist pumped.

"Congrats you guys!" Esmerelda went up to them. "I'm happy for you!" And she really was, but she couldn't help but feel even more worried. Why hasn't she been claimed yet? Did she not put enough food in the fire?

Or did he not care? She thought.

After all the excitement died down, everybody retired to their cabins. Luke warned her and the Stolls not to try and sneak out after bedtime because the camp had harpies that roamed around and ate campers that broke curfew.

It wasn't exactly a comforting thought.

Tired, Esmerelda crawled into her sleeping bag and huddled on the floor between Ethan and Lyra.

She didn't get much sleep that night. Ethan turned out to be a really loud snorer and there were a couple of scary moments where she genuinely thought he was choking on something. Lyra liked to move around a lot in her sleep. Even when confined in her sleeping bag, the girl managed to kick and and punch Esmerelda in her sleep.

It wasn't until two o'clock did she finally fall asleep.