MAGNUS POV
"So..." Malcolm said in a quiet voice. "Norse Gods, huh?" He looked at Magnus like he was a live bomb. He was used to the look by now, anyway.
"Yeah." Magnus replied he didn't know what to say, after all, he had just changed their lives, hadn't he?
"Like Thor, Odin, Loki and stuff?" Malcolm asked again.
"The very same." Magnus could see Malcolm thinking to himself, probably confused. Magnus sat next to Annabeth on her bed. Pinned to the walls were photos of herself and a few other people- Percy was one of them. Annabeth said something Magnus didn't hear. Malcolm looked up, seeming excited. They both walked aside. Magnus and Jack stayed sitting, looking at the photos of her and Percy.
Magnus couldn't figure out what it was but something rubbed him the wrong about that guy Percy. Sure, he dated Annabeth, but he couldn't be THAT important -could he? Why did Annabeth settle for a guy like him? He just looked like a troublemaker to Magnus which, if he thought about it, Magnus felt was a bit hypocritical but it was true.
He sighed, too lost in thought to hear Malcolm drone on about a drag or something.
'Hear that boss?' Jack asked excited. His voice derailed Magnus' train of thought completely, shocking him back to the here and now.
"Huh? Hear what?" Jack sounded excited, which usually meant bodily harm or pain for Magnus. Dying, he didn't care about. Death never scared him. Not anymore, but bodily harm he tried to avoid when he could and as much as he could.
'Capture the flag.' Jack replied. 'With real swords and shields and stuff. It's high-time I show these Greek know-it-alls what I'm made of, eh, boss?' If Jack had a mouth, Magnus could guarantee that he'd have been smiling. Whether or not it was at Magnus' expense, he couldn't have said for sure.
"Sounds like a bunch of nerds swinging foam bats around if you ask me." In Boston, Magnus had encountered more than enough cape-cladded losers yelling made up spells at each other and hitting one another with plastic swords. But after seeing the massive rock-climbing wall which spouted lava like Hearth whenever they had found left-overs from someone's Taco-Bell (Well, except the lava wasn't lava. It was something much, much worse,) Magnus wasn't exactly excited by the idea of going toe-to-toe with a bunch of 12 year olds who were crazy enough to actually enjoy doing something like that.
"-and Magnus can stick with Percy." He heard Annabeth say.
"I can stick with who now?" He snapped.
"Percy. His cabin should be on our side this time." She said. But the way she said it made Magnus think she hadn't exactly given him a choice. What was he? Like a counselor for one of those old, beat up cabins? They seemed like his type. The old, trouble-making thieving kind. Hermes.
"Why do I have to stick with him?" He asked his cousin.
"Because he'll be able to keep you safe. Clarisse and Sherman are on the warpath tonight. And I don't think you'll be safe just because you're new."
"She's still stuck up?" Malcolm asked. "I thought after New York she had cooled off." There was a moment of shared laughter throughout the Athena Cabin.
"She was," a kid piped up. "She's been acting weird lately, though."
"Guess not." He added, allowing another ripple of laughter to pass through the demigods, Magnus excluded.
"Who's Clarisse?" He asked Annabeth. She opened her mouth to speak-
"The big girl in the red-haired cabin." Malcolm interrupted. "Sorry. But if I let Annabeth explain to you, we'd be here until curfew. And I don't think that Chiron would appreciate her spewing words that would make the Kindly Ones themselves shudder."
There was one last ripple of laughter as the boys and girls inside the cabin closed in around the pin-board. Annabeth began to speak to them.
What happened next was weird, even for Magnus. It was like he wasn't able to talk over Annabeth, not that he wanted to. Everything she said came out crisp and clear as the ponds and lakes Magnus had seen in Valhalla every now and then. Every word that came out of her mouth put Magnus in almost like a kind of trance. He wanted to carry out every one of her orders to the best of his ability. That was, until, she looked at him weird.
"Huh? What is it?" He asked.
"You'll be taking left flank with Percy, by the Creek." Border patrol. Great.
"Oh.." Magnus said, somewhat disappointed. "'Cool." It was not cool.
The rest of the night went on uninterrupted. With their battle plans ready in their minds, the Athena cabin began to make their way to dinner. Magnus stayed behind for a bit. He had a lot to think about and he didn't want to be distracted by anything, or anyone while he thought. Magnus walked along the footpath, towards the large circular part of the Omega symbol the cabins made. He looked at the three cabins at the front. Two stood at the head of the Omega. They were gargantuan structures. They sort of intimidated Magnus. He stood there, staring uneasily before being shocked back to reality by a voice.
"That's my dad's one." The voice said. Magnus turned to see a tall, good-looking blonde guy standing behind him
"You new here? I'm Jason. Jason Grace." He held his hand out. Magnus shook it and thought of what to say next. He was talking to the son of Zeus. Zeus.
"You could say that." Magnus looked at his shirt. Unlike the other campers, his was a deep shade of purple and had letters in great, gold writing. "What's Spi-kurr?" He asked, trying desperately to read out the four letters on his shirt.
"SPQR. It's an acronym. It stands for Senatus Populusque Romanus," Jason translated.
"Why Latin?"
"Because I come from Camp Jupiter. Like here but more... Roman... I guess."
"Oh. Yeah. That one," He replied. Jason laughed.
"So, how about you?" He asked. Magnus gave him a sideways look. There was a moment of silence as he thought for a bit about what to say. He looked at him again. Jason was looking at Magnus intently, a hint of pity in his eyes. The way people used to look at Magnus when he had been on the streets of Boston. A flare of anger grew in his stomach.
"I know who my father is." Magnus exclaimed. As if he'd let this pretty-boy pity him. Magnus had probably seen things that would make him run and cry for his daddy. As if this dude had faced a primordial being. "So don't look at me like I'm some kind of freak."
Jason's eyes widened and he stepped back. "Hey man," he said. "I wasn't-"
"You weren't? Good. Leave me alone." He turned his back on the Jason dude and walked as fast as he could away from him. Magnus, looking for a quick way out, almost entering the Zeus cabin.
"Odin's beard." Magnus mumbled, cursing himself. He turned and beelined for some random one nearby before he could make even more of a fool of himself.. As he entered, Magnus realised his mistake almost immediately.
The smell of sea-salt ambushed my nostrils. The sound of the faint trickle of a fountain was all he heard and the only other person inside lay on a bed, tossing a capped pen from hand to hand.
"Uh... Lost?" Percy asked.
"No. Just... Exploring. You know?" Magnus replied indignantly.
"Well, Indiana. You can't go into other campers' cabins. It's the rules."
"I'm not a camper here." He grunted. Percy looked at me, grinning. It was a mischievous, trouble-maker's smile. The kind Magnus figured irritated Annabeth.
"Fair enough. What's up?" He asked. Magnus frowned. Could he really already tell something had been bothering him?
"Nothing... Just. Whatever." He turned, walking to the door.
' "Do you even know how to get to the mess hall?" He asked him. Magnus stopped and looked down at my feet, defeated.
"Y- I... I don't need-" Magnus let out a long, reluctant sigh of admittance of his own shortcomings. "No..." He uttered under his breath.
"Let's go then," Percy said. Magnus could hear his grin through his voice.
