We walked in silence for a little while as the smell of barbeque got more intense the closer we got. I could see the hunger burning in Magnus' eyes.
"It's really good." I told him. He looked up at me.
"Smells good too." He uttered.
"Yeah, usually does." I looked back at the footpath and we continued to carry on in silence. I looked around myself. It was now nearly my last year at camp which was supposed tostart in a few days but, like a few other campers, it seemed circumstances had decided that I got to go a few days early. My mom had already dropped off my washing after being informed of what had happened thanks to a helpful Nymph named Juniper, but I looked at Magnus for a bit, who hadn't come to camp, let alone New York, with anything on him.
"Hey..." I said. He looked at me. I saw the all-too familiar look of a boy who had been thrown out of his depth. Even though his dad was a God, being exposed to not just one, but two Godly worlds was a massive culture shock.
"Yeah?" He asked.
"I know you're new and... I saw you didn't have any bags, so I picked up a few things for you at the camp store. It's not much but, you know." I dug in my backpack and handed him a small hygiene kit. The same kind Luke had bought for me so long ago. Except this time I wasn't going to be a power-hungry super-jerkface who tried to take over the world.
Magnus looked at me sternly."What, do you think I need looking after?" I clenched instinctively, just in case he was about to go off at me again.
"I'll walk the rest of the way myself." And with that, Magnus stormed ahead, muttering something about charity.
"Stubborn. Just like Annabeth." I grumbled, then continued on towards the mess.
As always, the Mess-hall was full. Each table was occupied by their respective cabins. The cheering and screaming from the Hermes cabin drowned out any other sound. Jason and I had taken action and decided to sit at our uncle's tables whenever we felt like it. It only seems fair after saving them a hundred gazillion times.
Thunder crackled in the sky. "Sorry." I uttered. "Zeus, that is. And Jupiter... Not sure about you, Thor." I added. Thunder boomed once more and this time, I knew to shut up.
"Met Annabeth's cousin today." Jason said through a mouthful of brisket which, coincidentally, was my favourite. It had been my first meal at Camp Half-Blood which, despite that day being the same day I had lost my mom, was still one of the happiest of my life and one I will never forget.
"Did you?" I asked after taking a sip of my cobalt cola. "He's got spirit, doesn't he?" I grinned as I began to cut up a piece of meat for me again.
Jason scoffed. "Yeah. So, is he claimed? Who's his parent?" I almost choked on my brisket as Jason began to dive into multiple Gods.
"Hephaestus, Apollo; he could be Roman." Jason said. It hit me that he didn't even know that Magnus wasn't from the same world as us.
"Listen, about that..." I began. Jason frowned.
"Yeah?" He said slowly. I swallowed the food in my mouth.
"His dad isn't like... Er..." But before I could finish, a look of realisation washed over Jason's face.
"He's not... My brother, is he?" Jason uttered, worried. I sighed. There was a tense silence as I tried to figure out how to explain to him what was going on. It wasn't easy either. I remembered how hard it had been for me to accept the fact that Roman Gods and Greek Gods coexisted. Even though I had been able to hold it together so far, thoughts were rushing through my head.
