Hidden Half-Bloods

Chapter Two: Finding Solid Footing

"Wake up and make your beds! Breakfast is in ten minutes!" Redd rolled over, smacking his lips together as the droning words reached his ears. Slowly the events of the previous night surfaced, making Redd's head pound. He had passed out almost as soon as he had been assigned his bunk in the Hermes cabin, although Connor Stoll, the cabin counselor, had told him that it probably wouldn't last.

"You have the air of a more powerful godly parent, Redd. I just hope they claim you soon. You don't deserve to sleep in the Hermes cabin when you're meant for something greater." Redd had been oddly unnerved by Connor's words, but he had shrugged it off. Redd had never thought that much of himself.

"C'mon bro, you don't want to miss breakfast and make the girls angry." Redd lifted his head to see Nolan peeking over the railing at him. Redd jumped, smacking his head against the ceiling.

"Geez, Nolan, watch it!" He grumbled, rubbing his head as he swung his legs over the end of the bunk to climb down.

"Make your bed before you come down or Connor will have your neck." Nolan calls up as Redd groans before turning and making his bed. He misses his own bed, back home, where he had room to stretch out and where he didn't have to make his bed every morning before eight AM.

~

Riley found herself unable to sleep. Will, the counselor for the Apollo cabin, had been kind and welcoming to her, but he had passed out before anyone else. Riley assumed it was from his work healing the minor injuries of the capture-the-flag game. Whatever his reason was, it had given Riley the opportunity to sneak out, finding a ladder hidden behind the cabin and using to climb onto the roof. The stars were bright and clear, much more so than they were in North Carolina, probably because of the controlled climate at Camp Half-Blood. It wasn't too hot, but it was still warm enough to be obviously summertime.

"You too, huh?" Riley nearly fell off the roof at the sudden voice, but she was caught by a strong hand on her upper arm. When she had righted herself, she realized that her savior was none other than Jason Grace. In the moonlight, his blond hair was silver, just like she remembered his girlfriend, Piper, noticing during one of the books depicting their quest. Jason had nothing on Nolan, though.

"What, insomnia?" Riley chuckled, making Jason as he reclined against the roof. She couldn't relate to his relaxed state—the precarious slant of the roof made her constantly on edge. Then again, if she was a child of Zeus and could fly, she wouldn't be too worried about falling off the roof earlier.

"No, the sky. I think the best spot is on top of Cabin One, but this is pretty sweet too. Sometimes Piper will join me." He left it at that, as if he wished that his girlfriend would come out with him more. Riley could relate.

"It's so much clearer here than in North Carolina. I wish I could sit up here forever." Riley mused as she brought her knees to her chest and dug her fingers into the peeling golden paint of the cabin's roof.

"I've never been to North Carolina. What's it like there?" Jason, the good-natured California boy that he was, would have no clue about Southern culture, especially not the sloppy mix that was North Carolina. Riley herself didn't quite know how to describe the state that she grew up in.

"The best explanation—which still isn't a good explanation—is that it's a melting pot of Southern and Northern culture. My mother's side of the family is all up in Vermont, whereas we live in North Carolina where every other person has a heavy Southern accent. On one end is the Outer Banks, vastly commercialized beaches, and on the other end are the Appalachian Mountains. We all lived right in the middle of the state." She peered down at her hands, watching as her nails cut easily through the paint. She was making swirling sun designs, taking quiet enjoyment in the fact that her father was Apollo. She had always been self-conscious about her musical talents, but now she knew exactly why she had those talents.