the next generation - pjo, hoo, toa

One - Tristan

That day was the same as everyday. Training with mom, reading by myself, eating lunch and repeat. But, before I could repeat the steps today, someone knocked on the door of our cave. Usually a knock on the wall meant a beach ball had knocked on the wall, but this one felt different.

Before mom could tell me not to do it, I opened the door. I had no idea what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't this.

Stood before me was a man with tan skin that had a greenish tint to it. He entered before I said anything and threw the crutches he was using on the ground, then lowering his pants. Instead of human legs were goat legs, which surprised me even more than I already was.

"I'm Aspen Loic Underwood and I've come to bring you to Camp Half-Blood." he said matter-of-factly. I'd never seen anyone as cocky as him in my life. Mind you, I hadn't seen a lot of people in my life either way.

"Um, hi. I'm Tristan, um Peters" I said, much less confidently than the boy had. "I'm not sure what kind of camp you want me to go to but I'm not interested. My mom," I turned to look at her but she was gone. "Well, um, my mom wouldn't want me leaving. She says I can't leave her side." It didn't sound as convincing when I was alone in a cave with only a human-goat boy.

"Well, I think you'd like it there. There are so many people like you, half-bloods-" I cut him off. "I don't know what you think I am, goat boy, but I am most definitely NOT a half-blood. I was born from two humans. He nodded.

"Right, well usually half-bloods are born from two human parents. Except one of them is actually a god from Olympus. I don't know where your parents have gone but they most certainly are not taking care of you right now. And since they aren't taking care of you, it means you can come to camp this summer. It starts in one week, so we better get packing if we want to get there early."

"Are you messing with me?" I asked. This seemed like some random boy had decided to fool me into thinking gods were real. They weren't, and one of my parents was even less likely to be one. I'd seen them both... well, I'd seen my mom five minutes ago, right before the boy arrived. And I'd seen my dad a couple years ago. Yes he was buff, but there was no way he was a god.

"Why would I? I mean, here I am, a satyr-dryad mix and you think I'm playing a prank. Nope, one of your parents is a god, I'm sure of it. Have you ever, like, done some kind of magic or just seen some monsters when you leave the cave?"

This kept getting weirder. I'd read all about satyrs and dryads and gods of Olympus but how did he know about all that. "Well, I have made sparks fly out of my hands. Not like, lightning, but like colourful mini-fireworks. And my mom could do it too."

"What was your mother's name?" Then, it dawned on me. I didn't know my mom's name. I only remembered calling her mom or mother but never an actual name. She never went by anything other than Ms. Peters when we were in the city so her first name was still a mystery to me. "I.. I don't know. I don't understand how I didn't realize my mom didn't have a name.

"Well, now we know that your godly parent is your mom. Will you come to camp with me. I'll be meeting up with one of my friends tomorrow so you better have made up your mind by then."

I already knew what I wanted to do. "I'll come. Do you think they can figure out who my mom is this summer?" He sighed, clearly unsure. "We'll try to. Most gods claim their child after one or two days, so we just have to hope that she will. But if she doesn't, it's not the end of the world. You'll just sleep in the Hermes cabin. He has the most children so we just send unclaimed people in that cabin."

I had so many other questions but I knew it was better to wait. Surely they would have a seminar or something when I arrived, that answers all the questions I could have.

Then Aspen started doing something weird. He started telling a story with his eyes closed. It sounded like a journey to somewhere, and it didn't make sense until he said my name. It was like he was recalling the journey to find me, as if he was telling it to someone else. I waited until he was done before questioning him about it. "What was that?" I asked.

"It's called an emphathy link. I used to be the guardian of this boy, Zander, so I could feel his emotions. We can also make each other have these dreams, more like visions, about each other. In demi-god world dreams are only opportunities to have visions, prophecies or even visit someone. I was just showing Zander where we are so he can come see us tomorrow."

"Oh." This was all so new, like discovering a new universe. Which I had done, basically. He seemed so at ease with all of this, but of course he did. He had grown up in all of it. I felt like an outsider trying to understand something I knew nothing about even if I had studied it for so long.

a.n

the story has started!

this is really short compared to the other chapters we have planned lol

also you guys are not ready for the prophecy

see you soon,

- émilie and charles