▬▬ HELLFIRE▬▬
i. THE CHARIOT WRECK

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SAM WAS VERY HAPPY she didn't have powerful charmspeak, thank you very much.
Sure, it was a cool power, but it made people madly afraid of you and attracted monsters like fly to honey.

It didn't matter anyway,because in some form or another, every Aphrodite child had some sort of Charmspeak. It may not be called charmspeak, but they all had some sort of control over people. For some, like Drew Tanaka, it was more obvious. If Drew asked you to jump off the top of Zues cabin while wearing a pink tutu and striped pajamas, you would already be whipping out your onesie. But for others like Veronica-Rhea Hare, it was less obvious. If Veronica asked you to do the same, you wouldn't. Maybe you would get a little tempted, at most. But throughout the day, that's all you would be able to think about.

Think about how soft Veronica's lips looked like when she asked, how shiny her hair was, how good she smelled. That power was called 'attraction' or 'Aphrodite charm' but in Sam's theory, that was just a lesser version of charmspeak. Sam had never had charmspeak. Well, she did. By she had only used it once or twice, and those were in random situations where her charmspeak didn't really help.

One, when they was on a rock climbing in third grade. They were losing their grip, and begged the girl beside them to tell the instructors to pull them down. The little kid next to them, with buck teeth and curly brown hair had basically zoomed down and told the instructors, who in turn did so. But Sam wasn't sure if that example really count, because while she knows she might have had charmspeak help the kid get down there faster, the kid would have helped without charm speak nonetheless.

But then again, Sam was kind of glad charmspeak wasn't her forte. The only camper  they knew who was good at charmspeak was Drew Tanaka, and well, of being in control of people at all times even turned her mildly into Drew... she would happily drop off her demigod powers at the nearest convince store.

Plus, she was very happy with her abilities, charmspeak be damned. Aphrodite kids all had the power to alter their appearance how they like, and while most would get rid of their acne, maybe change their hair color every once in a while, Sam used it to her full advantage. In fact, Sam was pretty sure the reason she was so good at shapeshifting was because she had been unconsciously doing it from a young age.

On male days, he had made his voice deeper, shoulders broader, maybe even make himself a little taller, without even realizing it. Then again, when she was a child, she looked basically the same no matter her gender. That couldn't be said now.

Finding out you're a demigod is... weird, to say the least. It mostly felt weird because Sam had been told her whole life her father had left her and her mother at a young age. So when her study buddy from 3rd period algebra had said 'Surprise! You're mothers a god and I'm half goat!', she couldn't even react.

Finding out she biologically had two mothers was the least weird thing of the whole ordeal. They had been a blubbering mess when their study buddy, turning out to be a satyr named Alaric, had told them they had to attend a camp for fellow demigods. To stay safe from monsters and other creatures that would absolutely love to swallow them whole.

The car ride to Camp Half-Blood had been threateningly silent, with the only sound being the weak song playing on the radio, which Sam was to mad to even try to make out.

"Do I have to go?" They asked, not looking up at their mother out of spite. They were pretty sure if they did they would cry, "I don't want to leave you."

"It's okay, baby." Their mother said in her beautiful, soothing voice, which only made this harder. Sam didn't want to go to some weird camp for demigods. Sam wanted to curl up on the couch while their mum read them Dr. Seuss stories in wacky voices, "It's for the best. It's only for the summer, anyway. Just make sure toe write me every week. It's going to be a great chance to make friends, meet more people like you."

Against better judgement, they muttered a single, "Alright."

"Plus, you've always wanted siblings, right?" She presses on, and Sam could practically hear the fond smile in her voice, "Well, they might not to be blood related to you, since gods don't have genes but... I'm sure you'll have a sibling bond."

"Who even is my mum?" They blurted out. For all their life, their mother had told them their father had left both of them. Finding out their 'father' was actually a woman, a goddess nonetheless, had been all they could think about for hours, "My other one?"

"I don't think I'm supposed to tell you, sweetie." The woman in the driver seat said, "It wouldn't matter if I did, anyway. You won't be put into your official cabin till you're claimed."

"I just want to stay home." Sam told her, still not looking up.

"I should have told you sooner, I'm sorry. I just sort of hoped that maybe... maybe if I didn't tell you, it would go away. I'm happy Alaric told you, because I didn't have the heart too. It was selfish of me. I love you, Sam, okay? Don't forget that."

Suddenly, the car stopped. Sam didn't want to get out. They looked out the window. It looked like they had stopped in the middle of forest. Sam unbuckled their seatbelt, an action that hurt much more then it should have.

Their mother was opening the car trunk, her pink blouse hanging loosely on her figure. She grabbed a big black suitcase from the trunk and effortlessly dropped it on the floor, scooting it towards Sam.

"Can't you come with me?"

"I can't. Just walk right through there." She smiled warmly, her green eyes shining from the car light. She pointed through two trees, "I'll see you soon, okay? I love you."

Sam simply nodded in response, biting their lip. The rev of the cars engine forced them to move. They took in a deep breath, before walking along the trail. A cabin came into view. Not a cabin, exactly. More like a wooden building?

They looked closer, and behind a corner was a girl. On the floor was a small bundling of coals, which the girl was poking at affectionately. She looked about eight or nine, and was wearing a modest brown dress and a flimsy shawl over her head.

"Hey, you should be careful." Sam told the girl, who looked up at them in curiosity. Her shawl fell back as she did, revealing black hair and mousy brown eyes. "Wouldn't want to start a fire."

The little girl smiled much too wisely for a person of her age, nodding in response.

"I'm Sam." They said to the girl, who had stopped poking the coals with her stick.

The girl didn't say anything in response. It was starting to unnerve them. Suddenly, they heard a clomping of hooves in the background, and turned around.

There stood a man easily almost twice as tall as Sam. He had wrinkly light skin, and thinning brown hair. He had a small beard on his face.

"Sam Remes." The man said in a calming voice, "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Chiron, the camp director."

That's when it hit Sam. They looked at Chiron's legs. Or... where his legs should be anyway. In the place of them was the backside of a white horse.

"You... You have horse legs." Sam blurted out stupidly, in shock.

"Indeed."

"Horse legs." They said again, perhaps for good measure.

"Yes."

"The legs.... of a horse." They repeated.

"Correct." Chiron looked down at his very much a horse legs.

"For now," the horse man continued, "you'll be staying in the Hermes cabin. At least until you're claimed. Don't worry, you have plenty of time to unpack. Dinner isn't for another 45 minutes."

Sam looked back to where the young girl who had been poking at the coals, but she was no longer there.

Without another word, Chiron walked (or galloped?) off, motioning for Sam to follow him. They clutched the handle of the suitcase in their handle, taking in a deep breath, before following him. It was like they were watching a movie. Certainly this couldn't be happening to them, right?

Soon, Chiron stopped when they arrived at a worm cabin. It was coated in thin brown paint, which was starting to chip off. It looked larger then the other cabins, but also older.

"Thank you." Sam told the man. He nodded in response.

"My pleasure." He said eloquently, before trotting off.

Sam knocked on the door. The latch almost immediately clicked open. "Hey! Are you the unclaimed demigod Chiron's been telling us about?" The answer of the door smiled, she looked about 12 or thirteen, and had crinkled blonde hair, "Sam?"

"Yeah." They held out their hand, the other one secured on the handle of their suitcase, "It's uh, it's good to meet you."

"No need to be so formal, kid." The blonde said, rejecting Sam's handshake, even though they didn't look older then Sam at all, "I'm Axel. Welcome to the Hermes Cabin, your temporary home. Feel at rest here, we do absolutely nothing. But hold onto your wallet. Some people have sticky fingers."

The girl opened the door fully, allowing Sam to drag their suitcase in. The cabin was mostly empty, save two late teen-ish looking kids talking in the corner and a blonde boy, who was reading on his bed. Sam travels to him, noticing the bed next to him was empty.

"Hey." He said, looking up at them, a slight smile on his lips. He closes his book before kicking his pointer finger and dog earring it.

"Hey." They reply, not knowing what to say. The boy taps the boy cover.

"I'm Will." He says. He has somewhat-curly blonde hair, and tan skin. His face is splattered with light freckles. He looks like he was stretched out a stretcher, and if he stood up, Sam is pretty sure he would be taller then them.

"Are you unclaimed too?"

"Yeah." Will replied, fiddling with his thumbs. He didn't look nervous, but at the same time, Sam could almost feel his anxiousness, "I've been here since April."

"I'm-I'm, uh, sorry." Sam felt unexplainably bad for the boy they had known for a few minutes. "I hope you get claimed soon."

"It's fine." He pushed their concern off, "The Hermes kids are actually nice. As long as you lock all your stuff."

"I don't know a lot about Greek Mythology." Sam admitted, sheepishly as they unpacked their sheets, fitting them on their bed, "Do Hermes kids steal a lot, or something?"

"That's an understatement." Will almost scoffed. Sam couldn't see his face, but they guessed he had rolled his eyes, "I think Axel is the only Hermes kid who doesn't have a double life as a pickpocket."

A moment of silence pauses between the two, before Sam sighs dramatically. "This is so weird."

"This," Will points to the stuff sprawled our on their bed, "or in general? And by the way, don't unpack all your stuff. You may be claimed tonight."

"In general." Sam nods at the boy, taking his advice and placing some of their belongings back in the suitcase, "I thought my dad was, like, some deadbeat or just a regular jerk, but now I'm finding out I never even had a dad. I had two biological mums. And without even giving me two seconds to wrap my head around that impossible fact, I also find out she was a goddess! And now I'm at a camp with demigods so monsters don't eat us. Also, apparently, a titan is rising? I don't even know what's going on anymore..."

"I mean..." Will trails off, "I don't know about you, but I think it's pretty cool. Finding out you're a different species. And you can do kick-ass stuff like lift something three times your weight, or read Greek! Did you know that there's a kid here who can control water? How cool is that?"

"You're right." Sam smiles, suddenly feeling much more excited due to Will's good mood. They place some of their books on the shelf next to their bed, "This is cool. Just weird. Really, really weird. It's going to take me a couple hundred years to get used to it."

"Do you think demigods have longer life span?" Will mutters, half-thinking, "Since gods are immortal, and all..."

"I definitely wouldn't want to live forever." Sam states matter-of factly "You would have to watch all your friends die... and your family."

"But your family is immortal too." Will points out.

"Not my mum. Well, my human mum." They correct themselves, folding up their sweatshirt, "I wouldn't want to live longer then her."

"Me either." Will grins to himself, playing with the hem of his shirt. It's bright orange, saying 'CAMP HALF-BLOOD' in all caps. Sam desperately hopes that's not a uniform, "My mum is awesome."

"Who do you think your dad is?" Sam asks him, "Or, other mum? I honestly don't know at this point."

"I don't know." He says, in thought, rubbing his chin, "My friend Lou Ellen, she's a Hecate kid, said Athena, because I'm sarcastic and witty, something among those lines. Seems like the easy answer, though. Almost everyone at Camp Half-Blood is sarcastic. I'm honestly hoping it's something minor. Like Hypnos. Maybe even Hestia."

"Why?"

"Because I don't want my life in constant danger. I know that sounds... cowardly, but I've never been a fighter. I wouldn't want to have to fight lots of monsters. Remember that kid I told you about, the one who can control water?"

Sam nods.

"Well, he's a child of Poseidon." Will continues as Sam slowly unpacks some of their things, "The sea god. He's one of the big three, along with Hades and Zeus. The big three swore they wouldn't have kids because their demigod children always end up too powerful. And that Poseidon kid... I think his name is Perry? Or Percy? He constantly has monsters on his ass because of it. Like, he takes one step out of the camp and there's already eight Minotaurs lined up waiting for a slice of him."

"I mean, being able to control water sounds cool." Sam laughs to themselves. They look at their shelf, satisfied with the amount of things unpacked, before zipping up the suitcase, "But living sounds cooler."

"By the way, are you a boy or girl?" Will asks them, "No offense, but Ican't really tell."

"It, uh, changes." Sam admits awkwardly. They've been asked this question before, but it never changes how weird it is to answer, "Sometimes I'm a boy, sometimes a girl. Sometimes I'm neither. Sometimes I'm both. Right now I'm neither."

"Oh." Will says simply, "Alright."

"If you can't tell, just ask me." Sam says very quickly, feeling like they've been caught with their hand in the cookie jar."

"That's cool. I've never met anyone like that."

"Me either."

"Since this honesty hour, I guess... is it okay if I tell you something too? We're friends, right?"

Sam hasn't even considered that. They've had lots of friends, of course, but they were just light friends. Friends that Sam helped with homework and would say hello to in the halls. They hasn't really felt the need to tell their friends they were leaving for the summer.

Maybe something about Will was different? Because Sam certainly has never had a more then ten minute conversation with someone. Yeah, they guessed Will was their friend.

"I only talk about being monster chow with my closest companions, Will. How dare you assume otherwise." They said in fake offense, holding up a palm to their head like they had been mortally wounded, before they burst into a series of giggles and their face became serious again, "I'm kidding, you're fine."

"I like guys." The blonde boy admitted, looking at his torn up sneakers, "In the like-like way. Romantically."

"Me too." Sam smiled warmly, a put a comforting hand on his back.

"Really?" He asked, curious, like he had never met another person in the world who had ever liked the male gender.

"Yeah." They assured, suddenly feeling the urge to hug Will, "I think I just like everyone except girls. No offense to girls. Do you like girls?"

"I don't know." He said, biting his lip, "Maybe. There's just this boy I've seen around camp and..."

"You like him?" Sam offered, smiling warmly.

"That's the thing, I don't know." Will sighed, "I mean, he's kind of a doofus, but I just think it's because he was handed an empty deck. I really want to be his friend, but I don't know what to say."

"It sounds like he probably hasn't had a lot of friends."

"I don't think he has." Will said a little somberly.

"Maybe you should just hang around him a little bit? Don't be overbearing. But just linger. Let him know you're there. I don't like it when people nag me, but I think he would like it if you remind him you're his friend." They offered up their best advice, hoping they weren't dooming Will's friendship with his maybe-crush.

"You don't like nags?" He smiled wickedly, "But I'm Will Solace. My middle name is Nag."

"You don't seem the type." Sam smirked in response, joining him by sitting on his bed. Will definitely had a couple inches on them, three at most.

"You can ask anyone in this room." Will gestured to the mostly barren room, "I am the nagiest nag out there."

"What do you nag about?"

"Everything." He said, but then reevaluated his sentence, "Injuries, mostly. You'd be surprised how many times the kids who could steal twenty wallets in 2 minutes ram their heads into cabinets cause they're not looking. There's also the fact they've initiated a war with every single cabin, so painful pranks are a given."

"A war?" Sam asked, interest piquing.

"Hermes is also the god of pranksters, apparently. They put spiders in the Athena cabin a while ago," The blonde noticed the confused look on the other's face, so cleared his throat and explained, "spiders are a big no with the Athena cabin, and they haven't rested since. I'm pretty sure they would all be dead if I wasn't here to remind them they aren't invincible."

"Maybe you're the son of the god of nags." Sam said simply.

"Exactly." Will agreed, laughing, "That's what I keep telling everybody!" He cleared his throat a little bit, before continuing, much more shyly. "Since you're done packing... You don't mind if I stay here, right?"

"And miss a fresh fist of nagging at 7 at night?" Sam said, the fake enthusiasm packed onto their voice like snow on a mountain during winter, "Absolutely not."

"You know, usually you can tell a unclaimed's godly parent by talking to them." The boy said truthfully, tilting his head to the side a bit, "I cant really tell with you."

"Haven't you been here like 3 months? Shouldn't they be able to have been able to know yours, too?"

"I'm special." Will said through a toothy grin.

"Guess I'm special too." Sam mimicked the grin, and both chuckled under their breath for a few seconds.

"If you came here because a satyr told you, and not because a monster ate your house, I'm guessing you're not a Ares kid." Will replied, breaking the laughing moment.

"Ares?" Sam wracked their memory, "Is that the god of war?"

"Yeah. Most of his kids are really powerful. So they come to camp when they're like 11." He tried to count 11 on his fingers, but when he noticed he didn't have 11 fingers, he blushed rapidly and pretended it never happened, "Get claimed in a few days too, if their dad actually cares enough."

"I don't feel half god." Sam admits to him, rubbing the back of their neck and slouching, "If there's a god of feeling too much, then that's probably my mum."

"I mean, Aphrodite kids do have empathy powers, but you don't really strike me as one."

"Why not?"

"I don't know." Will said, "You just don't."

"Are Aphrodite kids mean?"

"No, no." He holds up his hand in defense, "Just... I've been around a few. They kind of radiate... love? I guess? I can't describe it. They all feel like they have a magic bubble around them."

"Aphrodite is the goddess of love, right?" Sam says, looking at their new friend in the eyes, "Wouldn't her children be like super powerful, then?"

"Some." Will says, waving his hand in a 'so-so' motion, "Drew Tanaka, she's new, has this power called charmspeak. It's pretty rare. It's like mind control. If she asked you to stab out your eyes, you would do it with glee."

"That sounds horrifying." Sam visibly cringes, and feels the urge to rub their eyes, "Why isn't Aphrodite one of the big three too?"

"Because it's rare, I guess. Most Aphrodite kids are pretty harmless." He shrugs in response, "They like butting their noses into any type of drama they can get, but they mostly mind their own business."

"Mind control sounds like it's powerful. Does she get attacked by monsters a lot?"

"I don't know. I don't think she's been on any quests. She was here after me, though. Got claimed just like that." He snaps his left hand.

"What does it look like when you get claimed?" Sam asks him.

"It's not anything that cool. Mostly, a symbol of your godly parent appears over your head. But it's different for everyone." The unclaimed boy says.

"Can you touch it? How long does it stay there? Does it glow?" Sam asks in a zip of questions so fast they're pretty sure Will couldn't understand them.

"No. Like two minutes. Yes." He checks the watch on his right hand, "It's time for dinner. Sit next to me?"

"Definitely." Sam nods. The other demigods in the cabin had deserted, leaving it empty. It felt wrong, in a way. They exited the cabin with Will in front of them. Outside the cabin was another boy, much shorter then both of them.

He has a slim frame, and brown skin that's darker then Sam's. His floppy hair is a light colour, shining in the glare of the lamps. He has a very girlish face, and for a second, Sam almost through the was a girl.

"Sam, this is Andy." Will points to the boy, "He's been here for a couple weeks."

"Hi." Andy waves at Sam, smiling shyly as they walk to the dining hall, "My sister got claimed in like two seconds, though. Don't see how that's fair."

"Your sister?" Sam asks in confusion as they entre the hall, which is crawling with demigods, "Shouldn't you be in the same cabin, then?"

"Nope. Apparently the missus likes to get around." He winks at Sam, and Will groans, "Different godly dads. Same mortal mum."

"That's cool." Sam remarks as they sit down with the Hermes kids at a long table covered in a purple cloth. The floor is white marble, and Sam noticed the middle has a small grey line in it.

"I guess." Andy tells them, looking at the food in front of them, a plethora of meat, vegetables, and any type of bread you could imagine, "Kind of annoying. I really wanted to be in the same cabin as her."

"You're not living in deprecate cities," Sam says, "And you'll have siblings in your new cabin, right?"

"No one here is really related by blood. Gods don't have genes. Which I'm happy for, otherwise their would be a lot of incest going on at this camp." Will says, giving a pointed look towards two demigods kissing near one of the pillars.

"So dating someone in the same cabin as you wouldn't be incest?" Sam asking from curiosity.

"I mean... I guess not really." Will says awkwardly, "But it's sort of looked down upon. Your cabin sort of becomes your family. It wouldn't be wrong, but it'd be weird."

"Why're you asking?" Andy asks pointedly, before grinning, "Got your eyes on anyone?"

"No. Just wondering." Sam picks at the green beans in front of them.

"They're a very curious child." Will says like Sam is 2 years old, and he's a very tired babysitter, "Asked me like 10,000 questions when we were in the Hermes cabin."

"You said you would answer them!" They suddenly feel defensive, crossing their arms.

Will takes a long sip of whatever's in his cup. "I did."

"Don't try to understand his logic." Andy tells them, "I gave up a while ago."

"Who do you think your parent is?" Sam ignores Will's triumphant grin, "The god one, I mean."

"Well, the sis was claimed by Hephaestus, which was easy enough to get." He shrugs, eating a piece of steak, "She was always tinkering around with toy cars and stuff. And for me? I don't have a good idea. I think Dionysus, maybe."

Sam gives Will a confused look. "God of wine." He tells them.

"Why Dioni... Doin..." they struggle with the pronunciation, before just clearing their throat and saying, "uh, that god?"

"I hung around some of his kids. They were similar to me, I guess... I'm not a drunk, or anything! Just similar personality-wise."

"How many gods had demigod kids that go here?"

"Well, a lot of the demigods who are children of minor gods don't have cabins, so it's hard to say... Maybe 20? 25? Hard to say. There's more general gods, like Hecate, who have a moderate amount of kids, but then there's gods like Hypnos, who has a demigod kid a few times each decade."

"I hope we're all in the same cabin."

"Me too."

"Well, if we aren't, promise me you won't abandon me to fend for myself, alright?" Andy said, leaning into the table, "I suck at making friends."

"Alright." Sam smiled faintly, feeling a little at home, "Promise."

"Me too. I—" Will suddenly cut himself off, his eyes narrowing in Sam's direction.

"What?" Sam asked, eyebrow raised. They turned around, to see if Will was staring at something behind them.

"Jesus Christ." They heard Andy mumble under his breath, voice strained.

Sam was about to ask what was wrong again, when they looked down at their clothes. Or, what should have been their clothes, at least. In place of their blue T-Shirt and jean shorts was a long flowing piece of fabric. It clasped at their shoulder, a gold clip with a decorative dove engraved onto it. Self consciously, they reached back to touch their short hair, which had been braided into a small bun.

"You are fucking kidding me." Will said, brows furrowed. He buried his face into his hands.

"Hail Sam Remes, child of Aphrodite, lady of the doves, goddess of love." Chiron announced. Almost everyone's eyes flickered to Sam, inspecting them momentarily, before they went back to their previous conversation. Sam wanted to melt into the floor.

"What am I wearing?"

"I don't even know what to say." Andy whispered to Will, who nodded slowly in agreement.

"What's happening?" Sam asked again in a strained voice.

"You got claimed." Will told them, holding out his hand, before glancing back, "And the Aphrodite vultures should be circling in three.... two...."

"Sam!" Came a sweet voice, almost on cue. A tall, slim girl with black hair and ice clear blue eyes stepped behind them, "Sweetie. Lovely... shawl... thing. I'm Silena, head of the Aphrodite Cabin. Do you want to eat with us?"

"Is it... uh, okay if I eat here?" For some reason, Sam felt like they were denying something much more important then denying lunch with Silena, "At least till the end of dinner?"

"Of course." Silena smiles warmly, and suddenly her ice cold eyes warmed, into a cozy blue. Sam had a feeling they were going to like her, "I'm happy you've already made friends! Just make sure to drop your stuff by Aphrodite cabin before lights out, alright? Sorry you'll have to unpack your stuff all again."

"It's fine." Sam told her, "Thanks."

"See you soon, love!" Silena waved the other child of Aphrodite off, before going to the other side of the hall to join her siblings.

"What just happened?" They repeated again, like a mantra.

"Didn't you already ask that?"

"I'm asking again."

"You got claimed." Will said matter-of-factly, "Silena Beauregard, head of Aphrodite cabin, asked you to sit with them. You denied. She said to drop your stuff off at your cabin before curfew."

"Thanks."

"No problem." Will smiled that toothy grin he had done back in the Hermes cabin again.

"So I guess you were wrong." Sam said weakly, not sure of what else to even say. Or if they could even say anything, to be honest. Finding out one of your birth parents was the goddess of love was a lot to process. It still didn't feel right.

"Wrong about what?" Andy questioned.

"About me not being an Aphrodite kid."

"That's the first thing you say?" Will said.

Sam simply smiled at the two, swirling their cup of water. Looking up at the two boys in front of them, they had a feeling this place was going to be much more of a home then they had initially thought.

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THREE YEARS LATER . . .
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SAM WOULDN'T LIKE TO ADMIT IT, but she was probably as clumsy as they came. Not that she dropped things, or rammed into cabinets a lot. No, the daughter of Aphrodite had one particular thing that just seemed to active her inner klutz.

Hills.

A weird thing, right? But it seemed wherever there was a hill, there was a screaming Sam Remes tumbling down it. It was the afternoon when they had fallen down a hill. Again. And Will Solace was nagging her about it in the Apollo Cabin. Again.

"Honestly, Sam," the blonde boy complained to the patient on his cot, "it's starting to become a problem. How many times are you going to fall down hills? Maybe you should stop wearing platforms."

"Ugh, stop being a nag." Sam said, rolling her eyes. It hasn't even been a really large hill. The worse injury she had gotten was a bruise on her back, but this is what she gets for being friends with a mini doctor.

"My middle name is Nag." Will grinned lopsided. Over the years, his freckles had become darker and more blotchy, until they covered almost half of his face, "You know that."

"Your middle name is Jeremiah."

"My second middle name is Nag." Will pointed out, tsking.

"It's fine, Will, I promise." Sam said empathetically to the son of Apollo, who didn't look convinced at all, "You don't have to worry. I didn't even sprain anything. Just a little bruise."

"Yeah, but it's the 5th time you've fallen down a hill." Will deadpanned, "In the past month."

"What can I say?" Sam batted her eyelashes dramatically, "Hills love me."

"For the daughter of the goddess of grace, Sam, you're the opposite."

"Maybe I just wanted to see my best friend in the world and planned falling so I could visit him." She said haughtily, crossing her arms and blowing a brown strand of hair out of her face, "Consider that?"

"Then why didn't you just stop by instead of adding to my workload, Remes?"

"Please, pressing a bandaid on my ass isn't adding to your workload."

"I put a bandaid on your back." Will reddened.

"The back is just the upper ass." Sam grinned mischievously.

"You make no sense."

"Neither do you." Sam almost laughed. She truly was glad she had met Will, no matter how many times he did nag her, "It's why we match so well."

"Sam!" Came a screeching voice as the door to the infirmary basically flew open.

Sam and Will's attention both snapped to the cause of the voice, and there, in all their glory, was Taea Pu'uwai and Andy Bessano. The two had met two years ago, and had been inseparable ever since. Sam had a working theory Taea was actually psychically stuck to Andy's arm.

"What are you guys doing here?" Will questioned, looking at the son of Dionysus and the daughter of Hebe.

"New campers!" Taea's voice almost cracked due to her squealing. She looked like she was going to blow up from excitement, "Butch and Annabeth are coming on your chariot, Will! We can see them."

"First of all," Will held up a finger, looking like he was going to go on a long rant, "it's not my chariot, it's Ap—"

"Come on, Will!" Andy yanked his friends figure up, not an easy feet considering the son of Apollo was more built and more y'all then him, "I don't want to miss this!"

The four demigods basically ran out of the building at the speed of light, running down to the field. A shorter feminine figure stood there, looking up at the sky like she was spotting for something. Sam recognized that spot covered white tank top instantly.

"Jamie, hey." Sam greeted to the girl, who turned around and waved. She was built well from all her work at the Hephaestus cabin, a wrench secured tightly across her stomach. She had black, thick frizzy hair which she worse in a ponytail and dark brown skin which was covered in grease and soot.

"Hey, Sam." Jamie greeted, and turned over to the daughter of Hebe, "Taea, can you see how many people are on the chariot?"

One plus of being a child of Hebe, you were basically Superman. Superhuman sight, hearing, strength, and even healing (which Will appreciated greatly).

"Um... I see Butch." Taea strained her eyes as she looked up at the small gold figure i the sky, which was slowly coming into view, "He's hard to miss. And Annabeth. Oh! There's a blonde boy on there. He's cute. But he's kind of snuggly with another girl on there. Brown skin, brown hair from what I can see. And I think there's another kid on there... But I can't tell what he looks like. Really short, though."

"Why are they getting so close to the lake?" She added as an afterthought, noticing how the chariot wasn't going in the direction it should be.

"Shit!" Andy interjected, "I think they're going to crash!"

"If Butch crashes the chariot I'm going to decapitate him." Will hissed.

"Oh, yeah," Sam noticed, seeing the gaining chariot make a head dive for the lake, "they're definitely going to crash into the lake."

SPLASH!

"Told you." Andy told the others.

"Behold, Andy Bessano, the new Oracle." Jamie says sarcastically, fake amazement dripping from every word in her sentence.

"Real funny, wise guy." Andy scoffed, elbowing his sister in her stomach.

"Where's Mara?" Sam asks, eyes still wide from the spectacle that went down. "She would love this!"

"Does no one care that a bunch of people just crashed into a freezing lake?" Will says, pointing to the lake, where the soaked figures of Butch, Annabeth and three other demigods struggle into the shore.

"I do!" Taea practically bursts, jumping up and down.

"Once again," Will tells them, "Taea remains the only good person in this group."

Taea giggles.

"Hey, doesn't Sam like, cry whenever someone gets a paper cut?" Andy points out, gesturing to his friend.

"Shut it, Bessano." Sam growls at him, playfully nudging him.

"Come on," Taea stresses, like not checking out the chariot in the next minute will cause he apocalypse, "we have to make sure they're okay!"

The five nod at each other in an unspoken agreement, before rushing to the lake. Will looks like he really is going to decapitate Butch like he promised.

"Annabeth!" Will pushes through the forming crowd around the soaking demigods. "I said you could borrow the chariot, not destroy it!"

"Will, I'm sorry," Annabeth sighed. Her tan hands travel to her sopping blonde hair, before ringing it out, "I'll get it fixed, I promise. "

Will scowled at his broken chariot. He looks over to the three new demigods, sizing them up. "These are the ones? Way older than thirteen. Why haven't they been claimed already?"

"Claimed?" The shortest one questions.

Annabeth looks like she's going to explain it to him, when Will continues, "Any sign of Percy?"

Sam has a feeling Will already knew the answer to the question.

"No," Annabeth admitted.

"Are you okay, Butch?" Taea asked gently, her fingers almost brushing the boy's skin. Concern was clear on her face. 

"I'm fine, Taea." The teeanger grunted, But his face features looked much softer, "Thank you."

"Annabeth?" The brown skinned girl looked over to the blonde, who simply nodded reassuringly.

"It's okay," Annabeth almost shrugged off the other's worry, "don't worry."

"Well," Said a slippery and biter voice. Sam instantly recognized it as Drew Tanaka. The girl crossed her arms haughtily, "I hope they're worth the trouble."

The shorter boy snorted. "Gee, thanks. What are we, your new pets?"

"No kidding," The blonde boy replied. He looked like he meant business. "How about some answers before you start judging us—like, what is this place, why are we here, how long do we have to stay?"

"Jason," Annabeth said, looking at the blonde boy intently. "I promise we'll answer your questions. And Drew," Annabeth scowled at the daughter of Aphrodite, "all demigods are worth saving. But I'll admit, the trip didn't accomplish what I hoped."

"Hey," The only girl of the new pair of demigods interjected. Her hair was soaking wet, bangs sticking to her forehead. "we didn't ask to be brought here."

Drew looked like she had been personally insulted. She stepped in front of Sam, purposely hitting her shoulder. "And nobody wants you, hon. Does your hair always look like a dead badger?"

"Oh come on, Drew." Sam replied, staring deeply into her cabin mates brown eyes. "She's new. Don't be an ass."

"Whatever, Remes." Drew's face was comforted into some weird facial expression that Sam could also describe as prissy and pissed. The asian girl looked between the new girl and Sam. "Maybe you two could form a trash club. Since you both smell like it."

Sam simply glared in reply. The other girl looked at her in gratitude, smiling softly.
"Thanks."

Sam nodded in reply.

"We need to make our new arrivals feel welcome," Annabeth interjected, and Sam could swear she gave a look at Drew for emphasis. "We'll assign them each a guide, give them a tour of camp. Hopefully by the campfire tonight, they'll be claimed."

"Would somebody tell me what claimed means?" The other girl asked. Sam was starting to like her more. She secretly hoped this girl was in her cabin. Maybe she would fend Drew off.

Before Sam could continue her thoughts, it was interrupted by a loud gasp. Her face scrunched in confusion, looking over to Andy, who looked amazed. It took her a while to realize everyone in the crowd was bathed in a faint red light. She looked up, to the source.

The short kid, who upon further examination Sam realized looked a bit like an elf, had a  hammer surrounded by flames slotting above him. Sam had never seen a Hephaestus flaming, but she was pretty sure this one.

"That, Piper," Annabeth said to the girl, apparently named Piper, "is claiming."

"What'd I do?" The boy yelped. He was swatting his hair like the symbol was a spider, "Is my hair on fire?" He ducked his head, but the symbol followed him.

"This can't be good," Sam could hear Butch mutter under his breath "The curse—"

"Butch, shut up," Annabeth said. "Leo, you've just been claimed—"

"By a god," Jason, the blonde, interrupted. Sam had almost the forgotten he was there. "That's the symbol of Vulcan, isn't it?"

Sam's face scrubbed up in confusion. Vulcan? Wasn't that a Marvel super villain? Or a Star Trek character? Something among those lines, anyhow.

"Jason," Annabeth said carefully, like she was treading on glass, "how did you know that?"

"I'm not sure." Jason said honestly. He looked down at his hands blankly. 

"Vulcan... that's the Roman form of Hephaestus, right?" Sam whispered into Will's ear.

Will didn't even reply verbally, just nodding his head in small movements.

"Vulcan?" The son of Hephaestus demanded, shaking his arms wildly. "I don't even LIKE Star Trek. What are you talking about?"

The fiery hammer faded, but Leo kept swatting the air like he was afraid it was following him.

"Vulcan is the Roman name for Hephaestus," Annabeth said to him, "the god of blacksmiths and fire. Jamie, you're a Hephaestus kid, right?"

Jamie steps up, rubbing some soot off her face as if that would make her look more presentable. "Yeah."

"If you could, would you mind being Leo's guide?" Annabeth pushes the boy, Leo, towards her, "Introduce him to his new cabin mates?"

"Sure." Jamie shrugs, grabbing Leo by the arm. Leo tried to get out of her grasp, but she easily has ten pounds and two inches on him, and simply drags him with ease as he rambles off about Vulcans.

"This is going to be a very, very long night." Jamie groans as she takes Leo to Cabin Nine.

Annabeth turned her attention back to Jason. The unclaimed demigod girl's shoulders tensed as she watched Annabeth look at him. Sam guesses they were dating. "Hold out your arm." Annabeth demanded calmly.

Jason did so, and Annabeth's breath hitched as she looked what was on his arm. Sam could barley make it out. It kind of looked like a black tattoo of a barcode with an eagle on it, and some letters she couldn't see above it.

"I've never seen marks like this," Annabeth said, brows furrowing. Sam hasn't seen such a confused expression on her face in a while. "Where did you get them?"

Jason shook his head. "I'm getting really tired of saying this, but I don't know."

The other campers pushed forward, trying to get a look at Jason's tattoo. The marks seemed to bother them a lot —almost like a declaration of war. Andy and Will has yet to make a single expression except shock.

"They look burned into your skin," Annabeth noticed.

"They were," Jason said. Then he winced as if his head was aching. "I mean ... I think so. I don't remember."

No one said anything. Everyone held their breath as they waited for Annabeth to say something. Since Percy's dissapearncd, she had stepped into the leadership role.

"He needs to go straight to Chiron," Annabeth decided. She turned to the 5'1 daughter of Hebe with a warm smile. "Taea, would you mind?"

"Of course, Annabeth."

"Hello? I'm right here."

"Nice observation."

"No one asked, tall ass."

"Will, Andy, Sam." Annabeth addresses the three like they're soldiers. "Not to be... demanding..." she coughs, "but could you—"

"Fish the broken parts of the Chariot you crashed out of the lake?" Will says, seething. Sam is entirely sure he's turning another colour.

"Yeah! Exactly." Annabeth says smiling.

"Of course, Wise Girl." Andy uses the daughter of Athena's most common nickname and nudges Will in the stomach, "Our pleasure."

"And I need to get some shoes." Annabeth adds, "Mind holding Piper for a while? Be right back." She dashes off to the Athena cabin before any of them have a chance to answer.

"Hi." Piper says awkwardly, itching uncomfortably. She's still soaked.

"Hey." Sam waves at her. Standing next to her, Sam realizes her eyes are like a rainbow. Maybe kaleidoscope is better actually. They're a magnificent mix of green, blue, a purplish-ish pink, and brown.

"Uh, I'm Piper." Piper smiles half heartily, grabbing onto the hem of her shirt, which is sticking to her figure in what looks like a really not comfortable way.

"Sam." Sam pointed at themselves," That's Andy,"—She gestures to the boy standing over Will, "and the blonde one is Will. He's meaner then he looks."

"I'm going to cry." Will muttered sadly, looking at the destroyed wreck that used to be Apollo chariot.

"Yeah, he seems like a real killer." Piper said, putting a hand on her hip. For some reason, Sam found herself hoping for a second time this girl was an Aphrodite kid.

"Welcome to Camp Half-Blood." She said, smiling, holding out her hand to shake.

Piper looked down at it, before grinning and taking it. "Thanks."

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AUTHORS NOTE
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i wrote this entire chapter on notes and couldn't see the word count what the FUCK this bitch long as HELL im so sorry hdhddj *looks at will and sam* but i did it for,,,, They. also i had to redo a whole chapter in the book so YEAH rip me not having any spelling mistakes