"Race you to the bottom of the hill!" Nico yelled. I watched him run, his black leather jacket flying behind him and his hair flopping. I always let him get a head start. I had been faster for a while now.

My name is Erica Chase. No, I'm not related to Annabeth. I'm actually a daughter of Poseidon. Percy's my brother. It's probably really awkward for him, having a sister with the same last name as his girlfriend. We get along well though, considering I'm only fourteen. He always teases me about being older.

Anyway, I came to Camp Half-blood a year ago. Nico was the first person who greeted me. I had actually found the place by accident. Something was chasing me, and I didn't look back to find out what it was. You can't blame me here. I was scared out of my mind.

I ran up the hill, reached the pine tree and noticed that there was a freaking dragon laying under it. At that point, my nerves were stretched farther than they could go. I screamed loud enough to wake up all of China. The dragon looked at me, yellow eyes glowing as if it was trying to decide to roast or boil me. "Nice dragon," I said as calmly as I could. "Be a good boy and let me through. I need help."

The dragon shrugged. At least, that's what I think it did. It may have just been, like, stretching or something. I'm not sure.

So then I noticed something else. A dark figure was heading toward me, moving like a shadow. I stared at it for a moment. "Who are you?" The figure asked. It was a boy's voice, so I figured it was a he. "E-Erica," I stammered. The boy moved into the light, and I couldn't help but gasp. He might have been very handsome once, but he looked sad. His face was etched with worry lines, and though he couldn't have been much older than me, he radiated something like ancient power.

"You're a demigod, aren't you?" The boy asked, not even giving me his name. I snorted. "You ask that question like I understand it." The boy's mouth twitched. "You're half Greek god." He told me carefully. I flinched. "I'm not Greek." I said. He shrugged. "Come with me if you want to live." He grunted, looking over my shoulder and shifting nervously. Then he turned and ran back down over the other side of the hill. "What about the dragon!?" I yelled after him. His voice came floating back to me, strangley muffled. "He won't eat you, you reek of the sea."

I wasn't sure if I should be offened or not, but I shrugged it off. Running down the other side of the hill, and giving the dragon a wide berth, I stepped into the place that would change my life.

~*~

So, back to the present.

Nico raced down the hill. I counted to five in my head before running after him. "You can't beat me! I've been practicing!" He yelled over his shoulder. The look of surprise on his face was priceless when he discovered that I was running right next to him. I grinned before speeding up my pace and shooting ahead of him. "How did you do that!" Nico yelled. "I thought children of Poseidon were only fast in water!"

"You thought wrong, death breath!" I screamed back at him. Yes, I called him death breath. I don't think he took it as an insult. If anything, he took it as a joke. And for your information, his breath doesn't smell like death. Not that I get near enough to...uh...smell it.

I jumped the last few feet of the hill and hit the ground with a bone-jarring thud. Nico came along two minutes later. "I don't understand how you always beat me." He panted, looking up at my smirking face. "You're not even winded, you freak!"

I grinned mischievously at him. "Don't hate me because I'm beautiful." I said, sweeping away sarcastically and climbing back up the hill. "I never said I hated you." He called, catching up with me. I looked sideways at him. "It's an expression, sweetheart."

Sweetheart? Hang on now, where did that come from?

Nico stared at me for a moment before looking away and shrugging. He muttered: "Whatever," and we walked the rest of the way in silence.

Percy was waiting for us at the top of the hill. He grinned and waved over-enthusiastically at us. "Do I even need to ask who won?" He questioned us. Nico slapped him on the arm. "Oh shut up." He said. "Anyway, I think I'll go get some lunch. See you later, Erica, Percy." Nico waved and walked off toward the dining pavilion.

Percy watched him go before turning to me. "So, how are things with the two of you?" He asked me. I stared at him, trying to comprehend what he had just said. "Did you just...I mean...You didn't just...Percy! He's just a friend! I can't believe...gods you are so embarrassing!" I snapped. Percy stood there grinning as he watched me struggle with what to say. "Whatever you want, Fish-for-brains."

"Oh, shut up!" I yelled after him as he spun on the spot and sprinted away. I could have easily caught up with him, but I felt like visiting a friend instead.

~*~

"Hey, Blackjack." I said, patting the black pegasus' snout. 'Bout time you came to visit me, Boss. Blackjack snorted inside my head. I haven't seen my other Boss in a few days, either. Where's he been? I want some donuts. I snorted. "Always donuts, isn't it buddy?" Blackjack whinned. Don't forget sugar cubes. Sugar cubes are the best! I patted him one last time on the snout. "I'll be sure to bring you some sugar cubes and a few donuts. I'll also make sure I let Percy know that you want to see him." I said. Thanks, Boss, you're the best. "Yeah, I know I am buddy."

As I walked out of the stables I ran into Leo. "Hey, Princess." He said, grinning. I glared at him. "I told you I hate it when you call me that." I said crossly. Leo scowled. "Well, aren't you a ray of Sunshine."

"Oh, shut up, Leo."
"Fine."

We stood there in silence for a moment. Suddenly, Leo burst into flames (just because he likes to do that) and walked away singing: "This boy is on fiiiiiiiiiiiiiire! This boy is on fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiire! He set himself on fiiiiiire! He set himself on fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiire!"

I rolled my eyes and started toward the Poseidon cabin. I would clean up a little before dinner so I didn't turn up looking like I just got out of a mudpile. Also, the stables didn't exactly smell like flowers, and neither did I.

~*~

I sat down at the Poseidon table next to Percy. I had just offered part of my dinner to our father, and I was feeling very hungry. Now, keep this in mind; I eat like a pig. A very fat, hungry, messy pig. As I shovled the food into my face Percy stared at me. "What?" I asked through a mouthful of barbeque. "I thought I was bad." He snorted at me. I slapped his arm. "Don' judge me, I'm huh-gry."

Percy smiled and shook his head. "Right," He grunted, going back to his own food. The rest of our dinner was eaten in comfortable silence. At the end of dinner, Chiron, our centaur activities director, stamped his hoof at the head table. A loud bang echoed around the dining pavilion. "Who's ready for capture-the-flag?" He asked in his regal voice. A loud roar started at the Ares table and exploded all around us, Percy and I screaming as loud as we could. "Whose side are we on!?" I yelled. It was Apollo vs. Hermes. "Hermes!" Percy shouted back. "Connor and Travis wanted us!"

"Of course they did!"
"Hey, you can't blame them! I'm awesome!"
"Percy..."
"Fine, we're awesome!"

~*~

Capture the flag was going great...until someone got stabbed.

Percy and I were in the thick of the battle, because we were just that good. It was total chaos, and I'm assuming that, in the heat of the moment, someone got a little too excited. I just heard a really loud scream and the sound of pounding hooves.

People cleared out immediatly. There was a ring around the person that had been hurt. I felt my heart jump into my throat as I stared. I leaned against Percy, suddenly shaking violently. Percy wrapped an arm around my shoulders. I could feel his arm trembling. I couldn't take my eyes off of the boy sitting there.

It was Nico. Nico had been stabbed.