1407 words

I woke up to a warm something on my face. I opened my eyes, and Agro was licking my face feverishly.

Thank the gods! She barked. You've been out for 2 days! I thought you were dead!

"Agro!" I said joyfully. "You're okay!"

Of course, I'm okay! Agro barked. A little bit of scorpion venom can't kill me!

She jumped off my lap and settled down on the floor. I glanced around. I was sitting in a chair with a blanket across my lap, a pillow behind my head, and a taste of cooked deer meat into mouth. Something smelled something good. I sniffed. The breeze smelled of the sea, strawberries, sweat, and nature. I suddenly realized the people that weren't there.

"Do you know where Aidan and Dad are, Agro?" I asked.

Dad came walking up to me.

"Right here, kiddo," He said.

He was wearing jean shorts, black combat boots, and an orange t-shirt that said Acmp Flah Loobd. He pulled me into an embrace, then looked me up and down.

"Dad," I said. "What does your shirt say?"

"Camp Half-Blood," He replied. "Looks like the ambrosia is working."

"Do you know where Aidan is?" I asked Dad.

"Right here, sis," Aidan said, coming out of a door behind me.

He hugged me, and said, looking over my shoulder: "Holy Hera! What is that?!"

I turned and saw a man and a horse. Except it wasn't

"Are you a centaur?!" I demanded.

"Indeed I am, child," said the centaur. "But the better question is: who are you?"

"Child?!" I growled angrily.

Aidan looked equally as outraged, and I stared coldly at Chiron, failing to notice that the grass was growing. Growing taller and thicker than a vine, they wrapped around Chiron. He tried to fight, kicking at them with his hooves, but the grass tightened around him, bringing him to his knees.

"Kids, don't try to kill your uncle please," Dad said. "He's a nice guy and a good mentor."

"Uncle?!" Aidan said, shocked. "How can we be even remotely related to a centaur?! That's just messed up!"

"Kid, Zeus married his sister, and the centaurs were born from a cloud," Dad said. "All of Greek mythology is gross and weird."

Our shock broke the anger, and the grass dropped off Chiron, retreating into the ground.

"Think," Dad said. "Which famous centaur is related to the Greek gods?"

"Chiron," I said. "Half-brother to Zeus, Demeter, Hades, Hera, Poseidon, and Hestia."

"That's correct," said Chiron, back onto his feet again. "I am indeed the immortal trainer of heroes. I trained your father, and many others before him."

For the first time, I looked at Chiron. His horse body was that of a white stallion, while his upper half was that of a middle-aged guy. His hair and eyes were the color of coffee beans as was his scruffy beard. When I locked eyes with him, I heard his thoughts in my head.

So these are the twins. Destined to destroy or save the gods and said to be more powerful than two demigods of the big three put together. Hmmm. I wonder why Zeus let them live

"What?!" I cried out. "Zeus was going to kill us? We're going to destroy the gods?!"

Chiron froze.

"How do you know that?" Chiron asked tentatively.

"I heard your thoughts," I said.

"As did I," Aidan said.

Chiron and Dad exchanged nervous looks.

"Forget you heard it," Dad said.

"What? Why?!" Aidan asked.

"Just please," Dad said. "It's for your safety. Trust me."

"Fine," Aidan and I said together.

"You need a tour of camp," Chiron said.

"Excellent idea!" Dad exclaimed. "I'll take them. Turn around kids."

"Wow!" Aidan and I cried in unison.

"Welcome to Camp Half-Blood," Dad said with a smile. "The only haven in the world for Greek demigods."

I saw a creek flowing through the landscape. I could hear the roar of the ocean, and the cries of the seagulls as dove into the sea for fish.

"Follow me," Dad said.

We walked to a volleyball court where some blonde-haired kids were getting into an intense game. One of the blonde girls spiked it over the net, earning her team a point. The ball bounced over where we were standing. Aidan picked it up.

"Hey!" The blonde-haired girl called, running up to us. "Can I have that back?"

"Sure," Aidan said, tossing the ball to her.

She looked to be about 9. She had tan skin, blonde curly hair, and stormy gray eyes. Her gaze met mine.

"Who are you?" She asked. "I haven't seen you around camp before."

"That's Agrotera," I said, gesturing to the wolf sitting at my feet. "I'm Ainsley Theron."

"The other wolf is Pherian," Aidan said. "I'm Aidan Theron."

"Annabeth Chase," She said, holding out her hand. "My mom is Athena. Who is your parent?"

"I'm their dad," Dad said.

"But if you're their dad, how can you be let into Camp Half-Blood?" Annabeth asked confusedly. "Mortals can't come in."

"I'm not a mortal," Dad said.

"Annabeth, c'mon!" One of the blonde boys called.

"Coming, Malcolm!" Annabeth said. "Well, it was nice to meet you."

She ran back to the volleyball court and started the game again.

"Wait a minute," Aidan said. "Athena is a-"

"Maidan goddess," I finished.

We do that a lot. It's our "thing." Finishing each other's sentences.

"Athena's demigod children are born from her thought," Dad said. "She combines the mortal ingenuity of the mortal with her intellect and Bam! A child is born. She didn't break her vow of maidanhood."

"That's good," Aidan said. "Breaking a vow of maidenhood is a serious thing."

"Yes," Dad said. "Come on, arts and crafts are next. Though I'd imagine y'all would like to skip that?"

"Definitely," Aidan said.

"To the lake then!" Dad cried.

We followed him to a lake filled with canoes where many campers were racing and boating.

"Dad, can we..?" I asked.

Instead of answering, Dad ran at full speed and leaped into the water. We leaped in after him. Not surprisingly, we could breathe underwater. Dad let us discover our powers ourselves. He never confirmed or denied it. Dad would just usually smile, his eyes twinkling, or abruptly change the subject.

"Hey! Get off me!"

In our cannonballing, we had apparently crushed someone. The girl looked to be about 13 or 14. She had on blue jeans, a shimmering green t-shirt, and long, wavy brown hair.

"What gives?!" She demanded angrily. "First you jump in my lake and then you crush me! What's next, you kill all the fish?!"

"Relax," I said. "We understand the delicate balance of nature. Some fish must killed in order to keep the balance, but we would never kill them all."

"Your lake?" I said confused.

"My lake," The girl repeated.

Then, seeing our confused faces, she said: "I'm a naiad. From Greek mythology?"

"Oh!" Aidan said, understanding dawning on his face. "I remember now. Naiads inhabit creeks and stuff, right?'

"Yep," said the girl. "And we certainly don't appreciate it when random half-bloods jump in our water!"

"Sorry," Aidan said. "We didn't know anyone was in here."

"What's your name?" I asked.

"My name is Hali," She said.

"So your name means sea in Greek?" Aidan asked

"Duh," Hali said, rolling her eyes.

"Kids!" Dad called from the surface.

"We should go," I said. "Nice meeting you."

We swam up to the surface and emerged next to a canoe.  Two girls were sitting on it. I instantly disliked them. They were wearing a lot of make-up, and fancy clothes, and had a stuck-up-prissy-girl look about them.

"Hey!" One of the girls said. "You can't swim in the lake."

"We'll do what we want!" Aidan yelled.

We high-fives, and what happened next was probably one of the best things ever. A huge tidal wave of water surged over the canoe and flipped it over. The girls fell into the water, surprised.

"My make-up is ruined!" One of them cried.

"What a tragedy!" I said sarcastically.

I heard a chuckle from behind me. It was not a voice I knew. I turned and saw a man in a leopard-print shirt, holding a glass of wine.

"That is about the only entertaining thing I have seen so far at this stupid camp."