"Is that kid sick or something? He looks kind of sick and... I mean not right." "Nah don't worry about that guy. He is just some weirdo that showed up a few months ago. He hasn't been claimed yet, but he probably is a Hades kid if you ask me." This was the gossip between two campers, as well as many others, when they saw the pale Damian walk past them, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his jacket and his eyes glued to the ground. Ever since he was brought to camp a few months ago by Danny Ashwood, a rather young and ambitious Satyr, Damian had been quite the mystery to everyone. He almost never talked to anyone and when he did it was always in short clumsy sentences, which tended to confuse people more than when he was just silent. He didn't hang out with the other campers, not that any of them wanted him around much anyways, so he was usually seen sitting alone on the porch of the cabin he was told to stay in or heading off into the woods by himself. As far as anyone knew he wasn't claimed by any god yet so of course campers started rumors who son he had to be.

Some said he was the son of Hades, he looked creepy enough, others guess he might be one of Phobos's or Deimos's kids, he did give off that scary vibe. Needless to say none of the rumors painted Damian in a positive light, then again he never got to chance to know what a positive light really was so the rumors didn't really bothered him. They confused him more than anything, why would people think Hades is creepy? The god of the underworld was rather tamed and civilized when compared to others.

This thought sat on Damian's mind as he walked the camp grounds, he had become quite familiar with the lay of the land in the past few months, though now more and more campers were filing in it became harder and harder for him to navigate without having someone bump into him. He narrowly missed having someone walk into him, it was some girl who was blatantly staring at some boy, who was practicing his sword fighting technique, and mumbling to herself "By the gods he's a fine piece of work..." Though Damian had no clue why, the boy's stance needed some serious work.

It wasn't long after that Damian found himself dining pavilion which was crowded with students. Damian had to rack his brain as to why everyone was eating together, there was obviously no shortage of food so no one had to share or anything of that nature. Then he was able to recall that this was a chance for people to speak to each other over food, it was called dinner.... no no that was later in the evening this was... Breakfast! Yeah that was it. Damian mentally gave himself a slight pat on the back for remembering proper term before making his way to an abandon table and took a seat. Not long after a plate with a mountain of chocolate donuts was placed in front of him on the table, like it had been everyday for the past few months. It didn't take long for him to start eating, placing a whole donut in his mouth with each bite, this was the reason people rarely wanted to sit next to him during eating time.

Damian was blissfully enjoying his meal at the moment and honestly he had no plans on moving anytime soon.

---

As Skylar stalked out of the food pavilion, electricity tingled along her hands. She could only see it on her left hand; she had forgotten the glove back there in her rage. Whatever, she could get another from the Hephaestus kids. Ty would help her, he always did. Continuing to walk she reach the lake, and stood there watching the surface. It was completely abandoned, everyone was probably eating still, except for a few naiads. Seeing her approach they quickly moved away from the water. They had learned their lesson about messing with the daughter of Zeus before and weren't willing to test her again.

Staring at the calmness of the water seemed to anger her even more. She stepped forward, the single black glove falling off her right hand. Continuing to move until she stood with her ankles in the water, she glared around. Looking at her eyes they seemed to cloud over. The naturally sky blue color of her irises turned to a deep black sea blue. At her side her fists were clenched in anger, so much that veins were sticking out. All along her arms, electricity flickered, causing the hair to rise. All around her the scent of ozone filled the air. Finally the anger built up to be too much. Her mouth open into a scream and her arms whipped up from her side. Perpendicular to her torso, palms flat out. The flat peaceful water was interrupted by two giant lightning bolts thundering out of her arms. From a distance it may have looked like her arms had turned into constant streams of energy, flowing into the now disrupted lake. Where the energy struck the water around began to boil and throb. Electricity jumped throw the waves created by the impact of the energy, quickly shocking the water. Fried fish began to rise the surface, having been instantly boiled the the sudden energy. As the final strand of energy flowed out of her body she collapsed.

The bottom of her pants were soaked from standing in the water and her voice soar from the screaming. Slowly the energy flickered back into her body. The amount had been significantly reduced due to the effect is had on everything in the lake. Skylar lay there panting, careful not to move. Wouldn't want to waste any unnecessary energy anymore. She just hoped no one would come across her in this weakened state.

---

Tyson was still in his cabin. It was nearly ten in the morning he realized looking at the nearby clock. Shit. He had been up all night again, working on his projects. This time it was mechanical shark. It was designed to look like a great while, though it was almost twice the normal size. It was built in with lazers, greek fire bombs, a titanium shell, and razor sharp spinning teeth. Of course purely for educational purposes. Of course...

Turning away from his project he figured he should go out to get something to eat. At least a cup of coffee to prevent himself from falling over asleep in the middle of the day. Whistling for Thorn Ty turned towards the lift to get out of the basement. As the sound left his mouth, the cute little bronze dragon peaked its head out of the belly of the shark. Thorn had been working on the inner welding in places where it was hard for Ty to reach. Looking around it spotted Ty and took off towards him. It's small paws pushed off the frame into the air, wear the bronze, paper thin, wings extended. By the time Ty was in the lift Thorn had glided onto his shoulder.

Ty stepped out the door, ducking to avoid knocking his head on the doorway. He made a mental note to fix that soon. It was damn annoying. I mean who the hell wouldn't think to put in a visual detection and extended. Simple engineering people. Geeze. Finally arriving at the pavilion, Ty stacked a plate high with food. There was so much food on the plate that he quickly grabbed another plate just to hold all the food from falling over. Without bothering to look for a seat, Ty headed out the front back towards the training arena. He wanted to get some practice in as soon as he was done eating all this food. And damn did it smell delish.

Acacia & Damien

Acacia carefully picked her way through the Dining Pavilion, trying to find a seat in the endless chaos of the rush for breakfast. Once again, her stomach rumbled, a weakened cry of desperate need as she finally found a seat that wasn't populated whatsover. Letting a smile grace her lips for the first time that morning, she released a needy sigh and casually drifted closer to the table. Suddenly, out of nowhere, some... thing (that oddly resembled a teenage boy) took her abandoned table. Huffing, she tried to look around for another but found none.

Not afraid to stake what was rightfully hers, Acacia approached the light-skinned individual before crossing her arms across her chest and lowering her gaze to his. She didn't even bother speaking to him as she simply stared, telling him all he needed to know - this was her table.

Damian had just finished stuffing yet another donut into his maw, he had devoured half the plate in a matter of minutes, before he noticed a sudden presence infront of him. Lifting his eyes away from his chocolate covered breakfast the pale young man was greeted to the sight of a crimson haired girl who looked less than pleased with what she saw. More than a bit confused Damian stopped eatting for a moment, though he did have to swallow his current mouthful before he spoke. "H-Hello?"

Acacia could scarcely believe it - he had just looked up and questioned her as if she was in the wrong. Half of her was impressed for him not really caring about her dark stare and the other half was very pissed off; this was her table and she was going to stake her claim to it. Instead of speaking, her lips set into a pout, her eyebrows furrowed and her eyes darkened. She wasn't certain that stepping up the threat-factor would do much but guys usually scurried along whenever she gave them her dark stare. "Listen here, kiddo, I claimed this table first and then you came scurrying on over and took it! Now, I'm going to be nice about this and give you a chance - find another table."

Damian was honestly at a lost. He didnt know what to make of this girl, she seemed to quite upset about something. Did she want his help with something, was she lost, did she eat too much food? And why did she keep staring at him like that, it was quite confusing. After quite an awkward moment, or what Damian would guess was awkward, of silince the girl finally spoke up. Oh of course she was having trouble sitting down, that had to be it, why else would she be so angry. "Uh I-I dont er... my name i-is not kiddo." Damian managed to stammer out meekly, his eyes darting from the girl, down to the table, and back up to her. "It is D-Damian." He said in a oblvious mannor before he continued. "I dont t-think you claimed this t-table, I-I was here first. Uh and you er I m-mean I was here before you s-so I think it is mine... Right?" The sickly looking teen said, though he seemed to be asking a question more rather than making a statement.

Acacia had to remind herself to breathe in and out as she dealt with the idiot of a teenage boy in front of her. She was beginning to seriously question what this camp was and why in god's name she was there in the first place. Clearly the idiot was way beyond feeling fear of any sort so she decided to go for something that worked for most warm-blooded, straight males. Leaning forward, her dark features parted into a mischevious smile. "How 'bout you take yourself over to another table and leave this one to me. Ok?"

"But I like this table... it has all of my donuts." Damain said as he picked up one of his chocolate covored treats and took a slight bite out of it. He raised one of his eyebrows as the girl leaned forward, did she think he couldnt hear? Maybe she was trying to take one of his donuts. "Y-You can have o-one of the other tables, this one was mine first..." He said before quickly whispering barely under his breath "Sorry."

All she needed was a little more charm. Still smiling, she reached forward, her smile fading so she could speak. It was almost like she had been shot as she neared him. Taking a hesitant step back, her hands dropped down to clutch the table and stop herself from collapsing as her nerves suddenly bursted into flames. Her mouth opened to allow a scream to escape but it fell short of a few breathes. Acacia's eyes blinked closed then when they opened again, all colour had faded to a pale white as her body suddenly went limp.

Oh dear, she did not look so good. People werent suppose to randomly feel pain, well not out here in the mortal world. Damian couldnt help standing up from his seat, he was a bit worried that he may of caused this sudden situation. "Uh a-are you okay?" He asked as he slowly stared to make his way around the table towards the girl. "Uh should I uh er I-I mean should I get help?" He babbled as he went to strech his hand out towards her.

Acacia's consciousness slipped away, leaving her unable to reply as she descended into a thick pool of his memories, the secrets that Damien chose to lock away; his sins. She had seen the sins of others before but they paled in comparison to the pale, shy boy's memories. They enveloped her like a black, viscous liquid until all she could sense was the suffering he had inflicted. Countless amounts of needless slaughters, brutal torture, endless agony. She could feel it slowly breaking her mind, seeping into her very being. It would consume her soon enough if she didn't act. But she was tired. Oh so tired.

Almost as soon as it started, she buckled back to life, her eyes flicking closed before opening with the same shiny blue of before. Her whole body felt weak, however, and she had to drag herself to her feet. Her head felt like someone was repetitively setting off small explosions inside it and she suddenly had an overwhelming desire to vomit the contents of her stomach. Casting a single dark look in his general direction, she bolted straight for the exit, hoping to find somewhere peaceful to allow the corruption to leave her body. There was something different from the previous times as well - Acacia wasn't usually violent but she found herself wanting to break the pale-skinned boy. Break him in two. Yes, that would do the job.

That was... odd. Yes most definitely odd. Damian was used to being advoided and odd looks but this was diffrent, this girl had a unmistakable hate in her eyes. She looked like she wanted nothing more than to rip him limb from limb, Damian knew that look well as he had worn it many times. Did he do something wrong? Is this what happened when someone didnt give up their table? Whatever this was it left Damian feeling uneased, he had to go and clear his mind.

Abandoning his breakfast the more than fair skined teen made his way out of the dinning hall and started to head towards the forest, maybe if he found some less human company he could relax again, it usually did the trick.

Angela was dreaming. It was a fairly realistic and lucid dream, but a dream nonetheless. In the dream, she was holding hands with a woman, with hazel brown hair and eyes, and they together walked along the shores of a beach. Behind them was Cleo, who, impossibly, was giving a genuine smile of happiness. Angela both in and out of the dream wondered how this was accomplished, and hoped that she could do the same for him in reality. The woman she was walking with suddenly stopped and looked at her, and Angela's heart skipped a beat. Her face was so warm and kind, and so shockingly familiar - the woman looked exactly like her, or at least how Angela envisioned herself to look like if she were older. Suddenly, she was convinced about one thing: This mystery woman was her mother.

Angela's mother. An existence that has forever bothered her. She was an orphan, and for a long time, she was simply content with having Cleo and her monster friends to talk to. Her having no parents didn't mean much - she was not prone to self-pity; the time that pitying herself was time taken away from her helping people, she thought. Then, when she turned thirteen and was introduced to Camp Half-Blood, she discovered that she did have a living relative: Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and theater himself. When she first discovered this, Angela had mixed feelings. She was confused; why didn't he visit her, if he were her father? She was elated; Angela, who thought she was an orphan all her life actually had a father! She was disappointed; to know that said father apparently cared little for her.

She never cared much for the identity of her parents, but now that she knew that one was alive, the existence of the other would now frequently invade her thoughts. She though of her mother and wondered who she was, what she was like, and what would she think of her?

Seeing the woman in her dreams, Angela wished that her mother would be like the one here, so warm and kind.

The woman was about to say something, and Angela was about to listen when suddenly . . .

"GODS-DAMMIT ANGELA! WAKE UP AND GET YOUR BOYFRIEND OUT OF THE GODS-DAMN CABIN!!!"

Angela started awake, her heart hammering in her chest and her eyes wide. Her head swiveling about, she looked about the Dionysus Cabin, searching for the cause of her disturbance. The one who had shouted, one of her half-siblings, was by the door, standing protectively in front of six other kids, who all looked traumatized or teary-eyed to some degree. Right in front of said siblings, standing at the entrance inside of the cabin, was Cleo. He was smiling and for all intents and purposes, looked like he was completely innocent.

Cleo turned his head and met Angela's smile, and his own smile widened. "Ah, good-morning An!" he said with a cheerful, husky voice. "I came to pick you up for breakfast, but you were still asleep. So I decided to make some small talk with you siblings. You know, get to know them be-"

"Cut the crap Medax! You were terrorizing them again you asshole! We've all warned you not do this to - screw it, it's not like you ever listen anyway," shaking his head in frustration, the boy turned to Angela. "Just . . . just get him out of here would ya?"

Angela nodded hastily and shot out of her bed.

"Shoo Cleo shoo!" she said, pushing Cleo out of the cabin. "Wait right there and don't do anything mean, okay?"

The older boy shook his head and sighed. "Well, if you insist~"

"I do!"

Angela closed the door and exhaled in relief. She turned to face her siblings with a grimace. "I'm so sorry about that."

"I know you are, Angela, but he isn't. You didn't do anything wrong, okay? So there's no need to apologize. Just, if you can somehow get him to stop coming here all the time . . . sometimes I wonder why someone as nice as you hangs out with . . . him."

"He's a nice person deep down, really!"

The boy's stare was so disbelieving, it was painful.

"Really, really deep down."

Staaaaare~

"Very, very, very deep down! Look, it's there okay!"

Sigh. "Alright, alright, let's not argue about this anymore. Hurry on up then, your boyfriend's waiting, and who knows what sort of trouble he'd stir up while you're gone."

"He's not my boyfriend," she said promptly. A conditioned response. She closed her eyes and a warm wind blew throughout the cabin. The previously terrified demigods suddenly began calming down and looked around in wonder about the sudden change of temperature.

Angela smiled. "Whatever Cleo said, don't worry about it, okay? He's a nice person, just really awkward around normal people. You'll get used to him."

Her older sibling snorted. Angela shot him a look.

With that, Angela stepped out of her cabin to meet Cleo. "I wish you would stop doing that, Cleo," she said disapprovingly. Cleo, for his part, looked guilty at least.

"Ah, well, yeah. Anyway, breakfast!"

Together, the two of them entered the dining pavilion. Suddenly, Cleo's eyes lit up as he caught site of Damian, and a dangerous glint appeared in his eyes. Angela was watching him, however, and caught the look on his face.

"No Cleo. You're not doing it." Whatever it is you're going to do.

"You killjoy." Aaaaw.

Maria swam off shore in Long Island Sound her lithe form knifing through the water as quickly as a fish. She loved the sound because growing up in the desert she'd had to swim in hotel pools in water that smelled of chlorine. To her everything about Camp Half Blood was like going to paradise.

Here she was surrounded by the lush forests and it even rained from time to time which was for her a treat. Often her cabinmates would be shocked to see her dancing in the torrential downpour oblivious to the thunder that rumbled in the sky. She still loved Las Vegas and the neon strip but the Camp ran a close second.

Finishing her swim Maria walked up the beach gather her hair into a ponytail high atop her head as the droplets of water clinging to her glittered in the sunlight. She stopped at a prechosen spot on the beach and dug into the sand where she gripped a stout cord and gave it a hard pull dragging up her tote. She'd learned last year to hide her things when she went swimming after some boys stole them forcing her to walk to her cabin clad in only her bikini.

She reached in the bag and pulled out a towel and dried off before throwing it on the sand. She then sat down and pulled on pair of baggy but short cargo shorts and light blouse. She stands an shakes the sand from her towel an tucks it into her bag before heading to the dinning pavilion.

Maria hangs her bag on a peg near the entry to the pavilion as she enters and afterwards fetched herself something to eat. Grabbing a seat she settled down to eat and think about the day ahead.

Jack had been running for too long. But finally, he might be able to get sanctuary from the mondters that had been chasing him. He had long since killed the cyclops with a darkbolt to the eye, but was now being chased by some sort of man-bull thing. He ran up a hill, knowing he was somewhat close to being safe. Just when he could run no more, he heard a roar. He turned around and saw that the beast had stopped, as if by some sort of invisible wall. Thank the gods. Finally, he had made it, albeit covered in rags and bruises. He approached the front gate, and walked in. He started wandering around looking for a councillor.

Elektra finally settled in decided it was time to try out the camp's amenities and food, she was famished. She quickly changed into a pair of short khaki cargo shorts, a white sports bra with a royal blue tanktop and the turquoise Nike Lunas. Then she pulled her hair up into beautiful gold hair cuff that was faceted by polished cuts that made it sparkle like a minature sun caught in a cascade of platinum silk.

Back in San Francisco some people had thought Elektra vain because of her attention to her personal appearance never knowing that she was compelled to in respect to Aphrodite. She was sure that her at camp there might be some who'd accuse her of vanity and other social crimes but it was all part of the pantheon games often played out by their children in surrogate of their godly parents.

"Time to enter the arena of life" giggled Elektra as she checked herself in the mirror

She headed out of the cabin towards the dining pavilion and was pleased by the stir she caused among some boys and a few girls she passed along the way. She was just about to enter the pavilion when a satyr who was passing by was staring at her so strongly that he ran into a torch post an jumped up chanting "I'm okay, I'm okay"

Laughing softly Elektra stepped into the unfamiliar territory of the dining pavilion feeling like exactly what she was; The New Girl. It was the age old ritual of life where the unknowing, unknown appeared amid the established group to be judged and to judge. She had no idea of who was who here, who she'd call friend and who'd hate her for mysterious reasons, it was a dance played over and over again in every school or gathering of young people around the world.

Elektra relaxed knowing that in the end it was a game that's opening phase was all physical, she was being appraised by group and individual solely on how she looked. Those that had noticed her were making their appraisals with little fact and mostly emotion. Some would hate her because they saw her as competition or they held themselves in low esteem. Others would use her clothing as evidence of all sort of promiscuous behavior or it's quality as proof of her snobbery and there was little she could do to alter any of that at the moment.

She heads over to the table set for Aphrodite and has a seat with a smile. It is all as Aunt Polly had described except that the table she sits at isn't filled with gossiping Barbies, in fact it is empty of campers except for herself.

After training with Blake, Cole had decided to visit the lake for a view. One of the few things he missed while away. A smile placed on Cole's face, only but barely though. Allowing his eyes to travel around the area he spotted a thunderbolt baby heading into the water. People cleared way as she stepped into the water. He was all but terrified as she zapped the water. If anything, he was amused. She was scary in terms of powers, but it wasn't anything he hadn't seen before. After her little show was over, Cole stood from the grass he was sitting on and made his way over to the thunderbolt baby. Hovering above her as she was in her weakened state, he chuckled teasingly.

"If you wanted fish you could have just done it like a normal person," he looked up at the fried fish before he focused on Skylar again, "But that worked too, I guess. Need a hand, cousin?" He placed his hand down, knowing all too well she was probably going to slap his hand away, given that she could move of course. She was probably gonna be pissed, but he'd be lying if he said that wasn't what he was aiming for.

King Kindred and Knight of Doom(Troy and Kiran)

The Rebellious One and Ray of Light in "A Passionate Battle"

As the two approached the training area, they saw many campers training. They were likely trying to get back in shape from the long school year. Many of them didn't have places to train. Others purposefully joined sports to keep on their toes. Kiran entered in volleyball and soccer, but neither truly prepared her for combat. They were mostly to keep her active. Excited to finally feel the rush of combat, Kiran rushed past Troy to grab a weapon. She carefully looked over her options. A dagger required to much focus and speed, for her current physique. Also her arms weren't strong enough for a long sword. Kiran's specialty was double wielding, but she'd need to work up to it. With final certainty, Kiran picked up a well balanced ordinary sword.

"This one!" She exclaimed. "Hurry up and pick something, Troy. I want to spar you as soon as possible." Kiran was all ready to go, but Troy lagged behind her, too slow for her liking.

Troy rubbed the back of his neck when Kiran ran past him to look for a weapon. He forgot that many of the campers didn't have personal weapons. If it hadn't been for his older brother he wouldn't have one of his own either. She seemed rather excited about this. He was as well, but he was hiding it better. He could finally fight someone that might actually give him a bit of a challenge. With her excitement the way it was now Troy was sure that her battle instincts were in full gear.

When Kiran told him to hurry up and pick a weapon he smiled. "Don't worry. I already have mine." He reached into his right pocket and pulled out the rather infamous pen. He placed it in front of him and removed the top before quickly moving his hand out of the way. He didn't want to be skewered by his own weapon. After the top was removed the pen would transform into a Celestial Bronze sword. It wasn't too long, but it wasn't too short either. It was just precisely right.

He placed the top in his left pocket and prepared himself defensively. "You can start. I don't want to ruin your rush of excitement."

Kiran laughed, "You might regret that decision later," She teased. Kiran then took a deep breath and focused her energy into fighting. She kept both hands on the hilt of her sword and approached Troy. She decided to start simple and work her way into harder techniques, so she simply slashed at Troy. There was no need to exert herself when she had plenty of time to warm up. She kept on the offensive for now, slashing and occasionally stabbing at her opponent.

Troy made a small laugh when Kiran said he'd regret his decision to let her go first. He doubted it, but he wasn't going to underestimate her skill. She was a demigoddess after all. His sword was light yet balanced in his hand. He knew how to work it as much as it knew how to work him. When she slashed at him with her sword he parried her attack before making a counterslash. He didn't plan to go all out at first. This was just the beginning after all.

Kiran V stepped Troy's counterslash bringing her to the side of Troy, but still closing distance. She used the close proximity to her advantage and jabbed the hilt of her sword into Troy's side, right underneath his ribs.

Troy kept his attention on Kiran as she moved. She was going for a hilt jab and he avoided it by jumping backwards. He didn't land too far back and was able to go back on the offensive. He was one of the best swordsmen at camp. There was no way he'd be going down this easily. He stepped forward making a thrusting motion with Riptide while still holding his position to be able to maneuver and get back on the defensive if need be. He still wasn't going all out since he didn't want to actually hurt her.

Their exchange went on, back and forth they traded blows. Kiran could feel her muscles remembering her training. However, she was not using her ideal weapon. Soon Troy had backed her up against the weapon stand. Kiran couldn't find an opening so, she clumsily blocked his attacks. Kiran pursed her lips. At this rate she'd go down. She only had one option left. Kiran side stepped a heavy overhead blow from Troy while throwing her sword to her left hand. She stabbed with her left hand, and used the distraction to draw another sword from the weapon stand. She then quickly slashed at Troy's legs with her newly aquired sword.

It was coming down to the wire now. They had been going on for some time and Troy was enjoying every minute of it. He liked being challenged, but he could tell that Kiran wasn't in her element. Even with that in mind she was still doing pretty good and an admirable opponent for Troy. He was able to barely avoid her left handed stab. She was getting better and that switch up was interesting. It reminded him of a movie he watched as a kid, but this wasn't the time to reminisce. She now had another sword. She was a dual wielder. It all made sense now. Her drawing the sword gave him a bit more time to react to her next attack. When she slashed at his legs he jumped into the air as if avoiding a jump rode and sent his right leg to her right shoulder to kick her down. He would've gone for her face, but he didn't want to damage such perfection now, would he?

Troy didn't let up once Kiran fell to the ground. He stepped forward and pointed his sword down as if he were about to finish it. "And dead." He reached into his pocket to pull out his pen cap and placed it on the tip of Riptide to return it to its pen form. Troy then placed it in his left hand before reaching down to help Kiran up. "Our weapons aren't always our only weapons. You did good. Actually gave me more of a workout than I expected and I expected a pretty good workout."