Peace Among Worlds

After evading her brother, who had planned to take her on another adventure, Reyna left the confinement of Camp and hitchhiked on a strawberry truck down to the center of New York City. The journey was comfortable, plus the smell of fresh strawberries. She wore simple clothing: a tank top, jeans, brand new boots and an ACDC cap. She flung her staff around, knowing full well it looked like an umbrella in the eyes of mortals. The world beyond camp border was dangerous, and one always had to sleep with a knife by the drawer.

She almost fell asleep, when the truck slowly parked and backed against a garage. Reyna leapt down and snuck out of sight. Though a bit far from her intended destination, she was on the island of Manhattan. The streets were busy, everyone running about to take care of their business. New York never sleeps.

After a long walk, her favorite cafe appeared ahead. It was where she used to go to before her father passed away, being the place with the best coffee in the world. The cashier recognized her immediately, knowing full well all of their favorite customers. He automatically called for the usual, and beckoned her to sit at one of the round table sets outside. Reyna nodded, and set herself down, taking off her cap in the process to let her long untied hair fall.

Carter was wearing a suit, not looking very casual. He walked into the cafe area by Camp Half-Blood, in New York. He was visiting CHB to talk with the cabin leaders, as sometimes Centurions would branch out and do. He was thirsty for a good coffee, preferably a latte or cappuccino.

Carter was tall, with short blonde hair, and brown eyes. He had a little bit of a tan. Carter was muscular, as a Centurion needed to be. He was reading a book on good leadership skills, and took a seat, before entering, to finish off the remainder of the page he was on. When he was done, he looked up, realizing he sat by a girl. "Oh, sorry," he said, getting up.

She leaned against her chair, daydreaming a bit while she waited for the coffee. Eventually, the waiter placed the cup filled with cappuccino blended with milk before Reyna, who thanked him in kind. The demigod took the tiny spoon he'd left and mixed up a bit further.

She didn't look up, but acknowledged when a guy proceeded to sit down next to her, then hastily prepared to depart.

"It's okay. You can sit down." she said, without looking up.

"Thank you, miss. You look awfully young to be in the Big Apple all alone. I mean, not to judge, I'm young too, but I'm here for different reasons. It's...nevermind, forget I said anything. Goodbye..." he then noticed her staff, and the likely conclusion automatically went to his mouth. "You're a demigod, huh? I can see the staff. I'm a demigod, too. I'm Carter. Sorry, just being observant, feel free to go, of course."

Reyna nodded, while pulling the arm-bindings down to cover the deformed part of her arm. She had almost forgotten about it, her biggest insecurity. Though he likely didn't notice, the demigod had to make sure.

"Yes. You can sit down if you wish. We're both demigods, so might as well make it a combo to call on a monster." she extended her hand. "I'm Reyna. My mother's Athena."

"My dad's Volturnus, and grandfather Mars. You're Greek, then. That would make sense." He shook her hand. "Reyna, funny, that's the name of our praetor."

She shrugged. "I've heard of Ramirez-Arellano. Of course my Father didn't name me after her, he needed another unique name starting with R corresponding to my twin Rick."

Volturnus. Reyna couldn't recall which Roman god he or she was, but Mars was a familiar name. It was both the planet and the god of war. Had Rome not conquered Ancient Greece, the planet would've been called Ares.

"Tell me, John Carter of Mars, what brings you to New York City?"

"I'm here to visit the Greeks, just kind of see how things are going. I'm actively trying to get a promotion, so I figured being an ambassador sort of role would help."

"That's fun. You're lucky we're only a third as aggressive as your Camp is. Want to take a tour? I can take you there in a blink of an eye. Of course, you're not supposed to stay really long, so you can knock yourself out over there for as long as possible."

She stood up and offered him her hand, accompanied by a gentle smile.

"Yeah, of course, let's get going. How are you going to get me there 'in the blink of an eye,' exactly?" he asked with a curious look on his face.

"It's a metaphor for 'I'm going to get us there fast'." she blinked, taking his hand and dragging him out into the street. After a short sprint, they stumble upon the strawberry company once more, which was bound for Camp. She pulled open the cargo bay, and quickly hurried him in, before following.

"Alright. This saves us a free ride."

"Oh, right, I thought you were implying that you had some sort of speed power. My bad." He followed her, reaching the strawberry truck. "Are you crazy? This is stowing away, this is illegal. We can't do this!"

"Relax, my Roman friend. It is only illegial if it harms a person's rights. Sitting here doesn't affect anything." she laughed, looking at several boxes of empty strawberries.

"First time to New York?"

"Fine, but I'm only doing this because of you promising me a tour," Carter said, looking around the back of the truck. "Nah, I've visited once or twice before, I just don't come to the Greek camp often."

"Well, you're gonna see the wonders of our Camp soon enough."

After the truck ran on for a while, it stopped at the fields, and the two quickly dash from it before they're caught. They passed a hill, then through the trees, until they reached the border of Camp Half-Blood.

" Here we are. Our sweet loving home."

"Oh, cool, I feel dirty though, all this rule breaking. Should we have done that? Anyway, alright, thanks, show me around, I guess," Carter said.

The two trekked past Thalia's Tree, Reyna recounting the history of the said plant life to Carter, before they arrived at the gate of Camp Half-Blood, with a person she'd never expected waiting for her.

"Who's your boyfriend, Reyna? I'm gone for a few hours and you've bring me another guy to kill?" said Rick, looking up from his phone.

"Did you spend the entire day waiting for me here?"

"Yes. Dramatic effect. Also, I'm on guard duty. Who's this guy?" he pointed at the Roman.

"I'm Carter, sir. Carter Taurus. I'm from Camp Jupiter, a son of Volturnus, legacy of Mars. She's just giving me a tour," Carter explained, looking at Reyna.

He eyed the Roman suspiciously. Romans wanting a tour. He saw it happen 5 to 6 times, all of them Ambassadors coming over to discuss terms and such on matters he needn't care about. He had always hated totalitarians and governments. Of course, saying that out loud would be an immediate smite and a ticket to the Hell part of Hell.

"Come on, Carter." said Reyna as she walked down the hill towards the cabins.

Rick approached Carter, and glared. "If you hurt her, you'll know a new definition of pain." with that said, he stepped aside for the demigod to go.

Carter followed Reyna, and when Rick stopped him, he heard what he had to say, before just simply walking forward. He was mature, and it wasn't worth a cocky remark of sorts or anything to that effect. He knew how he must've felt about his sister, in terms of how protective he was over her. Carter would be the same in that position.

"Which place are we visiting first?" he asked Reyna, catching up to her.