Chrysanthemum's Bunk

The door creaked just a bit as I walked into the Hecate cabin, the mysterious aroma of Mist and magic plants creeping into my nose. I walked past the aglaophotis plant and went to my bunk, dressed in a black tank top printed with a circle of the Futhork's eighteen runes, a ripped pair of black shorts, a metal-studded leather belt and my combat boots. I had altered the color of my brown eyes to sparkling yellow-orange, like Fanta, and had died some strands of my long dark hair navy blue and fir green. Ny weapon, Apokryphos, was sheathed at my belt in kopis-modus, and my hoplon was folded into my leather bracelet at my wrist.

Climbing up the rope ladder to my bunk, I noticed Quinn (the Hecate cabin hottie) talking to a person I didn't know. A newbie? How cool!

Tossing my Spartan helmet -- which I had been carrying under my arm-- on my bunk, I hopped down and came towards them. Animated tattoos started spinning on my wrists and hands without my noticing.

"Hi there!" I said. "Hi Quinn," I winked. "You're new?" I asked the girl. "I'm Morgan, it's super nice to meet you."

"Morgan? That's such a pretty name! Mine's Chrys, it's a pleasure to meet you!"

"Haha, thank you Chrys. My real first names are Theano Kristo, I go with Morgan though, long story."

She gestures at my moving tattoos. "How'd you do that?"

I looked and noticed them for the first time. "Woopsie. This often happens when I'm having strong feelings. It's an illusion, don't be fooled," I added. "A girl in the Hermes cabin had a similar down her spine, but that one's real." I made them disappear with a snap of my fingers.

"I think I've heard people talk about you around camp. Didn't you go on a super-important quest with a son of Zeus?"

"Oh dear," I chuckled. "I didn't know news moved so quickly around here. Sure, Aphrodite gossip is something... But ye, I went on a Quest. Returned two weeks ago, a son of Cratus was with us too." I smiled warmly.

"'Theano Kristo?' Woah, that might be cooler than Morgan!"

That made me smile widely. "Really? By Hecate, you're adorable. Those are Greek names," I added. One was a boy name, one was a girl name, because my father didn't know what I'd be. I pushed my thick, waist-long hair over one shoulder, the five blue or green died streaks fitting the dark color wonderfully.

"So," she said, rubbing the back of her head. "This is gonna sound kinda dumb, but how does camp work, exactly? Like, is there a schedule of when we have to wake up, or is it more 'do whatever the hell you want'?"

"Yeah, we got a schedule," I replied, leaning against another bunk and almost making the wolfsbane on it topple over. "Woopsie. Eight am, everybody's out of bed, then you can have fun queuing up for twenty minutes in front of the bathroom doors waiting for your turn. After that, Lou Ellen, our counselor, inspects the cabin, then we go to the Mess Hall for breakfast. And then... well, we do whatever Lou Ellen planned us to do. Sword fighting, running with the nymphs, climbing, pegasi riding, wrestling, arts and crafts, monster maiming..."

"Yeah, Lou is amazing," I grinned. "She's really cool."

"What is that? Is that solid gold?" she suddenly asked, pointing at the drachma Quinn was flipping in her hand.

"Oh, yes. That's a drachma, it's the money of the mythological world. Olympus, Underworld, Iris Messages, Hermes Mail..." I smiled. "Pretty much everything."

Chrys seemed absent for a second before looking at us again with her shining eyes.

"So, how are the other kids of the cabin? I have a feeling I'm gonna have to get to know them, considering I have an entire summer here."

"Um, how to say.... Forty-nine percent are psychos, forty-nine percent are asocials. Quinn, Lou and I belong to the two remaining percent who don't fit in," I smirked with a chuckle. "There are others who're awesome too."

I fist-bumped Quinn back before looking at Chrys again.

"That's- that's good to hear. Not really. At least I won't have to deal with the asocials considering they're, well, asocial. The psychos might pose a bit of a problem. They probably have fire-bending powers or can poison someone with ease."

"Most of us have fire-bending powers," I smiled. "I don't mean to scare you, but... it's true. You probably too. As for poisons, I don't exactly know people who use those, but I'm into potions ever since I got back from my Quest and... yeah, I got a nice lot of poisons, in addition of the other draughts I composed. But no need to mistrust me, I wouldn't use them against demigods or humans."

I was in fact quite proud of my collection of potions; but more so I was grateful my mother had saved the five books I had stolen from Circe's island and given them to me after I had thought them lost in the sea.

"So, uh, how long have you two been at camp?"

"Couple of weeks. I'm a newbie, like you," I grinned.

Hermes found the bunk he was looking for after a bit. Someone named Chrysanthemum got a music box. Funny, he thought that was for someone in the Apollo cabin. He set it down on her bunk and kept looking for the other bunks.