the big arrival! (ok not THAT big)

Ron was excited. All this semi-walking, semi-getting in trains without tickets across the country took him weeks, but all the spirits had led him correctly. And why wouldn't they? He was son of the ruler of ghosts. Every time this occured to him he was feeling proud. Oddly enough his satyr -dead on the way- tried to convince him Melinoe was "minor" and that's why he had lived his 15 years of a life with no attacks by monsters. As if all the dracanae and cyclops that tried to harm him on the way didn't matter.

He cursed. What was he thinking on a sunny day like this to wear a black T-shirt (Pantera, mind you) ? It was painfully hot. Luckily he was close. He would see if leaving his home was worth it. But knowing of Greek mythology, he hoped he would find lots of fine looking girls there (his biggest weakness, even if he wasn't really successful). He started twirling his sword, and stopped to take a breath, as he had reached the top of the hill and he was face to face with the entrance.

The cab driver left me on the Farm Road and I paid him a handful of banknotes before getting out into the hot summer sun. I had just come back from New York, where I had had yet another meet-up with my recently found biological father. Long story short, my mother had dated him then left him after saying she was pregnant. The guy went to search for her and how did he do it? He sailed to Aeaea, where Circe logically turned him into a Guinea pig. I had found him there with my Quest crew and turned him back into a human; now he was doing just fine, in spite of the shock of new technologies and his constant need for hamster food.

I could already see Peleus atop the hill, puffing columns of smoke from his large nostrils. The Golden Fleece glittered in the sunlight, right over the gate. Though I realized I wasn't alone.

A guy stood there, twirling his sword, looking at the entrance. He had black mid-long hair and a black shirt, looked about my age.

"Heyo," I said, walking up the last meters of the hill before coming to a stop next to him, scratching Peleus under the chin. "Are you new?"

I gave him a friendly smile; I was wearing my navy tee from the university of Athens with denim shorts and sneakers, my dark hair falling down my shoulder blades and shades resting on my nose. I had a black leather satchel slung around my shoulders and headphones dangling around my neck.

Ron turned and he liked what he saw. A girl about his age standing with a friendly smile. He supressed the thought though, for the sake of subtlety. He grinned back.

"As new as it gets. Hello there. My name is Ron, son of Melinoe."

He was one step away from a stupid pickup line that wouldn't work, so he decided to shut up. He made a mental note to thank himself later for that.

"What about you?"

"Son of Melinoe?" I knew one of his half-brothers, Nathan. Cool guy, deliciously sarcastic. "Awesome to meetcha Ron, I'm Morgan. Daughter of Hecate." I shook his hand and glanced up at the gate, petting Peleus' snout. "So, you waiting for someone or is the gate fascinating you? Not that there's anything wrong with that. Gates can be pretty fascinating. Especially those leading to a super secret undercover demigod training camp."

"A pleasure meeting you Morgan." he said. 'Well, not that secret. I know of this place. Seems I will have to stay a while, but I'm sure it will be pleasant." he said with a grin.

"Fun fact: Hecate and Melinoe are supposed to look-alike, with the difference my mother is half pitch-black and half snowy white."


Fun facts would maybe break the ice, he thought as he motioned towards the entrance. Hopefully she'd follow.

"How long've you been here?"

"I never met Melinoe," I said with a grin, "though a pal of mine is her son -- your half-brother. When I saw my mother, she had dark hair and a green shimmer around her, with blurred images of two other women talking and moving in unison. It was rather freaky. She also has a polecat for some reason." I walked with him through the gate, brushing aside a low pine branch. "Huh, me? I've arrived about two months ago. Still trying to get used to.. all this." I made a broad gesture at the camp unfurling under our feet. The white Greek-style buildings of pure marble, the cabins, the glimmering lake and ochre dunes, beaming blue sky, pegasi, satyrs running after nymphs, sword clanks and shouts coming from the arena…

Ron whistled appreciatively. Man, the view was awesome! The camp was huge, with ancient Greek architecture, and full of campers. A lot of socializing to be done. He then refocused on what Morgan had said.

"Oh well, haven't met Melinoe either. Just read some stuff before coming here. "

Half-brother? he thought. That was... new.

"Well, the camp seems amazing."

"Say, what music do you like?". His standard discussion opener... maybe that's why he weren't successful with women before.

"You'll meet her on the summer solstice, if you want. We have these Olympus trip things going on," I said, starting to casually walk down the hill. The air was hot and smelled of trees and grass and honeysuckle, a fragrance I had learned to love and to associate with happiness, adventure and security. "Music?" I had to say, he kinda surprised me with that one. "Um… I'm a big fan of Muse, I have all their albums. I love Daft Punk too and then I'm mainly into different styles, like electro, classical, movie soundtracks and trailer music. Hans Zimmer, James Horner, Two Steps from Hell, Audiomachine, that kinda stuff." I grinned then turned my head to look at him. "What about you, what gets your blood pumping?"

As hee heard her taste in music, George was relieved. Most of the chicks in his school were listening to plain awful music. She asked back. His dark eyes got lit. He gave her an evil grin.

"Glad you asked, half-cuz." he said. He got his backpack off his back and got his mp3 out. Pantera, Slipknot, Slayer... eargasm. He playfully threw it to her.

"See for yourself." he said, and he observed the camp even more. Most of the people were armed, and the age groups were rather diversed, the oldest late-teens.

I scrolled through his mp3 player, looking at the tracks. I had to admit, I didn't even know half of those, only one that rang a bell was Slipknot.

"Wow, I don't know many of these," I told him as we followed the river. "Which one's your favorite?"

He was a bit let down, but meh. Not everyone is perfect. He got the mp3 back for a while, searching for https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVMvART9kb8&feature=youtube_gdata_player and then handed the device back to Morgan with a smile. "Hope you like it." he said, still not crossing the line of just being friendly -which he didn't intend to cross anyway.

The track lasted a couple of minutes, the time for us to reach the cabins' courtyard.

"That's a nice rhythm right there," I commented, giving him his mp3 back once the song was done. Now we were in the courtyard, I explained the concept of the cabins: each god had a cabin for their demigod children, and I led him to the Minor Underworld gods one. "Just tell the cabin leader who you are, he'll take from there. Also try not to die in your first week," I winked.