Dylan, the first son of Boreas', First Day At Camp [OPEN]

I looked at this girl, struggling to remember her name. "Listen, Raphaela. I used to live with my mom and my sister. My mom was never home, so I was Marisa's parent. She looked up to me, and one Christmas, when our mom gave us books that people sent to her publishing company, I bought Marisa a bunny. She was my life, as well as my mom, who was more like a babysitter. When me and my sister left the house for school, or the park I'm not sure which, and we heard from my friend with goat legs that it wasn't spring, it was Winter, and that our mom was dead, I didn't know what to do. You see, my family was my life, but now I have a new family, and I still have my sister. So you see, this camp is what's good for all of our kind."

I stare in shock at Dylan. He had been so persuasive, and I had felt for him. His mom, that he truly loved but didn't respect, was dead. I needed to do something! But then I realized they were just words. They may be true, but Dylan really only cared about his sister. Not his new, demigod, family. Still, I felt I needed to say something. "Couldn't have said it better myself."

I look at the girl, unsure how to answer her questions. "Well, Winter is the best season. It is cold and wind blows almost all the time. Snow often falls. Goat legs are the legs of a goat. A goat is an animal. Satyrs have goat legs." My answer on goat legs is detailed, though I have no idea how I know what satyrs even are. Apparently, according to me, they have goat legs.

"Well, all of that is right except the part about Winter being the best season. It is wrong. Summer is the best, and everyone knows it," I counter, trying to agree, but finding it impossible. It was in my Apollo blood to like Summer.

I look at Hale. I guess we were friends. Yeah, I liked the sound of that. We were friends! "Well, we aren't that different. I mean, a child of Hades is his opposite. Dark, sadness and what not. My opposite would be more like a child of Pan, even though there aren't many of them. But, hey, we're all demigods, right?" I put my arms out and shrug.

Nodding at Dylan, I turn to Raphaela. "You have to have a friend that is your opposite, right? I learned in school, don't ask what it is, that opposites attract. So the best of friends really shouldn't be clones of each other. Don't you like different?" This poor girl obviously didn't get much.

I raise an eyebrow. "Was she your sister? I've got a sister. She's more popular than me, you could say. She's not only youngest, but a child of The Big Three. She has big shoes to fill, Marisa does, but I trust that she can do it."

I look to Dylan, and then to Raphaela. "I used to have a brother. I don't really want to talk about it, but he was also a Big Three child. A Zeus kid. Zeus wasn't too happy with his sons, both my dad Apollo and Tyson, so he sent out some cyclopes. They got my brother before I could do anything. I saved my mom, barely. Hold on to your friend, though. Someday you might not have her." I get a far off look in my eyes, and I wonder if anyone can tell there are tears building up in them.

"Twins," I say wistfully. My cabin had a few twins, but it was mostly the Aphrodite cabin. Those dumb blonds redefined strength in numbers. There were so many of them that I often lost track of which hot girl was which. Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration, since there are only so many eleven year olds, but I meant it when I thought that there were a bunch of twins in that cabin.

I glance over at Hale, half smiling. "Well, if you want my advice, go find your sister. She needs you. And she's a demigod. She needs to be here. If there's one thing that I learned with my life on the road it's that friends aren't always there for you, but family is." I smile at Raphaela. She was such a pretty, sweet girl.

I frown. This wasn't good. Demigods on the road were never good. I mean, some of them turned out okay, but honestly, it wasn't a good idea. "Where did you used to live, Raphaela? That might help us find your sister." I am shaking. No way could that poor girl be safe right now. Neither could Raphaela. The monsters would smell her sister, and also be able to smell Raphaela.

I glance over at Hale. Why did he seemed so worried about this? I mean, maybe it was part of being a Cabin Leader, but I found it abnormal. One girl, Raphaela was just one girl. That was when I couldn't believe what I was saying. Marisa was just one girl. So was my mom, and every girl I'd ever had a crush on, or dated. "I'm . . . I'm sorry to hear that, Raph." Nicknames. They were so much fun.

I gave Raphaela a skeptic look. She was insane. "What are you talking about?" My head hurt from thinking, and then I remember something. "Wait, you talk about your dad as if he raised you. Your dad is Tanathos, if I'm not mistaken. That would mean . . ." My mind is thinking harder than it ever has, and I have to clutch my head to get the pain to go away. I wasn't an Athena kid, I wasn't made for this.

Giving Hale the same skeptical look he gave Raph I speak. "So, you mean to say that your god parent raised you? Is that even possible? Is that allowed?" I suddenly realize why Hale's head hurt so much. Demigod brains weren't designed to think about things like this. The only children I could even see in a classroom not failing were the smart Athena bunch.

I shake my head no. "No, it's just that, most of us have never even seen our god parent, and you lived with him!" The look one my face would make my sad mom smile and laugh. I personally was astounded, so the smile on my face was weird.

I look at Raph, and then at Hale. "Honestly, I don't want to meet my dad. I mean, he was never there for me. He never told me I was a demigod and he left him mom. Plus, he looks strict." I look up at the statue of my father pointing. He had such a crazy glint in his eye, and I got a weird feeling that it wasn't just a mistake in the sculpting.

I look at Dylan, and then back at Raphaela. "Nope, never met my dad. Of course, I have seen him, but we didn't say anything. He just dropped by with my present and left." I'm looking down at the floor, trying to figure out why a god parent would live with their demigod child.

I laugh a short, hyper laugh. "Met my dad? This statue is all I have to even know what he looks like!" I laugh once, again. My eyes scan the beds, all of them hammocks with sheets piled high on them. I have to be honest, they looked like a mound of pillows to me.

I freeze dead in my tracks. It always came down to this. I was supposed to have my mom, right? Wrong. My stupid my had died! She had died right before I came to camp. "No, I have no mom." I keep my jaw tight, for she had hit a sensitive subject.

I also freeze, not liking where this was going. "Well, yes, I have a mom. But I will never see her again. She can't know about this stuff, it isn't safe. Plus, I'm a year-round camper, so I don't go home."

I shrug. "I've got a family. My cabin. They're my brothers and sisters, and I love them. I mean, I care too much for my mom to go back, and when I have siblings here, why complain?"

I glare at Hale. "I have family here, thank you very much. Real family. My sister. She was recently claimed by Hades, as you know. And my mom is dead, so what good would going home do? It would bring back memories, something I don't need." I stop glaring at Hale and look down at my feet, feeling bad.