Half-Blood Hill

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"This," Lyca Raffles loudly proclaimed to the columns flanking the Camp's entrance, "friggin' blows." The columns, unsurprisingly, did not reply.

She'd arrived back at Camp Half-Blood earlier that day, and so far as she knew not a soul had noticed. That burned her pride something fierce, almost as much as that damnable prohibition against leaving. As near as she could tell, it wasn't magically enforced--she'd slipped her Ring on earlier and played hopscotch across the border, just to prove that she could--but that didn't make it any less binding. She could always leave, take her Ring, and vanish. Oh, Hades would be pissed, but he'd never be able to find her, as long as she had her Ring. She'd get away clean.

Lyca sighed. She'd said that last time too. Look where it had gotten her. Besides, if she left now, she'd be penniless; Hades undoubtedly had his toadies watching her accounts, and they'd trace any withdrawal in a heartbeat. A cold two hundred million, she reflected mournfully. It wasn't as though she had anything to spend it on, but even so, simply having it was a comfort. She'd rather not throw it away if she could avoid it. Closing her eyes, she rested her head against the column. "Shit, she muttered. "Shit, shit, shit."

"Ah," said a deep, unamused voice from somewhere behind her. "Wallowing in self-pity, I see." Lyca spun to face the speaker, and fell on her ass in her haste. She did her best to make it look intentional, sitting with her back to the column.

The newcomer stood between Lyca and the sun, casting her into shadow. He was tall and dark haired, and his face resembled nothing so much as a remix of the most infamous personalities of the 20th century. She recognized him instantly: Hades, eldest of the so-called Big Three, ruler of all that lay beneath the earth, lord of the dead, one of the most powerful and dreaded beings in the universe, and the reason she was trapped in this stupid kiddie sleepaway camp. In short, he was not a figure to be taken lightly.

"Go screw yourself," Lyca snarled, "You limp-dicked corpsefu-" Hades held up one hand, and black flames blossomed in his palm. Lyca quickly amended her rhetoric. "Corpse... fun. Corpsefun. You great, wonderful, corpsefun guy."

Hades extinguished the flames and lowered his hand. "I have a task for you."

"And I'm sure your penis is very firm, not limp at all--I mean, not all the time, that'd be something to see a doctor about, but-" Hades said nothing, only stared. Lyca shut up.

"Are you," Hades enunciated clearly, "quite done?"

"Yes," Lyca said.

"Very good." Hades studied his nails. "As I said, I have a task for you. The first of the favors you owe me." He looked up. "You will, of course, have to leave the Camp to complete it."

Lyca tried to contain her excitement. "What's the job?"

"As much as it may chagrin you to know it," Hades said, "you are not the only thief to have had the better of me recently. Someone has taken my Horn. I want you to steal it back."

"Your Horn," Lyca said musingly. "I imagine that Queen Persephone's quite upset about the... loss."

"You do know that I'm just as capable of incinerating you now as I was three seconds ago, right?"

"Oh, yeah, I forgot. I'm sorry. I'm sure your wife is very happy and well satis-"

"Enough," Hades said. "Find the Horn. It is a bone drinking horn, intensely magical and covered in carvings. Bring it to me in the Underworld personally. Use whatever resources you deem necessary, but do not tell the Camp staff or any other gods about your mission. I would not want the other gods to learn of my weakness. Should I be disappointed in this, you would not enjoy the consequences. Specifically...  You do remember the box, don't you?" Lyca paled and shrank back against the column. "I see that you do. So, are we very clear?"

Lyca licked her lips nervously. "Yes, Lord Hades."

"Good." Hades turned to go. "Do not fail me in this, Autolyca Jonquil Raffles. I will be watching." With that, she seemed to shrink into a pinpoint of darkness and disappear. Lyca continued to sit against the column staring at nothing in particular.

"Well, shit," she said. After a few minutes of abject self-pity, she rose and twisted her ring sharply on her finger, disappearing from view as her winged sneakers lifted her into the air. It was time to get to work. Silent as the wind, she flew to the Big House.

~Lilia~

The hill is frightfully steep, but I keep running. For some reason, I know that that tree means safety. Halfway up, a horrible, grumbling roar rings out behind us. Then there's the crunch of metal and glass collapsing. I glance back for confirmation of what I already know.

That thing stepped on the car. Flattened it. Before Lizard Dragon Thing can get five steps away, what's left of the car explodes.

I make a squeaking noise. The creature's head looks up at us and I immediately cast my eyes elsewhere.

And then it started with the poison spitting. Because we just weren't having enough fun as it was.

The grass beside my feet melts as soon as the stuff hits, smoking a bit. I only saw it for a moment, but I immediately knew that one good splatter of that would mean game over for me. I force myself to go just a little faster, please, we have to make it, poison splatters to our left, we're getting so close--

I can only describe it as sensing that made me know that the next stream of poison was coming right for the back of my head. I ducked down, shoving the both of us out of the way before sprinting desperately for the tree.

My hand  reached out to brush the nearest branch as I barrelled past, my mind barely registering the nearby archway that read Camp Half Blood.

Bri~
I look around nervously at the archway. Grandma and grandpa had already driven off leaving me here alone, I don't think they realized that I had to walk another mile but oh well. "Hello?" I call as I walk through the big archway.

{ Alicia }
"Hiya," I say from my spot under a tree, spotting the girl, "welcome to Camp Half-blood," I greeted as I got up to near her.

Bri~
"Uhhh hi" I say with a nervous smile. "This- this is camp?"

{ Alicia }
"Yea, the one and only," I confirm, awkwardly tapping my index fingers together, "I take it this is your first time here."

Bri-
"Yeah it is" I say, "I was just dropped off..."

{ Alicia }
"Oh, I see. I should probably start directing you to places. . . I think, this is a first I've had to greet a new person but we should probably get your stuff dropped off at the Hermes cabin. . . Unless you've been claimed already?" I say all at once, blinking down at her.

Bri-
"Claimed?" I say looking at her confused. "I don't think so at least......"

{ Alicia }
"Yea, no, you're defiantly not claimed. Trust me you will know if you were. . ." I grab my arm, in the back of my head remembering when my father claimed me, "Before we go I should probably introduce myself. I'm Alicia Thompson, daughter of Poseidon," I add with a smile.

Bri-
"Oh, okay.... Well I'm Brieane (or however I spelt it before) daughter of ummmm my moms name was Danielle.... I guess" I add awkwardly

{ Alicia }
'Mom. Hmm? Does that mean she has a God as a parent?'

"It's good to meet you, I guess you probably want to get settled down, don't you? We should probably start heading towards the Hermes cabin."

'Even though you probably want to keep all your stuff in a safe knowing the Hermes cabin. . .'

Bri~
"Okay sure..." I say following her

~And we go to the Hermes Cabin~

-Leila-

Leila stood at the crest of Half-Blood Hill, at the border, staring down. In the valley below, other children were playing, eating, training, living.

This is the moment it all went irretrievably wrong.

Claudia had told her about the camp, of course, but the thought that she belonged here, with the children of the entirely-too-literal Greek gods, made Leila feel out of place. She was nobody. She couldn't belong here. She glanced back over her shoulder. The limo that had brought her remained parked on the side of the road, like a cat basking itself in the sun. The driver had said this was as far as he could take her. She'd have to make the crossing alone. The car was still there. The driver was waiting. Her uncle would be frantic; she'd vanished over a month ago now, and hadn't gotten around to calling him yet. It wasn't too late to leave.

But if she left, she'd still know. She'd still wonder. And if it didn't work out, she'd still be able to leave, of course...

And that was that. There was no fit of passion. There was no rage, no hatred. The only greed was simple and small, that burning desire to know. It was simply a matter of balance. In ancient times, the Greeks bowed down to Olethros, god of havoc, who brought the destruction that allowed new birth to follow. They understood the way of things, and would not have been surprised that curiosity, from which so many things rise, must also bring about a fall.

Leila stepped across the border. Off in the west, over Manhattan, a storm was brewing. It was going to be a monster.

~Elle~

Camp.

I was here.

And while I wasn't quite thrilled, I figured it might be fun.

Like high school!

I shake my head and begin making my way up the hill.