"A newcomer Chiron? He's undetermined, isn't he? We'll need more sleeping bags", Luke said cheerfully.

"Luke! Perfect! Athos here has just arrived - show him around a bit. Have him settle down at the Hermes cabin.", Chiron answered.

"Sure thing. We're the best cabin honestly, accepting the undetermined and whatnot. Couldn't the other Gods let some in their cabins too? So many cabins empty.....", Luke sighed.

"I would mind your words if I were you, Luke. You know how the Gods are. To question them is to court....trouble", Chiron warned, his kind eyes narrowing, but Luke just snorted.

"Whatever, come on newbie, Athos was it? I'll show you your new home", Luke gestured his dissent with a lazy wave and turned around, waiting for Athos to follow him.

"Well then", Chiron said. "Good luck, Athos. I'll see you at dinner"

He galloped away toward what looked like the archery range.

Athos walked up to Luke who was a good few inches taller than him. He looked different from what the books described - He was only 16 currently. There was no bone-white scar that ran down from beneath his right eye to his jaw. A scar he would get when he fought Ladon, a year from now. The quest shifted his goals from proving himself to the Gods to tearing them down.

"It's overwhelming, isn't it? Monsters, Gods, satyrs and more. Sure you don't need a breather?", Luke said.

"No, I'm fine"

"That's good. Knowing the Gods are watching over one's every move doesn't make one feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Now come, the camp's huge, there's a lot to go over."

***

And so began his tour of the camp next to somebody he'd decided to kill. It didn't help that Luke was nice enough to take the time to explain every single detail. From the climbing wall dripping with Lava to the strawberry fields, from the amphitheatre to the fireworks beach, he showed him everything.

"And this is your home until you get claimed, that is if you ever", Luke announced standing in front of an old, worn cabin, the most regular looking one of the twelve. One for each Olympian. The brown paint was peeling off and the camper-to-bed ratio was horrendous. Over the doorway was a caduceus, a winged pole with two snakes wrapped around it. The symbol of Hermes, the God of Messengers and Travellers, Roads and Merchants, Thought and Communication. The only God that accepted the undetermined and unclaimed. He wasn't picky about who he sponsored.

"Regular or undetermined?", one of the kids in the cabin asked.

"Undetermined"

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

A collective groan issued from the campers.

"Now, now, campers. This is what we're here for. Welcome Athos. You can have that spot over there", Luke calmed the campers, pointing to a tiny section of the floor. "It's not enough, but we don't have much to go around."

"Yeah, it seems that way. Thanks a bunch", Athos nodded, looking at the crowded cabin filled with people who looked like they would pick your pockets at the first chance they got. Hermes was the God of thieves too.

"No problem. We've gotta look out for each other. Oh! and dinners at seven-thirty and Capture the Flag at eight. It's your first time so it'll be hard, but you'll catch on soon enough", Luke answered with a smile. A smile that disappeared when he looked at what was behind Athos.

"Oho! A newbie!"

Athos whirled around to find a muscular, brown-haired girl with an angry sneer walking up to him from an ugly red cabin. The Ares cabin.

"Clarrise, why're you here", Luke frowned.

"Stay out of it, big guy. The initiation ceremony is due. The little runt is no exception", she growled, staring at Athos as though she wanted to gut him.

"He's just arrived. You don-

"All the more reason to. Come on, shrimp, I'll show you how the Ares cabin welcomes newbies", Clarisse interrupted grabbing at Athos.

He easily moved out of the way, seeing the move coming from a mile away. Not telegraphing moves was one of the most important things when learning martial arts. Something Clarisse clearly didn't seem to understand.

The 'initiation' ceremony was just as it sounded. Percy was subjected to it too, but Clarisse had quickly learned that trying to shove a Son of Poseidon down the toilet wasn't the best idea.

"A feisty one are you? Haha, It'll just make it all the more fun", Clarisse spat, cracking her knuckles in the most I-am-an-evil-person way.

"Need help?", Luke chimed in from the side but Athos shook his head. He had to earn his own rep. Causing a stir on his first day wasn't something on his to-do list, but if it were to earn him respect and make him more likely to be chosen for quests, it would be worth it.

"Think you're all that?", Clarisse snorted, reaching for his neck.

Athos blocked, grabbing her wrist instead.

"Huh!", she grunted, surprised.

He stepped back into a hockey stance, pulling her in and crouched, flipping her over his shoulder onto the mud below.

"Gah!", she faceplanted, her hair flattened across her face, muddied and her camouflage jacket slightly torn. She sat up and glared at him, a look of absolute loathing enveloping her face. Being beaten by a newcomer was bad enough, an audience being present was worse, and the audience being the Hermes Cabin was the worst. The pranksters would never let it go.

"You're dead new boy. You'll regret that", she snarled, leaping to her feet and launching an angered punch at Athos. He sidestepped and grabbed her wrist once more this time kicking her stomach with enough force to make her curl up in pain.

"Had enough yet?", he taunted, while Clarisse, whose jacket was now thoroughly ruined, writhed at his feet and all he got for an answer was a string of curses with a few pained groans. He sighed and looked back up to find the entirety of the Hermes Cabin in shock, their mouths wide open.

"What is it?"

"How'd you do that?", Luke murmured, his eyes lighting up, as though he were a kid who'd gotten a present.

"Do what?"

"Don't play dumb. You've been trained, haven't you?"

"Just came naturally. I don't like bullies.", Athos shrugged, playing dumb. Demigods were inherently wired for battle in the first place. Their ADHD was a result of them seeing too much, not too little. Thus, him being abnormally good at fighting would just raise a few eyebrows. It wasn't all that uncommon. After all, Luke, a Son of Hermes, was the best swordsman in the last three hundred years.

"Naturally, huh?", Luke muttered, rubbing his chin as though he was contemplating something.

"Is that a problem?"

"Oh No! Quite the opposite. This week's 'Capture the flag' may be easier to win than we'd thought."