Welcome to Camp Half-Blood?

Albert had good dreams, full of his moments with his grandparents as they walked the sidewalks of Ipanema Beach enjoying the summer sun with coconut water, in a time before he had to fight half-human monsters. The dream unfortunately ended in a dramatic twist where he saw his uncle being smashed into a tree, which woke him up with a gasp.

He gathered he must have been out for a long time. He tried to remember the details of what had happened before he passed out, the more he thought about it the more he was angry with himself. He made too many mistakes in the heat of the moment, it didn't have to be so messy and because of him, his uncle got hurt! He also fucked up his own plans of living inconspicuously as possible during his time here and maybe help where he could to prevent bad things, but no!

As he looked around, he understood that this place was some sort of hospital wing for campers.

"Looks like you are finally awake," A voice said not far from him. "The other one just woke up, he left first."

Albert turned to look in the direction of the voice only to be greeted by the image of a young girl, she looked at him in curiosity as if he was a particularly exotic bird at a zoo, a time of attention he had been fairly used to, but now made him uncomfortable. She had blond hair and grey eyes, and a slightly arrogant posture, not enough to be taken as rude at first glance.

"Where is my uncle?" He asked in worry. "What happened to him? Is he alright? He... he is not dead, right?"

"Uncle?" The girl asked in surprise and confusion, a frown appearing on her face until it changed into a look of clarity. "You mean the satyr that brought you here? I heard he broke some bones, but he should be fine in a few weeks."

Hearing this made Albert visibly relax as if a boulder had been lifted from his shoulders. His uncle would be fine, he didn't die trying to save him from the Minotaur. He then felt the girl's curiosity on him again, as if he had just created a second head.

"What is it? Is there something on my face?" He asked feeling oddly self-conscious. "Did nobody tell you is rude to stare at a stranger like that?"

The girl for once had the decency to look admonished, but she quickly brushed off his words and asked in a serious tone, "Do you know what will happen at the solstice? The other boy kept mumbling in his sleep. I tried to ask him, but he didn't look like he knew."

The solstice? Albert thought, trying to look as clueless as possible, of course, he knew what was going to happen, of course, he felt the burden of his knowledge weighing on him again. "I have no idea what you are talking about, even if I did I wouldn't tell you. I don't know you, rude girl. You didn't even have the courtesy of introducing yourself before interrogating me."

"That is not-" The girl looked red as a tomato and ready to snap back, but for some reason, she decided against it. "I am Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena. You're right, I'm sorry. I just thought you would know since your friend clearly doesn't."

"My friend?" Albert asked in confusion until he understood what she meant and his eyes turned cold. He couldn't believe his misfortune, why did another important figure just pop up out of nowhere? Why was she implying he was friends with Percy Jackson? "The other boy is not my friend. I am Albert by the way, Albert Gomes."

"But they say you two fought the Minotaur together, he asked about you when he woke up, and he said you saved his life!" Annabeth stated with emphasis, looking at him as if he had lied to her face, "Do you really not know what was stolen? He said we only have a few weeks!"

Albert, of course, knew she was talking about Zeus' master bold. The lighting bolt, the weapon of the Lord of Olympus. However, he wasn't going to say it. He really cursed in Portuguese on his mind, before looking at the girl in annoyance, his tone wasn't much better. "Look here, girl. No, Ms. Chase, right? I didn't know I was a demigod until three days ago I think. I had to move away from my family and my home to make sure that stupid Greek monsters didn't hurt them trying to get to me. Then I thought I would be safe here, and the rest... you are smart enough to figure it out. I am really not in the mood for this talk."

Annabeth made a choking sound, she looked guilty and embarrassed, probably only realizing now that Albert wasn't in a good position and didn't owe her anything. "I am sorry. I didn't mean anything bad."

The boy was quiet for some time before he got up from his bed and stared at the girl, Annabeth was still a child. He was still a child. It wasn't her fault, he shouldn't take his anger out on her. "It's okay, how about you should me to the people who will explain things to me? We'll be even then."

Annabeth was ready to retort again, but instead, she sighed and nodded. "Come with me, I will take you to Chiron, he is the adult in the room around here."

"You don't mean Chiron as in the centaur, right?" Albert feigned ignorance, but then again, partially he was still unsure about how to feel about half-horse men existing in the real world. He was intrigued and weirded out. "The one who trained Achilles in the myth?"

Annabeth looked at him as if she was a bit impressed, "It looks like you did your homework. The other one is clueless."

"Well, I strive to be the top, so it would so you good not to underestimate me so quickly," He sighed, it looked like this girl had to learn some basic common sense, "Didn't you say you are a daughter of Athena? Underestimating a stranger is not very wise-y to do."

Annabeth glared at him, it looked like he struck a nerve. She rolled her eyes and mumbled something in Ancient Greek he didn't quite understand, before she said, "You are really annoying, Albert Gomes. I don't like annoying people."

Albert was about to ask her if she had a mirror somewhere, but stopped himself. He reminded himself that getting into her bad side wasn't his goal for now. Plus he remembered his grandma scolding him for bickering with other kids and hurting their feelings, she wouldn't be happy to see him hurt this one.

...

It was only when the two of them were halfway to the big house where Chiron lives according to Annabeth that he regretted his decision to ever leave his bed. Not far from there, he saw two boys, a satyr and a demigod. Percy Jackson and Grover Underwood. He was even more regretful when an unknown girl with eyes like Annabeth's came to them and dragged the girl out to solve some problem at Cabin 6, where the children of Athena resided.

Before he could walk steps to Chiron's home, he heard a loud voice telling him to wait. Albert thought about how naive he must have been to believe he could escape this meeting. As he turned around, he saw the two boys sprinting towards him and he just stood there, waiting for his doom, like watching a car accident where he couldn't look away.

"It's really you, you saved my uncle's life and Percy's too!" The satyr, Grover exclaimed, his eyes were misty as if he was about to cry. "I didn't see your fight because I ran to get help. I was too late. I want to thank you for saving them!" As if he had just remembered that Percy was beside him, he added, "I am Grover. Grover Underwood. This is my friend, Percy Jackson."

Albert was fairly dumbstruck by Grover's words, but made the effort to nod in acknowledgment, even if he didn't feel like what he did was worthy of this amount of praise. He cleaned his throat awkwardly and regarded the two with a skeptical look, "I am Albert Gomes, just call me Albert." He then turned around without sparring them another glance and hoping they got the message.

"Wait!" The other boy, Percy, called out.

Albert stopped and turned around again, clearly caught off guard, "What?"

"Thank you for saving my life back then..." Percy said, stumbling on his words, "If it weren't for you I might not have survived."

Albert didn't know what to do, he didn't plan to get into Percy Jackson's field of vision, let alone earning this sort of attention, he thought he saw the boy's ears turn pink and his big green eyes, reminded him of a lost puppy. Albert felt a different kind of anxiety, he never felt before, a weird sense of crisis too.

"I didn't save you," Albert hurriedly stated, before he took a moment and elaborated, "I didn't do it for you, actually, I did for myself. The monster hurt my uncle- I mean, the satyr- I didn't do it for you. So you don't have to thank me. Now, I-I-I gotta go meet with Mr. Chiron."

Percy looked at him with a weird look, something was definitely going on in that crafty head and Albert wasn't sure he wanted to know what. He also avoided making eye contact with him, it was weird to look at someone he knew so much about when he wasn't supposed to.

"Great, we were going there too!" Grover suddenly stated in an awkwardly diplomatic tone. "I was gonna take Percy there to meet Mr. D and Chiron, let's all go together!"

Albert nodded again and took the lead toward the big house, mentally ignoring the burning gaze of a certain demigod on his back and not making any effort to strike up a conversation either. At this point, he wasn't thinking very much, he was about to meet with an Olympian God, he focused on the prospects of that and ignored the Percy situation for the time being.

The three of them walked for a short distance, Grover mostly asking questions about his relationship with Joseph, while Albert shortly replied. Down at the porch, two figures sat across from each other at a big card table. The familiar blond girl, Annabeth, and a small man with a big red nose and watery eyes, hair so black it neared purple. All around them, there were paintings of angelic babies, the man was wearing a hideous tiger-pattern Hawaiian shirt, this must be Dionysus, Albert gathered warily. He really didn't like the idea of facing such a powerful being, even if it was just a conversation and he was dressed like that, he knew about the gods being polymorphs and that their so-called true form was deadly to look at, looks truly are deceiving

"Guys, that one is Mr. D," Grover murmured to them in almost a whisper, "He is the director at the camp. Be polite. The girl next to him is Annabeth Chase, she is just a camper, but she's been here longer than just about anybody. And, Percy, already knows, but this one id Chiron."

Albert took a moment to notice Chiron, he flinched when Percy suddenly exclaimed "Mr. Brunner!" and he could swear the centaur, was a sight to see. With a big horse lower half and a strong human upper half, he looked oddly reliable. Their eyes met, he was looking at him with an unreadable expression.

"Ah, good, Percy," Chiron said glancing at the boy next to him before he glanced back at him, "And you, you must be Albert. Joseph speaks a lot about you."

"Only good things, I hope." The boy said back, putting all his lessons on proper and polite etiquette that were drilled into him since he could remember to good use. Fortunately, Chiron only gestures for them to join the other people at the table. However, unlike Percy who simply took the seat, Albert was staring at the small man with a contemplating gaze, before he chose to bow in respect.

"What are you doing?" Percy asked in confusion.

"I politely greet you, Lord Dionysus, God of Wine," Albert said, ignoring Percy, and the oppressing silence that followed.

 Suddenly, the small man chuckled in amusement and a bit of surprise, "A demigod with manners in this day and age? Now, have seen everything... you may sit." As Albert took his seat in silence, the god added, but this time to both him and Percy, "I suppose I must say it. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. Don't expect me to be glad to see you, well, not you boy, I don't hate you as much as I do the others."

"Wait, is he the god Dionysus?! No, how did you know?" Percy asked.

Albert figured out it was a question directed to him, and seeing how everyone around him seemed to be equally as curious, he thought for a moment and said, "He smells like grapes. They call him Mr. D. He holds a position of power here. Grover seemed to particularly respect him. It was simple to figure out." 

Percy gaped at him then he blushed for some reason and looked away. Grover looked at him in curiosity and a bit of pride too for a reason unknown to him. Annabeth as always regarded him with a healthy amount of wariness. Chiron was as unreadable as ever, but he was impressed too.

Mr. D. let out a whistle and chuckled, "Oh, you are a clever one. Are you claimed? Maybe you are one of mine? No, you aren't. A pity. Maybe Athena? Huh, no. You don't look the part. Your eyes and everything. In any case, names are powerful things, be careful speaking them, Alberto."

"My eyes?" Albert suddenly asked in confusion, ignoring how the god mistaken his name on purpose. "Is something wrong with them? Can I have a mirror?"

"Annabeth, dear, can you help your fellow camper?" Chiron stated and made a gesture, Annabeth quickly went to another room and brought a hand mirror. She gave it to him, looking terribly curious.

 The boy quickly grabbed the hand mirror as he saw his reflection staring back at him, he looked at it with a dumb expression. Mr. D was right. He really didn't have the Athena's children look. His eyes were never gray like those of Annabeth, no. This wasn't the problem, he had looked at his reflection before, and his eyes were light-brown just like those of his father and grandmother. However, they weren't like that anymore. They were different.

"My eyes turned Pink?" He asked out loud before he shifted his attention between his reflection and Chiron as if the centaur had the answer.

"Pale pink... actually." Percy pointed out, but Albert made no effort to pare him a glare.

"Well, no need to be dramatic," Mr. D waved his hand in dismissal, "sometimes demigods are born with special traits, Annabeth perchance has the grey eyes of her siblings. You... I never heard of pink eyes before though, but I am sure that when, no, if you get claimed it will make sense."

Albert made no further comments, as he absentmindedly ignored the eyes that every now and then got locked on him. He was too busy putting the pieces of the puzzle together, the more he thought about it in hindsight, the identity of his godly parent became more obvious. He didn't dare to say her name out loud or claim her as his mother before she decided to do it herself whenever that is. Truth be told. He thought about the system but decided not to use it for now, it was way too risky in the presence of a god.

Albert was certain though, that he had used Charmspeak before on the Minotaur. He knew that Chiron and Dionysus were also as sure as him about his heritage. The pink eyes weren't exactly subtle at all. His mother was Aphrodite, the goddess of love. From the little he knew about the workings of the Camp from his memories, her kids were regarded as pretty faces but not very powerful or important. If she claimed him, he would have to change that, he wouldn't be serving as a laughingstock to anyone.

This also meant several other things he chose not to think about for his own sanity.

Chiron asked some questions to both Percy and Albert, but there was a special moment that cast a silence and tension over them when he asked Percy, "Did your mother tell you nothing?"

"She said..." The boy answered with a sad tone that made Albert feel sorry for him, "She told me she was afraid to send me here, even though my father had wanted ger to. She said that once I was here, I probably couldn't leave. She wanted to keep me close to her."

"Typical," Mr. D said with a scoff, "That's how they usually get killed."

"My father didn't say anything to me either..." Albert suddenly blurted out to diverge the tension, after all, what the god had said was less than kind to a boy who believes his mother died because of him. "I found out just a few days ago about all of this, but... he also didn't want me to come here sooner."

"Where are you from again?" Annabeth asked.

"Rio de Janeiro, Brazil," Albert replied in a heartbeat, "far from here."

"Far from here indeed... how fascinating," Mr. D mused as he exchanged looks with Chiron, "A dangerous gamble she made, but if one of us would be bold enough to do that was her." 

The kids were smart enough not to pry for more information from the god. Chiron then proceeded to quickly explain how the Greek Gods had changed their headquarters to America because this country was allegedly the heart of the Western civilization, which was a questionable statement. Percy was fairly shocked to hear all this information, asking several questions and not hiding his disbelief and wonder.

Albert wondered if it would be too stupid to flat-out ask these people if the Greek Gods were the only deities around who were real. It seemed like a reasonable question, but he decided to keep quiet. He knew they weren't, but only because he knew too much. Percy, Grover and probably all the other campers had no idea about the lands beyond the gods or the sea of monsters and the knowledge that these powerful beings were not as powerful as they claimed to be. They didn't even phantom the idea existence of the Roman Camp full of other demigods, children of other gods with Greek counterparts, and others completely Roman.

The boy understood that Chiron was forbidden to share that information anyway, but the gods weren't. They chose to keep the demigods in the dark about this, so why would they share other critical information? Some of them didn't even claim their own children, who were wasting away, twice abandoned in the cabin of Hermes. What was he expecting anyway?

The more he thought the more tragic he regarded the lives of demigods here, he wasn't even gonna ask about ADHD and dyslexia, he had to come up with special methods to bypass these problems as a child to stay at the top of his classes out of pure spite.

The chit-chat didn't take too long after that, the centaur informed them about an Orientation Film that would cover the basics. After Percy almost got Mr. D angry, but turns out he was currently serving a punishment for some transgression in the eyes of his father before he left he told Gover to come with him and the satyr miserably followed. Chiron had asked Annabeth to take Albert and Percy to Cabin 11 for the time being. Cabin 11 was where the children of Hermes were settled, but since their goldy father was the God of Travelers and Wanderers and Thieves, he also accepted the strays. Well, the unclaimed kids and teenagers of the other gods.

Albert decided to go behind them this time, observing as Percy looked over Annabeth and more or less deduced what the boy was thinking. To be fair, Albert could admit that Annabeth was pretty, but there was a charm about her, almost boyish, but not that really, she felt reliable and independent compared to others of her age. Plus she was acting as guide.

"You droll when you sleep." The girl commented looking at Percy and the Minotaur's horn he was carrying on a shoe box.

Albert felt like this was an important moment for these two, so he focused on his surroundings instead. Camp Half-Blood was a great place, if a bit weird. There were buildings in classical Greek architecture as well as contemporary ones, there was the sweet scent of strawberries in the air, campers of a myriad of ages bustling through the place in bright orange t-shirts that Albert did not like one bit as well as with a hippie necklace on their necks, he could swear he saw a dryad in the woods, as well as satyrs like Grover and Joseph too. The place was magical for sure, he couldn't help but feel impressed and excited, a childish thing to feel in the face of so many dangers he knew, but he allowed himself to enjoy it in peace while he could.