Annabeths Curiosity

//I'm gonna occasionally do some chapters from the POV of characters who'll be either main characters within the novel or hold potential weight within the story. I'll try to make the transitions as smooth as I possibly can and do the characters' justice. Please keep in mind for this chapter that I'm writing from the head of an 11 year old girl so...bare with me.

It might be kinda short because of that. I'll get better. One more coming out today.

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There wasn't a person within the borders of the camp that hadn't heard the explosions, forceful waves of sound powerful enough to wake up a couple of city blocks with ease. It was big enough to immediately raise some alarms, causing those within the camps confines to take up their weapons and rush to confront the danger. Though Thalia's Pine Tree prevented monsters from crossing its borders, the echoes of such a large scale battle were enough to draw those bored inhabitants into action. Convening at the center of Camp, they rushed towards the commotion as fast as possible the moment they were prepared for battle.

Annabeth Chase had wanted to be one of those warriors. Unfortunately, she was stuck with the menial task of helping a fellow camper yank an arrow out of their foot.

Before the eruptions, the young blonde had been teaching a new arrival how to properly shoot a bow, the girl in question never having shot one in her entire life. It was only their third day within the camp, and the girl in question had wanted to properly make herself useful, so Annabeth had suggested archery. To her, it seemed like a good first step.

Things weren't going too badly at first. Until the first explosion went off, and the startled newcomer impaled herself in the foot. The blasts that quickly followed after the first didn't help the situation either as Milenia, the name of the girl in question, quickly panicked and cried, spiraling into a fit of pain and fear. So, rather than running off to battle a potential monster as she had wanted to, Annabeth was tasked with escorting the bleeding girl to the infirmary to get patched up. That was how she had wound up in the front of the Big House playing Pinochle with the Camp Director, activities director, and some white-haired kid she had never seen before in her life. Things had sort of happened in a direction she hadn't been expecting.

As for the white-haired individual, the one whom she was partnered with, he was an interesting looking one. Hair so white that it almost glowed, icy blue eyes that never seemed to sit still, taking in every detail around him, a set of teeth just as white as his hair. Even sitting down, Chion was slightly taller than she was, maybe by a few inches. His hoodie was soaking wet and sported thick blankets of mud in various spots such as the shoulders and arms, his face only slightly better with flecks of dirt near his ear. Despite his disheveled appearance, he possessed a sort of cool and calm nature about him, as if he had everything under control.

Annabeth had definitely seen a lot, but it wasn't too often that a new demigod showed up calm and collected, unless they were already aware of what they were and who they were.

Even then, such a transition would take some getting used to.

When the two of them eventually won the game, admittedly thanks to Chion's exceptionally risky strategy (her hand had been completely useless), she had tried to poke the proverbial bear. Taking a jab to see how he would react, to see whether or not the calmness was a facade. He hadn't even been bothered, only looking with a calm, calculative gaze and replying with a simple phrase.

For some reason, it irritated her.

"That's not the point. Is your brain frozen? Or maybe you left it in the explosion." Annabeth doubled down, trying to get some sort of reaction. She wasn't even sure why she cared.

"That reminds me. Chion, tell me about your journey here," Chiron interrupted the two before Annabeth could really get going, shifting the topic entirely. "How did you get here? What were those explosions?"

Mister D didn't say anything as he sipped away at his can of Diet Coke, merely listening in. Annabeth actually chose to do the same thing, letting out a breath as the white-haired individual showed some hints of hesitation.

Then, he began from the beginning. From when he had apparently woken up in the middle of Prospect Park with no memories and giant bronze bull the size of an elephant. With nothing but the clothes on his back and a few supplies gifted by a strange jogger, he had evaded the bull and a flock of man eating pidgeons, slept at a hotel, and then made his way to Camp Half-Blood after squirming through a trio of hungry hellhounds. The story was very simplified and had a number of holes or missing information, but it was still miraculous nonetheless. The thought of someone with no memory staying sane enough to make logical decisions and doing more than keep themselves alive was ludicrous.

Annabeth doubted she could do the same thing. Knowledge of being a demigod gone, no idea what she was facing, forced into on the spot thinking.

It was a miracle Chion was still alive.

"How'd you manage to find this place?" Chiron asked after the youth had finished. "Did someone send you this way?"

"I just.....found it," Chion replied, the most obvious lie coming out of his mouth. "On a New York map."

"How'd you manage to beat the Colchis Bull?" Annabeth leaned forward on the table.

Chion didn't say anything at first, just making a brief expression of exasperation, as if he had been trying to avoid the topic altogether. The white-haired youth dove into the story of how he had stolen a bike from a mortal and rode to Canarsie Pier, followed closely by a flock of Stymphalian Birds which were flying just out of range. He then explained the plan he had concocted along the way and how he put it into action. It was carefully detailed and covered almost all manners of bases, an almost perfect strategy given the time constraints and how quickly it was put together. Annabeth almost wanted to call it a lie.

He didn't even stop there. Chion then went on to explain his encounter with the Hellhounds.

"Greek Fire covered arrows. That's clever." Chiron touched his beard. "You did very well. It's lucky that Luke and the others managed to find you."

"It was hard not to," Annabeth muttered. "Louder than fireworks."

"Leon is quite spectacular, yada yada." Mister D spoke up for the first time in a while. "I believe it's time for lunch. Annie Bell. Show Pogo to his cabin after a look in the infirmary."

Annabeth made a face, but she followed her instructions as she rose from her seat, leading the way towards the inside of the Big House. Just like before, Chion was quiet and calm, merely watching and taking everything in. At that point, it was almost unsettling.

It was highly likely that this youth was the one she had been waiting for....or he was just antisocial.

It was really a toss-up at this point.

Making their way into the room, Annabeth spotted the other newcomer, Milenia, laying down in one of the beds, foot wrapped up in pads and gauze. Seeing as how she had stopped crying, it was probably no longer as painful as it had once been. Leaving Chion in the capable hands of an Apollo cabin member, the blonde moved to the black haired girls' bedside.

"Annabeth." Milenia quickly sat up a bit straighter. "I'm so sorry."

Annabeth waved off the apology. "How's your foot?"

"It's better. They said it should be healed up fine in a few days." The girl wiggled her bandaged leg slightly. "I'll be fine. I still have another good one."

"Alright. It's almost time for lunch. Head to the pavilion with your cabin when ready."

"Okay."

After a bit more conversation with the young girl, Annabeth walked back towards Chion.

The white-haired youth was in the middle of rummaging through his backpack, pulling out things like oreo cookies, energy drinks, twinkies, and a bunch of other sweets. Without any word, Chion grabbed one of the treats and tossed it towards Annabeth, of whom caught it rather easily, snagging it out of the air.

It was a Snickers Bar.

"Why do you have this?" Annabeth questioned, glancing over it as if he had somehow poisoned it.

"You need a reason to eat candy?" Chion popped open the bag of double stuffed vanilla Oreos and began munching away, putting everything else back into the bag. "Try it. It's good."

She didn't doubt that the bar tasted amazing, but she was skeptical about the youth himself, not the candy. Annabeth knew absolutely nothing about him and had only just met him somewhere within the last two hours. After examining it, though, it truly was just a plain old Snickers. Unwrapping it, the blonde took a bite of it.

"So. Your name is Annabeth?" Chion finished off his food before opening his mouth.