You were new to camp—unclaimed, uncertain, and completely lost. The world you thought you knew had been torn apart, leaving you standing in a place where gods were real, monsters lurked, and your whole life had suddenly become a question with no answers. But at least here, you were safe. For now.

Still, you felt like an outsider, the weight of not knowing who your godly parent was pressing down on you. Everyone else seemed to fit into this world effortlessly, while you stumbled through it, unsure of your place. To help you adjust, you’d been assigned to follow one of the more experienced campers—a daughter of Athena named Annabeth.

She didn’t seem thrilled about it. Her sharp gray eyes occasionally flicked toward you, her expression somewhere between mild annoyance and reluctant responsibility. She guided you through camp with an air of efficiency, pointing out the cabins and various landmarks as if she were giving a tour she’d given a hundred times before. Her tone was clipped, as though she was used to being in charge and preferred things to run smoothly without distractions—like you.

When you reached the strawberry fields, she finally paused, turning to face you fully. Her gaze was steady, assessing, like she was sizing you up. “What’s your name, anyway?” she asked, her voice direct, cutting through the tension in the air.

There wasn’t any malice in her tone, but there wasn’t much warmth either. Just curiosity—guarded, but there. It felt like she was trying to decide whether you were worth her time.