Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Theo’s gaze was locked on to the wrecked car in front of him, a beacon in the inky night. It radiates a warm, cozy glow like so many campfires he sat in front of before. He thinks he would be near blind in the shadows, if not for the headlights, and the fire consuming the inside of the car. 

He was utterly transfixed. It was an awful mosaic of warped metal and burnt tires, so out of commission he was surprised the high beams even worked. Yet, that wasn't why he was so taken in by the sight.

Theo was only so mesmerized because this had not been what he was looking at one blink ago. 

One blink ago, Theo had been curled up in bed, reading on his phone at far too late an hour.

The fire flared, and his eyes finally started to comprehend his surroundings, adjusting to the dark of the night. He was on a cold and empty road, the tree line behind him, and himself collapsed in the grass. He must have been in the car at some point, but the road rash that was burning down his right side told him he'd been expelled quite forcibly. 

On his right?

I fell out the passenger side. Theo realized belatedly.    

He didn't know how he got here. He didn't know where here was. But he knew he hadn't been the one driving the wrecked car. 

Glancing back at the car, he realized there was another person in the driver's seat, passed out against the wheel. The lights inside the car weren't on, but he didn't think he recognized them as anyone he knew either way. With the dark of the night and the blown up safety bag, he couldn't even tell if they were a man or a woman.

“Christ." Theo threw himself up from the ground, a step off the grass and onto the road to drag whoever the hell that was out before—

FWHOOSH

What could only be described as a fireball flew out from across the road, enveloping the car. Even with the howling October chill, when the gas tank was leaking like it was, that much fuel had no choice to burn. 

The car exploded, and Theo fell back into the grass from the wave of heat. 

Flaming debris lit up the road now, casting orange light through the black blue shadows, and he could see it. 

He could finally see it all.   

Theo saw, on the other side of the road, what he could only describe as a monster.

He was familiar with monsters. He watched horror movies and supernatural shows, went to haunted houses and loved the Halloween season, but he had never seen a prop breathe and walk with such realistic animation. It wasn't CGI. It wasn't a puppet, or a stunt team, or a robot. The driver's burning corpse was laid out along the street, and it crunched when the creature stepped on its rib cage.

The nauseating sound of cracking bones made him stumble blearily backward and gag over the grass. 

Fuck. What the hell is that? Dios mios, I am so fucked. 

The thing that wasn't quite a tiger huffed, and the warm breath curled into clouds around its far-too-intelligent yellow slit eyes.

All Theo had were the unfamiliar clothes on his back, with no weapon or tool in sight. Even if he did, that would probably do jack shit against a thing three times his size. The debris was red-hot and clunky and Theo did not have the upper body to lug that around while fighting a fucking tiger demon. 

“I can't be hallucinating.” Theo whispered, even though he almost wished he was. 

Schizophrenia didn't run in his family, as much as he felt like he was having a psychotic break. He had never taken a hallucinogen. He wasn't on any medication that could make him lose time, or create a waking nightmare so realistic the fire burned the hairs on his skin.

“Blood.” The monster hissed hungrily, and Theo’s hand flew to cover his bleeding arm wound. 

He couldn’t just run, even though he couldn’t fight either. It was a pitch black night that no one sane would be driving in, and he doubted he’d find a car to jack in the woods. What did he have that could fight a demon? He had an interest in cryptids and myths, but nothing he had ever come across described something like this living in the forests. If it was a ghost you used salt. If it was a watcher, you avoided eye contact.  

Theo could not fight the predator prowling tauntingly towards him. He couldn't even name it.

“Bleed more, pitiful mortal."

“Would—wouldn't you rather keep me alive, so I could keep making blood for you?” Theo tried, despite feeling utterly insane attempting to make peace with something that had apparently crashed the car, killed the driver, and now wanted to eat him.

It stopped walking, and tilted it’s head. 

“Hmm. I suppose you have a point. Yes…I’ll kill you slowly, then.”

Theo nearly cried.

The blood on his fingers was rich and scarlet, and copper tingled in his mouth from where he must have bitten his tongue. All he had was blood and burning metal.

There was salt in blood, wasn't there? 

The torch rune. Theo’s mind randomly decided to remember, of all things, from the time he spent learning old Nordic runes from a Harry Potter fanfic. 

The torch represents illumination, and banishing of darkness. But, in reverse, it represents deception and darkness. I have blood, and fire, and a monster I can't explain about to kill me. 

Yeah, okay. Fuck it. Why not try blood magic, if I’m dying anyways? 

“If monsters are real, magic sure as hell better be too.” Theo cursed under his breath as he drew a reverse Kenanz as best he could, forcing his shaking hands to still enough to make it clean.

The dying flames provided little light to see his reflection in the metal shards, but hopefully the monster couldn't see him very well either. 

It was basically a backwards R on his neck, but it was all he had time for. Cupping the blood pooled into his hand from his wound, he let it drip into the small fire next to him and prayed. He prayed to God— any God—who might've been listening for help. He didn't care who, he didn't care what, he just needed someone to accept his blood as good enough to let him escape. 

Please, to any one listening, let my blood be enough to distract that—that thing. Let me blend in with the shadows. Dios mio, please, let this distort my form enough that it doesn't get a clear hit. 

Watching the fire jump and crackle at the last of his dripping blood, Theo desperately hoped it would be enough. That his panicked paganism would do something against this unnatural horror.

The tiger growled lowly as it prowled another step closer.

Without anymore seconds to spare, Theo pushed off from the ground in one smooth motion and sprinted for the forest.

He needed to find people, or shelter, or a car. Going down the road could've found him someone, but it would also leave nothing for Theo to hide or dodge behind. It would be a straightforward sprint with a tiger at his heels, and he couldn't win that. No human could.

He was in the middle of nowhere in the middle of fall, with no clue how he'd gone from a relaxing Friday night to running for his life. If he wanted to survive, he’d have to be smarter rather than stronger.

Theo had done cross country since middle school, but he had never been that competitive. He'd been fast enough to win some local meets, but he had never placed higher than 4th at any state wide competitions. Never in his life had he wished more that he was one of those guys who's whole personality was sports, and did nothing but train. 

Instead, Theo’s whole personality was pretty much just reading and humanities. 

He could hear the snarl of the beats and the thuds of its paws running after him, an inexplicable heat on his heels like someone had opened an oven. Besides desperately begging for his life, the only other thing his mind could think to say was hey, want to make s'mores instead of war?

(Instead of doing that, he ran faster.)

His wound was still bleeding a concerning amount, and feeling the blood leaving him was nauseating. He didn't consider himself particularly sensitive to blood, but when it was his own, and in such high quantities it soaked the side of his shirt, Theo consoled himself that any kid would freak the fuck out.

His path through the woods was utterly blind and panicked. It went entirely against all proper hiking guidelines to do so, but he thinks his Cub Scout leader could excuse it in this instance. The moon was oddly bright tonight, but only bits of its eerie blue light could pierce through the thick tree foliage. He was lucky that it gave him just enough vision to avoid tripping, and cutting his life short. 

His saving grace was how dense this pine forest was, and how small he was compared to the car sized tiger. Theo was littered with cuts where he'd been snagged by branches, trampled through thorny bushes, and nearly wiped out dodging a fox peacefully sleeping in said bushes. The monster, too large to be truly agile in this thicket, had hit more than a few trees dead on. Its wide frame struggled to squeeze through the narrow gaps Theo could, and that was the only thing keeping him alive. 

But it couldn't last. Theo was only human, and the thing behind him decidedly was not. Theo’s adrenaline was the only thing keeping him running, but he couldn't keep going like this. Cross country was all about pacing yourself through the miles at a consistent speed. Theo was full on sprinting with an open wound, and if the creature didn't kill him, the blood loss would. He had seen no sign of trails, cabins, or car tracks. Absolutely nothing he could use to hide or get help but the hundreds of trees watching them. 

Spotting a sudden clearing off to the side, Theo made a heel turn change and threw himself up a hill. At the top was a huge tree, larger than any he had seen so far, and he knew with a desperate kind of certainty it was his only hope. 

The monster rammed into a tree behind him, stunned by the abrupt change in direction, and Theo put his all into this last bit of action. He had only one chance.

Theo darted straight towards the tree at a dead sprint, and at the last possible second, leapt into the air.

He pulled himself up the bark, his burned hands desperately clawing into the bark as he broke his nails and bled from his palm—but he managed to get himself to a low hanging branch. Using the blessed leverage of the first branch, he pushed himself one branch higher, then another, and then a third. 

His eyes were only on the pine, and the next branch ahead. He didn't even consider sparing energy for anything else. The monster must have recovered by now, and he was nowhere near high enough. He jumped for the next branch, and then the next, scrambling up high enough that he could barely see the light emanating from the monster. 

He finally paused for breath, panting so hard his throat tasted like blood as he leant against the rough bark. Though, that might have been actual blood. He might’ve bit his cheek again while running, but his face was so numb he couldn't tell.

Theo pulled his sleeve up from the wound in his arm, and couldn't help his pained cry while doing so. It was three long cuts, and Theo couldn't imagine how he got them without remembering doing so. He had thought his pain tolerance was better than most, with his smattering of piercings and tattoos. But, now that he wasn’t running for his life, the burning heat of the muscle-deep slashes were all he could think about.

This definitely isn’t sanitary. Theo grimaced at how bloodstained his shirt was, but he had no choice but to use the sleeve's fabric to sop up the oozing red. And feeling so warm is…bad. Really bad.  

Too much warmth meant risk of infection, fever, and too much shit that was dangerous even when in the safety of the hospital, let alone up a tree in the middle of the forest. If the monster trying to throw one of its fireballs up here didn’t kill him, the infection certainly would.

Theo finally risked a glance down, gauging whether he should try going even higher. The monster was snapping at the bottom of the hill, much farther away than he had expected. He didn’t think it’s glow could travel that far.

Why…was it at the bottom of the hill? And how was there enough light for Theo to see himself when he was 40 ft in the air?

The light’s coming from behind me. He realized a bit too slowly, his vision dotted with black spots as he turned to see what was on the other side of the tree trunk.

He was met with what looked remarkably like what he imagined Camp Half Blood would.

Cabins and paths like the ones in a summer campground, except done so in an undeniably ancient Grecian style. White pillars and marble pedestals. Greek characters labeling the buildings. Iron torches lighting the walkways rather than lampposts, which no summer camp Theo had been to would ever do in the middle of a pine forest.

“This is…” Theo stared out at the cabins, and was certain those hadn't been there when he was running up the tree. 

It had been all shadows and scant blue light, so there was no way he could have missed an entire camp site. He had only seen the hill and a tall tree— 

“No.” Theo stared at the bark of the pine tree he was sitting in, and hoped like hell it wasn't actually what he thought it was. “There is no way— It’s impossible. This can't be happening.” He stared at the agitated tiger, forcing his eyes to focus on its form. “This can't be real!"

Noticing his attention, the creature opened its mouth in a grin with far too many teeth.

“Come down, puny demigod. You can’t stay up there forever!”

Theo felt his jackrabbiting heart pound against his ribcage. “I can't be—I'm not a demigod!”  

The monster cocked its head in a distinctly predatory way, confused. 

It sniffed the grass at the base of the hill, where his blood had splattered on the ground, before growling up at him. “Liar! I smell the ichor in your blood!”

The tiger started taking a deep breath, which was when Theo’s hindbrain instincts managed to overpower the fogginess he was feeling. 

He's going to breathe out more fire . Theo realized, still far too behind. The blood loss was already starting to affect his cognition.

Out of sheer and utter panic, he scrambled back along the branches, scratching himself terribly as he tried to escape to the far side of the trunk. His hands were irritated, slick with blood, but he grabbed into the bark again anyways.

He was scrambling around the tree to get its trunk between him and the flames as best he could—

Until the grip he had on the next branch faltered, his left arm having lost so much blood it was too weak to hold on.

Theo slips.

As he stares up at the full autumn moon, he idly supposes his determination to survive must not have been good enough for the Greek Gods of this world.

Why did Riordan have to make you all so cruel? He wonders towards the night sky.

The air howls at his ears like mad wolves, a hurricane of cutting wind rushing through his hair. He had been wrong about either being eaten or dying of infection — there had been the third option all along.

As he tried to make sense of it all in his last moments, he supposed he at least didn't have to go through the pain and trauma of the books if he quit early.

“Maia!”  

All too suddenly, like this entire night has been, there were warm arms secured under him. Theo abruptly stopped falling midair.

What?

“Hey. Are you okay?” A worried voice called, and Theo tired gaze moved from the bright moon to the just as blue eyes of a boy about his age. “How did you even get up there?” 

How are we even floating in midair right now?

Theo coughed, throat still torn up from the exhaustion of running at a dead sprint for God knows how long. Or, would it be Zeus knows?

“Fell from heaven," Theo coughed again, but forced it down in a tired attempt at a smile. "Can't you tell?” 

The boy scoffed, an amused smile on his face as they floated gently to the ground.

“You could have fallen a bit more gracefully, Angel. If you're already making jokes, it must not be that bad.”

Theo laughed, and then immediately regretted it as he fell into a hacking fit.

“No, its— its pretty bad. The cuts are decently deep and will definitely get infected if they're not treated, plus…” Theo’s eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and despite nearly being on the ground, he had no energy to get up and stand. “I agitated the...the blood loss. Ran t'much."

“The blood loss?” The boy finally seemed to notice the red seeping into his orange camp shirt now that they were closer to the torches on the ground. “Hey, wait! Stay awake! We have to get you some ambrosia and—”

“Thanks for catchin' me.” Was the last thing he managed to mumble out before his vision went black.

Chapter Text

This was madness. Was Theo’s first clear thought as he broke from the jumbled nonsense of just waking up.

Sitting by his bed was a boy polishing a real, shining bronze sword. It's blade was sharp and the boy’s palms calloused, leaving no doubt whether he could actually wield the weapon.

Or, perhaps, there was no doubt because the boy was blonde, with a scar down his face. Theo could instantly recognize him for who he was, now that he wasn't falling to his death.

“You're awake?” The boy looked up, surprised but friendly as he put down the sword. His teeth were white and straight, but his lips crooked, like he was more used to smirking than smiling. “Our camp master isn't here right now, so I’m afraid you'll have to settle for me. I’m Luke Castellan.”

Luke. Castellan.

…Fuck.

“I'm Theo.” He smiled back, and did his all for it be a friendly one. He'd much prefer looking like he was reserved due to the strangeness of the situation, and not because he was standing in front of the boy who had the worst choice in guests. “Theo Venturi. I’d say it's nice to meet you, but I'm pretty sure I'm having a psychotic break.”

“And why's that?”

"I think a flaming tiger got me in a car wreck."

“Mm? That's a new one." Luke paused. "But still, I can promise you this. Everything you saw was real.”

“Oh, the car crash was just the beginning." Theo still can't quite believe what happening isn't an elaborate break, and he didn't somehow decide to take mushrooms and watch Percy Jackson during the trip. "See, the tiger talked, and said some pretty hallucianate-y things. Talking animals isn't normal if you're not a Disney princess, right?" He laughed, panic shooting up in him and having no other outlet but hysteria tinged giggles.

"Theo." Luke tried to interrupt, a bit amused.

Theo had worked himself up too much to stop. "I climbed a giant tree in the pitch black night to escape the thing, but then I turned around, and there was suddenly an entire camp that definitely hadn't been there when I ran up the hill.” He had one hand grounded in his hair while he stared at the other, taking in the scratches that could only be from tree bark. “Then I fell and for some reason I dreamed that you saved me from what definitely would be certain death—”

“By flying in midair and catching you?” Luke smirked truly, then, enjoying the wonder in Theo’s wide eyes as Luke started to hover in the middle of the infirmary. 

Theo took in the white angel wings flapping at the heel's of Luke's shoes with a serene sort of mania ...I suppose that, at least, is kind of cool.

It was kinda like a welcome package to the reality that he was now a thrice damned, god forsaken half blood. For every horrific, life-threatening trauma he went through, he got to see a little bit of magic to lessen the blow 

Luke settled back down with softer eyes, his sweet expression as soothing as honey tea. It didn't work. Not when Theo could tell Luke was bitter and empty and definitely grieving something. To expect Luke to do more than force himself to meals and showers was a lot, and he certainly shouldn't have to be dealing with the responsibilities of introducing a new camper.

“You’re a demigod." Luke explained. "You have ADHD because your instincts are honed for battle, dyslexia because your native tongue is ancient Greek. I bet you have trouble in school— “

“I'm on the honor roll, thank you.”

“Huh, well done." Luke appraised him. "Maybe you're a son of Athena.”

Theo tried not to be hysterical at how casually Luke brought up a mythical goddess. He didn't manage as perfectly as he usually would, on account of the acid trip he was currently on. Seriously, he wish this was all a weird case if bad shrooms.

"That's impossible." Theo flat out denied, but then carefully stopped himself from mentioning his mother had died years ago. That would only add fuel to the fire, in this world.

"Is it really? After what you've seen?" Luke raised a brow.

Theo couldn't hold that unrelenting gaze. He averted his eyes, and the topic of conversation. “Battle reflexes? I'm no varsity captain. And I haven't even been diagnosed with ADHD.”

“Not having a diagnosis doesn't mean you don't have it." Luke said with a hint of exhaustion peeking through, making clear how often he's had to reaffirm that thought in new campers. "And, you didn't deny having dyslexia. ”

“It’s…mild.” Theo weakly insisted.

"I don't think any disability is mild, if it's still inconveniencing you."

"I mean, of course but...still, a—a demigod?" Theo didn't have anymore words to argue with. "Do you really think I could be someone like that?"

Luke nodded, confident and kind. “Of course I do. How else could you have understood what I’ve been saying? ”

“What?”

“I’m speaking Greek, Theo.”

Theo stared.

Luke fucking Castellan was still softly smiling with that stupid scarred eye and stupid handsome face.

Theo slowly blinked, taking in how every line of Luke's body language practically screamed that he was telling the truth. Those loosely open palms and open shoulders, the way his feet and torso were both pointed towards Theo at full attention. There just wasn't anything to argue.

Theo let himself sigh heavily out, before sucking a deep breath in.

Unable to come up with a rational retort for the trap he'd unwittingly fallen into, he grabbed the pillow next to him and decided he deserved a scream. 

“Jesus fucking Christ this is such bullshit! Dios mio, was my life not hard enough? Applicando a la universidad and trying to make any money studying psychology is bad enough, but now I need to help con maldito OLIMPO!"I don't even want to help Zeus! He didn't add, as much as he wanted to.

Theo removed the pillow calmly, his face one of tired resignation that showed no sign of his brief lapse in etiquette. If you hadn't been in the room two seconds ago, you would have no idea that Theo was cursing Olympus in Spanish.

“It's not the worst way people have taken it.” Luke offered, to which Theo only grimaced.

Why couldn't I have isekaied to after Percy made things at least six inches less shit? He briefly mourned.

“Having your entire world view break as you realize your absent parent is a god, monsters want to eat you, and all those awful myths about the deities are true isn't really healthy for a growing teen's mental state.” Theo sighed back.

Luke only smiled sympathetically. He was really quite good at it, as he must have been forced to be. He was the oldest camper here, and as the counselor of the catch-all cabin, he was forced to take care of far more kids than any other counselor had to. He kept on saying that he was only a temporary manager while Chiron was gone, but it was far too obvious that he had long been used to running this camp more than Dionysus did. 

Perhaps because Theo knew all that, could he see the far-too-adult, word weary exhaustion in the shadows of Luke’s golden smile. As if the boy’s shining facade couldn't deceive him when Theo was already so disillusioned. 

If he thinks this is bad, I wonder how he'd take the second war.  Theo's heart panged, genuine pain shooting through his chest at how much tragedy was yet to come. Looking around the room, and to the camp outside, his lips tugged down.

And, why the hell did Chiron leave solely to teach Percy nothing for an entire year, all while not noticing Mrs. Dodds was a Fury? What the hell was up with that whole "teaching demigods for as long as they need me" shit, when there's an entire Camp left behind to be run by children?

Luke kept that fake smile up regardless of the thoughts whirring in Theo's head. The counselor got up briefly, before returning with a plate he placed at Theo’s bedside. “We wrapped your bleeding wound best we could, but if you want to really heal it, you should eat this.”

Luke picked up a golden square of food that looked suspiciously like a blondie brownie covered in edible gold, and held it out to him.

Smart to save the healing for when I woke up, instead of pouring nectar on the wound. Theo couldn't help but grudgingly approve. Eating ambrosia and having my pain magically go away would undeniably explain what I wouldn't otherwise believe. It'd probably a method he's used on most demigods, since I imagine they all show up with an injury or four.

Delicately, like trying to pick up a sugar cube about to fall apart, Theo took the square. It was a piece about half the size of his palm, and felt like it was fresh out the oven. Not burning hot, but pleasantly warm, like it'd been left to cool on a rack for ten minutes. Its glittering shades of melted gold were oddly dynamic, but they made him just as excited as they did nervous.

"Is this some kind of 'chocolate cures depression' approach at medicine?" Theo asked, remembering at the last second that he should have no idea what ambrosia was. "Honeycomb heals all wounds?"

"Trust me on this." Luke leaned in conspiratorially, unfairly convincing for a stranger that basically was handing him candy out the back of a van. "They're the best food in the world, but they're only, ah, sold in small doses." 

He supposed there were at least a few positives to this corrupt, tyrannical hellscape he'd been trafficked into. Grisly, yet magical emergency exits were one of them.

It was a sort of crude comfort, that Theo got to taste the food of the gods in exchange for living in this lucid nightmare. If all else failed, death by devil's food cake wouldn't be too bad, would it? Or he could run away to the Lotus Casino and have all his worries eaten away. 

"Well." Theo shrugged with a tired smile. "Considering you saved my life last night, I doubt you'd bake arsenic blondies just to ruin all your hard work."

Torn between eager and terrified, Theo bit into the ambrosia.

Warm flavor immediately burst in his mouth, all rich honey and flaky crust. A single bite and it tasted like the best baklava Theo has ever had, better even than the first time he had it. The moan he made would be embarrassing, if he wasn't certain that it was the reaction every single person had when they first tried heavenly sin.

“Yeah, I know. Incredible, right?” Luke seemed slightly more genuine in his joy, now that Theo was past the awful introductions and into one of the few positive experiences of being a demigod. 

Theo pointed at him accusingly. “This is not an appropriate consolation prize for being told I'm going to be hunted down for the rest of my life.” He took another small bite, and the flavor changed into the smoothest bite of mango sorbet he never had. “Fuck.” The last bite, and it was a warm, chewy brownie with caramel and chocolate chips. How the hell did it mimic textures that it didn't even have? “...But it's pretty damn close, I’ll give you that.” 

Luke chuckled. “Oh, I see how it is. Sway you with foods, got it.”

Theo managed a proper smile now. “I take bribes in the form of baked goods, especially apple flavored.” He couldn't stop himself from being taking in by Luke's natural charisma. The magic rush warming his body didn't hurt either.

Luke cocked his head consideringly. “I suppose you could be a child of Aphrodite.”

Theo's mind stalled, trying to compute those words.

His mind fails, so he briskly moves on instead.

“You keep guessing different gods,” Theo decided to point out, being exceedingly mindful of how much he should and shouldn't know at this point. A rolodex of warnings blarred in his head everytime he even thought of opening his mouth. “Is there not a way to figure out which one I'm… I guess, related to? A quiz? A test?”

If I hadn't eaten that ambrosia, I would still be convinced I was a clear sighted mortal.

Luke's eyes shadow at the question, and Theo immediately regrets having to play dumb. Seeing the smile of this bright boy —the beginnings of laugh lines and crows feet if Theo squinted—and then watching it falter with despair? It felt…awful. Sick. Utterly unfair, and just not right.

"Nothing that convenient." Luke said, sourness tinging his words.

Theo hated making people unhappy in general, but this was even worse, because he knew how deep Luke’s hate went. How justified this character's crusade was.

Luke was bitter, and he wasn't even wrong to be that way. He was right, at the heart of his argument. Even Percy realized it, after going through war and hell and worse than hell. Zeus runs an inherently corrupt system with archaic practices, cruel standards, and absolutely no sign of real, meaningful change. The Gods didn't deserve to be exterminated, but that didn't mean they deserved to have their unchecked power they abused as easily as breathing. Olympus did need upheaval. It was a stagnant society decaying at it's very roots, built on authoritarianism and abuse.

Hermes seemed so playful and fun loving in the books, and Luke didn't fall far from the golden tree. He had shown a surprising amount of care for the introduction of a random newbie, and it betrayed the kind person Luke was at his core. He cared too much. He was so tired of seeing demigods hurt that he’d decided to kill the Gods himself.

It hurt to look at this living, breathing person, and already know his future. To know how tragic his story would end.

Theo forced himself to smile brightly, and unwrapped his arm that was no longer in any pain at all. “That's alright, a challenge is fun."

Luke huffed, back to normal like the flash of bitterness was never there. "A challenge is fun?"

"Why not? I'll just have to figure out what common traits the descendants of each God have. A bit of mystery solving, and I can make a personality quiz myself.”

Luke had to laugh at that. "Really? Like one of those teen magazine 'what celebrity would you date' quizzes, except it's who's your godly parent?"

Wow, that is a dated reference. Theo was genuinely taken aback. What year is it? Where's Buzzfeed when you need them?  

No idea about the third crisis Theo was having that day, Luke extended a hand to help him out of the bed. Even though he didn't need it after the ambrosia, Theo took it gladly. Considering how thoroughly his world had been shaken, he appreciated the stability as he walked through a literal storybook land, and also possibly back in time.

He didn't know how to feel about this. Back in time, but another dimension's time? How did that even work? He knew he was going to have an actual breakdown once he processed the implications of all this. 

For now, though...Theo didn't mind walking with Luke, trying to make a new friend in the boy who saved his life.

Chapter Text

As Theo was led to a gazebo by the lake, he was struck with an odd, double-layered image of the man that was having a peaceful brunch there.

Theo thinks it must be due to his internal perception of who Dionysus was, which didn't exactly match the shell he was donning. When Theo thought of the god, the image that popped up was a striking man with wild, dark curls and eyes the color of deep wine. Much stronger than the description from the Riordanverse, the version of Dionysus from other pop culture and history lingered in Theo’s mind.

“Like a stripling in the first flush of manhood: his rich, dark hair was waving about him, and on his strong shoulders he wore a purple robe…You, Dionysus, have youth unfading; you're a boy for ever; you shine the fairest in the firmament. When you lay by your horns, your countenance is like a lovely girl's.”

Technically, the shell Dionysus was wearing could be those things. Except, as Theo gradually recalled how the man had been described in the books, he vaguely remembered that he was described as a squat, plump man, with a rosy nose. As he squinted against the sun, he could see that Riordan mask settle over Dionysus, but Theo could still make out slivers of the taller man in the shorter’s shadow. He stood in a deep purple chiton, gold laurels resting in the chocolate curls that gleamed violet in the rays of light, looking straight at Theo.

Then Theo blinked, and Dionysus was simply the shell again, seeming like any common face in the crowd.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, ah, Lord Dionysus?” Theo hoped his millisecond of hesitation was taken as him being unsure which God was in front of him, rather than him remembering at the last second that he should probably be sucking up to the God he’d be spending the most time with for the foreseeable future. 

Luke made a face at that, but Dionysus laughed, setting down his fork as he eyed the campers in front of his brunch.

He was clearly expecting them, so Theo felt a bit less anxious than he usually would've, considering he was interrupting a god's meal. (For a certain measure of "usually", since Theo didn't typically interact with ye olde idols of myths.)

“So, the new one has manners.” Dionysus made a face that could be interpreted as boredly examining him, but was somewhat approving underneath all the…Dionysus-ness. Theo counted it as a half point in his favor. “So, Theodoros—”

Why does everyone keep calling me that?

“—the off season may be more relaxed, but you'll still need to take lessons from our teachers.” Dionysus raised his Diet Coke can in a sarcastic toast. “Welcome to demigodhood, you still have homework.”

Hell yeah, I forgot the camp offered classes! Theo lit up, suddenly full of excitement for what it would be like to learn at a godly summer camp that would not just account for, but cater to his ADHD and dyslexia. He genuinely loved learning. He thinks most people do, when they weren't forced to suffer through standardized classes, test anxiety, and worst of all, parental pressure.

Camp Halfblood definitely had the last one, but since Theo was pretty sure the last relative that cared about him burned up in that car wreck, that didn't apply to him! 

...So, not as fun as being a wizard would be (Voldemort was total chump change) but Theo would fucking take this. Magical education had to be the only thing that could make junior year actually fun. 

“Are there any other gods or mythical creatures here, and if so, what subjects do they teach?” Theo nearly bounced in his spot, he had so many questions. This was one of the few positives to being kidnapped to an alternative reality. “Actually, how many subjects are there? And, honestly more importantly, what subjects are there because if magic is a course—”

“Sheesh, chance for Athena much?” Dionysus took a sip of his drink, absently swishing the can around like he was airing out a Pinot. “We've got some nereids, some dryads, some satyrs. We kinda chose whoever was closest by, but Angeline says the quality of education is better than public, so it should hold up to your bookworm standards.”

It's actually just me being a fandom nerd, but go off. Theo wasn't even mad at the god’s flippancy. He was too excited for classes taught by magical creatures, and learning about Greek not-so-myth-ology. 

“Angeline?” Theo decided to ask, already half day dreaming what classes would be like if he could sleep a full eight hours before them. 

“Annabeth.” Luke corrected fondly. “She's also a child of Athena, and a year rounder like me.”

Theo rolled his eyes even as he smiled. He couldn't help the thrum of pleasure at being thought of as smart enough to be a child of Athena. “Don't say also like it's already been decided. I should probably research all these new gods before I just pick one and pray.” 

“Yeah, Luca, he could be one of mine. You don't see eyes like that too often.” Dionysus pointed out far too casually. 

“What?” Theo startled. Dionysus’s eyes were an unsettling wine that Theo didn't look too closely at, due to the nausea he was struck with for the second he glimpsed at them.  “My eyes are brown.”

“They are?” Luke blinked, before leaning in and staring deeply into Theo’s eyes. “What? No, they're purplish. On the red side, sure, so they could be mistaken for dark brown in bad lighting but…” Luke laughed and shook his head. “No, they're definitely maroon.”

“You don't even know your own eye color, kid?” Dionysus cackled. “Wow, you are really new to this biz.”

Theo grabbed an unused spoon off the table and gazed into it. In utter disbelief, he was met with eyes far more colorful than they had been yesterday. The deep purple maroon color really did glint red when hit with the light.

Theo shivered, setting the spoon down quickly. It wasn't as purple as Dionysus’, at least, even if it made Theo similarly uncomfortable. He resolved to deal with that later.   

“That's probably fine!” He dismissed cheerily, convincing himself as much as he was them. “So, any requirements for class selection?” He steered back on track, breathing out his anxiety and regaining his composure. 

He wasn't going to panic over something that was pretty harmless, compared to all the other things he had to worry about now. Learning how to use his newfound demigod powers—if he even had any, depending on whoever the hell was his godly parent—was first on his list. Namely, so he wouldn't die screaming the moment he stepped out of campgrounds.

Dionysus was picking his nails with a toothpick, so Luke was the one to explain. “You're required to take one math, science, english, history, language, and a physical class.” Luke listed off his fingers. “Most people just choose one more extra credit class they like, like art or music, but you can choose as many as you can manage, really.”

Even if it wasn't too different from usual, Theo was still incredibly excited by this, because learning from dryads and satyrs was a definite improvement on shitty American public school. It was roughly just as safe, too.

“I need a list of every single class and who teaches it, and then you need to tell me about every single professor who teaches what class.” After Theo saw Luke’s disbelieving expression at his request, he clarified his words. “Teaching style and personality matter a lot for the quality of your education, and what you retain, you know.”

“I'm putting 50 on Athena” Dionysus declared, making Luke begrudge an amused huff. "No normal kid gets introduced to this whole mess and focuses on our curriculum standards instead of who their parent is." 

“I was planning on being a psychologist, you know. I feel like this is fairly well known research—” Theo cuts himself off as remembers he's not just in another world, but back in time in another world. The books took place in the early 2000s, and so did the movies. Considering Luke was blonde, Theo was betting he was in one of those two ‘verses. 

Either would be crazy to deal with, managing his future knowledge and standards honestly more than his book intel. Social media wasn't really a thing here, which meant Luke wouldn't have been exposed to nearly as much different and unexplainable information as Theo had. Theo knew the first bad review was written on a Babylonian clay tablet, and that the CIA pretended to be vampires to fight commies. He could give you an essay on examples of Survivorship Bias, and was inundated with tips on on how to make mead.

“—For, you know.” Theo continued. “Everyone that reads Psychology Monthly.” He bullshited.

He knew too much about the Halo Effect and the Gambler’s Fallacy and Stockholm Syndrome. He knew all the psychological reasoning behind fight, flight, freeze, or fawn. In this age, he could list the criteria for a dozen mental disorders more accurately than most licensed therapists could. All of this was pretty well known to plenty of teens on social media in his time, but here, Theo seemed oddly well read and varied with inexplicable trivia.

Common knowledge to the average internet user would be Theo’s greatest hurdle and strength, if he kept assuming everyone knew the step by step process beekeepers used to relocate hives. 

“You go out of your way to read scientific journals related to your interests?” Luke's smile was a bit incredulous, but not malicious. He seemed awed rather than creeped out, thankfully. “How in Hades' name did you not get diagnosed with ADHD?”

Luke’s positivity brightened the entire area, he was such a magnetically vibrant person. It's crazy for Theo, looking at him talk about classes and work loads and realizing he was…seriously just another kid. He was a teenager, as upset and frustrated by injustice in society as Theo was in the real world, about his own government. 

Theo couldn't help his distrust for someone he knew could be a terrifying antagonist, and an awful enemy to have. Yet, he also couldn't help his empathy for the boy who came before all that, and only wanted justice.

-

“Those are so cool.” Was the first thing out of Theo’s mouth when Luke was done introducing him to Cabin 11.

A boy with a cloud of fluffy white hair, and equally fluffy wings, turned around to meet his slightly awed gaze. 

“Sure, I guess.” He said, stretching the small, downy feathers. “But I can't fly with them. My dad said I need to complete a quest to do that so…” The boy, probably only a year or so younger than Theo, was suddenly pinched with an awkward expression. “I—I don't think I'll ever go on a quest.”

“They're banned, aren't they?” Theo was safe to say, after learning more on the walk here. Dios mio, was Apollo’s chiton short in the intro video. If Theo didn’t already know he liked guys, that sure would’ve done it. 

“Yeah.” The boy lied with a waning smile. “Because they're banned.”

Distracted, and far too late, Theo remembered the fact that Luke got his infamous scar on a quest where he was the only survivor. It was the quest that got quests banned. Still, for Luke to have accepted it in the first place…

His quest mates were probably campers he knew very well, if he was willing to take them on a personal request from Hermes. It’s likely they were Luke’s closest friends, the people he trusted the most, and who might've stayed in Cabin 11 with him for years. Campers were clearly still in midst of mourning their deaths, for the subject to be so fraught. 

That was bad enough, without going into the fact that Luke didn't have a support system for his grief. Luke was the support system for the Cabin 11 kids.

“It’s a good thing you're a bookworm, Theo.” Luke forced a far too picturesque smile. It looked straight out of a magazine. Beautifully fake, like plastic that was melted and twisted until it could imitate a crystal. “Once you learn the truth, going out again becomes pretty hard.”

From the younger campers he probably helped raise, what child could have the emotional bandwidth—let alone perception, to see through Luke's facade—for something as heavy as that? Annabeth, barely eleven years old at this point, certainly couldn't. Who else had the closeness to Luke to lend their shoulder, when it was Luke's closest friends who’d died? 

“I'm not eager to meet any more fire breathing tigers.” Theo quipped back, managing to get a couple gasps and whispers from the other kids sitting up in interest. 

Internally, Theo grimaced. Christ, no wonder Kronos snatched Luke up. 

Theo was reminded of how extremist groups, cults, and religions all recruited members when they were at their most vulnerable. Times of crisis and loss were the best times to strike, since unstable emotions were the most malleable. Luke was in the perfect, volatile position of grief and justified anger to be pushed to the edge, and throw himself over for a cause. 

If I didn't know what I did, and was really a kid grieving his parent’s death as I was thrown into this new world—would I have had the strength to say no to a Time God?  

“He seriously got hunted by a fire breathing tiger?” Said one boy with curly dark blonde hair, not even looking at Theo.

“That is so sick.” Another breathed out, who looked suspiciously like the first.

“I don't think I agree.” Theo smiled cheerily. It was a traumatic upheaval of his known universe, after all.

“So is he normal or undetermined?” The first asked, flipping the page of his Naiad Notary magazine.

“Undetermined.” The second said firmly, audibly confident. 

“Why are you so sure—” The first begins to ask before he finally gets a look at Theo. “Ok, yeah, he definitely isn't a Hermes.”

Luke rolled his eyes as he leaned against the door. “You don't have to be so straight up. Theo’s new to all this.”

“Luke, buddy, I get what you're trying to say…” The first starts.

“But he sort of has red eyes and hair, I think he can tell we’re not related.” The second finished.

Red hair? Theo startled for a moment before remembering that the natural brown of his hair had seemed to shine more maroon than usual when he’d been outside. When he’d checked his reflection, he still had the bleached underside to his mullet, at least. 

That’s. Ah, well… a bit of red in the sunlight isn't the worst color to end up with. Sure, his body had been changed without his consent, but it's all about perspective, isn't it? What's cherry cola hair to ichor staining your veins?  

Taking in what had to be the Stolls, Theo was hit with pure Weasley Twin energy. He politely smiled back at the two with a warm wave. He can't wait to pretend to be fooled by them, right before he swept the rug out from under them.

“You two must be Fred and George.” Theo joked. 

“Travis and Connor, actually.” Luke said. 

Theo side eyed him. “You've never read Harry Potter?” He murmured. 

“Referencing an obscure book series? You sure you don’t want to visit the owl house straight away?” Luke whispered back. 

Wait, when did Harry Potter come out again? 

…Actually, I still don't even know what year it is, so I guess that doesn't matter. I should keep my trap shut either way.

The twins interrupted his internal monologue by breaking out of their huddled whispers to introduce themselves. “I'm Connor.” The first said. “Welcome to the Cabin, I hope your stay isn't long.” It wasn't out of malice, despite the harsh words. It was a kindness, not to end up a permanent undetermined in Cabin 11.

The boy who then should be Travis, but Theo suspected was actually Connor, examined him up and down with a hum. “Maybe it won't be.” Not-Travis thought aloud, before abruptly standing up and jabbing a finger in Theo’s face. “You speak any French?”

Theo leaned back a bit, but stood firmly in his spot. “Uh—enchante, je sui, Theo. Desole, pero… je ne parle pas francais.”

“Twenty on Aphrodite!” Not-Connor slammed his hand down on a random bed frame, as if it was a poker table he was throwing chips on. 

“Oi!” Not-Travis spun around in a huff. “You’re stealing my hard earned guess, I did all the detective work!”   

“Hard earned guess my ass.” A boy mumbled in the corner, where he had a pillow suspiciously smothering half his face. 

“You asked one question.” A girl, by far the youngest of the group, added in a surprisingly mature voice. “You should get to know him more before losing all your money. Again.”  

“Hey!” Connor and Travis squawked in unison. 

“I'm hitting it big this time for sure.” Travis defended to a nine year old. “He’s the first of the new betting season, this is my chance to pull ahead.”

“And I resent my efforts being minimized as ‘just one question’.” Connor crossed his arms. “I chose the one, best question, obviously.”

Theo watched it all, unable to help his smile. It all felt like a real summer camp, full of silly kids who didn't know he said the most basic thing anyone can in another language. All he had done was introduce himself, and then say he didn't speak French. Evidently, that was enough to start heated debates among the siblings and unclaimed.

“Really, think you're a wise guy?” The one who was definitely Ethan Nakamura muttered from his bed. He opened the one, uncovered eye and squinted at Theo. “Do you speak anything besides French.”

“English, obviously. Greek, hypothetically. And Spanish, at home.” 

Various ooohs and aaahs rippled through the peanut gallery, along with one, poignant curse. 

“Athena!” Travis cursed. 

“Athena.” Connor smirked.

“Your mortal parent just happened to be a native Spanish speaker, weren't they?” Luke leaned in and whispered. 

“Oh, yeah, totally.” Theo huffed, fighting down a laugh. “Absolutely no studying was done on my part, I was just raised bilingual.”

Luke easily kept his poker face as he nodded silently, but the glee in knowing more than his brothers was clear in his eyes.

Theo smiled to himself, endeared by them all as much as he dreaded getting attached. So many of them would die. So many would be dead before they were even 21. Yet, here he was, rolling his eyes at their antics with Luke, who would have one of the worst fates of them all.

I can't get attached. Theo reminded himself, mirth dropping as he watched a cranky Ethan argue with the Stolls. Luke observed their misleading arguments the way a real older brother would, occasionally piping up to further push them in the wrong direction. 

No one was safe from Luke’s meddling, Hermes or undetermined. He shamelessly encouraged the Stolls blind faith while leaning against Ethan’s bed, handing him a cool water bottle to put over his eye. Every cabin member radiated an underlying respect for him, their eyes constantly darting back to him for approval. Like flowers turning towards the sun. 

Still—the war. The prophecies. The titans.

Theo kept his polite smile up, as nauseated as he was. 

I really, really can't get attached. 

Chapter Text

“Hey, isn't this usually the part where you'd be dropping off all your stuff in a corner where we don't have space for you?” Connor realized after the cabin’s argument about Theo’s godly parent settled down into a consensus of non-consensus.

After more arguing about Olympians versus obscure gods, everyone agreed that they didn’t know for sure yet, but definitely had a favorite horse in the race. (Chariot in the race?)

“Huh, he’s right.” Travis blinked, eliciting a don’t say that like it’s unexpected! from his brother which he promptly ignored. “Not that getting you out the door as soon as possible isn't still our plan, but usually campers spend at least a night with their loot here before being sent on their merry way.”  

Theo stopped himself from suspiciously closing himself off at the uncomfortable memories the words brought up, and defied his wave of unease to relax himself instead. “I don't really have anything with me.” Theo said lightly, putting on a good show of levity. “Not besides the clothes on my back and some scrap metal, I suppose. Fire breathing tiger plus crashed car equals fwoosh.” He made an exploding motion with his hand for emphasis. 

“Oh, shit.” Connor frowned. “That sucks, man.”

It’s not really my stuff that I lost. He paused. Except for my entire world, I suppose. 

Theo ultimately shrugged, all negative emotions shoved to the back burner. “At least I’ll take up less space. Maybe I can donate the car wreck to Hephaestus' cabin?” He looked around the well worn cabin, decorated with fairy lights, pictures pinned straight to the wall, and strategically placed citronella candles. It wasn't as packed as he mildly feared, but certainly in need of some reordering. “You guys seriously need some shelves.”

“Dionysus sent a couple satyrs to go check the wreckage of your car this morning.” Luke cut in before Ethan could finish whatever he opened his mouth to say. “They went to see if they could recover anything while I took you around to tour the cabins.” Luke patted Theo’s arm in the brisk and firm way of jockeying boys and actual jocks. “They’ll be back soon, and drop off anything salvageable.” It was unreasonably comforting, Luke’s steady hand. 

Was this Hermes' domain over travelers in effect? 

Having transmigrated all the way from another universe, Theo qualified more than most for the title “Traveler”. Maybe that's why such a subtle aspect of Hermes’ power was manifesting itself to the point that just-became-a-demigod-12-hours-ago Theo could notice it. It could also be that Luke was just so used to always being the one welcoming newcomers that his connection to the traveler-related powers were stronger than most…

“If all else fails, we have an infinite supply of those eye searing camp shirts. We could make you a whole cloak of them.” Lou Ellen murmured, knocking Theo out of his mental tangent.

“Don't worry if it comes before you're finished, we'll protect your stuff, Theo!” Connor smiled sweetly, dimples in his cheeks and utterly lamb-like. He was a Party City angel costume away from being positively cherubic, and an actual son of Eros was sitting a bunk away.  

Luke's body shifted forward, ostensibly about to step in and stop Theo from being scammed anymore than the Stolls already had by switching names—but Theo moved first. Physically and metaphorically.

“I appreciate your offer, Travis.” Theo donned earnestly wide eyes and cradled the younger boy’s hand more than shook it. “It's…all I have, y’know?”

Connor’s dimpley expression faltered at the full force of Theo’s manufactured good faith.

“So, thank you." Theo softly upticked his lips into a brave yet half-tragic smile, far more gracefully than he actually felt. "Thank you for welcoming me here, and for trying to protect those last few memories I have left. You're kind.”

He held in his laugh at how swiftly Connor’s mood changed into guilt at the full force of the look, and then quickly led into determination. The younger Stoll spun around with a new resolution to protect Theo’s things rather than mug the new kid like they usually did.

It was like moving your queen as one of your first moves in chess. Unexpected, shocking, and most importantly, disarming. 

Really, enjoying the reaction you get from harmlessly messing with people is a pleasure that transcends realities. Theo smiled privately. A bit cheered by his usual antics, as if this was a normal school day and not a thinly veiled dystopia. 

“Ready to go?” Theo turned after he was satisfied that the Stolls wouldn't be stealing from him, prompting Luke out of his surprise.

“Uh, yeah.” Luke stared at him for a moment, before glancing back at the bustling twins and shaking his head. “Yeah. Let's go.”

-

Everyone underestimated the Aphrodite kids.

Both in canon and out, they were typecasted them as naive, gossipy girls. It was slightly maddening. Theo always thought they were one of the more blatantly dangerous cabins, to be honest. More than arrows or swords, wasn’t the power to warp your words into mind control commands far more formidable?

Maybe he was biased, since he considered speech and the mind his favorite subjects, but still. It was ridiculous that Cabin 10 was considered the weakest cabin for so long. It was ridiculous to the point of hazardous that they were so shallowly stereotyped, considering how buttfuck terrifying Aphrodite was in the myths, and how much power she can control. Her Roman counterpart was a full on war god, and Theo knew just how intertwined the Greek gods were with their Roman side, no matter how much they liked to pretend the other half didn’t exist.

Not to mention the elephant in the room, fucking Charmspeak??? 

Sure, not every demigod got it and Theo wasn’t planning on pissing anyone off, but he especially didn't plan on pissing off an Aphrodite kid who could trick him into revealing his worst secrets. For example: the fact that he knew the literal fate of the universe. (And thus, would be a very tempting kidnapee for every big bad, little bad, or heck, any random stranger with even a teaspoon of ambition around!)

Which is all to say, he wouldn’t have minded going in numeric order 1 through 12, instead of straight to the people who could out him on his first real day of demigodhood. He honestly had no idea why Luke had brought him to the blue painted cabin first.

“Got the new one for you!” Luke called as he knocked on the nice white door.

Then, Theo sees the shifting eye color of the girl who opens the door, and realizes Oh, that's why. 

A wave of smells hit Theo when it opened, smelling exactly like the perfume kiosks at the mall. After the top notes dispersed, the scents that were left were an underlying base of apple and florals that Theo suspected to be the natural demigod scent Aphrodite’s children had. He barely caught the tail end of a giggling girl ducking into the bathroom with way too many people inside, but she slammed the door behind her before he caught how many were crammed in there.

Was there really a need to pretend not to be here while you eavesdrop? Theo exhaled, too entertained by the kids antics to be mad.

“I see you brought me a new victim, Luke.” The girl’s vixen smile was seemingly flirty towards him, but the bored way Luke rolled his eyes and greeted her suggested that was just how their friendship worked. It was a style of banter Theo was certainly familiar with himself.

"Don't try and scare him off that quickly, he might really end up being one of your campers." Luke said lightly.

Looking out at Cabin 11—lacey curtains and roses planted right under the windows, as if to stop anyone from peeking in—he wondered if this was supposed to be his home.

It would certainly explain why my eyes are suddenly weird-brown, but I'm not sure I'm cut out to be an Aphrodite kid. Cool as it would be, I'm not that cool. Theo thought wistfully. Charmspeak would be so useful for the future though…I hope whatever parent I have at least has one functional power for me to inherit. 

“I won’t interfere, so do your thing.” Luke grinned with his hands raised, letting the girl take control.

The girl's irises shifting through reds and yellows finally landed on a blush rose gold as she turned to assess Theo. It was pretty in an otherworldly sense, just a shade too light for humans. Utterly unnatural and absolutely perfect for the girl who simply had to be the counselor for Aphrodite cabin.

“Silena.” The stranger extended her warmly tanned hand daintily, and not at all like you would for a handshake.

Amused, he took it obligingly, and bowed to kiss the air over her knuckles. “Theo.” He introduced with a dramatic flourish as he straightened, surprising a tinkling huff out of her.

She was abnormally pretty and she knew it. A surprisingly tall girl almost his height, and one who wouldn't be out of place in a magazine. Not to mention her layered tank top, jean skirt, and shimmery lip gloss. Makeup and fashion trends weren't what Theo was used to anymore, but he could guess she must be dressed like the most fashion forward girls of this era.

Still, any charm she had was severely diminished by the fact that she was freshman age. A solid two years younger at least. It sort of felt like he was meeting a distant cousin he thought was kinda cool. Or, well, what that would have felt like, if he had any cousins.

Actually, I suppose I must have hundreds of cousins now, shouldn't I? Theo wasn't sure how to feel about his family tree now looking more like a wreath. Dating must be more of a mess here than it already notoriously was at summer camps. 

“Interesting eyes you've got there.” Silena’s smirk was a truly indulgent thing. Like she had noticed something interesting in you that no one else had, and you felt privledge that she did. 

“Are they?” Theo genuinely asked her, unused to them not being the exact same color as his hair. (...his normal, dark brown hair.) He wasn't entirely certain the weird red shine they got in the sun wasn't some prank by Dionysus, or a trick of the morning light yet.

“And an interesting response too.” She grinned an inch wider before latching on to his arm and forcibly dragging him into the cabin, using far more strength than he expected from her. 

Without any say, he was deposited on to a fluffy pink comforter as she suddenly pelted him with words. She didn’t even give him time to admire the pearls carved into the wood, or the golden luster to the crown molding.

“Alright, cough it up new boy. Where did you get your hair done? What's your favorite color? And your favorite brand? What about top designer? Do you speak French?” She shot at him like his debate coach. 

She certainly knows what she wants to know. Theo was forced to stare up at her from his spot on the bed, which was a clever trick to pair with her overwhelming rapid fire. He got why everyone left now. It left her alone to set the tone of conversation, and he was honestly impressed by how quickly she had managed to establish her power and self in under thirty seconds.

“My favorite color is red, but all this,” Theo waved at the general direction of his head. “is new. I do my own hair because salons can't get it right, I don’t trust them not to bleach out my curls. I don't like brand names, I thrift all my clothes—but, if I had to pick a designer, it’d obviously be McQueen. And I can speak Spanish, but not really much French.”

“Hm.” Silena hmmed as if she could reveal all the secrets of his birth by just humming with enough pointed intrigue. “ Hmm.” Her eyes caught on his brow and narrowed like it was a particularly interesting clue. “How many piercings do you have?” She prodded, correctly assuming he had more. 

Maybe her humming tactic really did reveal some untold secrets from the lines in my face or the curl of my lashes. Aphrodite power, potentially?

“Three in each lobe, triple vertical helix in my right, the left eyebrow you can clearly see, and one more.”

“Where's the one more?”

“Now that would be telling.” Theo winked at her. He was far too amused at her game to not play along a bit, even as he stood up so she wasn’t bracketing him into the bed anymore. "You have to rank up to level five friendship for that piece of lore." If the world could be saved with subtle conversational tactics, he thinks he'd recruit her into his team.

He wondered why Silena felt the needed to hold control in this space in the first place. His ideas ranged from some kind of hazing thing, resisting against typical 2000s misogyny, or incidents with past new kids who hadn't behaved right when touring Cabin 11.

She tugged me in here so easily. Does that mean something? 

“You had an answer for everything she asked.” Luke raised a brow, a bit awed where he still stood leaning against the door of the cabin. “Not too shabby.”

“It might be that your eyes are that color right now since it's one of your favorites, and it's typically one of our first signs of demigod powers—” Silena blinked, looking him up and down again as she seemed to realize he was now taller than her again. “Wait, how old are you?”

“Seventeen.”

"And you only recently found out about your powers?"

"It was more the fire breathing tiger that tipped me off."

“Ahhh, I get it.” She nodded to herself as if he confirmed some theory of hers. “Out of all the cabins, everyone says Demeter and Aphrodite kids are the safest out in the world. Supposedly, at least. We tend not to attract as much attention, so it's not the strangest thing that you managed to hide for so long.”

Now that would be a useful stereotype to utterly abuse. As much as he vaguely hopes his parent will turn out to be a god of invisibility and instantly claim him at dinner tonight, he highly doubts that would happen.

“Don't attract attention?” Theo teased slightly.

“Only the right kind.” Silena smirked back. “It's just.” She faltered in her enthusiasm, averting her gaze from his. “Catching the eye of our mom is…pretty much up to chance. I wouldn't say it's hard, necessarily. You aren't expected to hunt a hellhound or do a quest but—she's easily distracted. You need to be interesting to get her attention, and then work hard to keep it. That's typically harder for her few sons than it already is for her daughters.”

He didn’t miss her use of “our mom”, and he knew Luke didn’t either, no matter how politely quiet he had been for the meeting.

"Does that mean...?" Luke trailed off meaningfully.

Silena softened apologetically. "I can't know for sure just yet." She directed at Theo. "Our cabin members can fly under the radar even here at camp. We'll see after you've spent some more time here, and at least visited all the cabins and activities."

That was fine with him. Letting people assume he was just a demigod with a really weak scent would be a fantastic excuse for why the hell he was still alive at this age. For some reason, he didn’t think the campers (or their actually godly parents) would take too well to “I’m a mortal that was hiding out in another dimension with my completely human family, please don’t smite me?” 

It was really the best kind of lie, because Theo didn’t even know if it wasn’t true. How else would this body of his have lasted so long?

“Wow. I barely feel like you need to check the rest of the cabins.” Luke remarked as they left. “I think you scored nearly full marks on that pop quiz.”

“Um.” Theo responded, really thinking he should not throw all his eggs in one basket, as much as he wouldn't mind staying at Cabin 10.

“Hey, I’m kidding!” Luke grinned at Theo’s worried expression. “Don't look at me like that, I'm not gonna abandon you to Silena after just one try. It’s kinda my job to take you around to every cabin at least once, and there's not much to do in the off season once I've finished my homework.”

“I'm glad I can serve as at least a distraction from boredom.” Theo sighed, swooning dramatically against Luke’s side. “It’s the least I can do for the angel that swept me off my feet.” He put a hand to his head like a fainting lady, making Luke shake his head.

“Such an Aphrodite kid.”

“Just an hour ago, I think I distinctly recall it was you arguing with Ethan that I was an Athena kid. How much do you think my mortal parent slept around?” Theo teased.

Luke glanced at him. “That depends on if your looks are from your godly parent, or them.”

Theo would concede Luke won that round.

-

Continuing to be contrary to any sense of logic and order, Luke skipped right past Cabin’s 9 through 7 to lead him to Cabin 6. When Theo asked about the others they missed, Luke waved it off.

“You said it best. Why not meet the top contenders for the betting first?”

Theo supposed he agreed, even as he stared at Athena’s cabin with trepidation. He certainly didn't think he'd hate this claim, compared to the much, much worse options. (Cough Zeus cough cough.) but he might mind it a bit. 

In his world, it was a compliment to always be considered a Ravenclaw kid or Cabin 6 member. Whenever his friends talked about what godly parents they might've had, Athena was always the most common one to come up. 

In the actual Percy Jackson world, he had much more mixed feelings about his intelligence being written off as genetics. 

It felt too close to depriving him of agency, to assume he must be an Athena kid. As if his entire self, his love for reading or desire to learn wasn't really his personality, but something hardwired into him. Just an inevitability inherited from his mom. An extension of her will. 

He suddenly understood why so many characters had hang ups over not living up to their parent’s reputation now. Unless you made yourself stand out by beating them in their own game, or defying all stereotypes to be the complete opposite of what's expected of you, why would anyone care to learn your name? How else could you stand out to become more than Apollo’s son or Demeter’s daughter, if you were only a decent archer or average with plants?  

Plus, Theo didn't know if his godly parent would be his mom or dad, because he didn't even know his mortal parent in this universe. The body in the wreck had been too burned. While that didn't matter with Athena's virgin spawned brain children, it did for all the rest. Most of the time, at least.

On the other hand, Theo thought as he stepped into what was basically a library with beds crammed into the empty spaces. I think I wouldn't mind being typecasted, if I got to sleep here for however many months more I live. 

There were six bunk beds evenly spaced around, along with a distinct scent of old paper and peppermint oil lining all the windowsills. Only four mattresses were occupied, and everyone of them had their noses in books, barely glancing up to see who was with Luke.

“Why is the library in a cabin instead of a public building?” Theo had directed at Luke, but was answered instead by a boy appearing from behind a shelf labeled Atlantean Modern Events. 

“Because this is Athena cabin’s private library. It's the only cabin to have a collection like this." A boy Silena’s age declared, evidently more than a bit proud of it. His slightly upturned nose reminded Theo of those hall monitors who took their job way too seriously. Class traitors, the lot of them. 

“How could you not bring me to the cabin with its own library first?” Theo asked Luke, mock hurt, before smiling at the stranger. “My name's Theo, it’s nice to meet you.”

The boy stepped away from the shelf reluctantly. “I’m the Head Counselor of 6, Malcolm. Welcome to Camp Half—”

“Luke!” Little Annie peeked over a top bunk with adorable twin puffs and a book hanging out her hand. She waved it at Luke before refocusing those infamous silver gray eyes on Theo. “You like to read?”

His heart was hit with surprise parental instincts (mostly to give her cash for a sundae at the ice cream truck, or whatever it was good dad’s do) but Theo refrained from cooing. As much as it felt like being reunited with the little sister he never had, the least he could do was give her some respect. He had admired her story ever since he was her age, and he remembered she hated being treated like a kid.

“There’s nothing I like more. Reading is basically all I do.” Theo confided conspiratorially, not able to stop his voice from going a bit softer than usual. Besides scroll social media, but that's not really an option anymore. “I see you're the same. What are the rules for checking a book out of your library?” 

“We don't usually like to give them out.” Malcolm hedged, holding his book carefully to his chest as if Theo’s mere presence might be poison. And, to be fair, maybe there had been a demigod that once came in and destroyed a book just by existing too close to it. The Stolls, probably.  

But no matter what holdbacks Malcolm had, Theo would literally die if he had to spend all his free time here with no books to read.

“I totally understand that, some of the cabins here don't seem like they value knowledge as much as they should.” Theo commiserated towards him with a slightly blatant exaggeration, but it succeed in getting the proud boy to put his guard down. “I used to go to my local library every week." He lied. He went monthly as a kid, but he only reads online now. "I can never understand people who don't love learning, y'know?”

“Absolutely!” Malcolm’s cloudy gray eyes ignited with passion as he went on an impassioned rant. “What greater goal do they have for life outside of gaining more knowledge? The visualizations, a story being weaved inside your head, the emotions words create and the lessons we can learn from lives completely different from ours—how can you not love it.”

“I can’t fathom it. You get immersed in different worlds, times, lives…” Theo had no idea if his eyes can actually change color, but on the off chance they do, he hopes the boy can be tricked into seeing a glimmer of silver in his eyes.

Just enough to make him wonder if Theo is one of his, despite how obviously different they look. Even Annabeth, cheeks as dark as her actress in the show, had eerily similar features to fair skinned Malcolm.

“I understand exactly what you mean.” Malcolm had drawn so close in his enthusiasm he was barely an arms-width away anymore.

“And I could never treat a book poorly. The idea of even dog earring a corner physically hurts me.” Theo swore, hand over heart. Luke snickered in the back at his overt eagerness, which Theo resolutely ignored. 

“Well.” Malcolm dithered on shifty feet, biting his lip as he squinted at Theo's face. “...You have to promise not to let anything happen to any books you take out, and not keep any for longer than a month.”

“Thank you so much!” Theo lit up, smiling brightly. “It doesn't take me longer than a day to read most books, so you won’t have to worry.”

If you totaled up my Ao3 history, I bet it’d impress even you guys. Let alone all the webnovels. I wonder if there’s some Athena power or artifact to find out how many words you’ve read in a lifetime?

“A day?” Luke chimed in, fully turning away from his quiet chatting with Annabeth. “An entire book in a day?”

“You’ve seen me do that all the time.” Annabeth pouted very maturely.

Luke wagged a finger. “Exactly, I’ve seen you or your siblings do it. Not anyone else.”

Theo tilted his head back and tried to recall his average reading time. “Last I checked I can do 20k in about an hour, and 100k in an afternoon, if I stay up late.”

“You measure by word count?” Annabeth boggled, along with everyone in the room who had been apparently eavesdropping the whole time. 

Theo shrugged helplessly. “I wouldn’t be able to live without something to read.”

“Same.” The peanut gallery chimed.

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” Annabeth leaned down from her bunk at him, suddenly interested in interrogating him too. The fact that the question she chose was such a typical kid-question to ask too. Just, ack, his heart. She was really only 11 years old.

“A psychologist or therapist. I like to think I’m pretty well read on, ah, y'know. The latest studies in mental health and the human psyche, if you ever want to ask questions.” Aka, podcasts and video essays that don’t even exist yet.

Just like every anxious teen who had to learn all about mental health from the internet because their parents refused to get them a proper therapist. Or get themselves one.

Revealing one of his main areas of interest seemed to be what sealed the deal, as both Annabeth and Malcolm looked sufficiently appeased that the new kid wouldn’t be an acid spewing, book eating menace. The way they both leaned in close, searching his face and staring at the blonde under half of his hair, as if he might be one of them…

“Nothing is certain until the owl appears, of course, but I’ll check back in after you’ve had some time to choose classes.” Malcolm declared expectantly.

10 out of 10, good job me. Theo thought to himself, content as Luke led him out. He had gotten a good grade in social interaction, something that is both normal to want and possible to achieve.

“That was such a mirage of-half truths and pandering that if you didn't look as opposite of me as Hades does Apollo, I'd swear you were an 11 kid.” Luke was becoming increasingly more incredulously amazed as the day went on, full on staring at Theo as if he were a duck shaped blimp. “Heck, if the other pantheons were real, you'd fit right in with Loki.”

Theo smiled far too innocently, tilting his head like a doll. “I mean, I do like snakes...”

Luke dragged him towards the next cabin before the poor Athena kids could hear how hard Luke cackled.

Chapter Text

Theo’s introduction to Ares Cabin wasn’t exactly as smooth as the two before.

“Red eyes? Interesting that a weakling like you has those.”

Alright, his introduction to Ares was absolute shit.

Are emotions tangible in this world? I can practically feel the insecurity buzzing off her skin. 

“Luke said they were more purple.” Theo redirected passively, falling back on his usual tactics when facing abrasive combatants. His face was blandly emotionless and his posture relaxed, refusing to give her anything to react to.

Clarisse laughed at him, an impressively haughty thing for a girl so young. “At least you already know you're not good enough for us. I heard you passed out and fell from a tree when you were already in the safe grounds of the camp shield! Loser much?”

Ares, how did you fuck this girl up so much? I heard you were actually pretty chill in the real Greek myths.

Logically, Theo understood Clarisse was an insecure and hormonal teenage demigod going through a lot of shit, and she was handling it the only way she knew how.

Emotionally, he wasn't someone who took crap from middle schoolers. 

Theo continued to explain, even tone unphased by her prodding. “I didn't know monsters, gods, or this camp were real until yesterday, when I ran into camp borders entirely by accident. It would be hard to know there was a barrier keeping monsters out when I didn't even think they existed an hour before.”

“You didn't know where camp was?” Luke cut in, surprised.

Theo glanced over, shrugging. “My relative didn't get the chance to tell me before the crash. I ran into camp just because that tree on the hill happened to be the tallest I'd seen in the forest, and I'd hoped to bandage my injuries and strategize before dealing with the fire breathing, car sized tiger.”

“You must be real weak to make it to 17 without any monster attacks before this.” Clarrise interrupted, utterly unprovoked. “I can't imagine you even have any ichor in you. Anyone stronger than Aphrodite or Demeter would've gotten eaten by now."

Eat the rude. Was the first thing that came to Theo's mind, which wasn't very helpful.

“Maybe it's just because I'm smarter than most, and know how to hide.” Theo responded in a patient, sweet-tone. It was only sweet to children, however, and was downright patronizing for a middle schooler. “Not everyone has the mind or capacity to do that, but that's okay. We're all skilled at different things, and I’m sure you're very strong to make up for what you lack.” He smiled brightly at her.

-

The Ares Cabin meeting was cut short when Luke forcibly dragged Theo out before Clarisse could finish finding her spear.

“I do not belong to that cabin.” Theo declared definitively, crossing his arms as he breathed through the urge to wrinkle his brow. Peaceful and chill, Peaceful and chill.

“You argue with too many words to be an Ares kid, which is another point for Athena.” Luke sighed. “But also a minus, because shouldn't you know better than to pick fights with Ares kids? Her rage aura wasn't even that intense.” 

Theo stared. “She has a rage aura and you didn't think to warn me?” 

Luke smiled sheepishly, half apologetic and half amused. “Well, there's only one chance I get to introduce people to this stuff. Sometimes I forget, y’know?”

You jackass. Theo thought internally. 

“You jackass.” Theo said aloud, after realizing there was no reason not to call Luke out on it.

Luke laughed like it was startled out of him, his head tipping forward and his hand covering his smile. 

“I’m gonna chalk that up to remnants of the rage aura, ya hear?” Luke waggled a finger at Theo. “Let's head back to 11 now, we should have enough time to check on your stuff before lunch.”

-

When they arrived, Theo was surprised to find what he assumed were his belongings sitting on an empty bunk.  

“Right under me.” Luke chirped, ushering Theo forth.  

Theo…had not been expecting to get a bed. He barely was sure if he'd get a sleeping bag for the floor, let alone a bottom bunk right next to the door. It should have been a coveted spot due to actually having a mattress, and even more so for its location.

Theo stepped forward gratefully, but confused. 

Why was it free?

He looked back at the cabin, where there were even two bags of belongings still on the floor rather than trying to claim the bed by seniority. His attention shifted to the cabin mates who were still there, the white haired winged kid, a green eyed boy with eyebags, and a boy who was half awake under a puddle of blankets. 

All were tactically avoiding his gaze.  

“Are you all…sure I can take this?” Theo asked them. “If anyone wanted to move from a sleeping bag, I’d totally be fine with one.”

“I have to stretch out my wings, so bunks aren't comfortable.” The boy fluttered them pointedly. 

The half asleep boy yawned. “I can sleep perfectly no matter where I am. It’s a talent.”

The last boy nodded along a bit too quickly. “Go right ahead, new kid.”

...this bed totally belonged to Luke's friend who died on the quest.

Theo smiled anyways. “Thanks, that's nice of you all.”

The quest he's not supposed to know about, so he has no reason to reject Luke's ex-best friend’s bed. 

While his back was turned, a new item was left next to the bed. He barely caught sight of the satyr that had snuck in before she was already gone, far out the door before Theo could ask any questions about the wreck.

Theo’s outstretched hand dropped, sighing as he gave up chasing her. It was for the best, honestly. How could he even phrase it? 

“Hey, was the (presumably related to me) driver who died getting me here a guy or a lady? I can't explain why I don't know that, but I need it so I can narrow down my godparent search. Capiche?”

As if. Suspicious as hell.

When he turned to the small box left behind, there was also a short and curt note from Dionysus.

All my satyrs found left behind on the other person was this necklace, pretty miraculously untouched by the fire. 

Corpse was charred beyond saving, sorry if you wanted the ashes. 

- D

The god's ability to be so apathetic actually made Theo laugh from how utterly horrible it was. Opening the box, he found a simple gold chain with a flower made out of a black gemstone he didn’t recognize.

He brought it up to the light, seeing how the autumn afternoon refracted the rays.

“It's obsidian.” The green eyed brunette (who didn’t strike Theo as a Hermes kid) said from behind him. “For clearing your mind, protection, and truth.”

Theo glanced at him over his shoulder. “You wouldn't happen to recognize the flower too, would you?”

The boy shook his head. 

“Thanks for what you could, Alabaster.” Luke quirked a grin, patting the boy’s shoulder before turning his smile towards Theo. “At lunch, maybe you can ask your new best friend Silena.” He teased.

Theo was too busy staring at the weight in his palm. 

He wondered if this trinket meant the person who died was his mother, and the necklace a gift from his godly father. Or, was the person who died his father, holding on to a memento of Theo’s godly mother?

“Yeah, totally.'' Theo agreed absentmindedly.

He didn't know. Even as he stared at the necklace, he didn't feel like any memories were trying to press at the edges of his mind, nor did he feel any deja vu. He had no way of knowing anything about this life that wasn't his.

This body was so close to his own that he could pretend it was, but he couldn't help but catalog all the differences. His walk was steadier, his strides a bit longer. He had never been short or clumsy, but there was a sort of confident athleticism this body naturally settled in which he couldn't understand at all.

He had all his piercings, except the extra one people tended not to notice wasn't a septum he hid by flipping up, like he had in the real world. Here, it was a tongue piercing. He had always wanted one, but the healing process was one he'd decided to wait until college to deal with. 

In this book universe, all the healing had been done for him.

Had my parent’s paid for it? How did he get the money? 

Theo silently walked to the small bathroom that the cabin had connected to it. No one bothered him, as he locked the door and stared at the mirror.

Slowly—almost hesitantly—he touched his face in the reflection. 

Did you work part time at a café like I did? Did you write essays for that senior who worked in a parlor, so he’d pierce them all for free? How much of our lives were the same, and how much was different?

He still had a white ink tattoo on his wrist that you could barely see, and the scar on the back of his bicep from falling on glass as a kid, but he also had new scars. Scars he didn't recognize, and couldn't tell the stories for.

Whose body is this?

...Whose life am I living? 

Theo clipped the necklace on, splashed cold water on his face, and left the mirror behind before he broke it.

The majority of space on his bed was taken up by a charred, army green duffle bag whose insides had miraculously survived.

Theo rifled through a bag of clothes that he probably would have bought at the thrift, but never actually had. There were countless band tees — Three Days Grace, Get Scared, Pierce the Veil — which were all bands he did like. Yet, there were also fingerless gloves, sleeveless zip ups, and arm warmers, which Theo certainly didn't wear in the modern day.

He stared at the clothing items suspiciously. It was like he was staring at a MySpace throwback— except, of course, he wasn't in a throwback. He was in the height of MySpace’s reign. Not the era of mainstream popularity where people wore these all the time, but back when it was a bit lame and niche to wear something “edgy”.

At least black converse were timeless. He chuckled when he saw a pair inside.

Theo missed his jackets and sweaters that had actual sleeves. His usual style was baggy pants and baggier sweaters. Arm warmers + a sleeveless zip up effectively gave him the same thing, but it was a matter of principle. Fall mornings weren't too cool in Long Island, but Theo always liked to have his arms covered when weather permitted. 

Though, now that he was thinking of the weather… 

Summer is gonna suck, unless I somehow make crop tops socially acceptable in 2005. He realized, considering every clothing item he had was black, dark red, army green, and with a few white accents to spice things up. He had nothing meant for the warm season.

Whatever, I’ll burn that bridge when I get to it.

“About wrapped up?” Luke asked, leaning against their shared bed and observing his search.

“Sure.” It wasn't like this was Theo's stuff. He wasn't actually looking to see if his favorite studded belt survived, or whatever the onlookers assumed. He was rifling through a stranger's things.  

“Great!” Luke clapped. “I’d like to spend the time after lunch taking you to some activities. Give you some time away from anymore cabin interrogations.”

Theo quirked a brow. “You just don't want anymore Clarisse incidents.”

Luke’s wordless, sparkling smile was answer enough.

-

“Aaaaveeeee maaaariiiiiaaaa~ you just have to sing like that!”

“...Give me some time to build up my confidence to sing in front of you all, okay?”

I have no idea what year any of the songs I know were released, and that would be a lame way to get my time traveling revealed.

“Just one song, pretty please?”

“Aww, ok let me rephrase — no.”

—

“You're going to have to pay attention in swordsmanship lessons.”

“Yeah, I could tell, Luke.”

“You weren't utterly hopeless for a newbie, of course, but —”

“I fight with my words, not my fists. I’m not expecting to be some macho tough guy swinging a battle axe around on my first day.”

“Thank Hades. You wouldn't believe how many of these guys start out like that. More pride than sense, until they end up in the infirmary. You can really tell they're part God then.” 

“You must be getting paid good to deal with it.”

“I'm not.”

“What?”

“I'm not getting paid.”

“You're a minor working a fulltime job for the literal gods, and they can't spare even a drachma per hour?”

“They're not exactly known for their kindness.”

“Yeah, but I expected them to at least follow some kind of logic. Underpaying your workers — let alone not paying them at all — is awful for workplace environments. It leads to quicker and inteser burnout, tensions, higher dissatisfaction and faster turn over rate — don't they have a god of wisdom?”

“You might get to meet her if you keep talking that way.”

“Oh, does she accept criticism so she can grow and improve as a person?”

“HAHAH—”

—

“This is actually pretty fun, after running around all day.”

“New kid, it’s supposed to be a canoe race. Can you at least pretend to try? You’re not even paddling!”

“I’m actually trying very hard to peacefully float around and enjoy nature, and am succeeding fantastically in that task. It’s not my fault you want me to be trying at something else.”

“We told you it was a race at the very beginning!”

“So? Just because I said I understood the rules didn’t mean I agreed to follow them.”

-

Theo was still too nervous about fire to try the lava wall, and no one forced him to. There were a myriad of other things to try, but only so much time left in the day, so after their relaxing canoe drift, Theo and Luke headed for dinner.

He had been decent at bow and arrow, but that was only because he’d been a cub scout, and he did it every year at an actual summer camp. He wasn't “pick it up and instantly be good at it” good, only “person with keen eyesight and decent memory for things” good. 

He refused to dance or sing, no matter how the naiads tempted him, as he wasn’t in the mood to either embarrass himself or spoil something respectively. He couldn’t dance in general, but also didn’t know what songs came out this summer. No dice.

By the end of the (admittedly, pretty fun afternoon at camp) Theo had learned absolutely nothing about who his godly parent might be.

-

Still, when he got to the evening campfire, he didn’t hesitate before choosing a god to pray to.

I dedicate this food to Hermes. Thank you for welcoming me, and every camper without a real home, into your cabin. Thank you for whatever part you did raising Luke, because he's grown to be a good person who shoulders countless burdens around camp, despite the lack of thanks, recognition, or even pay. He's truly so selfless.

It was an entirely innocent prayer, from an entirely innocent Theo. This demigod had no idea what had happened with May or Thalia or the Quest. He was simply thanking the god of the first friend he made at camp.

Because of this, it couldn't in any way be perceived as a backhanded compliment. If Hermes happened to listen, though…perhaps he might notice the underlying issue of too many campers packed into 11, and the fact that he never spent time with Luke after the failed quest.

Here’s hoping. Theo sighed, before turning back around with his pleasant expression on again.

-

Before the kids started to get up and leave their empty plates behind for the night, Dionysus tapped a spoon to his glass filled with Diet Coke.

“Welcome our newest camper, Theodoros Vinci.” He said in the most unwelcoming voice imaginable.

Luke cleared his throat. 

“What.” Dionyous groaned.

Luke said nothing.

“Ugh, don’t whine about it.” Dionysus sighed. “Welcome, Theo Venturi.”

Luke's smile was bright and friendly. His eyes, on the other hand, were trying to shoot lasers through Dionysus’s skull.

“Thanks, Mr. D.” Luke said in such a chipper tone he could cut down the Amazon. “I'll bring Theo ‘round for more introductions tomorrow, and all of y'all who haven't already will get to meet him.” He said much less homicidally towards the smattering of kids at the different tables.

“Nice to meet you all.” Theo waved at them all, a polite smile tugging more genuine at the open faces he was met with. Determinedly, he did not glance at the Ares table direction.

Theo was vastly preferring the more intimate and small nature of the off-season dinners to the highschool cafeteria levels of chaos he thinks summer might be. A couple friendly kids waved back, which was good enough for him. 

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and all that. Trying to mitigate collateral for a war that hasn’t even started wouldn’t happen in a night.

Chapter Text

Theo had woken up from his fall on a Friday, so throughout the rest of the weekend, he met the rest of the cabin counselors and at least one or two members of each group. 

And—come hell or high water—he was determined to make a good impression on them all.

He got the names of everyone in Hermes, like the son of Hypnos, Clovis, who Theo had barely noticed due to the fact that he was buried under blankets the entire time. He also learned that the winged son of Eros was called Eddie, (which was apparently short for Endearment???) along with meeting the assorted other non-Hermes kids who had nowhere else to go.

Lou Ellen was apparently also a new camper, but she seemed to get along well with her brother through Hecate, Alabaster. Ethan was Alabaster's best friend, though he also hung around Eddie. It was almost hard to tell those two were friendly since all they seemed to do was snipe at each other and complain, but apparently, that was just their personalities. 

There were definitely deeper nuances happening under the surface of the Hermes Cabin’s unphased exterior, but Theo only had so much time to hyper analyze every interaction between claimed and unclaimed when there were the children of Olympians to scam—I mean, befriend.

-

Cabin 4 didn't feel as much like a hallowed Greek shrine the way Ares had, with its marble pillars and weapons, or Athena’s, with its stone carvings and sacred library. 

With a thatched roof of living grass, Demeter’s felt like a truly lived in place. A quiet cabin-in-the-woods, closer to the strawberry fields than any other cabin. Covered in vines on the outside walls, and with bushes of all sorts of colorful flowers blooming in full swing around it, it was like Theo had stepped into a fairytale meadow. 

Even at just a glance, Demeter’s cabin was absolutely stunning—and nicer than Aphrodite's, in Theo’s opinion. 

He said as much to the two girls there to greet him, though in very different, very precise words. He wasn't stupid enough to say the words “prettier than Aphrodite” out loud, even if it was just about interior decoration.

“Thanks, Theo.” Katie smiled carefully back at him, eyes darting to where Luke was lurking at the door frame as he always did. “It's…nice to meet you.”

Theo scrounged up book lore in his mind for a half a second before he realized what was causing such a reaction in her when all he had done was walk in.

The Stolls must have already put the fear of Hermes into Demeter Cabin. Theo recalled, the realization dawning as he glanced back at Luke's trademark blonde hair. Or, maybe started a feud is the better term.

Theo forgot what exactly it was that the Stolls did to Katie, but regardless, he didn't want to get caught up in a scandal he hadn't even been a part of just because he was unclaimed. There was a rivalry between Demeter and Hermes cabin (well, everyone had a rivalry with Hermes at some point, but Demeter's was the freshest) or potentially just between Katie and the Stolls, but it ended up with the same result.

Katie was clearly shying away from him because of it. This wasn't just Theo's anxiety, she was literally shying away. The flowers all over the inside of the cabin were tilting away from Theo and Luke, physically pulling back in a way that should be impossible for stationary life forms.

On one hand, it was amazing to see the magic (because it was magic) of a demigod in action in a non-life-or-death situation. On the other hand, it was magic that was very clearly signaling “go away wretched Hermes spawn, you might have cooties” from the child of an Olympian.   

And no matter what 2000s era, misogynistic bullshit some campers had been whispering about the powers of the goddesses, Theo was not going to take any more chances at offending the children of the major gods. Demeter and Aphrodite could be just as terrifying as Ares and Hades. 

“It's nice to meet you too, Katie.” Theo didn't go full in with the cheer, instead pulling back into a calmer tone that wouldn't remind Katie as much of the Stolls forcefully mischievous charm. “I've been excited to see Demeter Cabin ever since I woke up, and I have to say, it's even more full of life than I could have imagined.”

The girl’s wound up shoulders relaxed an inch at that, not able to ignore the genuine appreciation for her Mother’s creations. “That's sweet of you to say. It's tough to keep it up all year, but the work is relaxing, and it makes the cabin feel much more like home.” 

“Most of these flowers are out of season!” The younger girl hiding behind Katie spoke up, peeking out with sunflowers braided into her thick brown hair. “But to practice our powers, I have to make sure they all stay alive until next summer!” She excitedly babbled, probably only a year or two older than Annabeth.

“To keep so many living things alive, that's really impressive.” Theo congratulated sincerely. “You're doing a great job at it from what I can see. They all look lovely…”

“Miranda.” The girl filled in.

“Good work then, Miranda.” Theo smiled. “I've always thought being connected with nature was an amazing power, but Cabin 4 has surpassed even my expectations.”

“Really?” Katie asked, hesitant in deciding if Theo was mocking her or not. 

Theo felt genuinely bad, thinking of all the shit the Demeter and Aphrodite cabin got just for being more femininely aligned. They were literally part of the ruling 12 on Olympus, and judging by the Gardinier’s reactions, even they didn't get any respect. The children of minor gods didn't stand a chance.

“Of course.” Theo said firmly. “Demeter is literally a goddess of the earth! Anytime anything ruins agriculture, millions die—how could anyone ignore that? I could easily argue your mother has one of the most important domains for us. No matter how hard you fight, you can't kill famine.”

Unless the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are real, in which case, Percy probably would be able to.

“I never thought of it that way...” Katie realized, trailing off as she thought of all the implications her mother’s power really had.

“Hey, while we’re here, didn’t you have that necklace you couldn’t figure out?” Luke reminded him.

“Ah, right! Thanks for reminding me.” Theo pulled the obsidian necklace out from under his shirt and let it hang in front. “It’s okay if you can't, of course, but—do you happen to recognize this flower?” He had completely forgotten about the necklace after putting it on, which he could probably accredit to his god tier hyperactivity.

Assigned ADHD by God. Damn.

“Hmm, since it’s cut from a gem I can see how it could be a bit confusing to tell, but it looks like a dahlia to me.” Katie said, leaning back from her study of the necklace.

“A dahlia, huh.” Theo rolled the word around on his tongue, but no sudden enlightenment came. “I’m not up to date on flower language, do either of you know anything about that?”

“Oh, I do!”  Miranda practically jumped forward, clearly eager to share. “Like most flowers it can mean gracefulness and elegance and all that crap, but the meanings unique to the dahlia are that it’s for stubborn people.” She grinned.

Luke barked a laugh, which was swiftly met with a swat from Theo without even looking. 

Katie shook her head, giggling. “Steadfastness, petal, not stubbornness. It signals inner strength and independence, which I think is quite nice.”

“Hey, I never said being stubborn was bad. You call me that all the time!”  Miranda defended with a pout.

The girls were both still a bit unavoidably shy, but considering Theo wasn't actually a Hermes kid, it seemed they couldn't bring themselves to hold any more suspicions towards him after that. He also wasn’t loudly sexist and actually treated them like people, which possibly did more than anything else.

“Soooo, Theo: if we played something like Capture the Flag, you would pick us for your team?” Miranda probed after Katie and Luke’s giggling had died down.

Theo nodded obligingly. “In an instant! Being able to trip runners and snag legs with vines, smacking arrows with tree branches or even stealing the flag with one. Well, I don't know why we would ever play Capture the Flag, but if Cabin 4 felt like flexing their powers, I think you could be star players.”

Miranda smirked, pointedly elbowing Katie in an incredibly unsubtle way. Luke hid his laugh in a cough while Katie sighed tiredly, but the smile growing on her face couldn't be hidden—nor could the way the flowers now tilted towards Theo, brushing their soft petals against his ankles and cheeks like a pet sniffing his hand.

“I’m glad you think that, Theo. I'm sorry if I was curt first, but I have to say that unfortunately…some campers aren't as polite as you.” Katie finally admitted. “It's refreshing, to be given a measure of respect.” 

It probably helped that Theo wasn't lying at all. He really did think their powers were pretty cool, considering Theo very possibly only had the standard power of “blood that attracts blood sucking monsters” as his godly inheritance. There were far more minor gods than Olympians, after all, and Theo's ability to figure out what domain he inherited went down drastically if he didn't have the list conveniently narrowed down to 12.

“Those lame-o’s suck, so we can just forget about ‘em.” Miranda easily steamrolled past with the energy of a 12 year old. “We should focus on the actually important stuff: What’s your favorite flower!” She asked as if it was obvious that he must have one.

“Mmm, my favorite flower? It would probably be a—Hibiscus.” Theo lied easily after a moment of scrambling for a name. “It's a native wildflower to where I used to live, actually. It may not be in any expensive bouquets, but I can't help but be attached.” He added with an air of old fondness.

The information on the flower was correct, of course, coming from a science project he did on local wildflowers in the eighth grade. Theo just didn't have any strong opinions about plants. He liked nature in general, of course, and was more informed on the global boiling of the 2020s than most. (He was of the mind that a strategically placed pipe bomb in an ExxonMobile shareholders meeting would be the most eco friendly move.) 

Liking plants as a concept didn't really mean anything though. He had no opinions on favorite flowers prior to two seconds ago, beyond the fact that he thought roses were overdone in tattoos.

“The hibiscus genus does have some beautiful specimens.” Katie thankfully agreed easily, and didn't ask for anything more specific. If Theo had been pressed to name a specific species of Hibiscus, he would be lost. “Flowers are always the mainstream question though. What's your favorite plant that's not a flower?” She asked, sincerely interested.

“Ooo! I chose red wood trees ‘cause, well, duh.” Miranda said without elaboration. “They're red woods.” She said it like redwoods were celebrities.

“I'm personally fond of monstera albo this month.” Katie demurred, clearly having as much stake in the question as her half-sister sister, despite trying to temper her excitement. “The color variegation and unique leaf shape is so pretty, you know?”

“Of course.” Theo nodded as if he understood anything that was just said, and thought of the first plant he knew that wasn't a flower. “My favorite plant that's not a flower. I’d say a Venus fly trap.”

“Ohhh, you're into carnivorous plants?” Miranda’s eyes brightened with enthusiasm—actually, no, it was her sun flowers that had bloomed brighter with her excitement, lighting up her face. “I've read about them, but I’ve never tried to make one! Katie always said I'm too young and would put too much power into it and make a fly trap that would eat us all alive.” She shrugged her possible death off easily. “But if you were around, she would totally have to let us do it!”

“Slow your speed grow there, Miranda.” Katie warned. “He has a bit of our hair color, but not much else. We still have no idea if he's part of our cabin.” She lightly let down, looking back at him with a sympathetic expression

“C’mon, we're not very identifiable anyways.” Miranda waved off. “I wonder if Persephone has any kids?” She wondered aloud. “That would make you, like…our nephew?”

Staring down at the middle school aged kid, Theo genuinely considered for a moment that this child might be his aunt. 

“Let's not think too hard about that.” Katie said.

Theo nodded quickly. “Agreed.”

-

Tree climbing, sailing, the three legged race. During the free time in the morning, Luke took him to every open event around camp. He seemed to be happy to have a new, undetermined camper to show around, as it gave him every excuse to go off alone. Avoiding his own cabin, and the distinct lack of whichever friend Luke had lost on the quest.

Theo was a conveniently complex distraction that wouldn't remind Luke of the past. Despite logically knowing this was the only reason they were spending all their time together, Theo couldn't help but lean back on Luke more and more as the events moved along. Everyone in Hermes adored their big brother for a reason. Having his dedicated attention, his desire to help all focused on you made you feel…

He didn't know. He just thought it was no wonder everyone subtly fought to keep Luke’s attention, as it was one of the most precious commodities camp had to offer.   

Theo found out that during the weekend, Apollo cabin spent all their time outside, enjoying the ever-present sun of Camp Half-Blood. To actually find their Head Counselor to speak to, Luke dragged him all over every corner of camp to try and find the right curly blonde head of hair, or even just the right sport that fit Theo. 

(Both goals ended in failure, if you wanted to know.)

Theo wasn't terrible at anything, but he also wasn't astoundingly good. He was depressingly middling, knowing the basics for most things but having nothing where he actually shined through. If Theo’s godly parent was watching him, he had certainly done nothing to earn their claim so far.

It took giving up and going to lunch to finally find all the sunny Apollo kids in one place, laughing as they launched grapes from one end of the table into a chalice on the other end. It felt a bit like that part of a high school movie where everything went slow-mo and the music changed, the camera focusing entirely on the beauty of the popular kids’ table and ignoring all the outcast extras.

Theo wasn't sure what it was, the sunlight or music or cheer…but he distinctly felt like he was the opposite of the Apollo cabin. 

That didn't stop him from making an introduction though, forcing himself to be an extrovert and matching their energy, brightly trying to remember all their designated names and instruments with a smile. Despite being the most godly looking people he's met since Silena and Luke himself, the majority of the table weren't actually self centered or clique-y. 

The moment he stepped into their bubble, the chill of early fall disappeared and he felt surrounded by warmth. It was very clear the Apollo kids ran hot, by how no one was wearing long sleeves or pants, and their personalities ran just as warm. Half had an instrument on them at all times, and were more than happy to play a welcome song for the new kid.

There were less than a handful of pretentious assholes, and it was easy to ignore them when they were pointedly ignoring Theo. Evidently, they weren’t interested in associating with one of the unclaimed.

-

Charles Beckendorf had to be the nicest person Theo had met so far. 

Luke was funny and far too likeable, but he also had, just, so much going on. The counselor of Hephaestus Cabin, on the other hand, was a relaxed and earnest guy who wasn’t weighed down by secret loyalties or overt responsibility. He didn’t have demons whispering in his dreams, and he wasn’t the kind of person to put up a complex facade like Clarrise or Silena. 

Ironic for the son of the God of Fire, but he was actually a really chill guy.

“I'm more of a planning and writing than a physical creation person.” Theo explained after a very brief introduction where they both realized quickly he probably didn’t belong in Cabin 9. For example, the fact that Beckendorf was barely sweating in the heat of this forge while Theo desperately wanted to find a shady place to lay down. “Like, debate club or long essay type stuff.”

“So you’re a thinker?” Beckendorf teased lightly, looking exaggeratedly over at Athena cabin before glancing back at Theo. “You gotta have a lot of ideas for the future, then. Seven step plans for world domination?"

“Oh, I have plenty.” Theo’s thoughts drifted to the decades worth of American history he could predict, the policies he could reform. Starting with assassinating the CEO of every oil company in the world, and asking Apollo to stop The Apprentice from ever airing…

But this is also a fictional universe where Olympus just. Hangs out on top of New York all the time. The muggle future probably isn't the same as mine. Theo felt a mix of disappointed and relieved that this world had different celebrities and senators and such. It would be far too much responsibility to not just make sure the godly world is saved by Percy, but to also try to save the entire mortal realm as well.

- 

Sunday night, he gets a nice, leather bound journal from the camp store for free. He claimed he had lost his in the fire, and didn’t feel bad at all about guilting Katie (who apparently ran the shop) into giving it to him for free.

“It has a privacy charm, so that none of your cabin mates will try to open and read it.” She explained sympathetically, handing it over with her hand softly held over his. 

“Thanks, Katie. It really means more than you could know.” Theo murmured, letting his eyes convey his earnest gratitude.

It was absolutely worth the white lie for a journal engraved with privacy runes (magic!!) by the dryads, along with a couple other necessities that he didn’t have any cash to buy. He had already decided he would do whatever it took to ensure he could safely write down every plot detail he can think of from the entire series. He couldn’t risk some random snooping kid getting into it, and especially not when Hermes' cabin was filled with the demigods most likely to join Kronos’ ranks.

He still writes it in Spanish though, and uses gratuitous modern references, slang, and niche terms that are utterly incomprehensible to anyone from this era. He straight up titles it his ‘Isekai Battle Plan’, since he’s pretty sure isekai as a genre hasn’t even been invented yet.

There was a lot that he had to get through, and a lot that he couldn’t do anything about. Things like Gaia or Camp Jupiter or Apollo’s spinoff were way too far in the future to plan about, so he put the most focus into thinking about Kronos’ War. There were certain things he wanted to prevent, impossible as it probably would be, like Bianca.

He had no clue if it was possible to defy a prophecy like that, and he was a bit terrified about the implications if it was possible. Still, when he thought about how happy Nico had been before she left?

I’ll probably fail, but that’s a problem for future me.

Along with things to prevent, there were also things that he needed to make sure happened. Cruel as some of the things to come would be, the consequences for them not happening would be even worse. Thalia’s tree being poisoned, for example, as it was necessary for the Golden Fleece to bring her back. Percy going on his first Quest with Annabeth and Grover was another thing that needed to stay the same.

As much as Theo wished he could rip apart the timeline and expose all the cracks of the godly world, he would immediately get smited by any plethora of characters. Zeus, Ares, Kronos, Hecate, etc etc. It was possible the Fates themselves would be the ones to do it for being an intruder of this world, so he had to be as low key as possible. 

God forbid if anyone got ideas in their head about him being a prophet. 

Theo now understood Percy Jackson on a much deeper level. Knowing that the literal fate of the world was on your shoulders was an awful experience, and Theo wasn’t even the protagonist. 

He did, however, have the main antagonist sleeping right above him. All his theorizing and planning about how to get to the happiest possible ending started right here:

If Theo was going to change the world, he needed to start with Luke.

Being in the same classes, same cabin, and same year-round camp prison, they would be seeing a lot of each other. Luckily, they had started off on a good foot (good fall?) and their personalities meshed pretty well. Theo honestly would have befriended the guy anyways, considering he was damn funny when Theo could get Luke’s honest thoughts to peek out from the Responsible Authority Figure mask he put up to deal with his grief.

For better or worse, Theo tended to be the therapist friend. It did get exhausting at times, but he couldn't help his desire to—well, help. Thankfully, he had grown since his freshman year of highschool, where he had a toxic friend group he spent way too much of his energy on. He knew his limits better now, and he had become the kind of person who would get others to open up, but let them figure out the root of their issues on their own.

It was a bit unfair, that Theo knew all about the worst parts of Luke’s life without the guy telling him first. Theo’s hope was that eventually Luke would feel comfortable enough to open up about what he had been through, and tell Theo on his own terms. It would actually be kind of nice, for Theo to be able to plan exactly what he would say ahead of time. 

Theo would also just have to figure out the best way to prevent Luke from suffering the consequences of failing Kronos at the same time.

“Easy peasy.” He murmured sarcastically. 

Planning from the shadows was his preferred modus operandi, as while he could talk big when he needed to, actually backing that up with physical ability or demigod powers was dubious and unlikely. Theo doubted he was some Big 3 power house. His entire advantage in this world came only from the fact that he knew the canon timeline. 

But, simply by existing, he was already causing ripples in the time stream. If he wanted to change Luke but still make sure the war happened in a way that Percy won, Theo had to keep the rest of the plot as close to canon as possible. That way, he could continue to predict things.

If I want to save anyone, I need things to go mostly the same. I know for a fact that, as things are, we win the war. Theo gripped his pencil tight. I’ll try to save who I can, and alleviate the worst of certain plot points, but I have to moderate my interference. If I push things too far, if too much changes…

It was a terrible balance to try and map out. He couldn’t stand the idea of letting so many characters he knew die without trying to help. Yet, he also had to make sure he only helped in a way that wouldn’t cause too much of a butterfly effect, or else he would be forsaking the lives of everyone he could have saved after them.

Knowing the future kind of sucked. 

-

After being forced to take a short break via mild anxiety attack, he stops thinking so hard about existential topics or the morality of playing god to write some letters instead.

Obviously, they weren’t letters he was going to mail to anyone. His entire family was probably dead. Who would he even send them to?

No, the letters he was writing were for the campers to read in case he died in the near future. It was a very optimistic contingency. 

You might be thinking: “Hey, isn't preparing letters to be read after your death actually terribly depressing?” And in a way, you’d be right, since Theo was only writing them as he had an extremely dim outlook of how long he was going to last in this universe.

On the other hand, Theo was hoping that he'd survive long enough to have people who would bother to read his last will when he died. 

See? That’s optimism. 

He drafted the letters in the back of his journal, with various titles like: “In case the grim reaper isn't grim reaper-ing”, “In case a certain seaweed brain goes missing around the winter solstice”, “In case an augur wants to declare war”, “In case a wise girl wants to find a parthenos”, and so on.

Their names didn't make any sense now, but if Theo was gone and someone kept his letters around, he could still make a difference. He wouldn't be able to see it, sure, but that was never the whole point. 

Of course he wanted to live. Of course he wanted to fight to be treated better by the Gods, but he also wants all demigods to be treated better. Knowing that the campers would still get some benefit from his existence made him feel a bit more confident in his place here. It would suck not getting to see what his letters changed, but that was life.

If Theo managed to help the characters he loved even when he's gone, he thinks that would still be fulfilling some kind of purpose with his life. A final parting gift as thanks to whatever chose to bring him to this world, he supposed.

Though, I’m not sure if I should be thanking them or cursing them yet. Theo sighed, stuffing the journal into his pillowcase. He was exhausted after such a long weekend. And yet, despite all the stress and adrenaline of this new life—

He still had school tomorrow.