A Walk with a certain Demigod

Annabeth had taken Albert and Percy from the Big House, casting glances at the former sporadically as they made their way to the cabin where they would be settling in until they were claimed, she left after delivering them without much fuss. Albert was hesitant to step into Cabin 11 where he knew someone important would be.

Suddenly he felt a pad on his back, it was Percy looking at him with sympathetic eyes. He should learn to hide his expressions better, he thought, doing his best to feel too much sympathy for Percy, otherwise the guilt would crush him.

"Let's just go in." He stated as he quickly escaped those green eyes that made him feel unsure of what he should do.

At first glance, out of all the twelve cabins representing the Olympians, this one was the one that looked the most regular out of all of them. Like a regular old summer camp cabin, even if it looked really old. There were parts of it that were worn out by time and the brown paint was peeling in a couple of spots. Over the doorway, the symbol of a winged pole with two winged snakes which usually one would see at some doctor's office was very evident. Albert had no idea what it was called and hoped nobody asked him if he knew.

Inside the cabin, it was... full. No, it was crowded. Overcrowded. There were way too many people, both boys and girls, very young no older than ten to teenagers. More than the number of beds available. There were sleeping bags all around on the floor, various colors that made the scene particularly colorful. A mixture of one of those emergency medical warzones that looked chaotic and a gym full of oddly athletic children.

"Annabeth said we would probably see each other at dinner, didn't she?" Albert asked, loud enough for Percy to hear him.

"Yeah, why?" Percy replied.

Because I don't think I like this place very much, Albert thought. He shook his head, "Nothing, I just didn't eat anything since I got here. You?"

Percy's stomach grumbled and he looked slightly embarrassed, but not too much.

"Look, we have newbies!" Somebody yelled.

"Regular or Undertermed?"

"Undertermed," Percy replied under the scrutiny of so many gazes.

Everybody groaned in dismay, and Albert felt tempted to groan with them too. This situation was insulting and negligent for both the children of Hermes and the Unclaimed, too many people for a small space. He wondered if it was forbidden to build a normal cabin somewhere at camp to alleviate the burden here, but maybe it was against the rules of the Gods.

A guy who was older than most of the others came forward to greet them. "Now, now, campers. That's what we're here for. Welcome, Percy and... Albert, right? You two can find yourselves some spot on the floor, right over there."

Albert, of course, could guess the identity of this person. He looked nineteen. He was tall and muscular in a slim and not bulky way, with short-cropped sandy blond hair and a bright friendly smile. He had a cool aura of coolness about him too. This huy wore the same bright orange tank top, cutoffs, sandals, and the hippie necklace with different clay beads that campers usually had, his had five beads. He even had a thick scar that ran from just beneath his right eye to his unfairly good-looking jaw, it made him look cooler than he should have.

"I'm Luke Castellan, you guys can call me Luke," He said with a soft and deep-toned voice. "I'm your counselor for now."

Albert wondered if he was blushing, but hoped he wasn't because that would be a problem. He quickly dispelled his thoughts and asked, "For now?"

"You two are undetermined," Luke explained patiently, "They don't know what cabin to put you guys in, so you're here for now. Cabin eleven takes newcomers, all visitors. Naturally, we would. Hermes, our patron, is the god of travelers."

There was a silent pause as both he and Percy seemed to have thoughts about their prospects until Percy broke the silence and asked, "How long will I, huh, we, how long are we going to be here?"

"Good question," Albert added in all honesty. He hoped it didn't take too long, he wanted at least the right to a bed of his own.

"Until you are determined," Luke replied.

"How long does that take?" Percy pressed for more information.

The campers, all of them, laughed out loud. A mixture of actual endearment at his naivety and some sort of self-deprecation.

"Until our godly parents claim us as their own," Albert replied to him, feeling mentally drained for too many reasons to count. Thinking about what else he should do, he thought about it for a second and looked at Percy, "You, let's go take a look at the volleyball court."

"We just seen it."

"Now, Jackson!" Albert sharply said glaring at the boy, begging him with his eyes to take a hint.

That seemed to work since the boy followed him out without having to be dragged outside, they could still hear the laughing inside the cabin. Albert hated the feeling of being the target of injustice and even more the feeling of being taken as a joke. He always had. Even if he knew that those laughing noises weren't truly directed at him or even Percy, but at their owner's own lame situation.

"Huh, are you okay?" Percy asked in mild worry.

Albert stopped and with crossed arms, he inspected Percy from top to bottom, with a serious expression saying, " You are denser than I thought... you gotta be better than that, Jackson."

"What?!" The boy asked in surprise and visibly offended and also a bit angry. "What is your problem? First, you save me and then you treat me coldly and now you are insulting me!"

Albert fought the urge to roll his eyes or to mumble something truly offensive, only taking a deep breath and sighing in resignation, "I don't know you, Jackson, and I told you this before. I didn't do that for you. I am not your friend. I wish Annabeth or Chiron or anyone had explained this to you, but it looks like you haven't realized it yet."

"Realized what?" The boy looked angry, hurt, and confused. 

"Haven't you seen just how many people were in there and the way some of them were looking at us?!" Albert asked back in exasperation, "Too many, that's the answer. The demigods of Hermes are probably the ones who got right to a bed, all the others on the floor weren't even claimed by their godly parents. Some of them were older than us. Do you know what it means?" He paused as he saw Percy's expression changing in clarity, "Yes... some of them are desperate to be claimed. Yet you killed the Minotaur even before setting foot at this place, even if you didn't want to have to, they didn't know the price you paid. They have no idea what happened for you to get that accomplishment, something that would probably earn them the recognition they are so eager to get."

Percy Jackson was looking at him with an unreadable look in his eyes, before he huffed and looked away saying,"... I didn't do that alone. You helped me!"

"They don't know about that yet, and just to be sure... I didn't not help you, Jackson." Albert mumbled back in annoyance, "Also, just to be sure, I believe monsters don't stay dead. I am sure they will tell us eventually."

"What do you mean by that? We killed the Minotaur!" Percy asked.

Albert ignored the "we" in his words and explained, "Well, according to the myths, that thing was killed by Theseus. Not running around in the middle of Long Island, that's for sure. Uncle Joseph, the satyr I was with, he told me that the monsters hunt demigods like me. Like us, Jackson. It means that this place here probably exists to train us to fight those things." 

"You are doing it again..." Percy mumbled, clearly annoyed, but not angry now.

"Doing what?" The other boy couldn't help but ask.

"Nothing!" Percy sharply said avoiding eye contact. He then sounded sadder than ever, "What am I supposed to do now? My mom is gone, my father doesn't want me. I don't know what to do."

Albert felt sympathy for the boy, and for once he didn't want to ignore it. He gestured for the boy to follow him, and they both sat under a tree not far from where they were, he hesitated for a moment before starting, "I am sorry about your mom, Jackson. I miss my family too, a lot, but I can't be with them without putting them in danger. I-I mean they are still alive, but I miss them."

Percy shifted in his place and turned his back on Albert, so the other boy couldn't see his face, with a cracking voice he said, "Sally Jackson, her name was Sally Jackson...she works at a candy store at Grand Central Station... At least, she used to."

"It wasn't your fault, you know?" Albert tentatively said, "Not about what happened to your mom and not about your dad either. I know it, I was there. You couldn't save her then, but she wouldn't want you to feel guilty."

"How do you know?" Percy snapped at him, with misty watery sea green eyes. "I could've saved her! You told me yourself, the monster hunt demigods, me! If I wasn't there, she wouldn't have been attacked!"

Albert took his anger with open arms. They were only one year apart, but their situation wasn't the same. His father, his family, and even the memories of his past life. They have prepared him for this reality, while Percy got caught up in it in the worst way possible. He got up and gave Percy a hand, saying, "Come on, let's go for a walk."

Percy hesitated but took his hand and got up too. They decided to walk in silence. Albert had no idea what to say to make things better. He knew Sally Jackson wasn't really dead and that Poseidon was Percy's father. Yet, he couldn't say any of it, not to Percy and not to anyone else. They walked for some good moments in silence and without looking at each other, the sweet scent of strawberries and the woods helped make them both calmer.

However, that peace was short-lived.

"Look what we got here... these must be the newbies!" A husky voice called out.

The voice belonged to a tall and strong girl, she didn't look very girly and had a cruel glint in her eyes. Once again, Albert was safely guessing what this one was, but he wasn't appalled by the idea of confronting her at all.

"Another rude one," Albert stated quietly, but loud enough to be heard. "Don't nobody teach people here that they should introduce themselves first in situations like this?"

The girl glared at him in anger, clearly displeased by his reply. She then proceeded to look him up and down and scoffed, "You have no idea who you are talking to, Prissy Boy."

"Why don't you tell us then?" Percy suddenly asked in irritation.

"I am Clarisse, daughter of Ares." The girl proudly proclaimed, before asking the boy, "what about you runt?" 

"The War God?" Percy asked out loud in disbelief.

"Why, you got a problem with that?!"

"I guess this explains the smell," Percy retorted.

"I am Albert and this is Percy Jackson, unclaimed, as you can probably tell, daughter of Ares..." Albert calmly replied with a cold if neutral tone, he wasn't the one to take such a bait so easily. This wasn't the first time someone called him something like 'Prissy Boy', and it wouldn't be the last too., but he made sure to put a hand on Percy's shoulder, making sure he didn't fall for provocation. "Why do you want from us, Clarisse?"

Clarisse looked so frustrated she growled at Percy, before shooting Albert a nasty glare, "We got an initiation ceremony for newbies, Prissy Boy."

"His name is Albert!" Percy corrected her with his fists clenched.

"Whatever..." Clarisse shrugged. 

"She isn't deaf, Jackson," Albert said with a neutral expression, even if he was deeply unhappy, "I don't need you to defend me either."

Percy looked a bit hurt again, but this time he didn't seem to care for Albert's coldness. He was only furious because the big girl was smirking at him in triumph.

Thinking for a moment, Albert tried to remember the feeling he got when he faced the Minotaur, and how he used that power. Until he made a decision, with a commanding tone disguised as a request he said looking directly at the girl's eyes. "How about you show us good to talk and take us to in silence, will you, Clarisse? It would be great to have such an admirable camper like you to guide us, you know?"

Percy looked at him in horror and wonder, surprised and with something else he didn't know.

Albert was unsure if he had done it right, but he was pleasantly surprised when he saw Clarisse blinking a few times and nodding in silence, taking the lead in guiding them. He didn't miss Percy's conflicted and impressed and very complicated gaze, but he gave himself the pleasure of just enjoying this moment without thinking about the ethics of his powers. Fearing the use of this power won't get him anywhere, not against the enemies who will stir from literally the depths of the abyss to mess up everything.

Plus, although Clarisse could be a bit of a bitch, so could he, and he was good at it.

...

Percy didn't know what to do or say anymore, it seemed to be a recurrent thing when he was around Albert. 

First, he couldn't decide if the boy liked or disliked him at all, since at one moment he is saving his life and at the other, he is treating him with a cold shoulder. One time he is scolding him for things he didn't know (but that were obvious actually) only to console him after what happened to his mom. Percy has been avoiding thinking about it like it had been just a bad dream and his mom was still alive. Out of everyone, the one person who seemed to care was the person who had been saying he didn't and he wasn't a friend.

It was all too complicated and Percy hated complicated.

The Bully Girl who popped up out of nowhere was really annoying and Percy wanted to fight her for being so mean, but Albert had dismissed his help and basically told him not to meddle with his stuff, which was also very annoying. He had also used his scary and dangerous power again and convinced Clarisse to be their guide like she wasn't ready to dump their head on toilets just a moment ago.

Clarisse took them to the canoeing lake, where the trail led back to the cabins, she suddenly stopped and said looking at Albert with a blank face, "Dinner will be at seven-thirty. You just have to follow your cabin to the mess hall."

Percy glanced over at Albert, only to see the boy sighing with a tired expression on his face, saying to Clarisse, "Thank you for your help, now you should just forget about this favor and leave us here."

Clarisse nodded like a soldier and sprinted away, without even talking back. Percy was stunned as he watched the girl disappear in the distance. Albert sat down at the edge of the wooden deck and took off his shoes, dipping his feet in the water. Percy hesitated before sitting next to him and doing the same, he always felt better next to the water.

"Aren't you gonna say anything?" Albert's voice suddenly broke the silence.

"I-I, huh, well... what was that all about?" Percy stuttered as he glanced over to the boy, but could barely see his face because of his long hair getting in the way, "You did the same with the monster before, how did you do it? Are you like Professor X or something?"

He heard a startled laugh, he didn't know Albert could laugh like that. Percy suddenly felt silly and embarrassed and also frustrated. Was he being childish or something? 

Suddenly, Albert turned to face him and he felt his heart skipping a beat, he didn't know if he was scared of being controlled. There was a shift in the other boys' expression and Percy cursed himself, he must have let his fear show.

"I am not gonna use it on you, Jackson." Albert looked at him with his pink-colored eyes that didn't look like a person should have, before he awkwardly turned to look at the lake again adding, "You should talk to the Oracle."

"Who?" 

"No, not who... Maybe a who, I don't know. The Oracle. I am sure Annabeth can help you with that," Albert cryptically explained.

Percy had no idea what he was going on about now, much less what this Oracle thing was or why he wanted him to ask Annabeth. The blond girl said he was droll in his sleep. He too stared into the lake, wishing somebody would give him a straight answer for once. What he didn't expect was to see someone looking back at him from the bottom of the lake, his heart missed a beat in shock when he noticed two teenage girls sitting cross-legged at the base of the pier, about twenty feet below.

They were wearing blue jeans and shimmering green T-shirts, and their brown hair floated loose around their shoulders as minnows darted in and out. The two of them smiled and waved as if he was a long-lost friend. Percy absentmindedly waved back, unsure of what to do.

"I can't believe they are real too," Albert said in honest surprise, "I think I know what they are... I think they are Naiads, they are like water spirits or nymphs I think. You gotta be careful with them, I heard they like to flirt."

Percy felt his cheeks heating up feeling a little overwhelmed, "Naiads... That's it. I want to go home now."

Albert clicked his tongue, before shaking his head slowly, "You don't get it, do you? Well, I wish I could go back too, don't get me wrong, Jackson, but this is home now. At least for a while. It is probably the safest place for me and you and all the kids we saw before."

"You mean the mentally disturbed? I think I am going crazy since I got here."

Albert groaned and laughed in a depressing way, Percy understood he must have been feeling just as crazy and lost. 

"I meant not human actually," He explained, "Well, half-human, but that still not fully human. You know, demigods. Half-human and half-god. Sounds like gibberish, I know. I feel it too." 

 Percy really didn't want to admit it, he was afraid he did it. Like a tingling in his limbs, a sensation that he sometimes felt whenever his mom talked about his dad.

"A God," he repeated, but it really felt like he something he would only see in a movie, "Half-god."

"I know, right? Who would've thought?" Albert sounded exasperated, rightfully so. "I never cared about who my mother was before or why she wasn't in the picture. Dad never talked about her too much, and I never asked him either. I thought she was dead or maybe she just didn't want me. I was fine with it you know? The family I got was enough for me already. Looks like I was wrong about her... all this time she was actually a goddess."

Percy didn't expect to hear the boy open up to him. Thinking about his own situation, he couldn't help but add, "It really sounds... crazy."

"Did your mom make you study Greek mythology too? My father did."

"Mom..." Percy felt his voice breaking, he felt so alone. "She did, but I am not very good with studying though."

"I liked it though. This is the thing... It happened so many times, the gods falling in love with mortals. Scratch that, the gods making demigods at least, not sure about the falling in love part," Albert corrected himself, before letting out another shocked laugh, a quiet one. "I really didn't think any of them were real stories, but who would've guessed that after so much time this was still going on?"

 "Can you tell me more about your family?" Percy asked. "You aren't from here, right? America, I mean."

"Technically, no. Well, I am not sure where exactly I was born now. I am from Brazil though, in South America. Gramms told me my father was just starting on the company back then until he suddenly showed up with a month-old baby in his arms," Albert sounded particularly amused speaking of this, "Grandma and Grandpa said they would raise me while he worked here. He lives in New York City. It was only the three of us for most of the time, but Dad always showed up too, he never lost a holiday even if he sometimes missed my birthdays. Uncle Joseph- the satyr- I think he is Grover's real uncle too tough, anyway. I thought he was Dad's friend from his college days. He wasn't. Now... now I am here."

Percy quietly listened, thinking about his own family and feeling more sad. "I- I only had mom. It has always been just the two of us since forever... what I am supposed to do now? I hate my stepdad and he hates me too. I have nobody."

Percy felt the weight of Albert's hand on his shoulder. He wondered whether he cared or not, but at that moment he wanted to be selfish and just appreciate the gesture.

'Hold fast, Perceus...Brave the storm that was made to break us for we are unbreakable. As long as we have each other,' Percy recalled, it was what his mom used to say to him all the time.

When Albert looked at him, he expected to see pity in his eyes, but there wasn't pity. There was something else, something Percy didn't recognize for a while. Albert suddenly got up and grabbed his shoes in one hand.

"I'm going back now." He said shortly, "Go find Annabeth. She will probably tell you the same, you have to seek the Oracle, Jackson. That's all I have to say for you..." He started to walk away leaving Percy alone again, but he stopped, he hurriedly said, "I am not your friend, Jackson, but... but that doesn't mean you are all alone. I think there are quite a few people who care about you here and I... I think your mother would tell you the same thing."

Percy felt at a loss. He felt stupid too. Albert was a mystery to him and somehow always seemed to know what to say. Percy felt stupid because Albert was right and he didn't think about it. His mother had sacrificed herself to give him a chance. The least he could do is to do his best to make it work. He almost got up and ran up to follow the other boy, but he had a feeling he shouldn't.

I am going to see him at the ceremony, anyway, Percy thought. Getting up, he decided to go look for Annabeth and do as Albert said, in his heart, he felt like this was gonna help him fix things. He felt hope.