The interest that Ivy once had for Percy was now replaced with irritation as she walked through Camp. Wherever they went, they were faced with people whispering about them— or maybe it was just Ivy and Annabeth as they were the ones drenched in toilet water.

       They showed him a few more places: the metal shop (where kids were forging their own swords), the arts-and-crafts room (where satyrs were sandblasting a giant marble statue of a goat-man), and the climbing wall, which actually consisted of two facing walls that shook violently, dropped boulders, sprayed lava, and clashed together if you didn't get to the top fast enough.

Cool, right?

       Finally, they returned to the canoeing lake, where the trail led back to the cabins.

"I've got training to do," Annabeth said flatly. "Dinner's at seven-thirty. Just follow your cabin to the mess hall."

And with that, the daughter of Athena left, leaving just Percy and Ivy. Ivy leaned on the railing next to Percy.

"Ivy, I'm sorry about the toilets," Percy said.

She fought an eye roll. "It's whatever."

Percy turned to look at her. "It wasn't my fault."

She side-eyed him. She wasn't mad per se, just upset that she was now walking around smelling like a bathroom. She thought back to how the plumbing seemed to respond to him somehow. The water and him seemed connected in some weird way.

Ivy remembered the prophecy she had learned from Chiron, 'a half blood of the eldest gods'. Percy may not have exhibeted any crazy powers, but there was one god that came to mind when she thought about controlling water.

"You'll probably have to talk to the Oracle, then," Ivy said.

"Who?"

She sighed. "Not who. What. I'm sure Chiron will tell you about it eventually. I'll have to ask him, though."

Percy turned to stare out into the lake. Ivy did the same. She propped her head on her hand, her dark brown hair flowing in waves in front. Two braided pieces on each side of her hair stood still, thanks to Katie Gardner from the Demeter Cabin. She blew a stray strand out of her face.

Then she noticed the niads at the base of the pier. They wore blue jeans and shimmering green T-shirts. Their brown hair floated loosely and perfectly as minnows darted in and out. They smiled and waved at Percy, who waved back nervously.

A sour expression made its way onto Ivy's face. She wasn't quite sure what about that interaction bothered her, it just did.

"Don't encourage them," she warned. "Naiads are terrible flirts."

"Naiads," Percy repeated, his tiredness evident. "That's it. I want to go home."

       Ivy frowned. "Percy, you are home. Whether you like it or not, this is the only safe place for people like us."

        "You mean mentally disturbed kids."

      Gods, the sass on this boy was insane. "I mean not human. Half-human."

      "Half-human and half-what?"

       Ivy raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow. "I think you know. The longer you keep deluding yourself into thinking you're normal, the harder it's gonna be to adjust."

       Percy stared at her, wondering how in the world she'd managed to rip out his deepest feelings.

"God," he said. "Half-god."

Ivy nodded. "You're dad isn't dead, Percy. I know you've been told that your whole life, and that it's hard to accept, but your dad is very much alive and living his best life as an Olympian God."

"That's...crazy."

"I mean, if you really think about it, it's not that crazy," Ivy chuckled as Percy looked at her with a peculiar look."In all the old stories, all the gods did was go and sleep around with humans. No shock that they haven't changed their habits, really."

"But those are just—" Percy stopped himself. Good, because Zeus definitely would've struck him down. "But if all the kids here are half-god—"

"Demigods," Ivy corrected as she ditched the grip she had on the railing. She clasped her hands in front of her and rocked on her heels. "That's the official term. Or half-bloods."

"Then whose your dad?"

Ivy stopped rocking. Her stomach dropped at the idea of telling Percy about her dad. She quickly put on a small smile, an attempt to make Percy think that she was fine. "My dad was a Neurosurgeon."

"He's human." Percy said, thankfully not catching on to her implication.

"What? You think only male gods can find humans attractive? Sexist much?"

Percy reddened. "No—I just—"

He dropped his head and sighed. Ivy held back a laugh at his embarrassment. "Who's your mom, then?"

"Cabin two."

"Which means...?"

Ivy sighed. This was where most people got weirded out. She was an anomaly; she wasn't supposed to exist. "Hera, Goddess of Marriage."

Percy stared at her in shock for what felt like the millionth time.

"How—"

"Long story," she cut him off quickly.

"Okay... what about my dad?"

"Undetermined," Ivy said, a pang of sympathy running through her at the sigh of Percy visibly deflating. "Nobody knows."

"Except my mother. She knew."

"I hate to be the one to burst your bubble, but, she more than likely didn't. The gods rarely reveal their identities."

"My dad would've," he said defensively. "He loved her."

Ivy raised her hands in a mock surrender. "Maybe you're right. I don't know anything about your mom and dad. Who knows, maybe your dad'll send you a sign. That the only way to know who he is; if you get claimed."

"If? You mean sometimes it doesn't happen?"

"You saw how big the Hermes cabin was, did you not?" Ivy was trying so hard not to call the guy stupid. It wasn't his fault he didn't know about camp, but her patience, along with a multitude of other things, withered after her dad died.

       "What does that have to do with anything?"

       Ivy sighed. "The gods are busy. They don't have the time to claim everyone of their kids, so the unclaimed stay in the Hermes cabin. So do the children of minor gods and goddesses."

      "Oh."

      "Yeah, pretty cozy."

       Percy stifled a laugh at her sarcasm. "So, what, am I stuck here for the rest of my life?"

      "Depends," Ivy said. "Some campers only stay the summer, like me. It depends on how powerful you are. Like if you're a child of Hypnos, for example, you'd be good to spend the rest of the year in the city. But for some people, the monsters sniff them out too easily, so it's dangerous. Most kids start to attract monsters when they're around ten or eleven, so it's a matter of when they'll make it to camp."

       "How come you don't attract monsters? I mean, considering who your mom is, I'd assume your pretty powerful," Percy asked.

      "I do, from time to time," Ivy explained. "But the monsters that try to kill me are normally easy to kill."

      "Got it," Percy said, mildly disturbed at the picture of the brunette killing anything. "So, monsters can't get in here?"

"Nope," she answered, popping the p. "Not unless they're summoned intentionally, or stocked up in the woods for training."

"Why would anyone want to summon a monster?" Percy asked, bewildered.

"Practice fights; practical jokes," Ivy shrugged.

"Practical jokes?"

"Youd be surprised by the Stoll brothers idea of 'fun'" Ivy shuddered. She had a vivid memory of Connor Stoll summoning a monster in her cabin during her first week at camp. She'd beat the shit out of him, but it was also what solidified their life long friendship.

       "Anyways," Ivy continued, "the point of the borders is to keep mortals and monsters out. From the outside, mortals look into the valley and see a strawberry farm, nothing out of the ordinary."

        "So... you're a summer only camper?"

        Ivy nodded and pulled out her camp necklace. It was a strand of leather with 3 clay beads on it, each decorated with a different design.

        "Been coming here since I was eleven, Annabeth's been here since she was nine," Ivy said. "Every August, on the last day of the of the summer session, you get a bead for surviving another year."

         "So, do you live with your dad during the school year?"

        "Something like that," Ivy muttered, dropping her gaze to the floor.

Percy had picked up on her sudden change in demeanor, shifting awkwardly on his feet. "So, uhm, I could just walk out of here right now if I wanted to?"

"I swear whatever I tell you goes in one ear and out the other," she grumbled. "But, yeah, you could, with Chiron and Mr. D's permission. It would be suicide, though. And, anways, they wouldn't give permission until the end of the summer session unless..."

        "Unless?"

         "You were granted a quest. But that hardly ever happens. The last time..."

         She trailed off, recalling Luke Castellans infamous quest. The one he got that awful scar from.

         "Back in the sick room," Percy said, "when you were feeding me that stuff—"

          "Ambrosia."

         "Yeah. Annabeth asked me about the summer solstice."

         Ivy perked up. She didn't quite know much about the solstice, but she and Annabeth had spent about a month of Ivy's time at camp trying to figure out what was going on. It was worth a shot. "So you do know something?"

"Well... no. Back at Yancy, I overheard Grover and Chiron talking about it. Grover mentioned the summer solstice. He said something like we didn't have enough time, because of the deadline. What did that mean."

"To hell if I know. Chiron and the satyrs definitely know, but they won't tell us a thing. Something is majorly wrong in Olympus but,
Annabeth said the last time she was there, everything was so normal."

"Wait—hold up," Percy spluttered. "Annabeth's been to Olympus?"

"I have too," Ivy shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal. "Sometimes Chiron'll take a couple of campers on a field trip. The last time they went was during the winter solstice."

"But... how did you get there?"

"The Long Island Railroad, duh. You get off at Penn station. Empire State Building, special elevator to the six hundredth floor." She looked at Percy like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You are a New Yorker, are you not?"

Percy blinked. "Oh, yeah. Sure."

"Anyways," she dismissed his confusion. "Annabeth was telling me, that right after they visited, the weather started getting really weird. Like the gods, specifically Zeus and Poseidon, were fighting."

" Since my school lets out in May rather than June," she continued, "I get here earlier than most summer campers. So we've had a lot of time to gather more information. We've overheard satyrs talking. The most we can work out is that something really important, and I mean like super important, has been stolen. And if it isn't returned by the summer solstice, the gods'll have a hissy fit and ruin everyone's life."

"When you came, well, me and Annabeth were hoping... I mean— my mom isn't the most friendly goddess of all time, but I like to think I get along with anyone. And Athena, well she can work with pretty much anyone. Except Ares. And Poseidon, you know, their rivalry goes way back. But, besides from that, we were thinking that you could work with us. We were hoping you'd know something."

Percy shook his head, clearly as clueless as she was. Ivy visibly deflated at his action.

"All they need to tell us is what's going on, maybe give us a quest while they're at it," she muttered to herself.

She could smell barbecue smoke coming from the pavilion. She could also hear Percy's stomach growling.

Ivy suppressed a giggle. "You go on ahead. You know the way back right? Just follow the path."

He sent her a small smile and a nod to accompany it. She sighed as he walked away, placing her elbow on the railing; propping her head with her hand.

She took a quick smell of herself, gagging when she realized she still reeked of toilet water. Once Percy was finally accustomed to camp, she'd definitely be getting him back for that one.

With one last look at the lake, she ran off in the same direction Percy left. Towards the showers.

Ivy watched as all the rest of the campers walked out for dinner with their respective campers. She glared with envy at them, yearning for that type of company for herself. Instead, she got an empty cabin with a statue of her mom smack dab in the middle of it.

She'd done a lot to make it feel more homely, but no amount of material items could give her the feeling of late night gossip sessions with fellow cabin mates, or getting ready in the morning with her fellow half-sisters.

She tossed her still damp hair over her shoulder as she walked towards the pavilion. She had caught up the Hermes cabin, Luke, Connor, and Travis being at the front of their lines. She fell in step next to her best friend, Connor.

        "Hey," she said.

       Connor scrunched his nose, as if he'd smelt a body rotting. He sniffed in her direction. "Gods, Ivy. You smell like shit."

        Ivy shoved him. "Yeah, well I practically am. Mr. Jackson somehow exploded the pipes in the bathrooms, dousing me in the icky toilet water."

       Connor winced. "I heard about that. Yikes."

       She nodded solemnly. Suddenly self conscious about how she smelt, she took another sniff of herself. "Do I really stink? I practically used all of Silena's really strongly scented body wash."

       "Nah," Connor grinned. "I was just messing with you."

       "Oh my gods, I hate you."

       "You love me," he said in a singsongy voice, throwing an arm around her. She rolled her eyes, a traitorous laugh spilled out of her lips.

Once they'd reached the pavilion, Ivy started to make way to her empty table, but Connor had dragged her over to the Hermes table and begged Luke to let her sit with them for the day.

"Please Luke?" He begged, throwing his arms around her in an attempt at a sideways hug. "She sits alone almost every day, and her days been ridiculously horrible today. I think that calls for some hanging out with friends time, you know?"

Luke, who had an unimpressed look on his face, turned his gaze to Ivy. She was nodding vigorously to every word that came out of Connor's mouth. Luke sighed in defeat. "Fine. But just for today."

Connor cheered as she sat down across from him and Travis at cabin elevens table.

"So," Travis started, "how's new kid doing?"

She glanced over to the end of the table, where Percy was sitting. He was already looking at her. She sent a small wave to him. He looked away quickly.

"Uh, good, I guess? As good as you can be after you find out your moms dead and you're half god."

The brothers grimaced. When they made the same expression, Ivy could see how people confused them for one another. Over the years she'd learned how to tell the difference between the two. Travis' hair was less curly than Connor's, and where Connor's nose was straight, Travis' had a little bump to it.

It was the little details like those that stopped her from enacting revenge on the wrong brother.

"That's gotta be rough," Connor said sympathetically.

"Yeah, I was thinking about telling him about my dad, but I figured trauma dumping on him wouldn't do him any favors."

Connor and Travis nodded.

The overwhelming amount of noise in the pavilion quickly filled their silence, until Chiron finally pounded his hood against the marble floor. Everyone went silent. He raised a glass. "To the gods!"

"To the gods!" Everyone repeated. Some meant it, some didn't. Ivy didn't quite know where she sat on that spectrum.

"Coca-cola," she spoke to her glass. It filled instantly. She smiled at her daily drink. Annabeth always scolded her for getting such an acidic drink everyday, claiming it would kill her faster than monsters would. Was she right? Most likely. But, hey, you only live once.

       She got up with her plate of brisket, trailing behind Travis. They walked over to the campfire in the center of the pavilion. Once Travis' turn was done, Ivy stood in front of the campfire.

       She threw a small portion of her mashed potatoes in. "Hera."

       As she watched a portion of her favorite side dish fall into the fire, she sent a silent prayer to whomever was listening. Please, just tell me what's going on.

She returned to her seat and engaged in a very funny conversation with Connor and Travis. They were planning their next prank on Katie Gardner, another close friend of Ivy's.

As she sat and relished the atmosphere around her, surrounded by people who she considered her closest friends, she wished she could stay here forever. She wished she could freeze the moment. This moment could just loop over and over again, and she didn't think she'd mind.

She was far to busy with plotting that she hadn't noticed Percy's gaze never leaving her. He watched as her head tilted back when she laughed, or the way her nose scrunched when she really found something funny. He noticed the doodles on her hand when she brought it up to cover her bright smile.

       He could've sworn that her laughter echoed throughout the entire camp, like it was the only sound.

       At the end of dinner, Chiron pounded his hoof again for attention.

       Mr. D got up with a huge sigh. "Yes, I suppose I'd better say hello to you brats. Well, hello."

       Ivy made eye contact with Connor, coughing in a measly attempt to cover up a laugh. The two couldn't take anything seriously when they were together.

       "Our activities director, Chiron, tells me the next capture the flag is Friday," the plump man continued. "Cabin five presently holds the laurels."

       A round of loud, obnoxious cheers rose from the Ares table.

       "Personally," Mr. D deadpanned, "I couldn't care less, but congratulations. Also, I should tell you that we have a new camper today. Peter Johnson."

       Ivy bit her lip to keep herself from making a noise and embarrassing Percy further.

       Chiron murmured something.

       "Er, Percy Jackson," he corrected. "That's right. Hurrah, and all that. Now run along to your silly little camp fire. Go on.

       Everyone cheered. Connor grabbed Ivy's hand and sprinted towards the amphitheater, desperate for good seats. Katie and Travis sat down next to them, in the seats that they'd literally fought to save. Before the campfire started. She'd run to her cabin quickly, grabbing her camera, before sprinting back just as it was about to start up.

       Ivy had never felt more at home. Sure, she felt safe and comfort when she was with LeeAnne, but it wasn't the same as this. Over there was her house; camp was her home.

       She swayed to the songs that the Apollo cabin led, catching Percy's eyes a couple times. He looked much more relaxed, much more at comfort. That was great. She gave him a big toothy grin that he gladly returned.

       As she walked into her cabin alone, her fairy lights twinkling above her bed, she hung up a couple of the pictures she had taken over the night. A bunch of Connor, Travis, Katie, and herself doing stupid things, and also a couple of Percy from across the amphitheater who was making silly faces.

As she turned off the lights in her cabin and snuggled under the covers with her stuffed bear named Posey, she thought, maybe the summer wouldn't be that bad.

Boy, was she wrong.

lali yaps

Ivy update?? In the year 2025??? whaaaaaat???? The last time I updated was on October 14, 2024. Wow.

I forgot how fun it is to write for them Oh Em Gee they are so TikTok happy emoji.

Ik her sitting with the Hermes cabin doesn't seem like a big deal BUT THE WORLD ENDED WHWN IT HAPPENED TO HER. No im just kidding but it means a lot to her considering she spends most days alone or with random campers that are scared of her so her being with her friends and being a normal 14 year old girl is so important to her 🥹 in this essay I will—

I started planning the sequel for this (which is heroes of Olympus) which was been sitting my drafts for AGES untouched (fake plastic trees) ohhh yall aren't ready for what I'm cooking up

If there are any spelling mistakes please forgive me its currently 11:46 as I type this and I still need to finish watching the newest yj ep 💔

Bye for now!