GREEK GOD - the lighting thief

three

Flor didn't leave her cabin until it was time for dinner.

Like normal, she was the first camper to get there. She greeted Chiron and Grover, before taking her usual spot at her cabin's table, her head propped up on her arm.

Flor watched as the other cabins filled in their respective tables. She waved to Annabeth, glared at Clarisse, and sent Luke a nod.

Normally, there was a rule about sitting at another cabin's table. However, depending on the god, there were some exceptions. Since Hermes was welcoming to all, that meant it was acceptable for Autumn to insert herself right next to Luke at his table.

Unfortunately, due to the size of Hermes' cabin, that meant that a certain newbie was not able to sit on the table's bench, and instead just stood next to it, panicking.

"Hey, Percy," Flor called, dropping her arm down.

The green eyed boy turned around, trying to find where the voice had come from, before his eyes landed on Flor. She beckoned him over with her hand.

"You can sit here," she said, once he made his way over to her table.

"Are you sure?" he gave her a confused look, "Luke said I had to sit over there."

"Yeah, well unless you're able to get her to move, you're gonna have to sit on the floor. Or you could sit here. I'm inviting you."

Glancing over at Chiron, who was greeting Mr. D, Percy slid next to Flor on the bench.

"Who is that?" he asked.

"That's Autumn, the girlfriend of Luke and descendant of Poseidon. She's probably the only descendant of the Big Three we'll get for a while, so she's kind of a big deal. I don't know what's going on with her lately, but she's been attaching herself to Luke's hip every chance she gets."

"A friend of yours?" Percy glanced over, finding the annoyed look on her face.

"She's supposed to be."

Percy looked like he was going to ask another question, but Chiron pounded his hoof against the marble floor of the pavilion, and everybody fell silent. He raised a glass. "To the gods!"

Everybody else raised their glasses. "To the gods!"

Wood nymphs came forward with platters of food, such as grapes, apples, strawberries, cheese, fresh bread, and barbecue. Percy glanced over at his empty cup, and Flor explained to him, "you have to speak to it. Tell it what you want to drink. No alcohol, obviously."

Percy glanced over at her, a skeptic look on his face, "you're not trying to embarrass me, are you?"

Instead of responding, Flor turned to her cup and said, "Grape Fanta."

Her cup filled with the sparkling purple liquid, making her smile as she took a sip.

Next to her, Percy decided to trust her, "Cherry Coke. Blue Cherry Coke."

Flor glanced over to find the liquid in his cup had turned a violent shade of cobalt, making her laugh. He took a sip of the cup, before his face broke out into a smile that Flor hadn't seen before.

Together, the two kids loaded up their plates with the amazing food that the wood nymphs had brought out. Percy was about to start eating, when Flor placed a hand on his arm, making him stop.

"In a minute, we're about to give our burnt offering to the gods," she explained to him, her voice low.

"What? Why?"

"They like the smell. And it's to show our respects. Now, what you do is just think of or say the name of a god, and throw a good piece of your meal into the fire. Then we're gonna sit down, and start eating."