Storm's PoV

After we finally got out of the infirmary, Annabeth took me to what she called the dining pavilion. Apparently it was lunch time, and she thought I would be hungry by now. In all honesty, I was used to eating very little, but I had a feeling usually people ate more than I do. In order to keep up the act, I had to try and eat something.

Annabeth showed me how to get food on the magic golden plates and something to drink in the cups. She also showed me the sacrificial fire, and told me about how the demigods always sacrificed a portion of their meal to the gods. I didn't really know what people usually ate, so I just glanced at what Annabeth had on her plate. She had two triangular looking things that were red, white, and brown. It looked like the red liquid substance was layered on top of the tough brown thing with a slightly melted layer of white on the top. It smelled... well... it smelled like nothing I have ever smelled before. I didn't have a word for it yet, but I knew I wanted it.

I quickly looked at my plate, and I imagined the same thing appearing on my plate. The food shimmered into existence on the plate. I stood up behind Annabeth and followed her to the fire. She scraped half of a triangle into the fire, and I heard her mutter, "To Athena," before she walked back to the table we were sitting at. I scraped half of one of my triangles, and I stood there for a second, contemplating what to do. Would the gods know if I didn't actually send it to anyone? Would they know who I sent it to if I sent it to him? I decided, I wouldn't risk more than I was for being at this camp. I muttered, "To father," since that could be anybody, and I sat down next to Annabeth.

We ate in silence. Every so often, her intense gray eyes would meet mine, and she would give me the same calculating look before going back to her food. When we were halfway finished, a tall guy with black hair, tanned skin, toned muscles, and blue-grean eyes walked up to Annabeth. He did a double take when he saw me. His eyes narrowed and his mouth slipped downward at the edges. Then he shook his head as if dismissing a thought and smiled at me. He held out his hand which by now I learned was an offer for a hand shake. "My name is Percy Jackson. What's your name?"

Of course I knew who he was. I saw the recognition in his eyes as well, but as father promised, he too did not question it. I took his hand and shook. "My name is Storm."

Annabeth slid her arm around Percy's shoulders. "I'm showing her around camp. She's still unclaimed which is weird because she's sixteen."

Percy's eyebrows went down again. "But the gods promised-"

"I know what the gods promised, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth sighed. "I was there. Dionysius went up to Olympus in order to try and figure out why she hasn't been claimed."

Percy just shook his head and gave me a small, forced smile. "I'm sorry you haven't been claimed yet. Hopefully it'll happen soon."

I only nodded at him. Again, I was at a loss as to what to say. I knew I wouldn't be making very many conversations so soon. I would have to wait and study everyone else's behavior. I would also have to make my own experiences here to have something to talk about. Not that I couldn't lie very well, but the best lies always had a little bit of truth behind them.

I've had nothing so far to base any good lies off of.

"Come on, Storm," Annabeth said as she stood up from the table. "I'm going to take you to see a good friend of mine."

"What's her name?" I asked. I knew she wanted to take me to see someone, but I couldn't remember her name. I knew it started with a P...

"Piper. She's a daughter of Aphrodite." Annabeth said.

"Great! Jason was with her last I saw. They were heading to the Zeus cabin. I still have to place some bets with him." Percy said while jumping up and down.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "I swear if this is another bet on Will and Nico-"

"Solangelo will prevail! Although, I still don't understand how I'm not Nico's type." Percy said.

Annabeth slapped his arm, and I flinched involuntarily. "For the gods sakes Percy! Let them be, and get over it! You guys are only going to make them pull farther away from each other, and I'm already your girlfriend!"

"But they would be so cute together! And for the record, I know you're my girlfriend. I am very happy that you're my girlfriend. I wouldn't give you up for anything." Percy said before kissing her on the forehead. Annabeth's cheeks turned pink.

I couldn't follow what was going on. What was Solangelo? Who was Nico? I also still didn't understand the whole relationship thing. Sure, I've heard of it before, but I didn't know exactly how one worked. I certainly didn't understand kissing. What was the point? Was it another way of saying hello, like shaking someone's hand meant that you were meeting them for the first time? That didn't make sense though because they were already talking to each other. One does not say hello in the middle of a conversation. It was used as a greeting, nothing more. Then again, I still had a lot to learn about this strange place.

I looked up at the sky again. I had heard rumors about the sky, but it never compared to what it actually looked like. I've heard the day sky described as blue and the sun as a big ball of yellow fire. I found these observations to be an understatement. The sky was a million different swirls and colors of blue. There were so many colors of blue, I couldn't even name all of them. White was mixed in and swirled into the blue mess. In some places, there were blobs of puffy white stuff. I think these were called clouds. The sun. Oh gods. The sun was so bright it was blinding. It wasn't yellow. It was a blinding ball of white that seemed yellow at the edges before your vision turned black at the edges. It was beautiful, yet it was also deadly. I could feel its warmth on my skin in a much gentler way than the heat of my old home, but I sensed that it could get much hotter and burn me like if I took a swim in the river of fire. Despite the possible dangers, the new light that I am becoming accostumed to seeing filled me with a new sensation I have never felt before. The same sensation I remembered when I heard the thing called laughter, but in the most gentle sense of the sensation. I wish I knew what it was called.

"Storm, are you coming?" Annabeth's voice broke me from my thoughts. This was ridiculous. I had a job to do. I needed to stay focused on the task at hand. I can't let father down.

"Yes! I'm coming!" I scrambled to my feet, and I followed her and Percy to meet this Piper and Jason.

I'm sorry this chapter is out so much later than my chapter for Overcoming Darkness. I got very stressed and very overwhelmed for some reason for a few hours. I'm better now, and I probably wouldn't even have updated this chapter tonight if it weren't for JMpieguy2001 He is a super awesome writer, and you guys should check out his stories. He's also super supportive, and an amazing person. I would like to dedicate this chapter to him because he is a great confidence booster, and an amazing person. Also, seriously. You should check out his stories. They're called Orphaned: Solangelo and The Waking Abyss. They are some of the most amazing fanfictions I've ever read.

I hope you guys liked this chapter and had a great day!