Chapter 11 - First Light at Camp Half-Blood

Cyrus wasn't sure what he expected from his first real meeting with Chiron and Mr. D, but the centaur and the wine god definitely didn't disappoint. After a long walk past the strawberry fields, where satyrs waved at him with baskets full of juicy berries, Annabeth guided him up to the Big House — an old-fashioned but oddly comforting two-story structure painted sky blue with white trim.

"This is insane," Cyrus whispered, half to himself. "I've never seen anything like it."

"No kidding," Annabeth chuckled. "Wait until you see the Apollo cabin."

Eventually, they arrived at the Big House, where Chiron greeted him warmly in his centaur form. "Cyrus Ceallaigh," Chiron said with a smile, "it is an honor. You resemble your father, though I dare say you carry a lot of your mother too."

Cyrus blinked. "You knew my mom?"

"I did," Chiron said. "Mavis Ceallaigh. One of the most promising campers of her generation. A fierce competitor, clever, and surprisingly gentle when it came to her friends. I heard you resemble her personality."

Cyrus blinked back surprise and emotion. "She was… here?"

"Yes, Cyrus" Chiron nodded. "She had quite the legacy. There's more to her story than most know, but I think you'll uncover it in time."

Just then, Mr. D interrupted. "Yes, yes, nostalgia, horses, and heartbreak. Sit down, boy. Time to see if your brain works or if you inherited your father's love for looking pretty and writing sad poetry."

Cyrus blinked. "Huh?"

"We're playing pinochle."

Twenty minutes later, Cyrus slumped in the chair, face in his hands, completely obliterated by rules he still didn't understand.

"Marvelous," Mr. D said gleefully. "Absolutely marvelous. You're worse than your father, and that's saying something." He leaned back with a smug smile. "We'll play again sometime. I enjoy seeing your face crumble."

With a sigh, Cyrus was ushered out. Before leaving, Chiron told him something even more shocking — that he had already been claimed. Twice. By Apollo and by Ares. Apparently, it was a rare, at least not like this.

"Since you have been claimed by both your father and your grandfather," Chiron said. "You may stay in either cabin — whichever feels like home. Or both, if you like. It's… unprecedented."

Stunned Cyrus asked him the reason for it being unprecedented, to which before Chiron can answer, Mr. D replied, "You see Boy, Demigods who knew their parentage attract many monsters and Demigods belonging to Powerful gods will die the moment they step out of this place and very rare for them to be alive till become adult and even if they did, meeting and having child with Olympian God is even more rare and since we also have standards you know.. and even then, said child will always attract more monsters and they staying alive till they reach camp is what he meant by unprecedented."

 Stunned Cyrus got too shocked to close his mouth and even Chiron got shocked that Mr.D answered my question even though it was not aimed at him. 

Mr. D with a huff, said. "What? why are you looking at me like that? I too can answer questions, you know" and started rearranging Pinochle and urged Chiron to play with him while shooing both Cyrus and Annabeth out.

Chiron gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder. "He likes you. That's rare."

"Terrifying," Cyrus mumbled.

Annabeth was waiting for him outside, grinning. "You survived. Congrats. Ready for your official tour?"

He spent the next hour being walked through the volleyball court (currently overtaken by Hermes and Demeter kids playing dodgeball), the archery range (where some Apollo kids were casually sniping arrows while juggling), and the lava climbing wall (which he politely said "no thank you" to).

During this tour, a group of Ares campers approached him with mocking smirks.

"Hey, Look we have a new Kid. We need to start our Initiation ceremony. Who is your Parent Kid"

Cyrus rolled his eyes. "Really?"

But when he casually mentioned he was the Son of Apollo and grandson of Ares, the bullies faltered.

"What?" one muttered. "That can't be—how would— You are the one?"

"I'm just as confused as you," Cyrus said, summoning his axe with a flick of his wrist. "But this says otherwise."

The Ares kids eyed the weapon. One of them grinned. "Cool... Name's Luigi Valerino, Since you are one of own. You ever want to train, come find us. We'll toughen you up."

"Looking forward to it," Cyrus replied with a smirk.

When they finally arrived at the cabins, Cyrus was stunned.

Cyrus peered at the Apollo cabin — golden, shining in the sunlight, with literal rays bouncing off it like a disco ball. The second he opened the door, a wall of sound hit him.

"Yo, is that the new guy?"

"Oh my gods, he's got red hair!"

"Wait, is he… is he smiling already? Classic Apollo energy!"

Cyrus blinked. The cabin was packed — campers lounging on bunks, sketching, tuning guitars, braiding hair, laughing, sunbathing on the roof, and even someone painting a mural on the ceiling. A dozen blue-eyed faces stared back at him with various shades of hair — most golden blonde, but a few like him.

Suddenly, he remembered Apollo's words.

"Don't get startled seeing your siblings."

Yeah, no kidding.

"Cyrus!" A tall blond boy with brilliant eyes and a personality that screamed sunshine jogged up to him. "I'm Adam Broyce, counselor of Cabin 7 and your new older brother-slash-roommate-slash-human introduction manual!"

Cyrus stared. "How many of you are there?"

"Right now? Nineteen. You're the 19th. Well, technically, one is away doing a music tour, so 18, but 19 total."

"...Nineteen," Cyrus repeated, dazed.

"Wait till summer," Adam grinned. "We hit thirty."

That night, he got a crash course in everything. His siblings were all unique — singers, healers, archers, poets, meme makers — and apparently a few celebrities too, which made him spit out his drink.

When dinnertime rolled around, Cyrus found himself at the Apollo table with his siblings, watching Annabeth and Luke sit with their respective cabins. The Hermes table was crowded with kids who looked nothing alike, many looking lonely or even a little sad. Cyrus felt a pang of sympathy.

Chiron called for attention. Mr. D stood and lazily waved a hand. "Welcome, Cielo Celery. Hope you don't cause too many problems. Now eat."

"It's Cyrus Ceallaigh…" Cyrus mumbled.

He got himself a cheeseburger, fries, and a mint chocolate shake that reminded him of his time with the hunters. Before eating, he scraped a portion into the fire as a sacrifice—one for his father, Apollo, one for his grandfather, Ares, and one for Lady Artemis.

That night, they sang by the campfire. As Cyrus got up to leave, he noticed a girl sitting at the edge, poking the fire with a stick. There was something familiar about her. When she looked up, he instinctively waved. She startled, then smiled slightly and waved back.

Before he could go over, his sibling Mark Cooper dragged him away with a laugh. "Come on! We're roasting blue marshmallows and telling embarrassing stories about Adam's poetry phase!"

Cyrus laughed, casting one last glance at the mysterious girl. He'd find out who she was later.

For now, surrounded by laughter and stars, he finally felt like he belonged.

That night, he drifted to sleep with the sounds of snoring, soft guitar strums, and dreams of golden sunlight and battles to come.