After a few minutes of silence, Chiron chimed in, "are you ready to meet the camp director or do you have any more questions before that?"
Oh, he had questions alright but he didn't know which to ask first. Chiron took his silence as a sign that he was okay to go and led him out of the infirmary, leaving behind the blonde girl who was already attending to other patients.
They walked out, into the bright sunlight, which blinded him for a moment. When his eyes adjusted, he could see the camp, perfectly pristine blue sky, not a cloud in sight, birds flying up above(he could hear their chattering from up there, they were discussing the best vantage point to watch the humans climb the 'molten wall', whatever that was). Below, he could see the infirmary behind them and to their right, twelve cabins, all of different make, some more pleasant to the eyes than others. They were arranged in a U shape and children were sitting or standing in front of most of them. In front of the red cabin with the barbed wire, children were arm wrestling. They were all big kids, built like football players, boys and girls alike. In front of another cabin, children were shooting arrows, all of them had the same golden hair as the girl who had tended to his wounds.
Seeing his gaze, Chiron said, "until your godly parent claims you, you'll be staying in cabin eleven" he pointed at a cabin which looked older and more worn down than the others, dull brown paint was chipped across the wooden planks. Around it buzzed by far the most amount of kids. They didn't look as unified as the other cabins, body type, hair and eye color, all different and no one seemed to care. A small smile played across his lips as he watched the other children going about their days. Some as young as eight, some as old as eighteen. The oldest of the cabin eleven kids, an eighteen year old boy with sandy blonde hair and a scar underneath his eye, was settling a disagreement between cabin mates.
"That is Luke, he is the Hermes cabins head counselor" Chiron explained patiently, "the cabins are divided based on godly parentage, one for each Olympian. The unclaimed go to Hermes, since he is the god of travelers, as do the children of minor gods"
The minor gods children too? Weren't there dozens, if not hundreds or thousands of minor gods? Damn, no wonder that cabin was so full.
They walked past the archery range and towards the big house, a huge 5 story building, painted a sooting baby blue. On its porch, surrounded by satyrs, playing some cars game, was who Arthur assumed to be the director. A chubby man with a red nose and curly hair, so dark it almost seemed purple. He held a can of Diet Coke in his one hand, as he held his cards with the other.
"What's up with you? It's your turn!" The man snapped at the satyr next to him, "ah- erm- right… I raise by five?"
"It that a question or a statement?"
"A statement great god"
God? That man was a good? Weren't gods supposed to be hot and powerful? And why were the satyrs staring at Arthur? It was unnerving. Even as they played their game, they couldn't keep their eyes off him.
"Mr D, this is Arthur Hobbs, our newest camper" Chiron cleared his throat, nudging Arthur.
Startled, he bowed before the god and said, nervously, "great to meet you, oh- great god?"
"Again, is that a question or a statement?"
"I- I-" he was feeling an invisible pressure as he stood before the god.
"You- you-... get it out already, before I turn you into a dolphin"
"It- it's a statement"
"That's better. Is he claimed?" He asked Chiron, as if Arthur wasn't even there.
"No, he is as of yet unclaimed"
"Well then, another parentless cunt for cabin eleven"
The sky rumbled, "yeah yeah, no cursing, I know. Let me correct myself, another parentless runt for cabin eleven. That better?"
The silence spoke volumes.
"Good, take him to watch the orientation video and leave me alone, I'm winning"
Chiron beckoned him inside the building and he followed. Through hallways and past rooms, until they reached a door which lead to a room with a big Tv In it. Chiron fiddled with the controller and a video began playing, "so you found out that your daddy or mommy is a deity? Well, let me tell you all about it!..."
After an hour, he walked out of there well versed in what awaited him here and -to be honest- he was more than a little excited. At first he had been scared, that hellhound had almost killed him, but after the video, he was optimistic about what the future held.
"So? What will we do first? Archery? Swordfighting? Canoeing?"
"With that kind of injury? No, you'll head back straight into the infirmary till it is all healed up nicely"
Arthur's face fell, well, it couldn't all be winners and he was right, the wound still hurt like hell, so it probably was for the best. They walked back to the infirmary and he was handed a cup, "drink, it will accelerate your recovery", one of the 'nurses' said, who he now knew to be Apollo kids, god of medicine and all that. He slowly drank. It tasted divine, like strawberry milkshakes with honey drizzled in, just fantastic.
"What does it taste like? It is different for every person", a nurse explained, "for me, it tastes like my mom's freshly pressed apple juice"
"Strawberry milkshake with honey, like my grandma makes it, just right"
"Yeah, nectar is the best", another nurse smiled as he unrapped Arthur's arm, "it is healing nicely. You should be out of here by tomorrow evening, maybe faster depending on how quickly you naturally heal"
"That's good"