A Whole New World (Zoe)

[STEPHANIE COAST]

Three Months Ago...

The past few days had been the strangest of Steph's like, and this was after she had spent decades at the Lotus Hotel. Then again, she was under a spell there that told her everything she was experiencing was quite normal, so maybe that's why those past few days had been odd by comparison. Who knew?

To begin, she had been taken out of the hotel by some strange sailor fellow, and then immediately placed in the care of a Satyr, a creature she had only heard of once or twice whenever her school teachers covered mythology, which most were reluctant to do in the early part of the 1900's given the paganism behind myth. The Satyr took her across the country to New York and brought her to a camp of all places, which she had arrived at the day before. And then the oddest thing happened...

All her life, which had been far longer than she thought, she had believed that Reginald Coast, a naval captain, had been her father. She had seen the man that way and he had lovingly treated her like a daughter until she got drawn into the Lotus Hotel. She had come to find out the man wasn't, thanks to a glowing symbol above her head. Her father was another character from her rare mythology lessons... Poseidon, God of the Sea. Steph... was a demi-god, surrounded by demi-gods at this camp, and, as far as she knew, the camp was her home for some time to come. She had nowhere else to go and no one else to go to.

After she woke up, showered, and changed, she stared at the orange shirt she wore. What an odd color to wear.

"Well don't I look like the berries," she muttered to herself. She definitely looked far from the berries. She then stepped out to the camp. The half-horse guy had told her someone would meet her that morning to show her around. She looked about for said person, anxious for some answers... or maybe just a friend.

ZOE CALIDA

[ZOE CALIDA]

One might think that tours for new campers weren’t Zoe’s thing, and they’d usually be right. Being a camper’s first point of contact required the most outgoing, trustworthy demigods Camp Half-Blood had to offer. So you wouldn’t immediately think of Zoe. But she was trying this whole new thing of turning a new page in her camp history, and that actually required a little effort. In that sense, new campers were the perfect first step. They were less interested in demigod politics, and usually just trying to figure their new life out.

And this one was going to be interesting. A Big Three kid! They were rare enough at camp, and naturally the gossip had spread quickly as soon as she’d been claimed. Poor girl. It would probably be best for her to be shown around by someone who wasn’t really plugged in to the rumor mill at all. And in this case, Zoe was determined to put her best foot forward. She’d dug out a clean camp shirt, free from oil stains or soot, and decided to leave her tool belt in the cabin (tragic, but it’d make her look more normal). She still opted for gray jeans and converse, though. It wasn’t really typical summer attire, but most children of Hephaestus weren’t bothered by the heat and Zoe had seen firsthand that shorts or open-toed shoes were a terrible idea in the forges.

Zoe rehearsed her greeting mentally as she walked over from Cabin Nine to Cabin Three. She wasn’t going to be awkward. She wasn’t going to be weird. She was going to be cool and relaxed. Hopefully. The new girl was easy to spot. Besides the fact that she was the only camper nearby the Poseidon cabin, she also had that typical look characteristic of new campers who were completely lost. Zoe tried for a smile as she approached the camper. “Hi, hope you haven’t been waiting long. I’m Zoe and I’ll be showing you around today.” Perfect, she’d stuck to the script and it had even come out okay.

STEPHANIE COAST

[STEPHANIE COAST]

Steph smiled when the girl walked over to greet her. From what Steph had been told, her guide was a daughter of Hephaestus, one of the campers who made the weapons the kids used at camp. Hephaestus was also the God of Fire, and Steph's dad was a god over the waters. Well, this was be a kick in the head. She doubted the two would have a battle of the elements though. Zoe seemed nice.

"I'm Stephanie... well Steph if you want to call me that," she said. "I could certainly do with some showing around. I'm as lost as someone trying to find a needle in a haystack factory." She chuckled a little at that. It was a very dated joke, but she still hadn't picked up on modern humor. Some people had told jokes at the Lotus Hotel that went right over her head as they involved items and devices she had never even heard of. "Please excuse me if I end up asking a lot of questions. In all seriousness, I'm getting used to not only this place, but this time. I've... not been in the outside world for a good few decades. I know that sounds nutty, but it's true as the day is long."

ZOE CALIDA

[ZOE CALIDA]

The new girl seemed interested enough in being friendly, and that was a good sign. Zoe nodded at the introduction. Chiron had briefed her yesterday about Steph’s ‘special circumstances,’ what with her being a daughter of Poseidon and all. The only thing that would have been cooler than Stephanie being a violation of the oath was getting stuck in the Lotus Hotel, which Chiron had explained in a very restrained manner that lacked many details. But Zoe wasn’t going to ask questions – because then what if Stephanie wanted to know more about her history in turn? Better to just keep it simple and give her the run-down on all things demigod.

Stephanie said some odd phrases (haystack factory? nutty? true as the day was long?), but she laughed so Zoe also chuckled uncertainly. She was a very matter-of-fact person, so she got right down to business in a serious (but still friendly, she hoped) tone. “Trust me, there’s no such thing as too many questions when it comes to figuring this stuff out. Camp Half-Blood is weird, and being a demigod is weird, and…well, you get the idea. And there are a lot of, um, interesting people here. Anyway, that’s why I’m here. Sure, I’ll show you around today, but settling in is going to take a long time and I’m supposed to help you throughout the whole process.” Zoe took a quick interested peek at the Poseidon cabin (not like she had a reason to be this close, usually), before turning back to Stephanie. “Why don’t you tell me what you actually know, then I can start to fill in the gaps,” Zoe recommended. It’d just be easier to start that way.

STEPHANIE COAST

[STEPHANIE COAST]

The camp was weird, and yes it was weird to be a demi-god. The satyr who brought her to the camp tried to explain it all to Steph. He brought up beings called super-heroes, which confused her, and asked if she knew who Superman or Wonder Woman was, claiming demi-gods sort of had super-powers like they did. Steph had no idea who they were, so it didn't help her out.

"All I know is I'm apparently able to do... superhero things. The horse-man said since Poseidon was my pops... which I'm still trying to wrap around the old bean..." She tapped her head. "I should be able to control water once I figure everything out. If that's the case, then I guess the shower didn't want to listen this morning because I couldn't get the hot water to work. That was a real pickle." She sighed. "Other than that, I just know I'm supposed to learn how to scrap here because one day I might fight a monster. I... really don't want to have to fight a monster. Right before I was trapped in the Lotus Hotel, my mother and... who I thought was my pops... took me to this moving picture called Frankenstein, and it had a monster in it. I think if I were to square off with something like that, I'd probably be in dreamland after one good sock to the kisser."

ZOE CALIDA

[ZOE CALIDA]

Zoe studied Steph as she spoke. The daughter of Hephaestus was usually a ‘spacey’ person – her mind was always somewhere else and it showed in the distracted look of her eyes. But right now, she was 100% here and her face was unusually serious. Because if there was one thing Zoe didn’t take lightly, it was the whole business of being well-informed about the life they’d been born into, and all the dangers that came with it. Steph was new, and it showed by how casual she spoke about monsters.

“Yeah look, I don’t want to scare you, okay? But I do wanna be real for a moment.” She could even set aside the completely odd feeling that Steph was talking about Frankenstein like it was new. Zoe’s mind briefly flashed to the months she’d spent with the Titan army, and the nightmares she’d seen. “There are a lot worse monsters out there than Frankenstein, and if you give them the opportunity they will kill you.” She struggled with the next words – it was a touchy subject for her, but she needed to be as straightforward as possible. “Because…well, the gods can do good things. Like creating this camp. But they also go around having all these affairs with mortals and most of the time they don’t care about what happens to the kids. So we’re mortal, yeah? We can die really easily. But we also have these insane powers sometimes, and the responsibility of not getting killed by things.”

She was uncomfortable talking so seriously, so she scuffed her shoe against the ground and broke their eye contact. “Sometimes demigods can get away with living out in the mortal world. If your parent isn’t too powerful, or you’re well-trained, you only need to stay for the summer. But if your ‘pops’ is Poseidon,” it was a funny word and Zoe couldn’t help but smile as she tried out Steph’s lingo, “well, you know, you’re stuck here. It’s too risky to send Big Three kids out into the real world.”

STEPHANIE COAST

[STEPHANIE COAST]

Zoe really didn't hold back. She spoke of monsters... real monsters... really mean monsters who liked to kill people like her and her new friend. She spoke of how the gods had kids, but didn't think much of them, and how the powers helped fight the monsters. Steph gulped a bit.

"Jeepers..." she said sincerely. "I'm guessing I'll learn more about these monsters then? And how to scrap with them? What powers do you have, if you don't mind dishin' the hash too much?"

Steph then sighed and look down about staying at camp and not going home. Powerful father or not, she didn't have much of a choice there, not now in the present time.

"This camp is really all I've got when it comes to a home now," she said. "I don't have anyone here... no other place to go. Everything I've ever really known before that nutty hotel was back in the 1920's. Guess all of you are sort of my family now, along with my Pops if I ever meet him." She thought about what Zoe said though, about the gods not caring. Fantastic... the one parent she had left and he seemed to had kicked her to the curb.

ZOE CALIDA

[ZOE CALIDA]

Stephanie was starting to look nervous, and Zoe did feel bad about being so serious and, frankly, a little scary. But the new girl would have a lot of time to get used to camp and all the fun things about being a demigod – she needed to be made aware of the dangers now. It was important to set expectations, after all, and it always drove Zoe nuts that some demigods didn’t take the reality of being one seriously. Still, she tried for a smile to lighten the mood. She’d given her scary warning, now it was time to smooth over a little of the damage.

“Learning how to fight monsters is the biggest thing we do here,” Zoe said as she nodded. Her smile grew more genuine as she was asked about her powers. The girl didn’t mind being a daughter of Hephaestus – gods knew he was better than most of the other Olympians, even if he’d never been much of a father figure before. And her powers she did enjoy. Zoe just needed to avoid the big modern words. “I can kinda control technology.” Zoe struggled to find something a girl from the 20th century might know. “Cars, radios, robots. Things like that.” She changed the subject a little abruptly. “And you, if you practice, should have some sort of power related to Poseidon. Controlling water, maybe, or earthquakes.”

The last thing Stephanie said…that really resounded with something inside Zoe. She had a home, technically, in Detroit. But she hadn’t been in years since it was decided she would be better off full-time in camp. And camp had never felt too much like a home to her, although she was trying more now. “It’s a messed-up family,” Zoe said truthfully, “but it’s better than nothing. Well alright, should we get started with the tour? You familiar with all these cabins?”

STEPHANIE COAST

[STEPHANIE COAST]

Steph listened as Zoe spoke of her powers and what she could control. Her powers sounded incredible, especially the part about the robots. Steph remembered a few movies about those back in her time.

"My mom and... well the fella who I thought was my pops... took me to this moving picture called Metropolis once. The robot in that gave me a nice case of the jitters. If you could control something like that, I imagine that those monsters would be heading for the hills." Steph then looked a bit surprised about her own supposed powers. "So you're saying I can actually make waves... or really shake things up? Golly!"

Steph didn't exactly know what Zoe meant by "messed up", but it sounded like some of the campers weren't too pleasant. She hoped she didn't have a bad time with any of them. She decided to focus on the tour.

"I know that all their gods have their own cabin, and I live in the one that belongs to my pops. Seems like a good many others are fuller than mine though. Guess my pops doesn't have a whole lot of kids running about, huh?"

ZOE CALIDA