Day One

Everything seemed more green and full of life for Dimitri, in this camp, there was simply an aura of divinity that was unfamiliar, but not entirely unknown to him. A massive tree stood at the base of the hill, and it wasn't hard to tell that their must have been some story behind the agricultural phenomenon. Regardless of how magnificent the willow was, it couldn't hold Dimitri's undivided attention, not with the view below.

The winter air wasn't as cold and crisp inside the figurative walls. Had he not been taking in and processing that he wasn't human, it would have been an utterly amazing wonder to view. It wasn't simply the visual aspect that was surreal, even the aroma and sounds of Camp Half-Blood were entirely attractive, even from the distance. Dimitri could spot many people, though apparently, even more people were around during the summer.

This was now home to Dimitri, a reality that was hurtful, considering he'd never been without his family for even a day. Depending on how things went the next few months, he might be able to return home, but he had a feeling in his gut that things just wouldn't work out that way. Caught in a bittersweet trance, Dimitri was frozen in place for far too long. There was a lot to do, a lot to see, and a lot of things to take care of before the day was over.

He didn't even know where to start.

The view was certainly full of inspiration and other emotions. Dimitri had finally made the choice to let it go though, surely, if the view had been so magnificent, it would only get better upon approach, right? Even still, Dimitri didn't feel any particular eager nature to rush down into the camp. His home was many miles away, and he wouldn't even know how to get back.

Regardless, Dimitri finally lifted a leg up to move forward. The movement was slow, but it was a first step. The next that followed was more normally paced, and then by the third step, it was like he was walking a normal pace once more. He had to do this, there was no more alternative options.

Then, upon a head tilt, Dimitri saw her. As though an astronomical event had just happened, he spotted a friend he hadn't seen in almost a year. Silence continued to fall upon Dimitri, as he was once again frozen in his tracks. Tears nearly formed to his eyes, but he held them back. "You're... here." Dimitri choked out, after moments of silence. His body remained standing, with slow steps, but he felt close to collapsing.

It felt like time went by so slowly when she saw him. He was there. It was him. His dark hair and blue eyes were so familiar to the daughter of Zeus. What really helped her realize it was him was the cowboy boots, black jeans and a red plaid button up. It was him through and through. Even his hair was a little shaggy and as she picked out each of his features, so many emotions welled up inside her.

It wasn't long until he had made slow steps towards her. The tears couldn't stop from welling up in her eyes and they already began to spill over. "Yeah, I'm here." She said managing to choke out, hardly audible. As soon as he was within arms length, her arms wrapped around his torso and her forehead leaned against his chest and she inhaled deeply and the smell of his scent filled her nostrils. She had been without home for so long, and to have one of the best pieces of it here, was everything to her.

Dominika had a history of discomfort with physical contact. Dimitri felt he was somewhat an exception to the rule, but made a point to not test those limits. If she was ever upset, he would hug her, but otherwise, it was an as-needed basis. Of course, the embrace from her was more than welcomed. Dimitri's arms voluntarily wrapped around the girl in front of him. Having her back meant a lot to Dimitri. He didn't have his mom or dad, but he did have Dominika.

He kept back the tears, but they were welling in his eyes still. "How long've you been here?" Dimitri managed to ask. He wasn't holding her very gently, more close than anything. "I didn't I was gonna see you again. I thought you were just gone." Dimitri confessed.

The demigod felt as his arms had wrapped around her. The whole time she was gone, she hadn't felt home sick until this moment. The sight and scent of him was enough to remind her of home back on the Midnight farm. It tugged at all of her heart strings at this moment and as soon as his arms wrapped around her the tears continued to spill out and onto her face. The moment didn't feel real at this time. It felt like a dream, and any minute she was going to wake up.

"I've been here since I left." She said with a bit of a sniffle and she was still not ready to let go of the farm boy in front of her. When he mentioned that he didn't think he was going to see her again it made her feel guilty in a way. "I should have written you a letter or something."

"I get why you didn't." Dimitri replied. "How're you supposed to explain somethin' so..." Dimitri didn't have the words, quite literally, the place below them was like something out of a dream. Dimitri hadn't registered anything about Dominika except for the fact that she was here. Her blonde hair flew in the breeze just like it had back home. She was always a strong woman, and Dimitri had a large soft spot for her. It was nothing short of a miracle that she ended up here, out of everywhere in the world. Of course, that meant, she was like him. Not human.

It was a sense of selfish comfort, one that was very foreign to Dimitri. "It's amazing." Dimitri said, glancing back to the land below. It wasn't home, and no matter what was down there, it wouldn't match up to home. Even still, Dimitri looked to the girl. "I don't even know where to start."

Hearing Dimitri's usual accent was a wonderful thing to hear after not hearing it for so long. It was unique and not something she heard a lot of around camp. Not like the European ones that there were multiple of. "I could have at least let you know I was well instead of nothing." She said in a somber tone, while wiping her teas away from her face.

It was still hard to believe that he was here. Even as she was caught in his embrace and she could feel him and his warmth, he was tangent, yet somehow that still wasn't enough. He mentioned the place looked amazing and she knew that was true, yet she always found herself walking the outskirts instead of actually doing anything within.

"It gets quite busy at times. More so in the summer I believe. It can get overwhelming." The daughter of Zeus said softly and looked up at Dimitri. "I prefer to keep to myself, but you probably could have guessed that."

Nika still had her arms around around the boy. This was a rare site. To see the blonde hold an embrace of any sort for this long. Usually if anyone so much as laid a hand on her she's usually freak out and break down. She just couldn't handle it. Well she could more now than she did, but the girl still wasn't fond of people touching her. However, Nika had a huge soft spot for the farm boy in front of her and she knew he wouldn't hurt her, not like she had been before. She trusted him wholeheartedly.

"I can show you the cabin I stay in. I have it to myself, but some nights are hard when I have nightmares."

"It can't be like that." Dimitri voiced. "More people's gotta mean that someone gets you." Dimitri said, he took a step away from Dominika, but he didn't separate their arms. He did, however, give her a look, one that surely by now she was familiar with. It was a pleading look, the same one he would give her on the farm whenever something scared her. Whether it was being skiddish around the horses or nervous to do something, he gave her this look.

The demigod took initiative to wipe away the slight remainder of tears from her by himself. His emotions were now containing themselves, which was natural somewhat, but Dominika restored the lost security to him. Being here meant the world was dangerous. But having more people like him and Dominika, all together? That was a good thing.

Dimitri did eventually break the contact. He was certain they would make up for all of the lost hugs soon enough. "You know you gotta try. Bein' here means somethin'. We get to live." Dimitri assured her, although the subject was grim, it still seemed hopeful to him. "Show me." He said, his tone soft.

Dominika's eyes stayed locked with Dimitri's as he told her that with more people around that someone was more likely to get her. She had seen this look from him multiple times back home. most times she would look away, but this time she was maintaining eye contact. She didn't say anything for a good chunk of time. She just kept looking at him. It was hard. How were people supposed to get her? Only thing most campers here could probably relate to other than the normal demigod stuff was the fact that she was foreign. Granted she had been in America for quite some time before she came here, but still.

She was a demigod and a camper here, just the same as Dimitri. The only problem was, being a child of god that wasn't really supposed to have kids, meant that there wasn't many of you. Besides that she found she got treated differently in some aspects, like she was supposed to be destined for greater things. Dominika didn't want that. She honestly just wanted to go back to the farm and live with Dimitri and his parents, but that wasn't even possible now that he was here.

It was a curse and a blessing to have the brown haired male in front of her. In one aspect he finally could know about her, but in another, now that he was here and knew what he was, he might not go back. A small sigh escaped her lips and her eye contact broke.

"It's not that simple." She said softly and then let go from the embrace. She laced her fingers in his and led him towards camp and the cabins. "I can definitely show you around too, if you'd like."

Dimitri allowed Dominika to hold his hand and lead him down the hill. The serious nature of the conversation stuck in his chest, but he could deny the wonder that filled him as the scenery that had wowed him now got closer with each step. Buildings became larger, echoes became full laughs and conversations. There were kids and teenagers everywhere, doing anything you could imagine. Dimitri's expression changed. He was excited and fascinated, entirely.

"Yeah, it is that simple." Dimitri decided. He felt as though he could walk this camp for days, and still not discover even half of its wonders. This was life for everyone here. Surely unity could be found.

"Who's you parent?" Dimitri asked. He kept his hand in firm place to keep Dominika from continuing, before reaching his free hand out. Some water rose from a puddle, somewhat shaky, but stayed in form for about two feet before dropping back down to earth.

The daughter of Zeus kept walking, leading him down the hill and into camp. The closer they got the more people that were there. The more laughter you could hear. Other demigods like them were running around, training, and doing whatever it was they were planning to do for the day. It was quite the sight to see for the first time, and so she remained silent to let him soak it in.

Nika heard him ask her who her god parent was and her heart dropped. She didn't like to talk about it. She didn't like to acknowledge who her god parent was. Like most of the men in her life, other than the Midnight men, he was just a disappointment. Her father was a disgrace to her and she hated how much praise he got. For doing what? Being the god of gods? being the god of the sky? Certainly wasn't for being father of the year. More like worst father of the year.

The demigod was silent still and she didn't answer him. It wasn't something she was proud of. However, she didn't like to just leave him in the dark, so she halted in her steps and she turned to look at him again.

"Zeus." She said quietly.

Dimitri felt a pull of concern when she stopped, and he listened intently to the single word. He nodded at the simple name, four letters. Surely, it wasn't that big of a deal. He didn't want her to feel like her worry and negative emotions were rightful, and so he gave her hand a light tug and kept walking, her hand in his. He didn't want her to feel that she was a freak or a misfit.

They were all equally freaks here. But Dimitri loved Dominika.

"There's nothin' wrong with that." Dimitri assured her, gently suggesting they go forward. "It ain't on you, what happened to get'chu into this world. The important thing is that you're here now, and I'm grateful for that." Dimitri insisted. He glanced back at her, a smile cracking. "Okay?"

Dominika just nodded to his reply and continued on. It wasn't long before she came up to all the cabins. "Do you know about your god parent yet, or?" She asked him and not before long they were standing in front of the Zeus cabin. It stood there as being the biggest and bulkiest cabin. It was marbled and white. Two columns in front of it and bronze doors that led inside.

"It doesn't exactly give off a home vibe to it." Dominika said and opened the doors. Inside it looked like a bank and there was even a statue of her father in the middle of it. That only made it more difficult to want to be in her cabin. When she got there, and even now, there's no beds in the cabin. She had a lone sleeping bag in one of the back corners.

"Your cabin will probably be a lot more cozier and likely have a bed." She said and turned her body to face his. "I don't know if you know this, but children of Zeus aren't really supposed to be a thing. Therefore this cabin was mostly built as tribute to Zeus, rather than actually having space for his children to sleep."

"Cy-mo-polia." Dimitri butchered the pronunciation of his true mothers name. "Mean's I'can control water. I guess it ain't a bad perk." Dimitri tried to stay on the lighter side of the demigod revelation. He knew she already knew what he was going through. They could be stronger together through it.

"Home ain't 'bout the bells and whistles, Dominika." Dimitri knew it might resonate with her in a bad way, but he felt it was important to say. "Y'know, we never stopped talkin' 'bout you. Home's here now, but home's also still home." Dimitri couldn't help but feel his heart strings pulled when she insisted children of Zeus weren't meant to exist.

"But you're still here." Dimitri said, turning to face her when he said it. He let a smile grow on his face to assure her. "You're here, and you're here for a reason. Just gotta find out that reason is." He said. His eyes made contact with hers, and his smile broadened. "Right?" He asked.

"Water's not a bad perk at all." Dominika said in agreeing with the son of Cymopoleia. It wasn't bad to be a demigod at all in her opinion, but she just didn't want to be one. She felt life would be a lot easier if she weren't Dominika wanted the simple things in life because frankly life was always complicated for her and this was just one of them.

"I know it's not about the bells and whistles. I just want the simple things in life. If I were just human it'd make this a lot easier." The daughter of Zeus said. "I couldn't call this place home yet. It doesn't feel like home. I don't feel like I belong here. I don't talk to many people and they don't talk to me. I mean I guess I haven't tried too much. "

The demigod listened to what Dimitri said and she couldn't help but smile when she saw him smiling in front of her. "Right." She said softly. "So did you want to go see your cabin?"

"No." Dimitri simply replied to Dominika's question, with a shrug of his shoulders. "No, I don't wanna go see m'cabin." He repeated. "I like it here. Nice'nd private. We really gotta getchu a bed, though." Dimitri decided. "I don't like the thought've you sleepin' on the floor every night. I remember wakin' up for harvest last year. Christ, I was so sore. I can only imagine how you're feelin' now." Dimitri said. He knew how limber Dominika was, but a sleeping bag was no place for her.

Dimitri reached his hand out to the Russian demigod, gently taking her hand in his. "Well, step one's done, right? I'll come'nd talk to you everyday, I'll talk your ear off 'till you just wanna see me leave." Dimitri gently teased her. He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand to reassure her. "Dominika. We'll make this work for you. I promise. I want you to be happy with life."

When she heard the words come out of his mouth they echoed in her head. What did he mean he didn't want to go to his cabin. She turned to look at him as he spoke now. It was only when he had began to comment on her needing a bed that she could feel the tears well up in her eyes and they began to spill over. He wanted her to have a bed and he always looked out for her best interest. Dimitri was like a gift sent to her. This place had really sucked, but she felt a least a little hopeful with the brown haired boy being there. Seeing him reminded her so much of home.

She felt him take her hand and all her muscles relaxed at once. With her free hand she was wiping the tears away from her face. "There will never be a point where I want to see you leave. You coming here has been the second greatest thing that's happened to me." Nika said through the tears before she spoke again with a small smile on her face. "The first being meeting your family and having them become my own."

"You're sure that ain't the second and this is the first?" Dimitri gently teased. His hand slowly elevated to her face to help her wipe away the tears. "Shhh, there's nothin'ta cry 'bout. Everythin' is gonna work out just fine. I promise." The demigod felt the most secure he had since before he'd discovered the new world.

"I had so many questions for them, Christ, I really did. But they both had this adamant nature, tellin' me to go with the Satyr, 'nd that it would all clear up sooner or later." Dimitri recalled, even though it was so recent, it felt like ages. To only see one place for seventeen years, then suddenly see an entire portion of a country in a such a short span had taken a toll on Dimitri. Despite all the new, it didn't replace the old in his heart for even a minute.

"I hope y'know we're goin'ta visit. The second we think we're ready." Dimitri decided, before taking her hand with his other hand, entirely surrounding her left hand with both of his. "If that's somethin' you'd wanna do."

Dominika felt his hand come up to help her wipe away the tears. She couldn't help but crack a little smile as he teased her a little bit. Dimitri brought every little piece of home with him. Everything felt like it was slowly being put back to normal again with him being here. The feeling right here in this moment was something she never wanted to forget.

He was here now. Her world felt a big brighter. "I'm glad you're here. I'm happy you made the trip here safely and just getting to share this part of me with you is something I'll treasure for a long time." Dominika said with a warm smile. The boy by her side made her feel warm inside, he made her soft in nature rather than cold and distant.

She felt his hands enclose on hers. "It's something I'd love to do when the time is right." The daughter of Zeus said and rested her other hand on top of his. "There's not enough words to express how much I've missed you."

"I'm glad too." Dimitri said, an honest answer, as per usual with the newfound demigod. It was a strange world, that he could feel so many things in such a short span of a few days. He wasn't used to change, save for Dominika entering and then leaving his life, it was foreign to him. "It was stressful." Dimitri admitted. "Y'think y'understand the whole world, y'know? Then suddenly, this man with goat legs show up." He was sure that Dominika could relate. He remembered when his parents had talked about Dominika leaving. He didn't consider that to be them lying to him. There was just no way he could have handled the truth at the time.

"I never thought 'bout it. Just how massive the world was. I saw so little of it when I was comin' here, and yet, it was so much more than I ever desired to see. He coulda brought me anywhere." Dimitri continued, before the dumb grin on his face enlarged. "Then, it turned out, he was bringin' me back to you."

Dominika watched him as he spoke. Everything about him from his accent, to the way he spoke, to his thoughts, it was intriguing and appealing to the daughter of Zeus. She could spend hours and days with the Dimitri and she'd never be bored or feel like she'd need to be somewhere else. They hadn't been the closest when she had first moved in, but eventually as timed passed they started to hang out more and eventually they would spend almost most of their free time together.

They had developed a good friendship. She'd consider Dimitri to be her best friend, but there wasn't denying any feelings that she held for him. They always lingered a bit and grew ever so slightly as the days went on and on. Seeing Dimitri here in a place where she never felt could be home, things felt a little easier. Things felt like they were meant to be.

When Dimitri finished the last few words to come out of his mouth, Dominika didn't say anything for a moment, she didn't even have thoughts in her mind. She had just leaned in and kissed him. Something she had wanted to do since she saw him in camp.

Objectively speaking, romance was an idea that Dimitri didn't fully understand. Growing up in such a secluded place, family was usually all he had around him until he was older, and Dominika showed up. He'd spent so much time with her, there was no denying that he potentially held something for her. All of that changed when Dominika confided in him about her step-father. That night had changed all sorts of feelings for the then-human. What happened to her mattered.

Now, here she was, kissing him. The moment had no tell-tale signs, it just simply happened. Dimitri, surprisingly, didn't panic. He sat there, simply, allowing her to do what she wanted. When she finished, he didn't know exactly what to do. "Thank you?" He questioned, their lips were still close, he wasn't exactly sure what to do. "I don't really know what'm supposed to do next." He admitted.

Dominika wasn't sure what to do. What had she even just done? She could be risking potentially a lot. She was embarrassed by what she had just done and she couldn't look in his eyes. "You don't have to thank me or know what to do. I'm sorry." She said quickly. Her mind was racing with thoughts and she pulled away a little bit. She had no right to do that. She knew him, so she should have known he'd be fairly naive.

She couldn't help the rush of colour surfacing on her face. "I uh. Just forget I did anything. I really shouldn't have." What was she going to do? Especially if he told his parents. Dominika was in a state of mental panic and didn't know what to do at this point.