Beginnings

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It was a dark, cold night as Jude pushed himself off the ground, and continued to climb the steep hill. Dark covered what was visible of his skin, his hair fell over his eyes as he heaved up once again, his hands now landing on flat ground. Jude breathed out in relief as he stood up on what seems the top of the hill and looked over. Laying in front of him was Camp Half Blood. It was quiet at the moment, due to it being so late, and the dark orange lanterns were positioned around the camp, giving it a soft ember glow. Jude took a careful step forward, his foot meeting soft grass, as he scanned his surroundings. There had to be some patrol or something. They wouldn't leave the camp unprotected, there were too many monsters to do that.

Jude cautiously walked forward, the light of the torches now casting over him. Jude took the moment to look down at himself. He imagined the lengthy trip would have some effect on his appearance. And it did. His black hoodie had a thin layer of dirt over it, with some pieces of weeds hanging off of him. His jeans had dirt smears along his knees, and some tears along the length, but nothing major. The only thing that wasn't effected was his wear and tear boots. Jude did have some clothes on him, but it probably wasn't a good idea to change in front of the camp. Hooking his hands onto his bag straps, he walked towards the camp.

The boy came to a stop a few feet away, his eyes looked down at the ground. The border. You couldn't see it, but you could feel it. Hopefully this meant he was in the right place. All he could do was wait now.

Ethan Marsters

[Ethan Marsters]

Ethan was on border patrol, as he often was on nights like this. A daughter of Hermes was there with him, but she had climbed a tree about an hour ago and was watching from above. Ethan guessed she was asleep but... he hoped that wasn't the case. He was proved wrong when she jumped down beside him, "Someones at the border," she said. Ethan nodded, walking down the hill toward the border, carefully counting his steps in order to land on his right foot before stopping in front of the person standing just outside. The Hermes girl waited at the top, ready to call for help if needed.

"Hello there. State your business, please," Ethan asked in a polite and professional voice. He was never one to assume someone was something evil right off the bat. No, he liked to give them the benefit of the doubt for the most part. He was a gracious leader, though he was quite strict. Still, he wasn't one to pull his sword out the second he ran into someone knew. He was generous enough to let them speak first. Something many kids around here wouldn't do for you...

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Jude watched as two figures appeared in the distance, and one of them walked towards him. It was a boy. Jude realized he needed to prove his was a camper. But he couldn't cross the border because that'd probably set off an alarm, or make him look an enemy. Talking it out was the only option. But he was weary, most people wouldn't believe you if you said you've been having dreams of this place since you were young. He'd give it a shot though. "My name is Jude Archer. I'm a demigod. I was lead here after.." Jude stopped, he didn't want to reveal anything about his mother. It wasn't something he'd like to share with a stranger.

"Is there a way I can prove that I'm one of you?" The voice previously whispered in his head was quiet now, but still present. It was watching. Jude looked down at himself, raising both of his hands as an act of peace. He didn't want to say he was the son of Hades off the bat. He didn't know how they would react to that, what if Hades was not allowed here?

"A test, maybe?"

[Ethan Marsters]

Ethan watched and listened as the guy explained that he was one of them and wanted to know how to prove it. He seemed honest enough to Ethan, especially considering the fact that he was offering to take a test of necessary. That was enough to convince Ethan. "That's test enough for me. The fact that you're willing to succumb to one. Not to mention the fact that you know not to cross the line," he nodded, giving his patrolling partner a quick signal.

"Though, you can go ahead and step inside now," Ethan took a step back, gently and slowly pulling his sword out of its sheath. He wanted to be ready just in case he was wrong to trust. The way he didn't his sentence earlier worried Ethan, but not in a threatening way. He was worried about what this Jude had been through.

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Jude nodded to the boy, his gaze falling to the ground knowing fairly well this one step would most likely change his life. Jude thought about his mother for a second, alone, broke, and paranoid. No one to left to protect her. Jude almost felt guilty. Almost. It was her choice to leave. And it was his choice now. It find a home, maybe. Without hesitating, Jude took a step forward onto Camp Half blood.

Almost immediately a small skull appeared above his head, it glowed a dark green, making a striking contrast against Jude's tan skin. Jude looked up slowly, his green eyes lighting up as they observed the green skull. It was a sign of Hades. Looking away from the skull, Jude looked from the awaiting sword to the boy, his face remaining blank as he waited for his reaction.

[Ethan Marsters]

Ethans eyes widened as a skull appeared over the boys head, but his wide eyed look of shock soon turned into a smile. He heard the Hermes girl laugh loudly in the background, but he didn't turn to give her the look he wanted to. The boy, however, looked quite unsurprised by the sign above his head. Did he already know who his father was?

Ethans smile grew as he took a step forward, taking one of Judes hands and clasping it in both of his for a firm shake. "Welcome to Camp, Jude. My names Ethan Marsters, and it seems we're brothers," he chuckled a bit and spoke calmly, even though he was actually pretty excited about finding the newcomer to be his own family.

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Jude gave a small smile as he shook Ethan's hand. "I'm Jude Archer. Nice to meet you, brother." Considering the fact Jude didn't spend too much time around people his own age, this was a pretty big discovery. At least he knew that Hades was welcomed here. Jude watched as the skull vanished, leaving a small trace of green mist in the air.

"So, is there someone you have to take me to? I don't wanna be considered an intruder." Jude asked, his eyes now moving past Ethan look at the camp behind him. He could see some of the cabins in the distance. Each decorated to their own. He imagined the Aphrodite Cabin was a bright pink, or any color that looked good. Jude wondered what the Hades looked like.

[Ethan Marsters]

"I'm the Hades cabin leader, in fact, so you're going to get pretty sick of me," Ethan chuckled. He nodded as Jude asked where he was supposed to go next, and released his hand as he gestured toward camp. "You'll need to see Chiron. But first we can visit the Hades cabin and get your comfortable and settled in, if you'd like," Ethan offered. He was completely open to whatever his new brother wanted to do first.

He started to lead the way up the hill. Another patrol had come to take his place and Ethans partner that night, the Hermes girl, had gone ahead to alert Chiron of the newcomer.

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Jude fixed his bag as he followed Ethan as they began walking up the hill. Chiron, the name sounded awful familiar. Maybe he read it somewhere, it did sound like an ancient name. "I think I'll go get cleaned up, and maybe get some sleep. I don't like presentable." Jude murmured, consciously brushing off his clothes. And if he was correct, he had the biggest bags under his eyes right now. He didn't want Chiron to see him as such.

"Thank you for letting me in, Ethan." Jude said, as they reached the top of the hill, and began walking the path towards the cabin. "I appreciate it." The boy added with a small nod, as his eyes washed over the passing cabins, taking in the separate decor of each. The lights were out for most of them, so Jude tried his best to keep his voice low. He didn't want to wake others up, god knows he'd be upset if he was taken out of his dreams because of a camper he didn't know.

[Ethan Marsters]

Ethan, being incredibly OCD, understood the need to prepare before something. "Understandable. Let's get you comfortable. Amy will tell Chiron that you're will me, that would be good enough for now," Ethan explained as they neared the top of the hill. He turned toward the direction of the Hades cabin, not really bothering to give the tour right now considering how tired Jude looked. What this kid needed was some rest and maybe a cup of hot choco, or something of the liek.

Ethan turned to smile at Jude as he thanked him, giving his brother a small shrug. "Not a problem. That's what we're here for, after all," he said with a firm nod. They neared the darkest cabin and Ethan opened the door. "Come on in, you can take whichever bed you'd like that isn't claimed. There aren't many of us here," he explained as he stepped inside.

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Jude remained quiet as Ethan came to a stop in front of a cabin. It was the Hades Cabin. It wasn't too big, but a decent size none the less. It stood tall with black marble, and a dark green light radiating from what Jude assumed was the lights inside. To most it'd look ominous but Jude found it comforting. Stepping into the cabin, Jude scanned the room, choosing a bed along the wall, he walked over and put his bag on the wall. Jude always found bunk beds cool, but at the moment, he didn't need to sleep in a top bunk seeing that most of the cabin was empty.

Tugging off his shoes, Jude opened his bag to pull out some clothes to sleep in. "So, are the Hades kids separated here?" Jude asked quietly, pulling out a towel and other items. "I don't want to cause trouble.."

[Ethan Marsters]

Ethan crossed to the door to his room, which was separate from the rest of the cabin and leaned against it, folding his arms across his chest as his new brother started getting himself situated. "What do you mean separated? By gender? Sure, we only got one sister who lives here and she kind of has her own area. Behind that curtain over there," he pointed, but he didn't think that was what Jude was talking about.

"And if you mean from the rest of the campers... well, we're pretty well accepted here now. I've made sure of that. Sure there are some that are biased against us, but there isn't anything you can do about those types of people," Ethan explained. Though, he still wasn't sure if he had answered his brothers question.

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Although he didn't show it, Jude was relieved. He imagined being the child of Hades wasn't too popular, as Hades was often pictured as the villain. Jude didn't think so, and he was glad the camp didn't either. Or at least some of the camp. Putting his supplies on the top of the bed, Jude took off his hoodie revealing a plain gray shirt and a dark necklace. Walking to the side of the bunk for the sake of privacy, Jude changed from jeans to sweats before going to sit on his bed.

He'd personally like to shower, but he figured it'd be less problematic to shower in the morning then the late hours of the night. Once settled in the dark corner where his bed rest, he took a moment to actually look at the cabin. It was the darkest out of all the cabins he'd seen in the distance. Although at the moment, it didn't feel like home, and it didn't feel too bad too.

But tomorrow, he'd have to meet the rest of the campers, along with Chiron. And this 'home' might not last.

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Do you want to skip to the morning, or keep going Ethan Marsters?

[Ethan Marsters]

"Get some sleep," Ethan said before slipping into his room, needing to get some sleep of his own. He didn't sleep well, and not often, but it had been an eventful day and he was ready to lay down for quite some time now. Well, hopefully he could sleep tonight.
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The next morning, Ethan was up incredibly early, not wanting Jude to have to find the Big House on his own. He got dressed and stepped out of his room glancing over at the bed his new brother had chosen. "Ready to get started?" he called out, looking for his new brother.

[Deleted]

"Yes, almost ready." Jude called out from within the bathroom, currently drying his hair with a towel. Jude had woken up a bit earlier to clean himself off from the night before. Thankfully the showers were indoors, and he didn't have to wonder around like an idiot. Combing through his hair, Jude took a deep breath as he stepped out from the bathroom, wearing a plain black v-neck with jeans, and feeling a lot better then he did last night. Though he was a bit hungry. "Lead the way." The boy said, as he slid on his boots in front of the cabin door.