Soul of Olympus

5

After dragging Piper to the Big House, being told that Hera was captured,Ariadne was of course stuck sitting next to Piper in the infirmary waiting for her to wake up. Don't get her wrong, Ariadne loved Piper but she didn't feel comfortable letting Jason go off with Annabeth alone. Although Jason didn't remember her, she remembered him even if it was fake. Before she could continue her thoughts, Ariadne heard a gasp coming from the cot next to her. Piper was awake. 

"What, how, when-" Piper was starting to freak out. 

"Hey, Pipes it's okay, you passed out, but they gave you some nectar your fine."

 But Piper was shaking. Ariadne grabbed her hands and made Piper look into her eyes. 

"You're okay, you're safe, I'm here with you." 

It took a couple of seconds but Piper calmed down. 

"Thanks A." 

Ariadne gave her a smile before saying. "We missed dinner, but it's time for a campfire. And they have marshmallows!" 

Ariadne grabbed Pipers hand and pulled her out the infirmary door.Piper couldn't help but chuckle at how fast her friend could change personalities. It was astonishing, but was just how Ariadne worked. 

"Aria I'm coming, slow down or you may run into the fire."

                                                                                     ......

THE WHOLE CAMPFIRE IDEA FREAKED PIPER OUT.

 It made her think of that huge purple bonfire in the dreams, and her father tied to a stake. What she got instead was almost as terrifying: a sing-along. The amphitheater steps were carved into the side of a hill, facing a stone-lined fire pit. Fifty or sixty kids filled the rows, clustered into groups under various banners. Piper spotted Jason in the front next to Annabeth. Leo was nearby, sitting with a bunch of burly-looking campers under a steel gray banner emblazoned with a hammer. And Ariadne was sitting next to her, swaying along to the singing and trying to cheer Piper up a bit. Standing in front of the fire, half a dozen campers with guitars and strange, old-fashioned harps—lyres?—were jumping around, leading a song about pieces of armor, something about how their grandma got dressed for war. 

Everybody was singing with them and making gestures for the pieces of armor and joking around. It was quite possibly the weirdest thing they had ever seen—one of those campfire songs that would've been completely embarrassing in daylight; but in the dark, with everybody participating, it was kind of corny and fun. As the energy level got higher, the flames did too, turning from red to orange to gold. Finally the song ended with a lot of rowdy applause. A guy on a horse trotted up. At least in the flickering light, they thought it was a guy on a horse.

Then they realized it was a centaur—his bottom half a white stallion, his top half a middle-aged guy with curly hair and a trimmed beard. He brandished a spear impaled with toasted marshmallows. 

"Very nice! And a special welcome to our new arrivals. I am Chiron, camp activities director, and I'm happy you have all arrived here alive and with most of your limbs attached. In a moment, I promise we'll get to the s'mores, but first—"

"What about capture the flag?" somebody yelled.

 Grumbling broke out among some kids in armor, sitting under a red banner with the emblem of a boar's head.

 "Yes," the centaur said. "I know the Ares cabin is anxious to return to the woods for our regular games."

"And kill people!" one of them shouted.