I'll Guide You Through ((Lysander Ravenwood))

Once Lys had gotten over the initial shock of his claiming and everything else, Percy found himself leading the other boy to the armory. Chiron was still nowhere to be found, but that was alright...Percy knew camp well enough to take Lys around and show him everything. The son of Poseidon figured the forges would be a good place to start, so he led the new camper to them, unsure of what to say. Hephaestus kids were nice, but usually tended to be a bit withdrawn and quiet...unlike Percy who talked too much and said stupid things most of the time.

"So..." the boy said awkwardly. "I...um...all of your siblings are in Manhattan for the school year...so you'll be in the cabin alone." With a shrug, Percy turned a corner. "It's not that bad, honestly. I've been in my cabin alone for years now. For the most part, anyway. Sometimes my brother Tyson is here, which is always nice. But most of the time he's with the other Cyclopses, in the underwater forges in our dad's kingdom..." Percy knew he was rambling too much, but he couldn't help himself. He wasn't the biggest fan of silence, so he always tried to fill it...even if it was with the sound of his own voice.

Finally, the two reached the armory. "Here's the armory and forges," Percy turned to Lys and pointed. "You'll be working here a lot. The Hephaestus kids are the only ones who can really work in here...the rest of us aren't too great with making weapons and stuff..." the boy shrugged. "You should look around a little. I'm sure you'll enjoy it...tons of stuff to work on." Smiling, Percy picked up a half finished sword. "Your siblings, once they get back, will be able to help you more than anyone. And maybe if Tyson comes to visit soon, he can help you out too."

"So...any questions so far?" Percy laughed, looking around. "I'm not here that often, except in the arena for practice," he pointed at the nearby arena. "But I'm pretty familiar with it. And I've tried to work in the forges before...not too good at it, but at least I can tolerate the fire pretty well."

"They're all in Manhattan? Well, at least I'll be able to settle in and get to grips with everything. And I bet there's a few surprises that I'll find too..." Lys said, walking with Percy. He listened and nodded as he was told about Tyson. Cyclopes.. well, all were monsters. Some were bad, others weren't. From the sounds of it, Tyson was way off of been bad. A Cyclops would be cool to meet, and even cooler to work with.

Eventually, they arrived at the armoury and the forges. Percy opened the doors, and Lys followed him in, and stopped in wonder. It was an engineer's paradise, with tools all over, loads of blueprints and many sheets of metal to be used. There were clumps of metal in buckets, ready to be melted down that looked liked they'd been mined and brought straight to camp. There were sheets that were waiting to be cut and shaped, and there were old scraps ready to be made into something new. Percy was right. Lys would be spending a lot of time in here.

"Y'know.... This place.... Well, this is gonna sound weird, but I actually feel at home here. Like I belong... Not out there, not yet." Lys said, motioning to camp. "But in here... I feel comfortable. Like I can think in peace for once."

Lys shut up after that little bit of opening himself up. A home was something he'd been wanting since his mum died, since he went onto the streets and joined the group of demigods on their way to camp. Now he was actually here. He hadn't settled in yet, hadn't got used to the place. But this forge, this little out of the way room with the metal and the tools and the fire, this warm, inviting place, this felt like home. This felt like belonging. This felt like where he should be. This place was his.

"Well, I guess I've got just one..." Lys said when Percy asked if he had any questions. "Apart from the forging thing... do I have any other abilities? Cos I don't feel any different since I've been claimed."

As Lys spoke, seeming to clarify that the rest of his siblings were in Manhattan, Percy nodded. "Yeah...lots of demigods go home, or to Manhattan for the school year." Thoughtfully, the boy looked at Lys. "It can get lonely, but yeah, you'll get some time to settle in." At least Lys had siblings that would come back...Percy loved his brother, but Tyson came and went so much that sometimes the son of Poseidon felt like he didn't have a brother. Sure, they kept in touch, but Tyson was busy a lot of the time...he still had lots to do, even if camp was calm these days.

When they entered the forges, Percy smiled as he saw the way Lys was looking around. It definitely looked like the other boy knew this was his home, which was how most Hephaestus kids felt in the forges...at least, that was what Percy assumed. It had to be like how he felt in water...right. Just...right. Like he belonged. Every demigod had their place like that, like the Demeter kids in the heart of the forest or the Apollo kids in the amphitheater during the campfires. Everyone knew how they felt about certain places, usually based on who their Olympian parent was. That was one of the nice things about being a demigod...you could always figure out where you belonged, because you knew what felt, and was right for you.

And when Lys said that he felt at home here, Percy couldn't help but laugh. "I was just thinking that," the son of Poseidon chuckled. "How you had to feel at home here, just like I feel at home in the water...it's a good way to ease yourself into things," he said thoughtfully. "Camp might not feel like home right now, but it will soon enough. Especially once you get into the swing of things and meet your siblings and everything." Lys would have it much easier than Percy had...the other boy had siblings that would welcome him and help him along. And although he knew some people would be jealous of that, Percy was actually really happy for Lys.

Lys went silent, and Percy didn't push any more conversation for the time being. Instead he looked around the forges himself...he hadn't been in here in awhile, and it was constantly changing as campers worked on projects. There was a heap of scrap metal in one corner, with odd things sticking up like metal rabbit ears (an automaton, perhaps?) and bent up swords. Not many campers came in here when there weren't any Hephaestus kids, because it was hard to really learn this stuff without the experts.

"Other abilities..." Percy repeated pensively. He wasn't really sure how to answer that, because he didn't really know what kind of abilities Hephaestus kids had in the first place, other than extreme skills for making stuff. "Well you don't really feel...different. Because this is how you've always been, you know? It's not like this is a new magical power thing, because it's still just you, only knowing who your God parent is." Wow...that actually sounded pretty intelligent. Annabeth would have been proud of that statement...maybe. "But you'll figure it out over time. There might be some things you can do that your siblings can't, and vice versa, but it kind of just comes with time and work."