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Walking the beaches of a small Polynesian island, Lilo Su'apa'ia comes across an man watching the sea, as if it were staring back, gazing as wave after wave crashed against the shore. This man glanced her way, if even for only a moment, and her heart had been immediately captivated. This man was beautifully handsome. Lilo thought it was as if the very heavens crafted this man from angels, whose perfectly formed features had never graced Lilo sight. However, there was also a sadness about him. Like he had lived for millennia and never trully felt happy. Although, this sadnes was washed away by Lilo. As the manš eyes wandered to Lilo, he seemed less perfect, more human. And these two went on to date, and eventually Lilo became pregnant with his child. But one day, nearing the end of her pregnancy, he vanished, with not so much as a note. This shattered Lilo, and until the day she had Alex, the day she left this world on the doctors table, she did not know happiness.
Alex was raised on the streets of a mean California, thrust from his native country by foster homes for his "safety". When Alex was 10, he was mauled by what he thought to be a dog the size of a bull, with glowing red eyes. While he was recovering, he got the news that the foster agency discovered he had an uncle, but the uncle refused to take him, because his mother was not wed to Alex's father. This outraged Alex and he ran from his foster home, taking refuge with a small band of other children outcast from their families.
To get by, they would steal from small bakeries and pharmacies. But one day, they were caught, and to get off with a lighter sentence, his group ratted him out to the police. Alex had been sentenced to 3 years in a juvenile detention facility. Twice had he been turned away from people he considered friends amd family. And when he got out of Juvy, we gathered his items, and left for what a small, wiry kid with acne and the start of a wispy beard called Camp Half-Blood. The wiry kid, Micael, guided Alex across America by train and car, not staying in the same place for more than 1 night. Constantly, Alex would ask how micael had found him. Micael only ever responded with a frantic "I'll explain when we get to camp, its too close to stop." Assuming Micael meant the camp, Alex never questioned it.
Micael didn't mean the camp.
On the fifth day of their journey, when Micael said the camp was so close they could walk, they were attacked. However, they weren% attacked by any old beast. This was a monster. This was a real, fire breathing, acid spitting, bona fide monster. Alex and Micael ran, but couldn't get away from the creature. It had them cornered up against a brush too thick to crawl through. Alex knew they were going to die as the monster reared it's ugly head. As he looked upon its grotesque shape, however, the feeling dissipated. It disappeared just as the very monster did, albeit without the shining silver arrow protruding from its hide.
The next thing he knew, Alex was being tended to by a beautiful girl in white robes inside a large tent. The girl however paid Alex no mind, besides the general first aid. As Alex left the tent, he was surrounded by multiple girls dressed similar to his healer. Micael was talking a who Alex thought to be the leader of the group of girls. Alex approached them only to receive a dirty look from the leader. Alex was still too dazed to be able to hear anything she said, but when Micael said they could continue on their journey to Camp Half-Blood. Alex didn't trust these girls, especilly not after the attack earlier.
The rest of their trip went without a hitch, and soon, Alex and Micael arrived in a beautiful valley, a strawberry farm, and several smal cabins. On the hill sat a baby blue building. Before Alex could completely take in the beauty, Micael introduced him to camp Half-Blood.
This place was amazing. There was always food. There was always a place to sleep. Always a place to think. Alex felt like this was definitely the place he was looking for.
Alex was surprised at how many children there were. He was even more surprised to discover half the people younder than he were fighting eachother with real swords. The movement, the fluidity, the power.
Now he was bursting with questions.
"What was that monster?""A hydra.""Who were those girls?""The Hunters of Artemis.""How did you find me?What am I?" On the last questions, Micael seemed confused, as if he thought Alex already knew.
Micael explained to him to presence of gods. Micael told him his father was a god, the very kind Alex grew up resenting. Then, Micael said that all the cpeople at camp were children of gods, demigods he caled them, and he was sent to the Detention center to look for them. Micael went on to explain how lucky Alex is to have been found, because hitting puberty for a demigod meant his scent got stronger, and more monsters could sense him. And finally, Micael told him he could learn to fight, to think as a warrior, to be able to defend himself from the monsters.
By now, Alex felt a mixture of feelings. He felt joy, for being able to use the gift his mother had left him. He felt hate, for his fathers after he abandoned him. And he felt.... scared. How could he trust these people. All of them looked like they could kill him with a finger. All of them looked like they could care les if he died and got eaten by monsters. He had been neglected and betrayed, and Alex really didn't want to have to add to that list. But now, here he was, surrounded by people he didn't know, in a land that wasn't his.
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