Arthur Hobbs sat in the infirmary, his hands shaking as he traced his bandaged shoulder, hiding a bite mark, so deep it would definitely scar.
It had all started on the first day of summer break. Arthur had just barely scraped by in the end of year exams. He never was that good academically, blame his adhd or maybe the fact that he just didn't like the loud and chaotic classroom. He enjoyed nature much more, which was why his mother, in celebration of him passing his exams -if barely- took him to Long Island to go camping.
As she set up their tents, he wandered into the forest.
The animals of the forest looked at him curiously as he sat down on a fallen over pine tree and took some nuts out of his pockets, "hey you over there, want some nuts?"
A squirrel, tail bushy and alert ran over, as if magnitised to him by his offer. It took one of the nuts and sat there, devouring the snack. In his mind, he could hear, "thank you, my Lord", a small and skittish voice it was, dripping with gratitude. Arthur didn't need to look around, he knew it came from the small critter in front of him. It was nothing new, animals talking to him. His doctor insisted it was schizophrenia but he didn't believe him. He could have full, coherent conversations with the animals around him.
Still, he had to take meds.
As they kept prescribing harder and harder meds, he gradually played as if he couldn't hear the animals anymore, though he still could. That was the only way they didn't push more medication down his throat. The pills made him tired, sluggish, slow to respond. He didn't like that perpetual tiredness. Thankfully, after a month or so of no longer 'hallucinating', they started decreasing his dosage. Now, he only took a few smaller pills. It felt good to be yourself instead of a drugged up zombie.
And nowhere did he feel as himself as in the wild.
Soon, a sparrow landed on his hand and picked up a few nuts for itself. He heard a new voice in his head, thanking him. He heard something big moving through the forest, maybe a bear? He wasn't scared however, why would he? Even the most ferocious carnivores became lapdogs in his presence, he had never known anything else. Nature was a friend, not an enemy. He didn't flee, he stayed.
Bad choice as it turns out, who would've guessed?
Out of the forest came a dog, 2 meters tall, shaggy black fur, stained crimson with days old blood and fangs bared in anticipation. It didn't look friendly but still, he didn't panic, no, he reached out with his hand, ready to pet the overly muscular dog but it lunged at him. At first, he thought he was tackling him to play, like those wolves in Washington but no, it bit into his shoulder and not love bites either, no, a deep bite which would leave a scar.
Arthur was panicking. He screamed, channeling all his fear into his cry and the dog whimpered, releasing his shoulder and running off. He collapsed onto the dirt, clutching his shoulder, gushing with hot, crimson blood. He was losing strength and fast.
His vision was blurring. He heard the faint cloping of hooves and a voice calling, "I have an injured half blood! Quick, get some ambrosia, it looks bad!"
His vision turned black and he fell asleep.
When he awoke, he was in an infirmary, his right shoulder rapped it tight bandages and the scent of disinfectant high in the air. His hands were shaking as he looked somewhere in the far distance.
He heard the sound of footsteps and his head snapped towards the noise, it was coming from outside. Two humans… no a human and a horse, he knew. He was good at this kind of thing. Why would someone bring a horse to an infirmary though? It sounded like the beginnings of a bad pun. The wooden doors swung open and he saw two figures, a girl with golden blonde hair, wearing an orange t-shirt, emblazoned with a black Pegasus and the words 'camp half blood' and an older man, wearing a brown sweater, riding a horse… no, he wasn't riding the horse, he was the horse. His lower half was a white stallion and his upper half a middle aged man with bushy eyebrows and a well maintained beard. A centaur, like the ones in those old picture books which his mother owned when he was younger. He was pretty sure she sold those at a yard sale a few years back.
He couldn't enjoy the sight of the mythical creature before him for too long before they noticed him staring, the girl, maybe fifteen, rushed over and held her hand to his forehead, looking for his temperature, as the centaur simply smiled, "you must be very confused, young half blood. Don't worry, in time, all will become clear", He spoke gently, like a breeze through a corn field and he immediately felt more at ease, "now if you can tell me what happened before mr Growth found you"
"I was out, talking with the animals- I mean, feeding and- and there was this thing… a dog bigger than a bear with blood all over it and- at first I thought it wanted cuddles but then it bit me. I remember a voice saying something about ambrosia and then nothing"
"How did you scare away the hellhound?"
"I- I screamed and it ran… but- why did it attack me? Animals don't attack me! I once climbed into a lion exhibit and the lionesses wanted back scratches but- that- that thing- it…"
"That's because it wasn't an animal, it was a monster. Are you familiar with the Greek myths? You remember the demigods in those stories? Well the gods still keep breeding with mortals, the result, people like you!"
"I'm… a god?", it would make sense, how he could understand the animals when no one else could but it was hard to believe.
"Half", the centaur corrected him, "and monsters like that hellhound you described love eating demigods, which is why you are trained to survive, here, at camp half blood"
"And you are?"
"The activities director… but you probably want my name don't you? It is Chiron", Chiron said, stepping closer.
"Like… the trainer of heroes? But weren't you killed?" In the myth, an arrow of Hercules' killed the centaur, yet here he stood.
"The gods have seen it fit to allow me to continue training young heroes. As long as I'm still needed, I'll live on", Chiron explained patiently.
"I-"
"Take your time, this is a lot to take in"