Wanderlust. Hyejeong could still not believe that she chose her desire over her family and friends. During the first twenty minutes of the drive she thought about her little brother, her friends. She didn't even get to bid him goodbye properly since he was half asleep when she told him she would be leaving for a while and to behave well while she was gone. But the boy had only nodded and replied with a quiet 'ok' and let himself fall on the soft bed again. She wondered how he would react once he woke up and realize that his sister was gone. Were their parents going to tell him the truth? Or would they make up a story? Then she thought about her friends and how she only sent them a short text telling them that she would be leaving the city for a while. 

The car ride was awfully long. Carystus sat behind the wheel while Pamphilos sat next to him with a map in his hands. The radio played in the car, its soft sounds alluring the girl in the back into a light slumber. Hyejeong rested her head against the cold window and felt her eyelids getting heavier and heavier. She had never been a morning person, she preferred the night way more. As Carystus was focused on the road, he noticed Hyejeong had been quiet ever since they started their journey and took a look in the driving mirror only to find her contently sleeping. He lips were slightly parted, a small part of the window being fogged by her breath, and her cardigan wrapped tightly against her body. Once Hyejeong opened her eyes again, she rubbed the sleep in them away and massaged her strained neck due the position in which she fell asleep. They were no longer in a city nor a freeway. Carystus had taken them on a country road, there wasn't anything but fields and a few trees in sight. "Are we almost there?", her drowsy voice caught the men's attention. She looked at her watch, two hours had already passed. Meanwhile, the satyr took a glimpse at his map and eyed the surrounding before answering, "Yeah, it will only take another half an hour until we are there." Hyejeong let out a small sigh and prepped her hand under her chin, watching the scenery pass by. Carystus then asked if she had slept well. She only hummed in response. This time the man decided to ask more questions, more personal. Like how she was feeling and how her life used to be before it was intruded by them.

Soon the empty fields and lonely trees were left behind; a few bushes and single trees turned into a thick forest with large trees and a rocky road. Hyejeong wasn't even sure if it was negotiable. The further they drove, the thicker the forest became. It was dark, the sky was hidden by the trees and their crowns. Only a small bundle of light fought its way through the gaps of the large leaves. The teenager watched the trees flitting past them with a small portion excitement suddenly kicking in. Although they were driving in a decent speed, it felt like a rollercoaster racing towards the ground for Hyejeong in that moment. Suddenly there was an invisible, strong force piercing through her body. Every muscle of her tensed up, for a split second it felt like she was being pulled in every direction at once. It didn't hurt, though. The two men in the front felt the force, too, but it didn't leave such an impact on them anymore since it wasn't their first time crossing the barrier to another world. Her heartbeat increased and thumped against her ribcage, feeling the adrenaline right up to the fingertips. Carystus and Pamphilos turned their heads towards the girl to check up on her who just flashed them a bright smile.

Just then the forest was clearing again. Hyejeong could see the bold blue of the cloudless sky and the bright midday sun again. Before the car had entered the forest, it had been gloomy and seemed to rain any moment but there was no trace of the early spring weather left on the the other side. Her eyes sparkled with admiration and excitement, just like a little child getting a huge lollipop. Trees were dancing gracefully in the balmy wind, looking like they were waving at them. The green grass and colorful flowers growing on the margin of the path seemed to glow in the bright sun.

Not long after the thick forest, the car stopped in front of a wooden sign hanging on a large tree. The Camp. "We are here.", Carystus' deep voice exclaimed. Once all of them exited the car, Hyejeong stretched her limbs, letting some of her joints creak. She inhaled the sweet, flowery scented air, providing her blood circulation with fresh oxygen. Then the trio followed the path past the sign and the large tree towards the camp. As soon as they set a foot on the camp's ground, Carystus' true form was revealed. Hyejeong watched with widened eyes the man in front of her transforming. His washed-out denim jeans disappeared as his lower back grew backward until another pair of of legs and shiny, hazel fur emerged from his extended back. His hooves clopped against the ground, happy to be able to use his real legs freely again. "Ah, pardon me", the centaur chuckled at Hyejeong's surprised face, "I should have warned you beforehand."

There were a plenty of teenagers roaming around the place who noticed the return of the head of the camp and his companions. The three of them were greeted warmheartedly, the new girl receiving curios looks every now and then. Since they felt like the newbie would feel uncomfortable and awkward with a complete stranger, the head of the camp and the satyr themselves showed her around the camp. The most relevant parts at this moment at least, because the whole camp was too large to be shown in one day. Their first stop was the dining pavilion in the center of the camp. The pavilion was framed in white Greek columns - with no walls, thus resembling the Olympian temple - and provided enough space for hundred people to sit in. It was connected to the community kitchen in which the lunch was currently prepared. A faint savory scent filled the air. Immediately next to the dining pavilion was the campfire, surrounded by tree logs functioning as seats. Then they made their way to a smaller building - the library. Unlike the pavilion, this facility had wooden walls with multiple windows and a gable and valley roof. A small staircase lead to the entrance of the two-story library. The tour brought them to the training area which occupied almost one third of the camp grounds. It was located in the north-eastern part of the camp nearby the woods. The area offered a parkour range, an archery field, a sword fighting arena and even an amphitheater! Some residents even trained in the woods but weren't allowed to go to deep into it since they could possibly cross the barrier to another realm. Even from her position, Hyejeong could spot the targets hanging on some trees. A sudden arrow hitting the bull's eye caught her attention and she looked for the skilled archer. Claps and cheers could be heard from a distance, her head automatically turned around to the source. On the other side of the field stood a boy with light copper hair and a recurve bow in his left hand, two other males standing behind him. Before she could take a closer look at the others, the centaur and satyr were already walking away. Pamphilos had left them on their way because one of the pegasi apparently got out of its stable, again. Their next stop was at the Oracle's house. Carystus explained that they would know about monster threads through the Oracle's predictions. It was prohibited to visit and talk to her unless you got permission to by Carystus. The tour ended in the east where cabins were located. Every child had their own cabin, so there were dozens of them. Each one of them were designed individually based on the Gods and Goddesses. The new girl recognized some cabins as they walked past them. As example the first one had two columns, smaller than those of the dining pavilion, framing the entrance and a flashing thunderbolt flaunting above the heavy door. It was easy for her to guess Zeus' cabin or Poseidon's which was painted blue, the color reminding her of the sea, and had a flat trident as a doorknocker. Her own cabin was in the very back of the area, close to the fields and the forest. "Well, this is yours. I'll be leaving you alone now and please make yourself at home. We will have lunch in an half an hour, please be there so I can introduce you officially to the camp.", his words were filled with genuineness. The man turned around and left the girl alone. Her fingertips traveled along the carving of a graceful stag on the wooden door, while small wild animals and silver linings engraved the frame. She pushed the door open, the wood creaking against the floor. A scent of old wood and a dark bear skin rug greeted her as she entered her new house. On her right there was the parlor furnished with a sofa, an armchair and a small round table. Needless to say that every furniture was made of wood. The cabin was more commodious than it looked from the outside. It even had an interior balcony in the back, right above the bathroom and the bedroom which was separated from the parlor by a a thin wall. Hyejeong dumped her backpack on the cozy bed before she gave her attention to the wardrobe. It was more or less empty except for two plain t-shirts and pants. After putting her own clothes away, she went to inspect the bathroom and the interior balcony. The balcony was more like a trophy room, a long, silver bow and a leather quiver hung in the middle of the wall. Several smaller things, like horns or even flowers, were placed around them. Then she faced the shelf standing between the railing and the larger wall. It was replete with books, mostly about plants and animals. Despite the fact that no one had lived in this cabin for almost twenty years, everything was very clean.

A sudden knock on the door distracted her from flipping through some books. Hyejeong put the book back into the shelf and hurried downstairs to the door. It was a girl, probably around her age, with short hair that barely touched her shoulders. Her hooded eyes wandered from the floor to Hyejeong's, scanning the newbie while doing so. "Hey, my name's Jiho. Carystus asked me to accompany to the dining pavilion and through the next days since you are new to all of this.", the girl greeted her calmly with a friendly smile. The newbie introduced herself as well and then the two females walked together to the center of the facility. The curious person Jiho was, she kept asking Hyejeong questions about her life and first thoughts of the camp throughout their walk. The empty dining pavilion was now filled with humans, satyrs and satyresses, centaurs and centaurides and even a few cyclops. Both girls got in line at the counter. "Any regimens or special diets?", asked the harpy with a croaking voice. Hyejeong shook her head as she watched the half woman, half bird poured some hot soup on her plate. Since she basically knew know one, she just followed her new acquaintance to a table where two other girls were sitting. They introduced themselves as Jeongyeon and Areum, they were the oldest females among the campers. Both of them were stunning and possessed that kind of beauty that made people turn their head to take a look at them again. Jeongyeon's straight golden hair reached a few inches below her shoulders, while wavy dark fell on her chest. Seeing the two beauties made Hyejeong feel a little bit insecure about herself. The head of the camp was the last to arrive, a smile playing on his lips once he saw the newest member. He approached her and took her with him to the back of the pavilion where everyone could see them. Carystus stomped with his hooves against the marble, every single voice immediately fell silent. "Dear campers, let's welcome our newest member: Hyejeong, heiress of Artemis." The audience clapped and broke out into cheers. In that moment, Hyejeong wanted the earth to swallow her up as blood rushed too her face feeling embarrassed. She never liked too much attention and standing in front of the whole camp and being introduced as the newbie was sheer torture for her. The girl was relieved when she returned to the table and could eat her lunch. It was not really peaceful because now it was the other two girls' turn to barrage her, but it was still better than having all eyes on her.

Ω Who expected Carystus to be a mythical creature? I hope you could imagine the camp with my low description.

Would you like to stay/live there? To be honest, I would love to live there in my very own cabin and being with mythical creatures.

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