some magical pegasus poop and then the big reveal! 

 

/ 

 

The start of Sunday morning was good. 

Someone left the curtains open again, so Momo woke up because of the gentle rays of sunlight. Momo suspected the culprit was Jeongyeon; She knew it was the only way to wake up some of the lazier campers. 

Momo sent a quiet thank you to Apollo for not making it the harsh type of sunlight. 

The sun brightened the inside of the Hermes cabin a little more. Right after she said her thanks. 

Well. 

That was one way to get a God’s attention. 

On a Sunday no less. 

 

Momo got dressed before heading out—just her orange camp shirt and some shorts. She had a camp shift today with Dahyun; They were meant to clean the Pegasus Stables this morning. 

She walked past the Armory and Forge, waving good morning at a soot-covered Chaeyoung. Friendly campers greeted her on her way to the Combat Arena. As the top arches of the Coliseum came into view, she diverged from the path, taking a turn towards the area with more open fields. 

The Pegasus Stables and its wide open grazing field stretched out in front of her. From here, Momo could hear the whinnying of the pegasi and the beating of their wings. She spotted Dahyun leaning against the wall of the stables and hurried over. 

“Hey, morning! Did you wait long?” 

“Morning! Not really, I just got here a few minutes ago.” Dahyun greeted her with a soft grin. She brought her occupied hand up—a toasted bagel, still steaming fresh. 

“You look like you just woke up.” Dahyun laughed lightly when Momo quickly patted down her bed-hair. She offered the bagel to her. “Here. You’ll need it if we’re planning on cleaning the entire stable.” 

Momo took a bite of the warm bagel, her hand patting Dahyun gratefully. Dahyun merely giggled. 

“C’mon. The sooner we start, the sooner we can stop smelling like magical horse poop.” 

 

/  

 

A whole 3 hours later found Momo and Dahyun sweaty and smelling exactly like magical horse poop. 

“How much can these pegasi poop!” Dahyun yelled. She leaned against her pitchfork tiredly, taking a small rest. 

Momo huffed and leaned her shovel against one of the stable walls. “Let’s take a break. We’ve been cleaning nonstop since this morning.” 

“Sounds good—ugh!” Dahyun stuck her pitchfork in the ground and flopped onto one of the wooden benches nearby. 

“I’m gonna take this bucket back to the water pump.” Momo announced as she grabbed the handle of the water bucket. 

“Okie dokie.” Dahyun flashed a thumbs up before her eyes started to drift close. 

Momo made her way to the other end of the stables where the water pump was. She placed the bucket under the sprout and began pumping up and down, letting cold water flow into the bucket. 

Once the bucket was filled, she cupped some water and splashed it onto her face. She felt a little better as the water washed away the accumulated sweat and grim. 

Momo laid down on a patch of grass close to the water pump. She closed her eyes, thinking of taking a quick nap before they get back to cleaning the other half of the stables. 

It was really peaceful. A light breeze caressed her face, and some leftover water droplets slid down her cheeks, cooling her down in the process. 

She could hear the pegasi whinnying in the background. She didn’t know what they were saying but her gut told her they sounded happy and satisfied. 

Ok, I must be seriously tired if I’m starting to think those horses can talk… 

The flapping of pegasi wings and camp activities in the distance was the last thing Momo heard before she drifted off. 

 

// 

 

It was shaking that woke Momo up. She opened her eyes to see Dahyun’s face looming over her. 

“Hey, you’re up!” Dahyun’s face was all smiley and excited. She wondered what got her friend so excited. 

“You didn’t have to finish cleaning the rest of the stables by yourself.” 

“Huh?” 

Momo slowly got up and looked around. She was right—the stables were now sparkling clean. No more magical horse poop laying around. 

She was confused. The last thing she remembered was pumping water. 

“Oh… yeah, it was nothing.” Momo scratched her head, still confused. “Didn’t want to be stuck stepping on pegasus poop all day, I guess.” 

“Speaking of, we should hit the showers.” Dahyun snickered a little. 

“Ughh, please! I didn’t know pegasus manure could be this rank.” Her confusion went out the window as Momo groaned at the thought of a nice, refreshing shower. That’d hit the spot, especially after stable cleaning duty. 

“C’mon, I’ll race ya!” Dahyun’s cheeky grin came into view. 

“You’re on!” Momo matched her smile. 

“No cheating!” She hollered when Dahyun’s feet hovered a little off the ground. Dahyun relented and came back down to the ground with a laugh. 

The two demigods sprinted off towards the Cabins with their laughter trailing behind them. They really wanted to get rid of the magic poop smell. The two were probably desensitized to the smell but definitely not the campers that were hastily running out of their way. 

 

// 

 

Momo made sure to scrub extra hard. She didn’t mind the pegasi, they were all really pleasant. She still couldn’t get over the fact that winged horses existed. What she was so over , was the dang horse manure. 

Honestly it was so bad, Momo even thought of putting some into some jars and using them as projectiles. But even then, she wouldn’t wish that on her worst enemy—that’s how bad it was. 

She laughed at the thought. Chaeyoung would probably get a kick out of weaponizing magical pegasi poop. She kept that idea locked away until Jeongyeon’s next prank war. 

 

 

Momo stepped out of the bathhouse and leaned against the wall. The sun was still up in the sky—it was just about noon. Dahyun came out shortly after. 

“Let’s get some food. I heard the others were preparing a picnic down by the lake.” 

“That sounds awesome—I’m starving!” 

The two began walking towards the lake before being stopped by a call of their names. It turned out to be Chaeyoung, who was running their way. 

“Oh Chaeng! Finally coming out of that fire pit huh.” Dahyun playfully quipped as the smith dusted off some soot. 

“Yeah, I managed to finish my shift on time. Didn’t want to miss that picnic.” Chaeyoung said after she caught up to them. 

The three chatted as they walked to the lake, mostly talking about their earlier camp shifts. In no time, the three arrived. 

The Lake was just about a decent size for canoeing and swimming and general activities fit for a lake. It was connected to a creek on the west side, which led to the beach.

Momo didn’t know how she knew that, but she just knew it. Eh… probably read it somewhere…?  

A couple of tall trees littered the banks, providing some nice shady spots. Their trunks made excellent support for hammocks, by the way. She knew that only because Jeongyeon showed her the perfect hammock spot to nap at. Like we’re talking perfect here. 10/10. Would definitely recommend.  

She spotted their friends sprawled out underneath a particularly big shaded area. A food basket and some large blankets were strewn around them. 

Momo, Dahyun, and Chaeyoung made their way over and were greeted with enthusiastic cheers. The picnic carried on with easy conversation and when it wasn’t, they were usually eating. A couple of games later devolved into a water fight by the lake shore. 

 

It was Dahyun and Chaeyoung versus Momo and Jeongyeon. The others had opted out of the fight. It started with a chicken fight, with Dahyun knocking Jeongyeon down into the water and Momo following under her. 

Then it turned into an all-out splash war. Jeongyeon took on Chaeyoung, saying something about finally cleaning all the grease and smoke from the smith. Momo faced Dahyun, who was using her flight ability to dodge Momo’s advances. 

“C’mon Momo, what’s the matter? Can’t catch me?” Dahyun jokingly taunted as she hovered in the air. 

Momo grinned as she jumped up and down but Dahyun hovered just out of her reach. “Just you wait, I’ll get you down!” 

Dahyun laughed when Momo leaped up at her, her hand just inches away from her ankle. Momo fell back down into the water with a splash, her hand still outstretched. 

Dahyun’s laughter was cut off when a cold splash suddenly encompassed her entire body. She sputtered and wiggled because of the water dripping down her body, but found that she couldn’t move any further in the air. She looked down to see a thick stream of water gripping her ankle and holding her in place. Her eyes traveled down the stream, Momo’s hand was at the end of the water. 

Momo was frozen still on her knees, and utterly shocked by what just transpired. The stream of water was connecting her outstretched hand and Dahyun’s ankle mid-air. The others around them were stunned and equally surprised at the sudden turn of events. 

Momo felt a strong tugging in her gut as she observed the water stream still connecting them. The water rippled and flowed like normal, like it wasn’t in the air but still in the lake. 

But clearly, it wasn’t. 

Slowly, Momo lowered her hand. To her surprise, the water followed her movement. It let go of Dahyun’s ankle and shrank back. The rest of the water splashed back down into the lake just as Momo placed her hand by her side. 

 

She stared at her hand in astonishment, like she was looking at it for the first time. 

...I did that? 

Momo’s eyes flew up to Dahyun and she asked in a rush. “Are you ok? That didn’t hurt did it?” 

Dahyun shook her head, lowering herself back onto the ground. “I’m fine, really. What about you?” 

Momo opened to say something but got cut off by the gasps of the other girls. She looked around, still confused. 

“What? What is it?” 

“Momo, you’re being claimed!” Chaeyoung pointed up above her head. 

She looked up slowly. 

There, right above her head was a bright glowing hologram that spun slowly. 

A sea green trident. 

 

Poseidon. 

 

“I’m a…” Momo trailed off as a million thoughts ran through her head. 

She didn’t know what to say, really. She was... happy to be acknowledged by her godly parent. But what now? Will she ever meet him? And why did he only claim her now? She was still clueless on the whole situation. 

“Daughter of Poseidon!” Jeongyeon clapped her back with a big smile. She was happy for her friend who just got claimed. 

Momo turned towards her with a small smile. At least she knew she could count on her friends for their support. 

The other girls came forward all at once. A series of “Congratulations!” chorused as Momo was surrounded in a group hug. There were pats on her shoulders, on her head, and one on her cheek too. She giggled in the middle of the formation. 

Still, Momo didn’t know what to do. “Umm… so what happens now?” 

Jihyo exchanged a look with Nayeon before starting to speak, “Well, first we should let Chiron know you just got claimed. Other than that... nothing official really happens after.” 

“Ooh.” Momo nodded in understanding, a little disappointment dribbled in her tone. 

“C’mon! Let’s continue our little picnic and celebrate Momo’s claiming!” Nayeon slung her arm around Momo’s shoulder. A cup was in her other hand, held high as she began jumping. Momo giggled at her excitement before joining her. 

The other girls joined in. Momo saw Chaeyoung fiddling with something in her hand. Music started playing after a satisfied expression appeared on her face. They let out whoops and hollers as the music got louder. 

The newly proclaimed Daughter of Poseidon’s laughter was drowned in the festive noise. 

 

/ 

 

After the impromptu lake party, Momo made way for the Big House. Nayeon and Jihyo were by her side; the two of them felt a little responsible for Momo ever since they brought her to camp. 

The others sent them on their way, opting to stay behind to clean up before the water nymphs caught sight of the mess. 

(“It’s always the party poppers.” Jeongyeon grumbled as she picked up the small pieces of confetti. “They’re dangerous, I tell ya.”) 

 

On the way, Momo could feel stares on her back. And her front. And her face. Her whole body, really. 

She thought it was just her but so far, all of the campers they passed were looking at her weirdly. 

“...is there something on my face?” 

Nayeon and Jihyo looked at each other first. Nayeon said, “No, what makes you say that?” 

“All the campers keep looking at me. Like… in a weird way too.” 

“Well,” Jihyo started off slowly, like she was trying to break it to her gently. “It’s you but not you at the same time.” 

Huh?  

That didn’t make sense to her. 

“You just got claimed—” 

“—by Poseidon, no less.” Nayeon chimed in. 

“—yes, that. The claiming process not only declares that you are of demigod descent, it also physically changes you to fit your demigod bloodline and your specific parentage. So you physically look different—in a good way.” 

“Yeah! You look like a surfer hunk!” Nayeon slapped her on the back again and laughed. Jihyo rolled her eyes amusedly but she couldn’t help but agree.

Momo’s physique became more of a lean and muscular build. Her hair and skin glowed like she just vacationed on some tropical island. And—Jihyo squinted—did she get taller too? 

Jihyo shook her head fondly at the Daughter of War. “Anyways. You’re also a child of the Big Three now. That’s big in the Greek world.” She gave Momo a semi-serious look. “That means you’re more powerful than your average demigod and more monsters will be out for your blood.” 

Momo was stunned silent. This was so much to take in. 

Luckily, she didn’t have to ponder on it much longer. 

 

The front porch of the Big House came into view. Momo spotted Chiron on the deck, looking over the campers by the Armory & Forge. She climbed the steps, wiping her sweaty palm on her pants in the process. Ah, why am I getting nervous?  

Chiron turned his attention to her as she approached. “Ah, Miss Hirai. What brings you here?” The centaur eyed her.  

She felt a little self-conscious; Jihyo’s explanation flashed in her mind again. Did she really look that different? 

Chiron hummed a little before continuing. “Although I think I have an inkling of what it is that troubles you.” 

She had no doubt of that. The centaur must have been through this scenario countless times. There’s no need to be nervous , she told herself. 

“I was just claimed. By the lake.” Momo paused to take a breather. “Poseidon claimed me.” 

Chiron his beard thoughtfully. The centaur bowed his head low at her before continuing in a cheerful tone. “A child of the Sea. Congratulations are in order, Miss Hirai.” 

“Looks like you’ll be moving to Cabin 3—that’s where the children of Poseidon stay. But there isn’t anyone staying there now. I’m afraid you’ll be rooming alone.” 

She was surprised. “There’s no other children of Poseidon?” In a camp this big? There has to be someone.  

Chiron smiled, like it was an inside joke. “Well, there was another. But he and some of the older campers left to settle in the mortal world a few years ago. Some of them are at our sister camp, Camp Jupiter. They do occasionally come back to visit though.” 

She caught a bit of nostalgia in Chiron’s words. She waited but Chiron didn’t say anything else on the matter. 

“Nevermind that, you can go ahead and get settled in Cabin #3. Do enjoy the rest of your day, Miss Hirai.” 

Chiron turned back around to watch over camp, but not before calling out to Momo as she walked down the porch steps. “Be sure to rest up, you’ll be needing it.” 

 

 

“What was that about?” Momo turned to Nayeon and Jihyo. The last bit sounded cryptic to her. 

“Children of the Big Three tend to bring a little chaos to camp. But don’t worry about it, he said the same thing after Dahyun was claimed.” Jihyo helpfully explained. 

Nayeon snorted at the memory. “Don’t remind me. I still found glitter on me after three days!” 

Momo replayed the rest of Chiron’s words in her head. 

“Chiron mentioned another Child of Poseidon before me. Do you know anything about that?” 

Nayeon’s eyes sparkled at the mention. She slung her arm over Momo again as they all began walking. “Let me educate you about the legendary Percy Jackson!” 

“Oh boy, here we go again.” Jihyo shook her head, amused as she watched Nayeon fangirl about the adventures of the famous demigod hero and his friends. 

 

/ 

 

“Is that all of your stuff?” Dahyun asked as Momo hefted her duffle bag onto her shoulder. The Daughter of Zeus was carrying Momo’s leather armor and her Corinthian helmet, another gift from Chaeyoung. 

“Yep.” Momo looked around the Hermes Cabin in case she missed anything else. 

The two demigods stepped out of Cabin #11 and were walking towards Cabin #3—Poseidon’s Cabin. 

The walk over was quiet, which was unusual for her friend. Momo glanced over at Dahyun, who huffed as she carried the bronze metal helmet. She could hear her mumble under her breath, “How in Hades did the old warriors wear this heavy thing?” 

 

“You don’t have to help me move y’know.” Momo fiddled with the duffle bag strap nervously. “If this is about earlier, I’m sorry about—” 

“No, no, no! It’s not about that.” Dahyun waved her hand hurriedly to interrupt her friend. “Don’t worry about that, really.” 

“It’s…” Momo was curious when Dahyun’s face turned pensive. The Daughter of Zeus sighed before looking at Momo. 

“It’s just—we’re the children of the Big Three; Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades.” Both of them glanced up when thunder rumbled in the clear cloudless sky. “They’re brothers and rivals.” 

Momo slowed down her pace, listening intently to Dahyun. 

“We inherit our Dads’ stronger abilities, but in turn we’re made bigger targets. Our demigod scents attract the most dangerous monsters and the most trouble.” 

Dahyun spoke slowly, afraid that she would stumble over her words and cause Momo to misinterpret her intention. 

“Back then, before Percy Jackson, children of the Big Three were looked at as a bad omen. But now it’s different—we’re not looked at as if we’re a terror or anything.” 

 

The two stopped as they reached Cabin #3. Ignoring the cabin in favor of her friend, she turned her full attention over to Dahyun, watching intently as the younger demigod paused to take a breath and gather her words. 

“What I’m trying to say is…” Dahyun looked directly at Momo, matching her gaze. “I can relate; I’ve been there before—the outcast just because I’m a daughter of Zeus.” 

Momo’s mind flashed back to her walk with Nayeon and Jihyo. At how all those passing campers stared at her like she was an attraction in a zoo. Yeah… she didn’t like that feeling. 

“I don’t want you to go through that.” Her eyes flitted between Momo’s nervously. “And I don’t want us to become rivals like them either.” 

The air went silent for a minute. There was some kind of tense and emotional air between the two demigods. 

Momo’s face was blank as she continued looking at her friend. Dahyun’s face was filled with a determined expression as she waited for her friend’s reaction. 

It was the Daughter of Poseidon who broke the silence; Momo dropped her duffle bag onto the grass and swept Dahyun into a hug in one smooth motion. Dahyun was surprised by the sudden move but reciprocated nonetheless. 

Silly Dubu. You’ve supported me ever since I first arrived at Camp. Why should who our dads are change who we are or our friendship. 

A wave of warmth washed over Momo’s chest at the thought of her friend’s words. 

“Thank you.” Momo said quietly. Her tone was painted with fondness. “For your words, and for wanting to be my friend instead of… whatever our dads are.” 

Dahyun relaxed into the hug and the two stayed still for a little. 

 

After a couple peaceful seconds, Dahyun spoke up with muffled words, “As much as I enjoy hugging… your helmet is kinda digging into my ribcage…”  

Momo immediately let go and Dahyun sagged in relief. She mumbled under her breath again as she held the bronze Corinthian helmet, “I swear—these things are more like weapons.”  

The Daughter of Poseidon chuckled as she turned to the cabin in front of them. 

Poseidon’s Cabin was fitting for the Sea God; The exterior was rough gray stone walls and pieces of seashells and coral decorated it, making it look like the bottom of the sea floor. A pattern of rolling blue waves was painted along the edge of the roof. 

“C’mon.” Momo grabbed her duffle bag and stepped up to the blue-stone double doors. She looked back at Dahyun with an inviting smile and pushed the doors wide open. 

 

The two demigods stepped inside with Momo’s few belongings. 

Momo scanned the cabin—well, her cabin now.

Despite the blue-stone color of the interior, it felt cozy. The walls glowed like abalone, a rainbow-holographic-like effect that reminded Momo of the shimmer of water when reflected in the sunlight. The effect was present throughout the cabin, making it look like the occupants were really underwater. 

Not gonna lie — that’s pretty cool.  

There were a few bronze hippocampi decorating the ceiling—sea creatures that had the bodies of horses from the waist up and silvery fish bodies from the waist down. Their glistening scales and rainbow tail-fins shimmered with the effect from the walls, making them look like they were swimming. 

Double cool.  

Along the far wall were two beds and a nightstand between them. The bed sheets were a light blue with waves on them. 

How cute. Momo suppressed an amused snort at the bed sheet design. 

A dresser sat adjacent to the left of the beds and in between two windows that faced the sea (Momo had no clue how she knew that) . There was a blue two-seater sofa along the wall to the right of the beds, a small coffee table sat in front of the sofa. In one corner of the cabin was a desk and a chair, and a small bookshelf stood next to them. 

“It’s big.” Dahyun said as she looked around. She placed Momo’s armor and helmet on the blue sofa. 

And empty…  

It was the only thought that ran through Momo’s mind as she threw her duffle bag on one of the beds. 

Makes me miss how loud the Hermes Cabin was.  

 

/ 

 

Momo flopped onto her bed. She had finished unpacking her stuff with Dahyun’s help earlier. But with how little she had, it was more like the two of them goofing off instead. 

Cabin 3 was roomy. But that was to be expected—it was just her. 

 

After unpacking, she and Dahyun went to the Cabins’ commons area where they found Nayeon and Jihyo waiting for them at their usual table. 

Momo found out that Nayeon was a good storyteller. She had Momo enthralled in her retelling of the famous Percy Jackson (It still blew her mind that she and the Percy Jackson were siblings). Jihyo already procured some snacks, settling in for Nayeon’s story time. 

The other girls joined them after the lake clean-up. Jeongyeon complained about Nayeon’s fangirling for apparently the billionth time, but she didn’t do anything except take some snacks from Jihyo. 

Time flew by as Momo was educated about the Heroes of Olympus and all of their adventures. By the time Nayeon had finished, the sky had turned dark and the sun had set. The girls decided to call it a night and parted ways. 

 

Momo wiggled into a more comfortable position. She was ready to knock out . 

She figured that being a daughter of Poseidon granted her to have some control over water. That would probably explain how the Pegasus Stables were cleaned so fast this morning. And why she felt so tired afterwards despite the small nap she took. 

Momo’s eyes slowly drifted shut as sleep took ahold of her. The last thing on her mind was the glowing hologram from earlier: a sea green trident.