The Runner

I don't know what I expected the inside of the house to look like, but it definitely didn't meet my vague imaginings.

The polished wood floor glowed a warm brown in the light the hearth threw onto it and a modern black leather sofa sat on a woven mat of plant fibre. Stone statues of short monstrous men stood in jade and wood on the wooden bookcases that lined the wall and on the small coffee table. Behind one of the sofas a framed spear hung from the wall, its hilt woven with the same plant fibre that sat in the mat on the floor and its spear head also of jade. Family pictures sat proudly beside the men of people with tattooed faces wearing native costumes that looked to also be woven of plant fibre.

In one photo a tall man with a tattooed face wearing a ropey grass skirt hugged a small girl of about six wearing the same kind of skirt with a woven top that revealed her tiny midriff, holding a pair of white balls on string at her side while the man gripped the same jade spear that hung on the wall.

"Woah." I breathed.

"Yeah, pāpā seriously gets into the cultural stuff. Don't worry, the rest of the Den is far more normal." Kaia shrugged.

"The Den?" I asked.

"Yeah, The Den. It's like your precious Camp Half-Blood but, well, a den." She said, making no effort to keep the sarcasm from her voice.

"How do you know about CHB?"

" You're not the first one here. We've got three other demigods that just showed up over the last four days; one each day. They've told us all about your camp and all its wonders." She said. " I don't think half of them even knew where New Zealand existed until they found themselves here."

"Isn't it near Australia?"

"Yeah." She said grudgingly. Then she took a deep breath. "Pāpā, I'm home!" She called.

"Kai's on the table!" Came a deep shout from one of the adjacent rooms.

"Kai?" I asked.

"Food." Kaia explained, leading the way through to a very modern kitchen; all white benchtops and handle less cupboards. A tall man with a tattooed face the same milk chocolate brown as Kaia's was plating up an interesting dish that smelled of the sea. "Hi pāpā." Kaia smiled, deftly picking up two plates and carrying them over to a white table, setting them down in front of us and gesturing for me to take a seat.

"Kai time!" The man bellowed behind us before grabbing a plate and joining us at the table. "Kia ora, I'm George but you can call me Pāpā Moana." He told me, smiling. "Are you another one that's fallen from the sky?"

"Yes." I nodded. "I'm Cordelia Gerals."

He opened his mouth as if he was about to say something but before he could a large group of teenagers joined us at the table. I was surrounded by introductions and names within seconds; Lizzie, Jazz, Lyssa, Chris, Jasmine. I really couldn't keep the names straight with their faces.

They sat down with their plates and pāpā bowed his head and began to speak rapidly in a language I didn't understand.

"E te Atua
Whakapainga enei kai
Hei oranga mõ õ mātou wairua
Ki te taro o te ora
Ko Ihu Karaiti tõ mātou Ariki
Ake, ake, ake
Amine."

And then I followed Kaia's example, starting to eat despite my utter confusion.

Notes