Can't remember if I've already posted about this
But after The Wars, wheb the cabins stayed filling out again, as more descendants of the Greek deities showed up, the older seasoned campers grew incredibly protective of the Newblood. The younger ones are somewhat oblivious to this, at the very least, and since most come along to camp with a bucket load of mental health issues, like anxiety and self-worth issues, abandonment, trust issues etc, some. Even the smarter (ie: more traumatised) ones kind overlooked this.
Until something happens and some newbie Ares kids tripped up some newbie Apollo kid or some newbie Hermes kid took one prank too far with the Athena kids, or a newbie Demeter child insulted a newbie Aphrodite camper and it
E S C A L A T E S.
It is, at first, a disagreement. Then. It gets physical. Then, the older campers step in. And there are cracks that show up in how an older Apollokid makes a jab at an older Ares kid making them flinch, about how it's not the first time an Ares child did smth stupid that cost Apollo Cabin. Or what else can you expect from a Hermes child? They're all a recipe for disaster, waiting to manipulate you, like Luke.
Then there are age-old references to people's deaths who none of the new campers know, but feel the heat of the pain it gives to SAY those names.
The older campers normally keep a united front as much as poss, but keep to themselves and their friends. But when their cabin members are attacked, whether its emotionally or physically or elementally:
It.
Gets.
Personal
None of the newbie campers, regardless of age thought their cabin counsellors would care this much. It was just a slight push. But that push ignites so much rage that quietly simmers under the surface, when the counsellors find out what happened, whether it's mentioned in passing to them or they see it themselves.
There's so much fierce overprotectiveness from the cabin counsellors, esp from like Apollo cabin, where they lost a LOT, if not straight up almost everyone.
Percy takes it personally, with the Apollokids. Nico does too. For different reasons.
Percy because he feels responsible for the deaths of those on the bridge. Nico, bc they're his family. The ghosts of the dead Apollokids sometimes give him company and the living Apollokids give him company otherwise too. They're non-judgmental.
