Has this ever happened to you? You’re at a party and you spot a cutie standing alone across the room. Maybe you’re drawn in by the deep, soulful giant eye in the middle of their face. Or maybe you’re entranced by the colorful feathers protruding from their arms. Maybe you like how the writhing pile of snakes atop their head frames their face.

So you take a deep breath, put one foot in front of the other . . . and you’re stopped in your tracks by a series of intrusive thoughts.

Wait, I know next to nothing about their species.

What if I accidentally say something insensitive?

What if their species sees mine as predators?

. . . Or prey?

Despite sharing the planet with them for centuries, most of us mortals still don’t quite know how to approach the creatures who live beyond the Mist. We’re often intimidated by their outward appearance or embarrassed about our lack of knowledge regarding their ways of life.

Don’t feel too disheartened. Even among the mythical community, those of different species often struggle to break the ice.

Crossing that initial barrier may be difficult, but you need not look very far to see plenty of examples of aspirational cross-species friendships. And even romance. While personally that’s not our thing, we do admire those who are willing to toss aside their, uh, taxonomic classification in search of that one true love.

That’s why we’re so thrilled that Tyson (a Cyclops) and Ella (a harpy) from Camp Jupiter have agreed to take time out from transcribing lost prophecies to participate in a wide-ranging discussion of how to build connections across biological lines.

Read Riordan: Thank you for joining us, you two! First, is there anything you want to say to those of our readers who may be nervous around beings of a different species?

Tyson: Uh, I’m not sure. That’s never really been my problem. When I first started talking to Ella, I was nervous. But that wasn’t because of her sharp talons or anything.

Ella: Yes, sharp. Very sharp talons.

Tyson: I just thought she looked cool and interesting, and I wanted to get to know her better. Us being two different species never really mattered to me.

Ella: Yes. Yes. Tyson often tells Ella that he would love her even if she were a worm. Or a mouse. Or even a human.

Tyson: I guess that’s the thing when you’ve spent your life thinking of yourself as different. Other people who are also different seem well, you know, the same? Does that make sense?

Ella: Tyson can always do a rewrite. But he is on to something.

Read Riordan: So, there was no friction at all at first? Not even a little bit?

Tyson: Well, I guess there was some. Ella would always quote passages from books I’d never read . . . or heard of. And I didn’t want her to think I was just some big, dumb lug, you know?

Ella: Tyson is funny with his lies. Ella was the one who was nervous meeting Tyson . . .

Tyson: Wait, really?

Ella: Ella never envisioned herself dating a celebrity.

Tyson: Celebrity?

Ella: Perhaps celebrity is the wrong word. More accurate to say “infamous figure in the world of demigods.”

Tyson: Huh?

Ella: Son of Poseidon. Celebrated warrior in the Second Titan War. Brother of Percy Jackson, reformer of the gods. Good friend to Annabeth, architect of Olympus. Good friend to Grover, the successor of Pan.

Tyson is cute. And easygoing. But Ella knew he would be dangerous to become involved with.

Tyson: Wow . . . I never really thought about it, but now that you mention it, I guess I am kind of a big cheese back at Half-Blood!

Ella: No! No cheese!

Tyson: Oh, right. Sorry!

Read Riordan: I see. So, it wasn’t the big eye that freaked you out at first. It was his reputation.

Ella: Yes. Yes. Very dangerous to get involved with someone like Tyson. Very deadly.

Tyson: Hey, come on now. This isn’t like you. You know I would do anything to protect you, Ella.

Ella: Tyson need not worry. Ella is more than capable of handling herself. Remember, very sharp talons? Remember, very big brain?

Read Riordan: Then what’s the issue?

Ella: Ella was worried about danger to Tyson.

Tyson: Huh?

Ella: In many of the stories that Ella reads, the secondary sibling of the demigod hero is always first to die.

Tyson: Huh?!

Ella: Does Tyson not listen to the prophecies Ella has memorized? Each one is a reminder of the danger and pain experienced by demigods and those who love them.

Tyson: I’m mostly focused on getting the spelling and grammar right. . .

Ella: Ella wasn’t sure she wanted to give her heart to someone likely to die violently in a very short period of time.

Tyson: HUH?!

Ella: But Ella is glad she did. Even if beloved Tyson is doomed to perish, Ella is happy for the time they have spent together.

Read Riordan: Wow, that’s powerful.

Tyson: Just to be clear, I have no plans of dying any time soon!

Ella: “Every romance is a doomed romance. Love is a flower. Beautiful in its time. Not meant to last forever.

“And like love, the fastest way to kill a flower is to hold it too tightly in your grip.”

Tyson: Are you saying that you’ve already accepted my death before it’s even happened?!

Read Riordan: Hm. That was very profound, Ella. Did you write that yourself?

Ella: No. Favorite quote from a beautiful and powerful story scavenged from free library box: The Summer I Swapped Bodies with the Badboy Captain of the Hockey Team.

Tyson: D-Does the brother violently die in that one, too?

Ella: Surprisingly, yes.

Tyson: Oh, gods. I knew we never should have moved to Camp Jupiter!

Ella: Tyson of course knows the best way to survive the immediate future, yes?

Tyson: Uh . . . by staying inside tonight and listening to you read me the rest of My Pretend Boyfriend is Secretly the Prince of the Dragon Kingdom?

Ella: Yes! Ella knew she wasn’t the only genius in this relationship.

Read Riordan: Well, it’s certainly preferable to a violent death! Thank you again to Tyson and Ella for joining us today . . . even if we’re slightly more confused about cross-species relationships than we were before the interview.

And if you have any questions for Tyson and Ella, be sure to write in and let us know! We can’t guarantee that they’ll be answered, but rest assured that Ella will at least fully memorize them!