Capítulo 2: Royal and Regular Bastards
Chapter 2: Royal and Regular Bastards
Thanks to Megapede for the beta-work!
My name is Thalia Grace." She introduced herself. Shit. I thought.
"I'm-m-m Gg-g-g-r-r-ove-r-r-r Und-de-e-er-woo-od." Stammered the gobsmacked satyr. Double shit. I still hoped it wasn't true."Luke" Spoke the one under the threat of being killed "Luke Castellan, and the little one busy glaring daggers into your skull is Annabeth Chase."
"Bullshit." I sighed. It was the most eloquent answer I could come up with.
ROYAL AND REGULAR BASTARDS
"I'm going to let you go," I said. Not that I have a choice. "Do not attack me. It would be a hassle for everyone." Slowly, I distanced the knives from Luke and took a step back. The son of Hermes turned on himself, quickly but not in a threatening way. Uh, look at that, he's not an idiot.
I looked again at the trembling Annabeth, and my expression softened. I walked toward the kitchen table, where I put down the knives. "There's a bathroom on the next floor, with warm water, the first bedroom on the right after the stairs is mine, take clothes, and whatever you need to change, you'll be taking a cold otherwise." I calmly spoke.
I opened the refrigerator and started taking out stuff; I turned only to see Annabeth fiercely hugging Luke's waist, while he was trying to have a silent conversation with Thalia. I looked at Groover, tilting my head questioningly before taking out a cola can from the refrigerator and emptying it into a tall glass. I placed the aluminum on the table and looked expectantly at the satyr.
"I'm waiting for an explanation of what you are," I repeated, opening another drawer and taking out a first aid kit, sliding it on the table towards the others. I had seen their bruises and several scratches on their skin after all.
Luke and Thalia had seemingly reached an agreement, and the punk-girl led the younger one out of the room, I distractedly heard them hopping on the stairs.
"So..." Luke started, his eyes scanning me multiple times. "...we introduced ourselves, who are you?"
I had no intention of answering the question. "You still need to tell me what you are, since nobody ever managed to reach my house in the year and a half that I have been occupying it. And why the child held a knife as long as her forearm." They both sighed. I picked out a couple of onions and started cutting them into little cubes, lighting up the cooker and placing a pan over it, pouring some olive oil in it before getting started with the tomatoes.
So they started explaining. Well, Luke did. "Greek mythology is real."
I blinked, but I did not interrupt. He should learn how to deliver critical information.
I placed a boiler over another cooker and looked unimpressed at the demigod in front of me. "I'm..." he gritted his teeth "I'm a demigod, Thalia and Annabeth demi goddesses."
And then he gave me a resume of his last year of running across the continent. I poured the boiling water into a pot, switching it with the boiler over the still lit cooker, before throwing in it a handful of salt and pouring in 7 hg of pasta. "How did you cross the golden fog around this place?" I asked, tossing the diced tomatoes in the full pan along with the onions.
"I-i-it's called the Mist." Grover offered, his stuttering finally dying down.
"That is not the answer to the question I made, is it?" I objected—shit shittity shit. Just my luck, I had to land in a world just about to face two divine wars. So they started again, and between one and the other, they managed to give me a picture of the world we lived in. Ten minutes later, I poured the now cooked pasta into a colander, shaking it a little bit before tossing it all in the pan with the onions and tomatoes. I lowered the flame under it to the bare minimum and mixed the pasta with the vegetables.
"Grover got us lost, and Annabeth ran after an owl. We ended up here; the mansion looked abandoned..." Luke quipped. I turned my unimpressed mismatched eyes on the satyr, before sighing.
"The girls should be finished," I said, hearing the footsteps coming down the stairs. I picked a few basil leaves from the potted plant and tossed them into the pan, before taking out a chunk of Parmigiano (it had been a bitch stealing that) and grating it over the pasta.
I placed the pan in the middle of the table just when the girls came back in. Thalia had helped herself to my AC/DC T-shirt, and Annabeth looked dead on her feet. I slid five plates on the table and filled them, leaving some pasta in the pan for seconds. I ate first, reassuring them that it wasn't poisoned, while Grover happily devoured the coke can I had emptied before. Even in her exhausted state, Annabeth managed to give me a heated glare. I rolled my eyes: "I'm sorry I almost butchered you, but next time, knock."
Luke snorted: "It's okay; I would have done the same."
"But..." Annabeth whirled on him.
"But nothing," the son of Hermes interrupted, "We broke into his home; it's only right he is defensive... by the way, what's your name?"
I watched amusedly at Annabeth who looked at Thalia for her opinion, the older demigoddess simply shrugged: "It's fair." then her eyes narrowed, sparks dancing off her fingertips "But pull another stunt like that and I'll..."
"Glare cutely at me." I interrupted with a smile, "My name's Icarus. And I'm likely a demigod, so I'll come with you."
"Just like that?" Luke asked, preventing Thalia from reacting to my taunt.
"What were the odds of you three casually bumping into me?" I retorted, "I recognize a divine intervention when it bitchslaps me out of the blue. So yes, I'm coming with you, I don't fancy living in a house surrounded by whatever shit is hunting you. We can take the pickup tomorrow morning. Unless a god is charging at the head of the monsters following you, they'll roam in the surroundings. But the... Mist, was it? I used, it will hold only for so long."
Luke nodded slowly: "Sounds like a plan."
I finished my midnight pasta and rose from the kitchen table. "I'll need to pack. Spark-girl," I turned toward Thalia, who was already gritting her teeth "I do have some AC/DC albums." I pointed to my vinyl stash on the side of the records player. "Feel free to change the music." I turned and walked toward the door: "And no offense, Luke, Grover, but you stink. Take a goddamn shower." I said over my shoulder.
The following morning saw my unlikely company gathered into the kitchen/living room. I watched out of the window; the sky was still rumbling, the rain still heavily attempting to drown us. "Well, you look better," I said after a look at my unlikely companions. "Take whatever you want from the house. I'm abandoning it anyway."
I saw Thalia's eyes briefly dart to my stash of pieces of vinyl and snorted. "There is space on the loading floor of the pickup, go crazy." Half an hour later, I had finished securing under an oilskin all the shit that my four companions had deemed worthy of being taken away. "Thalia and Luke with the cargo, tie yourselves somewhere with that rope, I don't want to toss you away on a sharp turn," I advised.
I took the driver seat: "I'll drive, and Annabeth will keep an eye on Grover, who'll tell me where to go."
Luke nodded, and stopped Annabeth from objecting: "Thalia and I will toss around the monsters if they try to jump on us, and I'd feel better if you were to keep an eye on our last team member."
He shot me an apologetic glance there, I simply rolled my eyes and smirked, giving Annabeth something safe to do was on the priority list of everyone, and since Grover didn't know how to drive, leaving the son of Hermes, and the daughter of Zeus together was our best bet. They knew each other, and they knew how to fight together in case it was necessary, and something in my gut told me we were going to need them.
I turned on the pickup, and we hit the road. While listening to Grover's indications, my eyes were darting all around the sides of the road, and my mind was flipping in every direction. I didn't remember exactly what happened in the books, I had read them only once, lives before. I knew only a few details here and there, like that Annabeth, in the end, banged Percy, and that there was also a roman camp.
I also considered that the rain, while maybe useful in masking our scents, also reduced the natural illumination, cutting our sight shorter than I would have liked it. Everything was almost in shades of gray.
Is it weird knowing that the seven years old girl will end up together with another seven years old kid? I wondered distractedly.
I shrugged in the safe boundaries of my mind. It wasn't the strangest shit I had ever ended up in. The heavy rain had turned the uneven road into a slippery slide towards hell, so I hardly ever surpassed the 50 km/h. It was faster than we could run, so it was still a gain. We had no problems for the first half an hour of travel.
Then I heard the first thud: "Fuck you!" And the flash of lightning, followed by a low 'boom' almost like a shy thunder.
I lowered the window on my left and shouted out into the rain: "Language! There's a child on board!"
"I'm not a child." Annabeth hissed, but I heard a startled laugh over the surrounding chaos. Honestly? I was fucking scared.
"I meant Grover; he forgot to pee before we left and asked me to stop the car." I soothed the outraged seven years old. The satyr tried to put up a defense, but Annabeth was implacable: "But we can't stop!" she gasped, staring at Grover with wide, unbelieving eyes.
"Turn right!" The satyr in question shouted, hoping to avoid being the focus of a scared kid who needed an outlet. I turned the wheel, following orders: "That's what I told him, but he was whining. Hence, he's like a child." I explained.
Another flash of lightning lighted up our surroundings for a second: "Yeah! I'll deep fry your asses!" an acute voice exclaimed.
The clang of metal against metal, and an unhuman grunt later, Luke retorted: "Asses is a bad word, Thalia!"
The fact that I could hear him over the rain and the sound of the engine made clear that he was making an effort to be heard. At that moment, I realized that the two demigods where likely just as scared as me and were reacting in the same way as me. Honestly? It was exhilarating. I frowned, recognizing the alien excitement in my chest. It was like a part of me enjoyed fighting for my life. I think I just found another reason why demigods tend not to get old.
"Turn left here." Groover bleated.
I cursed, slowing down in the most steady way possible, acutely aware of the two demigods standing on the loading floor of the pickup. "Next time, warn me 200 meters before the turn." I grumbled, "Not on the crossroad."
"No matter, we need to finish on foot." He answered vindictively. I rolled my eyes.
"Hop down; we need to run! Grover, take Annabeth!" I shouted out of the window.
I noticed a shadow quickly approaching and slammed open the door on my left, kicking it with both my feet. I hit the shadow, that retreated under the rain only to try again once I had left the vehicle. I didn't think. The rain keeping me strangely awake, I twirled on myself, letting the shadow graze me. As soon as it surpassed me, I slammed closed the pickup's door, enjoying the sid crunch of something that broke under the door's momentum.
I took out my bowie, and distractedly, I realized that I was cackling madly. I was alive; I was alive; I was alive. Another flash of lightning, and the darkness around us, previously only cut by the pickup's headlights, disappeared, I could see only white.
"Aaargh!" I screamed, "Fuck you, Sparky! I can't see shit now!" Thalia was laughing, drunk on power, and on the same adrenaline that was keeping me alive. I heard a series of raindrops hitting something higher than me, behind. Once again, I didn't think. I rolled forward, wincing when the impact against the ground made the air escape my lungs. I need to practice this. I distractedly noticed. Then I felt a razor-thin burn across my back. I grunted in pain, too busy trying to understand where the fuck I was supposed to go if I couldn't see shit.
"This way!" I heard Groover exclaim.
I started to walk in that direction when a hand closed on my arm. I twirled the bowie in my hand and began to jab in the direction of my new offender when he spoke: "It's me!"
"Luke, Thalia blinded me!" I whined.
"So I heard." I put on my trusty sunglasses and started to blink quickly, eager to gain back my sight. Luke handed me something. I let him guide me for a few running steps before I managed to distinguish shapes again.
"Why are you giving me my shovel?" I asked as soon as I recognized it.
"Because dealing with dogs is easier with a long weapon, c'mon, Thalia bought us time, let's not waste it." was his clipped answer. We ran ahead, swirling through the trees and quickly catching up with the rest of our lame A-team.
"Why the fuck do we have Dobermanns on hour heels?" I asked quickly, my knife returned to his sheat on my belt, and the shovel held like a battle-ax.
"Hellhounds, don't you see they have red eyes?" Annabeth corrected me. I would have been offended by her dismissive tone, but considering that she was being carried like a football ball under the armpit of a running satyr, I choose to let go. Maybe. I whirled, slamming the edge of the shovel on the Doberman that dared to come too close.
"Well, aren't you smart? You already figured out that people do love to be corrected by bratlings." I retorted with an enthusiastic tone.
Thalia, however, was soon lagging, the lightning storm of before had taken a lot out of her, and there she was, magic spear and shield out and shiny. I sighed, dropping my shovel: "Hop on." I ordered, she made to object, but I cut her off: "Trust in Luke to keep us safe, I'm warping the Mist around us as I speak, they won't see us."
And I wasn't laying: The almost invisible dust particles suspended under the rain gave way to the Mist, that I churned and spun tightly around us.
It was a single layer, but it was covering five fucking people. So I wasn't going to berate myself. All the adrenaline we had running through our bodies was somewhat... wasted. Soon enough, we crossed an invisible boundary; it was very similar to the difference I had felt when I left the forest I was born into, a year and a half before. The angst and stressful run had an underwhelming conclusion.
But I felt it in my bones, the rain stopped, and the sky ceased its incessant rumble. I even felt the clouds part, letting the sunshine hit the girl I was carrying on my back. I glanced over my shoulder and almost snorted: she had fallen asleep.
"We made it." wheezed Grover.
We must've been on the north shore of Long Island, and paradoxically, we were at the beginning of a valley that marched up to the ocean, which churned unhappily about a mile in the distance. Between here and there, I could hardly process everything I was seeing. The landscape was dotted with buildings that looked like they belonged to ancient Greek architecture: an open-air pavilion, an amphitheater, a circular arena...
Only that they all looked brand new, with white marble columns sparkling in the sun, I expected it, but seeing it was for real somewhat sealed the fact that I had ended up in yet another fictional world.
An hour later, the cut across my back had been stitched, Thalia had recovered enough to stand on her own two feet, and our surprisingly successful A-team was standing before who I supposed they were Dionysus and Chiron.
The man facing us was small but porky. He had a red nose, big watery eyes, and curly hair so black it was almost purple. He looked almost like a cherub—a cherub who'd turned middle-aged in a trailer park. The centaur had been lying on the ground, playing cards distractedly with the god. Chiron looked us with a spark in his eyes, which dimmed a bit when it crossed Grover's gaze, before tilting his head questioningly towards Dionysus.
"I am Chiron." the centaur introduced himself, "And he is Dionysus, but, since names are important, he will be referred to as Mr. D."
The alcoholic in withdrawal looked us once over with bloodshot eyes and heaved a great sigh. "Oh, I suppose I must say it. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. There. Now, don't expect me to be glad to see any of you, half-bloods."
"We are of one mind, then." I cheerfully quipped, happily noticing the look of dismay on Grover's face and the poorly disguised grin of Chiron's face.
"You already know what you are and why you are here then. Good, now you can scram." The pudgy little man grumbled.
"But then, why are you here?" Annabeth asked with a frown.
Chiron winked at her. "Mr. D offended his father a while back, took a fancy to a wood nymph who had been declared off-limits."
"A wood nymph," Luke repeated.
"Yes," Mr. D confessed. "Father loves to punish me. The first time, Prohibition. Ghastly! Horrid ten years! The second time-well, she was pretty, and I couldn't stay away-the second time, he sent me here. Half-Blood Hill. Summer camp for brats like you. 'Be a better influence,' he told me. 'Work with youths rather than tearing them down.' Ha. Unfair."
"I agree." I nodded.
Noticing the questioning looks I've been thrown, and the raised eyebrow from the god who turned people into dolphins for shit and giggles, I hastily explained: "Only because you say it's illegal to breathe, it doesn't mean anyone is going to obey. Only because you declare illegal falling, gravity doesn't stop acting. That's what Zeus did with declaring a nymph off-limits for Dionysus."
The sky rumbled, a single grey cloud hovering over us. "And taking away alcohol would be horrible to the average 30years old, taking wine away from him is the equivalent to taking away water from a fish. Only, he's immortal, and so he suffers instead of dying."
"Did you just compare me to a fish, Igor?" the drunk in withdrawal asked with a flat tone.
"A very cool one," I answered without thinking about it. "Sir," I added as an afterthought.
"I'll show them around." Chiron said, his tone implying clearly 'before Icarus get himself killed.' "Follow, children." He quietly ordered, and we were just a bit too tired to whine about it, so we followed. We walked through the strawberry fields, where campers were picking bushels of berries while a satyr played a tune on a reed pipe. Chiron told us the camp grew an excellent crop for export to New York restaurants and Mount Olympus. "It pays our expenses," he explained. "And the strawberries take almost no effort, Mr. D has this effect on fruit-bearing plants: they just go crazy when he was around."
"Granted, it works best with wine grapes, but Mr. D is restricted from growing those, so we make do with strawberries instead.
"So..." I started when the silence stretched for more than ten seconds: "You said your name was Chiron. Are you..."
He smiled down at me. "The Chiron from the stories? Trainer of Hercules and all that? Yes, Icarus, I am."
"Didn't you die taking Prometheus place? I'm pretty sure you are a constellation." I objected.
Chiron paused as if the question intrigued him. "I honestly don't know. I should be. The truth is, I can't be dead. You see, eons ago, the gods granted my wish. I could continue the work I loved. I could be a teacher of heroes as long as humanity needed me. I gained much from that wish... and I gave up much. But I'm still here, so I can only assume I'm still needed."
"And you were taught both by Artemis and Apollo, is that right?" I asked again.
The centaur nodded, raising an eyebrow at my surprising knowledge of mythology. "Any chances you're willing to teach healing?" I questioned.
"Why healing?" Thalia asked tiredly, likely bored from the adrenaline-inducing trip. "Because not knowing how to heal yourself is dumb as fuck that's why," I explained.
"Language." Luke admonished me.
"No, it's fine." Annabeth jumped in my defense: "Grover isn't here." she wisely explained.
My lips twitched upwards, and I saw Thalia turning away to hide a smile. While Luke nodded sagely, keeping up the running joke: "You're right, Annabeth, how silly of me."
Chiron watched our exchange with a faint smile, likely catching up on the inside joke, before answering my original question: "I usually teach to Apollo's children, since they are the more attuned to it, but I don't see why you shouldn't be able to join." I nodded my thanks, and the tour continued. We saw a warehouse-like building, where the weapons and armors were kept, the archery range, the canoeing lake (which in my head sounded stupid, there was the ocean less than a mile from the beginning of the valley), the stables (which Chiron didn't seem to like very much), the javelin range, the sing-along amphitheater, and the arena.
In the end, he showed us the cabins. There were twelve of them, nestled in the woods by the lake, arranged in a U. Two at the base and five in a row on either side. Except for the fact that each had a large brass number above the door (odds on the left side, evens on the right), they looked nothing alike. Number nine had smokestacks, like a tiny factory. Number four had tomato vines on the walls and a roof made out of real grass. Seven seemed to be made of solid gold, which gleamed so much in the sunlight it was almost impossible to look at. They all faced a commons area about the size of a soccer field, dotted with Greek statues, fountains, flower beds, and a couple of basketball hoops.
In the center of the field was a huge stone-lined firepit. Since the rain had stopped, the temperature had risen again, so it was a hot day. Even so, the hearth smoldered. A girl about nine years old was tending the flames, poking the coals with a stick. I stilled, poking cautiously at the Mist, which was almost carefully flowing around her.
It wasn't something that happened naturally. The Mist was inert, it instinctively hid the 'supernatural,' I could recognize when it was warped in some strange way, sure sign of an illusion of some kind, but I never saw it behave in that way. Well, almost never... Fucking hell, another goddess. Then, it clicked the knowledge of mythology of every kind coming at my rescue: Hestia.
I quickened my steps, reaching again the group that almost left me behind. I looked around, the pair of cabins at the head of the field, numbers one and two, looked like his-and-hers mausoleums, big white marble boxes with massive columns in front. Cabin one was the biggest and bulkiest of the twelve. Its polished bronze doors shimmered like a hologram so that from different angles, lightning bolts seemed to streak across them. Cabin two was more graceful somehow, with slimmer columns garlanded with pomegranates and flowers. The walls were carved with images of peacocks. I stopped for just a moment in front of the first cabin on the left: cabin three wasn't high and mighty like cabin one, but long, low, and solid. The outer walls were of rough gray stone, studded with pieces of seashell and coral as if the slabs had been hewn straight from the bottom of the ocean floor.
Most of the other cabins were crowded with campers. Number five was bright red, a real nasty paint job as if the color had been splashed on with buckets and fists. The roof was lined with barbed wire. A stuffed wild boar's head hung over the doorway, and its eyes seemed to follow me. Inside I could see a bunch of girls and boys arm wrestling and arguing with each other while metal music blared.
"So, I get why Artemis and Hera' houses are empty, but why number one and three look brand new?" I asked, already knowing the answers.
"Demigods born from either the master of the sky, the sea, or the underworld are powerful, more powerful than it's prudent." Chiron started, his voice keeping the calm and yet incisive tone that made him such an effective teacher. "So, after WWII, they agreed to no longer sire children among humans."
I coughed, masking a laugh at the scrunched face Thalia was making: "Well, you aged well, you don't look a year over thirty-five." I joked at her.
There, Chiron stopped, looking questioningly at the girl, who, with a roll of her eyes, raised her hand, white-hot sparks and small bolts of lightning running among her fingertips. The centaur sighed slowly.
"Until your father claims you as his, we'll treat you as undetermined." And that was all that there was to be said on the topic. The afternoon was spent aimlessly roaming, and soon enough, we were all called for dinner. There were maybe a hundred campers, a few dozen satyrs, and a dozen assorted wood nymphs and naiads. At the pavilion, torches blazed around the marble columns. A central fire burned in a bronze brazier the size of a bathtub. Each cabin had its table, covered in white cloth trimmed in purple. Four of the tables were empty, Hera, Poseidon, Zeus, Artemis. But cabin eleven's was way overcrowded. I had to squeeze on to the edge of a bench with half my butt hanging off.
Finally, Chiron pounded his hoof against the marble floor of the pavilion, and everybody fell silent. He raised a glass. "To the gods!"
Everybody but me raised their glasses. "To the gods!"
Wood nymphs came forward with platters of food: grapes, apples, strawberries, cheese, fresh bread, and barbecue. My glass was empty, but spying the kids around, I saw them asking the glass what they wanted. "Iced water," I said, and like magic, the glass-filled itself. Once more, I realized that manipulating the Mist was only scratching the surface of what magic could do. I thought about Circe, and while turning men into pigs wasn't,' exactly my dream, maybe I could learn how to do a Harry Potter worthy Transfiguration.
I loaded my plate and was about to take a big bite when I noticed everybody getting up, carrying their plates toward the fire in the center of the pavilion. Exchanging a raised eyebrow with the strange companions of my recent adventure, I rose too. As I got closer, I saw that everyone was taking a portion of their meal and dropping it into the fire, the ripest strawberry, the juiciest slice of beef, the warmest, most buttery roll. I couldn't help wondering why an immortal, all-powerful being would like the smell of burning food. I wished I knew what god's name to say, but after a second spent wondering about my goals, I tossed a quarter of my food into the fire, whispering 'Hecate,' under my breath. And tilting my head respectfully towards the flame, I threw a slice of meat: "Apollo." I wanted to learn magic medicine, after all.
When everybody had returned to their seats and finished eating their meals, Chiron pounded his hoof again for our attention. Mr. D got up with a huge sigh. "Yes, I suppose I'd better say hello to all you brats. Well, hello. Our activities director, Chiron, says the next capture the flag is Friday. Cabin five presently holds the laurels."
A bunch of enthusiastic cheering rose from the Ares table. Good for them. I thought.
"Personally," Mr. D continued, "I couldn't care less, but congratulations. Also, I should tell you that we have several new campers today. Tully Brake, Annie Phase, Duke Jellal, and Igor." Chiron shook his head, and stomped his hoof once again: "Thalia Grace, Annabeth Chase, Luke Castellan, and Icarus." he corrected, visibly containing an eye-roll.
Dionysus nodded like he didn't say our names wrong on purpose: "That's right. Hurrah, and all that. Now run along to your silly campfire. Go on."
Everybody cheered. We all headed down toward the amphitheater, where Apollo's cabin led a sing-along. I heard camp songs about the gods been sung and jokes being thrown around, and the funny thing was, there was a part of my mind that felt almost... like it was being soothed, like I only had to let go to feel at home. Recognizing the effect of something trying to affect my mind, I willed myself through it, shredding the subtle magic.
I narrowed my eyes and looked around, finding Hestia by the fire, her welcoming eyes looking at me... sadly?
I sighed and rose from my place. How many times will I be able to chat with a God who is not a complete jackass without being interrupted? I walked towards her, the roaring fire felt warm and welcoming instead of scalding and thirst inducing. I plopped down on the side of the goddess. "So..." I started, "How's godhood treating you?"
She raised her eyebrows, a faint smile marrying her face: "How's magic treating you?" I tilted my head questioningly in her direction, but I could only see the mirth in her eyes. I wasn't exactly surprised that she knew, after all, I had just broken her light attempt at trapping me into a 'and they lived forever happily.'
I shrugged: "I would have preferred not having to abandon my home only because Minerva felt like butting in."
Hestia scrunched her nose in distaste: "Don't use our roman names." She quietly admonished me.
I raised an eyebrow at her; I remembered something from the books, but... "An acute case of schizophrenia, uh?"
She turned back to stare into the fire, a slight frown marring the face of the nine years old child: "Not many talk to me."
"Not many can keep up interesting conversations; you're not missing much." I retorted, not changing the target of my eyes. I could stare into the fire any day of the week, how often could I watch a goddess? Well, in this life of the mine, it could happen often, but it is still a new opportunity.
Her lips twitched almost mischievously: "This appearance of mine doesn't hide the answers to your questions."
"It's thanks to you that a hundred of demigods can stay together for long periods without killing each other. It's a beautiful power." I argued. "It helps that they are dragged here before they're able to form an independent idea of the world, and are often starved for their parents' attention." I continued. And frowning lightly, I examined my feelings of the day, in particular the strange exhilaration that I felt during the fight. "I bet that the divine part of us strives to become more, searching for challenges or the approval of those that are more... godly? Than us." I reasoned out loud.
Hestia turned towards me, the face of the nine years old a blank. Was she assessing the kind of threat to her family that I represented? She was the goddess of the hearth, after all. "Why there aren't homes for the other gods?" I asked, "Ignoring Hypno, Morpheus, Iris, you..." my smile assumed a mocking tilt: "Not very family-friendly, is it?"
"It's not, but sometimes one has to give, in order to be given, instead of taking only to keep taking." She minutely shook her head.
"How is Gandhi's philosophy serving you?" I asked, genuinely curious.
She gestured around us, I looked, seeing the hundred or so of kids mingling and laughing. I also noticed that the oldest among them looked twenty. "You tell me." I heard. And when I turned to look at her, she was gone.
Suddenly, the fire became silent, its light dimming. Lights danced down from the sky like Northern Lights, and out of nowhere, a grayish column developed over Annabeth's head, a silvery owl idly watching down on us, it then turned into a spear.
Chiron walked into the crowd, tilting his head respectfully towards the hologram. "All hail Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena Pallas, Gray Eyes and Goddess of Council!"
Everyone was quick to climb to their feet and bowed lightly towards the newly claimed demigoddess, while her half brothers and sisters quickly circled her. I remained laying down in the place I had been sharing with Hestia, feeling the warmth of the hearth closing on me like a cocoon, likely shielding me from the sight of the gods. I added my spin to it, effortlessly warping the Mist around my body to hide from the mortals.
A bronze-brown light shone upon Luke, who grimaced, a caduceus slowly spinning over his head: "All hail Luke Castellan, son of Hermes Of the Market-Place, Of Crafts, Of Wiles, Of Road-Intersections, Of the Games, Keeper of the Flocks, Ram-Bearer, Translator, patron of travelers and thieves!"
Finally, a pure white light danced upon Thalia, a lightning bolt turning into a majestic eagle. Chiron knelt, and so did everyone else: "All hail Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus Of Pledges and Promises, King of the Gods, King of all Greeks, Bearer of the Aegis."
The northern Lights retreated into the sky, and I mentally thanked Hestia. I wasn't big on kneeling. Half an hour later, the sparks from the campfire were curling into a starry sky, and conch horn blew again, we all filed back to our cabins.
Cabin 11 was overcrowded, a lot crowded, I collapsed on my borrowed sleeping bag, sharing a smirk with Luke, who had instead received a proper bed, being a Royal Bastard and all. The chat with Hestia had been interesting, and I fell asleep looking forward to seeing if my belongings were still on my abandoned pickup. The first task for tomorrow: find a way to build me a house or even a room somewhere in the woods.
I heard a fart and stupid, childish giggling.
A private sleeping arrangement was a must, or cabin 11 would quickly turn from being an overcrowded dormitory to a cemetery.
Estado de energía semanal
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