He wasn't eavesdropping! He was just listening...
Okay. He was eavesdropping. Nico was worried about talking to Percy and Will wanted to know why. He was concerned like a good friend would be. When he heard the part about Percy not being his type, Will was excited. But why? Maybe he was just excited that his new friend was gay, like him. But when Lou told him that she was pansexual he wasn't this excited... Could he be developing a crush on the moody son of Hades?
"Okay Will, I think you've been staring at my werewolf scratches for long enough," Nico said.
"Uh, right! Well, I'm gonna go get you lunch now." Will said, blushing.
"I just had breakfast!"
"At 9:00. It's 12:00 now. Eat." Will said as he went to get the food. He got braciola for Nico and a grilled chicken salad and an apple for himself. Braciola was Italian beef rolls in tomato sauce. Nico's mother used to cook this for him and this is apparently what ambrosia tastes like for him. He sacrificed some food for the both of them, to each of their fathers. He felt a little uncomfortable with sacrificing food to Hades, but he's really no different from the other gods. Just got a little unlucky when choosing his domain. He returned to Nico's room in the infirmary to find Nico sitting there reading another manga. He was so focused, his eyebrows were all scrunched up. Will admitted it, Nico di Angelo, son of Hades, was adorable.
"Lunch is served," Will said, placing the plates on the table next to him.
"I'll eat later." Nico mumbled, turning the page.
"Look, I know you think you can feed yourself on the muscles of the ripped guys in aprons from Food Wars but, you really can't."
Nico blushed and put the book down. He took the plate off the table, mumbled a "Thanks", and began to eat. Will couldn't help but stare at Nico as he ate. As they were talking he focused on the sound of Nico's voice more than his actual words. His voice was like any male teenager's voice, but there was still a trace of Italian in it, even though he had been in America since he was like, what, eleven? To be honest, it was kinda sexy. When they were finished Will took the plates back to the pavilion. When he got back, he saw a crowd by the infirmary. He squeezed through and found Rachel standing at the door, he also noticed all his patients' beds were moved closer to the door, including Nico's.
"What's going on?" Will asked her.
"Prophecy." She said.
"What? I thought you couldn't use your gift of prophecy because Apollo was being punished?" Will questioned.
"I thought so too. But Apollo gave me a dream message telling me that he'd give me a prophecy so, here I am with the Romans. I'm doing it by the infirmary so the injured patients can also hear it."
I nodded and then turned and nodded at Reyna and Frank, the Praetors of Camp Jupiter, Hazel, Nico's sister, and at Percy and Annabeth. Then Rachel closed her eyes and started to swoon and some kids caught her and placed her on a stool. Green mist swirled around her feet and when she opened her eyes, they were emerald green and smoke emitted from her mouth. She spoke in a raspy voice that was not as strong as it usually was:
"The son of Apollo must go far East
To save his father from my home in Greece
He will go with the trickster, magician, and child of death
To snuff the python's foul breath.
Light and dark hand in hand
Will see the python's final stand"
And then she collapsed and her helpers carried into the infirmary. The prophecy wasn't at all how it normally was. It seemed more direct and informative than they usually are, even though it didn't tell much other than where to go.
Will went up to Nico and Hazel, Frank, and Reyna came up behind them. Frank nodded to Nico and then Reyna and Hazel hugged him quickly before they started discussing the prophecy.
"We must discuss who will be going on the quest. It is clear that they must go to Greece to save Apollo from something," Chiron said.
"From Python," Annabeth said, "the prophecy says 'the python' and 'my home in Greece'. The oracle's homeland is Delphi, which is where Apollo first killed Python."
"Why would Apollo need to be saved from Python by four demigods?" A camper asked.
"Maybe Apollo's punishment was to fight Python and get back control over the oracle but he got captured?" Will suggested.
"That would make sense," Nico added, "He wouldn't dare ask Zeus because he's the one who punished him in the first place and he would've told the other gods not to help him, so his only choice would be demigods. He could've managed to get a message through to Rachel with a prophecy he made and a little of his prophecy powers. That would explain why the prophecy was a little more direct and spoke mostly about him."
"So we know what the quest is about, but who will be going?" Reyna asked.
"'Son of Apollo', that's obvious. A son of Apollo. Then 'the trickster, magician, and child of death'. Child of Hermes, Child of Hecate, and Nico di Angelo, Child of Hades," said an Athena kid.
"But Nico can't go! He's still in rehabilitation!" Will practically shouted.
"It's fine, I'll have my doctor with me. That is, if he wants to go," Nico said, looking at him.
Will found himself blushing and hoped that it wasn't obvious. "Of course I'm going, Death Boy. If I leave you for a second you'll almost kill yourself. You're lost without my guidance."
Nico was about to retort but Reyna cleared her throat while glaring at Will for some reason, "And for the other two?"
"Obviously me, for the child of Hermes." Cecil jumped up and said.
Will looked at Nico and Nico shrugged. "Sure thing, bud. Can't leave any of my best friends behind," Will said.
"I hope that means you'll be taking me too. It better mean you'll be taking me too," Lou Ellen said with a challenging look at Cecil.
"Why are you looking at me like that? Will's the one who almost left you out! She is coming, right?" Cecil quickly glanced at Will and he nodded.
"Because I always glare at you and it's become a thing of habit," Lou Ellen said over the wolf whistles coming from some Hermes kids and the squeals from the piglets some of Lou's siblings turned the Hermes kids into.
"So no Romans? Why did we all have to come here? It was date night!" Percy complained as Annabeth slapped him upside the head, "Percy!"
"So it is settled. Pack your things and report to the Big House. A quest has begun," Chiron declared.