Chapter IV

It's My Fault and They Know It

BARTHOLOMEW

I woke up with the worst headache ever experienced, it felt like my skull was ready to burst open as the pain traveled into every limb. I could feel something heavy laying on my chest, it was warm and smelled faintly of soap. Slowly I opened my eyes and grimaced as the light made my headache more. I tried to move but found it increasingly difficult to lift anything more than a few inches. Craning my neck, I saw Lupus snoozing away, curled up into a small ball in my chest. I tried to softly blow on him to get his attention but seemed to annoy him more than anything.

"You're awake!" I heard Katya cry, her voice sounded weary, "Doctor Mendez, he's awake!"

Katya quickly jumped over to me and helped pull me into a sitting position, causing Lupus to bark in annoyance as he was pushed onto my lap. I gazed around the room and took in all the details. It looked like I was in some sort of military hospital tent that you'd see in a war. Short, metal framed beds lined the wall, most of which contained other people who must've been injured in the attack. A beige tent contained everything, I could see the soft glare of the sun flood in from the flaps that led outside. The soft beeping of health monitors was barely audible through the hiss of ventilators. I could've prevented this I thought, looking around at the broken and injured demigods. As I gazed around I spied a familiar helmet sitting on the bedside table of a man across from me, it was dented and broken, but unmistakable. In the background, I could hear someone scrambling to grab things. A few seconds later an older woman burst through the back of the tent and rushed towards my bed. She wasn't particularly old, I'd wager she was no older than 30. She looked like a stereotypical doctor, white lab coat and all.

"Doctor," I said, my voice weak and worried with the answer I might receive. I rose my arm as high as I could and pointed towards the man in the bed across from me, "Who is that?"

Doctor Mendez followed my finger and laid eyes on the man, her face dropped into sadness. I could feel my stomach drop, deep down I knew I was right and I knew the news wasn't going to be good.

"That's Charles, poor thing" Doctor Mendez muttered, keeping her voice low as if she thought Charles would overhear them, "He's the last surviving member of his barrack. I still don't know how I'll break the news to him, those boys were like family"

I could feel my fists begin to tremble as grief and anger overtook me. I knew there was no one else to blame but myself. I was responsible for the deaths of those in his barrack, their blood was on my hands. I felt tears slowly slide across my cheek, something that's been happening a lot to me lately. Charles' face was soft and free of worry, sitting on the fence of life and death.

"Doctor Mendez," I looked her deep in the eyes, "Is he going to live?"

Her eyes softened into a look of pity, I guess she could see the pain in my eyes. I could see the minor twitches in her face as she debated telling me.

"Honestly, I don't know," She said softly, reaching for the stethoscope that hung around her neck, "He's been out as long as you have, we've tried Unicorn Draught, Necter, Ambrosia, and even nature magic but he's barely improved"

Doctor Mendez pulled down the gown I was wearing and pressed the cold tip of the stethoscope onto my chest, causing me to shiver in response. In the corner of my eye, I could see Katya wrestling with Lupus, trying to keep him from bothering Doctor Mendez as she worked. Doctor Mendez glanced over at my trembling fist, and let out a soft chirp.

"You shouldn't blame yourself for what happened," She sounded as if she was speaking from experience, "You're not a god, you couldn't have known it was going to happen"

"But what if" I found myself saying, "What if there was something I could do, something that could've saved them?"

"Stop that," She said softly, trying to comfort me, "You're doing nothing but hurting yourself by thinking like that. Other Demigods saw what you did on the battlefield, how you organized everyone. They think you're a hero!"

"Oh yeah!" I snapped back, "Some hero I must be, telling one group of teenagers to push a hoard of monsters into another group of teenagers!"

I slapped the stethoscope away and forced myself out of the bed. I blocked out the protest of my body and hobbled over to the bed Charles laid in. Doctor Mendez firmly grabbed my shoulder and attempted to wrestle me back to my bed, but with a quick jolt of electricity, I forced her off me. I gazed down at his withered and wounded body as a series of machines and tubes kept him alive. I have the power to save him! Was the only thing I could think as I hovered over him. I'll save him, even if it kills me! I wrapped my hands around his, which were cold and clammy, and felt the pull of magic flow into him. Although this time it felt different, it felt as if the magic was coming directly from me instead of channeling it from the earth. My hands gave off a soft golden glow and I watch in unbridled happiness as color began to reveal itself in his face. My concentration was broken when I heard a series of terrified barks and the sharp pain of teeth sinking into my ankle. I whipped my eyes open and saw the reason for Lupus's panic, deep cracks were webbing across my fingertips and taking over my hand. I held out my hands in front of me and watched as the cracks began to slowly withdraw, I guess that's what happens when I use magic without the necklace.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" Doctor Mendez cried out behind me. She grabbed my shoulder again and whipped me around, anger filled her eyes, "You're going to kill yourself!"

"Good!" I screamed back, "It's my fault that they're all dead! You can sit there and tell me it's not my fault but I know you don't mean it!" My voice was emotional and trembling as my grief poured out, "Their blood is on my hands and there's nothing I can do about it!"

Doctor Mendez, in a shocking twist, pulled me into a tight hug and held me as I violently sobbed into her shoulder. She softly stroked my hair as we rocked gently like a mother trying to soothe her injured child.

"Katya," Doctor Mendez whispered, "Could you please go inform Reyna that he's awake?"

With a nod, Katya let go of a riled-up Lupus and exited the tent. Lupus quickly bounded over to me and began to furiously lick my hand, as if he was saying sorry for biting me. I ran my fingers through his fur, which was oddly therapeutic. Doctor Mendez held me for many minutes until she pushed me away gently. I saw the soft drips of tears drip down her face as she used her thumb to wipe off my face.

"I know it's hard," She started, "But because of you, my brother died a hero, and his sacrifice ensured that even more demigods came out unscathed"

"Your brother?" I asked, deep within her eyes I could see a mixture of pride and anguish fighting for control

"Terry Mendez" She responded, pulling out a small locket from under her coat. She opened it with a soft click and inside sat a picture of the same messy haired boy I met at the tunnel. Freckles danced across his face as a wide smile revealed a missing tooth. Standing next to him, smiling into the camera, was a younger Doctor Mendez, both of them were standing in front of a large monument, "He was in the Second Cohort with Charles"

"I'm sorry" was all I could say, it was my fault that her brother was taken from her

"It's not your fault. If I blamed myself for every death that occurred in this tent than I would've been in the Underworld a long time ago"

"It's just," I said, trying to resist the urge to cry again, "If we hadn't told him to stay behind and heal the wounded campers then he could've been with the others, he could've had a chance to survive!"

"You need to stop that," She said, grabbing my hands, "You need to stop thinking you're some miracle worker, you might be able to use magic but you can't play god!"

"And how would you know?" I spat

"Because there's only so much one can heal with ambrosia and nectar," She said, leaning in close, her voice low and intimidating

My response was interrupted by a series of choking noises coming the bed Charles was in. In a panic Doctor Mendez shot up and rushed to his side, she quickly pressed a series of buttons on the ventilator and within a few minutes, the tubes were removed from his mouth. With a series of hard coughs Charles was soon sitting upright, his gaunt face being illuminated by the sun as he ran his hand through his short blonde hair. He pressed his hand to his head in pain while Doctor Mendez gave him a small cup of nectar. After he adjusted to his surrounded his eyes caught mine and gave a weak grin.

"I guess I owe you that drink after all" Charles said with a deep southern drawl that I just noticed

"Well you're going to need one" Doctor Mendez said handing him a cup of brown liquid

"Wait, isn't it illegal for minors to be drinking?" I questioned

"In the mortal world, sure, but in Camp Jupiter, not so much," Charles said with a grimace as he chugged the whole thing in one go, "Let's just cut the crap, who bit the dust early?"

"Always the straight shooter," Doctor Mendez sighed, she reached over and refilled his glass before grabbing a chair and filling her own, "Everyone but you, unfortunately"

"Then I shall drink in their honor," Charles said, raising his glass

"Are you not upset?" I asked confused, "They were your friends!"

"Sure, I'm upset, I'm heartbroken," Charles said, taking a sip from his drink "But that's the life of a demigod and I know they'd hate me for shedding tears over them. So instead I do what they would've done, I drink and remember the good times, and when my time comes I'll meet them in the Elysian fields and we'll be brothers once again!"

"Spoken like a true legionnaire!" Doctor Mendez said, raising her glass and taking a sip

"So, Bartholomew, you mind telling me what happened out there?" Charles said, sitting his cup on his bedside table

"What do you mean?" I questioned

"You know, the whole thing where you managed to organize scattered cohorts to push the Monsters into the center while you and Katya jumped right into the fray?"

"I guess I just did what came naturally?" I was rather intimidating by his calm demeanor, it reminded of my dad right before he'd get angry. My heart pinged at the thought of my father, It was hard not knowing if he was alive or not. Sure, he wasn't exactly the best and he might've been absent most of my life, but he kept me alive and kept food on the table.

"So, it's natural for you to keep a level head amidst chaos and to command a whole army of teenagers?" Charles pressed

"I don't know" I answered honestly, "I was just following all the strategies my father taught me. We were vastly outnumbered and fighting them one on one wasn't working. I thought that if we managed to form a wall we could at least drive them back and away from camp while also killing the ones that got too close with the spears. Since we had Calvary we could ensure that a flank attack wasn't possible. Along with your group putting pressure on them from behind, it allowed us to catch them off guard, they got pushed into a corner and they started to lose the upper hand. Since Katya and I weren't in the active formation we were able to head straight in and chop them down while they were panicking"

"Impressive" Charles said with a soft whistle, "If it were up to me I'd make you Centurion on the spot, rules be damned!"

"Centurion?" I asked, "What's that?"

"It's kind of like a manager," Doctor Mendez said, "Typically there's two per cohort, which is like a big group of Demigods, and they ensure everything is running smoothly. If someone messes up, they usually answer to their Centurion, if the Centurion messes up the answer to the Praetor"

"So, wait," I tilted my head, confused, "You said there's 'typically' two, do you mean that there are missing spots?"

"Of course," Doctor Mendez said, her voice was odd, as if she was uncomfortable with the topic, "Up until a few years ago we had an abundance of Demigods, over 200, but after recent events, we'd be lucky to have enough to fill a whole Cohort"

"So why don't you just fill those spots?" I asked, confused about this predicament

"If only it were that simple" Charles said in a mocking tone, "Becoming a Centurion isn't as simple as just asking for it, it's something you've got to earn. Unless your Michael Finch, then you just buy your way in"

"Who?" I asked again, becoming increasingly confused

"Yeah, Centurion of the Second Cohort" Doctor Mendez chimed in, "He was vying for that position for years after the previous one retired he used daddy's money to bribe a few members of the Senate so he'd get a promotion"
"I feel bad for that young Russian girl that came in a few weeks ago," Charles said, lamenting

"Do you mean Katya?" Doctor Mendez questioned, pouring herself another glass, "Light skin, big nose, gives off the stressed-out businesswoman vibe?"

"That's the one!" Charles said excitedly with a snap of his finger

"Strange of you to pity anyone Charles, why the sudden change of heart?" Doctor Mendez said with a laugh

"Yeah, but I pity anyone who has to deal with Centurion Bitch for most of the day," Charles said with a smug smile over his wordplay

"What'd he do to make everyone hate him so much?" I asked, interested in the drama

"Well for starters, he talks down to everyone and acts like he the Gods gift to the Camp" Charles grabbed his drink and took a few sips before continuing, "Always goes on about these crazy conspiracy theories and plays on the fears of the other campers to turn on people he doesn't like. Somehow manage to turn most of the camp against Katya before Hazel and Reyna caught wind of it and put a stop to it. After that, he made her his assistant so he could boss her around and harass her in the background"

"And no one's put a stop to it?" I could feel my body tense up in fury, sure I didn't exactly know her and didn't exactly understand why she elicited such extreme emotions, but I knew no one deserves that, "Why not move her to a different cohort? Or get him removed from his position?"

"I would if I could, but as the Centurion of the Third Cohort it's not my place to bring it into question," Charles said, shrugging his shoulders, "If it were up to me I'd have him booted from the legion and barred from entering Camp ever again"

"Then I guess it's lucky for me that no one cares what you think," Said a nasally voice behind me before I could voice my shock to Charles sudden revelation. I turned towards the entrance and standing in the doorway of the tent was a rather greasy looking individual. His golden armor shone brightly in the direct sunlight, a stark contrast to the dark purple shirt under it. Heavily armored sandals ran up the length of his shin, only leaving a small gap between his lower thigh. He looked like a frail kid with an obsession for the Roman military who cosplays in officer armor to feel important. Standing beside him was Katya, who averted her eyes when my eyes locked on to hers. For the small moment that I caught her eyes, I could feel my heart rate increase, the image of her soft blue eyes locked into my mind. God, what is wrong with me I berated myself, your mom shows you one little clip without context and your suddenly obsessed! Come on Me, you're better than this!

"Nice of you to drop by," Charles said mockingly, "Hope you didn't come all this way for little ol' me!"

"Hardly," Centurion Finch scoffed, "I came for that one," he said pointing at me with his long, bony finger. "Bartholomew, come with me, you have a lot to answer for. I'll meet you outside in five minutes, Katya you come along as well, you both have a lot to explain"

With a loud huff, I walked around to my hospital bed and drew the curtain so that I could change out of the gown. I reached for my bag and pulled out the first things I saw. I ended up with a long-sleeved cotton shirt, dark gray pants held up by black suspenders, and gray dress boots. I rolled up the sleeves of my white shirt to help cool off in the heat and brushed out my hair, which had grown rather long. I reached into my bag and pulled out a hairbow and put my hair in a quick ponytail while letting my bangs fall free. I pulled back the curtain and was quickly met with laughter from Charles.

"I want to go to whatever party you're going to, man!" He giggled violently like a schoolgirl

"Can it, I'm assuming I'm about to meet the head honcho, so I might as well look somewhat formal!" I retorted, embarrassed

"Sorry, but you look like a grandpa!" He held up his hands defensively just in case I threw something at him, "Don't sweat it, Reyna looks intimidating and is intimidating, but as long as you don't mouth off and know your place you'll be fine!"

"You say that, but I doubt it'll be that simple," I said with a worried groan

"It's alright Bartholomew," Doctor Mendez said soothingly, which threw me off as it was the first time she said my name, "She told she just wanted to go over the events of what happened, after that, you'll be officially welcomed to Camp Jupiter. Until then, you'll want to leave that bag with me, the Fauns get sticky fingers from time to time"

I handed my bag over to Doctor Mendez, slightly amazed that it stayed in one piece during the battle. I said my goodbyes and agreed to stick around when I came to get my back so Charles wouldn't get lonely. As I was about to leave I was surprised when Doctor Mendez pulled me to the side, peaking over my shoulder to make sure Charles wasn't listening.

"Hey, Bartholomew, I know this is a lot to ask but could you do me a favor?" She sounded concerned

"You can just call me Barry," I said, lowering my tone to match hers, "But what's this favor?"

"Barry, keep an eye on Katya," Doctor Mendez said quietly, "She practically refused to leave your bedside the whole week you were out"

"A week!" I sputtered, "I was out a whole week?"
"That's not important Barry" Doctor Mendez scolded, "She helped you and now you owe her, it's the least you could do!"

With a soft push, Doctor Mendez forced me out of the tent with Lupus at my heels, hopping around excitedly and barking about how he and Katya became friends over the past couple of days, begging me to thank her for him. For a small puppy who's already had multiple run-ins' with fatal situations, he was awfully polite. I found Centurion Finch and Katya standing not too far away in front of a row of charred tents that were being worked on by a group of demigods. In front of them was Reyna, the Demigod who landed in front of me after the battle. She was barking orders and asking about the status of how things were coming along at the small group of Demigods hammering away on scaffolds. I looked around noticed that there was a new gate to replace the one that was blasted to bits, now featuring heavy plates of the same metal that was in my father's workshop lining the wall. My attention was quickly drawn to the sour look Reyna was giving Centurion Finch, someone she must've been less than enthused to be talking to. He was motioning wildly and aggressively as if he was attempting to play a game of charades with her. As I approached I began to tap into the general gist of their conversation, it had something to do with me and he was really pushing for execution.

"That's not what I'm saying, Reyna!" He squealed, "I'm saying we can't trust him! What if he's responsible for the monster attack, it seems awfully convenient that he's some sort of Monster slaying machine that shows up just as hundreds of Monsters start attacking!"

"Enough Centurion Finch!" Reyna roared, her voice commanding authority, "I refuse to let any more blood spill on this land until I'm sure it's necessary! He may be a sorcerer, but I'll be damned if I let another demigod die in this camp!"

"But Reyna, what if he's a spy sent here destroy the camp and kill us all!" His voice was high pitched and whiny

"If that's the case" I interjected with a cruel sneer, "Then I'll be sure to start with you first"

I stared Centurion Finch in the eyes, channeling every single last bit of intimidation I could muster in order scare him. A slight grin spread across Reyna's face as my comment but it was quickly replaced with a stern look while Katya made a pained look of suppressing laughter behind her.

"Why your little impudent brat!" Centurion Finch cried, "I'll have your body dragged behind a Unicorn for that!"

Centurion Finch clutched the front of my shirt and pulled me in close, our nose inches away from each other. His face was rough and gaunt, long greasy hair spilled off his head like a waterfall of oil. His breath smelled faintly of garlic, which was probably because it seemed like he hasn't brushed his teeth in months. I stood my ground, un-phased by his poor attempt of enforcing authority. Even though I wanted nothing more than to give him a very painful death, I knew that it would only cause more problems. That, and the fact that my necklace was nowhere to be found, which I hoped was being kept safe somewhere.

"Miss Reyna," I asked, refusing to break eye contact, "What's the punishment of attacking an unarmed demigod?"

"Well, considering one is a superior officer and thus held to higher standards, I'd say immediate discharge would be in order," Reyna said with a tired voice as if she was tired of Centurion Finch's behavior

"You see, Centurion," I said, making a soft click with my tongue, "You might want to rethink your poor attempt at intimidation, or this scary little traitor might end up taking your position!"

With a furious growl, he let me go with a hard push as he stormed away. Katya was trying her best to stifle laughter while Reyna was slowly rubbing her temples.

"Between him and the repairs, it's amazing I'm able to keep my sanity" Reyna muttered

"Is he really that bad?" I questioned, trying to stay on her good said with small talk

"Enough," Reyna said, holding up her hand, "As much as I hate to admit it, Centurion Finch is right, we don't know whose side you're on and that means keeping outside contact to a minimum. After I finish up here we're heading straight to the senate house for questioning"

"That's fair," I said, shrugging my shoulders, "How about a peace offering until then, a sign of good faith"

"And what exactly would this peace offering entail?" Reyna questioned suspiciously

"A giant wooden horse to show that I mean no harm" I joked, hoping that it would be enough to lighten the mood, unfortunately, Reyna took it a little too seriously

"How dare you mock us like that!" Reyna boomed, reaching for her sword

"Jesus!" I yelled, "It was a joke, I didn't think you'd take it that seriously!"

"You're in no positions to make jokes Cooperman!" Reyna said, her face red and flustered

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you'd react like that!" I put my hands up defensively, ready to die and found it quite odd that a Trojan Horse joke would be the thing to do me in o

"You're on thin ice, you better pick your next words carefully" Her voice was bold and intimidating, the voice of a leader

"Ok, but really, I do have a peace offering in mind!" I methodically vetted each word that escaped my mouth, "I can repair the camp, but I'll need my necklace, and since I'm assuming you're the head honcho, I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that you have it, because it wasn't in my bag and it wasn't on me!"

"I'm not a fool, I know sorcerers and I know that they're not to be trusted!" She spat

"I promise if you give me the necklace I can repair the camp way faster than they can!" I said cautiously pointing to the demigods that were on the scaffolds, "If you think I'm up to any funny business then I have no doubt you'd skewer first and ask questions later!"

"And what?" Reyna growled, "You pass out again? Fat chance!"

"Look, I get that my track record is less than stellar, but give me a chance" I could feel my chance at redemption slipping away, "If I use chronomancy I should be ok, Lupa and I found that it takes less of a toll on my body"

"And how would chronomancy help in this situation?" Reyna said I could hear the slight sound of consideration in her voice

"I can use the amulet to channel the mist in order to rewind or fast-forward the state of most non-living items" I sputtered, "I'll be able to essentially rewind the state of the camp to right before the attack happened, saving time and resources! I promise I'll give it back afterward!"

After many moments of consideration, Reyna reached behind her and withdrew my amulet from a small pouch secured to her waist. She slowly passed it to me, as if she was handling a deadly weapon. As soon as my hand wrapped around it I could feel the power of the mist flow into me, drawing me up on a second wind. Reyna ordered the demigods on the scaffolds climb down and began to set up a radius to ensure no one got hurt. I pulled the amulet over my head and let it rest around my neck, something that strangely made me feel safe. I took a deep breath as I felt the mist flow into my necklace as I got down on my knees. I placed my hands firmly on the ground and began imagining a large clock in front of me, slowly ticking forward. Using an intense amount of willpower, I forced the clock to rewind, ticking quicker and quicker in reverse, the hour hand and the minute hand spinning around furiously. Below me, the shimmering illusion of a large clock face appeared under the entirety of the camp, rewinding like the one in my imagination.

It was like someone hit rewind on a VHS tape as the camp begin to quickly reform itself. Burnt and tattered tents flapped around violently as the rebuilt themselves from their ashes. They quickly sprung into a brilliant blaze before being extinguished again as claw marks began to stitch themselves together. A tornado of wood chips, ash, and other building materials slowly retook their original form as the glory of the Camp shined through. Soon, a ground of demigods had gathered and watched in amazement as their camp quickly rebuilt itself. A few minutes later everyone was staring at a series of pristine tents ready to house them. With a series of cheers and pats on the back, I knew I had achieved the support of the camp. I slowly rose to my feet, winded at my display, but was pleased to see a smiling Katya clapping behind enthusiastically behind an impressed Reyna.

"How's that for a peace offering?" I said cockily, removing my necklace and handing to Reyna

"I have to admit that I'm impressed, and I thank you for repairing the camp, "She said coolly, slipping my necklace into her pouch, "But I still don't trust you"

Reyna turned on her heel and began marching through camp, seemingly inspecting every little detail. Groups of Demigods began to excitedly rush to their tent, possibly rushing to their personal rooms. A missing sense of life seemed to be revived as well as demigods began to rush wildly around, tearing down the scaffolding and trying to figure out what to do next. I watched in amusement as campers rushed out of the tent with a wide grin, excited to have a proper bed again.

"That was very impressive" I heard a soft voice say in choppy English

"Oh, you think so?" I said, my face turning even redder than hers

"You just solved a weeks' worth of stress for Reyna, she might not have said it but I'm sure she's thankful!" Katya's eyes were kind and bursting with happiness, but deep down I could see a hidden pain. Reyna beckoned us to follow her down a long winding path that leads towards a rather large city. Katya and I quickly caught up and we followed slowly behind her as Katya gave me a general rundown of camp operations as best as she could. She explained how Cohorts work, general day to day life, and war games.

"Wait, whoa," I said, flustered by the new information, "So you're telling me that you have an elephant that you use to siege a fortress?"

"Yeah!" She squealed excitedly, "His name is Hannibal! He usually comes out when we play Siege!"

"I've got to get in on that!" I said, excited at the prospect of storming a fortress with an Elephant by my side

As we walked Katya continued to explain life at camp as best she could. We watched in amusement as Lupus bounded around playfully, scaring off the Fauns that were on the path with us. Lupus doubled back and jumped at us playfully while barking about the strange goatmen and their skittish behavior.

"I'm going to go out on a limb and say that he's yours?" Katya said, laughing as Lupus tried to pounce on a butterfly that was flying past

"I guess" I replied, shrugging my shoulders, "I was leaving the Wolf House when the wolves suddenly turned on him. I fought them off and we ended up here"

"He was a rather persistent thing, I'll give him that much" Katya said, picking him in order to stop him from attacking any more Fauns, "He suddenly showed in the middle of camp, caused quite the uproar"

"What?" I said in surprise, "They must've really been on edge if they'd let something so little cause so much ruckus!"

"We were a little jumpy, yes, but luckily the Fourth Cohort solved it, said it must've been a sign from the gods"

"How so?"

"The Fourth Cohort's symbol is a wolf, it wasn't such a stretch for them to think it was their chance to shine"

"And what happened after?"

"Well, they gave him some food and water but he almost immediately sniffed you out and refused to leave your side"

"Sounds like someone else I heard about," I said slyly

"What do you mean by that?"

"I heard through the grapevine that someone was keeping Lupus company the whole time I was out"

"And so what, maybe that person was worried?" Katya said, blushing furiously

"There's no need to be embarrassed about it," I said, trying to console her as best as I could, "Not many people would do that, much less for a person they don't even know. So thank you."

"Don't mention it" Katya mumbled, clearly embarrassed

"Oh!" I said, slapping my fist into my palm, "There was another thing! Lupus wanted me to thank you for spending time with him!"

"Aww!," Katya squealed, holding Lupus up, his tail wagging furiously. She spent several moments rubbing her nose against his, "But wait, how would you know if he wants to thank me?"

"Well I can kind of understand him" I replied, hoping that she didn't think I was some sort of lunatic, "Like I hear him bark and I can sort of 'understand' what he means"

"That's so cool!" Katya said, her eyes wide in amassment, "I wish I could talk to animals! Do you know why you can understand him?"

"I just sort of assumed it was something from my mom," I said, trying to figure out if there were any more possibilities, "She mentioned that all of her children have a natural attunement to most animals"

"So you've actually met your godly parent?" Katya said, "You're so lucky!"

"Wait, you haven't met yours?" I asked in shock

"No," Katya said, her eyes dimmed with sadness, "I've been hoping to, but so far she's been silent"

"Is that something that's common amongst the gods?"

"It seems so, most of the other campers here don't know who made them either, so I guess it isn't all that bad," Katya said, seemingly trying to put a positive spin on the situation

"Alright you two," Reyna said, stopping in front of us, "We're about to enter New Rome, remember to be respectful. And please, do me a favor and just cooperate with Terminus, it'll make this a whole lot smoother!"

"I'm sorry, who?" I asked, standing slack-jawed, amazed by the sheer size of the city that appeared before me. It compared nothing to the tents I just left, in comparison, they were like tiny napkins. A beautiful wall was erected in front of me, is glowing white walls radiating a sense of pristine nobility. Red tiled roofs sprawled forth as a crowd of people milled about. Groups of demigods, adults, and children all walked up and down the paved streets, looking happy with their lives. I yearned for a life like that, one with happiness and stability, I'd even deal with the monster attacks if it meant I could have that. Although, I was debating whether or not that would be a good thing when I saw an angry statue screaming at a large, baby-faced Chinese man.