Chapter Four
Disclaimer: Who? Me? Sorry, wrong girl…
Hermes eyed the wall between glances around to make sure Apollo wasn't in the vicinity… Maybe his plan to convince his kids that he wasn't depressed hadn't been the best. It had been hilarious though, at least until Apollo found out. Maybe video-taping him getting a lesson in haiku writing from his kids was kind of mean… And maybe Hermes should have stopped his kids from selling it to the other campers… But he was the god of profit and they did make a killing.
The downside was that now he'd have to deal with Apollo's temper for who knew how long, and since he hadn't really much thought into that last question, it was a coin toss as to whether or not Zeus would be satisfied with the answers.
"Which cabin is your favorite to team up with for capture the flag?"
Really not his best work, but he'd been distracted by the 'obsessed and depressed' comments. Oh well, at least some of the answers were decent.
"Athena, they always win." Percy Jackson, Poseidon
Hermes smirked, not believing for a moment that was the only reason.
"Ares, then I don't have to worry about what Clarisse will do to me if my team wins." Chris Rodriguez, Hermes
Hermes still worried about that boy sometimes…
"Hades, skeletal warriors rock." Mark Andrews, Ares
Smartest thing he'd seen from that kid to date…
"Poseidon, not only is Percy invulnerable and always in there; but this week Triton is staying in there too for some reason. That team is going to be unbeatable." Leon Jones, Athena
Hermes shook his head, Triton was going to great lengths to irritate Percy. After Poseidon told him he could kill his little brother just because he wasn't given a vote in a poll Triton had decided to make sure that Percy couldn't exclude him next time… He was also taking the chance to torture the half-blood.
"Apollo, at least then we don't end up with arrows in our armor." Conner Stoll, Hermes
Good to know how long Conner could hold a grudge...
"Hermes, they may not capture the flag often, but it usually ends up in their possession." Cassie McNova, Apollo
There was a line connecting that one to the next one;
"True, I've seen Travis and Conner sell the flag back to the winning team before the game several times. I don't know why they bother to steal it if they're just going to give it back." Gina Farther, Hermes
Another line…
"We don't give it back, we sell it back. And that is a valuable source of income for our cabin Gina." Travis Stoll, Hermes.
Hermes raised a brow, weren't there rules against that? He didn't know whether to be proud of their ingenuity, or concerned that he might have fathered the next generation of major crime bosses with those two.
"Poseidon. Hello? Invulnerable guy! Oh, and Travis, give us the flag back before I tell Clarisse about all those times you made Chris buy it back for her." Annabeth Chase, Athena
Hermes sighed, and read the comment with the line attaching it Annabeth's.
"You just did." Chuck Samuels, Hermes
He briefly considered whether or not he should help Chuck with the Apollo cabin, but decided that Chuck could probably handle it on his own. Might get him some better armor though. With that thought in mind he read the last comment connected to those two.
"She didn't say how they make him buy it back…" Leslie Fortuna, Apollo
That was true, and Hermes decided he probably should talk to them about that, but then again, Chris did agree to give them a ride to the store… He had to have known he'd end up as a getaway driver. He did know his brothers right?
"Apollo, it's about the only time Cassie will see me, and not try to kill me for stealing her hairpins to use as lock picks… Again." Joe Ko, Hermes
"That boy is hopeless."
The voice made Hermes jump, "Aphrodite! What are you doing here?" he asked, looking around to make sure Apollo hadn't snuck up on him too.
Aphrodite smiled, "I was just giving my girls some beauty tips, they did ask after all." She explained. "Hiding from Apollo?"
"What would make you say that?"
"I saw the tape." Aphrodite smiled, "I must say he was overdue."
"I heard that!"
Hermes jumped and spun back towards the cabin, finding Apollo sitting on top of it for some reason. "What are you doing up there?"
"Well, I planned on shooting you with this nice pointy arrow… But first you wouldn't turn around, and then Aphrodite showed up." Apollo explained, putting away his arrow and his bow before jumping down.
Hermes glared at his brother, but whatever he was about to say was interrupted by Aphrodite.
"May I pick the next question Hermes?" She asked, when he hesitated she frowned, "You let Apollo pick one."
"And look where that got me…"
"Please? Fair is fair."
"Oh alright," Hermes gave in; he wiped the board then pointed the brand new scroll of responses at her. "Just remember this is supposed to be fun for the kids too."
Author's Note: This story gets a lot of hits… It kind of boggles the mind. And there was kind of a lot of conversation at the end of this one… But it was fun to write, which is all that matters right now.