OMG IT'S DECISION DAY! WOO! :D THE POLLS ARE UP BROS!

I also just want to note that: THIS IS NOT A SONGFIC! Last chapter, a lot of you messaged me about the Lullaby (btw, Glad you all liked it! CHECK IT OUT! IT IS A KEY ELEMENT!) but other than that, that song was about it.

I want to add that since this is a Roleplaying Fic, EVERYONE has a voice. Meaning, everyone has special interests that some might not. Some people despise Song Fics (Like mio) Some people like fics about romance. Some like Oc fics. Ect, ect, ect. What I hope is to gain is a little bit of everything for everyone. Because this is supposed to be a wonderful experience for all types of people. :)

Fun fact: I am not much of a Songfic person myself, BUT this story is inspired by multiple songs. Feed the Birds was one of them, and there is ONE HUGE Key Song that really did shaped this whole story but I won't mention it for now ;) IT WILL CAUSE SPOILERS! Maybe after this whole roller coaster of ours is over, I might add an extra chapter or seperated story of the song and the connection of the story. It will be a songfic but trust me, I think it will be worth reading into.

If you haven't check out Feed the Birds from Mary Poppins, PLEASE DO. In order to connect to the story and its complex, I highly suggest listening to it. ITS KINDA DARK!

Sorry for the long intro...Soo...yeah….ENJOY! :D

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Chapter 7: The Ornithomancy

If you are a child of Hades, animals aren't tended to like you. Something about death lingering on you sort of drives them away. Dogs bark when death is present, cats just flip out and run away from the room, and birds normally would come down and peck on you. Well, these birds were definitely not pecking.

Standing in pure shock at the door frame, Nico looked out helplessly as he watch birds plummeting from the sky. All sorts of birds ranging from robins, blue jays, and hawks; were not attacking, but falling. Like they suddenly lost their ability to fly. Birds were slamming on cabins' roofs and windows. Campers were dodging them above their heads. Birds crashed in trees, toppling down their branches. Birds that landed safely didn't survived that long, they would just drop dead in a second. It was as if they gather one day and were like: "Hey, let's attempt suicide in Camp Half-Blood. Why not?!"

"TAKE COVER!" one camper shouted.

All the demigods retreated either back in their cabins or hide beneath anything they could crawl in. Nico later soon reacted when what looked like hundreds of birds came straight towards him. He shuffled backwards into his cabin, shutting the door in front of the up coming ambush. He barricade the door with all the strength his back provided, while hard thumps on the other side shook the door. Out of nowhere, birds started smashing through the windows and their dead bodies and broken glass spilled on the floor. The ceiling cracked above from the sudden weight that was splattered on the roof . The only thing Nico could do now was squat low, still keeping pressure on the door, and took cover of his head with his hands. The Hades cabin was shaking like in a earthquake. Nico just sat there, awaiting the end of all this.

Five minutes from the horrific trauma, everything went quiet. Nico took the silence that the coast was clear. Getting up from the floor, once again, he slowly open the door. His expression from early returned. The scene looked like it came out of a horror film.

Feathers and blood covered the entire campground. Layers of dead bodies were piled on roofs and porches. Some were seen floating in the lake and littered on its shore in the distance. Campers were coming out of hiding: from under tables, in cabins, and beneath benches. Disgusted and worry expressions were planted on every other demigod. Younger ones had tears forming and some were sickly from Camp Half Blood's brand new cemetery addition. Nico spotted Rachel coming out of the weaponer storage. Watching his feet from touching the dead bodies, he made his way to his friend. They both shared grimace glances, and gazed around the destruction of feathers.

"Well...this is new." Nico commented. Rachel only nodded in agreement.

"And gross. I am so going to paint this."

"You do that," artistes; Nico found them very strange in a sorta cool way. "But should you, I don't know, look into it? Being the Oracle and all? It might be a sign or something..."

"You want me to investigate?" She crossed her arms mockingly. "Alright. I find this disturbing, nasty, and groddie."

Nico couldn't hold an eye roll. "Geez, if only I figured that out. I meant, you have an idea what this could possibly lead up to?"

"Yeah, a complaint letter from PETA." She gave out a whistle. Nearly wanting to face-palm at that moment, Nico just inhale an irritated sigh.

"Glad that our Oracle is always on the job"

"Hey, I foretell prophecies, not palm readings." The redhead smirked. They both stood in silence after that. Nico didn't blame Rachel, he'd figure that this is something way beyond her power. He didn't want to admit it, but he had an awful feeling that this is something for him to figure out alone. The voices, the spirit, that dream, and now this...it couldn't be all a coincidence.

He knew though that this was just the beginning.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It took hours to clean up the birds. Satyrs, Nymphs and demigods were scooping the bodies all day. After the first hour, everyone took turns and designated areas to clean. Nico mostly cleaned out in and around his cabin with the help of skelintons, and that was just all about it for him. He would've helped the rest of camp but getting answers was his first priority. He study the bodies, noting every species, sizes, and where the majority landed. He didn't get much, but what he found was that all the birds were flying towards west; coming from the east. He thought that was strange, birds only flew north and south, so it couldn't be a migration. Let alone, different types of birds don't flock together either…..

What is going on?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After dinner/break, Chiron called for the camp counselors to report to the Big House. Everyone, with the exception of ones that were absent, gather around the Ping Pong Table. Rachel sat on a couch at the far right side, Nico only thought it would be nice to sit with her. Besides, he felt more comfortable away from the crowd. He maybe an official camp member but it only felt right to sit away from the older demigods, those with more experience and more important to hear from. He also was labeled an outcast still, he doesn't normally take part of the camp activities (unless he was forced) and sometimes doesn't even take part of council meetings (if they are not important).

The demigods that were missing was Annabeth, Percy, Will, Jason and Piper. So instead, Malcolm took the rule for Athena, a guy name Austin for Apollo, and Drew for Aphrodite. Since there weren't any other campers to take Zeus and Poseidon's chair, it would only seem natural that Nico will just have to represent for all the Big Three sons. Meanwhile, Nico, along with Rachel, watched in either amused or frightened on the couch at the other campers as they all complain, some arms were even thrown up dramatically. Yep, those with experiences.

"Our gardens are all ruin!" Katie Gardner complain. Counselor of Demeter

"We got feathers stuck in our machines!" Issued a Hephaestus' counselor, Nyssa.

"I got bird blood on my designer shoes!" Drew, a daughter of Aphrodite, screamed in agony.

The poor centaur, Chiron, raised his arms for silence. "Hush now." He commanded. The demigods went silent; it was rare for Chiron to ever raise his voice. "We can deal with the mess later, but now, we must focus on the important part of this situation. A certain thing like this doesn't just happen out of nowhere." Nico nodded to himself. He was aching to hear this discussion. When everyone comes to a better conclusion, Nico will simply take it as that and go out on his own to solve it.

That is what he does; taking in much needed info from others and use it for his own advantage. Some would argue that it wasn't wise for a demigod to work alone (accompanied by three others was the requirement) but not for Nico. It's not that he likes to be alone, but the consequences with traveling with him were high. He was a son of the Big Three; Percy and Jason already had it hard for themselves but Nico was different. Unlike his cousins, Nico wasn't feared nor worship from what he was. There are more people, or creatures, that have bitter quarrels with the God of death than Poseidon and Zeus. Nico was future blackmail to his father. They wouldn't hesitate to kill him.

Revenge could blind a person; Nico knew that from experience.

A girl with black hair and Russian features stood up, "then what caused it to happen?" Nico didn't remember her name, only that she appeared to be a daughter of Hecate. Chiron didn't meet her eyes, for he hardly knew the answer himself.

"All these years, I've never seen one in person myself. But, it has happen before…" His words were barely a whispered. All the demigods (plus Rachel) practically lean over their seats to hear him better. "Its an Ancient Greek belief...called an Ornithomancy."

The demigods just stood in silence. Glancing at eachother with shrugs; no one knew what that meant. They all waited for the centaur to continue. He let out a deep sign, "A long time ago, people analyze birds as prophecies of where the world was heading towards to in the future. Many other religions followed these practices."

"I've seen one before."

All heads turned to the voice. A dark skinned girl stood up at the very far end of the table. Her southern accent was thick, and her dark hair were in tight braids on each shoulder. Nico recognized her, Heather, a daughter of Hebe. "Back home of Louisiana, our town got a case of dead birds near our old churches and it's cemetary just a few years ago." she proclaimed, "whole town thought the antichrist risen or something!" Chiron nodded slowly at the new info.

"Yes...that is what I am afraid of..an Ornithomancy like this is not good news at all. Large numbers of birds' death are a bad sign."

The room felt heavy after that. It's been only three months from the Giant War, no demigod were eager to jump back to action after that. They haven't lost that many people compared to the Titan War, but lost their security of Camp Half-Blood's safety. From little contact with gods and the monsters that were still roaming out there because of Gaea, both the Greeks and Romans were on edge on their boundaries' controlled. Every other day, a monster would of made its way into the camps. And more and more demigods either get seriously injured or possibly killed, especially the younger ones.

Heather's words echo in Nico's head: "the antichrist risen or something!" His body felt like lead from that; he knew the Christian Faith of the Antichrist but…

Could there possibly be an Antichrist for them?

tbc

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

PICK A PLOT!

Who do you want to appear next?

Plot 1: Hades

Plot 2: Hestia

Plot 3: Artemis

Cast your vote to the Polls or in the Review Section! The polls will be open for four days! So starting Tuesday, the next chapter will be up with the most popular vote!

R&R!