CHAPTER 7: OBLIGATIONS
Later that night, Sholeh and Nico sat at the Hades table in the mess hall as usual. The two talked about Lady Hestia, and Nico agreed that she had been obnoxious. But he also was advising Sholeh not to make too many immortal enemies, when a newcomer who had just been claimed by Ares walked over.
He wore a leather jacket and was very muscular. Leaning on the Hades table, the boy arrogantly said to Sholeh, "Hey, babe."
Leo appeared in an instant and tapped the Ares kid (Sholeh thought his name was Theron) on the shoulder. In a voice filled with anger he said, "You're talking to my girlfriend."
"So?" The other boy stared back at Leo, arms crossed and unmoving. Leo looked as if he was ready to attack him, but Sholeh calmly stood up.
"I can handle this, Leo," the girl said in a cool voice, and walked in between the two. She stared into the Ares kid's eyes, and spoke, as if to a young child. "Now I would appreciate you leaving me alone."
"Why should I? Give me one good reason," the boy returned disdainfully.
"Well, let's see. I'll let you burn in the fires of Hades if you don't," Sholeh replied, as if it was the obvious thing in the world. "Seeing as my parents are Hades and Hestia."
The boy paled but did not back down. "So you were just leaving," hinted Leo, and the Ares kid obediently left to return to the derision of his siblings. Leo let out a sigh of relief.
"Why, Leo, you didn't feel threatened by him, did you?" said Sholeh in a tone of mock surprise.
"Of course not," he scoffed. "I'm better looking than him," Leo continued arrogantly.
"And so much humbler too," Sholeh joked, laughing.
"Well, I thought you didn't like using fire," the boy pointed out.
"Sometimes, it can come in handy as a threat," Sholeh replied. "Come on, I'm done eating."
"I'm not!" the boy protested, but followed Sholeh out of the mess hall.
Running outside, the two demigods found Percy and Annabeth lying on the grass, looking up at the sky. Sholeh and Leo sat down beside them silently. The four gazed up at the stars, which were always brighter at Camp Half Blood than anywhere else.
"See that?" Percy finally asked, breaking the silence and pointing up at a constellation.
"Yes," replied Sholeh. "It looks like a girl."
"That's our friend Zoë."
"You have friends who are stars?" asked Leo sarcastically. Sholeh smacked him on the shoulder, producing a loud "Ow! What?"
"Zoë died in a fight against Kronos. Her father was Atlas, but she was a hunter of Artemis," Annabeth explained gravely. She hadn't spent as much time with Zoë as Percy had, but deeply respected the girl all the same. "And when she died, Artemis gave her a constellation."
"At least she was rewarded. You know Lola, the daughter of Demeter?" Everyone nodded. "They brought her back to camp yesterday, completely mad. She and a few others were sent on some secret mission. Chiron doesn't think that she'll make it."
Percy and Annabeth began talking about something called 'The Labyrinth' and walking away. "This is what I don't get," said Sholeh, frustrated, "all the heroes work and fight for the gods, continually. So many die and no one even knows their name. Sure there's a few like Theseus or Hercules who are remembered, but everyone else is forgotten, even by the gods."
"And then when you finally hear from your Olympian parent, it's not 'Thanks so much for trying to protect me from the evil Titan lord,' its do this, do that." Leo knew that she was talking about her own parents now and nodded sympathetically. "I mean, at least Hades didn't try to dictate my life, like Hestia did."
"But still it's our duty to protect Olympus, regardless of whatever we go through," Sholeh finished angrily.
"'There is no such thing as duty. If you know that a thing is right, you want to do it. If you don't want to do it--it isn't right'" Leo reached over to push a strand of hair out of Sholeh's face before continuing, "'If it's right and you don't want to do it--you don't know what right is and you're not a man.'"
"Say what?" Sholeh asked him, confused.
Leo sighed. "It's from a book." Sholeh had never read much; her dyslexia prevented that. But then again, the comment had sounded philosophical, and Leo's dad had invented the discipline. "You of all people don't act on command, Sholeh. Your duty is to yourself alone."
She didn't quite see where this was going and simply stared at Leo. "But before you judge Western Civilization too harshly, remember that it is exactly that; civilization. Before the gods, there was nothing. Chaos and disorder reigned under Kronos, but the Olympians brought arts, culture, democracy, order, beauty, and music, to name a few."
"You're right," Sholeh replied with a sigh. "As always."
"Yeah, he has a tendency to do that sometimes," came a carefree voice from behind the two demigods. "Gets it from me, of course." They spun around to see someone around eighteen with blond hair and good looks similar to Leo's.
"Dad?" Leo asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, it's me," Apollo said with a grand motion of his arms. "No need to overwhelm me with your gratitude for coming. There's enough of me to go around."
"What are you doing here?" his son asked in a hostile tone.
"Oh, you know. Just thought I'd stop by… look at… stuff." Leo and Sholeh stared at him skeptically.
"So… nice camp you've got here, dude," Apollo said awkwardly and scuffing his foot against the ground. "Glad my money is being well spent."
"You're not paying for me to go here."
"Seriously, man?" Apollo looked shocked. "Stupid Hermes tricked me again!" The god swore vehemently, while Sholeh struggled to keep a straight face.
"What do you want, Dad?" Leo sighed, exasperated. "If you're not here for any particular reason, I think you should leave."
"No way! This is the most fun I've had in ages! I love talking to you guys!" Apollo enthusiastically yelled.
"Lady Artemis kicked you off Olympus again, didn't she?" Leo asked, a grin spreading across his face.
"Nuh uh," Lord Apollo replied, sounding much more like a pouting child than an Olympian god. "I just… wanted some fresh air," he continued to explain, but the demigods weren't buying it. Sholeh began to giggle, and had to lean into Leo to keep from bursting out laughing.
"So you two are a couple now?" Apollo asked, grinning from ear to ear.
"Yeah," Sholeh replied, moving closer to the demigod next to her.
"Damn," the god said, though he was still smiling. "We would've been great together, babe." At this Leo angrily stood up.
"Leave her alone," the demigod told his father in a dangerously controlled voice. "And I heard that you tried something with my girlfriend!"
"Chill, dude," Apollo replied, apparently not at all concerned with his son's rage. "That was like, ages ago. And you two hadn't even met."
"That doesn't change anything!" Leo began to yell.
"That's how you were born," returned the sun god coolly.
"Well, you're the father of about a billion kids, so maybe you had better start acting like one."
At this, Apollo's grin slowly changed to a disapproving frown, and his tan face was tinged with red. "Just because you're my son, Lev, doesn't mean that I will tolerate this. You have no idea what the gods do for you heroes." Sholeh had always believed that Apollo was the coolest and most laid-back of the gods, but now realized that he had a dangerous side as well. "I think that I'll be leaving now," he continued in proper English (for once), winked at Sholeh, and vanished in a cloud of light.
Wait a second, Sholeh thought before realizing the strange part of Apollo's comment.
"Your name is Lev?" Sholeh yelled (accidentally into Leo's ear.)
"Wait, I think my eardrum has been punctured," joked Leo, before continuing, "Yeah, technically. Stupid Dad insisted that I be named Lev, but it's OK with me as long as everyone calls me Leo," the boy finished and a look of worry crossed his face. "Why?"
"No, I just think it's funny that you've never told me that," Sholeh replied with a smile.
"Well, you never told me your full name."
"I didn't have to! You already knew it."
"Fine, be that way," Leo replied petulantly. Suddenly, an idea came to him and his face lit up in a devilish smile. "And while we're on the topic of names, isn't 'Prometheus' a boy's name?"
"Shut up!" replied Sholeh, her face drained of color. Obviously, her middle name had been a source of much mockery throughout her life.
"No, I don't think that I will," teased Leo. "In fact, I think that I'll call you that."
"Well, then I'll call you Casanova or Lev," the girl countered, crossing her arms stubbornly. "See, I have two choices."
"Okay, fine," Leo conceded with a smile before adding slyly, "Prometheus."
"Stop it!" Sholeh yelled and playfully pounded Leo with her fists.