Just a quick FYI, the Roman Camp will encounter a god, sooner or later, but not until Jason, Piper, and Leo finish their quest, unless it is a private audience since the gods are supposed to be confined to Olympus. And don't worry, Percy is too busy for romance. ;)
Chapter 9
Right now I was in a cramped room (which was driving me up the wall-there weren't even any windows!) flanking Lupa on her left side, with the right flank awkwardly open. No second in command then? Gwen, Reyna and about a half dozen others I didn't recognize were all seated at a rectangular table, which was taking up most of the room's limited space. Romans, I'd noticed, weren't big on interior design.
Lupa sat back on her haunches, like a giant dog. Like Mrs. O'Leary. Gah! I gripped the edge of the table and grit my teeth as someone poured hot metal into my eyes, straight to my brain. The colors all faded away and the room disappeared. Dimly, the part of my brain that was still working wondered feebly what I had done to bring this on. D...do..dog. It was just a struggle to form words, coherent thoughts. All I could string together was pain pain pain.
Five seconds later and the sensation of burning alive stopped.
All that over a dog? I frowned. Or at least the thought of one. Was Mrs. O'Leary my pet back home? Pets were the world to some people, but I just knew (prayed, hoped with my fingers crossed) that I wasn't like one of those crazy cat ladies. No, the importance of my dog had to be related to something else. People I had met or known.
I took a long deep breath and then realized everyone in the room was staring at me, excluding Lupa. Great, now everyone thinks I have seizures and spazz out from time to time.
Nothing like making a great first impression!
Straightening up, I tried to look as big as possible and more confident than I felt. If anyone saw through my bluff, no one called it. I just had a feeling that the moment any of the Romans spotted weakness they'd pounce, like wolves, and strip me to the bone.
"Did you want something?" I asked coolly, or at least I hope thats how I came off as.
Reyna stared at me, not even bothering to be polite. Great, so much for a truce. I grumbled, thinking of my first day here. To my surprise she said nothing. I would have liked it better if I didn't feel like she was trying to drill a hole into my brain.
I swept my eyes across the room, for anyone else I recognized, and saw Gwen. She had a thoughtful look on her face, and didn't seem to notice my prescence. Did her sudden dismassal bode ill for me? Maybe I was just being fatalistic...? Lupa had started the meeting by now.
"Jason has been gone for two days now." Hmm. This was news to me. But I guess when you're an amnesiac, everything is news. "In his abscence, we must carry on."
I could tell that didn't make Reyna happy at all. She looked like she'd rather eat hot irons. I guess she wasn't big on forgiving and forgetting. I scanned the table to see if I needed to add anyone to my People Who Want to Kill Percy list. A striking girl with long black hair and vaguely Asian features and blue eyes was eyeing me with interest like she was thinking how much entertainment I could bring her. Okay...I didn't know whether or not to be creeped out or flattered.
Gwen, of course, was looking bored with the proceedings (I guess her philosopher moment was over) and rapping her fingers on the table. She looked annoyed, but when I caught her eye, she smiled. Automatically I returned the favor. It wasn't hard to be nice to the only person who'd been even remotely pleasant to me.
All the guys had varying levels of distaste on their face. Their expressions ranged from kinda peeved to violently murderous. Gods, I was just not having a good day.
Scratch that. One guy wasn't unbelievably pissed at me. He had dark black hair like mine, but unlike mine, it shined almost blue when the light hit it the right way. His expression was completely neutral. I guess he hadn't made his mind up about if he was gonna join his buddies and lynch me.
"Lupa! You can't do that. Jason isn't dead. Are you suggesting to replace him?"
Reyna objected right away. No surprise.
Privately, I wondered why she was so wound up. Obviously the Jason guy meant something to her. I stifled a groan. Had they been lovers or something?
The pretty Asian girl spoke up. "Reyna, everyone knows that its you. You've been acting as the leader for days." She glanced at her nails, looking for dirt I guess. I never really got why girls did that.
Alright, obviously topic number one was old news. So why were we even talking about it?
"But we also have a new camper. Percy Jackson has proven himself to be worthy. We have come to an agreement. Some of you may already know, or inferred when you saw him call you to this meeting. But if you had any doubt, let me rid you of it now. Percy Jackson is mine. He will not stay in his godly parent's house. He lives with the wolves."
Well that made me feel great. Made me sound like a new cat. Or puppy. But I didn't like the idea of being owned. It was too controlling. Confining. I remembered my earlier conversation (arguement) with Lupa. I remembered why I was doing this-for the unknown loved ones of my past. If I had any. Gods, that would suck if my supposed family and friends were nothing but a ruse to get me to stay here.
At this point, I don't think its necessary to tell anyone that Reyna had issues with this. Her face turned a deep shade of infuriated crimson and her blue eyes seemed possessed. In short, Reyna looked pissed off and scary. Angry girls were always a bad thing.
"What kind of insult is this? You give him this honor after he strikes you down in combat?" Reyna spat. The saliva flew from her lips and struck some unlucky blond kid.
Gwen's eyes, I swear, flashed. My mistake was meeting her eye to eye. I saw visions of grapevines strangling nonbelievers and men acting like animals. People going mad in a wine-tinted world. I'd never thought of Gwen as particularly dangerous, but clearly she could take care of herself. "Lupa was testing him. Are you challenging her judgement?"
That got more murmurs. I was happy that Gwen was sticking up for me, but she was also agitating an already tense group.
"That fight was a strike against her honor!" Reyna's composure was quickly slipping.
The room fell into silence. I saw people exchange uneasy looks but a few people were rolling their eyes. I wasn't sure which actions were more accurate. Was Reyna being a drama queen or had I really done some grave injury to Lupa's pride? Uneasy, I studied the crimson wolf from the corner of my eye. She seemed amused by the proceedings, but whenever her gaze reached the daughter of Mercury her good humor soured.
Ok, so it was just a temper tantrum. If Lupa had really been that insulted I'm pretty sure she wouldn't eaten me by now. From what people had said, she was honoring me, strange as it was, by letting me live with the wolves.
At last, someone spoke up. It was the boy with the dark hair from earlier. "I say we trust Lupa's judgment. As Reyna said, he was able to strike Lupa down. If he is that powerful, the best way to keep an eye on him is to keep him in the custody of the wolves." He said easily.
The Asian girl, who I noticed had a vague resemblence to the boy who had just spoken also chimed in.
"I agree. If we can't trust Lupa, we can't trust anyone."
After that, everyone agreed it was ok for me to crash ouside with the wolves.
I didn't know if that was a point for me or not. I wasn't exactly sure who was keeping the score and it was hard with the ADHD to have a running list of triumphs and losses.
Lupa declared the meeting over, and all I'd done was look like an idiot. At least I knew I could count Gwen as a friend-for now-and might look into the boy on the fence. He might be a potential ally. Something I was running short of, I realized. Everyone filed out, even Lupa, leaving me alone in the room.
Nice to know I was wanted.
((()))
Dinner was interesting. At first, I had headed towards the mess hall, located in the very center of the camp, but a white wolf stood in front of me blocking my way. She (something about her build and attitude made me think it was a she-wolf) was stubborn, and the more I tried to pass her, the greater the irritation in her brown eyes. Finally I gave up, realizing I wasn't going to get to join the rest of the camp.
"So what, I'm not allowed to eat? Is that my punishment for taking Jason's place or something?" I kicked a rock and glared at the ground. I knew that I shouldn't be getting in a foul mood so easily, but something about this place set me off.
I had been talking to myself more than anything, so I wasn't expecting the white wolf to talk back.
"No young hero. Lupa-alpha holds you in great esteem." I gaped for a minute, but then shrugged it off. The Gr-Roman gods were real, and I'd already held plenty of conversations with Lupa. Why should this be any different.
I gestured at the pavilion where kids were sitting by godly parent, at the center of which held a great golden brazier. Before they ate, everyone was going and dumping the best cut of meat or freshed piece of bread into the fire. Making an offering to the gods, I realized. Somehow, I was familar with this. I had done this in the past.
"Then why can't I join them?"
She studied me, ears twitching occasionally at some unknown sound. "Because, you are a wolf now. You live, sleep, and eat with us. Though I must admit it is rather unusual procedure." The wolf huffed and nibbled at her front leg. Wolves get fleas? I wondered. Before I could continue that train of thought she added, "And I didn't think you really wanted to join them. Why are you so insistent now?"
That really was a good question. But I already knew the answer, even if I didn't want to admit it: I was lonely and feeling left out. But then again, going down there and trying to strike up a conversation with Reyna or deal with Gwen's ...oddness, wouldn't have made me feel better.
"I just don't understand why I'm here," I admitted. Not really sure why I was pouring out my soul to a random wolf, but if I was living with them, I guess I would need to learn to trust them. Build friendly relations and all that.
"Because the gods willed it." She said simply.
"Er, thanks." Not really the reassurance it was looking for, but I wouldn't be able to stand it if she gave me pity. I wondered if wolves even understood the concept of pity.
The snow-colored wolf blinked owlishly and then began walking away. She stopped and looked back at me. "Are you coming?"
I kind of just stood there like an idiot-the only thing I'd seemed to be doing lately-and silently considered my options. If I tried to go down, and ya know, eat with actual people, I figured that would ruffle her fur, literally. And I wasn't anxious to find out if the other wolves were as vicious as Lupa. So as usual, I didn't really have options. My only choice was between following her or walking around aimlessly, and even then she might pursue me.
"We don't have all day, young hero, or are you not hungry?"
"I'm coming." Once we set off, I had to jog to keep up with the pace she set. "So, if I'm gonna be living with you guys for a while, can I at least get your name?"
At first I thought she was going to ignore me, like all the other girls in my life. But she did give me an answer without bothering to look back.
"I'm Astoria."
Weird name. But I could live with that.
We passed by the houses set up in two straight lines, like a group of soldiers. It was like a ghost town. Everyone was already eating. Something my stomach made me painfully aware of. After that, we were thrust into the woods. I hadn't realized it before, but almost the entire camp was a forest, with spaces cleared out for buildings. The biggest tree-free space was the arena, on the far east side of camp. We were heading the exact opposite way.
Astoria ran swiftly. The closer we got to our destination, the quicker her pace grew until I was flat out sprinting and praying to Hermes that I wasn't left behind.
Maybe twenty minutes had passed total when she finally stopped. We were in a small clearing in the woods. Except it was natural, and not manmade. That much I could tell. Nothing really set it apart (at least to me) from any of the other clearings in the world. Oh, and there were two dozen or so wolves strewn about.
Awesome.
Sarcasm, if you're a little slow.
I made sure to stick close to Astoria. I didn't see Lupa around, but then again, how much safety did she guarantee me? The other wolves didn't seem hostile or anything. They were just lazing about, either on rocks, or a soft patch of grass, or each other. Only a few lay alone. A dark brown wolf-smaller, and younger looking than the others-was by himself. I considered going over to him, but maybe he was being left alone for a reason. I decided to stay with Astoria until I got a feel for the place.
With the sun setting, the whole place was cast into a mix of oranges and pinks. It was beautiful but eerie. That was nature for ya.
The peace was shattered with Lupa's arrival. All of the sudden, it was like someone had flipped a switch in everyone. They went from solemn quiet creatures to excitable puppies. Lupa was surprisingly tolerant of all the whining, barking, and panting. She let them greet her for a few minutes before growling. I got the feeling that she wasn't angry, just requesting some space. Immediately all the wolves replied. But I could still see a few quivering.
That made me smile-I wasn't the only one who had a problem with staying still.
"This is your new brother, Percy Jackson," she intoned. I think she was projecting the thought aloud for my benefit. The wolves certainly didn't need it. They could understand her body language just fine. "Treat him as any other. He will be the wolf that can walk among the camp for us, a liason between two groups, someone who can open doors."
I couldn't help but wonder if she meant that last part literally or figuratively.
"He is sturdier than most humans, and can deal with any of your rough housing. But be careful not to kill him," she said in amusement, "From this day forth he will eat, sleep, and run with us."
Right now, every single wolf in the clearing was paying attention to me. I didn't know if it was a good thing, or a bad thing.
Later on, I would realize that it was the most normal part of my day.
((()))
Alright guys, I only have on more "pre-written" chapter left, so updates might be longer from now on since I've caught up. It's spring break this week though, so I might get some writing in.
3/13/11
