Next chapter, last in this set of Piper's POV.
Then we're back to Drew's plight, at long last.
Apologies for the length between updates, new job has been rough. Plus, if I'm being honest, I wasn't sure how to complete this chapter but Piper's talk with Chiron finally got written as I had imagined!
Disclaimer: I don't own "Percy Jackson & the Olympians".
There are moments in your life where you have an inkling, which gradually morphs into a realization, that you made a mistake.
More specifically and grander than a simple 'mistake', like the wrong answer on a standardized test, more like when you've come to the conclusion that you've enrolled in the wrong class altogether. Or not only did you step in a mud puddle but that you tracked it in the house all over a carpet that's all your parents have left of a beloved relative. Or when you've not only agreed to a blind date with a sketchy person but got into the car with them and suddenly you don't recognize any of the street signs.
Mistakes like that where you've picked the wrong side of a war, found you've staked your reputation on the wrong side of history, or boxing way out of your weight class. Those sorts of mistakes that felt like climbing a long dark staircase and suddenly missing a step after so many steps in the dark, invoking a sudden paralyzing fear that the fall in the dark would end in a fatal splat.
Got the idea?
Piper had that feeling after she made her well-meaning announcement. And as said, it wouldn't be the first time she'd feel that.
As soon as she sat down, with her new half-siblings staring at her or pointedly not looking at her, other campers abandoned breakfasts to approach. There was a feigned casualness to all of their gaits and gazes that felt as uncomfortable as one of Edmund's come-ons. She was offering to help and now a bunch of them were coming with problems.
And now that they were she didn't have the faintest idea where to start.
"What did people ask Silena about again?" Piper hastily asked Lacy in a hushed whisper she hoped didn't come across panicky.
"Her opinion about clothes," Lacy recited, "boyfriends, girlfriends, art projects, inventory for the camp store, rotations for cabin duties, all the chores around Camp. It was her idea that the messiest cabin had to clean up after meals. Before that they would just pass it around cabin to cabin but then some cabins wouldn't have enough people. The new way got people to clean up and like, make an effort with appearances."
"I got to admit, she sounds pretty spectacular. A real sweet person, I wish I could've met her."
"Maybe it's better you didn't," Karol muttered cryptically. "You might've saved yourself some disappointment."
"Karol-" Lacy pleaded.
"Are you serious right now?" Karol rolled her eyes.
"Are you?" Piper snapped back, feeling any sense of lingering apprehension eclipsed by frustration and disdain for another bratty, spoiled wannabe queen-bee. "Who are you to talk that way about the only Aphrodite girl who, from what I heard, was worth anything?"
"...ouch." Lacy looked away, hurt.
Oh no. "I didn't mean it like that," Piper immediately recanted. "I swear that's just what... a lot of people have been saying."
"Like who?" Another Barbie-doll (Sydney?) demanded, suddenly looking as fierce as any of the Ares children, pink bows and all.
"Why does that matter?" Piper frowned, risking crinkles (wait what?).
"Because either someone out there is badmouthing our whole cabin or maybe you're just a self-hating child of love who's too cowardly to just like, admit it."
A chorus of 'yeahs' and even some fingersnaps.
"Either you're against us or protecting someone who is," Karol sniffed, disdain in every facial tic, "which is pretty much the same thing."
"What exactly am I protecting them from?" Piper snorted, looking doubtfully over manicured nails and primped hair.
None of her half-siblings answered, just stared at her with sudden intensity. Suddenly Piper felt very alone, with these people, her brothers and sisters (as she had to keep reminding herself) the only things keeping the rest of the campers from descending on her with questions. Maybe making them angry at her wasn't the best idea... could be they might be more dangerous than they dressed, though really they'd have to be, or they'd shun her and that alone would make her time here more difficult.
"Clarisse," Piper finally admitted, confidence that none of these fashionable vultures would try to bite her head off if they found out Clarisse, modern-Xena, was the source. They were pretty much just pretty cowards after all, why else would they have been afraid of Drew?
What she didn't expect was to elicit mass, simultaneous groans of either realization or exasperation. Maybe both, she couldn't tell; Karol looked especially disdainful and Sydney (maybe?) nodded knowingly with a smirk.
"Well, of course none of us can match up to Silena according to Clarisse," Sydney stage-whispered. That got some cruel, albeit nervous, giggles from the older girls.
"What are you talking about now?" Piper demanded.
"What are we talking about?" Karol gasped, sarcastic to the extreme. "You mean you don't know? Don't answer that, of course you don't know, you've only been here for like, two, three days. I've been coming here for four years. Drew was here since she was eleven. And anyone with eyes, and a brain, who actually was here long enough to know how things work?"
"So you'd be one-for-three," Imogen added 'helpful' as ever.
"They'd know Clarisse and Silena weren't a thing... but Clarisse definitely wouldn't have minded eating from that side of the buffet table." Sydney nodded knowingly.
And again, Piper felt that 'missed a step' feeling. That was news. "Oh."
"Yeah. 'Oh'." Karol loudly sipped her juice. "So maybe you shouldn't start all this talking like you know what's going down because you clearly don't, got it? Hm?"
"Maybe she already knew," Sydney offered. "I mean, look at how she dresses. And don't get me wrong, if butch babes is your thing like, Clarisse is an eleven out of ten."
"I could be into muscles," Chad remarked absently.
"Oh surprise surprise," Karol rolled her eyes.
"It's all the same in the dark," Tomas dismissed absently, not looking up from his book. First time Pier knew he spoke at the table, and judging by the serious side-eye the others were throwing him, it wasn't that often he voiced an opinion at breakfast.
"Unless they smell," Imogene added sagely, "then it matters in the dark."
"How does Clarisse smell, Piper?" Sydney asked all faux-innocence.
"And does she taste like she smells?" Trinity added, batting her eyes. "Take your time, no rush to answer."
"It's not like that-" Piper began, glaring.
"Why?" Lacey interrupted.
Piper blinked, incredulous. "We just met! It's been what, not even a week? You-"
Expectant stares from the rest of the table. Fine then, apparently that wasn't a valid excuse with this crowd. Good to know.
"-and I have a boyfriend," Piper added, decisively. Thinking about Jason made her forget any embarrassment from perceived social blunders. The thought that he was out there just encouraged her to make sure he came back to a Camp well-run. And the weird dreams about her dad and an ogre with a snake wig seemed ridiculous by the light of day. If any of it was real (which she doubted/desperately hoped) well Jason was literally prince to the rescue, being a son of the king of the gods.
(Absently she wondered if Zeus and/or Jupiter resembled any of the actors who played him in any of the movies she had watched... or maybe is he looked like an all-grown-up Jason. That'd be, in her opinion, much better.)
One of her brothers snorted. Giovani... Geno... what was his name? Whatever, point was he wasn't looking very convinced.
"What? He is." She looked about at the other siblings who were getting very busy enjoying their breakfasts. "He is." Then, belated, she added "and I'm not gay."
"Haircuts don't lie hon."
"Well Jason likes my hair just fine." And as her inner feminist demanded she added "and I'm fine with it and that's what matters."
"He really paid attention to you when you got mom's blessing," Trinity pointed out. "Maybe he preferred that look."
"He did call you a 'knockout'. And I'm sure that's a compliment to like, boxers and stuff." Imogen thought a moment. Knowing Imogen (which Piper was regretfully starting to) she probably could've afforded to spend some more time. Probably wouldn't lead to a halfway intelligent contribution but maybe would've been better than- "So boxers or briefs?"
"W-what?"
"Jason. The boyfriend. Boxers or briefs?" Imogen waited.
They all waited, looking like they were fighting down grins or giggles.
"I'm going to talk to Chiron now," Piper declared with as much dignity as she could muster. "All of you go to your classes-"
"Activities."
"What?"
"Activities. This isn't a school, we're not graded and we're not going to be expelled if we fall behind or anything. What are they going to do? Kick us out? Out of the only place we're safe from monsters? We're children of a goddess. No one wants that, they'll give a warning or give us some chores we can pass along for a favor. Why's it matter?"
"It'll keep you alive. You can't stay here forever, you can't count on favors from other people, and you have to be ready for the world out there. You need this training." Piper looked about at all of them. "Isn't that what this is supposed to be for?"
"You're still alive, you didn't get any training."
"That's different-"
"Is that why you aren't going to go to your activities?"
"I'm going... I am going to attend all the activities same as everyone else-"
"Except you're going to see Chiron now."
"... just get to your cl... stuff on time. I don't want to hear any excuses." She left feeling less in charge than when she started. And it bothered her, more than she'd like to admit, the comments about hair and everything Jason.
They had been pretty serious but... apparently not enough to know boxers or briefs. But there was going to be time for that again, or eventually… right?
Right. She just wasn't rushing anything. Neither of them were. At least that's how she remembered how things were going with Jason.
His smile... laugh... feel of his arms... fireworks and a kiss...
But she never remembered him calling her a knockout, or any pet-names they might've had with each other, even Leo had called her 'Beauty-Queen' plenty of times but nothing playful like that had come up with Jason.
There's time for that, she promised herself.
Walking to Chiron in 'The Big House' proved more like running the gauntlet though.
She wasn't necessary crowded, for the most part they kept arms distance from her, but it still reminded her uncomfortably of walks with her dad interrupted by the paparazzi. Only half these people had superpowers instead of cameras. Neat.
Most of them kept arms distance, yes, but that stopped with a pair of twins with very shifty looking smiles she supposed were supposed to be indicative of innocence. She had been around better actors then to be fooled by them though. "Hello-?"
Before she could think of a word to stop them, a double-decker hug ensued. "It's so good that someone's going to be picking up Silena's old job."
"She was a professional busybody," the slightly shorter twin(?) explained, "but she really tied the Camp together."
"Like a very nice rug," the other nodded.
"And it hasn't been the same since."
"Um, thanks." Piper endeavored to also be like a very nice rug. "I think? Do you have any suggestions for new activities or bonding oh okay bye-?"
They made their way off with high-fives between them.
"You know they stole your wallet right?"
Piper checked her pocket. "Well, now I do."
"Yeah, they do that." That slightly big-boned boy, with the weird name, held out a hand to her. He had short fingers and broad palm, and a politician grip. "Try living with them. Cadmus Vind, son of Aeolus. We spoke before about how, maybe, if you're resuming what Silena started we could do something about living situations."
"Oh yeah," Piper nodded. "Aeolus, the wind guy, right?"
"... wind god, yes."
Piper was sure that wasn't true. "Right um, I'll just-"
"You can do better than him," Edmund interrupted, peering over from behind between the shoulders of some of the other campers each offering their own advice or encouragement. "And you will, believe that. We're not finished our talk-"
Oh yes they were, if she was lucky. "Some other time! Excuse me, just a second, I've got to speak with Chiron."
The barn-sized Big House was double the proportions of the cabins, with the one occupant who realistically couldn't use anything besides the first floor. With the main complaints from Campers being the lack of living space Piper had to admit it seemed terribly unfair... but she also remembered talk of a mummy in the attic or something to that effect. She'd reserve judgement after her talk with Chiron.
Though she didn't expect there to be a live jaguar. As soon as she walked through and saw a jaguar head mounted on the wall she was prepared to give a piece of her mind about animal hunting, only for it to blink.
And then roar.
"Sorry, sorry!" Chiron trotted in, waving arms placatingly before the great cat... head. "I told Mr. D this wasn't a good addition to the decor but he left before we could reach a compromise. Which, come to think of it, is exactly the sort of thing he'd do."
"Is... there another end to that thing?"
"Oh no, just the head."
Piper nodded understandingly, before she realized that just raised further questions. "Er..."
"He misses his master terrible. Dionysus was very cross when he found out what happened to one of his sacred animals and sought to right what was wrong."
"Liking him more already," Piper admitted.
"Yes it's one of his better qualities," Chiron admitted. "Alas foresight is not." He began feeding the live mounted jaguar head strips of jerky.
"... where does the food go?" Piper asked, mildly horrified.
"Right in his mouth like normal... I haven't given it much thought beyond that and I've no desire to solve that mystery."
Piper really couldn't blame him.
"So, you heard about Silena, and you want to continue the work she did." Chiron chuckled. "I have to admit, you don't seem the type."
Piper felt somewhat defensive at that pronouncement. "The type to want to help?"
"The type to organize a prom." Chiron laughed at her expression. "No, I didn't think so. Silena did all manner of things, and sometimes they didn't go according to plan. But the summer we had a prom? That was a good summer."
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why is it important to have a prom at a summer camp?" Piper demanded. "There's got to be more important uses of resources and time. I mean, people are asking me to reassign cabins and start setting up dates-"
"Ah. That. Well Ms. McLean, I should warn you there's no way to please everyone at Camp Halfblood-"
"Not crazy about the name either, it seems really racist... I mean, as a mixed race person."
"You aren't."
That wasn't something she expected to hear. "Excuse me?"
"The Olympians are shapeshifting gods, deities that defy conventional DNA tests. Genetically you would be able to pass for a full-blooded Cherokee." Chiron tilted his head quizzically. "Was that a problem for you?"
"In L.A.? Um," Piper shook her head, "can't say it was."
"And you lived to sixteen without any sort of help," Chiron nodded. "Your father must've taken very careful pains to keep you safe."
"I had very good nannies" Piper dismissed.
Then again, now that she thought about it, her dad always made sure that she never was in the public eye. All the houses they moved to had very high walls, strong fences, and other measures of security. And yes they had gone through several nannies, but there had been some pretty rigorous screening every single time they had a new opening.
"... before the war, the average lifespan for a… Greek demigod was a little less than two decades, with very rare exceptions." Chiron nervously pawed at the floorboards with a hoof. That had to cause scuffs, Piper just knew it did. "I'll admit, it was getting hard to stay… Attached to new faces. I'm glad that some effort was made to offer new protection, and expand the borders of the camp so that new demigods might have a place to live in safety."
He snorted, frustrated. "But now there is so many! Ms. McLean, I got my start teaching one or two students at a time, and they became legendary heroes… Well if they survived. When this camp was founded I was teaching a dozen or so. Now the number is nearly a hundred. All with spectacular powers and a cornucopia of disorders and behavioral issues that often times defies mortal classification. Sometimes Dionysus, Mr. D, was there to help even a little bit. But Zeus in his paranoia has called all of the gods up to Olympus, in an effort to stall something that he knows is coming."
"Why would he do that?" Piper asked in a hushed voice.
"When you're immortal you can't help but see patterns in the world, in the people in it. Events that took place thousands of years ago, or even less than that, they repeat themselves. History repeats itself, and your family stories are no different."
"... I'm sorry?"
"Hm?"
"You seem overwhelmed. I want to help."
Chiron laughed. "Everyone wants to help, just nobody can agree. Silena was a born diplomat, whatever her other faults might've been."
"And apparently she could plan a mean prom," Piper added, a little smile curling at her lips.
"Yes that was very funny, one of my brethren of more wild temperament crashed wearing a prom dress!"
Piper snorted, smiling from ear to ear now. "No! Really?"
"Yes, it wasn't a very conventional prom but at the time not many of the campers were certain they'd live long enough to go to their own."
All of Piper's mirth faded. "Oh..."
"She died very badly, I need you to know that." Chiron sighed. "A monster spitting acid, a drakon, a great scaly worm of a beast, it… It got her."
"O-oh..."
"That isn't my story to tell you," Chiron warned. "You are going to have to ask others, and form the opinion yourself. She was a born diplomat for sure but a very polarizing person when she died. Friends wanted to make sure people knew that she died a hero but… Secrets have a way of coming out. Her greatest gift while she lived was being able to see what was important to others and trying to help them reach some measure of happiness in anyway she could great or small."
"... she sounds pretty great."
"Yes well there is more to the story," Chiron warned, "but that's the most important truth. And if you want to help, if you think you can live up to the best parts of her legacy well... can you promise to see what's most important to your fellow Campers? Or that you'll try?"
It only took Piper a full thirty seconds to think about it and come to a decision. If she had known what was to come, she probably would've given it a little more thought before making a rash promise. "You can count on me, Chiron."
Thank you anyone who's reading this, leave a review if you'd like.
Next chapter will be back to Drew's POV!