Shorter then normal but a good chapter that is part filler, part great progress... so I am pleased with it.

Determined to see if the Ares kids were going to get any kind of punishment for their blatant attack on Percy, and to see if Chiron was actually worthy of any respect as a teacher, Aaron slipped out of his room in the Bighouse and moved towards the infirmary where he watched as Chiron tirelessly worked over the kids. It was actually quite fascinating to watch, especially towards the end when he poured nectar over Clarisse's broken nose, causing the swelling and blood to fade away almost instantly.

"Better?" Chiron asked her, his tone light and airy but filled with just enough of a pause that left the room tense.

She just nodded, a sigh on her lips. "Chiron, I know that-'

"Nothing, you know nothing as you showed today." With power that seemed unlike the tame Pony boy, Chiron lashed out with his words and caught all of the other's by force. The healer's den, the center of Apollo's cabin with a few cots for the inured, was filled with the small group of Ares' kids that Percy thrashed. Each were filled with shame and fear, a feeling the tripled when Chiron's yelled. "You deliberately attacked another camper, targeted him solely for a pointless revenge because he managed to defend himself from your abuse." His words shifted, losing their heat which seemed to unnerve the campers far more then the heat had. "Your actions are unforgivable and I will not allow them to pass lightly. You each will be losing desert privilege, working in the kitchen for the next month and you will be cleaning out the stables for at least a week each! I will not have you continue this, any of you. Should I discover that you attempt anything like this again, personal attacks or dunking campers into toilets, I will be forced to be quite a bit harsher."

"Like you would." One of Clarisse's brothers, a dumb brute named Arnold, sneered at Chiron. "Your just a monster, we are actually demigods you can't do anything to us."

"Would you like to test that theory?" Ice, pure and potent, magic filled each word and it made Aaron step away from the outside of the Cabin, even if Chiron was trapped in his wheelchair so he could fit into the cabin. "Would you like to test yourself against me? We could spar, If you'd like."

The words actually made everyone, even Clarisse shudder. The brute of a girl proved to be smarter then her brother, turning to glare at him. "Be quiet!" Her voice almost a whisper. "We messed up and we accept your punishment."

Her sudden contriteness rubbed him the wrong way, and he knew something was up.

"Good, I was worried I would have to speak to your father about this."

When Aaron saw the udder despair and terror in their eyes, he knew what he was feeling... and he felt for them.

'So Ares' is abusive... who would have guessed.'

For the rest of his time in the Cabin, Chiron worked over terrified and utterly quiet kids, silently moving to and from each of them as he patched them up. Eventually he finished and started to leave the cabin, causing Aaron to quickly walk away as to not get caught peeping... only for Chiron to call out.

"Aaron, did you need something?"

He froze, sighing internally. " Not any more, no."

"The next time you wish to see if I actually punish my campers for their transgressions, just ask. I do not tolerate foolishness or the abuse of others." Chiron's cold grey eyes locked fully on Aaron, their power almost tangible between them.

"Then don't give me reason to doubt you, sir. After all didn't they get away with attacking Percy in the first place? When they tried to push his head into the Toilet?" Chiron had no words for that and only sighed as Aaron walked away, pleased with his minor victory.

"""

The next morning, Chiron moved Percy out of Cabin Eleven and into Cabin Three. It was sort of sad really, Percy was an intensely social person, so being all alone had to be miserable for him. The next few days were in fact miserable for Percy, even if Aaron personally enjoyed them. He was happy spending time learning magic and practicing with his sword or bow, he couldn't care less about the other demigod kids and their snobbiness. He was getting tired of their comments towards Percy, showing how utterly fair weather they all were.

Life didn't change much for Aaron after Percy's heritage was revealed. He still learned magic from the sardonic yet cheerful Son of Hecate only now his siblings started to help him learn. He mastered his telekinetic abilities pretty quickly, easily able to disarm a lock with a few waves of his fingers. He could make a fire and keep it sustained for a few minutes to his surprise, all due to Alabaster's teaching... however they started talking about finding a specialty one day, where Alabaster's was in short hand casting and runic magic. A daughter of Aphrodite was an expert in Potions and cosmetic magic who taught him all about potions and their ingredients, a son of Demeter was actually a wonderful craftsmen with magic who taught him the ins and outs of magical metals and how they best absorbed magic and for what purposes. They urged him to find his own place in magic, he was considering healing, as he had told Chiron, for his skill which they seemed to appreciate.

He had also, somehow, managed to learn and barely manage to cast a few other spells such the minor pain relief and healing spell, plant revival and the basic warding spell. Magic wasn't actually super hard, on a micro scale, but as Alabaster said it that due to his Talisman. Channeling Hecate's magic was like having training wheels on, the magic just naturally was designed for casting spells and so on so it flowed towards what he wanted. This was proven when he tried and failed to create his first potions, which required a steady hand, perfect mixtures and conditions to cast. He eventually managed, on the third day, to make a minor burn salve but even that had taken him serious effort as he was not being given training wheels for that... or the runic warding, but he had a knack for those it turned out so he wasn't as screwed when casting them.

He was miles away from divination or a major prayer spell, for those he still had to not just learn the spells he had learned but actually master them and gain a sensitivity to magic to safely cast them. Alabaster said it could take months, or even a whole year for him to gain sensitivity to magic, or maybe he would never actually become sensitive, some people just weren't made for magic. The Talisman, if he never developed anything, could very well run out ending Hecate's blessing, adding to the minor building of stress.

Thankfully Archery was going better, as was swordplay. He was hitting close to the target now with his bow and picking up the basics movements of swordplay at a decent pace. His biggest problem here was his was still fat, for some reason, so he had low stamina and his chubby body made him slower then he'd like. Still he was making noticeable progress and for that he was proud. He was already openly better at Archery then Percy and a few of the other Demigods, which made him smile.

Of course, not everything could remain so good...

;;;

Aaron rarely remembered his dreams, for as long as he could remember that was just a fact. The few he could remember were weird, disjointed and strange... hence why he was so freaked out when, the moment he fell asleep, his vision focused with razor sharp focus. He was running along the beach in a storm. This time, there was a city behind Him. Not New York. The sprawl was different: buildings spread farther apart, palm trees and low hills in the distance. Percy was ahead of him, looking worn down and wet, the crust of salt in his hair.

About a hundred yards down the surf, two men were fighting. They looked like TV wrestlers, muscular, with beards and long hair. Both wore flowing Greek tunics, one trimmed in blue, the other in green. They grappled with each other, wrestled, kicked and head-butted, and every time they connected, lightning flashed, the sky grew darker, and the wind rose.

Aaron didn't know why, but something in him screamed at the sight. It felt wrong, seeing them fight, as if the world itself was at odds with itself. He ran towards them, just as Percy did, only for the winds to blow him back. Percy was only running in place but for Aaron the winds actually carried him away, like he weighed no more then a dried leaf. Over the roar of the storm, struggling in the clouds, he could hear the blue-robed one yelling at the green-robed one,

'Give it back! Give it back!' Like a kindergartner fighting over a toy.

The waves got bigger, crashing into the beach with hate and power, almost high enough to smash into Aaron even in his position near the clouds.

"Stop it! Stop fighting!" Percy's voice somehow reached where he was, his almost friend and brother desperately trying to make his way towards the fighting men.

The ground shook. the sand dancing mockingly. Laughter came from somewhere under the earth, and a voice so deep and evil Aaron felt nauseous. The urge to flee was impossibly strong.

'Come down, little hero,' the voice crooned. 'Come down!'

The sand split beneath Percy, opening up a crevice straight down to the center of the earth. He tumbled forward while Aaron screamed, calling out hopelessly.

"Why am I seeing this, what's the point? I am just a human, what can I do that makes this matter?"

A voice, deep but clearly feminine danced across the world, some of the clouds parting to reveal a moonless sky. The radiant sky, beautiful and covered in stars, seemed to call to him. 'Help him... go with him, find what has been stolen and your debt shall be fulfilled.'

With that knowledge, that divine command, the winds swirled around him and he flew away, flying farther and farther at blinding speeds, so fast in fact that he couldn't tell landmarks or make a guess where he was going. All he knew was that he had no control, someone else was in charge of this flight and it wasn't him.

Then he stopped, suddenly as he moved, the world colliding with itself and he saw a familiar set of Cabins, one silver and one gold and he knew where he was. "Why am I at Camp... and why is it so cloudy, I thought bad weather just ignore this pla-WOAH!" The winds shot back up and he was sent flying fast towards the Big House, smashing through it until finally he was floating over his own body, only something was wrong. He looked pale, and there was blood dripping from his eyes. "What is happening to me?"

'Mortal minds... bound more purely to flesh then not, your body cannot handle astral projection so purely as a demigod, at least no yet.'
The voice echoed once more in his mind as slowly he was lowered into his body.

"A warning next time, then, cause I would rather-" Darkness, a sensation of being squeezed into a led suit and then his eyes opened. Pain was everywhere, mostly in his head. " Ow... hmmm. Okay, so that wasn't fun, but what do they mean I have to go with Percy... better go find him then." Not in the mood to die or suffer more, he quickly got dressed and hurried out of the room he was given.

Thankfully he heard his step brother's voice, not far from his room, and so he moved towards it, determined to answer whatever that voice wanted him to do. A voice, he was pretty sure, belonged to Hecate.

Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews.

This was a fun chapter. Aaron will not go on any other missions with Percy, just the First one for very specific reasons...

Love, your Ninja Overlord,

Mika.