Leo immediately jumped up to grab it, but Piper got there first, she didn't even want to know how much of the story Leo would 'improve' as he went.
Hestia shook her head before announcing this next to be the last chapter for the night.
Chapter seven: My Dinner Goes up in Smoke
There was a sneeze from the corner, and when people turned to see who it was, they were shocked to see seven people sitting in the corner. All of them were wearing hoods, so you couldn't see their faces, but they were sitting in a way similar to the other future kids, like they were relaxed, but would be in action within a second if need be.
"WHO ARE YOU?" Zeus thundered. "HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN THERE!"
"You didn't know?" Percy asked shocked.
"Yeah, they've been there the whole time." Percy continued. Poseidon, Amphitrite, and Triton all nodded in agreement.
"Why didn't they say anything when we first got here? And why didn't any of you say anything?" Athena asked, confused.
They all shrugged. "We saw them get a separate note from the rest of us, when they didn't say anything, we figured they were ordered to hide their identities." Percy said. The others nodded.
When everyone turned to the Mysterious Seven (MS), they nodded and indicated that Percy was correct. They didn't speak though, if they spoke, they ran the risk of their voices being recognized, and the Fates told them to keep their identities hidden for as long as possible. The Fates wanted the people in the throne room to focus on the books about the Titan War right now. They would reveal who they were when they started the books about the Giant War. When they got to that point, the Fates would send the Seven who had yet to fight the Giant War back to their times, leaving the Argo II crew to explain stuff like the Seven were now.
(Word of the bathroom... much dripping wet.)
"Sorry about that... again..." Percy said.
Annabeth smiled at him and kissed him on the cheek.
Aphrodite squealed in joy at the sight.
She showed me a... the top fast enough.)
The Romans and Percy looked impressed with the climbing wall. Percy was actually bouncing in excitement at the thought of climbing that thing. Percy had his hand on his mother's arm in an effort to keep her calm so she didn't freak out over how dangerous the wall sounded.
"It's either we learn how to dodge and stuff on the wall or we learn how to dodge in the middle of a fight against a monster." He whispered in her ear.
(Finally we returned to... "It wasn't my fault.")
A few people snorted. "It's always your fault, Prissy."
Percy pouted.
(She looked at me... with the plumbing.)
Everyone burst out laughing. Several of the more immature readers fell out of their seats and onto the floor. Everyone who wasn't too far gone noticed that the MS had fists stuffed in mouths to keep themselves from joining them all on the floor. Percy's face was slightly red.
"You, good sir, have..."
"...an amazing way with words." The Stolls said when everyone calmed down a little.
The Percy's both stood up and took a bow.
("You need to talk... I'll ask Chiron.")
Leo frowned. "I'm sorry, did you just call Rachel a 'what'?"
"This all was before me. Percy doesn't even meet me until the... third book?" Rachel asked.
Percy thought about how the books would go if it was one quest per book, and nodded. That would be the third book.
(I stared into the... answer for once.)
Percy sighed. "Story of my life." He grumbled.
(I wasn't expecting... a long-lost friend.)
"You are kind of like a long-lost friend with them... I always knew every year when you and your mother went to Montauk Beach because the naiads and fish in that area would go crazy spreading the word that they saw the 'young Lord and Lady'." Poseidon said, shaking his head.
"Ah, I was wondering where those rumors were coming from..." Triton said. "If you didn't want his scent to grow, or monsters to be attracted, then why...?"
"Because the longer I kept them away from the sea, the more restless they got. Obviously I limited it to once a year, that was all I could afford too, but... they were always calmer after a trip to the ocean." Sally explained.
Amphitrite nodded. "That would be the Sea in their veins calling to them. I don't know how everybody else's domains work with their children, but children of the Sea are always called to it."
Poseidon nodded in agreement. "It can also affect my children's moods."
"Yes, I always knew when there was a hurricane somewhere before they had it on the news because the children would be especially cranky." Sally sighed.
"Sorry mom."
"Not your fault dear. Its his." She said, glaring lightly at Poseidon. He sheepishly scratched the back of his neck. Everybody noticed that they saw Percy doing the same thing.
(I didn't know what... are terrible flirts.")
Poseidon, Triton, and Percy snorted. "You got that right." They all grumbled.
Amphitrite and Annabeth both narrowed their eyes at their respective male, "Don't worry, Wisegirl, I let them down easy." Percy said when he caught her look, kissing her on the cheek.
Poseidon shrunk into his throne, looking like he was wishing he could disappear into it, when he saw the look on his wife's face. He knew that just because she seemed to have accepted Percy and Sally, didn't mean she was happy.
("Naiads," I repeated... I want to go home now.")
"All that, and its the Naiads that make you want to go home?" Katie asked.
Percy shrugged. "It was all kind of getting to me, this was just the tip of the iceberg."
(Annabeth frowned. "Don't..., mentally disturbed kids?")
All the Greek Demigods looked at each other before they shrugged.
"We do all have issues."
"I think being mentally disturbed is a requirement for being a demigod."
All the parents stared at the kids for a moment before they quietly turned to stare at Piper and wait for her continue to read. They weren't even going to ask.
("I mean not human... Olympians."
"That's... crazy.")
"It kind of is when you think about it. When you don't grow up knowing about this like some of us did." Annabeth said, gesturing around the room.
Those who didn't grow up knowing about the gods; the Percy's, Rachel, Nico, Leo, and Piper- all nodded in agreement. It was very crazy hearing about this the first time.
("Is it? What's the... the last few millennia?")
"No." Artemis said, glaring at the gods. Hera, Persephone, and Amphitrite nodded on agreement with her, all of them glaring at their husbands. Zeus and Poseidon shrunk down into their thrones at their wives looks, while Hades reached out and hugged his wife instead. Sally looked like she wanted to disappear.
Aphrodite just shrugged, she didn't really care what her husband did. How could she when she was usually hanging off her boyfriends arm when he was around?
("But those are just-"... "Then who's your dad?")
"Oh, you do not want to ask her about her dad." Luke whispered.
Athena looked at her daughter, concerned. She knew Annabeth ran away from home when she was young, but she never found out why. Her daughter never talked about it, at least, not that she'd heard.
Annabeth looked at the floor, she really didn't want to discuss her dad, but she had a feeling that it would come up at some point.
(Her hands tightened... How sexist is that?")
"Considering you said that it was the gods who ran around having kids with mortals..." Piper said, emphasizing the 'gods' part.
"I think he had every reason to think your godly parent was your dad considering the way you worded your sentence earlier." Rachel finished.
Annabeth nodded slowly. Now that they mentioned it, she did kind of lead Percy to the conclusion it was her dad who was godly, "Sorry, about that, Perce." She said quietly.
He kissed the side of her head, "It's alright."
("Who's your mom, then?"
"Cabin six.")
"You really expected him to know what that meant?" Jason asked. "The guy just got there!"
"OK!" Percy suddenly yelled. He looked annoyed now. "Let's stop yelling at Annabeth for all of this. She lived there for so long without leaving camp, that she forgot that what seems obvious and what's common knowledge to her about the gods and camp isn't going to be known by a newbie who just learned the gods were real not two hours before."
Annabeth looked at him, and everyone else looked at each other before they realized he had a point. She had been stating stuff as fact that she viewed as common knowledge without realizing that all this was too new to Percy.
("Meaning?"
Annabeth straightened... thought. Why not?)
"What's that supposed to mean?" Annabeth asked her boyfriend with narrowed eyes.
He shrugged, "You seemed like the smart type, so it made sense that your mother was smart."
Athena nodded, then she frowned, she wasn't sure how she should feel about a son of Poseidon being the one to give the compliment.
("And my dad?"
"Undetermined,"... He loved her.")
"That I do." Poseidon said quietly. Amphitrite and Triton glanced at him, and a moment later Poseidon pulled Amphitrite into a side hug, "I love you too, though." She smiled and just let him hold her.
She could see what drew her husband to Sally Jackson. Sally was a fierce protector, she wasn't afraid to voice her opinion, and she did anything and everything she could to protect her loved ones. She just wished that her husband had spoken with her or told her about Sally and Percy before all this happened. She hadn't wanted to find out she had a step-son here, in front of all these others.
(Annabeth gave me... sometimes it doesn't?")
A few of the gods shifted uncomfortably at the looks the demigods were aiming their way.
(Annabeth ran her..., Percy. They ignore us.")
"Hey, that's not..." Ares started.
"Yes, yes it is." Hermes said. Staring at him. He still couldn't believe that they used what happened to him after his daughter died as an excuse to completely ignore their children. Sure, he was devastated, but that was no excuse for them to stop being parents!
(I thought about... But gods should behave better.)
"Yes, yes they should." A few demigods muttered. Hermes nodded along with him.
("So I'm stuck here,"... not a real powerful force.)
"Hey!" Katie, Demeter, Piper, and Aphrodite all yelled, turning to glare at Annabeth.
"I meant in terms of your godly scent. Believe me, I know that some of your children, and siblings, can be quite the force when they have a reason to be." Annabeth said, holding her hands up in a surrender position and hurriedly explaining.
"Well, with my siblings, your statement in the book is actually pretty true, but..." Piper said. "And I wouldn't exactly call make-up a reason." A few demigods snickered at that.
"I know, your one of the ones who doesn't need a reason to fight and be a force." Annabeth grinned at her, she remembered some of what Thalia and Jason told her about their quest. From what they said, Piper fought extremely well and wasn't afraid to get dirty. Unlike her siblings would have been.
(The monsters might... fights. Practical jokes.")
"Um, I'm sorry, did you just say, 'practical jokes'?" Reyna asked. Sally looked like she agreed with Reyna. Monsters should never be anywhere near the children when they weren't on a quest or the Camp being invaded.
"If a monster is summoned for a practical joke, Chiron is always informed ahead of time, and the summoner always makes sure its a monster their target can handle. Besides, not only is it kind of funny to watch the target go off on whoever summoned it later, its also good training." Annabeth explained. The other Greeks nodded.
"Keeps people from getting complacent in camp, too." Percy added. He noticed everyone giving him weird looks, "What? I know big words!"
("Practical jokes?" "The... beads of different colors.)
"Wait," Hazel said suddenly. "Are those a Greek thing?"
"What do you mean?" Annabeth asked.
"Percy's necklace, he was staring at it his first night at Camp Jupiter, especially the bead with the Empire State building. We asked him where he got it, but obviously he didn't remember."
Percy stared at the opposite wall with a stony look on his face, but all the Greeks knew he was just trying to get his emotions under control again. All the Greeks pulled out their necklaces, and after a moment, Percy pulled out his. The only difference between his and theirs, was the probatio tablet on it. Jason, Leo, and Piper stared at them all, they hadn't been there a summer yet, so they didn't have their necklaces yet.
One of the younger kids grabbed the necklace of an older one and started looking at the new beads. "Let's see, there's a trident, is that the Golden Fleece?!" All the futures grinned. "Let's see, a maze... and the Empire State building, with names around it." Connor said, looking up at all the futures. "That's a lot of names. Those kids... they're dead in your time, aren't they?"
All the future Greeks looked at each other before Clarisse grabbed her necklace back and put it back on without a word.
Travis leaned over to Connor and asked, "Did you get a look at any of those names?" Connor nodded, "Well?!" Travis hissed.
Connor looked at him and shook his head. He wasn't going to say any of those names. Especially since Beckendorf's name was on it.
(It was just like... it, like a college ring.)
Annabeth smiled sadly. "My dad's."
("I've been here... come so young?")
"Wow, pushy much there, cuz?" Thalia asked, raising her eyebrows in Percy's direction.
Percy went red, "I was just trying to make conversation."
(She twisted the... now if I wanted to?")
A few of the Greeks waved their hands in a 'so-so' motion.
"Depends on who you are talking to." Luke said.
"If its a..."
"...son of Hermes..."
"...Then sure, no prob." The Stolls said.
"If it's a rule follower from another cabin, then no, you can't leave." Luke said.
"But if it's...
"...A rebel from another cabin..."
"...Then it's only a slightly bigger..."
"...Problem than if its one of ours." The Stolls finished.
Everyone stared at the Luke's and Stolls. Before slowly turning to face Piper again, all of them thinking, 'creepy'.
("It would be suicide... hadn't gone well.)
Both Luke's winced and shook their heads as they reached up to finger their scar. No, last time hadn't gone well at all.
("Back in the sick... do know something?")
Athena leaned forward, eager to learn what was going on. Everyone who had already figured out the Bolt had been stolen (Everyone except Zeus and Athena) stared at her and shook their heads. She needed to her head out of her plans and strategies and he needed to start using his brain more often and stop relying on hers so much.
So far, though, the only ones who had figured out about Percy being blamed for it were the Sea Folk, the ones who were there, obviously, and Apollo. Although Hermes had an idea.
("Well... no. Back at... seemed so normal.")
Athena's eyes narrowed, her daughter was talking about this solstice. The meeting the future kids interrupted. This just confirmed everyone else's thoughts that the Bolt was stolen shortly after the meeting.
("You've been to Olympus?")
"What? You guys are allowed on Olympus?" Reyna asked, shocked.
Percy and the Greeks nodded. All the Romans shrunk back into their seats muttering about how unfair that was.
("Some of us year-rounders...a New Yorker, right?")
"Annabeth, dear, that's one of those things you see as common knowledge that he won't know about because he didn't grow up with it." Sally told her gently. Annabeth blushed when she thought about that, she hadn't thought about it that way, she guessed that she forgot that mortals didn't know how to get to Olympus.
("Oh, sure." As far... not to point that out.)
"Good idea." A few of the guys told Percy.
Annabeth blushed again at the reminder that Percy hadn't known, even when she expected him to.
("Right after we visited,"... something important was stolen.)
Athena growled softly in frustration, "But what was stolen?!" She muttered quietly to herself. If she had thought back to the book title, she would have figured it out, but she didn't. And because she figured nobody would be stupid enough to steal from the gods, she never even considered that it could be one of their symbols of power. She was too proud to admit that something like that could even happen.
Zeus frowned her way, he'd been hoping Athena would figure it out and tell him.
Everyone else who heard her gaped. Wasn't she supposed to be the smart one?
(And if it isn't returned... the rivalry with Poseidon.)
When Book Annabeth mentioned Athena getting along with everyone, most of the council looked at each other and had to look away again before they started laughing. Mostly, they tolerated her.
She tended to be the 'I-know-everything-so-you-will-listen' sort. Just last week she started lecturing Apollo on the latest medical procedure, a medical procedure that he and his son invented together! It had been a father-son bonding project, and Athena for some reason saw fit to lecture Apollo on the purpose of it, the circumstances in which it could be authorized, and how it was supposed to be performed. So, yes. Everyone mostly just tolerated her. She even tried to tell Hephaestus how to put an engine together.
She had her moments where they honestly enjoyed her company, but those moments were few and far between. Poseidon just happened to be the one who tolerated her the least, and he was the most vocal about it.
(But, I mean, aside... ask any more questions.)
"I bet you were overloaded." Sally muttered.
"I honestly think I prefer the way I found out about the Greek world." Rachel said. "Being stabbed with a sword and all. At least I got straight answers."
Everyone stared at her, Percy went red. That had not been his finest moment. Rachel noticed everyone looking, "What?" They turned back to Piper without a word and waited for her to find her place again.
("I've got to get a... tell me the problem...")
Chiron sighed. "Child, I'm certain that if we haven't told you anything by this point, then there is a good reason. Likely, there is nothing you can do about it."
Annabeth blushed and looked down. Annabeth looked away with a stubborn look on her face. Luke and Thalia looked at each other before shaking their heads and looking at Annabeth again. Luke had his head in his hands and was shaking it, mumbling something that nobody could quite make out.
If anyone were to look, they would see one of the MS banging their head against their hands muttering quietly to themselves while the other six watched, amused.
(I could smell barbecue... if drawing a battle plan.)
Annabeth smirked. "I was."
Her siblings and mother smirked too. They practically lived by the saying, 'Athena always has a plan', after all.
(Back at cabin eleven,... peg as troublemakers.)
"Ah," Percy said.
"But it's the ones that..."
"...don't look like troublemakers..."
"...that cause the most trouble." Percy finished. Both Percy's had a smirk on their faces.
The Stolls and other future Greeks all glared at Percy and grumbled about the pranks he pulled. The ones that the Stolls got blamed for.
Luke sighed. "That's true. And its because those are the ones the teachers never watch because they don't seem like a threat." The other Hermes people nodded in agreement. So many pranks and stuff in school ruined because the teachers kept an extra close eye on them because of their looks.
(Thankfully, nobody paid... about the stealing part.)
"Hey, we never kid about stealing." All the Hermes kids and Hermes told him seriously, at the same time.
"Creepy..." Leo muttered. A few others nodded in agreement.
Nobody noticed Percy's face going stony once Luke walked over to him in the book. Both him and Annabeth had agreed later, it was a toss-up over which of them had been betrayed by Luke the worst. Sure, Annabeth had been closer to him and had known him longer, but she had told him later in private that she had known something was up with him for a while, she just hadn't let herself consider what it could be. She'd had a feeling, deep down, that he was going to do something, act on his anger... the one thing she just never imagined was that he would join Kronos.
Percy, on the other hand... Luke had been the first person in a long time, aside from Grover, that Percy let himself open up to. That Percy had given his trust to.
(I said, "Thanks."... wall. "Tough first day?")
"You could say that." Percy grumbled quietly. Annabeth sighed beside him and hugged him from the side.
Luke glanced at him, worried. He knew he kind of hurt Percy, he really didn't want to find out how much. He already knew exactly how much he hurt Annabeth and Thalia. 'Besides,' he decided, 'it's different hearing about the betrayal directly from that person's point of view like this.'
("I don't belong here,"... doesn't get any easier.")
"Well, he was right about that." Percy muttered. Annabeth nodded in agreement.
"Your life was much simpler back then, wasn't it?" She murmured quietly in agreement. Percy nodded.
(The bitterness in his... just about anything.)
Luke looked a little disturbed by something, while Luke buried his face in his hands. Percy stared straight ahead at the wall.
("So your dad is Hermes?"... was going to gut me,)
A few of the futures tensed at that, not that many people noticed. Those that did, narrowed their eyes, but dismissed it as them simply being protective. Only Hermes thought there was more to it, and resolved to speak with his son later.
(but he just scraped...-footed messenger guy.")
Hermes raised an eyebrow while the Romans looked horrified at how Percy just described him. "I think that's the first time I've been called that. And I've been called a lot of things over the centuries." He informed the room.
Percy just shrugged.
("That's him. Messengers... to call me a nobody.)
"What's wrong with being Nobody?" Annabeth asked with a glint in her eye.
Percy and Grover grinned, "Nothing, unless you're Polyphemus." Percy said mysteriously. Clarisse snorted. "I still say you two are insane for doing that." She grumbled.
Annabeth and Percy shrugged while everyone stared at them, while Sally groaned and put her head in her hands. She didn't know what happened that summer, and she didn't want to know. Now it looked like she wouldn't have a choice.
(He just had a lot on his mind.)
Luke flinched. "Yeah, I did." He muttered.
("You ever meet your... with how he got his scar.)
Both Luke's sighed. "Nope, different story." Luke said bitterly. Luke just stared at the floor. Hermes was concerned, he had a bad feeling that Luke did something very, very bad. The feeling started when his older son arrived and the other futures reacted so violently to his presence, but now... he was almost certain.
(Luke looked up and... care of each other.")
"Take care of each other, yeah right. Hypocrite." Clarisse muttered. A few others muttered in agreement. Only Chris stayed silent, but that was mostly because he used to be on Luke's side, until he was sent into the Labyrinth and not expected to come back alive, that is.
Hermes frowned. Yeah, he was definetely talking to his son later.
(He seemed to understand... had done for me all day.)
The other Greeks realized why Percy seemed to have taken Luke's betrayal so hard, while all Annabeth seemed to do had been to deny that he'd been doing all that of his own free will. While Annabeth denied, Percy was obsessed with stopping him.
(I decided to ask... knife. "I hate prophecies.")
Everyone nodded in agreement. "Especially when Octavian is involved." Percy muttered.
Hazel looked over at him. "You're still going on about that?!" She exclaimed.
"He killed my panda! I worked hard to st- er... find that thing!" He yelled, changing his words and hoping his mother didn't notice his slip-up. Sure, she knew that Demigods sometimes stole to survive, but she still didn't like it.
Everyone who was Greek looked at him like he was crazy while the Romans nodded in agreement. "He is a menace to teddy bears everywhere." Reyna said grimly.
Jason nodded. "He destroyed my toy penguin when we were younger, according to Lupa, I had that with me when my mother left me with her." Thalia looked angry at hearing the penguins fate.
"I gave you that penguin for your birthday! How dare he!" Jason smiled at her.
Everyone just stared at the Romans and Percy for a moment while Apollo could be heard muttering the name Octavian, trying to remember where he heard it. "Oh! Octavian, my descendant and camp Augur. Yes, I don't know why he uses stuffed animals instead of chicken liver. I really don't."
Now it was his turn to be stared at like he was crazy.
("What do you mean?"... come on, it's dinnertime.")
"Wow, that is the second time in one conversation you have been called a nobody. You are a real inspiration, aren't you?" Rachel asked Luke sarcastically.
Luke went red and muttered something about Percy being a good kid and not wanting it to be him.
The Future Greeks (FG) all narrowed their eyes at that.
(The moment he said... never heard one before.)
"Your my son." Poseidon said, as if that was the only explanation needed.
Which, when they all thought about it, it kinda was.
(Luke yelled, "Eleven, fall in!"... as the sun went down.)
Artemis looked proud of her cabin's description, as did Zoe and Thalia.
(We marched up the... come skipping up the hill.)
"Yeah, that was kinda weird to see the first time." Katie said softly. Chris and a few others nodded in agreement.
(In all, there were maybe... wood nymphs and naiads.)
Piper whistled. "So few? Man."
Annabeth smiled, "This is before Percy made that deal with Zeus, before they even knew that when Percy Jackson wants them to do something, they better do it."
A few gods looked over at Percy, a little interested, while Zeus looked annoyed and slightly more paranoid.
(At the pavilion, torches... half my butt hanging off.)
Hermes started muttering again about how the others needed to claim their kids already. The demigods nodded enthusiastically in agreement.
(I saw Grover sitting... who looked just like Mr. D.)
Everyone who fought the Battle of the Labyrinth looked down in grief, "He smiled the other day. Its the first time he's smiled since..." Chris said quietly.
Mr. D slowly sat up and stared at the futures, silently demanding they tell him what happened to his sons.
None of the FG's would look at him though.
(Chiron stood to one... right alongside her friends.)
"Oh, trust me Prissy. I was in no way over it. Not until Capture the Flag anyway..." She grinned, and it was not a nice grin.
The younger kids remembered the view they walked in on when Gabe first arrived and she'd ended up alone with the thing for almost two hours. They all shivered and resolved never to make Clarisse angry.
A few of them even backed away from Clarisse.
(Finally, Chiron pounded his... want- nonalcoholic, of course.")
A few campers growled at that, they wished they could...
Oh well, the Hermes cabin was more than willing to obtain alcohol if any of them wanted it. As long as they kept it away from the youngrr kids, Mr. D looked the other way about there being alcohol around.
They stopped groaning when Mr. D gave them a warning look before Demeter or Hera started lecturing all of them. After lecturing the kids, they would then get on his case about influencing the children into drinking.
Honestly, like he would care. He was the god of wine. Parties and alcohol were his thing.
(I said, "Cherry Coke."... "Blue Cherry Coke.")
Hazel huffed, "More blue, seriously?" The Jackson's grinned unrepentant.
(The soda turned a... drank a toast to my mother.)
A couple of girls cooed, Percy buried his face in Annabeth's hair at their reactions. Yes, he loved his mother to death, and yes he was probably the world's biggest mama's boy, but that had been a private moment!
(She's not gone, I... place, then someday...)
Hades groaned. "Every generation. Every generation I have to deal with demigods coming to my realm demanding their loved ones back. It's not that I enjoy keeping people's loved ones from them, there are laws. Laws older than Gaia and the Giants, governing life and death. Once you are dead, you are dead. There is nothing I can do. Why can none of them ever understand this?" He mumbled.
Hazel and Nico heard him, and they glanced at each other. Nico technically brought Hazel back to life... his dad wouldn't have to take her back to the Underworld, would he? Hades saw them looking at each other and caught their eyes, before he signaled that he wanted to speak with them after this chapter.
He needed to know how Hazel was here, how she was alive and part of the Fifth Cohort and not in the Fields of Asphodel.
("Here you go, Percy,"... for dessert or something.)
"Nope, sorry." A few Greeks muttered. They had all thought that when they first arrived. Most of them were just a little more vocal in asking their questions.
A few gods looked slightly offended that Percy thought they were getting dessert instead of making sacrifices.
("Come on," Luke told me... the warmest, most buttery roll.)
The Romans looked confused. Why were they wasting perfectly good food like that?
(Luke murmured in my ear,... They like the smell.")
The Romans raised an eyebrow. They didn't do that. Huh, they wondered why the Greeks still did that.
("You're kidding.".. not to take this lightly,)
"Yes, don't." A few of the gods muttered.
(but I couldn't help wondering... smell of burning food.)
"Not quite." Apollo said with a grin.
A few demigods rolled their eyes at him.
(Luke approached the... fat red grapes. "Hermes.")
Hermes smiled softly. Even if he had a feeling the sacrifice was just to keep up appearances.
(I was next... what god's name to say.)
"Don't worry, I'm sure you will be claimed soon. I tend to give my children about a week before claiming them, give them a chance to settle in, let people get to know them before they suddenly turn out to be a Big 3 child." Poseidon explained to the room.
Chiron nodded in agreement. He remembered that.
"Ah, I was wondering." Annabeth said softly while Percy smiled at his dad.
(Finally, I made a silent plea. Whoever you are, tell me. Please.)
"I will. Soon, when you've had a chance to settle in, get to know a bit more of what is going on." Poseidon reassured the room.
"Brother..." Zeus warned.
Poseidon raised an eyebrow. "What's done is done. I'm not going to deny my son just because you don't like that I have one. Besides, as I recall, you broke the oath first. Twice." Snickers broke out throughout the room as everybody tried not to laugh at the look on Zeus's face.
Only the Romans succeeded.
(I scraped a big slice... smoke, I didn't gag.)
The Romans were really confused. Who wouldn't gag at the smell of burning food?
(It smelled nothing like burning food.)
"Huh?" All the Romans were heard asking. The Greeks snickered at them, only to be glared at in annoyance.
(It smelled of hot chocolate... could live off that smoke.)
"We can't. Not that that stops some of us from trying..." Artemis said, glaring at Hermes and Apollo as she did.
They just shrugged. "It was a dare!"
Poseidon smirked. "Yup, and you happened to be the ones to lose the dare." The Percy's looked at their dad, then suddenly burst out laughing. A snort of laughter was heard from the corner the MS were sitting in, and they looked over to see one of them with a fist stuffed in their mouth, stopping themselves from laughing along with the two sons of Poseidon and giving themselves away.
"So that's where he gets it from." A few of the demigods muttered. The Romans were trying to remember why they were afraid of the sea and why they didn't like Poseidon again.
(When everybody had... for our attention.)
Percy and his father winced. They often had to suffer through listening to horses and pegasi complaining over how much concrete and pavement hurt their hooves.
(Mr. D got up with... holds the laurels.")
"YES! That's what I'm talking about!" Ares yelled. The others with children started groaning and grumbling about why it was always Ares and Athena.
"Wait, capture the flag?" Hazel asked Percy.
He nodded eagerly. Then he gasped. "We should have a game while we're here. Say, Future Greeks versus younger Greeks and Romans?" He suggested, bouncing up and down excited. "Oh, but little me has to be on my team though. You know, since he's not a camper yet and all..."
"Wait, since he's not a camper, then he shouldn't play at all. Kid's never even touched a sword before." Clarisse protested.
"I'll give him some training before the game, he'll be in the same boat I was, playing a game with barely any training. Besides, when Nico arrived, we played a game not two hours later, you didn't complain about his lack of training then." Percy pointed out.
Clarisse narrowed her eyes, but was forced to let it go as everyone else around her agreed to Percy's proposition. "Hold up though, why do we have to be with the Romans while you all get to be on your own? There's more of us this way." Annabeth pointed out.
"Because, Annabeth, the Romans will tell you, they do not know how to fight our style very well. And, us older Greeks are more experienced than you. Fortunately for you." Percy answered.
When Percy mentioned the Romans not knowing how to fight the Greek fighting style, Nico started laughing while the Romans grumbled a bit before Frank shrugged.
"Well, your crazy fighting style won us the game, so... and made the First Cohort look like a bunch of newbies... along with the Second and Third Cohorts... Yeah, we had no idea how to fight you." The other Romans nodded.
"That game was basically us getting Percy over the wall and staying out of his way..." Hazel said.
"Is that what happened behind the walls? None of you said." Gwen asked. The two who were with Percy on his rampage nodded. Percy had a smug smirk on his face. The other Greeks didn't know what game they were talking about, but they could guess how it went for the Romans from the look on Percy's face.
Sally sighed. "Just make sure Percy doesn't get hurt when you play. He is younger than all of you." She warned before gesturing for Piper to continue. The entire conversation, the gods just sat and stared.
This kid made the First, Second, and Third Cohorts look like a bunch of newbies? That was different.
(A bunch of ugly... camper today, Peter Johnson.")
The Romans were slightly surprised when the Greeks all shared exasperated, yet slightly fond looks. Especially Percy.
It was strange the things you missed when you were forced away from home.
(Chiron murmured something... I felt that I was home.)
"Camp is home. Home is where the people you care about are." Percy said firmly with a soft smile on his face.
The other Greeks nodded along with him. The MS were seen nodded with him in their corner too.
"Even if you fight all the time?" Jason asked carefully, looking between Percy and Clarisse.
"Somebody once told me that, families are messy, and immortal families even more so." He shrugged. "We may not be immortal," He gestured to his fellow Greeks, "But..." He shrugged again. "He also said you can never give up on your family no matter how messy it got."
Hermes looked up, surprised at hearing Percy say that. That was pretty much his view on his Olympian family, after all. He said that all the time. From the corner, he saw Hestia beaming at the demigod.
(Later in the evening,... borrowed sleeping bag.)
The Hermes children snorted. "Borrowed." A couple of them muttered.
"Yeah right." Muttered another.
Sally pretended not to hear them.
(My fingers curled around... let the bedbugs bite.)
Sally sighed. She wished she could have still been there for her boy, she wished he never had to go through watching his mother be 'killed' right in front of him.
Hera was once again wondering why on earth her relationship with her two sons wasn't this good. Hestia was smiling at the family.
(When I closed my... enjoy my new home.)
"Well, that's not ominous at all. That's the end of the chapter." Piper informed them all, closing the book.
Poseidon and Hades stood up, intent on speaking with their children. Nico, Hazel, and the Percy's were flashed by their father's to their respective rooms before anybody could say anything.
"Luke." Hermes called softly. He waited until he had the older boys attention before saying, "Walk with me. I think we have much to talk about." His other sons reflected that their usually joking and cheerful father looked old right then.
Luke looked nervous but followed his father. He'd had some time to think while he waited for his judgement... he had decided he was tired of being angry.