Cesar or Tempest here. A shorter chapter today. I stopped with the giant blocks of text and made it more readable hopefully. I'll be changing the format of the previous chapters as well. Also if this means anything I should be making better chapters now that Percy is in camp and I don't have to add that much character development for OCs right now. Hopefully it will come later. Anyways enjoy the chapter.
I was sitting on my boulder watching the ocean churn with Silence. "Hey Silence do you mind if I practice my charmspeak on you?" I looked at the little crow on my shoulder. No response. It had been two weeks since I started practicing. Progress has been slow thanks to Drew's antics. The guy, Percy, woke up. He stays in Hermes cabin. He disarmed Luke in his first sword fighting lesson. Luke said it was beginner's luck. I agree. No way he's already done better than most of us on his first try. "Alright Silence I'll take that as a yes." Concentrate. I focused on my voice. "Excitement." I felt my throat dry. I need to keep cough medicine with me when I do this. Silence began chirping and flying around me. Then he stopped mid air. I caught him barely and he looked at me confused. "Yeah sorry about that. I'll let you pick dinner tonight." I sat with Silence in silence once again. The waves crashing on the shore. It was getting close to dinner. I won't go to the club tonight. I haven't gone there in a week. I've been too tired to go. I got up gently for Silence and headed to Dinner. Nothing better to do. I followed the trail whistling. "To bad you can't whistle Silence. That would've been so cool." Silence cawed in response. I gave him my hand and I held him as I walked. I softly petted him. He was so soft like a pillow.
"You're like an old woman, you know that? I turned around and saw Bea. I continued to pet Silence in response to his delight.
"Long time no see Bea." It was true I haven't seen her since that night two weeks ago.
"Well that's because you haven't taken me on a date yet." That's true. I didn't know what to do and I just brushed it off
"Well I'm already in a relationship." I flicked my head towards Silence. A caw in response.
"Whatever. So are you going to take me or not? You have until tomorrow to take me." Tommorows capture the flag though. I'll have to skip it.
"Okay then." I turned and walked away.
"Unbelievable." Bea muttered to herself. I have to set up a date in a day. I could have Travis and Connor steal me a golf cart and I could take her out of the camp. Or I could steal a Pegasus. I'll just have Travis and Connor steal a golf cart.
"So what do you want to eat Silence? You know the menu." I looked at silence. A brief pause and he cawed once. "Steak it is." For a bird he's quite smart. He's also really young too. If only he could talk. I walked through the woods and Into camp. Most of the cabins were already seated. Except of course the Hermes cabin.
"Is Silence eating with us again?" Cee asked. He looked tired. He was probably out gambling all night.
"Yeah, why wouldn't he?" I already know what he's going to say. He's a bird, that's why.
"Cool, can I feed him?" Nevermind I was wrong. I nodded in response.
"If he lets you. You cool with Cee feeding you?" I looked at Silence and He cawed once, bowing his head. I turned back to Cee "He's cool with it." Cee shook his head.
"Still don't understand how you learned how to communicate with him so fast." I shrugged. It only took a couple hours. Silence is a fast learner it seems.
"Well Silence is pretty smart. So that made it easier." Silence cawed again in agreement. I sat down at the table beside Cee. "He wants Steak today." Cee nodded
"One super smaller very rare ribeye steak and one well done ribeye steak." The steak was on the plate. Still can't get used to how cool that is. "So what do I do now?"
"Just cut a bit of the very rare steak and hold it up to Silence." Cee followed my instructions and held it up to Silence on my shoulder. Silence devoured the steak and cawed for more. I put Silence down on the table. And began eating a grilled cheese sandwich. We didn't get any odd looks. Our cabin mates have gotten used to Silence.
I was eating my sandwich when I saw Clarisse soaking wet. Weird she never goes to the beach or lake. A couple seconds later Percy and Annabeth walk up to their tables. Percy looked a bit shaken up. Strange, maybe the initiation went wrong? I got a pass out of initiation thanks to Hephaestus TV and capture the flag. Dinner remained normal, the occasional caw from Silence and small talk with Cee, Jules and Lou. I picked Silence up, placed him back on my shoulder and sacrificed a new plate of food. I went to my usual spot next to lady Hestia.
"Hello Jaxson. Hello Silence." I did a small bow and Silence did too. I taught him that. I'm quite proud of it too.
"Hello lady Hestia." I sat next to her. I noticed Percy was looking at lady Hestia. Could he see her too? No way. Hestia said campers rarely see her.
"How is your training Jaxson?" Lady Hestia snapped me out of my thoughts.
"I've made good progress with my charmspeak, shifting and mist manipulation. But my swordsmanship hasn't improved." She nodded her head and stared back into the fire. I wonder if she can see the future or prophecies. Like Melisandre.
"You will be good some day. You can't expect to beat people who've been training for years in just a few months." She's not wrong. But it's like I'm not getting any improvement.
"I know my lady. I just want to get better fast." She turned to me.
"Why? What's your reasoning?" What is my reasoning? Why am I doing all this training? Is it to be as good as everyone else? Is it to be better than everyone? I don't know?
"I don't know my lady." She slowly turned back to the fire. The fire slowly getting colder.
"I've never asked you about Hades, my lady. What is he like?" The fire grew at the sound of her brother.
"My brother Hades is quite a shy man. He even before he was married rarely left the Underworld. I remember once Thanatos was kidnapped. My brother ran all across Greece looking for him until Ares found him in Sisyphus's manor. The feast for his return was incredible. So much Ambrosia and Nectar." She looked on dreamily. I really want to eat Ambrosia and Nectar again. It tasted so good. But I can't explain the taste. "My brother also loves his wife Persephone. He has stayed loyal to her for millennia. Never once breaking his oath unlike our brothers. Zeus and Poseidon have always been lustful. Almost as much as the goddess of Lust herself. But where Aphrodite gives a choice to her lovers they rarely do. Which is why my niece Artemis rarely contacts them. Unless the Council is called of course." Pretty diverse group. Not surprised though given the myths I heard from Mr. D. Hestia stood up alert before going back to her cool demeanor. "I'm sorry Jaxson I must go. I've been summoned." I stood up as well.
"It's okay my lady. Have a nice night." She gave me that bright smile of hers and disappeared. I got up off my spot and headed for the club. I walked past the satyr bodyguards. New recruits it seems never saw them before. I went to the Spade's tables."Perfect! Hey Tony was just about to call it a night. Could you hop in?" A young satyr called. His horns are just barely piercing through his hair.
"Sure. Partners or no?" I looked over to the table. There was a decent sum of money on the table. There was another satyr, a demigod son of Apollo I think and a satyr leaving.
"We're playing partners. You'll be with Jay." He pointed to the other satyr on the table. His horns have begun to curl, definitely older than the other one.
I took a seat at the table as Jay began shuffling the deck. He passed the cards around the table and I got my deck. I had the Ace of Spades with a Jack, nine and five of the same suit. Not bad but it could be better. The only other notable cards would be the King of hearts and Queen of Diamonds. Overall a shitty deck compared to what I'm used to. Only thing decent is that I could cut Clubs quite early if I play correctly. I only had a six of Clubs. "How much can you make, Jay?" Jay looked up from his deck and put up four fingers. I'll book one extra.
"We book eight." Hopefully Jay knows what he's doing. A few extra drachmas would be nice.
"And we book six." The young satyr called. He was going to start off. He threw the Ace of Diamonds an instant book. And then he threw the Jack of Diamonds. I looked up at Jay who flicked his finger on his deck. He was going to open Spades. I held off throwing my queen while the son of Apollo threw his king. Jay cut with a two and I picked up the cards. He then threw his Ace of Hearts. I threw a five and looked at Jay. He looked up and flicked his head up asking what I had. I licked my lips, signaling hearts. He threw a four of hearts, a usually guaranteed loss of a book. I threw my king and then threw a three of Diamonds for Jay to cut. He nodded his head and cut with a four. So far we were playing smoothly. But I need the others to throw Spades so I can cut next time.
I pointed pointed to the opponents book and Jay nodded understanding. I then scratched the back of my head signalling Clubs. We would lose this but it will open up a way for me and Jay to continue cutting. The son of Apollo slammed his card on the table when it was his turn. A five of Clubs. His partner was winning the book and he wanted Clubs to be played again. The satyr nodded, picked up the book and threw Clubs again. I didn't want to cut it but we already had three out of the five. If all goes well we could win fast. I cut with a five. Winning the book.
After that book the rest of the game went in our favor. We won almost every book except for two. The final score being ten to three. No bags as Jay bid up to ten during the game. We played two more games until the satyr and son of Apollo left. I got up and shook hands with Jay. "We need to play again someday.
"I'm here every night. I'm not on an assignment. I'll always be at the tables or bar." Guess I got a new partner for Spades.
I left right after and went to my cabin and fell asleep in my sleeping bag with Silence sleeping on my chest. Half of the cabin was already asleep, the others were at the club.
I slept peacefully. Not a single interruption. I woke up to someone patting my shoulder. I opened my eyes and saw the twins. "What do you want?" I slowly unzipped the sleeping bag and got up. Gently holding Silence in my hands.
"We're going to prank the Ares cabin again." I sighed. I couldn't tell who was talking this early. I didn't want to do this today. It was so early in the morning and it's capture the flag. Wait. I need to get a golf cart.
"No I'm not going to do it and neither are you." They looked at me confused or at least that's what I think. "You guys are going to steal me a golf cart." Now they had to be surprised. Silence woke up as well and chirped. I placed him on my shoulder and continued. "I'll give you both ten drachmas each." I wiped my eyes and now I could see them clearly.
"Deal when do you want it?" They answered simultaneously. Ain't a surprise coming from them. Should I get it before breakfast or right before the match?
"As soon as possible. Hide it somewhere discreet please. And tell me where." They nodded. They were quite easy to get stuff from. Pay them drachmas or help them with a prank and you can get almost anything.
"We'll do it. You'll shift us now right?l." I nodded and concentrated. I normally shifted them into male models or a random Naiad. I shifted Travis into young Tom Cruise and Connor into Justin Timberlake.
"There, now hurry up and get the golf cart." They did a half assed salute and walked out of the cabin. Why did I agree to this stupid date? It's too late to back out now. I got up, went to the bathroom and headed to the forge. I opened the door to the forge and it was empty. Beck wasn't awake yet. I grabbed a Post-It note and told him something came up. I stuck it on the door and went to the kitchen. It wasn't really a kitchen more than it was a dishwashing station. I grabbed a plate and walked to the mess hall. I learned this trick from Cee. I placed it on the table and turned to Silence. "What do you want to eat?" Two chirps. He wanted chicken. I ordered some raw chicken and my normal breakfast of hash browns, eggs and bacon. After eating and tossing our plate back into the "kitchen" I started brainstorming. Where do I take Bea? There's a mini golf course nearby next to the golf course. Yeah I'll take her there. "Is taking Bea to a mini golf course a good idea?" Three caws he didn't know what a mini golf course was. "A mini golf course is a golf course with extra obstacles. It also is a lot smaller." He thought for a second and responded with one caw. He said yes. It was settled then.
"Hey we got your golf cart." I saw Travis and Connor sitting in a golf cart. Travis behind the wheel and Connor sitting in the back. How the fuck did they get it so fast? And why did they bring it to the center of camp? I wanted it to be discreet. I took out my drachma pounch and got twenty coins.
"Ten drachmas as promised. How did you guys get it so fast?" They hopped out of the golf cart and grabbed the coins.
Connor counted and Travis answered.
"Somebody left it running and we just took it." Not surprised. I wonder if I'll get caught if I drive it to the mini golf course.
"Well thanks guys. Can you park it right outside camp?" Connor and Travis put the drachmas in their pockets and nodded.
"Sure." They said simultaneously. Then hopped back in and drove away. Now time to get Bea.
"Hey Silence, you wanna race?" One caw. "Well you know the rules." I picked him off my shoulder and placed him on the ground. "To the lake, the first one there decides dinner." And we took off. Well Silence did. I can't exactly fly.
I made it to the Lake exhausted. "I think I'm done racing against you. You're too fast now." Two caws from Silence as he landed on my shoulder. Competitive bastard. I walked over to the lake and tapped on the water. One Naiad popped up. I didn't recognize her. "Do you know where Bea is?" She nodded her head barley above water
"She's at Zeus's fist." What's she doing there?
"Thanks." I got up and walked back into the woods. It was getting warmer. "Hey Silence, can you do me a favor and check to see the time?" Silence cawed and flew off. I really enjoy his company. I hope he looks like a baby forever he's so damn cute. Zeus's fist was probably going to be our defense site. Ms. Chase is smart but why not place the flag somewhere new? Silence came flying back and landed on my shoulder. 8 caws. Damn I need to find her quick I want to talk to Beck after golf. A light jog later and I reached the clearing. The Dryads were sitting gossiping. "Hey Bea! Are you coming or what?" The Dryads looked at me confused. I concentrated and imagined my hair combed and me in a suit. I felt my clothes shift and I looked down at my tie.
"Yeah give me a second!" Bea yelled back. I picked Silence off my shoulder. "Hey you want a suit too?" One caw. Fashionable little crow it seemed. I imagined the little guy in a suit and when I opened my eyes there it was.
"Now you're looking good." I put him back on my shoulder. Bea walked up to me. Her hair neat and in a blue sundress.
"So where are we going?" I shrugged. Don't want to ruin the surprise.
"You'll see. Follow me to the car." I grabbed her hand and began walking towards the camp gate. "You like the suits?" I asked. I had gotten good at shifting so I know they're good. I just want to hear her reply.
"They're okay. You get extra points for matching with your little bird." One caw from Silence. He liked that.
We made it out of the woods and in front of the gate. "So what do you think?" I put my arm on the golf cart.
"It's not a car." One caw from Silence and a nod from me.
"Well it's the best I could get on a budget and with so little time." She shrugged and got in the back.
"You can drive this thing right?" I hopped in front of the wheel and shrugged. I never drove anything but a go cart.
"How hard can it be?" Terror was on her face as I started the golf cart and started driving.
A couple of close calls and pot holes later we reached the course. "I'm walking back! I'm never going to be in a car with you ever again!" To be fair I may have swerved a bit too hard a few times. But the potholes weren't my fault.
"Okay then you do you. But let's have some fun golfing why don't we?" I walked into the little office building. A guy reading a story with a guy with a chainsaw head. "Hey can I get two clubs please?" He looked up and nodded.
"Yeah I can get you some clubs. You been here before or this your first time?" He got up off his chair and walked over to a rack of clubs.
"It's my first time." He nodded again.
"Do you know what sizes you want?" I think two mediums should be fine. Bea walked in right then too.
"Hey, is a medium sized club good for you?" She shrugged. Oh yeah this is her first time golfing.
"Two mediums should be fine." He pulled out two golf clubs and set them on the counter.
"Just to make sure the little guy on your shoulder is trained right?" I was wondering when he was going to acknowledge him.
"Are you trained?" I looked at Silence. One caw. "Well he thinks he's trained. So I think we good." He seemed to accepted that answer.
"Well since this is your first time I'll run you through the prices and basics." After a brief explanation and a quick payment we were outside on the course.
"So I'm guessing you don't want to keep track of points?" She shook her head. "Let's just get started then we'll see." Well then time to show off.
"How the hell did you get ten hole in ones in a row?" She demolished me. Silence was laughing the entire time.
"I guess I'm a natural at it." She shrugged. This couldn't be her first time. She had perfect form and rarely made a mistake.
We hoped into the golf cart. It was almost time for capture the flag or at least I hope so. "I thought you're going to walk?"
She turned and looked at me. "I thought you were going to beat me?" Fair enough. I started the golf cart and headed for camp. The trip back I made sure to drive as good as I could. Avoiding potholes, not swerving and overall driving like a normal person. As we were getting out Bea said one last thing to me. "Thanks for taking me out. I know you didn't want to but you still did. I appreciate it." I made it obvious that I didn't want to take her on a date didn't I. Damn I'm a dumbass. Before I could apologize she was off in the woods. Well shit. I still need to get the the battle. The Athena cabin will kill me if I don't.
I was late. It became obvious when nobody was around. Except for some Satyrs doing there thing. Didn't someone say the our flag is at Zeus's fist? I'll just go there. I began jogging towards the site. The sounds of swords clashing became louder. I heard cheers soon after. Shit I'm to late. I made it to the site and saw a group of people huddled. In the crowd I saw Jules. "Hey what's going on?" Jules turned suprised.
"The new guy Percy just beat Clarisse, Mike, Sherman, Vice and a hell hound." She whispered back to me. What? He beat four of the best fighters and a fucking hell hound? That's bullshit.
"Silence recon." I need to know if this is true. Silence gave a caw and flew up in the sky. I sidestepped around the group until I reached the edge of the crowd. There I saw Percy, Annabeth and Chiron standing in front of a creek. Clarisse and the others on the floor clutching wounds. Suddenly A bright green light appeared above Percy's head. A trident. The Crowd began kneeling. He was a son of Poseidon? I thought he and Zeus were bound by oath? Does that mean they both broke there oaths? I kneeled down to the floor.
"Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God." Chiron announced. We were then all dismissed and told to leave the woods and continue the day as normal. Percy became an instant celebrity amongst the Naiads and campers. Showing once again the flaws of this camp. After a quick dinner of Silence's choice. I stayed at the shore with him as I normally did and practiced my shifting and mist manipulation. I would be lying to say I wasn't jealous. He took the spotlight. He was a great fighter already, son of the big three and he already killed two big time monsters. I guess I'm done training. I headed for the club. Specifically the bar. "Long time no see boss." Nat greeted me from behind the bar.
"Well it's a special occasion isn't it? Not everyday a son of Poseidon is claimed." She nodded in agreement.
"Let me guess your feeling a mountain dew today?" I nodded. She was right.
"You know that I think I'm going to classify your skill as a super power now." She laughed.
I stayed for a while talking with Nat and Jay who I found drunk on wine trying to play poker with some squirrels on top of a tree. When I went to take a piss. After some help from some equally drunk satyrs and some hiding from the poor Dryad who's tree that was, I made it back to the bar. " I'm guessing he's on your tab." Nat asked, smiling. I nodded
Everyone was already asleep except for someone who seemed to be in the bathroom or something. I grabbed Silence who was beginning to fall asleep and held him. I climbed into my sleeping bag and rested him on my chest like usual.
My eyes began to slowly close as I felt myself fall asleep to the snores of my cabin mates.
My eyes opened in the hall where I once spoke to Kronos. He was there once again this time with a table and chair in front of him. "Come take a seat Jaxson. It has been a while since we last spoke." His accent was like a James Bond villain. He snapped his fingers. Two goblets and a jug appeared. As gold as his hair. I obliged and sat down on the chair in front of him. He took a sip out of his cup. "Would you like a drink?"
I really liked how I ended it with Kronos coming back. If anyone was wondering next chapter will be the last chapter taking place in camp. Then Jax will be out in the world doing stuff. Jax really hasn't made any progress in anything other than his powers. Even those aren't as strong as they could be. Mr. D hasn't really been doing much. Just doing Mr. D things. Getting drunk going to clubs and the occasional meeting. Well Cesar or Tempest out