"Who is he?" One Percy Jackson asked as he walked with Annabeth around camp. It had not been a good few days since he arrived and he had needed to get away from it all. Between the sacking of Chiron, the fading of Thalia's tree, and the new activities director, this summer was shaping up to be the same fun filled summer as last year.
Annabeth hummed and turned to look at whoever her friend was pointing out. It took a moment for her to place the individual, but when she did she glared at the teenager that was going through various katas that he had learned in Japan. This surprised Percy as usually her glare was only reserved for Ares' kids and even then it was rare. "That, is Alan a son of Aphrodite. He has no reason to be playing with weapons."
When Annabeth mentioned Alan was a son of the goddess of love, his thoughts went where everyone else went. He shouldn't be anywhere near weapons and he was probably using as a reflective surface. He also felt a bit of rage at the older teen as his mother had promised to make his life a bit more interesting than normal demigods as she found him intriguing. But, Percy did something that others tended not to do and he actually looked at Alan, looked at the way he moved. While he knew that he had a lot to learn with the sword, a lot more than he would actually admit as he was a teenager with delusions of grandeur, he knew when he was beaten. The camp always said that Luke was the best swordsman in ages, but Percy wondered if they had ignored the teen in front of him.
"I wonder if-" Percy began, but was interrupted by the lunch bell and when he looked back he saw that Alan had sheathed his swords and was now wiping down before moving to the pavilion. Percy was disappointed that he hadn't gotten a chance to show off, but figured that he would get his chance soon enough.
-Son of Love-
"So Alan, did you want to join the chariot races?" Silena asked her brother as they enjoyed the sun on one of their downtimes. Just because they weren't as flighty as their siblings it did not mean they didn't enjoy the simple things that came from being a child of Aphrodite. While they didn't have to work on their looks thanks to their mother's blessings, it didn't mean they didn't like to try and improve.
"And risk this pretty face?" He asked jokingly. "In truth, not really. I don't know for sure, but I would probably feel a bit constrained when it came down to it. I don't really like fighting from tight spaces and prefer room to move. I don't care if we would be technically moving in the chariot, I couldn't move my body like I wanted to. Why, you thinking about pairing up with that Hephaestus boy?" While he hadn't been around for long this summer, it wasn't that hard for Alan to catch the glances or whispered conversations.
Silena blushed prettily, how else was a child of Aphrodite supposed to blush anyways, before glaring at her half-brother. "Oh, you just don't like the fact that none of these mortals can match the standards of the wonderful Alan," She sighed dramatically at the end. Yet another way that Alan was different from his brothers and sisters was that he didn't make googly eyes at everything that moved. It was a little harsh to his siblings, but sometimes he couldn't help himself think the thoughts of the rest of the camp. He tried to fight it, but he was just as vain as his siblings, just not about the usual things.
Alan just smirked, "You never answered the question."
Silena huffed as she couldn't come up with something to say before putting on her headphones in an attempt to ignore him. Chuckling lightly, he squeezed her shoulder gently, sending a small smile and getting one in return, before he let himself drift off to the sound of the waves. He didn't know his mother's true origins, as there seemed to be two or three different stories that no one could agree on, but every one of her origins had her coming from the vast oceans. While they would never be as comfortable as a child of Poseidon or Triton in the water, or any of the sea creatures, the ocean never failed to have a calming effect on those that took the time to find one. So many things needed to be taken care of around the camp, but right now he was going to enjoy his break. Or at least that was the plan.
Even with the stress caused by the increasingly frequent monster attacks as well as the distraction of the upcoming chariot races, teenage demigods were still able to be caught up in the various grudges and their own personal vendettas. "Are you Alan?" A male voice asked and Alan tried not to curse the person that interrupted his down time.
Opening his eyes, he saw the figures of Annabeth Chase and the new Poseidon son. "Yes, what do you want?" He usually wasn't so snappish, but who could blame him at the moment. It was a rare moment of peace these days.
"I want to fight you," Percy Jackson said without preamble, his hand clutching a pen that he assumed to be a weapon.
Alan snorted in amusement before laying back down and closing his eyes. "No thanks. If you really want to fight someone, go find an Ares camper. They don't mind bashing skulls in at all times during the day."
Alan could sense the incredulous expression on Percy's face and he also felt the slight shift as Silena hid her amusement. Most demigods were always so antsy with their ADHD kicking in, but once again his mother came through for him. Sure, like all demigods he suffered from ADHD and dyslexic, but since the goddess of love was mostly focused on the outer appearances, at least to the average observer, if one of Aphrodite's children were doing something that made them look good the disorder wouldn't kick in. Sunning themselves on a beach was one such activity, so neither Alan or Silena felt any need to move on and do something else.
"What, why don't you want to fight me?" Percy asked, generally confused.
"It's obvious that he's a coward," Annabeth answered with a bit of contempt. It was obvious what Athena thought of Aphrodite and those ideas had been passed on to her children.
Alan moved his glasses down so Annabeth and Percy could see his eyes and then shrugged as he pushed them back up. "If that's what helps you sleep at night, then by all means continue believing this. I won't stop you." As a child of Dite that was able to wield a sword and knife, he had heard it all. After the first year it was like water off his back. It also helped that the two tat had approached him were two years younger than him and one was a child of Athena. "Now would you please move?"
"I want to fight!" Percy yelled, hoping to force the boy that seemed to be so blasé about it. To do this, he uncapped the pen and pointed the sword at the lounging teen. Silena was about to react violently and even Annabeth was taken back by how far this had progressed. Before the two could react or Percy could push his luck anymore, Alan reacted. Knocking the blade away from him with his forearm, he knocked Percy off his balance and rolled to his own feet. Before Percy could regain his balance, Alan was on him again.
Using a few pressure points that he had learned from his time in the land of the Rising Sun, he loosened Percy's hold on the sword and as he grabbed the weapon he tossed the young teen on the ground. Without breaking a sweat, Alan had reversed their positions with the blade lightly resting on Percy's throat and all within a handful of seconds. "There! We fought, you lost, we're done. You may be a natural swordsman, but I didn't see any skill."
"But you surprised me!" Percy argued as the sword moved from his throat.
"Don't really care," Alan shrugged and picked up his glasses that had fallen in all the movement. "You're the one that wanted a fight, you're the one that brought a weapon out here, and you're the one that provoked me. You need to check that impulsiveness or you'll wind up dead quicker than others." Dropping the sword, Alan walked away from the silent demigods knowing that he wouldn't be able to relax anytime soon. Stopping by his cabin which was relatively empty, he grabbed his weapons and made his way into the woods where Capture the Flag usually took place. Since the attacks had started, the forest had been eerily empty as Chiron had led a group of camper in to wipe out all the monsters so there was no pincer like movement to overwhelm the camp.
"Who's there?!" Alan demanded as he finished a kata that he had been taught in Japan. The presence was powerful, but if it was a threat to his home, he was going to defend it to his last breath.
"My, my, so jumpy. Though, I guess there is a reason for all heroes to be concerned at the moment," From the shadows stepped a beautiful woman that would make men stop and drool and women envious as they looked on. Alan did neither of this, but lit up with a smile and moved to hug the woman. "Hello my son," Aphrodite accepted the hug with a smile.
"Mother, what are you doing here?" He asked bewildered, "Not that I'm not glad to see you, but still. I didn't think any of the gods would be allowed to leave Olympus thanks to the problems with Thalia's tree."
"Zeus' laws have never fully stuck to me my son; they are more guidelines than anything. Granted, I do not make a habit of breaking his decrees, but I feel that this is such a time that I need to." Waving her hand, a fallen tree morphed into a comfortable looking couch where she led her son to seat next to her. "There will be a quest soon enough to go after one of the few items that could heal the tree, but healing Thalia is only part of the problem. I have spoken to most of the others on the council, even Hera, and they all agree that there needs to be something in place to prevent such a thing from ever happening again. That is where you come in my son."
"Me, what am I supposed to do?"
"You've heard of Hercules' twelve labors correct? In truth, the legend changed from the original man, who was named Heracles and someone that everyone could look up to, to the pig known as Hercules, but that is neither here nor there and I have a feeling that you will soon be hearing the true legend soon enough. No matter, you remember the task for the golden apple yes, and how he tricked Atlas? Do you remember why he needed Atlas' help?"
"It was because of the Draken right? I think his name was Ladon. His breath was so poisonous and his claws so sharp that no mortal or demi-mortal could get within ten feet of the monster before they were swiftly killed or devoured."
"That's right," Aphrodite smiled proudly, "And Athena says all my children are simple airheads. Those of us that have discussed it have agreed that a Draken would make the perfect guard for the tree so that this may never happen again. A Draken raised properly is much like Cerberus, the perfect guard and loyal to a fault. The creature will never harm a demigod as long as they mean no harm to what his home will be. While the camp tries to heal the tree, the other gods and I want you to find protection for it."
"Alright," Alan agreed without a thought. If others were going to take care of healing the tree, then he would make sure his home never suffered like this again. Besides, it was aggravating to be constantly looked down on by the rest of the campers even when he had saved their asses a few times these past few days. "Am I going on this quest alone?"
"You will be the only camper on this quest," Aphrodite clarified and looked a little guilty to her son. "Unfortunately, you will be joined by a hunter who has had experience with Drakens before and knows how to calm those that you are sure to encounter."
"And I won't die because the hunter wants to get back at me from a week ago by being too slow to calm the monster because?"
"This is more of a request from the gods than a quest. If she allows her prejudices to interfere with any part of this quest and allows you to die when she could have saved you, the full might of the council will be laid upon the hunt. There will be no more hunt and no girl will want to join Artemis for at least a millennium. She may not be the best companion for your quest, but she won't be a hindrance."
Alan sighed, but he knew that his mother wouldn't have allowed the chosen hunter to accompany him if he was in any danger, but that didn't mean he would like it. He would do it though if it meant that his home was protected. "So where am I meeting her?"
A/N: Sorry for the delay, but I just really don't like the second book. I don't know why as it is a good book, but there you go. I also don't like changing too much in PJO until the third book. If you have any suggestions as to where the duo need to go to find the Drakens then leave a review. Until next time!