The meal I had was pretty good. Fries, barbecue sauce, ribs, the whole works. Now, I'm going to tell you, if someone offers you magically prepared food, usually it's not a good idea to take it, but I was starving and hey, why would food at camp be cursed or poisoned, right?
"Oh god, I could eat this for the rest of my life! How could anyone not eat this?"
"Yeah, say that to Piper"scoffed the girl next to me as she literally inhaled her hotdogs, and that made me curious.
"Why? Is she vegetarian or something?"
"Like, one of the only veggies here at camp. Not many people here stay vegetarian for long."
I changed my attention to one of the other Hermes cabin members, who was sporting a band aid on his left cheek
"So, how long have you guys been here?"
"Me? About a month now, and Leta there," pointing at the girl I had just been speaking to, "she came in a month before that."
"Yeah, and Caspian thought it was a good idea to pickpocket a member of Ares cabin last night, so his face got slashed open."
But Caspian shrugged it off,
"It was my pleasure. I mean, it was just sitting there all alone, I just thought I'd give it company"
And that is why Hermes cabin are some of the coolest campers you'll ever hang out with. Yes, I know that earlier I said that I didn't like their thieving, but besides that they are some of the most badass guys I've ever met, and not in your face about it either, which I can now say is joint first with Ares and Apollo cabin (Don't get me wrong, some of the individuals are great, just the cabins as a whole come off...what's the word? Arrogant, that's it).
As the night grew on though, Chiron stood and we all eventually grew silent. He coughed once to clear his throat and began.
"You may have heard from your head councilors that a quest is in order, and that any potential volunteers should come forward to argue the case why they feel they should go. What you must know however is this," Chiron paused for a second, and then, steadily continued "The prophecy you will have heard refers to a child of the first ones, but we can only speculate what that means. Annabeth and I have discussed it at length but we still are unsure. For that purpose, we ask those who feel they have a connection to this line to step out so we can make a decision by the end."
And I watch as only a handful of campers feel brave enough to stand. A weary member of Aphrodite cabin stood tall, but he seemed quite shy too.
"I think that, well, maybe...I should volunteer"
"Norman, you are most welcome to."
"Th...thanks Chiron"
One of the Hermes cabin lent into my ear and whispered
"Poor kid, he isn't a very confident speaker from what I can see. Looks can be deceiving, though I don't know about this one."
But I was amazed at his courage to stand up in front of everyone, even with his speech impediment
"Chiron sir, I...I know that my mu...mom is the oldest Olympian and that's why I…"he swallows nervously "buh but I also think...maybe we should consider Hecate?"
"We don't get involved that often Norman unless we have to, and our mother hasn't told us anything"
"Oh... okay...I still want to volunteer, It's just that...maybe someone else was better qu...qualified?"
And Chiron thanked him and asked a member of Hypnos cabin who had stood up. She seemed so much more aware than her half brother Clovis, but still had that sleepy look in her eyes.
"My father was a Titan I think, so I consider *yawn* ooh, sorry, where was I? Yeah, I consider myself to be reasonably qualified, though I think someone who was better at combat should tag along to *yawn* yaknow, protect me?"
"I thank you Daisy, but I think you also made a case against it being you. You must be able to at least use a physical weapon competently rather than making other people feel tired."
And Daisy promptly sat down next to Clovis and seemed to nod, but a few seconds later a bonk against wood could be heard as her head hit the table. The daughter of Hypnos had, unsurprisingly, fallen asleep.
And as the night grew colder, a few more volunteers were worked through to hear the case they made, but we wouldn't know who would be picked until the end. I was about to do a Daisy and doze off, but I noticed something amongst the trees. One thing however, it didn't seem nasty, just observant. As I looked at it I felt something, making me feel like I had to stand up.
"Oh, Haxolo, you wish to volunteer? Please, do tell us your reason" I don't know why I said what I said after this, but it felt right, it felt like I was meant to.
"I just feel...right about it. I don't really know, but it just feels like I must go on this quest."
Annabeth stood up to ask me why,
"But you don't even know who your parents are! How are you sure if the quest is meant for you?"
"Do you always know what a prophecy means straight away?"
"No but-"
"Exactly, so what if the quest is for me? I just feel it that's all, surely you have felt the same at one point or another?"
And Annabeth sat back down as she realised that I was right. There are things that you just feel as a demigod and she knew it.
"Well, if we have no more volunteers...I think it's time for a singalong while I try and think about all this…" And Chiron walked off to the other end of the mess hall, and all of the campers worked their way down to the amphitheatre.
"What do you think HaxE? Do you really think that you were right? That you should have volunteered?" Percy came up to me and asked.
"Oh, I don't know, maybe, you've felt like that too right? Just knowing that you've got to do something without any evidence?"
"Yeah buddy, but I haven't felt that way in years. I don't quest that often anymore and I think the Fates know me enough to leave me well alone" He sighs, then goes on "To be honest though, I think I've done enough quests for a lifetime, and me and Annabeth should be going back to Uni next week, so I honestly couldn't help you if you get picked."
"I know, It's alright really, I'll get by, I always have"
The campers had all sung together for about an hour, and as we came to an end, Percy had seeked me out of the crowd to talk to me, though it wasn't that difficult for anyone to spot a tall white haired guy. And he immediately asked me the question. But the last thing I said confused him, as it did me
"What do you mean you always have?"
"I don't know, I just…"
"Nevermind, it don't matter" And the son of Poseidon turned away just as Chiron came walking up, with all the campers wearily watching, ready for his decision.
"I thank all of you who volunteered, but I think the Fates have already decided for us. From my many centuries as a teacher of demigods, I have learnt that instinct is one of the best assets any one of you could ever possess, and evidently, one of you displayed keen instinct this evening.
"Now, I am just as apprehensive as the next person about this decision, but I believe it is the correct one. Haxolo, you should be the one to lead the quest"
Whispers creeped all through the gathering, speculating why such a decision was taken, but they seemed accepting, and a lot of them were probably scared of me anyway, let alone Chiron. He beckoned me to go up to him and face the group.
"As per the custom, you get to pick two quest members to go with you, but be sure that the people you pick are people you can trust, and are willing to follow your leadership."
And I looked down across the campers, and I had a big decision to make. Who should I take? Who would want to go? The prophecy spoke of my friends being my enemies, and my enemies becoming friends, how was I supposed to pick someone who would end up betraying me? But I guess it didn't matter, because I had to pick two people, regardless of the circumstances at hand.
And that was when I spotted the two people I knew had to come with me, and it was either the best decision I ever made since I woke up, or the worst.
"I know I might sound so weird, but to me it's perfect. So Norman? You wanna come?"
"M..me? You barely even know me, and I've never been on a quest b...b...before"
"Oh I figured, but I know it has to be you and me, if you still want it"
"Of course...but why me?"
"Doesn't matter, now, my second choice in order to keep us all in check…" and I seek the one person left that would make everyone so shocked "so what do you say, daughter of Harmonia?"
Well, March was the last time I updated, and I thought that I'd been leaving this chapter for way too long so here you are! So much is about to go up a notch from now on, and I hope you'll be there! Leave a review please, and I'll get the next one out ASAP. 'Til next time, see ya!