Rachel, who seemed oblivious to Eirene's silent suffering, nudged her. "So, how was it?"
"I'm sorry, but what did you mean by a love shall perish? Which love? And who saved me from my sleep? Who'll become a threat the reaches—"
"Sorry, sorry, sorry and sorry. But I don't remember anything I just said; it was the spirit of prophecies talking, not me." Looking apologetic, she sighed. "I know that's annoying, but I can't answer any of your questions."
Eirene pursed her lips, reframing from screaming in frustration. She knew it wasn't Rachel's fault, but the lines of the prophecy had scared her to the point where she wondered if she really should take on this quest. But…You shall travel east and find the one who has lied, See him safety returned, your promise abide. That must mean that she finds Dennis, right? That she finds him and brings him back to Camp Half-blood. Victorious in the end you shall be. That line sounded positive…maybe; maybe she could go on this quest after all.
"Um, Er, it's just that—"
"Look, did the prophecy say anything about you failing?"
"No...But it did say someone will perish."
Rachel looked alarmed. "Perish? One of your partners will die?"
"I—I don't know," Eirene sputtered, heat rushing to her cheeks. But it also said I'll be victorious in the end and revive someone…"
Rachel's expression stayed perplexed for a moment, but then softened. "I think you're a-okay for going on this quest, Eirene. The prophecies are never all good, you'll hit some bumps along the way but everything will be alright in the end!" She let go of Eirene's hands and pulled her in for a hug. "No need to be worried," She muttered before letting go and patting her shoulder.
"I suppose you'll want to tell Chiron about it?"
Eirene nodded, stilling analyzing the prophecy in her head. Her and Rachel said their goodbyes as they exited out of the big house attic and took different routes. Finding Chiron over by the stables tending to the horses, Eirene approached him carefully.
"Sir?"
He turned around just as a sleek black horse ate the sugar cube gingerly out of his hand, licking it clean. "Eirene, you've gone to see the oracle?"
"Yeah I met Rachel…and she gave me my prophecy."
He waited. "Well? Anything about you perishing or failing?"
"No but—"
He held up a hand. "Then you are fine to proceed with the quest, since the main goal is fulfilled. I am not supposed to know many details about you prophecy, but I assure you nothing too dangerous would arouse from this—"
"Chiron! Ah, I'm sorry for cutting you off but we do need to discuss certain lines."
He gazed at her wearily. "What was the last line?"
"Um, Victorious in the end you shall be and revive the one who you want to see. But that isn't the line I'm worried about, you see."
"Sorry my dear, but it seems that whatever the other lines seem to say, you'll come out in the end victorious. Everything will be alright, I assure you."
She frowned; feeling a bit hurt that he seemed to determined to not hear her out. But he had a point; the last line seemed to prophesy that everything would be alright. So she agreed to stop worrying and proceeded with her day.
"Geez, why is Chiron being such an ass today?" Travis groaned, running his hands through his hair.
"Well he is, technically." Connor replied, causing them both to laugh.
Eirene blinked. "No he's not; he's a centaur not a donkey."
Connor paused, placing both hands on Eirene's shoulder and slumped his head. "Oh little one," he sighed, lifting his head up. "You have so much to learn as a child of Hermes."
She shrugged his shoulders off, looking indignant. "I'm not a child of Hermes, I'm undecided."
Connor dropped his hands, looking as if she'd slapped him. Travis snorted, faking being hurt. "You didn't have to say it like that, being a child of Hermes has its charms. For example, we are naturally very cunning people, so you'd be glad to have Connor in your little quest gang." he commented. Eirene didn't understand Connor's reaction but she didn't like looking at his expression, so she turned away.
"I'm sorry, I'm sure you're right." She rushed to apologized and change Connor's expression. "We'll definitely need the power of persuasion on our quest, especially with Dennis. I have a feeling he won't be easy to convince to just waltz back into camp with us."
"I still don't want to believe it," Travis sighed. "How could this happen again? How could we let this happen again?"
Eirene thought back to Luke, who had also happened to be a child of Hermes. She could imagine how betrayed and hurt they felt, being double-crossed by one of their own not once, but possibly twice. She knew that the Stoll brothers were supposed to the mischievous pranksters, who flowed on the rhythm of their own boat, but she suspected that once in a while they'd reach out to other fellow campers and get close with them. How many times would their trust be compromised?
"There doesn't have to be a malicious reason behind it, maybe he could've just left. Missed home; felt bad about lying or something."
They both shook their heads. "No, Dennis wasn't the sentimental type. He was confident in the things he did, rarely regretted it." Travis said, looking to his brother to finish.
"He came here for a reason, and he left so soon for a reason," Connor's eyes locked with Eirene's, determination in them. "And we have to find that reason."
She swallowed, nodding. "Should we get on then? Do we have to pack anything?"
There was a sudden knock on the door that drew their attention away from their quest. Travis rushed forward and asked who it was. Moment later he opened the door to reveal Andrew at their doorstep.
"You're not exactly allowed in here, buddy." Travis tried to close the door again, but Andrew used his hand to force it open.
"Look, we eventually have to start going. Leo has invited us to the Armory so he can help us get fitted for armor." His eyes slide to Eirene. "Well, two of us."
Trying to quickly draw attention away from herself, Eirene grabbed Connor's arm and hauled him towards the door. "Andrew's got a point, the sooner we get started the better."
They said their goodbyes to Travis and started on their way to the Armory. Andrew seemed to know the way, so Eirene reframed from asking. She decided to chum up to Connor instead, and ask him questions about Dennis.
"So Dennis, I assume he was a good friend of yours?"
He agreed. "Yeah, he was as close to me as I am with Travis. We got along well; he was funny and enjoyed playing pranks on the other campers. We pulled some good ones together." He smiled at the thought, and Eirene was intrigued to know more.
"Like what?"
He couldn't help it, a laugh escaped his throat. "This one time we caught Percy and Annabeth together; kissing and such, and opened an Iris Message reflecting them to the whole camp. Annabeth was angry but embarrassed more than anything, and while Percy drenched us in water every time he saw us for a month, it was totally worth it."
"Ah yes, exploit a couple's personal affairs to the whole camp just for a chuckle. That is truly a telling tale." Andrew's tone and flat and sarcastic; irritating Connor with his bored expression.
"Oh yeah?" He looked determined. "We once placed a bucket full of glue paste on the top of Apollo's door, so when they opened it—"
"It fell on their heads? A prank worthy of a middle school sitcom," He yawned.
Connor was reaching his limit. "There was this other time when we placed mirrors all over the forest, so during our game of Capture the Flag with the Aphrodite cabin we won because they kept stopping to check for flyaway hairs or smudged lipstick."
This time Andrew actually stopped walking and turned around, giving Connor the once-over. "Are you telling me that the only way you blokes can win a game of CTF is by distracting the other team?"
Eirene had to intervene at this point when she was convinced Connor was going to jump on Andrew and attempt to pummel him. "Woah Woah, okay, that's enough. Let's just concentrate on getting to the armory." She had her hands on both their chests holding them back, when she felt Connor draw back.
He let out a hot breath through his nose. "Fine,"
Andrew smirked, turning around and leading the way once more. Eirene wanted to ask him why he was so difficult, but she reframed. Soon they found themselves located in front of a big metal shed next to the Athena cabin. Eirene sheepishly knocked on the door but got no response. Connor used his fist to bang on it, creating a loud echo. The door soon swung open to reveal a boy with tan skin and curly hair, oil and dirt stains on his face and clothes. He was holding a hammer in one hand and a sword in the other.
"Hello," She said. "You must be—"
"Leo Valdez at your service," He grinned, his teeth shockingly white. He stepped away from the door and gestured them inside, closing the door when they were all in.
"For the sake of introduction, this is the armory; where all your armor dreams come true." He gestured to the wall adorned with all kinds of swords and shields, small and big, flimsy and sturdy, from all different sorts of colours. She thought it looked amazing and incredibly creative.
Leo handed Andrew the sword in his hand. "I know you asked me to custom make you one so I just finished yours just right now. Be careful when handling it." As he said it, Andrew was examining the sword and testing out its lightness.
"Thanks mate, it feels just fine."
"'Just fine?' that's premium Leo-made baby! It shouldn't feel anything less than…than…"
Connor eyed the sword with interest. "Sexy?" He offered.
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