Nico
"She almost let you drown?"
Percy was about to start spitting saltwater. It was the camp counsellor meeting and Nico had been explaining the incident with the gryphon. Truthfully, he had only brought up the almost-dying thing because they hadn't finished tracking the gryphon to its nest. Magical creatures had been as restless as monsters since Gaia's uprising, probably because she had tried to crap all over their habitat. Demigods across the world were trying to restore the equilibrium even if it meant venturing the Mare Nostrum or bandying swords with Shrimpzilla. Leo had started handing out free jars of Greek fire to anyone who took a trip to the Atlantic.
"She saved my life," Nico corrected. "If there hadn't been someone there who could control water, I definitely would have drowned."
Percy didn't look convinced, but he didn't pursue the matter. Possibly because Annabeth was giving him a look. Possibly because ever since their San Francisco water display, Percy and Morris had given each other a respectful amount of space. Nico knew that Morris wanted to get to know Percy better on a human—ha—level because they were both sea god spawn, but Percy wasn't sure he could trust Morris. Nico hoped it was because his own track record of helping Percy out was patchy at best. Gods knew he wasn't exactly known for having trustworthy friends. Or any friends.
Hazel liked Morris though, which meant a lot. She and Frank were back at Camp Jupiter and Percy and Annabeth were joining them later that day. One thing Nico did not miss about the Twelfth Legion was their insistence that everyone upheld the rules and praetors attend every senate meeting, but these days it was totally normal for demigods from one camp to hang out in another… presuming they upheld the rules. Percy had so far broken most of Camp Jupiter's, which Reyna wasn't pleased about. Apparently she had given him a talking-to about how he was supposed to set the example, not be the example. Morris had already decided she preferred Camp Half-Blood, although the campers hadn't all decided they liked her.
Chiron motioned Nico aside after the group had broken up. "Give the campers some time to warm up to Morris," he suggested gently. "They have been through a lot these last few years. It's only natural that they should be suspicious."
"I know." Nico liked Chiron the best out of all the camp leaders, except maybe Frank. Chiron knew almost exactly what to say to help you find the solution to a problem by yourself and didn't make a big deal out of his students' struggles. He had been coaching Morris one-on-one, catching her up on some of the skills and knowledge she had missed during her childhood.
Morris herself had gone to train after the meeting ended. She attended camp classes with the other demigods as much as possible. She liked meeting other half-bloods and she had been far more in control of her powers and her temper since staying at camp. She had even played war games with the demigods at Camp Jupiter and avoided actually killing anyone, while ensuring the Fifth Cohort an easy victory (she summoned a raincloud from the valley and dispersed it as foggy rain to confuse their opponents. Technically speaking, she wasn't supposed to impede upon Jupiter's domain, but, technically speaking, Oceanus was older than Jupiter and the gods were clearly having an off-day, because all they did was charge the rain with static electricity so everyone on the field was given a mini-shock via drizzle).
"Why don't you take some time away from the camps?" Chiron suggested, reading Nico's thoughts. "Go back to Europe and continue tracking gryphons. Or take some time off."
"Some… time off?" Nico couldn't comprehend what he was hearing. Demigods couldn't take time off because if they did, usually that was when they died. Gruesomely. At the hands of a monster.
Chiron's eyes sparkled. "Yes. After all… if you want to get to know European demigods and monsters, you should start by getting to know Europe."
Bahaha so short and sweet. Thanks again to Cerulaen (whose name I misspelt in the last chapter)!