Chapter 8.

I learn how not to introduce myself to people

I woke up early in the morning- I was heading out on my first quest today, and I didn't want to be late. Mom had made sure I knew that in life, if I ever had a presentation, or a class quiz or even a birthday party to attend, I had to be early. And although I wasn't the most organized person, I was usually early for events.

Mostly.

Around half the time.

As I got up from bed, I noticed June had already left, which was weird. I wasn't sure where she was, but I was too nervous to really think about it.

I headed out of the Wolf House. My throat felt tight, and my jaw felt like it was clamped shut, and my mouth felt dry. My skin itched, though there was no reason for it to, and I could feel my heart thump erratically.

I knew with this was. I used to feel the same way before I had to go up before a crowd and give a public speech. But a public speech didn't really pose a danger to my life.

Quests, from what I had heard, definitely did.

I headed towards the armory Lupa had set up near the Wolf House, going in and strapping on a breastplate and wearing my Dub City! shirt over it. Thanks to the intensive training, I was able to go for hours with protective equipment like it was nothing more than a few kilos. Lupa had told me the Greek warriors usually fought without equipment, which gave them more stamina and speed, but less protection. Romans were more organized, and I honestly would pick extra protection over being the first person to arrive at a scene.

I went back to the Wolf House to change out of the Spongebob shorts I was wearing (mom picked whatever she got from thrift stores because we weren't exactly rich), quickly slipping on a pair of jeans and my favorite Jordans (a gift from a friend in Yancy) before running over towards where I figured Lupa would be standing to watch the sun rise.

I dug into my left pocket, feeling the comfort of maelstrom. The coin was metallic and cold, but the fact that it turned into three feet of monster repellent was always something that reassured me. It helped knowing that I had, at least something, going into battle.

I knew I had riptide in my right pocket, but I chose not to take it out. Lupa had instilled in me that I was a Roman. I would fight as a Roman. Live, breathe and die as one. Riptide wasn't a Roman weapon, and though I knew it was a part of me, I would rather use maelstrom.

It felt weird, to be honest. It was like I had two sides to me, one ancient, raw and powerful, while the other was modern, militaristic and disciplined. And I chose to adapt to the latter. Rome had brought me up. Greece had done nothing for me.

As I walked towards the outcrop I figured Lupa would be at, I also remembered that she had spoken about a gift from my father. I wasn't sure what that was, but if the first was anything to come by, it would be good.

My mouth was dry, and I was breathing shallow. It was probably the nerves, but my muscles were shivering in anticipation too. The cold morning did nothing to help either, but I kept jogging, my muscles slowly warming up as the sun began to rise.

Lupa stood, as always, stood on a tallest outcropping of rocks for miles, a few yards east of the Wolf House. She glanced back, and I thought I had seen a ghost of a proud smile, but it disappeared before I could be sure of what I saw.

"Lady Lupa."

"Good morning, Perseus," Lupa greeted, as she jumped down from one of the boulders she had climbed up and crept up to me. Even on four feet, she was taller than me- although I wasn't the same scrawny kid that she had met first. I'd become a few inches taller, and the training she had put me through had paid off- I wasn't sure if I was able to gain muscle quicker because I was a demigod or if it was just that effective, but either way, it worked. Sure, I was no Arnold Schwarzenegger, but at least I wasn't a stick figure either.

"Are you ready?"

I swallowed. "I guess so?"

Lupa frowned. "You guess, child? Rome was not built off of doubt and fear. Remember that I smell weakness. You cannot show any- your enemies will not show you mercy."

I nodded, my face firm. "I'm not going to show them any weakness, Lady Lupa. They'll die before they know what hit them."

She smiled, her canines glistening in the rising sun, looking at me fondly like I was her child. It was a bit weird, because she was still a six-foot tall wolf, but I felt warm inside.

"Go on then Perseus. I give you my blessings. Head east, leave the forest. There you will meet a Roman delegation. You must venture with them."

I gulped. "A Roman delegation? Of demigods?"

She looked at me in a no I meant a delegation of tacos way, and I nodded, "Okay, I understand. But how will I get them to trust me? I mean, how will I even know they're Roman? Do they, like, walk around in togas or something?"

"You will know, Percy. And how they should trust you-show them that you are a Roman. A leader. You will not be accepted immediately by them, but you must be patient. And most importantly- do not neglect the power of a single demigod. No matter who their parent is, every single demigod possess the great power of changing events for good. Or evil."

"Yes, my Lady. I will bear that in mind. Vale mater."

Lupa smiled. "Vale. Be victorious, son of Neptune and my child. the success of this quest depends on you."

I nodded, my stomach queasy at the whole 'this entire thing depends on you not screwing up' bit, but I was confident in my training. I began to turn off towards the east, but quickly turned back to clear a last question.

"After the quest, Lady Lupa, do I join Camp Jupiter?"

I figured it would be the way I was introduced to Camp. Lupa would want me to make a good impression.

But to my surprise, she shook her head. "I am not done training you. This is merely my first test for you. You will come back and train with me."

"I though you trained demigods only for around a year?" I asked, puzzled. Was I taking repeat classes cause I failed a test or something?

"You are not like them, Perseus," the she-wolf said, sighing fondly, "I am not training you to follow orders in the legion. I am training you to lead. Others may learn enough within a few months training. But not you- I will polish your skills more and more till you are an unchallenged leader. Do you understand?"

"Yes Lady Lupa. I understand. By your leave."

Lupa nodded. "It is good that you tarried, Percy. Here," she closed her eyes, and I could feel waves of power roll off her and towards me, "you have my blessing. It will help you reach the other demigods faster."

I jumped back as I felt a foreign force invade my body, as if an orange glow of energy had surrounded me.

I began to feel a tremendous power within me, giving me a powerful feeling of energy like I could climb up a mountain without feeling tired. I looked back at Lupa, figuring she probably had something to do with it.

"The blessing of Rome rests on you, Perseus."

I ran.

The feeling of power allowed me to leap over trees and through the forest, fleet footed as a deer, powerful as a lion. I felt unstoppable, like a superhero. Nothing could stop me as I passed through the forest, covering the miles like a horse.

In the distance, I saw a few wolves gazing curiously at me, but I knew I was too fast for them to consider chasing.

I looked around the forest, which was beginning to come alive as the day set in. It all looked the same- trees, trees and a few boulders and bushes in between. After a few miles, I I saw a nearby creek and followed it, because a wandering group of demigods never strayed too far from a water source.

After a few minutes, I realized that if I looked up at the sky through the trees and squinted, I could just make out a small spire of smoke.

Probably a camp fire.

Which meant a camp of demigods.

I quickly left the creek I was following, heading towards a distant trail of smoke I saw in the sky.

I had barely jogged a few miles before I could hear signs of other people around. Branches were being cracked, I could hear the sounds of something being moved, and I recognized the unmistakable rattling of a weapons pile.

As soon as I heard the voices, the power left.

I stopped in my tracks and crouched behind a bush. The feeling of power had gone, and I suddenly felt very normal. I figured Lupa's blessing was only a head start to get me till here. Now I was on my own. At least, my muscles still felt fresh and not spent.

I glanced through the bushes and saw a small group of demigods in front of me. I could tell they were the people I was looking for because they were all armed to the teeth.

There were a total of six demigods. Three guys and three girls, and all of them carried weapons.

Two of them were standing guard outside a tent, from which the older-looking four had just come out of.

One of them, probably the leader, was reading a scroll in a sing-song voice that sounded like a bad impersonation of Miley Cyrus while frowning.

"The son of the sea shall turn to the west

and lead the lost gods to Olympus' behest

return what was stolen-or else suffer the cost

of the eternal death in winter's cold frost

Titan's strength none shall withstand

he shall be slain by no man's hand-

that's the prophecy?"

"It is, Caleb."

I assumed Caleb was the dark haired guy who looked like a younger version of the Rock- with more hair and less muscle. He had dark skin and thin lips, with a heavy set face and eyes that looked like they wanted to tear you apart.

"We're going to Half Moon Bay based off this? With six demigods- and two of them being probatios? What kind of suicide is this?"

"Claudia told you this was a difficult mission-"

"Okay, but who the hell is this son of the sea and how are we supposed to defeat Koios if he can't be slain by man?"

"I don't know, genius. We'll figure out as we go."

"Not till we get a son of the sea. At least, lets stop on the aquariums on the way."

I took this as an entry and stepped through the bushes before I ducked as a knife flew my way.

"I think I can help with that."

I raised my hands in the air placatingly as six people leveled weapons at me. Perhaps not the best introduction, but I wasn't the best at thinking thorough things either. In hindsight, Lupa would probably have facepalmed at the sheer stupidity of what I just did.

Could wolves facepalm?

"What the hell probatios? Why aren't you being attentive? Are you so incompetent?" The guy- Caleb, I guessed- shouted at the guy and girl outside the tent. I wasn't sure what that mean, but it sounded derogatory.

"I-" I began.
"Shut up. I'll finish screwing these idiots for their stupidity before coming to you."

When I looked at the two of them, they looked at me with despair in their eyes. Really sad- like someone had stolen their lunch, dunked them in a toilet and then made fun of them- and I could relate. They knew they were going to get publicly humiliated.

I wasn't going to allow this. I don't know why Caleb was being so hard on them, or if it was my place to stop him, but I was going to, either way. Lupa did not tolerate bullies, and neither did I.
"I don't think so," I growled, before walking towards Caleb.

The guy smirked. I could see why- he was taller than me, probably stronger, with a weapon in hand. And surrounded by his friends.

But I didn't budge.

"Look, squirt. We're out here doing something important, okay? I don't know how a random demigod like you got lost here, but we're not here for you. Go find your mom or Lupa or something."

I know Lupa taught me a lot about control, but I lost it just then.

A wave of water shot through the forest from gods know where, and jetted Caleb, as the sky darkened.

My abs also began to constrict, as they always did then I used my powers. I focused, breathing slowly to cool my head and stop the theatrics.

"Holy shit, you can control water?"

I turned to one of the guys pointing his spear at me. He looked a little older than me, with an eye patch. He had short spiky black hair and a pale face. He looked Chinese, though his eyes were bright blue in color.

I nodded. "I'm a son of Neptune."

At that, most of the demigods withdrew their weapons, while I drew maelstrom, feeling the comfortable grip of the double-edged blade in my hand.

"This is my sword. A gift from my father himself. It is maelstrom. And by it I will destroy the enemies of Rome- I am Perseus Jackson, son of Neptune and child of Rome."

Caleb frowned. "Okay, you can control water. But how can we trust you? How we know you're not lying? Can you swear it on the Jupiter stone?"

"What's a Jupiter stone?"

"It's an oath. Any Roman who breaks an oath sworn on the Jupiter Stone will invoke disaster from Jupiter himself, who will carry out the punishment on them."

I nodded. It made sense that Caleb wanted me to swear on something as dramatic as that.

It didn't meant I didn't have second thoughts about it. Something as serious as this wasn't something I should take lightly, but I didn't really have a choice at the moment.

"I swear on the Jupiter stone that I am a son of Neptune trained by Lupa and a true Roman."

Thunder flashed in the clear sky, and I closed my eyes, hoping I wasn't struck by lightning.

Seconds passed.

Then a whole minute.

I opened my eyes, to see the other demigods staring at me curiously. I grinned. "Well then, I guess I'm verified."

I wasn't sure what had made me say that, but it evidently was the right thing to say, because the remaining demigods nodded, sheathing their weapons.

"Looks like we have our son of the sea."

I turned towards the girl that spoke.

She was strikingly pretty, with messy golden locks that were tied into a loose ponytail, a pretty face and sky blue eyes. She looked like an angelic version of Billie Eilish, without the dyed hair.

"Uh, hi?" I stammered. I wasn't used to talking to girls in general, and the fact that I'd spent nearly a whole year talking to only two people was hitting me pretty hard right now.

The girl chuckled. "Hey, cutie. I'm Eleanor, by the way. That guy with the eyepatch- that's Nike. The probatios are Melissa and Haniel. The cross-patch is Caleb, and this is Caroline."

"I'm not a cross-patch! I'm just slightly inclined towards violence!"

"Sure, whatever."

I looked around the group, sizing up everyone.

"You're the one we're supposed to take with us."

I looked towards Caroline, who had spoken. She looked like she was my age, with golden hair and a cherubic face that seemed to glow in the sun. Her eyes were golden in color, and she was carrying a spear and a guitar. She had two tattoos- on her left calf was a giant snake, winding around her leg, while on her right calf was a guitar.

"The prophecy harpies told us that we would be greeted by a child of Neptune on our way to the bay."

I thought I asked Caroline what Prophecy Harpies were. It turns out, what I actually said was, "You guys get tattoos?"

The group laughed, while Caleb smirked. "Yeah we do, kid. You'll get one when you earn it."

I didn't really like Caleb.

"Like, everyone gets a tattoo? Or is it paid, or-"

"Percy," Caroline said, gently, "we have a little more pressing task at hand-"

"Like saving the world!" declared Nike.

Most of the group snorted at this, but I nodded. "That we do. And we definitely will- we're the ones prophesied to do so!"

Everyone except Caleb and Eleanor nodded. When I glanced at her, Eleanor smiled. "I hope so, Percy. I really do."

"You hope so? Lupa told me Romans don't doubt themselves."

"Look, kid," Caleb interjected, "you've a newbie here. And so are most of these buggers," he said, pointing out to the demigods around me, "but El and I aren't. We've been to quests before. We've seen our comrades and friends- our closest friends- die before our very eyes. You ever held a dying demigod in your arms before? It hurts. It hurts like hell. So no, this quest isn't going to be a jolly Looney Tunes commercial. It's going to suck, and hurt. But if we save the world in the end, I guess it's worth it."

I nodded, looking around and seeing that everyone else seemed to be despairing at what Caleb had just said.

"That may be true, but that doesn't mean we have to go there like we've already lost."

Caroline nodded. "Stay positive. We can do this, together."

"Never underestimate the power of a single demigod," quoted Haniel, and I grinned at him.

"FOR ROME!" I shouted, "AND TO GETTING COOL TATTOOS!"

"FOR ROME!" shouted the rest of the demigods, and even Caleb was smiling.

They didn't repeat the part about the tattoos, but they came back to life a bit more. It was like they knew they had more of a chance now. And I was glad.

"Pack up, guys! We head to Half Moon Bay!"

As soon as Caleb shouted, the rest of the demigods bustled around the Camp, packing up the tent and their supplies. They were done in fifteen minutes. Which was faster than I usually took to wake up from bed.

I mostly stood and watched. And accepted a bag to carry.

"What's this?" I asked Caroline, who had handed me a small satchel.

"It's a gravestone and stylus. To mark the graves of those that die on a quest, in case."

I swallowed.

"No one is dying on this quest."

"Don't jinx it, Percy."

The Camp was packed up now, and Haniel and Melissa were sweeping the dirt to prevent any signs of our presence being detected. It was like the camp was never here.

"Alright then, autbots, roll out!"

Eleanor rolled her eyes, but motioned me to walk next to her as we set off.

"What's your name, by the way, hottie?"

I blushed. "Perseus Jackson, like I said. But everyone calls me Percy- I mean, my mom and a couple of my friends do."

She nodded and winked. "Alright then Percy, this your first time meeting other demigods?"

"From Camp Jupiter? Yes."

"How'd you tell we're from Camp?"

I motioned around to the moving group. "This level of armor and weapons, not to mention the roman discipline? Where else but Camp?"

The demigod smiled. "That's true."

"The fact that at least four of y'all are wearing Camp Jupiter rocks! shirts was also helpful," I pointed out, and Eleanor laughed.

"True. We Romans do love our propganda. Pity you've never been to Camp- you'd like it."

"I would?"

She nodded. "Anyways, I figure, son of Neptune, you want to know who our godly parents are, right?"

I shrugged. "Sure? I guess. I don't really mind, because if I know one thing, it's that you can be a hero or a villain regardless of who your parents are. It's just up to you."

She nodded. "Righto- you sound like Lupa. Either way, here's the brief: I'm a daughter of Adeona-"

"The daughter of who?"

"Adeona. The goddess of children leaving home- I know, you've not heard of her, yadda yadda. Anyways, Caleb is a son of Mars-"

"I could tell."

Eleanor chuckled. "Haniel is a son of Auster-"

"A son of Oysters?"

"Not Oysters, gods you are silly sometimes," she said, rolling her eyes, "Auster. God of the South wind. Melissa is a daughter of Ceres. Caroline is a child of Apollo, and Nike is a son of-"

"Nike?"

Eleanor shook her head. "That's what they all say. He is, in fact, a son of Mercury."

"Then why the-"

"I don't know."

I took in the demigods around me, and smiled.

"They look like a tough bunch."

"Pffts. You should see our actual legion then."

I frowned. "You're not the best of Camp Jupiter? I thought this mission was important, and that Camp would send its best."

Eleanor nodded. "You're right that its important, but even the praetors- they're our leaders, by the way- know that this is a suicide mission. I mean, come on, taking on a Titan? By ourselves? That's like signing a death wish. But," she added, with a bitter undertone, "that's how the gods work."

I sighed. "I get it. The gods are a pain in the ass sometimes."

Thunder rumbled in the sky, but I ignored it. I turned back to Eleanor.

"So you guys are, like, the outcasts or something?"

She nodded, smiling slightly. "Or something. We're from the Fifth Cohort," she added, like it explained everything, except it didn't.

"Oh," I said, pretending to understand.

I heard Caroline laugh in the background, as Eleanor rolled her eyes and Nike snickered.

I looked back and shrugged. "Guys, come on, I don't know what's going on, alright?"

Nike nodded. "I know. But hey- when we stop to Camp, you need to show me some water tricks, alright?"

I smiled. "Deal."

Perhaps this trip would be alright after all.