Chapter 9
"So, how does this work?" Thalia asked, looking at Shirou and Artemis. The three were currently walking through a forest together, their destination was supposed to close, but Thalia was sure that was relative to the two she was traveling with. Unlike them, Thalia wasn't someone who travelled cross country on a whim.
"Well, we should be close to the bounded...the barrier. Honestly, the walk from the road is the worst part. I remembered it being shorter than this though." Shirou answered with a shrug. Thalia couldn't help but sigh. "Then again, we're technically following Artemis, so blame her." She then saw Artemis elbow him, causing him to let out a small chuckle.
"We are taking the route usually reserved for the hunters and myself. Considering you are technically my half-sister, you have no need to travel on the same path as the others. Besides, I still don't like running into male demigods." Artemis then looked up at Shirou. "Also, Shirou doesn't need to be seen by too many people. He'll cause a small uproar."
"I think you're over-exaggerating. I doubt that many demigods even remember me saving them." He replied, scratching his cheek nervously. Artemis let out a small hum.
"I can't wait to prove you wrong." Thalia looked at Artemis with a small smile. She had noticed that Artemis had been growing a bit more comfortable around Shirou. It was actually kind of funny, especially when she thought about the fact that nobody would believe it. Of course, it wasn't like she would tell anyone.
"Why New York?" Thalia and Artemis both looked at Shirou, who was simply looking around the forest. He turned and noticed them looking at him. "What? I never asked Hestia, so I was curious why the gods chose New York of all places." Thalia hadn't really thought about it before, nor had her father mentioned it, so she was slightly interested.
"We follow Western Civilization, or rather, the Flame of Western Civilization. It has traveled from Greece, to Rome, to multiple other places, like England. We follow wherever it goes, since our powers are tied to it. The Flame has settled in New York City for the moment, so that's why we're here." Shirou nodded to Artemis's answer.
"I see, I suppose that makes sense. That makes me wonder about the other pantheons. Though, I doubt that I'd meet any who would be willing to share." He said, before he stopped and shivered.
"Something wrong?" Artemis asked, looking at him with a raised brow. Shirou looked around for a moment, before he shook his head.
"Nothing, just felt something familiar is all." He replied, before he muttered something to himself. However, Thalia was able to see that he mouthed, 'She couldn't be here could she? No, surely not. But that cold chill...' Thalia wondered who we was talking about.
"Um, so, do you think that I'll like it here?" Thalia couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. It wasn't a normal nervousness, it was more like she had grown used to not having to deal with things other children like her did. Granted, it had only been two years, but that made a big difference. Then there was the fact that she was the daughter of Zeus.
"Hmm, considering most children tend to get hostile when my hunters come to the camp, I can't say for sure. However, judging from what I've seen during other times, you should be fine. You likely won't have to share a cabin with anyone, so you also have that going for you." Artemis answered with a wave of her hand.
"I'll have my own cabin?" That sounded kind of awesome. She wouldn't really have to worry about people bothering her when she was alone. Though, she was a bit excited to meet others like her. She knew the hunters and Shirou's children, but that didn't really count.
"Every demigod stays in the cabin of their parent. However, this will only happen after father claims you in the most dramatic way possible. Until then, you can stay in mine." Thalia looked at Artemis with wide eyes. Artemis only tilted her head to the side questioningly. "Better you stay in mine than in the Hermes Cabin, besides, you could likely even stay in Athena's or Aphrodite's if you so wished."
"However, considering their children, it would be best just to stay in mine." She then held out her hand, a silver circlet appearing in it. She then placed it onto Thalia's head, before nodding to herself. "Good, no questions will be asked, especially with your bow." Thalia looked back at the bow tied to her duffel bag.
It was just like the other hunters' bows, along with the quiver, but was also wrapped in black dyed wood from an Ash tree and reinforced with runes. Apparently, that specific tree had something to do with Yggdrasil, so it strengthened them. She was with him when he met with the Dryad that inhabited the tree, and was the one who asked for a small branch from her tree.
She was still quite confused by that meeting. Though, Shirou wished to convey his sincerity and respect to Dryads, as they were nature spirits. Considering that he showed much more respect and reverence when speaking of nature spirits, as opposed to the gods, she had a feeling that Shirou still wasn't a big fan of them.
Athena, Aphrodite, Artemis, and Hestia seemed to be the exceptions to this. She internally sighed. She totally understood though. She quite liked her bow and it was definitely amazing, thanks to the materials. She even had the spear Shirou gave to her, as well as a pretty awesome shield that Athena gave her.
Considering everyone gave her something when she left, she was sure she wouldn't have much trouble. Aphrodite gave her makeup and other beauty supplies, which she supposed made sense. Hestia told her to pray to her whenever she wished to have some of her food, which was honestly the best kind of gift she could have.
Shirou's gifts were pretty great. Her red leather jacket was honestly very cool. Shirou used the materials from the dragon he hunted when they met to make it. Hestia did say that she'd made sure it grew to fit her as she grew up, which was a bonus. A great gift that would help keep her safe, but it was the second gift she was happy with.
The red and silver sword Shirou had shown her long ago, Clarent. It had been altered to match her, but the overall look was still the same, but a little thinner and smaller. Shirou had joked that he might as well give her the sword since she had the red jacket to go with it, but she was pretty sure it was an inside joke.
"Thalia, just remember everything we taught you and you'll be do just fine." Shirou spoke, interrupting her thoughts. However, she happy that he had so much faith in her.
"Please, with everything we've taught her, she'll likely dominate the other campers easily." Artemis huffed, though she knew that Artemis was happy about that. Considering her bow and tiara, she'd likely be associated with her. "And we're here." She added, with Shirou stopping where he was.
"Well, this is it, Thals. Artemis will take you the rest of the way. I was repeatedly warned not to cross the barrier just yet, so I can't go any further. However, considering all the cool magic stuff you can do, you'll be able to talk to us whenever you need. You also have plenty of money, both kinds, so you should be set." Thalia nodded, before she took a deep breath.
"I'll be sure to contact everyone whenever I can." She said with a smile. Shirou nodded, before thinking to himself. He shrugged, before he reached into his own bag and pulled out a small pouch.
"Here, in case you or anyone else needs them." Thalia grabbed the bag, peaking inside and seeing different jewels with runes on them. "You never know when you might need them." He said while rubbing the back of his head. Thalia couldn't help but laugh for a moment. He acted like an overly worried dad, which she supposed he was.
"Thanks, I'll be sure to use them wisely." She replied with a smile. "Well, I'm going to get going now, so wish me luck." Of course, she knew that she didn't need it, but it couldn't hurt.
'Hmm, maybe I should think about bringing the rest of the hunters here. It has been awhile since we've visited. I'll talk to Zoe about it when we return.' She thought to herself, before realizing she may have accidentally been walking a bit fast. "Apologies, I was lost in my thoughts."
Thalia looked up at her, before shaking her head. "It's alright. Shirou does it too." She replied, causing Artemis to let out an amused huff.
"Well, since you're here, remember to try and learn all you can. All in all, this camp is for demigods to learn how to survive and such things. So, no matter how much farther ahead than the others you are, don't grow too complacent. You can still learn a lot here. We've brought you here so you can grow, as well as spend time with other demigods."
"Now, remember, that circlet your wearing is only the second of its kind. So, I expect you to conduct yourself well, Thalia. However, I also want you to stay safe. So, no doing anything stupid, understand?" She asked, looking at her in the eyes. Thalia quickly nodded, causing Artemis to smile faintly.
"Good. Now, come on, I don't have much to do today, so I'll show you around this time." She continued, before looking down at herself and frowning for a moment. She wasn't sure about staying in her current body, but she also didn't want Shirou to see her looking like a child. She knew that he'd make jokes about it, especially since she saw him do the same to Hestia.
"Artemis?" She turned to look at Thalia, before sighing. 'I'll stay like this. I just have to remember not to kill anyone for looking at me. But if someone pushes their luck, well, what Shirou doesn't know won't hurt him.' "Will I be okay here?" Artemis actually looked a bit surprised at that. Honestly, the girl was quite confident and prideful of her skills, yet, it seemed even she had worries.
"We all believe you'll become a great hero one day Thalia, especially Shirou. Besides, you won't be here forever silly girl. So, try not worry too much, and you'll do splendidly." She said, attempting to reassure her sister. Honestly, it wasn't that hard, considering she just had to talk to her like she spoke to her hunters.
For a moment, she wondered if she should have brought Mia along to keep an eye on Shirou. She had noticed Shirou's strange episode. Normally, she would have brushed it off, but it was summer. For him to feel like that, well, her uncle likely could care less about him. However, she knew Shirou had ties to other gods, which begged the question. 'Who did he feel?'
'Wait, why am I even worried about that? Shirou's luck isn't that bad, surely.' Besides, they were close to the camp. No one was brave enough to actually do something so close to the Greek's demigod camp, other than maybe the titans, and that was a big maybe.
"Do you have an idea of what I'll be doing while I'm here?" Thalia asked, breaking her train of thought. Artemis looked at Thalia, before shrugging.
"Training more than likely. The goal of the camp was to train heroes, and to give demigods a place where they could be safe. There might even be the occasional quest, though being chosen for said quest is another thing entirely. Though, after you've shown off what you can do, I'm sure you won't have a problem with that." Artemis replied, before her eyes narrowed in front of her.
They had finally reached the camp, or rather, they could now see the camp. It was the same as it always was, then again, she supposed that made sense. She noticed demigods in the distance, as well as felt some along the perimeter, but ignored them. She was looking for Chiron anyways, maybe even Dionysus, though Chiron would have been a better choice.
Myths and legends often told of great deeds and feats accomplished by heroes of great renown. Their names would forever be etched into history. However, what of Ritsuka Fujimaru and Shirou Emiya? At the end of their journey, no would remember that they averted a crisis that destroyed the world. Two people, two unlikely heroes, who weren't the strongest or fastest or even the smartest.
Yet, they accomplished something greater than even the mightiest of heroes. Shirou's world would not know of his deeds. The thing was, the thing that shocked most who knew the two masters, they didn't care. They didn't do it to be remembered. In the end, all Chaldea had gotten in the end, was a knife in the back that led to his eventual arrival in the new world.
Yet, Shirou walked onward, as he always did. Just like when Sakura died in his arms in the Fuyuki Singularity, when he witnessed the atrocities in France, when he stood tall in defense of Rome despite being outnumbered, when he battled against Heracles on a pirate ship, when he refused to falter when faced with the appearance of the mage king in London, when he was on death's door and only standing with aid from a red spear in America, when he battled against legendary knights in Camelot, or when pushed himself to the brink in the face of Tiamat in Babylonia.
Even a great mage would have likely died, yet, Shirou continued pushing forward. That wasn't counting his battle against Goetia, nor the pseudo-singularities. Throughout it all, Shirou only referred to himself as a simple enforcer. Yet, Shirou still drew the attention and admiration of many heroes. Annoyingly, a lot of them were women.
There were two people who were a driving factor throughout his entire time in Chaldea, two people who Shirou was able to push himself beyond his limits multiple times for, Ritsuka Fujimaru and Mash Kyrielight. They were in many memories and it was obvious the two held a special place in his heart, along with Olga Marie Animusphere and Ophelia Phamrsolone to a lesser extent.
However, trying to actively learn more about them was frustrating to a certain someone. Though, it wasn't too bad. She had gotten curious when Shirou and Hestia had named their son Ritsuka, so it was mainly just that, curiosity. Of course, that curiosity is what led to now, and Aphrodite's current mood. Needless to say, Aphrodite wasn't upset about humans, or whatever Mash was.
No, she was upset for a far pettier reason. "Aphrodite, will you just let it go already? Shirou's here and has obviously gotten far closer with you than her." Athena said with a sigh. "Besides, with everything we've learned over the years, you should know that we each have something like that." For her, namely that Shirou was close with the gorgon sisters, Medusa in particular.
The fact her daughter was called Ana, instead of Anna, was not lost on her when she found out. Shirou seemed like the sentimental type, and her daughter did act like the young Medusa at times. "That's not the point, Athena. I knew Shirou was wary of me until Ophelia was born, but I didn't realize it was because another me had hurt people he was close to."
'Ah, Medea.' That was always kind of odd to her, that Shirou and Medea had such a close bond. Of course, the Medea in Shirou's world did sound like she got 'screwed over', as the mortals liked to say. She would have liked to converse with that Medea, as she was completely different from her world's Medea. Every goddess had met and made certain plans to keep certain people away from Shirou. Medea and Circe were two such people.
"Ugh, the other me sounds like such a bi...bad person." Aphrodite corrected herself, reminding herself that there were children nearby. Athena raised a brow at that. 'I would argue that you were the same until Ophelia was born, even then, it still comes out.' She thought, but she wasn't going to say that out loud and make her more irritated.
"However, that isn't even what bothers me the most. I could feel a sliver of something resembling my domain when we met, but I didn't realize that he had met so many people associated with Venus." The moment Aphrodite said that, Athena felt a slight pang in her head, causing her to scowl. "That isn't that bad, but the fact that I'm not the first goddess of love and lust he's met really grates on my nerves."
Athena let out a sigh. There were so many things they knew now, and had even seen, yet, this was what bothered her? A goddess who was now out of reach and was imperfect in that she needed a human vessel? Granted, she was in a somewhat similar position when it came to Scathach. She didn't know why, but the woman irked her. She knew it was because of the relationship she had with Shirou, but she didn't know why that was, but she wasn't as bothered by it as Dite.
Athena discreetly looked at Aphrodite's body, frowning again. 'Curse you, Dite, now I'm getting annoyed too.' The fact that Aphrodite's form was Shirou's view of a beautiful woman, being an amalgamation of the most beautiful heroic spirits, was irksome. Though, it had a lot to do with the fact that she could see Scathach's influence clear as day, even with the mix.
'It's illogical to even be bothered by them. Shirou has no way to return to them. By his own admission, he has no clue how or why he ended up here.' She had a few ideas, but nothing concrete. That didn't change that they likely couldn't send him home either. However, the thing that bothered both her and Shirou, was the possibility of others ending up there like he did.
"Dite, this is ridiculous. While you may not be the first love goddess he has met, you are the first love goddess to gain Shirou's undeniable and very real love. Remember what Hestia told us? Shirou's emotions and mental state were horrid when compared to now, so when it comes to love, you have the advantage of knowing that Shirou's emotions, while still messed up, are genuine."
Why was Athena putting in this effort? For one simple reason. She actually preferred Aphrodite's current way of life as well as her overall demeanor. She was actually quite pleasant to be around now, even being pretty fun to speak with from time to time. There was also the fact that a jealous Aphrodite wouldn't be good for anyone. So, she was willing to put up with the sentient pile of foam until she calmed down.
Aphrodite let out an annoyed huff. "I know that. It doesn't mean I'm not annoyed by it." She then sat back with a childish pout on her face, causing Athena to let out another sigh. She was surprised she wasn't more upset at the other deities he met, like Ereshkigal. Just thinking about her caused Athena's skin to crawl. She always wondered about the red and gold scarf Shirou wore when they first met, having now passed it onto Thalia.
It was a gift from the ruler of the underworld. Even now, Athena was sure Hades likely didn't have Shirou in his book, nor would he have any right to Shirou's soul. Then again, Athena wasn't sure how such things worked in his world, but she was sure that with Shirou here, they wouldn't have to worry too much about it. 'After all, no one's heard from the Mesopotamian gods in a long time.
"Athena, what was your opinion on some of those Shirou was bonded to?" Aphrodite asked in a concerned tone of voice. Athena raised a brow, before she shrugged.
"I had no real opinion really. They were all great heroes, but I doubt you're asking me about that." She said, with Aphrodite nodding. "They will likely try and look for him. I doubt we have to worry about them. I doubt Shirou will leave his family for any reason." She replied, before looking back down at the scrapbook in her lap.
"Love is a powerful force, Athena. It can make the impossible possible. Ritsuka, Mash, Ophelia, and Olga Marie, humans they may be, but they have accomplished the impossible before. Honestly, I hope they fail and forget about Shirou. He's ours now." Athena's eyes widened at Aphrodite's words, glancing up to see Aphrodite's fists slightly clenched, a frown on her face, and her eyes glowing with divine power.
"Dite!" She said forcefully, causing Aphrodite to calm down slightly, however, Athena could still see that she was upset. "Dite, love is your domain. Tell me, is Shirou's love so weak that you believe he would abandon us?" She asked, getting Aphrodite to smile a bit.
"Of course not, but I still worry." She finished with a hushed whisper. Athena understood. She didn't know if Aphrodite thought about it, but Athena had thought through many scenarios. There was one scenario in which Shirou would do so. 'If it meant protecting or saving us, he would.' She thought with a small frown. That thought scared her, though she would never admit it.
She had privately promised herself that she would do all in her power to prevent such a thing from ever occurring. Because, as much as Athena didn't wish to admit it, she rather enjoyed spending time with Shirou and her daughter together. It was for that reason alone, she would be prepared for anything that may come their way.
Odd. That was the only way to describe how everyone was looking at her at the moment. Thalia didn't understand why though. Then again, she remembered what Artemis had said about the way the campers looked at and treated her hunters. From what Thalia infer, it seemed like the camp had some sort of rivalry with the hunters.
'What a one-sided rivalry.' She thought to herself, since the hunters only looked young. They all came from different time periods, so they all had a lot more experience. A part of her did think that the campers may have stood a chance at one time, at least in close combat, but that edge disappeared the moment Artemis had met Shirou.
For the last two years, Thalia had joined Shirou on many excursions as he taught her a variety of things. Many things that he himself had been taught. Being taught how to hunt, track, and survive in the wilderness had been a pretty fun experience, with Shirou mentioning a few heroes who specialized in such things, like Atalanta and Robin Hood.
It was during those times that they met with Artemis's hunters from time to time. Shirou would speak with the hunters about, well, whatever they wanted. Thalia thought it was a lot like therapy for them. Then, he would spar with some of them. It was there that Thalia understood how much knowledge Shirou actually possessed.
Since the hunters came from different time periods, Shirou would adjust his style to match whichever hunter he was facing, improving their style as he did so. Though, she realized early on, he never taught them like how he taught her. He treated her like a daughter, even spoke to her like one. The training he gave her was training he would soon give his actual blood related daughters.
Apparently, he was actually softer on her than his teachers were on him. One of said teachers was his own mother, which really surprised her, considering some of that training felt like she was dragged through the underworld itself. She did ask him to teach her how to fight like him, rather than the standard greek style she'd be taught here in the camp. She was rather eager to see the results.
As Thalia walked along with Artemis, her thoughts were interrupted when a centaur made its way over to them. He had medium length wavy brown hair, brown eyes, and a wise looking beard. If she had to guess, he was likely the trainer, Chiron. Honestly, she would reserve her excitement until he actually taught her, 'Even if Shirou said he was likely to be an awesome teacher.'
"Lady Artemis, what a pleasant surprise. Will your hunters be joining us shortly?" He asked, looking on without worry. Actually, Thalia thought he seemed a bit excited. 'Does he look forward to seeing the campers getting smashed into the ground?' After thinking this, Thalia slightly frowned. 'Reminds of when Shirou would smile and joke around after sparring.'
Artemis smirked slightly, before shaking her head. "Not today, Chiron. Though, I will likely schedule a time for them to visit sometime soon. No, I've actually come here to drop someone off." Artemis then motioned for Thalia, who stepped forward. Artemis placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "This is Thalia Emiya. She hasn't been claimed yet, so I've given her my permission to stay within my cabin."
Chiron's eyes widened, before narrowing on Thalia's gear. She knew he was likely taking note of the silver items that Artemis had given to her. He took an extra long look the sword strapped to her back. She thought that was fair, considering it was magical in nature. Though, it wasn't like she would use it seriously against anyone. Using it as a conduit for her lightning would be enough, and she could manage that with it strapped to her back.
One may ask, why would she do that when she could just summon her own lightning? The answer was quite simple. Thalia thought red lightning looked way cooler and more metal than normal lightning. She was still working on a way to change her lightning's color, since she didn't want it to look anything like Zeus's. So far, purple was as good as it got. Good, but it wasn't as cool as red.
Chiron seemed to study her for a moment, before a look of recognition flashed in his eyes. Thalia inwardly cursed. She let her emotions flare up when she thought about Zeus. Her eyes likely sparked with electricity for a moment. As much as she liked her eyes, sometimes she hated that it made her emotions so easy to read. Then again, she knew that Miyu's would likely be the same when she came to the camp. Her fiery eyes were similar to hers in that way.
"I see, well, it's always great to see another half-blood make it safely to the camp. Though, it is rare for one to show up being brought by a god, let alone one as well-known as Lady Artemis. Has she told you about what to expect here at the camp? Or do you still need a tour?" Thalia thought for a moment, before nodding.
"Yes please. I'm afraid that while I've been trained for a few years, Artemis neglected to inform me about most of the camp. So, I honestly have no idea what's going on here." She replied in her usual tone, though she noticed Chiron seem to tense up for a moment. She didn't miss the way his eyes shifted to Artemis.
Artemis, however, seemed to slightly smile. "Some birds throw their children out of the nest to learn to fly, Thalia. You can't expect us to coddle you forever." She replied with a slight scoff. "And yes, he knows that we haven't told you, so don't count on his help either, little bird." Thalia frowned at that last part. She hated when they called her that. She hated heights, so why go with something that flies?
She couldn't help but sigh to herself. Artemis smirked, before looking towards Chiron. "Don't worry about showing her around. I'll be sure to give her a small tour before I head back out. Since it's fairly early, I'm sure that Thalia will be able to join in the activities planned for today."
"I see, then I'll leave her in your hands, Lady Artemis. Should you need any further assistance, feel free to ask me,Thalia." He said, before making his way back towards the area he came from. Thalia had seen and fought monsters, even meeting Shirou near a dragon's corpse, but seeing a centaur was pretty cool.
"Alright, Thalia, let's show you around, then we'll take you to my cabin." Artemis said, with Thalia nodding to her words. The two started then journey through the camp, seeing the many different areas dedicated to training, relaxing, and working. As they were walking, Thalia nearly tripped over herself when she saw Hestia in her child form, waving at her near a small bonfire.
She couldn't help but smile, as she realized that Hestia really was quite sneaky. She did feel better knowing that Hestia would be around sometimes, in case she needed advice. As the two continued, Thalia noticed that more and more people were beginning to notice her. She couldn't help but grow a bit apprehensive, wondering what they were saying.
"Flow." The image of a dam opening its gates filled her mind. As soon as they did, her circuits roared to life, the blue lines flowing throughout her body and supplying her with magical energy. "Now, analyze." The sword in her hands then had circuits flow throughout it. "Analysis complete. Storing information. Filling imperfections. Excelling all processes." A bead of sweat fell from her forehead.
"Shedding excess magical energy." Blue arcs of magical energy flowed out of the blade. "Stabilizing magical energy and magical processes." The blade in her hands then began to glow a dim blue in her hands, before the color settled and the blade in her hand was now greater than what it had been before. "Trace Reinforcement complete." She then let out a breath, the heat expelling from her body.
She then inspected the sword in her hands. It was a dull and useless sword beforehand. Now, it was a sword worthy of any warrior or swordsman, if not worth more than that. Annabeth could feel how much better the weapon in her hands was than before her spell. Thanks to the stored information, the spell wouldn't take nearly as long. Using information already stored, she could cross reference her spells and make her reinforcement even more powerful.
'Okay, now, to replicate the blade.' She took a deep breathe, before feeling the magical energy in her body react to her spell. "Reproducing schematic. Cross referencing with reinforced blade. Filling blade with magical energy, shell projection complete. Projecting image onto reality in stasis state." The image of the sword in her hands was replicated and two swords hung in the air behind both of her shoulders.
"Telumkinetic projection complete. Adding rotation, adding propulsion..." The swords then began to spin and shake in the air, as if being held there by an invisible force. "Sword barrel, Full open!" At her command, the two sword shot forward at a speed greater than a bullet, hitting two targets that she placed earlier, before exploding on impact. The moment they did, she began to pant slightly.
"Did you see that Iris?! I did it!" She said, holding up her free hand, where the flammulated owl named Iris landed in the palm of her hand. It hopped around, before letting out its low pitched hoot. She smiled at the small bird. "It isn't very powerful, since my circuits aren't fully matured, but I managed to replicate dad's spell."
Annabeth looked towards the targets, seeing that they were destroyed. She nodded to herself, as Iris flew back into the sky. She took a deep breath, before placing her sword back into its sheathe. "Now, what would would happen if I create a magic circle like this." She held out her hand, before creating a simple magical circle that held magical energy.
"Then added another process that circulates flow from my body. Create another smaller magic circle to propel the magical energy, then creating another process that continuously rotates the magical energy in my arm before it flows into the magic circles." She could feel a small amount of magical energy beginning to flow through the processes.
She winced, as she felt a large increase in the heat in her arm. She could even feel some strain, like when she first attempted reinforcement. 'I need to release it through the magic circle before it builds up.' "Channel into first magic circle..." The first magic circle then appeared to fill in the empty space. "Now, flow into the smaller circle to propel the magical energy out."
The moment she did so, she already regretted it. The magical energy saved up had gained a large amount of speed and propulsion that the moment it flowed into the last magic circle, it flooded out uncontrollably and reacted violently, creating a large blue explosion that threw Annabeth backwards. She landed a fair distance from where she last stood and her arm was numb.
She groaned a bit, before sitting up and looking around. She noticed the area in front of where she was standing was destroyed. Though, she thought it could be worse. She looked at her arm and noticed that it didn't look broken, but it did ache really bad and it was still numb. 'Could use some work. Maybe lowering the output and fixing the current? Or was it the rotation of the magical energy?'
She frowned, before pulling out a small leather notebook. She opened it and used her left hand to write down what happened. "Too much power and uncontrolled. Maybe study things that have to do with currents?" She hummed, "Maybe think more like a bullet or arrow?" She then blinked to herself for a moment. "Could use on bottom of feet to propel self like rocket boots on a mech?"
She wrote down a foot more observations and notes before flipping through the book and standing back up. The last thought had been rather interesting. She was always interesting in learning how to fly. Though, she wondered how she could achieve that. She had watched a lot of t.v with her sisters and some of their magic let them fly. Granted, magecraft was different, but dad said it was possible.
Then again, maybe she was looking at the problem too analytically. Her sisters were doing well with their own skills, and the two were open thinkers that didn't really focus too much on logic. 'Maybe I need to have more imagination and be open to new things that aren't as logical. As long as there is an equal exchange, I can do it. I'll ask dad more about it when he gets home.'
She hummed to herself, before deciding to head back home. As she did so, she continued looking through her notebook. She stopped at a page that she had been working on for awhile now. 'How to calculate two problems at the same time to achieve an end result?' It was something she was working on on her own. She could ask her mom and dad, but like with most of her magecraft, she wanted to work on it on her own.
She preferred getting hints and vague descriptions so she could figure it out herself, but her dad was quite adamant on not trying anything dangerous without him around. Which was why she wasn't going to mention the small explosion she made earlier. She then flipped the page again, looking at another entry titled, 'Mystic Codes'. Unlike her sisters, Annabeth was rather interested in that subject.
She had been working on a few separate ideas, some of which she was planning on working on when she got home. For her, it was fun. Building models, studying architecture, figuring out things were made and worked, as well as how to integrate magecraft with it. Her circuits had only been opened for ten months, but she was already making great progress.
Her dad said she got that from her mother, though she didn't understand why. To her knowledge, her mom didn't use magecraft, or at least, she never saw her use it. Her dad was the only one and he was careful about when he did so. Ophelia's mom had some magical abilities, though she said it was because she was similar to Ophelia.
Then there was Miyu. Miyu was something else. She was learning magecraft, but she was also able to use magic without her circuits. Granted, she could somewhat do that too, but Miyu's was different. It was strange, and really fascinating to her. When her dad first told them about magecraft, Miyu was the first to get overly excited. Annabeth knew why.
It was because of what she watched on T.V, wanting to be a magical girl and other stuff like that. When her dad mentioned mystic codes and talked about how to make certain items, Annabeth thought about trying to make Miyu some kind of wand or staff. She wasn't sure how she would do it yet, but she was determined to do so. In fact, she was sure that all three of them should have something like that.
She wasn't old enough to do it now, but hopefully, in the future, she would be able to go out and find the things necessary for it. Though, she could just ask her dad for it. She hummed to herself once more. 'Maybe I could ask if I could go with him into the shed sometimes.' Well, it'd have to wait until he got back home. Plus, she had a lot of questions for him. 'He did say he'd bring back gifts too.'
Thalia took a deep breath and began to situate her belongings in Artemis's cabin. It was rather simple, all things considered. The cabin itself was silver and decorated with things from nature, like paintings and animals. It was very Artemis in Thalia's opinion. She put up a few pictures of her family, before arranging a few other items around.
She let out a small sigh, before taking the red and gold scarf Shirou had given her and placed it around her neck. She looked towards a picture frame that had a picture that was taken from just before she left. Aphrodite, Hestia, Artemis, Athena, were in the back with Shirou in the middle. Aphrodite and Hestia were on either side of Shirou.
Miyu, Annabeth, Ophelia, were in front of their mothers, while Caroline, Mia, and Zoe were near the ends. Lacy was being held by Aphrodite and Ritsuka was being held by Hestia, while she was standing in front of Shirou in the middle. It was a happy picture, one that Thalia was happy she had. It was nice to know she was a part of a real family again. She smiled at the picture, before deciding to go out and train a bit.
She kept Clarent on her back, but rummaged through her bag until she found the sword Shirou had made for her to use before he gave her Clarent. It wasn't too fancy, but Shirou based it off the design of the spear/sword he used against her when they first started training. She still wanted a spear like that, but Shirou said he needed more time to finish it, so she had to wait. She took a deep breath, before deciding to head out of the cabin.
It was always pretty interesting to see new faces. While it was definitely sad that some half-bloods didn't get claimed as much, it was always fun to try and guess who the divine parent was. Even those that weren't claimed, many went out of there way to watch and try and figure out what qualities they may have held. Joanna was one of those people.
She was very interested in the newcomer who appeared with Lady Artemis. She'd have to tell Jamie and Abigail about her later, but for now, she was going to watch the girl. She had to admit, the girl had attractive features. She would have thought she was one of her sisters, but she highly doubted that. Her mother would have told her if that was the case.
She had messy black hair that was tied up in an equally messy ponytail, along with eye catching electric blue eyes and some freckles over her nose. Angela admitted the girl also dressed quite well, even if it wasn't her style. Wearing blue jeans, combat boots, a red leather jacket, a black Nirvana T-shirt, and a silver tiara. She also noticed the bracelet and accessories, but was more interested in the silver and red sword on her back than the sword she carried in her hands.
She wondered what kind of weapon it was, and was sure that the Hephaestus kids would be interested in it. 'Hmm, not many half-bloods with that kind of eye color. It's pretty unique.' She followed along the trail behind the new girl and realized she was heading towards the training arena. 'Is she going to fight so soon after arriving?'
As she followed along, she noticed the other campers giving the girl some strange looks and were mostly keeping their distance. She frowned when she noticed, 'What's their problem? Was it because Lady Artemis brought her? Do they think she's a hunter?' That was dumb, because she was obviously alone. Hunters never traveled alone.
She watched as the girl finally made it the practice area, before looking towards one of the dummies set up. She let out a small huff, before making her way over towards it. It wasn't hard for Joanna to see that the new girl was frustrated. From the looks of it, the girl seemed to be a fighter. She likely wanted to see how she would fare against the other campers.
'Ugh, maybe I should have just went and found Jamie, she would have sparred with her.' She likely would have fared pretty well, being a child of Athena and all. 'Maybe I should just go over and talk to her?' It was a conundrum. Yes, she knew big words. She sighed, before deciding to go for it. At least, she would have if she didn't see Luke approaching the girl.
'Oh? How's she going to react to mr. blonde hair, blue eyes?' She knew most of the girls found him attractive, so she was excited to see how the new girl would react. She watched, as she turned and looked at the boy with a tilt of her head. 'Ugh, I wish I could hear what they were saying.' She watched the girl shrug, before replying to something Luke said. She then nodded, all without her facial features changing much.
'Huh, that's interesting. Maybe she isn't at that age, yet? Or, does she just not care?' Of course, she would find out. Anyways, she watched as the two walked over towards the training area and both readied themselves. She noticed that the girl didn't take off the sword on her back, as well as the fact that neither was using a shield. 'So, pure swordsmanship then?'
She noticed that Chiron had even made his way over. It seemed even he was interested in the new girl. Her stance was rather strange, but she couldn't judge. She was never good at fighting. Doesn't mean she couldn't understand what was going on. She noticed the girl didn't move once the match started, only steadily shifting her weight.
Luke, as always, had his confident smile on his face. He lunged forward, with the girl simply deflecting the blow while taking a step to the side. He then followed up by throwing a series of attacks at the girl. She simply shuffled her feet back or to the side as she parried or blocked each blow, not really throwing an attack herself, except for a few attacks that didn't seem all that dangerous.
Luke then sped up and started to use more strength, which was easily noticeable to those that knew him. She expected the new girl to get surprised by it, but she stood firm and continued to parry and dodge attacks, this time, she was moving around a lot more. Joanna noticed her eyes were focused on her opponent, shifting every once in awhile when Luke launched a new attack.
This continued, until the new girl blocked an attack and went into a sword bind. She quickly used her momentum to push Luke's sword up and away from his body, after which, the girl took a hard step forward and twisted her body and placed an elbow directly into Luke's sternum. Her body weight shifted perfectly and caused Luke to actually stumble backwards as he tried to catch his breath.
For the first time, Joanna saw a confident smile appear on the girl's face. The girl's stance completely changed, as Luke regained himself. However, this time, the new girl was the one who charged forward. It was here that Joanna realized the girl was quite fast, and pretty strong.
Though, she wasn't sure if the girl was strong, or if she just understood her body and the way it moved so well that she could generate more power by moving in a certain way. This time, it was Luke who was actually on the backfoot. By this point, other campers had made their way over towards the arena, all watching as she was steadily putting pressure on Luke.
Strangely, Joanna noticed that she wasn't exactly overpowering him like a normal person. It was as if she was just steadily chipping away at Luke's strength. She would parry an attack, then follow it up with a kick to Luke's side, or to his legs. She would put her body weight into a strike that appeared to rattle the sword in Luke's hand. Or she would appear like she would take Luke's blow, before dodging completely and making him miss.
However, Luke was starting to catch on, but Joanna could see it was too late. The girl was having fun, but the look in her eyes told her that the girl wasn't the type to play with her food. She was whittling away at Luke until she was able to end it with one move. She quickly separated from Luke, before holding her sword in front of her.
She took a deep breath, before taking a step forward, her body propelling across a large distance really fast. She then swung the sword down, fast and hard. Luke must have easily seen through it, as he simply maneuvered his body to dodge it. Everyone likely thought that she lost, as Luke raised his sword and began to bring it down.
Quicker than almost anyone could see, the sword came striking upwards, causing Luke to have to redirect his blow to block the attack. The two swords collided, locking in place, before the girl grabbed the blade of her sword and pushed against Luke. Just as Luke was beginning to push back, she let go of the blade and took a slight step to the side and placed the guard of her sword against Luke's throat, while her free hand gripped Luke's sword hand.
The last bit happened so fast that no one had any time to react to what happened. Oddly enough, her parent must have found the audience and timing fitting, considering the symbol of a lightning bolt appeared above her head, followed by the sound of thunder in the skies. The moment it happened, Thalia dropped her sword and frowned. Obviously, she was one of the demigods that wasn't very fond of her godly parent.
Thalia let out a sigh, having managed to escape the arena area before she was swarmed by campers and Chiron. Honestly, she thought she'd have more time, but it wasn't meant to be. However, she wasn't going to move into her father's cabin yet. Was it childish? Yes. But she was child, so it didn't matter. Plus, it'd feel shallow if she just left Artemis's cabin so soon after placing her things in it.
'That kid was pretty good. He wasn't Shirou though. It was fun trying out new moves and a new way of fighting.' She wondered if what she did would work on Shirou? Steadily chipping away at her opponent, before catching them off-guard? She didn't want to fight too seriously. The kicks, punches, and elbows were the only thing she retained in there, and they were using sparingly.
She had a feeling the other kid wasn't taking her seriously though. 'Well, next time, he'll learn not to underestimate me. Not to mention, that was only basic swordsmanship. If I use my lightning, I doubt he'd be able to handle it.' She couldn't help but chuckle quietly at the thought. She doubted other demigods trained their bodies in the way she did, or made use of their heritage and natural magic.
She likely wouldn't have learned that if it wasn't for Shirou. 'Hmm, maybe I could show some of the other campers what I learned? I'm still training, but I know the basics, it shouldn't be too tough to get someone started with me.' She hummed to herself as she was just walking wherever her feet took her, which was probably a bad idea, but she didn't really care.
"Hey, wait!" A voice broke her out of her thoughts, causing her to turn around. Hurriedly making her way over towards her, was a girl with silky, black, long hair. Her eyes reminded her of Aphrodite's clear blue ones. Then there was the fact the girl was beautiful, obviously a few years older than, judging from her body. Even her skin was perfect, being blemish free light brown.
'A daughter of Aphrodite, more than likely. Wonder if she asked her to talk to me.' Surprisingly, the girl was dressed in some stylish jeans, cowboy boots, and a nice looking button up shirt. 'She looks like a rodeo princess.' She thought to herself with a smile. "Man, you bolted out of there pretty darn fast, but I don't blame ya."
The girl stopped in front of her, before looking at her closely. Thalia could smell some sort of sweet perfume on the girl that was making her feel a little lightheaded, but she quickly shrugged it off. 'It's like a weaker version of Aphrodite's perfume.' "I don't like being crowded by a lot of people, besides, they wouldn't want to talk to me about anything worthwhile anyways."
The cowgirl smiled at her words. 'Ugh, even her smile's perfect. Are all of Aphrodite's kids like this? Wait, will Ophelia and Lacy be this bad when they grow up?' She inwardly groaned. She hoped that wasn't the case. "Well, they were just surprised that you beat Luke then were claimed. He's one of the stronger half-bloods here when it comes to swordsmanship."
'Oh, Luke, that was his name.' "You forgot his name, didn't you?" She asked, with Thalia flinching a bit at her words. However, she only laughed at her reaction. "That's hilarious." She said, before holding out her hand. "My name's Joanna Red-Bear, but everyone just calls me Joan. I'm a daughter of Aphrodite"
Thalia looked down, before deciding to respond by shaking the girl's hand. "Thalia Emiya. Daughter of Zeus, I guess." She replied with a sigh, causing the girl to giggle a bit. "Um, why'd you follow me all this way?"
Joan shrugged. "Because, you were interesting, plus I could tell people were kind of avoiding you. It's why I came to talk to you first and see if you wanted to hang out with me and my friends." That caught her by surprise. Though, she was a bit worried. What kind of friends did a daughter of Aphrodite have?
Obviously, she must have read her mind. "Oh, don't worry, we're friends for a reason. We didn't really fit in with our cabins, so we ended becoming friends because of that. There's a daughter of Athena and a daughter of Hecate. Since Hecate doesn't have a cabin, she didn't fit in with the rest of Hermes's cabin, and I don't really believe in breaking hearts like my sisters do. As for the daughter of Athena, well, she likes to fight, but she's really gentle and soft-spoken. Two things that don't match her family members."
Thalia could understand that. Annabeth was rather confident and out-spoken and enjoyed the more intellectual side of combat and stuff. She never really enjoyed fighting just to fight. Though, for a daughter of Aphrodite to contradict herself by liking to fight but being gentle and soft-spoken? It was surprising. "Um, I don't mind. It sounds kind of fun."
Joan's face lit up, causing Thalia to smile. "That's great, then come with me. We usually meet up near the stables." She said in a happy tone, though the location surprised her a bit.
"Um, why the stables?" She asked, following along as Joan grabbed her by the hand and pulled her along.
"Because I like to take care of the horses and pegasi. I usually teach other campers how to ride, since I grew up around horses. We usually hang out at other areas too, but riding horses is something fun that we all enjoy." She replied happily, though Thalia wasn't so sure. As long as they didn't ride a pegasus or anything, she'd be fine. She didn't like heights, not that she'd tell them that.
'This is the worst.' Athena groaned. "Why are we buying clothes? Can't you just make them?" She asked, watching Aphrodite looking through a collection of clothes.
"First of all, it's good for the economy to buy them. Second, that would be an abuse of my powers. Third, it's no fun if I just make the clothes. I like the feeling of having possession of them." She replied, picking up a red and black dress.
Athena sighed. "Don't you just create those kimonos and other stuff all the time? I don't get why this is so different." She said, taking a seat next to a nearby wall. 'Why doesn't Hestia ever have to deal with this stuff? Or did she just push it onto me? Is this why Artemis volunteered to take Thalia to camp with Shirou?'
"That's different. In order to buy one of those that suits my tastes, I'd have to travel all the way across the world, far away from our power source. It's not worth the trip. Plus, those are just for Shirou. So, I usually only wear them around the house. However, I go out in these. You know, if it bores you so much, why don't you try out some clothes with me?" Athena scoffed.
"Please, I'm quite comfortable in what I wear now. Besides, I don't really care for men leering at me wherever I go. Plus, I don't care about physical attractiveness." Aphrodite stopped and looked at her with a quirked brow.
"Doesn't Shirou often compliment you on your beauty?" Athena stilled for a moment, before slowly looking towards Aphrodite.
"How do you know about that?" She asked plainly, her eyes slightly narrowing. Aphrodite simply smiled at her.
"Oh, I have my ways. Plus, I noticed you were putting a tiny bit more effort in dressing nice. You really upped the Athena factor lately, you know?" 'Athena factor?' She felt like she should be insulted, but wasn't sure. "Come on, it's not a big deal, Athena. All three of the virgin goddesses were said to be among the most beautiful on Olympus. Remember when we had that contest?"
"I remember you cheating and messing with emotions, but yes, I remember. And before you suggest asking Shirou about who's more beautiful, remember what happened the last time we did that? Besides, we both know he'll choose Hestia." She said while resting her head on her hand.
"I don't think he would." Aphrodite replied, going back to her browsing, though what she said caught Athena's attention.
"What do you mean by that?" She was naturally curious. She couldn't help it. It was just part of her nature.
"Well, I agree he'd likely say Hestia is the most beautiful in his eyes. However, I'm sure he'd come up with answers for each of us that'd leave us satisfied, since he's been spending more time with everyone lately. For example, he actually finds all that wise and smart stuff about you sexy."
Athena nearly choked. "S-sexy?"
"Okay, that was me saying that, but he does like it. I can kind of get it. Shirou isn't someone who really cares about all the surface level stuff. It's why I think he would have likely chosen a completely different answer if we asked him instead of Paris all that time ago. Though, I like to think that I'd still win, as the question was physical beauty. I literally appear as what they find most beautiful."
"Aphrodite, I will stab you if you keep saying that. Get to the point." Aphrodite simply rolled her eyes, before smiling.
"Shirou wouldn't have grown a bond with so many heroes if he was as simple as everyone else. Hestia is his favorite, he's married to her after all. However, when it comes down to it, we're each important to him. While you would think it would be obvious, he'd answer that question in a way that made everyone happy, but also in a way that completely avoided the question, because he wouldn't want to hurt anyone's feelings. He's crafty like that."
Athena hummed to herself. That did make sense. 'Maybe it isn't as clear cut as I thought it would be.' "What's it like having another child with him?" She asked, with Aphrodite pausing and looking at her with a puzzled expression.
"Are you thinking of having another one?" Athena shrugged, though she was just avoiding answering. "Well, it's a bit different I suppose. Ophelia will have a sister that is completely her sister. Plus, it sort of feels like I'm more committed to my path. I don't know really know how to explain. I never really thought about it. I just love my babies." She said with a happy expression.
Athena hummed to herself. "You should go for it. I mean, Annabeth's already quite amazing as is. I watch her when she practice's her magic and she's much farther ahead than her sisters when it comes to application and understanding." Aphrodite continued, before Athena interrupted.
"What do you mean by that? She's not supposed to be practicing without supervision. Shirou said that magecraft is dangerous and that anything can happen if you don't know what you're doing." Aphrodite let out a scoff.
"Why do you think I've been watching her? I'm not completely inept when it comes to magic, I'll have you know. I've been making sure she doesn't hurt herself. Besides, she's quite smart and her understanding of how it works is kind of amazing. Then again, you're tied to magic aren't you? Maybe that's why it comes so easy to her." She answered, before grabbing another dress.
"Still, I'll need to talk to her about practicing when no one's around. Just because you were there, doesn't mean she knew that. She needs to be careful, otherwise she'll hurt herself. I bet she got that from Shirou, he seems like the type to do the same thing." She said with a click of her tongue. Aphrodite only let out an amused giggle.
"Don't be so hard on her. She only wants to make you and Shirou proud. It's why she tries so hard. If you really feel like you need to talk to her, have Shirou with you when you do it." Athena looked at Aphrodite with a confused expression. Aphrodite sighed. "Athena, you have a tendency to say things that sound good to you, but end up sounding harsh and cold to others."
Athena scoffed. 'That's not true. Is it?' "Fine, but she should know that she doesn't need to push herself so far for us to be proud of her. From the moment she was born, she was special to me. She's likely to be the very best of all my children. It's why I don't her to hurt herself."
"Maybe you should be upfront with her about that. She might be young, but the girl's already smart enough to get the gist of what you're saying." Aphrodite then paused, before thinking about something. "Huh, speaking of our other children, I wonder how Thalia's doing with our children at camp? I should check in on them."
Athena would admit she was curious as well. She didn't have that many children at the camp, but still, she would prefer if they were friendly with Thalia. 'Hmm, Jamie might get along with her. Plus, maybe Thalia will help bring her out of her shell a bit. Maybe I should check on them too?'
"You look like you could use some help." The group who washed up on the island all turned and looked towards him. "Servant, Ruler, at your service." He said, his face obscured by a black cloak and a blue scarf. The leader of the group said something, but it was all garbled.
"Oh, well, I've actually been here for a long time, helping out the villagers who call this island their home, the island is quite special to me you see." He said in an amused voice. However, any look of amusement was dropped when the air slightly heated up.
"This world is an aberration and has corrupted all the things I have to come to care for, or in the case of this island, resulted in the death of something I care for. All of you are lucky I noticed your ship in time, otherwise you'd all likely be dead. Had to use a noble phantasm to buy you all some time, sorry I couldn't assist any further, too far away."
"Though I was tempted to reveal myself when I noticed that fleet and who was leading it. However, I couldn't risk the lives of these villagers. But, that's in the past. Come on, I'll lead you to the temple. I left her alone for too long anyway, she's likely being overwhelmed with everyone." The leader of the group said something else, causing him to turn around.
"My name? Ah, I suppose that's simple enough. My name is..."
Shirou held his head as he opened his eyes. A sharp pain entered his mind, he had only nodded off for a second. 'What kind of dream was that? Who was that? What was that?' He shook his head. He didn't know, but whoever it was, it sounded like he wasn't happy about whatever the situation was.
He let out a sigh. He stood up from his seat on the ground and looked out over the city he was now in. 'Artemis said she had to check on something, so I suppose I'm stuck waiting around here until she's done.' He thought to himself, then again, he could just pray to Hestia, find a fire, and have her teleport him home. Though, he had a feeling Artemis would get upset at him.
He would admit though, being in New York City was an experience. He never had the opportunity to visit in his own world, so it was a novel experience. He jumped from the roof he was on an landed in an alley, before making his way to the street. He figured he could kill some time by walking around the city. His eyes narrowed when he caught the scent of a monster.
He let out a sigh. 'Suppose I should deal with it.' He then made his way towards the scent, going through back alleys to reach his destination sooner. He may or may not have helped a few people along the way. They were mostly homeless or sick, but it didn't matter. 'Too bad this place is too close to Olympus, otherwise I'd like to move my bakery here. I'm sure I could help a lot of people that need it.'
After traveling for awhile, Shirou noticed the source of the scent he was following. It seemed to be drawn towards something, following his own nose, but Shirou wasn't going to let him reach his destination. 'Likely following the trail of a demigod.' He let out a sigh, before finding a fire escape that led to a nearby roof.
He quickly scaled the building, before seeing his target again. He always found it strange how the mist could hide such a monster. It was a cyclops. Didn't seem to be one of the more dangerous ones, so that was a good sign. He held out his hand and his new bow appeared from the band on his arm.
What was once Orion's bow, was now modified beyond what it was before. The whole bow was now covered in celestial bronze, a red shroud was wrapped around the limbs, covering most of it, but leaving some of the bronze to peak out. He was pretty sure it was stronger than Archer's bow. Then again, that bow wasn't made to be the best at anything.
He let out a sigh. The only reason his bow was enhanced and reforged the way it was, was because Artemis refused to let him continue using his old one once she found out about it. He did use some of the ashwood he got from a dryad to enhance the limbs, placing runes on them before placing the celestial bronze over it, so it was quite the bow.
The shroud was something weaved by Athena, so he was pretty sure it likely enhanced the bow in some way as well. Considering he couldn't trace it, he was a little afraid to find out just what the material was and what effect it had. He shrugged. He'd take any help he could get. He traced a sword and altered it into an arrow before taking aim at the monster.
He fired off the arrow, watching as the arrow easily pierced through the cyclops head, with it dissipating soon after. No one reacted to it, simply walking right by as if nothing happened. Shirou's eye twitched. Honestly, he sometimes did things like this just to see how effective the mist was. It was both amazing and annoying that the supernatural basically had a bounded field that kept civilians from seeing their world.
'Why couldn't the mages from my world figure out something like that?' Then again, the mana consumption likely would have made such a thing infeasible. He sighed, deciding not to worry about it. He still had to find out where the monster was going.
After making his way to the street, he continued walking on the same path as the monster. He had noticed a few demigod scents in the city, but none were so strong that they had anything to worry about. But, he now? Their was a demigod that had a particularly strong scent. Following the scent, he continued walking.
He walked until he was at Grand Central Station. He hummed to himself, before seeing a candy shop. 'Maybe I should drop in and grab something for the girls.' He slightly smiled, 'I'll be sure to get extra for Dite.' He made his way towards the shop, before noticing the scent was actually inside the store.
As he entered the store, he saw a young boy with black hair and green eyes sitting behind the counter, around the age of his own daughters. He then noticed the woman who was working there. His eyes slightly widened, being a bit taken aback at how beautiful the woman was. She had long brown hair and sparkling blue eyes.
He looked up and took note of the store. 'Ah, so that's why she's wearing red, white, and blue.' "Hello, welcome to Sweet on America. Are you looking for anything in particular?" She asked him with a warm and sunny smile.
An arrow sliced through the arrow and lodged itself into to the target. "Oh! Very good, Ophelia! You're a natural. Now, Zoe's going to throw some targets into the air. Remember, let your muscle memory do the work when pulling the string, only focus on the target. Try to predict where the target will be, then release."
"O-Okay, I'll do my best, Aunty Mia." Mia smiled at her, placing a hand on Ophelia's head.
"I know you will. Remember, don't rush your shot. Only release your shot when you're sure you have your anchor set, exhale and release. You've got this, Ophelia. Ready?" She asked, raising her hand up. Ophelia exhaled, before nodding at her.
Mia lowered her hand, signaling Zoe. A target was thrown high into the air, about 30 yards away. Mia watched as Ophelia took an arrow from her quiver and went through her motions. She pulled the string back and anchored it. The arrow had now reached the peak of its arc and was now falling.
Mia was sure to watch ever single thing Ophelia did. She was impressed so far, watching as she lined up her shot. She slowly exhaled, before releasing the arrow. The arrow flew through the air and was steadily making its way to the target until it struck true.
It wasn't a bullseye, but for her first try, it was really good. Mia looked back towards Ophelia and noticed her eyes were glowing again. 'I wonder if her eyes do more than just allow her to use Aphrodite's authority? Maybe, they also let her see like Shirou does?' She wondered, before Zoe began walking up towards Ophelia.
"That was very good, Ophelia. Remember, accuracy is what's important. No point in shooting if you can't hit the target." She said, before placing a hand on her head and smiling at her. "But, you did wonderfully. I believe it is break time, right Mia?"
Mia smiled herself, before nodding. "That's right. We'll work on your form and release when you return. I'd hurry if inside if I was you. Aunt Tia just made some cookies, if you're fast enough, you might be the first one to have some." Mia whispered with a wink.
Ophelia's face brightened with a smile. 'Ah, this girl really is cute.' Mia thought, as Ophelia skipped towards the house. Mia couldn't help but smile at the girl's upbeat attitude. She had gotten a lot better over the last two years. She was still a bit shy and quiet, but she was more open and happy than she was previously.
"Lady Artemis will be pleased to learn how well she is doing." Zoe spoke with a slight laugh. "Honestly, a daughter of Aphrodite being so gifted with a bow? I'd never thought I'd see the day." Mia couldn't help but let out a little laugh at that. She wouldn't have believed it if she didn't see it.
"She is progressing at a great pace. I can't wait until she gets to the age where she can enhance her archery with magic like Shirou. I'm sure she'll be on a whole other level. Which means, we can't let the hunters slack with their own training. Shirou said it was possible to get even better with our own archery." Mia said while looking over towards Zoe.
"Speaking of, how are the new girls doing? Do you need me to help to train them?" She asked, with Zoe merely shaking her head.
"Their training is going well so far. Besides, our lady wishes for you to remain here. Remember, she said that protecting the children is of the utmost importance." Honestly, hearing that did make Mia feel pretty important. Her own team of hunters, the ones saved by Shirou all those years ago, were practically stationed there. They had plenty of monsters to hunt, so they couldn't complain.
They enjoyed it there. She, herself, quite enjoyed the task of watching over the children. She knew how important it was to protect them. There was only so much the goddesses could do, considering the old laws, so it was up to her and her hunters. "However, I will admit, there have been some strange occurrences lately."
Mia perked up, before turning towards Zoe completely. "What do you mean by that?" Zoe shrugged in response.
"It's nothing too strange. We have been writing it off as demigods traveling around. A lack of monsters in some areas, or more monsters than usual, it varies. Then there was Lady Artemis informing us to keep an eye out for any strange monsters or anything out of the ordinary." She replied with a huff.
"Now that you mention it, Shirou has been going out more often lately. However, he also mentioned that he felt like something was off. It was bothering him for awhile." Mia then remembered when he told her about the large wolf he saw in the woods. "Hmm, if both Shirou and Lady Artemis are being cautious, maybe it'd be best to play things safe."
"Agreed. I was thinking about taking a group of hunters to visit the Amazons to see if they knew about something. I first suspected maybe the mist was acting up, but our lady said that none of the gods have been acting strangely, save for Ares throwing fits about Aphrodite." Mia hadn't thought about that, but if that was the case, then what was it?
"If you do that, you should take Shirou with you. He'd likely prove to be a good deterrent should they get rowdy again." Mia said, knowing how the Amazons were when it came to the hunters.
"Hmm, if I go through with it, I shall ask Sir Shirou if he would like to accompany us. Whatever is happening, I hope it returns to normal soon, or that we find the source, for our Lady's sake." Zoe sighed, with Mia placing a hand on her shoulder. She knew what she meant, but she had a feeling that Shirou could help out in that regard.
"I'm sure that whatever it is will calm down soon. Shirou's been less on edge recently, so I think that's a good sign." Zoe turned and gave her a weak smile. "Don't push yourself to hard, Zoe. We all need you. Besides, you'll make Shirou worried about you again, and I doubt you want to go through that ordeal again." She said, mentally laughing when she noticed Zoe's cheeks redden.
"Thy words have been noted." She replied, before turning and making her way towards the targets. Mia had to try hard to keep herself from laughing out loud. She couldn't help herself. Said ordeal was quite amusing. The hunters all enjoyed it. 'Poor Zoe, she was likely traumatized after that lecture.' She let out a small squeak, before an arrow shot by her head, seeing Zoe looking at her with a glare, her cheeks still red.
She couldn't help it, she let out a laugh, before deciding to run away. If Zoe was shooting arrows at her until Ophelia's break was done, then so be it.
Thalia would admit, she was having fun. Riding horses was a bit daunting, but she felt like she had gotten the hang of the basics. Joan though, she was really good at it. She found out that Joan was actually a barrel racer from Oklahoma, which was the reason for her outfit. She was likely the best rider in the whole camp. At least, that's what Jamie had told her.
Jamie Hall was the daughter of Athena that Joan had told her about. She was exactly as described. The first thing she asked her about was Clarent. When she handed it to her, the girl was enamored by it. She was only a year older than her, but she seemed to be a very good fighter. She was actually looking forward to sparring with her.
When she wasn't looking at her sword, she was usually drawing in a notebook or knitting something. The fact she could continue conversations while doing so was pretty cool. Within an hour, Jamie had already given her some nice red and black hand warmers that she knitted on the spot.
She had the stormy grey eyes of Athena, long strawberry blonde hair, and looked similar to the Athena she knew from home. She couldn't help but find her to be very pretty. She sometimes wore black reading glasses, saying they helped her concentrate so she could read despite her dyslexia. She wore a blue and white dress, with a grey cardigan sweater she knitted herself.
Then there was Abigail Rose, the daughter of Hecate. She found that Abigail, or Abby, as she preferred, liked to play practical jokes on the campers. She was very good at manipulating the mist, often making things disappear or making people miss steps on the stairs, among other things. She also carried around a bag of books, all related to magic of some kind.
Despite her prankster habits, she was actually kind of nervous and tended to blush a lot. When they first met, she stuttered quite a bit, or tended to ramble. Though, they did get along when it came to their taste in music, which was always good. Abby liked to talk about magic and things related to it, like legends and items related to them.
Apparently, her favorite character was Merlin, but she also quite liked things related to witches and fairies. She knew quite a bit about medicine and herbs, saying her mom helped her by sending her books. Surprisingly, she liked flowers. Having planted a small garden in the camp that she took care of, of course, there were herbs there too.
She wasn't a fan of how loud and cramped it was in the Hermes cabin. Apparently, she once threatened some kids that she'd turn them into pigs if they touched her stuff, which caused some of the kids to avoid her. Which was perfectly fine with her. She said she would have been fine if everyone ignored her, as long as she had Jamie and Joan to talk to. Thalia supposed she now entered that list of people. Oh, and she wasn't a fan of the sun either.
She had shoulder length black hair that seemed to repel the sun, emerald green eyes, and doll-like porcelain skin. Her face reminded Thalia of Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, which was quite funny, considering Abby liked witches. She dressed a lot like herself, wearing converse sneakers, jeans, and the orange camp shirt, with multiple accessories on her wrists. She also had a black shawl around her shoulders, though, she was sure that she only wore it because Jamie likely knitted it for her.
She also had a black umbrella that she carried with her, always using it to keep herself out of the sun. Thalia would have thought she was vampire if she didn't know any better, but Abby said that she just gets sunburns easily. Thalia made a joke that she could be make her umbrella carry a hidden sword in it, which she laughed about. Though, she did say it wasn't a bad idea.
All in all, she quite liked her new friends. Thalia preferred people like them. They reminded her of home. Being different, but rather than letting that separate them, it brought them closer together. Though, Joan was still very much Aphrodite's daughter. She asked her about her lack of reaction to Luke, because apparently, he was considered quite good looking.
Of course, she had to answer said question, so she was just honest with them. Which amounted to her telling them about Shirou, who still looked like he was in his early twenties, at worst, despite him saying he was closer to thirty. He had adopted her and he acted a lot like a dad, but, objectively speaking, he was a lot better looking than Luke could ever be. He attracted Aphrodite after all, that speaks for itself.
Now, was Luke good looking? She was at that age, Aphrodite had talked to her about it, yes, she hated every second of it, so she could say yes. However, she didn't like the loud confidence he had. She supposed he had the charisma of a hero, the old ones. However, she preferred the quiet type of charisma. The kind of person who could simply look at you and you'd know everything would be okay.
Surprisingly, that answer pleased her friends. Though, Joan was interested in seeing him. Even Abby seemed kind of interested, though she thought it had more to do with the fact that she told her that Shirou taught her a lot about magic and legends. And that he gave her Clarent, which was a sword of Arthurian legend, which she loved.
She let out a content sigh. The group was preparing to head to eat dinner, so they were just killing time. Thalia made a mental note to ask Chiron if she could help cook whenever possible. 'If I tell him it helps me relax, I wonder if he'll go for it. Maybe if I say it's a form of training?' She was thrown from her thoughts when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
Her new friends were in front of her so it wasn't them. She frowned, before slowly turning around. To her surprise, she saw her friend Jasmine standing there with a large smile on her face. "No way, Thalia, you're a half-blood too? That's so cool!" She exclaimed, before quickly hugging her.
Thalia was surprised, since she never would have guessed her friend was like her. "Um, yeah, I guess I am." She replied with a weak laugh. "I just arrived today, so I'm kind of new here." Jasmine tilted her head with a nod.
"I see, I've been here for a week, so I've gotten the hang of it. Though, it must be kind of jarring for you to see so many others here like us, huh? It certainly was for me." Thalia would admit it was weird, mainly hanging around children of women who helped raise her for the last two years. 'Best not mention that.' "Oh, that reminds me, have you been claimed yet? I know some kids who don't know who their divine parent is, and they get kind of sad."
"Pft, does she know who we're parent is? Most of the camp knows after her parent's..." 'My donor's.' Thalia scoffed in her head. "Stunt in the arena. There was thunder and everything. She's the daughter of Zeus." Joan answered for her, which was better than her answering. Joan wrapped her arm around her shoulders and smiled bright at Jasmine.
Jasmine's eyes widened when she learned who her donor was. She didn't blame her. Apparently, there was some pact they had to not have kids, but her 'father' broke that pact. "No way, that's insane. Wait, does that make us like cousins or something?" Thalia quirked a brow at that. Joan must have reacted similarly, because Jasmine quickly followed up, "Oh, I'm a daughter of Demeter."
Oddly enough, that answered so many questions for Thalia, it wasn't even funny. "Well, daughter of Demeter, I'm Joanna, daughter of Aphrodite, do you want to hang out with us until dinner? We can talk all about half-blood stuff, and you can tell us about Thalia, particularly, her dad." Joan quickly said, getting Jasmine to smile and let out a happy noise.
"Of course, I'd love to!" Thalia let out a small sigh, though she was kind of glad. She had a friend here from home, which would make things easier. She couldn't help but smile a bit, glad that everything had went well on her first day. She was excited to tell everyone back home about her day.
And Part one of Thalia's Grand Debut is done! Man, I had a lot of fun with this. Focused mostly on Thalia, because this is her time to shine, but I also wanted to show some fun other bits going on. Shirou took a backseat in this one, but he has things going on. Next chapter will be part two of Thalia's debut, and I'll be showing off some things pertaining to other characters. Miyu and Hestia will be in the next chapter, along with Caroline, I didn't forget them. We'll see the hunters as well. Of course, Thalia will be the main focus, along with her merry band of misfits. Tell me what you think about them. I had fun coming up with them. Next chapter, they'll really shine, since I'll show off what they can do. This may be a three parter, maybe four, before next time skip. I'm leaning on three, but if you enjoy this time period and the characters and story, I'll extend it. I had fun writing Aphrodite and Athena, since I wanted more interactions with the goddesses. Hestia will be up next, along with Shirou interacting with them too, along with one other person I showed in this chapter. The daughters will be shown more, especially Annabeth. Her part was fun to write. Out of all the daughters, she'd be the one to get into magecraft more because of her personality. Miyu and Ophelia would be more like their dad, in that regard. But, Annabeth isn't a magus in a normal sense, she doesn't care about magecraft like they do. She finds it fun and interesting, like a challenge and puzzle. Anyways, tell me what you all think, I hope you all enjoyed it. Thanks for reading, feel free to ask questions, I usually answer them. Thanks for the reviews and support, it means a lot and they really help. Anyways, once again, I hope you liked it, and as always, until next time.