1. Thanks a lot to NessaRoseFangirl for helping me beta this story. Also thanks to Ana-DaughterofHades who helped me a lot with a prior version of this chapter.
2. Any error here is mine and not from my reviewer. If you spot anything or have a doubt about the grammar used or plot just PM me, I'm always swift to answer.
3. Enjoy
Some part of Grover wished the Council had said he had failed already; then he wouldn't be as nervous as he was now, just wondering what was going to happen.
The Council had heard him out but they seemed to know all of the facts by then. Silenus and Maron kept pointing out all the mistakes Grover had made, while Leneus nodded disapprovingly. Mr. D had been resting in a corner, looking lazily at his nails.
The Council of Cloven Elders was going to be deliberating. However, after listening to all of their complaints, the satyr didn't know how he was going to make it out of this one. Probably the only reason why there was no final decision yet was Chiron, who had arrived just in time to argue in his defense.
Chiron was the activities director at camp and an honorary member of the council. He was the same centaur from the old stories, the mentor of heroes. Of all the immortal forces in the world, Grover liked him the best. It was not like he was going to say that out loud though. Mr. D, the camp director, could and would hear him. He was one of the twelve Olympian gods and Grover didn't want to upset him. He was very afraid of Mr. D actually, as any sane person should be.
As he sat on a lonely log in the forest, Grover wondered what his future would look like without a seeker's license. He was practicing some simple tunes in his pipes yet the sound coming out of them was nowhere as good as Woodrow's. Actually, Grover didn't have a good enough talent to give any sort of class in camp, so that was a no. Was he destined to spend the rest of his life in the strawberry fields then? Listening to George dismiss the seeker life as nonsense while other more capable satyrs were out there looking for Pan?
Grover frowned, still upset. He couldn't stand the thought of George at the moment. His words had been so distracting that he had almost forgotten everything he was going to say to the council.
"You should have left them. The other two," George's words came again.
The nerve of that guy. Grover was so mad just to think about it, he couldn't help a loud bleat from escaping him.
Yes, the seeker's license was his dream, but Grover could never leave other campers to die like that. Annabeth had been barely a little girl, scared of monsters sure, but already fierce with that bronze knife of hers. The daughter of Athena had grown into one of the best fighters around. She was a reliable friend and the camp would be much less without her in it.
He couldn't imagine letting Luke go either. He was the camp's leader and always tried to bring out the best of his fellow campers, in and out of the sword practice.
If he had to decide between his seeker's license and his friends, Grover would pick his friends, every single time. He would rather spend an eternity with George if that meant Annabeth and Luke's survival.
Maybe that was his problem. Grover's mission had been to rescue Thalia and bring her to camp at once. Only Thalia. Maybe, if he had done so, Luke and Annabeth would have still made it to camp, they were capable fighters after all. Maybe his problem was that he hadn't trust their skills enough. Maybe he screwed up, as he did with Percy as well.
Percy. That had been a different thing altogether. One of his biggest mistakes was not telling Percy the truth at once, that and going to the restroom at the worst possible time. Grover should have told Percy the truth the moment the boy confessed hearing him talking to Chiron at Yancy. The satyr had to admit it, he panicked when Percy mentioned the fates snipping the thread, but who wouldn't? That was probably the worst sign one could get and there were a lot of very bad signs in their world. Like really a lot.
As if that wasn't enough, the solstice was coming too. Zeus wanted what was stolen recovered by then and they still didn't know how he was going to react to Percy. They ignored who the thief was as well.
Grover sighed heavily. He didn't have a clue of what was going to happen, but he certainly didn't want Percy to die.
With a heavy heart, the satyr continued playing Hilary Duff in his pipes, trying to put his head away from things for a moment. Aside from the occasional squirrel and the rushing of the leaves, everything around him appeared to be in peace. At least in the middle of the forest and far away from the strawberry fields there was nothing that could annoy him, or so he thought.
He felt that thing again, the one he had felt at Halfblood Hill. Grover was more afraid, realizing he hadn't imagined it at the hill. It felt stronger this time and, even with the hot summer they were having, the forest had been colder and darker for a moment. Again, the feeling had left, as quickly as it had arrived.
Grover sat in silence for a moment, turning to the sides, trying to hear anything out of the ordinary.
"Gosh! That tune is a downer," a whiny voice said.
Lost in his own thoughts, Grover was caught completely unaware. He jumped away from the fallen log, his reed pipes almost falling out of his hands in the process. For a moment Grover turned to his right and there he found a dryad, sitting on a low branch of a tree and lazily swinging her feet about.
"What do you call that? 'The crying satyr ballad'," asked the dryad, who seemed to be a blueberry one. Not long ago Grover had a crush on another blueberry dryad, which instinctively made the satyr straighten up.
"I'm not crying."
"It was a matter of time," insisted the dryad, more annoying than Grover's old crush.
"Didn't you feel that? Just now?" the satyr asked.
"It was just a cloud passing by. What? Are you going to cry because it blocked the sun for a beat?"
Grover huffed, loudly. "I'm not in the mood, okay?"
"What a surprise. The sad satyr is not in the mood."
The thought of looking for a different place to play his pipes turned suddenly more attractive. It didn't seem like that nasty feeling was going to return either way, whatever it was. Still, the dryad didn't look like she wanted to leave him alone.
Maybe the interruption was a sign, it was clear nature didn't want him to take a break. Even so, before he tried to leave, a second dryad appeared from his left, closing his escape. She was a more familiar one though.
"Knock it off Cherry. Grover's just having a hard day," said Rowan, the red cedar dryad.
The blueberry dryad, Cherry, rolled her eyes, "Whatever."
Unlike the short blue hair from the first dryad, Rowan's hair was straight and dark red. She was taller and had a better tan to her, which in dryad terms meant a more brownish tone of green. She had been friends with Grover for a while now and she had never complained about his Hilary Duff songs.
Rowan was not alone as she approached him, she brought a friend with her, a smaller dryad of amber hair. Grover didn't know her so she caught his attention for a moment, that was until Rowan sat on the log next to him. Grover sat back as well.
"How was the council?" the red cedar dryad asked, hands crossed on her lap.
Grover looked down, suddenly more interested in his reed pipes. Rowan was not like Leneus or Silenus (like not similar at all), still pretty girls could make him just as nervous as reporting to the council.
"It could have been worse," he said, blushing.
To his right, Cherry, the blueberry dryad, rolled his eyes.
"So they didn't exile you or anything?" asked Rowan.
Grover shook his head. Not yet, at least, he thought.
Rowan let out a breath that the satyr wasn't aware she was holding. "Oh thank the gods. They gave you the license then?" the red cedar dryad followed with a hopeful smile.
"They haven't decided yet."
For a moment he was so frustrated, he felt as if things were getting worse and he couldn't do anything but wait. "I mean, I'm here trying to do my part and they— it's like—"
"Like what?" asked the third dryad shyly, Rowan's friend. She had an elfish face to her and was very pretty.
Grover paused only briefly, "Like they don't care. Like, seriously dudes, the wild is dying out there and all you talk about is if I made it two feet in or out of the camp's limits. Very uncool."
"I care," said Rowan's friend with a smile. "It's good that nature is so important to you."
Rowan stood up, "Oh sorry, I completely forgot, you guys don't know each other," she rushed to her friend and brought her closer, "Grover, this is Juniper."
"Nice to meet you."
"Her tree is a juniper," added Rowan.
"Guessed as much."
After joyfully shaking Juniper's smooth hand, Grover heard a new complaint from Cherry. This time it was about not being introduced either, which Rowan begrudgingly did.
It was obvious Rowan didn't like Cherry but it was not like she could move two cities away from her. Dryads were nature spirits whose life force depended on their trees. They were bound to them, even physically, unable to travel far away from it. Grover had always felt for them. There was something unfair in not being able to flee as everybody else when a problem arose but it also had some deeper meaning. We should all be dryads in some way, taking care of the wild as if it was our tree, as if our survival depended on it. Because it did.
"Maybe it is better if you don't get that license," Rowan said after some time of small talking. It was different than when the satyrs said it but it still hurt. "It's nice here and I've heard some nasty things about the world out there."
She did have a point.
"I know, that's why I have to find Pan. Only Pan can fix those other places."
"No other satyr has returned, I've heard," added Juniper, looking concerned.
That was true as well, no seeker had succeeded before. Most of them got lost in their search, there were satyrs who believed not even Jeff could return safely once he formally started his search. Yet, Grover wanted to do this.
Grover's drive was strange in that way. He was afraid of many things in life, even rabbits for gods' sake. However, he couldn't stand down from this. This was the only dangerous thing he was not afraid of. Maybe he should be afraid of not being afraid.
What if Rowan was right though? She was his friend, she was only trying to help. Grover remembered the other satyrs and, for the first time, Grover considered staying at camp forever.
"If he wants it so much, you shouldn't bug him. It's his decision," Surprisingly, it was Cherry who talked.
"What are you on? He could die. He would be safer here," argued Rowan, frowning. Behind her back, Juniper was nodding.
Cherry came down with a jump, the leaves barely making a sound at the touch of her light feet. It was then Grover noticed her 'Run Forest Run' shirt.
"He won't know if he doesn't give it a try," said Cherry.
"Are you serious?"
"He already said he wants to find Pan. Save all of the wild, and whatever. Don't you want that?"
Rowan huffed, hands on her hips. "Of course I want that but he's just one satyr! And my friend! A demigod will eventually do it, once it gets serious. Why does it have to be him?"
"I'm just saying, I would do it if I was him. It's a shame we can't leave this place. It would be nice to get to see the world," Cherry said with a sad tone, proper of someone who has surrendered a dream for knowing it impossible.
As Grover listened to their argument, his head started hurting. There was just so much back and forth. It was unclear how much of the argument was about Grover and how much was fueled by Rowan and Cherry not liking each other. Even so, Grover considered their words. Rowan was a good friend to him but she didn't seem able to understand him, not unlike Woodrow. Cherry's words on the other hand were compelling to his ears, though they were said for somewhat selfish reasons.
Who should he listen to?
In all honesty, there was a part of him that wanted to agree with Rowan. Stay, make life at camp. Be happy. It was like this voice in his head saying 'What on Zeus name are you doing?! You're just one silly satyr!' Maybe he should listen, maybe he should stay. Nevertheless, there was this crazy thought as well. If every satyr said 'I'm just one satyr,' then no one would find Pan. Ever.
"What do you think Juniper?" asked Rowan at a break from the argument, the red cedar dryad was looking for backup.
Juniper turned from Rowan to Grover's curious look, "Ehm I— I think it would be nice if he stayed, he seems like a good satyr," she said, taking her time, "But it feels like he knows what to do. I don't see why he can't be as good at it as any demigod."
That was surprisingly good. Juniper had just met him and had more confidence in him than Grover himself. Although, maybe she would think differently if she knew him better. Maybe she was mistaking him for Jeff.
He gave a shy smile to Juniper but it soon went away. Grover remembered it was not his decision to go out after all, he had to wait for the council to decide for him.
There was enough in his head already, Grover had to go and look for Chiron. See if the old centaur had more information or advice to give him. Besides, Rowan and Cherry were just in the brink of war against each other and the satyr would rather be far from them when it exploded.
So, Grover thanked the dryads for their words and hurried to the Big House before they could stop him. He wanted to know what Chiron thought of the meeting but also he wanted to check on Percy. Maybe the boy woke up during his absence and Grover had a shoebox for him. Also, the satyr was starving.
o0o0o
As he made his way out of the woods, Grover found his path mostly deserted. Most of the campers were at their training classes or inside their cabins. Percy would be joining them soon enough.
Grover moved his eyes across the cabins, which were visible from where he was standing. All of the cabins were imposing as ever, different from one another, all of them important in their own right. He stopped for a moment in front of a small cabin that had grapevines growing on its walls. Grover thought about his meeting with the weird dryad argument still buzzing in his head, then he switched his attention to the left side cabins.
One of those buildings was the cabin for Percy's father. Grover didn't know for sure which one it was, he hoped it would be a good one.
Ares' cabin was bright red as always which stood up next to the golden glow of Apollo's cabin. Neither of those cabins, nor the god they were designed for, seemed right for Percy. Even so, no one would know for sure until Percy's father claimed him.
Grover's eyes moved forward, passing the hearth at the center, all the way to the end of the 'U' shaped setting. There, standing tall and the most magnificent of them all, was Zeus' cabin.
Perhaps, if we're lucky, Grover thought. The possibility of Percy being a son of one of the Big Three was real and Zeus would be better than the alternatives.
Even so, the satyr knew there were many other possibilities. Including cabin eleven and the uncertainty. He tried to brush that away from his head as he continued his path to the Big House.
Percy can't end up in Hermes' Cabin, he just can't. It has to be him, he repeated weakly to himself.
Grover didn't want that for Percy, not knowing could be horrible for anyone. He had seen it in other boys' faces so many times already. Even if Percy didn't want to be Grover's friend anymore the satyr wanted him to be happy, or as happy as he could be in a world where monsters waited for the right moment to kill him.
The bad part was Grover could be kicked out of camp way before Percy's father claimed him. How long would the Council take to decide? Would he still be around to see Percy wake up? He needed to be, he had to give him that horn.
Grover held tighter into the shoebox under his arm.
At that moment he remembered that thing that had happened, the nasty feeling. It had been two times now, first on the hill and just now in the forest. Grover didn't know what it was but he was sure it couldn't be just a cloud. Clouds passed around camp due to the camp's magical barriers.
Most likely it had something to do with Poseidon and Zeus' struggle.
Grover left the arena behind and soon the Big House was visible. He kicked a small rock in his way, as hard as he could, just to let go some of his frustration. He was no oracle and his head was down, so he didn't see the rock coming very close to hitting someone.
"Hey! careful!" Grover raised his eyes to look at Annabeth, who was walking down from the Big House.
"Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to," he managed to say quickly.
Annabeth was a daughter of Athena and an old friend to Grover. He had met her when he tried to bring Thalia back to camp all those years ago, when he had met Luke as well. At the moment, Luke and Annabeth were two of the very few friends he still had at camp.
"It's okay," she said, looking at him with attention. "Are you alright?"
Grover nodded.
The girl had gray eyes and bright blond hair, which as usual she had pulled back on a ponytail. She was sporting her orange camp shirt with some blue jeans, her celestial bronze knife reliably strapped to her side.
Looking at her made George's words come back to him. There was no point in dwelling on that though, so Grover brushed the memory away.
His face must have given something away for Annabeth narrowed her eyes, as if studying him. "Was it that bad?"
Grover sighed, and told her most of what he remembered about the meeting. The girl mostly nodded, only interrupting him to ask quick, pointed questions. It was nice having someone to hear him without ending in a full-blown argument between tree spirits.
"You shouldn't worry that much, there's nothing you can do, but wait," she said once Grover had finished his story, "Chiron won't let it get that bad, and we'll figure out what to do after."
After. After what? After they denied him the license? After they sent him to the strawberry fields with George as a mentor?
Grover nodded sadly, but he didn't meet the girl's gray eyes. Which didn't go unnoticed.
Annabeth's tone warmed up. "Don't be so hard on yourself. The boy is okay."
"Did you see him? Is he talking now?"
"He's still out, but recovering," she sounded frustrated, "Chiron said we should let him rest. I did ask him something but all he did was mumble and got back to sleep."
The blond girl sighed and stared at some point in the distance. Grover had seen that expression on her before, as if she was trying to discern the world before her eyes at the time she went through some problem.
Grover was afraid of asking, but he did so anyway. "What did you ask him?"
Annabeth looked doubtful, but after biting her lower lip for a second, she decided to question him, "Well, maybe you can answer my questions. Do you know what's happening on the solstice? I know something was stolen, but I don't—"
"Chiron hasn't told me anything! I know as much as you do," the satyr cut her off nervously. He wasn't supposed to talk about that.
Annabeth raised an eyebrow, clearly aware of the satyr's lie. The small glimmer of hope that had appeared on the girl's face fading at the sound of Grover's words. "Do you have a clue about his cabin then?"
"Not really. Chiron has said he has some guesses, some of them bad news I think."
"Not good ones at least," a third voice said.
Chiron was now standing a few steps away from them in his full centaur form, Grover didn't even see him coming which pointed to how distracted he was. The old centaur sometimes used his fake magical wheelchair to hide his centaur form, that's the way he managed to pass unnoticed by mortals when he took the part of Percy's Latin teacher. As Mr. Brunner, the centaur could be a common teacher, scraggy beard and tweed jacket included. However, as it was usually the case when he was at camp, Chiron now stood tall over the lower half of a grand white stallion.
"Grover, come on. I have been expecting you."
Annabeth gave him a supporting smile and a few encouraging words, then she left. Chiron led Grover towards the sky-blue house. Once Annabeth was out of ear range, he talked again. "Raise those spirits, there's still hope."
"Ha! You were there! You heard them, they believe it was my fault. Even Mr. D agrees with the Elders. The worst part is they're probably right."
Chiron put a hand on his shoulder. "Percy is safe, that was your mission."
"No thanks to me, they know that. I passed out and I even lost him in New York." Grover knew the Council just missed to say he was a lousy keeper.
"We don't know what will happen, but you will have ways to prove your worth."
"Like what? A third opportunity?"
Chiron didn't answer, he knew Grover's odds were not good.
"When is Percy waking up?" Grover asked after a while.
"He's looking good but that fight took a lot from him. I'm guessing he'll be with us at some point tomorrow."
A day to practice his apology.
Grover scratched his wispy beard, both excited and afraid of talking to his best friend again. This time it would be like his real self though, Percy would surely have a lot of questions to be answered. Then, he remembered something.
"Chiron, Annabeth asked about the deadline," Grover said as they moved near the porch of the Big House.
"You didn't tell her anything, did you?"
"No, but she is too clever. She knows the solstice is the deadline and she also knows something was stolen."
"Of course she's clever. Let's see how things turn out, a quest is coming but I am not sure if this is her time yet."
Grover made a sad gesture. Ever since Annabeth arrived she had been waiting for the time to return there, to get a quest. Who knew when her time would arrive. In a way, he could relate to her so much. He knew what it was like to wait for a chance that might never come.
"You also heard her asking me about Percy's dad, but I didn't have to lie there. I'm not sure about that one," Grover stopped briefly, then turned up to look at the centaur's face. "You know, right?"
Grover had an idea of who Percy's father could be, but nothing was certain. Besides, if it turned out Percy was not a son of the Big Three, then he would be clueless.
"Honestly? No, but I have my guesses. The problem is that those guesses are quite different from each other and, as I said, some of them are not good options. Let's wait for his father to reveal himself."
"And if he doesn't?"
Grover had seen many kids staying forever in cabin eleven, unclaimed, and he knew it was quite possible Percy may remain there.
"Then he is not the person we seek," the centaur answered with a sad gesture.
"He has to be given a sign! He's very good and without training too. You know what he did yesterday, that's not easy."
"I am hoping the same thing too, Grover. It's a difficult time and we need to hurry up."
Suddenly Grover sensed a weird presence around them and it made him jump backward in surprise. It was the third time now. A very nasty feeling indeed, unnatural. Grover felt as if he was never going to see the wild ever again. At the same time, a cold wind flooded the place and he could have sworn the whole camp went dark for a couple of seconds.
When he turned back he saw a frightened face on Chiron, he had felt it too. The old centaur was sweating. "It can't be. I thought I had imagined it before."
Then a cold and dry voice echoed around them, but Grover was never sure if he actually heard it or if it was only in his mind.
We all get our second chances, the ancient voice said, then everything went back to normal.
"Chiron, what was—" Grover stopped his question abruptly.
There were two kids standing in front of them, as if they had appeared out of thin air. He was alert after what had happened, but the kids didn't look like a threat. They seemed confused.
The boy was blond and had sandy blond hair, wavy, he was somewhat younger than Percy. The little girl at his side had straight black hair, she couldn't have been more than six. Grover had never seen them in his life, yet both were wearing Camp Halfblood T-shirts.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Chiron asked in a severe tone.
"Chiron?" the boy asked nervously, then he saw Grover. "Uncle Grover?"
The satyr was shocked and he didn't even notice when his jaw dropped open. "Wha— what?"
Grover turned his eyes to their feet looking for hooves but they didn't seem to be satyrs. Come to think of it, he didn't have any brothers, so they were certainly not related to him.
"Let us start from the beginning. What are your names?" Chiron asked.
The boy quietly said, "You know us already."
Grover tried to remember but he couldn't recognize the kids. He got an odd feeling, like there was something familiar about them, but at the moment he didn't know what.
Could they be enemies of some kind? They didn't look like it but Grover had seen dangerous stuff in friendlier packages.
Chiron moved around Grover, as if circling him, then stopped in a very horse-like way. He never took his severe eyes away from the kids, "I'm having a problem remembering things this morning. Can you refresh our memories?"
The blond boy turned to the girl at his side, who was equally confused. After a moment, he ended up shrugging and decided to speak more clearly.
"I'm Rio," he said, when he didn't get the reaction he was looking for he continued, "Rio Jackson? This is my sister, Sophia."