Act II Chapter XXXIII: "I hope I make you proud."
Percy closed his eyes as he tried to focus on his surroundings. The air gently howled above him. It was a windy day, which made it harder for him to find his quarry. A leaf crunched to his left, and he slowly turned in the water. His eyes drifted open. Now to strike.
Percy felt a tug in his gut as he willed the water on his right to splash out of the small lake. Then, he launched himself out of it. The first few times he tried this, he landed flat on his face and broke his nose. Unrelenting practice made him better.
As he twirled through the air, Percy adjusted his trajectory and landed right on his feet, holding his sword out. Lupa whirled toward him, and the sword cut right into her fur. Golden blood trickled from her face as the tip of the sword was only an inch from her eye.
"I'm sorry!" Percy began as he quickly pulled his sword away and stared at the blood. Lupa chuckled and looked down. She shook her head, sending small bits of golden ichor everywhere. When she looked up, there was a look of pride on her face.
"Very good job, Perseus," Lupa praised.
"Thanks…" Percy said awkwardly with a smile. He had spent the last month training with Lupa every night. Some of it was with a sword. Others were in the water. She even made him use the stars to navigate. During the day, he continued with his other lessons along with meeting the new demigods.
In the last month since Thalia's visit, they had more than tripled in size. He counted about sixty demigods now. All of them were a variety of ages and experiences. There had been a few minor arguments here and there, but they had done it. They had begun to bring Camp Half-Blood back to its former glory.
"We will finish for tonight," Lupa decided. Percy nodded and placed his cap to his sword. It transformed into a pen that he slipped into his pocket. "Get some rest. You have a big day tomorrow."
"Yeah. Thanks," Percy replied. He turned and walked away from the clearing, walking through the healed forest. The last month had been nothing short of amazing. Sure, it started a little rocky with Thalia blowing up on Lupa and finding the Labyrinth. But it got so much better.
The Labyrinth had a dome of bronze. The bronze was connected to the rock thanks to Beckendorf, a torch, and some ingenuity. Lou Ellen used magic to make a sort of alarm, and nothing had tripped it so far. Clarisse insisted on opening the hatch on top every single day to make sure nothing was trying to sneak in.
As Percy stepped out of the forest, he smiled as he looked at Camp Half-Blood. Near the hill were twelve cabins in the shape of the letter U. Outside of each cabin was a small shrine to one of the Olympians. The inside was plenty of room for whoever to sleep.
Chiron wanted them to divide them all by godly parentage and sleep in the respective cabins like before, but Dionysus insisted that it was a waste of time. He also said something like the demigods would be dead before they knew their godly parents, but Percy decided to ignore that. Since there was no rhyme or reason to who slept in each cabin, he just happened to stay in the one that had the shrine of Poseidon in it.
Will stayed in the cabin that had Apollo's shrine outside of it, and Annabeth practically ran to the cabin that had her mother's. Drew learned her mother was Aphrodite and had a few siblings to stay with her. Silena wanted to stay in the same cabin as Beckendorf, but Lupa shot that idea down instantly.
As for Luke, he stayed in the same cabin as Percy. Clarisse stayed in the cabin that had her father's shrine outside of it, and she practically dragged Reyna there. It wasn't a perfect layout, but it was a start. And Percy got his own bed so he couldn't complain.
Fifty feet from the cabins was an armory that was full of a mix of Roman and Greek weapons and armor. Everyone was assigned their own weapon and armor with spares for any new demigods. Next to that were the bathrooms, and beyond that a small cabin that acted as their kitchen.
The other side of the camp had a large pavilion full of benches and tables where they ate. They all volunteered on cooking and cleaning duties. It felt like a normal summer camp. As normal as it could be for children of the gods at least.
Everything was so perfect that Percy kept waiting for it all to come crashing down. But it never happened. Things were finally looking up. They were all getting ready for their next step, but first, they were all going to take a small break.
The break would only be a week long, but for Percy, it entailed visiting his mother. He just had one more day to go. Sally would pick him up and then bring him back after a week. Or sooner if the monster attacks got out of hand.
Percy could not wait.
"Hey," Annabeth said. Percy turned to look at her. "How did training with Lupa go?"
"Great. I'm mastering those new techniques," Percy said. He didn't go into detail with Annabeth about the training sessions with Lupa, but he did say that she was teaching him how to control his powers. "How were the lessons?"
"Frustrating," Annabeth admitted. "Everyone has different knowledge on the old stories, so I have to keep that in mind while I teach them everything."
"You're a good teacher," Percy said. Annabeth looked away, but he swore her cheeks tinted red. "Are you excited for tomorrow?"
"I can't wait," Annabeth answered. Her and Luke were going to take the day to just go out by themselves. Get some food (which sounded great) and go to a museum (which sounded terrible). "I just hope Clarisse doesn't try to bully anyone."
"Reyna will keep her in line," Percy replied. As far as he knew, Annabeth and Luke invited Reyna to come with, but she declined. Reyna had seemed to come out of her shell more. She wasn't disappearing as much and actually slept at night since she didn't have to patrol by herself anymore. They all took shifts with that, too.
Under the watchful and very annoying eye of Terminus. Percy couldn't focus on looking out for threats because he was too busy tucking in his shirt, being told his hair was too long, or listening in about the benefits of togas and why every young man and woman should be wearing them.
Percy wouldn't trade any of it for the world. He glanced at Annabeth, "Do you know what our next step is?"
"Well, we have more campers, and they can protect the camp while we're gone. Beyond finding more demigods, I think we have two options. Look for an Olympian or go right to where Mount Olympus is and see if we can get inside," Annabeth answered.
"Do you think there is a god on Olympus?" Percy questioned. Annabeth shook her head.
"Dionysus said it was long abandoned, and he wouldn't answer when I asked if it was locked or not."
"Maybe they have a doormat with the key under it."
A small smile came to Annabeth's face. She cleared her throat, "Are you excited to see your mom?"
"I can't wait," Percy admitted. "What about you? Have you talked to your dad since we saw him?"
It was quiet for a few moments. Annabeth finally sighed, "I sent a letter telling him I was safe. That was it. I doubt a mailman comes out here, so I won't get his reply. If he even wrote one."
Percy nodded and tried to think of something to say to comfort Annabeth. The two of them stopped in front of the campfire, and Percy noted that the flames were dying down. He spoke, "I'm going to get some wood."
"Don't forget tonight," Annabeth warned. "Grover got the soda, and the three of us are going to have a picnic."
"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Percy returned. Grover had been busy helping rebuild the camp, but he was going to visit the Hunters of Artemis in a few days with Annabeth. Apparently, Thalia and Annabeth messaged a few times each week.
"You better not," Annabeth warned as she walked away. Percy grinned and made his way toward the pile of branches at the edge of the forest. A few demigods greeted him as he walked. He smiled as he returned the greeting. While he always felt like an outcast at school, it was different here.
Everyone knew what it was like to have ADHD and dyslexia. They understood his struggle. They were also the outcasts at their schools, and a select few had even destroyed part of their school. It made Percy feel great to know he wasn't alone.
They were still trying to sort out who everyone's godly parent was. Percy suggested that they first speak to all of the new demigods in either Ancient Greek or Latin, but everyone shot that idea down. They didn't care if they were Greek or Roman but rather who their actual godly parent was.
Dionysus was no help, but he also looked over each new demigod like he was looking for someone in particular. Lupa stated she couldn't tell the godly parent of each demigod, but she would do her best to help them. There was a tension in the air anytime Lupa came by, mostly because she scared everyone.
And Terminus was too busy yelling rules at everyone to do anything else. It was so strange how part of the camp could feel like a nice summer vacation, and the other half was boot camp. Percy tried to stay away from that side, and Annabeth even dubbed it the Roman half. Luke chastised her for it, but she wasn't wrong.
Terminus was stuck on that side, and Lupa mostly kept on that half. It really was the Roman half. Percy shook his head of those thoughts and grabbed some of the branches for firewood. He made his way back and swept with his eyes once more.
Percy was so proud of everything they had accomplished, but this was just the beginning. They had so much more they needed to do. Percy kept his gaze looking around as he walked back to the fire. His eyes started to move back toward the fire, and he could have swore he saw movement near it. Like a cloaked figure.
Percy snapped to attention, but there was no one there. He blinked and looked at the fire. No branches or wood had been added, but the fire burned much brighter than before. Percy tilted his head to the side in confusion, and he walked toward the fire. He carefully placed the branches inside.
"Hey, dad," Percy whispered as he looked down at the fire. "I know you probably can't hear me, but Chiron said they used to give offerings to the gods. To let them know they're appreciated. I just... I want you to know I'm not going to stop. I'm going to find you and the other Olympians and bring you back to power."
"I hope I make you proud," Percy whispered. He pulled a half eaten candy bar out of his pocket and dropped it into the fire. "Sorry, it's the only thing I have."
Percy stood and exhaled a deep breath. As he breathed, he waited for the smell of burning candy and a wrapper. Instead, it smelled like the candy store that his mother used to work at. A longing hit his chest. But, he would be with his mother soon. It would only be a week, but he could not wait to make the most of it.
Watching the Percy Jackson show as I post this. I love it so far. I hope all of you get a chance to watch it.