Disclaimer: I don't own Trials of Apollo

Day 25 - Race Against Time

In the glow of the campfire, Chiron smiled fondly – and with more than a little bit of amusement. The cycle was so familiar to him after so many centuries that it was obvious what was coming, but to the children with their infinitely shorter lifespans and experience to match, it was going to come as a surprise, at least until Will begrudgingly recalled the last time it had happened.

The sun was setting, leaving the flickering flames of every colour and then some to take the lead on lighting up the demigods' world the same way it did every night, especially in the summer when the camp was at its peak capacity, and with the setting sun came changes.

It was common knowledge amongst campers that Apollo's children got more and more lethargic the further past sunset it got. Of course, the older, experienced ones could force themselves into activity during the night if circumstances demanded it (it was a burden the head healers bore, and Chiron wished that sometimes there weren't medical emergencies that needed more than his learned training to heal – Apollo had taught him everything there was to know, but some things could not be replicated no matter how much knowledge the practitioner held). The younger ones, however, were another story entirely.

Most of Apollo's children were older, when they arrived. Apollo didn't like to separate his children from their mortal parents until it was necessary, so most of cabin seven's new arrivals were eleven or twelve, in the wake of the promise Percy had extracted from the gods. Before that, some of them had been thirteen, or occasionally older. Children of Apollo arriving earlier usually indicated that something was wrong, or otherwise out of the ordinary (not many of his children were abused, because Apollo had a good sense for danger when it came to children, if not for himself, but there were other reasons, like untimely deaths, that could force an earlier arrival).

The latest arrivals, a pair of twins from Scotland who would not be returning to their previous childhood home for the foreseeable future due to bad luck and parental paranoia – mostly but not exclusively on the behalf of their mortal parent – were the youngest new arrivals since Will, almost a decade before. They weren't as young as Will had been, or Lee, or even Michael, but they were still barely into double digits, and thus particularly susceptible to the presence of the sun in the sky, or lack thereof.

Chiron watched as their heads gradually fell together, using each other as an inadvertent and unplanned pillow as drowsiness set in. Merida was slightly taller than her brother, and her head claimed the higher position (although this was no indication of their respective ages – both twins were tight-lipped over which of them was the elder, and it was so reminiscent of Apollo and Artemis' constant squabble over who was the elder twin that Chiron could feel only fondness for their stubbornness).

It would not be long before they fell asleep entirely, and Chiron had seen too many young Apollo children fall completely asleep at the campfire and be subsequently impossible to stir until dawn to let Will face that fate. For some demigods, it was useful – it hadn't taken cabin seven long to intentionally wait for a young and constantly irate Michael to fall asleep before retiring for the night, back when he had been both young enough to be controlled by the sun's position, and also fragile enough to lash out at any hand, no matter how genuinely helpful. For most, it was preferable that they made it back to the cabin at least partially under their own steam.

Chiron made his way to where Will was basking in the gentle strains of music that Yan was serenading the campers with, leaning comfortably against Nico, who had his arms around him and his chin on top of his head.

"Good evening, Will," he said, "Nico." The two young men acknowledged him with a smile – Will – and a nod – Nico. "I don't wish to interrupt your relaxation, but I fear that if you don't act swiftly, you may have some young children to carry to bed." He tilted his head towards the half-asleep twins and Will followed his gaze.

The beginnings of confusion immediately cleared into clarity as Will noticed them. If Chiron wasn't mistaken (and he tended not to be, when it came to a demigod he had known for a decade), Apollo's eldest son currently attending camp had been suddenly reminded of the various times he'd been carried, half asleep, back to the cabin and his bed by various older siblings.

Nico's confusion didn't clear up, but Chiron couldn't say he was surprised by that; Nico had never been in camp with such young Apollo children before, and was well used to Will's ability to stay up all night if he felt it necessary. Still, he didn't attempt to restrain Will when Merida and Robin's head counsellor let out a soft groan that was more fondness than genuine complaint and hauled himself to his feet, although he did press a brief kiss to his boyfriend's hair as Will moved.

"I'll be back," Will promised him, turning to give him a light kiss in return, before picking his way through the fading light to crouch behind the twins. Chiron didn't follow, choosing to remain with Nico as they watched him lightly nudge the pair into wakefulness again – for a given definition of the word – and offer them hands to pull themselves up with.

Even out of earshot, the twin's reluctance to move was obvious, but Will was not a demigod to be out-stubborned easily, and a pair of ten year olds were never going to win against him. In short order, he had both of them on their feet, each one pinned to his side by an arm around their shoulder, and was escorting them away from the campfire and back towards the cabins.

"Past their bedtime?" Nico asked. Chiron glanced down at him to see his eyes focused on the trio as they walked away.

"I'm sure Will has some stories for you of his own campfires when he was their age and younger," he said with a smile. "Staying awake after their father's chariot has stabled for the night is not an ability Apollo children tend to develop at birth."

"Huh," Nico responded, with the glimmer of a sharp smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "I think I would like to hear Will tell me those stories. Maybe I'll ask when he comes back."

Chiron had no doubt that Will would tell him, nor that Nico would pounce on it as an excuse to drag Will to bed a little bit earlier – an endeavour that very few campers would disagree with. Chiron certainly didn't, and he suspected Apollo wouldn't, either.

He said none of that to Nico, however, simply saying, "I'm sure you will enjoy the stories."

And, well, if he stayed in earshot so that when Will finally came back, noticeably more tired himself but triumphant that he'd managed to get them into bed before they passed out for the night, he could hear Nico beginning to quiz Will, well.

Nico wasn't the only one that enjoyed the stories.

Credit to stereden for getting my muses thinking about how Apollo kids' powers wane after dark.

Thanks for reading!
Tsari