A/N: Oh my gosh guys I am SO sorry this is late! Replies to Reviews will probably be late as well but this week just got so busy out of nowhere, sorry guys!
Anyway, hope you like it and next chapter will be up on Friday!
Shy
(Confession: I'm not a huge fan of this chapter to be honest but I hope the next couple will be better!)
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
The first time Calypso met Leo's siblings at Cabin 9, she was a little overwhelmed by how many of them there were, all hard working, all dedicated and concentrated on their various projects. She was beginning to realise Leo's headstrong tenacity when it came to his work was a family trait.
These revelations, of course, all happened after she was nearly decapitated.
Leo's friends had declined the offer to accompany them on the tour- Calypso wondered if they could sense how absolutely alien everything felt, how bizarre this place was, how she felt like it was a dream she might get lost in if she left Leo's side. Either way, they offered to meet up at dinner, to give Calypso time to 'settle in'.
The tour began at Leo's favourite spot- of course.
The outside of the Camp Forges was unlike anything she'd ever seen. While it might've looked like a regular Greek temple from a distance, up close, it was…insane. The white marble walls were coated in scratches, soot and dents, like someone had used it for firing practise on occasion. From the roof, half a dozen chimneys exploded upwards at varying heights, spewing thick black smoke which disappeared about six feet into the air like magic.
The whole thing bore a strange duo sense of durability, like it could weather a hurricane but also slight instability, like the foundations were resting on the crazed inventive minds within it. If Leo were a building, he'd be this one, she thought privately.
"Come on, the guys are still working." Leo beckoned cheerfully as they moved toward it.
"Suddenly your forge on Ogygia doesn't seem so impressive." She muttered back.
He rolled his eyes in reply. "I made a fully functioning kiln on an actual deserted island. Don't judge me." He shot back, amused.
Calypso didn't respond, too busy studying the carvings that decorated the space above the enormous iron-bound wooden doors. "This is so…strange," she breathed when Leo pushed the door open. "It's so big and-"
"HEADS UP!"
Leo grabbed her wrist and tugged her down at the precise moment something the size of a cannonball flew over her head at a breakneck speed. Calypso threw her boyfriend a sideways look. "Is this some sort of initiation?" she wondered aloud.
"No, that's actually pretty common, believe it or not." He told her with a grin as they straightened. "The initiation is trying to catch Festus when it's time to wash him down."
"Dude, don't joke about that!" one boy passing by shuddered but clapped his half-brother's arm in greeting. "Good to see you back."
"Thanks Sam." He replied in a friendly tone. "This is Calypso. My girlfriend."
Nervous though she was, Calypso felt herself flush ever so slightly with pleasure but stuck out a hand and shook Sam's hand firmly. "It's nice to meet you."
Sam was about a foot taller than her with broad shoulders but he looked shy and a little flustered to be standing in front of her. "Good to meet Leo's girl." He finally replied in a low tone and shuffled off to the other side of the workshop.
"Maybe you should've changed first?" Leo proposed to her, thoughtfully.
"I think I'm giving off a much more stately impression than I should be." She agreed, snickering. Laughing made her tension easier to ignore. Leo took her towards a tall demigod at the back of the room who was busily securing the bolts on an enormous electric catapult.
"Would it help if we rubbed soot on you, do you reckon?" Leo was asking, his mouth turned up in a cheeky grin as they crossed the workshop floor.
Overhearing Leo's words, the tall demigod sighed, rolling his eyes. "Man, you give Hephaestus kids a bad name. That's not how you talk to a pretty girl." He chided.
"I figured she already likes me for my ruggedly handsome looks, what else could scare her off?" Leo teased, hugging his half-brother quickly. "Jake, this is Calypso. Calypso, this is Jake Masen, he's head counsellor for Cabin 9."
"Nice to meet you." Jake greeted, shaking her hand as well. It seemed to be a test of character for the Hephaestus kids: a firm handshake was required.
"You as well." Calypso replied. The feeling of so many people around her was disorientating and she forced herself to focus on the catapult beside them instead of looking around blankly. "This looks very similar to the ones I used to know."
Jake, who had obviously already heard Chiron's welcome with the rest of the camp, looked enthusiastic rather than confused. "Except this one can throw missiles that release 10,000 volts of electricity upon impact."
"10,000?" Leo echoed, pouting. "Man, I miss all the fun stuff!"
"I suppose battling sea monsters, falling out the sky, arguing with gods and watching your girlfriend become mortal is far too boring for Leo Valdez." Calypso muttered and Jake let out a barking laugh.
Out of the corner of her eye, Calypso could see another demigod approaching- except that this one was a girl. She could hardly stand not to stare. Meeting the ones called Piper and Hazel had been fascinating if short-lived but Calypso had not been this close to another female in millennia. A seed of doubt began to quickly spread across her- how did one talk to women again? She felt like the rules of engagement had fled from her a long time ago without her noticing.
The female demigod joined them, her stained overalls embroidered with one word: Nyssa. She wore her dark wavy hair back under a dark green bandana and would've been considered quite pretty had she not given off the impression that she might throttle anyone who dared call her so.
"Hey Nyssa," Leo called as she approached, her features blank but not unfriendly. "This is Calypso."
"Ah, the girl you built Festus for?" she snapped her fingers, recognition in her eyes as she looked the former goddess over. The scrutiny made her want to fidget but she pushed the urge to the back of her head.
"That would be me." Calypso agreed, stepping forward for yet another handshake when something crawled over her foot.
Calypso jolted backwards to see some kind of small bronze and steel wind up toy waddling across her foot and behind it, a boy was following, around ten or so with his eyes fixed on the little creature. "Harley," Jake sighed. "What did I say about the wind ups?"
"I got bored." The kid replied, not even glancing at him. "You won't let me play with the swords."
"You're nine." Nyssa pointed out, dryly.
"Fine," Harley mumbled, picking up what Calypso now saw was a miniature elephant, made out of patchwork metal pieced together tidily, the corrugated metal of its ears fanned out carefully and its trunk moving up and down in time with its legs. "He's too small anyway. Do you want him?" the boy asked, showing Calypso the elephant.
She smiled at the little clockwork mechanism and took it, not seeing anything particularly wrong with it that she could see. "I'd be delighted."
Harley broke into a small, pleased smile and left, grabbing more scraps along the way and twitching with a similar energy that she saw in Leo most times. After that, Leo introduced her to everyone else and they all threw Leo sideways looks filled with knowing that made her turn pink.
When they left, one of Leo's brothers Shane told him to bring his girl around more often so she'd block his ugly mug and Leo had tossed a monkey wrench at his head without looking. When she glanced back, the camper was whining and pouting, rubbing his head anxiously.
"They're kind of rude." He said, apologetically as they toured the other cabins and the training grounds.
Calypso laughed, brightly. "Really? I thought they reminded me of you."
They took a look around the arena and the armoury, the volleyball courts, the climbing wall which shook and spewed lava. The whole time, Leo watched her for signs that she might not be enjoying herself, that she might be regretting coming at all but Calypso barely seemed to notice.
Her eyes couldn't seem to take in everything fast enough, she wanted to study every building, ogle every camper, watch the training drills and activities with open fascination and a thrill of nerves. "It's wonderful," she told him as they passed the Big House. "Better than anything I'd ever thought of."
"You just wait to see New Rome. I mean, Camp Half-Blood is awesome but holy Zeus, the Romans can build." Leo said excitedly.
Calypso's smile turned a little reserved as she recalled who else would be in the Roman camp. "Maybe one day. Are we going inside?" she asked, pointing to the open door of the big red barn house.
Leo cringed. "Mr D. did threaten to kick you out a few hours ago." he pointed out, frankly.
Calypso nodded with a conspiratorial glance. "Right. Best not provoke the drunken god."
"I heard that," Chiron said, stepping out onto the deck with a tiny smile.
"As long as Dionysus didn't, there shouldn't be a problem," Calypso replied charmingly.
"Indeed," Chiron answered before turning his gaze on Leo. "Jason mentioned something about Tunisia before he left the Big House this afternoon, Leo. What is this I hear about a sea monster?"
Together, Calypso and Leo described Ketos' attack and Leo's wounds afterwards, how the sea dragon had retreated and Leo escaped out of sheer dumb luck. Chiron frowned, deeply. "That is most disturbing. Ketos has not been awakened in centuries."
"Percy's dad said the sea monsters were all riled up because of Dirt Face's near miss." Leo pointed out.
Calypso frowned. "Ketos is no ordinary sea monster." She added. "He was a weapon of the Titans once. When the Olympians took power, they attempted to use Ketos for the same purpose but he was reluctant and eventually he had to be destroyed. He has not risen in thousands of years."
Leo's eyes narrowed. "If this is the start of a new Great Prophecy, I am warning you now: No. I refuse. I am not doing it, find someone else. Scaly sea snake monsters are not Leo-friendly."
"Let's hope it does not come to that." Chiron muttered. "Dionysus should hear this, as should Poseidon. I'll arrange a message but in the mean time, Leo, you will have to come with me."
"But why?" Leo complained as the centaur turned to enter the Big House. "I just told you-"
"Lord Dionysus may have other questions." Chiron interrupted with a raised brow as though to say why are you even arguing with me?
"I'm kinda in the middle of something-" he started again but Calypso squeezed his hand.
"It's fine, Leo, I'll go find the Oracle." Calypso told him, though she was a little disappointed by the heavy-handed manner. "I should unpack my things anyway."
"I'll find you after." He promised, following Chiron with a scowl and a muttered: "Knew I should've just flown away…"
The first time Calypso found a new home in three thousand years, it was still a cave.
Finding the Oracle Cave was as easy as asking the dryads at the edge of the woods where to go. They gestured to the north east of the forest and said it was on the other side of the stream. Though the directions left much to be desired, Calypso enjoyed the walk, the feel of new ground underfoot.
It was a novel experience, feeling mud filling her sandals or smelling pine needles in the air. She'd become so used to the seaside noise and feeling of Ogygia that the camp was like a whole other world to her.
Eventually, she found it carved out of the hillside decorated with white marble columns, sheer purple curtains draped over the huge entrance and a pair of torches lit with everlasting red flames guarding the archway. She recognised Apollo's flair for the dramatics in the decorating immediately and realised she could see the edge of her canvas bags from Ogygia where they were stacked neatly just inside the entryway.
It was indeed across the stream, which narrowed to a small trickle over slick rocks at one point, allowing Calypso to simply step across it in a single bound. Then it widened into a gushing river, though the river bank held small borders of white-grey sand that looked perfect for resting.
Outside the cave was rather dull, not many trees close to the slope of the hill, the grass and rocks crushed and trampled from visiting feet. Calypso began to imagine her garden from Ogygia in its place and smiled faintly at the thought.
But first, she decided, she'd have to actually go inside.
She passed through the gauze curtains and found Rachel immediately, sitting on the opposite end of the rather large cave with a pair of ear buds (as Leo had explained them). On the canvas in front of her, her hands were deftly bringing to life an image of two children holding hands in front of a fearsome yellow beast, an illuminated sign in the distance calling for Cheap Pizza Tuesdays!
Unwilling to startle her too much, Calypso gently tapped the Oracle's shoulder and she whirled around, nearly streaking her with paint. "Apollo's Arrows!" she gasped, apologetically as she ripped the strange cords from her ears which beneath a mane of fiery red curls. "I'm sorry Calypso, I got a little caught up. Tour's over huh?"
"Chiron took Leo to ask more questions of him," Calypso said though her eyes had flitted to another canvas that leaned against the cave wall with nearly seven more tucked behind it. "Though you seem to know about it already." She pointed out, gesturing to the canvas which depicted a tiny bronze creature attacking a slick black sea dragon the size of New York's sky scrapers. Leo riding Festus against Ketos.
Rachel shrugged, sheepishly. "The Oracle likes to fill my head with pictures and when I let them out, the pressure goes away." She explained. "That one came right after Leo left camp."
"And this one?" Calypso asked, curiously. The one on the easel was still incomplete.
Rachel shrugged. "No clue. It could be hours, days, weeks or months away. It's not really like the prophecies- I never know until they come true."
"Ah. Well, thank you for bringing my things inside, Oracle." Calypso said, gratefully.
The redhead smiled. "It was no problem. And please don't call me that, my name is Rachel. Here, let me show you your side of the place."
"I'm sure I don't need a whole side." Calypso said, unsurely. "I'm intruding enough already."
"Don't be silly." Rachel waved her hand, dismissively. "Think of it as yours. I'm not much into decorating so if you want to have a try, please, by all means, go ahead."
The cave reminded her of Ogygia in some ways though it was much bigger and more impressively sculpted, the walls smoother and the floor covered by an enormous embroidered carpet. "Apollo's taste?" Calypso guessed when she saw the garish sun pattern that bordered the ornately sewn carpet.
"How'd you guess?" Rachel replied, wryly. "But he at least hooked me up with a great home theatre system." The redhead showed Calypso the second bed she'd demanded when she realised the former goddess would be arriving. The headboard was sculpted into another sun pattern with several soft fluffy pillows and a television screen that rose from the end of the bed.
"It is like a looking glass?" Calypso asked, uncertainly as she studied the screen and Rachel laughed.
"Much better." She assured. "But you can play with that later." She showed her the circular skylight Apollo had thoughtfully put in, 'to make sure Rachel would always be bathed with his light', the faintly burning but smokeless fire pit in the centre of the room to add 'mystical flare for his favourite Oracle'.
There were shelves, cupboards and dresser reflected on both sides of the room. Rachel's shelves were full of paint brushes, oils, pastels, chalk, crayons, paint, watercolour glasses, everything Calypso could possibly dream of for an artist. Her dresser was untidily stuffed full of paint splattered camp shirts and jeans and her cupboards were almost entirely bare except for one set of formal golden robes which Apollo had provided her.
On the other side of the cave, it was a blank slate, completely empty of any personal flare but with plenty of space. Rachel helped her settle a few of her jars and herbs on the shelves, careful not to mix them up while Calypso dragged out her clothes and folded them away in the dresser.
"What are these?" Rachel called out and when Calypso turned to look, the Oracle held four heavy crystals in her hands, clinking together gently.
"We don't have to have them," Calypso told her, uncomfortably. "They were from my old home."
"What do they do?" Rachel asked curiously holding each one up to the light. White, purple, green and red, each one glowing faintly like a living jewel.
"They're enchanted to grow like plants." Calypso told her with a hint of wistfulness in her voice. "Here, I'll show you."
She took the white crystal, a heavy piece about the size of a football and held it as high up on the cavern wall as Calypso could reach. The crystal seemed to stick close to the wall and suddenly it extended, somehow growing upwards until the top of the cave wall and most of the ceiling was covered in it.
"Holy Zeus," Rachel murmured, astonished as the crystal continued to give off a faint light.
"At night, they look like the constellations that shine over my mother's old home." Calypso explained. "I spent a lot of time working on them when I was first imprisoned. Ogygia was my birthplace but I spent more time with my mother in the ocean."
"Why are the other ones coloured then?" Rachel asked as she held the red crystal against the cave wall and watched it spread the same way.
Calypso grinned. "I grew bored and decided to make the change colour on command. But they changed into their own colours and I grew to love them. I can take them down…?"
"Don't you dare," Rachel said, not taking her eyes off the ceiling. "They're gorgeous. I love them. Here, put the other two up as well."
With her crystal shimmering over her head, Calypso felt a sense of peace fall over her as she realised that this could be home for her now. A home close to a boy who made her laugh and possible friends.
As though sensing the former goddess' epiphany, Rachel smiled at her, softly. "Does it feel better now?"
"Yes," Calypso breathed, enjoying the sparkle, which dimmed and floated above them. "Yes, it does."
(A/N: Nawww, Calypso's making friends and settling in. Anyway, hope you enjoy it and thanks for reading!
Arya123: Oh my gods, THANKYOU! I'm so glad you're enjoying it! And yeah, I actually started writing this because there weren't A LOT of well-written Caleo stories so I'm really glad people are liking this so much X) Anyway, sorry for the wait, I should also note that I am horrible at deadlines so this is a bit late (oops!) but I hope you enjoy it and thanks for reviewing!
Guest: THEY ARE OFFICIAL AND IN LUUURRRVE AND ALL IS RIGHT IN THE WORLD . And yeah, I always figured Rachel and Calypso would get on well too! Anyway, glad you liked it and enjoy the new update!
Guest: Oh my gosh, thanks! Glad you're enjoying it so far!
Guest: Really happy you're enjoying it and as for the ichor…well, it might play a part later on if things go according to plan [insert evil laugh here] Thanks for reading!
Tara Luna Apple: Sassy Calypso is older than Dionysus and 3000% done with his shit. Hope you liked the new chapter!
Red: Naww, thanks! Hope you like the new chapter too! I usually update on Mondays and Fridays but this week, I suck and got caught up oops! Enjoy more CHB scenes!
Chocolate Lover: Man, you just wait until she visits New York for the first time. She's in for a shock. (Glad you liked it!)
Sydwashere: Hi. Hope you get food soon!
Guest: You are amazing and THANKS FOR READING!
Caro: Yeah, I was wondering about the whole Lacy Ashkin thing, haha- anyway glad you're enjoying it and as for Traditional, I'm still working on it but Firsts is my priority at the moment.
Airanger: Mr D does not like Calypso. He's gonna be a pain in the neck in the future, I can tell ;)
Guest: YOU ARE PERFECT AND THANKYOU FOR REVIEWING YOU WONDERFUL WONDERFUL READER!
Guest: The best? OH MY GOSH I'M BLUSHING SO HARD YOU ARE AWESOME THANK YOU!
Guest: Ha, that was actually my favourite line to write that chapter- glad you liked it ;)
AmbertheBookLion: Hello friend, you are also perfection and oh my gosh THANKYOU. Seriously, I am so glad you're enjoying it so far, I've been putting a lot of effort into the style and the dialogue and everything and it's so nice to hear it's paid off! And as for when Percy and Annabeth come back, I hope it turns out okay, I know everyone has super high expectations for it. And I would also like to remind you that you are wonderful and I hope good things for your future, okay friend? HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEK!
Avid Reader101: Sorry it's so late! Hope you like it!