Chiron — Ability

Travis (7) - Connor (6)

December

["Hey, Chiron. I found two."]

Chiron sits waiting in the Empire State Building's marbled floors, watching people file in and out of its doors. He checks his watch, straightens his tie, and taps his foot. He drums his fingers on the arms of his wheelchair, shuffles the blanket laid over his 'feet', and checks that his bow, disguised as a cane, is indeed slung securely on the side.

A minute passes.

And Chiron does the ritual again. Watch, tie, tap, drum, shuffle, check, again and again and again.

His ritual stops when there's a whistle of air, a flutter of wings, and the messenger of the Gods stands before him, still in his work clothes: brown khakis over a crisp, white polo complete with a brown mailman bag. He lands harshly on the ground, a contradiction to his normally light-footed arrivals. His countenance is disheveled, eyes darting to the entrance then back to Chiron before shooting to the entrance again. George and Martha seem disturbed as well, unusually silent and tense.

Chiron moves to stand and greet the God properly, but Hermes waves him down. He pulls his work bag closer to him.

"Chiron."

"Lord Hermes."

Hermes twists the straps of his bag. "You know my son went for a little detour earlier."

"Yes," Chiron says dryly, "He left Annabeth to come back herself."

But Hermes doesn't seem to hear the scolding in Chiron's tone and continues, "And you know Luke found two demigods."

Chiron narrows his eyes. Although some demigods are generally distinct with the appearance of their godly abilities, it is not unheard of to find out the children in question are mortals. Archery, thieving, engineering, they're all traits that can be learned and honed. Any quality may seem like an indication when one is influenced by pity. "Yes, I am willing to lessen the punishment if they truly are—"

"They are. They're mine," Hermes interrupts.

At the revelation, Chiron raises an eyebrow. "Are they twins? Or perhaps half-siblings who found each other?"

Hermes coughs, ducking his face into the crook of his arm. "No, they're...they're...sorta like twins. Sorta. They have the same face but, uh, different… different..."

Chiron waits for more, but when it becomes clear Hermes is done talking he continues, "Ah, I see. Is there anything else I should know?"

Twins possessed more danger than a regular demigod would, so it is imperative they come to camp as soon as possible for their safety as well as their mortal parents. One demigod attracts monsters just fine by 12 and Chiron witnesses firsthand the outcomes with twins when they become cognizant of their heritage. Generally, it doesn't end well.

Hermes pulls on his collar. "Their names are Travis and Connor. And they're...ah...they're homeless right now."

"Is their mother with them? She could spend a few months at camp until she gets her footing—"

"Travis and Connor are homeless," Hermes corrects, "Their mom is in Brazil doing a job."

Chiron's brows furrow. "How awful. Did she just leave them?"

Hermes twists the straps of his mailbag again, quickly glancing at the elevator. "She left them when Travis was 2. I took care of them for a couple of years after.

George hisses from Hermes's pocket, "You mean we took care of him."

Martha hushes him.

The years correlated. For the past half-decade, Hermes was unusually slow with his deliveries. Chiron didn't mind the extra day or two delay, but Zeus was not pleased. He had chalked it up to the unfortunate incident with May and the Oracle, but he supposes — wait. The production went back to normal a couple of months ago. Hermes couldn't have possibly… not when Camp Half Blood is…

Chiron resists sighing, resists letting any emotion befall his face as he asks, "Why are they homeless if you were caring for them?"

Even with Chiron's neutral tone, Hermes's hackles rise, feathered sandals flapping faster in agitation. "I dropped them off at a local orphanage in San Francisco. Don't lecture me, Chiron. I know you're about to ask, 'Why not Camp?' It slipped my mind at that moment. When I remembered and went back to get them, they were gone. The orphanage was gone too. They didn't pray, didn't really get into major trouble, how was I supposed to know where they were?"

Chiron holds his composure as Hermes paces in front of him, listing excuses back and forth. The Gods aren't the best parents, rather they can be some of the worst, but they do try (sometimes) and Chiron supposes that's all he can ask of them. "Well, I'm sure they'll be happy to see a familiar—"

Hermes blanchs. "NO! I abandoned them, Chiron. Do you think they'll be happy to see me?"

Then leave now if you'll scare them off. But Chiron has lived with an Olympian long enough to coat his language. "I suppose not. It's best if you leave soon. Luke will be here any moment now."

"Okay, okay. But first, Chiron, can you see if they hate me? You're good at this kind of stuff, right?" asks Hermes with pleading eyes.

Of course, it's this.

Although it's usually Aphrodite and Demeter with the occasional Apollo on the asking end, two of the Gods more conscious of their child's perception of them. For Hermes, this is a first and Chiron doesn't hope this becomes a habit. The Olympians do not like wrong interpretations Chiron has come to know. "I'm not entirely sure I can give an accurate—"

"Do me this one favor and I'll give you free shipping for a whole year. Anywhere in the world," pleads Hermes.

Chiron knows arguing is futile. Whether through his godly abilities or natural charm, Hermes always gets what he wants. It has been this way for millennia, but Chiron coughs and tries again. "Still, the question is very hard to bring up in normal conversation and will be very—"

"Free same day delivery," says the God of Bargains and Persuasion with a twinkle in his eyes.

And of course, he couldn't really refuse.

Chiron sighs, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. If he does this and succeeds, he will save the camp thousands of drachmas. The campers would be allowed to send as many letters back home as they want rather than the two-letter allowance they're given. Chiron opens his eyes, admitting defeat. "I'll see what I can do."

Hermes flashes him a big, relieved smile and nods his head. "Thanks, Mr. Brunner. I couldn't have found the tour guide section without your help."

Chiron stares blankly at Hermes, wondering if he has a momentary lapse of madness when the Messenger God waves goodbye and takes off. Behind him stands Luke, eyeing the departing Hermes with a suspicious eye. "Hey, Chiron. I'm back. Do people think you're an employee here? I guess you kinda do look like a tour guide."

Drat, his talk with Hermes has left him unprepared. Chiron coughs, straightening his back, and says in his most stern voice, "Luke Castellan, are you aware you left Annabeth—"

"Luke said you're a pony, but you don't look like one," a little voice interrupts. A few feet from behind Luke's leg emerges a young boy with thinly worn clothes and a jacket barely hanging on by a thread. Chiron isn't surprised why Luke felt compelled to help this boy. The boy stares at him with wide, adoring blue eyes. He tugs at Luke's hand roughly, pointing at Chiron's wheelchair. "He's the pony, right? Why isn't he half pony like you said? Is he hiding it in that chair?"

So Luke told them this much about him. At least he knows they are not frightened of his half form. Some children are. "Little one, I'm half horse. A pony is much smaller. I don't mind being called a pony but my brethren—"

Again Chiron is interrupted. "Woah, is that a bow? Do you have arrows? Can I try shooting an arrow? Please? I promise I won't hit anyone."

He chuckles at the boy's curiosity. It reminds him of Hermes when he was younger, when he was just a young god not even a month old. Even though it has been several millennia ago, Hermes got into enough trouble for two, three gods—wait… there should be two. There should be two brothers.

Chiron turns his eyes to Luke. "You said there were two."

Luke chuckles without meeting his gaze. "Well…"

The little one pipes up again, "Can you eat hay? Does it taste good?"

Chiron ignores the question, slight worry flaring up. "Did you lose the other one?"

Luke laughs nervously again, staring at the ceiling and scratching behind his head. "No… not exactly…"

At that point, the slight worry is now full-blown worry. "Did you come across a monster? Did he run away again? What happened, Luke?"

To Chiron's chagrin, Luke remains passively neutral. He refuses to look Chiron in the eye and makes every effort to look everywhere but Chiron.

"Luke, look at me. This is urgent. We don't have time to be playing this game," Chiron pleads.

Eventually Luke's eyes slide down from the ceiling. They linger at Chiron for a moment before flickering slightly lower.

Then he bursts out laughing.

Chiron is lost for a moment, fully set on believing Luke had befallen to the same unfortunate fate as his mother until he follows Luke's line of sight to the rear of his wheelchair and sees a boy crouching by his cane. For a second, Chiron stares at the boy because this boy there looks exactly the same as the boy beside Luke.

They're… sorta like twins. Sorta.

Oh, Hermes...

The boy by his wheelchair stands up and scurries back to his brother's side, but not before Chiron sees the child snag the taffy bars from Chiron's pockets. He hands a piece to his brother and glares at the still chortling Luke. "Now we know he's completely useless. Who laughs at that?"

Luke bends over in laughter, unable to speak. The one who snagged the candy stares at Luke for another moment before holding out a hand.

"Travis, gimme the whipped cream."

The first boy digs through a plastic bag and hands it to his brother who promptly pulls Luke's pants open from the back, stuffed the can in, and squeezed. Luke screechs, pulling the can out, "Connor! What the heck, man? We're in public! How am I supposed to clean this up?"

"Not my problem," Connor says, tossing the canister back to Travis who puts it back into the bag.

They both hold wide, crooked grins. It's terrifying if Chiron might add.

Yes, these two are definitely his children.

Their similarities are frightening. Both to each other and to their father.

Chiron shakes his head. He rolls his chair towards the elevator door, gesturing for them to follow. "Alright, the lecture can wait. Luke, first, clean yourself up. As for you two, there must be a lot—"

"Wait."

Chiron stops. He turns around and sees the two boys did not move from their spot, their previous smiles gone and replaced by caution.

"You're not like us," Connor declares.

"You're like Dad, aren't you? You know our Dad, right?" follows Travis.

From behind the duo, a man sitting on a leather chair ruffles his newspaper, catching Chiron's eyes. It lowers enough for their eyes to meet and from that momentary glance, Chiron knows it's Hermes, begging him to not say it.

Chiron looks back at the brothers, crafting his words carefully. "I do not know yet. I'm sure Luke has filled you in on the basics. I first need to confirm which parent is the Godly one."

Travis stares intently at him, brows furrowing. Then he turns to his brother and says in Japanese, "He's lying."

Connor scowls. "So you know."

"I do not—"

But a look from Travis tells him it is futile. He inherited that, the ability to detect any lie, any fib. The bargain was over before it really began.

"Who's our dad?" Travis asks.

"Which God is he?" questions Connor.

"I…" Chiron is at a loss. It is against his policy to lie to any children, regardless of godly bloodline or lack thereof. Hermes shoots him another pleading glare. George and Martha slither out of his pocket to catch a glimpse of the brothers. Hermes thrusts them back into his pocket and silently pleads with Chiron again.

'Please keep trying,' Hermes mouths.

Chiron turns back to the two expecting children. "I...I don't know. I might have a clue if—"

Chiron freezes as Connor wails, loud and ugly. He screams like his limbs are being severed, like his leg is cramping, like his candy is being taken. Passing mortals give them a glance, but most look away. Connor eventually stops his piercing scream, staring at the bystanders wide-eyed. His brother fidgets with the bag, eyes flitting nervously between Chiron and the crowd.

Chiron doesn't miss the clench of tiny fists and the slight step back Connor takes. He glares accusingly at Chiron. "What did you do? Why aren't they looking this way?"

"It's called the mist. It can make mortals see things a certain way."

"So you can stab us right now and they won't even bat an eye?" Connor says, a note of hysteria in his voice.

"Woah, now. How about we all just calm down? We're not here to hurt anybody." Luke tries to calm the situation, but Connor digs into his pocket, taking out a black handheld device with two metal prongs on the end.

It lets out a buzz that silenced both Luke and Chiron.

Travis sidles closer to Connor as Connor holds the taser gun in front of him. "So if I were to shock both of you and run away, no one would stop me?"

This is getting out of hand. Chiron orders, "Luke, go back to Mount Olympus."

Luke is about to protest but gives up when Chiron gives him the look. Sighing in resignation, he waddles over to the elevator.

"Dad," Connor tries again, punctuating with a buzz, "Who is he?"

"I can't tell you that. I made a promise to him."

"Promises were made to be broken though," Travis says.

"That's a very dangerous mindset. Promises hold a lot of power," warns Chiron.

"Just tell us his name! It's so simple!"

"I really can't—"

"Is it Apollo? Dionysus?"

"No."

"Zeus?"

"Absolutely not."

"What other gods are there? Hades? Poseidon? Hestia? Hermes? Jesus?"

"Hestia is a maiden goddess and Jesus is not part of our culture."

"I'm not playing around anymore." Connor starts backing away and Travis does the same. "Either you tell us who our dad is or we leave."

Hermes abandons his newspaper, letting it get swept up in the crowd. He still sits seated on the chair and looks back and forth between Chiron and his children. The action doesn't catch the children's attention, but it does for Chiron. Hermes and Chiron's eyes met. 'What do I do?' Hermes mouths.

Chiron mouths back, 'I'll handle this.' Then Chiron turns his eyes back to the duo. "I apologized then. Would you like any supplies before you depart?"

"What?" Connor's eyebrows raise.

"I can't break my promise. I can provide some supplies, but that's all I can do for you." Chiron can feel Hermes glaring a hole in his head, probably internally wishing to burn him to crisp at the spot.

But Connor and Travis don't leave. They stay at their spot, becoming more anxious by the minute. Connor groans and lowers the gun. "So you caught our bluff. We're not leaving, not when Luke makes Camp sound so nice. But—"

"You're not moving from this spot until you tell us," Travis finishes for his brother. He gave a toothy grin. "You seem important so you gotta be doing something important soon, right?"

Chiron grimaces. Right, he does. In a few hours, he needs to give a report to the Olympians about the Camp's activities and finances.

Connor catches his grimace and smirks. "We're right. I'm going to make this easy for you then." The taser goes back to his pocket. Out of nowhere, Connor produces a handcuff and in a blink of an eye, Chiron feels the cold metal of the handcuff around his wrist. Travis runs back to his brother's side.

Chiron looks down to see his hand locked to one of the public benches.

Connor swings a key around his finger and holds up his other hand, fingers spread. "You have five minutes to tell us. Otherwise, the key is going to go bye-bye."

Chiron chuckles slightly. Ahh, this reminds him of when Hermes was younger and his boundless curiosity. He recalled being in a similar situation when Chiron had told Hermes he did not have the time to describe his species' entire anatomy to him. The young god had not taken well to the refusal and tied Chiron up. Fortunately for him, Hermes did not know only special material could hold an immortal down. He had broken free in just a few seconds. Unfortunately for him, that sparked Hermes's curiosity more and eventually led to him being successfully captured.

This human-made handcuff is nothing to him. He'll just—

"I forgot to tell you something."

Chiron looks up.

Connor taps his chin thoughtfully, eyebrows creasing in exaggeration. "We found the handcuffs on a strange person when we were running. It said we smelled different from normal people, that we smelled like our dad. It said if we helped take off the handcuffs using this key, it'll tell us who our dad is."

"It didn't," Travis says with a blank face. "It tried to eat us."

"It didn't eat us," Connor continues. "When we fought back, it ran away. But it forgot to take the handcuffs."

Chiron has a very bad feeling.

"You get why we're telling you, right?" Connor smiles.

Chiron looks down at the handcuff. At closer inspection, he can see ancient Greek inscriptions marked onto the side. He tugs experimentally. It doesn't give.

Curse the Greek gods.

The strange person must have been a minor god that upset one of the Olympians and was punished by being tied up. What luck he has, that out of all of the thousands of demigod children, it was these two that came upon it.

"Three minutes," Connor states, three fingers up.

"Then we're tossing the key into the Hudson River," says Travis.

They grin at him, a devilish smile that borders on evil and mischievous.

If Chiron didn't have any duties to attend to, he would have been glad to play this game of theirs. Sadly, he does and there is simply no time left to dilly-dally. "Why are you so insistent on finding your father?"

Connor shrugs. "I don't really care and I don't really want to know, but Travis does. So here we are, doing this. I just want a bed to sleep in."

"Don't be like that, Connor. Don't you wanna know why dad left?" Travis says, bumping his brother lightly on the shoulder with a smile.

Connor rolls his eyes. "He left because he thinks we're annoying."

Travis pouts, cheeks blowing up with air and finally looking like the child he is. He stomps his foot. "You don't know that."

The brothers continue with their light banter as Chiron tries to pick the lock open with a hairpin. When he thinks he has it, the runes glow blood-red and the accessory melts into a puddle of metal and dye. Drat, so close, Chiron thinks and leans his head back in his wheelchair.

"Times up," Connor says.

"So? What do you say?" Travis asks, eyes glittering.

They give a sweet smile as Chiron comes to the realization that yes, he indeed is trapped and that yes, he indeed is in dilemma.

Hermes flies next to him as Chiron walks down Mount Olympus's gold-paved paths, no longer bounded and legs free from confinement. Hermes is frowning, crossing his arms. "You ratted me out," Hermes accuses.

"I apologize, Lord Hermes. I did not mean to break your trust," Chiron says sincerely.

Immediately Hermes flashes him a grin. "Ah, it's okay. Everything worked out fine, so I don't mind. I'll even give you that free shipping."

"You...will? Why?" Chiron questions. He isn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth, but with Hermes every rule needs to be reconsidered.

Hermes grinned mischievously at him and did an aerial flip. "I'll let you think about it."

"Connor… inherited your bargaining."

"Yeah, he's pretty quick with the words."

"Travis has your lie identification."

"It's actually fairly strong compared to my other children."

"And they're quite mischievous, aren't they?"

"They sure are!"

"I… I feel like I'm gonna have my hands full for the next decade."

"Bingo!" Hermes snaps his fingers and winks at him, full of mirth. "Think of it as my future apology gift. They're a boatload of fun. I'm claiming them a week from now. What do you think I should get as a gift? A magic bag that holds any sports equipment? Or a magic bag for junk food? No, they'll break into the camp store to get junk food if they want. So magic sports bag it is!"

Thank you for reading!