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Day 19: Nurturing Seeds

As a general rule, Demeter did not concern herself with the comings and goings of Camp Half-Blood. She paid enough attention to ensure that any of her children that decided to make their way there and acknowledge their heritage were claimed promptly, because no-one could accuse Demeter of neglecting her children, but beyond that there was no point. Demigods were a hardened sort of seed, yet ones that bloomed and withered all too quickly. Enjoying the brief fleeting nature of a single bloom was more Persephone's indulgence; Demeter focused herself on the larger picture, plants that endured seasons and thrived under her ministrations.

Her attention was dragged unwillingly towards the demigod camp by Apollo, as his mortal body floundered its way through the surrounding forest. He was accompanied by her daughter, Margaret clearly making her way to camp and proving her power in the process as she created and commanded a karpos.

No doubt Apollo, and then Chiron as they arrived inside the camp, had already identified Margaret as being her child – after that display of power, there could be no mistaking it – but Demeter still needed to make it official. The best time for claiming demigods was when they were about to have dinner, when everyone was gathered to witness it, so despite Margaret's visible prowess, she held off on claiming her until then.

That left her watching the camp for a day, noticing that Miranda appeared to have left – she was approaching that age, and it wasn't unheard of for her children to leave a year or two before they reached majority – leaving Billie the only one of her children present during the winter months. Billie was adjusting her make-up, and Demeter returned her attention to Margaret instead, who was far more appropriately inspecting the golden flowers that grew outside of cabin seven while the inhabitants of the cabin fussed over their unconscious, mortal father.

They seemed strangely attached to him. Demeter knew that Apollo paid more attention to the camp and his children than she did. The camp made sense – Apollo had founded it. The children made less sense. Apollo could not help them, the laws and her brother were firm on that fact. Watching over them when he could not do anything seemed like a waste of time to Demeter, who could not fathom spending so much time simply watching.

Even now, watching her daughter explore camp and the new flowers it introduced her to, Demeter felt like time was wasting. There were many plants that needed her attention as mid-winter passed and began the slow process of thawing towards spring as Persephone came closer to returning to her rightful place at Demeter's side. Instead of tending to them, however, Demeter had to keep some of her attention focused on the camp, to ensure she claimed Margaret at the correct moment, so that no-one could mistake her daughter for anyone else's.

Apollo's domains were far more numerous than her own, and her own already demanded all of her time. How Apollo could waste time watching children, Demeter had no idea.

His children even seemed to be aware, to some degree, of their father's usual scrutiny, based on their own behaviour. Demeter could not see into Apollo's cabin, the same way no-one else could see into her cabin, but she could see the anxious flitting around of the younger demigods as the one that looked at lot like Apollo's usual form stayed inside the cabin, with the no doubt still-unconscious Apollo.

What did Apollo gain from the close scrutiny? How did his children benefit from a silent observer who could not speak to them even if he wished to for fear of his father's wrath? It seemed illogical.

Demeter's own children knew better than to look for safety nets. True, some of them had begun to veer into different paths that Demeter did not care for – Billie's face-painting was obnoxious, to put it mildly – but for the most part they followed the broad strokes of their life as they wished.

None of them would be so lost without her.

Watching Margaret was far better than ruminating on the nature of Apollo's children, regardless, and at least Margaret had to good sense not to do it in the cabin that held distressed demigods. Margaret's potential was enormous, showcased beautifully by her relationship with the karpos, and for a short while, Demeter supposed it was worth watching the girl.

Perhaps she would watch her for a little longer, given the position of power she'd fallen into. Being the master of a mortal god was a notable achievement, and part of Demeter was intrigued how she would handle Apollo

But she wouldn't watch too much. Watching demigodly children for days on end was Apollo's preference, not hers. Margaret didn't need to be watched in order for her to bloom.

Thanks for reading!
Tsari