"Me…I'll do it."
Hestia shakily held up her hand.
It came as a shock to everyone, including herself, that she would volunteer to read. That's what she kept asking herself, even as Loki lobbed the book at her head (she'll have to remember that by the way) why was she doing this?
She didn't want to. OF course she didn't.
Catching the book out of the air, Hestia looked down at the image on the cover. Of little Percy stepping out of an ocean, ready to face the storm in front of him.
This book has done nothing but bring her pain and misery. Giving her those weird feelings, making her look so pathetic in front of her children. Making them worry about her when she should be the one protecting them.
Honestly, those kids.
Welf, Ryuu, Lili, Haruhime and most recently Bell. All those kids have felt more pain than she ever felt in her entire immortal existence, and yet they still find room to care about her.
They really shouldn't. She's just a stupid, lazy Goddess that's never had to do a hard day's work in her immortal life until she came down to Tenkia last year. She's the one living on their goodwill. And all this stupid book done is remind her of that.
So no, she doesn't want a turn.
But…
At the same time, it's shown her some truly wonderful things.
The honest love of a mother, the strength needed to make a caring home in a dark place, and the will of a child greater than many Gods.
It was so strange, but in a way, she felt a connection to Percy. Almost as if he was another one of her children. She cared for him, in ways that the hearth should.
That brave and reckless child. When she watched him, she couldn't help but remember why she loved hearing the tales of the mortal heroes.
The bravery, the kindness, and their unexplainable luck that defies death. How they always seem to stand back up, even when they're scared.
She's also seen how his story was affecting her children. Sure, there are parts that make them sad, just like her.
But the way that their eyes light up when Percy rises warms her heart.
So maybe that's why, she thinks catching the book out of the air, maybe that's why she took a turn. Opening the book Hestia smiled softly as she finds the chapter.
Because so if it makes her uncomfortable, so what if she's scared about that feeling?
For once, she can be strong for them. And-
Hestia sneakily looks over at Bell over the corner of the book.
If she can also learn more about this whole "God's having children" business then that's not her fault, right?
"I Become Supreme Lord of the Bathroom."
Hestia's face disappeared between the pages as she tried to hold in her laughter even as the room exploded with it.
Her shoulders shook. Really? She knew that they were reading from the mind of a child but was it so hard to ask him ot be a little bit more mature?
Supreme Lord of the Bathroom. Sounds like something a Water God would declare after too many drinks. And seeing how everyone suspected that Percy was the son of an Ocean God weeellll. It kind of speaks for itself, doesn't it?
Honestly, this reminds her of the time when Piltzintecuhtli gave Vishvakarma so weird mushrooms that he was growing, causing him to build a giant fort out of clouds and declare himself King Fluffy.
Then, still high on whatever those mushrooms were, Vishvakarma challenged all Gods to break down his fort, calling it "impregnatable". (She still thinks he got that word wrong)
Hundreds came to take his challenge only to find out, surprise surprise, Vishvakarma a God of Crafting, had used his Domain while intoxicated and had actually made it impossible to bring down.
Sure, maybe a Supreme God could have brought it down but none of them ever cared enough to try.
It's still up to this day in fact.
And everywhere Vishvakarma went, he was still called King Fluffy. Last she's heard he tried to escape the embarrassment by descending to Genkia, only to have all of his friends chase him down and make him King of whatever city they landed in.
But hey, the Kingdom of Fluffyopolis is doing wonders under the charge of its King so there's that at least.
…Hestia feels like she's gotten off topic. Back to the book.
Once I got over the Centaur in the room, we had a nice tour, though I was careful not to walk behind him. I'd done pooper-scooper patrol for Parades a few times, and, I'm sorry, I did not trust Chiron's back end the way I trusted his front.
Hestia blushed as another round of laughter filled the room. Why did this have to be the chapter that she chose to read?
The humiliation that she felt, as Virgin Goddess, forced to speak about…things that comes out of the backside.
Riveria shook her head. "That boy, doesn't he think that his teacher will have more self control then to do..that in public? Or does he think all Demi-humans can't control their animalistic urges?"
Mama Mia chuckled as she leaned back with her arms crossed. "You'd think that but wait until you see my girls around milk or Heavens forbid Catnip."
Anya and Chloe pouted as their fellow waitresses giggled at their expense. Everyone remembered the last time a patron had tried to get with one of the resident Cat girls using a bag of smuggled-in Catnip.
It took 8 hours before the effects wore off and they were back to normal. Only to learn that the night before, after using said patron as a scratching post, that not only had they stolen all of the fish from the Hostess but all fish in a five-mile radius.
And that was only because Mama and them were finally able to catch up with them and drag them back to the Hostess. Where they scratched, marked, destroyed and defiled the bar before finally laying down to sleep off the effects.
"Nya, at least we're not like dwarves around beer." Chloe mutted.
"What was that."
"N-Nothing Nya!"
Passed some courts and a few other campers that all stared at him. A few satyrs stood out with the same orange shirt. They all watched Percy, he almost thought that he should flip for them.
"Hah, the looks of the adoring public after a successful battle." Gareth sarcastically sighed.
Finn chuckled. "I know what you mean, their looks can be quite piercing if you're not ready for it."
"Piercing? Why, one little squirt once asked me if I could really pick up a building over my head."
Riveriarolled her eyes. "Yes, I remember, we were forced to pay the family for their plumbing repairs. As well as apologies for the sudden inconvenience of being thrown about in their own home on a Sunday morning."
Gareth scoffed. "Please, as if I was gonna let that little brat walk away after questioning my strength, and the family was just fine. In fact, they said they were honored that I chose their house."
"Gareth, the boy, was 25."
"And I'm 56. What's your point?"
Percy, by chance, looked back at the large farmhouse. It was nice, in a peaceful rural kind of way, but something drew his eye. The curtain, for a moment it moved. And for some reason, Percy got the feeling that he was being watched.
"Hold on, did that curtain move?" Yamato's eyes narrowed as she leaned closer towards the Black wall.
"Might have been the wind." Welf suggested.
"Not unless there is another window open. What do you think, Bell-sama?" Lili asked.
"I don't know.." It had all been too fast to see, but Bell could have sworn that he saw the barest hint of grey fingers under the shadow.
"Could it have been a trick of the light?" Riveria whispered to Finn. Unlike the younger ones, she had seen something.
In fact, all the top adventurers had seen the same thing, but they were having a tough time believing it.
When this story had first began the first thing that everyone learned was that The Watcher was doing something that made it feel as if they were actually there.
Which meant they saw, heard, and smelled everything as it happened. It was like they had been plucked and dropped straight into that world. They just couldn't interact with them, as if a glass wall separated the two.
And for the Adventures in particular, this distinction was very important, as it meant even their sixth sense, which had been honed for years in the Dungeon were usable.
Such as their sense of how strong someone is, their sense of when danger was approaching, and their sense of whether or not something was there.
And despite some of them seeing the barest hint of grey fingertips disappearing back into the room their senses were telling them that nothing was there.
"What's up there?" I asked Chiron. He looked where I was pointing, and his smile faded. "Just the attic." "Somebody lives there?" "No," he said with finality. "Not a single living thing."
"He's telling the truth." Loki frowned.
It was something all Gods could tell, but coming from her, it became set in stone. Unless there was something that Chiron didn't know, then there was truly nothing up their.
Ottar snorted disapprovingly as more than a few of them sat back, believing the mystery to be over. Taking the God's word as gospel and content ot move on. The fools.
While it is true that a God's senses were something that they, as mortals, might never amount to, their own senses were nothing to dismiss either.
Because while it might be blasphemous, their senses were not something just given to them.
They were forged and sharpened in the dark and had suffered through years of abuse, all just to keep them alive through hell.
If they saw something, then they saw something. And if Percseus felt something, then he felt something.
Ottar shared a glance with Finn. He, too, had his doubts and was not ready to believe that they saw nothing. Looking around the room, Ottar was pleased to see that all of the captains, including young Bell, were of the same mind.
I got the feeling he was being truthful. But I was also sure something had moved that curtain. Chiron then showed him the strawberry fields. Saying that with Mr. D's help, they were very easy to grow and funded most things here. Though he mentioned that Mr. D was forbidden from making any grapes for obvious reasons.
Ouranos nodded his head. "Yes, the help of an Agricultural God is much appreciated when it comes to supporting a city."
"Though I doubt our Gods have as much free use over their Arcanum as they do Ouranos-sama."Fels agreed.
"Damn, he's even stopped from having grapes. Thats too harsh." Loki flinched at the thought.
Grapes were the best. What else would she use when she finally had a harem of pretty girls to feed her with? Rasberries and Blueberries were not nearly as sexy, and Strawberries took too long to eat.
"I don't know…I think they might be on the right track."
Loki sweated a bit as Mama's eyes bored into the back of her skull. Her glasses glowing ominously white behind her.
Walking past a Satyr playing a pipe and using magic on plants, Peryc wondered if Grover could do the same thing. Then he got sad as he thought of Grover alone with Mr.D "Grover won't get in too much trouble, will he?" I asked Chiron. "I mean . . . he was a good protector. Really."
"Yeah, great protector." Bete snarked.
"Come on Bete, leave the poor kid alone already. We all know he messed up no reason to keep bringing it up to us." Gareth sighed.
Bete snarled. "Weaklings have no place in fights."
Finn shook his head. "Leave him be, Gareth, you know how he gets, and though it pains me to say it, he's not completely wrong. Some people just aren't right for the front lines, no shame in that. I'm more interested in that bit of magic we saw. Riveria, do you know if magic can be used like that?"
Riveria thought back. "Not…that I know of. For Elves, when we learn how to use magic before receiving Falna, it is always done with a staff or wand, something to connect us to nature. Though Falna can be a tricky thing that hands out weird skills and magic at its leisure."
Mama Mia laguhed. "Oh yeah, hey girls, remember that one old man with the magic that only worked with his tapping spoons."
"Uh, please don't remind me, he wanted to wow me with a trick but turns out his magic only works if he plays his spoons for thirty-minutes straight." Lunorie rolled her eyes.
"Snrk~" Hermes tried to hold in his laughter. "I-I..ha..I once met…hehe..I once met an old bat, a child of Hecate who's….Hahaha..Who's magic only world when she screamed out random gibberish that no one understood. Hahahaha, He-Hecate even told me that when she read the Falna off her back that..She couldn't even read off the command phrase."
Chiron sighed. He told Percy that Grover has dreams, but they require returning to camp, alive, with his charge. Percy tried to argue that Grover didd but Chiron mentioned that losing Percy at the bus, losing his mother as well as having to be dragged by Percy to them looked bad on him. Percy looked down guiltily as most of that was his fault. "He'll get a second chance, won't he?" Chiron winced. "I'm afraid that was Grover's second chance, Percy."
"HA! I knew it!"Bete stood up. "That weakling should have never been there!"
"BETE! Sit down." Riveria hissed. Scandalized that her fellow Familia member was causing such a scene.
But Bete wasn't done. He wacked in front of the wall and pointed.
"Don't you see it? That happened because they let that weakling have a-" Bete whipped around, ecstatic that his point was proven, that he almost didn't see Loki standing right under his nose.
"Bete." She whispered his name. Her eyes dead pools of murky black water as they stared up at him. "Sit your ass down. Now."
The words died in his thought. He rarely saw Loki this serious, but whenever she was, it meant that she wasn't in the mood to play the jokester anymore.
Skoffing Bete walked away with his hands in his pockets as if he wasn't just cowed with his tail between his legs.
Watching him go back to his seat, Loki sighed. She knew that this wasn't just about Grover, as a werewolf, this whole place was throwing off his senses, and it was making him agitated.
She heard from Mama Mia that her cats were going through the same thing. Something about how the place smelled of nothing and the general feel of the place that was throwing them off.
And unfortunately, unlike her girls, who were open to help, Bete was too proud to want any. Even if they tried, he'd just throw it off just to show how tough he was.
Putting away her serious face, Loki turned around and sheepishly waved everyone off as she went to sit down.
"Chiron tried to tell Percy that Grover might not have been ready so soon after the last attempt. He was only 28 after all. Chiron mentioned that he might have to wait longer again for his next chance. "That's not fair," I said. "What happened the first time? Was it really so bad?" Chiron looked away quickly. "Let's move along, shall we?"
No one mentioned Grover's age, as between the Elves, Dwarves, and Gods, the people of Orario were pretty used to seeing someone be younger than they should ever be. But something did draw their attention.
"Hmm," Hermes hummed. "I wonder what this, "last time" of his was."
"Whatever it was, it must have been bad if Chiron is unwilling to speak of it." Freya mused as she twirled her wine.
"Though Chiron's words do shine some light on this Protector job. It seems its like we inferred, in that it's not a job meant specifically for fighting, but more of a scouting position meant for retrieval." Finn said
"More of a find them fast and get out instead of stop and fight strategy," Gareth added.
Tastumaki snorted as she crossed her arms. "Yeah, but even you don't go looking for a fight, these guys have the idea that monsters will find them anyway, so I feel like they should have sent someone that could fight, just in case."
Ottar grunted. Bete wasn't wrong. There are jobs for everyone, things that everyone can contribute to. But if something doens't fit, then it's better not to force it otherwise, you might make a mess.
Case in point, Grover.
From Chiron's own words, he was smaller than his kin, less physically inclined, and worse at their own brand of magic as well. Someone like him should never been sent out.
No one will deny the bravery of going out unprepared. But when its anothers life on the line, then it's better to put away your feelings and send the correct person for the job.
Over by Hestia, Bell and them looked down. They were the ones most on Grover's side, but even they couldn't find an argument against what they were saying.
Bell felt like if he were in Grover's shoes, then he would have done the same. In fact, in many ways, he has. Going out when he wasn't ready, almost gotten killed as a result. And by a minatour too.
But the one difference the Bell saw was that Grover wasn't a fighter. He saw it in his eyes.
It's something that he's begun to see as he's gotten more experience. Between the civilians and Adventures that he's met, Grover just…he didn't have that push.
Sure, he'll stand with them. Bell could see that. But he didn't have the eyes of someone to grab a weapon and practice with it for hours on end.
Bell sighed. He just hoped that Grover can find his way and be happy.
Something had been on Percy's mind. From the second that he learned of Gods to now, when Chiron refused to say that his mother died. "Chiron," I said. "If the gods and Olympus and all that are real . . ." "Yes, child?" "Does that mean the Underworld is real, too?"
Unknowingly, everyone learned forward, even the Gods. Like a rope tied around their throat, they couldn't help it.
From the second that Percy said it, they knew what he was thinking.
It was the same thing that many people had thought of before when they first learned that Gods walked the earth. If Heaven were real, then what about souls?
A Hope that they could see, touch, talk to, or even bring back their loved ones. A hope that was crushed when their Gods told them the truth.
That, yes, while souls existed, the afterlife didn't.
There wasn't a glorious hall or realm where the good resided and a hell for the damned. There wasn't a procession of wives and husbands, children and parents waiting for you when you died, for the simple fact that souls just didn't work like that.
Souls…were not people. They were just the bundles of life energy that gave breath to bodies. People were actions, memories that defined them, and when they die, the only thing that remaiend was that bundle of life.
Souls couldn't carry memories. How could they? They didn't have a brain, or eyes, or ears. Souls were…just energy.
Sure, sometimes a soul carried divots, scratches, holes, imprinted on them by strong feelings or actions, but that's what the Gods of death were for. They cleansed the souls, fixed the impurities, and sent them back down to Genkia to be reborn.
Some, like Freya, found meaning in these markings. They collected odd or sometimes memorable souls that were changed by their time of Genkia, but that was fine, as it's not like those souls were living.
They were just balls of energy, they couldn't feel.
But the rules there were different.
Chiron's expression darkened. "Yes, child." He paused, as if choosing his words carefully. "There is a place where spirits go after death. But for now . . . until we know more . . . I would urge you to put that out of your mind." "What do you mean, 'until we know more'?"
"Feww" Finn breathed out, defeated as he leaned back.
No new information there. Nothing that they already didn't have in their world at least.
Tenkia was a place where all souls went, not that they stayed there unless they were special. But it didn't tell them if they were souls or souls.
Finn ran his hand over his face. Probably wouldn't have mattered. Its not like they could hop on over to that world and go talk with the dead.
For one Finn didn't think The Watcher would let them. For the other, well its not like their dead were over in that world. Theirs were already in newborns, if the Death Gods weren't feeling lazy.
It's just, Finn thought as he looked out over the adventures in the room. It would have been nice to think about at least.
Finn pushed himself up. Who knows, while it might not help them, the information clearly helped Percy, going by the look on his face.
Chiron then showed him the woods near the edge of camp "The woods are stocked, if you care to try your luck, but go armed." "Stocked with what?" I asked. "Armed with what?"
"Weapons, what else, dumb fuck?" Bete muttered.
"Bete."
Bete looked away.
"You'll see. Capture the flag is Friday night. Do you have your own sword and shield?" "My own—?" "No," Chiron said. "I don't suppose you do. I think a size five will do. I'll visit the armory later."
Hephaestus tapped her chin. "Wow, that's a good eye. Much closer to a 4.5, but a buckler or another circular shield would work better for his arms."
Tsubaki shook her head. "I'd say with how skinny and fast he is, he'd be better without a shield and instead either use a dagger or some kind of polearm."
Hephaestus shook her head.
"You're thinking just about his body type. Think back to when he defeated Dodds."
Tsubaki looked confused for a moment before her one eye widened in realization.
"You mean-"
"Yes, we've already seen his skill with a blade, though elementary as it was, was very high. Whether he shows similar skills with other weapons, but from what I can see, I doubt it. No, a swordand shield are likely the best fit for him, he'll just have to grow into them thats all."
Continuing the tour CHiron showed him the lake, the theater, stables (which Chiron didn't seem to like), and the arena where they had sword and spear fights. "Sword and spear fights?" I asked. "Cabin challenges and all that," he explained. "Not lethal. Usually.
Loki looked up and sighed. "Man, I miss the Guild Arena fights. They used to be so fun, not we just get to watch boring monster taming."
Hestia blinked. Leaning over to Lili, she whispered. "Didn't they shut those down because too many people got hurt. Both on the field and off it."
Hestia tried to keep her voice low, but obviously not low enough for elf ears.
"Yes, Hestia-sama, they did." Riveria glared down at Loki.
The fights that they were talking about were the old Guild Arena fights, where the Guild sanctioned fights between Adventurers in the Arena. The fights were meant to be a way that Adventures can settle disputes between themselves without causing too much damage to both each other and the city.
A safe, reletivlty blood free way that took fighting out of the streets and into the Arena. Didn't hurt that it was something everyone could watch and enjoy, and became a staple of everyday life.
Until the day of the so-called Trisker Riot.
Now, Riviera, as an Elf of Royal bloodline, hated the entire barbaric practice altogether on principle.
But when the bill for high-level healing/potions for half the city comes to her because her childish, moronic Goddess and her familia decide to run a gambling ring that fixes fights.
Then she can go from hating it to never in her life wanting to hear a single syllable relating to it ever again.
Which was why, after 6 hours of screaming and lecturing the entire Familia down on their knees, she forced a ban on the entire subject for as long as she lived. Oooh, just remembering that day made her so mad.
And it wasn't just Loki that was the center of the entire debacle, either.
Finn quickly looked the other way, sweat pouring down his back. Wide-eyed and pale-faced Finn refused to turn around, afraid that he'd find red blazing elf eyes staring into his soul if he did.
Finn remembered the day well. The only day when he truly felt why everyone called Riveria Mama. And everything had been going so well before then, too.
It started off as a simple idea to make money using the Guild's strategy to lower the amount of in-city fights between Adventures.
Line a few fights, fix a few bets, and get some free advertisement for the Familia at the same time. The problem started when they actually started making money. Like a lot of money. Like the kind of money that became impossible to ignore.
So they did some more, then more, then a whole underground gambling ring. Finn couldn't believe it back then. They were ranking in more money than many of the top casinos in Orario, at the same time. They were at the top of the world and nothing could bring them down.
And then came the anonymous tip.
When that came in, it spread to the entire city, and when the entire city learned about their little schemes, they came looking for their money.
Then the rioting started.
When all was said and done, every last cent that they had earned went back into the city, paying back reprimands as well as to fix a lot of damages, to both the people and the city.
Riveria had then kneeling on ridged rocks for hours begging for forgiveness and apologies for what they did. And the subject was never brought up again.
Until now, that is. Shaking, Finn bit his lip. Why did Loki have to bring up that curse subject now, when he couldn't run away?
And worst of all, they never even figured out who sent the tip in. Finn sighed. Maybe they'll never know now.
Off to the side, Freya quietly twirled her wine. Bringing it up to her lips, she hid a devious smirk as she took a sip.
Oh, yes, and there's the mess hall." Chiron pointed to an outdoor pavilion framed in white Grecian columns on a hill overlooking the sea. There were a dozen stone picnic tables. No roof. No walls. "What do you do when it rains?" I asked. Chiron looked at me as if I'd gone a little weird. "We still have to eat, don't we?"
Haruhime tilted her head in confusion. "But… everyone will get wet?"
Lili rolled her eyes. "There's probably some kind of magic that stops that."
Haruhime looked at Lili, confused.
"Why didn't he just say that then?"
"Cause Chiron-sama's an idiot."
Percy dropped the subject. Finally, though Chiron showed him the cabins. Small house arranged in a U formation. Each one different and unique with numbers over their doors
The Gods sat forward.
"Is that…a Blessing on those buildings?"
Like with Sally, the Gods were quick to notice that something had been added to each cabin.
"And look at how many," Loki said.
"Twelve cabins, so that must mean twelve Gods in the Pantheon, right?" Hermes asked.
"I guess so," Hephaestus said, bewildered. "But which Gods?"
Everyone moved closer, trying to see if they could match the cabins to any Gods they knew, but it was no use. The images were still too far away to make out any details. They'd have to wait until Hestia continued reading and Percy got closer.
While that was happening, Ournoas stayed in the back, rubbing his chin as he sank deep into his thoughts.
"Blessing on buildings," Ouranos whispered. It was something that he had never thought was possible.
Back when Gods first learned how to bestow Blessings, it became a sort of craze to lay as many of their Blessings down on Genkia. Like some sort of game where they tried to claim as many things on the mortal plane as theirs.
But they were quick to learn that while living things, such as mortals, animals and some plants were easier to Bless. Things like mountains, oceans, and even giant trees shrugged off their Blessing, for lack of a better term.
No one knew why.
At first, it was believed to be a size limit. And it became a sort of lesson to the Gods for a time, that though Gods reside on high, not even their strongest could lay Dominion over Genkai.
But then Moratls started creating homes. And the Gods realized that they couldn't Bless those either.
That was when they learned that to work their Blessings needed more than just their Aracum to become realized. They needed a… stable Identity to land on.
Things like mortals who knew what they were and became grounded in reality.
A better example would be to think of Identity as soil and Reality as the Ocean.
Living things, like Mortals, with their Will and Mind, made Identities to float on Reality. But Dead things like the Mountains and the Ocean could not.
Instead, they just sank into Reality, beyond the reach of God's Blessings.
To be able to Bless a Dead thing, one must first drag it out of Reality and build it an Identity for to sit upon. Something they could not do.
To make an Identity, one needed a Will, and Gods had no Will.
They were beings made from their Domains. Even if they seemed to have free will, they did not. They could no more deviate from their Domains than a scorpion could from its nature.
That is what the Gods of Tenkia believed, what they had known to be fact since the dawn of time.
So how did they?
How did these Gods do it? It wasn't a matter of Aracnum. Not even all Gods together could create and Identiy. So how?
Unless.
Ouranos sat up. Looking over at the Adventures in the room, he pondered.
What if something, or someone else, made the Identity for them?
Back to the book.
Hestia, aware that everyone was curious about the cabins, continued reading. As Percy got closer to the Cabins they could start to make out some details. But it wasn't until Percy himself started studying the cabins that some of them started to feel something.
Number nine had smokestacks, like a tiny factory.
Hephaestus sat forward. For some reason, her eye started to get blurry.
Inside of her, she felt… something. She didn't know what, but she felt connected to this cabin. It..it was almost like when she crafted a weapon back on Tenkai, but somehow deeper.
Wa-Was this what a Blessing was?
W-Wait H-Hold on. D-Did that meant tha-?
Number four had tomato vines on the walls and a roof made out of real grass.
Loki narrowed her eyes. That one felt more like someone she knew.
And seeing how that cabin was Farmer themed, she had a pretty good idea who… But she could wait until she knew more.
Seven seemed to be made of solid gold, which gleamed so much in the sunlight it was almost impossible to look at. In the center of the field was a huge stone-lined firepit. Even though it was a warm afternoon, the hearth smoldered. A girl about nine years old was tending the flames, poking the coals with a stick.
Hestia gritted her teeth, looking at that Golden monstrosity. She knew exactly which cabin that belonged to.
Apollo. That idiot.
"Hmph." Lifting her nose, Hestia tried to hurry along and get that disgusting image off the wall when she stopped.
Something pulled her attention to the screen.
Looking up she stared at the image of the little girl for a while. Finally, tilting her head, she asked.
"Is…that me?"
Loki looked closer. "Holy shit, I think that is. And look at that, no tits this time huh, shorty?" Loki snorted into her hand.
"What? Little Hesita got even littler?" Hermes covered his eyes as he laughed. He couldn't believe that their pint-sized Goddess got even smaller in another world.
Freya shyly smirked. "Well, I think that she looks cute even with that new hair color…I will say, though, that body is more in line with what a Virgin Goddess should look like."
Hephastus chuckled. "And this one looks hard at work too, unlike ours. Can we switch?"
Hestia went red in the face at all her friends making fun of her in front of her children.
"Shut up, Hermes! And Loki, Well thats obviously cause I don't need them huh? Still more than you got, you washboard wannabe tomboy. Even as a child, I still beat you."
She couldn't really say anything to Freya and Hephasetsu as they were kind of right, but what could she do about it? This was just how she was made, she didn't have a say.
So she just did the mature thing. Pulled down her eyelid and stuck her tongue at them.
Loki, not liking her completely true statement, threw her drink to the ground, sending glass flying everywhere. "WHAT WAS THAT YOU PINT-SIZED WASTE OF SPACE?!"
"YOU HEARD ME YOU-"
"Hestia-sama, please calm down."
"Yeah, Loki, take an ice potion."
Bell and Welf quickly started pulling Hestia back while Loki's Familia did the same. Taking their short Goddess by the arms, they took them back to their seats even as they started growling at each other.
Sweat dripping from the back of his head, Bell awkwardly started patting Hestia's head as they sat down. He was trying to calm her down, and for some reason, it was working, so he kept it up.
As he did that, Bell couldn't help but look over at the wall. At the little girl, sitting peacefully on a rock and stroking the flames. With a plain white dress that went down to her ankles and red auburn hair, a brighter shade than Welf's tide into pigtails that flopped down her back, she looked just like anyother child he'd see in Orario.
But if Hestia-sama was right, then that girl, was a Goddess. And not just any Goddess, but his Goddess, Hestia.
And even though that thought sent his mind into a tailspin with the implications, he still asked. "Um…Hesita-sama?"
"Yes, Bellu" Hestia giggled as she rubbed her head against Bell's palm.
"Ah, if that's you..Then what are you doing over there?"
Hestia looked back at her other self. And shrugged her shoulders.
"Hell if I know, looks like she's just tending to the flame like I used to back on Tenkia."
Bell stuttered.
"H-Hestia-sama, that's you. Another you. Aren't you the least bit curious about her, what kind of person she is, what's she done, what's her life like or, or-"
Hestia put her finger on Bell's lip. She smiled up at him as she looked into his eyes.
"Bell, I don't need to know any of that. I know she's me, and I'm a pretty great person. So, even though she's part of the same Paretheon as that stupid Zeus, I'm just gonna believe in myself for once and trust that everything is fine."
Picking the book back up again, she found the plae were she left off.
Putting the book back down, she frowned at the screen. "I kind of do want to know why she's there, though. What, did she get punished too?"
The two cabins at the Head were different, but similar. Two large mausoleums made of marble, one with streaks of lightning as decorations, and the other peacocks.
Every God rolled their eyes. They knew whose cabin these were.
"Zeus and Hera?" They echoed Percy.
Bell blinked. "How did they know that Hestia-sama?"
Hestia snorted. "Believe me, Bell, when you've lived with those two arrogant asses, then you'd recognize their touch anywhere."
"I still don't understand why she loves those blasted birds so much," Hermes said.
Freya massaged her eyes, feeling the growing headache forming behind them as he remembered that upright bitch.
"I think it was because she thought they were the most beautiful birds on all of Genkia's green land, her words, not mine."
Loki sputtered. "W-What? Those hideous things? Maybe they have some nice colors in the front, but their back sides are disgusting."
"Kind of like her." Freya chuckled.
Hephaestus tilted her head.
"Yeah, I can kind of see it. But what about that dumbass with thunder up his ass? What the hell is with all that lightning? What one lighting for every pube on his baby dick?"
"HA! Good one!"
All the Adventurers that never meant Zeus or Her watched in shock as the Gods each took turns to insult and debase the two Gods from their memories.
Looking between each other, they couldn't help but wonder. They couldn't be that bad. Could they?
Finn and the rest of the old guard could only nod their head sadly.
I guessed. "Correct," Chiron said. "Their cabins look empty." "Several of the cabins are. That's true. No one ever stays in one or two." Okay. So each cabin had a different god, like a mascot. Twelve cabins for the twelve Olympians. But why would some be empty?
"Impossible!" Loki cried. "Maybe that Bitch Hera, but Zeus?"
"That man whore can't stand for his dick to go dry. He treats it like it's a straw, the women are water, and he's dying of thirst." Freya scoffed.
Of course, Hermes tried to defend his old-time friend. "Come on, girls, he's not that ba-"
"SHUT UP HERMES!" Surprising it wasn't just the Goddess that said this, but all the women in the room.
Hermes pouted as he sank back into his seat. Asfi looked at him out of the corner of her eye before turning her nose away in disgust with a hmph.
I stopped in front of the first cabin on the left, cabin three. It wasn't high and mighty like cabin one, but long and low and solid. The outer walls were of rough gray stone studded with pieces of seashell and coral, as if the slabs had been hewn straight from the bottom of the ocean floor.
Welf leaned over to Bell.
"This is it, right, his father?"
"Yeah, but which God is it?"
I peeked inside the open doorway and Chiron said, "Oh, I wouldn't do that!" But Percy opened the door anyway. Inside was just like any beach house he had ever been to. With sea green walls and bunk beds filling the space."
"Strange." Syr tilted her head as she put her finger to her lip.
"What is Syr?" Mama Mia asked.
"Well, this one is empty too. If Gods are having enough kids ot fill a camp, then shouldn't he have siblings?"
"Nya, yeah, you're right, Syr. Where is everybody?"
"Do you think they're just out, Nya?"
Luminorie held up her hands, trying to call the girls down.
"Hold on, girls. What if this God just really loved Sally and he didn't want to take another woman while she was still alive?"
May tilted her head. "Maybe."
Mama Mia frowned as she shook her head.
"I don't see it. You girls haven't been around Gods as long as I have. They're nice right now because of their rules for their game, but when they're left loose, they don't care just as much as what people think is right, and just as they think they do. Just look at these next cabins, that number of kids will show you."
Syr looked down. Her face cast a shadow over itself, hiding the frown and narrowing eyes. If she could, she would have shouted at what Mama Mia just implied, but she couldn't. So for now she'll keep quiet.
Most of the other cabins were crowded with campers. Number five was bright red—a tough looking cabin painted blood red by hand it looked like. With barbed wire and a boars head over the entrance.
"That's a God's of War Cabin if I've ever seen one." Ryuu glared.
As a former Adventure under a Goddess of Justice, one of the few things that she despised were the Gods of War. No Justice could be found in such a foul domain.
Being an Elf certainly didn't help, as it was under a God of War's order that their forest was nearly burnt down by the help of a family of blacksmiths.
And while she might have forgiven Welf for who his family was, she wasn't about to forgive that God. Especially while he still rules down on Genkai.
Peeking into the open door Percy saw a bunch of rowdy kids listening to heavy music. The loudest was a girl maybe thirteen or fourteen. She wore a size XXXL CAMP HALFBLOOD T-shirt under a camouflage jacket. She zeroed in on me and gave me an evil sneer. She reminded him of all his worst bullies, just bigger.
"Children of this God of War, I suspect." Finn theorized.
"They certainly look the part," Gareth noted.
"And smell it to." Lefiya wrinkled her nose. The heavy scent of unwashed body odor and dirty clothes coming through the wall reminded her of when they went on expeditions and, at times, had to do away with showering.
She knew that Cat kin and Chienthropes had a worse time than she did, but she had to admit, the smell made her gag.
Bete tried to make it seem like it didn't bother him, but she knew better. She could see the way his foot tapped with increasingly urgenciey while his tail stood tall behind him. He hated this more than anyone.
Percy tried to ask about other centaurs "No," said Chiron sadly. "My kinsmen are a wild and barbaric folk, I'm afraid. You might encounter them in the wilderness or at major sporting events. But you won't see any here."
"Sounds like my kind of people." Loki cheered. Booze, women, and parties, who needed anything else in this dull world?
Riveria just shook her head. What use was it trying to make a God grow up, she wondered.
"You said your name was Chiron. Are you really . . ." He smiled down at me. "The Chiron from the stories? Trainer of Hercules and all that?
"That sounds important." Gareth scratched his beard.
Finn nodded. Any name that stuck in a child's mind was certainly important enough to remember. Especially if their name rang out from thousands of years in the past.
"What!" Tiona exclaimed. "That makes him super old though."
"Yes," Ournons narrowed his eyes. "I wonder how?"
Yes, Percy, I am." "But, shouldn't you be dead?" Chiron paused, as if the question intrigued him. "I honestly don't know about should be. The truth is, I can't be dead. You see, eons ago the gods granted my wish. I could continue the work I loved. I could be a teacher of heroes as long as humanity needed me." Percy thought that it was stagne to wish to be a teacher. "Does it ever get boring"He asked. "No… just terribly depressing at times, I guess." Depressing? How?
"So Chiron was turned into an Eternal teacher of Heroes by the Gods. What an Honor." Fels nodded, impressed.
"Maybe, but that doesn't derive from your achievement, does it, Fels? After all, you have found your own way to a long life," Ouranos said
"True, but it seems mine is noticeably less than his."
"An eternal… teacher, that's nice." Ais side-eyed Riveria.
When Riveria turned to look at her, Ais forced a big smile on her face(Well, big for her). Riveria studied her face for a moment before turning back. Good thing that she did cause the corner of her lips were already starting to twitch from the strain of smiling.
Yes, one eternal teacher was enough for her, she didn't want another.
Beside her, Lefiya rubbed her hands nervously. "Uh, Loki-sama? What do you think Chiron-sama meant by depress-"
Lefiya stopped. The air around Loki had turned somber as she turned her head away from Lefiya.
Beside her, Finn patted her shoulder as Gareth and Riveria sat silently with her.
Lefiya looked down. Loki didn't need to say anything, Lefiya already figured it out. It's was something that was always on longer-lived races minds. And it was something none of them liked talking about.
When they'll inevitably be left behind.
Hermes layed his head against his seat. Tilting his hat over his face, he covered his eyes.
Freya looked on absent-mindedly as she silently twirled her glass of wine between her fingers.
Hephaestus reached out and grabbed Tsubaki's hand.
Tsubaki, surprised by her Goddess's unusual show of affection, looked up. Opening her mouth, she was gonna ask what was wrong, but when she looked into her eye, she didn't say anything. She just let her continue to gently rub the back of her hand with her thumb. Content to let the monet pass in silence.
Hestia gripped the book harder.
Was it any wonder that even though this was only her first mortal year on Genkia. And yet already she was imagining the graves she'd attend to.
The next fifty will pass by just as quickly, and she wasn't sure she'd have that. Not with the way her children were so ready to jump into danger. To go down into the deep with no sure answer on whether they'd return.
Wow, tears started welling in her eyes, she just thought about it. She didn't even know if her children would be granted a proper burial under her watch.
But..
Hestia felt multiple arms wrapping around her. Her children, all squeezing in to hug her for the years to come.
Hestia gave a watery smile. At least she'll have today.
The blond girl I'd met at the Big House was reading a book in front of the last cabin on the left, number eleven. She looked at him funny. Percy noticed that she was reading an architecture book. I thought my dyslexia was acting up. Then I realized the title wasn't even English. The letters looked Greek to me. I mean, literally Greek.
"Hey, look its Annabeth." Syr cheered.
"What's that she's reading?" Asfi asked. They couldn't read the title and didn't recognise any of the pictures. Though they looked old, and similar to some of the structures from the museum.
"Hmm, the book says that Percy recognized it as an Architecture book, and seeing as he somehow identified the language to be Greek, then I guess its about Greek architecture." Finn summarized.
"But how did his dyslexia even see that the letters were Greek. Look their not even moving like they were back at his dorm."
And Yamato was right. Unlike back at his dorm, the letters were stable. Still on the cover so that even Percy could read them if he tried.
"Annabeth," Chiron said, "I have masters' archery class at noon. Would you take Percy from here?"Percy got hsi first good look at Cabin 11. First impression, old and rundown. Over the doorway was one of those doctor's symbols, a winged pole with two snakes wrapped around it. What did they call it . . . ? A caduceus.
Hermes sat up. He felt something. Taking his hat off, Hermes narrowed his eyes at the screen.
That Caduceus…
Hermes' eyes widened.
Saying his Goodbye Chiron galloped away. Walking in the first thing that brought Percy up was how crowded the Cabin was. Like so many, there weren't enough beds for everyone. Instead, they were all forced to squeeze together on the floor in sleeping bags.
"What the hell is with all those kids?" Ryuu cried. The Cabin looked like some of the disaster tents after an Evilus attack. And yet this was supposed to be the home of a God's child.
They barely had enough room to stand, let alien lay down.
"Look girls, see. If Gods were let loose, they'd all be no better than they Amazons down by the Pleasure Quarter." Mama Mia waved her hand at the black wall as if it proved her point.
"HEY!" Tiona and Tione shouted in disagreement.
"Amazon's don't have nearly as many kids as that. And we take better care of them as well." Tiona huffed as she crossed her arms.
"Yea-Wait No! Tiona! Thats not the poin-"
"They're not all related."
Everyone turned to Hestia, surprised to hear her so serious.
Hestia held the book in her lap as she frowned at the screen. Blinking in confusion, she wondered why everyone stopped talking. Looking around, she realised that they had heard her and were now looking at her.
Blushing Hesti coughed. "I-I mean, they're not all kids of the same God."
"What do you mean, Hestia-sama? They're in that God's Cabin, right? doens't that mean that they're their kids?" Haruhime asked.
Ryuu got up. Walking closer to the Black wall, she pointed at a couple of the kids' faces. "No, shes right. Look, these three have the same jaw, eyes, and nose. Others have similar facial stucutes but a few of them have nothing, they look completely different from the others."
"But then why are they all there?" Bell asked.
I stood in the doorway, looking at the kids. "Well?" Annabeth prompted. "Go on." So naturally I tripped coming in the door and made a total fool of myself.
"HAHAHAHA." People laughed.
They didn't mean to. But it was a big change from walking into a tense atmosphere to looking like a fool.
"Well, there goes that first impression."Bell smiled even as he felt for the guy. Honestly, though, he kind of got lucky.
At least it was better than being covered in minatour blood in front of your fist ever crush and then running away, crying like a baby without even saying thank you.
"Oh, and he was trying so hard to make a good impression on his new roommates." Tione chuckled as she wiped the tear from her eyes.
"Hey, hey, Sis! Remember what it was like when we first joined the Familia." Tiona bounced up excitedly.
Tione rolled her eyes. "How could I forget, you immediately challenged everyone to a fight and crushed at least half of the men's pride within the first five minutes."
"Hey, I remember you joining in as well."
"Tione looked away as her cheeks flushed. "Well….I couldn't let you have all the fun."
Annabeth introduced him to the Cabin."Regular or undetermined?" somebody asked. Annabeth said, "Undetermined." Everybody groaned. A guy who was a little older than the rest came forward. "Now, now, campers. That's what we're here for. Welcome, Percy. You can have that spot on the floor, right over there." The guy was about nineteen, and he looked pretty cool. He was athletic and charismatic, plus he had a wicked scar over his left eye.
"What does that mean?" Welf raised his eyebrow.
"Undetermined." Finn mutted. For some reason, the word felt heavy in his mouth. Like a kid saying a bad word for the first time.
Loki narrowed her eyes. "Doesn't sound nice."
When the new kid walked forward though all thoughts about that went out the window.
"Whoa! Look at that beef cake" Tsubaki grinned. She had been around blacksmiths her whole life, and with a few herself, she knew a thing or two about muscles.
And those, those were the muscles of a guy with dedication and drive. A big plus in her book.
"OOO cool scar." Tiona had stars in her eyes. She always thought scars were cool but this one took the cake. "Hey Tione, can you give me a scar like that?"
"WHA-NO!"
Asfi turned to Hermes, he was being uncharacteristically silent these last few pages, so much so that she felt like she had to make sure that he wasn't sleeping again. If she was she'd have ot get the stick again.
"Hermes-sa-"
Hermes wasn't paying attention to her.
Instead, he was staring at the screen.
His eyes were clouded even as they moved from kid to kid in the Cabin. Seemingly only looking at a select few, a small smile started forming.
"Beautiful." He whispered, unheard by anyone.
"This is Luke," Annabeth said, and her voice sounded different somehow. I glanced over and could've sworn she was blushing. She saw me looking, and her expression hardened again.
Freya sighed wistfully. "Oh, young love. How I missed seeing it in the eyes of young girls. Too bad only men seem to want to join the Familia."
Hephasestu looked at Freya, deadpanned. "Yes, too bad."
"No, no, she's right Hephy. A girl's first crush is important." Loki nodded her head.
The girls in her Familia looked surprised.
"Casue after that they learn that guys ain't shit and move on to better things, like girls." A wide grin spread across Loki's face as her tongue flashed out, licking her lips.
The girls in her Familia went flat face. Never mind…Die.
"He's your counselor for now." "For now?" I asked. "You're undetermined," Luke explained patiently. "They don't know what cabin to put you in, so you're here. Cabin eleven takes all newcomers, all visitors. Naturally, we would. Hermes, our patron, is the god of travelers."
"HERMES!!!" The room erupted, waking Hermes up from his stupor. Looking around in confusion, he noticed that everyone was looking at him wide-eyed.
"...What?"
Loki stood on the couch, pointing at the image.
"I knew they looked familiar! I'd recognize those shifty eyes anywhere."
"Dear Heavens." Asfi looked pale in the face, like she was about to faint. "So many Hermes-samas."
"Hermes, look at those kids, are you even taking care of them!!" Hestia screamed.
Ouarnos could only shake his head in disappointment. Yest Hermes was one of his agents, one of his best in fact. But that just meant that he knew him better. So he wasn't disappointed in Hermes, oh no, this is what he would have expected.
He was disappointed in himself for not seeing it sooner.
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!"Hermes waved his hands frantically. Trying to calm everyone down. When he could finally hear himself think, he sighed.
"Yes! They're my kids!" He finally admitted. "I noticed it when the door had the symbol of a Cadeceus. Many of you might not know, but I used to walk around with one a long time ago in Tenkia before I put it away."
"But!" He raised his voice. "I have no idea why there in such a sad shack or why all those other kids are there."
Hermes placed a hand over his heart, or at least where one would be if he had one. "I-I can feel it, in my chest. Which ones are mine, but not all of them are!"
Finn looked darkly at the book. "It's this whole determined business."
Bell looked confused. "But what does it mean?"
Finn opened his mouth as if to say something before he looked away. Biting his lip, he turned back to everyone. "I-I think they'll explain it." Sitting back, he crossed his arms and said nothing else.
Everyone else looked at each other in concern. What was so bad that even Finn wouldn't say.
Percy went to got put his stuff down but then he remembered a little fact about Hermses an Theives. Looking around he could already see some kids with shifty eyes.
"HA!" Hermes laughed. "Good eye, sorry kids, maybe you'd get them next time."
Bell looked over, concerned. "Uh, is Hermes-sama really a God of-"
"Thieves?"Lili asked.
Bell nodded. Lili sighed, running her hand through her hair, she looked away. "S-Sort of. Really, Hermes-sama is the God of Travels, but since the road is used for anything, Hermes-sama's a God of many things, including thievery. I-ah, Lili prayed to him a few times in the past, you know, for good luck."
Lili rubbed her arm. Bell looked at her in understanding. Reaching over Hestia, he patted her head.
"How long will I be here?" I asked. "Good question," Luke said. "Until you're determined." "How long will that take?" The campers all laughed. "Come on," Annabeth told me. "I'll show you the volleyball court." "I've already seen it." "Come on."She started getting mad at Percy, angry that he didn't get what he did or what was happening.
"What does she mean by the one?" Finn wondered.
No one else seemed to care that she was upset that Percy fought the Minotaur and not her. That was pretty common in a city of Adventures were feats such as that could earn you a level up plus a lot of Valis.
No, what was more important was that Annabeth was searching for answers, answers to the missing lightning bolt. And for some reason, she was connecting it to Percy.
I shook my head. Percy was confused about something. Wasn't there only one Minotaur, and he died? "Monsters don't die, Percy. They can be killed. But they don't die."
"D-Do they only have one Minotaur?" Riviera asked, shocked.
"If that's true, then it explains why it was so much stronger than ours." Gareth realized.
"It wasn't an enhanced species, it was a Monster Rex." Finn closed his eyes.
A Monster Rex, a Boss Monster. On the surface. Thi-This had never happened before. Sure, maybe there used to be monsters from floors 20-40 end up on the surface, but never a Monster Rex.
Finn could only hope that other such monsters weren't wreaking havoc across the world and that other Demi-Gods were handling it.
"Oh, thanks. That clears it up." Annabeth tried to explain the core of what monsters were, but it just flew over Percy's head. Stopping, he nervously asked about all monsters doing that. Annabeth nodded her head, even Mrs. Dodds would one day come back. Then Percy learned that they were Furries, Hades' tortures."
"What! Even Hades is part of this." Hestia shouted.
"U-Um, Hestia-sama, who's Hades?" Bell asked.
"Hades is a God of Souls and Riches up on Tenkai, he usually stays to himself. Counting money and souls as he works. BUT he doesn't have tortures!!" She ended up shouting again at the end, but she couldn't help it.
One of the few people that she had a good impression of had Tortures!
M-Maybe they got it wrong. Like they might be working for someone else, or maybe they aren't even torturers. Maybe they were his… gardeners or something, and people just misunderstand." Hestia tried to reason. But even in her mouth she knew that she was wrong.
"Huh? I guess that makes Hades the Lord of Death chasing after them in the last chapter, doesn't it?" Gareth said.
"No, it can't be, it must be someone else." Hestia shook her head. "The Hades I know is a pretty chill and private guy. He'd never be so cruel as to target a woman and her child. Especially if they hadn't done anything to him."
"But, Hephaestus-sama, this is a different word, remember. The Hades that you know might not be the one that we're seeing." Yamato said sadly.
Hesita bit her lip. She didn't want to think that the nice little boy who used to look at souls with stars in his eyes would ever do something so cruel as this Lord of the Dead.
Annabeth glanced nervously at the ground, as if she expected it to open up and swallow her. "You shouldn't call them by name, even here. We call them the Kindly Ones, if we have to speak of them at all."
"Kindly Ones, right." Asfi rolled her eyes. If that lady was kind, then Hermes was a saint.
"Is-Isn't that a little confusing? Like what if you tell someone to go meet the Kindly Ones and they turn out to be the bad guys?" Lefiya asked.
That's certianyl be a cruel twist, going to someone that you thought would be a friend, only to have them be something completely different.
"I'm guessing that anyone that they talk to will more than likely know what they're talking about, and even then it doens't seem like they're the kind of people that you just run into anyway." Finn said.
Percy looked irritated at the sky. Talking to Annabeth he asked why he coudlnt just sleep in antoher cabin if 11 was so crowded. "You don't just choose a cabin, Percy. It depends on who your parents are. Or . . . your parent." She stared at me, waiting for me to get it.
"Hold on, did Percy not get who these kids were?" Riveria looked shocked.
It had seemed obvious to them, maybe even too obvious if she wanted to complain about it. They were kind of throwing it into their faces for a while.
Then again. Reveria looked at the company she was keeping. Various "children" of Gods, a couple fo Gods and Goddess themsevles, as well as a couple of Elves, dwarves, Demi-humans, and a walking skeleton for good measure.
To a kid who hadn't grown up with this he might not want to believe it.
"Percy tried to talk about is Mom but Annabeth shook her head. She was talking about his Dad. Looking him up and down she started listing everything wrong with him. "How—" "Diagnosed with dyslexia. Probably ADHD, too." I tried to swallow my embarrassment. Annabeth looked tired. She explained that some of that was hard-wired into his body. He can't read english cause his brain is meant for Greek, he can't sit still cause his body was meant for war. All Half-bloods were the same, if he wasn't one of them the Ambrisia and Nectar would have killed him with one drop.
"Incredible."Freya's eyes were wide open as she stared at that Black wall.
For these, kids, to have bodies so bred for battle that even in their young ages, one was able to best a level two monster, a Monster Rex variant in fact. Was nothing short of art.
Oh, to have a child like that. One with white hair and red eyes, well. Freya blushed as she took a glance at Bell. The thought alone was enough to keep her warm at night.
"God damn, these kids would make any God of War salivate."Gareth snorted.
"Yes, but I'm more interested in their learning. To have a language so hardcoded into your blood that it blocks out any chance of ever truly learning another a miracle." Riveria said. Just think, if instead of Greek it were a Magical langues then by birth that child would be the greatest Mage to ever live.
"No, the thing that is most important are these Ambrosia and Nectar." Finn said.
"Loki, why haven't we heard about these, food of the Gods?"
Loki frowned at Finn. "What do you think we were hiding stuff like that from you? Please." Loki scoffed.
"We don't even need to eat, so why the hell would we have food. The first time any of us had ever had a bite to eat was when we descended."
Finn saw the other Gods agreeing with her so he dropped that topic for now. To be honest, he kind of didn't care. What he did care about was-
"But can you make some? And if so, will they work on Adventures?"
Loki frowned as she tried to think about it. Honestly, it wouldn't be hard. There were a few Cooking-type Dieties up in Tenkia that would be happy to try, but Adventures having some? She didn't know.
Just as she was about to answer though, Ouranos beat her to the punch.
"No." He said, his tone hard and Final.
"But why?" Bell asked. "Don't we also carry God's blood on our backs."
Ouranos shook his head. "You do in fact carry our blood, but that is not the same as imboding it. While I can not say for certain what these immortal foods would take to make, I can tell you that just by their description, they would contain divine energy, something that no mortal can hold."
Ouranso looked out to all the Adventures in the room. "Your Falna uses Divine to lift your status up, make you better. Faster and stronger then anyother Mortal before you. But it doens't change your race, you are not Demi-Gods. The amount of divine energy you can handle is less than you think it is. Maybe you could handle a sliver, at higher levels, maybe a crumb. But compared to potions, the making and distributing, as well as monitoring, would not be worth it. "
Finn looked down. He understood. He did. The energy and monetary value that would go into such an endeavour would never be worth it.
I-It's that, the amount of friends that could have been saved with one bite, one sip. Well, it just made you wish.
Then a husky voice yelled, "Well! A newbie!" I looked over. The big girl from the ugly red cabin was sauntering toward us. She had three other girls behind her, all big and ugly and mean looking like her, all wearing camo jackets.
"Agh! Finally, some action." Bete cheered.
He could tell when a fight was coming. He could tell by the sound of that girl's voice, she was coming looking for it.
"Yeah, enough of these hard questions, lets bsut soem heads." Tiona cheered.
Finn chuckled as the rest of the room got excited to. Everything had been depressing as of late. And, well, nothing like a good brawl to lift the mood in the room.
So it was always a good thing when someone delivered themselves just to lighten their mood. Such a good service, Finn always made sure to thank them after he was finished.
"Clarisse," Annabeth sighed. "Why don't you go polish your spear or something?" "Sure, Miss Princess," the big girl said. "So I can run you through with it Friday night." They went back and forth a little before Clarise finally turned to him."Who's this little runt?" "Percy Jackson," Annabeth said, "meet Clarisse, Daughter of Ares."
"ARES!" Welf shouted surprised.
"Ah, hell, even that idiot has a kid." Hestia facepalmed at the thought. What the hell kind of home would that idiot make?
"I…can kind of see it. I think she has his eyes." Hephaestus squinted as she studied Clarisse. If anything ,she could tell by her hands that she was trained with a spear.
And that size also carried a lot of muscle.
"Well, at least we know whose Cabin that was." Hermes chuckled.
"Yeah, a dumbass." Loki snorted.
I blinked. "Like . . . the war god?" Clarisse sneered. "You got a problem with that?" "No," I said, recovering my wits. "It explains the bad smell."
"HAHa." Hermes laughed.
"OOo." Welf winced. "You shouldn't have done that."
"Why, Welf, what's wrong?"
"A-, probably nothing, but…Well, any girls in Are's Famlia never liked being told that they smelled. They were pretty self-conscious about it. Once I saw a guy whisper about it to a buddy, so they took him and his friend and shoved them into a catapult."
Bell sweated, surleyits not that serious, right? But looking at the other girls and imagining what they would do if he had said something like that, it scared him.
"W-Well maybe she's different."
"Yeah, maybe."
Clarisse growled. "We got an initiation ceremony for newbies, Prissy." "Percy." "Whatever. Come on, I'll show you." "Clarisse—" Annabeth tried to say. "Stay out of it, wise girl." Annabeth looked pained, but she did stay out of it, and I didn't really want her help. I was the new kid. I had to earn my own rep. I handed Annabeth my minotaur horn and got ready to fight,
"Good," Bete nodded. At least the kid understood the ground rules. Everyone earned their own rep.
Reviear glared at him. "Not Good. All it is is stupid male postering that could easily be pushed aside to avoid further pain and humiliation. But do you guys ever do that." Riviera's gaze swept the room, causing all the guys to duck their heads.
"NO! YOU DON'T! WHICH MEANS SOMEONE ELSE, USALLY ME, HAS TO CLEAN UP YOUR MESS!!"Riveria turned back to Bete.
Leaning over his face, Riveria watched as Bete got smaller and smaller under her glare.
"So next time you get into another situation that could lead to more bills. More fights. More destruction. All because of your Rep. I want you to tuck it between your legs, and walk away."
Having released years of pent-up aggression at the male's simple thinking, Riveria went back to her seat under wide-eyed stares and sat down with a huff.
But before I knew it, Clarisse had me by the neck and was dragging me toward a cinder-block building that I knew immediately was the bathroom. I was kicking and punching. I'd been in plenty of fights before, but this big girl Clarisse had hands like iron. She dragged me into the girls' bathroom.
Expecting more of a fight, everyone was shocked to see how quickly Clarisse wrestled control over Percy.
"What, what's he doing?" Bete growled.
"Dammit, he's new to all this. He doesn't have any training. And now he's fighting a daughter of War with years on her side." Gareth scowled as he watched.
This was why veterans picking on rookies always pissed him off. Cause it was never fair.
Then they saw where she was taking him.
"Wait! No! She's taking him to the toilets!"Welf cried.
"Why? What's wrong with the restroom, Welf?" Bell asked.
"She's gonna dunk his head into the bowl!"
"WHAT!" Everyone cried.
"Come on Percy! Fight back." Tiona yelled at the images.
Clarisse's friends were all laughing, and I was trying to find the strength I'd used to fight the Minotaur, but it just wasn't there. "Like he's 'Big Three' material," Clarisse said as she pushed me toward one of the toilets. "Yeah, right. Minotaur probably fell over laughing, he was so stupid looking." Her friends snickered. Annabeth stood in the corner, watching through her fingers.
"Big three?" Finn whispered. But no one else was paying attention.
They were too busy being squeamish and looking away from the business end of a toilet.
"Please don't do that."Haruhime tried not to gag.
"Come on, fight back." Bete growled.
"At least help him you stupid girl." Mama Mia raored
Clarisse bent me over on my knees and started pushing my head toward the toilet bowl. It reeked like rusted pipes and, well, like what goes into toilets. Percy forced hsi head up, pushing away at Clarisse's had as he did. She was surprised by his strength for a second before she started using both hands to push him. And when that didn't help she started punching the back of his head and using her knee to push down as well. But Percy wasn't going down, he wouldn't. Thats when he felt it, that pull in his gut. All of a sudden, water burst from the pipes, swirling like a hurricane and dragging Clarisse and her friends out the door as it went. Percy slowly got up and looked and the wreckage around him
"YES!"
"I KNEW HE COULD DO IT!"
"Good job kid."
The theater erupted in cheers as Percy got up. But a few of them were also surprised.
For a second, he showed way more strength than he should have had before the pipes burst. And that water, that was a spell that could have swept away a lot of level 2, and many level 3.
Finn sat thinking as his hands were clasped in front of his face. Why? Why was Percy so much stronger then other Demi-Gods? What was so special about him, or his father, that made him different?
Annabeth hadn't been spared. She was dripping wet, but she hadn't been pushed out the door. She was standing in exactly the same place, staring at me in shock. Percy was the only thing that was dry. And he didn't know why. Clarisse tried to get up out of the mud, screaming at him, and it was probably stupid, but he opened his mouth again. "You want to gargle toilet water again, no? Then get out of here Clarisse, otherwise..Bite me"
"HA Good one!" Tiona laughed while her sister shook her head.
Riveria held her head as he thought about stupid boys and their big mouths. The Gods laughed and cheered like everyone else, and Bell.
Bell smiled.
Clarisse had to be dragged back to her cabin. Annabeth stared at me. I couldn't tell whether she was just grossed out or angry at me for dousing her. "What?" I demanded. "What are you thinking?" "I'm thinking," she said, "that I want you on my team for capture the flag."
"Ugh, finally I'm done, who else wants a turn?" Hestia slammed her back against the cushions. She had been leaning over the book the entire time, and now her back hurt.
"I-um I guess I'll do it."