"Hello," came from the blond's mouth as he gave the girl a gentle smile, successfully catching her attention.
Seeing Damon's smile, Hestia couldn't help but return it. She had never expected someone to notice her, much less for the person everyone had been talking about to be there, speaking to her directly. It left her unsure of how to respond.
"Are you new here?" Damon asked, trying to break the ice.
"No, I've actually been here for a while," Hestia replied, recovering a bit. "Nice to meet you," she added kindly, receiving another smile from the blond.
"Likewise," he said simply before turning his gaze back to the fire in front of him, letting a strange but comfortable silence settle between them as the crackling of branches and logs filled the air.
Hestia was quite confused.
Not only because someone had noticed her and approached her to talk—something that almost no one who wasn't a deity did—but because it was the champion of the most powerful being of all time, someone who also seemed to be somehow connected to her grandmother Gaia.
She hadn't planned on meeting him directly. When the meeting of the Olympians ended, she had left as quickly as possible, because having those two presences against each other was not a good sign. What she hadn't expected was for him to be the one to approach her.
But then again, Hestia was the kindest being that existed. If someone wanted to talk to her, she would never refuse. After all, what could possibly happen in a simple conversation?
"It must be incredible to be Chaos's champion," Hestia finally said in her soft, childlike voice, catching Damon's attention as he looked back at her.
"It's actually scary," Damon commented.
"Scary?" Hestia asked, tilting her head slightly in confusion.
At that moment, Damon was holding himself back from hugging her. Not only because of how strangely adorable she looked with her childlike appearance and gestures, but because simply sitting beside her after so long was already enough to stir too many emotions inside him.
"If you were a goddess and chose a champion, wouldn't you be watching them constantly?" the blond asked, hiding that he knew perfectly well who she was and keeping to himself the mix of emotion, disbelief, and weight he still felt from having been chosen by Chaos. Being chosen by the creator was insane… though Damon had already seen too many insane things throughout his life to completely lose himself over one more.
"I suppose I would," Hestia answered calmly. "To take care of them and help them if they ever ran into trouble."
"Well, being constantly watched by the strongest deity and creator of everything is a bit scary."
"I still don't understand why it's scary," Hestia repeated.
"What if I fail?" Damon replied, this time with a more honest tone. "I mean, if she chose me, it's because she has expectations. And thinking about failing those expectations is scary." He paused briefly before adding with a bit of humor, "I could just disappear and all that, you know?"
"Mmm..." Hestia murmured, placing a finger on her cheek as she looked up at the sky, thinking. "If I had a champion, I would always be proud of them, even if they failed. I'd choose them for who they are and what they aim for. And if they failed, I wouldn't look down on them. I'd encourage them to keep trying."
"That's why you're my favorite goddess," Damon murmured so quietly that no one heard him, not even those watching through the Iris message.
"Sorry?" the girl asked, not having caught what he said.
"I'm new," Damon said, showing his usual smile. "You've been here for a while, right?" he asked, receiving a nod. "Could you show me around the camp? The horse was a bit boring explaining things."
That earned a small laugh from Hestia, followed by her nod as she agreed to show him the rest of the camp.
"Have we met before?"
That question made Damon tense slightly. He hadn't expected it, and for a moment, he didn't know how to answer.
He watched as Hestia stood up to lead the way. She was barefoot, and still waiting patiently for his response.
Damon took a few steps and moved behind her, which confused her at first, though she relaxed when he finally spoke.
"I don't know… but I feel like we have."
Before Hestia could respond, she let out a small yelp as she was suddenly lifted and placed on the blond's shoulders, her legs resting near his cheeks.
Before she could even protest, Damon spoke first.
"You're barefoot. I don't want you getting hurt because of me," he said casually. "If you're going to show me around, the least I can do is carry you."
He said it all with a smile she couldn't see from her position, but she could hear it in his voice, causing her to blush slightly before smiling.
And so, the two began walking through the camp.
They talked naturally as they passed different areas: a court where some campers were playing basketball, training grounds, places for sword, bow, spear, and dagger practice, the baths, and even the infirmary.
Whenever they passed other campers, they stared. Not only because of the rumors spreading about Damon, but also because he was carrying a girl on his shoulders—something almost no one had ever seen before.
"This is the area for the twelve Olympian cabins," Hestia commented from his shoulders.
"Twelve Olympians?" Damon asked.
"Yes. It's a council formed by the twelve major gods to try and resolve any disputes through words, actions, or votes to create or remove certain rules," Hestia explained.
"I see," Damon said with curiosity. "You know, I'm new to all this. I don't really know much about gods and things like that… so feel free to tell me anything."
"Of course," Hestia replied, looking down to meet his kind smile.
"Cabin twelve belongs to Dionysus," she said, pointing at a cabin decorated with grape vines. "God of grapes, wine, harvest, madness, and parties."
"I think I read something about him. Son of Zeus and… Semele? Now known as Thyone."
"Yes, that's him. For someone who doesn't know much, you're pretty informed," Hestia said playfully.
"I just read the basics. Some children of gods and heroes like Theseus and Perseus," Damon replied as they moved to the next cabin.
"This is cabin eleven," Hestia said as they stopped in front of a worn, brown cabin. "Hermes, god of messengers, travelers, thieves, roads, and merchants."
She paused before adding:
"That's where you'll be staying while you're at camp."
Unlike the previous one, this cabin seemed packed. Voices and shouting could be heard even from outside.
"I'm not staying there," Damon replied, leaving Hestia slightly confused.
"Judging by how it looks, it already has enough people without adding one more," he added calmly.
"Then where will you sleep?" she asked.
"I don't know," he replied as he walked toward the next cabin. "Yet."
He stopped in front of it and muttered:
"Damn…"
Hestia blinked, curious.
"That's… eye-catching. You can see it from miles away."
Hestia let out a soft laugh as she began explaining.
"Cabin ten. Aphrodite, goddess of—"
"Love, beauty, desire, and lust," Damon finished, glancing up slightly as if confirming.
"Correct. Did you read about her too?"
"Yeah," Damon said with a slight expression that Hestia noticed. She was about to ask, after all she had tried to honor her brother's last wish to take care of Aphrodite.
"Unfortunately," Damon said, immediately catching attention from those nearby.
Hestia tightened her legs slightly, ready to scold him, but before she could—
"I mean… it's frustrating. Love shouldn't be reduced to desire or simple whim."
That left her speechless....
>>>>>
WARNING: THIS IS NOT a crash out.
Alright, some of you are wondering why the FCCCCCCCCCCK MC didn't just go and attack Olympus since the beginning. While I understand your frustrations, let me just make it clear it's not like this won't happen, this is already about to happen on Patreon. Please don't get impatient, guys. I am not planning on having the MC going around calling himself naruto the whole arc like a demigod doing missions for the gods hahaha
It might seem like a lot for some of you, but remember Damon doesn't know anything about the Greek mythology yet....He doesn't know the atrocities that his brothers and sisters did.... I just had to make this clear cause I know how it feels, but regardless of the direction, everything you're reading up to now would still need to happen... but if I can do it now while also blaming Zeus and having Damon find out what Zeus did to like metis, to Hera, etc....it would make the end goal hit harder.
I have to give the characters time to develop, and I have to set the thoughts of Percy. The plans of Tartarus and Kronos before MC takes action, and just those little hints that just introduce the thoughts of Damon being back, hahahaha I know you guys want BLOOD, DESTRUCTIONS, CHAOS, and all that sht, and every chapter is making you go crazy cause damon is not doing that right now,🤣 but trust me, it will happen. Just remember, this story has the slice-of-life tag... and it always had it lol
😂😂😂 I might as well release in bulk hahah cause I fear you guys might become demons HAHAHAHA anyway thank you so much for everything
DROP STONES