The Next Morning
Camp Half-Blood woke up very early. Damon was used to waking up early; whether he liked it was another matter.
It did not take long for him to hear someone knocking on the door. Or rather, it sounded like someone was not sure if they should knock at all, since there was far too much space between each knock against the wood.
He had just finished showering and was only wearing a towel, so he quickly put on a pair of pants, all while holding his toothbrush between his teeth.
—Knock… knock—
"Chiron, why are you scared to knock? It is not as if Hera is going to curse you just for touching the door," Hestia said between small laughs.
It seemed she was guiding them toward him.
—Knock, knock—
"Boy, are you in there?" another girl's voice was now heard behind the door.
"Yeah, I'm coming," Damon replied as he headed toward the door.
When he opened it, he saw Hestia in her eight-year-old girl form, Annabeth Chase, and Chiron.
Hestia was having an internal battle. Annabeth was red, as red as an Uzumaki's hair. Why? Easy. Damon was only wearing a pair of black sweatpants with white decorations, no shirt. His hair was still wet, and he still had the toothbrush in his mouth.
The body was perfect in every sense. There was no extra fat or excessive muscle; it was perfect for close combat. Every muscle in his body looked harder than steel.
Hestia did not know whether to look or not. She simply glanced from the corner of her eye and quickly looked away.
On the other hand, Annabeth glanced sideways, or rather, she truly looked. But something else caught more of her attention: the two necklaces he wore and the blond's left arm.
He had a blue tattoo running from his shoulder to his wrist, wrapping around his entire arm. It looked like something had been written in a language she did not understand. And right on his forearm, he had an Ouroboros as black as night itself, shaped like a serpent and surrounded by thousands of tattooed runes.
Meanwhile, Chiron still could not believe that the distant and jealous queen of Olympus had allowed him to stay in her cabin.
The blond crouched in front of little Hestia and placed his right hand on her head, stroking her hair.
"Looks like we meet again faster than I expected," Damon said with his usual smile, making Hestia unable to look directly at him as she blushed slightly.
—Cough, cough—
Chiron coughed on purpose to get Damon's attention. This guy was a box full of surprises. He had earned Hera's favor and treated Hestia as if she were a little girl without anything happening to him… the number of men who would pay to be in his position could not even be counted.
"Percy just woke up, and the camp director needs to speak with both of you."
"Ehhh?" Damon replied in annoyance. He did not want to go to boring meetings. "Do I really have to go?"
"It is mandatory for newcomers, since they explain the rules and why you are here," the half-horse answered calmly.
"And what if I don't go?... I mean, I don't want to go to a boring meeting," the blond replied, annoyance clear in his voice.
Without expecting it, he felt someone pinch his arm.
"Aaah!" the blond complained. "Hime, that hurts," he said again with fake tears in his eyes, making drops of sweat appear on Chiron and Annabeth because of how childishly he was acting.
"You have to go, whether you want to or not. The things they tell you might be useful," Hestia said with fake anger in her soft voice.
"As the little Hime says," Damon said, standing straight and stretching his body. "Can I get dressed, or do I have to go like this?"
"Take your time. I'll be waiting here," the centaur said, not entirely sure if he should enter the cabin.
Mount Olympus
"YOU GAVE HIM PERMISSION TO ENTER YOUR CABIN!?" the king's shouts could be heard throughout the entire council chamber.
Another meeting? Yes.
That was what happened when you had a paranoid king.
"I do not need your permission to allow whoever I want into my cabin," Hera said indifferently.
Everyone was present except Hestia and Dionysus. At first, the meeting was supposed to be something simpler: an Iris message to observe the blond and find out whether he could be a danger, then act if necessary.
But when he came out of Hera's cabin, the paranoia began.
When Damon came out shirtless, freshly showered… the jealousy began.
Hypocrite.
Almost everyone looked at the blond, studying him.
Athena focused on the strange tattoo. Apollo looked at the scar over his heart. Aphrodite, surprisingly enough, was paying more attention to the argument between Zeus and Hera than to the Iris message.
Artemis showed no interest whatsoever; she continued sharpening the arrows in her quiver with her hunting knife. Hephaestus looked at one of his new devices.
Demeter…
Where was she?
"I'M SURE YOU LET HIM IN SO HE COULD FU—!"
He was quickly silenced by the rise of Hera's power.
The entire chamber stopped whatever it was doing to look at the two who were arguing.
Never before had Zeus accused Hera of infidelity.
Literally, her own domain forbade it. But even so, that subject was a bitter one for Hera. After suffering Zeus's infidelities for so long, for him to now nearly accuse her of the same thing… she would not let that pass.
"Watch your tongue, Zeus. You are not in a position to go looking for enemies who have no interest in your wars over an artifact you lost," the queen of Olympus said, palpable anger in her voice.
Zeus glanced at Poseidon.
Hera was right. If he continued down that path, it would not end well for him. If he dared to call her a whore or anything similar, he would not only lose Hera in a possible war against Poseidon, but also Artemis.
No matter how bad things were between Hera and Artemis, Hera was still a woman, and Artemis would support her without thinking twice. It would not make her join Poseidon, but it would keep her neutral.
"Tch… this is not over," Zeus finally said before looking back at the Iris message.
They are Norse runes, Athena thought, narrowing her eyes. Real ones. Made by a Norse god.
She glanced at Zeus.
If this comes to light, it will be bad… very bad.
There were things better left unsaid, and this was one of them. Athena was ninety-nine percent certain that if Zeus found out about this, he would kill the mortal as quickly as he had appeared.
And that would turn Chaos against Olympus.
Besides, something did not seem to matter to them: the boy was connected to Gaia. If he was attacked by a Greek god, they would not only have Chaos against them; they would also have a second primordial looking directly toward Olympus.
Not to mention the third presence that had claimed him.
Athena had been investigating that symbol ever since she had time to search through every book in her library. Being the goddess of wisdom did not mean she automatically knew everything, but it certainly bothered her when she did not understand something she felt she should know.
And in truth, attacking the champion of Lady Chaos would only give them more reasons to destroy them. But this time, with Lady Chaos's approval.
Not even Rhea could save them.
That thought made Athena pause for a moment. Rhea. The mother of the gods.
It had been quite some time since Athena had last seen her. It was not as if she cared too much; after all, the relationship between the gods and the Titan mother was almost nonexistent, especially after what happened with Typhon.
As far as she knew, only Hestia and Hera visited her from time to time.
I do not blame her either. If my children only came looking for me when they were in the middle of a problem, I would feel bad too, Athena thought to herself.
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lol Percy coming in the picture who loves Percy in here ))))))) not me. stones would be appreciated if yall feel like it.
https://discord.gg/4pWzzQkZa
P@treon: Brotato up to chapter 91