Camp Half-Blood
The dining pavilion at Camp Half-Blood was much livelier, although that had practically become the norm ever since Damon took control of Olympus. Conversations blended together, accompanied by laughter, plates being passed from one side to another, and the occasional shout coming from the different tables. Even the nymphs, who normally kept to themselves and focused on their own duties, seemed caught up in the atmosphere, several of them chatting with smiles on their faces as they helped keep everything in order.
Soren, for his part, sat peacefully at one of the tables, eating with quite a bit of enthusiasm while taking in everything happening around him. There was something strange, yet pleasant, about the way the camp worked. Sometimes he still couldn't help feeling a little reluctant about being there, especially at first, when he had simply followed his two older siblings, Astrid and Hiccup.
There were still plenty of things he wasn't used to, and the Greeks certainly had their peculiarities, but it was hard to feel uncomfortable when practically the entire place was full of energy and everyone was so friendly. Especially when certain people went out of their way to keep that energy alive.
"Five!" Percy exclaimed before stuffing a large piece of smoked chicken into his mouth and practically swallowing it whole.
"That doesn't count, you barely even chewed it," Marcos shot him a glare while doing the exact same thing from the other side of the table.
Percy pointed his fork at him. "When did I ever say there were rules we had to follow?" he replied with a grin, in one of his rare moments of cleverness.
Marcos frowned. "Fine! If that's how you want to do this, you'll see," the Aztec demigod shouted energetically with his mouth still full, earning several disapproving looks from the people around the table.
Not caring in the slightest, Marcos tossed his fork aside and started devouring the food directly with both hands, grabbing whatever he could reach and shoving it into his mouth in huge bites.
"Nom! Nom! Nom! Nom!"
Percy stared at him for a moment with narrowed eyes, as if he had just witnessed a direct challenge to his honor. Then he slowly put down his fork. "Oh, so that's how we're playing this."
And without an ounce of shame, Percy also started digging through the food with both hands.
"Nom! Nom! Nom!"
The two of them seemed to have completely forgotten every manner they had ever been taught. Pieces of chicken, bread, and potatoes vanished from their plates at a ridiculous speed as they competed to see who could swallow more without even stopping to breathe.
"Come on, Percy!"
"Show them why you're the fattest child of the Big Three!" someone shouted from one of the nearby tables. Percy nearly choked, but he didn't even stop. He simply raised one hand and gave a thumbs-up while continuing to chew.
"Marcos, don't let him beat you!"
"¡Órale, órale, órale! That Greek can't beat you!" another camper began shouting while pounding both hands against the table. Marcos simply kept eating with his cheeks completely stuffed with food. "Nom! Nom! Nom!"
"That's it, cabrón! Represent!"
"Percy, if you lose, we're taking away the Jackson name!"
"That's it, keep chewing! I love seeing you two with your mouths nice and full. Just let me know if you want something else inside those little mouths," Will Solace suddenly shouted from one of the nearby tables, wearing a smile far too pleased with itself.
The moment they heard him, Percy and Marcos froze at exactly the same time. All the color seemed to drain from their faces as they slowly turned their heads toward the son of Apollo.
Will simply blew them a kiss.
"Mwah."
Several people around the tables burst into laughter. Percy swallowed with difficulty before pointing a piece of chicken at him. "Bro..."
Marcos immediately raised both hands. "Don't drag me into that!"
"Cowards!" Will replied, dramatically placing a hand over his chest. "Five seconds ago, you were showing everyone just how much you could fit in your mouths."
The laughter only grew louder as Percy covered his face with one hand while Marcos started yelling something completely incomprehensible with his mouth still full. And just like that, what had started as a simple competition between two idiots turned into a full-blown spectacle, with several campers taking the opportunity to make fun of Marcos and Percy after the son of Apollo's insinuations.
Thalia, who had been watching all that stupidity from the side, couldn't help bringing a hand to her face. "Seriously... I hate all of you."
"I completely agree with you, big sister," Maria said from beside her, looking at her brother with disapproval.
Thalia turned her head slightly toward her. "See? At least someone here has common sense... but what can we do? Boys will be boys."
Maria simply nodded fiercely, as if every word that came out of Thalia's mouth were the word of the Almighty himself. Thalia, for her part, gave the girl a wide smile. During the time they had spent together, the punkish black-haired girl had grown quite attached to Maria, to the point where she had practically started seeing her as a younger sister. It wasn't hard to understand why either.
The similarities between the two were obvious. Maria could be just as direct, stubborn, and troublesome when she really wanted to be. The difference was that she was still young enough to look at Thalia with admiration every time she said something, a detail the daughter of Zeus would never admit she enjoyed.
Thalia eventually shifted her attention toward another table, where the Viking kids were sitting, or at least that was what most of the campers had started calling them. Honestly, she hadn't spent much time with them. Leo and the members of the Hephaestus Cabin were usually the ones keeping them company, but that didn't mean Thalia hadn't grown somewhat curious about them.
Astrid in particular had caught her attention. The few times she had seen the girl train had been enough for Thalia to realize she was tough and, at the very least, far from being some delicate little princess like certain demigoddesses could be. Thalia liked that. Then there was the brown-haired boy... well, yeah.
As if he had sensed someone watching him, Hiccup lifted his head and his eyes met Thalia's directly. The boy blinked a couple of times before a bright smile appeared on his face. Without any explanation, he raised the enormous wooden mug in his hands toward her in an exaggerated toast.
"To Lord Damon!" he suddenly shouted.
One of Thalia's eyes twitched..... It was more than obvious that between the shouting, laughter, and teasing, everything happening around them was practically music to the Vikings' ears.
Astrid turned toward Hiccup with a raised eyebrow while Soren immediately lifted his own mug of apple juice. "To Lord Damon!" the younger boy repeated enthusiastically.
Hiccup brought the enormous mug to his lips and started drinking without stopping. "Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug!" Soren began chanting while pounding one hand against the table.
Astrid watched him for a moment before finally giving in and joining them. "Chug! Chug! Chug!"
Several nearby campers quickly noticed what was happening and started joining in, causing Hiccup to keep drinking while raising the mug higher and higher. When he finally pulled it away from his lips, he let out a heavy breath before slamming it down against the table with a satisfied grin.
And that was exactly when the doors to the dining pavilion opened, revealing none other than the Goddess of the Moon. The cheerful atmosphere immediately came to a halt as several heads turned toward the entrance.
Artemis walked at the front with her usual serious expression, followed by Annabeth and Selene. The Goddess of the Moon seemed completely uninterested in all the attention they were beginning to receive, while the two demigoddesses behind her had barely managed to take a few steps inside. Percy recognized Annabeth almost immediately and shot to his feet. "Look! The girls are back!"
Annabeth barely had time to look toward him before several excited shouts erupted throughout the dining pavilion. "Annabeth!" "Selene!" "Finally!" More than one demigod jumped out of their seat while others immediately started asking what had happened on Olympus. Some wanted to know why Damon had personally summoned them, while others were simply happy to see them back.
One of Artemis's eyebrows began to twitch before the goddess stopped in her tracks. "SILENCE!" Her voice cut through the dining pavilion with enough force to instantly kill every conversation. Everyone quickly returned to their seats while Artemis swept her gaze across the room with an expression capable of piercing anyone foolish enough to raise their voice again.
"Much better," Annabeth murmured as she let out a small sigh. It wasn't that she wasn't happy to see her friends again; she simply didn't want an entire horde rushing toward her and bombarding her with an endless stream of questions. Even so, she couldn't exactly blame them. Even with Damon's far more relaxed rules, practically none of the demigods present had ever visited Olympus in their lives.
Artemis gave them a small nod. "You can go now," the goddess said, pulling Annabeth out of her thoughts.
"Thank you, Lady Artemis," Selene replied before grabbing Annabeth by the arm and walking with her toward the table where Percy and the rest of their fellow demigods were sitting.
Percy immediately perked up again as soon as Annabeth approached. "So... what happened?" Annabeth had barely reached her seat when she gave him a look. "You're not even going to let me sit down first, Seaweed Brain?" Percy instantly grew nervous. "Ehh... sorry, Annie."
Thalia snorted from the other table. "And then he wonders why he needs Annabeth to think for him." Percy turned his head toward her. "Hey, I already said I was sorry." Thalia simply turned her face away, ignoring him with Olympian ease.
Maria laughed again beside her while Annabeth finally sat down and Selene did the same a few seats away. However, before Percy or anyone else could begin the interrogation they had clearly been preparing, Artemis's voice rang out from the entrance again. "Percy, Luke, Thalia, Annabeth, and Selene."
All five raised their heads, surprised to hear their names called so suddenly. Artemis remained near the entrance with her usual serious demeanor. "Get ready. You're coming with me to Kuoh."
Silence settled over the dining pavilion, with no one quite knowing what to say. Percy was the first to break it. "Ehhhh... Kuoh?"
Artemis answered with a simple, "Yes," offering no further explanation. Luke set down whatever he had been holding while Thalia raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised to find herself included. Annabeth and Selene exchanged a brief glance; they had barely returned from Olympus and already had something else waiting for them.
Artemis crossed her arms. "You can consider it a mission... or a quest, if that helps you take it more seriously."
That was more than enough to set the dining pavilion off all over again. "A QUEST?!" "Why them?!" "I want to go too!" "They just got back and they're already getting another mission!" Voices began crossing from table to table, some campers genuinely excited for their companions while others had nothing but jealousy written across their faces, especially Clarisse.
Quests had always carried a certain amount of prestige at Camp Half-Blood, but they had never had one led directly by a goddess before. To many of those present, something like that alone was practically enough to guarantee that those demigods would be remembered in the camp's history.
Percy still looked fairly thrown off after receiving no real answer from the goddess and tried again. "Wait, wait... what's in Kuoh?"
Artemis gave him the same dry response. "You'll find out when we get there."
Percy let his shoulders slump slightly. "Of course. I don't even know why I bothered asking," the black-haired boy muttered, finally giving up on trying to get answers out of the Goddess of the Moon.
Setting Percy's complaints aside, Thalia rose from her seat. "When do we leave?"
"Soon. You have enough time to gather what you need and nothing more," Artemis replied.
Thalia nodded without asking any further questions. Percy, on the other hand, fell silent as he tried to decide exactly what qualified under the definition of what you need. Annabeth knew him far too well not to have a pretty good idea of what was going through his head and gave him a small nudge with her elbow. "That means you don't need to bring half the camp with you. Just what you need. No more than three days' worth of food."
Percy looked at her with obvious offense. "I didn't even say anything."
"You didn't have to... I know you well enough by now, Percy," the daughter of Athena replied, rolling her eyes.
Selene, meanwhile, rested one arm against the table as she processed the situation, briefly wondering if this was some kind of joke Damon had arranged just to mess with them. She had expected to get at least a little peace after returning from Olympus, but clearly that idea had already gone straight down the drain.
But while a whirlwind of emotions swept through Camp Half-Blood, deep within Tartarus, word of certain feats accomplished by the Greek king was already quickly reaching the ears of a particular individual.
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