Olympian Truth or Dare

Chapter 20

Athena's POV

I surveyed Dionysus' seat at the table, my brows narrowing slightly. What on Gaea could have caused him to leave like that?

"So, shall we move on?" Zeus suggested. His tone clearly said he was trying his best to ignore Dionysus' strange behavior. Very well then, I can figure out why Dionysus left the game on my own.

"Since Dionysus is gone, I believe it is my turn by technicality." Hephaestus grumbled. He fiddled with a small contraption in his hands, his fingers flying over it with a gossamer's touch. It had always fascinated me how he was able to make such marvelous contraptions when, by all odds, he shouldn't be able to do it. This was especially fortunate for him because Hephaestus loved his mechanisms so much. This got me thinking.

Could something that Dionysus likes be in trouble?

I ruminated on this. Unless it was something super important, it would probably be at Camp Half-Blood because father would not allow Dionysus to go anywhere else. If that is so then what is it that Dionysus has there that is so important to him?

"Ares, truth or dare?" Hephaestus asked. I couldn't even roll my eyes because the choice was just so predictable. In fact, it was exasperating. Can no one dare a person they don't have a personal grudge against?

"Dare!" Ares shouted. Of course.

"Before this escalates any further," I said, wanting to confide my conclusion with them. "I'd like for you to hear my thoughts on Dionysus."

"Dionysus?!" Ares practically screeched. "Who cares about him? I want to hear my dare!"

"How very callous of you." I said dryly. He scowled.

"Enough with the big words Athena. It don't make you sound smarter." Ares said. I sighed through my nose.

"Okay, first: That was not a big word nor was it hard to comprehend. Second: They not it. If 'It' is referring to 'big words' then it's plural because words end in an 's'. Lastly: I believe you meant doesn't, not don't. That grammar mistake is so painfully obvious that I suspect you dropped it in there just to annoy me." I said. It was silent for a while before Ares decided to open up his big, repugnant mouth.

"Daaaaaaad." Ares whined, in hardly the manner a grown god would be expected to act. "She's being obnoxious again."

"Amazing." I murmured. "You complain about me using big words when obnoxious is a larger word than callous."

"Daaaaaaaaaaaaaddd!"

My dad sighed. "Ath—"

His voice stopped in mid-sentence when he realized an Iris message was appearing.

I leaned forward, curious as to who it was. Perhaps it was Dionysus.

"Who could that be?" Poseidon muttered. The mist coalesced to form one large image of... Percy Jackson.

Gasps could be heard from around the room at the mortal's supposed impudence for calling the gods. I quickly decided to disregard my trivial argument with Ares for the time being and focused my attention solely on the son of the sea god. I could tell my father was itching to zap his brother's son with a lightning bolt for iris messaging us but, to his credit, he was able to restrain himself.

"Is there... a reason you have iris messaged the gods?" Zeus asked in the careful tone of one about to lose his temper. Percy Jackson shifted his weight a little, an obvious sign of uneasiness. If he had been my son I might have given him some encouragement but, the fact the matter is that he is not and that he'll have to help himself out of this hole he's dug.