House of Hades

XV--Hazel

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And now... We proceed...

XV--Hazel

The sudden and unexpected turn of events had rendered Hazel speechless.

After the momentary shock had abated to some degree, Chiron stepped, rather, limped to the front of the crowd of demigods.

The centaur looked frazzled. And he wore an expression like, I'm getting way too old for situations like these.

He heaved a humungous sign and cleared his throat. "Campers!" he announced. "It seems we have been successful in this battle."

The Greeks cheered, pumping their fists in the air and waving their weapons in victory, whereas the Romans stood around awkwardly, not quite sure what to do.

That was when someone started the chanting.

"Ha-zel! Ha-zel! Ha-zel! Ha-zel!" the person began. Pretty soon, the entire camp was repeating the daughter of Pluto's name, like it some sort of mantra.

Hazel smiled and gave the Greeks a small wave. When they responded her with big smiles and joyous shouts, she knew that she had finally done it. She had finally earned the Greeks' trust. She had finally been accepted and given a place among the campers. She finally belonged.

The crowd quietened down and Hazel realised that they were expecting her to say something.

She glanced at Chiron, at a loss of words. The trainer gave her a small grin and nodded his head to bolster her confidence.

"Well, I couldn't have done it without Arion," she said, fondly patting her horse's right flank. The stallion snorted again, digging his hoof into the ground impatiently.

"Oh, right!" Hazel muttered. "Sorry, boy."

The daughter of Pluto thrust her hand towards the ground and golden nuggets popped out of the soil, flying to her open palm.

She fed the metal to the hungry horse.

The Greeks seemed to accept her answer because their cheering resumed.

When the noise subsided, the centaur continued. "Yes! We have won! And it is a great victory, with what little campers and weapons we have at our disposal. But we must not rest on our laurels! With great joy, comes great sorrow, as we have witnessed today."

The campers immediately sobered up, lowering their heads. They spent a moment in silence to honour the memory of those who had died fighting for the defeat of the enemy, and to protect Camp Half-Blood.

"Now, campers!" Chiron's voice boomed. "We must head to our cabins and call it a day. Tomorrow, we must get to work! Tending the injured and making shrouds for our dead."

As the crowd of Greeks began to thin, Chiron added. "And we welcome our new allies, the Romans! They are a part of our family now, so please treat them as such."

After exchanging slightly hesitant looks, the cabin leaders stepped forward and introduced themselves to the Romans. They briefly explained about how things worked at Camp, and showed them their half-siblings.

Once Chiron was sure that the Greeks and Romans were getting along, he beckoned Hazel, Leo, Jason and Reyna towards him.

The group joined the centaur, who immediately cut to the chase.