Vines and Thorns

𝟘𝟘𝟙-𝕀𝕟𝕥𝕣𝕠𝕕𝕦𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝔹𝕦𝕝𝕝 ℝ𝕚𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘

I thank the nymph who drops a plateful of fruits and eggs in front of me. As the rest of the Campers stand and made their way to the nearby burning brazier to offer parts of their meal to the god of their choosing.

Considering my father was already present, I simply stood up and walked to his table, giving him a smile as I placed an extra vine of grapes onto his plate. "Thank you, Danae. And please tell your brothers that the next time they decide to prank a cabin, to avoid Aphrodite's bunch. Their unsufferable screeching has given me a headache." I can't help but chuckle, recalling the skunk that my brothers had placed inside the aforementioned cabin yesterday.

"I doubt they'll listen to me, but I'll be sure to pass the word." I muse, and my father only sighs before waving me off.

Dionysus and I have always had a weird relationship. I was practically raised in this camp, and therefore have been one of the very few demi-gods to have a regular interaction with their godly parent. But that doesn't make it all sunshine and rainbows.

I used to feel like I always had to prove myself to him—I used to train harder than even Annabeth in order to gain his pride, and while I would love to say that I have quit the habit it would be a lie. Then there's the part of me that blames him for everything that has transpired because of the lovely little curse he decided to bestow upon my life when I was born.

Not to mention that Dionysus himself is one of the more...temperamental gods, and he's more bipolar than the weather in Florida. "Do you think someone else will get a quest this summer?" Oliver questions, and I shrug my shoulders, popping a cherry into my mouth.

Last summer, Percy Jackson (the son of Poseidon his royal fishiness) was sent to find Zeus's master bolt along with Annabeth Chase and Grover Underwood. Quests were given very rarely, and almost never to any first term campers.

Ever since the summer ended and Percy came back, the campers have been buzzing wondering if there would be another quest this summer—and everyone was hoping for a chance to be in it.

"Peter—"

"Percy." Oliver corrects, and I roll my eyes.

"Whatever. I doubt that with him here, any of the rest of us will be getting any kind of quest." I grumble, a small flame of jealousy lighting up in my stomach.

I've never had a true interaction with the son of Poseidon—but I couldn't deny that I was jealous when he was chosen to go on a quest. I had been here longer than anyone else at camp—and even those who have only been here a few years had more of a claim to a quest than him.

And yet just because he was the son of one of the Big Three, he was given a quest after being at camp for barely more than a week. If it weren't for Annabeth and Grover, there was no way he would have made it on his own. And yet he got to leave.

Oliver opened his mouth to say something—but whatever words that came out of his mouth were drowned by the sound of a deafening roar. The pavilion was quickly doused in silence, and my entire body tensed as I looked towards the sound.

My eyes darted to Chiron, who was already standing and looking towards the sound. Naturally, my father just kept drinking his diet coke as the rest of us waited for another sound—no one making so much as a peep.

When the second roar ripped through the air, everyone jumped up—and it didn't take long for the camp to fall into chaos.

Chiron began to shout orders, and everyone started to make a mad dash for either shelter or a weapon. The pavilion became a dense crowd as everyone attempted to leave at once, and the air was knocked from my lungs when someone elbowed me in the stomach.