The Nature of a Demigod

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He stopped walking and turned to Y/N. "And the fact that you were both unconscious when Y/N dragged you over the property line. The council might question whether this shows any courage on Grover's part."

I wanted to protest. None of what happened was Grover's fault. I also felt really, really guilty. If I hadn't given them the slip at the bus station, Grover might not have gotten in trouble. Y/N spoke for me.

"That's wrong and you know it, Chiron. I've told you about this already. Grover kept Percy safe his whole time at that school-"

"Y/N, it's like I've said. It is not my place to decide. The council will make their choice soon enough."

"He'll get a second chance, won't he?"

Chiron winced. "I'm afraid that was Grover's second chance, Percy. The council was not anxious to give him another, either, after what happened the first time, five years ago. Olympus knows, I advised him to wait longer before trying again. He's still so small for his age..."

"How old is he?"

"Oh, twenty-eight."

"What! And he's in sixth grade?"

"Uh, yeah. Satyrs mature about half as fast as we do, Percy. So he's going to look like a middle schooler for a bit." my friend told me.

"That's horrible."

"Oh, it's horrible." Y/N agreed. "If I was stuck looking like a seventh grader for too long I think I'd drown myself." Chiron flicked his head. "Ow." He massaged it.

"At any rate, Grover is a late bloomer, even by satyr standards, and not yet very accomplished at woodland magic. Alas, he was anxious to pursue his dream. Perhaps now he will find some other career..." Chiron continued

"That's not fair," I said. "What happened the first time? Was it really so bad?"

Y/N and Chiron both looked away quickly. "Let's move along, shall we?" the centaur said.

But I wasn't quite ready to let the subject drop. Something had occurred to me when Chiron talked about my mother's fate, as if he were intentionally avoiding the word death. The beginnings of an idea. A tiny, hopeful fire started forming in my mind.

"Chiron," I said. "If the gods and Olympus and all that are real..."

"Yes, child?"

"Does that mean the Underworld is real, too?"

Chiron's expression darkened.

"Yes, child." He paused, as if choosing his words carefully. "There is a place where spirits go after death. But for now... until we know more... I would urge you to put that out of your mind."

"What do you mean, 'until we know more'?"

Y/N gave me a firm push on the back. "Let's go check out the woods, Percy. I don't think you've really seen it in the daylight before."

As we got closer, I realized how huge the forest was. It took up at least a quarter of the valley, with trees so tall and thick, you could imagine nobody had been in there since the Native Americans.

Chiron said, "The woods are stocked, if you care to try your luck, but go armed."

"Stocked with what?" I asked. "Armed with what?"

"You'll find out eventually." Y/N murmured to me.

Chiron looked back. "Do you have your own sword and shield?"