The explanation of what the hell was going on was long-winded and boring and Cadence wanted to die the whole time. Well, that's normal for him. But still. Greek gods? Demigods? What the fuck was happening?
Eventually, Will led him to the Hermes cabin, since that's where unclaimed demigods stay.
"Good luck. They're a little rambunctious, but it's fine." He explained. Cadence gave a thumbs up and opened the door. Inside, there were around fifteen people. "Oh, hey. New kid. The one they found passed out, right?"
There were two boys, who looked eerily similar, in front of him. He nodded. "Cool. I'm Connor. This is Travis. What's with the mask?" He pointed at Cadence's face, which was still covered. Without missing a beat, he replied, "I'm too hot to handle."
The two burst out laughing and Travis patted him on the shoulder. "You'll fit in here, I promise. For now, we're gonna go prank the Athena cabin and hopefully not die. See ya!" The two ran off, to go to stuff they probably weren't supposed to do. Cadence sighed.
These people were exhausting. He sat down on an empty bed and laid down flat on his back. It was midday. If he took a nap, he could miss lunch. Or dinner. Eh, fuck it. I'm tired.
So, he went to sleep.
─── ❤ ── დ ── ❤ ───
His dreams were odd. They started normal. A graveyard. Totally regular.
He was standing in front of a tombstone with the words, "Penelope Darcy. Beloved Mother, Sister, and Daughter." Underneath, almost invisible, there was subtext. "In the midst of confusion, she will rise."
Cadence was definitely confused. His mother was alive. At least, he thought so.
"Her fate is undecided."
He gasped and turned around. Behind him, there was a woman. She was... earthy. Dirty? Just very reminiscent of soil.
"So is yours, child of lust."
Child of what now??
"Join me and you will live." She held her hand out. He took a step back, almost tripping on the grave.
"First of all: who the hell are you? Second of all: what the hell are you talking about? Third of all: get the hell away from me." He stepped around the grave to keep walking backward. The woman chuckled. Every step he took, she took a step as well.
"The time is now. Being morally gray is not an option. You must pick a side." She explained though that was not an explanation. He thought for a second. "What side is winning?" She smiled. At this point, he had stopped moving and they were only a foot apart.
"Mine."
She opened her eyes. They were fully black, inky tears spilling down onto her dress from her lashes. "Your eyes are so dazzling." He said sarcastically. She laughed. "Have you heard the prophecy?" She asked head tilted to the left. He shook his head. What prophecy?
"Seven half-bloods shall answer the call.
To storm or fire, the world must fall.
An oath to keep with a final breath,
And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death."
She recited it perfectly, her voice mesmerizing.
"What does that have to do with me?" He inquired. She turned to the left and began to walk towards an oak tree. She pressed a hand to it, closing her eyes once more.
"The son of love cursed with beauty
Will join as well, it is his duty
To make or break, betray or befriend
In his hands, the world will end"
"Once again, I ask, what the fuck does that have to do with me, Dorothy?"
"I am Gaea."
"You look like a Dorothy."
"I AM GAEA."
Her eyes flew open, the tree crumbled beneath her. The ground rumbled and Cadence feared that he had indeed fucked up. Instead of striking him down, though, she took a deep breath and turned back to him.
"Pick your side, Cadence Darcy. Or when the world splits in two, you will fall into the cracks of the earth and never return."
─── ❤ ── დ ── ❤ ───
"Damn. He's sleepy."
"Should we wake him up?"
"Hell yeah."
That's how Cadence was awoken to being shoved onto the ground. "LEO! I SAID WAKE HIM UP! I DIDN'T TELL YOU TO PUSH HIM!" Cadence groaned and sat him, looking his attackers in the eye. "Why." He pleaded, flopping his head against the mattress while still sitting on the ground.
"I am so sorry. I'm Piper. This is Leo. He's an idiot." The girl introduced. She had brown hair, chopped unevenly, and eyes that changed color every time she shifted her body. Leo... he looked like a cute little elf boy, who was about to cause mass destruction.
Cadence stood up and walked over to them. "Shut up. Both of you. Why am I awake right now?"
Piper furrowed her eyebrows and gestured to the clock. "Dinner??" He sighed.
"Fine." He followed them out of the cabin and to the mess hall. "Uh. Where do I sit?" He asked. Piper pointed to the Hermes table, with all the unclaimed demigods.
Dinner was uneventful. The entire time, he just wanted to die. No one talked to him, or even really glanced at him. Though, he heard a few whispers about "a weird boy with a mask." Eventually, the Stolls dragged him to the campfire after dinner.
The Apollo kids sang songs, while everyone else listened and chatted. Oddly enough, multiple people came to sit with him. An Asian girl with long black hair smiled sweetly and made Cadence want to kick her in the face. Will, seemed to want to talk to him rather than sing with his siblings. And then a blond girl with grey eyes. She didn't say anything. Just... stared.
And then something strange happened. The room fell silent, and the only one standing was a girl with red hair and green mist pouring out of every hole on her face. The air grew colder. The warmth from the fire had dissipated. All comfort was stripped away. And then she talked. Her words were familiar. And Cadence recognized them instantly.
"The son of love cursed with beauty
Will join as well, it is his duty
To make or break, betray or befriend
In his hands, the world will end or begin."
No one could find words. It seemed that time had stopped. Campers whispered to each other, glancing left and right cautiously before Chiron stood up. "Hush now, everyone. At the time being, we don't know who this is about. Children of Aphrodite may discuss-"
He was cut off by the gasps of shocked campers. Chiron turned to the source and found a group of around ten kids, all surrounding one boy, who now had a floating symbol above his head. Cadence only looked up when he realized what they were staring at.
It looked like a bow and arrow. Wasn't Apollo the god of archery? But why would everyone be so shocked and silent? Cadence's eyes began to glow light pink, hot pink around the pupils. His fingers tingled and his body felt like a feather. Airy and free, as if he could blow away at any second and be brought to a whole new place.
He looked down and realized his body was literally glowing. Iridescent shimmer, like that of the pale moonlight, seeped from his skin as if he had bathed in it just moments before.
Suddenly, Chiron bowed.
"All hail, Cadence Darcy. The child prophesized to join the quest of the seven. And the son of Eros."
YOU ARE READING
pulchritudinous - leo valdez x male oc
Fanfictionwhat if someone was so beautiful that every face that looked upon them was cursed to fall in love?
