A Hero's Tears

The Boy Is Back In Town

Within two days, he was up and ready to conquer the world, so to speak. He was incredibly antsy due to being stuck in a bed with minimal movement for two days. But he, ironically, bonded with the host of Delphi, seeing as how, in his last life, his goal was to rid the world of, not just the gods that ignored them, but also, in turn, Fate itself, although, like many before him who've tried, he became nothing more than a slave to his fate. But through that, he became a hero. The true Hero of Olympus.

When he finally got out of the infirmary, the first thing he did was simply sit on the porch of the Big House, relaxing and taking in the peaceful scenery. Well, peaceful if you ignore the Ares kids picking on one of the new kids. Some things never change. Luke found himself hoping that kid was Hecate, or some other demigod who'd be able to mop the floor with the Ares kids. But, other than that, it was a perfect day.

There was a slight, soothing chill on this beautiful New York winter day. The sun shone brightly upon the camp, bathing its inhabitants in a warm embrace despite the cool winds. The systematic clang-ing of hammers on bits of metal rang out from the forges. The Apollo and Athena kids were engaged in an intense volleyball match that had accumulated a few spectators aside from Luke. Standing adjacent to the Athena side was a young man in green swimming trunks, an orange muscle shirt (not unlike the one Luke used to own), and messy black hair, but that's all Luke could make out from his distance.

He could see the Hermes Cabin (he merely assumed, due to the sheer number of campers) had challenged the Hecate to see who could get all their cabin mates up and down the rock wall quickest. At least, that's what he guessed happened; the two groups were synchronized in sending up their members, the Hecate kids would sometimes unleash a purple spell (which is why he guessed they were Hecate) at a Hermes kid, or a golden one at their own. The Hermes kids, in turn, would step on fingers and toes, or block their path so the other kid is forced to trek a more dangerous path. But sometimes the Hermes kid would fall, or magically be swept aside. There was a slightly larger crowd there than at the volleyball match, but that's probably because no one had the danger of being burned by lava or crushed by rocks in a volleyball match.

The Aphrodite kids were at the docks, canoeing or chatting with naiads. Nothing really exciting, except for one of the kids tipped his canoe, and he and his partner came up bobbing and splashing, and Luke could hear the girl screaming at her partner from the Big House. The boat fixed itself, though, and the kids were pushed onto it thanks to some handy naiads. He chuckled to himself and looked to the archery field.

There were two groups there, though he couldn't identify them. They seemed to be facing off, although he wasn't sure if they were trying to prove who was better or worse, because they were both terrible, but didn't seem too angry about it.

After a bit, Luke stood and stretched his arms and back. It'll be good to finally get some action, even if he has to wait until after the tour (that he used to give) to join his siblings. He walked around the porch to where Mr. D and Chiron were playing pinochle. Nothing, it seemed, has changed. Except for the ages and amount of campers and cabins, of course.

Luke cleared his throat. "Chiron, sir? I'm ready for the tour," he said, causing an indignant Dionysus, probably about to tell him off for interrupting the game, but his look of irritation turned to surprise when he saw just who interrupted him, which is natural, considering Luke is technically dead.

Chiron smirked. "I was beginning to wonder if you'd ever be ready. I've had this game won six plays ago," he says, as he lays down cards and tallies points, effectively leaving Mr. D in the dust, and rolls away from the table, before standing up in his centaur form.

"So where are we headed, first? And do you have to show me all the old stuff, like the forges, the arena, and whatnot?" Luke asked as they walked off the porch.