The Plea of Apollo || COMPLETED

CECIL II

The child of Hermes, despite his father being god of travel, hadn't been to many places in his life. He'd been born in Ohio, which was located only a few hours from camp when he'd been rescued by his satyr. As a kid his family stayed where they were. The first and only time he'd left the state was when a monster broke into his house and almost killed him. Luckily, his satyr had taken care of the beast before it could harm him or his mother.

Nevertheless, Italy was very different than state-hopping. They were in another country!

The place they had landed was wide open and beautiful. Canals with bright blue water were plentiful, elegant bridges allowing the many tourists to cross over into other areas of the city. The weather was pleasant at a comfortable seventy-five degrees. The sun shown high in the sky with not one cloud blocking it from view. There was not one monster in sight either, which Cecil hoped stayed that way.

"It appears we are in Venice," Nico stated as the four demigods walked out from the alley they had shadow traveled to. They had hidden in the alley while they tended to their wounds; they didn't want to attract any unnecessary attention. "I can tell because I was here just a few weeks ago with Frank and Hazel."

"You went here during for the great prophecy?" Will questioned.

"Yeah. We stopped here because Hecate told us the secret to surviving the Doors of Death was here. It turned out to be barley, which we received from Triptolemus after Frank fixed the god's chariot, but this particular part of the quest was not very pleasant." He left out the part about being turned into a stalk of corn for a while. "The good news is Frank killed all of the katoblepones roaming the city and Trip left to spread his knowledge of agriculture with other cities. We won't have to deal with them again, grazie Hades."

"You speak Italian?" Cecil and Lou Ellen asked.

He rolled his eyes. "Sì. Parlo italiano. I am Italian after all."

"Huh?"

"I said yes and that I speak Italian," the son of Hades said as they made their way down the stone road. "I remember most of the language since I grew up here with my mother and sister before moving to the United States when World War II started." Will seemed excited about this information for some reason, since he smiled at Nico goofily and gave him something akin to puppy eyes.

"Say something else in Italian," he begged childishly.

Nico stared his friend. Cecil and Lou Ellen were prepared for a sarcastic denial, but were surprised when he responded civilly.

"D'accordo. Ho fame."

Will crossed his arms, trying to guess what he said. "I'm not sure but did you just insult me?"

The Italian chuckled, shaking his head a bit. Cecil couldn't help but notice how the boy in front of him had changed since the battle against Gaea. The years before he had never once smiled in front of others, much less laughed since his sister had died. After the quest he'd gone on with the Seven of the prophecy he had changed though. For once the loner made an effort to hang out with friends, even going as far as stepping outside his comfort zone. It did wonders for the son of Hades even if he did not notice himself. Cecil was the son of the god of deceit, and he could tell that the friendship slowly forming between Nico and his two best friends wasn't fake.

"I said okay and that I am hungry," Nico admitted before pointing to a café one block away. "We should eat there. Shadow traveling works up quite the appetite. But then we should leave; there are still lemures all over the place."

Cecil raised a hand. "Did you say lemurs?"

Nico face-palmed as the group entered the café and sat down in a booth. Cecil noticed how the dark-haired teen scooted as far away as he could manage from Will, who was oblivious to Nico's need for personal space.