ATLOP: Trial by Fire

I (Don't) Become Supreme Lord of the Bathroom

He did try, and I was still upset about it.

Khiron sighed, "Grover has big dreams, perhaps bigger than is reasonable. To reach his goal, he must first demonstrate great courage by succeeding as a keeper, finding a new camper and bringing him safely to Half-Blood Hill."

Okay well... Grover certainly didn't succeed as a Keeper seeing how I did not reach camp safely but...

He found me... he got me to the hill... and he showed courage by trying to help against Ms. Dodds.

So uh... what else did they want? Courage was the thing they wanted, right? Or did they want success? Those were two different things?

"Didn't... didn't he do that?"

"I might agree that he did," Khiron said solemnly, "But it is the place of Dionysus and the Council of Cloven Elders to decide. And I don't believe they'll consider this a success. He lost you in New York, then the ah... unfortunate fate of your mother... And of course, the fact that Grover was unconscious when you dragged him over the property line. The Council might question whether this shows any courage on Grover's part."

But... that's... courage isn't succeeding... it's... it's trying even when afraid... Grover did that? They're not judging courage, they're judging success? Why were they saying it was courage?

I might've protested, but honestly I didn't feel like sticking my neck out for Grover. He'd been lying to me for months and reporting information about me to Khiron... But I also didn't really want him to have no chance at his dreams...

"Will he be given a second chance?"

Khiron winced, "Unfortunately this was his second chance. The last time was a disaster in and of itself. The Council was not anxious to give him this one. I advised him to wait... he's still so small for his age."

I frowned, scratching at my arms, non-mortal beings aged slower so how old was he?

"How old is he?"

"Oh, twenty-eight."

Huh, he seemed tall for his age then. I didn't know any other satyrs but from what I knew of magical species in the ocean they would've been even shorter. Maybe on land it was different?

I wondered what happened last time. If he was small now then he must've been smaller before.

"So what happened last time?"

Khiron looked away quickly, "Let's move along, shall we?"

I held back a scowl at another avoidance of my questions.

I considered what Khiron said, and something occurred to me.

He knew my mom wasn't dead. He said her fate, he knew just like I did that mortals didn't die in flashes of golden light.

But he didn't tell me that.

My eyes narrowed, he wasn't planning on telling me my mom was alive.

I smoothed my expression. My mom was alive, and even on the off chance she wasn't... I would still get her back.

"Come Percy. Let's check out the woods."

I sighed but followed him to the woods.

Getting closer I could see just how massive the forest is. It easily covered half of the valley, and it rustled over my skin, I could almost taste the bark that rubbed at me.

It was old and powerful and definitely not something to go into unprepared.

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