[act four; chapter two - council of the cloven elders]
Nothing caps off the perfect morning like a long taxi ride with two angry girls.
What was even worse than that was being stuck in a car with a very persistent, awkwardly cute Percy Jackson.
He was constantly trying to talk to Annabeth and herself, but they were both acting like he didn't exist.
It was harder than you think.
All he managed to get out of Annabeth was that she'd had a monster-infested spring in San Francisco; she'd come back to camp twice since Christmas but wouldn't tell him why; and she'd learned nothing about the whereabouts of Nico di Angelo (long story). Andromeda, however, had taken some convincing to even talk to him. She explained that Donnie had quite literally gone missing in the middle of the night a few weeks back. He had been there at night, but when she woke up, he was gone. She told him about her time in Cape Cod and the fact that Beu, her guardian, and kinda stepdad had been recruited for some mission that he refused to tell her or her brother about. She explained that she been at camp on and off all year after being kicked out of a school for starting fights. She somehow managed to avoid explaining the many nightmares and vague dreams that she'd been having since Mt. Tam.
"Any word on Luke?" Percy asked.
"Mount Tam is still overrun with monsters," Annabeth said. "I didn't dare go close, but I don't think Luke is up there. I think I would know if he was."
That didn't make him feel much better. "What about Grover?"
"He's at camp," Andromeda said. "We'll see him today."
"Did he have any luck? I mean, with the search for Pan?"
Annabeth fingered her bead necklace, the way she does when she's worried. "You'll see," she said. But she didn't explain.
She pulled a small photo out of the back pocket of her shorts and unfolded it. Andromeda smiled as she watched the daughter of Athena's cheeks tint red. In the photo was a young girl, the same age as them, though she was just a bit younger. She had cinnamon toned skin and dark brown curls. Her eyes were a bright amber and her ears had a little point at the tip. Her rosy lips were turned up in a brilliant smile, black smudge—that was later identified as oil—coated random spots of her face. Her name was Janaya Silva and she was a daughter of Hephaestus. She also happened to be Annabeth's kinda-somewhat-notyetofficial-girlfriend. Andromeda was keeping track of their relationship status through percentage. They were about 94% as of now. She was just waiting till they reached 100%.
They were very adorable.
As they headed through Brooklyn, Percy used Annabeth's phone to call his mom. Half-bloods try not to use cell phones if they can avoid it, because broadcasting their voices is like sending up a flare to the monsters: Here I am! Please eat me now! He left a message on their home voice mail, trying to explain what had happened at Goode. He probably didn't do a very good job. He told his mom he was fine, she shouldn't worry, but he was going to stay at camp until things cooled down and that Andromeda and Annabeth were perfectly safe. He also asked her to tell Paul Blofis he was sorry.
They rode in silence after that. The city melted away until they were off the expressway and rolling through the countryside of northern Long Island, past orchards and wineries and fresh produce stands.
Andromeda was leaning her head on Annabeth's shoulder, mumbling words under her breath in, once again, a language the other two demigods vaguely understood. She kept making faces whenever Annabeth stared down at her confused, the redhead also confused on why the daughter of Athena didn't understand her. It was becoming a somewhat normal occurrence.
The taxi exited on Route 25A. They headed through the woods along the North Shore until a low ridge of hills appeared on their left. Annabeth told the driver to pull over on Farm Road 3.141, at the base of Half-Blood Hill.
The driver frowned. "There ain't nothing here, miss. You sure you want out?"
"Yes, please," Annabeth handed him a roll of mortal cash, and the driver decided not to argue.
Annabeth, Percy, and Andromeda hiked to the crest of the hill. The young guardian dragon was dozing, coiled around the pine tree, but he lifted his coppery head as we approached and let Annabeth scratch under his chin. Steam hissed out his nostrils like from a teakettle, and he went cross-eyed with pleasure.
"Hey, Peleus," Annabeth said. "Keeping everything safe?"
Andromeda skipped over to him, rubbing his snout with both hands. He made a purring sound and pushed against her palms.
The last time Percy had seen the dragon he'd been six feet long. Now he was at least twice that, and as thick around as the tree itself. Above his head, on the lowest branch of the pine tree, the Golden Fleece shimmered, its magic protecting the camp's borders from invasion. The dragon seemed relaxed, like everything was okay. Below them, Camp Half-Blood looked peaceful—green fields, forest, shiny white Greek buildings. The four-story farmhouse they called the Big House sat proudly in the midst of the strawberry fields. To the north, past the beach, the Long Island Sound glittered in the sunlight.
Still...something felt wrong. There was tension in the air, as if the hill itself were holding its breath, waiting for something bad to happen.
They walked down into the valley and found the summer session in full swing. Most of the campers had arrived last Friday. The satyrs were playing their pipes in the strawberry fields, making the plants grow with woodland magic. Campers were having flying horseback lessons, swooping over the woods on their pegasi. Smoke rose from the forges, and hammers rang as kids made their own weapons for Arts & Crafts. The Athena and Demeter teams were having a chariot race around the track, and over at the canoe lake some kids in a Greek trireme were fighting a large orange sea serpent. A typical day at camp.
"I need to talk to Clarisse," Annabeth said.
He stared at her as if she'd just said he needed to eat a large, smelly boot, Andromeda letting out a small laugh under her breath. "What for?"
Clarisse from the Ares cabin was one of Percy's least favorite people, but she was somehow one of Andromeda's closest friends. She was a mean, ungrateful bully. Her dad, the war god, wanted to kill him. She tried to beat him to a pulp on a regular basis. Other than that, she was just great.
"We've been working on something," Annabeth said. "I'll see you later."
"Working on what?"
Annabeth glanced toward the forest.
"I'll tell Chiron you're here," she said. "He'll want to talk to you before the hearing."
"What hearing?"
She looked at Andromeda and nodded in goodbye, "I've got to find Naya." And she jogged down the path toward the archery field without looking back.
He turned to Andromeda only to find her looking at him with a strange...look in her amethyst eyes. She huffed and spun on her heel, walking towards the strawberry fields.
"Yeah," Percy muttered. "Great talking with you, too."
—🧵—
Percy walked into the amphitheater and his heart almost stopped. In the middle of the arena floor, with its back to him, was the biggest hellhound he'd ever seen.
One the size of a rhino tried to kill him when he was twelve. But this hellhound was bigger than a tank. He had no idea how it had gotten past the camp's magic boundaries. It looked right at home, lying on its belly, growling contentedly as it chewed the head off a combat dummy. It hadn't noticed him yet, but if he made a sound, he knew it would sense him. There was no time to go for help. Percy pulled out Riptide and uncapped it.
"Yaaaaah!" He charged.
"PERCY!"
He could hear the voice of Andromeda and briefly glanced over his shoulder to see her running towards him. He put one hand out, grabbing her waist before she could pass him, keeping her behind him. "Percy! It's fine!"
He brought down the blade on the monster's enormous backside when out of nowhere another sword blocked his strike.
CLANG!
The hellhound pricked up its ears. "WOOF!"
He jumped back and instinctively struck at the swordsman—a gray-haired man in Greek armor. He parried Percy's attack with no problem. "Whoa there!" he said. "Truce!"
"WOOF!" The hellhound's bark shook the arena.
"That's a hellhound!" Percy shouted.
"She's harmless," the man said. "That's Mrs. O'Leary."
He blinked. "Mrs. O'Leary?"
At the sound of her name, the hellhound barked again. He realized she wasn't angry. She was excited. She nudged the soggy, badly chewed target dummy toward the swordsman.
"Yes, Percy." Andromeda chided. Percy realized how close they were and his hand was still on her waist, but she made no effort to move away. "If you would slow down for a moment and listen, you would know this."
"Good girl," the man said. With his free hand he grabbed the armored manikin by the neck and heaved it toward the bleachers. "Get the Greek! Get the Greek!"
Mrs. O'Leary bounded after her prey and pounced on the dummy, flattening its armor. She began chewing on its helmet.
The swordsman smiled dryly. He was in his fifties. He was in good shape for an older guy. He wore black mountain-climbing pants and a bronze breastplate strapped over an orange camp T-shirt. At the base of his neck was a strange mark, a purplish blotch like a birthmark or a tattoo, but before Percy could make out what it was, he shifted his armor straps and the mark disappeared under his collar.
"Mrs. O'Leary is my pet," he explained. "I couldn't let you stick a sword in her rump, now, could I? That might have scared her."
"Who are you?"
"Promise not to kill me if I put my sword away?"
"I guess."
He sheathed his sword and held out his hand. "Quintus."
Percy shook his hand. It was as rough as sandpaper.
"Percy Jackson," he said, looking at Andromeda with furrowed brows. "Sorry about—How did you, um—"
"Get a hellhound for a pet? Long story, involving many close calls with a death and quite a few giant chew toys. I'm the new sword instructor, by the way. Helping out Chiron while Mr. D is away."
"Oh." He tried not to stare as Mrs. O'Leary ripped off the target dummy's shield with the arm still attached and shook it like a Frisbee. "Wait, Mr. D is away?"
Glancing at the daughter of Mr. D, Percy raised his eyebrows, confused on why she wouldn't share this with him. She shook her head, later.
"Yes, well...busy times. Even Dionysus must help out. He's gone to visit some old friends. Make sure they're on the right side. I probably shouldn't say more than that."
If Dionysus was gone, that was the best news Percy had all day. He was only their camp director because Zeus had sent him here as a punishment for chasing some off-limits wood nymph. He hated the campers and tried to make their lives miserable. With him away, this summer might actually be cool. On the other hand, if Dionysus had gotten off his butt and actually started helping the gods recruit against the Titan threat, things must be looking pretty bad. Dionysus was also the father of two of his best friends.
Off to Percy's left, there was a loud BUMP. Six wooden crates the size of picnic tables were stacked nearby, and they were rattling. Mrs. O'Leary cocked her head and bounded toward them.
"Whoa, girl!" Quintus said. "Those aren't for you." He distracted her with the bronze shield Frisbee.
The crates thumped and shook. There were words printed on the sides, but with his dyslexia they took him a few minutes to decipher:
TRIPLE G RANCH FRAGILE THIS END UP
Along the bottom, in smaller letters: OPEN WITH CARE. TRIPLE G RANCH IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR PROPERTY DAMAGE, MAIMING, OR EXCRUCIATINGLY PAINFUL DEATHS.
"What's in the boxes?" Percy asked.
"A little surprise," Quintus said. "Training activity for tomorrow night. You'll love it."
"Uh, okay," He said, though he wasn't sure about the "excruciatingly painful death" part.
Quintus threw the bronze shield, and Mrs. O'Leary lumbered after it. "You young ones need more challenges. They didn't have camps like this when I was a boy."
"You—you're a half-blood?"
Andromeda laughed, the vibrations passing through Percy's hand and up his arm, his whole body feeling like it was on fire.
Quintus chuckled. "Some of us do survive into adulthood, you know. Not all of us are the subject of terrible prophecies."
He cast a look at the two demigods, his eyes flickering between the two with a strange look in his eyes...kind of like a sparkle.
It was weird.
"You know about my prophecy?"
"I've heard a few things."
Andromeda wanted to ask what few things, but just then Chiron clip-clopped into the arena. "Percy, there you are! Andromeda, you've found him."
"More like I stopped him from getting himself killed. Again."
He must've just come from teaching archery. He had a quiver and bow slung over his #1 CENTAUR T-shirt. He'd trimmed his curly brown hair and beard for the summer, and his lower half, which was a white stallion, was flecked with mud and grass.
"I see you've met our new instructor." Chiron's tone was light, but there was an uneasy look in his eyes. "Quintus, do you mind if I borrow Percy?"
"Not at all, Master Chiron."
"No need to call me 'Master'," Chiron said, though he sounded sort of pleased. "Come, Percy. We have much to discuss."
He took one more glance at Mrs. O'Leary, who was now chewing off the target dummy's legs.
"Well, see you," He told Quintus.
As they were walking away, he whispered to Chiron, "Quintus seemed kind of—"
"Mysterious?" Chiron suggested. "Hard to read?"
"Yeah."
"Weird old man?" Andromeda snickered.
Chiron nodded. "A very qualified half-blood. Excellent swordsman, I just wish I understood..."
Whatever he was going to say, he apparently changed his mind. "First things first, Percy. Annabeth told me you met some empousai."
The redhead raised her brows, "That was fast."
"Yeah." So Percy told him about the fight at Goode, and how Kelli had exploded into flames.
"Mm," Chiron said. "The more powerful ones can do that. She did not die, Percy. She simply escaped. It is not good that the she-demons are stirring."
"What were they doing there?" He asked. "Waiting for me?"
"Possibly," Chiron frowned. "It is amazing you survived. Their powers of deception...almost any male hero would've fallen under their spell and been devoured."
"I would've been," He admitted. "Except for Rachel."
Andromeda felt something flare in her gut, something hot and ugly and she figured it was something like jealousy. It was like a small little green, slimy monster. Or maybe Oscar the Grouch from Sesame Street. She wondered if her skin had turned red like it typically did whenever she got angry, but as she looked down at her hands, all she found was her veins flaring purple. She kicked the back of Percy's knee and made a small peace sign, walking away without another word.
Do you ever feel like you have no control over your emotions? Like they kind of just bubble up out of nowhere and take over? Like a gray, stormy cloud that is the size of a city, covering every last inch there is to cover. Well, that's how Andromeda feels, at least that's what she thinks.
Then again, she's never been good with emotions.
—🧵—
Andromeda Storm found herself standing in the woods a while later, her arms crossed over her chest, her face stoic as ever. Her fiery curls were pulled back in a messy bun, a pair of black platform chucks on her feet. The scars on her face were thin white lines that marred the freckles that connected like constellations, telling the stories from her time in Sea of Monsters, fighting gods, monsters, and even her own friends. Well, people she thought were her friends, someone she thought she loved.
Eliza Taylour was very much a sore subject in her books.
Turning her attention forward, a bunch of satyrs were sitting in a circle in the grass. Grover stood in the middle, facing three really old, really fat satyrs who sat on topiary thrones shaped out of rose bushes—the Council of Cloven Elders.
Grover seemed to be telling them a story. He twisted the bottom of his T- shirt, shifting nervously on his goat hooves. He hadn't changed much since last winter, maybe because satyrs age half as fast as humans. His acne had flared up. His horns had gotten a little bigger so they just stuck out over his curly hair.
Standing off to Andromeda's side was Annabeth, her kind-of-girlfriend Janaya, and a tree nymph named Juniper, as well as Clarisse, the daughter of Ares.
Chiron, who had come trotting through the woods with worried eyes, dropped a very confused Percy next to them. He glanced at the line of young women and nearly backed away.
Clarisse's stringy brown hair was tied back with a camouflage bandanna. If possible, she looked even buffer, like she'd been working out. She glared at him and muttered, "Punk," which must've meant she was in a good mood.
Annabeth had her arm around the other girl, who looked like she'd been crying. She was small—petite, Percy guessed you'd call it—with wispy hair the color of amber and a pretty, elfish face. She wore a green chiton and laced sandals, and she was dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief. "It's going terribly," she sniffled.
"No, no," Annabeth patted her shoulders. "He'll be fine, Juniper." Annabeth looked at me and mouthed the words Grover's girlfriend.
There was a small tap on his shoulder causing him to turn. His sea green eyes flickered towards Andromeda and then to the girl who stood next to Annabeth. She had fiery amber eyes with the occasional smudge of black stuff—he guessed it was oil or something—and some edges of her curly hair was fringed, kind of like it had been burnt. She was wearing a black Camp Half-Blood t-shirt with a pair of denim overalls overtop, a pair of heavy duty boots on her feet. He noticed there were small flames painted on the sides and he immediately connected the dots—she was a daughter of Hephaestus. The daughter of Hephaestus that Andromeda had been talking about the year before.
She shooed Percy away and the moment he moved, she began making gestures with her hands in Annabeth's direction. The blonde shrugged, "He's just an idiot."
He turned towards Andromeda and opened his mouth, but was, consequently, cut off. "She's mute, doesn't talk to people. So any hand gestures she makes is sign language."
He nodded and stepped aside and focused more on what Annabeth told him. At least he thought that's what she said, but that didn't make any sense. Grover with a girlfriend? Then he looked at Juniper more closely, and he realized her ears were slightly pointed. Her eyes, instead of being red from crying, were tinged green, the color of chlorophyll. She was a tree nymph—a dryad.
"Master Underwood!" the council member on the right shouted, cutting off whatever Grover was trying to say. "Do you seriously expect us to believe this?"
"B-but Silenus," Grover stammered. "It's the truth!"
The Council guy, Silenus, turned to his colleagues and muttered something. Chiron cantered up to the front and stood next to them. The elders didn't look very impressive. They reminded Andromeda of the goats in a petting zoo (which, by the way, she hated)—huge bellies, sleepy expressions, and glazed eyes that couldn't see past the next handful of goat chow.
Silenus tugged his yellow polo shirt over his belly and adjusted himself on his rosebush throne. "Master Underwood, for six months—six months—we have been hearing these scandalous claims that you heard the wild god Pan speak."
"But I did!"
"Impudence!" said the elder on the left.
Andromeda huffed and hugged her arms around herself, sharing a look with Annabeth. Both of their faces were red with anger, but it seemed so much more prominent with Andromeda due to her pale skin and bright hair.
"Now, Maron," Chiron said. "Patience."
"Patience, indeed!" Maron said. "I've had it up to my horns with this nonsense. As if the wild god would speak to...to him."
Juniper looked like she wanted to charge the old satyr and beat him up, but Annabeth and Clarisse held her back. "Wrong fight, girlie," Clarisse muttered. "Wait."
Janaya slunk past the three girls and wrapped both of her arms around one of Andromeda's, leaning her head on the taller girl's shoulder, watching with a conflicted glint in her amber eyes. She almost looked amused by the old goats trying to pull off...whatever it is, but she also looked angry, like she could light something on fire.
"For six months," Silenus continued, "we have indulged you, Master Underwood. We let you travel. We allowed you to keep your searcher's license. We waited for you to bring proof of your preposterous claim. And what have you found in six months of travel?"
"I just need more time," Grover pleaded.
"Nothing!" the elder in the middle chimed in. "You have found nothing."
"But, Leneus—"
"I should be able to say something." Andromeda grumbled, Janaya looking up at her curiously, Percy glancing at her...also curiously. "You know, stand in my fathers stead. Like, vouch for him. He's all for nature stuff, even if people don't know it. He's really frickin smart, too. He likes nature, always talking about Pan and stuff whenever no one is around. He also has two votes instead of one. Being a god and all. Gods, this is so fuc-" she cut herself off with Janaya's sharp look. "Frick. Fricked. Fricked up."
Silenus raised his hand. Chiron leaned in and said something to the satyrs. The satyrs didn't look happy. They muttered and argued among themselves, but Chiron said something else, and Silenus sighed. He nodded reluctantly.
"Master Underwood," Silenus announced, "we will give you one more chance."
Grover brightened. "Thank you!"
"One more week."
"Oh, that's plausible!" Clarisse slapped a hand over Andromeda's mouth.
"What? But sir! That's impossible!"
"One more week, Master Underwood. And then, if you cannot prove your claims, it will be time for you to pursue another career. Something to suit your dramatic talents. Puppet theater, perhaps. Or tap dancing."
"But sir, I—I can't lose my searcher's license. My whole life—"
"This meeting of the council is adjourned," Silenus said. "And now let us enjoy our noonday meal!"
The old satyr clapped his hands, and a bunch of nymphs melted out of the trees with platters of vegetables, fruits, tin cans, and other goat delicacies. The circle of satyrs broke and charged the food. Grover walked dejectedly toward his friends. His faded blue T-shirt had a picture of a satyr on it. It read GOT HOOVES?
"Hi, Percy," he said, so depressed he didn't even offer to shake the raven haired boy's hand. "That went well, huh?" He turned to Andromeda, "Still no Donnie?"
She shook her head, a grim expression on her face.
"Those old goats!" Juniper said. "Oh, Grover, they don't know how hard you've tried!"
"There is another option," Clarisse said darkly.
"No. No." Juniper shook her head. "Grover, I won't let you."
His face was ashen. "I—I'll have to think about it. But we don't even know where to look."
"What are you talking about?" Percy asked.
In the distance, a conch horn sounded.
Annabeth pursed her lips. "We'll fill you in later, Percy. We'd better get back to our cabins. Inspection is starting."
—🧵—
It didn't seem fair that Percy had to have to do cabin inspection when he just got to camp, but that's the way it worked. Every afternoon, one of the senior counselors came around with a papyrus scroll checklist. Best cabin got first shower hour, which meant hot water guaranteed. Worst cabin got kitchen patrol after dinner.
The problem for Percy: he was usually the only one in the Poseidon cabin, and he's not exactly what you would call neat, something that drives his favorite redhead crazy. The cleaning harpies only came through on the last day of summer, so his cabin was probably just the way he'd left it on winter break: his candy wrappers and chip bags still on his bunk, his armor for capture the flag lying in pieces all around the cabin.
He raced toward the commons area, where the twelve cabins—one for each Olympian god—made a U around the central green. The Demeter kids were sweeping out theirs and making fresh flowers grow in their window boxes. Just by snapping their fingers they could make honeysuckle vines bloom over their doorway and daisies cover their roof, which was totally unfair. Percy didn't think they ever got last place in inspection. The guys in the Hermes cabin were scrambling around in a panic, stashing dirty laundry under their beds and accusing each other of taking stuff. They were slobs, but they still had a head start on him.
Over at the Aphrodite cabin, Silena Beauregard was just coming out, checking items off the inspection scroll. He cursed under his breath. Silena was nice, but she was an absolute neat freak, the worst inspector. She liked things to be pretty. He didn't do "pretty." He could almost feel his arms getting heavy from all the dishes he would have to scrub tonight.
The Poseidon cabin was at the end of the row of "male god" cabins on the right side of the green. It was made of gray shell-encrusted sea rock, long and low like a bunker, but it had windows that faced the sea and it always had a good breeze blowing through it.
Andromeda was on the porch of it, sitting on the steps with her arms on her knees as she raised a brow at his panicked state.
He dashed past her and inside, wondering if maybe he could do a quick under-the-bed cleaning job like the Hermes guys, and he found his half-brother Tyson sweeping the floor.
"Percy!" he bellowed. He dropped his broom and ran at me. If you've never been charged by an enthusiastic Cyclops wearing a flowered apron and rubber cleaning gloves, Percy's telling you, it'll wake you up quick. Really quick.
"Hey, big guy!" Percy said. "Ow, watch the ribs. The ribs."
He could hear a laugh from behind him and feel Tyson release Percy with only one arm, most likely waving at Andromeda.
He managed to survive his bear hug. Tyson put him down, grinning like crazy, his single calf-brown eye full of excitement. His teeth were as yellow and crooked as ever, and his hair was a rat's nest. He wore ragged XXXL jeans and a tattered flannel shirt under his flowered apron, but he was still a sight for sore eyes. Percy hadn't seen him in almost a year, since he'd gone under the sea to work at the Cyclops' forges.
"You are okay?" he asked. "Not eaten by monsters?"
"Not even a little bit." The boy showed him that he still had both arms and both legs, and Tyson clapped happily.
"Yay!" he said. "Now we can eat peanut butter sandwiches and ride fish ponies! We can fight monsters and see Annabeth and Naya and Carrots and make things go BOOM!"
"But first," Percy said, "we've gotta worry about inspection. We should..."
Then he looked around and realized Tyson had been busy. The floor was swept. The bunk beds were made. The saltwater fountain in the corner had been freshly scrubbed so the coral gleamed. On the windowsills, Tyson had set out water-filled vases with sea anemones and strange glowing plants from the bottom of the ocean, more beautiful than any flower bouquets the Demeter kids could whip up. Nearby was a small plate of strawberries and his sea green eyes widened even more.
"Tyson, the cabin looks...amazing!"
He beamed. "See the fish ponies? I put them on the ceiling!"
A herd of miniature bronze hippocampi hung on wires from the ceiling, so it looked like they were swimming through the air. Percy couldn't believe Tyson, with his huge hands, could make things so delicate. Then he looked over at his bunk, and he saw his old shield hanging on the wall.
"You fixed it!"
The shield had been badly damaged in a manticore attack last winter. But now it was perfect again—not a scratch. All the bronze pictures of my adventures with Tyson and Annabeth, Andromeda fighting a giant cyclops in the Sea of Monsters were polished and gleaming.
He looked at Tyson. He didn't know how to thank him.
Tyson grinned and then clapped his hands together excitedly, "And Carrots helped, too! She grew berries!"
Then somebody behind him said, "Oh, my."
Silena Beauregard was standing in the doorway with her inspection scroll.
She stepped into the cabin, did a quick twirl, then raised her eyebrows at Percy. "Well, I had my doubts. But you clean up nicely, Percy. I'll remember that."
She winked at him and then Andromeda and left the room.
—🧵—
Tyson and Percy spent the afternoon catching up and just hanging out, which was nice after a morning of getting attacked by demon cheerleaders. Andromeda left for a while, saying she had to go make sure, and in quotes, "My idiot older brothers make sure they actually make it into the real world, college, you know, that stuff." But eventually she came back and joined them to head down to the forge to help Beckendorf from the Hephaestus cabin with his metalworking. Tyson showed them how he'd learned to craft magic weapons. He fashioned a flaming double-bladed war axe so fast even Beckendorf was impressed.
While he worked, Tyson told them about his year under the sea. His eye lit up when he described the Cyclops' forges and the palace of Poseidon, but he also told them how tense things were. The old gods of the sea, who'd ruled during Titan times, were starting to make war on their father, Poseidon. When Tyson had left, battles had been raging all over the Atlantic. Hearing that made Percy feel anxious, like he should be helping out, but Tyson assured him that their dad wanted them both at camp.
"Lots of bad people above the sea, too," Tyson said. "We can make them go boom."
After the forges, they spent some time at the canoe lake with Annabeth and Janaya. The daughter of Athena was really glad to see Tyson, but anyone could tell she was distracted. She kept looking over at the forest, like she was thinking about Grover's problem with the council. The other two demigods were sitting on the edge of the docks, swinging their legs in the water. They were talking to themselves, though it looked more like Andromeda talking to Janaya, the girl nodded along with amusement.
"What's this 'other way'?" Percy asked Annabeth. "The thing Clarisse mentioned?"
She picked up a stone and skipped it across the lake. "Something Clarisse scouted out. I helped her a little this spring. But it would be dangerous. Especially for Grover."
"Goat boy scares me," Tyson murmured.
Percy stared at him. Tyson had faced down fire-breathing bulls and sea monsters and cannibal giants. "Why would you be scared of Grover?"
"Hooves and horns," Tyson muttered nervously. "And goat fur makes my nose itchy."
And that pretty much ended their Grover conversation.
Everyone, meet Janaya Silva! She's definitely a favored oc of mine and she's literally so freakin adorable and super against swearing, I don't know why, it just felt like it fit with her.
Anywho, I thought this chapter was okay, hope you all enjoyed it!
Bye!