Kauffmann, Angelica. 'Telemachus and the Nymphs of Calypso'. 1782. (censored)⋆.ೃ࿔*:·
Words: 1,912
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"Want the last one?"
Luke looked up to see Phoebe offering her last strawberry to him.
"You sure Pheebs?" he flashed an uncertain smile at her.
"Yeah," she replied, a soft smile gracing her lips "Come on, take it" her fingers gently waving the strawberry in front of his face, in the hope of enticing him.
Chris, sitting next to Luke, observed the exchange with interest, his gaze shifting between them, as if catching a subtle shift in the air. "If he won't... Ill-."
Luke swiftly reached out, plucking the strawberry from her outstretched hand. His reaction pulling a laugh from her, her joy radiating like the warmth of the sun.
The trio lounged together on the boys' bunks, basking in the midday glow that cast a comforting aura around them as they enjoyed a quiet moment before lunch. Her eyes left the two boys in front of her towards the new sleeping camper shifting erratically in his swag causing worry to fill her eyes.
"Hey is he-" She began, her concern evident in her voice, but her words were cut off as Percy jolted awake, his sudden movement startling her and disrupting the peaceful sunlit atmosphere around them.
Luke rising from his bed, heading towards Percy, "You okay?"
"Super."
"If it makes you feel any better, we all have them," Phoebe said, her voice soothing as attempted to comfort him. "Insane, recurring nightmares. It's pretty normal here."
Luke joined in, adding "And the daydreams, and the ADHD, and dyslexia. Demigods just process reality differently than humans do."
"For the first time in your life, you're just like everyone else." He continued. His mind spinning as he tried to find the right words that would reassure him, and help him find his new identity as a demigod. What the younger him would have needed to hear.
Percy looked up at them with big uncertain doe eyes "So are you also... " his inquiry hung in the air. "Do you not know who you're-" he asked hopefully as he sought to find himself within Luke.
"Am I unclaimed?" Luke clarified, shaking his head dismissively. "No, Hermes is my father," he casually shrugged, brushing off any significance of his parentage.
Percy then shifted his gaze to Chris and Phoebe.
Chris flashed Luke a downward smile, replying "Sorry kid, Son of Hermes too" Luke returned Chris's smile with a knowing glance.
"I'm not unclaimed either, Apollo is my dad " Phoebe added, empathy thick in her voice.
Sensing Percy's ever growing sense of loneliness, she nudged Luke's side. He instantly snapped his head down at her, and she subtly gestured with her eyes towards Percy, silently urging him to reassure his new camper.
"That doesn't matter, we're all on the same team here." Hearing his simplistic approach to reassure him she couldn't help but grimace her lips at his attempt. Sensing her reaction, Luke lightly elbowed her side.
Percy furrowed his eyebrows, "Why is that okay?" pressing on, seeking answers from his older peers.
"Why do they get to bring us here to just ignore some of us?" His growing frustration evident in his tone.
"Spend too much time trying to figure out why the gods do whatever it is they do, you'll drive yourself crazy" Luke advised, his voice carrying a weight of experience. He shrugged his shoulders as if to dismiss the very thought, yet an enigmatic glint lingered in his eyes.
Phoebe, hearing his words, pursed her lips as her gaze lingered on him. She knew his past with his dad. His abandonment. His rejection of him. Her heart is aching for him.
"The sooner you stop worrying about that, the sooner you can enjoy what this place actually does offer."
"And what's that?"
"Glory," Luke responded.
.・。.・゜✭・. .·゜゜· ·゜゜·．.・。.・゜✭・.
The group descended the steps of the Hermes cabin and breathed in the fresh scent of the pine forest around them.
"Demigods have always fought for glory. They used to call it kleos." Luke began. His voice carries the weight of ancient echoes of past.
"It's like this stuff that attaches itself to your name. Makes it bigger, scarier, more important". Always the constant pursuit of recognition and significance.
"People listen closer when you talk-" he continued. Phoebe, playfully attempting to tease, leaned in until their breaths nearly danced in unison, mischief gleaming in her eyes.
"I'm listening," she said as she tried not to smile.
In response, he raises his hand, gently envelops her face and pushes her back. With a light dusting of flush now on his cheeks, he cleared his throat and continued, "-they work harder to be your friend and they think twice about messing with you." directing the last line at her with a joking glare.
As they walked, the dirt path narrowed, forcing the group to tighten up. Percy, in these close quarters, accidentally bumps another camper's shoulder, as the two groups pass each other on the thin path.
"Hey!" The camper's voice rang out as she instantly pushed Percy to the ground.
"Woah!" Luke exclaimed as Phoebe rushed to help him up. "Hey. Knock it off, Clarisse. It's like his first day, come on."
"You okay?" Phoebe asked him softly as she dusted him off, not wanting to draw any more attention to the pair.
Clarisse's face washes over with realisation, "Wait, so this is the kid who killed the Minotaur. Is that right?" Clarisse questioned, unimpressed.
"Yeah," Percy replied, trying to muster a tough demeanour.
"I'll bet," She says mockingly as she looks him up and down. "Look, you want attention around here, dummy? You better be ready for it when it comes."
She lunged at him, and he flinched, eliciting laughter from her friends as they began to leave. As she left, she cast a glance at Chris, a light flush gracing her cheeks, quickly turning her head before anyone would notice.
"Well, she seems nice," Percy commented
"She is cool sometimes, she's just going through some stuff right now," Phoebe says, trying to explain "Don't take it too much to heart" She made a mental note to check in on her. Normally, she wasn't so antagonistic with the newer campers.
"Why don't they mess with you guys?" Percy asked.
"They know better," Luke replied.
"Luke's the strongest swordsman at camp. And Phoebe is a pushover so no one can be bothered with her" Chris chimed in. Earning a playful shove from her in response.
"So, they leave you alone because 'glory?" Luke nodes in response.
"So if I get glory, Clarisse wouldn't mess with me either?"
"Pretty much," Phoebe replies.
"And people think I'm a big deal?" A plan formed in his head.
"Well, sorta, but-" Luke began.
"And my dads got no choice but to claim me." Luke and Phoebe share a glance at each other.
"You can't force the gods to do anything," Luke said cautiously.
"Well, yeah, but... it would make it harder for him to pretend I don't exist, right?" Phoebe raised her eyebrows in response; he wasn't entirely wrong.
"Maybe" Luke nodded.
"Well, great. Where do we start?"
.・。.・゜✭・. .·゜゜· ·゜゜·．.・。.・゜✭・.
"A good source of glory are feats of skill." Luke began, his eyes fixed on Percy as he contemplated the potential strengths of his new camper. "So, we gotta figure out what you're good at." Handing him the bow.
Percy hesitated, as he felt the weight of the weapon in his hands. "I wanna be very clear about this, I've never done anything like this before, and it looks super dangerous," he admitted easily.
"And you never killed a minotaur before either, 'til you did." Luke counted with a reassuring grin. Phoebe, standing next to them, gave him a supportive thumbs-up.
Drawing the bow shakily at the many targets on Hydra's dummy body, a nearby camper offered him a lighter to make it aflame. "I wouldn't" Percy cautioned, sensing the probable coming danger.
Taking his shot, missing entirely, starling everyone as the arrow went flying in their direction, prompting a collective duck. In the chaos, Phoebe, the closest to the bow, was swiftly grabbed by Luke. He spun her around to shield her with his body, as they fell out of harm's way.
He looked down at her, raising his eyebrows in a silent question of whether she was hurt. She responded with laughter as she nodded.
"Not one of mine" she whispers to him, a playful glint in her golden eyes "Not even you are that bad of a shot" he replies with a teasing grin. Phoebe feigned shock at his words, the theatrical expression only making him laugh.
Percy cautiously looked around, "should I try again?"
"No!" came a unanimous response from everyone.
"No! No" Chris emphasised.
.・。.・゜✭・. .·゜゜· ·゜゜·．.・。.・゜✭・.
"Come on" Luke urged, guiding Percy towards the forge. As they approached, the heat enveloped them, the rhythmic clanging of metal against metal that was echoing around the space being somewhat calming.
Phoebe hands him a pair of safety glasses. "Put these on," She instructed, her voice cutting through the ambient noise.
With a pat on the back from Chris, he swings the hammer twice, striking the metal. On his second hit, the end of the sword broke free, soaring through the air before landing in a nearby pile of rags. A spike ignited, and the flames instantly began dancing on the fabric.
"Whoa, easy there," Luke said, steering Percy away from the unexpected blaze.
"So not a Hephaestus kid either then" Luke whispered to Phoebe, the flickering flames cast a warm glow all around them.
.・。.・゜✭・. .·゜゜· ·゜゜·．.・。.・゜✭・.
Seated amidst the grandeur of the open-air pavilion, full of slabs and pillars, and the whispers of tales of ancient times. Phoebe sat. now separated from her boys, she was now surrounded by her brothers and sisters. The Apollo cabin.
At the head of the stone picnic table, reserved for the head of the cabin, she sat. Engaged in a conversation with her favourite baby brother. Their voices dancing admit the clatter of utensils and the hum of laughter.
"I can't believe you haven't heard yet, You're absolutely going to love this!" Phoebe exclaimed with a glint of excitement in her eyes.
"So this kid, couldn't have been more than twelve, just finds out he's a demigod, then is attacked by a minotaur at the edge of camp" continued, as she leant in.
"It takes down Grover, the kid's Satyr. So, without a sword, he jumps on this guy's back, practically riding it like those mechanical bulls. So, as he's riding him he rips out one of its horns and stabs it. Dude is killed its own horn!" The story leaves her brother wide-eyed with wonder, hanging on with every thrilling detail. Percy Jackson becoming his new hero.
"When do you think I'll be able to fight something like that?"
She gazed at her brother, his gold hair radiant like the sun. Will Solace. The perfect embodiment of their divine father.
"God, give it a couple of years, at least" she replied.
"But-".
"Think of your poor sister, I'd be worried sick if one of my baby siblings were out there," she playfully feigned concern, pretending to wipe a tear.
A distant chime echoed through the air interrupting their conversation.
The Hermes cabins turn.
Will observed her head snap in the direction of the god of messenger table. A seeking look on her face.
"Go"
"But-"
"It's fine. Go find your lover boy" he teased.