"Hello? Chiron?" Aster called as she stepped through the doorway into the Big House. "Anybody home?"
Aaron looked around, not sure what he was really expecting. It looked about what he would expect from a house that primarily entertains children and teenagers. Homey, slightly cluttered, it was nice. The only thing Aaron thought was out of place was the ping-pong table sitting in what looked like to be an office, that was reminiscent of the round table at work, with the way the chairs were arranged around it. He was examining everything closely, ever the profiler, but couldn't find anything that would suggest that he was in the middle of a camp for magical beings.
But then he turned to face the place Aster had just walked past, and came face to face with what appeared to be a taxidermied leopard's head. Which was moving. Aaron nearly jerked back violently, and only his years in field work allowed him to control the reaction. Instead, he took a measured step back, looking to where his daughter had just disappeared upstairs.
"Don't move," she called over her shoulder, "I'm going to see if anyone is upstairs."
She didn't wait to see if he heard her, but she supposed he was the only one that was feeling uncomfortable. She practically grew up in this place, it would be odd if she felt unsafe. Aaron, on the other hand, thought that maybe he had jumped the gun on this decision.
He moved away from the leopard, secretly wondering how it felt about all the leopard print decor.
Moving to the large window at the front of the house, he observed what was going on outside. He had a good view of the camp, and from what he could see, it was a beautiful place. He could see the Greek influences in some of the buildings, one of which he assumed was the dining pavilion, but the camp still had a mix with more modern, typical summer camp looking buildings. What had Aaron squinting his eyes, however, was what looked to be the training grounds. Aster had told him what demigods did at camp, but somehow seeing it with his own eyes was different.
The grounds were relatively empty, as Aster told him they would be, but he could see a few demigods around. They were probably no older than 14, and the youngest probably around 9, Aaron couldn't be sure with how far he was. But he could tell that they were wielding swords.
Aaron and Jack would frequently have fake lightsaber battles, it was one of Jack's favourite things to do with his father. Aaron would watch as his son swung the fake sword back and forth clumsily, Aaron himself wielding it with only slightly more finesse, before he would succumb to a fake wound.
But those kids that he was watching, they were not clumsily fake fighting. The swords might have been dull practice blades, but the demigods strikes were fast and precise. Deadly.
Is this what Aster had been doing since she was, what, 8? Preparing to fight for her life? And when she wasn't doing that, she probably was actually fighting for her life. The thought made Aaron feel almost sick.
"What are you doing here?"
The voice made Aaron turn around quickly. It had come from a blonde teen, probably around 16, who was leaning against the now open door frame that had been closed when they had arrived. Looking past the teen, Aaron could make out what looked to be an infirmary of some sort.
Aaron held up his hands in what he hoped to be a non-threatening way. "My name is Aaron, I'm here with-"
"I know who you are Mr. Hotchner. Or Agent, sorry. I was at the airport to say bye to Aster. That's why I asked what you're doing here. Is she okay?"
Aaron paused, thinking about it he did remember two tall blonde teens saying bye to his daughter at the airport. One of them had shorter hair, cropped closer to his head. This one had longer, shaggier hair, so he must have been the one hanging around Nico Di Angelo.
Apparently, Aaron was taking too long to respond, because the teen interjected again. "Nico isn't here right now, in case you were looking for him. He's gone off somewhere, looking for leads on the..thing."
Clearly the teen wasn't thrilled at Nico for going alone, based on the frown on his face.
"Everything is fine, I'm not looking for him. And Aster is fine too, she's upstairs, looking for Chiron." Aaron told him. "I'm sorry, but I never got your name?"
"Oh gods, right, sorry." The teen laughed awkwardly, slightly more laid back now that he wasn't as worried about his friend. "My name is Will Solace. If nothing is wrong, can you tell me what you're doing here? I assume Aster brought you, but she didn't give us any warning. Which is kind of not allowed? I think? I'm not sure if we have any actual rules about it, but it's really weird."
Will had given Aaron slightly more information than just his name, but Aaron wasn't complaining. He was feeling the same kind of jitters he felt before going into an interrogation, so the more he knew about camp and how they felt about outsiders before talking to Dionysus the better.
"I apologize, I might have been rushing her. Does it not happen often, seeing mortals in camp?" Aaron questioned.
"Not really. Rachel, the oracle, is really the only one ever around. Not that we have anything against them, demigods consider ourselves more mortal than god anyways. It's just not really something that's done, they never have any reasons to be here. And you're avoiding my question." At this point, Will had moved further into the room and was leaning casually against a table. The door to the infirmary was left open, and Aaron could see it was empty. He assumed Will had been taking inventory or something.
"The oracle? What's that?" Aaron said, purposefully avoiding the end of Will's response. He figured that if Aster was as unhappy with his plan, then another demigod might be inclined to react similarly.
"I'll tell you when you tell me what you're doing here. Seriously Agent, what's with all the secrecy?" Will didn't like being left out of the loop when it came to his friend's well-being. And since they didn't tell anyone they were coming, Will could only assume that they were hiding something. The last time Aster kept a plan hidden from everyone at camp, she jumped into Tartarus with his boyfriend to find the doors of death. Aaron was going to have to forgive Will for being pushy.
Aaron sighed, reappraising the boy slightly. Clearly, he was on to Aaron's avoidance tactics. "Please, just call me Aaron. And I promise you, nothing bad. Has Nico told you about the situation? How my team is also looking into the deaths?" Normally, Aaron wouldn't discuss a case with a civilian, much less a minor, but at this point did it really matter?
A second after Aaron asked Will, he cursed himself. Aster said the knowledge of the murdered demigods was on a need to know basis, what are the chances that Will had been told.
But Will didn't react with any sort of shock, only concerned interest. "He did, yeah. Did you guys find anything?"
"No. And they likely won't if they only know half of the story. So I asked Aster to bring me here, so I can ask your camp director to give me permission to tell them everything." Aaron didn't see any point in hiding it, if Will was one of the few who knew about the case then it probably wouldn't be long before he heard about this anyways. And it was clear at that point Aaron wasn't going to escape another demigod lecture.
He wasn't wrong. After a long moment of silence, where Will looked torn between laughing and horror, the teen finally spoke up. "I cannot stress to you enough how horrible of an idea that is."
Aaron was tempted to roll his eyes. "So I've been told."
"Oh, so Aster already told you how much of an idiot you are?"
Both of Aaron's eyebrows raised, and Will at least had the decency to blush. "You know what, sorry. If you managed to convince Aster, then this is really none of my business. I'm going to go see if I can get a dolphin sized aquarium put in the infirmary. You know, just in case."
Will promptly turned around, and walked right back into the infirmary. It didn't escape Aaron's notice that he left the door open though. Clearly, Will still wanted to at least hear what was going to go down even if he didn't want to watch.
Aaron decided he had enough of looking around, and hesitantly lowered himself onto a leopard print arm chair. Apparently this guy had a thing for dolphins. Aaron didn't think transforming people into dolphins was really an efficient way to instill fear in the masses but who was he to judge. He had to admit that it would be very inconvenient.
Thankfully, Aster reappeared before Aaron had a chance to think about this further.
"Okay, Chiron isn't in the Big House, I IM'd him and he's in the archery fields. And just for the record, he also thinks this is a bad idea." She finished brightly.
He narrowed his eyes at her slightly, sensing there was more. "But...?" He prompted.
Aster pursed her lips. Eventually her shoulders slumped. "How good are you at pinochle?"
...
"Well, if it isn't Asher Carp."
"Aster Carr."
"Who cares. Are you playing or not?"
Aaron hadn't allowed himself to think too hard about what an actual living god might look like, but he was certain it wasn't anything like this.
The man seating at the 4-person patio table before him looked painfully average. His thinning hair was dark, so dark it almost looked purple. He looked stout and pot-bellied, but his eyes were alert and lively, despite how sullen his face appeared. Aaron thought it odd that someone wearing such loud clothing would simultaneously be pouting over a game of cards.
The cards had been dealt before either of them had sat down, and Aaron had the suspicion that the god knew they were coming.
"So, Aspen, care to explain why you brought a mortal beyond the very magical and hard to maintain borders of this camp? And why is it currently sitting in front of me?" Mr. D questioned, not even bothering to look at Aaron.
Aster doubted very much that Mr. D had anything at all to do with the creation or the maintenance of camp borders, but she was trying to be on her best behavior. Her usual lack of respect and disregard of godly authority that she had after fighting not one but two wars for them was not going to do her any favours when she was trying to get on Mr. D's good side. If he even had one.
"Well, he'll give you a better game. I've never even played pinochle." Hopefully he didn't think she was trying to be snarky.
Dionysus looked up over the edge of his cards. "What a great point," he sneered, "if I was looking for company in the first place. But, since I wasn't, you better have a great explanation for disturbing the peace I've been waiting for all summer."
Aster's eye twitched. The peace he's been waiting for. As if the demigods weren't still recuperating from the fight of their lives, that won him that peace in the first place. She knew that he did at least have some modicum of care for them that other gods lacked. But he sure was tone deaf.
Luckily her father spoke before she could voice any of her thoughts.
"I asked her to bring me here. I'm her father, and we've been looking into the recent demigod murders." Aaron started, getting right to the point.
"I don't think I asked you, did I? Now, Aster. What do you want?" The gods' eyes narrowed, obviously losing patience. The fact that he used Aster's actual name was not a good sign.
Well, might as well rip off the bandaid. "We want to tell my father's team of mortal investigators about us."
The god went oddly still for a brief moment. And then relaxed back into his chair and shrugged. "Fine, whatever. Do what you want."
Aster stared at him wide eyed. She looked to her father, who looked equally as surprised. Neither of them said anything. Aster stayed quiet because she was waiting for the other shoe to drop, and Aaron because he truly was wondering why it seemed all demigods had a flair for the dramatics.
"Seriously, you two came all the way here for this? As if mortals had never been told about us before. I mean sure, some of their frail mortal minds collapsed, but what can you expect? I'm sure this team or whatever will be fine." Mr. D said, nonchalantly.
"Really? That's it?" Aster said, still in disbelief.
"Really," the god mocked, "that's it. That, and the demigod involved swearing on the styx that the secret will be kept. And, of course, being responsible for the repercussions should it go awry."
Ah. there it was. "Repercussions?" Aaron asked. "What kind of repercussions?"
Mr. D's attention swiveled to Aaron, who up until now had been largely ignored. "Well, the gods can't allow that kind of incompetence to go unpunished. That's what the oath is for. It's been a few millennia since I've seen someone break it, but I can remember that the aftermath was not pretty."
Mr. D had been smiling somewhat cruelly at Aaron, but the profiler could see it get tighter upon realizing Aaron wasn't going to squirm under the gods' scrutiny.
Now, this is more what Aaron had prepared himself for. Dionysus was the god of madness, something that could be easily beheld in the unsettling depths of his eyes. But Aaron was no more scared than he had been when he faced Foyet, and despite how it may seem, he didn't think that Mr. D would go out of his way to hurt Aster.
"But it's not the demigod asking. It's me. I won't pretend to understand how the oath works in depth, but it would apply equally to mortals as it would to demigods, yes? I can take it. It's only fair." Aaron bargained, speaking like he would during any typical interrogation.
"Ah, but that's not all. See, what if the mortal is particularly smart? An oath is not infallible, and you humans have always been crafty with loopholes. No, the demigod must assume responsibility not only for taking the repercussions, but doling them out." Mr. D smiled wide again, before taking a long sip of his diet coke.
Both father and daughter ruminated on this. Aaron was taking it very seriously, clearly not loving the idea of Aster 'doling out repercussions' on his team. Not out of worry of what the team would do to her, but what she would do to them.
Aster, however, was looking at Mr. D like he grew a second, and then perhaps a third head. He had to be fucking with them, right? Making a demigod kill mortals? The gods were cruel, but they still had lines they didn't like to cross. And if this truly was the rule, Aster feels as though maybe it should be talked about more.
But then Dionysus winked at her over the rim of his coke can, and she understood. She wasn't going to have to swear to kill the team, but Mr. D wanted to make sure Aaron was willing to stake their lives, and hers, on their secrecy. She only hoped that he was planning on telling Aaron this, and not let him think Aster was liable to straight up murder them in the future.
"I still don't see why Aster would have to be involved-" Aaron tried again.
"And I'm not a fool, Aaron Hotchner. I've seen your type before. Noble, self-sacrificing. You would let them live and take the punishment yourself. You're used to gambling your own life. But now you have to gamble theirs, and your daughters. Do you trust your team enough for that?" Mr. D didn't break eye contact with Aaron once, and Aaron was really starting to understand why Aster and Will were so against this. God of Madness, Mr. D certainly was. But still...
"I trust my team with my life, and my childrens. But I refuse to offer up my child as collateral, even if it's the will of a god." Aaron rose from his chair. "I apologize for wasting your time."
Aaron took a step away from the table, expecting Aster to be rising to leave with him. But she stayed where she was, staring intensely at the god sitting across from her. Whatever silent conversation they were having, Aaron, for all of his profiling skills, could not figure out what it was.
Finally, the god broke his silence.
"Whatever, that's good enough for me. Do whatever you want, but Ashy still has to swear they won't willingly tell outsiders." mr. D waved his hand dismissively, obviously done with the conversation. He had his fun.
Aster nodded, before swiftly grabbing her dad by his sleeve and pulling him inside the house. Once the patio door was firmly shut behind them, Aaron stopped walking.
"What just happened?" He demanded.
"He was messing with you. He just wanted to make sure you were serious, and that you trusted the team. We're in the clear, dad, good job." Aster beamed.
"But.. he said you still had to swear an oath. That's dangerous." Aaron said, still unconvinced.
"Yeah, but only that they won't willingly tell others. That gives us some leeway, and besides, you trust them. You know they won't tell anyone unless they have no other choice. If we phrase it like that when I swear on the styx, I'll be fine." Aster was relieved, that had actually been incredibly easy. Maybe she shouldn't have made it that big of a deal.
"I should have seen that coming." Aaron said, mostly to himself.
"Don't feel bad, dad. Gods are not human, you can't expect to profile them the same way. And I was pretty confused for most of it too. He could've just said that the team would have to swear on the styx too. Maybe a bit unethical, getting so many people to swear a magically binding oath they know nothing about, but the gods aren't known for their ethics. Honestly, I think he was just having fun scaring you."
Aaron hummed. "Seems like a really nice guy. Great choice to be in charge of a bunch of children."
Aster chuckled. "Well, he usually takes a pretty hands off approach."
"Are you kidding? Mr. D is a great babysitter." A particular sunny blonde interjected.
"Will!" Aster yelled. She moved to wrap her friend in a hug. "I should've known you'd be here. You're doing okay?"
"I'm doing good. Not dealing with any psycho's so, probably doing better than you." Will said cheekily.
Will then turned to Aaron. "Glad to see you don't have fins."
"Okay, really. One of you has to explain this dolphin thing to me."
The demigods looked at each other and laughed. "Maybe later dad. Right now, I think it's time for dinner. And then I'll give you a tour, maybe I'll tell you about the dolphin thing then."
This might be slightly anti-climactic y'all. I'm sorry <3