ꨄ︎ 𝖈𝖆𝖗𝖔𝖑𝖎𝖓𝖆 ༄ care, can i ask you something?
༄ it's like you want me to hit you.
𝗜𝗡 𝗪𝗛𝗜𝗖𝗛
carolina has spend
her entire life waiting
for something to arrive
...
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when percy was back, grover and chiron were waiting for him anxiously.
"well?" chiron asked as percy sat on the chair in front of him.
"she said i would retrieve what was stolen."
grover sat forward, chewing excitedly on the remains of a diet coke can. "that's great!"
"what did the oracle say exactly?" chiron pressed. "this is important."
"she... she said i would go west and face a god who had turned. i would retrieve what was stolen and see it safely returned."
"i knew it." grover said, but chiron didn't look satisfied.
"anything else?" he insisted.
percy stayed in silence for a few seconds. he didn't want to tell him. the oracle had told him a friend would betray him, and that he'd failed to save what mattered most in the end. he didn't like that. how could he go on a quest knowing he was going to fail?
"no." he finally said. "that's about it."
"very well, percy. but know this: the oracle words' often have double meanings. don't dwell on them too much. the truth is not always clear until events come to pass."
"okay." he nodded, anxious to change the topic. "so where do i go? who's this god in the west?"
"ah, think, percy." chiron said. "if zeus and poseidon weaken each other in a war, who stands to gain?"
"somebody else who wants to take over." he guessed.
"yes, quite. someone who harbors a grudge, who has been unhappy with his lot since the world was divided eons ago, whose kingdom would grow powerful with the death of millions. someone who hates his brothers for forcing him into an oath to have no more children, an oath that both of them have now broken."
"hades."
chiron nodded. "the lord of the dead is the only possibility."
a scrap of aluminum dribbled out of grover's mouth. "whoa, wait. wh—what?"
"a fury came after percy." chiron reminded him. "she watched the young man until she was sure of his identity, then tried to kill him. furies obey only one lord: hades."
"yes, but— but hades hates all heroes." grover protested. "especially if he has found out percy is a son of poseidon..."
"a hellhound got into the forest." chiron continued. "those can only be summoned from the fields of punishment, and it had to be summoned by someone within the camp. hades must have a spy here. he must suspect poseidon will try to use percy to clear his name. hades would very much like to kill this young half-blood before he can take on the quest."
