Natasha stood in the shadows. Percy had taken everyone straight to a light blue house, and had brought them into a room with two men in it. The first was kind looking, middle-aged and had tawny brown hair. He had a scruffy beard, bushy eyebrows and intense sepia eyes. He wore a dark green suit, and had a blanket over his lap, as he sat in a wheelchair. The second was a short and chubby man with a loud leopard-spot shirt. He was sitting at a desk in the middle of the room that had a bag of something called 'Snausages' on it. He had watery blue, bloodshot eyes that had a layer of unnatural purple mixed in. In his right hand he clutched a Diet Coke can, and his curly hair was so black that it appeared purple. Natasha was automatically on guard. Unspoken threats seemed to form in the air. The second man addressed Percy. "Peter Johnson- why have you brought mortals into this camp?" he asked. "Hey Mr. D. Chiron," Percy greeted them, "They're here 'cause they agreed to help with the war. And, yes," Percy glanced at 'Chiron' who's brow had crimped at his words, "there is another war. It's what we came to warn everyone about, actually." Percy walked over to the bag of 'Snausages' and grabbed one, throwing it at a leopard head on the wall. To Natasha's(obviously well hidden) surprise, the head growled and twisted to catch it. "I was going to introduce them to some people, perhaps at the war council? And I was going to show 'em around and pick their weapons," he told the men. Chiron nodded. "I will make the announcement. I assume that they know about your kind?"
"Yep," Percy confirmed, before turning to speak to everyone else. "By the way, Chiron's a centaur and Mr. D is Dionysius, the god of insanity and wine and stuff, so don't make him too mad. Seymour is a leopard head that Mr. D found at a garage sale." He then strolled out the doorway calling out behind him something about 'granting Seymour life' because 'such a noble creature should never be stuffed and mounted on a wall'. The Avengers and Loki quickly followed with wary looks tossed towards the centaur and annoyed god. Percy showed them the campfire and the lake, along with a lava rock wall. They'd met Peleus, a dragon who guarded what Percy called 'the Golden Fleece,' and then a giant bronze creature flew down from the sky. "Festus!" Percy cried, running over to the machine. It had glowing ruby eyes and large wings that gleamed in the sunlight. It opened it's mouth and it's jaw squeaked, before a string of flames erupted from it's throat. Somehow, the dragon seemed to be mourning something. "I know, buddy," Percy told it, "I miss Leo, too." Tony was gawping at the machine and made some incomprehensible noises. A small eight year old boy was carrying a bucket filled with a dark liquid, and the smell of gasoline and Tabasco sauce permeated the air. He walked over to the dragon and set the bucket down. "Hey Harley," Percy said. "Hi Percy! I was just coming to feed Festus...I'm taking care of him now," the boy finished sadly. Percy nodded in understanding, and gestured over his shoulders at the Avengers. "I was just showing these mortals around camp, since they might be here a while, 'cause of the new monster activity recently. I was just going to show them the cabins, but I think it might be best to just go to lunch and show them mine, and then the ones they're staying in." Harley beamed. "Does that mean you're gonna stay, too? I can show you so many of my new inventions! And you can help me with the hydroelectricity generator for my next project, too," he exclaimed, beginning to ramble. Percy laughed. "I'd love to help, but how about first I get these guys settled. They don't even have weapons yet." Harley's eyes sparkled and his grin widened. "Let me guess," Percy continued, "you want to make them their own weapons," he smirked. At the child's enthusiastic response, Percy chuckled again and lifted Harley up on his shoulders, handing him the bucket, to feed Festus. After the small boy said goodbye, Natasha walked up behind Percy. "You laughed," she said. It seemed to startle him. "What do you mean?" he asked, "I laugh all the time." Natasha shook her head. "Not like that. It's usually a bit forced and weak. When you laugh here, you really laugh. It's your home, isn't it?" She said it more like a statement than a question. Percy just nodded and addressed everyone. "We'd better get to the dining pavilion. Don't want to be late for lunch, now do we?"
~Steve Rogers~
The walk up to the pavilion was gorgeous. The tables each had white cloths with purple trim, and the area was encircled in Greek columns. It sat upon a hill that overlooked the sea, and there were no walls or roofs to frame it. For some reason, there was a thin gray scar from what could have been a closed up crevasse in the middle of the space. Steve had never seen anything like the Greek camp, and Percy had told them that they were still undergoing repairs and renovations. He hadn't told them what exactly had happened, and that was what worried Steve. As he passed by a table with many strong, diverse children with muscles and a few minor burn marks, he spotted the little boy from earlier, Harley, waving his arms about and telling them about plans for weapons. 'Was he serious when he asked about that?' Steve wondered. Then he noticed Percy sitting at a table by himself, smiling and waving him and the others over to him. "So, kid," Tony started, "what do you have to eat around here? And more importantly- the drinks?" Percy laughed quietly for a moment before composing himself. "The wood nymphs, or dryads, serve stuff like BBQ, grapes, apples, strawberries, cheese, fresh bread- there's only healthy food here, because we not only need to stay in shape and train, but also since a hundred or so ADHD demigods plus sugar is not a good idea. As for drinks," he raised the goblet in front of him into the air, "they'll fill with whatever you want on voice command. Except alcohol. They also refill automatically, so you'll never run out. Here, watch: Blue Cherry Coke," he said, and the cup filled to the brim with a swirling blue liquid. Percy took a sip and gestured for them to try. "Err...water?" Steve said hesitantly, feeling a bit silly for speaking to a cup, but it nonetheless filled up. Then, the dryads came out. They were beautiful, and elf-like in appearance. A few had floral attachments and appendages, and others looked to be tinted green. Some giggled as the swept past the demigods, though Percy seemed target to most of the coquettish behavior, not that he noticed. The way the nymphs acted around the handsome teen was unsurprisingly amorous and coy. As the demigods piled food on their plates, Steve noticed them getting up in groups, then one-by-one throwing a portion of their meal into the bronze brazier with a small girl tending to the warm flames. Percy himself stood and signaled for them to do the same. Walking over to the pot, they each tossing a bit of food into the fire. When it was Steve's turn, he dropped in a large chunk of bread and got a whiff of the smell of the smoke. It was like everything the nymphs passed around and more mixed into one object, yet it still smelled heavenly. The girl gave him a comforting smile as he walked by and turned back towards the flames. Once he'd returned to the table he asked Percy who she was. "Hm?" He swallowed the giant mouthful of food he had in his mouth and tried again. "Oh, that was Hestia, goddess of the hearth and home. She's awesome, one of my favorite goddesses actually. And before you ask, the burning food thing was a sacrifice to the gods. They like the smell," he smiled and said, "Connor always burns a package of peanut M&M's for his dad." His smile quickly fades and he moves on from the subject, making simple conversation and giving short answers.
I am not proud of this. I apologize.
~DarkCooki3
YOU ARE READING
Beating Hearts
ActionPerseus Jackson. The name that sent chills down monsters spines, and that sparked hope in demigods everywhere. But beyond that, this name belongs to a boy. A man. A man who has seen so much, too much. Who has watched as his friends were killed, murd...
