ᴾʰᵒᵇᵒᵖʰᵒᵇⁱᵃ [ᴶᵃˢᵒⁿ ᴳʳᵃᶜᵉ]

ζ

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Mythophobia - fear of stories or lying

Whilst Aza was still shaken from the events that had just happened, she was the one who bought the energy to the tour. The Daughter of Phobos was used to things like this happening; when the fears of those around her became simply too much for her to handle, it happened. Annabeth always called it a 'relapse', but Aza simply thought of it as a battle. She had to battle to overcome those fears, to push them into her own mind's Tartarus. As the Daughter of Phobos, other people's fears were her burden, and she needed to bear their weight. And so, Aza simply needed to continue to push the fears further back down, to squash them, to prevent them from continuing to creep up slowly. And the way Aza did this was via distraction.

Annabeth, who was usually enthusiastic when it came to anything Camp Half-Blood related, looked as though each step cost all her energy. Her grey eyes swirled with a storm, and it took Aza less than a millisecond to realize she was thinking about Percy. So, Aza took it upon herself to act as though nothing were wrong.

She pointed out everything they came across - the archery range, the Pegasi stables, the climbing wall that spewed lava, the forest. She explained every activity that campers engaged in, explained the chore-schedule. She explained the burdens of being a demigod, and the adventures it brought. She pointed out the open-air dining pavilion that looked over the Long-Island Sound and spent a long time explaining that yes, they had traveled from Arizona to New York in a matter of minutes.

She could tell that several things were bothering Piper, but the girl kept her mouth shut, instead faking interest in the split between year-rounders and summer campers. The three girls climbed Half-Blood Hill and turned to see the view of the valley - the stretch of woods to the northwest, the beautiful beach that reminded both Annabeth and Aza of Percy (the two exchanged a mournful glance), the creek that slithered through the forest, the canoe lake, the lush green strawberry fields and each of the cabins - what was once a simple 'U' shape was now arranged to look like a Greek omega, with the original loop of twelve cabins around the central green and the two wings sticking out the bottom on either side. There were twenty cabins in all, each decorated in a different way that represented their patron god.

There was one that glowed a pure gold and reflected uncomfortably into Aza's eyes and one that shone a soothing silver (Apollo and Artemis's), one with a roof made from a woven grass and scattered flowerpots around the sides (Demeter's), one that was shoddily painted a bright and gaudy red with barbed wire trenches (Ares's), and one black with fiery green torches out front (Hades'). Aza, as the only child of Phobos, had a melancholy tugging in her gut as she spotted the empty space where she had begged Chiron to place her own cabin. But alas, she had stayed with the Ares' children for years, seeing as they were technically her aunts and uncles and she tended to get into too many fights in the Hermes cabin to constitute staying there. There were a few demigods in Camp Half-Blood that still had no cabin - herself, the son of Asclepius, a daughter of Eris and the son of Calliope. The four had begged Chiron to even share a cabin, but the centaur always said it was 'unwise' to put the children of four extremely opposite gods together. And so, Aza lived with children of Ares.

"The valley is protected from mortal eyes," Aza said, motioning towards the scene below them. A small smile stretched over her face as she looked upon her home - whilst she had many bad memories in the camp, it was still a place that brought joy enough to outweigh the sadness. "All they see is a strawberry field that stretches for miles. The weather is controlled as well. Each cabin represents a Greek god - a place for the god's children to live."

Annabeth looked to Piper, her grey eyes sliding over the girl as she analyzed how Piper was taking the news. The girl in question nodded slowly, her voice quiet and cautious as she said, "You're... you're saying that Mom was a goddess?" She didn't sound shocked, persé, nor angry, but instead confused, just as every demigod had been. Annabeth nodded slowly, blonde curls bouncing gently upon her sun-kissed shoulders. "You're taking this awfully calmly," Annabeth's voice was soft, softer than normal, and Aza could tell she was trying to act comforting to the girl, almost like she was speaking to a small child. It was the same voice that the elder demigods put on when they met new campers that were under eleven; a tone akin to a soothing parent.