half-blood

twenty-six

Dinner with the two gods was quiet, with only their utensils hitting the glass plates making sounds.

Lisa and Jungkook sat beside each other, though both demigods still couldn't find the courage to talk to each other after their confession. On the other hand, Chaeyoung bravely decided to sit beside Hoseok; the two of them casually talking to each other in hushed tones.

Sitting across the two couples and Jisoo were Yoongi, Jimin, Jennie, and Taehyung. Eros and Apollo were both sitting on each ends of the table, not really in good terms after what happened outside.

After dinner, right before they all stood up, Eros said, "You lot are going to leave my mansion in the morning after your breakfast. Apollo will tell you what you're going to do for tomorrow." With that, Eros dropped his table napkin on the side of his plate and left the room.

Taehyung sighed in relief after the god left then finally glanced up at Apollo, "We have a new mission?"

"Yes." Apollo answered, "But your group will have to be divided again."

"What?" Jimin exclaimed. He was just enjoying his time being reunited with his friends, he doesn't want to be separated with them again. "But why?"

"I believe Lisa has something to share." Apollo said, crossing his arms while smiling at the daughter of Tyche.

The younger ones turned their gazes to Lisa and waited for her to say something. Jisoo raised her eyebrows at her best friend and gave her a smile, much like her father's, to reassure her.

Lisa cleared her throat and said, "Uh.. something happened back in the maze."

"What?!" This time, Jungkook was the one to exclaim. He even adjusted the way he sat just to face Lisa. "Were you cursed?"

"I guess?" She was unsure of her answer but it does look like the goddess cursed her for being too lucky. "I met Nemesis, the goddess of balance, while I was alone in the maze. She said she doesn't like how I was too lucky and that I'm abusing my ability just to survive."

"But that's a given. We use our innate abilities to survive too. What's the difference?" Jungkook said in exasperation. Yoongi wanted to console the younger but he's too lazy to stand up and calm his friend down so he just raised his eyebrow once he caught Jungkook's eyes to stop him from reacting more.

"No, she's actually right." Lisa said, looking down. "I was being incompetent. I only depended on my luck to get away with everything. I even skip training every once in a while with my siblings when we're too lazy." She gave Jungkook a tight-lipped smile. "Thanks for saying that my fighting skills improved but I think I could still do better than what you're praising me for if I really train hard like you."

Jimin stared at Lisa, sympathizing for her, especially when children of Tyche's only ability was luck manipulation. He noticed when most of the Tyche campers don't train and he knew Lisa's had been in trainings more than her siblings had but he couldn't really disagree with what Lisa said. In his opinion, Lisa still needed more training, now that monsters just come around suddenly like what happened in camp. Yet he still was proud of how braver and stronger she has gotten in just a short time.

"You need to talk to your mother, Lisa." Apollo spoke, "She's the only one who can give you your abilities back. You need her blessing again."

"But how will I meet her?" Lisa asked, "She's the hardest goddess to find."

"She sent me an Iris message."

Jisoo widened her eyes, surprised and happy. "Really?"

Apollo nodded. "She said you can find her in the labyrinth, where you met Nyx."