𝕱𝖗𝖎𝖊𝖓𝖉𝖑𝖞 𝖋𝖎𝖗𝖊 - a Leo Valdez slowburn

Chapter thirteen

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Aiden stood at the train station, picking up his backpack that laid next to him on the ground. A rock from the river Drowes. He unfolded the map in his hands, locating where exactly the river was. 

He'd prayed to different gods that this would go well. He had about thirteen hours, roughly, before the sun would go down. That meant he had six hours to go, an hour to get a rock, and six hour to get back. That shouldn't be too hard, right? He had access to public transport, had the money - hell, he could ask Hermes and hope he answered. So he did exactly that. He started with a little sign: his hand, shaped in a claw, above his heart. He'd learned about it from Leah, who said Chiron (with mild disgust in her voice) used it as a sort of warding off evil spirits. 

He'd closed his eyes, no doubt looking like a lunatic, and started praying. "Oh Lord Hermes, hear my prayers and come to me," he whispered. He opened his eyes. Nothing had changed; he was still in the bustling train station, not an eyelash batted at his weird antics. He gripped the dagger on his hip tightly; his sword would've been too obvious, although he was getting just a tiny bit anxious that he'd accidentally stab someone in the thigh. He hadn't planned on it being so busy. He sighed and tried again, closing his eyes once more. Hermes, he thought to himself, you better answer. There's a life on the line here. 

Before he opened his eyes, this time, he heard a faint giggle, echoing slightly. He whipped his head around, his eyes searching for the god. They rested on a particular man with a messenger bag, supporting himself with a cane. 

Aiden briskly walked over, bending over to the man's height when he arrived. "Are you him?" he whispered urgently. The man looked up, an eyebrow raised confusedly. "Who do you think I am, son?" Aiden drew a confused expression. Before he could answer, he heard the same giggle from behind him. He tensed up once he felt a hand on his shoulder. 

"I'm sorry, sir, I don't think you're the one he was looking for." 

The old man scurried away, but Aiden didn't have eyes for him anymore. He slowly turned around, his eyes wide. He took a look at the god. To be honest, they looked similair. They had the same messy brown hair (although Aiden's was a bit longer, cut in a wolf cut), they had the same face and eyes, and Aiden recognized the mischievous smile Hermes wore on his face, being used to it because he'd seen himself do it so many times in the mirror. He awkwardly raised his hand and waved. "Hey, Lord Hermes," he said. 

Hermes hooked his arm around Aiden's and led them out of the train station. "So," he started, "you called." He sent a cheeky smile Aiden's way. "What do you need?" They also were both lanky, Aiden noticed, although Hermes was a few inches taller than him. They cleared their throat. "I need a ride, quickly, or Leah'll die."

Hermes dragged his free hand down his face and frowned. "That girl again? I've heard a lot about her, never met her though. Would've thought that she'd have come to Olympus by now or something, with everything that's been going on." 

Aiden was curious; what had been going on? Deciding not to pry in Leah's private life, they decided to just continue listening to Hermes.

"Well, I don't want Demeter to be angry at me. Artemis too, and Leah has some powerful friends. I do want something in return though," Hermes answered thoughtfully. "Of course, first you have to tell me what's going on," he added. Aiden drew a sharp breath. "Yeah, so Leah collapsed today. And so -" he sneezed (pollen) -"I got Airmed, the Celtic goddess of healing, I'm an Irish demigod, Celtic mythology, if you didn't know." They stopped to take a breather and turned to look at Hermes before continuing.