Prophesied Powder, PJO

Epilogue

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Chapter 11
The Hitch in Their Happy Return

Volume 1: The Lightning Thief

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They were the first heroes to return alive to Half-Blood Hill since Luke, so of course, everybody treated them as if they had won some reality-TV contest.

According to camp tradition, they wore laurel wreaths to a big feast prepared in their honor, then led a procession down to the bonfire, where they got to burn the burial shrouds their cabins had made for them in their absence.

Selina and his siblings all swarmed him in cheers when he first returned from their meeting with Chiron. Before he dared to enjoy any celebrations, he was finally allowed to lounge in his bathtub in the Big House — truly, thank the Gods for that.

At the campfire, Pallas was being tugged left and right by his siblings, all patting him on the back and shoving him around in congratulations for staying alive. Chiron had indeed been angry with Pallas for running away and joining the quest, but he got off fairly easy — though both Hermes' and Apollo's entire cabins were on dish duty until the end of July.

"You should have been there," Pat was singing his praises, of course. He might have even been over-exaggerating just to make him look good in front of his bigger siblings. "He took down these camera statues that Hephaestus himself had made to capture my mother!"

Pallas was bashful that night.

He had to lean down — he had a good three inches on Pat, who was pretty short for his age — to speak over the clapping of campers. He said, "Your shroud was going to be white, it is nice."

"As long as I don't die after Labor Day, then you can organize that to be a part of my funeral," Pat scoffed and laughed.

The Ares cabin had made Percy's shroud; they had painted the word LOSER across it, and Percy seemed more giddy to burn it than he was about meeting his father.

Pallas left Pat to the mercy of his excited siblings to sing the sing-along. The Athena, Hermes, and Aphrodite campers seemed to blend together as Percy, Annabeth, and Pat stayed close together. Grover's satyr buddies joined them, all admiring the brand-new searcher's license he had received from the Council of Cloven Elders. The council had called Grover's performance on the quest "Brave to the point of indigestion. Horns-and-whiskers above anything we have seen in the past."

The mood was so high, Pat was sure nothing could bring it down. Not even the scowling anger of the Ares kids, angry with Percy for disgracing their father.

Even Dionysus's welcome-home speech wasn't enough to dampen spirits. "Yes, yes, so the little brat didn't get himself killed and now he'll have an even bigger head. Well, huzzah for that. In other announcements, there will be no canoe races this Saturday...."

Pat, Pallas, and Annabeth did their usual walk back to the cabins, though Percy accompanied them this time.

"Chiron said I'm allowed to go see my father," Pat told them, "Ease his fears about the whole kidnapping thing. Explain it all. Anyone want to come? I'm leaving on Saturday."

They all volunteered, Pallas eagerly so; he always loved Pat's father and his home cooking. That Saturday, Argus drove them the whole way and stayed in the drive-way. It was close enough, still in Long Island.