The god that they met next was so familiar to them that everything that stood foreign to them was washed away. It was surprising not keen-eyed Hermês nor swift-footed Iris coming to demand them to stand before the gods.
To their immense surprise, it was a god that was very similar to their camp director.
Dionysos. (Except— he was not born yet. So, who was this?)
Ariadnê had been working in Silena's Eatery helping Katie with the backlog of orders that were flowing in from their guests. She was also playing security because she could easily see those Spartan emblems. It was a little confusing to her because Rachel had informed them of the neighboring kingdom preparing for war. They didn't need to waste time with them.
(And it would be a waste of time to send so many down the river just to get to them. Not when Percy and Ariadnê could sink the ships before they reached home.)
Nevertheless, Ariadnê didn't let it bother her. She just continued to move through the tables as if she was walking across water.
It was when she was headed back to the kitchens when she saw him. No matter what timeline, she would recognize the madness to those eyes anywhere. She slipped into the kitchen immediately catching Katie's attention.
"Mr. D is here," Katie gasped, peeking through the door to try to see their director. He looked nothing like how he looked in their time. He was much slimmer. Ariadnê sneered a little. His hair was longer and curlier than hers. Being a deity was starting to look much more appealing. At least he didn't have to worry about split ends and cutting hair when a knot just won't come loose.
At least he was wearing a chiton. Apollôn and Hermês had enough paintings in their temples with them dressed in just chlamys.
Katie slapped her upside the head before hastily fixing the younger girl's clothing and hair. "Go, you must be the one to serve him. Let no other grace his presence unless he deems it so."
Ariadnê scowled as the menu was placed in her hands alongside some appetizers. "Who do you think I am? Chase?"
Taking a deep breath, the child of the sea made her way to the table of the youngest Olympian. His eyes burned brightly as she neared him. She almost stumbled from the intensity. Castor and Pollux had always stated that something had changed in their father as he was reborn. It was written in sacred texts that only his children knew where to find. Apparently, Dionysos had kept writings from his time as a godling to when he was reborn as a demigod then turned Olympian. But there was a big difference.
Madness. The twins always smiled happily and crazed whenever they spoke of it.
Here, it was clear that he hadn't been ripped apart by titans yet. Ariadnê had the passing thought of whether she should do something about that before she slammed down the mental walls around her mind. She didn't know how powerful this version of their camp director was, but she wasn't inclined to find out.
(But she remembered the whispers the twins of madness spoke... she remembered the look in those mulberry colored eyes when she visited the Netherworld to see Nico. Zagreus was dangerous in the same breath as Dionysus. For Zagreus was the first-born son of Zeus who was seated on the throne of heaven by his father as a babe and armed with thunderbolts. The Titanes, incited Hera, snuck into Olympos and offered the boy a collection of toys, tricking him into setting aside the lightning. They then seized and dismembered him with their knives. Zeus had Athena recover Zagreus' heart and made it into a potion for Semele to drink which would then lead to the birth of Dionysos as a reincarnation of the first.)
"Gods blessed, welcome to Silena's Eatery. How may I serve you?" Ariadnê was of the sea. It took a lot of focus for her to be able to confine her speech patterns to one that resembled the netherworld. Her only saving grace was that her new york accent managed to cover what she couldn't change.
