Things were different now that the gods walked through Castellan. It was very rare that they interacted with them since they mainly walked around disguised. They had probably learned more about the Olympian Minor more than they had ever done in their own time. (Something that Ariadnê was smug to point out that Kheirôn had not taught them everything.)
The moment that information had been found; Haidês and Hestia had insisted on them learning the world as it was at the moment. That included learning the proper ellinika language instead of the more modern terms that they tended to use.
It wasn't that hard to learn, but it was still very much irritating.
(That did not include learning the fighting style of this time though Arês did make surprise visits. Nothing had terrified Chris more than seeing the god appear from nowhere and attack Clarisse, Thalia, Katie and Ariadnê. His defense being that they should always be on guard because one could never know who was aiming for them.)
No one really seemed to enjoy learning the lessons except Ariadnê, Annabeth, and Will. Will and Annabeth was something that they could understand. Their parents were a part of Theoi tou Agoraioi and Theoi tou Mousikoi. Though it also wasn't too surprising as she was a devotee of Apollôn and Hermês.
Glancing about the room tiredly, Chris took note of Thalia practicing her powers under her desk while the wooden table became decorated with different flowers on Katie's end. His brothers alongside Percy had foregone the pretense of learning and were fast asleep at their desks.
(And yet somehow the three of them still had higher marks than everyone.)
Nico was paying attention though he wasn't too happy about it. He had more lessons than the rest of them due to being king, but Ariadnê and Rachel helped where they could. Ariadnê had learned what it meant to be a princess and how to rule a kingdom in their own time while Rachel also had her lessons as the heiress to her Father's company.
(And while Ariadnê and Rachel both prayed for the downfall of all monarchies in their own time as none of them could exist without conducting, aiding, or letting colonialism and the rise of fascism happen to their own benefit and exploiting the people where they declared themselves kings of—they made it their mission that Castellan would never be that way.)
He turned his gaze to look at his girlfriend. Her hair was touching her shoulders and was curling at the ends. He knew that it would not be long before she cut it into another pixie-like style similar to Thalia. He was pleased to see that she was starting to look more relaxed than she had the past few weeks. With her Father continuous spontaneous visits, she had been dutifully keeping her guard up and staying on the edge. She and Ariadnê were constantly leveling the training fields whenever Clarisse got too agitated and her powers seeped out.
Percy had to break up a fight between two potameides naides after a visit from Deimos and Phobos whose powers amplified her own. The resulting spar between Ariadnê and Clarisse had almost drifted back towards the marketplace and would have flattened it if Katie and Thalia had not come to their aid.
They had been forced to bound her with vines and ropes before transferring her back to Gleeson's Grove. Chris had elected to stay with as her throne sapped her excess power from her. None of them had noticed how tense that they had been until it was gone. Ariadnê was surprised that she and Chris had been affected considering that they were used to it.
She must have felt his eyes on her because she turned to him with a raised brow before smiling in amusement. He knew he looked completely smitten with her as he smiled back, refusing to turn away from her.
A chill went down his back causing him to tense instantly.
From his peripheral, he took note of his brothers and Ariadnê straightening. The rest of their makeshift family all tensed at their sudden movements. There was a subtle smell of ozone in the air and the shadows curled around the room thicker than before.
