𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑔𝑛𝑜𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑒¹

𝐶𝑙𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑒 𝐷𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑘𝑠 𝑇𝑜𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑊𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟

‧̍̊˙· 𓆝.° ｡˚𓆛˚｡ °.𓆞 ·˙‧̍̊

THE TOUR WAS LOVELY. Camp Half-Blood was dotted with buildings of Greek architecture such as open-air pavilions, amphitheaters, and circular arenas. The marble columns glistened in the sunlight. Campers played volleyball in the sandpits, canoed in the lake, played in the woods, practiced archery, and rode horses/pegasi. Astoria even saw the famous lava wall. It made the perfect place to view if not for the whispers and stares that came Percy's way. Campers in the volleyball court pointed at him saying, "That's him," until they left. Well, Astoria shouldn't have expected anything less. It was written in the book after all.

Percy and Astoria looked back at the farmhouse. At the highest window, the attic Astoria knew, the curtain shifted ever so slightly.

"What's up there?" Percy pointed at the attic gable.

Chiron's smiled vanished when he saw where Percy was pointing. "Just an attic," he said.

"Somebody lives there?"

"No," Chiron said with a tone of finality. "Not a single living thing." Percy shuffled his feet uncomfortably. He clearly believed it and didn't at the same time. Astoria looked back at Chiron and mouthed 'prophecy'. The centaur nodded his head. "Come along, now," he said, his lighthearted tone now a little more forced. "Lots to see."

He trotted to the strawberry fields, where some campers were picking bushels of berries while satyrs played a tune on a reed pipe. "This pays for our expenses," Chiron explained. "And the strawberries take almost no effort."

Astoria watched all the bugs fly and crawl away from the strawberry patch in all direction as a satyr played on their pipe. Percy watched as well, reminding him of Grover.

"Grover won't get in to much trouble, will he?" he asked Chiron. Astoria picked a ripe strawberry. "I mean... he was a good protector. Really."

Chiron sighed. He shed his tweed jacket and draped it over his horse back like a saddle. "Grover has big dreams. Perhaps bigger than are reasonable. To reach his goal, he must first demonstrate great courage by succeeding as a keeper, finding a new camper and bringing him safely to Half-Blood Hill." She rubbed the fruit clean, and ate it. The flavor was unlike any other.

"But he did that!"

"I might agree with you," Chiron said. "But it is not my place to judge. Dionysus and the Council of Cloven Elders must decide. I'm afraid they might not see this assignment as a success. After all, Grover lost you in New York. Then there's the unfortunate... ah... fate of your mother.

"Who is not dead by the way." Astoria interrupted. Chiron gave a doubtful, yet hopeful look.

"And the fact that Grover was unconscious when you dragged him over the property line. The council might question whether this shows any courage on Grover's part," he finished.

"He'll get a second chance, won't he?" Percy asked.

Chiron winced, remembering the past. "I'm afraid that was Grover's second chance, Percy. The council was not anxious to give him another, after what happened the first time, five years ago. Olympus knows, I advised him to wait longer before trying again. He's still so small for his age..."

"Grover will succeed." Astoria stated factually. She picked another berry.

"How old is he?" Percy questioned.

"Oh, twenty-eight."

"What! And he's in sixth grade?"

"Satyrs mature faster half as fast as humans, Percy. Grover has been the equivalent of a middle school student for the past six years."