𝑳𝑶𝑵𝑮 𝑳𝑰𝑽𝑬 || 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒚 𝒋𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒙 𝒐𝒄

percy loses his cool. has anyone seen it? he lost it.

Maisie had never visited Camp in the winter, so the snow surprised her. Frost covered the chariot track and the strawberry fields. The cabins were decorated with tiny flickering lights, like Christmas lights, except they seemed to be balls of real fire. More lights glowed in the woods, and weirdest of all, a fire flickered in the attic window of the Big House, where the Oracle dwelt, imprisoned in an old mummified body. She wondered if the spirit of Delphi was roasting
marshmallows up there or something.

"Whoa," Nico said as he climbed off the bus. "Is that a climbing wall?"

"Yeah," Percy said.

"Why is there lava pouring down it?"

"Little extra challenge. Come on. Mae and I will introduce you to Chiron. Zoe, have you met—"

"I know Chiron," Zoe said stiffly. "Tell him we will be in Cabin Eight. Hunters, follow me."

"I'll show you the way," Grover offered.

"We know the way."

"Oh, really, it's no trouble. It's easy to get lost here, if you don't"—he tripped over a canoe and came up still talking—"like my old daddy goat used to say! Come on!"

Zoe rolled her eyes, but Percy guessed she figured there was no getting rid of Grover. The Hunters shouldered their packs and their bows and headed off toward the cabins. As Bianca di Angelo was leaving, she leaned over and whispered something in her brother's ear. She looked at him for an answer, but Nico just
scowled and turned away.

"Take care, sweethearts!" Apollo called after the Hunters. "You too, my dear!" He smiled at Maisie.

"Cool. Thanks," Percy said, irritated.

Apollo winked at Percy. "Watch out for those
prophecies, you two. I'll see you soon."

Percy and Maisie shared a look before the boy called back, "What do you mean?"

Instead of answering, Apollo hopped back in the bus. Then he closed the doors and revved
the engine. The sun chariot took off in a blast of heat, changing back in a red Maserati that soared over the woods, glowing brighter and climbing higher until it disappeared in a ray of sunlight.

Nico was still looking grumpy. Percy wondered what his sister had told him.

"Who's Chiron?" he asked. "I don't have his figurine."

"Our activities director," Percy said. "He's...well, you'll see.

"If those Hunter girls don't like him," Nico grumbled, "that's good enough for me. Let's go."

Percy was shocked by how few campers there seemed to be. He spotted Charles Beckendorf from the Hephaestus cabin stoking the forge outside the camp armory. The Stoll brothers were picking the lock on the camp store. A few kids from the Ares cabin were having a snowball fight with the wood nymphs at the edge of the forest. That was about it.