The Son Of Asclepius, Doctor of Divinity

Those Upstart Dentists

Elara tracked their 'buttered bread' scents just a mile or so down the road, a small distance to take the bus for. (Y/N) chose not to call Astral, fearing that entering Zeus' domain with a monster would get him shot out of the sky. Travelling on foot wasn't too bad though, it was a wonderful experience for (Y/N) to be able to see so many new types of plants and animals that didn't reside within camp borders. Elara however found it 'exceedingly mind numbing', constantly nagging the son of Asclepius about how far there was to go, which was weird since she was the guide. They made good talk along the way, going as far to talk about more personal parts of life, with (Y/N) describing his life back in Greece. Elara had stars in her eyes when he mentioned how many untrained demi-gods there were, but decided best to not tempt fate by teasing her. In return, she recounted her time with her hunting group. According to her, life for monsters was one of suffering and pain. Most hunted half-bloods not for sport but purely because they were forced to due to their nature, and others had their hands/tentacles/claws/talons twisted behind their back by some stronger being. They were beaten and killed for stepping out of line or defying tradition, that being why Elara was cursed in the first place. She refused to kill an infant demi-god, so another took on the role and was cursed by Lady Hecate for disobeying her elders. An utterly ridiculous reason by (Y/N)s standards, fueling an ever-growing dislike for Olympus and the gods.

Eventually, the unconventional pair arrived at the last place Elara could trace the trio, and what a mess they arrived at. A shell of a bus lay burning, with several injured mortals lying around. Surprisingly, no ambulances nor police cars could be seen on the scene, so (Y/N) allowed his natural instinct to wash over him, pulling out some basic equipment to help out. It seemed to just be minor burns and a few cuts all around, until he came across a young child and her mother, the child suffering a major head wound. Taking an analysis of the girl's condition, he managed to clean and dress the wound better than any doctor around the world could have before slipping a loli-pop into her pocket, to the amusement of the young girl. If there was one thing (Y/N) loved to do, it was to go against the advice of those upstart dentists. Watching all this, Elara smiled a little. She had never seen such compassion or kindness before, especially in a demi-god. Looking around satisfied, (Y/N) stood up and returned to Elara. The two began to snoop around the scene, looking for any signs of Annabeth, Percy or Grover. Soon enough, they stumbled across a burnt bag. Opening it up, its contents were revealed to be empty aluminium cans, clearly belonging to a certain satyr. Brushing the bag off, he handed it to Elara, who gave it a good sniff to find its owner and consequently two young half bloods. The scent lead in the direction of the woods, rather deep in. As Helios was soon to set, they made haste to find the trio. 

Trudging deep into the forest, a clear path could be followed from where Grover's tracks were imprinted into the soggy earth. So much life, untamed and free. (Y/N) didn't want to call it an obsession, but that's what it had basically become. Just last year, Chiron had gifted (Y/N) a bird watching book, something he rarely got to use at home, but now it was filling up faster than the Olympian family tree. Elara watched him with fascination and curiosity. 

"Ssssssso (Y/N), what will you do once you essssssscape sssssssservitude to the godssssssss?" she questioned, but a thought (Y/N) had been musing about since his labour began. 

"Well, I want to see the world beyond what Olympus has shown me. I want to travel the world, help people on a global scale and actually age. Being almost 3000 years old makes everything so repetitive, so I'd like to grow old, maybe even with a partner if I get lucky."

The thought of leaving the confines of the gods territory was foreign to Elara, for it was all demi-gods and monsters alike had known for most of their lives. The prospect of a normal life, beyond hunting and their 'mythological' world was almost salivating. A scream ripped the young dracaena from her day dreams, looking up to see (Y/N) already sprinting in its direction. That demi-god sure was something.

The duo arrived outside of a run down business, called 'Auntie Em's Garden Gnome Emporium'. (Y/N)s parentage allowed him to bypass the traditionally diagnosed case of dyslexia. The smell of fast food was in the air; tempting but the health of others was always his first priority. They snuck around the side of the building, Elara revealing her talons and (Y/N) tightening his grasp on the Rod of Asclepius. Peeking through a grimy, partly shattered, window, he got a little look at what the trio were facing. A tall woman roamed the isles of stone statues, speaking just quiet enough so that (Y/N) couldn't hear. What stood out about her though was her head of snakes, all hissing and snapping. Identifiable as Medusa, she suddenly whipped around, almost catching sight of (Y/N). Luckily, Elara pulled him down in the nick of time. Taking a different angle, he caught a glimpse of Percy, scuttling across the floor with Riptide out, its blade shimmering in the light. Using it as a mirror, smart. (Y/N) knew it was not his place to interfere with the quest, so took Elara's hand and led her to the entrance of the Emporium. Opening the creaky door, he was lucky it didn't fall off its hinges. The deep fry was still spitting furiously, fries and burgers left on a nearby counter. Guiding the dracaena to a table, he pulled over a cloth for a mat and grabbed a tray, picking up two servings of fries and burgers. Glancing over at a nearby milkshake machine, he pulled the lever on the side and was pleasantly surprised to see a colourful, sugary liquid slowly drip out. A vanilla for himself and a strawberry for Elara, he passed her the meal and gestured for her to have some. Usually he was opposed to the disgusting excuse of 'food' served by fast food chains, but a hot meal with Elara was an exception. As they dug into their not-so-nutritious-nourishment, yelling and a little screaming could be heard in the statue room. Completely ignoring it, they slurped on their shakes and munched on processed meat. After eating, (Y/N) pulled out his briefcase (Imagine he can just pull items from anywhere, so he doesn't carry his luggage around) and rummaged around, eventually puling out a small bottle of pills. 

"Here, something to help stall the curse's effects. Take one after every time you eat."

 "Thankssssssss (Y/N), it'ssssssss nice to have ssssssssomeone looking out for you," she spoke.

 Soon enough, silence broke out in the room next door, so they decided to take a look. Medusa was gone, along with Percy, Annabeth and Grover, but they were probably setting up camp nearby for the night. Something on the floor caught (Y/N)s eye though. A rogue snake, dismembered from Medusa's head, lay writhing on the ground. Since it was like nothing he'd encountered before, he locked it away in a zip lock bag for future use. Satisfied with the trios actions so far, (Y/N) and Elara took off to find them.

Soon enough, a small fire could be spotted, with three small figures surrounding it. The area was marshy and littered, clearly a hot spot for parties. Syringes littered the floor, unclean and used to pump drugs into the youth. Mortals had only gotten more uncivilised over time it seemed. The two demi-gods and satyr seemed to be talking, about what (Y/N) had no idea, so best thought to set up where he could make sure they were safe and stay out of sight. Clearing the floor, he rested up against a tree and shut his eyes, satisfied with his first day out of camp. Just as he drifted off into Morpheus, he felt a soft weight on his chest.