The Heir of a Thousand Lifetimes (A PJO Universe Story)

This is moving a little too quickly for comfort.

"So," I ask Cas as we leave the pavilion, "what's on the agenda for today? Lots of stuff, I'd imagine, right?"

I kick at the dirt as I walk, making Cas cringe. I roll my eyes. He's such a son of Aphrodite, I swear. Mr. "I embody her war epithet" my ass. He doesn't even like dirt. I mean, I don't either, but Cas is a little ridiculous about it.

"Cas, my love, you need to get used to the dirt and dust and all that," I say as gently as possible. I hold onto his arm as we go the gods know where, and he gives me a thoroughly unamused look.

"I am used to the dirt! I embody my mother's Spartan-"

"-epithet, yes, I know. So you should not be cringing when I kick up dirt. We're literally going to the archaeological ruins of Troy for this quest. That does mean dust," I explain. He huffs.

"I am a man. I hardly mind dirt and dust," he mutters. I smile sympathetically up at him. He's really going to hate it there.

"Anyway," I say, hugging his arm, "where to?"

He rolls his eyes. He knows I'm deflecting, and I hide my smile. I look innocently at him, and he shakes his head as he laughs.

"Well, we do have a busy day," he says. "Some training. A last meeting with Chiron. Another bonfire. I thought we could go to Arts and Crafts too, just for fun."

"Oh yeah! I forgot that was here. It looked interesting," I say happily. "What kind of crafts did you have in mind?"

He hums. "I could make you something. A necklace, maybe." His eyes light up. "Yes. Definitely, actually. You need a camp necklace."

"A camp what now?"

"A camp necklace!" he exclaims excitedly. "Come on! Let's go! I'll explain when we get there!"

•••••

I never thought I'd be watching someone like Cassius painstakingly paint clay beads, but here I am. It's a little comical, actually. He's just so tall that it's funny to see him holding a tiny paint brush and a small string of beads. But he's remarkably focused.

"How can you even see that?" I ask curiously, trying to get a closer look. He shoos me off.

"No, you can't see it until it's done," he scolds me. "That's the point of a surprise, Audra."

"Okay, okay," I roll my eyes. Someone is being rather picky.

"But to answer your question," he continues, dabbing at some more paint then continuing to painstaking add details, "it's one of my many talents."

"Oh, silly me. How did I not know?" I snort. He snickers.

"I'm serious. It's an Aphrodite thing. Attention to detail and all that. We all can laser-focus our vision," Cas explains.

"Like a bird?" I ask genuinely. His eyes flick up to me. He blinks.

"Yes."

"That's really cool," I say truthfully. "That's probably very helpful when you fight." He nods.

"It is," he agrees. "You'd think I'd be better at archery than I am, though. I suck at it."

I laugh. "Apollo's just jealous of you."

He grins and nods. "Yes, that's definitely it." He finishes the bead. "Alright, can you send a breeze over here to dry these?"

I do as requested and wave my hand. A gust of wind goes his way. He taps the back of one of the beads and nods in approval.

"Great. Just gotta glaze them and fire them," he adds. He does so quickly. "Luckily for us, the kiln is magic."

"Of course it is."

"So you get it back immediately."

"Who made a magic kiln? Like, who decided that needed to be created?" I ask, dumbfounded. I mean, yeah, it's convenient, it just doesn't sound particularly necessary.

"Probably Athena," Cas shrugs. He pulls the now-cooled beads out a few minutes later and strings them on a piece of leather. "But also, here's this. Gotta have this. It's only fitting, I think." He takes a pretty bead from his own necklace and adds it to mine. "Alright. Perfect. Come on."

He grabs my hand and leads me over to the corner of the cabin, where there's a mirror. He turns me to face it, standing behind me, and then he sweeps my hair to the side.

"Here we go," he says softly. He ties the necklace around my neck. I notice a few beads on it, including a dark gray pearl. He touches it lightly. "It's a scallop pearl. See? You can, uh, make out the ocean wave pattern, right? It was from my mom." He smiles shyly as his eyes meet mine. "I thought you should have it."

My jaw drops. "Cassius, are you sure? You can't just give me something your mom gave you!"

He laughs. "Of course I'm sure. And of course I can." He kisses my cheek. "Besides, it looks prettier on you than it ever did on me."

"I don't even know how to thank you," I sputter.

"Just wear it," he smiles. "That's all." He continues, "But anyway, usually, you get one bead every summer, right? But I figured I'd make a couple just to do it. Because why not?" I giggle at that. "So this one," he points to the first, and I snicker at the golden ant on a green background, "is obvious, I think."

"Myrmekes. Of course," I smirk. He nods.

"Of course," he repeats. He points to the next. "And this," bronze wind chimes on a light brown background, "also obvious. Us getting our prophecy." I nod.

"This is for you, defeating the Teumessian fox." A fox head of flame fur on a black background. "And this one, is just for us. I liked it. I thought it was nice." It's a golden Greek helmet on a turquoise bead.

"It seemed fitting, since Patroclus wore Achilles' armor. And now we're back because of all that, to right past wrongs."

"That's very philosophical of you," I observe, smiling softly at him in the mirror. He smiles.

I take a moment to really appreciate him. Cassius truly is beautiful, honestly. not just physically. I mean, yes, physically. He looks like he could be a god, if I'm being honest. But he's also a beautiful person. He's thoughtful and kind and good. Gods, how the hell did I, of all people, get to have him as my soulmate? I just was given him.

And his rotten luck, he got me. Granted, I'm trying to be good to him. I'm trying to be the best I can be for him. But I'm not nearly half the person he is. We're in different positions, Cassius and I. I have the privilege to love him, whereas I'm lucky just that he even knows my name.

Wait- what? Okay, um, this is moving a little too quickly for comfort. I do not love him. But do I? I do, don't I? Oh shit.

"What?" he asks, catching the way I'm looking at him. I blink, panicking internally at having been caught.

"Nothing," I say quickly. I turn in his arms. "I, just, I was thinking about how much I love this. Thank you, Cas. Truly. It's absolutely beautiful."

He smiles brightly. "You really think so?"

I nod, my heart melting at his excitement. "I do."

"It's normally supposed to be about camp and whatever happened here, but I thought, screw that. It could just be about us. You'll eventually get a camp bead this year, and for however many more years you're here, but," he shrugs, "this seemed fitting."

I cup his cheek. "It's perfect."