A Son From Lands Unknown (PJO x Male Reader)

Laying Plans

After dinner had been eaten and conversations died down, Tantalus stood and gathered the camp's attention once again. "Yes, well," he said, a hint of jealousy in his voice, "another fine meal, or so I am told." As he spoke, he inched his hand toward his refilled dinner plate, as if maybe the food wouldn't notice what he was doing. However, any time he got within six inches, it shot away down the table.

"And here on my first day of authority,: he continued, "I'd like to say what a pleasant form of punishment it is to be here. Over the course of the summer, I hope to torture, er, interact with each and every one of you children. You all look good enough to eat."

(Y/N)'s hand inched closer to Tentazione in his jacket, just in case.

Dionysus clapped politely, leading to some halfhearted applause from the satyrs. Tyson was still standing at the head table, looking uncomfortable, but every time he tried to scoot out of the limelight, Tantalus pulled him back.

"And now some changes!" Tantalus announced with a crooked smile. "We are reinstituting the chariot races!" Murmuring broke out at all the tables. Excitement, fear, and disbelief could all be heard.

"Now, I know," Tantalus continued, raising his voice, "that these races were discontinued some years ago due to, ah, technical problems."

"Three deaths and twenty-six mutilations," someone at the Apollo table called.

"Yes, yes," Tantalus said, waving his hand dismissively, "but I know that you will all join me in welcoming the return of this camp tradition. Golden laurels will go to the winning charioteers each month. Teams may register in the morning! The first race will be held in three days' time. We will release you from most of your regular activities to prepare your chariots and choose your horses. Oh, and did I mention, the victorious team's cabin will have no chores for the month in which they win?"

An explosion of excited conversations ensued. No KP for a whole month? No stable cleaning? Was he serious? Then, an objection was heard from someone Percy would never have expected.

"But, sir!" Clarisse said. She looked nervous, but she stood up to speak from the Ares table. Some of the campers snickered when they saw the sign on her back. "What about patrol duty? I mean, if we drop everything to ready our chariots-"

"Ah, the hero of the day," Tantalus interrupted. "Brave Clarisse, who single-handedly bested the bronze bulls!"

Clarisse blinked, then blushed. "Um, I didn't-"

"And modest, too!" Tantalus grinned. "Not to worry, my dear! This is a summer camp. We are here to enjoy ourselves, yes?"

"But the tree-"

"No, no we are not!" (Y/N) said, standing from the Hermes table. "We are here for protection, for strength in numbers, and to train to defend ourselves when we cannot be here. If you cannot acknowledge the current, present danger, then I ask why you have been placed in your position! There are Eidolons here! In camp! Chloe... Chloe di-"

"Ah, the demon who had the sense to take a shot at this thing," Tantalus said, waving his hand at Tyson. Several members of Ares and Hermes campers pulled the respective two back into their seats. "Perhaps if Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson had an ounce as much sense, we would not have this housekeeping issue to address. Now, of course, Cyclopes have a reputation for being bloodthirsty monsters with a very small brain capacity. Under normal circumstances, I would release it into the woods and have you hunt it down with torches and pointed sticks. But who knows? Perhaps this Cyclops is not as horrible as most of its brethren. Until it proves worthy of destruction, we need a place to keep it! I've thought about the stables, but that will make the horses nervous. Hermes's cabin, possibly?"