Gifted //Éomer / LOTR

Chapter 2

Freya stands in front of her badass grandfather, with his long gray hair in a bun at the base of his head and his long beard also knotted at the bottom of his chin to protect the hair. His gray overcoat is in the front seat of the car behind him and his funny pointed hat is on top of it. She seems to be dwarfed by her grandfather's height and wishes briefly that she had inherited his side of the family's tallness.

"Mae govannen (greetings), Freya." Orin's eyes twinkle as he looks down at her. Freya recognizes the language to be the one that she had dreams about a while ago. He sees that the words register in her head and she doesn't even flinch to reply.

"Hiya, Papa." Her shy reply is overshadowed by her enthusiasm to hug him. She leaps up and engulfs him and he laughs as he wraps his arms around his granddaughter. She breathes in the smell of tobacco leaf and campfire smoke that he has always seemed to give off.

"How are you, my dearest?" His baritone voice makes her smile and she looks up at him as they pull away from each other, their arms still linked. He brings her under one arm to bring her back into a side-hug and keep her close. It's not often at all that they see each other.

"I'm doing good. I got your letter." Orin looks up the hill at the ever-watching Chiron who raises his hand in greeting. Orin nods his head in respect and looks back at Freya.

"And what is your answer?"

"Have you talked to mum about it? Or are you on one of your 'I do things on my own time, in my own way' sort of tangents?" She mocks his deep voice. Orin chuckles at her offhand comment. "You know that I can't not do my final year in person... Illver-" He cuts her off.

"My dear I have spoken to your mother and she finds the arrangement agreeable. Your school can wait another year, can it not? Haven't you already mastered all of your subjects thus far?"

"Well, yeah, I get top marks every year but still... What are you thinking we are going to do?" Orin's eyes both twinkle in mischief and worry.

"How about an adventure?" Freya raises an eyebrow.

.....

Freya stands in shock as Orin leads her back up over the hill and can make it past the barrier. She eyes Chiron as they pass and he looks away in an attempt to avoid her questioning gaze. Orin tugs her hand lightly and she catches up to his pace of walking.

"Papa, how were you able to make it past the barrier?"

"A question that has an answer for another time, my dear. Now, show me to your cabin. I must meet this half-brother you speak so highly of."

"Papa, Percy is probably already gone by now." She began, not wanting Percy to face the "interview".

"Nonsense. While I was waiting for you, I saw the camp shuttle leave and he was not on there." Freya frowns.

"How long have you been waiting for me?" Orin stops momentarily and smiles at her.

"Long enough." They continue to walk, this time Freya slightly in the lead, as this was her camp after all. She pointed out key aspects of the camp as they headed to cabin three, such as the dining pavilion, the climbing wall, the arena, the racetracks, the lake, and the stables with both the normal horses and pegasi. She talked about the setup of the camp after the titan war but made sure not to mention the actual war.

"We added the cabins after a major event that we had. Percy made sure that the management understood that everyone needed to feel welcomed and represented," Orin noted that she made no mention of what the major event was, but kept it to himself. "Percy is the head counselor of our cabin, but since we're the only ones who regularly stay there, we co-council together. The other cabins elect their own heads and we meet regularly to discuss changes that should happen, current events, and schedules." Orin nodded along, taking in the fact that her brother was willingly sharing power with his younger sister.