The Prophecies of Typhon: The Forbidden Quest (IN EDITING) (DISCONTINUED)

We Ignore The Instructions (Like The Teenagers We Are)

Courtney

At least it wasn't a limerick, I kept thinking to myself. The rest of the counselors and I were circled around the ping pong table, waiting to discuss the prophecy. I drummed my fingers on the table, feeling bored already.

"Alright," Chiron said loudly and clapped his hands, getting everyone's attention. "You all know the prophecy, and now we must decide what to do about it."

We all looked at each other, absolutely clueless. Of course, what do you expect from a ragtag bunch of teenagers?

"Um, I hate to be Captain Obvious, but couldn't we just follow the prophecy as outlined?" Connor piped up, spreading his hands out openly. "I'm just saying, there aren't really any loopholes in this."

"But it's vague. Almost too vague," Annabeth said. "We could get four demigods and a satyr to go on a quest, no problem."

"Prophecies are always vague. It's in their nature," Will pointed out.

"There's also no time frame. We don't have to start this immediately," Percy said. Several people nodded. I rolled my eyes.

"So, the final consensus is that we are going to just stand around here and do nothing at all?" I asked, eyeing Chiron and the campers. "Because last time, if my memory doesn't fail me, the prophecy started anyway. Sure, there was a bit of divine intervention involved, but still. It makes the plan of waiting around seem rather stupid to me."

"How do you know what happened?" the Hecate camper asked in a very accusatory tone. "You weren't even there!"

I sighed. "It's called books, love," I replied exasperatedly, pinching the bridge of my nose. "You do know what those are, right?" She opened her mouth, then closed it, unsure how to respond.

"What I think Percy's trying to say is," Leo casually leaned against the table. "we should wait until we know a little bit more about the situation." His tone was rather mocking, but there was truth behind his words.

"Smartest thing I've heard you say, Valdez," I muttered under my breath. Percy snickered at that, winning him a dirty look from Annabeth.

Piper spoke up. "What if it's urgent? I mean, it did mention a goddess needing protection."

"Which goddess?" Nico asked in a bored voice. "There's no clue as to who it is."

"Which is why I say we should wait," Percy said. The room erupted into noise as we all began arguing again.

Will raised a hand. "I think Percy's right. We should wait until it's more clear before we do anything."

"I'm okay with whatever you guys decide," Hazel said. Frank, standing beside her, nodded in agreement.

"I think we should start trying to figure this out," Jason said. "This doesn't sound like something we can put off without regretting it." I gave him mental thanks and nodded in agreement.

"But how? We're back at square one, trying to figure out who's part of the group of five." Annabeth pressed her palms against the table. "It's in our best interest to wait and see if a second prophecy comes with more clues or something."

Because that happens all the time, I though to myself. Everyone looked to Chiron. He took a deep breath and steepled his fingers before he spoke.

"I agree with Annabeth. I don't think it would be wise to send out random parties of five just to see if we can fulfill the prophecy until we know more." I snorted at the absurdity of it. Why should we wait around when a) a goddess needed protecting, and b) a figurative (or possibly literal) nest needed to be destroyed. Ignoring prophecies never did anyone any good!

"So it's final," Chiron looked around at us. "We wait." I narrowed my eyes, not fond of this decision in the slightest.

"I swear this rubbish decision of yours is going to come back and bite you where it hurts," I mumbled under my breath as I  pushed myself away from the table. "I hope you realize that you won't be prepared when it starts," I said louder. "And nobody will be there to save your sorry butts when you're stuck in a pit you can't climb out of." With those words hanging in the air, I marched out of the Big House. I pulled my pencil from my pocket and began twirling it over my knuckles as I made my way to Zeus' Fist. I didn't care that people thought it was cursed. I felt the most at home there.

After scaling the rock pile in a matter of seconds, I sat down cross-legged and stared out over the camp. A slight breeze blew my hair in my face, and I quickly pulled it back into a ponytail. The wind felt good, like it was waking me up and giving me energy. I began to wonder if I had control over it like Jason did. I swirled my fingers around, and sure enough, a small tornado began to form. A grin spread across my face, and I let go of the frustration from earlier. The small storm grew larger, then smaller, then wrapped around my arm before I brought the air current back to hovering above my palm.

"Thought I'd find you here," a voice said from behind me. I recognized it immediately, and I smirked a tiny bit.

"Fancy that," I murmured into the wind.

Malcolm crouched down next to me. I felt my cheeks heat up a bit when he half-grinned at me.

"What're you doing up here?" He asked. I merely shrugged in response.

"Clearing my head," I said as I spun another air current around my index finger. "Why?"

I felt his eyes on me, watching the wind swirl at my command around my fingertips. "Just curious. You're the only one that really ever comes here."

"Taboo rocks don't scare me," I said with a small laugh, which got a smile out of him.

After a while, he asked, "So, how did you shock that Ares kid again?" I stiffened, not sure how to explain it.

"I don't know. I just...did, I suppose."

"Can I see your staff?" he asked. I glanced sideways at him before clicking my pencil and handing him the staff. He examined it from almost every angle, no doubt taking mental notes. Satisfied, he handed it back to me and I shrank it down.

"What'd you find?" I asked him. He grinned, like this was the best thing he could possibly talk about.

After a lengthy explanation, I was able to boil it down to being an oak staff with a Celestial bronze protective coating, leather grips,and an Imperial gold center for conducting electricity. I had to admit, it was pretty cool.

We talked like this for several hours, just sitting on Zeus' Fist side-by-side. The sky began to grow darker, which meant we had to be getting off to our cabins.

"See ya, Malcolm," I called as I walked to Zeus's cabin.

"Goodnight, Courtney." He smiled and gave a quick wave before disappearing into Cabin 6. I looked over my shoulder one last time before I stepped inside my cabin and collapsed onto my makeshift bed.