"Seriously?" I curled my extra dagger in my hand pointedly, making people step away from the ping-pong table.
It was my first time at the head counsler's meeting, and it wasn't going well. I'm not technically supposed to be there- I'm not a senior counseler. But Chiron decided that, because I seemed on edge ever since Percy came back, he'd let me come to sort of meet Percy. I threw my dagger hilt-first onto the ping-pong table, letting it make a satisfiying click on the green surface. Everyone stopped backing away and came in closer to the table.
"Yes, dear whats-your-name," Leo imitated Mr. D's lazy tone. "You have to go to the oracle."
I wasn't exactly excited about having to go up to Rachel, but I wasn't completely aggravated. It was just out of my way, and I didn't feel like doing so. I giggled at Leo and glanced away uncomfortably. Recently, he'd been seeming more funny in a curious, interesting way instead of an annoying, boy way. I glanced across the table at Annabeth, finally meeting her eyes. Leo had called me whats-your-name not because he didn't know my name, but because Mr. D would have done so as well. Annabeth half-smiled at the joke, glancing at Piper.
"What should I ask the oracle for?" I said finally.
No one would meet my eyes. For a while, we stood in silence. No one had told me why I was coming to the meeting, except for the lie of an excuse that Chiron had given me. Annabeth locked eyes with Percy, who seemed to be saying Tell her, she needs to know. Finally Annabeth nudged Leo to tell me. The connection was obvious, not hidden. Leo grinned.
"Well, we're just standing here- let's tell her! Anyone?" he looked around the table for volunteers.
Annabeth sighed, rolling her eyes pointedly at him, "I think your the best fit to tell her..."
I sighed. We'd been standing here for probably ten minutes. Someone, just tell me! As Leo said, we're not being productive just standing here.
Leo sighed with me, getting slightly serious, "Well, go to the oracle and tell her that you need a quest to save Greece."
I frowned. Why did we need to save Greece...? It slowly dawned on me. For a while, Mt. Olympus hadn't been alerting us. At first, we thought it was just the normal ignorance- they usually forget their own children. Then we noticed the ignorance wasn't just to one kid or one group of kids. It was the whole camp that had been silenced from Olympus. The only time this happened was when they were angry at eachother. Leo, later, had used a new device to find out what was happening. And, it wasn't good. Athena and Poseidon were fighting. Athena's helmet was gone, as well as his trident. Because of the Athens grudge, they both figured it was eachother. And now, they were fighting. What Leo was asking me was this: To go and ask the oracle to make a quest to find these items and retrieve them.
"You want me to get a quest for Athena and Poseidon, correct?" they nodded in agreement. "Okay, but your coming with me."
Without asking for permission, I pulled Leo around the table, grabbed my dagger from the ping-pong table, and slid from the big house.
* * *
"Where is Rachel anyway?" I asked uncomfortably, glancing around her empty cave.
Yes, she lived in a cave. She's the oracle- she can do whatever she wants. I didn't see her anywhere. I looked around. She had a single wooden chair placed over a rug. A simple place, with a little four post bed. She was definately not there, unless there was an add-on that I hadn't heard of.
I heard Leo come up behind me, "Yep, she's definately not here. Oh well, let's try to tomorrow..."
I rolled my eyes. Can you believe him? I wasn't giving up without a fight. I brought up the courage, and stepped into her house. I pulled out a dagger just in case something else was in here. I glanced around, and found that part of the stone could be pushed in. I smiled and pushed the stone. The cave vibrated.
