Unfortunately, Apollo didn't share. He claimed that he would explain everything to Chiron, then he'd only have to explain things once. The three of you made your way to the dining pavillon, where campers were buzzing about, sharing strategies, and offering toy cars to Harley. Harley was estatic about the event, when you were dreading every second. Apollo and Meg were teammates, so you left them to go and find your teammate.
Your teammate was a daughter of Aphrodite named River. When you found her she was smearing lines of dirt across her cheeks, you assumed to look more intimidating. You and River weren't "friends" exactly, you were more like aquaintances. She grinned as she noticed you approaching.
"Hey Y/n!" She waved. "Do you want some?" She held up a pile of dirt. You shook your head.
"No thanks. Dirt isn't really my color."
She laughed. "I guess you're right. I just thought that... y'know, as a daughter of Ares, you might be interested."
"I don't think any of us children of Ares cover our faces in dirt before a three-legged death race."
"Noted."
You watched as Apollo frantically chased after Chrion, trying to tell him about the forest. You watched as Chiron continued to stomp around talking to satyrs. You watched Apollo give up and walk over to Harley's table and start talking to him.
"What are you looking at?" River asked. She followed your gaze. "Apollo? It is pretty strange that he's here now, isn't it?"
You nodded. "Yeah. I can't help but think that he's a bad omen for what's to come."
"Maybe he's a good omen." River suggested.
"How so? A god becoming mortal screams bad news."
"Well... I don't know. Maybe it'll teach him a thing or two." You raised an eyebrow at the daughter of Aphrodite.
"Do children of Aphrodite always look for the bright side of things?" You asked.
River shrugged. "Sometimes. Normally I think a lot of us focus on love and relationships. But I guess optimism can be a side-effect."
"You know, for a daughter of Aphrodite, you're pretty alright, River." You offered your hand for a high-five. She grinned as she slapped your hand.
"Same goes to you, daughter of Ares! We're gonna win today!"
You did not feel like you were going to win. After your encounter in the woods you felt nervous. Not to mention, you knew how the labyrinth behaved. It tried to kill anyone inside it. Now the whole camp was going inside of it for some stupid race? You were not amused. You also weren't fond of having your leg tied to River's for an unknown amount of time. The two of you hadn't practiced a whole lot together in the past few days. You'd been busy keeping up with Apollo and Meg. Too many weird things had been happening lately, and it gave you a horrible feeling for what was to come.
"Uhm, Y/n? You've got someone waving for you." You heard River say, snapping you out of your thoughts.
"What?" You followed her gaze to see Apollo waving at you. His face looked serious. Meg was sat next to him, devouring a burger. "Oh..."
"I'll come with you!" River said. Before you could argue, she dragged you over to the pair.
Apollo looked at you with confusion while Meg continued to chow down. You gestured to River weakly. "This is my partner for the race. Her name is River, she's a daughter of Aphrodite. She insisted on coming over here too."
You could've sworn you saw Apollo blush, but you decided to ignore it. Boys will be boys...
Meg cleared her throat, bringing the attention back to her. "You think something in the woods is calling to people?"
Apollo's expression dropped back into seriousness. "I think something in the woods is answering people. In ancient times, there was an Oracle-"
"Yeah, you told me. Delphi." Meg interrupted.
"No. Another Oracle, even older than Delphi. It involved trees. An entire grove of talking trees."
You felt nauseous. You remembered the woods calling out to you about Ellis. You couldn't remember entirely what the woods had been saying, but you knew that it was drawing you in. You remembered what Apollo said about trees and your dream.
"Talking trees. What was that Oracle called?" This time River spoke up.
"I-I can't remember." Apollo looked like he was concentrating. "I should know. I should be able to tell you instantly! But the information... It's almost as if it is eluding me on purpose."
"That happens sometimes," You tried to assure him, "you'll think of it."
"But it never happens to me! Stupid human brain! At any rate, I believe this grove is somewhere in those woods. I don't know how or why. But the whispering voices... they are from this hidden Oracle. The sacred trees are trying to speak prophecies, reaching out to those with burning questions, luring them in."
You watched as Meg put her glasses back on. "You know that sounds crazy, right?" She asked.
"Just be on guard." Apollo said.
"But the race doesn't even go through the woods." River commented.
"Nevertheless... we are not safe." He turned to Meg. "If you can summon your friend Peaches, I would welcome his company."
"I told you," Meg said, irritation clear in her voice, "he sort of pops up when he feels like it. I can't-"
Chiron blew a hunting horn incredibly loudly. You covered your ears and you felt dizzy. You hated that stupid horn.
"Demigods!" Chiron shouted. "Tie your legs together and follow me to your starting positions!"
And with that, River tied your legs together and you made your way to the start.
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Word Count: 947
ALRIGHTY GUYS I LOVE YOU SO MUCH THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT, I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS CHAPTER, I MAY HAVE A SHORTER CHAPTER OUT FOR Y'ALL TOMORROW AS A SMALL GIFT :)
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A Bad Omen - Apollo x Reader
FanfictionAfter angering his father, Apollo is forced to become mortal for the third time in his life. He quickly finds that his mission is to reclaim all of his oracles. To do that, though, he'll need some help from Meg McCaffery, and an odd girl named Y/n. ...
