Nations, Immortals and Heroes

Chapter 14

*Frank's POV*

For the new Roman, Lovino, I pointed to where we were going to stay as we passed by. Unfortunately, it was the Ares cabin. Fortunately, we are seperated from the Greek campers, so none of us have to worry about Sherman killing Lovino in the middle of the night. But if Sherman did find a way to sneak into Lovino's bed... Maybe I'll ask Vulcan-no, the Hephaestus cabin to give Lovino a suitable weapon. Or look in the shed, that could work.

"Oi, praetor. Where are we going? Aren't the cabins that way?" An Italian accent shook me out of my thoughts. Unlike Nico's, it was thicker and the voice was deeper, so it meant it was our new camper.

I turned around and saw that Lovino was already impatient, his arms crossed and his look directed at the Ares cabin, where the children of Ares and Mars are going into. I sighed and tiredly explained, "We're going to the shed. We need you to have a weapon, at most, until we get back to Camp Jupiter. We don't want Sherman murdering you while everyone's asleep, do we? And please, just call me Frank."

Lovino's eyes slid downward to the ground as he contemplated my reasoning, and his arms fell to the side when he looked up and slowly said, "...Sì."

I smiled. At least he could be convinced, unlike some people...

When we arrived at the shed, I got its keys out from my pocket (which I got from the Hephaestus cabin counselor earlier as we passed by) and inserted it in the doorknob before being able to open the door. As we stepped inside, I attempted to look for a switch, but Lovino beat me to it and he flipped the lights on, which revealed a spacious bunker filled with assorted weapons haphazardly lying around and dust permeated throughout the shed. I glanced warily at the scene, unsure how to look for a suitable weapon for the newbie without risking injuries or, gods forbid, death. I looked beside me and saw Lovino humming in thought as he surveyed the area, until he broke the silence and said to me, "Well, good thing my room is as messy, just wait outside and I'll be back with a weapon." He quickly went deeper into the shed with ease and managed to scan through the items without hurting himself, but I was still anxious something might happen so I stayed by my spot. I was supposed to help him find a weapon, but it seemed like Lovino got everything under control as he kept on muttering in Italian as he surveyed several items and always definitively shook his head as a sign of rejecting a potential weapon. That is, until he reached near the end of the shed and triumphantly cried, "Aha!" and put certain weapons out of his way before he crouched down and reached for something at one of the shelves. I was about to ask what he saw until he finally stood up and presented what he wanted as a weapon. Lovino got himself a rifle.

He had a grin on his face as he walked back to the entrance, explaining, "I've got experience with these bad boys; very fond of them too, out of all the guns I've tried." When we both exited the shed, he started fiddling with it, as if trying to find if it had secret compartments or something. I was about to tell him that wasn't a good idea until he said, "This doesn't have ammunition, and— oh sweet, it has a bayonet!" True enough, when he flicked a switch, a small celestial bronze bayonet shot out from the upper end, the blade glinting in the moonlight. I asked, "Don't you want a sword, or a spear, just in case?" He immediately shook his head, "Nah, much more used to using guns. Where do you think I can find bullets?"

I said, "I'll ask some of our blacksmiths to make you some once we get back to Camp Jupiter." He narrowed his eyes, "What do you mean, we get back?"

I blinked in surprise at his sudden cold tone, "You're a legacy of Mars, meaning you're a member of Camp Jupiter, which is on the other side of the coast. Wait, did you think we live here?"

"Yeah. So what if I thought you guys live here? It looked like you do!" Lovino shouted defensively, crossing his arms and glaring at me, his rifle in between the linked arms. I sighed, "Well, we're just visiting. Romans have always stayed in the West, Greeks in the East. We're leaving tomorrow."

He spluttered, almost causing the bayonet in the rifle he's holding to cut his face, "W...what do you mean, leaving tomorrow!? I-I can't! I've got a life!"

Oh, that's gonna be tough. I quickly explained, "Okay, first, get rid of the blade. You might kill yourself with that. Second, I'm gonna talk with Reyna, the other praetor, about this, so calm down. In the meantime, it's almost curfew; we better get back to the Ares cabin." He glared at me one more time before mumbling something in Italian which I'm pretty sure is an insult before leaving me behind and stomping his way to the Ares cabin. I looked at his retreating back with disbelief before jogging to catch up with him, lest he might find a worse target to lay out his temper on.

Vargas is going to be a handful.

When we got back to the Ares cabin, Sherman and his group were glaring at us. Maybe I didn't make such a bad decision. I heard a shout outside, which obviously belonged to the Ares cabin counselor Clarisse La Rue, "Curfew, people! Anyone I see awake will be knocked some sense into their head with my spear! Ya hear me?!"

Lovino turned to glare at me one last time before retreating to his bed for the night. I sighed for the umpteenth time and grabbed my IM kit before going outside so as not to disturb the other campers with my call. Good thing we have a different curfew, I thought.

I sat down beside the doorway of the cabin entrance before setting up the prism and flashlight, immediately getting a rainbow. I fished a denarii from the mini-satchel within the kit and said the incantation Hazel taught me once they got back from freeing Death, "Oh Fleecy, do me a solid. Show me Praetor Reyna at Camp Jupiter." I flicked my offering, the denarii, to the rainbow, and sure enough the denarii faded and I had to wait for a few moments before Reyna's face showed up as a hologram of sorts, her face covered with dirt and her cape draped behind her as she played with Aurum and Argentum. I called out, "Uh, hi Reyna."

She looked up and gave a small smile, "Ave, Frank. What made you call?" I scratched my neck, slowly saying, "Well, we have a new camper, a legacy of Mars, but he doesn't want to go to Camp Jupiter, saying he's got a life." Reyna's eyes narrowed as she slightly pushed her dogs away and went into business mode, "Tell me everything."

And so I did, everything I knew about Lovino Vargas, based on what he said and his actions, and the circumstances surrounding his friends as well. At the end, Reyna raised an brow and said, "Vargas, eh? Well, it seems to me we've got no other choice but to let him be." I blanched, "But his safety—"

"From what you've told me, Praetor, it seems that he is capable of defending himself. We'll just send some bullets to his home, if you'll be able to get his address."

"Are you sure that's wise, Reyna?" I asked. She nodded, "Give him directions on how to reach Camp Jupiter, should the need ever arise. And get his address." I relented, "Yes, Praetor."

"By the way," she interrupted, "thank you for telling me." I tilted my head sideways, "Um, no problem? I'll see you tomorrow then. Goodnight."

She smiled, "Goodnight, Frank." Reyna swiped her hand through the rainbow and the call ended.