Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
that night at the campfire, apollo's cabin led the sing-along.
they requested the aphrodite cabin to join, but most of my siblings were still upset about the birds ruining their clothes. the cabin declined.
the apollo kids tried to get everybody's spirits up, but it wasn't easy after that afternoon's bird attack. we all sat around a semicircle of stone steps, singing halfheartedly and watching the bonfire blaze while the apollo guys strummed their guitars and picked their lyres.
we did all the standard camp numbers: "down by the aegean," "i am my own great-great-great-great-grandpa," "this land is minos's land." (the last one's a personal favorite)
the bonfire was enchanted, so the louder you sang, the higher it rose, changing color and heat with the mood of the crowd.
on a good night, you'd seen it twenty feet high, bright purple, and so hot the whole front row's marshmallows burst into the flames (not fun, i speak from experience). tonight, the fire was only five feet high, barely warm, and the flames were the color of lint.
dionysus left early. after suffering through a few songs, he muttered something about how even pinochle with chiron had been more exciting than this. then he gave tantalus a distasteful look and headed back toward the big house.
when the last song was over, tantalus said, "well, that was lovely!"
he came forward with a toasted marshmallow on a stick and tried to pluck it off, real casual-like. but before he could touch it, the marshmallow flew off the stick. tantalus made a wild grab, but the marshmallow committed suicide, diving into the flames.
"smart marshmallow," i muttered.
cayden snickered. "if only some humans had that kind of brain."
aurora laughed loudly at that.
tantalus glared at her, and she matched his with an ever dirtier glare. tantalus realized she wasn't going to back down, and he looked away.
tantalus turned back toward the rest of them, smiling coldly. "now then! some announcements about tomorrow's schedule."
