The Californian Sage, Equaling Olympus

Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy or Percy Jackson

Chapter 5: Decisions

"I do believe that I am the victor of our little competition, Lord Apollo."

Those were the first words from that didn't contain cursing, literally and figuratively, towards him when the Sun God emerged from his crashed vehicle along with his rather pale faced passengers.

Apollo couldn't help but glare lightly at the cheeky little bastard that strode beside his former centaur student, with nary a dark hair out of place or a tear or wrinkle in his soft silk clothing. The smile made him want to hit something, hard, until it disappeared.

"Only because you pulled off that suicidal move at the last moment, you little brat," the Sun Rider said with a heated glower that melted the snow around him.

"Suicidal is a little harsh," the ape like teen said dramatically, with a hand pressed to his heart as if he were mortally wounded from the heavy insult. Apollo snorted. If only.

"I prefer to call it a 'calculated risk'," Apollo could practically see the quote marks around the last two words. "I was wagering on your more compassionate side winning out against the majority of your family's, how you say, 'sense of entitlement' winning out and making you run me down in order to achieve victory," those small fangs glinted slightly as the boy smirked, his muddy red eyes filled with mirth and mischievousness, "it seems I came up trumps with that belief."

Apollo suppressed the growl in his throat and the scowl worming up his face. He didn't like losing, a race in his ride least of all, and under other circumstances he would have, as the little bastard had said, let his 'sense of entitlement' have it's head and cursed the little prick. However, his competitor was anything but normal and that alone stayed his hand. Just this once, he would let it slide, all for the greater good of gaining information about the nature of the cocksure little brat.

Next time though...

He plastered a slightly rueful smile on his face, making himself look sheepish, "My bad then," he said with a shrug as he let a gleam appear in his eye, "but I want a rematch!"

"Perhaps not now, Lord Apollo," his one time part-equine student smoothly interjected, halting whatever reply could have come from the fool boy's mouth. "Please remember that you are on a schedule and you do recall what happened the last time you were running late, don't you?"

Apollo winced at the reminder from the Teacher of Heroes. He arse was still feeling the burn from his Pops' Master Bolt after his Royal Airness had found out about his most recent bout of delinquency.

"Yeah, I do," he shivered, that was one punishment he wasn't eager to have a repeat of any time this century. He sighed, glancing at the little brat, "you got lucky, kiddo. My old student just got you a pass...for now."

The boy merely grinned roguishly at him, humour dancing in the depth of those swirling eyes.

Apollo glanced back at where his darling little sister's surrogate daughters, along with the Campers, were just about all done with removing the various bits and pieces of luggage out of his set of hot wheels. The last few were being taken out now but others, meaning the Hunters who had already removed their luggage, were slogging up muddy bank, with their leader in absence of his little sister, the ever lovely Zoe Nightshade, at the fore. And none of them looked particularly pleased and their eyes took on an unholy sheen as they clapped onto him and the little brat in front of him.

Time to make a strategic advance in the opposite direction, also known as 'Away From The Bloodthirsty Hunters'.

"I'll see you around, Chiron," Apollo said hastily, "Been a pleasure seeing you. Bye!"

With a flicker of thought, Apollo was in his hot chariot and shooting off, not even bothering to change it from passenger mode to the ever wonderful Masserati.

There was no way he was sticking around when those silver clad girls were on a warpath!

Zoe Nightshade was, to put it mildly, greatly annoyed.

The last night and day had been wearing on her nerves ever since the Hunt had caught sight of that miserable monster that called itself Thorn. She had been forced to abide the presence of the foolish girl, Thalia Grace, once more. The Hunt had lost a possible new addition. She had also been forced to sit through, in a front row seat, the most terrifying race she had ever witnessed. To top it off, she was now slogging through the thick mud of a very recently emptied lake due to the antics of two utterly insane and undoubtedly stupid and arrogant makes who got into a nitro fuelled pissing contest!

A dark aura of malice and murderous intent clung to her like a wet cloak as she glared daggers at the back of the golden sun god. There will be justice for this travesty!

Her Lady's foolish brother glanced back a moment and Zoe was quite gratified when she saw the foolish lord's ichor flee from his face, paling in quiet terror when his all seeing eyes landed on her. No doubt he could read her intentions to rip his lungs out through his nose and his diseased ridden testicles through his colon. With cherry red hot pliers.

It was nice to know that even gods knew not fear in the face of a woman's ire and wrath.

Before she could get to him, he was quick to flee the scene, his image flickering and then vanishing as he transported himself elsewhere, away from her.

The roaring of flames and engines entering her ears before quickly fading, as if the source were moving away, quickly gave informed her of where Lord Apollo had went. Pity, she had quite the painful set of ideas she wanted to try out on the God of the Sun.

Her dark eyes then rested on the revealed form of Apollo's competitor, the other source of her current troubles.

Perhaps he would do.

The kind brown eyes of the talk centaur were quick to notice her approach, his face wincing slightly at the state she was in and the malicious smile on her face, and was quick to move forward, deliberately stepping in front of the monkey like boy in what was no doubt an attempt to protect him from her well deserved wrath.

That was fine with her. She knew there was a time and place for vengeance, and it wasn't now. Besides, revenge was a dish best served cold.

"Miss Nightshade," the old centaur greeted respectfully with a small dip of his head in acknowledgement, "it is good to see you once more."

"Chiron," she answered shortly, with a stiff nod. She may not like this place but the centaur at least had modicum of her respect for dealing with the foolish Campers, "the Hunt will be using Cabin Eight for the foreseeable future. I trust that this will be fine with you?"

"It is your right to do so," the aged Trainer of Heroes replied calmly, unruffled by her demeanour. "I'm sure that you know the way. Do you need any assistance with anything else?"

"The Hunt will be fine," she responded tightly, trying not to take offence at the question, one that could imply weakness in her sisters, even if she knew that it was not meant that way, and turned abruptly away from the centaur and toward her gathering sisters, subtilely flicking her fingers in certain manner.

Wordlessly, they all fell in behind her as she strode toward her Lady's cabin.

"Meals are when the conch horn sounds!" She heard the centaur call after them all.

"Of course they are," muttered Phoebe, one of the older members of the Hunt, "we aren't idiots, unlike the rest of this Camp," the experienced Hunter sneered in disgust at the thought of the Camp and it's members.

"Calm thyself," Zoe said shortly to her little sister, "Thou are not here to make trouble for yonder fools."

"Don't tell us you don't think the same?" Phoebe shot back, her eyebrow quirked and a gimlet eye on the dark skinned Lieutenant in challenge.

Zoe grunted slightly as they all came to the entrance of the silver cabin that belonged to their matron and surrogate mother, a roughened hand touching the door gently and letting in swing inward soundlessly as befitted a Hunter.

"Mayhap I do," Zoe agreed as she entered the cabin proper, moving swiftly toward her designated bed closest to the door. It was the duty of the Lieutenant of the Hunt to both lead and protect the members of the shunt in their Lady's absence. Taking the bed nearest the door meant that any being that dared to cross the threshold would have brave her wrath first before it could possibly lay a hand, claw or fang on the rest of her sisters. "But tis' not the time to make mayhem." She said sternly, looking around at the entirety of the Hunt, making sure that they were paying attention.

"Our Lady has taken leave to Hunt on her own, for a creature I know not but do know is a danger to the entirety of Olympus. The petty squabbles we have with the Campers are to be put aside until our Lady returns," she looked at all of them, her eyes full of black fire, "But that is not to say we will simply roll over and take whatever they may throw at us. We will not swing the first punch, nor will we speak the first degrading word. But I will expect for all of you to do and speak the last." She looked around the room once more, "Are my orders clear?"

She was greeted with a wave of heads nodding in unison, a satisfied smile on each of their faces. No doubt many of them would somehow find themselves entangled with the Campers in some way or another and make sure that the Campers would be seen as the ones in the wrong.

That was fine in Zoe's mind. While her Lady may want to keep conflict to a minimum at this point in time, even the Huntress herself should know that putting them in this Olympus Forsaken camp meant that there would at least some struggles or arguments upgrading to a physical tussle. Just as long as nothing went overboard, then everything should be fine.

Though Zoe couldn't help but feel a degree of unease, a small bundle of worry and trepidation filling the back of her mind. It had been a long time since her Lady had gone on a solo Hunt, each time she did so was due to either her Father's own desires or because there was some trouble in the world that needed a deity's touch to be quelled and solved.

But she came back each time within a week of beginning her Hunt. Without a scratch on her and without a hair misplaced and wild grin of fulfilment and joy on her lips. Try though many of them might, the sisterhood of the Hunt was unable to keep up with their Lady when her blood was up and her emotions running high.

But this time, when the Great Stirring was happening, when her Lady had shown true frightened fear at the realisation of the identity of whatever monster she was tracking, when the Hunt had lost a sister not a week ago and her body was unrecoverable, this time Zoe thought that her Lady's solo Hunt would not end in triumph or satisfaction.

At least, not for Lady Artemis.

Zoe could almost feel the strings attached to her by the Fates, pulling her in a certain direction and making her dance to their tune. Something important and dire will happen soon, this she knew.

And her Lady would stand at the heart of it.

The air roared with heat as gouts of molten rock spouted out of the holes in the monolith of stone, flowing down the steep slope, the small amounts of snow that had dared to brave the burning arena hissing and dying into steam with the magma's passage.

The ground also shook as boulders and pebbles rumbled at the top of the climbing wall, frequently tumbling down on to whatever poor fool below was daring to climb it, hitting outcropping and ledges with great frequency and looking like a sadistic giant version of Pachinko from the distance, and then hitting the pool of lava and the bottom, often with the climber in tow, with a noise halfway between a thump and a slurping splash.

"You. Have. Got. To. Be. Kidding. Me."

Those words came out deadpan and incredulous from the staring and gaping Xander, his bottom jaw somewhere in the region of his navel, as he stared at the bonified death trap that the Camp used to train those who abided there.

When he had heard that the camp had a rather extreme climbing wall, he had expected something a bit pedestrian but very difficult. Like handholds that one needed to leap for, ledges you had to hang upside down under before crawling like a spider over the lip and other obstacles like that.

He hadn't imagined that lava, magma and falling boulders the size of buses were part of the description.

"You actually make kids climb this?!" Xander asked the ever present and watchful Chiron with utter disbelief in his voice, "This is like making someone light their own funeral pyre!"

The faces of the di Angelo siblings, who had gravitated towards the tall centaur and himself when the Hunt had gone on it's way, had paled at his words, even after having paled slightly at the very sight of the clearly deadly area.

"It is not quite as bad as it sounds," Chiron hastened to assure them, "the wall changes height, width and other details according to whomever it somehow senses approaching it, allowing them them to have a chance to reach the top if they work for it. The lava, also, is bespelled enough to not do any serious harm to any that are unlucky enough to either fall in or get hit by a gout of it. Some light burns that easily fixed with ambrosia or nectar healing is about the extent of it. Just enough to give a good incentive for one to make sure not to fall in or get struck."

"That makes me feel a whole lot better," Xander murmured to himself sarcastically, eying the flowing lava with distrust. While he, personally, had a truly massive fire and heat resistance, something that he inherited from his Father and would become immunity given time, he was concerned about the di Angelo siblings.

While they had each other and the scarce amount of friendship they had with the Camp's chosen retrieval team, the two were still alone in Camp, that they knew little about save in his small description the night before, and new to the world that surrounded them, their introductions into the world behind the Mist being both abrupt and unkind, their innocence stripped away from them with a callous disregard to their feelings.

Such was the way of the unkind Fates, all within their sight mere threads to woven or cut in order to make the tapestry of the world. In the end, Gods and Men, Mortals and Monsters all fell to the shears of Atropos.

Xander scowled heavily. That wouldn't be happening to the di Angelos if he had any say in the matter.

As one who stood outside the purview of those crotchety old bitches, a benefit of being, at the same time, a 'demi-god' of a completely different 'Pantheon', a child of a 'Chaotic' deity and born in a completely different dimension, they were blind to him, unable to see him directly but instead seeing the effects of his actions on the world itself. It was probably driving them bananas trying to find out what was clouding their sight.

Good. Those callous bitches needed a good kick to the arse to remind them that they are not above everything and everyone. Perhaps it would make them treat those who's lives they measure and cut with a bit more respect. A long shot, he knew, but he would take what he could get.

"I actually think it's kinda cool," piped up the youngest sibling of the two, a small smile and wide eyes crossing his both slightly scared and awed filled face as he stared at the slowly flowing lava with a degree of fascination that was rather interesting. Not that Xander could entirely blame him, seeing lava up this close, for real rather than in a documentary or movie, without having having to take a plane halfway around the world did indeed have a pretty high coolness factor.

"No climbing," the kid's older sister said sternly, her eyes snapping away from her terrified staring at the wall of molten rock and future pain, "at least not without an adult or when I am there with you. Do you understand me?" Her voice was fierce and demanding, while at the same time very protective. They were the words of an older sister that wanted to protect their younger siblings at all costs, or even a mother that would not accept any dangerous tomfoolery from her children in her sight.

Whatever lucky person managed to snag the girl as partner wouldn't have to worry about her ability to ride herd on whatever kids they had. She looked to have had plenty of practice with the handful of that was known as her little brother. Though it was beginning to look like he was maturing a bit, even if it is only a little so far.

"You will have no worries on that score, Miss di Angelo," Chiron interjected firmly and kindly, his brown eyes softening at the degree of familial caring and love shown between the two siblings, something that he no doubt saw only rarely even in the Cabins. Siblings all those who dwelt in the same cabin, except Hermes', might be but that bond was stretched rather thin between most them, mostly due to the general lack of similar mortal parents. "The use of that particular facility is strictly forbidden outside of designated times and always with an elder member of the staff at Camp in attendance."

"That's something at least," Xander said to himself sub-vocally as he finally dragged his eyes away from the small volcano that the Camp called a climbing wall and perused the rest of said with his sharp eyes.

It wasn't quite what he was expecting. He had thought it would be a bit more geared toward a military training camp, they were after all training the children of the Gods to survive attacks from beings of myth and legend, but it seemed to exactly what it called itself, a camp, though there were a few oddities like the odd architecture of the cabins and the overall Grecian feel of the place.

It was rather surprising to see something so normal being dwelled in by beings of who were older than the very idea of some of these normal things. Then again, he was born and raised on a Hellmouth, normality and weirdness meshed pretty well together there.

He had a feeling that Camp Jupiter might be more what he had been expecting in regards to Camp. Solid and imposing, never backing down. That was practically the motto of the Roman Empire alright. Either that or it was, as Janus had spoken to him about, Lupa's, the Capitoline Wolf and foster mother of Romulus and Remus, favourite saying.

Aut vincere aut mori. Conquer or Die.

He returned to the present, pulled up from his wandering thoughts as the Activities Director of Camp Half-blood and Trainer of Heroes moved on from the climbing wall and kept up the tour of the Camp, pointing out other features of the centaur's pride and joy, as the di Angelos and himself moved behind.

Xander glanced over at the two siblings, his murky eyes contemplative as he listened with half an ear to the aged centaur. His original intent upon arriving at this camp had been to see that the two were settled in before leaving with some degree of haste. Being this close the Olympian's centre of power, the one of the Eastern Seaboard anyway, made him more than a little antsy.

Despite the fact that the news of his existence, in some form or another, had probably reached the ears of the majority of the Council, he would still prefer to avoid them for now. The only reason he had told the moon goddess a portion of the truth of his existence was because her reputation preceded her and he had a feeling that whatever lies he tried to concoct would be seen through like plate glass. And last time he checked, deities didn't really tolerate being lied to very much.

In either case, he was in precarious position. While strong enough to maybe defend himself from a deity's attack, defeating them outright would be impossible (even the seaweed kid had only inflicted a decisive blow rather than wounding the war God unto death.), he just didn't have the power to bring to bear at that point in time. He could get away as well, but that would just lead to a manhunt involving powerful deities and spirits by the score of hundreds. It would only be a matter of time before he would cornered and captured.

And here he stood, practically beneath their divine noses, an unknown quantity in their view of world. Worse, a powerful unknown quantity.

Zeus had killed people for less.

On the other side of the coin, considering Apollo's reputed nature as a blabber mouth, his situation (or what he had revealed to Artemis and was in turn passed to Apollo) would soon reach the ears of Zeus, if it hadn't already. The opportunity it presented to the Lord of the Sky may just hold back his paranoia long enough for him to establish himself, now that he was revealed to exist, as a neutral leaning towards ally rather than a possible enemy that needed to be destroyed for the greater good of Olympus.

If there was anything greater than the Sky Lord's paranoia, it was his desire for power. Acquiring an obviously powerful Inheritor as an ally, and possible direct subordinate if the King played his cards right, would no doubt boost his position and power greatly.

Of course, Zeus was hardly the only deity on Olympus who wouldn't mind having such a useful person on their side. Xander could practically see the various servants of the Gods approaching him, looking for a possible service-in-return-for-patronage deal. In the eyes of the Council, he would, no doubt be a prime cut of meat dangled in front of a pack of wolves.

That was, of course, provided that Zeus didn't just smite him out of hand.

Xander was now keeping a wary eye out for anything strange or wrong, anything that could be attributed to divine involvement. He had no desire to be given an offer he couldn't refuse.

Considering all this, he should have jumped ship and bolted a while ago. Away from directly under their noses, he could probably avoid being smited just because it would be easier as he was so close.

However, the two siblings were now in play.

For one thing, he had saved the girl's life. That in itself was significant. The ancient Chinese proverb, 'If you save a person's life, they are your responsibility forever', sprang to mind almost immediately.

The girl, Bianca, was someone with a lot on their plate and had the usual issues that many teenagers generally had. Not only did she have to look after her little brother, becoming almost a second mother to the boy, but she was doing so at a time in her life when she began second guessing, becoming uncertain of herself, when she would begin pushing the boundaries, much like the infamous 'rebellion' phase that many parents bemoaned about their children.

Add in the fact that one of her parents wasn't who she thought they were, was in fact a deity, and that a whole new, and very hostile, world was opened before her eyes and Xander could understand the feeling of being completely overwhelmed that she would no doubt feel in the next few days. Once the initial shock and euphoria wore off.

It was also completely understandable that she had been within a hair's breadth of joining the Hunters. Male hating ways aside, they were a decent group and close knit, if a bit too loyal to their lunar mistress. The girl could have done worse in life than join them.

Xander believed that if anyone truly needed a hand, needed a break, or just a sympathetic ear to talk into, it would be the young lady.

But it was hardly the only thing that had him at least considering the possibility of staying in the quaint little training camp for halfblood children of the Gods.

He frowned to himself, absently noting that they were all heading towards the Big House, the tour over and the unlamented 'red tape' needing to be filled out to officially welcome them all to the camp.

There was a connection between himself and the girl, something he hadn't encountered before. That pulse of heat that had passed between them both before Apollo had shown his shiny teeth...it meant something. He just wasn't sure what.

And he got the feeling that it would be better some how learn sooner rather than later.

And these reasons to stay only came from Bianca! The young pup also gave him a few reasons of his own.

For one, he was a young kid that had just had his world turned upside down and had been through the wringer when he had thought he had lost his older sister. The fact that he had nearly lost his pillar to lean on, his one constant in the entire world, had probably rocked the foundations of his life and left him more than little unsettled and unbalanced, something that was made evident when one saw how close he stuck to his sister and his sister to him.

Such a thing was dangerous to a halfblood of his apparent power.

He might be young and unclaimed, but to those with even a lick of sense in their heads and even the smallest portion of sensitivity to power, the young boy was practically wreathed in power.

Dark power.

It tickled the edge of Xander's refined mystical senses. It was both familiar and alien, like something he had felt before but with enough differences to be something else entirely. He had only felt this something like this sensation completely once, but it was enough for him to remember it, especially when he had once lived in a town that was lightly touched by the very edges of the cause.

The kid's power felt like the Hellmouth.

Not exactly the same, nor as powerful, but there was similarity, of darkness and death, between his former home and the boy's power.

And as far as he knew, there was only one deity amongst the Olympians that was associated with those domains and would be able to produce a child that powerful.

And he also knew that, once the Sky Lord found out about the boy and his sister, their days would be numbered in the single digits unless something was done. Those days would become hours if the lad fell into the corruption that an unbalanced mind and a heavy amount of dark power could produce.

He wasn't willing to let the poor lad possibly be killed when he could do something to prevent it.

He paused before mounting the steps into the Big House and smiled ruefully to himself. It seemed that his heart had already made the decision before his mind could.

He shrugged absently and simply walked into the open door of the Big House.

Ah well, it wasn't like he had anything important to do any way. Besides, it might be interesting to see how far, and how malleable, the powers of the Greeks could extend given enough incentive.

Perhaps some of the old skills he had once learned back home would be applicable to others in this realm rather than just himself.

"Now," said the old centaur as he pulled three forms from a stack of papers, sighing inwardly at having to do even more of the annoying paperwork, despite having already done what Mr. D should have. A week ago. "Before I can take you all to Cabin Eleven, we still have to complete one last bit of business, for formalities if nothing else."

The strange young man that stood between and behind the two decidedly nervous siblings, almost protectively the Trainer of Heroes noted, chuckled slightly, his murky maroon eyes glinting with mirth. "I guess even the Gods are cursed with a bureaucracy and the associated mounds of paper."

Chiron merely lifted an eyebrow as he responded, "I would prefer to think us blessed," he said mildly, "Books and, more importantly, the knowledge that they contain would not be as widespread or available without such material."

The oddly dressed young man merely smirked, "I notice that you said nothing in regards to the bureaucracy."

Chiron merely smiled slightly and his warm brown eyes gleamed lightly with mischief and ignored the comment. Perhaps he did agree with the youth on that score, but he doubted Athena would appreciate him voicing it aloud.

"Now," he said firmly, his fountain pen moving swiftly across the papers, entering the names of his new charges on them, "you are Bianca and Nico di Angelo, correct?" He questioned the siblings, ones that, to his sensitive nose, smelt strongly of power and earth. Something that worried him slightly. He had encountered the scent many times before and knew who he associated with the scent.

He only hoped he was wrong.

Receiving their nods he continued with his questions, the fact that they were siblings making it much easier to fill out.

Though some of the answers had him cautious and had conches blowing and red flags raised in his mind. Particularly the one where he had asked in regards to previous places of residence. The answer he received even made Mr. D, who was lounging near by sipping a can of Diet Coke idly, sit up and take notice.

He knew well of the true nature of the Lotus Hotel and Casino, as did the wine God.

The hopes that he was wrong in their possible parentage started to wither.

Still, he managed to keep to his thoughts from visibly crossing his face and kept up the questions until everything was finally completed, or at least as much as could be done.

Having completed the two siblings entrance forms he then turned to the, to him, most intriguing one who had arrived in camp.

"And now for yourself, Alexander," he said, "though I will ask, due to an earlier comment you made, if you are going to stay in camp or leave?"

It was an unusual question, but necessary in this case. Generally, when a halfblood has entered camp, they cannot leave unless on Quest or with permission from the Directors, whether it be through escort or arranged transport. It was to ensure that his students managed to at least get home safely or, if they had no place to return to, to ensure they had a safe place.

However, the strange youth had enough power going for him, as well as experience if Chiron was correct in reading the boy's subtle body language, that safe places were not necessary for him and, as he had yet to confirm his entrance into the camp, Chiron had little in the way of influence over the youth.

Chiron knew that any attempts to force him to stay would be met with abject failure and would no doubt make him bolt for the hills or fight back hard. This was a young man that was used to wandering where he willed, that had tasted freedom with all the perils and pleasures that came along with it.

People like him generally didn't like restrictions and order being placed on their wild and somewhat chaotic lives. It would be like caging a wild tiger, and ten times as dangerous if the scent of raw power that covered the boy like a thick cloak was any indication.

The di Angelo siblings glanced at the boy with surprise and hidden trepidation at the possibility of the youth leaving, making the centaur frown slightly. According to his understanding, they had only met the night before and the two, obviously close, siblings were already this attached to the young man?

It was possible, he supposed, even probable. The boy had, from the description that Apollo had privately passed on by means unspoken, literally saved them, creating a powerful initial bond. He had seen such things before, where a survivor leaned on the saviour, and often, much to his confusion, the consequences were rather fierce and, perhaps, even alarming.

But that would be food for thought at another time.

"I may have had a change of heart," the youth said smoothly, "so, to answer your question, I will being staying here...at least for the time being."

"Then I will simply say 'Wel-,'" Chiron's response froze on his throat as a sudden dim burst of light appeared over the head of the young man, his face surprised and reflected on the two siblings.

"What the heck?" cried Alexander as he glanced up at the cause of the dim light, only to freeze slightly at what he saw, before his face flushed red and his mouth opened wide, no doubt to spew something rather vulgar.

Chiron just stared in surprise at the light, or rather lights, that hovered over the young man, indicating a Claiming. Something that shouldn't be happening if what Apollo had passed on was the truth.

The first thing that he noticed was the size of the symbols, neither of them large or outrageous or attention grabbing, showing that this wasn't a usual Claiming of a child.

Second was the golden circle surrounding each symbol. It was something that Chiron had seen before, but not often, and certainly not twice for the same person. It was an indication of a blessing, a mark of favour bordering on being titled Champion for the ones the symbols denoted. In camp, this meant that the boy would equal to the blood children of the ones would had just done the Claiming.

It was a rare occurrence and unheard of for someone to receive two such things. Especially from the two deities involved.

The mark on that hovered on the boy's left was one he rarely saw, in true Claiming or otherwise. It was a small representation of a crossroads. The symbol of Hecate, the Goddess of the Mist, Magic and Crossroads. A powerful deity and not one to trifle with, nor to be easily impressed.

However, it was the second image that had Chiron more than a little worried, and had caused Dionysus to spray his Diet Coke almost completely across the room in shock, his bloodshot eyes wide.

It was a simple symbol, but one that had a great deal of history, the majority of it negative, behind it, much like the deity it belonged to and that it represented.

A golden apple hovered over the boy's right shoulder. While the real golden apples, the ones that came from the Garden of Hesperides and hung from Hera's sacred tree, had appeared often in Ancient Greek stories, in Atalanta's race, in Heracles' labours and other events, there was only one deity that had it as a symbol.

Eris, the goddess of Discord and Chaos, the daughter of Nyx. She had once stood at Typhon's side, much as Nike had stood at Zeus', long ago. She was also the one that, due to a slight from others, had cast the pebble, or rather the apple, that had caused the Avalanche now known as the Trojan War.

And she had marked this young man as one of her favoured.

Author's note:

Hi folks, sorry for not updating this in while and for the substandard update. I have just recently hit a wall in regards to this story and I am trying to work around it. Here is to hoping that my muse is kind to me.

So how did you like the ending for a twist. I already have planned the meeting between both of these ladies and Xander in a flashback, so don't worry about having to wait to discover the connection.

Hope you enjoyed it and please leave a review,

kujikiri21