Chapter Text
"There was a tale of a brilliant man, though one not well known - though people who knew him at the time called him Perseus the Lesser, for though his deeds may have been great, the Son of Zeus, Perseus, was far more renowned." Chirom began, speaking in a distinguished, distinct tone. Seriously, Camp classes found a way to be somewhat boring all of the time, Thalia grumbled, stabbing an eraser with a pencil maybe a little too harshly.
"Perseus the Lesser was known as such because he was no Son of Zeus. He was a man of great strength and great wits, and was renowned for being, what do we call it - a ladies man. But not in the way a traditional demigod might have been, of course. Where was I? Oh yes, he was known as the Lesser because of his status as the first known legacy in our History, the Son of another Demigod, who was a child of Eos." Ladies man? Maybe this would be a little interesting, Thalia surmised, a child of a demigod, too? No one had ever heard of one - well, not until the Romans, but in Camp that was still unheard of. "However, unlike Perseus the Greater, Perseus the Lesser was loved by many a God, so many that upon his near-death at sixteen, Eos and her companions made him immortal. He resides today, not as a god, but as more of a spirit, by his Grandmother's side, accompanying the approach of dawn with his splendour of colours."
An immortal? Damn, he must've done something nice. Or maybe that was just what loving parents looked like.
"Well, that covers our unit on Minor Demigods. Any questions?"
"Can we sacrifice to him, sir? He's not a normal spirit, is he?"
"A good question, Marcus. I suppose the definition of his existence is blurred - you can offer to him if you wish."
It wasn't actually an answer but the class was satisfied enough. Thalia was a little more curious, for once - it wasn't like this was too rare of an occurrence, but technically speaking, his role had never been explicitly stated in any text. How did a person accompany the approach of dawn? Was he the patron of roosters or something? Why was she starting to think like Annabeth?
Speaking of Annabeth -
"Annie!" Thalia caught up to her friend, slowing her jog down to a walk. "I saw that brochure under your bed. Are you actually thinking about it?"
The girl's eyes widened, shocked and awed by the sudden confrontation. "Look - Thalia, I -"
"Relax, I'm not mad. I was going to say I'd join you."
"Seriously?" Wow, that wondrous face was a little offensive. Where was the trust, sis?
"Yeah. Would be fun, wouldn't it? Killing things and venting my anger. Also, partial immortality. Speaking of which, do ya think the, uh, Perseus guy has it?"
Annabeth frowned. "I don't think so. He was made immortal because he almost died, so being partially immortal wouldn't make much sense in comparison."
Thalia hummed. That made enough sense.
"Ooh, it's Lunch. I'll sit at your table to day, Annie."
"I'm pretty sure that's still not allowed."
"Like I care!"
…
"New arrival!" One of the Ares boys - Oscar? Thalia wasn't sure - huffed and puffed, hands on his knees while attempting to gesture wildly at the mass of campers who were just trying to eat. "New arrival at the hill. No satyr, no nothing. Says he's unclaimed, too."
Chiron looked kind of stumped and Mr D - wow. Mr D actually looked less than apathetic, and if Thalia didn't know better, she would've said that he had a smile-smirk on his face.
"Well, let us welcome him into our home - was he chased?"
"No, Chiron. Just rocked up to the border. Knew about the forcefield as well."
Mutters broke out. Of course they would. This was probably the most peculiar thing to happen since Thalia got chased by a pack of hellhounds into Camp Half-Blood, and that had happened years ago.
"Let him in." Ah, Chiron was speaking normally. Either he was agitated or tired.
The Son of Ares nodded and turned, only to yelp in surprise as he was met with a close-up face, stumbling backwards and readying his spear. The unfamiliar face batted it away with little force, and grinned.
"Nice to meet y'all! My name's Percy!"
The boy was almost annoyingly chipper if Thalia didn't notice something beneath the layer of humour in his eyes - oh f*ck, his eyes. They were a shade of pastel that looked more like a conglomeration of colours than one single hue; his teeth were blindingly bright and reminded her of Apollo, and his hair was a tousled mess that frankly looked like a bird's nest just resting on his head.
And a sudden rumble combined with a very audible grumble from good old Dionysus and every camper was blinded by a flash of light that streaked across the field; groans of passive agony littered the meal-space while people rolled across the floor in pain.
Their eyes slowly phased back into reality, dark spots dancing around the edges, and everyone figured they were probably hallucinating, given that no less than three symbols floated above his head, which he was trying to shoo away with an utmost look of defiance on his face.
A symbol that kind of looked like a horseshoe on the letter pi - that was Hestia's hearth. Scales of Balance - Nemesis. A golden apple - a cheeky entry from Eris.
But then all those faded out for a pastel-tinted image of a saffron that burned softly around his aura.
His grin grew wider than before, if that were possible.
"My full name's Perseus, by the way." He states nonchalantly as ever. This dramatic bitch. "I heard you guys were talking about me."
Chiron looks like all the pieces of a puzzle have suddenly fallen into place; Dionysus actually looks kind of pleased with Perseus's appearance. That can't be good.
"Here, D. Apple cider, non alcoholic, but closer than whatever you'll get here."
Ah. That made more sense.
Thalia actually almost gets whiplash with the speed that the demigod-guy turns.
"And you two!"
The Daughter of Zeus blinks. Her?
"Yes, you, Thalia! And you Annabeth!"
Of course he knew their names-
"Bravo!" He claps, over what in the bloody f*ck Thalia doesn't actually know. She looks at Annabeth, but her best friend also looks lost for words. "Bravo!"
"Well, that's all I wanted to say today, Chiron. I'll be in Cabin Eight today - oh don't be so sour, you know it was scheduled. Did you forget? Oh you forgot, didn't you, Chiron, oh dear, that's not good at all." Perseus sounds concerned and apathetic at the same time, something Thalia is actually rather interested in learning how to learn. "Anyways, I'll be right where I'm supposed to be, ta-ta!"
Before he leaves - just for a brief moment - Thalia swears he shoots her a look, a knowing, piercing look that sends a shiver down her spine.
Artemis.
She thinks to the brochure. Annabeth.
Does he know?
Then Perseus just idly prances off without a care in the world, right as a hunting horn sounds and a congregation of Hunters appear on the top of Half-Blood Hill.
Thalia wants to sleep again.
