The fragrance of damp earth invaded my nostrils as I woke up. The scent of the flowers seemed to kiss my face, the sunlight invaded the cabin leaving the place looking beautiful I smiled Right after that, came the sound of my brothers grumbling in the bunks around me, trying to chase away the sleep.
"Good morning, brothers," Lucas spoke, his voice soft from sleep, I sit up on the bed watching him rub his eyes as he got up.
"Good morning," I reply with a smile, stretching my arms feeling the pop, my body is feeling incredibly good I thought that after yesterday I'd be sore.
"Good morning," Katie chimed in, she throws the sheet to the side her messy hair covering her face catching a laugh from Lucas who covers his mouth as he notices
"Morning… I'm hungry," Mel complained. In the exact same second her stomach rumbled so loud that she went completely red with embarrassment.
I just shook my head with a calm smile yesterday really was chaos will that witch be punished
"First let's brush our teeth, then we think about breakfast," Miranda warned, pulling Olivia from the bed. She even tried to grumble because of the sleep, but ended up getting up looking completely sour.
Katie already started organizing everyone's tasks in the cabin. "Caleb, later I'll bring your breakfast. And I'm also gonna bring a book that will help you."
"No need," I replied, showing off a smug smile. "I think I already know plenty of stuff about the Greek world." I say, punching the air, Katie stared at me with an ironic smirk from the corner of her mouth, while the rest of the crew started putting on their shoes.
"Have you ever even heard of Hesiod, by any chance?" she asked, testing me. I gave a confident smile.
"But of course. Herodotus was a historian known as the 'father of History.' The guy wrote about great wars, ancient peoples and customs. Honestly, I think his style is a bit amateurish." I looked at them with pride, thinking I had nailed it.
Man, speaking of Herodotus, reminds me of Assassin's Creed Odyssey, such nostalgia, makes me smile even wider.
Miranda let out a heavy sigh and looked at my sister. "Yeah… he's really gonna need the book, Katie." I raise an eyebrow
"What a total idiot," Mel and Olivia said together, shaking their heads.
"Hey hold on, I got it right… I think" I scratch my head in doubt now.
"Caleb, the name she said is Hesiod, not Herodotus." Lucas explains to me with a smile
"What's the difference, like it's probably the same person right" Katie looks me up and down, sighing
"You're gonna find out let's move" she answers, rushing us.
I felt my cheeks burn with embarrassment. I forced a cough, trying everything to hide the embarrassment in front of everyone. "Yeah, yeah, sure… I was just testing you guys to see if you were paying attention to the conversation. But you can bring the book, I'll want to take a look for sure."
"Caleb, let's stop being an idiot or pretending to be one" Katie comments I just look away awkwardly.
I started walking toward the cabin's exit. Katie opened a smirk from the corner of her mouth that even gave me a slight shiver down my spine but I looked ahead while she led the line
"Hold up" I go back to a little wooden jar grabbing my toothbrush, the towel, "Ready we can go" I spoke, arriving in the line, we all went out together to the central lawn.
We walked through the main circle toward the shared bathroom block. On the way, we crossed paths with the Apollo crew, who were coming out yawning under the first rays of sun, and with the Ares crew marching looking completely unfriendly. Some of the war god's kids stared at me with pure hatred because of yesterday's mess at the bonfire. Clarisse was right in the middle of them; she locked eyes on me and opened a smile that had absolutely nothing friendly about it.
Lucas and I turned right, going straight to the men's wing. From the noise coming from inside, the place was already completely packed. On the outside, the campers formed a long single-file line that went out the door. Some waited leaning against the building's outer wall and others stood on the damp grass, stomping their feet to chase away the chill of the morning dew. Many complained about the delay, looking at their watches every minute afraid to miss breakfast time. I got into the line right behind Lucas. I stood there looking at the sky and feeling the fresh early day air on my skin.
A few more boys arrived and stayed talking right behind me. The line started to move slowly. I took a few steps forward, but a familiar voice made me turn my head.
"Caleb, how's it going?", Luke asked.
He had deep dark circles under his eyes, but he evaluated me with a friendly smile. I greeted him back. "I'm good, just pretty sleepy."
Surprised by my calmness after all of yesterday's pressure, he gave a light laugh. I noticed some campers around looking at us with mocking smiles. Luke got close to the boy who was behind me — who by the looks of it must be a son of Apollo —, whispered something in his ear and made him smile. The boy was totally cool with switching places, letting Luke stay right behind me in the line.
I raised one of my eyebrows at that. I already knew this guy, not by his actual physical appearance, but by his name. I was absolutely sure that he was one of the main characters from the movies in my past life. Except his face right there didn't remind me of any actor; the guy had the build of a true hunk from that era, of that I was sure. Even with them being different universes, the lore and the history of the world should be the same. At least, that's what I hoped.
Realizing that I had been staring at him for a while, Luke raised his eyebrow, suspicious. "What is it? Something wrong with my face?" He ran his hand over the scar. His expression changed in seconds, but soon he forced another smile. "The scar... well I got it a long time ago, on a field mission." His voice was pretty calm, but you could feel some bitterness deep in his tone.
"It's all good, I got one too," I replied, not giving it much thought. I lifted the hem of my shirt, revealing the ugly scar from the empousa on my belly.
Luke locked his eyes on the cut and let out a low whistle, looking pretty surprised by the size of the damage. "That one must've hurt a lot," he commented.
I took a few more steps forward in line, noticing that some campers looked away when they noticed the rip in my skin. I let go of my shirt, covering my abs again. "Yeah, that crazy chick shoved her claws straight into my belly. I'm lucky to be alive today," I commented. I looked from the corner of my eye and saw Lucas paying attention to the conversation; I reached out and messed up his hair, making him embarrassed in front of the Cabin 11 counselor.
"Thanks for defending me yesterday, Luke. The punishment was well-deserved and I think I was being a bit of an idiot trying to bargain with a god," I spoke with total calmness. But, deep down, I knew that punishment had been the best strategic move I could've made. But Feeling Dionysus' power crushing my body only served to show me the absurd level I need to reach.
I turned my face back and saw that the campers who were nearby listening to the chat had their eyes wide with shock. Luke opened a smirk from the corner of his mouth, finding the humor in my honesty about the punishment. "That explains the thunder and you smiling like a psycho," he spoke, slapping my shoulder. I just give a short laugh.
"But Drew doesn't share your calmness" I just shrug my shoulders he fixes his eyes on mine
"I know a few things if you want you can call me to help you, and watch out for Aphrodite's daughters" he looks to the side and continues
"After you walked away like a madman, silena left furious cursing your name, if you want help Hermes cabin can help Demeter cabin" he looks at me with the same smile.
"Need to talk to my sister, she's the leader" I answer he just nods his head
The line moved a bit more and we finally crossed into the bathroom. The environment inside was extremely hot, stuffy and full of water vapor everywhere.
An infernal noise of faucets turned on to the max, people spitting toothpaste foam in the sinks and demigods fighting for space in front of the mirrors. Looking at the mess inside, I noticed some of the meatheads from Ares cabin pushing the smaller kids, others stealing other people's toothbrushes, some combing their hair gently and looking at the campers with a disgusted face.
Some boys just laughed at the chaos, splashing water up and turning the start of the day into an actual war zone, I gave a sigh already trying not to cause trouble.
Lucas and I crossed the bathroom entrance, but my brother shrugged his shoulders in the exact same second. Right in front of us, one of the meatheads from Ares cabin blocked the way, staring at me with a scowl to try and intimidate me. Instead of backing down, I locked my feet on the ground, held his gaze straight on and put myself next to Lucas to protect him.
"Lose something here, friend?", I asked, keeping my voice perfectly calm.
My calmness seemed to piss him off even more. He opened a cynical smile, trying to act tough. "No. And we're not friends."
I shot back an amused smile right away and took a firm step in his direction, closing the distance. "You know? I faced your sister twice, and she's way stronger than you. Yesterday at the bonfire I Humiliated your cabin, I already became the declared enemy of the whole Aphrodite cabin over there. You really think I'm gonna be scared of size?"
I felt a firm hand grip my shoulder from behind.
"Calm down, Caleb. He was already leaving the bathroom," Luke's voice came out of the steam, cutting the mood. His tone was chill, but it had enough weight to make the big guy freeze on the spot. Luke locked his eyes on him. "You're leaving, aren't you, Dave?"
Dave clicked his tongue in anger, spun on his heels and marched out. I felt the gaze of all the demigods in the room burning on top of me. I ignored their silence, went to an open sink and started brushing my teeth. I rinsed my mouth fast, splashed water to wash my face and hair, and dried off with the towel. All those people staring at me was already bringing up a wave of anger in me.
I looked to the side and saw Lucas finishing drying his hair. He threw me a worried look, nodded his head and walked toward the exit. Before passing through the door, he stopped for a second.
"Brother, be careful."
I gave just a short smile. He turned the hallway and started walking toward the pavilion. Luke, who stopped by my side, opened a smirk from the corner of his mouth.
"So, where are you going now?"
I let out a heavy sigh, adjusting the damp towel. "I'm gonna clean up the pegasus crap."
I said goodbye and started walking through camp, trying to find my way around while observing the beauty of the place. In the middle of the way, I decided to stop near a massive tree that radiated a strong vital energy.
"Lady, could you tell me where the pegasus stable is?", I asked the trunk.
In the blink of an eye, a nymph popped out from inside the bark, catching me completely by surprise while the leaves around rustled with the movement.
She measured me up and down with a mix of pity and amusement, holding back a laugh as she noticed my situation. I fixed my eyes on her green pupils. She was adorable.
"Oh, poor thing... May the gods have mercy on your nose," she said. Her voice was light, reminding me of the sound of the wind whistling through the branches.
She extended her slender arm, covered in leaves, pointing directly toward the south direction of the camp, right past the strawberry fields.
"Follow the smell, demigod! Just kidding... Go toward the training fields. Pass the sword fighting arena and you'll see a pretty big, rustic wooden structure near the creek. If you hear the sound of wings flapping and horses complaining, you've arrived. Oh, and watch out for the kick from the younger ones!"
With a playful smile, she took a step back and merges back into the bark of the tree, vanishing before my eyes.
I resumed my walk and passed straight through the training field. There, I saw the Ares crew wearing heavy armor and doing their daily exercises.
Clarisse was right in the middle of them; she glanced at me and snorts in pure anger, but I ignored the provocation and kept moving forward.
Even before the wooden structure appeared in my field of vision, the unbearable stench of manure had already forced its way into my nose. I shook my head, trying to handle it.
Arriving at the stable, I noticed the architecture looked a lot like a traditional farm from ancient Greece, but with one crucial detail: the stalls had a considerable amount of extra space on the sides, made to accommodate the extended wings of the creatures.
The noise inside was annoying, a mix of loud neighing and heavy wings flapping. You could feel the ground vibrate. Some pegasi were restless, pacing back and forth and jumping in the stalls, while others were just lying in the hay. At the back of the hallway, I felt a human presence.
I took my first steps inside, the ground, before firm, turned into a disgusting paste under my boots. It wasn't just hay with dry poop. It was a smelly mud of horse pee mixed with dirt and trampled manure. I felt that slop stick to my sneakers with every step.
The wooden walls of the stalls were all wrecked and full of teeth marks. In one of them, a white pegasus was biting the boards hard, taking out the stress of being locked up and chewing the wood.
The animals were beautiful, with white and brown coats, but the tips of their wing feathers were filthy with brown and yellow, because they spent their time lying on top of their own piss.
I looked up and noticed the high ceiling covered in dust and gray spiderwebs that hung down like curtains, full of blowflies buzzing loudly around the horses' heads.
In the middle of that hallway, standing with a look of deep disgust and actual tears in her eyes, was Drew Tanaka. She was holding a broken rami broom that was completely covered in mud. I observed the state of the Aphrodite daughter with total calmness and let out a sigh.
"This place is literally a piece of shit."
My voice made Drew snap out of her trance right away. Not just her, but all the pegasi in the hallway turned their heads and locked their eyes on me. The horses looked at each other and started neighing low in sequence, like they were gossiping about my arrival.
I rub my eyes hard. The place was dark, stuffy, and the strong ammonia smell from the accumulated pee made my eyelids burn. Looking at those animals clearly pissed off for living in a complete pigsty, I came to a honest conclusion: I'm a massive idiot.
I looked at my hands and realized I was still holding the towel, the brush, and the toothpaste tube. With the mess in the bathroom and the walk all the way here, I completely forgot to put my stuff away before coming to do the punishment. What a shitshow.
"It's you... Come clean this up right now!", Drew spoke. Her voice overflowed with a pure mix of anger and disgust as she pointed the broom in my direction.
"The bathroom is that way, you know?", I shot back calmly, nodding toward the exit. "Especially since you're literally taking a shit bath inside here."
Hearing the mockery, Drew's face went completely red. Overcome with fury, she threw the broom hard against the muddy floor.
The impact was immediate: a generous amount of pasty manure splashed straight into her face. The scene was so ridiculous that I couldn't hold it in and let out a loud laugh, even needing to wipe a tear from the corner of my eye.
To my surprise, I looked at the stalls and saw some pegasi stomping their hooves and neighing in a way that looked like they were laughing at her face too.
I took advantage of the distraction, walked over to one of the trees near the stable entrance, and rested my palm against the rustic bark.
"Could you keep my things for me please?", I mentalized the request. To guarantee the favor, I injected a small amount of my divine power directly into the roots through the touch.
In the exact same second, the young dryad popped out from the trunk showing a bright smile and reached her hands out toward me.
I handed my hygiene items to her, who held everything carefully and took a step back, merging back into the wood in the blink of an eye.
I spun my body back toward the stable and came face-to-face with Drew and the pegasi completely frozen, staring at me open-mouthed.
I just raised one of my eyebrows, ignored their shock, and started rolling up the sleeves of my uniform to my elbows.
It was time to start working in this pigsty.