16 Hearth Night Out

//If we can each the goal, I can make this a full time thing and keep pumping out four chapters a day. If you can, feel free to donate. No pressure though. We're making amazing progress.

3-4 Chapters onto P@treon today.

Patre0n.com/ShadowDrev

Goal: $224/$400

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After the period of time spent strategizing and putting things into action, things began to move rather quickly from there, the day sweeping up in a torrent of activities Chion wasn't prepared for.

First and foremost, some of the Hephaestus campers, a cabin that only had around five to six members in total, wanted to borrow the white-haired youth for a bit. For what felt like an eternity, they used him as a guinea pig to test various equipment they had forged or crafted together such as weapons, gadgets, household appliances, and even a bed complete with surround sound speakers, a mini fridge, and row of buttons on the side. The leader of Cabin 9, Charles Beckendorf, a rather quiet individual who didn't really talk all that much, had arguably the most interesting and best equipment of the lot of them. Unfortunately, some of the developments from various forgers ended in failure, leaving Chion with what SHOULD have been 3rd degree burns and potentially fatal wounds.

It was an interesting way to learn that Chion possessed some form of fire and heat resistance.

There was one invention that the young teen found interesting, though, and one that had actually been about to be scrapped by the inventor. A small device capable of releasing a screech noise loud enough to temporarily deafen those close to it as well as a sort of flash grenade. After talking to the creator, he managed to pay for the two devices and requested more to he built.

The creator, a girl named Eon Marx, was more than happy to oblige.

After that excursion, of which took a few hours, it was time for dinner at the Pavilion. Just like before, an assorted mixture of vegetables, fruits, meat, and bread was slathered across the various tables, ripe for the picking. The only difference being that campers took turns walking up the fire in the center of the Pavilion and scraping some food into it. Not only the food but the best parts of the food.

According to Luke, this was a gift to the gods and something the campers did every night. For whatever reason, they seemed to like the smell of burnt food.

Chion raised an eyebrow at this particular bit of information when he heard it since, if he were a god, he highly doubted the burning of perfectly good food would entice him. However, he also hadn't lived for a few dozen or even hundreds of millenia, so it was difficult to truly judge them.

Once dinner was complete and Chion learned a bit more about the Camp and its inhabitants, it was time for the bath. The reason that the white-haired youth couldn't find the showers was because they were actually a separate building altogether, separated by gender. There was a ranking about who would get to go in first that varied between clean cabins, achievements, various contests, and so on. Reason for the rankings? Limited hot water.

The further down the line you were, the more cold the water.

As fate would have it, seeming content on treating Chion as poorly as possible, Hermes cabin had placed dead last due to the messiness of the cabins innards. Which was to he expected since they had so many people living within it. It wasn't until every cabin had gone that the Hermes Cabin was able to use it, and by then, it might have been more beneficial to just shower in the rain. It felt about the same.

Still, despite the lack of heat, Chion enjoyed the shower, rinsing of two days' worth of sweat and grime, of physical and emotional exhaustion. It was like being born anew, a complete reset on the things that troubled him. The mountain of questions he had gathered since awakening back in Prospect Park were still very much present, but they weighed far less on his mind than previously. He was safe and much more comfortable with his surroundings than before and that's all that mattered, even if it was only his first day.

After everyone had showered and gotten themselves dressed, the Hermes Cabin returned to their building to prepare for lights out. Proper rest was needed for the immense day that was going to be taking place tomorrow. Annabeth visited Chion one more time before heading back to her cabin, though. It looked like it pained her a bit, but she apologized for how she acted when the youth joined in to help.

When he came out however, Chion was munching on a box of Spicy Cheez-Its, so she may not have thought he was taking seriously. She held the frustrated look and occasionally glanced at the box.

"Did you want one?" Chion asked, shaking the box slightly. "I got another box."

Amnabeth didn't respond, merely glancing around her. In the middle of the giant U shape made by the cabins, a hearth was blazing, a little girl poking its fiery coals. Without another word, Chion disappeared back into the house and came back with another box of Cheez-Its, closing the door behind him. Gesturing towards the fire, the white-haired gave his own box a tap.

"Have you ever had one of these before?" Chion asked, plopping himself down next to the hearth. For some reason, a sort of calmness and tranquility washed over him. It was hard to explain, so he just attributed it to feeling the comforting heat. "I think they're in my top 3 snacks so far."

"I've had them," Annabeth said, opening up her box. "Not this flavor, though."

"I think it's probably the best one. I don't know how it was when I was younger," Chion threw a other one into his mouth. "But I might have had a thing for spicy things and sweets."

There was a moment of silence as the blonde seemed to ponder something. After seeing her all dang day, the youth recognized the face of when she was struggling to form a question. So, he didn't say anything and just let her be, content to sit in silence, munching away on his Cheez-Its. Honestly, he wasn't really big on conversation in the first place, having no idea on what to think of people yet.

"How do you do it?" Annabeth finally asked. "Control your emotions, I mean."

"I've seen you do it plenty of times though," Chion rebutalled. "You don't display your emotions very often and you're quite logical when it comes down to it. A bit prideful from what I can see so far, but everyone should have a bit of pride in what they do."

Annabeth didn't respond. Neither did the youth. For a while, they just sat in silence.

"Why do you want to control your emotions?"

The young blonde let out a sigh before rising up onto her feet. Dusting the seat of her pajama pants off, she left the box of Cheez-Its and bid the white-haired youth goodnight. But before she could make it a few yards, Chion grinned and quickly took off his hoodie.

"Hey, Owl Head."

Annabeth turned around just in time to get hit in the face with a blue hoodie, right in the jaw. Laughing, Chion stood up from his seat and straightened out his shirt, both his and her box of Cheez-Its in hand.

"You can have that back."

Annabeth made a face, but she didn't throw it back at him. Instead, she put it on in front of him and readjusted it. Though Chion didnt feel very cold, or really at all, he had noticed that the blonde girl had been shivering since she sat down. It had probably taken a bit of willpower to come out in the lower temperature just to apologize for something she felt bad about. For that, Chion could respect it, and his opinion of her rose up quite substantially. As he watched her walk away, the young child he had seen standing by the hearth reappeared, stoking the fire.

The youth didn't even react, having already seen much stranger things.

"Chionothýella Pagos," The girl turned around and looked at him. "We finally meet in person. I've heard much about you."

The girl was about nine or eight years old with mousy brown hair and eyes the color of a crimson fire. She wore a brown dress and a scarf over her head, a plain but unique appearance that not many could actually pull off. She gave off an air of power, but not like the ones he had felt from Mister D or really anyone prior. It was an aura of peace and comfort, like a sturdy shelter in the middle of a raging storm. Her brilliant hues were actually living flames, similar to very hearth she was tending to. In other words, she was a goddess.

It was the only explanation to what Chion was feeling in that moment.

"Yeah, that's my name," the white-haired youth said, plopping back onto the ground. "It's an honor. Who might you be?"

"You may call me Hestia." The girl smiled warmly. "Goddess of the fire, hearth, and home."

"That's pretty cool." Chion reopened his box of Cheez-Its. "What's it like being a goddess? Or rather, being immortal?"

Hestia looked up slightly, as if thinking. "It can be interesting. Watching time go by and how the children of the world develop, seeing the many new things created by humanity. Sometimes, it's tiring, watching wars unfold, famine, deadly disputes, and disease. Time continues on and I remain the way I am, watching and waiting."

"Do you guys ever have get bored of being immortal?" Chion tilted his head, genuinely curious.

"There's always something to do, I suppose." The girl smiled a bit. "I don't think I'd call it boring."

From there, Chion just talked to her like she was just another person, disregarding the fact she was a being far more powerful than he himself was and could disintegrate his entire existence. They talked about various things like immortality, places she's been, things she'd seen, the coolest things she's witnessed, and so on. It was a relaxing experience, casually chatting and not worrying about the past or future, simply enjoying the present. Eventually, though, the topic got a bit more serious.

"I've come to you with a gift. Not just to talk." Hestia turned the coals of the hearth with her stick. "Though the conversation has been pleasant."

"A gift?"

"Seven of the twelve Olympians have agreed to give you one gift each." The goddess looked towards the youth, their eyes locking. "I can't say the reasons, but they've all deigned to help you in some way. They're the reasons you don't have access to your memories, but they're also, by some extent, the reasons you're still alive. The grey backpack, for example, was a gift from Athena."

(("Athena? Annabeths mom?")) Chione was now thoroughly confused. A lot of things were being answered at once.

"I have come to offer up the answer to three questions. Any you wish. That is my gift." Hestia shrugged slightly. "Follow-up questions also count as well."

Chione was thrown off completely, but he shoved it to the side and focused on what he could do in the moment. The feeling of calm was still in effect, and it was probably because of this that the youth could think and act clearly, not needing to shove away any emotions like he usually had to. He thought back to the things he had wanted to know the most and all the mysteries surrounding it. He had three of them so he had some room to move with if he chose to throw one away as a test to see if it was true and to what extent the answers would be.

"How do I control my power?" Chion clasped his hands together, not caring about what came of it. It was something he needed to figure out anyways. "Up until now, I've been struggling."

"Well, you only just found out about them yesterday," Hestia said, acknowledging that she had been watching Chions' journey. "It would have taken you time but you would have figured it out yourself. Nevertheless. Here."

Before Chion could say anything, Hestia kissed him on the cheek. The spot where her lips pressed were warm and immediately spread to the rest of his body, traveling down to the core. The world around him melted away and was replaced by a world of white. Within that world of snow, sitting dead center in it was a being that looked suspiciously like Chion, only he had pitch black hair. Gradually, the dark version of Chion rose up from his seat and raised his arms. Waves of snow and ice washed over the area as the black-haired Chion turned to look at his snowy counterpart. Without a word, he pointed to his chest.

The vision blurred away, and the youth was once again sitting next to Hestia.

"Any other questions?" She asked.

"I haven't even figured out that one." Chion carefully filed that piece of information away for a later use. "I can get if it's not something you know, but can you tell me what the vision was, at least?"

Hestia shook her head. "Your powers are something unique to you, even among those born by the same parent. You'll have to learn it on your own. Also, I've been called upon, so I only have time for one final question."

Chion sighed, thinking of the next question he could ask her, getting his mind back on track.

"Whats the deal with the Pine Tree sitting by the border? The one guarding the Camp?" The youth had pondered it many times and no matter what he thought, he knew he had heard the tree ask for his help. His visions weren't telling him squat. He would have to learn from somewhere else.

Even if it meant forgoing questions about himself. He could always just track down the gods and pry it out of them some way or another.

"Very well. Hold still." Just like before, Hestia kissed him on the cheek.

Unlike before however, nothing happened. No melting away, no vision, no telepathic thoughts. For a second, Chion thought she was just trolling him until she explained that it was a rather lengthy vision so he would see it when he went to sleep that night. It was kinda off-putting, but the youth was willing to accept it.

"It's been a pleasure meeting you, Chion Pagos," Hestia said as she rose to her feet. Smiling at him, she gave him one last nod before disappearing in a brief flame. "I hope you live your life well. Curse and all."

(("Im sorry. Curse?"))