Fantasy I Went on a Quest for the Gods and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt

[elytra]

Daniel Santiago was no stranger to getting looks.

Not that he was the weirdest one in the camp, not by far. Some of it might have been that he was handsome- or cute, or adorable, or pretty, depending on who you asked. While he was aware that maybe, just maybe, he could be a little self-absorbed, he'd overheard a few groups giggling over him during his time here. It really didn't help that he flirted with them, too; it got him more attention, and those who didn't see through the bullshit often found it charming. Even some of the people who DID see past the bullshit found it charming, which he found to be flattering. However, that wasn't all that he got looks for. Part of the reason people talked about him was because he was one of the very few children of Boreas, a wind god, which was an interesting heritage to have. There was something about having a whole cabin to yourself that earned you a sort of reputation, like you weren't the son of one of the big three, but the fact that you weren't one out of fifty others meant something.

Not that he was the person with the most interesting heritage around. That award went to Todd, the Prometheus kid. At first, the child of a titan being in the camp was....frowned upon, to put it lightly, but the guy managed to merge pretty well as time went on. Danny didn't have any doubts of his own at first, as he was very much the sort not to judge a book by its cover nor a demigod by their heritage, but he could respect the hesitance some had, and still did have. Titans weren't exactly the sort to have a positive popularity among campers, especially considering that they'd almost brought around the end of the world, and the only upside that this particular demigod had- demititan, maybe? -was that his pops wasn't exactly one of the heavy hitters in that disaster. Actually, he hadn't participated at all, and that was possibly the only reason that Todd had gotten around to being popular. He had the benefit of the doubt, in this case, and that was enough to save him from being the outcast.

Danny didn't really know him, honestly. He knew who he was, vaguely, and he knew what people thought of him from participating in the ever-churning gossip-slash-rumor mill, but it wasn't as if they'd ever sat down with one another and had a heart to heart. What he did know was surface level, and sometimes, that was enough. He wasn't curious or anything.

Okay. Maybe he was curious. But could anyone blame him? Really, truly, could you blame him for wondering about the kid of a titan? It wasn't like he was the only one. However, unlike some others, he had an opportunity presented to him to get some answers. That, of course, being the fact that they had been given the option to choose who they wanted to fight against for practice, and oh, look, both Danny and Todd were in the same 'class', wasn't that just spectacular! One could liken it to fate, but he wouldn't kid himself. It was luck and the forgiving nature of the schedule he'd been put on.

Unlike the rest of the campers there, who whispered among themselves to work up courage, he didn't waste any time. The way he saw it, he was either all in or all out, and all shots he didn't take were ones he missed no matter what. The worst the guy could say was no, and really, who could say no to his face? He'd been told that his dimples were adorable and irresistible. He liked the believe the rest of him was as well, but the dimples, they'd been commented upon. His eyes had also been called a 'dreamy sort of ice-blue', but a friendly smile was more likely to get someone to say yes to partnering with him than nice eyes.

He strolled over to Todd, flashing him a confident grin, hoping that would earn him some partner points. He was even close to adding in a mock bow, but decided that maybe that would've been too much. Instead, he held out his hand for a handshake. "I don't believe we've really spoken, but I'm Danny." He introduced. Strong handshakes made good impressions. "You free for partnering up? If not, that's fine. I'm sure you're a hot commodity." A wink, in a joking manner, was added in for extra effect. It was hard to balance what was 'too much' and what was 'not enough', but he thought he was on a pretty good track, all things considered.

 

[saturday shorts]

​

Todd knew he was an outsider. He could feel it, of course he could feel it. Where ever he walked his neck prickled from the ever heavy gaze of Chiron staring after him. Dionysus wasn't much better to be fair, but at least he didn't corner him at every moment to 'ask how he was.' Todd knew there was gossip about his dad, and that didn't surprise him but he'd like to go just one day without someone looking at him funny, like they'd bitten into a lemon and didn't actually like how it tasted. It wasn't like he tried to be an outsider, in fact he'd say that he tried to outright avoid that label at all costs. For all intents and purposes, Todd was sociable, nice with a bit of a mean streak and didn't have any issues with his parents at all.

And yeah, he did like the people at camp. He liked being there too, better than home with his mum who worked all the way through the day into nighttime, better than his lonely house, empty town with kids that refused to hang out. At least having fire burst out of you wasn't weird at camp. You didn't have to be so careful hiding the strange not-right things that happened to you, didn't have to take a second glance at people who would look at you a second too long.

Besides he had an even bigger secret than any of his others locked away. It happened a few nights ago. Todd had gone to sleep in his cabin (alone) and he'd woken up...somewhere else. There was a cliff face in front of him stretching up and up, jagged rocks and unforgiving stone. There was an outcrop on the surface of the cliff itself, two giant manacles that looked like they'd been carved into the stone itself. The glint of metal was eery, heavy chains hanging down, emptied of their burden. Two great eagles screamed their cries into the air, circling angrily as their wings cleaved into the sky sending wind buffeting into his face. The sea crashed behind him, angry and all consuming and Todd stumbled forward, lurching around. The sea was grey and angry, white choppy crests cutting lines through its surface. It crashed against the rock he was standing on, biting into the stone with a ferocity of the wild animal before being dragged backwards, teeth catching in the cracks.

"Hey Todd." The voice came from his left and Todd turned his head, disbelieving already. The man in front of him looked...normal. Completely normal, just like some of the college kids Todd saw walking around town sometimes. He had his hands shoved in the pockets of a hoodie and he was wearing soft blue jeans, cuffed up at the ankle. He had an easy going sort of smile, and a nose that looked sort of like Todd's and hair that definitely did. But there was the unmistakable hum of power in the air around him, a charged feeling that made feel like he'd get a static shock if he touched him. His eyes were bright as he studied Todd right back, the same copper colour that his were. Todd didn't really even have to ask to know who this was but-

"Are you my dad?" His voice sounded small and unsure and he hated it, wanted to grab the words right back out of the air and shove them back down into his throat. But the man smiled, impossibly beatific and his eyes seemed to soften and they were so warm.

"Yes Todd. I'm your dad." And that fucking feeling that had been resting low in his stomach since that campfire swelled up, that fucking feeling he'd had since the torch had appeared above his head and the whispers had rippled out, and he'd met Chiron's gaze and he'd looked horrified. Todd clenched, and unclenched his fists, felt his nails bite into the meat of his hand. There was a bubble in his throat and he was afraid of opening his mouth, for fear of what it would say. He felt the hot prickling of tears behind his eyes.

"Why didn't you ever visit-" He cut himself off. It was a stupid question to ask he knew it was, but Prometheus just tilted his head and stepped forward. The hairs on Todd's arms rose.

"I couldn't, Todd. It would bring too much attention to you." Todd nodded and blinked, rapidly, willing the tears to be sucked back into his eyes. "But I'm here right now, right? And I have something I need to ask you."

Todd blinked and he snapped back into the present as someone walked towards him. He squinted, before recognising him as Danny. The Boreas kid who seemed to flirt with anything that moved. He shook his hand and snorted slightly.

"Yeah, I'm Todd. I'm free to partner up sure." He carefully ignored the rest of the sentence and looked around. "You didn't want to go with anyone else? Not afraid of getting beat up by the titan kid huh." He liked the combat classes. They weren't his favourite but they were fun. He was looking forward to this class especially, since they'd said no holds barred free for all with your power ups. It kind of sucked for kids who had less combat friendly genes but they could hold their own with the training they'd gotten. Todd could already feel his fire sparking at his finger tips. They made sure that no one ever got seriously hurt, and it wasn't like Todd was gonna be out to get Danny but...he was ready for something good.

 

[elytra]

Well, he wasn't shy about being the titan kid. Danny could respect him being upfront about it; that sort of openness was probably one of the reason he didn't get chewed up and spit out by the rest of the camp. If you acted like you were ashamed, people tended to spread rumors around that. That's why one had to be careful when saying things, just in general, because if it was taken the wrong way, you might be accused of being a traitor or something a week later. It wasn't high school, but sometimes, the level of harassment got ridiculous. Todd was definitely not in a position to take the chance that people wouldn't talk. Not that Danny was there to analyze the possibilities of what could've happened if the other didn't like talking about his dad; he just wanted to meet the guy in person.

He grinned, folding his arms, deciding he wouldn't take the ignoring of his words to heart. It wasn't like it wasn't bullshit, anyway; it was an act, one that he'd perfected after taking careful note of how some of the Eros kids acted, and it'd just been working well for him over the years, so he never thought to change it. Some people didn't vibe with it, though, and that was fine. Just so long as the majority did, he wouldn't complain; he just needed to stay in their good graces, for the sake of keeping himself relevant.

"I love a challenge! Besides, I don't think anyone else would want to partner with me." That was a lie. He knew a few that would be completely up to partner with him, but he wasn't in the mood. He just wanted a good fight, and he wanted information. He looked the titan boy over, before nodding to himself "Plus, who says you're going to beat me up? That's a cocky claim. Might as well back it up with the fight."

And he wouldn't complain about being with someone who would actually focus on fighting him. That was also something he was looking forward to.

~_~​

Running away from home hadn't been the best idea.

Fletcher Danvers knew that before he left. He knew it when he packed his bag and took money out of his dad's wallet, and he knew it when he walked out the door. He knew it before he'd even made it a block away, but he'd kept going anyway. He'd walked to the bus station, gone to the subway, and hopped aboard a train. He didn't have any idea of where he was going, or how he'd get there, or how he was going to ration what money he had, but he refused to continue being holed up in that musty apartment.

His dad, to be clear, was alright. Ish. He wouldn't be worst parent of the year, but he certainly wasn't the best. Fletcher couldn't remember a time past age 6 where he'd been actually outside the building, because his father kept a close eye on him and never allowed it. There was always some sort of excuse, and he didn't need to leave for school since he was home-schooled, so he ended up being in the apartment 24/7, when it made him want to bash his brains in on a wall.

He had to wear sunglasses inside, too. It made it dark, but his father had given him a pair when he was young and told him never to take them off. Something about light sensitivity or some shit like that. Fletcher didn't believe it in the slightest, but he kept them on anyway just in case. However, that was just another thing that made him eager to get out of there and go somewhere else, actually travel instead reading the same books over and over in his room.

Which was why he was on a street corner, waiting for the walk signal to go on, considering a bee that had landed on his hand, thinking maybe he should kill it and be done with it. Get on with his life and all that. Of course, he was shaken out of the thought by someone grabbing his shoulder.

"Wait, wait, wait, don't hit him!" The teen who'd touched him and had been lucky enough to not get decked was smaller than he was by at least a few inches, with messy honey-blonde hair and green eyes. Freckles dotted his face, and he wore a black-and-yellow striped shirt, ripped jeans, and a beaded bracelet with what looked to be a bee charm. It was a look, Fletcher was certain of that, and it screamed 'I'm going to talk to you about the morals of bee slaughter'.

Maybe he should just toss himself in front of a moving vehicle now.

Instead of talking, though, the boy gently scooped up the bee into his own hands, and Fletcher was mildly impressed that it hadn't stung him. "Sorry, I was just scared you'd crush him." he apologized, offering his bee free hand to Fletcher with a sunny smile "I'm Juno! Oh, did you know that there's over 250 species of bumble bee? So, this guy is one of many! And they're all super cute." He lifted the bee, as if to make a point. "He probably just landed on you 'cause he was tired of flying. I think I have some sugar water in my bag so he can go on his way."

Fletcher hesitated, then carefully shook the others hand, as if expecting to immediately catch a disease. Was this how people spoke to one another? He wouldn't really know, but it seemed a lot, seeing as they'd just met. ".....Yea. Cool. Uh....I'm Fletcher, I guess?" Shit, wait, his name was Fletcher, why had he said it in a questioning way? Jesus Christ, this is why he needed out.

Juno didn't seem to notice though, instead noticing the walking signal turn, beginning to cross and expecting Fletcher to follow, which he did. "Nice to meet you! And I know, right? Its very cool. Personally, I want to be able to see every type of bumble bee, but at the rate they're going, I won't be able to. It's pretty sad that they're dying off, because I--" He cut himself off, and Fletcher didn't notice until he walked into him.

He frowned a bit to himself, side stepping so he was no longer behind the other, and fixing his glasses. Then, he looked forward, trying to figure out what he'd stopped for, and oh, the weird lion-snake-thing with wings would do it. Not looking away, he patted his hand on Juno to get his attention, as he seemed to be the only other person shocked, missing his face and hitting his face on accident. If questioned, he'd say it was the height that got him, and besides, they had more important things to figure out.

"You see that, right? I'm not crazy, right?" He hissed, lowering his voice as if that would in some way help. He also didn't move his eyes away, as if that would stop it from moving towards them when it noticed them, which it hadn't yet. Juno seemed surprised that Fletcher had noticed, but after getting over his shock, nodded once.

"Uhm, no, you aren't crazy." He agreed, talking in a soft tone, less harsh than Fletchers "I just-- You can see that? I mean, of course you can, I'm just....surprised." Fletcher bit back a reply along the lines of 'I'm surprised at the fucking build-a-bear Frankenstein creation in front of us, too'. "Try to ignore it. Maybe it'll leave?"

"What a solid fucking plan."