Eternal caretaker of the camp didn't sound bad, at all... but I did not sign up to be an errand boy.
"No."
I said bluntly, not even deigning to look at Ares in front of me as I worked on the design of the weapon that I would be using when my body grew up.
"Watch yourself, Child."
He sounded threatening, but I didn't really care right now.
"I said I would take care of the camp, not that I would be at your beck and call."
I rolled my eyes, adding the parameters to the design.
"You're a Demigod, you're my son, you don't have a say in this."
My eyes snapped to his form, my divinity, now stabilized from the last time we met rising to the challenge.
"What can you do, father?"
I raised an eyebrow.
"You are not allowed to challenge mortals, only we can challenge you, and you are the one who will have to match us, the Styx demand it. We break the rules for you..."
I leaned forward, my eyes boring into his.
"I am not going to get something trivial for Hera because she wants a present, you would have a better chance at convincing her to let Aphrodite and Hephaistous divorce."
I raised an eyebrow as his Divinity flared and I could feel the horrors that his glasses hid. I wasn't impressed, to say the least.
"Watch your words, Kid."
I narrowed my eyes as we both stared at each other wordlessly. The ground shook, and our divinities clashed in a silent battle.
The stare-down went on for a little while before a flash of light got both of our attention. I raised an eyebrow at Hermes as he looked at me and Ares for a moment, raising an inquisitive eyebrow himself before turning to me with a casual smile.
"Hello, Leonidas, I have a quest for one of my sons! Mind getting him for me?"
I felt my eyebrow twitch as Ares grumbled. Lamenting the fact that I had to be in the presence of two gods at the same time who wanted to use my nerves as a jump rope, I got up and nodded.
It was a quest, I declined my own, and I had no right to decline on behalf of someone else.
___
"He wants golden apples... And you accepted?"
I asked Luke with a raised eyebrow my arms crossed as he prepared to leave the camp. The kid nodded, packing a few things in the bag as I sighed.
"You understand that you will need to go to the garden of Hesperadis, right?"
I asked again, looking as he grabbed a few cubes of ambrosia and a small bottle of nectar, a cup's worth.
"I do..."
Luke sighed, and I leaned my head back against the wall, running a hand through my hair. These kids would be the death of me, honestly, with no rational thought going through their minds.
"Alright, come here..."
I muttered, getting his attention as he turned to me with a raised eyebrow. Nevertheless, he walked over.
I reached out, grabbed his wrist, and pulled it close. Grabbing his palm with my own, I gathered my Divinity, concentrating it between our clutched hands.
"What are you doing?"
Luke asked, a little alarmed, which was understandable, I was doing something odd for him, even if it was natural to me.
Letting go of his hand, I looked down at the solidified Devine power in his hand, looking like nothing more than a golden orb.
"Break that if you need help."
I let go of his wrist, putting my hands in my pockets.
"What is it?"
He looked down at it curiously and I observed him for a moment. Yeah, this would not turn out well. Not even a year of experience, and he was already being sent out on an errand.
I could decline my father because I had the excuse that I needed to take care of the camp... That and along with my general lack of shits to give for all of them.
He knew I didn't respect him, but he knew that I respected the other gods much less, so it was fine.
"Just do as I said, it will help, but don't break it over something trivial, if you're about to die, or there is no way out, It's like a get-out-of-jail-free card."
Luke looked at me for a moment, his eyes brimming with curiosity, then looked down at the golden orb.
"You give it to everyone who goes on a quest?"
I nodded with a shrug. I did give everyone one of these whenever they went on a quest or an errand. Not my fault I didn't trust everything out there to not try to kill them.
"Good luck, man."
I patted his shoulder and walked out of the Hermes Cabin. This would be a fun few days of calming Thalia and Annabeth down, I could tell.
///
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