[Third Person's PoV]
"Thank you…" Lucian managed to say as he calmed himself down.
To which Hestia nodded her head and stopped patting his head; she went back to attending the flames in front of her.
Lucian then stood up and smiled towards Hestia. "I hope you don't mind if I come and visit you sometimes."
Hestia just gave Lucian a warm smile. "I don't mind; you can come anytime you like."
Lucian nodded his head and walked away, with Annabeth following closely behind.
As Lucian was looking around for something, Annabeth couldn't help but ask, "You previously said that you needed my help, what for?"
"As you know, I don't want to stay in Hermes' cabin, so I will just build my own. But the problem with that is that I have never built anything like that before and would require the assistance of someone who does, someone skillful," Lucian explained while smirking in her direction.
Annabeth blushed slightly and asked, "But I don't get it, why don't you want to stay in Hermes' cabin?"
Lucian stopped for a moment and put on a pondering expression. "I guess when it comes down to it, it's Pride."
"Pride?" Annabeth asked, tilting her head in confusion.
Lucian nodded his head. "I'm proud of who I am, proud of being the son of Hades. Even if he almost got us killed, which I would definitely punch him for, I'm still proud of it.
Staying at a cabin of a different God, that's not my Godly parent, would just feel disrespectful and that I would be okay staying wherever.
I know it doesn't make sense, and it's probably a really stupid reason, but I can't do anything about it; that's just how I feel."
Annabeth nodded in understanding; she probably would feel the same way staying in a cabin other than Athena's.
She held out her hand, and Lucian wielded his shadow to move towards her, dropping a book on top of her hand. This book was different from Lucian's; it was Annabeth's own personal book in which she jotted down her ideas and inspirations from the places they traveled and their architectures.
"Where are you going to build it? How tall do you want it to be? What is it going to be made of? Do you have a specific design in mind? Then what about the inside? How many rooms?" Annabeth bombarded him with questions, wearing a serious expression.
"That's what I'm trying to figure out. I'll probably do it by the end of Cabin 11, which is Hermes' Cabin, the last cabin of that row," Lucian replied.
(Image)
Annabeth nodded and walked towards Hermes' cabin.
"As for the materials, I'll probably use black obsidian from the ground, which should be easy for me to control and make. For the design, still make it look like a log cabin. As for the interior, I'll leave that to you, as I don't have that much of an artistic style," Lucian said, answering Annabeth's previous questions.
Annabeth nodded and started writing down everything in her notes. As they appeared by the Hermes cabin, Luke soon appeared.
"What are you guys doing here?"
Annabeth didn't say anything as she immersed herself in writing down ideas.
"I'm getting help from Annabeth on designing and building a cabin close to this place," Lucian explained.
"Did you get permission from the director of the camp? If you didn't, I think it's better if you went and asked him. We don't know how he would feel on the matter, and you can get into serious trouble, so it's better if you asked him first before you start anything," Luke warned.
Lucian let out an exasperated sigh, "You're probably right, I'll be back."
He then started walking towards the Big House, where Dionysus, the director of the camp, would mostly be at. Annabeth stayed behind and started looking around the area with her serious expression, never leaving her.
Seeing this, Luke shook his head and went back towards the Hermes cabin to get himself sorted and accustomed to the place he would be staying.
When Lucian arrived at the Big House, he saw Dionysus sitting on a rocking chair, wearing his usual attire and sunglasses, with a can of soda in his hands.
"Yo Mr. D, I was wondering if you could give me permission to build my own place of residence here," Lucian called out.
Dionysus let out a loud groan of annoyance. "Who even are you, kid? Why are you bothering me?"
"Lucian, Lucian Blackheart, and I was wondering if I needed your permission to build something in this camp."
"Well, Lucy Blueback, I'll give you permission if you go and get me a vintage wine that's stored in–"
"Don't call me that," Lucian interrupted, gaining a cold expression. "I don't care how wrong you get my name or whatever, but don't call me that. You don't have my permission to call me that."
"Excuse me?" Dionysus said, lowering his sunglasses and looking at Lucian with a raised eyebrow. "Listen here, kid, I don't need the permission of anybody to call you whatever I please. Now shoo, go get me my wine before I change my mind."
"You know you're not allowed to be drinking, Mr. Dionysus. Stop trying to exploit these young heroes," Chiron said, stepping out of the house.
"Oh, come on, stop being such a party pooper. I just came from a meeting with dear old 'Dad' about killing Hades' kid; the least I deserve is a drink for supporting him," Dionysus whined.
"I'm sorry, what?" Lucian said, gaining a surprised expression, while Chiron sighed and facepalmed.
"It was super boring; dear old Dad lost that vote with an embarrassing amount of votes against him. It was hilarious. You should have seen his face. He even had to make an oath to not bother the kid. Man, even though I supported him through it and voted for that kid to be killed, he still didn't allow me a single drop of wine. How stingy is he?"
"Mr. Dionysus, please stop talking. And Lucian, I just checked and went over some records. You are allowed to build yourself a place to stay at, as long as it doesn't mess up with the integrity of the camp," Chiron said, turning towards Dionysus and then Lucian.
Lucian was still in shock that there was a vote of him being killed, but he still nodded his head and walked away, still in shock.
Chiron glared at Dionysus when Lucian walked away. "Now why would you go and say something like that in his presence?"
Dionysus shrugged his shoulders. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Don't play dumb with me."
Dionysus smirked before taking a sip of his coke. "Hmm, it's getting stale. As for why I did it, think of it as payback to dear old Dad for not giving me a sip, even threatening me to increase the duration of my stay in this stupid camp."
Chiron shook his head. "He's just a little boy; he shouldn't be aware of such things. You can make him grow resentful towards the gods, and you could get into serious trouble for your actions."
Dionysus scoffed. "Then that's my father's problem to deal with, not mine." He took a sip of coke and grumbled about the taste.
Chiron looked at Dionysus slightly before sighing and going back inside.