Week 5: Wednesday

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[It seems like she's trying to reach for something small up on a high ledge. There's a stack of tables arranged in almost a staircase as she grabs whatever it is. She doesn't know who's around her and what the result of touching it is going to be.

But once she's grabbed it, the memory bubble starts, as she's running out of the office.]

Comments

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[Rebecca is standing here like fuckin' wild. There's really a world out there where gods are having sex with mortals? Greek and Roman gods exist for real because they obviously have children.

But she heard "was". As rude and blunt as she can be, she knows better than to prod a wound like that.]

That's... gotta be weird, right? Or do you all know who your parents are?

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[Haha wait until she learns there's also a Norse demigod here. Whoa!! As it is, he's pretty grateful she doesn't actually ask about Bianca because despite the fact it's been almost five years it's still painful enough he avoids it where he can.]

All of us know who are mortal parents are now. [Is that a joke? Maybe!] For a while several of the gods didn't get in touch with their children and many of them went unclaimed. When Percy became the hero of the prophecy, one of the things he bargained for was for the gods to claim their children by the time they were thirteen. Some demigods over the age of thirteen might not know their parentage but gods can claim their children later in life. Annabeth knew who her mother was since she was seven, I think, maybe sooner. I learned about my father when I was ten. Piper and Leo were only claimed last year.

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[Why are there so many demigods in Murder Castle. Save them. Shouldn't they be immune to bad luck? Looks like they're as prone to it as everybody else.

Is that comforting or not?

While she listens now, she's probably going to forget it easily enough in a few days.]

... You know, being a kid of a god sounds really stressful and weird when they don't get involved with your life until you're thirteen.

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[They've been through worse, they're fine.]

Unfortunately it can be really stressful and weird even when they are involved. But a lot of the time the gods can't meddle with the affairs of demigods. It's why my father sometimes will tell me things and send me to do things but won't tell me what they are. You get used to it.

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[That's not at all comforting.]

Are you all weirdness magnets?

They can't get involved? Not even to like, check up on their kids? Talk about absentee parenting. Do they at least help pay for college? [That's a weird list of concerns.]

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More like monster magnets. [But he shrugs.] They can't in several cases, and some of them choose not to. Father will sometimes check in, but during the Giant War it was hard for them to contact any of us because they were split between their Greek and their Roman selves.

[But he blinks a little.] I don't know about college though. Father paid for tuition at this boarding school for Bianca and I but we weren't there for very long. I haven't been to a real school since.

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[Her mind screaming loudly:]

How long haven't you been in school?

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The last time I attended a real school I was ten. [Sorry Rebecca!!]

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What?

[It's almost like she's blue screening.]

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...when we left Westover Hall, Bianca and I were taken to Camp Half-Blood and since then there was never a reason to go to a normal school. A lot of year-rounders don't.

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[?!?!?!?!]

Do you... at least get educated there? Like learn how to do math and read? I mean, obviously you can read, we defaced some fairy tales together.

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We figure it out. A lot of summer campers go to regular schools in the normal world, but for those of us who stay year-round we sort of teach each other. We have regular lessons for stuff, too.

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[She lets out a breath she wasn't aware she was holding.]

Oh good. That's important, no matter how uh... god-ish your heritage is.

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[...and now for something rare...he laughs.]

Out of everything, that's the part you were worried about?

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It's important! Of course I was worried. Reading and math are so important even if you do drop out of normal school!

[resumed]

I don't know if knowing how to do math is ever going to really save me from a fight with a bunch of monsters, but I guess I can see your point.

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I don't know maybe the monsters will like... have riddles three and the three riddles will be calculus.

[resumed]

...you're thinking of a Sphinx and I don't think she ever gave math riddles.

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Maybe they'll get an updated riddle collection? Wait, they're real too? ...Why am I surprised, your world has gods in it.

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[He's still kind of laughing...] Is this a bad time to tell you that I found Cerberus in the menagerie the other day?

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There's a three headed dog in the menagerie?

...

Is it friendly?

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He's my father's guard dog and pet, so probably not. He hardly tolerates me. [But he sure does exist.]

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Right, okay. Great. Good to know there's an unfriendly Cerebus in the menagerie.

[resumed]

[Shrrrrug.] He might calm down if people play with him and he's not focused on his job but I wouldn't recommend anyone getting close enough to check.

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If it's okay with you, I'll leave him to you. Since, like, he actually knows you and I don't really want to lose either of my hands.