HEROES OF OLYMPUS

For once, Camp Half-Blood is quiet.

Not completely quiet—nothing at camp ever manages that—but quiet enough that nobody is waiting for the next disaster. No prophecy has arrived. No monster has breached the borders. Nobody is sprinting toward the Big House with an urgent message, and Chiron isn't gathering everyone around the campfire to announce that the fate of the world has somehow landed in their hands again.

There is simply an afternoon.

The kind of afternoon demigods rarely get.

The sun hangs high over the valley, warming the grass and turning the surface of the canoe lake into a sheet of shifting silver. A breeze moves lazily through the trees, carrying the smell of pine, strawberries, and smoke from the distant campfire. Somewhere near the arena, a pair of younger campers are arguing over whose turn it is to use a practice sword, but even that sounds more amusing than serious.

You, Percy, Leo, Frank, Jason, Nico, Will, Annabeth, Piper, and Hazel have managed to claim a patch of grass near the lake.

No training.

No strategy meetings.

No quests.

Just everyone together.

It's strange how unfamiliar that can feel.

Percy is sprawled across the grass with one arm behind his head, looking entirely too comfortable for someone who has spent half his life being dragged into catastrophes. His shoes are discarded nearby, and every so often he reaches one foot toward the water as if considering whether to get up and swim.

He hasn't.

Nobody is surprised.

Leo has claimed a spot beside him, lying flat on his back with his hands folded behind his head. His tool belt is still around his waist despite everyone repeatedly questioning why he needs it while relaxing.

The answer seems to be that Leo Valdez is physically incapable of being more than a few feet away from something he can dismantle.

A small collection of screws and metal pieces has already appeared in the grass beside him.

Annabeth notices.

Of course she notices.

Her gaze drops toward the growing pile, and the look she gives Leo is enough to make Percy quietly snort.

Leo ignores both of them.

A few feet away, Jason is sitting with his back against a tree, sunglasses resting on top of his blond hair. He looks more relaxed than usual, though there is still something distinctly orderly about the way he sits. Even during downtime, there is a sense that some part of him is keeping track of everyone around him.

Frank sits nearby, considerably less concerned with appearances. He has stretched himself out beneath the shade with a book resting against his chest, although he hasn't turned a page in several minutes.

Hazel sits beside him, absently sorting through a handful of small stones she collected near the lake.

Every so often, she holds one up to the light.

Some are ordinary.

Others have the faint shimmer of precious metal hidden beneath their surfaces.

She doesn't seem particularly interested in the value. She simply enjoys looking at them.

Piper has settled beneath another tree, one knee drawn up as she watches the others with quiet amusement.

Will sits nearby, sunlight catching against his blond hair whenever the breeze moves the branches overhead. For once, there is no medical kit beside him.

That alone feels like an achievement.

Nico is probably the least comfortable with the entire concept of doing nothing.

He's sitting slightly apart from the group, back against a tree and arms folded loosely across his chest. His dark clothes absorb most of the sunlight around him, making him look almost like a piece of the shade itself.

He isn't participating in the conversation.

Not exactly.

But he hasn't left.

For Nico, that counts.

The group has gradually settled into a strange, comfortable rhythm.

Someone says something.

Someone else laughs.

The conversation wanders.

Then it disappears entirely for several minutes before starting again over something completely unrelated.

There is no particular subject.

No purpose.

And somehow, that's what makes it good.

Percy eventually breaks the silence by tossing a blade of grass toward Leo.

It lands against Leo's cheek.

Leo doesn't move.

Another blade follows.

This one lands directly on his forehead.

Leo slowly opens one eye.

Percy is already looking innocent.

The accusation is immediate.

"Seriously?"

Percy grins.

Leo sits up.

The pile of metal beside him is forgotten.

What follows is less of a conversation and more of an escalating argument about who started it, despite everyone knowing perfectly well who did.

Annabeth watches from her place in the grass, shaking her head.

Piper laughs.

Jason attempts to intervene.

That lasts approximately five seconds.

Soon Percy has another blade of grass thrown at him, Leo is defending himself with an empty water bottle, and Frank is laughing so hard that his book slips from his hands.

Even Nico's expression changes.

Barely.

Just the smallest twitch at the corner of his mouth.

Will notices.

He doesn't say anything.

He simply smiles.

Hazel notices too.

She leans closer to Nico, nudging a small pebble toward him with her shoe.

Nico glances down.

Then at her.

The pebble remains between them.

He eventually picks it up.

Hazel smiles.

The moment passes without explanation.

Nobody needs one.

That seems to be the theme of the afternoon.

Nothing needs explaining.

The nine of you don't have to justify why you're here.

Nobody needs to discuss the last battle.

Nobody needs to mention the next possible threat.

Nobody needs to wonder who will be called away first.

For these few hours, there is no next quest.

There is only now.

Eventually, Percy rolls onto his side and looks toward the lake.

"Swimming."

Annabeth immediately shakes her head.

Percy looks offended.

"I didn't even say anything."

"You didn't need to."

Leo sits up straighter.

"Actually, I support this."

Jason raises an eyebrow.

"You're wearing your tool belt."

"Exactly. Emergency tools."

"For swimming?"

"You never know."

Annabeth sighs.

Piper laughs.

Frank looks toward the lake.

Hazel follows his gaze.

The water is calm.

Tempting.

Nico remains where he is.

Will glances at him.

"You're not going in?"

Nico gives a small shake of his head.

The answer is enough.

Will doesn't push.

Percy eventually gets to his feet anyway.

He walks down toward the shoreline, steps into the shallow water, and immediately kicks enough of it toward Leo to start another argument.

Leo retaliates.

Within minutes, the peaceful afternoon has turned into chaos.

Jason eventually gets dragged into the water.

Frank follows.

Hazel joins them.

Piper remains on shore long enough to avoid getting splashed before Percy inevitably sends a wave in her direction.

Annabeth doesn't even bother pretending she isn't going to participate.

Soon, the lake is filled with laughter and shouting.

Nico remains beneath the tree.

Will stays nearby.

Neither seems particularly interested in joining the chaos.

The two of them simply watch.

The sunlight shifts.

Clouds drift slowly across the sky.

The breeze grows cooler.

The shadows of the trees stretch longer across the grass.

Eventually, the group returns from the lake in various states of disarray.

Percy's hair is dripping.

Leo's shirt is soaked.

Jason looks like he is questioning every decision that led him there.

Frank is laughing.

Hazel is carrying a handful of lake stones.

Piper is wringing water from the edge of her clothes.

Annabeth looks thoroughly unimpressed by everyone.

They collapse back onto the grass.

Nobody talks for a while.

There is something peaceful about the exhaustion.

The kind that comes from spending an entire afternoon doing absolutely nothing important.

Leo eventually begins tinkering again.

Annabeth starts reading.

Frank retrieves his abandoned book.

Hazel resumes examining her stones.

Piper stretches out beneath the tree.

Jason closes his eyes.

Percy lies flat on his back, staring at the sky.

Nico remains in the shade.

Will sits beside him.

The camp continues around you.

A distant conch sounds.

Campers begin making their way toward dinner.

The smell of food slowly drifts across the valley.

The sun sinks lower, turning the lake gold.

For once, nobody rushes.

There is no reason to.

The world isn't ending.

The gods aren't demanding anything.

The Oracle isn't calling.

The borders are holding.

Everyone is alive.

Everyone is here.

And for demigods, that is more than enough.

The nine of you have spent so much time fighting beside one another that moments like this almost feel foreign.

You know how everyone moves during a battle.

You know who takes the lead.

Who watches the rear.

Who heals.

Who plans.

Who improvises.

Who throws themselves into danger without thinking.

But this is different.

Here, nobody has to be heroic.

Nobody has to prove anything.

You're simply a group of friends sitting beside a lake while the sun disappears beyond the trees.

Percy eventually throws an arm behind his head again.

Leo continues working on whatever mysterious piece of machinery he's created.

Annabeth reads.

Jason dozes.

Frank turns pages.

Hazel watches the sunset.

Piper hums quietly.

Will sits comfortably in the fading sunlight.

Nico remains in the shade.

And the evening settles gently over Camp Half-Blood.

No prophecy.

No monsters.

No battle.

No impossible decision waiting around the corner.

Just nine demigods who, for once, get to be exactly what they are.