partyofthree | Event ϟ The Center of the Western World

Who: Everyone!
When: Thursday from 9AM to 10PM
Where: New York City
What: Free time before Summer Solstice
Warnings: Please label threads with appropriate warnings

Once off the bus, the campers had better party like it’s 1999. Because it is 1999. Chiron lets each one of them off the bus near the Empire State Building, handing them a map of the city and telling them the easiest way to reach popular destinations. He also throws in a few warnings about not letting mortals see their weapons. Finally, he reminds them of the 10PM curfew and to just ask the elevator attendant to bring them to the 600th floor. As he waves them off, he relaxes into the back of his fake wheelchair, looking at Mr. D.

“They’re coping wonderfully. They just might be able to do this.”

“Yes, they might just manage to not get slaughtered by monsters while surrounded by regular mortals. That will get them very far. Perhaps even until tomorrow.”

“You know what I mean. They’ll make good Heroes, once they understand.”

Yes, he knows what Chiron means. And he rolls his eyes at it. “Heroes. Yes, I’m sure they all have lots of potential for that.”

“One of them is your own daughter.” His tone implies a question.

And? he doesn’t say. “Yes. But you know exactly what I think of Heroes.” The derision is clear as day.

“You’ve been good to her. Give them a chance. They’ve had to fight many battles before this. Their training in other world might create a new kind of hero. You never know.”

“Centuries and even millennia have not changed them. Do you honestly believe that a bit of experience will?” Heroes have never not been selfish.

“I believe that our heroes deserve a chance to prove themselves, before we can count them for lost. Several of them have acted very selflessly--they don’t know their missing cousins. That some of them truly desire to save them is telling.”

Mr. D glances down and the centaur, and then opts to look away for a long moment before answering, his tone now carrying less of an edge. “Perhaps. And they have a chance, whether or not we want to give them one or think they should have it.”

“This is, of course, their first test. And tomorrow will be their second--whatever the decision you come to.” Chiron can’t help but seem a little curious--will they lose a third of the camp tomorrow? And what will the demigods do when faced so closely with death? “Gods protect them all, for now. They don’t realize how many monsters there are.” He rolls his wheelchair toward the nearest handicapped-accessible subway. “I’ll be at the museum should you need me.”

Mr. D merely nods, and then after looking, briefly, up the Empire State, he heads down the street in a different direction. He’d see enough of his relatives before long.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Looking around, Akane lit up on a crepe stand. "There it is!" Pointing it out, there was a man working the stand, pouring batter on it. "This is how the Japanese do crepes actually."

"Alright, let's go get some, then!" Ssil watched curiously as the man worked, interested to see how it went.

"Two please! Chocolate and cream for me, and Ssil, what do you want?" inquired Akane, pointing out the menu on the side of the wall.

"Hmm... Raspberry and cream sounds good. Yes, that one, I think." Ssil glanced at the price and started to fish enough to pay for it out of her pocket. Just because she couldn't afford to pay for second dress right then didn't mean she was going to make Akane pay for this - crepes weren't that expensive, after all.

The shop owner poured out the batter and started to work, sweeping the spatula in a circle as he made up the two for them, and Akane licked her lips. "It looks really good! I wish Nao was here. She'd eat three of these."

Ssil laughed. "So would my entire crew, probably. They smell good, too." Having real relatives, even distant ones, was nice, but Ssil still missed the Sophronia sometimes.

"Nao's a bottomless pit. I remember when we did a world tour, she ate something on each stop." Taking her crepe and handing Ssil's to her, she took a bite. "It's good!"

Ssil took a bite of her own crepe. Not an especially delicate one, which ended with her licking raspberry cream off her lips. "Mm, it is! Jack's that way, too. I never understood how a sixteen-year-old boy could out-eat an Ionian sailor twice his size."

"Yeah, crepes prepared like this is a especially standard way for them to be made in Japan. It's really popular, and we've got a lot of flavors like gourd and such."

She took another bite, and licked cream off her nose. "It's delicious, I have to admit."

She just nodded, vaguely remembering that it was impolite to talk with her mouth full. After swallowing, she added, "Perhaps I need to explore Earth food a bit more thoroughly, then."

"You should! We've got a lot of great food out there after all." Taking another bite, she made a pleased hum. "Really good."

"Mhm. I'm sorry, it's just hard to end up spending much time in the only place on Earth with aether ports when you're a pirate."

And rather than talk about that anymore, she's just going to focus on her crepe for a bit.

"It's all right." Working on her crepe, Akane soon finished it, licking cream off her fingertips as she grinned and wiped her fingers off with the napkin. "Oh that was good. I wish I could eat those all the time."

Ssil couldn't help but giggle as she imitated Akane - not that her table manners were always the best, even if she tried. "Mm, they are. It's a good thing you suggested it."

"Yeah, they're pretty awesome and delicious all around. We'll have to try something else next time." Akane thought for a moment. "I could try making okonomiyaki and all."

She cocked her head, looking surprised. "What's okonomiyaki?" She pronounced it surprisingly well for only having heard it once - but she'd always been a quick learner.

"It's what the west calls savory pancakes. It's made with batter, and a whole lot of other ingredients." replied Akane with a wide grin. "It's really good too!"

"Mm, that sounds good. And it sounds like something we can make easily at camp, even, if they're just pancakes with tasty bits in." All they'd need would be a flat, hot surface, and it wasn't like Akane would be short of access to metal in the Hephaestus cabin.

"Yeah! We can make some simple ones before trying some of the more complex ones," admitted Akane. "I'm good, not quite as good as dad."

"Mm, well, there's no harm in practicing, at least. I'm not quite as good a cook as Mr. Grindle, either, but it's certainly worth a try." She smiled, looking around. "So, where to next?"

"Want to see if there's a gift shop? We can poke around them, even if we're just windowshopping." said Akane.

Ssil smiled and nodded thoughtfully. "Hmm... I don't see why not. Like you said, there's no hurry."

"All right, lets get going then!" exclaimed Akane, pumping a fist into the air.

"Right." Of course, now they needed to work out where the gift shop was... thankfully there was a directory right over there. "I have to say it's nice of them to post maps of the place like this."

"Yeah, it's pretty standard for shopping malls nowadays."

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little_lost_lizard - 2013-06-29 19:16 (UTC) - Expand

hotbloodedpower - 2013-06-29 20:04 (UTC) - Expand

little_lost_lizard - 2013-06-30 21:33 (UTC) - Expand