The morning of the next day! I can't say I slept much, but somehow, I felt energized! It must be because of all that happened yesterday. The excitement of all the discoveries and the future that we will be facing is filling me with anticipation and adrenaline.
Or it could be the 6 cups of coffee I've had since waking up.
Who knows?
So, there I sat at the rec room, sipping on my 7th cup of joe, looking at the faces of the other councilors as we waited for the start of the meeting.
Seated around the table are the usual members: me, Will from Apollo, Travis for Hermes, Katie for Demeter, Sherman for Ares, Annabeth for Athena, Drew for Aphrodite, Pollux from Dionysus, and a bunch of other demigods from the minor gods.
Clarisse was also here, looking like she was ready to fight someone. Sherman must have told her what happened last night.
As Chiron entered the room, everyone quieted down. He stomped his hoof, signaling the start of the meeting.
"Where is Nico?" Annabeth started, asking Will.
"He left for New Rome after lunch yesterday," Will informed us.
"Should he be informed?" Travis inquired.
Personally, I think we shouldn't yet, but I waited to see how the others would react.
After a bit, Annabeth stated, "Not yet, at least until we get to meet Percy and Hazel first. If we tell him now, he might just go there directly, or he might go to his father and demand why he was not told about Hazel all these years."
"That's right," Chiron followed up. "Young Nico has been getting along with his father, and this might just cause tension between them, not to mention he has his duties as ambassador between camps."
"So, we wait until we know more before telling him?" Will asked, clearly concerned about his boyfriend.
"Yes," most of the councilors agreed.
"Now that that's out of the way, what do we do with Prissy?" Clarisse interjected suddenly.
"And Piper," I added. as everyone started looking around.
Annabeth again was the first to suggest something. "We need to send some people to meet with Percy. Malcolm already said yesterday that he doesn't mind us knowing where he is, so he obviously is expecting visitors."
"Who do we send then?" Katie asked while looking around the table.
"Malcolm goes, seeing as he knows where to go," Annabeth decided for her brother, then continued. "But considering how the last trip there went, we need to send him with someone that can fight and also support in case it's needed."
"So, three people, 2 fighters and a backup?" I asked. "Pretty much," she agreed with a nod.
"I'll go" Clarisse volunteers. making everyone look at her in disbelief.
"What? Just because I'm no longer a regular camper doesn't mean I don't care. Prissy and I go way back. I've known him just as long as Princess over there," she explains while pointing to Annabeth.
"I can also take it if, in the event, things get physical at any point," she finished.
I nodded. "Makes sense," I said.
"Okay, so Malcolm and Clarisse. Who else?" Travis said.
"I nominate Will as the 3rd member," Annabeth suggested, making Will ask her why.
"You can support the two of them with your healing, and it would also keep you away from camp for a bit in case Nico comes back. I'm sorry, Will, but we all know you won't be able to hide the fact that Percy and Hazel have been found from Nico," she explained.
"Yeah, I guess so," Will accepted.
"It is decided then. Malcolm, Clarisse, and Will are going to go meet with Percy and Hazel," Chiron announced, and everyone agreed. But I had to make sure of one thing.
"Are you sure about not going, Annabeth?" I asked.
Annabeth looked at me for a minute while everyone looked at her, waiting for her response.
"Yes, Leo, I'm sure. I understand why you asked that, and I admit I want to go. But now is not the time yet. We must first get a feel of how we will be accepted by Percy. Me meeting him might just cause him to disappear again." she explained.
Trust an Athena camper to have an answer for everything.
"I will go and meet with him soon. But not until he says he's ready" she says with an even voice, but her eyes say otherwise. I can clearly see the longing there. So, I nodded at that and moved on.
"And Piper? How do we go about getting in contact with her?" I changed the topic.
"I think it's going to be a little bit more complicated with Piper." Annabeth started.
"How do you mean?" Sherman asked.
"The fact that Piper is now a model makes it harder for us to approach her. If we do this wrong, we might just get in trouble and be mistaken as stalkers. Or people might just think of us as fans that want to get to know her. Both of which will be bad for us." Annabeth answered.
"And don't forget about her dad, people might also think that we are just getting some dirt on their family" Drew reminded us.
"All valid points" Will stated. " So, we need to be smart and come up with a plan that will not make us look like paparazzi."
"Basically" Annabeth confirmed.
After that exchange, we all shut up as we tried to think of a plan that will allow us to approach Piper. After a few minutes out of all the people present, it was Drew who came up with the best idea.
"I think we need to go to the store that Leo saw her modeling for." Drew suggested, making everyone look to her with blank faces. Me included, except maybe Annabeth and Will.
"That's a good idea." Annabeth said and before anyone can agree I interrupted.
"Can one of you explain why it's a good idea?" I asked.
Drew rolled her eyes but explained anyway.
"If Piper is modeling for them then it's obvious that she works for them, or at least she's connected to them. So, by going to the store, we can find out if they can give us Piper's contact details" "not likely" Will interjected. "Or we can at least get an idea of where we can start looking for her" Drew continued ignoring Will's words.
"And, as a daughter of Aphrodite. I know a lot more about jewelry than most of you. Plus, I own a necklace from that brand, which I can use as an 'IN' to get them talking" She added.
I stared open mouthed at Drew's completely logical plan.
"So does that mean you," Travis started but was cut off by Drew. "Yes! I'll go to the store first"
"I applaud your initiative Drew, But I must remind you not to push for information forcefully" Chiron reminded.
"I know what I'm doing Chiron!" she snaps, then calms down and acknowledges his points.
"I'll be careful, promise. I'll only be making first contact anyway; not likely I'll meet Piper the same day I go there" drew assured the centaur.
"Good point" I replied.
"So, when do we do this?" Sherman inquired.
"Clarisse is just visiting, so we need to know when you'll be available for a trip to Washington for a few days" Annabeth asked the daughter of Ares.
"I need to be home for the next week but after that I'll be free for a month" Clarisse answered readily.
"So, in two weeks then" Annabeth confirmed getting a nod from Clarisse. Already her hand is moving over her planner that I did not notice was in front of her.
"And when do you plan to go to the store Drew?" she continued
"I'll be going home in two days, but I can't go there directly. So maybe 5 days from now" Drew replied, tilting her head. she looked cute doing that.
'Stop!' I reminded myself.
"I'll finish up back home and come back in two weeks," Clarisse promised getting a nod from all of us.
"That's the plan. We'll discuss more about the logistics before we send you off" Annabeth announced, signaling the end of the meeting.
As we all stood up, Chiron reminded us about our duties for the day.
I got out of the big house, feeling more settled than last night.
I started walking toward the forges, ready to begin teaching the younger campers on how to properly care for weapons with a smile on my face.