Perseus and the Quest for 12

The winner is…

Option B, Lou Ellen!

A, Clovis: 1

B, Lou Ellen: 34

C, Butch Walker: 2

D, Paolo Montes: 2

E, Cut a deal with Drew: 22

"Hello again!"

Perseus gave a hearty wave, offering a beaming smile. 

Struggling under a heavy tub of plates, Lou Ellen Blackstone looked at him like he was either crazy or evil.

Perseus took offense to that! He was only one of those things, and only because it was fun. Sanity was overrated.

"Hi," Lou Ellen said quietly. "Nice to see you. I've got to be going now."

She moved past him, following the path down from the dining pavilion. Considering the tub of silverware she was carrying, there was only one destination she could be heading to: the kitchens.

The camp had harpies to actually clean its plates, a job only they could do considering molten lava was used in the process. Actually getting the dirty plates there, though? That was a job for campers, one of the many chores distributed evenly to a new cabin each week.

This week it must've been Hermes. Perseus glanced around, but could only see Lou Ellen. From the way stacks of plates were nearly spilling out of the tub she was carrying, he didn't doubt that she'd been saddled with the entire camp's dishes.

"Nobody helped you?"

Lou blushed, although it was mostly hidden behind her load. "It's fine! It was just my turn. I can handle… it…"

She trailed off. Perseus had already scooped the tub out of her hands. 

He offered her a wink. "I haven't done this chore yet. Won't you let me carry it half of the way? If I do that, I'll be ready when I have to handle the whole thing on my own."

"Yes?" Lou said. "I mean— What? Why?"

"Thanks!" Perseus said, walking quickly down the path. "This'll be a real help."

Lou stood there gaping a moment before chasing after him. It seemed like she wanted to turn him down, she just wasn't sure how now that he made it seem like she was the one doing him a favor.

It was late in the day as they walked under a blue but darkening sky. Perseus whistled a jaunty tune while Lou trailed behind him. She seemed anxious about the awkwardness of walking alone with a stranger, but her desire to see the chore done was overpowering that. For now.

"I've got a couple more questions," Perseus said casually.

"Oh." Lou almost looked relieved. "That's what this is about."

"I can't help a girl out of the kindness of my heart?"

"I mean, most don't," Lou said. "What else did you want to know about Holly?"

They reached the base of the hill. Fireflies were starting to flicker around the grass and in the air, brief sparks of light in the dimming night.

"How did Laurel and Paolo get together?"

"I don't know. I didn't ask," Lou said. She glanced away. "What does this have to do with Holly?"

"Well the twins seem identical, right? They look identical. I just figured they'd have the same taste. If an approach worked on Laurel, it makes sense that Holly would be into it too, right?"

"You're overthinking this," Lou said. "Step one is probably to look like Paolo. Although… How good looking is your friend?"

"Pretty handsome," Perseus said. "Not bad to look at."

"That probably won't be enough," Lou said apologetically.

Perseus tilted his head. "Holly is a pretty girl, but her standards are that high?"

"They're Paolo-high," Lou said. "If that's who her sister is with, she has to do better. That's just how they are."

Perseus recalled the way she challenged him to a tripping contest on their first meeting, all while she was supposed to be fleeing a brutal prank. That certainly lined up with the competitive spirit he'd seen from the girl.

"Those sisters really are all about winning, huh?" Perseus mused rhetorically.

Lou stopped walking. When he stopped too, turning to check what was wrong, she snatched the plates out of his hands.

"I can take these from here!" she said. "Thanks for the help! Good luck!"

Bewildered, Perseus looked around. It was as if someone had suddenly threatened her, but there were no other campers around them.

He chased after her.

"I still had some questions!" he said.

"Sorry," Lou said, scurrying to keep ahead of him. "I've really got to get this done."

"It'll only take a second."

"Too busy!"

"Wait!"

Perseus grabbed her shoulder. He succeeded in stopping her, but when she turned to face him suspicion was written clear across her face.

"Why do you care this much?"

"I didn't want to admit this, but…" Perseus looked away. "My friend doesn't exist. He never did. I'm the one with a crush, but admitting that seemed way too embarrassing. Can't you just tell me a little more?"

"Sorry," Lou Ellen said simply.

She turned and fled, not as fast this time but with a sort of finality. If he chased her down again, be it now or in one day or three, he was sure she wouldn't give him anything. A moment later she completed her trip, disappearing into a squat building with thick volcanic smoke funneling out the chimney.

Perseus clicked his tongue.

Still, he'd call that a half-success. The idea had been planted.

That was better than nothing.

-

Drew's crew was in their same lakeshore spot when Perseus strolled up. Their conversations never paused, but that didn't fool him. He was well aware of how quickly he became the center of attention.

Drew herself had a towel rolled out on the grass, sunbathing in a bikini bottom and an orange Camp Half-Blood shirt. Her sunglasses covered her eyes, making it impossible to tell if they were open or closed, awake or asleep.

"I've returned," Perseus announced, coming to a stop by her feet.

"So you have," Drew said without moving. "Can I take that as you accepting of my offer?"

"Not quite," Perseus said. "I told you to give me time to think, and think I have. Seeing as it's rude to leave a lady wondering about anything outside of the bedroom, I'm here to formally turn you down."

Drew pushed herself halfway up. Her glasses slid down her nose, revealing gorgeous amber eyes. "That's a dangerous choice."

"Thank you for your concern," Perseus said, smiling brightly. "Whatever fallout there may be, I'm confident I can handle it."

"That's a risky way to live."

"But if you're not taking risks, is that even living?"

Drew squinted at him. Finally, she sighed. "In that case, we have nothing to talk about. You can shoo now."

Perseus smiled, bowed, turned and started to leave.

When he was just outside of their circle, Perseus paused and turned back. 

"You know, there is one more thing," Perseus said. "I've just got to know. Was it fun doing Holly Victor's dirty work?"

"Who said anything about Holly?"

It wasn't Drew who answered him. Near the edge of the circle, a pretty boy with a nice face and skinny build had smugly offered the reply. Perseus barely held back his smile.

Bingo.

He turned to this boy, giving him his full attention.

"Terribly sorry. I can see how that was confusing, but I wasn't actually talking to the pawns in the peanut gallery. You can go back to your own little conversation now."

"Are you looking down on me as a son of Aphrodite?" the boy demanded.

Perseus raised an eyebrow to show how ridiculous it was asking him that. The boy seems to take it as a challenge, though. 

"You should be careful," he said. "We don't have to fight to ruin someone's life. Here, we're the most dangerous kids. With one word—"

"Thomas," Drew said. "That's quite enough."

Her cool tone had the boy's mouth snapping shut. Drew was looking at Perseus carefully, studying him for signs of what he was after.

"That's right Thomas," Perseus said. "Be a good boy and listen to your queen."

"Just spit out what you're trying to say," Drew said.

"Nothing much. It's just, I've talked to all of Holly's friends. Clovis, Paolo, Butch, and especially Lou Ellen. None of them seem the type to think of public sex as a rumor to badmouth someone. Lou Ellen would probably faint just trying to tell a rumor like that. She's the innocent type that gets you saying more than you should before you know it. So this rumor, I'm certain Holly must've thought of it herself. She must have some seriously kinky stuff in that head of hers."

"You pining after her or something?" Thomas asked, ignoring the glare it earned him from Drew.

"Gods no," Perseus said instantly. "I'd sooner roll in the patties left by Apollo's golden cows. I just thought I'd point it out. You know, in case you ever felt like spreading true gossip instead of fictional rumors."

Drew yawned. "I'm not interested in charity work. If you want to fix your friend Julia's reputation, you can cut a deal or do it yourself."

Perseus shrugged. "Fine. Bye bye, Thomas," he said, chuckling to himself as the boy glared.

He whistled as he strolled away across the grass. Fix Julia's reputation? He wasn't sure even he could do that. But he could do something almost as good.

And the pieces were nearly all set.

-

Perseus leaned on the ping-pong table in the Big House's living room less than a day after his meeting with Drew. The unofficial meeting spot where all major camp decisions were made was empty, barring him. That wouldn't be the case for long. He was expecting one more any minute now.

Sure enough, he heard the squawk of the screen door's rusty hinges, followed by steps from the other room. He resisted the urge to grin, instead fixing his gaze conspicuously on the floor and starting to pace. The steps came closer, before stopping.

"Where are the rest? I was told there was a meeting."

Perseus looked up. Holly Victor herself stood there at the threshold, her dark hair spilling partially over her shoulders. She looked around the empty room with disappointment, not confusion. When Perseus didn't answer fast enough for her taste, she settled for an audience of one and quickly added, "Thalia told me to come. With Julia and Alice's recent failures, she said I'll be replacing them any day now."

"That's amazing!" Perseus said. 

"Isn't it just?" Holly's eyes slid over Perseus, finding something they liked judging by how her smirk deepened. "Are we acquainted? You look… familiar."

"Ah, well, we met once." Perseus rubbed the back of his head. "You accidentally walked in on me in the showers a couple of days ago."

Holly at least had the good grace to blush at that. "I apologize. I acted reasonably at the time based on the information available to me, but my assumption didn't end up being correct."

"That's alright," Perseus said. "Actually, it was all worth it, just to meet you."

That got Holly's attention.

"Me?" she asked, intrigued.

"Yes, you!" Perseus stepped toward her, pacing closer, and she didn't shrink away. "I could see it in an instant. Beautiful, sure, but you're more than that, aren't you— victory shines in your very eyes!"

"It does," Holly agreed. "Have you ever seen anyone else like that?"

"You sister," Perseus said. "But she's different. Her eyes only shine like yours a little bit. You must be twice as competitive as she is, at least. I was in love in an instant."

He was right in front of her now. She wasn't as short as Julia, but Perseus still made her seem small. She stared up unflinchingly into his handsome face. She didn't make a single backwards movement. That would be like losing.

"There is no counselor meeting," Perseus admitted. "I'm sorry about tricking you. It was the only way I could think of to get you alone. Please, allow me the chance to compete to be your boyfriend!"

"I like the sound of that," Holly said hungrily. "Compete how?"

"Say one word, and I'll show you I have what it takes to worship your body," Perseus swore. "I'll help you feel more pleasure than any other girl at camp has."

For the first time, a hint of uncertainty crept into Holly's features.

"Here?" she asked, glancing around.

"Dionysus and Chiron are overseeing the strawberry harvest. They won't be back for hours."

"I admire your eagerness," Holly said, "but don't you think you're taking things a little bit too fast?"

"Did you know Paolo slept with Laurel the first night they were together?"

Holly had her shirt off before Perseus could react.

"Paolo is eight inches," she said. "Are you bigger than that?"

Perseus shoved his shorts down enough to give her a view of himself. Holly grinned like a cat post-canary catch.

"Consider your audition STARTED!"

She marched past him into the room, tearing her clothes off as she did. Although tearing might have been too harsh. That gave off a violent, imprecise impression. Every one of Holly's movements was exact. She had her clothes off and on the floor faster than any girl Perseus had ever been with— which was a real feat considering the sample size.

Her body was that of a sprinter. She had small breasts above a toned stomach, fit legs, and an ass that showed her dedication to physical fitness. She looked like she could've been a professional in any of five different sports with that build. Her dark hair stood out against pale skin, and her gold eyes were a lovely contrast to her bright, pink nipples. Beneath shapely calves, one of her feet was tapping impatiently.

"Slow start!" she said, eyeing Perseus's still-clothed form.

He thought about explaining to her that sex wasn't a race, how doing it right was so much more than just inserting the penis as fast as possible, but decided that would be a waste of time. Besides, he didn't need to pleasure her perfectly for this. That wasn't the goal.

He stripped out of his clothes quickly, although not nearly as quickly as Holly managed. Approaching the girl, the first thing he did was pick her up.

When carrying Thalia, the two had made out relentlessly. He didn't bother with Holly. He could sense, instinctively, that she wasn't a kisser. He had a much better idea for something she would enjoy.

Dumping her on the ping-pong table, he allowed her back to go flat against it while her legs hung off. She was the right height for her head to stay on one side, just shy of the net. Perseus went down on his knees, putting himself between her hanging legs.

As his tongue shoved against her warm shaven skin, she growled, impatience palpable. If she had her way, there wouldn't have been a single second of foreplay. She really did live life like it was a race, didn't she? Either way, Perseus hoped this would soon change her mind.

His tongue shoved between her lower lips and began to work. She was astoundingly tight, the lithe strength of her body extending this low as well. Moving his tongue in a few exploratory patterns, Perseus quickly settled on the best strategy to employ.

Standing halfway up, he focused on locating her clit with his tongue. When that was done, he reached up, shoving two fingers inside of Holly. He could still feel impatience from her, but that was fine. He was only getting started.

As he worked against her body, it was as if it was fighting back. Not consciously, of course. Even her pussy was somehow competitive. It wanted to shove back against every touch, to prove that it could overpower Perseus.

He used that. He used his fingers roughly and firmly, pushing her to her limits. Then, at the moment her body fought back, he would end his assault in favor of caressing her clit with his tongue. The first time he pulled this trick Holly shivered. The second time, she moaned. After the third time she came outright.

Perseus noted the flush in her cheeks as he gazed up at her face across her stomach and breasts. She wasn't as obviously eager as earlier, but she was twitching enough to let him know that the mental timer was still ticking inside her head.

One orgasm would have to be enough, then.

Perseus pulled and positioned her so that she was lined up with the edge of the ping-pong table. Then he slammed his cock into her.

He imagined a trash-compactor might've felt looser. She really was astonishingly tight. He'd noticed earlier with his tongue, but only now had the time come where he could truly enjoy it.

Yet, he stopped. Though she hid it well, Holly had flinched. Perseus felt it.

"You're a virgin," he said.

It shouldn't have been all that surprising. She wasn't exactly old. He just didn't expect it, considering how eagerly she had jumped into all this.

"Just don't stop," Holly commanded him, chewing her lip as she fought down her initial reaction. 

Perseus listened, although he went slow to start with. He always hated those first few thrusts, as pain wracked a virgin partner's body. Even when his partner handled it like this. Sex wasn't meant to be painful.

Holly gritted her teeth and took it without a sound. More than that, she grabbed onto his arms. Her legs wrapped around Perseus's backside, trapping him in case he had second thoughts. As time stretched and the pain faded, she wasted no time in demanding a faster pace. 

Perseus obliged. 

The ping-pong table's legs thumped and made scraping sounds as it was pushed back slightly across the floor. All that tightness inside of her was gripping Perseus like a glove. It was a challenge to even fit his entire cock inside at one time, it was such a tight fit.

"Are you done yet?" Holly asked, gasping at the question.

She was panting and writhing, clearly feeling the pleasure of the experience, so it wasn't a question Perseus expected.

"Sex is not a race!" Perseus said. "Generally, the longer it lasts the more people like it."

It was as if she hadn't heard him.

"I've got to be first," she insisted. "I'm always first!"

Perseus just sighed. It was clear the art of all this was lost on her. But he could still work with this.

No, for what he needed, this might even be better.

"Alright, fine," he said aloud.

Grabbing Holly's hips, he rolled her straight over onto her stomach with his cock still inside of her, breaking the grip her legs had on him. She was left standing on her legs again, bent over the table at a right angle. From this position, Perseus had extra leverage. From this angle, he could strike all the way against her womb on every thrust, burying those elusive extra inches he hadn't been able to force inside before.

And he gave her everything she wanted. He moved as fast as he could, speedrunning sex.

His ferocious movements made her thighs clatter against the table with sharp clacking sounds. She gasped like a fish, moaning incoherent syllables. His hands latched onto her best feature, her fit ass, and gripped it violently, slamming her hips into his with extra force everytime he filled her.

He didn't even hold back when he felt the urge to cum. He just kept up the pace and filled her with a thick gooey load. Only when every last drop had erupted out did he finally pull his cock free. 

But he wasn't done.

While Holly was still silently leaking from his first load, Perseus shoved his cock back inside of her… using a different hole.

Holly gasped as he filled her ass. If her pussy had been a tight fit, this was fitting a Laistrygonian into a Fiat. But amazing things are possible with orgasmic juices for lube and a whole lot of force.

He put his weight forward, planting his hands on either side of Holly's shoulders and leaning over the table. The angle let him plunge so far inside of her depths that it felt as if his cock was being crushed… in a good way. Apparently it felt good for Holly, too— almost too good.

Her face was flat to the table, her nose and forehead glued to its surface as she yelped and whimpered. She was still cumming, even with Perseus having moved on from her pussy. Gone were the taunts and demands for faster sex. She had truly hit her limit.

So Perseus used one of his hands to force her head even tighter against the table. Her athletic cheek clapped as continued pounding her into mush. She was so out of it now that she didn't even notice the squawk of door hinges.

Perseus did, but it didn't change much about his plan. He just let himself go, cumming for a second time, deep in another one of Holly's holes. 

As he pulled out, semi-flaccid cock hanging in full view, someone shouted in surprise.

There in the doorway, led by Thalia, was every single counselor from camp, Alice included. The Hermes counselor stared at Holly, who still hadn't looked up. She just lay there, face down, completely naked with cum dribbling out of two separate holes.

"Oh my gods!" Perseus exclaimed. "Sorry! Sorry! Hold on, I'll just—"

He frantically pulled on some clothes before pulling Holly up while the counselor's watched, dumbfounded. Under his grip, Holly started to become responsive again. As soon as she noticed the audience, she snapped back to high alert.

"Get dressed," Perseus told her. "And…"

He whispered in her ear.

He wouldn't forget the look she gave him for centuries.

-

"That's him, right?"

The whispers swept the dining pavilion as soon as Perseus arrived for breakfast. He felt dozens of eyes on him— so he gave them all a wave, snagging his plate and moving toward the sacrificial brazier.

Not everyone was handling it so well. Holly was face down on the Hermes table as she tried to blot out the voices and rumors. He noticed her sister and most of her friends were sitting on the opposite side of the table. Only Lou Ellen sat with Holly, patting her back reassuringly every once in a while.

Julia was back, too. She looked slightly nervous, but everyone that cared about gossip had moved on to new targets. Perseus couldn't stymie a smile as he saw that.

"What are you smiling about, miscreant?"

Perseus glanced to the side as Thalia appeared next to him.

"Who knows?" he said. "Maybe I just like being the center of attention."

"Apparently," Thalia said. "I assume all this was to tear Holly down?"

"I don't know what you could mean," Perseus said, smirking.

"Yeah, alright." They reached the brazier, Thalia scraping a third of her pancakes into the flames. "Was that really the best way to do things?"

"The best way to do what?" Perseus asked, following her lead with his own pancakes.

Thalia rolled her eyes.

"Alright, you can be a little shit about this," she said. "I just want to know one thing. When I was gathering the counselors, rumors about you and Holly were already flying around camp. Not just that, there were rumors about having sex in public. I don't get how that's possible."

Perseus laughed. "Thalia, what happens when you piss off a child of Aphrodite?"

"Are you talking in third person now?"

"Not at all."

"Well, then," Thalia thought about it. "They'd either seduce you, or spread a bunch of rumors about you. Mean ones. They'd try to ruin your reputation and ostracize you, talking behind your back.

Perseus's eyes returned to Lou Ellen. The girl was consoling Holly, but he could've sworn there was a guilty twinge in her eyes, too. She caught him looking and glared. Perseus winked at her before his eyes moved on.

They picked out one face out of the swarm of perfection that made up the Aphrodite Cabin. Thomas, the boy from Drew's inner circle, felt Perseus's eyes met them with a triumphant smirk.

Thank you, Perseus mouthed to him.

The boy shook his head and looked away, apparently deciding that Perseus was bluffing. After all, Thomas had won. Hadn't he?

After Perseus taunted him in front of his friends, the boy had been livid. He'd gone out for revenge to prove his words about Aphrodite's kids being 'the most dangerous at camp'. And where else would he go but to Lou Ellen, the girl Perseus himself admitted he'd told more than he should?

Lou seemed like a smart enough girl, but she was way too awkward to keep secrets from a determined son of Aphrodite. It was only a matter of time. And a crush on Holly Victor of all people? Thomas could work with that. If he spread it around, maybe combined it with those public sex rumors that worked so well on Julia…

"They really are so predictable, aren't they?" Perseus mused.

"Is that all you're going to say?"

"I'll explain it to you later. In private," Perseus told Thalia. "Just not here."

That seemed good enough for her.

"Oh, one more thing. What did you whisper in Holly's ear?" the daughter of Zeus asked a moment later. "I've never seen her pull a face like that before."

"I whispered something?" Perseus said.

Thalia punched his shoulder lightly.

"Whatever," she said, "but you're telling me that later, too. And it'll need to be later. You have a meeting."

Perseus stopped walking. "With who?"

Thalia looked at him, and from her expression, she knew she was getting some revenge for his teasing.

"Chiron."

-

It wasn't that Perseus didn't expect this, mind. Actually, he knew it was coming. And he prepared what he wanted to say well. 

Which didn't quite scrub the memory of Chiron's threat on the first day from his mind. Here was to hoping the half-horse was reasonable about all this.

The camp director met him next to the porch. Next to, not on, because he wasn't in his wheelchair disguise. That wasn't a good sign.

"Chiron," Perseus greeted as he walked up. "You wanted to see me?"

The centaur's expression gave nothing away.

"I did," he said. "I seem to remember an agreement we had. Do you recall it?"

Perseus stopped in front of him. Chiron's tawny coat was immaculate, and his human half was far more muscular than it needed to be, more than strong enough to choke out a god-turned-mortal even without his bow. Considering he stood well over eight feet tall, Perseus couldn't shake the feeling he was standing in the presence of a possibly-irate mountain.

"I do happen to remember it," he returned coolly. "Word for word, in fact. But I have a question first. Why didn't you do anything? "Not about this, but about Julia. Why did you let her get ostracized like that?"

For a moment, Chiron was silent. 

"I am immortal, but I'm not a god," he said finally. "As old as I am, what I can achieve is always lacking. I did do something, for your information. I talked to Julia, and asked if she would like to step down as counselor, to take attention off of herself. She turned me down. She is a strong girl. She was always going to get through this."

"Maybe. But that doesn't make it right to let her do it on her own."

"We are not here to talk about Julia," Chiron said. "We are supposed to be talking about you. We had an agreement, Perseus."

"I am not to hurt any of your campers, emotionally or physically, because I put my own interests first," Perseus recited. "I wasn't bluffing about remembering the words you used. And I didn't break it."

Chiron raised one eyebrow, crossing his arms.

"I hurt Holly emotionally," Perseus said. "That's true. But for my own interest? Not even slightly. I ruined my own reputation doing it. As much as people are gossiping about her, they're gossiping about me, too."

"They why do it?"

Chiron sounded truly exasperated, which was much better than him sounding irate.

"Because Julia didn't deserve what Holly did to her," Perseus said simply. "It was Holly that did it, if you didn't know. And because I'm a lot like you— I might've been a god, but there's plenty I can't do. Helping people? I've never been able to pull it off. But hurting people? That I can manage."

"Two wrongs don't make a right," Chiron said quietly.

"I agree," Perseus said, "but they're sure as hell better than one wrong."

They stared at each other, and despite the difference in size and probably strength, Perseus refused to back down even an inch. He was stubborn like that.

Finally, Chiron sighed, and the tension leaked away like air let out of a balloon. He rubbed his brow, and Perseus was shocked to find that he looked his age, not in a timeless way full of intimidation, but in pure weariness.

"You will have to be punished," he said.

Perseus nodded. He expected as much from the moment he started on this path.

"There are four options. You will be able to choose between them."

That made Perseus pause. "I get to choose? Why?"

"I would have just assigned one," Chiron admitted. "But our director, Mr. D, so rarely asks for things that I wasn't willing to argue against him. So you will get a choice. I admit this is a personal request, but please don't ignore that olive branch. There are so few people in this world he would willingly look out for."

Perseus hadn't given Dionysus a single thought since their argument after he arrived. If he were being honest, a minor choice like this was hardly equivalent to a crucial vote stripping him of godhood and possibly ruining his life, but… perhaps Chiron was right. Perhaps some relationships ran too deep to remain stubborn over.

"What are the choices?" he asked.

"Border duty with the Ares Cabin," Chiron said. "This one could prove dangerous. Real combat would be involved. But I'm sure you're resourceful enough to make it through in one piece."

Perseus could think of a few ways he could be in 'one piece' that were still far from a perfect bill of health, but he nodded for Chiron to go on.

"There are other cabins in need of extra hands," Chiron continued. "The Apollo Cabin needs helpers to organize and restock their medicinal herbs, while the Hephaestus Cabin needs forge assistants. That would be hard work, but far more interesting than sorting plants."

"And the last one?" Perseus asked.

"Cleaning the stables," Chiron said. "That's simply work that always needs doing."

Perseus pondered the options for a moment. He still remembered the explosion Clarisse had rushed off the deal with on his first day. Although he hadn't strayed close to the border since then, it was clear from the noises that periodically rang out that they were not so flawlessly defended as he'd always been told, with monsters often testing how far they could get. Gathering herbs from the forest with Apollo campers could be dangerous too, considering the roars he'd periodically heard from among the trees, but it was certainly safer than the first options. While forge work was far from his thing, it wasn't awful as far as punishments went. Shoveling poop was absolutely not ideal. Still, getting to know the Pegasi could come with advantages. They always heard and knew things that two-legged campers never caught a whiff of.

"How long would each of these be for?" he asked.

"One week for the first three, two weeks for the last one," Chiron said. "Don't argue for less. I think that is already quite lenient considering this mess."

Perseus hadn't even thought about complaining. He actually agreed. This was much better than expected.

"Alright," he said, "I'll chose—"

Choice: What punishment should he choose?

Option A: Border duty with Ares Cabin.

Option B: Gather/organize herbs with Apollo cabin.

Option C: Forge assistant for Hephaestus cabin.

Option D: Shovel the stables and talk to the pegasi.

How to Vote: Write a review which says/includes A, B, C, etc. You can just write the letter, or feel free to type out all your reasoning. Who knows, you may even sway others to back your vote if you make a really good case. 

I will count votes cast across all the sites this story is posted to (see my profile for details) and go with whatever has the majority. Chapters will generally be spaced out by at least a week, to give plenty of time for everyone who wants to vote to get the chance to.