Did I post this on the weekend as promised? No. But...

Better late than never I'd say ✨️

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"I am something. I have been something. I was born something." - 

Abby- Mitski

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War council meetings with a bunch of pubescent, hyperactive children should not be expected to be normal. Not in the slightest. But Bruce never in a million years would have thought that such a serious task would be carried out around the infamous ping pong table. With cheese whiz and crackers at that. Certainly never. When he first encountered the setup, it was under his impression that it was only used for informal gatherings of lesser importance. But contrary to his belief, he found himself at the all too familiar scene.

Though, it would be important to note that not all of the councilors were seated at the table. Apparently, they had yet to adjust the space to accommodate for all of the new cabin heads that emerged due to the massive influx of cabins at the camp. Which meant the late comers had to stand. Including him, it seemed.

"This meeting is being called to a start. Rachel, if you may." The deceptive wheelchair bound man announced, giving the spotlight to young Miss Dare. Her green eyes appeared dark around the edges, with splotches of paint along her face and hands. "Last night I painted two tapestries, and I have an inkling that it's connected to our situation." She unraveled the rolls of paper that were previously laying on the table and passed it around the table. The first image Bruce's eyes caught was of a forest at sunset, a creature hidden within it. A grim expression was displayed on its thorny face, its bodice being as tall as the trees themselves, it seemed.

When the tapestry met Chiron's gaze, he froze. "That creature is one that I haven't seen since the Dark Ages. It's a Cynolycus. Once, they were beings that worked for their own self-interest, but they are now aligned with someone, I presume." A cold feeling climbed up Bruce's spine as the centaur voiced his opinion. It seems that things were about to get a whole lot crazier.

"It looks sort of like that chameleon thing Luis fought last summer." The tidbit of information, which was useless to Bruce as he had not even an inkling as to who Luis was, was shared by a girl with dirty blonde hair and what seemed to be a permanent scowl.

"I'll scan the bestiary in the Athena cabin. Hopefully we can find something useful there. The second image?" Annabeth motioned for one of the dark-haired girls, Katie perhaps, to pass her the painting. She made a humming noise and forwarded it down the line. Finally, the vigilante got the chance to view it. It was nothing if not cryptic. There in the image lay a robin, painted in amazing detail, which was cast in an intense shadow.

"So, what does this tell you exactly? What does this image tell us about Robin?" Bruce scanned the room for anything that even hinted at an answer, a glint of the eyes, a scrunched face perhaps. "Are you talking about the bird or the vigilante?" A brunette boy asked. He seemed to be on the older side by demigod standards.

"Both."

A throat was cleared, snapping the night crusader out of his spiral. "One cannot be sure with premonitions. Not even Apollo himself. Only the fates have that answer."

"But" the centaur continued, "We can speculate and assume. It's worked thus far, and I'm certain it will yet again." The teens once again chattered amongst themselves, most likely sharing their own speculations. "If I may, I think this may have to do something with the Underworld. Seeing as the prophecy talks about the Winter Soltace, which is the darkest day of the year and most suited for shadow arts, following eclipses. Also, it links to the shadow in the tapestry."

"Great insight, Lue. Nico, any underworldly news?" Annabeth asked, finger now tapping on the green velvet surface of the table. "Yeah, actually. Dad has been getting reports of balisks and tormented sprites going missing. At first, he thought nothing of it because Thanatos has a habit of collecting them to do some studies on Fates-knows-what. But he's not so sure now."

A scraping sound echoed throughout the room as Perseus, sorry Percy, had pulled his chair forward. His face seemed much more stoic than the vigilante had remembered, but then again, they'd just met not three days ago. "I also have something to say. Last night, I had a dream. I was in the Pit. There was a horde of monsters gathered around Nyx. Goddess of the night. She was rounding up forces, including monsters I've never seen before, and apparently, " A huge breath escaped him then, "She stole glimpses of the future from the Fates."

A silence pregnated the room. Bruce had no clue what that meant, but it didn't sound good. Not even a bit. Someone cradled their head to the left, and grief-stricken faces etched onto all of demigods' faces. What a shit show. Dick shifted next to him. Clearly, the atmosphere was getting to him. "So, we know who the enemy is at least. We can plan for that." Everyone agreed with Annabeth's statement. They'd take anything positive at that point.

"I'd say let the Apollo, Hecate, and Hephaestus cabins work on something that can emit light rays. Maybe some solar bombs like what the Senate has." The blonde suggests, tapping her finger on the wooden edge of the table.

"Despite my discomfort, in anything Roman, I agree that sounds like like a plan. I also say try to get some of those stones that the Hunters used to set up wards to form protective areas." Yeses and maybes were muttered, causing more ideas to be pitched. Though, not as many were accepted as the number that was shot down. "As per usual, the Athena and Ares cabins will focus on the battle strategy and training aspects. Though I've been working on something that involves some magical fortifications, I'll let you know when I solidify the plans."

"The cabins that are plant based should focus on the stability of the vine walls. Make them higher if you need to. The council of elders should authorize the monitoring of shadows in the forest. We don't know if they'll try to enter from there." The son of Poseidon paused to take a breath before continuing. "Nico, you should recuperate for a few days at camp and stay away from the shadows. Well, at least any large ones. Does anyone else want to add something?"

"What I'm wondering is how do you combat an enemy that knows the future." That was definitely something that the others were pondering. Hell, Bruce was wondering as well.

"It doesn't matter if the enemy thinks they know the future. It isn't set in stone, neither is it easy to understand. The Fates are forever weaving and undoing their stitches. But if there is one thing I'm absolutely sure of, it's that we Greeks never go down easily. Just like a hydra, we come back fiercer than the last and multiply threefold. Even if we perish, we'll fight till our heads are severed off and our hearts are plucked from our bodies."

Cheers filed the confines of the room, the warrish spirit infecting everyone in the vicinity. In that moment, Bruce saw the image of Percy Jackson that everyone else had been seeing. He was a leader.

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Maybe Dick was less cut out for this than he thought.

Or maybe it's Maybelline.

But it definitely had nothing to do with the ingredients he spilled into a cauldron and messed up a time sensitive potion. Definitely.

"Oh my God! I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to -" he was shushed by one of the guys from the Aphrodite cabins, Yusuf Karolov. "It's okay. This sort of thing happens too regularly around here. Especially when your sisters are trying to turn your love potion into a heartache concoction." His sing-song voice had immediately calmed him down, which confused Dick. He thought only Piper McClean had powers relating to the voice. The others in the spell room of the Hecate Cabin didn't seem to be bothered by it either, so Dick guessed it was no biggie.

"How'd you do that? The thing with your voice?" Even with his mask on his face, he no doubt he seemed inquisitive as he handed a vial to the older looking boy. "I assume you thought that only Piper had a vocal ability, right? You know, Drew Tanaka can also use Charmspeak, though her's is not as strong. Some children of Aphrodite have the ability to sense moods and alter emotions. All with varying strengths, of course. Mother was known to alter emotions for her benefit, after all. That's why the Aphrodite campers collab with the Hecate cabin to craft potions that deal with emotions and the mind." The kaleidoscope eyes of the boy seemed to mimic the colours of the potion ever so often, yet they never threw off the harmony of his face.

"Technically, they could make it without us, but it wouldn't be as potent. This is one of the few things we're known for. That and armor designing. I mean, we're good at fighting and all with the whole 'love and war go hand in hand', but let's be honest, I'm not besting any Ares campers anytime soon." He motioned for Grayson to hand him the jar filled with dust on his right and the motor and pestle that was near it.

"But I'm okay with that, you know. I don't want to damage my sexy face." Yusuf managed to flick his red hair a tad, somehow gracefully, and flashed a smile at the vigilante. That got a laugh from Richard. Seemed like something Wally would do. "No, really, I am content with that. Even if I may not even be the best empath. Little Lucy over there is much better than I am. Leagues better. But someone's got to teach her. And ever since my brother Calib died last summer, I'm the most experienced."

Dick took a seat on the wooden chair near their workstation, the skin of his suit starting to irritate him after only being seen in it for the entire week. "I just, I'm in awe of how well you guys work together. There are so many of you, yet it feels like all all of you know what to do and when to it. But, my team, with only a few members, only ever seem to get into arguments. Just before we came here, we had gotten into an argument on who should be leader. I feel as if it's supposed to be me, you know, since I'm Batman's protégé and everything. I feel like I need to fight to get out of his shadow. He's fucking Batman. But I'm terrified I'm not fit for the job description. "

Yusuf's reply to this was a sort of airy laughter. He continued to stir his emotion potion, but his movements slowed noticeably. "We didn't all get along so swimmingly before. Actually, the whole reason why the Titan war from a few years ago was so bloody was due to that. A demigod named Luke Castellan, son of Hermes, joined hands with the Titan of time to enact revenge on the Olympian council. He was bitter at his life and his mother's and sought some twisted form of justice. Multiple demigods joined his cause, and the final battle was waged between former friends and family. A good chunk was from Aphrodite, Hecate and Ares. That's why us remaining have such a close knot formed, because for a good while the ones that stayed behind at camp were ridiculed. Not to mention the treatment some of the campers threw at Nico DiAngelo. "

The potion was taken off the fire and given a girl with a staff, who then carried it out the room. Yusuf then grabbed a similar stool and sat next to Dick. His face was solemn, aging well beyond his years instantaneously. "But we persevered, rebuilt relationships and rebuilt ourselves. I can't really give leadership advice though. I've never really had that much responsibility on my shoulders, but you could ask Percy and Annabeth. Or even one of the cabin heads. Hades, even Drew was a pretty decent cabin leader despite all of her previous faults, well before she started mind controlling everyone because she thought one of us would defect like Silena. What I can tell you though, is that not everyone may be cut out to be a leader. I think you should try focusing on what your skills are. Try exploring what you're good at. Get a hobby that's not so closely linked to heroism and figure out what exactly you should be doing."

"That's easier said than done, don't you think?" Robin pointed out, causing the demigod to shrug. "Rome wasn't built in a day, I know that much. But if you don't try, you'll never know, is all I'm saying." That sentiment was one he could get behind, but, once again, that cold feeling appeared. And the shrill voice was not far behind.

Mighty Rome did crumble in a day though. And unsurprisingly, the egos of men are still ever so easy to cripple.

"Hey, are you okay? You look rather pale."

Right before a syllable could escape Dick's lips, M'gann burst into the cabin.

"They made us new costumes!"

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