Camp Half-Blood
Damon looked at the symbols shining above several campers before turning his gaze toward the centaur.
"Good morning, Chiron. Looks like Dionysus ruined my surprise."
The centaur did not even respond to what was said. He was still processing the fact that Damon was standing in front of him again. Even though he already knew Damon was back, one thing was knowing it, and another was seeing him in person. As for most of the campers, they were still lost. Some were looking at Damon, others at the wolves, and most were still in shock because they had just been claimed.
Annabeth, snapping out of her surprise, was the first to speak, pointing at the redhead with a raised finger. "Wait… are you the blond guy? The one who was the champion of Chaos and Gaia?" Damon let out a small laugh. "As expected from a daughter of Athena. That's right, that was me. Surprise."
Percy blinked, looking Damon up and down. "But now you're a redhead."
Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Thanks for stating the obvious, Seaweed Brain."
Percy frowned. "I'm just saying. Before he was blond, and now he looks like he stepped out of an expensive painting. How is that possible?" Damon looked down at his own clothes. "Well, technically, you're not wrong."
Percy pointed at him. "See? Even he knows."
Chiron sighed as the murmurs of the demigods started exploding again, clearly regretting being awake this early. "It's because he is a god, Percy. Gods can change their appearance."
"A god? Wow, well, I have to say, compared to Mr. D, this guy actually looks the part. Mr. D looks like someone I'd see every day asking for money on my way to school."
"Percy! What did I tell you about saying things like that about Mr. D?" the centaur scolded.
But everything was interrupted by the redhead's laughter. "HAHAHA, I think I already said this before, Perseus, but I like you," the god said between laughs.
Everyone looked surprised that a god was talking to them like that. Of course, there was Hestia, but most people did not pay much attention to the goddess of the hearth. And well, Mr. D was not exactly the best example either.
The god's laughter faded. "I'm glad you're all okay. For those who don't know me, before, you knew me as Naruto, but my real name is Damon, and yes, I am a god."
"The god of what, if I may ask?" Annabeth asked, stars practically in her eyes, clearly fascinated.
"Many things," Damon replied, not giving it much importance.
Luke rolled his eyes from the side, jealousy invading the demigod because of the attention Annabeth was giving this guy. "Great. Another god with long titles," the demigod said bitterly.
Damon moved his gaze toward him. He did not seem annoyed, but he did not ignore the comment either. "And you must be Luke."
Luke raised an eyebrow. "Oh, wow. You know my name too?"
"Well, you introduced yourself to me, remember? Obviously, I remember your name. After all, you seem like the kind of person I should remember."
"What do you—" the blond was about to ask, sensing the double meaning behind what was said and narrowing his eyes before being interrupted.
Chiron took a step forward, clearly wanting to prevent the conversation from turning too quickly. "Damon, maybe we should speak privately before—"
"No," Damon interrupted him without raising his voice. "This is something everyone should hear."
The centaur closed his mouth, although he did not seem entirely pleased. Damon walked a few steps toward the Hermes cabin, looking at the children still gathered in front of it. Almost all of them had the same expression of exhaustion and confusion. Damon did not need too much imagination to understand the disaster Olympus had allowed for years.
"First, let me make something clear: I'm not here to hurt any of you," Damon said, looking at the campers. "I'm also not going to explain everything that happened in Olympus, because half of it doesn't concern you, and the other half would only give you a headache. What you need to know now is simple: Olympus will no longer be like before, and that means this camp will also have its changes."
Luke crossed his arms with a scoff. "After years, now you care about us. Please," the demigod scoffed.
Damon looked at him without getting annoyed. "Don't confuse a late correction with kindness. The gods did things wrong. Very wrong. I am responsible for that too, so I'm not going to stand here and tell you that you should be grateful because some of them finally decided to claim you."
Several campers lowered their gazes. Luke still had a hard expression, but doubt could be seen in his eyes. He had expected an excuse or some speech about respecting the gods. He did not expect Damon to simply accept that Olympus had failed the demigods.
"If you were claimed, that does not mean you have to forget the previous years. Remember what you went through, and use that suffering to become stronger. This also does not mean you have to love a father or mother who wasn't there. That will depend on them. If they want to fix things, they will have to prove it with actions, not with a symbol floating above your heads."
The god looked them in the eyes, making it clear he was serious before continuing.
"So don't be afraid to say what you think. From today on, if any god thinks they can claim their child only to use them or punish them for speaking too much, they will have to answer to me."
"I can't promise you perfect parents, but I can promise you that you won't be alone against their anger. So don't be afraid to say what you think and what you need. And I promise you that from now on, you won't be crowded together in one place."
The Hermes cabin went silent, shock clear in the eyes of the campers, from the oldest to the youngest.
A girl who had a small crown of flowers shining above her head spoke in a low voice. "So… we're going to have our own cabins?"
"That's right," Damon answered.
Chiron looked at him immediately. "That will take time. We need to organize space, materials, old camp rules—"
"Chiron." The centaur stopped.
Damon glanced at him from the corner of his eye. "Don't make something simple sound like an Odyssey, Chiron. Even if I haven't formally said it yet, I am the king, not Zeus. So if I say this camp is going to change, it's because it will."
Chiron instantly went quiet, and Damon turned his gaze back toward the campers, who were stunned by what had been declared. They had the king of the gods in front of them, not just any god.
"If you're going to live here, this place should feel like yours. Designs, spaces, details, whatever you want. I don't care if your father or mother is a minor goddess of roads or a god of dogs that no one mentions because he doesn't have a big temple. If you belong to this pantheon, you will have a place."
A boy from the Hermes cabin lowered his head, pressing his lips together, clearly trying not to cry. Luke, for his part, said nothing, but he did not seem completely convinced either.
Damon noticed.
"Say what's on your mind, kid. Say it without fear."
Luke looked at him for a second, surprised that Damon had not told him to shut up, and a bit grateful that he was at least giving him a chance.
Damon noticed Chiron's tense expression and understood what the centaur was thinking. He probably thought I would take down the son of Hermes, or put him in his place in front of everyone at the first sign of rebellion. He could not completely blame him. Situations like this had probably ended badly too many times before. The girl turned into a tree had to be just one more example.
"Well, what is this supposed to change? Some new cabins? Does that fix years of abandonment? Does it fix the fact that some died waiting for their parents to bother looking down?"
Annabeth looked at Luke with concern. Percy did not fully understand his anger, but he could not ignore it either. He had also lost his mother because of a world he was only beginning to understand.
Damon looked the blond boy in the eyes. "No. It doesn't fix it."
"None of this erases what happened. It also doesn't erase those who died. But at least it is a beginning in the right direction. And lastly, if someone tells you that you should forgive quickly because things are improving, send them to hell for me."
Several campers opened their eyes a little, feeling a weight lift from their shoulders because of those words. Luke looked at Damon more carefully.
"Then what are you saying?"
"That your anger has a reason to exist," Damon answered. "But that does not mean anything you do with that anger will be right."
"I have seen children used as weapons. I have seen children carry the hatred of cowardly adults, only for those same adults to abandon their responsibilities when everything went wrong. So no, Luke, I'm not going to tell you I don't understand your hatred."
Luke lowered his gaze toward the ground, his shoulders tense.
"But I also know how easy it is to get lost in that pain. And when that happens, there will always be someone willing to take advantage of you for their own benefit. Especially if that person tells you exactly what you want to hear."
Chiron looked at Luke immediately. He had a feeling Damon had not said that by coincidence. As for Luke, he did not know what to answer. A chill ran down his back. He felt exposed under that gaze, as if Damon could see a part of him that even Luke did not want to recognize.
Damon said nothing more. The warning had already been made. For a few seconds, no one spoke, and several campers seemed to still be processing what the god had just said. Luke, for his part, kept his gaze lowered, his fists clenched.
Inside Damon, Kurama let out a low laugh. "If I didn't know better, I'd say that kid has Uchiha blood."
Immediately, several laughs echoed from within him. Some louder than others, but all clearly amused by the comment. Damon almost let out a laugh, but held it back.
"Don't start," he thought.
"What?" Kurama replied, still amused. "I'm just saying what I see."
"For once, I agree with the damn fox," Shukaku added, causing another round of laughter inside Damon.
Damon decided to ignore them before one of them said something worse. The moment was interrupted when a small flame appeared near the Hermes cabin, growing softly until it revealed none other than… XD
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Drop stones HEHEHE :DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
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P@treon: Brotato