[Talk]

Icarus stepped into the cabin with Chiron and took a glance around the room, it was modest sized with a myriad of things that seemed to be collected from nearby, such as a shelf full of herbs, beast skins, and some spare bedding.

Chiron walked towards a small desk in the center of the room and pulled out a seat for Icarus who sat down before Chiron walked to the other side and sat down as well.

"Icarus, was it?" He asked with an amicable smile.

"Yes," Icarus responded with a firm nod.

"And the girl?" Chiron asked once more with a small smile.

"Her name is Atalanta," Icarus answered as Chiron raised a brow in curiosity before asking, "I can sense Artemis' blessing upon you both, did you know?"

Icarus' eyes widened in surprise as he took in the information before narrowing as he responded, "I suspected as such, the forest seemed to favor me and give me a strange sense of serenity. While I don't believe Atalanta could have survived there by herself otherwise."

"What do you mean?" Chiron asked.

"I was originally from Athens but I had to leave due to some circumstances and eventually ended up here. I found Atalanta surviving alone in the forest along the way." Icarus summarized.

Chiron nodded his head along with the explanation, he wanted to know more about his potential new students, and he obviously couldn't ask Atalanta.

Chiron finally decided to speak, "I was impressed by both of your performances against my students, even managing to best them." Icarus saw his lips twitch as he spoke but didn't mention it.

Icarus listened on with concealed excitement as Chiron continued on.

"So, I wanted to propose to take you as students, but there was an issue with Atalanta yesterday when she saw my full form," Chiron stated with a sigh towards the end tinged with sadness.

"Ah..." Icarus then began to explain everything that had occurred with the centaurs he had encountered with her and how it affected her. Towards the end, Chiron seemed to exude a barely concealed wrath at the information as Icarus continued on.

"Sigh...I don't know why I should have expected any better." He spoke with a voice layered in unbidden disappointment before speaking once more, "I suppose you wouldn't want to stay here due to me....." Chiron continued on with a voice of resignation.

'The fuck?' Icarus thought, 'I would be batshit crazy not to.'

Icarus then quickly responded, "No, I would rather wish for us to learn under you, I would be a fool to deny the opportunity. As for Atalanta, I hope your presence could help her rise above and overcome her trauma. I do not want her to die during a fight from freezing up from her triggering suppressed emotions."

Chiron displayed a soft smile, "Then, I thank you Icarus, not only for accepting my offer but for giving so much forethought over the little girl you have taken responsibility for. It shows your character and I love to teach youth who display heroic potential like yourself." Chiron was impressed by not only his resourcefulness but his maturity as well, "I welcome you to join us."

"Then, thank you for allowing us to join." Icarus spoke with a smile.

———————-

"So, could you all introduce yourselves to me? I am Icarus, son of the famed inventor Daedalus from Athens and I look forward to befriending you all." Icarus announced to the others surrounding the morning bonfire as a yawning Atalanta leaned against his shoulder.

They all looked towards the petite girl as she responded with a hiss, causing Asclepius to shudder. Icarus patted her head to calm her down before stirring the pot of food Heracles had set up for them to eat.

"Oh, and this little girl is Atalanta!" Icarus responded while nudging Atalanta with his shoulder as she remained silent.

"I look forward to fighting you once more Icarus! I am Heracles, the Son of Zeus!" The bulky Heracles announced with a predatory smile while Icarus responded with a weary smile and nod.

"You already know me as well, I am the great and powerful Jason, the crown prince of Iolcus!" He spoke with a boisterous tone.

'Hmm.....I suppose his father has yet to be usurped....' Icarus took note from Jason's introduction.

Everyone snorted at him including Atalanta, except for Icarus who displayed the same weary smile as before, and Heracles, who kept his childlike wide smile.

"Well then, I'll go next. I am Asclepius, I don't like the rather brutish training in the camp and prefer to keep to my studies." Asclepius spoke in a calm and mature tone that was offset from the still fading scratch marks on his face.

"You didn't mention how you're Apollo's son!" Jason yelled out!

Everyone gave Jason the stink eye after seeing Asclepius' face flinch before shortly turning to disgust then eventually fading to a calm facade.

Icarus winced as he remembered Asclepius had a bad relationship with Apollo but couldn't recall why.

"What?" Jason asked in confusion to everyone's glares.

"...Dumbass!" Castor muttered while smacking the back of Jason's head while Atalanta and Pollux shook their head at him in disappointment.

'Damn, to think that even Atalanta who grew up in a forest alone has more EQ than him...' Icarus thought in exasperation.[1]

"Sigh, I suppose I'm next. I am Castor, the Son of the great King of Gods, Zeus!" Castor shouted in pride before looking down at Icarus with an arrogant expression.

'I don't know why he's so arrogant about it. Zeus has enough children to fill the sea....' Icarus thought with a raised brow.

His gaze then shifted to Pollux who stood up.

"I am his twin sister, Pollux, Daughter of Zeus. I look forward to working with you, Icarus, Atalanta." Pollux spoke professionally but Icarus could spot the complicated look in her eyes towards him.

'Probably wounded her pride when I defeated her twice while not even being a demigod or trained in general...' Icarus observed in exasperation.

He gave Atalanta one last head pat before standing up.

"Well, I hope we all get along, now let's eat!" Icarus yelled with a bright smile as he began passing around the now finished food that he helped whip up from the bonfire.

"Finally!" Yelled Heracles with a goofy smile as everyone began to dig in.

========================

I highly recommend going back and rereading all the past chapters, not only to refresh your memories, but so that you can see how much has changed.

And quite a bit has changed.

Sorry for no updates, been posting more on qq instead lately.

Do you guys prefer shorter chapters with quick updates or longer chapters with slow updates?

Let me know.

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[1] EQ - Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand, use, and manage your own emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges, and defuse conflict.