Great Debate

//It's like 400 words shorter than usual because next chapter is gonna be girthy. It's sort of a timeskip but not really. Just speeding up to the plot so you aren't sitting at a slice of life novel.

Also, this is gonna be my only chapter for today and I'll upload two more onto Patre0n. This is mainly because I want to finish the first chapter for my new fanfic which will also be on Patre0n today as a sneak peek.

If you wanna see it or just support my goal in general, feel free to donate. We've almost reached the goal 😁

Patre0n.com/ShadowDrev

$233/$400

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Chion placed his hand on the surface of the frozen scorpion, his fingers tracing along its cracked surface. Even with such a thick layer of frozen liquid, one could still see the outline of the giant creature, poised to strike.

"I did this." The youth wasn't in disbelief but rather amazed by how much ice and snow he was able to produce. "Must've been then."

"FUCK!!! OFF!!"

Back when he had swiped out towards the sound of the scorpion, a movement made from pure desperation and anger. The last thing that had been on his mind was using his magic, so it appeared as if he was able to do it unconsciously in situations of extreme distress, though he had known that when he faced the Stymphalian Birds. It just hadn't been on the scale he was seeing. Even after the course of two weeks, the area was still fresh with snow, the ground covered in powdery white and chunks of ice covering the trunks of most trees.

In terms of magic, he must have used it all at once in those few seconds. It would explain why he passed out for so long. The added addition of poison on top of energy exertion probably nearly killed him.

"The dryads weren't too fond of what you did to this area." Annabeth walked forward, though staying out of the spit of land containing snow. "I wouldn't be surprised if they cursed you under their breaths. Even after they were told what happened. Luckily, the ice doesn't seem to be impacting their trees."

"Dryads?" Chion questioned, slightly confused, his hand resting on a nearby hunk of ice.

"Wood nymphs. They live in the trees. You've seen them before. They sometimes have pigmented green skin and usually walk around during meals as waitresses." Annabeth moved further back from the area, hands now tucked into her pockets. "They're tied to the tree they reside in. If the tree itself dies out, they usually follow suit, and if their tree lives a lengthy life, so do they."

"And my doing could have potentially ended some of them." Chion thought about it, feeling slightly ashamed.

"We would have intervened if that happened. Melting the ice and snow wouldn't have been easy but it can be done." The blonde subtley clutched herself a bit tighter. "I just wanted to show you this. Not to make you feel guilty, you human popsicle."

Chion let out a sigh, the air filling with a visible cool mist. "You don't have to be so prideful."

Annabeth made a face. "Don't know what you're talking about."

Without any extra words, Chion took off his hoodie and chucked it, aiming for her face. Unfortunately, she was able to snag it out of the air, denying him any sort of revenge. Smirking, the blonde haired girl put on the hoodie, wiggling it around to fit her frame. The sleeves were slightly too long for her so she was forced to roll up the sleeves in order to use her hands. It was actually much harder to take her seriously when she was wearing the hoodie, but Chion was already well aware not to underestimate her in the slightest.

"Better?" The youth asked.

"Shut up." Annabeth shot him a glare.

"Yeah. Yeah." Chion turned back towards the scorpion. "So, I guess we better head back then. After I clean all this up of course."

"How're you-"

"It's just a hunch." The youth walked placed his hands on the surface of the ice surrounding his frozen companion. "This snow isn't natural. It was made by the magical energy or ability produced by me. It's pure magic. Ergo, it'd make sense if I could...."

Chion narrowed his eyes in concentration, focusing all of his existence on one spot directly above his palm, trying to sense a familiar magic source, the same source that existed within him. After some quick sifting, he located what he was looking for and immediately did the opposite of summoning, he imagined the ice and snow turning back into pure energy and flowing back into him. Initially, nothing happened, but that was normal so Chion simply waited, confident in his ability to succeed, and right on cue the environment began to glow. Not just any glow either but a bright glow that illuminated the immediate area, the snow and ice lit ablaze with some kind of light.

Bit by bit, everything began to disintegrate into wisps of smoke before traveling into Chions palm, seeping into his skin. For the white-haired youth, it was like getting hit with a bucket load of adrenaline, a cool feeling spreading through his body.

When a minute had transpired, the forest had once again returned to its original state, even the clouds having disappeared with the snow and ice.

"Where'd you learn to do that???" Annabeth asked, severely confused and amazed.

"Just now." Chion shook his hand, his palm tingling like crazy. "Didn't even know if it would work. Glad it did."

"...You're pretty insane."

"No. It just worked in my favor." Chion kicked the carcass of the evaporated scorpion. "Sometimes things don't work out that well. It's only insanity if it DOESNT work. Think I saw a bumper sticker on my way here that said something about insanity being doing something over and over again-"

"And expecting different results." Annabeth cut him off. "I'm aware, Brain Freeze."

"Just checking. You can give me my hoodie back now."

Annabeth didn't move, looking in a different direction.

"Hello? You in there Owl Head?"

"We should head back to camp. We can start studying today since you're up and about. We'll start with the basics of Greek Mythology. I have to learn some things too. We can learn together."

"So I'm just not getting that back then?' Chion questioned towards the retreating daughter of Athena. "Awfully petty of you."

"If you wanted it so bad, maybe you shouldn't have thrown it at me," Annabeth rebuttalled.

Chion made a face behind her back.

Once again, the two fell into a back and forth conversation of messing with one another, arguing about the dumbest things that one wouldn't have guessed from two intelligent individuals. A good example was how they somehow ended up on the topic of if cereal was a soup or not or if it was its own category. Chion was of the consensus that it was a soup, considering it had liquid and chunks (the cereal itself), and Annabeth was of the complete opposite, refusing to accept his opinion on the matter. Though, the white-haired youth also rejected Annabeths notions as well, sticking to his own belief.

It was around the part where they switched from hotdogs being sandwiches that they ran into Luke.

They were quick to drag him into it as well.

"Oh good. You're here. Can you help us settle a debate?" Chion stopped in front of the tall blonde. "We're kinda at odds at the moment."

"You're at odds with yourself," Annabeth fumed. "No matter what you say, a hotdog is NOT a sandwich."

"You guys are arguing...." Luke was visibly confused as he tried to process the situation unfolding beforehand. "I'm trying to understand. Are you saying that a hotdog is NOT a sandwich? And Chion is saying it is. Correct?"

"Freezer breath is wrong though."

"Luke. Define what you think a sandwich for me is."

Luke was baffled, but he shrugged. "Two pieces of bread. Meat. Cheese. Other fillings if necessary."

"Okay, now think.....chili dogs."

Luke opened his mouth but immediately closed it, actually thinking about what Chion had said, blue eyes narrowed. Annabeth on the other hand didn't take it the same way as she immediately interjected.

"Then why don't we just call burgers sandwiches. Or tacos. Burritos as well." Annabeth put her foot down. "We can't. Everything has its own separate category that it falls into just like cereal and soup. Cheeseburgers aren't called cheese sandwiches. Hotdogs aren't called dog sandwiches. It doesn't fit."

"Look. Why don't you two go and blow off some steam." Luke shut the conversation down as smoothly as possible. He clearly wasn't interested in stepping on the potential landmine that was a pissed off child of Athena. "Go canoeing, do some arts and crafts, climb the lava wall. Spar if you wanna work out your differences."

The young counselor took his leave after that, walking towards the training area, most likely to hones his skills.

"Maybe we should just let it go and agree to disag-"

"No. We're not done here." Annabeth shot him a glare before stomping away.

For someone so small, she certainly had quite a bit of pride. Chion could only observe as the blonde headed straight for her cabin, marching inside. She didn't come back out for a while. In her absence, Chion decided to head towards the Big House to get some information on how to begin learning. In retrospect, he probably should have simply waited for the blondes return, but he highly doubted she was going to tell him anything until she proved herself right. So, he simply took matters into his own hands.