Chapter 62

[Third Person's PoV]

"Wait, what do you mean Lucian is considered an outcast because of who his father is?!" Annabeth couldn't help but raise her voice when she heard that.

"As you should know, my father isn't in Olympus where all the other gods reside; he resides in the Underworld, thus making him an outcast, someone who's away from where everyone else is. Because of this, his children, such as I, mostly carry that title with us as well," Lucian said nonchalantly.

"And it doesn't bother you?" Annabeth asked, turning to look at him, noticing his non-caring expression.

Lucian just shrugged, "No, not really. I've known this was a possibility since finding out who my father is. Plus, I see it more as a blessing than a curse of solitude. That means I don't have to stay in a place unless I want to."

Annabeth let out a sigh, "Since you are not bothered by it, then there's no use of me getting angry at it."

Lucian simply smiled before patting her head.

"Still…" Annabeth couldn't help but ask, "Can you really be considered an outcast with the way everyone has been treating you?"

"It's not only among the campers that the children of Lord Hades are treated as outcasts. It extends to other areas as well. For example, let's say we have a vote about anything; then Lucian's vote wouldn't be counted no matter what he says or does," Chiron informed them.

"And it's not only that; it's what he creates as well, like his cabin and the recently made statue. Sure, they're physically in the camp, but they aren't recognized on paper as being part of Camp Half-Blood," Chiron continued.

"I see… so it has both its pros and cons," Annabeth muttered while Chiron nodded his head.

"It's one of the reasons why the children of Lord Hades mostly go to war with children of Lord Poseidon and Lord Zeus. It's because of how unfairly they are treated. You guys may or may not have known this, but World War 2 was between the children of both Lord Zeus and Poseidon versus the children of Lord Hades, and one of the main reasons that started that very war is due to the grudge they held for being outcasts."

Chiron's expression then turned serious as he looked directly at Lucian. "Now that I've mentioned that, I'll use this chance to warn you of something so you can be careful in the future. Be mindful when dealing with grudges; they aren't healthy to hold on to, especially for those born from his lineage."

Lucian sighed and nodded. "I'm well aware."

Chiron nodded in response. "Is there anything else you wish to know?"

As Lucian stood up, he shook his head. "No, that's all. Thanks for the info," he said before heading out, with Annabeth following close behind.

As they walked around the camp without a destination, Lucian looked around and realized something. "Wait a sec, where's Grover? I haven't seen him in a while. Is he out searching for Pan or something now that he has a Searcher License?"

"Wait? You don't know?" Annabeth asked, surprised.

"Know what?" Lucian inquired.

Annabeth sighed before explaining, "Grover has been in a depressive state, and we've rarely seen him because of it. Apparently, the Council of Cloven Elders, old satyrs who are in charge of handing out Searchers Licenses, deemed Grover unfit to be a Searcher. His quest was to bring us all to safety in the camp, but since, in their own words, 'he abandoned you and left you out to die,' he failed his quest."

"Bullshit! I ordered Grover to take you to safety. It wasn't his idea to leave me; it was my own. He was just following my orders," Lucian growled.

"Yeah, the council didn't see it that way. The worst part is that Grover didn't deny their claim of him leaving you behind… It looks like he still feels somewhat guilty for not doing more that day, so he didn't fight it and accepted the council's reasoning," Annabeth explained.

Lucian's expression turned blank. "I see..." he muttered before his ring turned into a scythe, which he held tightly in both hands.

Then, he gave Annabeth the friendliest smile he could muster. "Hey, Annabeth..."

"Y-Y-Yes?" Annabeth stuttered, noticing the veins on Lucian's forehead and his tight grip on the scythe. This was the angriest she had ever seen him.

"Can you please show me where I can find this stupid council? I have some rather convincing 'evidence' that proves Grover's legitimacy in being a Searcher."

"N-Now let's calm down, Lucian, we don't have to take it too far…" Annabeth said softly, raising her hands to his and lowering the scythe.

"Annabeth…" Lucian said with a smile.

Annabeth stuttered, "D-Don't do anything rash and think it through. Even if we convince the council, Grover wouldn't accept it. It would do more harm than good, especially towards Grover."

Lucian grumbled for a while before putting the scythe away. Annabeth sighed in relief. "Trust me, I'm angry and annoyed with them too, but I'm more worried about Grover."

Hearing this, Lucian let out a long sigh before turning his scythe back into a ring and walking back towards his cabin without saying anything.

Annabeth stood outside in confusion, thinking, 'Knowing him, he's up to something. I'll just wait and see.'

After a few minutes, Lucian came out holding two plates of vegetarian enchiladas. "Hold this for a sec," he told Annabeth, handing her a plate.

From his shadow, Bartholomew flew into the sky, and Lucian covered one of his eyes with his free hand.

"What are you doing?" Annabeth asked, curious.

"I'm sharing my vision with Bartholomew, and I'm looking for Grover from the skies." After a few seconds, Lucian spotted him. "Let's go. I found him; he's leaning against some tree in the middle of the forest."

They soon arrived and found Grover lost in thought.

"Yo, Grover," Lucian called out.

Grover snapped out of his thoughts upon hearing Lucian's voice, "You've returned!? Since when?"

"Dude, just how detached from the real world have you been? I've been here for 2 days already…" Lucian said, shaking his head.

"Here, I brought these for you," he said, handing Grover the plates.

Grover's eyes lit up upon seeing them before he started eating them hungrily.

"Look, man, I heard what happened with the Council of Dipshit Elders. And I'm only going to say this once. You didn't abandon me, you didn't leave me to die, or any of that crap. I chose to stay behind, no matter what you or anyone else says on that matter. Thanks to you, I was able to fight in peace knowing you had taken Annabeth back to camp in one piece just like you were supposed to."

"But…" Grover muttered with his head down.

"I'm just telling you how it is so there's nothing else you can say about it. I mean, why have you been brooding over this all this time? It's been 4 months since, and everything turned out alright, didn't it?"

"I guess you're right," Grover muttered before sighing.

"Plus, you're going to be a Searcher who's going to find Pan, right? You can't let this little problem stop you from reaching your dream."

Grover's eyes lit up upon hearing this. "You're right, I'm going to find Pan. I can't let this slow me down," he said with determination.

Lucian held out his fist towards Grover, who returned the gesture. "Imma be gone for a few days, and when I return, I better see you more active, got it?"

Grover smiled and nodded, secretly glad to have people caring about him and believing in him.

"Well, anyways, I'll see you guys later," Lucian said as he sank into his shadow, surprising Annabeth as she didn't expect him to leave so soon and without saying anything else.

And just like that, 2 years quickly passed, making them 10 years old.