Chapter Text
JONGIN
A silver Hyundai approaches the driveway of a small house as the sun ventures down the summer sky in its descent to night. Crickets begin to chirp while the sky turns into shades of blue, purple, and pink all at once. The car rolls to a stop when a figure emerges from the home.
Parking by the curb, Jongin rolls down the window and stares up at the lanky figure in front of him, carrying a large duffel bag in both of his arms with an exasperated gaze on his face.
Jongin gives Sehun a desperate look. “I'm sorry, I can explain later. I’m on a quest.”
Sehun sighs and gets into the car, eyes rolling as he opens the door and sits down next to his friend. Jongin gives him a sheepish grin.
“This is going to be a long ride,” Jongin barely hears Sehun mutter.
-
SEHUN
They first meet at the age of thirteen when Sehun stumbles into Jongin right outside of Camp Half-Blood, the former covered in small scratches and smudges of dirt from running through the forest. He pants, looking at the taller boy in front of him stretching his hand out with a concerned face.
“Here, take my hand,” the older says, crouching down so the boy sprawled out on the ground can reach. Sehun lifts a shaky hand off of the ground and grabs onto the one in front of him, unsure of the other’s intentions.
“What is this place?” he asks, eyeing the other warily as he is pulled off of the mulch-covered forest floor, pieces of wood chips falling off of his clothing.
The boy lifts an eyebrow, and replies, “Camp Half-Blood,” he pulls his hand back and wipes the residue of dirt off on his pants. “Do you know why you’re here?”
“Am I supposed to?” Sehun questions, shivering. The June sky was beginning to turn dark as Sehun stood, hoping he could seek some sort of refuge in the camp.
“It’s fine, you’ll figure it out soon enough.” With that the older boy turns, ready to lead Sehun through the gates of the camp. “What’s your name?” he asked, head swiveling to see the younger.
“Sehun Oh. Yours?”
“Jongin Kim. I have a feeling we’re going to be good friends, Sehun,” Jongin says with a smile. Sehun does not know what this Jongin is implying, but follows him anyway, relief flowing through his mind.
Just as they pass the safety of the entrance pillars, they hear the violent hissing of snakes. Sehun turns his head back in terror of the slithering reptiles.
“Are those what you were running from?” Jongin asks, eyebrows raised in a concerned manner.
Sehun nods, gulping. “They can’t follow us in, can they?”
“Probably not. They must be monsters if they led you here,” Jongin explains, “Don’t worry though, monsters can’t pass into the camp. You’re safe here.”
Sehun gives Jongin a shy smile. Jongin returns it and they stroll further into the camp.
-
JONGIN
Jongin glances over at Sehun to see the latter fiddling with the three painted beads on his necklace, representing each summer spent at the camp. Jongin has his own too, concealed by his t-shirt. His proudly carries seven beads, each strung with their own memories, hanging on Jongin’s neck.
“So tell me about the quest,” Sehun finally says, after they have passed the edge of the city.
Jongin grimaces. This is his first quest after seven years of attending Camp, yet somehow he was blessed with taking on one of the most difficult mission in years. “Zeus is upset,” he starts.
“Surprising,” Sehun interrupts sarcastically.
Jongin rolls his eyes. He swears he could see the clouds in the sky darken just a little bit more. “The Big Three are basically freaking out because the Helm, Bolt, and Trident were all stolen by some rebel. We don’t know if it’s a minor god or just a demigod with insane abilities,” Jongin says nervously, unsure how Sehun would react.
“And how did you end up with this task?” Sehun asks, unbelieving.
“I guess it required a child of Hermes who could teleport around?” Jongin tries. He takes a slip of paper out from his pocket and hands it to Sehun. “I wrote down the prophecy as soon as I got it.”
Sehun takes it, eyebrows furrowing as he reads.
“Two sons of the messengers shall return what was stolen from the greatest of the Olympians,
One will start to fear what he loves most, one will become prey in the eyes of a champion,
Both will discover a secret beneath a blade of obsidian,
They together will race to escape eventual oblivion.”
Sehun stays quiet for a while before speaking up again. “This is a lot to take in. Escaping oblivion sounds like...”
“Death,” Jongin finishes with his mouth twisted into a grim frown.
Sehun sighs, deep thought shown by the lines appearing on his face. After a while, however, the lines disappear and he’s back to his relaxed, stoic expression.
“Well, where do we start?”