“A child of Aphrodite…” Yujin mumbled to herself as she walked towards the dining pavilion for breakfast.

She, Yena and Chaewon had internally discussed who they felt like choosing after dinner. It was a big decision because of the magnitude of the quest at hand. Though it wasn’t a done deal, Yena and Chaewon were already friends with children of Apollo and Athena respectively, so they had an idea of who to ask to join them on their quest. Yujin, on the other hand, was the only one who’d spoken to campers from the goddess of love’s cabin. This meant she was the one who was ultimately assigned to pick one.

The second she entered the pavilion; she began scanning for where the Aphrodite table was. It wasn’t that difficult though given they were (though she wouldn’t admit it to their faces) the best-looking people at camp. Somehow, they even made the orange camp Half-Blood shirts that everyone was wearing look fashionable.

As she walked over to the group that looked to be in the middle of gossiping, one of the Aphrodite kids noticed her and whispered something to the rest of the table.

“Hey-”

“Nope! None of us are going on this silly little quest,” one of the girls immediately said before Yujin could finish her sentence.

She had a feeling this was going to happen given their contrasting reaction last night compared to all the other cabins.

“Listen, I don’t know how things work around here yet, but Seunggi-sunbae said we needed a child of Aphrodite to complete this quest.”

One of the guys, who Yujin remembered as Hyunjin, scoffed. “That’s what he says, but that doesn’t mean that’s what the quest is saying. Prophecies are usually more complicated.”

The rest of the table nodded in agreement.

“It mentioned an owl, raven, and peacock. How many other cabins here have a god represented by a peacock?” Yujin asked.

“Maybe it was being literal? What if you actually need birds to solve that joker’s riddle or whatever it was?” another girl asked.

“You mean the trickster’s game?” Yujin pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation. These campers reminded her of all the snobby rich kids in every school she’d attended, and she’d attended a lot of schools growing up.

“In any case, you’re already three demigods. Rules say that quests should only have three members. There are stories of the extra members dying!”

This information caused Yujin to hesitate. She didn’t know about that little quirk. Were the mystical laws of this world that strict?

“Well, there was that one famous quest with the seven demigods that went to Greece and saved the world, right?” one of the girls said.

The others shushed her immediately. “Be quiet, Danielle. We’re trying to make a point! Do you want to go on a quest?”

The girl, Danielle, shook her head vigorously in response.

Ugh, these guys are impossible… Yujin thought. She was just about to walk away when someone cleared from behind.

It was Wonyoung, looking stunning as usual. “You need one of us to be on your team so badly?”

“If you guys don’t want to come along, then whatever. We can do this without someone whining in our ears about makeup every five minutes,” Yujin said in an irritated tone before turning away.

“Stop.” Wonyoung commanded, and despite trying her best to move, Yujin’s legs froze in place.

“Maybe you should market better. What would one of us get from joining your quest?’ Wonyoung then asked.

Yujin sighed. “How about being known as a good person?”

Wonyoung giggled. “You’re very funny, Yujin. You better keep that up while I’m on the journey with you.”

The entire table fell silent as those words. Even Yujin stopped struggling against Wonyoung’s charmspeak because she was confused.

“Wait… you want to come with us?” she asked.

Wonyoung shrugged. “Camp can get pretty boring, you know? It’s a far cry from my mansion in the city.”

“Uh… okay then. Welcome to the team, Wonyoung,” Yujin extended her hand awkwardly, which Wonyoung shook.

“Now, can you please leave us alone now, so we can eat?” Wonyoung said before turning and going back to ignoring Yujin.

Oookay… two more to go then. Yujin thought as she walked to her table.

~~~~

After breakfast, Yujin headed back to the sword arena to train with Nako since Chaewon and Yena were busy doing their own things. A part of her felt a bit disappointed though. Since high school, the trio had stuck together like glue, and now, they were just introduced to a whole new community of people similar to them. The two friends that were only hers had begun branching out.

Memories of the past swirled in Yujin’s head until a hard hit to her gut derailed her train of thought.

“Yah, stay focused, Yujin! Do I have to remind you that there will be monsters out there looking to kill you?” Nako chided.

“Ugh, did you have to hit me that hard?” Yujin complained, clutching her stomach.

“Would you rather me hit you like this?” Nako replied, swinging her sword and stopping just short of Yujin’s ear.

Yujin thought she could hear her heart beating out of her chest.

“A quest is a big deal, Yujin. Do you know how many people at camp here would kill for an opportunity like this?” Nako said. “Some demigods wait years for a chance to prove themselves out there. If you were selected, you must be ready.”

Yujin considered this for a second. How many campers here have been training just to be stuck here every summer? Sure, the camp was fun, but she could understand some people thinking the training was a waste of time.

“Sorry, Nako-unnie. You’re right. Let’s go again.” Yujin then took off her necklace, which transformed into her two scimitars, and charged Nako. The short girl was ready for this though and parried the attacks away.

“So, you already have your team for tomorrow’s departure?” Nako asked midway through dodging one of Yujin’s swings.

“I’m not sure about Yena and Chaewon, but we got our child of Aphrodite,” Yujin replied, struggling to keep up.

“Really? I figured she’d be the hardest to convince. Wonyoung, right?” Nako guessed before swinging her sword forward.

“H-how did you know?” Yujin stammered as she blocked the attack.

“She’s the only Aphrodite kid you know,” Nako said with a shrug as she coolly avoided another counter swing.

“Your attacks are now filled with too much hesitation, Yujin. You’re getting predictable.” Nako commented before extending her leg and tripping Yujin as she ran by.

“Something’s wrong, right? It’s what was distracting you earlier.”

Yujin sat up and nodded. “Yeah… there’s a lot of things on my mind.”

“Listen, I’m not exactly the person to share your emotional distress with, but I’ll tell you this. Your movements in battle are as controlled by your feelings as they are by your mind. You must channel those emotions to become truly one with yourself.”

“How do you do it? Aren’t you Ares kids always angry?” Yujin replied to which Nako laughed.

“Yes, but it’s how we use our anger that makes us strong warriors. Being a loose cannon only gets you a place in Asphodel. You have to accept your emotions for what they are and not try to force them down.”

“Huh… I never thought about it that way,” Yujin said. She’d always thought that being a good fighter meant being able to subdue your feelings and just use your head. That’s why she’d been so predictable in their training so far. The other day, she was confident and motivated. Today, she was conflicted and guilty of the things she was feeling about her friends.

“You want to try one more round?” Nako asked.

Yujin smiled. “Sure, let’s do this.”

~~~~

Just like before, both Nako and Yujin ended the training session sitting on the ground, beads of sweat rolling down their faces.

Nako chuckled. “Feeling better now?”

“Y-yeah… I can see why you spend so much time here. There’s nothing else to think about other than the next move,” Yujin replied through heavy breaths.

“Mhm, because the second you start letting your thoughts run wild, you’re dead meat,” the short girl nodded before changing the topic.

“I hope you make the right decisions out there. As much as this is a team thing, you sometimes have to take the initiative to keep everyone from falling apart. Just because you’re one of the youngest, doesn’t mean you have to follow everything the older girls,”

“I’ve known Yena and Chaewon for years, Nako-unnie. I trust them with my life,” Yujin said. Though she liked to joke around with her older friends a lot, she still respected their opinions a lot.

“I’m just saying… you never know what’ll happen on quests,” Nako replied ominously. Before Yujin could prod further though, the Japanese girl got up to stretch and offered to pull Yujin up.

“Come on, it’s almost lunch time.”

~~~~

Yujin couldn’t focus on her meal. Her thoughts were muddled after what Nako had said along with the conflicting emotions she’d felt during the training.

“Yujin, you good?” a voice asked out to her, but Yujin didn’t react until the person snapped her fingers in front of her face.

“H-huh, yeah, what’s up?” Yujin finally turned and saw Yena giving her a look of concern. Next to her was Yuri with a similar expression.

“You don’t look okay to me. Did you have another dream?” Yena queried.

“N-no, it’s nothing, unnie. Just a bit tired from sparring with Nako!” Yujin replied, trying to put on her best puppy smile.

It appeared Yena bought it because she smiled back. “She should really take it easier on you. That tiny girl fights like a demon!”

“Yah, unnie, be quiet. Nako hates being called short. She’ll actually try to kill you.” Yuri interjected, smacking Yena in the shoulder.

“Don’t worry, unnie. I’m holding my own out there. I have this now, remember?” Yujin laughed, pointing at her necklace.

“Now, what were you calling me for?”

“Ah, a couple things, but first, I wanted to ask if you’ve managed to find a child of Aphrodite willing to come with us. Chaewon’s got Minju already as the child of Athena, and our Apollo kid is Yuri.” Yena replied, Yuri nodding along excitedly. It seemed like she was very eager to join this quest.

“Well, none of the Aphrodite campers were enthused at the prospect of joining us… except one- Wonyoung.”

Yena and Yuri’s faces immediately shifted to shock.

“WHAT?” They both exclaimed.

“Yeah, I’m confused too. She’d be the last person I’d expect to want to join us but she agreed.” Yujin said before explaining her encounter with the Aphrodite campers earlier.

“Out of all the Aphrodite kids, Jang Wonyoung? You gotta be kidding me,” Yuri grumbled.

“Sounds like you don’t have good history with her,” Yena guessed.

“Ugh, it’s not like we have any other choice now. I just think she’s so… snobby.”

At this, Yujin noticed the aforementioned girl approaching from behind them after hearing her name.

“Ah, you know, she’s not that bad! She did agree to come along after all,” Yujin said in a panicked tone, but Yuri only scoffed.

“Aish, she probably has another reason. No way the perfect princess would want to leave camp and travel across the country,” From behind, Wonyoung raised an eyebrow. Yujin sighed, already knowing what was about to happen.

“What’s with the face, Yujin?” Yuri asked. All the younger girl could do was point past her.

Yuri and Yena slowly turned, coming face to face with Wonyoung.

“Pleasure to be working with you too, Yuri,” the tall girl said sarcastically.

“Wait, listen. I didn’t mean it like that. Actually, I did, but that was just my perception of you before!”

“Precisely why I’m going to look past it. The opinion of a demigod whose father was turned to a mortal once is not one I will take seriously.” Wonyoung replied apathetically. Yujin didn’t understand what Wonyoung had just mentioned, but it seemed to rile Yuri up.

“Yah!” Yuri appeared like she was going to make a comeback, but Yena took the chance to step in between the two before things went awry.

“Alrighttt, how about we skip to the second, more important part, now that we’re all here. Chaewon said that she and Minju discovered something this morning and wanted to share it with us,”

“Uhm, is it a good or bad discovery?” Yujin asked.

“I think it’s bad. Chaewon mentioned a name. Kronos?” At the very mention of that name, Yuri and Wonyoung, who were just staring daggers into each other seconds ago, both gasped.

“Uh… it’s not too late to pull out of this little expedition, right?” Wonyoung said nervously.

“There’s no way he’s already back… wait-” Yuri mumbled something else under her breath, but Yujin couldn’t catch it.

“I guess he’s a big deal then,” Yena concluded. “Let’s head over to the Big House. Seunggi is there waiting as well.”

 

A/N: Hi everyone and welcome back to another chapter! 

Here, we found out (though I'm sure y'all expected it) who our team of 6 would be going on the quest. Still, more mysteries are in the air for how the prophecy will unfold. Hope y'all like the little references again here and there. If you see a term that's unfamiliar, feel free to google them or ask here! 

Next chapter, we're back to Yena in the final meeting before the quest begins. I hope you all stay patient with me as I write this story.

Thank you for all the birthday greetings last week as well! I'm glad y'all are supporting me and my stories. The likes and comments will always mean so much to me.

Have a wonderful day, and I'll see y'all in the next one!