Re-establish the pecking order

When Annabeth opened the front door, two pairs of eyes looked up from the middle.

One was a drunk-ass pudgy guy who didn't even bother giving Lucas or Annabeth so much as a glance while he drank a can of diet Coke.

The other was a wise looking man in a wheelchair who frowned deeply as he approached the two visitors.

"Annabeth, who is this gentleman? Also..."

His eyes darted over to Annabeth's shirt with her nipples visible under the shirt.

Annabeth blushed deeply and tried to cover herself up as if she was nude.

However, when Lucas nudged her by the elbow, she still recited what Lucas had told her to say.

"Chiron, this is Lucas Hayes. He is a mortal and also my boyfriend."

"I...see."

Chiron turned to Lucas with a confused expression.

"Lucas, this is Chiron—the Camp's activities director. And that's Mr. D, the Camp's director as a whole. He is also Dionysus, the god of wine."

"Oh, bother."

Mr. D sighed while shuffling through his cards.

Lucas suspected that Mr. D cared less about beung introduced and even more less about his existence in general.

'Well, that's fine by me.'

Annabeth had already explained who were in charge of the Camp even before they arrived here.

Her short explanation now was simply a set-up to make it seem like Lucas was new to all this...and also a non-threat.

"Annabeth, there are many questions I need answers to.

First thing first, why did you bring your mortal boyfriend to the Camp?"

"I...well..."

Annabeth gave Lucas a **** S.O.S glance.

They hadn't planned this far—or technically speaking, Lucas had waved off Annabeth's suggestion that they plan out some of the possible conversations that might happen.

She had assumed that Lucas intended to use the power of the earrings to bypass the confusion...but he didn't seem eager to do so at the moment.

"Well?"

Chiron pressed on.

Finally, Annabeth was about to make up her own excuses when Lucas spoke up.

"Where is Hestia? I thought she was also in the Camp."

"...?"

Mr. D slowly raised his eyes from the hand of deck.

His eyes were bloodshot and unfocused, but Lucas felt a strong presence of power behind them.

So much so that he felt a small shiver run down his back.

"And why would a puny, non-important mortal want to know about a goddess's whereabouts?"

Annabeth held her breath.

She silently tugged on Lucas’s sleeve, indicating that they should leave before both of them got turned into a can of Cherry Coke...or something even worse.

But Lucas pushed her hand away.

"I thought she would be here in the Big House.

You know, that would be normal, wouldn't it? Since she is the goddess of the Hearth and all."

Mr. D blinked a few times.

The contentious vibes within his eyes vanished, replaced by a hint of confusion and irritation As he looked around the room.

Chiron and even Annabeth suddenly acted as if they had just realized Hestia's absence in the Big House...and was very disturbed by this abnormality.

"Lady Hestia?"

Chiron called, turning around and looking down the hallway.

Annabeth, in turn, pieced the reasoning behind sudden shift in the subject.

"Lucase, what are you planning to do?"

She tip-toed up and whispered into her boyfriend's ear.

It certainly got them out of the imminent danger, but she still couldn't guess what Lucas was ultimately aiming for.

Lucas, however, didn't answer Annabeth's question.

Instead, he gropped onto Annabeth's chest, making her gasp.

"A-ah!"

"You keep your mouth shut and stay back like a good girlfriend. I'll ask first if I need your help, got it?"

Lucas mercilessly groped on Annabeth's chest.

Annabeth moaned and squirmed on the spot, blushing furiously, but neither Chiron nor Mr. D reacted to the blatant harassment going on.

"I, okay, Lucas..."

"Good."

Lucas flicked Annabeth's nipples one last time before turning around, just in time to witness the fire in the hearth suddenly grow in size.

"Excuse me for my lack of presence..."

A beautiful lady with firey red eyes and curly brown hair stepped out of the flames.

She looked more confused than ever as she looked around the Big House.

"I don't know what I was doing outside near the campfire. I..."

Hestia frowned to herself as she struggled to come up with a plausible explanation for her "odd" behavior, but she finally shook her head.

"...I'm not sure. Again, sorry for the disruption."

"Hmm."

Mr. D simply grunted, now his eyes back to the small card deck in his hand.

"As long as you are here now, Lady Hestia."

Chiron said with a hint of relief in his voice.

Then, he turned to Lucas once more.

"Mr. Hayes. You said you wanted to see Lady Hestia? That's why Annabeth brought you here, correct?"

"That's right."

Lucas nodded.

Hestia turned to face the only mortal in the room.

She didn't have any recollection of meeting him in person in any form, which would have been considered peculiar in any other situation.

However, Hestia didn't question anything as she came over to Lucas.

"What is it that you want to talk about?"

She asked kindly.