Chapter Text
The journey back to the camp wasn’t too long, especially since Phil flew them the entire way there. Tommy was glad for the short flight, being up there had made him feel uneasy, although as they flew, Phil told him about what to expect, like how he’d be staying in the Hermes cabin until his godly parent claimed him.
According to Phil, it’d be harder to narrow down who it could be before he gets claimed since he hadn’t known either of his parents growing up, which meant that he didn’t know which one was the mortal and which one was the god, but Phil said they’d try it anyway.
When they landed, Tommy was practically buzzing with excitement, it felt as though there was an ocean of energy crashing against his every action, begging for him to do more . He felt as though his body wasn’t enough to contain the excitement he felt, as if his energy longed to be set free from a container that was too small for it.
“Right,” Phil brushed himself off after he landed, bringing Tommy’s attention back to him, “so first I’ll take you around and show you where everything is, and then I’ll introduce you to the Hermes cabin counsellor.”
Tommy nodded, eager to find out as much as he could about his new world, “lead the way Phil!” Tommy saluted playfully.
Phil smiled and shook his head affectionately before beginning the tour. As Phil went around the camp showing him where everything was, he also introduced him to any camper they came across. He met George, a son of Hypnos, Niki, a daughter of Demeter, Quackity, a son of Tyche, and Karl, a son of Apollo.
The tour ended with Phil showing Tommy the combat arena and cheering erupted from it as they got closer. Tommy turned to Phil, intent on figuring out what was going on.
“Well, from the sound of it, Techno and Dream are probably at it again,” he explained at the sight of Tommy’s expression, then began to elaborate after seeing Tommy’s confused expression hadn’t dropped, “Techno and Dream have a little rivalry going, Dream’s always been a bit of a showoff, but he is an Apollo kid and they usually have a competitive personality. Techno on the other hand is the son of Poseidon, the only one here and he’s pretty damn powerful. They like to spar together, but it usually ends up with a crowd so they don’t do it often.”
Tommy’s eyes widened, he might not know much about the Greek gods, but still, he could already tell that Techno was the coolest ever. Poseidon was the god of the sea! It was an automatic win in Tommy’s opinion. He knew right then that he had to know who Techno was.
“Can we go see?” Tommy asked excitedly, already making his way over to the area, eager to see who he knew would be the coolest man ever in existence.
Phil hesitated, “they can get pretty intense Tommy, you might not want to see one of their fights until you’re more used to the…atmosphere here.”
Tommy glared, rolling his eyes as he turned back to face Phil, “Phil. I’m thirteen, not three. I can handle some fighting.”
Not to mention, he was sure it wouldn’t be as bad as listening to some of the screaming matches previous foster parents had gotten into. Fights were basically second nature to him at that point.
“Are you sure,” Phil asked skeptically with a raised eyebrow.
Tommy nodded, a determined look on his face as he stared Phil down, “yes.”
The older man sighed in defeat, “if you say so.”
With that, Phil led Tommy into the arena, weaving around some of the kids piled against the fences separating the stands from the actual fighting area. Tommy hoisted himself up onto his tippy-toes as he tried to see the fight from where he stood with Phil. When he was finally able to see the fight, his jaw dropped.
In the arena stood two teens, a few years older than Tommy by the looks of it. One with darker blond hair and a white face mask over the bottom of his face held a large axe in his hands. It shone purple in the direct sunlight and looked so heavy Tommy was surprised the teen was able to yield it as deftly as he seemed to be.
Tommy watched, mesmerized, as the blond teen jumped back, away from an oncoming attack, then swung the axe right back at his opponent, clashing with his opponents large sword. Tommy’s eyes widened as his gaze landed on the wielder of the sword. The teen was tall, with long pink hair tied back in a braid, and had a flowing red cape that was thrown carefully over his shoulders.
That had to be Techno! Tommy just knew it, the other teen just wasn’t cool enough.
“Phil,” Tommy hissed, reaching back to grab at the older man’s arm without looking so that he wouldn’t miss the fight, “who’s who?”
“The pink-haired one is Techno, the blond on is Dream.”
Tommy smiled, so he was right! Obviously, he would be because he was great, but it was nice to be reassured of that fact every so often.
Tommy kept his eyes on the fight, entirely engaged with the smooth and effortless movements the teens made as their weapons clashed again and again. It went on like that for a few moments, neither teen seemed to be winning until Dream stumbled on a rock.
Everyone in the stands leant forward in anticipation, holding their breath as Dream hurried to balance himself. It was too late though, and Techno advanced forward with renewed energy.
Tommy bit his lip trying to hold back a cheer, excitement coursing through his body as Dream tried to deflect Techno’s blows. He didn’t quite understand why he already had such an attachment to Techno, but for some reason, it just felt like they had some sort of bond, even if Tommy had no memory of them ever having met before. Besides, Techno was cool, and that was a good enough reason for Tommy to like him.
Dream, now on the ground with Techno’s sword at his throat, smiled gleefully.
“You win, again,” Tommy could hear the teen sigh, no malice in his voice, only exhilaration from the fight.
The crowd went up in cheers, even Tommy let out a whoop as Techno laughed while raising his sword into the air in victory.
“Alright,” Phil said as he placed his hand on Tommy’s shoulder, causing the boy to jump a bit, “you ready to go back to the Hermes cabin?”
Tommy hesitated, looking at Phil, then back towards the arena where Techno was talking to Dream and some other kids who had jumped the fence around the arena to go talk to the two teens.
“Fine,” he conceded after a moment, “let’s go and meet this hurtles cabin counsellor or whatever it was.”
“It’s Hermes,” Phil corrected with amusement, “and it’s just back this way,” he said, gerturing with his thumb over his shoulder.
Tommy glanced over Phil’s shoulder to where he pointed to see a small section of the large field dotted with cabins.
“Lead the way Big Man,” Tommy sighed, sparing one last glance to the arena, briefly catching Techno’s eye before Phil began to lead him away.
“Your cabin counsellor is Jack Manifold,” Phil informed Tommy as they began to head towards the cabins, “he’s a good guy, probably one of the more tame Hermes kids,” Phil paused, trailing off as he pursed his lips in thought, “I say that affectionately, by the way. They’re all good kids, they’re just trouble makers. Punz is the one you want to watch out for the most, he’ll do anything for a good bit of cash. Purpled, Punz’s brother, isn’t as bad, but he’s not exactly social with newer campers,” Phil explained, giving Tommy brief explanations of the different campers who stayed in the Hermes cabin as they walked.
“So when d’you think I’ll get claimed,” Tommy asked eagerly during a lull in their conversation, “like-like what’s the usual amount of time people wait before getting claimed?”
Phil hesitated a second, glancing away from Tommy guiltily, “well…it’s hard to say. Some people will get claimed within days of them arriving here, but others will go the entire time they stay here without being claimed,” he replied softly.
Tommy stopped in his tracks, “what,” he whispered softly, a broken expression on his face.
Phil winced, turning to look at Tommy, remorse written on his face, “the gods are busy beings Tommy. As much as they try to love us, aid us, and look out for us, they sometimes…forget.”
“Bu-but you said-” Tommy cut himself off.
If he was never claimed, he’d never get a family and then what had even been the point of him going there? What had been the point of him abandoning the few good things he had had in his life for the chance of a family? Hell, he probably had a better chance of finding a family if he had stayed behind.
“You said I’d have a family,” Tommy whispered brokenly.
Phil’s face crumpled and he rushed forward to pull Tommy into a hug, “Tommy regardless of whether or not you get claimed, you’ll always have a family here. Family doesn’t just mean people you’re related to, it can mean people that are important to you. You choose your family, not your blood.”
Tommy couldn’t help but be suspicious. Of course, Phil would say that he was old. Old people always said things like that. They wanted you to believe you were worth something even when you weren’t.
Phil seemed to notice the hesitation on Tommy’s face and leant down to whisper to the young teen, “can I tell you a secret?”
Tommy nodded, still frowning and holding back tears.
“I don’t have any siblings either,” he whispered loudly.
Tommy gasped and pulled back, “ what? ” he yelped incredulously.
Phil nodded with a soft smile, “it’s true. I’m the son of Zeus, and I don’t remember ever having siblings. Most children of the big three don’t last long enough to make it to camp, in fact, we really got lucky with having both Techno and I here.”
Tommy stared at Philza, determination rising in him, “we can be family then! You can be like my dad or something because you’re so old!” He declared confidently, nodding as he spoke.
Phil stepped back with a surprised laugh, “oh Tommy, you’re a cute kid, really you are,” he ruffled Tommy’s hair before ushering him forward, “if it makes you happy, sure. I’ll be your dad.”
Tommy beamed and shoved himself under Phil’s arm as they walked, “you shouldn’t have agree big man, you’ll never get rid of me now!”
Phil laughed again, “you aren’t getting any pocket money though, I hope you know that.”
“Don’t worry Phil, we can negotiate that later,” Tommy assured Phil. “Now let’s introduce me to my new cabin mates Dadza!”