Jack

OPEN:

The 6 year old sat in front of the cabin, having been instructed to wait here- or at least he thought that was what he was supposed to do? He barely understood what people were saying to him, his only help in getting their strange language being the odd translating device another child gave him a while ago. He'd went here from who he was almost sure was his biological father's place, leaving a tiny note about his location beforehand- since the man seemed invested in the lives of his children so it was only appropriate- and since he remembered this place briefly, he just... appeared here, a little while ago.

Jack kneeled down in front of the six year old, he looked concerned, the last kid he’d seen that had come here this young was Ally and even though she was older now he’d seen how it affected her.

The younger boy stared at Jack, barely registering words before his device translated them for him into Greek so he could understand them better- and once he got a general idea of what was being said to him, he gave a nod to the name, after which he quietly said, "Ζωντανός", the device picking up the Greek and translating, ("Alive"). He stared at it, tilting his head. That's not how you say his name. "...Zo."

Jack kept a small distance away from the boy, not wanting to make him scared and brought his knees up to his chest.

He looked a bit frightened, but honestly he always looks kinda scared... it's almost like he thinks every little thing is 'out to get him' or something- but whatever. Those black eyes stared at Jack, not really knowing what to do aside from nodding along to what the device translated.

Jack nodded, his head rushing with ideas of what to do next. It was an issue really, his indecisiveness.

It wasn't really that he was scared of Jack- probably, at least. Zo was... generally scared of most things. It was just how he was. Hell, he got scared of that one man when he first saw him because of his scars, and that was supposed to be his father-! What kind of a kid is scared of their father?

“Oh,” Jack looked taken aback for a moment, Zo really must’ve been new if he didn’t know how the camp worked.

Zo listened- or well, waited for his device to translate it for him, then listened to the Greek version. English just sounded like gibberish to him...

Jack blinked, not sure if he’d heard that right, but he had. This kid hadn’t been claimed in camp that was for sure; maybe he’d been claimed on his journey?

The child just nodded, suddenly enthusiastic about this. He loved his dad, oh so much, he loved telling people about his dad- because his dad's just awesome! "Ναι! Και είναι τόσο κουλ! Με φιλοξένησε όταν ανακάλυψε ότι οι ψυχές δεν μπορούσαν να με φροντίσουν σωστά και φρόντισε να είμαι καλά και υγιής!" ("Yes! And it's so cool! He took me in when he found out that the souls couldn't take care of me properly and made sure I was well and healthy!")

“Souls? What do you mean-“ Jack shook his head, whatever at least this kid actually likes his dad. “Never mind. Um glowy thing, that appears above your head,” he did the stupid gesture again, “Normally the symbol of your godly parent, it’s their way of acknowledging we exist.”

He was about to start explaining about the souls before he heard Jack explain the glowy thing- he never had that happen, but he... really didn't need to, right? His dad took care of him, that's how he knew Hades was his dad. The god cared for him, so he had to be his dad, right...?

Souls, souls… ghosts? This kid had been raised by ghosts? Jack had heard a lot of crazy things and for a moment he thought he could dismiss it as one of those stupid things kids say but there was no lie in what Zo had said.

"Ναι! Ήμουν!" ("Yes! I was!") The kid nodded excitedly, ready to go on a full rant about his Underworld family. "Λοιπόν- η θεία Χλόη είπε ότι μόλις εμφανίστηκα στον Ασφόδελο ως μωρό! Και δεν ήμουν ψυχή. Και μπερδεύτηκαν, αλλά με πήραν μέσα τους. Και προσπάθησαν να με ταΐσουν με πράγματα που έβρισκαν ή με ό,τι έφερναν μαζί τους οι νέες ψυχές. Και τότε το ανακάλυψε ο Άδης και άρχισε να με φροντίζει!" ("Well- Aunt Chloe said I just appeared to Asphpdel as a baby! And I wasn't a soul. And they were confused, but they took me in. And they tried to feed me things they found or whatever the new souls brought with them. And then Hades found out and started taking care of me!")

“Uh huh,” Jack considered what was going on for a moment, “So let me get this straight, the ghosts gave you food, from other ghosts and Hades raised you.”

He looked down at the ground, suddenly feeling a little stupid for his story. But... all of it was true. He loved his aunts and uncles and... everything else. Asphodel felt like home, he used to play with the kids there and such, and sometimes helped his papa with his work. He just gave a little nod at that- because yeah, that's what happened.

“Hey, hey,” Jack’s tone turned soft as he watched Zo’s expression, “If it’s the truth, it’s the truth, it’s just a little hard to process is all.”

The kid fidgeted with his device, trying to make sense of this whole thing. He... mostly didn't understand what was being said around the palace, the languages spoken there were so foreign to him and no one ever spoke Greek aside from Kat. He always felt really disoriented around there...

“Huh,” Jack nodded along, it sounded like something out of one of the old crime films his grandpa watched.

Zo wasn't sure what to say- because at first, it felt like he was oversharing a little, but... his father seemed really happy and proud of being with that man. So... maybe he wanted people to know about it?

Jack tried to shove his surprise off his face; he didn’t know what he’d expected to hear but that wasn’t it. The word was familiar in a way but Jack didn’t understand what it meant, just that it was important.

Zo tried to think. There weren't many things he could find to describe that man other than 'terrifying', 'intimidating', 'scary', etc., but he tried- he wanted to give a physical description. He hasn't seen the man a lot... but maybe he could scrape his mind for anything that could be useful.

Jack watched Zo’s expression, that was it for now. Jack didn’t know a lot of things, but he knew when to back off.

He tilted his head at that. Godly parent-? Like the god that was his parent? That was Hades. He knew it was Hades. Hades took care of him. Hades was his dad. Why does anyone have to find that out? He knew it.

Jack tapped his knees, gods he couldn’t upset the kid and for all he knew the kid was right. “Nothing it’s not that important right now, Chiron will have to talk to you later.”

"Ποιος είναι ο Χείρωνας;" ("Who is Chiron?") No, really, he didn't know who that was. Maybe... he's heard the name before, but he had no clue who Chiron actually was.

“Oh, okay,” Jack nodded along, this was (somewhat) familiar territory and something he could understand, “Well, Chiron is- he is…”

Zo listened. He tried to listen, anyway. The device will only take him so far, probably. He really needs to start understanding more English words than his father's name and some basic ones. He needed to start learning, but he really didn't want to.

“Huh, well yeah, they- they do that,” Jack started smiling again, “some of them live on the fields and just kind of exist. Others really like to party and whatever…”

He considered it for a moment, honestly not sure whether he should ask more questions- because he only really ever felt good asking things to Hades or the souls... He didn't know what to do here, especially since he had to get used to living with... essentially strangers, if he wanted to stay there to let his mortal father forget about him, since he knew he wasn't planned or known about at all.

Jack nodded, sucking in a deep breath. He felt for the kid, he really did, but he wasn’t sure of what to do now. It took a few minutes for Jack to speak, he tumbled over the words until he could find the right ones.

Oh, he was given a choice? By a stranger? That was weird- don't get him wrong, he loved making choices, he loved the freedom people gave him- even though he was young, he was always treated like a responsible person and capable of making choices for himself.

That wasn’t as surprising as it should’ve been to Jack, at the end of the day, Zo was just another scared kid. “Inside the Hermes Cabin? Sure but it’s probably best you try to make friends.”

He looked around for a moment, trying to take in his surroundings... All those cabins. One of them had to be for his papa, right? "Είναι ένα από αυτά για τον Άδη;" ("Is one of those for Hades?") The boy asked curiously.

Jack shook his head in quick succession, “Nah, only the twelve Olympians, which is weird considering that Hera doesn’t even have any kids.”

Zo stared at Jack. There was no way- there was no way camp didn't at least honor his papa, right? Even if there were very little children of Hades (which was believable, he's seen the god be extremely loving and caring to his wife, he was sure they'd be together forever), there had to be something- right?

“Hey, hey. Hey kid?” Jack got closer to the kid slowly, trying to give him the chance to back away if he wanted, “Hey kid, you okay?”

Zo wanted to shake his head. He wanted to cry or scream- but no... no, he was a big boy. He was a whole six years old, that was more than Kat- so he had to be a big boy about this. No matter how much the tears wanted to spill from his eyes at the information that camp had no place for him aside from the other kids in cabin 11, with all the- how'd people call them? Unclaimed kids? And the Hermes kids that just lived there. He felt like dead weight. Does he just not belong anywhere?

Jack paused, his throat tightening uncomfortably, “Your dad is great, things couldn’t function without him, y’know?”

Zo nodded. He knew Hades was important- as was literally anyone else... he knew about mythology, somewhat, because for some reason his papa thought it was important for him to learn it, even if the boy never intended on leaving the Underworld (and look at him now, on the surface and all...), but he still learned, only just for the sake of pleasing his father.

“Oh,” Jack had the nerve to look embarrassed that Zo had proven him wrong before actually noticing the look he had on his face, “I mean, um, the Underworld then…”

Zo tilted his head. He didn't really understand, why would anyone think the Underworld is a bad place? But maybe that's just because he's been living there his entire life... he might be a bit- how do people say it? Biased? Yeah, that's the word, or so he thought. "Ο Κάτω Κόσμος δεν είναι καθόλου τρομακτικός όμως. Είναι ένα ωραίο μέρος. Μου αρέσει εκεί. Είναι άνετα." ("The Underworld isn't scary at all though. It's a nice place. I like it there. It's comfortable.")

“Sure you belong here, you’re a demigod, you, you…” Jack looked around trying to figure out how to word things, “you’re just new and a lot younger than most campers and people just don’t know you.”

Demigod- he knew he was one. But everyone else had their cabins. Places to hang out with their siblings. Why didn't he have that luxury? He shook his head.

“I… uh,” Jack bit his lip, he didn’t know what to say, well aware that the wrong thing would make Zo feel worse. “Campers shouldn’t be scared of you.”

He tried to look brave- because he wanted people to think he's brave. He's the older brother- because he has a younger sister. So he has to be the responsible one. He just sighed when Jack said people weren't going to be scared of him. "Αλλά φοβούνται τον μπαμπά μου. Αυτό σημαίνει ότι φοβούνται και τα αδέρφια μου;" ("But they're afraid of my dad. Does that mean they're afraid of my siblings too?") He was aware there was probably very little of them- if they were even at camp.

“I mean…” Jack struggled for the words all over again, he was sure that either Chiron or Me D probably should be doing this but whatever, “Not necessarily… what people think of your siblings is up to them I guess.”

Zo wasn't upset- except he kind of was. I mean, can you blame him? Kids gets out of the place he calls home to find some man, and ends up in a camp where they have cabins for kids of all the gods, except it's only the gods they like and want to acknowledge. And his dad is not one of those gods. Anyone would feel bad, right?

“Well people assume lots of things about you because of your parents all the time, people assumed a lot of things about me because of my mom,” he winced, “but that doesn’t make them true, it’s human- no godly nature I guess.”Jack looked at Zo, “If your siblings were here, they would be in the same cabin but they aren’t… here I mean.”

"Ω, αυτό δεν είναι ωραίο." ("Oh, that's not nice.") He didn't understand why people would assume things based on people's parents. It didn't seem very logical to him.

“Well then you’d be a god,” Jack says gently, “If you’re a demigod then one of your parents is mortal.”

"Γνωρίζω τον θνητό πατέρα μου. Αλλά είναι ένας τρομακτικός άνθρωπος." ("I know my mortal father. But he is a terrifying man.") Yeah, except everything was scary or terrifying to Zo, especially new environments- and his mortal father's home was definitely a new environment. The fear was why he'd returned to camp- that and the fact he could see he wasn't exactly... a child that man planned to have. He thought he'd save him the inconvenience of raising someone he didn't even want or know about in the first place.

Well that made things harder for Jack but he looked at Zo, “Did you ever meet him? Why’d as he scary?” Jack could think of a few reasons why because of his mom but she hadn’t been particularly scary just not always there. “Did he drink?”

The younger boy thought about this for a moment. He knew what Jack meant, but he's never really... seen... his mortal father drink. That man was just... scary as a deafult. Especially with the way he interacted with the weird magical thing when they first met. "Φαίνεται τρομακτικός. Έχει... ουλές. Δεν θέλω να σκέφτομαι τι συνέβη και πώς τις απέκτησε, είναι τρομακτικό." ("He looks scary. He has... scars. I don't want to think about what happened and how he got them, it's scary.")

Okay, okay, Jack could work with that. “So he just looked scary, or did he do anything to hurt you or your siblings?”

Zo nodded. He's seen that man smiling a lot, and generally looking almost like a normal person... almost. If it weren't for those scars. They terrified him. "Δεν τον είδα ποτέ να βλάπτει κανέναν." ("I never saw him harm anyone.")

Jack nodded, it made sense, considering this kid grew up around dead people. It was good for Zo, Jack thought, to meet real people. “It was probably for the best.”

"Μου αρέσει περισσότερο ο Κάτω Κόσμος. Είναι πιο φιλόξενος..." ("I like the Underworld better. It's more welcoming...") He admitted. Honestly he also liked that place more because he just... knew it better. He grew up there- that was his home.

“Oh that’s-“ Jack was well and truly stumped but in a way he understood Zo, it made him think of his mom, “It’s not a nice feeling is it?”

He nodded sadly at the robotic voice translating what Jack said to him. He didn't like it here- on the surface. He didn't like the fact it was so bright, he didn't like the fact that no one understood him here. He wanted to go back home, where the souls could understand what he's saying because they taught him how to talk.

“Well, when you’re older you can go ask to go back,” Jack wanted to put a hand on his shoulder but hesitated, not wanting to scare Zo away.

Zo stared at the translating device in his hands. The monotonne, robotic voice repeating what he and Jack says in their respective languages, it was just... it was proof he didn't belong here.

Jack swallowed, sure he could think of reasons why they wanted the kid here but they weren’t necessarily ones that he would want to hear either.

The child looked up at Jack, about a billion questions forming in his head. Well- not questions, more like feelings of questions. He couldn't find the right words for what he wanted to say, so he stayed quiet for a bit...

“Maybe,” Jack watched Zo’s hesitant attempt at a hug, “I mean it’s not that bad here, I guess you get used to it, even though it doesn’t snow in winter like it should or the way it doesn’t have any weather, really.”

He nodded, even though he didn't really know what the older demigod was talking about. He had no clue what snow was, or what weather is. He's never seen any natural phenomena. He wasn't sure he'd like them, anyway. The world was too bright and colorful as is, it was making him have to squint not to hurt his eyes at times.

“Okay,” Jack scooted away from Zo hoping he wasn’t intruding on his personal space, “Is this okay? You can tell me if I’m too close or anything, I don’t want to upset you.”

He watched as the older boy moved away from him, a little sad, but he only had himself to blame for that. He told him he didn't want a hug, so he was giving him space. He understood that. Zo nodded.

Jack bit his lip and tried to think back on what he knew about the Underworld (which wasn’t a lot), before switching up his thoughts “You’d probably find Boston strange to be honest,” he sighed.

"Τι είναι η Βοστώνη;" ("What is Boston?") The boy asked, his pitch black eyes looking right at Jack- it almost felt like Zo's gaze was piercing into the older demigod's very soul, but the look on his face was curious, very obviously wanting to learn.

“Oh um, Boston, it’s where I used to live it’s up North,” he pointed in the general direction, just in case Zo didn’t know.

He looked to the direction the older boy was pointing in. So if he walks all the way North, he'll get to Boston? Maybe he can go and see how Jack grew up! That'd be fun, right? That'd be... what normal kids do, right?

“That sounds really nice,” Jack smiled, it was nice knowing Zo had had a good childhood despite everything, not all demigods could say the same.

Zo nodded, smiling brightly. He loved his papa and mama and aunts and uncles, and all the younger souls he used to play with! Life in the underworld was fun. He wished they never made him leave.

“Oh, okay!” Jack smiled at Zo, it was a little too wide for it to be normal but that didn’t matter Jack was already scaring the kid away, he should try and be nice.

OPEN:

The 6 year old sat in front of the cabin, having been instructed to wait here- or at least he thought that was what he was supposed to do? He barely understood what people were saying to him, his only help in getting their strange language being the odd translating device another child gave him a while ago. He'd went here from who he was almost sure was his biological father's place, leaving a tiny note about his location beforehand- since the man seemed invested in the lives of his children so it was only appropriate- and since he remembered this place briefly, he just... appeared here, a little while ago.

Jack kneeled down in front of the six year old, he looked concerned, the last kid he’d seen that had come here this young was Ally and even though she was older now he’d seen how it affected her.

The younger boy stared at Jack, barely registering words before his device translated them for him into Greek so he could understand them better- and once he got a general idea of what was being said to him, he gave a nod to the name, after which he quietly said, "Ζωντανός", the device picking up the Greek and translating, ("Alive"). He stared at it, tilting his head. That's not how you say his name. "...Zo."

Jack kept a small distance away from the boy, not wanting to make him scared and brought his knees up to his chest.

He looked a bit frightened, but honestly he always looks kinda scared... it's almost like he thinks every little thing is 'out to get him' or something- but whatever. Those black eyes stared at Jack, not really knowing what to do aside from nodding along to what the device translated.

Jack nodded, his head rushing with ideas of what to do next. It was an issue really, his indecisiveness.

It wasn't really that he was scared of Jack- probably, at least. Zo was... generally scared of most things. It was just how he was. Hell, he got scared of that one man when he first saw him because of his scars, and that was supposed to be his father-! What kind of a kid is scared of their father?

“Oh,” Jack looked taken aback for a moment, Zo really must’ve been new if he didn’t know how the camp worked.

Zo listened- or well, waited for his device to translate it for him, then listened to the Greek version. English just sounded like gibberish to him...

Jack blinked, not sure if he’d heard that right, but he had. This kid hadn’t been claimed in camp that was for sure; maybe he’d been claimed on his journey?

The child just nodded, suddenly enthusiastic about this. He loved his dad, oh so much, he loved telling people about his dad- because his dad's just awesome! "Ναι! Και είναι τόσο κουλ! Με φιλοξένησε όταν ανακάλυψε ότι οι ψυχές δεν μπορούσαν να με φροντίσουν σωστά και φρόντισε να είμαι καλά και υγιής!" ("Yes! And it's so cool! He took me in when he found out that the souls couldn't take care of me properly and made sure I was well and healthy!")

“Souls? What do you mean-“ Jack shook his head, whatever at least this kid actually likes his dad. “Never mind. Um glowy thing, that appears above your head,” he did the stupid gesture again, “Normally the symbol of your godly parent, it’s their way of acknowledging we exist.”

He was about to start explaining about the souls before he heard Jack explain the glowy thing- he never had that happen, but he... really didn't need to, right? His dad took care of him, that's how he knew Hades was his dad. The god cared for him, so he had to be his dad, right...?

Souls, souls… ghosts? This kid had been raised by ghosts? Jack had heard a lot of crazy things and for a moment he thought he could dismiss it as one of those stupid things kids say but there was no lie in what Zo had said.

"Ναι! Ήμουν!" ("Yes! I was!") The kid nodded excitedly, ready to go on a full rant about his Underworld family. "Λοιπόν- η θεία Χλόη είπε ότι μόλις εμφανίστηκα στον Ασφόδελο ως μωρό! Και δεν ήμουν ψυχή. Και μπερδεύτηκαν, αλλά με πήραν μέσα τους. Και προσπάθησαν να με ταΐσουν με πράγματα που έβρισκαν ή με ό,τι έφερναν μαζί τους οι νέες ψυχές. Και τότε το ανακάλυψε ο Άδης και άρχισε να με φροντίζει!" ("Well- Aunt Chloe said I just appeared to Asphpdel as a baby! And I wasn't a soul. And they were confused, but they took me in. And they tried to feed me things they found or whatever the new souls brought with them. And then Hades found out and started taking care of me!")

“Uh huh,” Jack considered what was going on for a moment, “So let me get this straight, the ghosts gave you food, from other ghosts and Hades raised you.”

He looked down at the ground, suddenly feeling a little stupid for his story. But... all of it was true. He loved his aunts and uncles and... everything else. Asphodel felt like home, he used to play with the kids there and such, and sometimes helped his papa with his work. He just gave a little nod at that- because yeah, that's what happened.

“Hey, hey,” Jack’s tone turned soft as he watched Zo’s expression, “If it’s the truth, it’s the truth, it’s just a little hard to process is all.”

The kid fidgeted with his device, trying to make sense of this whole thing. He... mostly didn't understand what was being said around the palace, the languages spoken there were so foreign to him and no one ever spoke Greek aside from Kat. He always felt really disoriented around there...

“Huh,” Jack nodded along, it sounded like something out of one of the old crime films his grandpa watched.

Zo wasn't sure what to say- because at first, it felt like he was oversharing a little, but... his father seemed really happy and proud of being with that man. So... maybe he wanted people to know about it?

Jack tried to shove his surprise off his face; he didn’t know what he’d expected to hear but that wasn’t it. The word was familiar in a way but Jack didn’t understand what it meant, just that it was important.

Zo tried to think. There weren't many things he could find to describe that man other than 'terrifying', 'intimidating', 'scary', etc., but he tried- he wanted to give a physical description. He hasn't seen the man a lot... but maybe he could scrape his mind for anything that could be useful.

Jack watched Zo’s expression, that was it for now. Jack didn’t know a lot of things, but he knew when to back off.

He tilted his head at that. Godly parent-? Like the god that was his parent? That was Hades. He knew it was Hades. Hades took care of him. Hades was his dad. Why does anyone have to find that out? He knew it.

Jack tapped his knees, gods he couldn’t upset the kid and for all he knew the kid was right. “Nothing it’s not that important right now, Chiron will have to talk to you later.”

"Ποιος είναι ο Χείρωνας;" ("Who is Chiron?") No, really, he didn't know who that was. Maybe... he's heard the name before, but he had no clue who Chiron actually was.

“Oh, okay,” Jack nodded along, this was (somewhat) familiar territory and something he could understand, “Well, Chiron is- he is…”

Zo listened. He tried to listen, anyway. The device will only take him so far, probably. He really needs to start understanding more English words than his father's name and some basic ones. He needed to start learning, but he really didn't want to.

“Huh, well yeah, they- they do that,” Jack started smiling again, “some of them live on the fields and just kind of exist. Others really like to party and whatever…”

He considered it for a moment, honestly not sure whether he should ask more questions- because he only really ever felt good asking things to Hades or the souls... He didn't know what to do here, especially since he had to get used to living with... essentially strangers, if he wanted to stay there to let his mortal father forget about him, since he knew he wasn't planned or known about at all.

Jack nodded, sucking in a deep breath. He felt for the kid, he really did, but he wasn’t sure of what to do now. It took a few minutes for Jack to speak, he tumbled over the words until he could find the right ones.

Oh, he was given a choice? By a stranger? That was weird- don't get him wrong, he loved making choices, he loved the freedom people gave him- even though he was young, he was always treated like a responsible person and capable of making choices for himself.

That wasn’t as surprising as it should’ve been to Jack, at the end of the day, Zo was just another scared kid. “Inside the Hermes Cabin? Sure but it’s probably best you try to make friends.”

He looked around for a moment, trying to take in his surroundings... All those cabins. One of them had to be for his papa, right? "Είναι ένα από αυτά για τον Άδη;" ("Is one of those for Hades?") The boy asked curiously.

Jack shook his head in quick succession, “Nah, only the twelve Olympians, which is weird considering that Hera doesn’t even have any kids.”

Zo stared at Jack. There was no way- there was no way camp didn't at least honor his papa, right? Even if there were very little children of Hades (which was believable, he's seen the god be extremely loving and caring to his wife, he was sure they'd be together forever), there had to be something- right?

“Hey, hey. Hey kid?” Jack got closer to the kid slowly, trying to give him the chance to back away if he wanted, “Hey kid, you okay?”

Zo wanted to shake his head. He wanted to cry or scream- but no... no, he was a big boy. He was a whole six years old, that was more than Kat- so he had to be a big boy about this. No matter how much the tears wanted to spill from his eyes at the information that camp had no place for him aside from the other kids in cabin 11, with all the- how'd people call them? Unclaimed kids? And the Hermes kids that just lived there. He felt like dead weight. Does he just not belong anywhere?

Jack paused, his throat tightening uncomfortably, “Your dad is great, things couldn’t function without him, y’know?”

Zo nodded. He knew Hades was important- as was literally anyone else... he knew about mythology, somewhat, because for some reason his papa thought it was important for him to learn it, even if the boy never intended on leaving the Underworld (and look at him now, on the surface and all...), but he still learned, only just for the sake of pleasing his father.

“Oh,” Jack had the nerve to look embarrassed that Zo had proven him wrong before actually noticing the look he had on his face, “I mean, um, the Underworld then…”

Zo tilted his head. He didn't really understand, why would anyone think the Underworld is a bad place? But maybe that's just because he's been living there his entire life... he might be a bit- how do people say it? Biased? Yeah, that's the word, or so he thought. "Ο Κάτω Κόσμος δεν είναι καθόλου τρομακτικός όμως. Είναι ένα ωραίο μέρος. Μου αρέσει εκεί. Είναι άνετα." ("The Underworld isn't scary at all though. It's a nice place. I like it there. It's comfortable.")

“Sure you belong here, you’re a demigod, you, you…” Jack looked around trying to figure out how to word things, “you’re just new and a lot younger than most campers and people just don’t know you.”

Demigod- he knew he was one. But everyone else had their cabins. Places to hang out with their siblings. Why didn't he have that luxury? He shook his head.

“I… uh,” Jack bit his lip, he didn’t know what to say, well aware that the wrong thing would make Zo feel worse. “Campers shouldn’t be scared of you.”

He tried to look brave- because he wanted people to think he's brave. He's the older brother- because he has a younger sister. So he has to be the responsible one. He just sighed when Jack said people weren't going to be scared of him. "Αλλά φοβούνται τον μπαμπά μου. Αυτό σημαίνει ότι φοβούνται και τα αδέρφια μου;" ("But they're afraid of my dad. Does that mean they're afraid of my siblings too?") He was aware there was probably very little of them- if they were even at camp.

“I mean…” Jack struggled for the words all over again, he was sure that either Chiron or Me D probably should be doing this but whatever, “Not necessarily… what people think of your siblings is up to them I guess.”

Zo wasn't upset- except he kind of was. I mean, can you blame him? Kids gets out of the place he calls home to find some man, and ends up in a camp where they have cabins for kids of all the gods, except it's only the gods they like and want to acknowledge. And his dad is not one of those gods. Anyone would feel bad, right?

“Well people assume lots of things about you because of your parents all the time, people assumed a lot of things about me because of my mom,” he winced, “but that doesn’t make them true, it’s human- no godly nature I guess.”Jack looked at Zo, “If your siblings were here, they would be in the same cabin but they aren’t… here I mean.”

"Ω, αυτό δεν είναι ωραίο." ("Oh, that's not nice.") He didn't understand why people would assume things based on people's parents. It didn't seem very logical to him.

“Well then you’d be a god,” Jack says gently, “If you’re a demigod then one of your parents is mortal.”

"Γνωρίζω τον θνητό πατέρα μου. Αλλά είναι ένας τρομακτικός άνθρωπος." ("I know my mortal father. But he is a terrifying man.") Yeah, except everything was scary or terrifying to Zo, especially new environments- and his mortal father's home was definitely a new environment. The fear was why he'd returned to camp- that and the fact he could see he wasn't exactly... a child that man planned to have. He thought he'd save him the inconvenience of raising someone he didn't even want or know about in the first place.

Well that made things harder for Jack but he looked at Zo, “Did you ever meet him? Why’d as he scary?” Jack could think of a few reasons why because of his mom but she hadn’t been particularly scary just not always there. “Did he drink?”

The younger boy thought about this for a moment. He knew what Jack meant, but he's never really... seen... his mortal father drink. That man was just... scary as a deafult. Especially with the way he interacted with the weird magical thing when they first met. "Φαίνεται τρομακτικός. Έχει... ουλές. Δεν θέλω να σκέφτομαι τι συνέβη και πώς τις απέκτησε, είναι τρομακτικό." ("He looks scary. He has... scars. I don't want to think about what happened and how he got them, it's scary.")

Okay, okay, Jack could work with that. “So he just looked scary, or did he do anything to hurt you or your siblings?”

Zo nodded. He's seen that man smiling a lot, and generally looking almost like a normal person... almost. If it weren't for those scars. They terrified him. "Δεν τον είδα ποτέ να βλάπτει κανέναν." ("I never saw him harm anyone.")

Jack nodded, it made sense, considering this kid grew up around dead people. It was good for Zo, Jack thought, to meet real people. “It was probably for the best.”

"Μου αρέσει περισσότερο ο Κάτω Κόσμος. Είναι πιο φιλόξενος..." ("I like the Underworld better. It's more welcoming...") He admitted. Honestly he also liked that place more because he just... knew it better. He grew up there- that was his home.

“Oh that’s-“ Jack was well and truly stumped but in a way he understood Zo, it made him think of his mom, “It’s not a nice feeling is it?”

He nodded sadly at the robotic voice translating what Jack said to him. He didn't like it here- on the surface. He didn't like the fact it was so bright, he didn't like the fact that no one understood him here. He wanted to go back home, where the souls could understand what he's saying because they taught him how to talk.

“Well, when you’re older you can go ask to go back,” Jack wanted to put a hand on his shoulder but hesitated, not wanting to scare Zo away.

Zo stared at the translating device in his hands. The monotonne, robotic voice repeating what he and Jack says in their respective languages, it was just... it was proof he didn't belong here.

Jack swallowed, sure he could think of reasons why they wanted the kid here but they weren’t necessarily ones that he would want to hear either.

The child looked up at Jack, about a billion questions forming in his head. Well- not questions, more like feelings of questions. He couldn't find the right words for what he wanted to say, so he stayed quiet for a bit...

“Maybe,” Jack watched Zo’s hesitant attempt at a hug, “I mean it’s not that bad here, I guess you get used to it, even though it doesn’t snow in winter like it should or the way it doesn’t have any weather, really.”

He nodded, even though he didn't really know what the older demigod was talking about. He had no clue what snow was, or what weather is. He's never seen any natural phenomena. He wasn't sure he'd like them, anyway. The world was too bright and colorful as is, it was making him have to squint not to hurt his eyes at times.

“Okay,” Jack scooted away from Zo hoping he wasn’t intruding on his personal space, “Is this okay? You can tell me if I’m too close or anything, I don’t want to upset you.”

He watched as the older boy moved away from him, a little sad, but he only had himself to blame for that. He told him he didn't want a hug, so he was giving him space. He understood that. Zo nodded.

Jack bit his lip and tried to think back on what he knew about the Underworld (which wasn’t a lot), before switching up his thoughts “You’d probably find Boston strange to be honest,” he sighed.

"Τι είναι η Βοστώνη;" ("What is Boston?") The boy asked, his pitch black eyes looking right at Jack- it almost felt like Zo's gaze was piercing into the older demigod's very soul, but the look on his face was curious, very obviously wanting to learn.

“Oh um, Boston, it’s where I used to live it’s up North,” he pointed in the general direction, just in case Zo didn’t know.

He looked to the direction the older boy was pointing in. So if he walks all the way North, he'll get to Boston? Maybe he can go and see how Jack grew up! That'd be fun, right? That'd be... what normal kids do, right?

“That sounds really nice,” Jack smiled, it was nice knowing Zo had had a good childhood despite everything, not all demigods could say the same.

Zo nodded, smiling brightly. He loved his papa and mama and aunts and uncles, and all the younger souls he used to play with! Life in the underworld was fun. He wished they never made him leave.

OPEN:

The 6 year old sat in front of the cabin, having been instructed to wait here- or at least he thought that was what he was supposed to do? He barely understood what people were saying to him, his only help in getting their strange language being the odd translating device another child gave him a while ago. He'd went here from who he was almost sure was his biological father's place, leaving a tiny note about his location beforehand- since the man seemed invested in the lives of his children so it was only appropriate- and since he remembered this place briefly, he just... appeared here, a little while ago.

Jack kneeled down in front of the six year old, he looked concerned, the last kid he’d seen that had come here this young was Ally and even though she was older now he’d seen how it affected her.

The younger boy stared at Jack, barely registering words before his device translated them for him into Greek so he could understand them better- and once he got a general idea of what was being said to him, he gave a nod to the name, after which he quietly said, "Ζωντανός", the device picking up the Greek and translating, ("Alive"). He stared at it, tilting his head. That's not how you say his name. "...Zo."

Jack kept a small distance away from the boy, not wanting to make him scared and brought his knees up to his chest.

He looked a bit frightened, but honestly he always looks kinda scared... it's almost like he thinks every little thing is 'out to get him' or something- but whatever. Those black eyes stared at Jack, not really knowing what to do aside from nodding along to what the device translated.

Jack nodded, his head rushing with ideas of what to do next. It was an issue really, his indecisiveness.

It wasn't really that he was scared of Jack- probably, at least. Zo was... generally scared of most things. It was just how he was. Hell, he got scared of that one man when he first saw him because of his scars, and that was supposed to be his father-! What kind of a kid is scared of their father?

“Oh,” Jack looked taken aback for a moment, Zo really must’ve been new if he didn’t know how the camp worked.

Zo listened- or well, waited for his device to translate it for him, then listened to the Greek version. English just sounded like gibberish to him...

Jack blinked, not sure if he’d heard that right, but he had. This kid hadn’t been claimed in camp that was for sure; maybe he’d been claimed on his journey?

The child just nodded, suddenly enthusiastic about this. He loved his dad, oh so much, he loved telling people about his dad- because his dad's just awesome! "Ναι! Και είναι τόσο κουλ! Με φιλοξένησε όταν ανακάλυψε ότι οι ψυχές δεν μπορούσαν να με φροντίσουν σωστά και φρόντισε να είμαι καλά και υγιής!" ("Yes! And it's so cool! He took me in when he found out that the souls couldn't take care of me properly and made sure I was well and healthy!")

“Souls? What do you mean-“ Jack shook his head, whatever at least this kid actually likes his dad. “Never mind. Um glowy thing, that appears above your head,” he did the stupid gesture again, “Normally the symbol of your godly parent, it’s their way of acknowledging we exist.”

He was about to start explaining about the souls before he heard Jack explain the glowy thing- he never had that happen, but he... really didn't need to, right? His dad took care of him, that's how he knew Hades was his dad. The god cared for him, so he had to be his dad, right...?

Souls, souls… ghosts? This kid had been raised by ghosts? Jack had heard a lot of crazy things and for a moment he thought he could dismiss it as one of those stupid things kids say but there was no lie in what Zo had said.

"Ναι! Ήμουν!" ("Yes! I was!") The kid nodded excitedly, ready to go on a full rant about his Underworld family. "Λοιπόν- η θεία Χλόη είπε ότι μόλις εμφανίστηκα στον Ασφόδελο ως μωρό! Και δεν ήμουν ψυχή. Και μπερδεύτηκαν, αλλά με πήραν μέσα τους. Και προσπάθησαν να με ταΐσουν με πράγματα που έβρισκαν ή με ό,τι έφερναν μαζί τους οι νέες ψυχές. Και τότε το ανακάλυψε ο Άδης και άρχισε να με φροντίζει!" ("Well- Aunt Chloe said I just appeared to Asphpdel as a baby! And I wasn't a soul. And they were confused, but they took me in. And they tried to feed me things they found or whatever the new souls brought with them. And then Hades found out and started taking care of me!")

“Uh huh,” Jack considered what was going on for a moment, “So let me get this straight, the ghosts gave you food, from other ghosts and Hades raised you.”

He looked down at the ground, suddenly feeling a little stupid for his story. But... all of it was true. He loved his aunts and uncles and... everything else. Asphodel felt like home, he used to play with the kids there and such, and sometimes helped his papa with his work. He just gave a little nod at that- because yeah, that's what happened.

“Hey, hey,” Jack’s tone turned soft as he watched Zo’s expression, “If it’s the truth, it’s the truth, it’s just a little hard to process is all.”

The kid fidgeted with his device, trying to make sense of this whole thing. He... mostly didn't understand what was being said around the palace, the languages spoken there were so foreign to him and no one ever spoke Greek aside from Kat. He always felt really disoriented around there...

“Huh,” Jack nodded along, it sounded like something out of one of the old crime films his grandpa watched.

Zo wasn't sure what to say- because at first, it felt like he was oversharing a little, but... his father seemed really happy and proud of being with that man. So... maybe he wanted people to know about it?

Jack tried to shove his surprise off his face; he didn’t know what he’d expected to hear but that wasn’t it. The word was familiar in a way but Jack didn’t understand what it meant, just that it was important.

Zo tried to think. There weren't many things he could find to describe that man other than 'terrifying', 'intimidating', 'scary', etc., but he tried- he wanted to give a physical description. He hasn't seen the man a lot... but maybe he could scrape his mind for anything that could be useful.

Jack watched Zo’s expression, that was it for now. Jack didn’t know a lot of things, but he knew when to back off.

He tilted his head at that. Godly parent-? Like the god that was his parent? That was Hades. He knew it was Hades. Hades took care of him. Hades was his dad. Why does anyone have to find that out? He knew it.

Jack tapped his knees, gods he couldn’t upset the kid and for all he knew the kid was right. “Nothing it’s not that important right now, Chiron will have to talk to you later.”

"Ποιος είναι ο Χείρωνας;" ("Who is Chiron?") No, really, he didn't know who that was. Maybe... he's heard the name before, but he had no clue who Chiron actually was.

“Oh, okay,” Jack nodded along, this was (somewhat) familiar territory and something he could understand, “Well, Chiron is- he is…”

Zo listened. He tried to listen, anyway. The device will only take him so far, probably. He really needs to start understanding more English words than his father's name and some basic ones. He needed to start learning, but he really didn't want to.

“Huh, well yeah, they- they do that,” Jack started smiling again, “some of them live on the fields and just kind of exist. Others really like to party and whatever…”

He considered it for a moment, honestly not sure whether he should ask more questions- because he only really ever felt good asking things to Hades or the souls... He didn't know what to do here, especially since he had to get used to living with... essentially strangers, if he wanted to stay there to let his mortal father forget about him, since he knew he wasn't planned or known about at all.

Jack nodded, sucking in a deep breath. He felt for the kid, he really did, but he wasn’t sure of what to do now. It took a few minutes for Jack to speak, he tumbled over the words until he could find the right ones.

Oh, he was given a choice? By a stranger? That was weird- don't get him wrong, he loved making choices, he loved the freedom people gave him- even though he was young, he was always treated like a responsible person and capable of making choices for himself.

That wasn’t as surprising as it should’ve been to Jack, at the end of the day, Zo was just another scared kid. “Inside the Hermes Cabin? Sure but it’s probably best you try to make friends.”

He looked around for a moment, trying to take in his surroundings... All those cabins. One of them had to be for his papa, right? "Είναι ένα από αυτά για τον Άδη;" ("Is one of those for Hades?") The boy asked curiously.

Jack shook his head in quick succession, “Nah, only the twelve Olympians, which is weird considering that Hera doesn’t even have any kids.”

Zo stared at Jack. There was no way- there was no way camp didn't at least honor his papa, right? Even if there were very little children of Hades (which was believable, he's seen the god be extremely loving and caring to his wife, he was sure they'd be together forever), there had to be something- right?

“Hey, hey. Hey kid?” Jack got closer to the kid slowly, trying to give him the chance to back away if he wanted, “Hey kid, you okay?”

Zo wanted to shake his head. He wanted to cry or scream- but no... no, he was a big boy. He was a whole six years old, that was more than Kat- so he had to be a big boy about this. No matter how much the tears wanted to spill from his eyes at the information that camp had no place for him aside from the other kids in cabin 11, with all the- how'd people call them? Unclaimed kids? And the Hermes kids that just lived there. He felt like dead weight. Does he just not belong anywhere?

Jack paused, his throat tightening uncomfortably, “Your dad is great, things couldn’t function without him, y’know?”

Zo nodded. He knew Hades was important- as was literally anyone else... he knew about mythology, somewhat, because for some reason his papa thought it was important for him to learn it, even if the boy never intended on leaving the Underworld (and look at him now, on the surface and all...), but he still learned, only just for the sake of pleasing his father.

“Oh,” Jack had the nerve to look embarrassed that Zo had proven him wrong before actually noticing the look he had on his face, “I mean, um, the Underworld then…”

Zo tilted his head. He didn't really understand, why would anyone think the Underworld is a bad place? But maybe that's just because he's been living there his entire life... he might be a bit- how do people say it? Biased? Yeah, that's the word, or so he thought. "Ο Κάτω Κόσμος δεν είναι καθόλου τρομακτικός όμως. Είναι ένα ωραίο μέρος. Μου αρέσει εκεί. Είναι άνετα." ("The Underworld isn't scary at all though. It's a nice place. I like it there. It's comfortable.")

“Sure you belong here, you’re a demigod, you, you…” Jack looked around trying to figure out how to word things, “you’re just new and a lot younger than most campers and people just don’t know you.”

Demigod- he knew he was one. But everyone else had their cabins. Places to hang out with their siblings. Why didn't he have that luxury? He shook his head.

“I… uh,” Jack bit his lip, he didn’t know what to say, well aware that the wrong thing would make Zo feel worse. “Campers shouldn’t be scared of you.”

He tried to look brave- because he wanted people to think he's brave. He's the older brother- because he has a younger sister. So he has to be the responsible one. He just sighed when Jack said people weren't going to be scared of him. "Αλλά φοβούνται τον μπαμπά μου. Αυτό σημαίνει ότι φοβούνται και τα αδέρφια μου;" ("But they're afraid of my dad. Does that mean they're afraid of my siblings too?") He was aware there was probably very little of them- if they were even at camp.

“I mean…” Jack struggled for the words all over again, he was sure that either Chiron or Me D probably should be doing this but whatever, “Not necessarily… what people think of your siblings is up to them I guess.”

Zo wasn't upset- except he kind of was. I mean, can you blame him? Kids gets out of the place he calls home to find some man, and ends up in a camp where they have cabins for kids of all the gods, except it's only the gods they like and want to acknowledge. And his dad is not one of those gods. Anyone would feel bad, right?

“Well people assume lots of things about you because of your parents all the time, people assumed a lot of things about me because of my mom,” he winced, “but that doesn’t make them true, it’s human- no godly nature I guess.”Jack looked at Zo, “If your siblings were here, they would be in the same cabin but they aren’t… here I mean.”

"Ω, αυτό δεν είναι ωραίο." ("Oh, that's not nice.") He didn't understand why people would assume things based on people's parents. It didn't seem very logical to him.

“Well then you’d be a god,” Jack says gently, “If you’re a demigod then one of your parents is mortal.”

"Γνωρίζω τον θνητό πατέρα μου. Αλλά είναι ένας τρομακτικός άνθρωπος." ("I know my mortal father. But he is a terrifying man.") Yeah, except everything was scary or terrifying to Zo, especially new environments- and his mortal father's home was definitely a new environment. The fear was why he'd returned to camp- that and the fact he could see he wasn't exactly... a child that man planned to have. He thought he'd save him the inconvenience of raising someone he didn't even want or know about in the first place.

Well that made things harder for Jack but he looked at Zo, “Did you ever meet him? Why’d as he scary?” Jack could think of a few reasons why because of his mom but she hadn’t been particularly scary just not always there. “Did he drink?”

The younger boy thought about this for a moment. He knew what Jack meant, but he's never really... seen... his mortal father drink. That man was just... scary as a deafult. Especially with the way he interacted with the weird magical thing when they first met. "Φαίνεται τρομακτικός. Έχει... ουλές. Δεν θέλω να σκέφτομαι τι συνέβη και πώς τις απέκτησε, είναι τρομακτικό." ("He looks scary. He has... scars. I don't want to think about what happened and how he got them, it's scary.")

Okay, okay, Jack could work with that. “So he just looked scary, or did he do anything to hurt you or your siblings?”

Zo nodded. He's seen that man smiling a lot, and generally looking almost like a normal person... almost. If it weren't for those scars. They terrified him. "Δεν τον είδα ποτέ να βλάπτει κανέναν." ("I never saw him harm anyone.")

Jack nodded, it made sense, considering this kid grew up around dead people. It was good for Zo, Jack thought, to meet real people. “It was probably for the best.”

"Μου αρέσει περισσότερο ο Κάτω Κόσμος. Είναι πιο φιλόξενος..." ("I like the Underworld better. It's more welcoming...") He admitted. Honestly he also liked that place more because he just... knew it better. He grew up there- that was his home.

“Oh that’s-“ Jack was well and truly stumped but in a way he understood Zo, it made him think of his mom, “It’s not a nice feeling is it?”

He nodded sadly at the robotic voice translating what Jack said to him. He didn't like it here- on the surface. He didn't like the fact it was so bright, he didn't like the fact that no one understood him here. He wanted to go back home, where the souls could understand what he's saying because they taught him how to talk.

“Well, when you’re older you can go ask to go back,” Jack wanted to put a hand on his shoulder but hesitated, not wanting to scare Zo away.

Zo stared at the translating device in his hands. The monotonne, robotic voice repeating what he and Jack says in their respective languages, it was just... it was proof he didn't belong here.

Jack swallowed, sure he could think of reasons why they wanted the kid here but they weren’t necessarily ones that he would want to hear either.

The child looked up at Jack, about a billion questions forming in his head. Well- not questions, more like feelings of questions. He couldn't find the right words for what he wanted to say, so he stayed quiet for a bit...

“Maybe,” Jack watched Zo’s hesitant attempt at a hug, “I mean it’s not that bad here, I guess you get used to it, even though it doesn’t snow in winter like it should or the way it doesn’t have any weather, really.”

He nodded, even though he didn't really know what the older demigod was talking about. He had no clue what snow was, or what weather is. He's never seen any natural phenomena. He wasn't sure he'd like them, anyway. The world was too bright and colorful as is, it was making him have to squint not to hurt his eyes at times.

“Okay,” Jack scooted away from Zo hoping he wasn’t intruding on his personal space, “Is this okay? You can tell me if I’m too close or anything, I don’t want to upset you.”

He watched as the older boy moved away from him, a little sad, but he only had himself to blame for that. He told him he didn't want a hug, so he was giving him space. He understood that. Zo nodded.

Jack bit his lip and tried to think back on what he knew about the Underworld (which wasn’t a lot), before switching up his thoughts “You’d probably find Boston strange to be honest,” he sighed.

"Τι είναι η Βοστώνη;" ("What is Boston?") The boy asked, his pitch black eyes looking right at Jack- it almost felt like Zo's gaze was piercing into the older demigod's very soul, but the look on his face was curious, very obviously wanting to learn.

“Oh um, Boston, it’s where I used to live it’s up North,” he pointed in the general direction, just in case Zo didn’t know.

He looked to the direction the older boy was pointing in. So if he walks all the way North, he'll get to Boston? Maybe he can go and see how Jack grew up! That'd be fun, right? That'd be... what normal kids do, right?

“That sounds really nice,” Jack smiled, it was nice knowing Zo had had a good childhood despite everything, not all demigods could say the same.

OPEN:

The 6 year old sat in front of the cabin, having been instructed to wait here- or at least he thought that was what he was supposed to do? He barely understood what people were saying to him, his only help in getting their strange language being the odd translating device another child gave him a while ago. He'd went here from who he was almost sure was his biological father's place, leaving a tiny note about his location beforehand- since the man seemed invested in the lives of his children so it was only appropriate- and since he remembered this place briefly, he just... appeared here, a little while ago.

Jack kneeled down in front of the six year old, he looked concerned, the last kid he’d seen that had come here this young was Ally and even though she was older now he’d seen how it affected her.

The younger boy stared at Jack, barely registering words before his device translated them for him into Greek so he could understand them better- and once he got a general idea of what was being said to him, he gave a nod to the name, after which he quietly said, "Ζωντανός", the device picking up the Greek and translating, ("Alive"). He stared at it, tilting his head. That's not how you say his name. "...Zo."

Jack kept a small distance away from the boy, not wanting to make him scared and brought his knees up to his chest.

He looked a bit frightened, but honestly he always looks kinda scared... it's almost like he thinks every little thing is 'out to get him' or something- but whatever. Those black eyes stared at Jack, not really knowing what to do aside from nodding along to what the device translated.

Jack nodded, his head rushing with ideas of what to do next. It was an issue really, his indecisiveness.

It wasn't really that he was scared of Jack- probably, at least. Zo was... generally scared of most things. It was just how he was. Hell, he got scared of that one man when he first saw him because of his scars, and that was supposed to be his father-! What kind of a kid is scared of their father?

“Oh,” Jack looked taken aback for a moment, Zo really must’ve been new if he didn’t know how the camp worked.

Zo listened- or well, waited for his device to translate it for him, then listened to the Greek version. English just sounded like gibberish to him...

Jack blinked, not sure if he’d heard that right, but he had. This kid hadn’t been claimed in camp that was for sure; maybe he’d been claimed on his journey?

The child just nodded, suddenly enthusiastic about this. He loved his dad, oh so much, he loved telling people about his dad- because his dad's just awesome! "Ναι! Και είναι τόσο κουλ! Με φιλοξένησε όταν ανακάλυψε ότι οι ψυχές δεν μπορούσαν να με φροντίσουν σωστά και φρόντισε να είμαι καλά και υγιής!" ("Yes! And it's so cool! He took me in when he found out that the souls couldn't take care of me properly and made sure I was well and healthy!")

“Souls? What do you mean-“ Jack shook his head, whatever at least this kid actually likes his dad. “Never mind. Um glowy thing, that appears above your head,” he did the stupid gesture again, “Normally the symbol of your godly parent, it’s their way of acknowledging we exist.”

He was about to start explaining about the souls before he heard Jack explain the glowy thing- he never had that happen, but he... really didn't need to, right? His dad took care of him, that's how he knew Hades was his dad. The god cared for him, so he had to be his dad, right...?

Souls, souls… ghosts? This kid had been raised by ghosts? Jack had heard a lot of crazy things and for a moment he thought he could dismiss it as one of those stupid things kids say but there was no lie in what Zo had said.

"Ναι! Ήμουν!" ("Yes! I was!") The kid nodded excitedly, ready to go on a full rant about his Underworld family. "Λοιπόν- η θεία Χλόη είπε ότι μόλις εμφανίστηκα στον Ασφόδελο ως μωρό! Και δεν ήμουν ψυχή. Και μπερδεύτηκαν, αλλά με πήραν μέσα τους. Και προσπάθησαν να με ταΐσουν με πράγματα που έβρισκαν ή με ό,τι έφερναν μαζί τους οι νέες ψυχές. Και τότε το ανακάλυψε ο Άδης και άρχισε να με φροντίζει!" ("Well- Aunt Chloe said I just appeared to Asphpdel as a baby! And I wasn't a soul. And they were confused, but they took me in. And they tried to feed me things they found or whatever the new souls brought with them. And then Hades found out and started taking care of me!")

“Uh huh,” Jack considered what was going on for a moment, “So let me get this straight, the ghosts gave you food, from other ghosts and Hades raised you.”

He looked down at the ground, suddenly feeling a little stupid for his story. But... all of it was true. He loved his aunts and uncles and... everything else. Asphodel felt like home, he used to play with the kids there and such, and sometimes helped his papa with his work. He just gave a little nod at that- because yeah, that's what happened.

“Hey, hey,” Jack’s tone turned soft as he watched Zo’s expression, “If it’s the truth, it’s the truth, it’s just a little hard to process is all.”

The kid fidgeted with his device, trying to make sense of this whole thing. He... mostly didn't understand what was being said around the palace, the languages spoken there were so foreign to him and no one ever spoke Greek aside from Kat. He always felt really disoriented around there...

“Huh,” Jack nodded along, it sounded like something out of one of the old crime films his grandpa watched.

Zo wasn't sure what to say- because at first, it felt like he was oversharing a little, but... his father seemed really happy and proud of being with that man. So... maybe he wanted people to know about it?

Jack tried to shove his surprise off his face; he didn’t know what he’d expected to hear but that wasn’t it. The word was familiar in a way but Jack didn’t understand what it meant, just that it was important.

Zo tried to think. There weren't many things he could find to describe that man other than 'terrifying', 'intimidating', 'scary', etc., but he tried- he wanted to give a physical description. He hasn't seen the man a lot... but maybe he could scrape his mind for anything that could be useful.

Jack watched Zo’s expression, that was it for now. Jack didn’t know a lot of things, but he knew when to back off.

He tilted his head at that. Godly parent-? Like the god that was his parent? That was Hades. He knew it was Hades. Hades took care of him. Hades was his dad. Why does anyone have to find that out? He knew it.

Jack tapped his knees, gods he couldn’t upset the kid and for all he knew the kid was right. “Nothing it’s not that important right now, Chiron will have to talk to you later.”

"Ποιος είναι ο Χείρωνας;" ("Who is Chiron?") No, really, he didn't know who that was. Maybe... he's heard the name before, but he had no clue who Chiron actually was.

“Oh, okay,” Jack nodded along, this was (somewhat) familiar territory and something he could understand, “Well, Chiron is- he is…”

Zo listened. He tried to listen, anyway. The device will only take him so far, probably. He really needs to start understanding more English words than his father's name and some basic ones. He needed to start learning, but he really didn't want to.

“Huh, well yeah, they- they do that,” Jack started smiling again, “some of them live on the fields and just kind of exist. Others really like to party and whatever…”

He considered it for a moment, honestly not sure whether he should ask more questions- because he only really ever felt good asking things to Hades or the souls... He didn't know what to do here, especially since he had to get used to living with... essentially strangers, if he wanted to stay there to let his mortal father forget about him, since he knew he wasn't planned or known about at all.

Jack nodded, sucking in a deep breath. He felt for the kid, he really did, but he wasn’t sure of what to do now. It took a few minutes for Jack to speak, he tumbled over the words until he could find the right ones.

Oh, he was given a choice? By a stranger? That was weird- don't get him wrong, he loved making choices, he loved the freedom people gave him- even though he was young, he was always treated like a responsible person and capable of making choices for himself.

That wasn’t as surprising as it should’ve been to Jack, at the end of the day, Zo was just another scared kid. “Inside the Hermes Cabin? Sure but it’s probably best you try to make friends.”

He looked around for a moment, trying to take in his surroundings... All those cabins. One of them had to be for his papa, right? "Είναι ένα από αυτά για τον Άδη;" ("Is one of those for Hades?") The boy asked curiously.

Jack shook his head in quick succession, “Nah, only the twelve Olympians, which is weird considering that Hera doesn’t even have any kids.”

Zo stared at Jack. There was no way- there was no way camp didn't at least honor his papa, right? Even if there were very little children of Hades (which was believable, he's seen the god be extremely loving and caring to his wife, he was sure they'd be together forever), there had to be something- right?

“Hey, hey. Hey kid?” Jack got closer to the kid slowly, trying to give him the chance to back away if he wanted, “Hey kid, you okay?”

Zo wanted to shake his head. He wanted to cry or scream- but no... no, he was a big boy. He was a whole six years old, that was more than Kat- so he had to be a big boy about this. No matter how much the tears wanted to spill from his eyes at the information that camp had no place for him aside from the other kids in cabin 11, with all the- how'd people call them? Unclaimed kids? And the Hermes kids that just lived there. He felt like dead weight. Does he just not belong anywhere?

Jack paused, his throat tightening uncomfortably, “Your dad is great, things couldn’t function without him, y’know?”

Zo nodded. He knew Hades was important- as was literally anyone else... he knew about mythology, somewhat, because for some reason his papa thought it was important for him to learn it, even if the boy never intended on leaving the Underworld (and look at him now, on the surface and all...), but he still learned, only just for the sake of pleasing his father.

“Oh,” Jack had the nerve to look embarrassed that Zo had proven him wrong before actually noticing the look he had on his face, “I mean, um, the Underworld then…”

Zo tilted his head. He didn't really understand, why would anyone think the Underworld is a bad place? But maybe that's just because he's been living there his entire life... he might be a bit- how do people say it? Biased? Yeah, that's the word, or so he thought. "Ο Κάτω Κόσμος δεν είναι καθόλου τρομακτικός όμως. Είναι ένα ωραίο μέρος. Μου αρέσει εκεί. Είναι άνετα." ("The Underworld isn't scary at all though. It's a nice place. I like it there. It's comfortable.")

“Sure you belong here, you’re a demigod, you, you…” Jack looked around trying to figure out how to word things, “you’re just new and a lot younger than most campers and people just don’t know you.”

Demigod- he knew he was one. But everyone else had their cabins. Places to hang out with their siblings. Why didn't he have that luxury? He shook his head.

“I… uh,” Jack bit his lip, he didn’t know what to say, well aware that the wrong thing would make Zo feel worse. “Campers shouldn’t be scared of you.”

He tried to look brave- because he wanted people to think he's brave. He's the older brother- because he has a younger sister. So he has to be the responsible one. He just sighed when Jack said people weren't going to be scared of him. "Αλλά φοβούνται τον μπαμπά μου. Αυτό σημαίνει ότι φοβούνται και τα αδέρφια μου;" ("But they're afraid of my dad. Does that mean they're afraid of my siblings too?") He was aware there was probably very little of them- if they were even at camp.

“I mean…” Jack struggled for the words all over again, he was sure that either Chiron or Me D probably should be doing this but whatever, “Not necessarily… what people think of your siblings is up to them I guess.”

Zo wasn't upset- except he kind of was. I mean, can you blame him? Kids gets out of the place he calls home to find some man, and ends up in a camp where they have cabins for kids of all the gods, except it's only the gods they like and want to acknowledge. And his dad is not one of those gods. Anyone would feel bad, right?

“Well people assume lots of things about you because of your parents all the time, people assumed a lot of things about me because of my mom,” he winced, “but that doesn’t make them true, it’s human- no godly nature I guess.”Jack looked at Zo, “If your siblings were here, they would be in the same cabin but they aren’t… here I mean.”

"Ω, αυτό δεν είναι ωραίο." ("Oh, that's not nice.") He didn't understand why people would assume things based on people's parents. It didn't seem very logical to him.

“Well then you’d be a god,” Jack says gently, “If you’re a demigod then one of your parents is mortal.”

"Γνωρίζω τον θνητό πατέρα μου. Αλλά είναι ένας τρομακτικός άνθρωπος." ("I know my mortal father. But he is a terrifying man.") Yeah, except everything was scary or terrifying to Zo, especially new environments- and his mortal father's home was definitely a new environment. The fear was why he'd returned to camp- that and the fact he could see he wasn't exactly... a child that man planned to have. He thought he'd save him the inconvenience of raising someone he didn't even want or know about in the first place.

Well that made things harder for Jack but he looked at Zo, “Did you ever meet him? Why’d as he scary?” Jack could think of a few reasons why because of his mom but she hadn’t been particularly scary just not always there. “Did he drink?”

The younger boy thought about this for a moment. He knew what Jack meant, but he's never really... seen... his mortal father drink. That man was just... scary as a deafult. Especially with the way he interacted with the weird magical thing when they first met. "Φαίνεται τρομακτικός. Έχει... ουλές. Δεν θέλω να σκέφτομαι τι συνέβη και πώς τις απέκτησε, είναι τρομακτικό." ("He looks scary. He has... scars. I don't want to think about what happened and how he got them, it's scary.")

Okay, okay, Jack could work with that. “So he just looked scary, or did he do anything to hurt you or your siblings?”

Zo nodded. He's seen that man smiling a lot, and generally looking almost like a normal person... almost. If it weren't for those scars. They terrified him. "Δεν τον είδα ποτέ να βλάπτει κανέναν." ("I never saw him harm anyone.")

Jack nodded, it made sense, considering this kid grew up around dead people. It was good for Zo, Jack thought, to meet real people. “It was probably for the best.”

"Μου αρέσει περισσότερο ο Κάτω Κόσμος. Είναι πιο φιλόξενος..." ("I like the Underworld better. It's more welcoming...") He admitted. Honestly he also liked that place more because he just... knew it better. He grew up there- that was his home.

“Oh that’s-“ Jack was well and truly stumped but in a way he understood Zo, it made him think of his mom, “It’s not a nice feeling is it?”

He nodded sadly at the robotic voice translating what Jack said to him. He didn't like it here- on the surface. He didn't like the fact it was so bright, he didn't like the fact that no one understood him here. He wanted to go back home, where the souls could understand what he's saying because they taught him how to talk.

“Well, when you’re older you can go ask to go back,” Jack wanted to put a hand on his shoulder but hesitated, not wanting to scare Zo away.

Zo stared at the translating device in his hands. The monotonne, robotic voice repeating what he and Jack says in their respective languages, it was just... it was proof he didn't belong here.

Jack swallowed, sure he could think of reasons why they wanted the kid here but they weren’t necessarily ones that he would want to hear either.

The child looked up at Jack, about a billion questions forming in his head. Well- not questions, more like feelings of questions. He couldn't find the right words for what he wanted to say, so he stayed quiet for a bit...

“Maybe,” Jack watched Zo’s hesitant attempt at a hug, “I mean it’s not that bad here, I guess you get used to it, even though it doesn’t snow in winter like it should or the way it doesn’t have any weather, really.”

He nodded, even though he didn't really know what the older demigod was talking about. He had no clue what snow was, or what weather is. He's never seen any natural phenomena. He wasn't sure he'd like them, anyway. The world was too bright and colorful as is, it was making him have to squint not to hurt his eyes at times.

“Okay,” Jack scooted away from Zo hoping he wasn’t intruding on his personal space, “Is this okay? You can tell me if I’m too close or anything, I don’t want to upset you.”

He watched as the older boy moved away from him, a little sad, but he only had himself to blame for that. He told him he didn't want a hug, so he was giving him space. He understood that. Zo nodded.

Jack bit his lip and tried to think back on what he knew about the Underworld (which wasn’t a lot), before switching up his thoughts “You’d probably find Boston strange to be honest,” he sighed.

"Τι είναι η Βοστώνη;" ("What is Boston?") The boy asked, his pitch black eyes looking right at Jack- it almost felt like Zo's gaze was piercing into the older demigod's very soul, but the look on his face was curious, very obviously wanting to learn.

“Oh um, Boston, it’s where I used to live it’s up North,” he pointed in the general direction, just in case Zo didn’t know.

OPEN:

The 6 year old sat in front of the cabin, having been instructed to wait here- or at least he thought that was what he was supposed to do? He barely understood what people were saying to him, his only help in getting their strange language being the odd translating device another child gave him a while ago. He'd went here from who he was almost sure was his biological father's place, leaving a tiny note about his location beforehand- since the man seemed invested in the lives of his children so it was only appropriate- and since he remembered this place briefly, he just... appeared here, a little while ago.

Jack kneeled down in front of the six year old, he looked concerned, the last kid he’d seen that had come here this young was Ally and even though she was older now he’d seen how it affected her.

The younger boy stared at Jack, barely registering words before his device translated them for him into Greek so he could understand them better- and once he got a general idea of what was being said to him, he gave a nod to the name, after which he quietly said, "Ζωντανός", the device picking up the Greek and translating, ("Alive"). He stared at it, tilting his head. That's not how you say his name. "...Zo."

Jack kept a small distance away from the boy, not wanting to make him scared and brought his knees up to his chest.

He looked a bit frightened, but honestly he always looks kinda scared... it's almost like he thinks every little thing is 'out to get him' or something- but whatever. Those black eyes stared at Jack, not really knowing what to do aside from nodding along to what the device translated.

Jack nodded, his head rushing with ideas of what to do next. It was an issue really, his indecisiveness.

It wasn't really that he was scared of Jack- probably, at least. Zo was... generally scared of most things. It was just how he was. Hell, he got scared of that one man when he first saw him because of his scars, and that was supposed to be his father-! What kind of a kid is scared of their father?

“Oh,” Jack looked taken aback for a moment, Zo really must’ve been new if he didn’t know how the camp worked.

Zo listened- or well, waited for his device to translate it for him, then listened to the Greek version. English just sounded like gibberish to him...

Jack blinked, not sure if he’d heard that right, but he had. This kid hadn’t been claimed in camp that was for sure; maybe he’d been claimed on his journey?

The child just nodded, suddenly enthusiastic about this. He loved his dad, oh so much, he loved telling people about his dad- because his dad's just awesome! "Ναι! Και είναι τόσο κουλ! Με φιλοξένησε όταν ανακάλυψε ότι οι ψυχές δεν μπορούσαν να με φροντίσουν σωστά και φρόντισε να είμαι καλά και υγιής!" ("Yes! And it's so cool! He took me in when he found out that the souls couldn't take care of me properly and made sure I was well and healthy!")

“Souls? What do you mean-“ Jack shook his head, whatever at least this kid actually likes his dad. “Never mind. Um glowy thing, that appears above your head,” he did the stupid gesture again, “Normally the symbol of your godly parent, it’s their way of acknowledging we exist.”

He was about to start explaining about the souls before he heard Jack explain the glowy thing- he never had that happen, but he... really didn't need to, right? His dad took care of him, that's how he knew Hades was his dad. The god cared for him, so he had to be his dad, right...?

Souls, souls… ghosts? This kid had been raised by ghosts? Jack had heard a lot of crazy things and for a moment he thought he could dismiss it as one of those stupid things kids say but there was no lie in what Zo had said.

"Ναι! Ήμουν!" ("Yes! I was!") The kid nodded excitedly, ready to go on a full rant about his Underworld family. "Λοιπόν- η θεία Χλόη είπε ότι μόλις εμφανίστηκα στον Ασφόδελο ως μωρό! Και δεν ήμουν ψυχή. Και μπερδεύτηκαν, αλλά με πήραν μέσα τους. Και προσπάθησαν να με ταΐσουν με πράγματα που έβρισκαν ή με ό,τι έφερναν μαζί τους οι νέες ψυχές. Και τότε το ανακάλυψε ο Άδης και άρχισε να με φροντίζει!" ("Well- Aunt Chloe said I just appeared to Asphpdel as a baby! And I wasn't a soul. And they were confused, but they took me in. And they tried to feed me things they found or whatever the new souls brought with them. And then Hades found out and started taking care of me!")

“Uh huh,” Jack considered what was going on for a moment, “So let me get this straight, the ghosts gave you food, from other ghosts and Hades raised you.”

He looked down at the ground, suddenly feeling a little stupid for his story. But... all of it was true. He loved his aunts and uncles and... everything else. Asphodel felt like home, he used to play with the kids there and such, and sometimes helped his papa with his work. He just gave a little nod at that- because yeah, that's what happened.

“Hey, hey,” Jack’s tone turned soft as he watched Zo’s expression, “If it’s the truth, it’s the truth, it’s just a little hard to process is all.”

The kid fidgeted with his device, trying to make sense of this whole thing. He... mostly didn't understand what was being said around the palace, the languages spoken there were so foreign to him and no one ever spoke Greek aside from Kat. He always felt really disoriented around there...

“Huh,” Jack nodded along, it sounded like something out of one of the old crime films his grandpa watched.

Zo wasn't sure what to say- because at first, it felt like he was oversharing a little, but... his father seemed really happy and proud of being with that man. So... maybe he wanted people to know about it?

Jack tried to shove his surprise off his face; he didn’t know what he’d expected to hear but that wasn’t it. The word was familiar in a way but Jack didn’t understand what it meant, just that it was important.

Zo tried to think. There weren't many things he could find to describe that man other than 'terrifying', 'intimidating', 'scary', etc., but he tried- he wanted to give a physical description. He hasn't seen the man a lot... but maybe he could scrape his mind for anything that could be useful.

Jack watched Zo’s expression, that was it for now. Jack didn’t know a lot of things, but he knew when to back off.

He tilted his head at that. Godly parent-? Like the god that was his parent? That was Hades. He knew it was Hades. Hades took care of him. Hades was his dad. Why does anyone have to find that out? He knew it.

Jack tapped his knees, gods he couldn’t upset the kid and for all he knew the kid was right. “Nothing it’s not that important right now, Chiron will have to talk to you later.”

"Ποιος είναι ο Χείρωνας;" ("Who is Chiron?") No, really, he didn't know who that was. Maybe... he's heard the name before, but he had no clue who Chiron actually was.

“Oh, okay,” Jack nodded along, this was (somewhat) familiar territory and something he could understand, “Well, Chiron is- he is…”

Zo listened. He tried to listen, anyway. The device will only take him so far, probably. He really needs to start understanding more English words than his father's name and some basic ones. He needed to start learning, but he really didn't want to.

“Huh, well yeah, they- they do that,” Jack started smiling again, “some of them live on the fields and just kind of exist. Others really like to party and whatever…”

He considered it for a moment, honestly not sure whether he should ask more questions- because he only really ever felt good asking things to Hades or the souls... He didn't know what to do here, especially since he had to get used to living with... essentially strangers, if he wanted to stay there to let his mortal father forget about him, since he knew he wasn't planned or known about at all.

Jack nodded, sucking in a deep breath. He felt for the kid, he really did, but he wasn’t sure of what to do now. It took a few minutes for Jack to speak, he tumbled over the words until he could find the right ones.

Oh, he was given a choice? By a stranger? That was weird- don't get him wrong, he loved making choices, he loved the freedom people gave him- even though he was young, he was always treated like a responsible person and capable of making choices for himself.

That wasn’t as surprising as it should’ve been to Jack, at the end of the day, Zo was just another scared kid. “Inside the Hermes Cabin? Sure but it’s probably best you try to make friends.”

He looked around for a moment, trying to take in his surroundings... All those cabins. One of them had to be for his papa, right? "Είναι ένα από αυτά για τον Άδη;" ("Is one of those for Hades?") The boy asked curiously.

Jack shook his head in quick succession, “Nah, only the twelve Olympians, which is weird considering that Hera doesn’t even have any kids.”

Zo stared at Jack. There was no way- there was no way camp didn't at least honor his papa, right? Even if there were very little children of Hades (which was believable, he's seen the god be extremely loving and caring to his wife, he was sure they'd be together forever), there had to be something- right?

“Hey, hey. Hey kid?” Jack got closer to the kid slowly, trying to give him the chance to back away if he wanted, “Hey kid, you okay?”

Zo wanted to shake his head. He wanted to cry or scream- but no... no, he was a big boy. He was a whole six years old, that was more than Kat- so he had to be a big boy about this. No matter how much the tears wanted to spill from his eyes at the information that camp had no place for him aside from the other kids in cabin 11, with all the- how'd people call them? Unclaimed kids? And the Hermes kids that just lived there. He felt like dead weight. Does he just not belong anywhere?

Jack paused, his throat tightening uncomfortably, “Your dad is great, things couldn’t function without him, y’know?”

Zo nodded. He knew Hades was important- as was literally anyone else... he knew about mythology, somewhat, because for some reason his papa thought it was important for him to learn it, even if the boy never intended on leaving the Underworld (and look at him now, on the surface and all...), but he still learned, only just for the sake of pleasing his father.

“Oh,” Jack had the nerve to look embarrassed that Zo had proven him wrong before actually noticing the look he had on his face, “I mean, um, the Underworld then…”

Zo tilted his head. He didn't really understand, why would anyone think the Underworld is a bad place? But maybe that's just because he's been living there his entire life... he might be a bit- how do people say it? Biased? Yeah, that's the word, or so he thought. "Ο Κάτω Κόσμος δεν είναι καθόλου τρομακτικός όμως. Είναι ένα ωραίο μέρος. Μου αρέσει εκεί. Είναι άνετα." ("The Underworld isn't scary at all though. It's a nice place. I like it there. It's comfortable.")

“Sure you belong here, you’re a demigod, you, you…” Jack looked around trying to figure out how to word things, “you’re just new and a lot younger than most campers and people just don’t know you.”

Demigod- he knew he was one. But everyone else had their cabins. Places to hang out with their siblings. Why didn't he have that luxury? He shook his head.

“I… uh,” Jack bit his lip, he didn’t know what to say, well aware that the wrong thing would make Zo feel worse. “Campers shouldn’t be scared of you.”

He tried to look brave- because he wanted people to think he's brave. He's the older brother- because he has a younger sister. So he has to be the responsible one. He just sighed when Jack said people weren't going to be scared of him. "Αλλά φοβούνται τον μπαμπά μου. Αυτό σημαίνει ότι φοβούνται και τα αδέρφια μου;" ("But they're afraid of my dad. Does that mean they're afraid of my siblings too?") He was aware there was probably very little of them- if they were even at camp.

“I mean…” Jack struggled for the words all over again, he was sure that either Chiron or Me D probably should be doing this but whatever, “Not necessarily… what people think of your siblings is up to them I guess.”

Zo wasn't upset- except he kind of was. I mean, can you blame him? Kids gets out of the place he calls home to find some man, and ends up in a camp where they have cabins for kids of all the gods, except it's only the gods they like and want to acknowledge. And his dad is not one of those gods. Anyone would feel bad, right?

“Well people assume lots of things about you because of your parents all the time, people assumed a lot of things about me because of my mom,” he winced, “but that doesn’t make them true, it’s human- no godly nature I guess.”Jack looked at Zo, “If your siblings were here, they would be in the same cabin but they aren’t… here I mean.”

"Ω, αυτό δεν είναι ωραίο." ("Oh, that's not nice.") He didn't understand why people would assume things based on people's parents. It didn't seem very logical to him.

“Well then you’d be a god,” Jack says gently, “If you’re a demigod then one of your parents is mortal.”

"Γνωρίζω τον θνητό πατέρα μου. Αλλά είναι ένας τρομακτικός άνθρωπος." ("I know my mortal father. But he is a terrifying man.") Yeah, except everything was scary or terrifying to Zo, especially new environments- and his mortal father's home was definitely a new environment. The fear was why he'd returned to camp- that and the fact he could see he wasn't exactly... a child that man planned to have. He thought he'd save him the inconvenience of raising someone he didn't even want or know about in the first place.

Well that made things harder for Jack but he looked at Zo, “Did you ever meet him? Why’d as he scary?” Jack could think of a few reasons why because of his mom but she hadn’t been particularly scary just not always there. “Did he drink?”

The younger boy thought about this for a moment. He knew what Jack meant, but he's never really... seen... his mortal father drink. That man was just... scary as a deafult. Especially with the way he interacted with the weird magical thing when they first met. "Φαίνεται τρομακτικός. Έχει... ουλές. Δεν θέλω να σκέφτομαι τι συνέβη και πώς τις απέκτησε, είναι τρομακτικό." ("He looks scary. He has... scars. I don't want to think about what happened and how he got them, it's scary.")

Okay, okay, Jack could work with that. “So he just looked scary, or did he do anything to hurt you or your siblings?”

Zo nodded. He's seen that man smiling a lot, and generally looking almost like a normal person... almost. If it weren't for those scars. They terrified him. "Δεν τον είδα ποτέ να βλάπτει κανέναν." ("I never saw him harm anyone.")

Jack nodded, it made sense, considering this kid grew up around dead people. It was good for Zo, Jack thought, to meet real people. “It was probably for the best.”

"Μου αρέσει περισσότερο ο Κάτω Κόσμος. Είναι πιο φιλόξενος..." ("I like the Underworld better. It's more welcoming...") He admitted. Honestly he also liked that place more because he just... knew it better. He grew up there- that was his home.

“Oh that’s-“ Jack was well and truly stumped but in a way he understood Zo, it made him think of his mom, “It’s not a nice feeling is it?”

He nodded sadly at the robotic voice translating what Jack said to him. He didn't like it here- on the surface. He didn't like the fact it was so bright, he didn't like the fact that no one understood him here. He wanted to go back home, where the souls could understand what he's saying because they taught him how to talk.

“Well, when you’re older you can go ask to go back,” Jack wanted to put a hand on his shoulder but hesitated, not wanting to scare Zo away.

Zo stared at the translating device in his hands. The monotonne, robotic voice repeating what he and Jack says in their respective languages, it was just... it was proof he didn't belong here.

Jack swallowed, sure he could think of reasons why they wanted the kid here but they weren’t necessarily ones that he would want to hear either.

The child looked up at Jack, about a billion questions forming in his head. Well- not questions, more like feelings of questions. He couldn't find the right words for what he wanted to say, so he stayed quiet for a bit...

“Maybe,” Jack watched Zo’s hesitant attempt at a hug, “I mean it’s not that bad here, I guess you get used to it, even though it doesn’t snow in winter like it should or the way it doesn’t have any weather, really.”

He nodded, even though he didn't really know what the older demigod was talking about. He had no clue what snow was, or what weather is. He's never seen any natural phenomena. He wasn't sure he'd like them, anyway. The world was too bright and colorful as is, it was making him have to squint not to hurt his eyes at times.

“Okay,” Jack scooted away from Zo hoping he wasn’t intruding on his personal space, “Is this okay? You can tell me if I’m too close or anything, I don’t want to upset you.”

He watched as the older boy moved away from him, a little sad, but he only had himself to blame for that. He told him he didn't want a hug, so he was giving him space. He understood that. Zo nodded.

Jack bit his lip and tried to think back on what he knew about the Underworld (which wasn’t a lot), before switching up his thoughts “You’d probably find Boston strange to be honest,” he sighed.

OPEN:

The 6 year old sat in front of the cabin, having been instructed to wait here- or at least he thought that was what he was supposed to do? He barely understood what people were saying to him, his only help in getting their strange language being the odd translating device another child gave him a while ago. He'd went here from who he was almost sure was his biological father's place, leaving a tiny note about his location beforehand- since the man seemed invested in the lives of his children so it was only appropriate- and since he remembered this place briefly, he just... appeared here, a little while ago.

Jack kneeled down in front of the six year old, he looked concerned, the last kid he’d seen that had come here this young was Ally and even though she was older now he’d seen how it affected her.

The younger boy stared at Jack, barely registering words before his device translated them for him into Greek so he could understand them better- and once he got a general idea of what was being said to him, he gave a nod to the name, after which he quietly said, "Ζωντανός", the device picking up the Greek and translating, ("Alive"). He stared at it, tilting his head. That's not how you say his name. "...Zo."

Jack kept a small distance away from the boy, not wanting to make him scared and brought his knees up to his chest.

He looked a bit frightened, but honestly he always looks kinda scared... it's almost like he thinks every little thing is 'out to get him' or something- but whatever. Those black eyes stared at Jack, not really knowing what to do aside from nodding along to what the device translated.

Jack nodded, his head rushing with ideas of what to do next. It was an issue really, his indecisiveness.

It wasn't really that he was scared of Jack- probably, at least. Zo was... generally scared of most things. It was just how he was. Hell, he got scared of that one man when he first saw him because of his scars, and that was supposed to be his father-! What kind of a kid is scared of their father?

“Oh,” Jack looked taken aback for a moment, Zo really must’ve been new if he didn’t know how the camp worked.

Zo listened- or well, waited for his device to translate it for him, then listened to the Greek version. English just sounded like gibberish to him...

Jack blinked, not sure if he’d heard that right, but he had. This kid hadn’t been claimed in camp that was for sure; maybe he’d been claimed on his journey?

The child just nodded, suddenly enthusiastic about this. He loved his dad, oh so much, he loved telling people about his dad- because his dad's just awesome! "Ναι! Και είναι τόσο κουλ! Με φιλοξένησε όταν ανακάλυψε ότι οι ψυχές δεν μπορούσαν να με φροντίσουν σωστά και φρόντισε να είμαι καλά και υγιής!" ("Yes! And it's so cool! He took me in when he found out that the souls couldn't take care of me properly and made sure I was well and healthy!")

“Souls? What do you mean-“ Jack shook his head, whatever at least this kid actually likes his dad. “Never mind. Um glowy thing, that appears above your head,” he did the stupid gesture again, “Normally the symbol of your godly parent, it’s their way of acknowledging we exist.”

He was about to start explaining about the souls before he heard Jack explain the glowy thing- he never had that happen, but he... really didn't need to, right? His dad took care of him, that's how he knew Hades was his dad. The god cared for him, so he had to be his dad, right...?

Souls, souls… ghosts? This kid had been raised by ghosts? Jack had heard a lot of crazy things and for a moment he thought he could dismiss it as one of those stupid things kids say but there was no lie in what Zo had said.

"Ναι! Ήμουν!" ("Yes! I was!") The kid nodded excitedly, ready to go on a full rant about his Underworld family. "Λοιπόν- η θεία Χλόη είπε ότι μόλις εμφανίστηκα στον Ασφόδελο ως μωρό! Και δεν ήμουν ψυχή. Και μπερδεύτηκαν, αλλά με πήραν μέσα τους. Και προσπάθησαν να με ταΐσουν με πράγματα που έβρισκαν ή με ό,τι έφερναν μαζί τους οι νέες ψυχές. Και τότε το ανακάλυψε ο Άδης και άρχισε να με φροντίζει!" ("Well- Aunt Chloe said I just appeared to Asphpdel as a baby! And I wasn't a soul. And they were confused, but they took me in. And they tried to feed me things they found or whatever the new souls brought with them. And then Hades found out and started taking care of me!")

“Uh huh,” Jack considered what was going on for a moment, “So let me get this straight, the ghosts gave you food, from other ghosts and Hades raised you.”

He looked down at the ground, suddenly feeling a little stupid for his story. But... all of it was true. He loved his aunts and uncles and... everything else. Asphodel felt like home, he used to play with the kids there and such, and sometimes helped his papa with his work. He just gave a little nod at that- because yeah, that's what happened.

“Hey, hey,” Jack’s tone turned soft as he watched Zo’s expression, “If it’s the truth, it’s the truth, it’s just a little hard to process is all.”

The kid fidgeted with his device, trying to make sense of this whole thing. He... mostly didn't understand what was being said around the palace, the languages spoken there were so foreign to him and no one ever spoke Greek aside from Kat. He always felt really disoriented around there...

“Huh,” Jack nodded along, it sounded like something out of one of the old crime films his grandpa watched.

Zo wasn't sure what to say- because at first, it felt like he was oversharing a little, but... his father seemed really happy and proud of being with that man. So... maybe he wanted people to know about it?

Jack tried to shove his surprise off his face; he didn’t know what he’d expected to hear but that wasn’t it. The word was familiar in a way but Jack didn’t understand what it meant, just that it was important.