Chapter Text
The sound of cracking wood woke Castor up. He was warm, buried under a pile of blankets in his new bed. He listened to each step Pollux was taking down the bed’s ladder. Two. Three. The fourth step was ignored. Five. Pollux landed on the ground next to their bunk bed.
“Castor?” Pollux breathed, eyes wide, trying to see better in the obscurity.
“Yeah?”
“I had a nightmare.”
“You always have nightmares.”
Pollux stayed quiet for a few seconds before whispering. “And you always stink! Now move, the floor is freezing, I’m going to lose my feet!”
Castor shifted to make some space for his brother under the blanket, grumbling at the cold air Pollux brought with him. There was a lot of twisting and shuffling before they found the right position. But soon enough, the two of them were hugging under the covers, looking at the cabin around them. It was bigger than their home and crowded with beds, twenty at least. But Castor and Pollux were alone in the room. Maybe they could clear it out a little? They would keep some beds - every new sibling should be welcome after all. And their father had told them about the two other kids that would come this summer. Siblings . Castor grinned to himself, he was looking forward to meeting them. It would have been fun to have as many siblings as the Hermes Cabin. But two more was enough.
“What was your dream?” He asked Pollux, who hadn’t stopped shivering since he joined Castor under the cover.
“You were… We were older, and there was a battle. I couldn’t find you. After the battle, I couldn’t find you…”
Cold filled Castor’s bones. Pollux had started to have those kind of dreams weeks ago, and everyone of them had somehow come true. They had left their home, their dad. Pollux had dreamed of monsters and monsters came. Castor didn’t like those dreams.
“Do you think we could call D- Mr. D?” Pollux asked under the blanket.
“Why do you call him Mr. D?”
“I don’t know, everyone calls him that way!”
“Well, everyone’s dumb.” Castor paused, “I can try to call him, we’ll see?”
Anticipation filled their little world under the cover. They never tried to call their father this way. Would he come? From what they heard, demi-gods didn’t seem close to their godly parents. Castor even doubted many of the kids living at Camp had met them, or if they did, nobody spoke about it.
But Castor and Pollux? Their father was there, at Camp. When they met, he smiled at them and he led them himself to their cabin, which is supposed to be Chiron’s job, according to Lee. Castor and Pollux could even go to the Big House to sit near him with paper and colored pencils.
So, Castor grabbed Pollux’s hand, and with his head under the covers, he called.
“D-Dad? Dionysus, Dad?”
Nothing happened, Pollux was holding his breath next to Castor.
“Dad? Could you come?” Castor tried again.
Castor heard a light being turned on and the sound of footsteps coming close to their bed. Without letting go of Pollux’s hand, he got his head out of the blanket. Their father was looking at them with a smile in his eyes. He had turned on a small light next to the entrance of the cabin.
“Shouldn't you two be sleeping?” Their father asked.
Pollux deemed this a good time to stop hiding and got his head out from under the blanket too. “I had a nightmare.”
“Ah. I see.” Their father sat near their bed on a chair which wasn’t there before. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“I know it’s just a dream. But, before we had to leave Dad, not you, I had dreams about monsters, and then, it happened.”
“What was tonight's nightmare about?”
“We were older, Castor and I, there was an underground battle. At the end of the battle, I couldn’t find Castor. I think. I think he. I think he was dead .”
Castor shivered, tightening his grip on Pollux’s hand. And Pollux started crying. After a few moments, their father got up from his chair and sat on the edge of the bed. Pollux left the blanket to throw himself at their father, pulling Castor with him.
They stayed a while like this, the three of them. Castor started crying too, and their father found himself with two sniveling little boys in his arms.
"I have dreams of this kind myself,” Their father told them when all the crying ran out, “And I know that they can be very frightening.”
“You do?” Castor and Pollux asked in the same small voice.
“Yes, but listen to me. Whatever Pollux saw, it hasn't passed. It isn’t set in stone. I will not lie to you, I think that what you saw is a glimpse of a possible future. But we can’t know for sure if it will happen, and we certainly can’t know how it will happen.”
“You’re a God!” Pollux exclaimed, "You can do anything!”
Their father laughed, but it was joyless. “No, I cannot, I know how Gods like to say they are all-powerful, but we truly are not. We are subject to the Fates, as any mortal. What you saw can help us prepare for the future, but it should not define it. When someone tries to avoid the Fates, it only makes their saying come true in the worst way. Even if what you saw seemed horrible, you only saw the worst that could happen, not what will happen. Do not let fear blind you, any of you.”
After a few minutes of contemplation, Castor lifted his head from their father's shoulder. “Dad, what do you do when you're lost?"
“I keep looking for the right way, but, truth be told, I found someone I’m sure will always come for me.”
“Who?” Said Pollux.
“Ariadne, my wife, she always finds her way. Maybe your father told you about her?” Their father looked at them hopefully.
“He did.” Answered Castor.
Their father smiled, “You’ll meet her one day, she cannot come here often, but I’m sure she will love you very much.”
Pollux gave him a doubtful look and wiped his nose. “But she isn’t our mother?”
“Well, she certainly was there the night you two were made!” He laughed, “She’ll love you as much as I do, you’ll see, she’s really great,” He paused, “What was I saying? Yes,” He looked at Castor, “If you are ever lost, know that you brother and I will come looking for you. Am I lying, Pollux?”
Pollux smiled. “You’re not, I will be looking for you if you’re lost, Castor! And I will find you!”
“Great,” Said their father, starting to stand up, “Now you should go to bed, it’s not a time to be awake.”
Pollux immediately started whining.
“We are your children, and a lot of your parties are at night, we should be allowed to stay up all night!” Said Castor, slipping back under the cover.
Their father froze and squinted at the two of them, “Who told you about my parties?”
“Mythology books, of course!” Smiled Pollux.
“Fair enough, to bed now, young men.”
Pollux started whining again, sighing dramatically and burying himself under the cover with Castor.
“Dad, can you tell us a story?” Asked Castor.
“Pretty please? Our other dad told us stories, right Castor?”
“Like every night.”
Pollux laughed, “Yeah, we will never sleep without a story.”
Their father gave them a skeptic look before falling back in his chair and putting his face in his hand. “Who gave me drama queens for children,” He looked at them, “Right. Me.”
“Do you know about the time pirates kidnapped me?”
“Yeah!”
“Tell us anyway.”