Chapter Text
USUALLY Travis was a chill guy. Okay maybe chill was a little inaccurate but what did one little white lie matter in a world where their entire existence was strictly classified?
Still not okay?
Whatever, the point was that, although just a little bit eccentric, he was always laid back with pranks being played on him or whatever life threw at him. Like 90% of the time, usually. Today though? Today he was not having it.
He had already been dumped into the lake by his over excitable little brother Connor, got chewed out by Annabeth for messing with her stupid little blue prints he hadn’t even known were for Olympus, and almost had a breakdown while looking through his old trunk after finding the old polaroid's of him and Luke.
He flopped onto his bunk with a deep sigh, rattling the old frame as he did. He turned his head to gaze woefully at the stained glass windows of the cabin, his home for the past… Godsdamn it! He cursed internally, pressing the heels of his palms into his eyes. All he had wanted was a normal day at camp, well maybe he didn’t want that seeing as today was a PERFECTLY NORMAL DAY! He growled quietly at himself. He just didn’t get it, today was just another day at camp! Everything (apart from the pictures) was going as usual. EVERYTHING! Even him waking up at like four AM and spotting Chiron in his hair rollers, or mane rollers or tail curlers or whatever those were called when you were a centaur.
That was the annoying thing, absolutely nothing was different! (except for the pictures) He jumped to his feet suddenly, deciding on what to do. I’m gonna make sure everyday isn’t the same. He said to himself, nodding in confirmation. Just as he was about to march out of the cabin he caught sight of the windows again, this time noting the dim, orange light that flooded through them. His chest deflated a bit but he trudged onwards anyway, navigating towards the mess hall. Maybe he couldn’t start his new secret mission today but he would be damned if he didn’t do it soon.
He marched through the grass between him and his dinner huffing quietly. He strode into the pavilion, heart swelling a bit at the familiarity of the forks clinking and people chattering. He grabbed a plate from the front counter, swerving and dodging around crowds of people before he was able to come up to his table. He paused for a second, just watching.
There was his sister Anna, who had been at camp for only a little bit less than him and Connor. There was Stacy, a rowdy, loud girl with a rage to rival Clarisse's. He even had a little brother now! Well, he amended, an even littler one. He took a deep breath and slid onto the stone bench at the head of the table, his place among all of this. His siblings had to be happy, that’s why he chose to take over for Luke, it was why he refused to let Connor be co-counselor, why he had no co-counselor in the first place. He wouldn’t let his siblings be weighed down by that, by responsibility.
Not yet, not ever if he could help it.
The Hermes cabin used to be a lot bigger than it was now. And when he had first taken the position the number had only increased, with more satyrs out looking to snatch up demigods before Luke even more of them had to be shoved into good ‘ol cabin eleven. He had been stressed beyond belief for the first two or three years of the oncoming war, not to say that the rest of the war wasn’t stressful but… He had spent so much time comforting crying kids in that cabin that he had needed someone to comfort him while he cried.
Not that he got someone too, in the end. He just had to grin and bear it, take it silently, you know?
He had resented Percy so much in the beginning, even now even if it was just a little piece of him. It was probably his deepest darkest secret, one that he hadn’t even told Connor. Not that he told Connor a lot of his secrets, his little brother didn’t deserve to carry his burdens along with his own.
He felt horrible for it now, after all the war wasn’t Percy’s fault, he was just a kid. Same as Travis. But gods be damned if he wasn’t allowed to be a little aggrieved about the fact that his siblings kept dying. It was an endless cycle.
He would comfort a starry eyed kid, tuck them into bed and promise that their nightmares about dying wouldn’t happen. And after the next battle or skirmish he’d be sewing them their very own burial shroud with shaking hands and blurred eyes.
“Hey Trav! Look over here!” Stacy’s loud voice called, breaking him out of his thoughts. “What’s up?” He asked, absentmindedly chewing on a drumstick bone. Her face lit up, and her blonde hair bounced up and down as she gesticulated her words dramatically with her hands.
“There was this huge premier event for that show I told you about, remember? Anyways- it was really cool because mom and I managed to snag some tickets and even though it was all the way in the Cali and when we got there she got to-” She stopped suddenly, her brows furrowing.
“Hey man, are you good?”
He jerked his head up suddenly, meeting her concerned gaze. “No yeah, totally. Sorry, I just- I was listening, it's just-”
“No man it's okay, I get it.” She ducked her head lower to meet his downward stare. “You wanna take a break?” Travis felt his neck heat up, he was supposed to be the leader, the veteran camper. Yet here was his little sister having to handle him like a baby.
“Yeah.” He breathed out a bit too quickly, drawing the attention of the rest of his cabin mates. “Sorry, just give me a sec. Stace, you're in charge while I’m gone.” He hurried out of his seat rushing towards nowhere in particular, just away from the people. He just needed a moment to think.