An Apology - A Hero's Blessing

Author's Note: This is after the quest, and they are back on Olympus. Heracles' identity was discovered, and so he came up with a mix of truth and lies to tell everybody. They still aren't aware of the Throne of Heroes or that he's from another dimension.

Chiron's POV
Chiron smiled politely at a few of the revelers before years of being a teacher had him double check the locations of each of the kids. 

Demigod teenagers, in his experience, excelled at one thing - getting into trouble. Intentional or not. (And he wasn't referring to the dangerous kind of trouble - Hermes kids weren't the only pranksters in camp.) It might not have been needed, but old habits die hard.

Percy could be seen in a corner, talking with Annabeth, who looked like she had recovered somewhat from her ordeal. Thalia would no doubt have been with them if Zoe had not cornered her about something. Probably regarding her 'voluntary' enlistment into the Hunt.

Thalia becoming a part of the Hunt was not something he would have expected of her future, but with the Great Prophecy involved...

He sighed. She appeared to have grown a grudging respect for Zoe at least, and the Lieutenant didn't seem as hostile to her as she had been in the past. It might have been done as a last-ditch effort, but perhaps she would find happiness there. He hoped she did, at least.

Glancing around further, his brow furrowed for a bit before he managed to catch sight of Bianca, who was talking to...

'Alcides'.

The centaur looked at the supposed anomaly with open curiosity. The explanation he gave was both fascinating and worrying. Worse, it made sense to a degree. The gods relied on worship in order to survive - and as seen with the division of the Greek's and Roman's, when the beliefs of the people differ significantly, it had the potential to change the gods themselves.

But what would occur if there were too many differences between belief and reality?

In truth, there wasn't a great difference between the gods Greek and Roman forms. Roman versions were more militant, certain members were given a more prominent placement, but a god was unlikely to do something his other form would vehemently oppose. [note: Need to double check this to make sure it's true]

But what if it did? What if the myths and beliefs people had of various gods changed drastically, the entire world believing completely opposite of what reality currently was? Would the gods simply undergo a more extreme metamorphosis?

Or would that faith and belief find another outlet? Something conforming to the beliefs of what the people believed?

... Would that something look like 'Alcides'?

He sighed tiredly. A crisis had been averted, but just looking around it was clear that nobody (save the questers) were comfortable with the implications of what Alcides existence meant, and what it could mean. Yet Zeus, and by proxy the other gods, could do nothing about it yet (Though it was rather amusing how conflicted Zeus was about all this). Nobody wanted to get on the bad side of any of the children of the great prophecy, and both Percy and Thalia liked him, so they were playing nice for now. Who knows how long that would last though...

He watched as Bianca walked away and decided that it was his turn.

He noted how Alcides immediately tensed at his approach, yet he simply smiled cordially. "I believe we already know who we are, but to be polite." He gave a quick bow, "I am the Centaur Chiron. It's a pleasure to meet you, Lord Heracles."

The large man actually seemed caught off guard by the greeting, before grimaced at the title, "Please, there is no need to call me Lord. Especially not you. Never you."

Chiron nodded but made another mental note. The greeting was genuine, but also an act. He had suspicion wanted a confirmation before following up on them. He gestured for the man to follow hi walked outside. After a few moments, he heard the other follow him.

"You've been staring at me all night," he noted with a calm smile while taking a seat next to a fountain, "Staring, clearly wanting to do something, but unable to make a move. It's rather odd to see you so hesitant."

The man narrowed his eyes, "I'm in the presence of a number of gods that wish to kill me at their earliest convenience. Excuse me for treading carefully." He replied, clearly affronted.

The Centaur gave a sad smile, "A convenient excuse, but not your true reason I don't think," he noted before gesturing encouragingly, "If you'd like to get anything off of your chest, I am willing to listen."

He had been decent at reading expressions before he became a teacher, but after years of teaching young demigods he'd gotten quite a bit better. This man was not the Hercules he knew and remembered, and so long as he thought of him as somebody different, his expressions became quite clear.

Guilt. Relief. Hope.

If Alcides was created based on the perceived myths of Hercules, then there could only be one reason he'd look at Chiron like that.

Alcides let out an explosion of breath before sitting down at the rim of the fountain, still towering over Chiron.

They said nothing for several minutes, and Chiron simply waited patiently while the sounds of the party could be heard in the distance.

"I killed you." The murmured words held a sea of pain behind them. "I. Killed. You. You always warned me about poisoning those arrows, and I didn't listen. I was a master archer after all, I never missed! Hah!" He clenched his fists. "I could have fought off that pathetic herd with my bare hands! But it was faster using my bow, wasn't it? It was overkill to use my arrows dipped in hydra poison, but they were what was most convenient, so why not?!" He growled in frustration before standing abruptly, unable to sit down any longer. He made it a single step before turning back and punching the fountain, reducing the entire thing to rubble with a single strike.

Chiron watched patiently through it all. "Who was your Chiron to you?" He asked softly.

He took several heaving breaths. "He... He was my teacher," He chuckled without humor. "He was the one that took in an hopeless teenager, a thug who could only punch his problems, and taught him how to become something more." He shook his head before sitting down heavily. "He was not the father that raised me, nor could he ever be. But, I suppose I viewed him similarly."

He looked down at Chiron, grief fresh in his eyes. "And I killed him."

Chiron was taken aback by the depth of emotion in those eyes. This... This was simply a construct?

The old demigod sighed, "I know you're not my Chiron. Not the one I killed." he murmured. "But... I'm sorry. I'm sorry for the pain you suffered because of me. For being unable to treat it - nothing I did had any effect." He looked down at the ground. "And I'm sorry for forcing you to give up your immortality."

This... He was not expecting this. A part of him wanted to laugh - it took a situation like this to get an apology for that event, one so sincere he had no choice but to act.

"I may not be your Chiron," he replied, "But if he is anything like me," he gave a small smile, "He might never let you forget about not having an antidote to your poison, he might tease you about it for years to come." He placed a hand on the others shoulder, "If it means anything to you... I accept your apology in the place of your Chiron. You need not carry that guilt anymore."

The large man let out a huff, "It's hardly that easy." He grumbled as he leaned back against a wall, staring up at the sky. "But... I thank you."