With Valerie's conviction to join him in his quest and laughing at his embarrassed state, it took all of Lance's willpower not to snap back at the two girls (then making the matter worse with messy apologies and whatnot later on) as the two demigods were ushered into the Oracle cabin by the tomboyish redhead.

He met Rachel on countless occasions around the Camp, but this was his first time to be in her cabin, waiting to hear a prophecy about his upcoming quest. Rachel had obviously taken the liberty to brighten up the dull interior: though he saw a few spots of algae lurking on the grey stone walls, it seemed that she had scrubbed down the whole place as much as she could alone, covering the walls with posters of her artwork - sketches of the Greek gods and goddesses.

Rachel led them to the round table in the middle of the room, pouring tea for everyone. "Well, just relax, will you?" she said to Lance as she settled back down on her chair. "My bad drawings of your godly ancestors aren't supposed to frighten you this much."

Lance slowly let go of his tense shoulders and unclenched his fist - he didn't realize that he had been all stuck up ever since he stepped into the Oracle's cabin. [color=00aeef]"S-Sorry. Are you going to tell me - tell [i]us[/i] our quest now?"[/color]

"It doesn't work that way---" the cheery Oracle began but she suddenly stopped short, her eyes became unfocused. She sat bolt upright, and in a harsh tone she recited the prophecy:

"[i]Ye shall cross over the rift of space,
For love, for war, ye will face.
The chain of curse is set ablaze,
And the land lies in the wake of faze.[/i]"

With that, Rachel collapsed onto the table. Alarmed, Lance went forward worriedly, only to see that she was simply fast asleep. He turned his attention to Valerie. [color=00aeef]"Okay... What's that supposed to mean?"[/color]