#oh bianca was never smiling when she was with nico

[i-spilled-my-soup]

doing close reading of the titans curse to study for a time travel au and augh. auguuuagh

[mediumgayitalian]

“Will, can I tell you something?”

“You can tell me anything.” He glances up from his clipboard, grinning wide and wry and sparkling. “Especially if it’s that you’ve got food.”

Nico knows his best friend, so he does have food; a pack of twizzlers the size of his face that he tosses, deliberately quickly, at his face, smiling to himself when he misses and dives down to grab it anyway. His clipboard clatters to the ground, pen bouncing after it, as he tears into it, inhaling at least ten twisty candies in half as many seconds.

“Gods, I love you,” he groans, mouth open like the disgusting mannerless loser he is.

Nico coughs. “Funny you should say.”

He’s spared from having to jump clear through the nearest window and landing right on his neck by the honestly uncomfortable noises Will continues to make — by the gods if he finds out it’s been another twenty three hours since William has eaten he is going to kill him and resurrect his skeleton for permanent manual labour — and instead worries himself with the first random task he sees unfinished. Do the kiddie Band-Aids actually need to be emptied from their boxes and sorted by size and vibe? No. But Will won’t stop him. And Nico needs, like, twenty minutes of recovery. So.

“What did you want to ask me, by the way?”

His mouth is still — somehow — full, so it sounds closer to whaa joo wanna asme. Nico, brave veteran that he is, feigns confusion.

“Hm?”

“Question,” Will swallows, an actual, audible gulp, gods, where have Nico’s standards gone, “that you had.” There’s the sound of joints cracking and a deep sigh, then quick footsteps, and then Will is in front of him, eyes squinted, mouth wide and crooked, leaning on the counter. He has been up before the sun and working the entire time, people pouring in and out like ants to an anthill, and Nico knows he has not rested, but energy still sparks all over his skin. He bounces, almost, from his frizzy ringlet curls to the balls of his feet, humming, twitching, moving.

“I.” Nico’s throat is dry, and his eyes move from the bandages, to Will, to the bandages. “Well.”

When Nico was a kid he would stutter over his words. He was a shit speaker. Bianca spoke four languages by the time she was six, and Nico could barely ever manage the one; he knew what he was trying to say, and he would say it, only somewhere along the way his brain sent the wrong sparks or maybe his tongue got twisted or maybe his mouth made the wrong shapes. Or he blended them all together, like ice sleet on helicopter blades, and everything left his mouth just fine but got smashed to bits in the air outside of him, never reaching his audience quite right. And then he was ten and everything he cared about was smashed to dust and he stopped caring about where the words got twisted and stopped relying on them at all, and stared, instead; glowered, let his face speak for him, even if they weren’t saying the same thing. It annoys everyone around him. It frustrated his mother and pisses off his father and annoys or frightens every other person around him, and everyone guesses, fills in the blanks, deciphers what he is going to say to make his presence just a little easier to bear.

But Will waits, rocking, as he always does, eyes flicking around the infirmary, a handwidth of space between them. Fingers, drumming on the curve of his thigh, too-big front teeth gnawing on his chapped bottom lip. Waiting. For the words, for the time, for the courage.

“I missed you today,” Nico blurts, and it isn’t what he meant to say, not by a long shot, but it’s an approximation and it will count. And Will is suddenly smiling, huge, too big for his face; beaming, brightly, beautifully. “I hate it when you work too long.”

“Yeah?”

Nico exhales, cheekbones ruddy. “Yeah.”

“That’s not a question, Neeks.”

“Oh, stuff it.”

Will laughs, then, and the room gets brighter, and Nico gets warmer, braver, and takes his hand. He walks even both out of the infirmary and Will goes willingly, even though there is work too be done, swinging their hands, and he talks, and talks and talks and talks, and then he waits, quietly, humming to himself, and Nico says nothing, although he thinks things, and Will acts like he has said them. And his palm is still rough and warm against his, and the sun is setting, and Will smells like artificial strawberry and lavender body wash, and Nico thinks, You can tell me anything, and he vows that he will. And he holds his hand, and squeezes it around his, and smiles, and waits, easily, contentedly.

[reythenerdypisces]

things that I overlooked in PJO the first time / small, funny things I noticed during my reread

Part 3: The Titan's Curse

The truth was I was kind of disappointed to hear that she liked her new school so much. It was the first time she'd gone to school in New York. I'd been hoping to see her more often.

I tried to concentrate on little things, like the crepe-paper streamers and the punch bowl - anything but that fact that Annabeth was taller than me, and my hands were sweaty and probably gross, and I kept stepping on her toes.

"The General?" I asked. Then I realised I'd said it in a French accent. "I mean... who's the General?" I want this part to be in the show

"Sweet! Let's go! [to CHB]" said Nico. this breaks my heart. he was so excited in this book

Tyson thought Annabeth was just about the coolest thing since peanut butter (and he seriously loved peanut butter).

"How would you kidnap an immortal goddess? Is that even possible?" "Well, yeah. I mean, it happened to Persephone." "But she was like, the goddess of flowers." Grover looked offended. "Springtime." you tell him grover

"That's some serious danger you're facing." Connor Stoll said. (I liked how he said you and not we.) I'm just imagining the rest of the campers not bothering to go on quests cause it's always the same few demigods and they don't care, they're just chilling safe at CHB while Percy and Annabeth do their things

The creature looked at me sadly. "Moooo!" But I couldn't understand his thoughts. I only speak horse. Percy Jackson speaks two languages: English and Horse

With a shiver, I realised that five hundred or a thousand years from now, Bianca di Angelo would look exactly the same as she did today. She might be having a conversation like this with some other half blood long after I was dead but Bianca would still look twelve years old. ouch

"It wants to kill us!" Thalia said. "Of course." Grover said. "It's wild!" "So how is that a blessing?" Bianca asked.

"That's us," he said. "Those five nuts right there." "Which one is me?" I asked. "The little deformed one," Zoe suggested.

When she smiled at me, just for a moment she looked a little like Annabeth. I know everyone talks about this part but I can't help but bring it up again, they are so cute

"Woah, first of all, I never said anything about love. And second, what's up with tragic!" little does he know. also, Percy is so incredibly insightful in this book but he's also so jealous of Annabeth and Luke and so upset about the idea of her joining the hunters yet still can't figure out that he likes her

"Seven hundred feet tall," I said. "Built in the 1930s." "Five million cubic acres of water," Thalia said. Grover sighed. "Largest construction project in the United States." Zoe stared at us. "How do you know all that?" "Annabeth," I said. "She liked architecture." I cannot explain how much this little bit means to me.

The girl I'd just tried to slice in half yelped and dropped her Kleenex. "Oh my god." she shouted. "Do you always kill people when they blow their nose?" Rachel's here!!! I love her

Five minutes later, Zoe had me outfitted in a ragged flannel shirt and jeans three sizes too big, bright red sneakers, and a floppy rainbow hat. someone draw this and tag me. what an outfit

Suddenly it occurred to me: this had happened to her before. She had been cornered on Half-Blood Hill. She'd willingly given her life for her friends. But this time, she couldn't save us. How could I let that happen to her? he is the most empathetic, wholesome guy, I love Percy

"Can't this go any faster?" Thalia demanded. Zoe glared at her. "I cannot control traffic." You both sound like my mother." I said. "Shut up!" they said in unison. I kind of wish we got more Thalia and Zoe interactions... they would've made such a great enemies to lovers dynamic, if Zoe didn't die

"Get away from my daughter!" Dr Chase called down, and his machine gun burst to life, peppering the ground with bullet holes and startling the whole group of monsters into scattering. "Dad?" yelled Annabeth in disbelief.

Grover went off with his satyr friends to spread the word about our strange encounter with the magic of Pan. Within an hour, the satyrs were all running around agitated, asking where the nearest espresso bar was.

"No," I said. "I choose the prophecy. It will be about me." "Why are you saying that?" she cried. "You want to be responsible for the whole world?" It was the last thing I wanted, but I didn't say that. I knew I had to step up and claim it. "I can't let Nico be in any more danger." I said. might I remind you this boy is 13/14 and has the whole world on his shoulders (both literally at some point and figuratively)

I feel like these are just getting longer and longer but again, I will be back for part 4!

[happyk44]

If we assume that Bianca was 12 when she appeared in TTC then in TLT she and Percy would've been the same age. In my AU where Nico and Bianca follow Percy out of the casino and accompany the group to the Underworld where they realize, oh, shit, they're Hades' children, then Bianca and Percy have an equal shot at being the prophecy kid.

And that concept is so interesting because in this AU only the Underworld and the OG trio know this.

When the war comes to a head, everyone assumes Percy is the hero. No one is counting on the sudden appearance of a sixteen year old girl in skeletal armor, powerful beyond thought. It's head to head, but ultimately Bianca is the hero.

She's the one who pulls Luke's soul to the forefront, out of the way of Kronos's control and influence, she's the one who hands him the knife. And she's the one who rips their grandfather's soul from the flailing remnants of Luke's dying body and eviscerates it so thoroughly, he'll never return again.

Then she smiles at Percy, gentle despite the blood across her hands and face, and tells him that everyone has already crafted the narrative of him as the hero. No one's gonna believe them if they say it was her, so. She pats his shoulder and tells him he did a great job. Then she goes to sort out Annabeth's injuries while Percy flags the building a bright blue and goes to find Grover and Thalia.

"They should know it was you," he says, long after when everyone has retired back to camp and Nico is chattering at top speed with Hestia. "It was always going to be you."

She shrugs. "Think about it. My dad did a great service to the war by charging into the frontlines. But your dad gets praised for diverting his efforts. Arguably I'd say my dad had a bigger effect, but he's darkness and dreary so no one is ever going to put him into a positive light if they don't have to. If they knew it was me..." She shakes her head. "I wouldn't have been offered anything. Maybe a pedestal. Or something pointless. Not immortality." She gestures out to the field of newly claimed demigods running around. "Not this."

Percy scowls. "That's shit."

"That's life." She breathes shallowly. "Maybe it'll be different now. More accepting. Maybe it won't be. But that's why it had to be you."

He tilts his head back to stare at her. She's still shorter than him, her hair braided down her shoulder, newsboy cap on. She's a little more pale than when they'd first met, but brighter, happier.

"When's your birthday?" he asks after a moment, turning back to Nico who is now showing off his Mythomagic cards to Hestia and a lanky son of Hypnos.

She snorts. "Today, actually." Her eyes glitter like obsidian gemstones. "When's yours?"

He grins, a little cheeky. "Today." He catches her eyes in his. "Happy birthday, Bianca."

She cuffs him with her shoulder and turns back to her brother. "Happy birthday, Percy."

[sawyer-is-not-my-name]

Requested: Nico di Angelo x GN!Reader

Request: Nico di Angelo x GN!Reader. How they get to know each other. After Nico realizes his feelings he goes to one of the readers siblings to ask for advice on getting to know them in a romantic way. and him “talking” Bianca about the reader

Nico couldn’t help but get lost in your voice, he was trying to listen but your voice seemed to put him in a trance. Or the way you’d curse in greek whenever something went wrong or you mad, he just got lost in everything you do.

“Are you even listening?” He shook himself out of the trance, “ Yeah of course I am.” You rolled your eyes at him muttering a ‘mhm’ not believing he was. He repeated back to you what you had been talking to him about, smiling at you. You couldn’t help but blush, you really didn’t think he was listening but he was, and a lot more closely than you thought he would.

Nico found himself avoiding you for a couple of days unable to face you after realizing his feelings for you. It was odd, he wasn’t used to this feeling. How was he supposed to go about this type of thing, should he hide it, try to pursue it. He wasn’t sure of what he was supposed to do.

What if you didn’t feel the same, what if you thought he was weird for feeling that way. What if you didn’t want anything to do with him after he told you. So many possibilities were whirring through his mind.

He found himself going to one of you half-siblings trying to figure out if they had any clue what he should do. “Well I’m certain they feel the same way” one of your sisters told him, “But how do you know?” he asked. “It’s simple, they look at you like you could do no wrong, like you’re the only thing that matters, they would gush about you for hours and hours if we let them. Gods, don’t even get me started on the fact they blush when you talk to them. Nico trust me on this, they like you.” He couldn’t help but smile at the fact you liked him too.

“How do you think I should go about telling them?” your sister thought for a moment before responding, “Drop some hints in conversation, casual flirting, compliments, maybe suggest taking them on a date, just don’t overthink it.” He was about to ask a question about what certain things were, when your sister excused herself, leaving to go by her friends.

He let what your sister sink in, before finally deciding on what to do. Praying to the gods that she was right and wasn’t deciding to mess with him.

He found you sitting by the lake, deciding to join you. “Hey stranger, haven’t seen you in a bit. Thought you got bored of me or something.” you laughed lightly making it seem like a joke not wanting him to hear the truth behind what you said. “Nope could never get bored of you” you smiled at him striking up a conversation. Neither one of you aware of the way time was passing, you couldn’t help but notice the confidence that seemed to radiate from him.

The way he was complimenting you, making you laugh, all of it seemed out of a dream the kind of affections you’ve been dreaming of receiving from him. You’re cheeks seemed to heat up as he dropped the nickname ‘angel.’ Everything seemed perfect you just couldn’t tell if he was flirting or if he was just being friendly, until he finally asked you on a date.

You couldn’t help the smile on your face from growing as you said ‘yes.’ He told you when before you heard one of your best friends Leo call after you to tell you to come to dinner. You stood up offering Nico a hand, helping him up. Walking side by side to the dining hall.

After dinner, Nico found himself in his cabin, talking allowed catching his sister up on his life. “I wish you were here to meet them, Bianca they’re so sweet, and they have the best sense of humor. Oh gods, they make me laugh all the time. I didn’t realize feeling like this was something i could actually have, but gods does it feel amazing.” He spent the next two hours just catching her up, before falling asleep with a smile on his face.

[loserscanwritetoo]

Starman

Chapter 1

If you would’ve asked Nico where he saw himself in the future 5 years ago, he most likely would have answered anywhere but where he was right now. He probably would've told you that he’d be in his senior year of high school, that Bianca would be off to college, or maybe working in their mothers store. He would probably secretly hope that his dad would come back. But alas, none of that came true. 

Instead here he was. An orphan with a dead sister and a deadbeat dad who had only ever been in his life when he was a kid. He hadn’t even come to Bianca or Marias funeral, and when the state asked if Nico had any living relatives, he hadn’t even thought of his dad. Well, maybe a little bit, but that was no one's business but his own. 

So he had been shipped off to live with his half sister, who he had never even met, and didn't even know existed. They shared a father, but that seemed to be the only thing they had in common. 

Hazel Levesque was 15, and apparently their dad had abandoned her and her mom the same way he had abandoned the di Angelos. Her mom seemed to be a bit of a nutcase. She insisted Nico call her mom (weird) and he was forbidden to ask anything about his father (weirder). Needless to say Nico hadn't really found his place with the Levesque’s. 

Hazel spent most days in school, and the others out with her boyfriend Frank. Frank did not seem to like Nico at all, and therefore the feeling became mutual. 

The accident happened in February. In the middle of the school year. Nico had been so busy with the grieving, funerals, and the move to America and the Levesque’s that he’d missed the rest of his junior year, and now he was going to have to retake it at Hazels school. 

Hazel’s mom, Marie, had insisted that he retake his junior year, much to Nicos dismay. He was going to drop out, and as an almost 18 year old he refused, and claimed she had no right to determine what he was going to do, thank you very much. Turns out he was wrong.

Marie had dropped off Hazel and Nico at New Orleans Dam High School. The name was a mouthful, and some genius student seemed to have realized that, and had spray painted over New Orleans, and added an N to Dam, leaving only Damn High School. Nico chuckled at that and earned himself an angry glare from Marie. Whatever. It wasn't like he cared about what she thought. (She had absolutely hated him from the moment he’d moved in. Something about a 17 year old smoking had pissed her off, and she had never gotten over it.)

They made their way to the front office to get Nico squared away. He felt like everyone glared at him, and the lady at the desk handed him his schedule without even glancing at him. Great! This was going to be an awesome day!

Hazel rushed off the second Marie left. Probably to hang out with Frank or Rey- whatever her name was, or any of her other friends, so Nico was left alone.

The bell rang, signaling for everyone to get to their classrooms, and as Nico looked down at his schedule he sighed. How the fuck was he supposed to know where classroom EG956 was. 

The corridors quickly emptied, and Nico was left to wander around the four storied school for ten minutes before he gave up, and made his way out to the bleachers to fish out a cigarette from the pack in his jeans. He only had four left, and made a mental note to get more from the corner store Marie had made him get a job at. Maria di Angelo would never make him do anything. She cared about him, and didn’t give a shit if he smoked. 

“Se lo faccio da solo non ho il diritto di fermarti", she'd always said with a sly grin. If I do it myself I have no right to stop you. Nico smiled at the memory as he lit his cigarette. Man, he missed her so much. Bianca however had cared that he smoked. She insisted that he was going to face a premature death. Oh the irony.

He didn’t know how long he’d been out there for, dreaming of his past life. It felt like 70 years ago, but it had only been a few months. Somewhere far away a bell rang, signaling that class was over. He was startled back to reality by a soft voice.

He looked up from where he was sitting to see a blond dude, wearing an orange shirt under a green flannel. He wore a concerned expression, and the brightest blue eyes Nico had ever seen. He looked like a ray of sun, and Nico was sure that if he came any closer he would get burned. The boy radiated warmth.

SunBoy, as Nico resorted to calling him in his mind, raised an eyebrow at him and Nico realized that he’d completely missed what he had said. He was going to say something stupid like ´huh`, but before he could embarrass himself the other boy repeated himself.

“You’re not allowed to smoke on school grounds, you know.”

“You gonna tattle on me?” Nico retorted. Damn him and his lack of impulse control. SunBoy looked startled, as if no one had ever talked to him like that before. Maybe they hadn't. Maybe people were afraid of getting burned.

“N-no,” SunBoy answered before regaining control of his voice “I’m just saying, if a teacher, or god forbid one of the football players, catch you, you're dead.” He dropped his clearly faked strong guy demeanor and gave Nico a warm smile. “And I don't feel like patching you up.” 

He held out his hand. “I’m Will. Will Solace. Are you new? I don't think I’ve seen you around, and I know most people here.”

Nico realized he was supposed to shake the blonde's hand, and did so, albeit reluctantly.

“Nico.” He replied. He wasn’t sure what else to say. He wasn’t used to anybody but his family paying attention to him, so he just said the first thing that popped into his mind.

“Do you know where classroom EG956 is? I was supposed to have class there but I couldn't find it.” Will’s smile got impossibly bigger.

“I get it. You’re alone at a new school and don’t know anybody, so you can't ask anyone about where to go” Nico hesitated for a second before answering

“I’m here with my half sister, Hazel, but she left me the second we got here.” 

“Hazel Levesque?! She’s a year under me, we’ve talked a few times, and she seems really nice, tough shell though.” He laughed, and Nico gave him a small smile back. Will quickly continued, “Where’s your next class? I’ll show you the way, I know this school inside and out”

And so Nico made his first friend in America. Once they had compared schedules to see if they had any classes together (chemistry, Thursdays and Fridays), Will walked him to his classroom and promised to wait for him in the cafeteria afterwards. 

Nico was excited at the prospect of having a new friend. Back home in Italy, Bianca had really been his only friend. Something about the autistic-mythomagic obsessed-loser had not attracted many friends, and Nico was fine with that, because he could tell Bianca everything. Maybe Will could be that kind of friend. 

His history lesson flashed by as the teacher told the students what they were going to do this year. Apparently the first project was Greek mythology, something Nico already knew heaps about.

As the bell rang, Nico grabbed his letterman bag and flight jacket, and headed out the door. After a few minutes of navigating he made it to the cafeteria, where he found Will sitting next to two boys that must be brothers, a blond dude, and a shorter guy, who was sitting on the table and gesturing wildly with his hands. Will noticed Nico from across the room and gladly waved him over. 

“Nico! Hi! These are the guys, that’s Travis and Connor,” he gestured at the two boys who looked identical. They must be brothers, right? 

“That's Luke” the blond guy gave him a wave

“And that's Leo, guys, this is Nico!” The boy who had been sitting on the table, Leo,  jumped down and quickly embraced Nico, who froze. He was NOT used to strangers hugging him. Thankfully Leo noticed his awkwardness and let go, joining the other boys at the table.

“Sorry man,” he said “I’m a hugger, I should’ve asked before, but Solace has been rambling on about you since we got here and I feel like we’re already pals.” Nico smiled at him and sat down.

“Don’t worry about it.” He looked around the room.

It was full of students, but it didn’t take long before his gaze caught Hazels. She raised an eyebrow at him, but quickly joined in that conversation at her table. 

Nico quickly fell into chatter with the boys, and he even found himself laughing out loud at something Travis said once or twice. Maybe this was going to be okay, he thought to himself, maybe he could make do here.

Marie had picked up Hazel and Nico after school, and after an awkward dinner Nico found himself in what he was finally starting to consider his room. His phone buzzed with a text from Hazel, who in the six months he’d lived here, had only texted him twice.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆ 𖤓 ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆

Hazel

i saw you hanging out with luke

hes bad news

Nico

So now you care?

Hazel

oh dont be like that

youre my brother

Nico

Half brother

Hazel

so what? im not allowed to care?

Nico

Not when you've ignored me since I got here

Hazel

im not used to siblings. sorry

Nico

Okay

Hazel

its just

hes not been the nicest to one of my friends

Nico

Okay

Hazel

no really nico, be careful

he really hurt annabeth

Nico

I really don’t feel like getting into your friends boy drama

Hazel

do you have to be like that?

just

sit with us tomorrow

Nico

Alright. I’ll give it a try

Hazel

yay! ill tell the guys!

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆ 𖤓 ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆

Nico put down his phone and sighed. He couldn't wrap his head around why Hazel had switched on him so quickly. Tomorrow was going to be a mess.

[bey0nd-1he-stars]

You owe me at least three days of rest in the infirmary - Solangelo

Masterlists

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

Pairing: Nico di Angelo x Will Solace

Wanings: nightmares, insomnia, crying, implications of death (Bianca)

Word count: 890

Summary: The three says in the infirmary with some change.

 SIX | NICO

- You are my sunshine, my only sunshine

You make me happy when skies are gray

You'll never know dear, how much I love you

Please don't take my sunshine away -

The sleep had taken him back once again, but this time for just a few hours. When he sat up the blankets fell off him and landed in a pile in his lap. Nico rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked around in the room. It was still a strange feeling to be there in the infirmary to get treated but with Will as doctor... Maybe it wasn't so bad after all. He shook his head at himself, he'd know the guys properly for a barley a week. Two days being on the battlefield, the two days coming after that Nico was holding the funeral ceremonies since all the half bloods insisted on dying heroically, and the two days after that he'd been stuck here, in the infirmary, sleeping most of the time. Nico had never had an easy time sleeping, he grew up with insomnia and after going through Tartarus alone, things didn't get better. After that he couldn't even close his eyes without seeing the terrible things he'd seen down there. Nico had never talked to anyone about it. He didn't want to, either. The only one who'd understand would be Percy and Annabeth and they were scarred enough so Nico really didn't want to bring it up.

The sound of scratching a pencil against paper made him step up from the bed he'd been borrowing the last two days. Will sat in his chair with his back turned towards Nico, his head down, concentration on something. He sang lowly and when Nico got closer he heard that it was lyrics from 'Your are my sunshine'. He smiled, Will had admitted that he wasn't much of a singer. At all. But to Nico, it was soothing and comforting, the sound of his voice reminding him that Will was still around, he hadn't left. When Nico was so close to Will that he could see over his shoulder and what he was doing, he realized that Will hadn't even noticed him yet. He smirked at the thought but let his gaze travel down to the paper. A pencil in Will's right hand created something Nico couldn't believe. He didn't see the whole picture, Will was leaning over half of it but it was just like the green hat she used to wear and her blank, dark curls.

All of a sudden, Will turned around in his chair, knocking Nico off his feet. He stumbled backwards, tripping over his own feet. A warm hand gripped Nico's in the last second, stopping him from falling over towards the floor. A shock of electricity went through his spine. He smiled a soft smile as he gained his balance once again. Will's hand was still in his, but for once, Nico didn't care. Actually, he enjoyed it a bit. The soft, warm hand in his made him, once again, remember that the son of Apollo still hadn't left him. 

"Oh gods, sorry Nico! I didn't mean to push you, I didn't even know you were there at all," Will said hastily. He shook his head and let go of Will's hand.

"It's fine, really. What are you-" he stopped when he saw the whole picture. Will had turned around to face him and at the same time he left the journal uncovered. There, covering the page, was a picture drawn by Will. A perfect picture of Bianca. It was just like he remembered her. With the green hat that casted a shadow over her brown eyes and the freckles that were splashed over her nose and cheeks. The brown shirt and a long skirt that flew in the wind. He couldn't take his eyes from the drawing, Will had done it with every single detail right. 

"It’s so-  It looks just like her," he said softly and smiled a little at the picture but tears started pooling in his eyes. Will's answer made him tear his eyes from the drawing and meet Will's blue gaze with wide eyes. 

"You can have it, if you want to," he spoke softly and Nico could't believe him. But something in him didn't feel right. Will had spent hours on this drawing, it was his. His glory to take and his to look at for admiration. Not Nico's. 

"I don't know Will. It's yours and you spent your time on it and-" Nico did come further into his protests before Will had ripped the page out of the journal. He gave it to Nico and that was enough to make Nico's tears fall over and roll down his cheeks. 

"Thank you Will, really. Thank you," he said as he whipped away the tears. Nico placed the paper on the desk behind Will again, not wanting it to get damaged. Then he carefully wrapped his arms around Will in a hug. He felt the son of Apollo stiffen under his touch but soon he wrapped his arms around Nico's waist, hugging him back. Nico relaxed at the warmth Will spread and the comfort. The smell of sunshine filled his senses again and made Nico realize that he was still wearing Will's clothes. But at that moment he didn't care. He just felt like he belonged for the first time in many years. He belonged at Camp Half-Blood for the first time ever. And he definitely didn't mind.

[ladyblueberrymuffin]

In Which Percy and Nico Actually Talk About Their Feelings

I found him in the woods, by a big dark oak, readying his gear for capture the flag. He actually smiled when he saw me. That was new.

“Just like the good old days, huh, Percy?”

“Only this time we're playing on opposite teams.”

His grin turned impish.

“What do you think I was referring to?”

I laughed, and he laughed when I laughed. Has it really been so long? It feels like yesterday he was that hyperactive kid with the stars in his eyes. I didn't realize how much I missed seeing him like that—happy. Genuinely happy.

Maybe that's why I've been avoiding him all this time.

Laughter died in my throat, and he noticed.

“What's wrong?”

“Listen, I just wanted to say...” I rubbed the back of my neck. I was never that good at talking about feelings. “I'm sorry, Nico. For... not being there. I guess I wasn't ready for that kind of responsibility.” I sighed, feeling like something was pressing on my chest. “I've never had to... look after someone. I mean, I've had Tyson, but that's different. And now, with Estelle—“

He put his hand on my shoulder, stopping my rambling in it's tracks.

“Percy, it's fine.” He smiled. “Like, actually fine. You did look after me. Without you I'd never realize Minos was playing me. When Bianca died, you were the only person who comforted me. You rescued me out of Tartarus.” He looked me in the eyes, tilting his head, like he couldn't believe how stupid I was being. “Dude, you invited me to your birthday.”

I still couldn't shake the guilt off.

“That whole thing the arai showed you... I'm sorry for thinking that.”

His smile disappeared. “It's fine. I know I was an annoying kid.”

“Dude, I was an annoying kid! You weren't even half as obnoxious as I was when I was your age.”

Nico narrowed his eyes, a smirk tugging at his lips.

“I don't believe that.”

“My teachers hated me.”

“I know. Alecto complains about you a lot.”

Of course she does.

“This one time,” I whispered to him, like I was sharing some forbidden knowledge, “she sent me to the chalkboard, and she was getting so frustrated I couldn't solve the problem, she went 'Now, honey, that equation is so simple an idiot could solve it'.”

Nico nodded.

“And you turned to look her straight in the eyes and said, 'Then why won't you?'.”

My eyes went wide.

“She told you that?!”

“Hello, prince of the Underworld? There are no secrets I don't know about.”

I rolled my eyes. I suppose if any demigod deserved a boost to his self-esteem, it was Nico. Even if it made him a little smug.

“Look, point is, if you ever need to talk, I'm here, alright?”

He beamed at me, and his eyes looked shinier than before.

“I know.”

I smiled.

“Good.”

“There is actually something I wanted to tell you for a long time,” he said, his face turning serious.

I felt my body tensing up. If he was about to tell me he stumbled into yet another evil plot, I was making a formal complaint to the Fates.

“Shoot,” I said, feeling a little nervous.

“You're a son of Poseidon, right?”

I looked at him.

“Uhm... yeah, you know that, why?”

His eyes sparked mischievously.

“So... can you surf really well or not?”

“Oh my gods!”

“I'm curious!” He laughed, running off to his team. “By the way, we're gonna destroy you, straight boy!”

“Don't count on it, you little gremlin!” I yelled after him, my cheeks hurting from the huge smile on my face.

This is a fragment of a bigger fic I'm writing. It retells the story of Heroes of Olympus if some time traveler went back in time and stomped on a bunch of butterflies.

By which I mean some divergence points are wild. Piper had a Disney Channel show. And Leo has an even more tragic backstory.

I'm currently covering the events of The Lost Hero, but people liked my posts about Percy and Nico, so here's a sneek peek of stuff that I might never get to cover. This would take place after Nico's confession, which would also happen differently than in the book.

You can read it here.

[ace-writer-lani]

Since I'll be updating The Children of Spring and Destruction a bit late, here's a snippet of Chapter Three:

As it turned out, it was Apollo who was giving them a ride to camp. And it also turned out that he was much cooler than his Mythomagic counterpart.

The Hunters had already packed up their campsite by the time he arrived in a flash of light so bright that it would have blinded Nico if his sister hadn’t reached out to cover his eyes with her hand. When it eventually dimmed, Apollo stepped out of his shiny red car with a wave, a beaming smile, and a terrible poem that flowed from his mouth in awkward syllables.

The poetry, unfortunately, was the only thing that wasn’t cool about him. Which Nico felt didn’t really make sense considering poetry was supposed to be under his domain. But everyone had to have some sort of flaw, even gods.

“How are we all going to fit in that?” Bianca asked, eyeing the car warily.

Much to the relief of everyone else (mainly Artemis and her Hunters), Apollo paused in the middle of another haiku and turned around. He assessed his vehicle with a frown, probably only realizing it couldn’t fit more than five people. “Huh. Forgot about that.” Then he reached into the pocket of his jeans to pull out a small remote. “I usually prefer this mode because of the vibes-”

“Please never say that again, brother,” Artemis sighed, rubbing her temples.

“-but since I’m so generous and accommodating, this will have to do,” he said and pressed a button. This time in a less incinerating glow, the car transformed into a huge van. Every inch of it was colored in a shimmery shade of gold, from the windshield wipers to the headlights. Even the tires had a coat of metallic glitter and Nico had to blink a few times for his eyes to fully adjust to it. “Alright everyone, hop in.”

The inside of the van was just as big as the outside when Nico stepped inside behind Bianca. The Hunters had already claimed the back few rows and seeing them made his sister hesitate. There was an odd expression that flitted over her face for a few seconds before it disappeared and instead, her attention zeroed in on something else.

“Where are the seat belts?”

“The what?” asked Apollo after calling out a last goodbye to Artemis and closing the doors shut. “Oh, those. In my opinion, they’re just kinda tacky. Ruins the vibes I mentioned before. So there are none.”

Nico almost jumped when his sister immediately snapped an arm across his torso at the words, as if she could substitute as a makeshift seat belt. She mumbled something about safety precautions while Apollo revved up the engine. Once the van purred with life, he stood up and smiled.

“Anyone want to drive?”

Nico shot his hand up into the air. “Me!”

Apollo laughed, reaching over to ruffle his hair. “Nope. Sorry, too young.”

“But I’ve driven a motorcycle before!”

Bianca rolled her eyes. She pressed her arm more firmly against him. “You mean you crashed a motorcycle before.”

“Nobody was hurt.”

“You ran over five people.”

“…nobody was killed.”

There had just been a few broken fingers and a mild concussion. Nothing serious. And it also wasn’t entirely him who was at fault for those injuries because there had been clear signs signaling the edges of the racetrack. Those idiots had just been too drunk and too stupid to realize that.

But it was futile to try arguing against Bianca (because even if she was wrong, she was always right) and in the end, Apollo chose Thalia to be the one to drive, despite her stuttering protests. He motioned for her to get in the driver’s seat with a grin. When she did, he began to steadily guide her through the controls and the steps to get the van to take off.

With a few rumbles and shudders, they had somehow managed to eventually launch into the air, shakily ascending until they were so high that Westover Hall became nothing but a tiny fuzzy dot in the distance. Nico wanted to press his face to the window of the glass and truly admire the streaks of colors that painted the sky in brilliant oranges and purples but instead, he gripped Bianca’s sleeve tightly because Thalia was a terrible driver.

He had never flown before. Lecto had strictly told him and Bianca that they were forbidden from riding any planes. Why? She had never explained (because when did she ever?), but he definitely would have listened to her if he knew this was what it felt like.

They were constantly either jerking to the side or lurching forward. Someone screamed at one point while beside him, Bianca had a hand over her mouth. She was barely keeping herself from keeling over and Nico really wished she wasn’t sitting so close because he did not want to be the person she possibly threw up on.

Suddenly the van was yanked back. There was another yelp and Apollo was abruptly knocked off his feet. He was probably regretting his choice not to have seat belts now.

“Pull up!” shouted Percy.

“Lord Apollo, please take back the wheel,” pleaded Grover.

“Oh my gods, we’re all going to die,” cried one of the Hunters.

“Everybody, chill, chill, chill,” said Apollo. “Look.” He pointed. “That’s where Long Island is. Dead ahead. All you need to do is slow down a little and we’ll have the perfect landing.”

Through the front window, the image of a beach came into view. It was bordering the edge of a snow-covered forest and the crystal waves of the sea. It looked beautiful. However, it also looked like they were approaching it way too fast. If they didn’t stop now, they would all end up getting either smushed or broken to pieces.

“You should…probably start braking now,” Apollo wisely advised.

But Thalia only muttered to herself under her breath as she stared blankly ahead.

When Apollo realized she probably hadn’t heard him, he yelled. “Brake!”

The van was then pitched forward in a violent jolt. More screams, mainly from Grover. There were a handful of curses from the Hunters. Nico shut his eyes closed as Bianca’s arms wrapped tightly around him, covering his head as they landed straight into the water with a massive splash.

When they finally floated to the surface, surrounded by bubbling steam and burnt canoes that were halfway melted, Nico made a face.

“I should have driven.”

(Full chapter will probably be posted on my ao3 tomorrow night)

[halothenthehorns]

Chapter 12: I GO SNOWBOARDING WITH A PIG

Nico's hands were shaking as he took the book, his stomach burned so bad he didn't know what was going to come up if he puked from stress right now. Last time he'd had this thing Percy had nearly killed them all again, which wasn't strictly his fault. Anybody could have gotten the chapter over Annabeth in this circle, but he was still being a naïve child on some level thinking it wouldn't come around again. Just like Bianca wanted, and the more he tried to let go of his anger about her the less he knew how to feel. How was it every time he got this stupid book it was worse than the last-

A warm brush against his shoulder chased away the cold dread. He didn't think much of it as he exhaled in relief to see the blurry words finally come into focus. He read the new, strange as usual chapter title with a hysterical sounding laugh of relief. Bianca hadn't been killed by a pig, he still had a little more time...and no escape plan in sight...

It was Thalia who went ghastly pale and leaned back in her seat. Percy had called her out right after this incident. They would know, and the teasing would never end.

"Question," Jason asked politely, "does the pig snowboard on two feet or all fours?"

"No, the real question is, is Percy better or worse than the swine?" Alex snickered.

"I've never been snowboarding," Magnus said, it was always something he heard snooty rich people talking about like the snow in Boston wasn't good enough for them. "Is a pig the judge we should be using skill level, or Percy?"

"Can't be to much worse than a skateboard?" But Percy sounded no more convinced this was something he shouldn't be concerned about as he looked from the book to Thalia with one of those uneasy feelings again. Whatever her problems with Apollo's bus seemed to have been a one time thing, but she'd been under a near constant state of distress same as him between Annabeth, Luke, and him. Gods he wished he could do anything to give her a break.

Nico was still licking his lips and hesitating to start, Will was making some joke about Miss Piggy nobody seemed to get but was keeping attention. Percy asked as quietly as he could to her, "want to take a break?" Wondering if she'd said no last time because he'd put her on the spot.

"No," she said again, but she breathed just a smidge easier as she grinned at him again for the offer. "Just, just want to get through this." Percy took every jab about his genius-dumbass with a smile. Percy had never said another word about her fear, he'd even gone out of his way to help her avoid it later, but she didn't have the same hope about the others. Jason would laugh himself stupid when she told him the truth and claim there was no way possible they were related when he heard this. Magnus, for as much as he looked like his cousin, would tell her that made no sense given her parentage. Alex's nose might fall off she'd start laughing so hard. And oh Gods, Will and Nico were going to go tell everybody at Camp, she'd never be able to show her face there again. She didn't really know Rachel that well, but the mortal Oracle would probably think it just as weird a demigod even had a flaw.

Jason was threatening to wrap the book in bacon though if they didn't all get on with it. Nico looked no more pleased than her to turn to the words, so hopefully he'd read quickly and just get it over with.

We'd arrived on the outskirts of a little ski town nestled in the mountains. The sign said WELCOME TO CLOUDCROFT, NEW MEXICO. The air was cold and thin. The roofs of the cabins were heaped with snow, and dirty mounds of it were piled up on the sides of the streets. Tall pine trees loomed over the valley,

"Did seeing those make you homesick?" Percy smirked at Thalia.

"Do you want a fish shoved up your nose?" She asked back pleasantly.

casting pitch-black shadows, though the morning was sunny.

Even with my lion-skin coat, I was freezing by the time we got to Main Street, which was about half a mile from the train tracks. As we walked, I told Grover about my conversation with Apollo the night before—how he'd told me to seek out Nereus in San Francisco.

Grover looked uneasy. "That's good, I guess. But we've got to get there first."

I tried not to get too depressed about our chances. I didn't want to send Grover into a panic, but I knew we had another huge deadline looming, aside from saving Artemis in time for her council of the gods. The General had said Annabeth would only be kept alive until the winter solstice. That was Friday, only four days away. And he'd said something about a sacrifice. I didn't like the sound of that at all.

"Do multiple motivations help get you there faster?" Magnus asked uneasily. He'd settle for some woodland magic from Grover or Apollo breaking the laws of dimension again to get there already.

"Unified goal," Thalia nodded.

We stopped in the middle of town. You could pretty much see everything from there: a school, a bunch of tourist stores and cafes, some ski cabins, and a grocery store.

"Great," Thalia said, looking around. "No bus station. No taxis. No car rental. No way out."

"There's a coffee shop!" said Grover.

"Yes," Zoe said. "Coffee is good."

"How old is coffee?" Rachel asked in surprise. "I'm just imagining her calling our version that we drown in sugar and creamer weak."

"I have no idea," Thalia admitted, "15th century or something? She drank it black." The Hunters still offered a moment of silence to her and all their fallen sisters every full moon over a steaming hot cup.

Percy would swear his ear twitched over something. Zoe speaking in her gruff way again, even something they could all agree on, coffee was good. It was just so different from the way she'd spoken in his dream. That must be why Thalia's words rung strangely in his head.

"And pastries," Grover said dreamily. "And wax paper."

Thalia sighed. "Fine. How about you two go get us some food. Percy, Bianca, and I will check in the grocery store.

Percy arched a curious brow about that for reasons unknown to him. Something about her had been clicking in the back of his mind like an annoying pen, and Nico making strange tongue tied faces every time she was didn't help at all to figure out why he still swore he vaguely recognized them. They'd yet had a chance to continue their peculiar conversation from the train where apparently she found subways popping up.

There was no obvious link except Bianca was who Thalia would soon be, but he hoped she shared with them what other line he was trying to draw.

Maybe they can give us directions."

We agreed to meet back in front of the grocery store in fifteen minutes. Bianca looked a little uncomfortable coming with us, but she did.

Nico tried not to let himself puzzle at that. He felt like he never knew his sister well enough to understand anything about her. Did the uncomfortableness come from Percy, and she already hated males? Was it Thalia, and Zoe's dislike of her rubbed off already? She hadn't much to do on this quest so far except help them escape the helicopter. It's not like he had any way of guessing if she was missing him at all.

Inside the store, we found out a few valuable things about Cloudcroft: there wasn't enough snow for skiing,

"So the pig is going to have to work for it, got it," Alex snorted.

the grocery store sold rubber rats for a dollar each,

"The highlight of the town I'm sure," Jason said with a cheerful smile for this small town economy.

and there was no easy way in or out of town unless you had your own car.

Percy was rubbing his forehead in exhaustion, but he knew he'd never get any decent sleep so long as Annabeth was in danger. "This is one of those towns I can't imagine growing up in, it's so isolated and creepy."

"New York Pride Cap aside, I am with Percy," Thalia sighed. She felt like a serial killer or a monster could make that town vanish in five minutes.

"You could call for a taxi from Alamogordo," the clerk said doubtfully. "That's down at the bottom of the mountains, but it would take at least an hour to get here. Cost several hundred dollars."

The clerk looked so lonely, I bought a rubber rat.

Which caused multiple laughs around Percy who grinned indulgently.

"I hope your mother never gives you pocket change, you'd go broke walking around Central Park," Rachel chuckled.

"No, no, we encourage this behavior," Alex nodded. "I will make all the rubber rats you like Percy!"

"If I wake up with a rat in my bed tomorrow Alex, you'll find it in your nightmares," Percy promised.

Then we headed back outside and stood on the porch.

"Wonderful," Thalia grumped. "I'm going to walk down the street, see if anybody in the other shops has a suggestion."

"But the clerk said—"

"I know," she told me. "I'm checking anyway."

I let her go. I knew how it felt to be restless. All half-bloods had attention deficit problems because of our inborn battlefield reflexes. We couldn't stand just waiting around.

Also, I had a feeling Thalia was still upset over our conversation last night about Luke.

"Look at Percy getting a gold star," Thalia gave him a friendly enough smile now and he grinned back in relief. He hoped her good mood with him again didn't stem from him getting turned into a pig.

Bianca and I stood together awkwardly. I mean... I was never very comfortable talking one-on-one with girls anyway, and I'd never been alone with Bianca before. I wasn't sure what to say, especially now that she was a Hunter and everything.

"Nice rat," she said at last.

"Now there's a compliment you just don't get to hear very often," Magnus chuckled.

I set it on the porch railing. Maybe it would attract more business for the store.

"Pretty sure that's the opposite of how that works," Will told him in concern. "Is it a New York staple to see rats and want to go there?"

"It was a very cute rubber rat," Percy said with a straight face. "Great attention to detail."

"So... how do you like being a Hunter so far?" I asked.

The question felt strange coming off of Nico's lips. He'd never gotten the chance to ask her that. He hesitated reading the next sentence because his mind was floundering if he'd get a different answer than she'd give Percy. Which was the lie and truth?

She pursed her lips. "You're not still mad at me for joining, are you?"

"Nah. Long as, you know... you're happy."

"I'm not sure 'happy' is the right word, with Lady Artemis gone. But being a Hunter is definitely cool. I feel calmer somehow. Everything seems to have slowed down around me. I guess that's the immortality."

Jason ruffled uneasily as Nico swallowed. That didn't feel like a great answer to him either, watching Thalia nod in agreement. Diana was a just goddess and cared about her followers, but Bianca hadn't known her long enough to be more than told this, let along grasp it herself. Something in him struggled with her blind faith, and yet sympathized with it.

I stared at her, trying to see the difference. She did seem more confident than before, more at peace. She didn't hide her face under a green cap anymore. She kept her hair tied back, and she looked me right in the eyes when she spoke. With a shiver, I realized that five hundred or a thousand years from now, Bianca di Angelo would look exactly the same as she did today. She might be having a conversation like this with some other half-blood long after I was dead, but Bianca would still look twelve years old.

Thalia had wrestled with this aspect, her salvation and disconnection. Annabeth would forever age past her, happy with Percy while she'd gotten her own family in the Hunters. Now Jason would too. She did not regret her choice, she knew if she'd even been told Jason were still out there before Artemis had accepted her vow she would have gone through with it and taken her place to heart that day on the Solstice. She would not be the child of the prophecy.

But what if she'd known the moment she fell out of the tree? Any time she was on the run? Would she have been able to make the same choice as Bianca and hope Jason would still be fine without her, the potential child of the Prophecy himself just to save herself from that choice? It was a question that had no answer, but she longed more every passage to speak to a Hunter sister she'd never properly gotten to know. Bianca was truly a girl who could have understood so much of her life like no other.

"Nico didn't understand my decision," Bianca murmured. She looked at me like she wanted assurance it was okay.

Nico somehow went even more flummoxed at that. Should he want Percy to be angry on his behalf again, or defend Bianca's choice too like he was trying to come to terms with now. He was starting to get such a splitting headache the words were blurring right off the page.

"Nico?" A soft, gentle voice said right beside him. It wasn't Bianca's, but it had the same soothing way about it he hadn't heard in a very long time now. He wasn't even sure if some of those memories were fake or real. "Did you want a break?"

Will watched in concern as Nico dragged his eyes to look at him. Will wished he could just say Nico could read this to himself, but that wouldn't be fair to Percy, this was his memory, they were just visiting. This was so personal to both of them. If he could just get a spare moment where everybody broke off he could ask if Nico and Percy wanted to read this part by themselves, Will would find a way to make that happen.

Nico very much wanted to say yes. He wanted another fruitless search about this place to try and get out again. He wanted to bury this book six feet deep before he had to hear what had happened to his sister in explicit detail, but he wanted to stop sitting around waiting on tenterhooks for that pain to drop more.

Then the pity would come, and maybe Percy would try to talk to him. Percy honestly didn't know if Annabeth was alive right now, it would be the most grounded conversation they'd ever have.

"No," Nico answered quickly, trying to clear his throat and not show how tired of this he was.

Nico still didn't seem to notice how the darkness got a little more depth around him every time he said his sisters name, a black hole slowly but steadily opening in the wall.

"He'll be all right," I said. "Camp Half-Blood takes in a lot of young kids. They did that for Annabeth."

Nico's scoff was painful to his own ears. Now even Percy was drawing lines between him and Annabeth, as if he could ever be anything like that golden girl.

Bianca nodded. "I hope we find her. Annabeth, I mean. She's lucky to have a friend like you."

"Lot of good it did her."

Nico couldn't stop himself glancing up at Percy, a cautious hopeful feeling they could talk about this too. Their guilt. It wouldn't erase it, but Percy had been carrying that on him this whole time and understand Nico's own grief he hadn't been there in the one moment where it mattered most.

Percy was looking right through him, as usual, even while holding the book. Nico was even quite proud of himself now looking back that hadn't been bothering him yet, always fidgeting with his pen and watching Thalia while only glancing at the book. The purple spine. Not him. He tried to take comfort in that, surely if Bianca's death was coming any time soon Percy would have some lingering memory to keep an eye on him?

"Don't blame yourself Percy. You risked your life to save my brother and me. I mean, that was seriously brave. If I hadn't met you, I wouldn't have felt okay about leaving Nico at the camp. I figured if there were people like you there, Nico would be fine.

Nico's laugh was a little more harsh than he'd mean it to be, and the joke was only funny to him. Was he fine? Objectively not, roaming the world and contemplating going into Tartarus to find a goal in life. The fact that she'd factored this at all though was a kindness he hadn't expected. Better than just not caring at all.

It was a strange thing to laugh at to anyone else, who as usual just seemed to think Nico odd.

Except Will, who was probably growing to nosy levels of curiosity wanting to ask. Crap, he needed a medical text book to keep him distracted, he was starting to become a little obsessed wondering at every single reaction of his.

You're a good guy."

The compliment took me by surprise. "Even though I knocked you down in capture the flag?"

She laughed. "Okay. Except for that, you're a good guy."

"Seconded," Rachel laughed, and he tried to kill her when they first met.

"Eh," Thalia smirked, "you're not the worst boy I've met." Her smirk grew as she put an eerie, Zoe like accent on use of the word boy.

"Why thank you," he told them both with a surprised smile, he wasn't used to getting so many compliments. "I hope I hold to that standard."

A couple hundred yards away, Grover and Zoe came out of the coffee shop loaded down with pastry bags and drinks. I kind of didn't want them to come back yet. It was weird, but I realized I liked talking to Bianca. She wasn't so bad. A lot easier to hang out with than Zoe Nightshade, anyway.

Nico let out a spluttered noise that might have been a laugh if he'd stop trying to smother it. Oh the irony, Percy couldn't stand him, but his sister was okay!

Percy watched him now, in concern what that noise was, while Will bit his lip to hide a smile. He didn't add that to his list of times he'd heard Nico laugh though, it held to much self deprecation in it.

"So what's the story with you and Nico?" I asked her. "Where did you go to school before Westover?"

Nico decided he'd rather eat this book page by page than keep reading, his hands were now visibly trembling in frustration of how she was about to answer that. The false memories, the cloudy haze of feelings that had lingered in shadowed faces he couldn't remember but knew were there. Nightmares that had started that first night at camp and chased him to this day. He knew his mothers face now, her voice, but his dreams kept forgetting.

"Sorry Nico," Percy's voice still stunned him through the heart, but it was more of a jolt than a whole band number when he looked around.

"You were curious," he said, trying his hardest to keep the defensiveness out of his voice. "If Bianca's okay answering, so am I."

Will was waiting for it now and felt the icy chill blast through the room, as everybody else shivered and looked at Percy but he still saw Nico's shadow flutter. Percy, Bianca, Will tugged nervously on his ear and started to get a concrete theory about Nico he was beginning to suspect the guy himself had never confronted.

She frowned. "I think it was a boarding school in D.C. It seems like so long ago."

"It always does," Magnus agreed with a wince. It scared him how the mundane of shuffling around town looking for something to sustain him all blurred together, he'd go days without remembering his mothers voice before it was punched into his ear by any innocent person on the street saying the randomest things.

"You never lived with your parents? I mean, your mortal parent?"

"We were told our parents were dead. There was a bank trust for us. A lot of money, I think. A lawyer would come by once in a while to check on us. Then Nico and I had to leave that school."

"Why?"

She knit her eyebrows. "We had to go somewhere. I remember it was important. We traveled a long way. And we stayed in this hotel for a few weeks.

Nico's voice quivered, just a slight pitch up and down that could pass as him catching his breath. It only confirmed something Will had guessed at when Percy traveled through Vegas, and his plans to burn down that place only solidified.

And then... I don't know. One day a different lawyer came to get us out. He said it was time for us to leave. He drove us back east, through D.C. Then up into Maine. And we started going to Westover."

It was a strange story.

"Understatement," Rachel promised, but her tone was all open curiosity to hear more. She'd been following Chiron around near constantly while at Camp asking him to start transcribing all stories of who passed through. She was whittling him down bribe by bribe on upgrades via Dare Enterprise. Those new saddle bags should arrive by the time they got back and she was sure he'd say yes this time.

Then again, Bianca and Nico were half-bloods. Nothing would be normal for them.

"So you've been raising Nico pretty much all your life?" I asked. "Just the two of you?"

She nodded. "That's why I wanted to join the Hunters so bad. I mean, I know it's selfish, but I wanted my own life and friends. I love Nico—don't get me wrong—I just needed to find out what it would be like not to be a big sister twenty-four hours a day."

She'd never said that to him. She'd go on and on about what things he should and shouldn't be watching, eating, which kids at school he should talk to. He'd never asked her to do all that, all she would have had to do was say she wanted some space!

"Breathe Nico," a quiet voice said beside him.

He did out of shock, the breath shuddering out of him as his ears popped. He'd almost forgotten where he was. He'd been so lost he'd been convinced for a moment his sister was back and actually explaining herself to him. A rush of gratitude had him smile at Will for just a moment before just as quickly looking away. He wished he were alone for this, but his presence didn't feel intruding. He was just used to being alone.

I thought about last summer, the way I'd felt when I found out I had a Cyclops for a baby brother. I could relate to what Bianca was saying.

Percy had been ashamed of Tyson until he lost him. Nico really hoped it hadn't taken his sister her last breath to decide she should still want something to do with him.

"Not like that Nico," Percy's voice made him jump. He looked around in surprise what he'd done to get his full attention, and felt his stomach plummet to see the apology on his lips. He didn't want to imagine the look that had been on his face to earn that again.

"I know," Nico brushed off. "All siblings are different, whatever." Percy hadn't abandoned Tyson at camp when he could have. Maybe that was finally it, she was ashamed of him. She'd always called his game dumb and lame. 'Look at me now Bianca, all grown up,' he mentally scoffed for her.

"Zoe seems to trust you," I said. "What were you guys talking about, anyway— something dangerous about the quest?"

"When?"

"Yesterday morning on the pavilion," I said, before I could stop myself. "Something about the General."

"I'm with Alex on this very important point," Thalia snorted. "You have no filter. Who admits to ease dropping?"

"Worth it if she answers?" Percy said without thinking.

"If I ever catch you ease dropping on me I'll pin your feet to the floor," she promised.

"Seconded," Alex needlessly added, but her name had been invoked in the conversation, which was enough of an excuse for her.

Her face darkened. "How did you... The invisibility hat. Were you eavesdropping?"

"No! I mean, not really. I just—"

I was saved from trying to explain when Zoe and Grover arrived with the drinks and pastries. Hot chocolate for Bianca and me. Coffee for them. I got a blueberry muffin, and it was so good I could almost ignore the outraged look Bianca was giving me.

That caused some mild spluttering laughter from them to Percy's chagrin, especially when Rachel asked, "still enjoy talking to her now?"

"I'll get back to you on that," Percy said without much regret.

"We should do the tracking spell," Zoe said. "Grover, do you have any acorns left?"

"Are they special acorns from a sacred grove watered with the tears of unicorns?" Magnus asked in a resigned tone.

"You say that like it's not going to be done by a satyr," Thalia shrugged in answer. "Even half-bloods can't fully wrap their minds around how woodland magic works."

Jason always looked just as confused as Magnus whenever they were mentioned, and Thalia deeply wondered at that. Where exactly had he been where monsters and gods didn't phase him but the good creatures that assisted their camp didn't strike his past?

"Umm," Grover mumbled. He was chewing on a bran muffin, wrapper and all. "I think so. I just need to—"

He froze.

I was about to ask what was wrong, when a warm breeze rustled past, like a gust of springtime had gotten lost in the middle of winter. Fresh air seasoned with wildflowers and sunshine. And something else—almost like a voice, trying to say something. A warning.

"Is the God of pigs going to show up and give you a ride next?" Alex asked eagerly. This sounded like some serious mojo going on, and the warning hadn't been mentioned as good or bad.

Zoe gasped. "Grover, thy cup."

Grover dropped his coffee cup, which was decorated with pictures of birds. Suddenly the birds peeled off the cup and flew away—a flock of tiny doves. My rubber rat squeaked. It scampered off the railing and into the trees—real fur, real whiskers.

Grover collapsed next to his coffee, which steamed against the snow. We gathered around him and tried to wake him up. He groaned, his eyes fluttering.

"Hey!" Thalia said, running up from the street. "I just... What's wrong with Grover?"

"I don't know," I said. "He collapsed."

"Uuuuuhhhh," Grover groaned.

"Well, get him up!" Thalia said. She had her spear in her hand. She looked behind her as if she were being followed. "We have to get out of here."

Percy didn't need to ask, his hands were already in motion to grab Grover before his mind caught up with his body and his best friend wasn't at his feet.

Thalia was smiling and gave him a friendly nudge. "At least that lack of thinking comes in handy when we need it."

"Here to help," he chuckled.

We made it to the edge of the town before the first two skeleton warriors appeared.

"I'm curious what they plan to do with you if they'd killed you," Alex admitted. "They don't feed you to a pig to hide the evidence do they?"

"I didn't stop to ask," Percy told, and he was holding to that now by refusing to let himself wonder what the hell Alex meant by that.

They stepped from the trees on either side of the road. Instead of gray camouflage, they were now wearing blue New Mexico State Police uniforms, but they had the same transparent gray skin and yellow eyes.

They drew their handguns. I'll admit I used to think it would be kind of cool to learn how to shoot a gun, but I changed my mind as soon as the skeleton warriors pointed theirs at me.

For the first time in these horrible about to die situations, Percy took a moment to thank whoever cared to listen to his prayer his mother wasn't here. She wouldn't have been any happier about monsters nearly killing him every other chapter, but there was something so, modern about a gun being pointed at him. A childhood fear he'd never experienced but had seen plenty of stories about. A weapon he'd always thought of in the hands of cops and mortals first instead of zombies, that now made his mothers troubled blue eyes come clearly to mind.

Thalia tapped her bracelet. Aegis spiraled to life on her arm, but the warriors didn't flinch. Their glowing yellow eyes bored right into me.

"That was terrifying," Will whispered, and it wasn't a joke. He meant every word. Any creature that didn't flinch from that made him wish for an endless amount of Greek fire.

I drew Riptide, though I wasn't sure what good it would do against guns.

Zoe and Bianca drew their bows, but Bianca was having trouble because Grover kept swooning and leaning against her.

"If I wasn't so worried about him I'd smack him myself," Percy groaned his best friend wouldn't stop the gawking now.

"Back up," Thalia said.

We started to—but then I heard a rustling of branches. Two more skeletons appeared on the road behind us. We were surrounded.

Jason let out a string of swears that didn't need translation. "They're intelligent!"

"Percy makes good plans and we don't call him intelligent," Thalia sighed.

"Can we mock me after we're done almost dying?" Percy asked without any hope.

Which Rachel aptly delivered. "That's never."

I wondered where the other skeletons were. I'd seen a dozen at the Smithsonian. Then one of the warriors raised a cell phone to his mouth and spoke into it.

Except he wasn't speaking. He made a clattering, clicking sound, like dry teeth on bone.

Nico felt Percy's eyes on him again. The intensity, the way the water moved around them again as he tried to connect a dot.

He just didn't care right now as he wondered again about his sister. Had she understood what they said and been freaked out? It took a bit of practice to understand perfectly, but if she'd gotten even an inkling of an idea she was the only one, what could he even hope for anymore? That she was freaked out at these crazy powers and anything associated with them, like him? That she'd used it to try and help save Percy?

Suddenly I understood what was going on. The skeletons had split up to look for us. These skeletons were now calling their brethren. Soon we'd have a full party on our hands.

"It's near," Grover moaned.

"It's here," I said.

"No," he insisted. "The gift. The gift from the Wild."

"A wild, pig?" Alex asked in confusion. It really was nice to see everyone as confused about this as Percy for once, even Thalia who still wasn't really sure how Pan had come to the conclusion he had sending that beast.

I didn't know what he was talking about, but I was worried about his condition. He was in no shape to walk, much less fight.

"Goaty-back ride," Will said with a straight face. "Leave no man behind."

"I don't intend to," Percy agreed confidently, something he and Zoe actually had in common.

"We'll have to go one-on-one," Thalia said. "Four of them. Four of us. Maybe they'll ignore Grover that way."

"Agreed," said Zoe.

Percy and Thalia fist bumped. Percy was even about to make the ardent comment to tell her to thank Zoe for him for a moment before his stomach curdled. The silver circlet on his friends head so like Zoe's held his tongue. It didn't seem likely when Thalia had joined Zoe had just casually stepped down from her position, so it might be a sore subject.

"The Wild!" Grover moaned.

"Better than moaning about food again," Magnus said in concern how often this poor guy was left on the verge of passing out.

A warm wind blew through the canyon, rustling the trees, but I kept my eyes on the skeletons. I remembered the General gloating over Annabeth's fate. I remembered the way Luke had betrayed her.

And I charged.

"Well those zombies are dead," Jason said casually.

"I'd almost feel bad for them if they weren't hell bent on killing you guys," Alex nodded with a still curious pucker to her lips. "Do they have souls? Like how sentient are these killing machines? Should I feel bad?"

"No," Thalia answered darkly before Nico could impulsively answer. The level threat in her voice against the skeletons made their worry go up another notch, that they hadn't even seen the beginning of how bad these murderous attempts would go.

The first skeleton fired. Time slowed down. I won't say I could see the bullet, but I could feel its path, the same way I felt water currents in the ocean. I deflected it off the edge of my blade and kept charging.

Nico choked on his words by the end, still shamefully etching that into his mind with the usual rise and fall of awe and then disgust at himself. He knew he didn't have a chance and he still couldn't help panting over every single thing Percy did like a child.

"That was seriously badass Percy," Will told him in the same kind of adoration. "Please tell me you saved that bullet and carved your name into it, there's space in your cabin to frame it."

"I will not be doing autographs at this time," Percy said with one of those cheeky grins that made the whole campfire burn bright white with laughter and reach to the stars. Nico usually backed away as fast as possible from the crowds reverence of him, convinced someone would spot his otherness in his false chuckle, but he couldn't do that in here.

"Well at the very least promise to have this in your next reenactment," Will insisted.

"What reenactment?" Percy asked, his confidence clearly slipping. "Please tell me you're joking about those Will!"

Thalia swiftly cut in as the snickers subsided, "if Chiron hears of any of you even thinking of bringing a gun to camp to try he'll pin a tail on all of you."

"Not a real gun," Will looked offended at the assumption while Nico harshly cleared his throat to try and keep going. At least the blush had left his face.

The skeleton drew a baton and I sliced off his arms at the elbows. Then I swung Riptide through his waist and cut him in half.

"Gruesome," Jason said complimentary. He didn't even know if he had any sword fighting capabilities, but he really wanted to test that theory on a mock battle with Percy to find out.

His bones unknit and clattered to the asphalt in a heap. Almost immediately, they began to move, reassembling themselves. The second skeleton clattered his teeth at me and tried to fire, but I knocked his gun into the snow.

I thought I was doing pretty well, until the other two skeletons shot me in the back.

"Percy!" Thalia screamed.

Thalia's heart still skipped a beat. She still heard the cry ripped from her throat as every emotion fractured through her to fast. Her guilt, she'd wanted him gone, but not like this. She hadn't been fast enough. Her horror, there would be so much blood, she'd have to find a way to wrap his body in a shroud fast. Her pleading words to Annabeth all as useless as the next to try and explain what had happened and maybe Annabeth would cry all night on her shoulder this time, or blame her-

I landed facedown in the street. Then I realized something... I wasn't dead. The impact of the bullets had been dull, like a push from behind, but they hadn't hurt me.

The Nemean Lion's fur! My coat was bulletproof.

Thalia charged the second skeleton.

She'd been in motion before she'd even realized that was him sitting up, not even dazed as he spat out snow and looked on in surprise at that goofy brown duster. Only vengeance had been in her heart to fell this one threat, do this one thing and dismantle that skeleton every bone at a time for daring to make her think the worst, lose another friend again. By the time she'd realized he didn't have a scratch on him she was to busy trying to calm her racing heart he wasn't a new skeleton warrior himself as they were being chased up a hill by a pig, and he'd in turn saved her own life. It's just how they were.

Zoe and Bianca started firing arrows at the third and fourth. Grover stood there and held his hands out to the trees, looking like he wanted to hug them.

"Wouldn't be the first time, but even an Aphrodite kid wouldn't stop in the middle of a fight to flirt," Rachel shook her head in unease where this was going.

There was a crashing sound in the forest to our left, like a bulldozer. Maybe the skeletons' reinforcements were arriving. I got to my feet and ducked a police baton. The skeleton I'd cut in half was already fully re-formed, coming after me.

There was no way to stop them. Zoe and Bianca fired at their heads point-blank, but the arrows just whistled straight through their empty skulls. One lunged at Bianca, and I thought she was a goner, but she whipped out her hunting knife and stabbed the warrior in the chest.

The whole skeleton erupted into flames, leaving a little pile of ashes and a police badge.

Percy shivered slightly at the look that had been on her face. Just for a brief moment as her reflexes went in for a killing blow. Something in the grim set of her mouth that made a hazy vision of a dark throne room try blossoming to mind.

Alex's eyes instantly gleamed with want, even Magnus and Jason looked equally impressed as they were confused.

"Where do I get one of those?" Alex demanded.

"Why did you not lead with those?" Jason asked.

Thalia kept her hunting knife sheathed and her smile flippant as she laughed off, "it would ruin our brand to start with the short range weapon," while Percy was once again looking as close to seasick as he could get studying Nico. He had the book so close to his face it looked like he was trying to implant the words into his nose.

"How did you do that?" Zoe asked.

Their confusion overruled their interest though as they realized Zoe, and maybe even Thalia didn't know how Bianca had done that. Which certainly made that, strange. Even by these books standards.

"I don't know," Bianca said nervously. "Lucky stab?"

"Well, do it again!"

Bianca tried, but the remaining three skeletons were wary of her now. They pressed us back, keeping us at baton's length.

"Plan?" I said as we retreated.

Nobody answered. The trees behind the skeletons were shivering. Branches were cracking.

"A gift," Grover muttered.

And then, with a mighty roar, the largest pig I'd ever seen came crashing into the road.

"Well that's one way to keep attention off a skeleton for a moment," Magnus muttered.

It was a wild boar, thirty feet high, with a snotty pink snout and tusks the size of canoes. Its back bristled with brown hair, and its eyes were wild and angry.

"I would be too if I walked in on this mess in my backyard," Jason frowned.

"Excuse me while I faint for a moment," Magnus shuddered head to toe. His mom had told him about wild pigs and how vicious they were. The normal ones.

"REEEEEEEEET!" it squealed, and raked the three skeletons aside with its tusks. The force was so great, they went flying over the trees and into the side of the mountain, where they smashed to pieces, thigh bones and arm bones twirling everywhere.

"I always wanted to sing the bone song, I bet these guys would make great background noise," Will said while still batting his eyes at the abrupt change.

Then the pig turned on us.

Thalia raised her spear, but Grover yelled, "Don't kill it.'"

The boar grunted and pawed the ground, ready to charge.

"I think the boar agrees," Alex mock whispered.

"That's the Erymanthian Boar," Zoe said, trying to stay calm. "I don't think we can kill it."

"Zoe still keeping up with the positive note," Nico sighed.

"It's a gift," Grover said. "A blessing from the Wild!"

The boar said "REEEEEEET!" and swung its tusk. Zoe and Bianca dived out of the way. I had to push Grover so he wouldn't get launched into the mountain on the Boar Tusk Express.

"Yeah, I feel blessed!" I said. "Scatter!"

"Why is this par for the course of every gift I get?" Percy demanded. "Every single thing a god has given me has nearly killed me!"

"Ares's backpack, the wind thermos, now this guy," Jason agreed as he ticked off on his fingers, and for once Percy didn't even roll his eyes as he gestured at him in thanks for proving his point. "Everything except from Neptune, and I'm kind of withholding judgment on the fountain to see if he wants anything from you."

"Thanks," Percy sighed, almost wishing somebody had argued with him.

"Tyson was a gift from your dad too, kind of," Will reminded, "and he never tried to kill you."

"Okay, with the major exception from my dad," Percy reluctantly amended.

We ran in different directions, and for a moment the boar was confused.

"It wants to kill us!" Thalia said.

"Of course," Grover said. "It's wild!"

"My favorite thing is Grover being offended at you guys," Alex admitted.

"Then we will never disappoint at least you," Thalia sighed.

"So how is that a blessing?" Bianca asked.

It seemed a fair question to me, but the pig was offended and charged her.

"The boar clearly doesn't agree with you," Nico told Alex with a very put off scowl. Percy felt bad for the guy, it couldn't be fun for him to sit over there and hear in detail all the times his sister had almost died while he'd barely been able to help her, let alone keep his promise on her being safe.

She was faster than I'd realized. She rolled out of the way of its hooves and came up behind the beast.

It lashed out with its tusks and pulverized the WELCOME TO CLOUDCROFT sign.

"I bet it cost their whole town budget to fix that," Rachel said with one of those strange looks in her eyes that meant a charity drive was going to be formed soon. Percy found the look endearing for the split second he noticed, but he was to amped up to even think to ask.

I racked my brain, trying to remember the myth of the boar. I was pretty sure Hercules had fought this thing once, but I couldn't remember how he'd beaten it. I had a vague memory of the boar plowing down several Greek cities before Hercules managed to subdue it. I hoped Cloudcroft was insured against giant wild boar attacks.

"They probably are against bears," Nico offered, he'd wound up in one to many insurance offices for his liking to know small towns usually went big on wild animals that were often mistaken for monsters anyways.

"Probably not against you guys though, so lets lead it away from town," Rachel unhelpfully reminded.

"Keep moving!" Zoe yelled. She and Bianca ran in opposite directions. Grover danced around the boar, playing his pipes while the boar snorted and tried to gouge him. But Thalia and I won the prize for bad luck.

"Typical," they said together in the exact same tone.

When the boar turned on us, Thalia made the mistake of raising Aegis in defense. The sight of the Medusa head made the boar squeal in outrage. Maybe it looked too much like one of his relatives. The boar charged us.

"Would Grover eat an animal that tried to kill you? I'm thinking bacon and ham sandwiches the rest of the trip," Alex said with pretty high confidence they were going to use this things weight against it and trick this boar.

"I doubt it," Percy shrugged, while beside him Thalia was slowly but steadily turning the color of that snow. Percy shifted uneasily towards her in fear that thing had nearly killed her, he very much doubted her dad would bless the same miracle twice, or that the pine trees would miraculously try to save her.

We only managed to keep ahead of it because we ran uphill, and we could dodge in and out of trees while the boar had to plow through them.

"Eh," Alex looked like she vaguely approved of their plan at least.

"He hasn't used The Phrase yet," Magnus said with mild hope, "hopefully this is the extent of defeating the monster for once."

"It worked on Echidna," she agreed halfheartedly.

On the other side of the hill, I found an old stretch of train tracks, half buried in the snow.

"This way.'" I grabbed Thalia's arm and we ran along the rails while the boar roared behind us, slipping and sliding as it tried to navigate the steep hillside. Its hooves just were not made for this, thank the gods.

Ahead of us, I saw a covered tunnel. Past that, an old trestle bridge spanning a gorge. I had a crazy idea.

"Yes!" Alex cheered, clearly the only one excited.

"Nope, there it is," Magnus face palmed.

"I was starting to get worried you were going to stay on the bunny course," Rachel laughed. Gods forbid they got away from this to easily.

Percy gave a sarcastic laugh for them while Thalia was taking painful sounding breaths, he'd swear he could hear her lungs pop as she went deathly still, like the more words that poured out of Nico's mouth were sucking the life out of her.

"Follow me!"

Thalia slowed down—I didn't have time to ask why—but I pulled her along and she reluctantly followed. Behind us, a ten-ton pig tank was knocking down pine trees and crushing boulders under its hooves as it chased us.

Thalia and I ran into the tunnel and came out on the other side.

"No!" Thalia screamed.

She'd turned as white as ice. We were at the edge of the bridge. Below, the mountain dropped away into a snow-filled gorge about seventy feet below.

"Oh crap!" Jason yelped, though only Thalia had noticed he'd gone weirdly quiet this last page.

Her eyes were glassy, she looked very much like she actually wanted to never see the light of day again her lip was trembling so much, as if on the verge of screaming at them or just in general.

Nico couldn't believe what he was seeing for a moment, looking from the book back to her with the same confounded expression as if somebody had told him to sing on the spot. Thalia, daughter of Zeus, looked scared. He didn't know if he was supposed to keep going, if his assumption had been wrong and Bianca had somehow died at the bottom of this gorge.

Percy got up with a resilient look on his face, pen in his less dominant hand but still for all the world looking ready to stab someone to take the book away for whatever it was doing to her.

"Don't," she gasped what could have been her last breath, but she wouldn't chicken out of this. The veritable list of reasons why she should sprawled out before her; Jason would know how pathetic she was, she'd never hear the end of the laughing, but dammit she was doing this for Percy and Nico. They were stuck here and she wasn't going to pretend she alone shouldn't have to bear her worst moments.

Percy wavered but ultimately sat back down beside her. The room was the kind of deathly quiet that never proceeded anything good as they all found themselves holding their breath to find out what horrors awaited at the bottom.

The boar was right behind us.

"Come on!" I said. "It'll hold our weight, probably."

"I can't!" Thalia yelled. Her eyes were wild with fear.

The boar smashed into the covered tunnel, tearing through at full speed.

"Now!" I yelled at Thalia.

She looked down and swallowed. I swear she was turning green.

Thalia had her boots planted very firmly on the ground in here, her blue eyes were a fog of the room as she tried to convince her heart not to pound out of her chest, not to let that feeling take over her now. The sense of nothingness beneath, that she'd fall forever as the world spun sickeningly around her making everything seem wrong side up so she didn't know which way was down.

Luke wasn't here to grab her hand and ground her to that tree they'd climbed up in a panic to escape some evil mole looking creatures. The first time she'd ever been so high up and saw how thinly they were connected to the world by only a hop away from the earth.

Percy slung his arm over her shoulder. The pressure and weight of him again like he was about to push her over that cliff so they could slide to safety was an annoying reminder, but her flinch wasn't for him. It was seeing this room settle again, and be grateful it was Poseidon who had kidnapped them. Her father would probably dangle her over Olympus laughing until she got over it if he heard this.

The white noise in her ears faded somewhat as her friend stayed close beside her and Nico finished pausing for breath before finishing.

I didn't have time to process why. The boar was charging through the tunnel, straight toward us. Plan B.

"Gods forbid you ever get to plan C," Magnus said. Most of Percy's crazy ideas worked on the first try, mass chaos might ensue if he even got close to D.

"You're assuming he ever makes plans," Alex corrected.

I tackled Thalia and sent us both sideways off the edge of the bridge, into the side of the mountain. We slid on Aegis like a snow-board, over rocks and mud and snow, racing downhill. The boar was less fortunate; it couldn't turn that fast, so all ten tons of the monster charged out onto the tiny trestle, which buckled under its weight. The boar free-fell into the gorge with a mighty squeal and landed in a snowdrift with a huge POOOOOF!

Thalia and I skidded to a stop.

"So, did the pig win the race?" Will asked lightly.

"Nobody ever said what the prize was," Nico shrugged as he looked away from the last page. His sister hadn't been squashed under that boar, everybody was alive, he could spare a smile. "Shouldn't the fun they had be the prize?"

Will's whole body glowed when he laughed like that. "That's camp lesson 101, you sound like head councilor material."

Nico rolled his eyes and turned back away, but nobody could miss his little smirk.

Thalia was still rubbing her chest and watching them suspiciously to finish the rest of this disaster. Glad it was all fun and games to them, for now. She alone knew the next catastrophic thing to happen on this quest, and it wasn't her senseless fear.

We were both breathing hard. I was cut up and bleeding.

Thalia had pine needles in her hair. Next to us, the wild boar was squealing and struggling.

All I could see was the bristly tip of its back. It was wedged completely in the snow like Styrofoam packing. It didn't seem to be hurt, but it wasn't going anywhere, either.

"Your concern is touching," Rachel told him sincerely. "I'm sure Grover will be thrilled."

Percy didn't answer as he kept his eyes on Thalia, his mouth twitching as he studied his friend.

I looked at Thalia. "You're afraid of heights."

Nico snapped his mouth shut like he'd said a dirty word and looked around with a wild apology. "Sorry! I didn't mean to say, I should have, sorry!" He'd been the one to tell her she didn't have to reveal personal stuff and here he was, blurting it out.

Thalia kept her eyes on the ceiling and said in an eerie resemblance to Artemis's smooth, candid way of speaking, "I made the decision I don't care who knows."

"The bus!" Alex realized. "Oh honey," she said it with a strange maternal accent Magnus could never have imagined coming from her, but seemed to suite her.

"I commend you for dealing with that like you have been," Magnus agreed, he knew he never acted so calm whenever a wolf was even mentioned.

Jason was still watching her like he was waiting for her to deny it. Percy had that same stupid look on his face like he had at the time, the adrenaline coming down, his mouth spewing words while he brushed off their nearest death experience with that wild smile.

She brushed her hands violently through her hair like she still expected to feel pine needles tickling down her neck, her skin felt on needles waiting for the surprise to wear off and the laughter to kick in. It didn't dislodge Percy's arm, and he didn't pull away. "Can we move on?" She demanded.

Now that we were safely down the mountain, her eyes had their usual angry look.

"Don't be stupid."

"That explains why you freaked out on Apollo's bus. Why you didn't want to talk about it."

She took a deep breath. Then she brushed the pine needles out of her hair. "If you tell anyone, I swear—"

"Sorry," Percy said with his own uneasy look around. "I, um-"

"Trust me, you didn't ask your dad to do, this to you," she gestured at all of him. His past being reveled through a book, his impulsive mouth. The entire group looking at the pair of them waiting for a fight to start. "Can't be mad at you for this Perce."

Percy stared at her with those eerie green eyes and seemed to realize something she hadn't meant to spoil, his arm did slide away as he swallowed. She'd been with the Hunters for some time after these events. She was older, not as angry, more at peace with her own life.

He turned back to the book, and she silently cursed. The one time she hadn't threatened to beat him to a pulp, and this is what it got her.

"No, no," I said. "That's cool. It's just... the daughter of Zeus, the Lord of the Sky, afraid of heights?"

"I don't see what that has to do with it," Jason said candidly. "Are Ceres's children not supposed to be afraid of venomous snakes just because those are sacred to her? Are Pluto's children not suppose to fear being buried alive because he masters the riches in the earth?"

"It's ironic," Percy insisted, but also relented, "but it's not like I didn't squeal for my life when that shark nudged up to me my first time in the ocean, still scared the piss out of me."

"Fear's aren't rational, no matter who your parents are," Rachel agreed with a shrug.

Thalia was tempted to take her boots off and make sure somebody hadn't swapped her feet around she felt so wrong footed. She'd known her best friend in here wouldn't dwell on it, but the other's not even hinting at a chuckle made one escape past her lips. Maybe she'd been spending to much time around her Hunters, expecting the worst from all these boys.

Her eyes lingered on Jason as she bit her lip with guilt. That was one excuse she could cross of delaying telling him. She was looking forward to the next book least of all, hearing Percy's first hand account of what he found in that golden sarcophagus. Maybe she could try talking the others into reading one of those other books to try and get a hint of Jason's backstory after all.

She was about to knock me into the snow when, above us, Grover's voice called, "Helloooooo?"

"Down here!" I shouted.

A few minutes later, Zoe, Bianca, and Grover joined us. We stood watching the wild boar struggle in the snow.

"Didn't even consider putting the poor animal out of its misery?" Alex asked in what she clearly thought was an impression of Grover. "Just going to sit and watch it suffer?"

"It was going to come out," Percy promised, "and Grover summoned the thing! If he was going to want it dead, he'd say so."

"A blessing of the Wild," Grover said, though he now looked agitated.

"There it is!" Alex cackled. "Everybody on the same page now!"

"Guess the wow factor wears off when he's not half-passed out and it nearly kills them all," Magnus agreed.

"I agree," Zoe said. "We must use it."

"Hold up," Thalia said irritably. She still looked like she'd just lost a fight with a Christmas tree.

"It was the perfect look on you," Percy said innocently, "you could dress up every year for Halloween like that and everybody would get the joke! A few ornaments, a star on your head you could light up yourself- ouch!"

Sparks were still flying from her finger as she raised it threateningly again. Percy had the good sense to shut his mouth though.

"Explain to me why you're so sure this pig is a blessing."

Grover looked over, distracted. "It's our ride west. Do you have any idea how fast this boar can travel?"

"No," Will admitted. "Why does he?"

"The pig's bragging about it?" Percy answered blankly.

"He knows every myth associated with animals," Thalia said only a smidge more confidently.

"Fun," I said. "Like... pig cowboys."

"Oink, oink," Magnus snickered.

"We're going to get through the whole farm if this book keeps up," Alex agreed proudly.

Grover nodded. "We need to get aboard. I wish... I wish I had more time to look around. But it's gone now."

"What's gone?"

Grover didn't seem to hear me. He walked over to the boar and jumped onto its back.

"Now you know he's in a bad mood," Will winced, "I've never heard him ignoring you."

"He gets pretty focused," Percy agreed, a forlorn smile showing he wasn't hurt in the slightest. Grover had come on this quest to find some sort of sign for a blessing of the Wild, and Percy got the hint much faster this time that's what his best friend must have felt.

Already the boar was starting to make some headway through the drift. Once it broke free, there'd be no stopping it. Grover took out his pipes. He started playing a snappy tune and tossed an apple in front of the boar. The apple floated and spun right above the boar's nose, and the boar went nuts, straining to get it.

Magnus raised his hand with a blank face. "What possible other uses does that spell have? How often do you need to levitate fruit for this to be a thing? Is it just an apple? Can he levitate anything like that?"

"None of us have grown hooves yet," Percy reminded. "I will gladly introduce you when we get out of here so you can ask him yourself."

"Automatic steering," Thalia murmured. "Great."

She trudged over and jumped on behind Grover, which still left plenty of room for the rest of us.

Zoe and Bianca walked toward the boar.

"Wait a second," I said. "Do you two know what Grover is talking about—this wild blessing?"

"Of course," Zoe said. "Did you not feel it in the wind? It was so strong... I never thought I would sense that presence again."

"What presence?"

She stared at me like I was an idiot.

"Missing Annabeth slightly less yet?" Thalia snorted.

Okay, so Percy had gotten it a few minutes earlier than last time, but he was still proud of himself enough he just gave her a light shove.

"The Lord of the Wild, of course. Just for a moment, in the arrival of the boar, I felt the presence of Pan."

"Chapter's over," Nico said, his voice so tense it almost didn't sound like English for a second. Then he did trail off into mutters of another language only Thalia clued into was Italian. She watched Will ignorantly reach for the book with his own little surprised stare with a lump in her throat as her eyes flinched from Percy and back to the only child of Hades.

To warn him would tip off her friend, but to say nothing would leave the poor kid blindsided. He knew his sister hadn't come back, but she felt obligated not to make him think it wasn't near.

There was just no way possible Nico could hide that reaction from Percy, he wouldn't not notice.

To say nothing to Nico felt like the easy way out, her hands wouldn't be free of blame when she could have done something.

The weight of her roll in here settled on her back as she told Will to wait a moment before he could start, trying to gauge the pressure this prison could take. Who was her greater priority?

Her best friend who couldn't know, or the kid who had lost to much?

PJOPJOPJO

You guys have no idea how much I'm looking forward to this chapter in the upcoming show. Like, all evidence to the contrary, and the rest of it is terrible and only chugs along to this exact spot and gets dropped, I will be front and center watching these scenes play out with bated breath because it is everything I love. Percy and Bianca's talk, Thalia screaming Percy's name in fear if she just witnessed him die, Bianca's badass Hades power getting their first hint, snowboarding on Aegis, the pig going poooof into the snow, Thalia covered in pine needles while Percy smiles like a dope and promises he won't tell her secret, Percy understanding Thalia's every move, these two being such a damn good team! I will have every detail and background Easter egg of this etched into my memory and replay it so many times (part two) the show will have no choice but to continue if I'm the last one standing.

Which I doubt, but is not the point right now.

[trinity-mia]

a story as endless as the ocean

the titan's curse

0.5 the weight of the world

warnings : allie argues with a god (what's new?), descriptions of blood and the teensy-est amount of gore, pretty tame chapter ngl

word count : 5.1k

0.5 I Feel a Non-Metaphorical Weight on My Shoulders

During the winter, Camp Half-Blood always looked magical. It's protected by 'weather wards' so it never rained or snowed inside the borders unless Mr. D allowed it. Thankfully, he'd get tired of listening to us wanting snow, so he normally allowed it. 

Frost covered the chariot track and the strawberry fields. The cabins were decorated with tiny flickering lights, like Christmas lights, except they seemed to be balls of real fire. More lights glowed in the woods, and weirdest of all, a fire flickered in the attic window of the Big House, where the Oracle dwelt, imprisoned in an old mummified body. I once wondered if the spirit of Delphi was roasting marshmallows up there or something and I told Luke that thought, but then the mental image weirded us out, so we mutually decided never to think of it again.

"Whoa," Nico said as he climbed off the bus. "Is that a climbing wall?" 

"Yeah," I said. 

"Why is there lava pouring down it?" 

"Little extra challenge. Come on. I'll introduce you to Chiron. Zoe, have you met—" 

"I know Chiron," Zoe said stiffly. "Tell him we will be in Cabin Eight. Hunters, follow me." 

Okay, irritable, I thought. 

"I'll show you the way," Grover offered. 

"We know the way." 

"Oh, really, it's no trouble. It's easy to get lost here, if you don't"— he tripped over a canoe and came up still talking— "like my old daddy goat used to say! Come on!" 

Zoe rolled her eyes, but I guess she figured there was no getting rid of Grover. The Hunters shouldered their packs and their bows and headed off toward the cabins. 

As Bianca di Angelo was leaving, she leaned over and whispered something in her brother's ear. She looked at him for an answer, but Nico just scowled and turned away. 

"Take care, sweethearts!" Apollo called after the Hunters. He winked at me. "Watch out for those prophecies, Allie. I'll see you soon." 

"What do you mean?" Instead of answering, he hopped back on the bus. 

"Later, Allie, Thalia," he called. "And, uh, be good!" 

He gave us a wicked smile, as if he knew something we didn't (which he did, but that's definitely beside the point). Then he closed the doors and revved the engine. I turned aside as the sun chariot took off in a blast of heat. When I looked back, the lake was steaming. A red Maserati soared over the woods, glowing brighter and climbing higher until it disappeared in a ray of sunlight. Nico was still looking grumpy. I wondered what his sister had told him.

"Who's Chiron?" he asked. "I don't have his figurine." 

"Our activities director," I answered. "He's... well, you'll see."

"If those Hunter girls don't like him," Nico grumbled, "that's good enough for me. Let's go." 

The thing I always found strangest about camp in the winter was how empty it was. I mean, most half-bloods only trained during the summer. Just the year-rounders would be there— the ones who didn't have homes to go to, or would get attacked by monsters too much if they left. But there didn't even seem to be many of them, either.

I was technically a year rounder, but I left a few days a week so I could go to college at Columbia and if I was feeling super suffocated, I'd go to my beach house in East Hampton, but otherwise, I got attacked a lot, so I stayed at Camp Half-Blood. I didn't have to ask Chiron, I'd just leave. I was actually the only one allowed to do that, and if I wasn't the Daughter of Poseidon, I wouldn't be able to. Poseidon's children are very restless, like the sea, so when we are cooped up in a space for too long we get… antsy. 

I spotted Beckendorf stoking the forge outside the camp armory. The only full siblings in camp, Luke and Brylie's brothers, Travis and Connor Stoll (and yes, everyone makes the Stoll/stole joke), were picking the lock on the camp store. A few kids from the Ares cabin were having a snowball fight with the wood nymphs at the edge of the forest. That was about it. Truthfully, it was a relief. The fewer people around, the fewer hearts I had to break when I revealed Luke's fate. He'd been here longer than most and had housed them under his wing before they'd get claimed (if they did). He was pretty much a big brother to everyone. 

And Brylie... it was way too hard for anyone to hate her. She was hardly a fighter and got along with everyone. Everyone loved her. It felt like a sword had just been stabbed in my heart, and I forced down the tears that threatened to spill over. 

The Big House was decorated with strings of red and yellow fireballs that warmed the porch but nothing caught on fire. Inside, flames crackled in the hearth. The air smelled like hot chocolate. Mr. D and Chiron were playing a quiet game of cards in the parlor.

Chiron's brown beard was shaggier for the winter. His curly hair had grown a little longer. He wore a fuzzy sweater with a hoof print design on it, and he had a blanket on his lap that almost hid his wheelchair completely.

He smiled when he saw us. "Allie! Thalia! Ah, and this must be—"

"Nico di Angelo," I introduced, waving at the small boy, who was getting excited all over again. "He and his sister are half-bloods."

Chiron breathed a sigh of relief. "You succeeded, then."

My expression hardened. "Well..."

His smile melted. "What's wrong? And where are Luke and Brylie?"

"Oh, dear," Mr. D said in a bored voice, "Not more lost."

I clenched my fist in reflexive anger at his callous words. I'd been trying not to pay attention to Mr. D, but he was kind of hard to ignore in his neon orange leopard-skin warm-up suit and his purple running shoes (Like Mr. D had ever run a day in his immortal life. I sometimes seriously doubted whether or not he had ever actually been a demigod. He certainly didn't care about us, anyway. In fact, I think he cares even less about half-bloods than the gods who were born immortal do). A golden laurel wreath was tilted sideways on his curly black hair, which must've meant he'd won the last hand of cards.

I frowned, wondering if someone else had gone off to join the Titans. Only a few had, mainly due to me and Luke regularly reminding everyone that there would be no demigods without gods, but some still hated our godly parents enough to choose half-blood extinction in exchange for revenge. Truthfully, I didn't really blame them. I'm honest enough to admit that it's my fatal flaw that keeps me at Camp Half-Blood. I'd grown close to everyone there and even my father, who still didn't fully have my respect, had gained my loyalty. He did save me and Luke quite a few times last summer, I'd give him that. 

Just then, Grover trotted into the room, grinning like crazy. He had a black eye and red lines on his face that looked like a slap mark. "The Hunters are all moved in!" I shoved down a flare of fury that he was so cheerful when Luke and Brylie were missing. 

Chiron frowned. "The Hunters, eh? I see we have much to talk about." He glanced at Nico. "Grover, perhaps you should take our young friend to the den and show him our orientation film."

"But... Oh, right. Yes, sir."

"Orientation film?" Nico repeated, then he frowned. "Is it G or PG? 'Cause Bianca is kinda strict—"

"It's PG-13," Grover told him.

"Cool!" Nico happily followed him out of the room.

"Now," Chiron said to Thalia and me, "perhaps you two should sit down and tell us the whole story."

When we were done, Chiron turned to Mr. D. "We should launch a search for Luke and Brylie right away."

"I'll go," Thalia and I declared at the same time.

Mr. D sniffed. "Certainly not!"

Thalia and I both started protesting, but Mr. D held up his hand. He had that purplish angry fire in his eyes that usually meant something bad and godly was going to happen if we didn't shut up.

"From what you have told me," Mr. D said, "we have broken even on this escapade. We have, ah, regrettably lost Bailey and Liam—"

"Brylie and Luke," I snapped. Brylie had gone to camp for over five years now and Luke had been going for almost seven years, helped me save the world and camp itself, and still, Mr. D pretended not to know their names.

"Yes, yes," he said. "And you procured a small annoying boy to replace them. So I see no point risking further half-bloods on a ridiculous rescue. The possibility is very great that this Bailey girl and Liam boy are dead."

I wanted to strangle Mr. D. It wasn't fair Zeus had sent him here to dry out as camp director for a hundred years. It was meant to be a punishment for Mr. D's bad behavior on Olympus, but it ended up being a punishment for all of us. And how dare he claim that Nico could replace Luke and Brylie? 

"Luke and Brylie might be alive," Chiron said, but I could tell he was having trouble sounding upbeat. He'd raised Luke since he was twelve and Brylie since she was eight. Luke himself considered him the closest thing he'd had to a parent and I wouldn't be surprised if Brylie felt the same way. This had to be difficult for him. "Luke's very bright. If... if our enemies have him, he will do his best to stay alive and keep Brylie alive until they can escape. And they won't be quick to kill them."

"That's right," Thalia agreed. "Annabeth probably still has a soft spot for him. And she'll know if she kills Brylie he'll never side with her."

"In which case," said Mr. D, "I'm afraid they will have to be smart enough to escape on their own."

I got up from the table. "You know—"

"Allie." Chiron's tone was full of warning. 

"— You could at least try to act like you care about us—"

"Allie."

"— Even in the slightest. Do you even—"

"Astraea." 

I froze, my mouth slightly open. Chiron's tone had so much authority in it, I almost didn't want to continue. He never used my real name. It was enough to make me pause, but not enough to make me see clearly. I was about to ignore him further and tell Dionysus just what I thought of him, but I was interrupted when Nico burst into the room, followed by Grover.

"SO COOL!" Nico yelled, holding his hands out to Chiron. "You're... you're a centaur!" 

Chiron managed a nervous smile. "Yes, Mr. di Angelo, if you please. Though, I prefer to stay in human form in this wheelchair for, ah, first encounters." 

"And, whoa!" He looked at Mr. D. "You're the wine dude? No way!" 

Mr. D turned his eyes away from me and gave Nico a look of absolute loathing. "The wine dude?" 

"Dionysus, right? Oh, wow! I've got your figurine." 

"My figurine." 

"In my game, Mythomagic. And a holofoil card, too! And even though you've only got like five hundred attack points and everybody thinks you're the lamest god card, I totally think your powers are sweet!"

"Ah." Mr. D seemed truly perplexed, which probably saved my life. "Well, that's... gratifying." 

"Allie," Chiron said quickly, "you and Thalia go down to the cabins. Inform the campers we'll be playing capture the flag tomorrow evening." 

"Capture the flag?" I asked. "But we don't have enough—" 

"It is a tradition," Chiron said. "A friendly match, whenever the Hunters visit." 

"Yeah," Thalia muttered. "I bet it's real friendly." 

Chiron jerked his head toward Mr. D, who was still frowning as Nico talked about how many defense points all the gods had in his game. "Run along now," Chiron told us. 

"Oh, right," Thalia said. "Come on, Allie." She hauled me out of the Big House before Dionysus could remember that he wanted to kill me.

"Gods, Allie. It's like you want to be killed," Thalia said as soon as we were out of earshot. 

"I mean, it's going to happen at one point or another. At least let me make it fun," I joked back, saying a thought I'd had in my head for a while. I knew the gods were less likely to kill me, mostly because they didn't want to, in turn, be killed by Poseidon. That, however, didn't make me indestructible. Then again, I was first in line for the doomsday prophecy, so that made them more and simultaneously less likely to kill me. 

She gave me a look and I knew I should stop joking about my death, especially with Luke gone. 

"Sorry, sorry. It's just..." We both gazed down at the Hermes cabin where Brylie and Luke stayed (unless, of course, he snuck into my cabin when one of us had a nightmare, which happened quite a lot, actually).

"I know... let's just get this over with, yeah?"

She stopped by the armory and looked out across the valley, toward the top of Half-Blood Hill. Her pine tree was still there, the Golden Fleece glittering in its lowest branch. The tree's magic still protected the borders of camp, but it no longer used Thalia's spirit for power.

"Nothings fair, and I know that," she started. "Sometimes I just wish..."

She didn't finish and she didn't need to. Although she was born before I was, I was now technically older than her. She was basically my little sister and the tone of her voice broke my heart. This prophecy thing was weighing us both down, I knew. She knew if I died it'd be hers, but she also didn't want me going through it. We'd gone through enough late-night talks with that damned prophecy being the main topic.

"We're going to get them back," I said hoarsely. "It's Luke. I'm sure he'll charm his way out of there before we even make it out of New York."

She smiled and laughed at that. "He'd probably just have to smile at them," she laughed harder and I laughed with her. It was a great moment, but it didn't last long. I was suddenly hyper-aware of Luke's camp necklace in my suitcase.

Over at the basketball court, a few of the Hunters were shooting hoops. One of them was arguing with a guy from the Ares cabin. The Ares kid had his hand on his sword and the Hunter girl looked like she was going to exchange her basketball for a bow and arrow any second.

"I'll break that up," Thalia said, gesturing towards them.

"I'm fine with that. I need to go change, anyways. Circle around the cabins once you're done with that, and I'll find you." She nodded and we parted ways. 

Somehow, even though it was always just me, my cabin felt lonelier. It seemed that my subconscious was trying to make it really noticeable that there was no chance Luke would be joining me that night. I’d be alone to deal with my dreams. 

At least I could finally change out of that godsforsaken Mrs. Claus dress. 

I unpacked my suitcase once I was done, just to give myself something to do while Thalia sorted out the fight. It went by much quicker than I wanted it to, though, and now I was left with an empty suitcase and Luke's necklace. 

I was overcome with the intense feeling of needing to cry again, but somehow, I managed to shove it away. Thinking, no, knowing we were going to get them back, I tied his necklace around my neck, just like I did when I fought Ares. It'd given me luck then (or maybe Tyche was feeling generous that day), so maybe it'd give me luck now. 

The cabins were the weirdest collection of buildings you'd ever see. Zeus and Hera's big white-columned buildings, Cabins One and Two, stood in the middle, with five gods' cabins on the left and five goddesses' cabins on the right, so they all made a U around the central green and the barbecue hearth. I hung out there a lot, chatting with Hestia. She was pretty much the only god or goddess I’d ever shown true admiration for, and I always gave her some of my dinners.

After noticing Thalia was taking a little bit longer than expected, I decided to go ahead and start making rounds. I went over to the Hermes cabin, who had already heard the news. Although it was their brother and sister who were missing, they all gave me sympathetic looks when I appeared in their doorway. 

"Chiron says we're having a game of Capture the Flag against the hunters tomorrow night," I said, leaning up against the doorframe and crossing my arms. It was silent for a few seconds and then there were loud groans. 

Travis and Connor hopped to their feet, identical mischievous smiles covering their faces. 

"Oh, gods," I joked looking at them as they walked past me. "What are you two about to do?"

"Oh, dear Allie," Travis patted my head, officially taller than me after it being the other way around the last two and a half years. "You'll find out soon enough." Then he frowned, grabbed my arm and spoke quieter, "we don't blame you for Luke and Brylie. You had to have done everything you could." 

Tears filled my eyes again, with me yet again keeping them at bay. "We're going to get them back. Mr. D. thinks they'll have to find their way out themselves, but if they don't let us go out and look for them, me and Thalia are going out on our own." 

He and Connor both nodded. "Thanks, Allie," Connor said and their smirks returned. "Well, we'll be off." 

I followed them out and then we went our separate ways. After going around to the cabins, I made my way back to my cabin.

My first spoil of war, the minotaur horn, was still hung on my wall where it'd been since I'd first put it up. Surrounding it were the hundreds of polaroids and pictures I'd taken of me and my friends whenever we had the chance. It looked a lot like my room in East Hampton and my apartment in Manhattan, just with another bed. 

I took off my cuff bracelet and activated the shield. It creaked noisily as it spiraled out. Dr. Thorn's spikes had dented the brass in a dozen places. One gash kept the shield from opening all the way, so it looked like a pizza with two slices missing. The beautiful metal pictures that my brother had crafted were all banged up. In the picture of me and Luke fighting the Hydra, it looked like a meteor had made a crater in my head. I hung the shield on its hook, next to the Minotaur horn, but it was painful to look at now. Maybe Beckendorf could fix it for me. He was the best armorsmith in the camp. I'd ask him at dinner. 

I was staring at the shield when I noticed a strange sound— water gurgling— and I realized there was something new in the room. At the back of the cabin was a big basin of gray sea rock, with a spout like the head of a fish carved in stone. Out of its mouth burst a stream of water, a saltwater spring that trickled into the pool. The water must've been hot, because it sent mist into the cold winter air like a sauna. It made the room feel warm and summery, fresh with the smell of the sea. I stepped up to the pool. There was no note attached or anything, but I knew it could only be a gift from Poseidon, given after I’d left my cabin the first time. 

I looked into the water and said, "Thanks, Dad."

The surface rippled. At the bottom of the pool, coins shimmered— a dozen or so golden drachma. I realized what the fountain was for. It was a reminder to keep in touch with my family. 

I opened the nearest window, and the wintry sunlight made a rainbow in the mist. Then I fished a coin out of the hot water. 

"Iris, O Goddess of the Rainbow," I said, "accept my offering." I tossed in a coin and it disappeared.

"Show me Tyson," I requested. "At the forges of the Cyclopes." 

The mist shimmered, and the image of my half brother appeared. He was surrounded by fire, which would've been a problem if he weren't a Cyclops. He was bent over an anvil, hammering a red-hot sword blade. Sparks flew and flames swirled around his body. There was a marble-framed window behind him, and it looked out onto dark blue water— the bottom of the ocean. 

"Tyson!" I yelled. He didn't hear me at first because of the hammering and the roar of the flames. "TYSON!" 

He turned, and his one enormous eye widened. His face broke into a crooked yellow grin. "Allie!" He dropped the sword blade and ran at me, trying to give me a hug. The vision blurred and I instinctively lurched back. 

"Tyson, it's an Iris-message. I'm not really here." 

"Oh." He came back into view, looking embarrassed. "Oh, I knew that. Yes." 

"How are you?" I asked, trying to sound upbeat. "How's the job?" 

His eye lit up. "Love the job! Look!" He picked up the hot sword blade with his bare hands. "I made this!" 

"That's really cool." 

"I wrote my name on it. Right there." 

"Awesome. Listen, do you talk to Dad much?" 

Tyson's smile faded. "Not much. Daddy is busy. He is worried about the war." 

"What do you mean?"

Tyson sighed. He stuck the sword blade out the window, where it made a cloud of boiling bubbles. When Tyson brought it back in, the metal was cool. "Old sea spirits making trouble. Aigaios. Oceanus. Those guys." 

I knew what he was talking about. He meant the immortals who ruled the oceans back in the days of the Titans. Before the Olympians took over. The fact that they were back now, with the Titan Lord Kronos and his allies gaining strength, was not good. 

"Is there anything I can do?" I asked. 

Tyson shook his head sadly. "We are arming the mermaids. They need a thousand more swords by tomorrow." He looked at his sword blade and sighed. "Old spirits are protecting the bad boat." 

"The Princess Andromeda?" I said. "Annabeth and Cody's boat?" 

"Yes. They make it hard to find. Protect it from Daddy's storms. Otherwise, he would smash it." 

"Smashing it would be good." 

Tyson perked up, as if he'd just had another thought. "Luke! Is he there?" 

"Oh, well..." My heart felt like a bowling ball. Tyson, although Luke had been cold to him the first two weeks he'd known him, thought Luke was the coolest thing since peanut butter (and he seriously loved peanut butter). I guess he liked that Luke always had my back and kept me from dying. "Well, no... he's not here right now." 

"Tell him hello!" He beamed. "Hello to Luke!" 

"Okay." I fought back a lump in my throat. "I'll do that." 

"And, Allie, don't worry about the bad boat. It is going away." 

"What do you mean?" 

"Panama Canal! Very far away." I frowned. Why would Annabeth take her demon-infested cruise ship all the way down there? The last time we'd seen her, she'd been cruising along the East Coast, recruiting half-bloods and training her monstrous army. 

"All right," I said, not feeling reassured. "That's... good. I guess." 

In the forges, a deep voice bellowed something I couldn't make out. 

Tyson flinched. "Got to get back to work! Boss will get mad. Good luck, Sister!" 

"Okay, tell Dad—" 

But before I could finish, the vision shimmered and faded. I was alone again in my cabin, feeling even lonelier than before. 

***

I was pretty miserable at dinner that night. I mean, the food was excellent as usual. You can't go wrong with barbecue, pizza, and never-empty soda goblets. The torches and braziers kept the outdoor pavilion warm, but we all had to sit with our cabin mates, which meant I was alone at the Poseidon table. Thalia sat alone at the Zeus table, but we couldn't sit together. Camp rules. At least the Hephaestus, Ares, and Hermes cabins had a few people each. Nico sat with the Stoll brothers, since new campers always got stuck in the Hermes cabin if their Olympian parent was unknown. The Stoll brothers seemed to be trying to convince Nico that poker was a much better game than Mythomagic. I hoped Nico didn't have any money to lose. 

The only table that really seemed to be having a good time was the Artemis table. The Hunters drank and ate and laughed like one big happy family. Zoe sat at the head like she was their mother. She didn't laugh as much as the others, but she did smile from time to time. Her silver lieutenant's band glittered in the dark braids of her hair. I thought she looked a lot nicer when she smiled. 

Bianca di Angelo seemed to be having a great time. She was trying to learn how to arm wrestle from the big girl who'd picked a fight with the Ares kid on the basketball court. The bigger girl was beating her every time, but Bianca didn't seem to mind. 

When we'd finished eating, Chiron made the customary toast to the gods and formally welcomed the Hunters of Artemis. The clapping was pretty half hearted. Then he announced the "goodwill" capture-the-flag game for tomorrow night, which got a lot better reception. 

Afterward, we all trailed back to our cabins for an early, winter lights out. I was exhausted, which meant I fell asleep easily. That was the good part. The bad part was, I had a nightmare, and even by my standards, it was terrifying and awful. 

Luke and Brylie were on a dark hillside, shrouded in fog. It almost seemed like the Underworld, because I immediately felt claustrophobic and I couldn't see the sky above— just close, heavy darkness, as if I were in a cave. 

They struggled up the hill and after Brylie slipped a few times, Luke put her on his back. Old broken Greek columns of black marble were scattered around, as though something had blasted a huge building to rums. 

My eyes widened as I saw Luke's shoulder. One of Thorn's spikes had to have hit him, because it was green and, in truth, looked awful. Blood trailed down his arm. Brylie, one the other hand, looked pale and had a large cut going down her calf. 

"Thorn!" Luke cried. "Where are you? Why did you bring us here?" He scrambled over a section of broken wall and came to the crest of the hill. He gasped. 

There was Annabeth. And she was in pain.

She was crumpled on the rocky ground, trying to rise. The blackness seemed to be thicker around her, fog swirling hungrily. Her clothes were in tatters and her face was scratched and drenched with sweat, I couldn't see what was wrong with her. She seemed to be struggling against some invisible curse, as though the fog itself was squeezing her to death. I clenched my teeth and, although she was dead set on killing us all, I couldn't help but feel slightly bad for her. She was still a fourteen-year-old girl, after all. 

"Luke!" she called. "Help me! Please!" He ran forward and let Brylie down on the ground. 

I tried to cry out: She's a traitor! Don't trust her! 

But my voice didn't work in the dream. 

Luke had tears in his eyes. He reached down like he wanted to touch Annabeth's face, but at the last second, he hesitated. 

"What happened?" he asked. 

"They left me here," Annabeth groaned. "Please. It's killing me." 

"Why should I trust you?" Luke asked. His voice was filled with hurt. 

"You shouldn't," Annabeth said. "I've been terrible to you. But if you don't help me, I'll die." 

Let her die, I wanted to scream. Annabeth had tried to kill us in cold blood too many times. She didn't deserve anything from Luke. 

Then, the darkness above Annabeth began to crumble, like a cavern roof in an earthquake. Huge chunks of black rock began falling. Luke rushed in just as a crack appeared, and the whole ceiling dropped. He held it somehow— tons of rock. He kept it from collapsing on him and Annabeth just with his own strength. It was impossible. Luke was insanely strong, but there was no way he could have been able to do that. I struggled against the force holding me still in my dream, using all of my strength to get free, even if I knew it was futile. 

Annabeth rolled free, gasping. 

"Thanks," she managed. Then she smirked, that evil look her face had gained coming back. Any sympathy I had before disappeared immediately. 

"Help me hold it," Luke groaned, a vein in his neck popping. 

I struggled more, every bit of strength I had fighting against an invisible force. Then, something incredible happened.

I almost threw myself to the floor when the force let up. With a gasp, I regained my balance and sprinted over to Luke and helped him hold it. 

Even in the dream, I could feel the pain. I could feel myself waking up from it. Brylie scrambled to her feet as well and ran to Luke's other side. 

Annabeth smiled, as if our attempts at staying alive were hilarious. She laughed and walked away. Through the pain and my waking conscious, I saw Cody meet her just before they started walking back down the mountain. 

I looked to Luke and Brylie, who seemed to be in as much pain as I was in, and I bolted awake, clawing at my sheets. There was no sound other than the gurgle of the saltwater spring. The home screen of my phone told me it was midnight. But that wasn’t the bad part.

When I sat up, the weight of the sky was still on my shoulders.

*    *    *

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SERIES M.LIST | MAIN M.LIST | TIPS

[mediumgayitalian]

Hiiiiii

Okay so I am absolutely obsessed with your writing .

Every day I check Tumblr to see if you've uploaded anything

When they move in together how do you think they will spilt the chores ?

And do you think their aesthetic would change as they grow older ?

Thank youuu

Love youuu

OH i love this. okay.

when they move in together, how do you think they will split the chores?

they do not.

they are in an interesting situation: nico has never had to do chores in his life. as a kid, he was the son of Literal Hades and an aristocrat, he for sure had people doing that shit for him. in the lotus, they presumably had room service. he may have had to do a few chores at the military school, but a) they weren't there for long and b) as an older sister with a younger brother, bianca was doing that shit for him. she ordered him to make his bed, he did a horrible job, she huffed and did it herself because it's more of a pain in the ass to make your brother do it again than it is to do it yourself. bianca i get you. after that he was homeless, so there was obviously no cleaning there, and then he lived in his father's palace. he has never so much as done a load of laundry except maybe hastily with a public washroom sink and a bar of soap. he barely knows what a mop is.

will, on the other hand, has been in charge of both a cabin and a literal infirmary since he was 13 years old. on top of that, if i am not mistaken (i'm so sorry i still havent read toa and tsats im getting there i swear), he grew up on a farm. his ass knows how chores work, in fact i would bet money that he gets a little obsessive when it comes to cleaning. he is acutely aware of how many germs are on every single surface ever. he cleans and he does it a lot.

this could go really badly, because habit would indicate that will would be doing all of the housework and nico none, which is Bad For Relationships.

however:

nico really likes will.

will is a massive hypocrite who overworks himself. he also is a bit of a control freak.

nico is also very, very observant.

i think, in the beginning of their friendship, even, nico noticed that will, like bianca, would let the onus of cleaning and tidying fall to him because 'no one else does it right', and also, maybe, it's just easier not to fight people about it. i think this would bother him. i think he would, in his inability to, like, be normal, impulsively challenge will to a cleaning contest.

and. like. will is a competitive person, okay. maybe not about things he knows he can't win, but when he knows he's good at something? he is not letting that shit slide. look at how fast he was to dunk on octavian, how prickly he got when nico doubted his ability to outrun the romans. if nico, who will knows damn well has done like four chores in his life, tries to challenge will, mr. antiseptic is my closest friend solace, to a cleaning contest?

he is going to sweep the floor with him.

pun absolutely intended.

from there things kind of spiral. at first it's a dorky ass learning curve, because nico loses every cleaning competition so so badly and quit fucking laughing, solace, you dickead, the windows are not that streaked and also watch me spray you in the goddamn eyes, huh, how do you like that and it's just kind of...fun. for the first time in a long time cleaning up doesn't make will quietly bitter.

plus, as an added bonus, nico helping will clean up makes it less invisible when he does it. now people are starting to notice that, no, the infirmary does not magically clean and organise itself, someone does that. and maybe a few more people pitch in to help. and maybe will realises, and maybe he smiles gratefully at nico when, for the first time in years, he has two entire days off, back to back, in the summer, for the first time in years. and maybe nico thinks he is going to collapse into dust because gods will has a nice smile. not that he cares or notices or anything.

do they need to keep having competitive chores forever?

no.

but does it make both of them kind of shyly pleased and happy to remember how they started? to remember how much their friendship means to them, first and foremost, and not just their relationship?

yes.

(also, by the gods, nico is going to beat will at laundry one day. he is. as soon as he learns to fold without creasing the whole stupid shirt it's over.)

how do you think their aesthetic would change as they get older?

not much tbh.

will is pretty happy in his cargo shorts, which, mood. and nico is very committed to his Prince of Darkness look.

they are gonna have to get used to like...regular weather when they leave camp tho. i think will might begrudgingly have to get used to pants. he hates jeans with a fiery passion and any kind of slacks, but he will accept track pants.

he is also into shirts with horrible horrible puns on them. especially medical puns. he and nico frequently fight over who gets to buy shirts with bone puns on them, because they both find it funny. their closet (lol) is quickly morphing into one monster.

will complains about wearing shoes every single time he has to wear something that isn't flip-flops (again, understandable). he likes buying off-brand white converse and customizing them, though, so those are acceptable.

he refuses to wear boots under literally any circumstances. there could be three feet of snow on the ground and dumbass will be wearing chucks.

while their t-shirt situation is pretty similar, nico literally doesn't wear pants that aren't jeans. sometimes he sleeps in jeans. (not to make will's eye twitch, noooo, of course not, sometimes he just Reasonably Forgets or is Reasonably Too Lazy to get changed)

nico does also, on occasion, wear button ups, sleeves folded to just above the elbow.

will likes these very much.

especially the green one.

the green one is Very Very nice.

as for hair, nico grows his out to shoulder length so he can tie it back. he doesnt keep it much longer than that, because too long and he looks like bianca -- he always looks like her, and he never forgets that, but its important to him to remember her while still being able to think of himself as a separate person. he cuts it when it goes past his shoulders.

wills hair is literally untamable. it grows where it pleases. he hasnt had a haircut since he was six years old and somehow his hair doesnt grow down to his waist. he has no idea how long it actually is. they tried to measure it once but it changed every two minutes. the literal only time it resembles anything close to maintained is when he wears it in two french braid pigtails :) nico likes to buy him elastics with little charms on them. he wears them to suit his mood, he has a whole collection.

[happyk44]

Thinking about half-suicidal Percy who is still guilt-ridden about Bianca but can't do anything about it because he promised he'd keep Nico from being the prophecy kid so he has to live and then the war ends and Annabeth is alive, and Grover is alive, and his mom is alive, and Nico, dark angsty Nico who helped them win, is alive and it's all great and magical and then.

Then the adrenaline fades. Holding hands with Annabeth isn't enough. Goofing off with Grover isn't enough. Going home to his mom isn't enough. Nico stands out like sore thumb among the other campers, constantly clinging the shadows and struggling to fit in and Percy hopes another Underworld kid will get claimed soon, he wants him to have a friend, someone he can relate to.

He did have someone, his mind whispers in a voice that sounds suspiciously like Bianca's. He did and you lost her. You let her die, remember?

He does remember. He remembers all the time. Every time he sees a little girl guiding someone smaller and younger across camp to various activities. Remembers when Annabeth struggles to read a book aloud to her half-siblings.

He remembers.

And it chokes him.

Why is he alive? It wasn't supposed to be him. Bianca was the oldest, or, at least, she was supposed to be. She should've been the hero. Not Percy.

Guilt pools in him as loss does. There are memorial shrines up all across camp for everyone to pay their respects to the deceased and he sees every name etched in pretty white marble and accounts it to his pool of failures.

He goes home and it doesn't fix him, but he smiles and pretends as his mom fusses over him and he prepares for the new school year and it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter.

(Dozens of kids will never see their mortal friends again, will never see hard to read markers on a bright white board, or hear the sound of a bell. Why does he get to? Why does he get to? Why does he get to?)

His mom has Paul. It'll be fine. They're both young. She can start over. It'll be fine.

It'll be fine, it'll be fine, it'll be fine.

(His mom asks about the scars on his arm and he lies through his teeth about a monster fight, trying not to look to the dagger he's hidden behind books he's never read.)

"Percy?"

Everything shatters. He stumbles but doesn't quite fall. Darkness pulls him up and away from the ledge, gripping tight until he's planted firmly by Nico's side. And even then it doesn't let go.

Nico isn't looking at him. Is staring plainly at his chest, looking past him and seeing something deep inside. Is it what's wrong with him? He doesn't know what's happening with his brain. Why everything is hitting him now.

Why he can't breathe.

It's like he's a fish out of water, drowning on dry land.

He just wants to it be over. For the fisherman to take the knife and gut him open, feed him to their family and throw the scraps out to the cats.

Nico tilts his face up to look at him. The moonlight shines bright on him. His pale skin seems to glow. It reminds Percy of Bianca, her ghostly glowing form.

You failed him, his mind whispers. You promised and you failed him.

"What's going on?" Nico asks like it isn't obvious. Like they always have conversations standing on the edge of rooftop of Percy's apartment building in the middle of the night.

"Not much," Percy says. The darkness clinging to him tickles his cheek. "What about you?"

"Oh, you know, just stopping a friend from committing suicide."

The silence holds heavy and thick between them.

Percy is the first to break it. "Please don't tell my mom." It's a broken whisper of a sentence, and he hates himself for it. All that Nico has done and he's still asking for more. Still asking when he couldn't even hold a simple promise.

Nico's eyes glitter. "I won't," he says softly.

He taps Percy's chest and a cold freeze shoots over him. It dissipates slowly. The late August, early September heat washes back over him, melting the small remnants of cold out. The night sky twinkles.

"Come on." Nico reaches for Percy's hand and holds it tight. The shadows sink into the ground, melting out across all the shadows around them. One strand stays. It wraps tight around their entwined hands, sealing them together. Nico tugs Percy's hand. "If you try to jump again, you'll just be pulling me down with you."

Percy stares at him.

Then follows quietly back towards the door.

[heroes-of-olympus-next-gen]

Day 4: Family meeting

Will entered the front door of his house to the sound of many people talking all at once. He left his stuff by the entrance and walked to their home office, where all the noise was coming from. The door was wide open and arguing was evident.

“Will, you’re late.” Reyna exclaimed mid-argument with Rachel who was sitting next to her. Hazel was sitting on a chair next to Nico who looked like he needed someone to back him up.

“Hello to you, too, Reyna. What am I late for?” He asked as after his 12 hour shift at the hospital, he just wanted to shower and sleep and not put up with riddles and puzzles.

“Didn’t you tell him?” Rachel questioned his husband this time. In the meantime, Will sat down as he found the whole situation very amusing although tiring.

“I kind of have forgotten you would all show up here.” Nico said. Then, he turned to Hazel. “I knew you were coming; I never forget you.”

Rachel and Reyna both glared at him before they continued talking. “We’re here to decide what to get Bee, Ryder and Jasmine for Christmas.” Rachel explained.

Will immediately felt touched that their friends were so close to their kids, but at the same time he was sure they had to come all this way for gifts. “You shouldn’t have. You don’t have to get them anything or stress too much about it.”

“That’s what I’ve been telling you for the past thirty minutes.” Nico came to his side. He liked the fact that they were always on the same side when it came to raising their children.

“We didn’t come to ask for you permission. I know you have three letters addressed to Santa and I am going to make sure that they get every single on them.” Hazel said nonchalantly. Will smiled as Hazel seemed the most harmless out of the three, but still she was the one who could get her way.

“Don’t smile like that.” Nico whispered to him as he was sure he was going to agree with their friends.

“I give up. I’ll bring the letters.” He said.

“They are right here.” Rachel raised them from the desk. Of course they had already brought the letters. “Should we start?”

“Sure.” Nico said, giving up himself.

“Bianca wants-“

“Dibs on the Princess Castle.” Reyna said before Rachel finished he phrase.

“You don’t what it says.”

“Oh, please. I know my goddaughter.” She replied. “I’m buying it.”

“I think we should write everything down. Like who gets what and everything.” Hazel said and got up to get some paper.

“Hazel-“ Nico tried to talk but Rachel gave him the letters.

“We’re here to help you out. Tell us what you’re planning on buying them.”

“We bought the dolls Bianca wanted and the doll she chose for Jasmine, the dollhouse and the build-a-bear. My mum is getting her the guitar and Ryder’s car. Cecil is getting Ryder, the basketball hoop he wants, but we haven’t decided anything else.”

“Why did Cecil get to pick before us?” Rachel asked.

“Because he was with Ryder when he saw it.” Nico explained. “Let’s continue, Bianca’s painting kit.”

“That’s obvious.” Rachel said. “I can get the books I saw there too.”

“Ryder asked for Star Wars lego sets and I quote “Bianca’s Yoda.”

“Write me down.” Hazel proposed.

“There’s nothing else. That’s it. Again, you really don’t have to, but thank you.” Nico said.

“It’s not a big deal. I get a big pay check and I have nowhere to spend it. You’re doing me a favour. And obviously I’m buying more for them.” Reyna said smiling, but before anyone could insist she got up, “I’m going to pick up Bianca from her ballet lesson. Rachel are you joining me?”

“For sure. See you later.”

“You’re staying for dinner.” Nico stated as his sister got up as well. “Where are you going?”

“I’ll go find Frank at Percy and Annabeth’s. Reyna is not the only one meeting her godchildren while in New York.” Hazel said and smiled as she closed the door behind her.

“We’re so lucky to have them.” Will exclaimed.

“Couldn’t have done it without them.”

[thebonggirll]

chapter four

< previous: chapter three

Y/N loved Apollo, no really. But no amount of love could blind her enough to lie about how careless he actually was. Their journey to the camp was dangerous and he seemed to be delighted that he fulfilled his promise of just dropping off the kids to the location. As they got off the bus, she had a frown on her face. The goodbye that was sentimental the first time she met Apollo was now a different one. He ruffled her hair like she was still a little kid and whispered some words in her ear, which made her into a stuttering mess. Words along the lines of "we aren't together" and "don't assume" was all that could be made out of it. For her, this goodbye was better than the last one. It was an assurance that she would see him again.

Y/N has never seen Camp Half-Blood in winter before, and the snow surprised her. Due to the ultimate magic climate control in the camp, nothing gets inside the borders unless the director, Mr. D, wants it to. Naturally, she thought it would be warm and sunny, but instead the snow had been allowed to fall lightly. Frost covered the chariot track and the strawberry fields. The cabins were decorated with tiny flickering lights, like Christmas lights, except they seemed to be balls of real fire. More lights glowed in the woods, and weirdest of all, a fire flickered in the attic window of the Big House, where the Oracle dwelt, imprisoned in an old mummified body.

"Whoa," Nico said as he climbed off the bus. "Is that a climbing wall?"

"Yeah," Percy said.

"Why is there lava pouring down it?"

"Little extra challenge. Come on. I'll introduce you to Chiron. Zoe, have you met—"

"I know Chiron," Zoe said stiffly. "Tell him we will be in Cabin Eight. Hunters, follow me."

"I'll show you the way," Grover offered.

"We know the way."

"Oh, really, it's no trouble. It's easy to get lost here, if you don't"—he tripped over a canoe and came up still talking—"like my old daddy goat used to say! Come on!"

Zoe rolled her eyes, but she figured that there was no getting rid of Grover. The Hunters shouldered their packs and their bows and headed off toward the cabins. As Bianca di Angelo was leaving, she leaned over and whispered something in her brothers ear. She looked at him for an answer, but Nico just scowled and turned away.

"Take care, sweethearts!" Apollo called after the Hunters. He winked at Percy, "Watch out for those prophecies, Percy. I'll see you soon."

"What do you mean?"

Instead of answering, he hopped back in the bus. "Later, Y/N," he called. "And, uh, be good!" Her heart stopped beating for a second when her father winked at Percy. He was probably assuming that Harris and her were together now, going by the words he whispered to her. And due to this assumption, she wasn't sure if he would keep her feelings for Percy a secret.

He closed the doors and revved the engine. Y/N watched as the sun chariot took off in a blast of heat.

"Hey, your dad- I mean Apollo is really cool," Harris said nudging her shoulder.

"Please don't start talking about that, he's so embarrassing," Y/N sighed, a little smile evident on her face.

"But...you missed him didn't you?" he asked looking into her eyes.

Y/N scratched her head and cleared her throat, "Well yeah...I saw him after a lot of days."

Harris chuckled and squeezed her cheeks, "You're so cute when you get embarrassed, you know that?"

Y/N blushed and looked away from him, ears turning red. She tried her best to hide the smile slowly creeping up her face, but she couldn't stop the butterflies that she felt in her stomach every time Harris was..near her. Even though, she tried her best to convince herself that these feelings were not true, her mind said something else. As she looked to the right, she noticed Percy looking at her. He quickly looked away and pretended to be occupied in a conversation with Nico.

She couldn't understand what it was with him. He was way different back when she first met him. It almost feels like something changed between them. He's picking on her a lot these days. Everything she did, he has to make a comment on it and make her feel down about it. Although she couldn't remove him completely from her head, she knew it was time to stop taking his shit. She was not about to be a pushover in a place where kids face the same issues she faced in school.

Harris grunted and took his bag, "Alright, I'll be off then."

"See you soon!" Y/N said, whipping her head immediately at his direction. Harris gave her a smile and went on his way.

Most half-bloods only trained during the summer. Just the year-rounders would be here—the ones who didn't have homes to go to, or would get attacked by monsters too much if they left. But there didn't even seem to be many of them, either.

The Big House was decorated with strings of red and yellow fireballs that warmed the porch but didn't seem to catch anything on fire. Inside, flames crackled in the hearth. The air smelled like hot chocolate. Mr. D, the camp director, and Chiron were playing a quiet game of cards in the parlor.

Chiron's brown beard was shaggier for the winter. His curly hair had grown a little longer. He wasn't posing as a teacher this year, so maybe he could afford to be casual. He wore a fuzzy sweater with a hoofprint design on it, and he had a blanket on his lap that almost hid his wheelchair completely.

He smiled when he saw them. "Percy! Thalia! Ah, and this must be—"

"Nico di Angelo," Percy said. "He and his sister are half-bloods."

Chiron breathed a sigh of relief. "You succeeded, then."

"Well..."

His smile melted. "What's wrong? Where is Annabeth, Y/N and Harris?"

Percy scoffed thinking about it. Y/N was probably busy with Harris. "Y/N is a bit late, and she apologizes for that," Percy heard the familiar voice as she stood beside Chiron, "Harris will join shortly." He flinched hearing the name and rolled his eyes. He was polite at first, but it felt like Y/N was trying to make him join their small group of friends forcefully.

"Oh, dear," Mr. D said in a bored voice, "Not another one lost."

"What do you mean?" Thalia asked. "Who else is lost?"

Just then, Grover trotted into the room, grinning like crazy. He had a black eye and red lines on his face that looked like a slap mark. "The Hunters are all moved in!"

Chiron frowned. "The Hunters, eh? I see we have much to talk about." He glanced at Nico. "Grover, perhaps you should take our young friend to the den and show him our orientation film."

"But... Oh, right. Yes, sir."

"Orientation film?" Nico asked. "Is it G or PG? 'Cause Bianca is kinda strict—"

"It's PG-13," Grover said.

"Cool!" Nico happily followed him out of the room.

"Now," Chiron said to Thalia and me, "perhaps you all should sit down and tell us the whole story."

When they were done, Chiron turned to Mr. D. "We should launch a search for Annabeth immediately."

"I'll go," Thalia, Percy and Y/N said at the same time.

Mr. D sniffed. "Certainly not!"

When the half-bloods started complaining, Mr. D held up his hand. He had that purplish angry fire in his eyes that usually meant something bad and godly was going to happen if they didn't shut up.

"From what you have told me," Mr. D said, "we have broken even on this escapade. We have, ah, regrettably lost Annie Bell—"

"Annabeth," Percy snapped. She'd gone to camp since she was seven, and still Mr. D pretended not to know her name.

"Yes, yes," he said. "And you procured a small annoying boy to replace her. So I see no point risking further half-bloods on a ridiculous rescue. The possibility is very great that this Annie girl is dead."

If looks could burn and Y/N had the ability to burn a god, Mr. D would've been burning by now. Even soldiers in the borders do their best to help one of theirs - and they are just mortals.

"Annabeth may be alive," Chiron said, who was having trouble sounding upbeat. He'd practically raised Annabeth all those years she was a year-round camper, before she'd given living with her dad and stepmom a second try. "She's very bright. If... if our enemies have her, she will try to play for time. She may even pretend to cooperate."

"That's right," Thalia said. "Luke would want her alive."

"In which case" said Mr. D, "I'm afraid she will have to be smart enough to escape on her own."

"We can't just leave her to figure it by herself!" Y/N shouted while Percy got up from the table.

"Percy." Chiron's tone was full of warning. Mr. D was not somebody to mess with. But Percy was so angry that he didn't care.

"You're glad to lose another camper," he said. "You'd like it if we all disappeared!"

Mr. D stifled a yawn. "You have a point?"

His nonchalant attitude was pissing Y/N off but then Percy answered him with something she wished he didn't.

"Yeah," Percy growled. "Just because you were sent here as a punishment doesn't mean you have to be a lazy jerk! This is your civilization, too. Maybe you could try helping out a little!"

For a second, there was no sound except the crackle of the fire. Y/N got up and slowly held Percy's hand, as if to pull him from any kind of harm. The light reflected in Mr. D's eyes, giving him a sinister look. He opened his mouth to say something when Nico burst into the room, followed by Grover.

"SO COOL!" Nico yelled, holding his hands out to Chiron. "You're... you're a centaur!"

Chiron managed a nervous smile. "Yes, Mr. di Angelo, if you please. Though, I prefer to stay in human form in this wheelchair for, ah, first encounters."

"And, whoa!" He looked at Mr. D. "You're the wine dude? No way!"

Mr. D turned his eyes away from Percy and gave Nico a look of loathing. "The wine dude?"

"Dionysus, right? Oh, wow! I've got your figurine."

"My figurine."

"In my game, Mythomagic. And a holofoil card, too! And even though you've only got like five hundred attack points and everybody thinks you're the lamest god card, I totally think your powers are sweet!"

"Ah." Mr. D seemed truly perplexed, which probably distracted him enough to not put an end to Percy's life right then and there. "Well, that's... gratifying."

"Percy," Chiron said quickly, "take Thalia and Y/N down to the cabins. Inform the campers we'll be playing capture the flag tomorrow evening."

"Capture the flag?" Percy asked. "But we don't have enough—"

"It is a tradition," Chiron said. "A friendly match, whenever the Hunters visit."

"Yeah," Thalia muttered. "I bet it's real friendly."

Chiron jerked his head toward Mr. D, who was still frowning as Nico talked about how many defense points all the gods had in his game. "Run along now," Chiron told us.

"Oh, right," Thalia said. "Come on."

"You've already got Ares on your bad side," Thalia reminded him as they trudged toward the cabins. "You need another immortal enemy?" Thalia went off toward the court, where the Ares campers and the Hunter were trying to kill each other with a sword and a basketball.

"Seriously, he gets on my veins too but atleast choose your words wisely," Y/N said walking beside him.

Percy scoffed, "You also talked back to Chiron."

"I didn't make a personal attack," she said, "Please...just think before you speak. I don't wanna lose you too."

The last words of her felt like she was not hopeful. Why was she so sure that Annabeth couldn't make it? Percy didn't know if it was the situation earlier that put off his mood but anything she said made him feel like a burn recently.

"You're quick to call her dead," he chuckled bitterly.

Y/N stopped by her steps and looked at his back, he slowed down. His words felt like daggers to the heart. What really changed, that made him so bitter? It wasn't her fault that Annabeth didn't make it with them. It's almost a blame game - Thalia blaming Percy, him blaming Y/N.

"I don't know what's gotten into you, but the last thing I want is to find her dead," she muttered, "Even Clarisse would be sure of that about me. It almost feels like you don't know me at all."

"Exactly," he turned to look at her, "I actually don't know you. Not as much as Harris, who by the way couldn't care less to talk to Chiron about Annabeth."

"He didn't go out for missions for ages, he probably forgot about it-"

"Ofcourse, you're gonna defend him now," Percy sighed, "You know what, Chiron gave us work to do. We should focus on that."

Y/N stared at him and whispered, "Right." She started walking when she heard him talk again.

"You should go inform the Hermes cabin. That's where you want to go anyway."

She slowly turned around to look at him. Eyes red - not filled with tears but anger, she snapped, "You are right. That's exactly where I wanna go right now. Atleast there's someone who actually knows what I am like. Someone to rely on. Its becoming really hard to find such people these days. Harris would know exactly how I feel like. I like him better than most of you."

next: chapter five >

book three: the titan’s curse

percy jackson x reader series

MASTERLIST

Tags: @the-natureofme @sly-prince @kookiedesi @instabull @jumpingtrainsandflyingskies @idk-bye-no @your-typical-giggle @fjschl​ @imuziawi​ @iamparou​

[phant0mprince]

i live for Pernico but make it strictly platonic and Annabeth just—

Okay okay guys but imagine Percy wasn't as out of character in HOO and the bond between Percy and Nico hasn't been fucked up and they actually got closer. Like, People are all "JASON IS NICO'S BIG BROTHER!" like no,,,,,

I love Jason, really. But like, Percy took on a prophecy even if it meant it would get him in a bad situation just so Nico didn't have to suffer. He literally spent the entire BOL worrying over Nico, like??

He's literally an overprotective mother.

I need An AU where Nico and Bianca( you know he summons her after the titan shit is over) finally talk and he tells her about his crush and she tells him she loves him. And after a while he gets the courage to tell Percy. An AU where Percy takes his time and they try to work on it together with the help of Annabeth.

An AU where Nico isn't outed but comes out on his own terms. And he has his loving friends Annabeth, Thalia, Rachel and Percy.

But seriously here's me trying to convince you how amazing this AU would be.

Just imagine;

Percy took a sip, trying to keep himself from pushing Nico. Whatever it was, he could tell that Nico couldn't just prompt it out, so he let him take his time. “I just don't want anything to change between us, Percy. I'm just…”

Percy's eyes softened looking at the little guy in front of him. In a way Percy had almost seen the son of Hades grow up. From the hyperactive mythology nerd to his boy who still had trouble interacting with people but he was getting better.

He placed the can down, giving him a reassuring smile. “You'll still be my friend even after whatever you tell me, Neeks. I mean it can't be worse than you almost getting me trapped in the underworld forever right?”

Nico frowned but refused to comment. “It's okay, you can tell me whenever you're ready but remember, I promised Bianca to take care of you and besides, I'll never be able to leave you, you little annoying prick.” Percy chuckled, getting up.

“I like you, Percy.”

And very logically Percy just spit his drink all over Nico.

And like imagine,

“And you spit water all over him?" Annabeth asked, amused.

“You knew, didn't you?” Percy whined. Annabeth sighed, avoiding the question. “Well, then, don't tell me you walked away?” she said, glaring at him.

Percy just shook his head, “No, I told him, we'll work on it together. Since, you know, he's like my little brother. We decided to set a few boundaries and still make sure nothing changes.” Percy explained but even as he said it, it hardly made sense.

“You'll get there, Seaweed brain.” Annabeth reassured him, softly eyeing. The gods knew how Nico meant to Percy. He'd done everything in his power to take care of him and he still blamed himself for Bianca.

“I hope so, Wise girl.”

AND THEN like they do get over that phase and it's nothing more than a joke Nico uses to startle Percy with the help of Annabeth. Everyone at camp knows Nico is literally Percy and Annabeth's child at this point.

“I wouldn't mess with Nico, If i were you.” Rachel told the new camper, absentmindedly. “Oh, yeah? Huh, I'm not scared of the child of hades.” the camper replied, arrogantly only causing Rachel to chuckle darkly.

“Oh, if only, that's all.”

“Why are Annabeth and Percy glaring at me..?”

“Rest in Pieces.”

And imagine like the seven are just like;

"I don't trust Nico!”

And Percy just uncapped Riptide and pointed it at them lazily. “If you mistrust my brother, you mistrust me.” Annabeth just glaring at them from the corner.

And Nico tries to not facepalm while Hazel eagerly nods agreeing with Percy.

And like when Nico goes to Eros, Percy goes with him instead of Jason and literally just challenges him to a duel.

“I fought the god of fucking war and fucking Titan, I'm sure I can take you. You're not messing with Nico.”

But Nico doesn't have anything to be afraid of because he is already out to the few people he wanted to tell at the moment. And simply tells the god, “Yes, I liked Percy Jackson but he's like my brother now. You don't have to be in love with people to love them!”

Like the tartarus scene,

“If you two are going down, you'll need me too!”

“Nico, no, listen—”

“No, Jackson! I'm not losing another sibling.”

The three of them fall together because they are family.

And just, bloopers from Tartarus,

“Oh my gods, what the fuck are you?

“Nico, you don't ask people!”

“THAT'S EXACTLY WHY YOU'RE DYING YOU PIECE OF KELP!”

back to serious stuff,

The aftermath and all of them just trying to console each other.

Also since, Percy bullied Nico into staying at camp. He did in fact know a bit about Will Solace. So, it's not the in the moment thing but a gradual and slow process where the two explore their friendship and after the war their blossoming relationship.

And Annabeth and Percy just facepalming not understanding how Will and Nico are this oblivious. Grover is just like "oh yeah, totally doesn't sound like a pair i know.”

And Percy always invites Nico for every holiday and at some point Nico practically lives with the Jacksons. Sometimes they talk about Bianca and Nico tries to rediscover the things he had forgotten with Hades and Percy's help while also trying to find this new him.

And throughout this process, he will always have a family.

The only reason Bianca felt safe leaving Nico was because she trusted Percy to take care of him and Percy hoped he was doing a good job at it.

And even when times will get rough, Nico will know that he will always have a home with Percy and Annabeth.