#thalia realizes a moment too late

[bleep-bloop-boo]

Tree + Alive -----> Alive + Tree

Thalia and Grover hanging out years in the future.... 😁

[restinslices]

Everything pt2

PJO Show Ares X Child!Reader (no gender specified)

Word count: 6168 (I realized a bit late that majority is me setting up the scene. If you just wanna see their talk, read after the “~~”)

Summary: You haven’t seen your father since the last time you talked, but of course with your luck he finds you again and you’re forced to make a big decision.

Warnings: Reader is going through it, poor attempt at a fight scene, the lore and timeline is probably fucked up but ignore that, OOC Ares probably and as of typing I’m realizing MAJOR SPOILER FOR THE TITANS CURSE. To avoid this, scroll until you see “I don’t have any friends that come over” or “~” if you wanna be extra careful.

You’d love to say that not seeing your father after your last talk was some sort of surprise, but it wasn’t. Thankfully (is that selfish to think?) none of the demigods had a real good relationship with their parent. Well, Percy seemed to have a solid relationship with Posideon, but it’s not like he saw him everyday. And as selfish and heartless as it sounded, that offered you a bit of relief and comfort. It’s not like your father was sensitive and loving to you and you screwed it up. Everything was pretty much back to normal. 

 It was a pretty somber day at camp. Percy, Grover and Thalia had managed to save Annabeth and Artemis, but it didn’t come without casualties. You weren’t necessarily friends with Bianca or Zoë but you still grieved over them. The hardest part though, was watching how sad your friends had gotten, especially Percy. You knew what Percy was like. Percy was extremely loyal but that loyalty led to carrying a lot more weight on his shoulders than what was necessary. If your suspicions were right (and you knew they were), he’d blame himself for Bianca’s death. That made zero sense to you. He told you exactly how she died and to you, it seemed like Bianca made a choice. Percy couldn’t have done anything to stop it. He didn’t see it that way and you weren’t sure why you insisted on telling him over and over again and trying to cheer him up. 

 “Nico?” Percy raised to his feet when he saw you approaching. You shook your head,

 “No sign of him. He’s been missing for a week now Percy. If we were gonna find him, we would’ve found him by now”. Percy looked defeated. You were sure he knew the chances of finding him were slim to none, but you kept combing areas of the woods for him to keep him somewhat at peace. If he thought there was a chance, he wouldn’t be as depressed hopefully. 

 “I’m gonna say it again-“

 “Don’t”

 “Well what should I say to calm you down?”

 Percy thought for a moment but just shrugged and started heading inside his cabin and you followed. Percy collapsed on his own bed and you took it upon yourself to sit on the bed next to his. You didn’t know if it was because you held resentment towards your father, or if you actually liked Cabin 3 but you really wished this was your cabin instead. “Must be nice having a cabin all to yourself. No obnoxious cabin mates, no extra noise, nobody leaving their shit on the floor”.

 “I guess” was all he said back to you and you sighed. You didn’t wanna keep repeating yourself but you genuinely didn’t know what to say but not saying anything made you feel like an asshole that was ignoring the situation. 

 So you tried to change the subject. 

“Is it like this at home too? Just you and your mom? No friends over?”. 

 “I don't have any friends that can come over”

 “None at school?”

 “None”.

 That made you frown. You were older than Percy by a few years, so you had time to adjust to how lonely life could be as a half-blood and by now, you didn't return “home” either. Camp was your home now year round. You understood why Percy kept going home though. You heard about his mom and she seemed like a nice woman. You were grateful he at least had that. 

 But instead of saying something sweet and nice and voicing your thoughts, you made a joke instead. “That's why your little ass keeps getting into trouble. You have no one out there watching out for you”

 “My mom watches out for me plenty”

 “But she's not keeping schools from being blown up now is she?”. Percy rolled his eyes, but he didn't look as sad as before so you took this as a sign to keep talking “if I was watching you, you'd be alright. At least you'd have help”

 “You're tryna live with me now?”

 “Sure”, you said with a shrug. “A cool mom, random blue food, stopping you from exposing yourself - it all sounds grand”. You both laughed at your joke because that's what it was. A joke. 

 At least… it was at first. 

 Either Percy didn't know what a joke was, or he was pretty fond of having a big sibling when he was home because the next day he told you he sent an Iris message to his mom and she was fine with getting an air mattress for you. You almost told Percy that it was just a joke, but then you thought about how lonely he must be at home and how annoying it can be only having his mom to talk to about this demigod stuff. Plus, it hopefully wouldn't hurt to get a break from camp. 

 You didn't know why you decided to pray and tell Poseidon about this, but you did. The sun had set and you slipped out of your cabin and snuck into the woods. You made a mini fire and threw two candy bars the Stoll brothers managed to sneak in, which was a real shitty offering but it was all you had. You couldn't do it during the feast. You had too much to say and someone would hear. 

 “Terrible offering, I know. I hope you're listening anyway” you started. “I'm gonna be following Percy around when he goes home and I'm gonna try and keep him and Sally somewhat safe. I don't know how safe Percy can really be but I'll try anyway. I hope that's not a problem. I'm not tryna step on your toes or anything”. 

 In all honesty praying and giving offerings felt strange. You were supposed to pray to Ares everyday and give him an offering, but you stopped doing that after your last talk. The first time you threw food in a fire and didn't say his name, you thought you'd combust as a punishment. You didn't though, so you kept doing it. Occasionally you'd give offerings to other gods but it was mainly Athena. Partially because she was like Ares but not really and partially because you hoped it would upset Ares. Was it childish? Yes. But compared to someone as old as Ares, you were a child. 

 “That's all I really have to say. If you don't want me to go you can drown me in my sleep or maybe send a letter. Whatever works for you”. You looked around, expecting for some paper saying “absolutely not” to land somewhere around you but nothing happened, so you put out the fire and snuck back into your cabin. 

~

 You don't think you have a huge ego, but you definitely felt you deserved a pat on the back for how good your work was. 

 You were able to convince your own lousy family to hand over any legal documents to Sally and thankfully Percy's middle school had a highschool right next to it. Although the demigods weren't supposed to use phones, a minor text here and there saying “hey, I think there's monsters here” didn't hurt anyone. There were plenty of times you had to sneak out of your school and into his, and if you weren't so busy fighting for your life, you'd audition to be in some spy or assassin movie. 

 Thankfully though, you weren't always busy helping Percy. You figured you might as well help Sally out so you got a job at a nearby bookstore inside of a mall and honestly? You'd prefer fighting monsters over dealing with bratty customers. Seriously though, how can you be a bitch at a bookstore? 

 “I've already told you ma'am” you said in a monotone voice, “we can't give you a refund if you do not have a receipt”. 

 The black hair woman scoffed and looked at you as if you caused the problem she was having. “A receipt? Do I seem like the type of woman who keeps a receipt?! When I bought Twilight, I expected better and I hate it and now I want a refund and as the customer, I am always right!”. 

 The entire conversation made you wanna explode in front of her and change the trajectory of her life, but unfortunately it didn't happen. What was with mortals and not understanding basic store rules?

 “I would love it if you were right but you're not. No receipt. No refund”. She scoffed again and you wanted to grab her by the throat and stop the noise from ever leaving her mouth again. 

 “Well what do you expect me to do?!”

 “Pick up a different book then get out maybe?”. 

 You couldn't put a finger on the noise that came out of her next. It was some deep throaty sound with a mix of anger and disgust. “Do you know who I am? I'm Holly Holiday-” you accidentally cracked a smile at her stupid name and that just fueled her rage. She pointed a finger at your name tag and said your name, followed by “you are so done for! I'll have you eaten alive for this!”. 

 She turned on her heels and left in a huff. Fucking finally. 

 You looked over at your coworker Harper and pretended your fingers were a gun and shot yourself, getting a laugh out of her. Harper and her twin Hazel shared a few classes with you and by some coincidence they also worked in the mall. Harper was with you while Hazel worked at the costume store downstairs. You couldn't tell them apart and you weren't sure if you'd ever pass the “we talk sometimes” stage but it didn't matter right now. 

 “I know it's closing time but are you ok if I take a bathroom break really quick? I can help out when I get back”

She waved dismissively, “take your time man. Hazel'll be coming up here too”. You nodded with a small thank you and stepped into the mostly vacant mall. The mall was usually lively but with it being so late at night, the only people around were other people like that annoying customer and workers who had the misfortune of still working this late. 

 It was eerily quiet. Sure, you thought you were used to how silent it was at this time of night, but you still got the creeps and did not take your time alone in the bathroom. 

 Maybe you should have though, because once you left the bathroom that same annoying lady was waiting outside, which she definitely should not have been doing. 

 “I told you I did not like that book”. 

 Seriously? She was still complaining? She was still here after the store had pretty much closed? 

 You said something that would've gotten you fired if your boss was around, “yeah? Tough shit lady. No receipt, no refund, it's as simple as that. Don't buy books you haven't read. Now get out the mall and go take care of your kids”. 

 She snarled. A genuine snarl that made you start to sneakily slip off the bracelet you were wearing. You didn't know if gods could give other kids gifts, and either it had been allowed this whole time or Poseidon didn't care since shortly after your “chat” after hours you received a dagger that could transform into a bracelet. You thought maybe Ares had sent it, but his gifts didn't smell of the ocean and a fresh breeze. 

 Regardless of who gave it to you, that snarl didn't sound good. 

 “I don't think you're very good at your job”

 “I guess I'm not. Now do us both a favor and just leave”. 

 She didn't leave. Instead she smirked and that was all the confirmation you needed to know something was wrong. The bracelet slipped off your wrist and while the monster was transforming, you gripped your weapon and brought it up through the bottom of her mouth. You pulled it out, but not through the entry wound. You pulled it towards you, letting it split her face in half. 

 Just in case, you stabbed her in the heart, twisted the knife then pulled it out of her through the side of her chest. You didn’t have to wait for her to crumble. It was game over. A surprisingly easy win. 

 You grabbed some nearby napkins so you could wipe your dagger clean then returned it back to your wrist. 

 “What happened?” Harper asked once you stepped back inside, which was really odd for multiple reasons. 

 Firstly, you looked like you usually did. Nothing about you was particularly out of place. At least you didn't think so. 

 Secondly, she didn't sound curious. She didn't sound concerned. She sounded frustrated, like you did something wrong. 

 “Nothing” you lied. “It's nothing. Let's just clean up, yeah?”. 

 “I'm sure it's not nothing Child of Ares”. 

Your brows knitted together and you hoped you just heard wrong. You turned to look at Harper and that's when it started to click. 

 Harper. Hazel. Holly. 

 Harpies. 

 They were too lazy to pick a different initial for the first name and you fell for it like an idiot. Plus the “I’ll have you eaten alive” comment. But in all fairness, who actually takes those comments seriously? If you took every threatening comment seriously, you'd be sent to an asylum. 

 Harper's short red hair looked like flames now. Her green eyes looked hungry for your flesh and her sharp teeth glistened in the light as feathers grew from her arms. Realistically, you should've been scared. There were two alive harpies in the building, but something about a monster with a gray shirt with mini white books decorated on it really made you wanna laugh. She must've sensed this since she sneered, 

 “You think I'm funny?”

 “Do you want an honest answer?”

 “You won't think I'm so funny soon you spoiled demigod!”. You wanted to make a joke about how calling children with severe abandonment issues “spoiled” was silly, but you decided this wasn't the time. Instead you took the bracelet off. 

 Harper laughed in your face. “You think that will stop me?” 

 “Handled your friend pretty well. How about you stop trash talking and come over here so we can see if you're any different”. You don't know which comment got her so angry but she leapt at you. 

 You sidestepped her and planned on delivering a quick stab to the neck, but she must've seen it coming. She grabbed something and quickly turned to bat you in the face with it, making you stumble back. It took you a quick second to realize she hit you with a book. A Goosebumps book no less. 

 “You are incredibly childish” you mumbled and you wished you could laugh it off. Maybe you were childish too because you picked up the book and launched it at her face, feeling a tad bit disappointed when she dodged it. 

 You swung at her but she caught your wrist and squeezed hard enough to make you drop your dagger. You were quick on your feet though and you brought your available elbow down on her inner elbow (you were sure it had a scientific name but honestly who cares?). You heard a crunch and Harper screeched. Her grip loosened enough for you to snatch away while kicking her, her flying and hitting the railing. 

 You grabbed the dagger and threw it. You meant for it to hit somewhere fatal but she moved and instead it hit her directly in the eye, which made her screech even louder. 

 You snatched your necklace off and the object quickly took the shape of a double sided sword. It was a gift from your father and although he was probably pissed at you, you figured he probably wasn't watching and wouldn't care. 

 You charged at her and swung the sword. Although she was screaming in pain and was no doubt in agony, she slid under the blade. As she turned to face you, her hands moved and a sharp gust of wind knocked you off the third floor. 

 To make matters worse, Hazel decided to make an appearance. She was right below you, cackling, arms outstretched and you knew if you landed in those arms she'd devour you. 

 You did the only thing you could think of with such short timing. You angled the sword vertically and aimed directly for her mouth. She seemed to understand but it was too late. You came crashing down, your sword along with you and it slid directly in her mouth and down her throat. Because of the sword having a solid middle so you could hold onto something, it didn't go all the way through and you stumbled a bit, but you were better off than her. She stopped all movement and to make sure the job was done, you ripped the sword through her, cutting her in half. 

 “MY SISTER!”,  Harper screeched and you looked up at her with your messy sword in hand. 

 “You want more from the Child of Ares?!” You claimed you hated trash talk and you especially hated being called his child but the adrenaline was really getting to you. “I have plenty to give!”. 

 She flew up higher and started to come down fast towards you. You readied your sword, prepared to end this but suddenly she stopped and started trembling. 

 “L-L-Lord Ares. I-”

 Before you could ask any questions and she could finish her sentence, you were being launched into the air. The scream you let out was embarrassing but it didn't matter in the end. You both collided and hit the wall and instead of being knocked out or injured like you thought you'd be, you were completely fine. Your sword went straight through her chest and pinned her to the wall behind her and you were hanging above the ground, grasping onto the hilt of your sword and hoping your hands wouldn’t start sweating. 

 “L-L-Lord Ares. I-”

 No. No way. It couldn’t be. But who else could’ve launched you in the air like that?

 You looked down and there he was. You don’t know why, but you expected him to look somewhat different. Maybe a new haircut or a new jacket. Maybe he’d try contacts, but no. He looked exactly the same. You didn’t know if you were comforted or unnerved by it.

 You wished you had something cool to say but all you said was “what are you doing here?”.

 “Saving your life”. Yeah right. You had everything 100% under control. He chuckled and you started to wonder if he could read your mind. When you screamed internally though, he didn’t flinch so that theory went out the window. Maybe you looked annoyed and didn’t know it. 

 “Are you gonna catch me?” You asked.

 “What for?”

 “Because you threw me all the way to the fifth floor and it’d be nice not to break something”

 “You need me to warm up milk up for you too?”.

 Fuck it. You’d risk the broken leg.

 You tightened your hands around the hilt and planted your feet on the wall then pushed off with all your might. Fortunately, you got the sword out the wall. Unfortunately, you were now falling from five floors up. 

 You braced for impact, but instead of falling and hitting the floor, you fell into someone’s arms. You looked up, thinking that maybe someone was with your father that you didn’t see before, but no. It was him. He caught you. Something you weren’t expecting but you weren’t against.

 You mumbled a thanks and stood on your feet. The year was 2006 when you last talked. It was early in 2008 and while that wasn’t that big of a gap, the talk you had last time made things more awkward. 

 “I thought you’re not allowed to interfere”

 He raised a brow at you as if saying “you care about rules now when you’ve been breaking them?”. Were you breaking them though? Sure you were encouraged to give offerings to your parent but you hadn’t been punished… yet. If it was so bad you wouldn’t be walking right now. And you doubted he paid enough attention to notice. He was probably relieved to have one less kid bothering him.

 Gods, you were a downer.

 “Are you gonna tell on me?” He asked.

 “If you hadn’t caught me”

 “And now?”

 “My lips are sealed”. You didn’t see his expression. You were too busy looking down at your shoes. A habit you hated you developed. It made you feel small. But you guessed demigods were supposed to be small in comparison to their parent. That’s why you showed them respect but they hardly returned the favor. 

 A moment of silence passed before he spoke up again.

 “You have money on you?”.

 Was he gonna rob you now? “Uh, yeah”.

 “You’re paying for dinner. Let’s go”

 He started walking away before you could even respond, and like a reflex you grabbed his arm to slow him down. “I can’t”.

 “Can’t?” He said so calmly it kinda scared you.

 “Yeah. I can’t. My uh…” you decided not to tell him the entire truth about staying with Percy and Sally. “My ride… mom. She’s coming to get me. You don’t want mom knowing you’re in town, right?”. 

 He looked you up and down and you tried your best to not seem nervous. You weren’t sure he believed you but he let it go for the night.

 You wished it stayed that way. That he’d just go back wherever he came from but instead he told you the name of a diner nearby and said to be there by noon tomorrow and that you were paying. 

 “Great. Thanks dad” you thought. “I always love our talks”.

~~

 The good thing about his random plan to go to a diner at noon was that you were allowed to clean yourself and sleep beforehand. The bad thing was that now you were sitting across from him and it was incredibly awkward. 

 Ares kept laughing at his phone and you debated on asking him what was so funny but he said “started a Twitter war about vaccination. It’s getting good”. You screamed in your head again, but once again he didn’t flinch. Maybe he just had a good poker face.

 “I’m happy for you?”. He glanced up at you and instead of going back to his phone, he set it face down on the table. You didn’t know if he seemed to glow because of the little war he started, or if a source of light was hitting him nicely. Maybe it was a god thing. 

 “You’re probably wondering why I’ve called you here”

 Was this an HR meeting? “I’m wondering why I’m paying”

 “Ask me”

 “You know I wanna know though so why am I asking?”

He didn’t respond. He just looked at you and you could hear his foot tapping on the floor.

 You rubbed your brow, already feeling a migraine coming on. You took a deep breath and let out a sarcastic response (which was not a good idea but your mouth worked faster than your brain). 

 “Ares, the amazing God of War. The Protector of Mistreated Women. Wearer of biker jackets. I come before you as your humble child, begging thee to tell me what required my summons and why you were at the mall last night. Please please please tell me. I’ll fall over and die if you don’t”.

 Sarcastic or not, he accepted it. He motioned towards the platter of burgers and fries, “this is your thank you. This is your offering to me since you haven’t been doing that”. 

 Well fuck. You didn’t think he’d notice. 

You leaned back in your seat and your fingers strummed against your knees and you had to remind yourself that running out probably wouldn’t end well.

 “You noticed?”

 “I did” he said simply. It reminded you of how emotionless he was the last time you talked. It reminded you of how frustrated you were that he talked as if nothing was wrong and as if your pain didn’t affect him. 

 “You demigods think you’re so smart. You have these big egos and think you’re ahead of us. You gave your offerings to Athena and Poseidon of all people ” he spat their names like it left a bitter taste in his mouth to mention them. 

 “And then you stay with that fish boy and his mom. Yeah. I saw that too. And I save your life and you don’t seem the least bit grateful”.

 Grateful.

 Something about that word you hated.

 Grateful? What was there to be grateful for? “Yeah dad, I’m super grateful my life consists of monsters trying to eat me and a dad I only see once in a blue moon. Totally grateful”.

 “We can’t interfere”

 “Didn’t stop you last night”

 He tsked, “I don’t get you. You complain about my absence then you complain when I’m here when I could be doing anything else!”. His voice rose but the people in the diner were either used to this or didn’t care enough to say anything.

 The nervousness and the fear rolled off you the more he spoke. Gratefulness? Doing anything else? You weren’t stopping him. 

 “Then go do those things. I’m not holding your hand and making you stay”. Your brain told you to shut up and apologize, but your mouth wasn’t having it. “And this isn’t about us and you know it. This is about you. This is about your ego being hurt. You don’t care about my safety. You didn’t go to the mall to protect me. You just love a fight and you were probably disappointed you couldn’t do more”

 “That’s what you think?” His eyes burned with something you couldn’t quite place. Anger obviously, but it seemed like something else was there. Or maybe there was literal fire in his eyes. Either way, it was clear he was upset and if you didn’t shut up soon, he’d probably turn you into a random animal.

 But who didn’t love animals?

 “That’s what I know. And I didn’t need your help. I was just fine. The only thing you would’ve missed if I somehow died was your little offerings. I don’t matter to you. Just admit it so we can move on”. Ares opened his mouth to say something, but you spoke again “and for your information Percy and Sally are very nice people. They feel more like family than you do”. 

 That shut up whatever he planned on saying. The last time you two talked you swore you saw an emotion cross his face. This time you were definitely sure you saw something cross his face before it went back to its default expression. 

 Was that regret? 

 No. That was stupid and you’ve had plenty of stupid thoughts. 

 It went silent. Weirdly, eerily silent. 

The diner wasn’t silent obviously but you two were.

You both were just staring at each other like statues. You wished you could read his mind. You hoped you would see thoughts of regret and sorrow and maybe hopefulness about your relationship going forward. You wished he had the same thoughts you had. Another stupid thought. Being hopeful didn’t work with him.

 For whatever reason, your mind wandered off to the late night talks you’d have with Sally and for whatever other reason, you started to speak.

 “Have you heard the song American Pie? Yes, it’s somewhat important to what I have to say. Yes or no only please”

 He looked bored and unamused but he answered anyway. “I don’t know. Maybe? Who cares?”.

 “There’s a line in the song that says this’ll be the day that I die. And for whatever reason it made me think about what I’d do if I were dying. If I woke up one day and I knew I was gonna die that day, what would I do? You wanna know what I realized?”

 He raised his brows for a second and leaned back in his chair. There was a possibility he was still bored but he seemed somewhat interested. “Shoot”.

 You smiled bitterly. Here he was so calm and fine and here you were, speaking slow and hoping your voice didn’t waver or crack. “I realized-” you failed. Your voice wobbled a bit and you cleared your throat a little too loud. “I realized I’d spend every second trying to make you love me”.

 You didn’t bother trying to read any expression he had next. You knew you’d always get it wrong and you’d imagine what you wanted to see. “And I uh… I don’t wanna be that way anymore”. You blinked rapidly, trying to prevent any tears from falling out. You didn’t have the rain to cover your face and blend in like you did last time. “And selfishly I hope that scares you”.

 “Gods don’t feel fear”

 “Well whatever you wanna call it I hope you feel it. I hope -and I’m gonna keep calling it fear- I hope you feel afraid for what that means for us”

 “Allow me to humor you for a bit” you felt as though the comment was supposed to be sarcastic but it didn’t sound sarcastic or aggressive. It was weirdly soft. “Why would you not wanting to spend your last day with me scare me?”

 “Because that means I won’t admire you anymore” you answered. “You don’t get it. You don’t get how much you mean to me. You don’t get how much I used to idolize you. Before I was claimed, I was already intrigued by you. Once I was claimed I read every single story that had to do with you. I was honored to be your child and tried to show you how honored I was everyday. I didn’t do all this for me. The training, bettering my Greek, learning everything I could about mythology. I didn’t do that for me. I did that so I would never shame your name and make you look like you raised incompetent idiots. The way I would defend your name and what you represent, you’d think I was being paid”

 “Me not admiring you anymore means I won’t care about defending you. It means I won’t care anymore about our family relationship. And I hope the idea of me calling you Ares instead of dad terrifies you. That emptiness or indifference I’ll feel when I hear your name… I know it hasn’t happened yet but thinking about it terrifies me too. Maybe I’m just selfish and don’t wanna be alone”. You used your sleeve to wipe at your wet face, a mix of embarrassment and relief for finally getting this out of you. “I could be right. I doubt it. I’m probably just making all that up but either way I need you to stop doing this. Seeing you at all, it gives me hope. I don’t want an enemy for life. I’m not Percy. But this is just gonna make this harder and if you hate me I am begging you to have mercy and leave me be. No visiting. I won’t come to see you when we do that little field trip either. I’ll stay at camp or I’ll go bother another god. Hermes is really nice. And if I break my end of the deal you can do whatever you want to me. Turn me into an ant, rearrange my fingers, throw me down a flight of stairs at full force, whatever”.

 There you went again making up shit. Swearing you saw something worse than sadness on his face; grief. That was impossible. Your eyes were just playing tricks on you like they always did. 

 You didn’t know what you wanted him to say, but you didn’t expect “you think, but you don’t know anything”.

 “Then tell me what I don’t know”. He didn’t say anything. He went silent and you were getting real tired of his silences. You sighed, “Sally’s been waiting outside so…”

 “Yeah…”. He let out a breath. Annoyance. Had to be. “You want this?” He asked.

 You were honest. “No” you said instantly. “No I don’t but this just seems like the best thing to do”. He didn’t argue with you. 

 Your hand went to reach inside your pocket for money but then he spoke again “keep it”.

 “It’s no problem-”.

 “Just keep it”.

 You nodded. 

 You stayed sitting down. Why was it so hard to stand? Why did your legs feel so wobbly and your throat so dry? Why did your chest feel like a huge weight was crushing it? Weren’t you supposed to feel the opposite? Free and lively? Feel like you could float?

 Another stupid thing escaped your lips. “Can you do me a favor?”.

 “Another one?” He asked lifelessly- no. He was not lifeless. He was happy. You were sure of it. You’d leave and he’d cheer because he wouldn’t have to deal with another kid anymore. You knew it.

 “It’s not a favor if you don’t wanna see me either”. Another bit of silence but you weren’t surprised. “Can we do that thing mortals do? You know, when they hug and say they love each other before they go their own way? Or maybe just the ‘I love you’ part”. He looked at you for a bit and you were about to apologize for making it weird and leave but Ares stood up. 

 You stood up.

 It’s strange how something you’ve never done before can feel so right. Like it was always meant to happen or always supposed to be this way. You weren’t necessarily cold and Ares wasn’t a heater, but the second he wrapped his arms around you and you did the same for him, you felt much warmer. Not a burden type of warmth. The kind of warmth that brings you relief on a freezing cold day. That crushing feeling stayed the same though.

 “I love you dad” you said and it fell out so naturally, you’d forgive anyone for thinking this was a normal occurrence. That the fight you had was just a small disagreement but otherwise you two had an amazing relationship.

 You didn’t know how the words “I love you too” would sound coming out of his mouth, but it sounded better than you hoped for. It once again sounded natural and genuine even if you knew it wasn’t. 

 You thought it wasn’t.

 No. You knew it wasn’t. This was no time for brain tricks and delusions. 

 Pulling apart was probably the hardest thing you had to do and your job was keeping Percy Jackson safe. That sudden coldness fell over you again and the crushing got worse.

 It didn’t get any better when you left. You didn’t have the guts to look at him one last time, afraid you’d call off your deal right then and there if you made eye contact with him. 

 Luckily Sally was an intelligent person. She was smart enough not to ask how it went. Even if she did, it’s not like you could answer with the huge lump in your throat. 

 “Do you want ice cream dear?”.

 You shrugged. There was that word again. Want. You didn’t know what you wanted anymore. You thought you did but it all felt wrong. There was no weight lifted off your shoulders and you didn’t feel light on your feet. You felt cold and hollow. The weight got worse and pushed down on you with so much force, you didn’t know it was even possible. 

 Then your eyes landed on his bike and it all came out. Your head fell into your hands and you let out sobs that were lodged deep in your chest. Your ears were ringing and you were sure you looked and sounded like the most pathetic person alive but you couldn’t care anymore. Sally, once again being an intelligent woman, took that as a sign it was time to go and pulled off. You assumed Sally would’ve dropped Percy off after you went inside. You assumed he wouldn’t wanna wait out here for you while you talked to one of the people that hated him the most. His hand patted your shoulder, notifying you that he was in the car still. Usually you’d make a joke and tell them that you were fine, but nothing came out but borderline hysterical sobs. 

 You grew jealous of Percy. He didn’t see Poseidon much but at least he knew deep down that Poseidon cared for him. Sometimes you’d get that feeling but you thought it was all a delusion. Fuck. Why did you keep doing that? You knew it was all a delusion. 

 That choice had to be the right one. It needed to be the right one.

 That didn’t stop this wave of agony from drowning you, and you’d fight a thousand harpies if it meant this feeling would go away.

Omg y’all I did it😭. I mixed two ideas someone suggested with my own ideas and here we are. I hope y’all like it even though a huge portion is me yapping but to be fair I didn’t realize until after I was done and summarizing all of that didn’t seem like it’d sound right, yk? There was definitely a way I could’ve done it but I’m stupid soooo… yeah. Anyway, OOC Ares but this is my angsty fantasy so I’m making him care about his kids. In my head the whole “I hate my own kids” is him trying to convince himself he doesn’t care for them so it’s easier to stay apart from them. Idk, maybe I’ll make a part 3 from his perspective and answer why he said he was saving their life. I make no promises tho. And I know I said it’s show Ares so skipping ahead doesn’t make sense but we know what’s gonna happen Taglist: @kyuupidwrites @chadmeeksmartinswifey @lebguardians @beansficreblogs (one asked to be tagged, one asked for more dad fics, then one commented plus reblogged and one reblogged, so although majority did not ask, imma just assume y’all would wanna see a part 2😀. We’re getting the band back together like this is Phineas and Ferb)

[literallyjusttoa]

Apollo and Jason in alternative fits for the modern mortal au + more fun facts about this au bc what am I if just an amalgamation of random ToA AU ideas!

For this pic: Jason just finished a game with the basketball team of his fancy private high school (they're called the centurions). Jason isn't really passionate about the sport, but Apollo insists they need to go out and celebrate his win.

As I've said before, Apollo is will they, won't they-ing with Admetus in a small apartment while trying to muscle his way through med school. It's extremely stressful, and Apollo is definitely still struggling with maintaining perfection and not seeming "ungrateful" or "lazy". Part of his journey in this AU is rebuilding his support system after going no contact, and maybe actually going to therapy at some point! And also dropping med school bc that's not what he wants to be doing with his life.

Apollo is actually a natural brunet, like his mother! Artemis is a brunet too, but her hair is just a bit darker, closer to their dads.

Apollo's vision is actually just as bad as Jason's, he just wears contacts instead of glasses.

Jason wants to go into urban planning or architecture, but he's absolutely terrified of telling anyone in the family. Apollo's the first and only person he's told.

Apollo's got a small indie band with some of the muses (Urania, Polyhymnia, Euterpe, and Terpsichore) and the rest of them are all study buddies! They stay up till 3am chugging monster and five hour energy like shots and speedrunning graduate papers.

Jason mainly hangs out with Reyna, Frank, Hazel, and Octavian. Leo and Piper are his childhood friends from when he used to live with his mother, but they fell out when he had to move in with Zeus.

Apollo sometimes has a hard time sleeping and other times can barely keep his head up. This is a lasting symptom of the severe concussion he got from his father, and it also left him with random moments of extreme vertigo and frequent headaches.

Other than Apollo and Thalia, Jason is closest with his cousin Percy! They love being jokingly competitive about everything, but Jason has always felt supported by Percy when the going gets tough. Still, Percy has his own life going on, son Jason has always felt bad about reaching out.

Meg comes into the picture as a kid Apollo found during one of those aforementioned late night study sessions. She was injured, but refused to let Apollo call for help. Obviously, Apollo is familiar with what's going on here, so he asks if he can treat her injuries. She reluctantly agrees, and eventually Apollo realizes that Meg's mom is his aunt, but Demeter didn't have custody. He gets Meg's phone number, and spends the next 6 months fighting to get her out of stepfather's custody and back with the family. The two of them get extremely close in the meantime, and bc of this Meg and Jason also interact a lot and get very close. However, in his fight to get Meg somewhere safe, Apollo is forced to reconnect with the family. Again, eventually Apollo will go to therapy, but I plan on making him go through the most stressful shit I can think of first.

I think that's all I got, enjoy!

[audreyscribes]

Carry On My Wayward Child [Part 1]

Ω PJO IMAGINE Ω

PROMPT: When a dream makes the reader unable to settle, they decide to take a walk, converting their dream to reality.

Reader encounters Luke, Thalia, and Annabeth on the run when they have a dream that makes them go out and see a sick Annabeth with a tired, injured Luke and Thalia. They take them in, saving them, and encounters them years later when they remembered a kind stranger.

a/n: Reader is neutral; no specific pronouns or descriptions used. Referred to as Y/N. Roughly college/university age. [Ao3 LINK] | [2] [3] [4]

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Being in college sucks. If it weren’t for the fact an authenticated paper by a post-secondary education would be vital for job seeking, then you would’ve long given up this damn paper a long time ago. Your mind is swarming with information, thesis, structures, and your brain stuck onto stretching your words as much as possible to fulfill the bare minimum word count.

You groan, dropping your head into your propped hands, closing your strained eyes as words start to swarm off the paper, flying around like gnats. Even if you wanted to keep pushing forward, your energy was severely depleted into the long night so it was futile to keep pursuing.

You curse the paper to pieces, while also praying to every god you could think of to either end its existence or something-

Your head pulsed with exhaustion, and you push yourself away from the table, hands outstretched to the limit. The legs of the chair scrape loudly in protest against the floor, both you and the chair teetering precariously. You winced at the noise but then remembered you lived alone but habits die hard. Your fingers grip the edge as you look towards the window.

It is very much late. Very much night.

The moon is big and full, the light it shines down giving a soft glow that soothes you. Just a bit.

Just enough to realize you’re really tired and you really need sleep.

You stand up from your chair, halfheartedly cleaning up your work station and turning off the lights. You quickly brush your teeth, to feel slightly less gross and to get rid of the seemingly never ending consumption of caffeine, before body-slamming yourself into your bed. Burrowing in the covers and resting your weary head into the pillow, it took you a moment for your body to relax in softness before darkness took over.

A pause. Some peace until you find yourself witnessing a scene.

A scene of three kids, a boy and two girls. Each being younger then the other. They were running through the night, constantly looking over their shoulders as roars and screeches of what could only be considered as monsters. You watch as they run and you can’t help react to every time they stumble, gasp, and basically whatever hell these kids are going through. You see them wield what could only be weapons, slashing and tumbling through the monsters, as they explode into golden dust.

There’s a blur transition and with a golden explosion of dust, you see the kids hide underneath a very familiar bridge. Darkness covers them as they nervously peer out from their current reprieve, the light of the full moon almost blinding. You hear thundering footsteps, like elephants stampeding through, with clicks of claws or whatever it could be. They blur through you and you see what could be only a demented wolf growl and you see its maw consuming you-

You gasp out and curse from your dream, sweat sticking to your skin. Your heart thumping against your chest wildly is your only tether to reality as it reminds you that you are very much alive. You look around, your brain on adrenaline mood.

Seeing as you’re still in bed and in your home, you feel the strings holding you up cut, and you fall back into bed. You’re too tired to deal with this so you try to sleep. But you toss and turn in your sleep, the light of the moon seems to be brighter and is preventing you from sleeping.

Frustrated, you sit up in bed and rub your hands over your face. You decide to get a drink, not wanting to go back to your paper. You quench your first and your brain can’t help think to the kids in the dream, silently wondering if they were thirsty-

Shaking your head to get rid of that image, you decide to take a nice hot shower to feel clean.

That helped you feel more human but now you were more awake-

You glance at the clock and groan at the fact it wasn’t even that long since you went to sleep. Your body was on edge and your brain couldn’t help wander back to the dream. You noted that the bridge was one you were familiar with and wasn’t that far in terms of walking distance-

Whining at you were about to do, you decide to take a walk; if anything, to soothe your paranoid brain and see that there weren’t any kids underneath the bridge-

Is what you would’ve liked to say as you had bent yourself over the bridge railing. You didn’t feel like slipping down the incline to check the kids were there, but as you bent over, you saw three suspiciously kid shaped shadows extend forwards on the ground that that bridge started off. You bent even further, hands locked tightly on the railing and your eyes blown wide in surprise as you saw those exact three kids in the dream.

This surprised you so much so that you lost your grip and your view point of the world flipped over and plummeted. You let out a yell, air whipping past you and like an invisible hand was helping you, you found your body flipping and slowing down. A voice whispered to your ears, making your body move on its own.

The next thing you knew you had landed perfectly well on the ground, but there was still shock waves going through your entire body, jittering your nerves. You wondered how you even pull off that move without obliterating your legs, but you weren’t going to be ungrateful whatever happened for you to pull off the landing and still have your legs and every limb function still working.

There was a glint from your peripheral and you looked towards it, to only see the boy holding what could only be a bonafide swear-to-gods dagger at you. It was shaky, scattering whatever light it caught and you looked at the wielder. The boy had blue eyes and sandy blond hair. You saw someone shifting behind him and your eyes saw a girl with black hair and shockingly electric blue eyes, wearing all black and in her arms…her eyes were closed with a scrunched up face, but you remembered in your dream that the girl had gray eyes, so if you had to guess-

“Who are you? What do you want?!” questioned the boy as he pointed his weapon towards you as if it to threaten (in your mind you could only see that he saw you as something like a lion that had gotten stuck in its cage and he was desperately holding you back).

You raised your hands up as a friendly gesture and felt your throat dry up. You debated whether or not if you were going to tell the truth, that you came out here based on a whim and lo and behold they were here.

You heard a bone shaking howl and you turned to it, confused but also nerved since it was the dead of night. You heard shuffling and turned to the kids, they’re eyes wide with alert, weapons readied at where the howl was coming from and at you.

The dream of the monsters popped in your head and you were starting to wonder if the monsters were really there-

You licked your cracked lips before deciding to take a limb.

“My name is (y/n), I’m just a college student that went on a walk after a bad dream…” you started and watched their reactions. They seemed to not believe you and you remembered the weight of your wallet in your pocket. You reached a hand to your pocket and saw the boy stiffen. You stopped but kept your hand near your pocket, “I’m just going to grab my wallet in my pocket, alright? If you don’t believe my words, I can show you my college ID okay?”

You slowly lowered your hand and the boy’s dagger followed its movement. You felt your throat tighten at the gesture but you kept your wits. Les you lose a limb really.

You grabbed your wallet and slowly opened it, revealing its content. You picked your college ID and slowly taking it out, holding it up between your fingers. You then flicked it towards the kids and the boy looked between the ID and you for a moment.

He kept his eyes on you while slowly kneeling to pick it up, his eyes glancing at the ID before really reading it. His face was bewildered and saw the girl behind him get up to read it too, as if to verify it. You hoped they were just staring at your goofy face of your ID that was just ridiculous looking.

You gave a shaky smile, “I appreciate it if you didn’t, y’know throw it in the river or break it please. I get a college ID for free at first but to replace it, I have to spend like $20 bucks each time to get it replaced.”

The kids looked at you then at each other, whispering as if to debrief. You heard the howl again and it sounded closer-

You saw the kids jump and the girl behind them whimper as you looked around. You weren’t sure if the monsters were coming but as you looked at the kids now that you weren’t going to be immediately stabbed, you saw their state.

They were tired, dirty, and injured. The girl behind them was the same but she had a weird flush to her face and you felt your body turn cold. It wasn’t that warm outside and their clothes seemed very bare minimum and had tears in them. You weren’t sure how long they were on the run for but now you were here, you couldn’t find it in yourself to abandon them.

“Hey-“ their heads whipped at you and you felt your voice dying inside you for a moment, before you summoned the courage back. “-I don’t know why you kids are out this late, or why you’re under the bridge, but you can’t stay here.”

“Where do you think we can go then?” asked the boy, his voice grating with annoyance and fatigue.

“My place”

They seemed surprised and more on edge.

“Look, I get it I’m not the most believable person right now, and I get you don’t want to listen to a stranger who fell off the bridge, but I you need to trust me. I’m a lone college student and I have a place for you to sleep. You can sleep for just the night, take a shower, eat, or whatever, but you’ll warm and safe.”

The final two words seemed to trigger something in them, making them more miserable. Faintly you heard some latin? Pig latin? Words? But not really? But then you saw them arguing…no pleading to the other, their hand gesturing to the little girl behind them.

“-please-“

“We can’t. We don’t know this person and who knows, maybe she’s a monster in disguise-“

“I know that! But Annabeth’s fever is-“

You heard about the fever, and you definitely can’t let them stay out. Staying out in the night is already risky, but with a fever? That was a death sentence. You may be a struggling college student and barely call yourself an adult, but you were enough of an adult that you couldn’t just leave these kids alone-

“But what if-“

“Look, your little sister right there isn’t looking good,” you say, stepping forward. At least you assumed they were siblings. They each shared similar characteristics with one or the other. Their bodies stiffened and you made a stern face.

“And like, I know I’m repeating myself and by gods, do I know you shouldn’t be listening to a stranger this late at night, but trust me when I say when I’m not going to hurt you. I can’t walk away in good conscious when I know I can get you kids to be safe for just a night nor can you let your sister sleep outside when she has a fever. If you follow me to my place, you can be rest assured she’ll survive the night then sleeping out in the cold. I swear I won’t hurt you or any of you.”

The two kids looked at each other before the girl spoke up next. “Do you swear?”

“I swear.”

“Do you swear on the river Styx?”

You felt something in the air chill as you faintly remembered that the River Styx was something from Greek Mythology. You could feel something in your brain shift as you held up your hand and crossed your heart with the other. ‘Weird question but-‘ you said in your mind before opening your mouth, “I swear on the River Styx and cross my heart to die.”

You watched the kids’ eyes widen and mouth gape open with something akin to fear. You felt something inside you tighten and the air seemed to snap. The kids looked at each other before nodding as the boy held his dagger at you.

“If you try anything funny-“

“I swore didn’t I? Have some faith in that then” you said before gesturing to the kids to follow.

You watched the boy piggyback the girl onto his back, his face softening when looking at her with you recognized was sibling love, while the other girl helped him while also threatened you with a spear now.

Not going to lie, it was kind of working.

(somewhere, some part in you quietly whispered to you that their weapons couldn’t hurt you. But you didn’t want to tempt fate (even if they didn’t hurt you, it gave them some sense of control and safety so might as well believe it eh?))

You led them to your place, the kids following behind you with a a dagger trained on your back. You were glad and cursed it was so late in the night but you swore, and you couldn’t turn them away for any other good reasons now.

You showed them the door and took out the key unlocked it, opening the door. As it creaked open, you winced at the noise but you felt something shift behind you. You took a moment to glance back and something in your chest became more unsettled.

The two older kids seemed to stare into the darkness of your place, with something akin to fear. You saw their jaws tightened, as if they were ready to streak and you knew at that point, that something really bad happened to them.

What you weren’t sure.

But you were starting to feel like you didn’t want to know. Shouldn’t know.

You stepped inside and quickly flipped on the lights, steeling your nerves as you didn’t hear them step in after you. You already got them this far, which was already what you least expected.

You took off your jacket, shuddering at how cold the exterior was. You were only outside for a short while and the cold was already clinging to it. How cold it must’ve been for those kids with the bare minimum of essentials?

You turned to the kids who had stepped the foothold of the door, but look ready to book for it at the slight thing going wrong.

“Alright, welcome to my humble abode, I guess” you tried to say with a lighthearted tone. “It’s not much but it satisfies the basic human needs.”

You saw the raised skeptical eyebrow and thought, 'Sheesh, tough crowd.'

“Come on, close the door before you let all the heat out” you said, before dropping the keys in a bowl, “Let me put on the kettle first then I’ll show you your rooms”. As you filled the kettle, you used that brief solace to gather your wits. Only temporarily because you could feel the kids watching you from the corner.

With the kettle on, you lead them through the house and to one of the guest rooms. You gestured to the door and opened it, flipping on the light quickly. It was a bit dusty but not as bad when you first came to the place; since you, more often then not, had your fellow classmates crash in these beds when they blacked out; whether from alcohol or the soul crushing weight of schoolwork.

You gestured to the Queen-sized bed, “Set her over there, let me grab some extra pillows and blankets” you said before going to the closet. You were sure you had some over here-

“Are you sure you’re a college student?”

You turned and saw them look around, observing the room and looking at you skeptically. Your arms were full of pillows and blankets. You stared for a moment before going to the bed, plopping it down.

“Yeah, you saw my ID right, which by the way I really need back-“

“But how come you’re alone in this old house?”

You turned to them as you realized.

“Ah-“ you started before leaning against the metal bedpost to hide the anxiousness in your body, “Funny thing really. When I was applying for colleges, I wanted to save money along the way cause remember kids, tuition is expensive-“ you stammered, “And then we remembered we had distant aunt we somewhat keep into contact with and my parents managed to talk into her letting me stay over here for my college tuition with being the housekeeper and stuff while she gone overseas time to time.”

“A distant aunt? Overseas? Really?” that last part was definitely sarcastic.

“Yeah yeah, sounds too good to be true” you said, before patting the bed, “Come on, set her down, you look like you’re about to collapse and drop her.”

The boy looked at the girl for a moment before taking their little sister to the bed. As soon the girl was set on the soft covers, she made a noise of content and burrowed herself in the blankets. You smiled before stretching and gestured to the room.

“I guess you want to sleep in the same room?” you clarified.

The other two nodded and you hummed. “Thought so. Anyway, there’s a small toilet and sink here, but when you want to get cleaned up, you have to use the bathroom down the hall. Otherwise, chairs, desk, closet, are all for you guys to use.”

You scooched past them and gestured to them to follow. You showed them the basic layout of the house and showed them where the towels were.

“I’ll go grab the kid’s Tylenol and some stuff for your sister. You can do what you want and stuff, but just don’t mess anything alright?” you said. You stared at them, waiting for a response, but they stared at you.

“Oooookay then” you said, awkwardly before leaving them alone and as you turned the corner, you placed your face in your heads and wondered,

What in the world were you doing?

[To be continued...]

____________________________________________________________

a/n: I realized I had this idea for a while, wrote it down, forgot I had it written, realized it was getting verrry long and now its in parts. So here you go everyone. Maybe I got hyped back from the liveaction Percy Jackson trailer or something, but I went SPEED.

[supernaturallyliterate]

Okay I know I’m late but I just watched PJO episode 7!

SPOILERS FOR SHOW AND BOOKS AHEAD

We get so much more Sally POV!! I am here for it honestly

The fact that Poseidon showed up for Sally when she prayed to him?! MAN this is a change I can stand by. It shows so much more depth to Poseidon’s character, shows that he is fully aware of how much his family sucks but that he is still bound by its rules. He is still powerless to stand up to the norms of Olympus. He knows he can’t interfere in Percy’s life because it would be 1. Acknowledging that he’s his son and 2. Would make him a target for an insta kill like Zeus killed Maria Di Angelo & tried to kill Bianca and Nico. Don’t tell me Poseidon didn’t know about that.

The RAGE on Percy’s face in the preview during his fight with Ares! YES. GIVE ME FERAL PERCY.

The little scene preview of Luke clapping Percy on the back during the foreworks JDKDKDKFKRK BOOK READERS Y’ALL KNOW WHATS COMING

I am really interested in the moment on the Fields of Asphodel when Annabeth gets rooted to the ground by regret. This is a significant change from the books and honestly I liked this one too. Especially Annabeth’s line, “I trust your dad.” If you noticed, she calls Athena, “mother” but she calls Poseidon Percy’s “dad.” It is doing so much set up with just two simple words.

But also! What is she rooted by? Regret for Thalia’s death? She was six! Regret for Percy getting turned into gold? He did that shit intentionally. Honestly there’s so much that baby Annabeth could be regretting but I think it’s Thalia’s death. Especially because she’s seeing what happens after death here. So she can’t help but imagine her friend Thalia. Being turned into a tree in life. To prevent her from… being turned into a tree, only in death.

And of course there’s Elysium and rebirth and the fields of punishment. But most people go to the fields of Asphodel.

The change of the Fields of Asphodel having people wander around aimlessly to being turned into trees rooted to the ground unmoving is interesting. It felt a little like an intentional parallel to Thalia. But I wonder if it’s based in any Greek myth lore

Grover being eaten by Cerberus not gonna lie I was worried about our resident goat boy!! But it makes sense for him to be the one to lose his pearl. Even though it also could’ve worked with Annabeth

Not gonna lie I was a little disappointed that Annabeth wasn’t the one to almost fall into Tartarus instead of Grover. That would’ve been an AMAZING parallel to the fall into Tartarus later in the series. Heroes of Olympus.

Hades is characterized a little differently. More friendly? More animated? Lmao lively. He gives queer or metrosexual energy. He still has his unbothered attitude about the godly affairs which sets him apart from other Olympians

CRUSTY’S. Okay. I was excited that they included the scene with Crusty. But again, I felt like it was another moment of “Percy knows too much”. He immediately knew who Crusty was, I assume because Hermes told him. He knew how the bed trap worked. He knew about the secret passage to the underworld. I just. I don’t like how the series just GIVES Percy and the trio so much information or they just HAVE it. It’s one of my biggest critiques of the show. Give me clueless Percy asking Annabeth who someone is from Greek myths. Give me Annabeth’s AHA moment when she remembers a Greek myth and puts in context with their situation. I wanna see the trio being so fucking confused and have to work to figure out who they’re up against.

Even Percy realizing that it’s Kronos in his dreams! It felt like something mundane and not a big revelation.

I like the gold percy and gold Sally Jackson parallel. That was good.

I’m so excited to see Percy kick so God of War ass (well, ankle) next episode!

I have more thoughts but have these ones for now

[halothenthehorns]

Chapter 14: WE HIRE A NEW GUIDE

"We'll that's not a mystery at all," Alex huffed as Will read the new chapter title.

"I think we've had more than enough suspense to last a lifetime," Magnus sighed.

"Did Rachel get paid for her services?" Thalia chuckled at the phrasing though. "Chiron certainly never paid me to guide you through any quest!"

"He snuck along, it negated the contract of pay," Jason grinned. 

Percy was more than pleased too if these stupid things would stop tormenting him, especially because it didn't give him much of a clue what was fixing to happen. Was he really such a horrible person he was going to ask Rachel to go back into that maze with him? And who was we? He hoped to gods it was Annabeth...but that meant he was also wishing for her to go right back into that maze with him too?!

Hours later, my raft washed up at Camp Half-Blood. How I got there, I have no idea. At some point the lake water just changed to salt water. The familiar shoreline of Long Island appeared up ahead, and a couple of friendly great white sharks surfaced and steered me toward the beach.

"Your life is a children's book," Magnus told him casually. "Literally anything could happen to you at this point and I just would not bat an eye. The only thing you're missing is a purple crayon."

"Hope you're ready to test that theory Magnus," Percy grinned. He did not expect his life to get normal anytime soon.

When I landed, the camp seemed deserted. It was late afternoon, but the archery range was empty. The climbing wall poured lava and rumbled all by itself. Pavilion: nothing. Cabins: all vacant. Then I noticed smoke rising from the amphitheater. Too early for a campfire, and I didn't figure they were roasting marshmallows.

"I always assume there's marshmallows wherever I go," Alex sniffed.

"And that's why you live in constant disappointment," Magnus grinned.

"Who needs therapy when I got you explaining all my life problems to me," he chuckled.

I ran toward it.

Before I even got there I heard Chiron making an announcement. When I realized what he was saying, I stopped dead in my tracks.

"Literally?" Jason asked in concern. "Because at this rate you're a mortality statistic all your own."

Percy pinched the skin on his forearm and wiggled it around for a moment before shrugging. How would he know?

"—assume he is dead," Chiron said. "After so long a silence, it is unlikely our prayers will be answered. I have asked his best surviving friend to do the final honors."

"Oh shit," all seven of them said at once with nothing but heartfelt sorrow and fear. It was the one and only way they ever would have been sorry to hear Annabeth was alive and back at camp.

I came up on the back of the amphitheater. Nobody noticed me. They were all looking forward, watching as Annabeth took a long green silk burial cloth, embroidered with a trident, and set it on the flames. They were burning my shroud.

"That's, almost cool," Magnus said with a sad smile. "How many people get to say they attended their own funeral?"

"Not worth it in the slightest," Percy shivered.

Annabeth turned to face the audience. She looked terrible. Her eyes were puffy from crying, but she managed to say, "He was probably the bravest friend I've ever had.

"Probably?" Only Alex could manage to say that with the perfect amount of levity that didn't feel mocking, but was clearly mocking. "You only get a probably? Man Perce, I demand a round of applause and strippers at minimum for my funeral."

"I don't know Alex, I guess I'm okay with her even admitting we were friends." Percy grinned as he touched his lips again, the hint of more just on the horizon that somehow terrified him more than the volcano.

He..." Then she saw me. Her face went blood red.

"He's right there!"

"That couldn't have been any more dramatic if you'd burst out of a cake," Jason snickered.

"I am all for you stealing Annabeth's invisibility hat and playing this up for at least an hour or two," Alex smirked.

"You two are awful," Thalia's tone was more exhausted than scolding. She'd lived through the frantic Iris message of her little sister trying to explain what happened and Annabeth's assurance she shouldn't come, the priority was finding Luke, finishing the mission...Thalia had followed her lead and sent Hunters to stake out every known entrance to the Labyrinth while scouting for new ones, but even when she got an update later Percy was alive, it hadn't erased the fear still buried in Annabeth's eyes of when this was going to happen again.

Heads turned. People gasped.

"Percy!" Beckendorf grinned. A bunch of other kids crowded around me and clapped me on the back.

"You have no idea how relieved we are you're back Percy," the way Will spoke present tense gave Percy a jolt. He knew he was missing again, but it didn't fully click with this moment until now. Then Will said with the same sincere tone, "You have no idea how stressful auditions were for the reenactment with the bar you keep setting."

"Will," Percy spluttered. "Stop with the- tell me that's a joke man!"

He kept reading as if he hadn't heard a thing.

I heard a few curses from the Ares cabin, but Clarisse just rolled her eyes, like she couldn't believe I'd had the nerve to survive. Chiron cantered over and everyone made way for him.

"Well," he sighed with obvious relief. "I don't believe I've ever been happier to see a camper return.

"Hey, you trumped Annabeth at last!" Nico smirked. "Official favorite of the camp, ask to get that in writing."

"Do you guys want Annabeth to duel me to the death?" Percy asked in exasperation. "Because this is how she will decide that is necessary."

But you must tell me—"

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" Annabeth interrupted, shoving aside the other campers.

'Bed empty, no note, car gone,' Alex snickered to himself as he signed all that to Magnus.

'He could have died! He could have been seen!' Magnus happily finished with his own before they burst out laughing much to everyone else's confusion, even Thalia's. Knowing the signs didn't mean she knew the quote.

I thought she was going to punch me, but instead she hugged me so fiercely she nearly cracked my ribs.

"We now have a very clear warning sign for when Annabeth's about to show you affection," Thalia chuckled. "Every time you think she's about to slug you."

"Piss her off to get her attention, classic misbehaved child 101," Percy agreed with clear relief. He'd take a hundred broken ribs if he could just have her back already.

The other campers fell silent.

Annabeth seemed to realize she was making a scene and pushed me away.

"I—we thought you were dead, Seaweed Brain!"

"I'm sorry," I said. "I got lost."

"What I just heard was never, ever give this boy a map," Jason snorted.

"He took a wrong turn at Albuquerque," Magnus smirked, causing Will to snort hard with laughter at the referance.

"He got blown into the stratosphere without a compass, I'd give him a minor pass," Will composed himself enough to say. At least he'd come back.

"LOST?" she yelled. "Two weeks, Percy? Where in the world—"

"Annabeth," Chiron interrupted. "Perhaps we should discuss this somewhere more private, shall we? The rest of you, back to your normal activities!"

"Funerals over, chop chop, back to your regularly scheduled program of trying not to be next," Magnus said in a pretty good imitation of an announcer's voice.

Without waiting for us to protest, he picked up Annabeth and me as easily as if we were kittens, slung us both on his back, and galloped off toward the Big House.

"I now desperately need to put Chiron into a weightlifting competition," Jason burst out laughing. "Can he carry a whole cart of supplies on his lower half and another half on his human back?"

"He does carry that Camp's responsibility on both his backs all his own," Will said sadly. It's not like Mr. D was any real help. "Wouldn't surprise me if he could take over Atlas's job for a bit without real strain."

I didn't tell them the whole story. I just couldn't bring myself to talk about Calypso. I explained how I'd caused the explosion at Mount St. Helens and gotten blasted out of the volcano. I told them I'd been marooned on an island. Then Hephaestus had found me and told me I could leave. A magic raft had carried me back to camp.

All that was true, but as I said it my palms felt sweaty.

"Aw Percy, I never really suspected you'd lie to Annabeth," Magnus admitted.

Percy licked his lips and kept his thoughts to himself. He didn't resent them for knowing about Calypso, the more who knew about her curse the more likely it could be fixed.

He still wanted Annabeth in here every other word, he'd trade away every intimate moment he had to get one paragraph with her.

But none of that changed a hollow feeling he now knew he'd always have in him. It had grown smaller with time, he'd learned to live around it, but an island-shaped spot he didn't know how to shake, let alone talk about with Annabeth.

"You've been gone two weeks." Annabeth's voice was steadier now, but she still looked pretty shaken up. "When I heard the explosion, I thought—"

"I know," I said. "I'm sorry. But I figured out how to get through the Labyrinth.

Will sighed at Percy just glossing over Annabeth's fear of his mortality. She had been through a lot with Luke and Thalia leaving her behind, he wished Percy had given her a chance to express herself.

Percy didn't seem ready to hear it though, as he continued rubbing at his necklace, each bead flipping between his fingers with nerves. Will knew he was beating himself up over there for scaring her so much and yet a part of him was still guilty over leaving behind Calypso. He left Percy in peace and kept reading, for now.

I talked to Hephaestus."

"He told you the answer?"

"Well, he sort of told me that I already knew. And I do. I understand now."

I told them my idea.

"Was it a good one?" Alex cheerfully sarcasamed even knowing the answer.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Percy grinned along.

Annabeth's jaw dropped. "Percy, that's crazy!"

"As opposed to every other plan he's ever had," Thalia rolled her eyes.

"Why is the book being cryptic about it?" Jason asked blankly. "There's only been two mortals that have clear sight. You've yet to bring your mom on an adventure, and you now go to the same school with Rachel. It's obviously going to be one of them with my money on Rachel."

"Don't look at me man, I didn't write them," Percy shrugged. His mom hadn't even crossed his mind. The moment he understood, he knew Rachel was the one to ask. It all fell into place a little to perfectly, running into her twice in a row.

Chiron sat back in his wheelchair and stroked his beard. "There is precedent, however. Theseus had the help of Ariadne. Harriet Tubman, daughter of Hermes, used many mortals on her Underground Railroad for just this reason."

"I seriously need an entire history class from Chiron right now," Jason sighed with longing.

"I will ban you from this camp if you try to set up classrooms," Percy scowled.

"Volunteer classrooms?" He pleaded.

"No! Annabeth would spend all her free time in them!" Percy insisted.

"Boys," Thalia patiently cut in. "Time and place you two. Kill each other over this later." Besides, Percy already knew it was a lost cause by the defeated look on his face. Annabeth would have a blast designing such a thing, let alone being in them, and he'd never deny her that.

"But this is my quest," Annabeth said. "I need to lead it."

Nico's face twitched with the urge not to scowl at this pompous princess, just like Zoe had been. Not wanting to admit she needed people just because she didn't like them- wait. Oh gods. Was he like that too?!

Percy noticed Nico's sudden dumbstruck expression and asked, "What?" Before he could think better of it.

"Nothing," Nico said quickly. He'd just drawn everybody's attention however, and did not like it.

"Uhuh," Percy frowned, but he hadn't a clue what to make of it.

Will cautiously kept reading, leaving Nico to stew alone in his thoughts for now as he realized he might have the same kind of trust problems as two people he'd never liked.

Chiron looked uncomfortable. "My dear, it is your quest. But you need help."

Then Thalia just made it worse with her half-hearted laugh. "Oh if only she'd met Zoe and could hear how hilarious this was."

"Or Clarisse," Jason agreed. Though apparently her siblings had refused, she'd never asked the obvious duo who would go and tried to do it alone instead. "Only Percy has avoided this problem so far, and it's kind of worrisome."

"Percy will take any shmuck on a quest, I don't know how much of a good thing that is," Magnus shook his head. "He'd take me if I asked."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Percy grinned. "An untrained guy who would just run around screaming would be a great distraction while I kill the monster."

"Thanks, happy to help," Magnus sighed while Nico still struggled to get his composure back in place to much to laugh along like he'd want to now.

"And this is supposed to help? Please! It's wrong. It's cowardly. It's—"

"Hard to admit we need a mortal's help," I said. "But it's true."

Annabeth glared at me. "You are the single most annoying person I have ever met!" And she stormed out of the room.

"I think that means she agreed," Will stage whispered.

"I think she's imagining ripping his lips off next," Thalia snorted.

I stared at the doorway. I felt like hitting something. "So much for being the bravest friend she's ever had."

"She said probably," Alex would be remiss not to remind. "I'm sure she's rethinking that list now."

"Yes! Number one again!" Thalia cheered while Percy easily redirected his annoyance onto her instead of the building structure while Will kept reading to avoid any hitting.

"She will calm down," Chiron promised. "She's jealous, my boy."

Magnus chewed on that with a terrified kind of guilt. He'd grown up with Annabeth as his cousin, but hadn't seen her in over ten years. He had more immediate memories of spending time with Percy than her. Gods he was suddenly grateful she wasn't here, because this sounded like an awful situation to be in the middle of as Percy stammered over his frustration in here, and he could not imagine how she'd be taking this trip down memory lane, which bothered him as much as anything.

He could expect Percy to be blushy, confused, and embarrassed, but he had no clue how his own cousin would be right now. Jealous still? Resentful at all of their mild laughter? Demanding of him or Thalia if she'd really been that obvious? Any outcome possible made his stomach curl with stress because he just didn't know the right answer not to make her angry at him.

"That's stupid. She's not...it's not like..."

Chiron chuckled. "It hardly matters. Annabeth is very territorial about her friends, in case you haven't noticed.

"Vibrantly," Thalia sighed.

"Personally," Percy huffed with the same side-eyed look at her, but he didn't get how that related to this moment.

She was quite worried about you. And now that you're back, I think she suspects where you were marooned."

I met his eyes, and I knew Chiron had guessed about Calypso. It was hard to hide anything from a guy who's been training heroes for three thousand years. He's pretty much seen it all.

"I'm coming up blank on an instance where you have surprised Chiron," Jason agreed.

"Which is clearly something Percy should strive for," Alex nodded seriously.

"We won't dwell on your choices," Chiron said. "You came back. That is what matters."

"Tell that to Annabeth."

Chiron smiled. "In the morning I will have Argus take the two of you into Manhattan.

"Does Annabeth try to blow up a bus with you inside it this time?" Alex chuckled. "That'll teach you to make her jealous."

Percy looked a tad horrified for a second as he really wasn't sure if the answer was no.

You might stop by your mother's, Percy. She is...understandably distraught."

My heart skipped a beat. All that time on Calypso's island, I'd never even thought how my mom would be feeling. She'd think I was dead. She'd be devastated. What was wrong with me that I hadn't even considered that?

Percy had in here, he frowned as he rubbed at his temple, but he still felt selfish for not having so back then. Gods, he didn't deserve his mom more and more with every crazy stunt he did. Maybe it would have been better if he'd stayed on that island, where Annabeth would have moved on in peace rather than wanting to throw a bus at him and his mom constantly in fear for him... it would have just been a relief to them both if he'd-

Thalia smacked him. Hard. "Focus Persnickety," she snapped.

"Right," Percy rubbed absently at the spot as he nodded his thanks. What's done is done, he had left. While he still had half a mind of going back and helping Calypso and maybe using that place as a secret bunker to get away from his life some time, he knew without a doubt he'd still never be able to stay there permanently no matter how many peoples lives he messed up.

"Chiron," I said, "what about Grover and Tyson? Do you think—"

"I don't know, my boy." Chiron gazed into the empty fireplace. "Juniper is quite distressed. All her branches are turning yellow. The Council of Cloven Elders had revoked Grover's searcher license in absentia. Assuming he comes back alive, they will force him into a shameful exile."

Percy looked like he was trying to chew up a metal fork in Grover's absence. He was so agitated at himself for leaving those two behind, at that stupid Council for not caring what state Grover would come back in.

He sighed. "Grover and Tyson are very resourceful, however. We can still hope."

"Someone should start a Make a Wish Foundation for as much as Chiron says that," Will grumbled. It wasn't bad advice, sparingly.

"I shouldn't have let them run off."

"I do not think you could have stopped them," Thalia reminded.

Percy wanted to argue, that he should have gone with them rather than the fiasco he'd caused. Maybe they would have found Pan and he would have given them the same secret of how to properly navigate the labyrinth without his fiery sidestep.

He had already lived for days in the question of what if though. It had yet done him a single bit of good.

"Grover has his own destiny, and Tyson was brave to follow him. You would know if Grover was in mortal danger, don't you think?"

"I suppose. The empathy link. But—"

"There is something else I should tell you, Percy," he said. "Actually two unpleasant things."

"Is there an actual limit on this?" Percy groaned. "Have I not hit my cap for a lifetime?"

Thalia was patting him on the shoulder as Nico thought to himself he hadn't yet, and he was pretty sure he would first.

"Great."

"Chris Rodriguez, our guest..."

I remembered what I'd seen in the basement, Clarisse trying to talk to him while he babbled about the Labyrinth. "Is he dead?"

"Not yet," Chiron said grimly. "But he's much worse. He's in the infirmary now, too weak to move.

Jason wanted to protest his own parent hadn't shown up to try and mend this...but the answer felt juvenile flitting through his mind. Like he may as well be disappointed in Santa for not bringing a gift. Something of this felt normal in a way that didn't feel good, desensitized. He was used to the Gods uncaring what happened he supposed.

 I had to order Clarisse back to her regular schedule, because she was at his bedside constantly.

Will's mouth twitched unpleasantly as Chiron shared that private information. He was sure if Clarisse were here she'd have turned them all into powder by whatever means necessary rather than letting those looks of pitiful sorrow linger in here for a second.

He doesn't respond to anything. He won't take food or drink. None of my medicines help. He has simply lost the will to live."

Magnus closed his eyes to try and hide how hard that hit him. He saw way to much of it, knew how easily it could happen if left alone with your own madness. He didn't know anything about Chris, but he had been him for a cold minute. Magnus hoped he met Clarisse now, to try and tell her it wasn't her fault, even if she punched him in the face for it.

I shuddered. Despite all the run-ins I'd had with Clarisse, I felt horrible for her. She'd tried so hard to help him. And now that I'd been in the Labyrinth, I could understand why it had been so easy for the ghost of Minos to drive Chris mad. If I'd been wandering around down there alone, without my friends to help, I'd never have made it out.

Alex fidgeted with his hair for a moment as he tried not to feel called out. That he'd have probably jumped into that labyrinth by himself and possibly ended the same way. He didn't usually think of himself as a conceited person, but he never excused himself from proudly proclaiming to be a lone wolf.

"I'm sorry to say," Chiron continued, "the other news is less pleasant still.

There was no jokes or sarcastic commentary for what that might be. They were all tired of the constant stress and bad news that was Percy's life.

Quintus has disappeared."

Percy made such a blistering sigh they were surprised not to see a trail of smoke from his lips. Alex felt much the same, he had really been hoping the badass demigod with the coolest dog ever who had outlived a life expectancy of teenager wouldn't turn out to be an evil bad guy, working for Kronos or otherwise.

"Disappeared? How?"

"I'm assuming you will not take the answer, into thin air?" Thalia snorted.

"I'm over here hoping he just went for some cigarettes and is never coming back," Jason scowled.

"Three nights ago he slipped into the Labyrinth. Juniper watched him go.

"I hope Juniper is getting paid for all this espionage stuff," Nico huffed.

"I'm not sure if she'd know what to do with anything other than extra fertilizer," Will admitted.

It appears you may have been right about him."

Percy wasn't particularly thrilled somebody, Chiron of all people, was admitting he was right. It was like if Annabeth ever admitted he was right about Luke. It just wouldn't feel good in any circumstances where he didn't want to be right.

"He's a spy for Luke." I told Chiron about the Triple G Ranch—how Quintus had bought his scorpions there and Geryon had been supplying Kronos's army. "It can't be a coincidence."

Chiron sighed heavily. "So many betrayals. I had hoped Quintus would prove a friend. It seems my judgment was bad."

Thalia knew exactly how Percy was feeling. She didn't want to hear Chiron was, 'human.' That he had faulty judgment and could still be fooled after all these years. That his kinder, gentler side had a weakness.

"What about Mrs. O'Leary?" I asked.

"What do you mean what about her?" Alex looked at him like he was nuts, which was not a new expression by any means. "He took his dog."

Percy no longer had the whistle on him, but he toyed with the icy cold of it in his mind. He was missing some connection there as that hellhound and Annabeth tumbled around in his thoughts.

"The hellhound is still in the arena. It won't let anyone approach. I did not have the heart to force it into a cage...or destroy it."

Alex made a deep noise of anger quite close to a growl. That Chiron had slipped into calling her an it the moment he saw her as a monster again, that Mrs. O'Leary had been abandoned, that nobody was likely ever going to trust that dog again and she was going to just vanish into the forest never to be seen again.

"Quintus wouldn't just leave her."

The stuttering noises of surprise around Percy didn't cover his own feelings.

Annabeth didn't talk about her first few months at camp, but he got the sense Luke had been more distant than he was on the streets. Quieter. Annabeth blamed herself for not spotting what was coming sooner as much as she denied nothing had to change permanently.

Quintus had raised that dog when he didn't have to. Something about him abandoning her after giving him a whistle to summon her to danger felt callous and unloving, and yet did not match with the man he'd met who had thrown himself in front of that massive dog and kept her around all these years as a companion.

The connection felt obvious, but the pieces didn't fit.

"As I said, Percy, we seem to have been wrong about him. Now, you should prepare yourself for the morning. You and Annabeth still have much to do."

"Glad you're back, now get lost," Magnus muttered.

Nico poorly smothered a laugh he felt the same way. They usually skipped to step two with him, but it was nice to hear Percy didn't have week long parties because he came back.

I left him in his wheelchair, staring sadly into the fireplace. I wondered how many times he'd sat here, waiting for heroes that never came back.

Jason didn't know how to share his own troubled thoughts with that. To hope that anyone even missed him already felt like asking a lot of the world. He had no feeling, no connection to the idea of a kind old mentor like this centaur was to so many.

Before dinner I stopped by the sword arena. Sure enough, Mrs. O'Leary was curled up in an enormous black furry mound in the middle of the stadium, chewing halfheartedly on the head of a warrior dummy.

"That poor baby," Magnus said with all his heart.

"When you find Quintus, I need you to punch him in the face just for this," Alex told him.

"It is on my to do list," Percy sighed.

When she saw me, she barked and came bounding toward me. I thought I was dead meat.

"I hate to be the one to inform you of this Percy, but you are very alive meat," Jason informed him.

"Yeah, she's a good girl like that," Percy chuckled.

I just had time to say, "Whoa!" before she bowled me over and started licking my face. Now usually, being the son of Poseidon and all, I only get wet if I want to, but my powers apparently did not extend to dog saliva, because I got a pretty good bath.

"About time," Thalia plugged up her nose. "We were about to stage an intervention."

"So I'm curious," Alex began in a very dangerous, curious tone. "When you do get in the shower, do you have to concentrate the whole time on the water getting to you? That sounds like an exhausting and fair excuse to do so sparingly."

"Usually I just have to think about it when I get in," Percy said in a long suffering voice like Nico was still following him around all these years later trying to interrogate him.

"Whoa, girl!" I yelled. "Can't breathe. Lemme up!"

Eventually I managed to get her off me. I scratched her ears and found her an extra-gigantic dog biscuit.

"Where's your master?" I asked. Her. "How could he just leave you, huh?"

She whimpered like she wanted to know that, too. I was ready to believe Quintus was an enemy, but still I couldn't understand why he'd leave Mrs. O'Leary behind. If there was one thing I was sure of, it was that he really cared for his megadog.

"You'd kind of have to, to pick up after her," Will agreed with a sad smile. He was guilty of leaving plates of food around for her. She growled if he got to close, but the eggs and bacon were always gone when he came back.

I was thinking about that and toweling the dog spit off my face when a girl's voice said, "You're lucky she didn't bite your head off."

"The amount of times Percy is lucky a she didn't bite his head off has its own chart," Jason grinned.

"And the he's?" Alex asked with interest.

"I will not reveal my data until all is complete," his grin widened, "but slim in comparison."

Clarisse was standing at the other end of the arena with her sword and shield. "Came here to practice yesterday," she grumbled. "Dog tried to chew me up."

"A worthy challenge Clarisse took to with nothing but pride I'm sure," Nico said.

"Hey, what better practice than the real thing," Percy agreed.

Will snorted and declined mentioning the camp was out of sausages for a month after that day.

"She's an intelligent dog," I said.

"Funny."

Jason gave a theatrical sigh and an imaginary check mark.

She walked toward us. Mrs. O'Leary growled, but I patted her on the head and calmed her down.

"Stupid hellhound," Clarisse said. "Not going to keep me from practicing."

"I heard about Chris," I said. "I'm sorry."

Clarisse paced a circle around the arena. When she came to the nearest dummy, she attacked viciously, chopping its head off with a single blow and driving her sword through its guts. She pulled the sword out and kept walking.

"Those dummies won't be bothering anybody anymore." The last time Percy had said that, it was to someone he liked a whole lot more. He'd learned to respect Clarisse's pride a bit over the years, but even saying that again in a joking manner felt like a bad omen for some reason.

"Yeah, well. Sometimes things go wrong." Her voice was shaky. "Heroes get hurt. They...they die, and the monsters just keep coming back."

She picked up a javelin and threw it across the arena. It nailed a dummy straight between the eyeholes of its helmet.

Nobody had needed her to punctuate her point like that. The endless cycle she spoke of could relate back to a hundred things in the rest of the world. Nico knew intimately he could dismantle every machine Hephaestus had ever built and the god would never stop making more, nor would the act bring his sister back.

She had called Chris a hero, like he had never gone over to the Titan's side. It reminded me of the way Annabeth sometimes talked about Luke. I decided not to bring that up.

"Look at you valuing your life for once," Thalia shook her head, while Jason made another check mark.

"Chris was brave," I said. "I hope he gets better."

She glared at me as if I were her next target. Mrs. O'Leary growled.

"That, is seven layers of terrifying," Magnus shivered. He would have been hauling out of that room like he was a dummy with a brain.

"Those two are not to be trifled with," Alex said cheerfully.

"Are we doing baking puns now?" Percy asked blankly, absently noting Magnus never corrected Alex on his stupid grammering. "Why is that a thing?"

"You know you want to jump in Perce, your mom's a killer baker," Alex grinned.

Will kept reading in the silence and Percy wasn't going to be the one to argue the point.

"Do me a favor," Clarisse told me.

"Yeah, sure."

"I cannot begin to imagine what kind of favor Clarisse would ask of anyone, let alone you," Jason admitted.

"To come up with as cool a nickname as Prissy," Alex smirked.

It probably wouldn't kill them if he just flicked their couches over, Percy thought to himself. Just a tiny flick of his finger, that's all it would take... Will was saving a lot of lives today by reading through his thoughts.

"If you find Daedalus, don't trust him. Don't ask him for help. Just kill him."

"Clarisse—"

"Because anybody who can make something like the Labyrinth, Percy? That person is evil. Plain evil."

"Growing more relieved by the page Clarisse did not come on this quest with Annabeth," Thalia said. They absolutely would have murdered each other by now having a too spirited debate about the outcome of all this.

For a second she reminded me of Eurytion the cowherd, her much older half brother. She had the same hard look in her eyes, as if she'd been used for the past two thousand years and was getting tired of it.

Nico wondered if she'd prayed to her dad for help about Chris and got no answer. If she'd spent countless hours considering any method worth it to get Chris back...

He finally had to reach the conclusion it might be something other than Stockholm's syndrome making him want to return to camp and stay there if he could find something in common with even Clarisse.

She sheathed her sword. "Practice time is over. From now on, it's for real."

Magnus had never believed for an instant any of this was playtime and funsies. Maybe it was just because he was hearing all of this from Percy, the kid who had been chased there by a minotaur and had his mom nearly killed for it, but this camp had never felt so much as a safe sanctuary to practice in as a ground for warriors in training to survive with silly arts and crafts tables to make it seem less dower.

Clarisse was always a huge part of that too. From the beginning she came across rough, the military brat who was going to get away with everything and make everyone's life miserable for it.

Instead she got a touch more human every time she interacted with Percy, leaving Magnus with a guilty feeling he wasn't immune to preconceived judgment.

That night I slept in my own bunk, and for the first time since Calypso's Island, dreams found me.

"You make it sound like they stock you," Jason said with a touch of sympathy.

"It's Grover, he's gawking everybody now," Thalia said with a hint of hope that's all this would be, more horrors showing their favorite satyr alive with Tyson.

I was in a king's courtroom—

"Someone's going to either threaten to decapitate someone or shout for guards by the end of this, it's inevitable," Will sighed.

"If Percy were actually in there, you know something unpredictable would happen," Jason managed to say like it was a compliment. "Maybe confetti would rain down or something."

"I walk around with glitter in my pockets just in case I need to throw someone off," Percy nodded seriously.

"How much time do you spend in courtrooms?" Nico asked Will, completely ignoring the two of them.

"The judge has put a gag order on me from answering," Will said a little too innocently.

a big white chamber with marble columns and a wooden throne. Sitting on it was a plump guy with curly red hair and a crown of laurels. At his side stood three girls who looked like his daughters. They all had his red hair and were dressed in blue robes.

The doors creaked open and a herald announced, "Minos, King of Crete!"

I tensed, but the man on the throne just smiled at his daughters. "I can't wait to see the expression on his face."

"Yeah, neither can I," Percy said with his stomach in knots and dread in every syllable. He still had no idea how Daedalus had been in the dungeon of Minos in the first place, but getting more of this story didn't seem to be easing towards a good outcome no matter the original cause.

It was only the tiniest bit better than following the inventor himself to see who he'd murder next.

Minos, the royal creep himself,

"I really hope somebody went out of their way to spray-paint that on his throne at least once," Thalia chuckled.

swept into the room. He was so tall and serious he made the other king look silly. Minos's pointed beard had gone gray. He looked thinner than the last time I'd dreamed of him, and his sandals were splattered with mud, but the same cruel light shined in his eyes.

"Because if that wasn't there we'd know he was an imposter or something," Nico huffed, still bitter at Percy for constantly describing this guy as cartoonishly evil like he'd been to dense to notice.

He bowed stiffly to the man on the throne.

"Does one king bow to another?" Percy asked blankly. He'd been a little detached in his dream to care.

"There's some politics involved and a hierarchy I have no clue about," Thalia shrugged.

"King Cocalus. I understand you have solved my little riddle?"

Cocalus smiled. "Hardly little, Minos. Especially when you advertise across the world that you are willing to pay a thousand gold talents to the one who can solve it. Is the offer genuine?"

Minos clapped his hands. Two buff guards walked in, struggling with a big wooden crate. They set it at Cocalus's feet and opened it. Stacks of gold bars glittered. It had to be worth like a gazillion dollars.

"Do you know what the difference between a million and a billion is Percy?" Magnus asked with amusement. "A million seconds is 12 days. A billion seconds is 31 years."

"So a gazillion is enough to make it far into the future where Godzilla has brought about world peace," Percy grinned.

Cocalus whistled appreciatively. "You must have bankrupted your kingdom for such a reward, my friend."

"That is not your concern."

"I think that sounds like a general concern to the commerce world," Magnus offered. He was vaguely confident enough economy's had a way of bouncing off each other.

Cocalus shrugged. "The riddle was quite simple, really. One of my retainers solved it."

"Father," one of the girls warned. She looked like the oldest—a little taller than her sisters.

Cocalus ignored her.

"Cocalus is going to die," Jason said with a weird amount of confidence. This guy going around ignoring someone just kind of spelled it out.

"Everybody dies eventually Jason, keep up," Nico snorted.

He took a spiral seashell from the folds of his robe.

A silver string had been threaded through it, so it hung like a huge bead on a necklace.

"That's one hell of a fashion statement," Alex snorted, making Magnus immediately envision him wearing one and then fighting not to blush.

Minos stepped forward and took the shell. "One of your retainers, you say? How did he thread the string without breaking the shell?"

"He used an ant, if you can believe it. Tied a silk string to the little creature and coaxed it through the shell by putting honey at the far end."

"That was the height of science back then huh?" Percy snickered.

"How much farther have we really gotten?" Thalia rolled her eyes. "I won't be impressed until we can thread a silk string through a blackhole."

"Ingenious man," Minos said.

"Oh, indeed. My daughters' tutor. They are quite fond of him."

Minos's eyes turned cold. "I would be careful of that."

I wanted to warn Cocalus: Don't trust this guy! Throw him in the dungeon with some man-eating lions or something!

"Those poor lions," Will said tragically, "they'd have indigestion for weeks."

"It's to fast and painless a death for him anyways, cats always go for the neck," Alex said with way to much confidence.

But the redheaded king just chuckled. "Not to worry, Minos. My daughters are wise beyond their years. Now, about my gold—"

"Yes," Minos said. "But you see the gold is for the man who solved the riddle. And there can be only one such man. You are harboring Daedalus."

Cocalus shifted uncomfortably on his throne. "How is that you know his name?"

"He is a thief," Minos said. "He once worked in my court, Cocalus. He turned my own daughter against me. He helped a usurper make a fool of me in my own palace. And then he escaped justice. I have been pursuing him for ten years."

"At what point is a grudge going to far?" Jason asked. "Six months? A year? A year and three months?"

"I have to grudgingly admire anyone who can dedicate their life to something, I know I don't have the attention span for it," Percy scoffed.

"I knew nothing of this. But I have offered the man my protection. He has been a most useful—"

"I offer you a choice," Minos said. "Turn over the fugitive to me, and this gold is yours. Or risk making me your enemy. You do not want Crete as your enemy."

Cocalus paled. I thought it was stupid for him to look so scared in the middle of his own throne room. He should've summoned his army or something. Minos only had two guards. But Cocalus just sat there sweating on his throne.

"How big a country was Crete?" Magnus asked. "Would it be like North Dakota vs South Dakota, or like Asia versus Australia."

"The, first," Thalia answered as well as she could. "More like Crete is California and Cocalus is the King of New Jersey. One is infinitely more big and powerful than the other, but they are connected."

"Well now I'm not sure I want Cocalus to come out of this on top though," Percy frowned. Thalia smacked him and threatened to staple a New Yorker pin to his head as Will tried to keep going.

"Father," his oldest daughter said, "you can't—"

"Silence, Aelia." Cocalus twisted his beard. He looked again at the glittering gold. "This pains me, Minos. The gods do not love a man who breaks his oath of hospitality."

"The gods do not love those who harbor criminals, either."

"Depends on the god?" Nico said with an awkward smile.

"Yeah, got to give him that one." Percy sighed. He could just imagine Zeus harboring a criminal and breaking every oath of hospitality if it suited him.

Cocalus nodded. "Very well. You shall have your man in chains."

"Father!" Aelia said again. Then she caught herself, and changed her voice to a sweeter tone. "At—at least let us feast our gust first. After his long journey, he should be treated to a hot bath, new clothes, and a decent meal. I would be honored to draw the bath myself."

"If anybody falls for this, they deserve what happens to them next," Alex rolled his eyes so hard it looked like it hurt.

"Yeah," Magnus agreed with a pained wince. It didn't feel great to blindly condone whatever mayhem was bound to happen next, but if the crown fit...

She smiled prettily at Minos, and the old king grunted. "I suppose a bath would not be amiss." He looked at Cocalus. "I will see you at dinner, my lord. With the prisoner."

"Now what, oh what could be hiding in that bathtub?" Alex's eyes lit up at his favorite game of guessing the next carnage. "Piranhas? Is someone going to get soap in his eye? Is he going to be stabbed in the shower?"

Percy began making a terrible recreation noise of the Slasher theme while the others all laughed, and Magnus was the only one wondering if they were all kind of terrifying for laughing at the probable murder that was about to happen.

"This way, Your Majesty," said Aelia. She and her sisters led Minos out of the chamber.

I followed them into a bath chamber decorated with mosaic tiles. Steam filled the air. A running-water faucet poured hot water into the tub.

Magnus was immediately distracted from his thoughts of psychopaths to ask, "they had pipes and hot water?"

"Plumbing is as old as the gods, confirmed," Percy snorted.

Aelia and her sisters filled it with rose petals and something that must've been Ancient Greek Mr. Bubble, because soon the water was covered with multicolored foam. The girls turned aside as Minos dropped his robes and slipped into the bath.

"Ahh." He smiled. "An excellent bath. Thank you, my dears. The journey has been long indeed."

"You have been chasing your prey ten years, my lord?" Aelia asked, batting her eyelashes. "You must be very determined."

"I never forget a debt." Minos grinned. "Your father was wise to agree to my demands."

"Oh, indeed, my lord!" Aelia said. I thought she was laying on the flattery pretty thick, but the old guy was eating it up. Aelia's sisters trickled scented oil over the king's head.

"She was literally just arguing with her dad against this," Jason rolled his eyes. "It's almost sad how easy this guy is to kill, all Daedalus had to do was flatter him for a moment and he could have stabbed him."

"Might have worked on Daedalus too," Percy muttered. If he was willing to murder a kid who had insulted his ego, it might have worked the other way too.

"You know, my lord," Aelia said, "Daedalus thought you would come. He thought the riddle might be a trap, but he couldn't resist solving it."

"Why does it not surprise me all children of Athena seem to have the same flaw," Alex said rhetorically.

"Because it would be ridiculous if one of them got the opposite, but a lot more interesting about their mortal parent," Will said curiously anyways. They might have very well gone off on a whole talk about it if Thalia hadn't cleared her throat to keep them on track.

Minos frowned. "Daedalus spoke to you about me?"

"All flowery language and very polite I'm sure," Nico smirked.

"Yes, my lord."

"He is a bad man, princess. My own daughter fell under his spell. Do not listen to him."

"He is a genius," Aelia said. "And he believes a woman is just as smart as a man. He was the first to ever teach us as if we had minds of our own. Perhaps your daughter felt the same way."

Minos tried to sit up, but Aelia's sisters pushed him back into the water.

"I didn't realize the Greeks had gender problems," Magnus admitted. "They worship goddesses, a goddess of wisdom. How do they also think girls shouldn't learn and shit?"

"I have whole pamphlets on that mess from Artemis's time back then," Thalia rolled her eyes while Jason and Magnus looked ready to wrestle over who would read them first.

Aelia came up behind him. She held three tiny orbs in her palm. At first I thought they were bath beads.

Alex burst out laughing hard at the idea they were going to turn the water blood red to hide what they'd done and everybody in the palace was just going to think he was taking a long nap.

But she threw them in the water and the beads sprouted bronze threads that began wrapping around the king, tying him up at the ankles, binding his wrists to his sides, circling his neck. Even though I hated Minos, it was pretty horrible to watch. He thrashed and cried out, but the girls were much stronger. Soon he was helpless, lying in the bath with his chin just above the water. The bronze strands were still wrapping around him like a cocoon, tightening across his body.

"That is terrifying!" Magnus stated with every confidence. "Do the beads activate by water? Why did she have those?"

"I'm guessing Daedalus gave them to her for protection," Percy said with interest as he wondered if he could get his hands on some.

"Gods, what circumstances did he plan for these girls to sporadically give him a bath to make them?" Magnus was looking more traumatized by the second.

"They could just be activated some other way and we're not getting the whole blueprint," Thalia shrugged, plenty intrigued by these little things herself and wondering if Artemis would consider making them.

Magnus sighed, resigning himself to the fact he was in a room with a bunch of heroic murderers.

"Might name my first born child Aelia now," Alex said with pride, and Magnus somehow still sunk lower in his seat.

"What do you want?" Minos demanded. "Why do you do this?"

Aelia smiled.

"Is that not obvious at this point?" Jason snorted.

"One minded goal," Nico shrugged. Minos hadn't gotten over that even in death, everything Daedalus had ever done to wrong him was pretty much all he talked about when he wasn't guiding him on his powers. Gods, he'd been an idiot for not realizing the trick sooner.

"Daedalus has been kind to us, Your Majesty. And I do not like you threatening our father."

"Gods do I hope this girl got to rule her kingdom," Will grinned. "She's ruthless but compassionate, she sounds perfect."

Nico found himself mentally jotting that down with no real idea why.

"You tell Daedalus," Minos growled. "You tell him I will hound him even after death! If there is any justice in the Underworld, my soul will haunt him for eternity!"

Nico made a bleak noise of a laugh. Justice? In the Underworld? Minos had only made his way through there by scheming and lying to the right people just like on the mortal plane. Justice was an equal death for all he'd tried to evade. Minos was lucky Hades didn't always have the time to deal out justice for every soul who passed him and set up the judges instead.

"Brave words, Your Majesty," Aelia said. "I wish you luck finding your justice in the Underworld."

And with that, the bronze threads wrapped around Minos's face, making him a bronze mummy.

"Yeah, no," Magnus rubbed hard at his arms. "I am never taking a bath near a red head now, not happening."

"I hope one day you have to explain that and I'm there for every detail," Alex continued laughing without a care in the world.

The door of the bathhouse opened. Daedalus stepped in, carrying a traveler's bag.

Percy whistled impressively. "That is one way to get away with murder, not even being in the room."

"His invention, someone else's execution," Thalia agreed. "They should all go down, but he is a genius, no denying that."

"I'm actually disappointed he was just like, standing on the other side of the door or something," Will frowned. "Getting those girls to do his dirty work while he couldn't even watch. I'm glad if he's reformed and can't stand the idea of more murder he's caused, but that felt cowardly."

"I'm with Will, he should have looked him in the eye," Jason agreed with a feral smile.

Magnus once again sighed...but then conceded he wouldn't be a normal person if he was ever left alone with the god who had sicked wolves on his mom.

He'd trimmed his hair short. His beard was pure white. He looked frail and sad, but he reached down and touched the mummy's forehead. The threads unraveled and sank to the bottom of the tub. There was nothing inside them. It was as if King Minos had just dissolved.

"He definitely deserved something like flesh eating bugs and having all of his organs put in a jar before such a death," Alex scowled.

"The full mummification process was actually reserved for nobility, or very high class," Nico corrected. "It's a less dignifying death this way he got no special treatment."

"Fair," Alex shrugged.

"A painless death," Daedalus mused. "More than he deserved. Thank you, my princesses."

Aelia hugged him. "You cannot stay here, teacher. When our father finds out—"

"Yes," Daedalus said. "I fear I have brought you trouble."

"Oh, do not worry for us. Father will be happy enough taking that old man's gold. And Crete is a very long way away. But he will blame you for Minos's death. You must flee to somewhere safe."

Magnus didn't think that sounded like a very fair deal to Cocalus and his kingdom, now likely trapped in a war that was going to cost him all that gold if he wasn't over run when Crete found out that's where their ruler had died, but it also probably tied into a lot of factors he couldn't begin to guess at like if Crete would even care such a cruel man was dead and the power vacuum would be a more pressing concern for them.

"Somewhere safe," the old man repeated. "For years I have fled from kingdom to kingdom, looking for somewhere safe. I fear Minos told the truth. Death will not stop him from hounding me. There is no place under the sun that will harbor me, once word of this crime gets out."

Nico's mind spun around that for a moment. He'd never expected to have something in common with Daedalus. He wasn't even sure if he knew what the feeling of safe was anymore. His time at Westover Hall in ignorance was as close as he'd come before here.

"Then where will you go?" Aelia said.

"A place I swore never to enter again," Daedalus said.

"And that's why you shouldn't swear kids," Thalia snorted, "or at least only reserve it for serious situations."

"Like stubbing your toe, or making life binding vows," Percy grinned.

"My prison may be my only sanctuary."

"I do not understand," Aelia said.

"It's best you did not."

"But what of the Underworld?" one of her sisters asked. "Terrible judgment will await you! Every man must die."

"Perhaps," Daedalus said. Then he brought a scroll from his traveling bag—the same scroll I'd seen in my last dream, with his nephews notes. "Or perhaps not."

Percy wasn't sure if they'd gone as far into the past as they were going to with this guy, he could never tell with his dreams.

He didn't feel like he'd learned anything spectacularly inspiring about why he might still be in the maze to this day. For all he knew Daedalus still thought flip flops were the main form of travel and didn't even realize how much time had passed...but that answer didn't feel right. He was sure he was still missing a part of this story, and yet was in no way looking forward to the rest. Which didn't bode well for the rest of this quest.

He patted Aelia's shoulder, then blessed her and her sisters. He looked down once more at the coppery threads glinting in the bottom of the bath.

"What happens when they fish those out?" Percy mock whispered.

"I assume they don't use them to invent cable, but who knows?" Thalia shrugged.

"Find me if you dare, king of the ghosts."

"Hadn't Annabeth said something about that in her prophecy?" Alex well remembered she had, and didn't look pleased at this answer. "This is why? Because he's a ghost with a vengeance? I bet there are plenty of them like that."

Percy looked plenty troubled by that declaration. It felt off, misplaced, and his mind felt instantly pained for trying to understand why as Nico pursed up his lips rather than answer in any way.

He turned toward the mosaic wall and touched a tile. A glowing mark appeared—a Greek ∆—and the wall slid aside. The princesses gasped.

"You never told us of secret passages!" Aelia said. "You have been busy."

"The Labyrinth has been busy," Daedalus corrected. "Do not try to follow me, my dears, if you value your sanity."

"Have I mentioned how much I dislike everybody calling this thing alive?" Magnus sighed.

"At least he gives good advice for a murderer," Alex said cheerfully.

Well at least that meant Alex did value his sanity, not all of them were so sure about that before.

My dream shifted. I was underground in a stone chamber. Luke and another half-blood warrior were studying a map by flashlight.

"Yeah, I wanna go back to talking about the guy who helps girls study to be serial killers," Magnus scowled instantly at this guy popping up again.

"Seconded," Percy said with a low, dangerous tone to his voice once more.

Luke cursed. "It should've been the last turn." He crumpled up the map and tossed it aside.

"Sir!" his companion protested.

"Maps are useless here," Luke said.

"So, why was he looking at a map?" Nico asked in the same idiotic tone he would have asked Annabeth constantly trying to apply logic to this place.

"Bad influence? Hopefully Saturn is just as useless," Jason tried to say with some vague hope.

"Don't worry. I'll find it."

"Sir, is it true that the larger the group—"

"The more likely you get lost? Yes, that's true. Why do you think we sent out solo explorers to begin with?

"Personal entertainment," Thalia spat.

"Horrible strategizing," Jason said again. He really hoped Saturn was that bad.

But don't worry. As soon as we have the thread, we can lead the vanguard through."

"But how will we get the thread?"

Luke stood, flexing his fingers.

"Did he have his sword back on him?" Alex asked critically.

"No," Percy frowned at the still empty scabbard even in a place like this. He was either the cockiest bastard alive...or Percy was really missing something.

Or Luke had lost it and didn't have his mom around to magically find it behind the washing machine for him.

It was definitely one of those.

"Oh, Quintus will come through.

There was a collective shiver of disgust around the room. Nobody was happy the camp was double crossed like that.

All we have to do is reach the arena, and it's at the juncture. Impossible to get anywhere without passing it.

"Percy got several places without passing an arena," Magnus frowned.

"Nowhere important in the maze," Nico clarified. "You can wander in a circle all your life, but if you have a destination in mind, you can't get to it without passing through there." He had avoided it by dipping in and out of the underworld and mortal world as needed. His heritage and the help of the ghosts were the only reason.

"Great, details about the sentient maze and how it wants you dead, my favorite," Magnus muttered.

That's why we must have a truce with its master. We just have to stay alive until—"

"Sir!" a new voice came from the corridor. Another guy in Greek armor ran forward, carrying a torch.

Will was selfishly grateful for a moment Nico was still on that farm, safe away from this. He felt the tight pain of that the more he lingered on it. He never knew the number of how many kids were on Luke's side, he'd never wanted to. He certainly hadn't sat around and liked to think of Luke surrounded by monsters all day, but having kids on lookouts at every deadly corner still felt worse. Who was it that time? Little Tommy who kept saying he was going to grow up to be a doctor too? Jack who had plans to build a building-sized robot? Any of the kids who had just vanished over the years and were never seen again.

"The dracaenae found a half-blood!"

Luke scowled. "Alone? Wandering the maze?"

"Like he did to kids?" Thalia mock gasped, her voice acidic. "Is he going to see what he did to his own scouts?" She certainly hoped he'd had to face what he'd done to kids like Chris.

"Yes, sir! You'd better come quick. They're in the next chamber. They've got him cornered."

"Who is it?"

"No one I've ever seen before, sir."

Luke nodded. "A blessing from Kronos. We may be able to use this halfblood. Come!"

They ran down the corridor, and I woke with a start, staring into the dark.

A lone half-blood, wandering in the maze. It was a long time before I got to sleep again.

Percy chewed hard on the cap of his pen. His mind instantly jumped to Nico, but he was supposed to be safe at the farm, so he was very grateful it couldn't be him. That just left hundreds of other faceless kids who were scared beyond all reason, lost and alone, in there for any reason or no reason at all and about to play right into Luke's hand like he had.

Was Luke going to be charming to them? Friendly and inviting into his cool I Hate Gods Club with a pin and everything?

Or was his face going to be in shadows, his scar flickering in their torch light as he commanded the kid be used as a human sacrifice to shut up a pesky monster complaining about being hungry?

How was this random kid going to be of any more use then the ones already on that side of the war?

Thalia finally had to get his attention by taking the rest of his pen away, so that Riptide sprang to full form in her hand and nearly into the roof of his mouth if she wasn't so swift, while the cap dangled from his lips without a single bite mark on it.

He spat it out and snatched it back from her in betrayal, but at least now as he scooped up the top and put it back in his pocket they were sure he was paying attention again and not making the water darker and recede towards him like a hurricane on the horizon.

The next morning I made sure Mrs. O'Leary had enough dog biscuits. I asked Beckendorf to keep an eye on her, which he didn't seem too happy about.

"He'll warm up to her real quick when he straps a tool belt around her with literally every kind of hammer," Will chuckled.

"He should put a radio on her back, subwoofers," Thalia laughed.

Percy groaned and covered his ears like that was really the worst thing he'd ever heard while he poorly covered his laugh that matched everybody else's.

Then I hiked over Half-Blood Hill and met Annabeth and Argus on the road.

Annabeth and I didn't talk much in the van.

Percy felt like he was still finding sand from Ogygia in his pockets for days afterword's, and most of all in his mouth right now as he swallowed dry. There had been so much he wanted to say to her at the time...and now he couldn't think of a word.

Argus never spoke, probably because he had eyes all over his body, including—so I'd heard—at the tip of his tongue, and he didn't like to show that off.

"What a shame," Alex said, dearly wishing he could make an eyeball on his tongue right now.

Annabeth looked queasy, as if she'd slept even worse than me.

"And that takes some massive talent," Thalia shook her head.

"She always has to be better than me at everything," Percy sighed.

"Bad dreams?" I asked at last.

She shook her head. "An Iris-message from Eurytion."

Nico was surprised the old cow-heard had even noticed. He hadn't been unkind to Nico, but he'd been in his own little world, enjoying coming and going from the house as he pleased for the first time in a very long time. Always inviting Nico to sit down and eat dinner with him, but clearly enjoying his peace and quite as Nico had only stirred beans and brisket around on a plate.

"Eurytion! Is something wrong with Nico?"

Nico was ten times more surprised that was Percy's very first thought. Not that Quintus had showed up, not that Geryon was back already for revenge, not even that Nico had burned the place down in a fit of madness.

If something was wrong. If he was okay?

Will's voice was an instant spike of concern as well, and he was sitting right next to this doofus. It was so...he couldn't even think of the right word for it.

"He left the ranch last night, heading back into the maze."

"Nico was gone before he woke up. Orthus tracked his scent as far as the cattle guard. Eurytion said he'd been hearing Nico talk to himself the last few nights. Only now he thinks Nico was talking with the ghost again, Minos."

Nico sighed as he waited for the verbal abuse any second. He was such an idiot, how could he fall for that again?

It didn't come though.

For once he felt odd defending himself, because he didn't really feel like he needed to. "I, um, he convinced me you and Annabeth were back in the maze, he could sense it, and you two idiots were going to get yourself killed if I didn't come save your butts. He, he said he wanted you out of his maze before you figured out how it worked." He stopped and bit his lip as Percy watched him curiously, a smile on his face?!

"So, you came to help us?" Percy finally confirmed.

"I, yeah, if you put it that way," he quickly averted his eyes, swallowing a scowl and plenty of other snide answers. The guy had just helped him talk to his sister, his only wish, he'd felt he owed him. No. Other. Reason.

Nico sighed hard though and admitted to himself the other reason.

He'd been hoping to save Percy. Maybe to impress him. Show he wasn't just a weak kid.

It hadn't worked out that way...but he had helped...

"He's in danger," I said.

"No kidding. Minos is one of the judges of the dead, but he's got a vicious streak a mile wide. I don't know what he wants with Nico, but—"

"That's not what I meant," I said. "I had this dream last night..." I told her about Luke, how he'd mentioned Quintus, and how his men had found a half-blood alone in the maze.

Annabeth's jaw clenched. "That's very, very bad."

Nico's fingers fiddled with his ring, then drummed on his sword. A quick, agitated pattern. Very, very bad because he was now in Luke's clutches as a child of Hades? Or very, very bad because he was now in Luke's clutches as Bianca's brother?

Annabeth didn't know him at all, it was most likely the first. She was a strategist at heart, it was most likely the first.

But the way Will read it was the same tone he'd used to try persuading him to eat, the same harsh concern when he'd found out he planned to eat as little as possible.

Will seemed to think it was a very, very bad thing because he could get hurt. Judging by Percy's suddenly pale face, just like the one he'd had when he'd taken off into the forest by himself, so did he.

He wanted to tell them both he'd never been around Luke, he hadn't been captured and no cell could hold him...but he didn't want to mess with Percy's memories when he'd gone a decent amount of time without nearly killing them lately and he didn't want to be the one to break that streak.

"So what do we do?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Well, it's a good thing you have a plan to guide us, huh?"

"She sounds soooo sarcastic," Magnus laughed, and he wasn't even there to hear it. "I hope it's an unstoppable plan that goes off without a flaw Percy, or she's never going to let you hear the end of it."

"Yeah," Percy tried to agree with his usual casual smile, but something of it made his stomach quiver, ready to run for its life. He really hoped Rachel agreed to help...but then that would mean he'd be trapped in that maze with Rachel and Annabeth?!

It was Saturday, and traffic was heavy going into the city. We arrived at my mom's apartment around noon.

Percy watched the others startle in surprise. They'd all seemed pretty confident he was taking Rachel into the maze with him and probably just expected a phone call or something in mention.

He smiled though and asked Will to pause as he got up, stretched, and went off. He was only gone for a moment before he was back with a massive plate of blue cookies he seemed more likely to inhale up his nose before they made it to his mouth. He passed them around with the same strained smile his mom would have, Sally Jackson might have had batter on her own apron as she fussed over them.

The boy was plain homesick, and after so many back to back instances of feeling like he should be everywhere else, he sat back into his seat and munched on the closest thing he could get.

When she answered the door, she gave me a hug only a little less overwhelming than having a hellhound jump on you.

Will read that with a kind of unsure lilt to his voice, like he didn't know of what exactly he was reading for the first time. This was more weird and fantasy than the constant monster attacks.

He still wasn't sure if his own mom would recognize him walking down the street, he had no idea what kind of emotion to inflict into that.

"I told them you were all right," my mom said, but she sounded like the weight of the sky had just been lifted off her shoulders—and believe me, I know firsthand how that feels.

"It sounded something like, urgh, argh, owww," Alex helpfully reminded. "Your mom was speaking actual words."

Percy brushed the grey streaks of hair out of his eyes and shook his head at Alex without the usual eye roll. He could never really begrudge any of them when they talked about his mom like she was a more foreign concept than outer space.

She sat us down at the kitchen table and insisted on feeding us her special blue chocolate-chip cookies while we caught her up on the quest.

It was the end of that sentence that caused Percy to nearly choke on his own cookie. This should have been the afternoon he missed out on with Annabeth, after the movie. This was the exact scene he'd envisioned at the start of this trip down memory lane.

Now everything was all twisted and messed up. He'd already blown up another school and a volcano to boot, Annabeth was pissed at him, and he had no idea if Grover and Tyson were even alive.

As usual, I tried to water down the frightening parts (which was pretty much everything), but somehow that just made it sound more dangerous.

"How do you even begin with that?" Nico asked with interest. He'd never tried to tell a story to anybody and was struggling to imagine this scenario more than digging up a grave.

"Practice and fudge," Percy sighed as he tossed another morsel in.

When I got to the part about Geryon and the stables, my mom pretended like she was going to strangle me. "I can't get him to clean his room, but he'll clean a hundred tons of horse manure out of some monster's stables?"

A short but honest round of affectionate laughter went around the room, Thalia of course escalating the joke by demanding of him, "can't you reenact just this one scene Percy? For those in the audience who don't have a live performance!"

"Not a chance Thals," Percy chuckled as he remembered his moms eyes sparkling with amusement. It had been happening a lot more often with Paul around, but it still hadn't gotten old.

Annabeth laughed. It was the first time I'd heard her laugh in a long time, and it was nice to hear.

Percy sighed as he could still remember the exact moment too, her meeting him outside the school he'd set on fire. Laughing about him bumping into her. Even more recently...maybe...was the memory of her kissing him.

He hadn't actually gotten to hear her laugh since he woke up though, and a part of him that worried if he'd ever get out of this place began to gnaw at him if he ever would again.

"So," my mom said when I was done with the story, "you wrecked Alcatraz Island, made Mount St. Helens explode, and displaced half a million people, but at least you're safe." That's my mom, always looking on the bright side.

There was a joke somewhere in there about Apollo hitting on her next Thalia just didn't have the heart to put out. She struggled to pull up a memory about her mom, let alone one she didn't hate.

"Yep," I agreed. "That pretty much covers it."

"You skipped over being chased by Kampe and threatening to shoot Braries and how awesome Calypso was huh?" Jason asked. "Those could have been important details Percy." Like he was chastising someone not filling out a whole report.

"I also left out the part about Hera showing up and scolding me for not figuring out the obvious, and Janus making us miserable, and the toilet water that led to Tartarus. You know, all the minor details," Percy rolled his eyes.

"I wish Paul were here," she said, half to herself. "He wanted to talk to you."

"In what tone?" Alex's voice sounded territorial and a little scary and Percy's mind flashed up the horrible image of Alex strangling Paul with that garrote if he so much as raised his voice.

"I did blow up his school," Percy said quickly and fairly, "I'm pretty confident he would have just, you know, scalded me."

"I really hope you mean scolded," Magnus sighed, and when Percy laughed he realized that's exactly what he'd meant. There was that missing baking joke he knew he was capable of. The carefree noise set them all at ease. Percy had no clear memory of what did happen and obviously wasn't the least bit concerned about it, so that was of some comfort.

"Oh, right. The school."

"Back when your biggest concern was Rachel and cheerleading vampires," Will sighed.

"Oh the good times I never know to cherish," Percy mock agreed.

So much had happened since then that I'd almost forgotten about the high school orientation at Goode—the fact I'd left the band hall in flames, and my mom's boyfriend had last seen me jumping through a window like a fugitive.

"At least you didn't pull a gun on anybody and run off to join a gang?" Magnus offered.

"He does wear color coordinated outfits and has a kill count, I wouldn't count that last one out," Jason snorted.

"Says the guy with a mysterious tattoo," Percy smirked. "You could have ties to the mafia for all we know!"

"And won't that be a fun adventure to sort out together," Jason spread his arms wide with a mock smile like he was waiting for a group hug.

Thalia socked him in the ribs and told Will to get reading as she smothered her panic she had no clue what had happened to Jason all this time and she just didn't have it in her to laugh about it.

"What did you tell him?" I asked.

My mom shook her head. "What could I say? He knows something is different about you, Percy. He's a smart man. He believes that you're not a bad person. He doesn't know what's going on, but the school is pressuring him. After all, he got you admitted there. He needs to convince them the fire wasn't your fault. And since you ran away, that looks bad."

"So, despite an eye witness and a teacher who knows you and was first on the scene vouching you didn't do it, somebody still wants to blame you instead of the cheerleader," Alex clarified in disgust.

"Sounds about right," Percy said sullenly. He glared at the book for several long moments. His life had always boiled down to what others decided they knew of him on paper, everyone except his mom. Nobody had ever asked him why he'd beaten up that guy with a basketball because he had metal talons for nails. Nobody had ever wondered why he'd run away screaming from the principle's office because he kept showing a forked tongue. 

It was just the delinquent Percy Jackson, causing more trouble at every school.

 He wished he could have gotten Chiron on the phone, to go up there and tell them with Mist what 'really happened,' but he only just now thought about it right this second. He had a lot more on his mind back then.

Annabeth was studying me. She looked pretty sympathetic. I knew she'd been in similar situations. It's never easy for a half-blood in the mortal world.

"How, similar?" Magnus asked in concern.

"One time she dropped a whole bookshelf on a custodian because he was really some kind of four eyed monster she did not want to get a closer look at, he was coming at her with a trash bag." Percy sighed. He sounded quite proud all the same her younger self had managed that at all, "of course all the librarian saw was her seriously acting out and she had to get picked up by patrol cars and taken home because nobody could get her dad on the phone. She was almost about to spend the night in some random foster house before he showed up."

Thalia and Will had similar stories from their younger days in school while the others watched in miserable silence. Did every card have to be stacked against kids like them from the beginning?

"I'll talk to him," I promised. "After we're done with the quest. I'll even tell him the truth if you want."

"Can't get any worse?" Nico agreed in a tone that still expected it to.

"Nico, why would you say that?" Percy looked as hurt as if he'd just cussed out his mother.

"I, um, meant the quest," Nico scrambled to cover, because at least he knew Percy survived that. "Your quest can't get any worse, I was not saying any commentary at all about the rest of this situation in an effort to jinx you," he finished all in a rush.

Percy laughed, a good-faith noise that didn't hold a hint of a grudge against Nico for even hinting at that. Grudges weren't Percy's thing.

My mom put her hand on my shoulder. "You would do that?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, he'll think we're crazy."

"He already thinks that."

"Then there's nothing to lose."

"Who's mocking his own existence now?" Will smirked.

"Me," Percy sighed, "why do you think I couldn't blame Nico for doing it? I can take what I dish out."

The others all laughed now, a friendly noise that soundly oddly supportive, but Nico was probably just imagining things.

"Thank you, Percy. I'll tell him you'll be home..." She frowned. "When? What happens now?"

Annabeth broke her cookie in half. "Percy has this plan."

"Taking her feelings out on the cookies," Alex said in betrayal. He'd been breaking them off in chunks to savor every bite.

"She ate the whole plate," Percy said with no regrets. "I was lucky I got four and all my fingers."

Reluctantly I told my mom.

She nodded slowly. "It sounds very dangerous. But it might work."

"You have the same abilities, don't you?" I asked. "You can see through the Mist."

My mom sighed. "Not so much now. When I was younger it was easier.

"How interesting," Jason said in the tone of someone about to do a whole thesis on this.

Magnus and Alex exchanged confused looks. They'd been pretty confident he meant Rachel at first, but now they weren't sure why Percy wasn't taking his mom. If she still could see through the Mist and Percy had even stopped by to see her and tell her everything, well, it would make sense to bring along someone Annabeth trusted wholeheartedly as well.

One look at Percy was the answer though. She'd lived to long in danger of her life having Percy in her home for short bursts. Percy would never indulge the idea for an instant putting her in any kind of harms way. If either of them had suggested it he'd think it treason.

But yes, I've always been able to see more than was good for me. It's one of the things that caught your father's attention, when we first met. Just be careful. Promise me you'll be safe."

"There's a broken promise before it starts," Thalia shivered at the last time Annabeth had promised that and she'd gone over the cliff with a manticore.

Percy had the exact same feeling wash over him and swallowed hard. He couldn't even fool himself the danger was even close to over.

"We'll try, Ms. Jackson," Annabeth said. "Keeping your son safe is a big job, though." She folded her arms and glared out the kitchen window. I picked at my napkin and tried not to say anything.

My mom frowned. "What's going on with you two? Have you been fighting?"

"It would be weirder if they weren't honestly," Magnus admitted.

"How you two ever went from insults to innuendos I haven't guessed yet," Alex agreed suggestively.

Percy turned a whole new color to blush as he tried to splutter a denial there were no innuendos or any 'in' or 'un' or 'dos' in sight, but he wasn't doing a great job even before Will put him out of his misery.

Neither of us said anything.

"I see," my mom said, and I wondered if she could see through more than just the Mist.

He got 'yes's,' and 'absolutely's' from each of his friends in various degrees. Percy sighed with odd pleasure they knew his mom and this situation so well. It made him feel a heck of a lot less like a disaster waiting to happen anyways they knew all the important details of his life instead of just the horrific ones. They knew him as more than just Poseidon's kid, like his friends at Camp, and didn't seem to give a rats fart about his record no matter how many details were shown.

It sounded like she understood what was going on with Annabeth and me, but I sure as heck didn't.

Thalia face palmed hard as she weighed in her mind putting the boy out of his misery and trying to explain it to him now. Only weighing the pro's and con's in her head of constantly reminding herself it would hurt him more than help him right now stopped her, but it was a close race.

Percy watched her for several minutes with mixed hope and dread for whatever the outcome, and was just as relieved as her when Will kept going in the dubious silence.

"Well, remember," she said, "Grover and Tyson are counting on you two."

"I know," Annabeth and I said at the same time, which embarrassed me even more.

Percy still looked marginally embarrassed in here over that. He expected Thalia to whistle and someone else to make a goofy joke about their minds melding.

They were all just kind of sad though. Annabeth was as intricate a part of his life as his mom, and they wished she was here for him.

My mom smiled. "Percy, you'd better use the phone in the hall. Good luck."

I was relieved to get out of the kitchen, even though I was nervous about what I was about to do. I went to the phone and placed the call. The number had washed off my hand a long time ago, but that was okay. Without meaning to, I'd memorized it.

"I can't get you to remember I don't like olives," Thalia said in exasperation. "Your dyslexic ass is over here memorizing phone numbers a random girl put on your hand!"

"I'd remember your phone number if you'd stop sending me messages via hawk's that leave shit on top of my cabin," Percy scoffed.

"It's more my style, I could never pick a ring tone anyways," Thalia shrugged.

We arranged a meeting in Times Square. We found Rachel Elizabeth Dare in front of the Marriott Marquis, and she was completely painted gold.

"What is it with this girl and these fabulous entrances," Alex said in delight. Magnus was suddenly, selfishly glad Rachel hadn't stuck around as he averted his eyes to the ceiling for a moment.

I mean, her face, her hair, her clothes—everything. She looked like she'd been touched by King Midas. She was standing like a statue with five other kids all painted metallic—copper, bronze, silver. They were frozen in different poses while tourists hustled past or stopped to stare. Some passerby threw money at the tarp on the sidewalk.

"Oooh, now that's pretty cool," Will said in full excitement.

"Why would you want to pretend to be a statue?" Magnus asked with distaste. He wasn't a fan of them himself. They were all over Uncle Randolph's creepy house, usually near the windows he peeked in at, not to mention that stupid bronze statue of Leif Erikson with his metal bra. Nope, he could do without admiring statues, thank you.

The sign at Rachel's feet said, URBAN ART FOR KIDS, DONATIONS APPRECIATED.

Magnus's heart instantly melted though as he realized this was some kind of charity event for kids and Alex began happily shouting about what a cool fundraiser this was and where he could sign up. Darn if he wouldn't have wanted to drop a few sticky, coke drenched pennies he'd found onto that tarp himself just to help some other kid out.

Annabeth and I stood there for like five minutes, staring at Rachel, but if she noticed us she didn't let on. She didn't move or even blink that I could see. Being ADHD and all, I could not have done that. Standing still that long would've driven me crazy.

"I guess you don't have any future as an artist," Alex sighed tragically. "It takes a lot of concentration and hours of sitting in one place. Annabeth can manage it over her blueprints, I'm sure you can if you set your mind to it," he even sounded hopefully encouraging.

"Cooking, maybe, that's as close as I've ever gotten to anything arty," Percy shrugged without much hope for himself, and he really wasn't curious enough to try at it all.

It was weird to see Rachel in gold, too. She looked like a statue of somebody famous, an actress or something. Only her eyes were normal green.

"Someone should have busted out the gold contacts for that girl to go all the way," Jason couldn't hold back anymore and began applauding her dedication. She was going to make a great addition to the quest already!

"They probably agitated her eyes, or I bet she would have," Will smiled, he'd seen how intense she got over her cave at camp.

"Maybe if we push her over," Annabeth suggested.

Nico and Alex couldn't help a surprised laugh while Magnus grimaced uncomfortably. He was still half hoping Rachel would refuse to go on this quest now. Annabeth might push her into a monster if that girl started talking to Percy to long.

I thought that was a little mean, but Rachel didn't respond.

"Dedication," Alex said every syllable with a proud smile for that girl. Magnus swallowed the comment he could ignore people too, because, you know, that wasn't very impressive when he could just walk away. "I wonder if people on the streets try to make them laugh like those British guards with the funny hats?"

Magnus started laughing in surprise at the idea of Alex cracking out every joke to break their stance and felt weirdly better for it, even knowing Alex wouldn't do it if he admired their work that much.

After another few minutes, a kid in silver walked up from the hotel taxi stand, where he'd been taking a break. He took a pose like he was lecturing the crowd, right next to Rachel. Rachel unfroze and stepped off the tarp.

"Hey, Percy." She grinned. "Good timing! Let's get some coffee."

We walked down to a place called the Java Moose on West 43rd.

"Their cups better be big enough to worthy that name," Thalia said weirdly serious. "One should not take the name of a moose in vain with puny coffee cups."

"Note to self, Thalia is weirdly serious about her coffee and meese," Percy chuckled.

"Moose, Percy, the plural of a moose is still moose," Magnus sighed, while Thalia rolled her eyes and scoffed, "please, like you'll remember that in five minutes."

Rachel ordered an Espresso Extreme, the kind of stuff Grover would like.

"Girl got addiction issues," Will sighed in commiseration.

"The first step is admitting it," Nico shrugged.

Will looked vaguely offended, like Nico was threatening to take away his Expresso Extreme. Nico decided he would have to fix that idea right out of Will's mind by making sure there was one next to his bed when he went to sleep tonight.

Annabeth and I got fruit smoothies and we sat at a table right under the stuffed moose.

"Why?" Jason asked with the intense kind of interest they'd learned to associate with him picking up on something personal, and indeed, his hand was already tracing his tattoo.

"Caffeine makes ADHD kids chill, more relaxed, it has the opposite effect on us," Percy shrugged. "We did not want to go back into those tunnels sleepy."

"Huh, thanks," Jason nodded as he smacked his lips together in thought. Did he know that? Why did he have a feeling that related back to him. It wouldn't surprise him in the slightest if he was ADHD, he got along with Percy and Thalia on that distracted quality a little to well.

Nobody even looked twice at Rachel in her golden outfit.

"Oh please, that went without saying," Thalia rolled her eyes. "New Yorkers walk past people ten times stranger in the last hour. Don't baby us on your city Percy."

"Okay, okay," Percy raised his hands in surrender. He really couldn't wait to give them all a personal tour...but then his brain tried to fry him for a moment as he struggled to remember if he and Thalia had ever been in the city before together for any reason...

"So," she said, "it's Annabell, right?"

"Missing Mr. D slightly less yet?" Will grinned.

"No," Percy said flatly. It had been extremely nice to walk around camp and not worry about what that old jerk was going to say to him to ruin his day the short time he'd been there.

"Annabeth," Annabeth corrected. "Do you always dress in gold?"

"Not usually," Rachel said. "We're raising money for our group. We do volunteer art projects for elementary kids 'cause they're cutting art from the schools, you know? We do this once a month, take in about five hundred dollars on a good weekend. But I'm guessing you don't want to talk about that. You're a half-blood, too?"

"Shhh!" Annabeth said, looking around. "Just announce it to the world, how about?"

"And don't get us started on the conversations you probably over hear," Thalia looked a tad bemused at her panicking over this when Thalia had once summoned a lightning strike on a clear day and the mortals had scattered in fear without looking back. Two weeks later, Luke had been chased by a giant leaf monster he'd finally managed to escape by jumping through oncoming traffic. A car had blown right through the beast, scattering orange, gold, and green leaves everywhere. A semi had come right up next and crushed the trophy of the medallion that had been left in the center.

Not a single car had hit the brakes as Luke made it to the other side.

"Okay." Rachel stood up and said really loud, "Hey, everybody! These two aren't human! They're half Greek god!"

"She says that like being Greek isn't a real person," Will chuckled.

"Well we don't eat briam on a regular basis, so there's some kind of distinction," Nico rolled his eyes. He hoped the Camp did do a few non-American dishes from time to time, he enjoyed his tastes of the world.

Nobody even looked over. Rachel shrugged and sat down. "They don't seem to care."

"That's not funny," Annabeth said. "This isn't a joke, mortal girl."

"Hold it, you two," I said. "Just calm down."

"I'm calm," Rachel insisted. "Every time I'm around you, some monster attacks us. What's to be nervous about?"

"That's, entirely fair actually," Magnus said sheepishly for his own jealousy.

Alex made a pssh noise. "Percy loses his cool all the time and we're plenty calm, she just needs a little bit more practice."

"Oh yeah, we're cool as ice about all this," Nico rolled his eyes while Percy tried not to look to stung over how right they were.

"Look," I said. "I'm really sorry about the band room. I hope they didn't kick you out or anything."

"Nah. They asked me a lot of questions about you. I played dumb."

"Was it hard?" Annabeth asked.

"Dam!" Alex laughed like a punch had forced it out of him. "Did Annabeth fail a personality test while you were gone?"

Percy looked ready to eat his straw before he answered.

"Okay, stop!" I intervened. "Rachel, we've got a problem. And we need your help."

Rachel narrowed her eyes at Annabeth. "You need my help?"

Annabeth stirred her straw in her smoothie. "Yeah," she said suddenly. "Maybe."

"And that's as close to a win as you're going to get," Jason said with confidence.

"I took it," Percy promised.

I told Rachel about the Labyrinth, and how we needed to find Daedalus. I told her what had happened the last few times we'd gone in.

"So you want me to guide you," she said. "Through a place I've never been."

"Well when she puts it that way it sounds ridiculous," Percy sighed.

"How did you phrase it?" Thalia snorted.

Percy considered for a moment before repeating, "you can see through the mist and guide us through a path we'd be fooled by."

"Yeah, I guess that does sound better," Thalia conceded.

"Rachel's still right for calling you out and you know it though," Jason smirked.

"Yeah," Percy sighed.

"You can see through the Mist," I said. "Just like Ariadne. I'm betting you can see the right path. The Labyrinth won't be able to fool you as easily."

"As easily?" Magnus sighed. "As in she still might be?"

"I can sometimes see through the mist and I get tricked," Percy shrugged, "I wasn't betting on this all the way."

"And if you're wrong?"

"Then we'll get lost. Either way, it'll be dangerous. Very, very dangerous."

"Sell her on this a bit more Percy, I think you almost got her hooked," Nico said like a weirdly good used car salesman. "You haven't even mentioned the monsters and Luke's army running around and the moo mobile you might find again."

"That's part of the premium package, it costs extra," Percy tried to convince himself. It did not work.

"I could die?"

"Yeah."

"It's nice though, that you're not sugarcoating it," Nico said much more seriously this time. Percy nodded in agreement as the two shared a rare smile.

"I thought you said monsters don't care about mortals. That sword of yours—"

"Yeah," I said. "Celestial bronze doesn't hurt mortals. Most monsters would ignore you. But Luke...he doesn't care. He'll use mortals, demigods, monsters, whatever. And he'll kill anyone who gets in his way."

"Nice guy," Rachel said.

"He's under the influence of a Titan," Annabeth said defensively. "He's been deceived."

"Is that what she tells herself every night?" Jason wouldn't have dared say the disparaging comment if she'd been here, but she wasn't, and Thalia flinched at her dismissing his part in this like Luke hadn't thrown himself into this and then bullied, threatened, and manipulated the two of them to join ever since.

Percy shivered at the uncomfortable silence and scent of electricity in the air. He had a feeling Annabeth and Thalia hadn't talked much about Luke...he had an even worse feeling about what might happen if they ever did.

"Cut her some slack, that's her hero," Magnus sighed. It sounded like Luke had been there for more of her life than anyone. Her own dad, Thalia even, maybe only Chiron rivaled.

"And we all know by now you should never meet your heroes, let alone blindly follow them," Nico said not unkindly. He was still dealing with the fallout of confronting his own and it did not feel great. He was once again the most surprised of anyone to find himself relating to Annabeth of all people and swiftly waved Will on from a conversation that wasn't headed anywhere pleasant as Thalia narrowed her eyes at Magnus.

Rachel looked back and forth between us. "Okay," she said. "I'm in."

"Hope this girl never gets a job as a lawyer," Percy laughed to break the awkward silence. "She folded like a house of cards."

"One uses up all their dedication for their passion projects and becomes a lot more carefree in the rest of their life for it," Alex said from experience. If Rachel was anything like her, it seemed they'd get along great.

I blinked. I hadn't figured it would be so easy. "Are you sure?"

"Hey, my summer was going to be boring. This is the best offer I've gotten yet.

"What were the other offers?" Magnus asked in mild concern. "Trip to the zoo? Jet skiing not entertaining enough anymore? Roller coaster on a skyscraper? Is she an adrenaline junkie?"

"Possibly?" Percy looked just as concerned, but a lot more grateful, enough he wasn't going to question this to hard.

 So what do I look for?"

"We have to find an entrance to the Labyrinth," Annabeth said. "There's an entrance at Camp Half-Blood, but you can't go there. It's off-limits to mortals."

She said mortals like it was some sort of terrible condition, but Rachel just nodded.

Percy felt quite a large bit of hurt Annabeth was treating her this way. She'd been as kind and polite to his mother as ever, loving even. Annabeth surely didn't secretly loath his mom, so he knew this was just a problem she was having with Rachel, not all mortals. He just couldn't figure out what that problem really was, and why she was choosing now to act like this when they had such a huge quest ahead.

"Okay. What does an entrance to the Labyrinth look like?"

"It could be anything," Annabeth said. "A section of wall. A boulder. A doorway. A sewer entrance. But it would have the mark of Daedalus on it. A Greek , glowing in blue."

"Like this?" Rachel drew the symbol Delta in water on our table.

"That's it," Annabeth said. "You know Greek?"

"No," Rachel said. She pulled a big blue plastic hairbrush from her pocket and started brushing the gold out of her hair.

Percy vividly remembered the movement of each rough tug she gave to her hair, watching the gold flakes flutter around her in the bright sun, the blue handle of her brush held in a strangle hold as she violently began yanking it through her thick red locks of hair without breaking conversation.

He felt like giving himself a mental slap as she'd pocketed it without getting even half the gold out. He wanted to blame his ADHD for lingering on such a random detail, but couldn't quite convince himself that's what it was.

"Let me get changed. You'd better come with me to the Marriott."

"Why?" Annabeth said.

"Because there's an entrance like that in the hotel basement, where we store our costumes. It's got the mark of Daedalus."

"Of course it does," Magnus sighed. "Is the Marriott haunted?"

"It's not on any watch list I know of," Nico shrugged like that was a casual thing to keep track of.

Jason kept the comment to himself he hoped things would go better down there now they had a guide as Will began chatting happily with Nico about that list and where he'd traveled, to distracted to hand the book over. Jason took it and went back to his seat, but didn't quite make it as the next chapter caught his eye and he froze in horror.

[mynewchapter]

With the Percy Jackson series coming out soon, I thought to read the book series again. I'm on the third book The Titan's Curse. Where Nico di Angelo is first introduced. It reminded me of an additional chapter I made for the last book from the second series The Blood of Olympus. I'm not much into writing fan fiction, but I always felt Nico deserved a happy ending. I wrote it back in 2014.

NICO

He never excepted so many questions. Nico felt like a weight was lifted from his shoulders when he finally told Percy that he had had a crush on him. But for four days, Percy wouldn't leave him alone. Percy kept asking questions. Nico did his best to ignore them or if he saw Percy he would hide. "But what do you mean I wasn't your type? Dude! We've been friends for a long time! Why did you never tell me! Is this why you pulling away from everyone? Was this my fault?!" Impressed that Percy could still breathe. Nico pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled loudly. "Percy, it doesn't matter if you were my type or not, it would never have worked, besides you HAVE ANNABETH! Can we please drop this?"

He walked away fast, hoping Percy wasn't following. He had to find Annabeth, if anyone could control Percy it was her, he wandered around the camp, until he spotted her in front of Athena's cabin.

"Oh my gods! Annabeth, I need your help with Percy." "What's he doing now?" "He won't stop asking me questions, I'm ready to slug him." Annabeth fell over laughing, "well I think you dented his ego a bit with that "You weren't my type" comment." "Can you please stop laughing, this is serious." Nico felt childish for doing so, but he stuck his tongue out at her. "Fine," she tried to catch her breath, "I'll see what I can do." "Thank you!" He looked at his watch, "Dang, I'm late. Talk to you later Annabeth."

Nico ran as fast as he could to the infirmary, he stopped for a moment outside the door to catch his breath. As he walked in, a large number of demigods greeted him, there were still a few that looked nervous around him, and he couldn't blame them. It didn't bother him, he just kept walking to the back of the cabin. "Well look who it is, the son of Hades himself." A blonde hair guy stood up straight, after examining a broken arm. "Glad you could join us." "I'm sorry, I had to ask Annabeth for help with Percy, he won't stop questioning me." Damn, Nico thought, too much information. Will Solace gave him a questioning look, "Oh, what is he asking?" "Um, nevermind that." Nico tried to think fast, "uh, is there anything I can assist you with today?" "Hmm, well actually yes, thank you for asking." Will seemed to have dropped the subject. "We keep running out of bandages, could you please cut us more? Everyone is healing fast, but there are still a lot of injuries." He walked Nico over to a small desk, held out the supply of bandage rolls and scissors.

The days kept on like this, with any free time they had, Nico and Will would hangout near Thalia's tree, and look to Camp Half-Blood, just talking, joking,and laughing. Nico finally felt like he belonged, he had friends, actual friends, not kids just pretending to be nice. Percy seemed to have finally let the questions go and they could all have normal conversations. When Nico was alone, he would design the new interior of his cabin, brightened it up.

Everything was going relatively well for a month after the war with Gaea, but Nico knew happiness only lasted so long for children of the Underworld, and was worrying about when this would end. Nico and Will sat in their usual spot, not saying anything, just relaxing. Nico slipped into deep thought, his realization that even with how nice it was being friends with Will Solace, he would never be truly happy because the friendship wouldn't go anything further. "What's wrong?" Will knew when there was something wrong. "Hmm, sorry. I was just thinking." "What about?" "Nothing, we're cool." Nico was hoping the matter wouldn't press on. "Dude, I'm like almost your best friend now, right?" Will smiled Damn, no such luck, Nico thought, he hesitated, "ye-yes?" "Well then you should be able to tell me anything, am I right?" His blue eyes pierced into Nico's soul, so much concern, Nico wasn't used to it. "I'm just," Nico paused, "afraid that what I say, might lose you as a friend, and I don't want that." "Please just tell me, I promise you'll still have me as a friend," Will reassured. Ugh, stubborn demigod, Nico thought. He took a deep breath. "I like you." Nico took a moment before he looked at Will's reaction. Will laughed, "I like you too." Ugh, Nico dreaded this moment, he's kept himself from saying the word. But it made conversations like this hard, he never wanted to be so different from the other demigods, but this and being a son of Hades was just cruel. Nico took another deep breath and the words came out so fast that he couldn't stop himself. "No, I mean I like, like you. Like how Percy and Annabeth are, and this past month has been great, and I'm glad we are friends, but I'm sad that it will never go any further than this, and with me saying all this, I just don't want to lose-" Nico was interrupted by Will kissing him. Once Will pulled away Nico just sat there, frozen, silent, and wide-eyed. No words came to mind. Will laughed. "I told you like you too." "I, I, uh, okay," Nico's brain hadn't fully restarted yet, "Um, that uh, was um, not, the um reaction, I was, um, excepting." Will grabbed Nico's face, "di Angelo." Nico couldn't stop staring into those blue eyes, "yes?" His voice cracked "Shut up." Will leaned once more and they kissed again.

[raspberryconverse]

Poly RomCom Moments: (possibly) Beau #5

Another case of what should have been a bad date, but actually turned out really good.

Let's start with the first romcom moment. (Possibly) Beau #5 had been talking on Feeld for 3 weeks and could have gotten together at least once if the app notifications actually worked all the time. Kind of a bummer. We decided since we had been talking for that long, we both felt comfortable exchanging numbers so we wouldn't miss each other's messages. The next morning, after telling me this was his week off (he's a home healthcare nurse and has rotations where he's on for 3 weeks and off 1), he got called in. Then he sends me a shirtless selfie.

There were a few times that we were going to meet on a whim because I needed to get out of the house, but then something else came up and I cancelled. Luckily, he didn't get bent out of shape about it. So when Beau #3 blew me off, he offered to be my consolation prize.

Now I'm usually late AF, so when I beat him there, it was pretty amazing. We were texting because we were going to meet at this bar that was in the basement of Thalia Hall, but I couldn't find the entrance. He also got a little lost, so I ended up waiting even longer for him. Once he got there, there was a concert going on and without the obvious entrance, we decided to find somewhere else to go. Option #2 was a pho restaurant that supposedly was open, but wasn't (honestly, that was fine with me because truth be told, I've never had pho and I didn't really want to be trying something new that night). We walked past a burger place, but it was actually a walk up place and it was 90° that day and I really didn't want to sit out in the heat. We ended up at this Mexican restaurant that had some indoor seating, but not very much. It also didn't have air conditioning, so it was probably hotter there than it would have been outside. So much for not getting all sweaty, but at least it was both of us.

After we ate, we kind of wanted to grab a drink somewhere, so he looked up a place. It was a bit of a walk, but considering we both were already sweaty and the sun had started to go down, we just walked. We went to the bar and had a few drinks. We decided to leave, but definitely didn't want the night to end just yet, so we started walking down Damen (a major Chicago street). I don't remember who took who's hand, but somehow we ended up holding hands. We just continued to walk, both looking at each other, waiting for someone to make a move. Eventually, he said, "I guess someone has to make the first move," lifted our joined hands, spun me around and pulled me in for a kiss.

It was a really good kiss. So good that we couldn't stop. So there we are, making out on the sidewalk of Damen at 10pm.

"This is the one night I wish my spouse was working the night shift," he said.

"I have an idea..." I replied.

I pulled out my phone and texted my spouse, asking if it was ok if we came back there. We stared at my phone, waiting for it to say the message had been read. We kissed some more and I actually dropped my phone. I picked it back up, looked and saw my spouse still hadn't replied and clearly things were getting urgent. I called them and they said they didn't care.

We turned around and walked back towards the bar, which was right across the street from the Pink Line. He had to buy a Ventra card so he could get on, and once he got through the turnstile, we walked up to the platform. The sign said we had 10 minutes before the train was coming, so we just continued to make out on the train platform.

A few weeks back, I had gone out with a guy who was 6'1". There was zero chemistry when we kissed and kissing him also made me realize I really don't like tall guys. I had been wearing 2" wedges that night and his face was still too far away. That night when I got home, I messaged (possibly) Beau #5.

Me: Question (and the answer I'm hoping for is probably not what you think): how tall are you?

(Possibly) Beau #5: If I haven't been to the chiro, 5'7"

Me: Perfect

PB5: Don't hear that often xD

At one point while we were kissing, I pulled back a little and said, "See, perfect height." What can I say? I love my short kings.

We got to 54th/Cermak and walked to my car. I drove us back to my place. We went in the front door so we could go straight upstairs. A fun time was had, though it unfortunately ended with blood on my sheets. Don't worry, I'm getting it checked out now (just had an ultrasound today).

We're getting together again on Saturday. There has been an intentional shirtless selfie, which of course was sent while I was in the office and about to go to my boss' boss' birthday dinner. I told him he can't send me pictures like that when I'm in the office.

When Beau #3 broke up with me, he actually called me to check in on me because he was driving and couldn't text. As I spent the rest of the day a blubbering mess, he continued to check in on me and I even asked him if he was sure he wanted to deal with this hot mess.

He seems like a keeper. We'll see how it goes.

[words-of-tomatoes]

It hurts. Wolf. Wolf, it hurts.

The words play on repeat in Scarlet's head, continuing even after her mouth stops forming the shapes of them. Her entire upper body feels like it's on fire, her shoulder pulsing with a stronger pain than she's ever felt. And she's been put through torture.

The edges of her vision blur, the sounds around her fading in and out as she tries to focus on breathing enough to keep her alive and conscious.

She winces as the sound of gunshots echoes through the large space and for a moment, she thinks she's been shot again, the wound in her shoulder pulsing hotter and stronger now in response to the heavy flinch that jolted her body. But the only one crying out is Thalia and so she knows that she is not a victim of this round of shots.

She only realizes that the guard by her side has fallen when Myha steps over his body to reach her, her gaze falling to find herself surrounded by more blood than could possibly be coming from her own wound.

She slowly lifts her gaze to Myha, trying to process the woman's words as her hands and feet are released from their bindings. It's so hard to focus, but the words stay with us come through loud and clear. She doesn't realize what Myha is about to do until it's too late, pain so fierce that for a moment she can see nothing, hear nothing, as the woman presses on the wound. Her mouth is open as if a sound has just passed her lips, and perhaps it had, though she has no recollection of it.

She has to fight to come back to herself, to not sink into the darkness that beckons like an old friend. But when her gaze falls onto the small body crumpled near Wolf's feet, a determination so fierce that she tries to push herself to her feet appears.

"Wolf," she says weakly, her gaze searching desperately for his. "Wolf, we have to go."

---

For a moment, it's as if he doesn't hear her. His attention flickers between the echo of gunshots, the scent of blood growing so strong that he won't be able to get rid of it for weeks, and the woman still pinned beneath him, fighting to escape his grip.

But then she repeats the words and he hears it. Wolf. His name. Her voice.

His gaze lifts to meet hers and he sees how much more intense the pain has grown in her eyes, how deep the desperation is at the thought of escape being so so close. He follows her look to Enya, at the faint rise and fall of her chest that is nowhere as strong as it needs to be. Then he turns back to Thalia, taking her in with glowing green eyes as he uses the hand around her throat to lift her until her eyes are level with his.

"If you ever come near my family again," he growls, "you're going to wish I'd killed you now."

Before she can say anything in response, his hand moves quickly, slamming her so hard into the ground that the thud of her head can be heard from across the arena. He releases his grip, stands, and turns away, scooping up Enya as carefully as he can before turning to Myha.

"Get us out of here," he says, voice finally giving in to desperation.

Continued from x; @words-of-tomatoes

[whirlybirbs]

✶  ———   TO KNOW, DESPERATELY  ;  thrawn  ;  2

summary: you and senior captain thrawn walk in the rentor gardens. your families negotiate. thrawn realizes you will be a distraction.

pairing: thrawn / female chiss!reader

word count: 7.1k

tags: arranged marriage, friends-to-lovers, chiss politics, set before greater good, thrawn being bad with social interactions, f!reader is funny

a/n: happy valentine’s day to all my pride-and-prejudice-hand-touch whores! i love you all! as a gift, have me roleplaying as timothy zahn for another seven thousand words. once again, this pretty gif is by @cloudxstrife​ from this set here. 

<  chp. 1  |  read me on ao3

Chatter lulls across the debriefing hall.

As Samakro stands by the back of the room, arms tightly crossed, he notes that almost all of Admiral Ar'alani's task force is present.

Across the room, the Mid Captain can see the high-ranking bridge crew of the Grayshrike gathering in polite conversation — Senior Captain Xodlak’in’daro is there amongst them, watchful and observant as ever, keen on turning her own attention around the room.

Lakinda meets Samakro's eyes, then nods curtly. He returns the gesture.

His crew — or, should he say Thrawn's crew — have begun to settle in; most of the Springhawk's bridge crew gather at the tables along the center of the room. Chatter rolls around, and he notes that it seems like those three days of leave earlier in the week have done them all some good.

Samakro does a head-count to himself... Afpriuh, Laknym, Dalvu, Azmordi, Kharill...

The door to the meeting hall opens, and while Samakro isn't exactly surprised to see Thalias, he is surprised to see Che'ri. Bet'nih and her caregiver — a rather crone-like woman named Soomret if memory serves him — follow. Then, the Vigilent's own skywalker, Ab'begh, and her caregiver, that "Nana" woman, file in behind them.

If the skywalkers are here, then odds are Admiral Ar'alani would be handing out orders.

And Thrawn was nowhere to be found.

Thalias seems to see the same thing, too.

Which... was odd. Really odd. Her eyes flick around as Che'ri plops into her seat with a half-enthusiastic, half-interested look around the room. Thalias presses her lips into a fine line and scans the gathered crews. There are plenty of familiar faces. The caregiver is just shocked that he isn't here.

She meets Samakro's gaze on accident.

There's a shared moment of bafflement between them.

Where is he?

Not a damn clue.

And though Samakro doesn't trust Thalias as far as he could throw her, he does appreciate the shared confusion. Makes him feel sane.

I mean, a Senior Captain missing a key mission debrief? That's absurdity. Totally ridiculous — even more foolish — when one considers the role Thrawn had to play in the inevitable genre of these conferences.

This was about Yiv.

Maybe he's late, Thalias thinks to herself.

In the back of the room, Samakro is grumbling to himself, maybe he won't show.

A disgruntled noise is wrangled out of the back of Samakro's throat when, sure enough, Ar'alani strides in with Wuutrow in tow. The entire hall jumps to attention — and Samakro isn't exempt despite his curiosity on where the sithspit Thrawn was. The stiff rigidity that washes throughout the room is damn near exemplary, and almost enough to make Samakro disregard his minute anger in favor of pride.

As Ar'alani strides through the room, she finds both Lakinda's eyes as well as Samakro's. Each of the officers receives a well-meaning nod before she reaches the front of the room.

Her voice is as crystalline and as it is commanding.

"At ease."

The hall relaxes into a quieter version of earlier — officers, pilots, and warriors take their seats as Ar'alani settles on the raised platform at the front of the room. Wutroow assumes a stance to the far left, her own questis tucked beneath her arm, ready to assist. With a graceful tap, the Admiral's debrief syncs with the holoprojector to her right. Immediately, the room is bathed in frayed, white emittance. A star-map tilts around the low pedestal as she speaks.

Che'ri likes this part.

I mean, sure — it gets sort of boring. But, seeing the expanse of space swim around the room as the Admiral talks isn't so bad. In here, on the ground, the Chaos seems so pretty. Like the best, most beautiful Starday there could ever be, where you could see any star ever.

It wasn't so scary when it was laid out like this, either. Sure, between the plotted hyperlanes there were still swirling, snapping void-maws of starmatter that could definitely swallow the Springhawk whole, but Che'ri was ten now. Ten!

Her confidence, Thalias notes, has grown. Even now, Thalias is inspecting the skywalker's face out of the corner of her eye, ready to alleviate any anxieties that may arise — but Thalias doesn't find any. Only interest and a bright-eyed sort of curiosity that Thalias herself wishes she could have.

After all, from what Admiral Ar'alani is getting at, they're about to be diving headfirst into battle after battle. Cleaning up Yiv's remaining forces could be a mission that could span months, according to the Admiral's own words.

Before the skywalker and her caregiver even realize it, the debrief is over and the Admiral is calling for questions.

Purely a formal gesture — one that Lakinda has come to respect from her Admiral in the short time she's been assigned apart her fleet. As always, none come, and the debrief hall begins to stir with the expectation of dismissal when Ar'alani opens her mouth to speak once more.

"I'm sure some of you noted Senior Captain Thrawn's absence," she says slowly with a glacial sense of composure; Samakro narrows his eyes and Thalias finds her head tilting.

Ar'alani seems... amused? Thalias can't read it. Before she has any time to parse it, the Admiral continues as she shuts down the projector.

"He asked that I apologize on his behalf," she explains with a pointed breath of silence, "As he is preoccupied with the Commencement of Courting Rites."

Thalias swears her jaw almost drops. Samakro's not far behind, and he's sure that the someone who promptly chokes on their own spit is definitely Second Officer Kharill. Che'ri's eyes are so wide, they nearly outgrow her smile.

...Courting Rites?

"He is due back on Naporar within the next three days. He has stated, that in his leave, acting command falls to Mid Captain Samakro as we organize for departure."

Wutroow has to mind her presentation — she suppresses the desperate snicker that almost slips out. The mixed look of shock that ripples through the gathered audience is astounding. Poor Kharill is nearly doubled over trying to clear his throat when Wutroow catches Lakinda's uncharacteristic look of pure disbelief. Samakro looks like he's two seconds from pitching himself in front of an airbus by Ar'alani's own estimate. Thalias' jaw is nearly on the floor, and young Che'ri looks like she could vibrate through the walls on excitement alone.

Sure, Ar'alani could have specified that the union was arranged — but, oh, the looks on some of their faces at the consideration that the ever-stoic, ever-infuriating Senior Captain was to be willfully married...

Samakro can't believe it.

In fact, he refuses to believe it.

With everything that had gone in the last few months with trial after trial via the Aristocra... If Thrawn was planning on initiating courting rites, he would have mentioned it.... wouldn't he? Or, was the Senior Captain as aloof as he was in command when it came to sharing anything about himself? Surely, Samakro would have overhead something if Thrawn was vested in marriage.

…Who the hell wanted to marry Thrawn?

"If there are no further questions, you're all dismissed."

Ar'alani leaves the room, with Wutroow in tow, before anyone can even dream of asking a follow-up.

✶  ———  ✶  ———  ✶  ———  ✶ 

Thrawn — long before that was even his name — has never been good with people.

He realized this early on, during early academic years spent alongside peers who seemed to outshine him in regards to socialization. He never had many friends. Thrawn was always more content to withdraw, to watch, to try and piece together a person's modus operandi before engaging.

For this reason, he understands why his fellow classmates had always lauded him as a little odd. Mechanic in conversation. Always a bit distant, tepidly engaged, as if he was pretending to care.

He wasn't pretending. He was trying.

It's harder when he doesn't know the anticipated outcome of a conversation. Nowadays, Thrawn has learned to settle that not every conversation needs a yield. Sometimes, the act of conversation itself is enough of a gesture. Though it's a removal from his tactic-driven logic, he's gotten better at understanding it. He doesn't need to glean meaning from microexpressions and body language.

That doesn't mean it isn't a habit.

The last four days have given Thrawn plenty of time to agonize over the potential outcomes of this first meeting.

Typically, the Mitth were the more conservative family insofar as their courting expectations — which, frankly, was expected of one of the Ruling Nine. This often meant chaperoned visits, purposeful and traditional gift exchanges, and the rehearsal of a myriad of vows and oaths. Thurfian seemed unenthused to be the one tasked with educating Thrawn on these topics, but so was his role as newly anointed Syndic Prime.

It was a lot to stomach.

Marriage — this early in his career — was certainly not something Thrawn had planned for. Though, in this case, an arranged union most definitely fell well outside of his expected definition. There was the hope that maybe this will not become as likely a distraction as possible. In fact, he was beginning to think this arrangement could prove to be nothing more than another facet to his duties as a member of the Ascendency and, furthermore, the Mitth.

He had the wherewithal to acknowledge that engaging in anything other than surface-level pleasantries was ill-advised. Especially now, as this morning's call with Ar'alani proved to cement that point.

Their task force would be engaging in a campaign to finalize the end of Yiv's regime. That was the priority.

He could be pragmatic. He could see there was no time for this — a thought that he'd been rehearsing in his head while trying to gauge when he'd be back on Naporar to aid Mid Captain Samakro in preparations for their assignment. This was a sidebar, a non-priority. A momentary pause in duties as he traded his status for political family gain.

Though he may not enjoy it, such comes with life as a member of a ruling family.

Yes, this would be easy.

... Ten minutes into the meeting, the dawning horror that Thrawn gravely miscalculated hits him.

The two of you are quiet as you venture beyond the main curve of the garden, leaving the two family parties to begin what will inevitably become a squabble regarded for the ages. The pitch of voices practically crescendos when you and Thrawn turn towards the outer edge of the gardens — and he's immediately interested to find you're straining to eavesdrop.

Call it your own habit.

Your strides are slow. His hands are still clasped tightly behind his back, pristine charcoal gloves pressed to his spine. He drums his forefinger against his wrist. You wring your hands in front of you.

The other couple — the Stybla and Droc pair — pass you both on the outer edge of the same path. Both you and Thrawn offer them courteous nods. The gesture is returned.

Three steps, four steps, five...

You break the silence.

"How long do you think until they eat one another alive?" you ask slowly, with a well-mannered tilt of your head.

Thrawn tries to remind himself of his place. This is a duty. To walk, to learn. He doesn't need the gnawing elation of interest to distract him on what will inevitably be a long campaign at the edge of Ascendency space. But, that little, hidden part of him clamors to pick apart your words and meaning and the gentleness with which your humor bleeds into your smile.

Humor was a rarity within the Ascendency. True, self-aware humor.

The corner of his lip twitches. The Senior Captain adjusts his posture and exhales. Anchors himself. "If I'm being generous, perhaps an hour."

...His voice.

It's low — a rumbling baritone that has a near velvet quality to it. It's level, placid as a lake at dawn, the whole way through. The timbre of it is enough to catch your breath. Your immediate assessment is that it's pleasant.

Here he is: pleasant to look at, pleasant to listen to.

You, with your previous awareness of chittered secrets in the halls of the Aristocra, know there is always an angle when it comes to public image. The Mitth had done right to lift the Senior Captain where it mattered, pitching him as a talented asset to the family.

But, you'd been on shift for one of those many hearings last month — one that had consisted of three hours of questioning for Vigilent's bridge crew on the final skirmish.

To her credit, Admiral Ar'alani had fielded questions flawlessly.

However, a good line of that inflammatory questioning had come from Thurfian, you now realize, hellbent on spinning some sort of narrative about Thrawn. A good number of Aristocra seemed to accept it.

You wondered if any of them had ever met Mitth'raw'nuruodo. And if so, had the handsome face and warm voice thrown off their initial, pre-conceded distaste? The broad shoulders, the pristine uniform, the perfect picture of the Chiss Defense Fleet's might? Had it disarmed them, interested them?

Just as it's doing now, to you?

Rentor's sun has dipped lower, lower, lower into the city. Long shadows creep from the district below the high gardens as the blues of the day's sky begin to melt into orange. It's picturesque, really. Something you never saw much of back on Csilla. You'd spent so much of your time there, under artificial lights in the deep, sub-level cities.

"That is generous," you say lightly, turning a cheek to momentarily cast a look over your shoulder.

Thrawn finds himself watching. You are a curious thing. Beautiful, yes, but... He finds himself paying a critical amount of attention to the way you move with ease through the conversation.

He hadn't considered the trouble that would arise at the fact you are easy to talk to — even worse, that though even a handful of words have been spoken, Thrawn finds himself interested in what you have to say.

Horrific news for the man who had been hedging his bets on having no interest in you; for the man who was hoping you'd not prove a distraction to his career.

You have his attention.

You can tell.

It's flattering.

"You know," you begin slowly as you loosen up your steps a bit and turn your eyes to him; he dodges your gaze and his eyes hit the ground. Your voice is warm, "You are taller than I expected."

Thrawn musters a dry scoff from the back of his throat. "Is that so?"

You loosen your grip on your hands, moving to snag a wilted leaf from a flare-star bush as you pass. The leaf is purple. Your fingers run along the edge. Thrawn watches. He finds himself looking away when you raise your eyes to look at him again.

You aren't offended. In fact, it's... charming.

"Yes," you narrow your eyes a little, "And not as much as a Traditionalist as I feared, either."

Thrawn can feel a slight smirk tug at his mouth. He drops his head, clears his throat, and notes the evident tone of relief that weighs your words. "You anticipated me to monologue the rites to you?"

You raise a hand. "Please. If I hear them one more time, I'll throw myself from the balcony."

Thrawn hums. "Doubtful the fall would kill."

"A shame, really," you smirk back, well-timed and well-aimed, "Though, I'm sure if this evening pans out, we'll find out the answer soon enough."

You both cast looks over your shoulders this time.

Thrawn's eyes linger on your family's representative... Siama, Thurfian had named him. There had been malice in his voice, Thrawn realizes. Not towards him as he was used to. No, towards the Komisi Family Councilor.

"You'll forgive me if this is a useless line of questioning," Thrawn begins slowly as his hands fall from his back before he even realizes, "But, is it safe to assume Councilor Siama and Syndic Thurfian do not like one another?"

"From what I can glean," you say, flicking your eyes across his face. He seems to accept that explanation with ease; this time he holds your gaze as if he's searching for something, "I thought it was simply the usual inter-family politics. However..."

You shrug. Thrawn quirks a brow.

"...Perhaps, spiteful ex-lovers?" you supply with a mischievous smile — they certainly were arguing like it, "Though I suppose it would be unfair to sit here and spin rumors like I'm a member of the Aristocra myself. Very unbecoming."

He's shocked to find himself smiling. He reigns it in, muscling the stern yet calm look back onto his face once more. Thrawn reminds himself of his rank and drags his hands back behind his back.

His voice is light. "...It is an entertaining thought."

"Yes, well, it's either we entertain ourselves, lamenting our families," you say as you toss the leaf to the wind, "Or we truly follow the rites—"

"As is the Ascendency is ever-lasting, so shall I, Mitth'raw'nuruodo, commit myself to you—"

It's your turn to laugh. He doesn't seem like a man to joke — but, here he is. Spinning the beginning of the courting rites as if it's some laughable little thing. He holds his hands out before him, palms up, as he spares a sheepish look towards the gravel. He looks worried at first — as if the attempt at good humor might fail. But, your laugh placates that worry. His posture isn’t so forced once more.

You spare him a quick look before shaking your head. Your headdress tinkers. You play into his joke. "Fine, then. Go ahead and interrogate me, Senior Captain — then, the balcony..."

Hm. You weren't like other civilians he'd met. Frequently, the use of ranked titles made people squirm. Thrawn, absent-mindedly, revokes his previous assessment of a dancer. You must be military-aligned.

To your point, however, the rites were borderline interrogative in their line of questioning. Thrawn's head had spun at the possibility of answering his own half of these — but the purpose was served as to see the whole image of your betrothed as quickly as possible. They were often lacking in informed context; blurting out his preferable language of affection in a strange, far-off garden courtyard felt meaningless to Thrawn.

Wasn't the purpose of love to learn these things in time?

But, Thrawn supposes love, really, had no purpose here.

He reminds himself of how dangerous a distraction this could be.

Thrawn's eyes, a deep deep crimson, flicker across your own. "And perhaps I want to learn all that in due time?"

You catch yourself smiling up at him. You drop your face after a few moments. You cast a long look across the courtyard at the Droc and Stybla couple from before. They're eerily silent.

It could be worse, you think, at the very least Thrawn is... engaging.

And handsome. Had you mentioned that bit, yet?

Thick, void-black hair seems to have a mind of its own. A few wayward strands hang from the swept-back hairstyle. You note the way he ignores them as if he is perpetually used to the cowlick that springs the strands free.

"May I ask you something, then?" you ask, settling his previous response neatly into your heart.

"I will try my best to answer."

"Do you know why they matched us?"

Thrawn blinks. His admittance comes out slowly, with a hint of dejection. "I'm afraid I do not have a strong grasp on the political nuances of our arrangement."

One brow raises. You clasp your hands again. "Noted... Second question. Do you know who I am?"

"Only your name," he says slowly, "And that you're a cousin of the Komisi family... Do... Do you know who I am?"

Thrawn regrets asking the moment the question leaves his lips.

The look that slips across your face is sly, however.

Beneath it, relief seeps into your chest. The anxiety of having to tiptoe around the more... disheartening thematics of your union wasn't so big now. If Thrawn didn't know who you were, then that meant the Mitth had kept your confidential leave of service as such. You gathered the sense Thrawn wasn't lying. You would tell him in due time when first impressions were out of the way. He deserved that much.

"Senior Captain Mitth'raw'nuruodo of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet," you say with a touch of exaltation, "As I said, you're taller than I expected."

"Now, is it only my name and title you're aware of," he breathes in a playful chide, "Or my reputation as well?"

"I prefer to make my own determinations," you offer; it's touched with sincerity. Thrawn appreciates it, "Though, I'd be lying if I said I was unaware of the stir you'd cause with the defeat of General Yiv. Congratulations, by the way."

His mouth twists into a frown. The two of you round a corner in the winding path of the garden. It's shadier here, hidden from the sun as vines climb the high walls. Thrawn exhales. The leaves dapple little patterns as the setting light sift through them. You both weave through the shadows.

"There is still work to be done before we can celebrate defeat," he mutters as a breeze ripples through the warm air, "Though we've removed him from power, his forces remain present in several relevant star systems."

You slide him a slow look. Your face paint itches. "Is this... sensitive information?"

Thrawn smirks. "You would have been made aware soon enough."

Ah. He's dropping hints. You nod and hum with a touch of amusement. Thrawn watches.

"I see. Fleeing the responsibilities of the rites so soon? Tsk, tsk, Senior Captain."

Thrawn looks at you then — and you can't place the emotion on his face. He's well-guarded.

When he speaks, his tone is inquisitive.

"You're comfortable with formal titles."

You clasp your hands and sway your head in a girlish way as if you've been caught in a bit of mischief. The light shimmers across the metallic lines contouring your face. All in all, it's a beautiful sight.

"Would you prefer I avoid them?"

"No, I just find it curious," he rumbles as he continues to watch your movements, "And the reality that I know very little about you is growing more considerable with each second."

"You need only ask."

"Are you military?"

"Cutting straight to the point," you flash a look of a challenge at him, then turn to admire the garden, "No."

"No?"

"Perhaps I was," you ruminate as you pluck yet another leaf from a passing vine and fiddle with it as you walk, "Perhaps I wasn't."

"Chiss Intelligence, then."

When you laugh — truly throw your head back and laugh — Thrawn feels a beam of pride rise through him. It spurs his own smile. Though it's well-guarded and hidden beneath a look towards the sunset, it's still there.

"Please," you chide, "Be nice."

"To some, that's a compliment."

"Do I seem so cold?" you remark, calling upon the stereotype that floats about the Ascendency on the behalf of the secretive police force; Chiss Intelligence was a dangerous foe and a powerful ally. All together something that would make any citizen's skin crawl, "Really, I thought I was doing well up to this point..."

"You are," Thrawn affirms, offering a thankful smile, "I admit I was nervous."

"As was I," you offer, "Given your reputation, I thought..."

Your words trail off.

What had you expected?

To start, not nearly someone so... calm. Not a thoughtful man who seemed engaged with your conversation — and not a man who seemed to enjoy the quiet chatter of two strangers navigating this horrifically odd circumstance.

"Yes...?" he presses, steps slowing as he raises his eyes and narrows them momentarily. You swear you hear anxiousness in his voice.

...Does he care what you think of him?

Your mouth parts and you flick your gaze across his face.

"I hesitated to think we may get along," you answer finally. It's kind.

Thrawn's eyes slip across your expression, noting its earnestness, and swallows down his nip of discomfort.

Let us hope they are kind, then, and patient. That is all people like us can ask for, after all.

Ar'alani's words echo softly in his thoughts.

The two of you are quiet for a while after that — now far away from the prying eyes of the two families belittling one another in well-hidden remarks and jabs, the pressure to remain astutely polished isn't so prevalent. Thrawn catches the way your arms swing, and how you seem lost in thought.

You both come to another turn, and it's then that you speak.

"Did you have any preconceived notions about me, then?"

Thrawn tuts. "No — but, I found myself intrigued with your family's history."

Your eyes brighten a little. "Is that so? A Mitth, intrigued with the traditions of a lowly, Great Family like the Komisis?"

You're teasing.

Thrawn finds he doesn't mind it.

He raises his chin and battles back a smirk. You catch it though, eyes lifted to watch his reaction.

"...I quite enjoy art," he explains slowly, "And your family seems to be rather gifted in the subject."

Art. Your brows knot as your lashes flutter in a minor wash of confusion. That was hardly the sort of interest you expected of a high-ranking officer within the CEDF. Interesting. Admirable, even.

As you walk, a slight smile slips across your face.

Yes, he'd fit in at some of the finer galleries in Rentor, chattering about the integral relation between medium and intent. You're sure Thrawn would enjoy conversations over the complexity of purposeful abstraction. Siama was the same type of man — one who had regaled you with the extensive history of the Komisi family estate. That included the multitude of art and architecture woven into the manor.

Though soon you would be a Mitth, you make a note to extend an offer for a formal dinner — there would be plenty of time for those within the rites.

"Quite the hobby for a man of your career. How did you acquire that interest?" you ask, interested.

Thrawn rubs his wrist absentmindedly. A nervous habit. "I... I attended the Academy here on Rentor. They had a rather well-curated collection of texts on Venthan Chassu's early works."

You hum. Suddenly, you raise a finger.

"Is he the one that does the—"

"Selonian nude studies?" Thrawn mutters in a slightly exasperated tone; even Ar'alani, with nearly no interest in art, was well aware of that artist's more... infamous work, "Fascinating how everyone always associates him with—"

"I mean, they're—"

"Selonians—?"

"...Furry little things..."

Thrawn bites back a snort. His tone is light when he speaks. "...Are you finished?"

"I'm not sure," you supply, mimicking his posture and clasping your hands behind your back, "I feel like there's some sort of psychoanalysis I could complete with this piece of information about you."

"So you are Chiss Intelligence, then."

He's grinning.

You mirror it.

"Maybe I should let you believe that," you say as you turn on your heel and walk backward for a moment; long enough to pin him with a humorous look and shrug, "It certainly would make conversations with me more interesting."

"Do you believe yourself to be disinteresting?" Thrawn asks with a frown, "I insist that's hardly the case."

That compliment is kind.

Your face softens. And you turn back around and settle to match his strides as you both round the long stretch of the garden's walk.

Now, the families have come back into view. In the light indigo of the evening sky, the stars have begun to crawl out. They glimmer gently.

"Thank you," you say honestly.

Thrawn's voice is warm. "Of course."

"I beg your pardon—?"

Quiet slips between you both again, but by no fault of your own — it's the rather loud stir flooding the courtyard that silences you both. Whereas previously the quiet between words has been contemplative and calm, this one is spiked with an edge of worry. One that brings you both to a complete stall in the garden's path.

Why do you ask?

Because there is now a desperate wedge of family members trying to separate Siama and Thurfian — the two men who are, literally, blue in the face. Their shouting match seems to escalate the moment both you and Thrawn come into view, with hands waving in your general directions. More pushing begins as the men crash against one another in the now escalating argument.

...This is a rarity.

Chiss politics were usually... more covert.

But, Komisis had a penchant for theatrics, and the Mitth didn't like to be muscled around. And, with Councilor Siama's previously established dislike for Thurfian...

Suddenly, the two families in the arbor across from the Komisi-Mitth argument begin to shout as well — but this time, it's directed at the sparring families. This turns both Siama and Thurfian on the two Councilor's, not from the Droc and Stybla family but another two houses.

It's a clamor of family members waving hands and moving to shout at others and arguments have now begun to bleed into the open air — and the three couples wandering the garden have completely halted their walks.

That's when the groom of the Stybla-Droc pair faints.

Flat out, stiff-as-a-board.

You watch it happen, too — and as you slap a hand over your mouth, you note Thrawn's evident wild-eyed expression. It seems as if he has no idea where to look, as suddenly the peace of the garden has been entirely upended.

The clamor ends when the poor bastard hits the ground — and all four families rush to usher him up.

It disperses a deal of tension, and it certainly gives you enough time to slip Thrawn a look and gesture to a bench at the far end of the garden.

He takes the suggestion with urgency.

You both — for lack of better words — scurry off.

The other couple, the one you'd overhead discussing the rapid decay of cell structure in exposed hyper-space, seems to be attempting the same sort of respite from the chaos. Across the quieter end of the courtyard, they've also stolen sanctuary at one of the large stone benches.

Thrawn looks over his shoulder as the brush off the Stybla man and winces.

You lean around him, cast an apathetic look his way, and slide it up to Thrawn. "Better now than before the High Courts."

"True. And this could always be going worse, I suppose," he offers, hand gesturing gracefully between the two of you before he extends his hand for you to sit.

You heed the gesture and settle neatly on the edge of the bench. You smooth the heavy silken skirt and are careful not to sit in the delicate, semi-transparent lilac scarf that drapes from the back of your headdress.

Thrawn watches with dedicated interest. There are many layers to your family's traditional garb — he finds himself particularly drawn to the intricacy of the embroidery. Each family has its colors. If Thrawn was not a member of the CEDF, he'd no doubt be expected to wear something along the lines of Mitth red.

Rather boring when compared to the pretty blues and greens of your silks.

"Your estimate was close," you say as you watch the gaggle of Chiss Aristocra and family affiliates drift about the lawn by the arbors; no doubt, they're calming back down. The Stybla man has recovered, it seems, but he looks a little unsteady on his feet.

Thrawn settles down next to you with his arms crossed. Long legs are spread a bit, just enough to take up a decent amount of space on his end of the bench. He's painfully aware of the starched lines of his CEDF dress uniform, now. His boots are shined to perfection.

He cocks his wrist back, tugging on his sleeve to reveal a slim, slate grey chronometer — and he hums at your appraisal of his estimate.

Thrawn's smirk is half-hearted. "My apologies it was the case even at all."

You shake your head and turn your attention back to the families. "None needed. So is the way of Komisi-Mitth politics, it seems."

"...Are you... familiar with them?" Thrawn asks slowly, head tilted, "The politics, I mean."

You slip him a look. "Still assessing whether or not I am Chiss Intelligence?"

The Senior Captain laughs quietly. He shakes his head. "No. I... As I said before, I lack the understanding to see why our union was arranged."

"Do you know about the mining operations on Kinoss?" you ask, for a start.

Thrawn nods. "Vaguely. Your family relies on the Mitth for transportation and overall logistic aid in the mining for precious stones there, correct?"

You lean and nod, impressed. "You've got a big piece of the grand, political puzzle nailed down, then."

"...Why now?" Thrawn asks after a moment of quiet.

You frown.

You've been thinking the same thing — but, the truth lay in who you two are. Mitth'raw'nuruodo and you. Separate, yet every bit intertwined with the politics of the Ascendency.

"I don't know. It's my understanding the Mitth proposed the union," you say slowly and keep your bias back, "Perhaps they hoped your success would sweeten the offer with good grace — after all, the Mitth make no money on mining operations if the product never comes of it. They could export it off-world, but... People pay for Komisi pieces."

Thrawn, however, notes the trepidation with which you speak.

"...Are you lying to me?"

You freeze.

When you turn to face him, you can see a glimmer of humor in his eyes.

You narrow your expression playfully. "Are you accusing me of lying to you?"

"It was a simple question—"

"—One that could be seen as an accusation—"

"—Hardly, I just noticed you... you worry your hands."

You still the hands that, as he verbalizes it, are caught wringing themselves. You'd been fiddling with your rings, too. Immediately, you shove them under your thighs and sit right on top of them. It's a bit defiant. You even raise your chin.

Thrawn muscles the smile off his face.

Distractions.

You're quiet for a moment after that — busy weighing the worst that could happen if Thrawn truly found out who you were. He was military. There were a handful of branches within the Ascendency's military structure who were sworn to varying degrees of secrecy... The Sentries, though, often fell amongst the highest.

You were no longer one of them.

It didn't mean that a near decade-long code was no longer your baseline mode of operation. And, the proceedings and findings were still ongoing.

You decide, pointedly, to deflect.

Thrawn notices and shelves it for later — something for, perhaps, Admiral Ar'alani's security clearance.

"You said General Yiv's forces remain," you draw out slowly, and Thrawn accepts the turning tide of the conversation with a gentle nod, "Does this mean you'll be assigned to the task force dedicated to... cleaning them up?"

"Precisely," Thrawn says; you note a bit of... regret in his eyes.

"...When?"

"After our meeting, I'll be on the first shuttle to Naporar tomorrow morning."

You hum.

You hadn't really thought about the future after this.

Perhaps there was a part of you that had been hoping this would all burn up — that the negotiations would fall apart and you'd no longer be betrothed to the infamous Senior Captain Thrawn. Perhaps you hadn't considered the long, winding intricacies of two families' traditions and how this first meeting was merely a literal walk in the park.

There will be expectations of you as a potential Mitth.

"Are you nervous?" you ask suddenly.

Thrawn blinks. His eyes roam your face — and he sees no malice. Only true, sincere wonder. When he's quiet, you continue.

"You're going to be engaged in conflict."

His brow's tense. Thrawn, truly, doesn't know how to answer this question. There must be a reason you're asking. He seems mildly unsure of himself when he asks, "...Does that frighten you?"

"Does it frighten you?" you ask, reinforcing your previous question.

The Senior Captain shakes his head. "I have confidence in my warriors and myself. Fear in the face of the unknown reaps no benefit. We must welcome the unfamiliar with calm, and preparedness."

Your smile is slow.

Thrawn's expression is soft.

"Does it frighten you?" he asks again.

"We're going to spend the rest of our lives together," you mutter, suddenly caught off guard by the softness in his voice, "I'd hate for that to be cut short by some... would-be-invader's wannabe replacement out in less space."

"Is this your way of saying," Thrawn starts slowly with a dash of amusement, "That you don't find me to be... disagreeable?"

You slide him a look — one that's heavy with a relieved sort of happiness.

"No, Senior Captain Mitth'raw'nuruodo, I believe you're quite agreeable," you wiggle your shoulders a little, trying to relieve the sudden tension winding itself through the air, "I might even venture to say you and I might make good friends."

The roll of his full name and title makes him smile. It even earns a chuckle.

"Then we're in agreeance," he concedes, "Friends."

"Friends."

Distracted.

The two of your hold each other's gazes for a while before he relents — and you relax against the bench as the swirling talk of families distracts your eye. They seem to have simmered down, and though Siama still looks as if he would like to reach across the herd and smack Thurfian's frown right off his face, they're talking politely. Some eyes are turned to you and Thrawn, chattering happily about the potential for a successful arrangement.

The quiet is nice as the breeze from the water drifts in and the garden breathes. Flowers have begun their nighttime ritual, curling inward from the budding cold and hiding from the winking stars.

The moon is nearly high in the sky now — and you know that soon, the meeting will be adjourned.

"You said you leave tomorrow?"

Thrawn casts a look at you from the corner of his eye. Your voice sounds distant. Your attention is on the families.

"Yes."

Suddenly, you're digging through the underlayer of one of your robes. There's a lighter dress beneath the heavier silks — this one pale green. The pocket space is limited, but your mini-questis is procured with a flick of your wrist.

"Does the CEDF allow for personal communique?"

Thrawn's expression ignites with interest.

...Distractions, distractions, distractions.

"Outside of the bridge and during allotted rest hours, yes."

"Would you allow me to send personal communique?"

Thrawn should say no. He should, and limit his attention to you as much as he can — but there's a part of his heart that tugs at the thought of you worrying. The Senior Captain hesitates, only for a moment, then takes the questis easily into his palm.

He slots his personal frequency into your contact bank.

The questis clicks shut. He offers it back smoothly.

"My shifts are in eight-hour rotations," he says easily, with an attempt to play this little personal transaction off as if it's nothing, "If I fail to respond, that is why."

Your smile is slow.

"Of course. I wouldn't want to distract the Captain of the Springhawk," you say easily, "Would I?"

...Perhaps he's fine with it.

Perhaps, he wishes you would.

He knows you will already.

The silence that falls again is comfortable. Easy.

And when the meeting is finally adjourned by the Patriels of both houses, you and Thrawn are separated by bows and handshakes and congratulatory remarks under the Rentor moon. It's colder now, and you can feel the shake in your hands as you smile through conversation. Your jaw is tense.

You're more exhausted than you realized.

As suddenly as the families brought you together, they separate you both. The seas part and each family resumes their side, and all that is left is for you to offer Senior Captain Mitth'raw'nuruodo a bow of the head. Your headdress tinkers.

He returns the gesture with a dastardly elegant bend at the waist.

"Safe travels, Senior Captain."

"Same to you."

✶  ———  ✶  ———  ✶  ———  ✶ 

Samakro swears there's going to be mutiny.

...Maybe that's a bit dramatic but —

"I apologize for my tardiness, Mid Captain."

The entire bridge goes silent the moment the doors slide open — and little Che'ri, posed in her chair at the near front of the helm, is already staring eagerly at the sudden arrival at the Senior Captain. Beside her, Thalias smothers a cough that sounds vaguely like a snicker.

Thrawn's long strides find him by Samakro's side in an instant; in his hands is his questis, and Samakro can see that Thrawn is pouring over a last-minute transmission from General Ba'kif. He's slightly winded, and the Senior Captain seems a bit more... disheveled than usual.

Samakro is stunned into slight silence. "I... Uh, it's good to have you sir."

"Yes," he offers, "Have we initiated the pre-flight check?"

"Yessir," Samakro says, hands behind his back, "We... We were waiting on you, sir."

When Thrawn looks up from his questis, he notes that the entirety of the bridge is staring. Not just looking, not waiting for directives. But staring. Thalias included — though her look is one of quiet goading; he's sure that Ar'alani had made a point to pass along the reason for his absence. Now, he's certainly sure she went about it in a manner that had simply fed into the gossip.

"I see," he breathes.

Samakro coughs. "I... believe congratulations is in order, sir?"

Che'ri bounces slightly on her knees.

"Thank you, Mid Captain," Thrawn says slowly and loud enough that everyone can hear, "I... Yes. On that note, let us get moving. As most of you have heard, I have a few things that require my attention upon returning."

Yessir.

Thalias grins.

As the crew falls back into its cadence of flow, as the Blue Dock disappears beneath them and space crawls in, Thrawn's questis vibrates quietly behind his back.

He assumes it's yet another note from General Ba'kif detailing the presumed strongholds of Yiv's forces, but...

No.

It's a simple message reading:

Best of luck, Senior Captain.

And so as Che'ri shifts them into hyperspace, Thrawn clicks his questis off and tries to tuck that lovely little distraction to the back of his mind.

[ikeromantic]

Mitsuhide Akechi + Soul + Birch + Thalia

Ahh so this one was quite a joy to write. Approx. 800 words on themes of Soul, Birch - rebirth, and Thalia - humor.

Mitsuhide led the horses through the narrow forest path, back toward Azuchi. Toward his duty and away from a life he might have liked. Traveling like this with a group of performers, going from village to village. Dancing and singing for his dinner by day. Sleeping beside his little one every night. 

His eyes slid from the forest around them to rest on her back. She was huddled into a thick blanket, trying to hide from the rain. Cold and as miserable as she could be, he thought.

He didn’t blame her. The mud sucked at their feet as they walked. Both of them had tied their shoes to their packs to keep from losing them. The rain was icy and relentless. There were plenty of things to be unhappy about on this journey. But he wanted to see her smile.

“Little mouse.”

She stopped and half turned to look at him. “What is it?”

“Tell me what you are looking forward to most, when we get back.” 

“Why do you care?” Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “You’re just looking for something else to tease me about.” She hadn’t forgiven him for his affection at the inn, believing his love was all an act meant to taunt her. 

Mitsuhide smiled. “I don’t need to fish for reasons to tease you, little one. Besides, a good husband knows what his wife wants. So tell me.”

She huffed. “I am not your wife. We left the performing group, so we don’t need to keep up that fiction.”

His heart ached at the casual dismissal. “True enough. Then, let’s say I want to be entertained by your voice. So tell me. If you don’t, I’ll only keep bothering you.”

“Well. That’s honest.” She started walking again, Mitsuhide beside her. “I guess . . . I’m kinda split between my soft, warm, dry futon, and a hot bath. Oooh! And some good food. And hot tea. I could kill for something sweet too. I like traveling but I wish we could sleep in nice places on the way. Like, in my time, you can put together a trip based on the places you want to stay overnight. So you take a train or -”

Mitsuhide listened as she lost herself in her memories of the things she loved. Her eyes were bright, her expression animated and full of passion. He loved her like this. And now she wasn’t thinking about the rain or the mud or being cold. It warmed his spirit to see her smile and made his heartbeat a gallop. 

“Hey, why are you smi-” She started to ask him a question, but slipped. Her arms flailed for a moment as she tried to catch her balance. 

Mitsuhide reached for her, but realized he was a breath too late.

His little mouse fell back, right into the mud. And Mitsuhide pretended to fall with her. Splashing mud all over his clothes to match her.

She looked over at him, surprise written in her wide eyes, and then she started to laugh. “I c-can’t believe you - you fell in too! Your face!”

“My face?” He smiled so widely that his cheeks hurt from it. His chest felt tight and hot and full. 

“Mud -”

“Oh? There’s mud on my face?” He patted some more onto it, which made her laugh even harder. “But! Your face too- oh no!” Mitsuhide smeared a line of mud along her cheek.

She gasped and picked up a clump of mud, launching herself at him. 

Mitsuhide caught her and the glop of mud fell on his chest. He was laughing, a genuine, real laugh and it had been so long since he’d felt anything like this. This bright, precious joy. Pure affection and untainted happiness. He was reborn in his love of her. As if his past and all its shadows did not matter in the light of her smile.

The chatelaine giggled as she wrestled him back on the muddy path. “I’m going to get you back for that!”

Beside them, the horses moved off a few steps, staying clear of the rain-mad humans. They busied themselves with tender greens.

“Get me back? For what? This?” He drew a line of mud along her throat and down to her collarbone. 

She shivered with something other than the cold. “That and more!” Her fingertips slid along his jawline and down to his chest. “Like that, and this -” More mud dripped down his shoulder. She leaned close enough that her breath ghosted across his lips. “Got you.” 

“You do,” Mitsuhide agreed, and the words came out raw and hungry. He felt like a newborn, tender and vulnerable. Helpless in her grip. His eyes met hers and in them, he could see his desire reflected back at him. Then her lips were on his and her hands on his skin and all his thoughts scattered before the light of her love, her touch.

[ladyofvoss]

FFXIVWrite Day 7: Pawn

noun - a person used by another to gain an end

It’s no easy task, being the smartest man in the room

Spoilers for ARR Finale below!

Disclaimer: I am but a wee sprout who has just completed ARR and am going off of what little I’ve seen of Lolorito to write his character below. Whether it’s correct or not remains to be seen, but please refrain from commenting spoilers. Thank you! 

------------------------------

It was a mess.

Lolorito was nothing if not a man of opportunity. Much of his wealth and success was built upon such skill; the ability to recognize moments fertile for his own benefits and exploit them indiscriminately. To turn even the most impossible odds in his favor.

But even he would admit, though never out loud, that the current state of affairs was outright bedlam, and it would take nothing short of the execution of every skill in his arsenal to bring the situation to a manageable state.

It took no small number of bribes, political maneuvering, and for some, outright threats in order to gain some control of the fallout that came after the disaster that was the Sultana’s banquet.

The Warrior of Light framed for the Sultana’s murder. The Scions pinned as her accomplices. And in a clumsy attempt to rob the lady Thalia of a possible asylum (and rid the Monetarists of a thorn in their side), Teledji had the oh so brilliant idea to send a small contingent of Brass Blades and Crystal Braves to the location of the Voss family villa.

By the time Lolorito had realized what the man had planned, it was too late to recall the soldiers, and he learned post-mortem that the estate had been completely ransacked in the skirmish.

No bodies save for the aforementioned soldiers were found. Lolorito could only hope that the fools had a moment of clarity and fled.

“Fool of a lalafell” he practically spat. Truly, the man had no vision, no foresight on how to properly utilize people. One did not have to like certain people in order to see their usefulness. And the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, as well as one prominent noble family, could prove plenty useful.

Or would have.

He held no love for the Voss family, and in fact outright despised them and their pretentious moral posturing. Yet Teledji was a fool if he thought an attempt to wipe out a beloved family of Ul’dah would have anything less than disastrous consequences.

To say nothing of the Sultana. The naive little girl may have been a figurehead, but she was a well-known, and well-loved, figurehead nonetheless. What ceaseless pit of chaos awaited them once the common folk and Ul’dah’s enemies learned of her fate? What could have possessed Teledji to pursue such a fruitless gamble?

Yet somehow, the man went against all odds, surpassing such inspiration of foolishness with the even more asinine plan to target the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. As if the famed Defenders of Eorzea could be a plausible choice to pin a murder, much less regicide, on.

Lolorito had spent years slowly yet carefully positioning himself to be able to maneuver the Scions at his will. Even when they clumsily side-stepped him, he was willing to wait for a better opportunity. He was a patient man.

How ironic for Teledji Adeledji to undo in a single evening what Lolorito had spent years of painstaking efforts building towards. That he would be able to regain his advantage over the Scions and his Royalists counterparts (should any of them have survived) would prove nothing short of a miracle.

Had Raubhan not done him the favor of cleaving the man in two, Lolorito would have been sore tempted to kill the man himself.

Truly, he had more than enough work to do

----------------------

La la la writing endings are duuuuumb

[thaliagrayce]

okay picking up where we left off!

Not 100% sold on this part, but. When they get to Rome, Hazel is the one caught in the web instead of Annabeth. Jason doesn’t even think before he flings himself in after her, and he doesn’t realize that he can’t get back up until it’s too late. He promises Nico that they’ll meet him on the other side, that he’ll keep his sister safe. Nico tries very, very hard over the next few weeks to not think about the last time someone promised him that.

Jason and Hazel bond more in Tartarus. They talk about Nico to pass the time sometimes, and at one point in time when she’s injured and Jason is carrying her somewhere safer, Hazel jokes that Jason is gonna be the best brother-in-law in existence. Jason hasn’t admitted that he’s in love with Nico, but he doesn’t need to. They both know it and they both accept it without question. While they’re down there, they don’t hide anything from each other—Hazel learns about what happened in the Titan war, she hears about Bianca, she hears about Thalia. She hears about Annabeth and Jason’s complicated relationship with her, with Percy. Jason listens to Hazel talk about how out-of-place she feels all the time, how weird it is having Leo on the ship and only being able to see Sammy. How much Gaea scares her, how disheartening it is that she thought she fixed this in her first lifetime only to come back and find out she essentially put a band-aid on a broken limb. Y’know, fun bonding time!

Back up top, Nico is Not having a good time. He goes to Split with someone who is not Jason, because Jason is busy getting the shit kicked out of him by some monster. (Probably Percy, because that’d be the most narratively interesting, but I really want to say Frank for some reason??? Awkward king would know how to keep that secret and would Not know how to like. Deal with it. What does he say to all that?? I just think the idea of Frank and Nico standing next to each other in complete silence for a full three minutes before nodding at each other and leaving is so funny. Frank starts to say like half a word and Nico interrupts him with a “No.” And Frank nods and says “good talk” and leaves the room. Anyway.)

Nico’s secret is that he’s currently right now in love with Jason. Maybe his old crush on Percy gets rehashed, but that’s ancient history at this point. (although, would it even be necessary at this point? Nico came out to Jason, he’s told someone about himself. Would Cupid still put him through this? Should it be him and Piper on this quest instead, with her as the target? Many thoughts.)

For reasons that I don’t care to think of at the moment, they need to call on the help of the hunters instead of Reyna. This will become relevant later. They don’t show up yet, they show up when Reyna does in canon. That’s… after the Doors are closed, right? I think I’m remembering that right.

Jason has been ready to sacrifice himself to get Hazel out of here the entire time, because he knows exactly how much weight the promise he made to Nico before they fell has. He was GOING to keep Hazel safe, and he was GOING to get her back to Nico. Hazel knows this and is so, so mad at him whenever he takes a hit that she deems unnecessary or self-sacrificial. When they find out that someone has to press the button to make the elevator go, Hazel is ready to fight Jason for it because she knows that Jason is Nico’s family, too, even if it’s not the same. They both cry when Bob sends them up, because they both expected to die.

In the aftermath, after the Doors are closed and the hunters show up to help and they realize someone has to get the Parthenos back across the ocean, Jason straight up refuses to keep going on the quest. He’s not leaving Nico again, nope, sorry. They’ve been wandering together for three years and this summer has been the worst part of his life. Yes, that includes when he went singlehanded against a titan and almost died. Someone says he needs to stay with the boat, what about the prophecy, he can’t stop now! Jason calmly informs them that the prophecy can go straight to where he just crawled out from. He’s not going to let Nico out of his sight even if Jupiter Himself comes down and begs him to.

Here’s where the hunters become relevant. Thalia, who has been real quiet up until now, not knowing how to deal with the deep bags beneath her baby brother’s eyes and the shake to his hands, speaks up. She decides to take his place both on the ship and in the quest. Dodged one world-ending prophecy, that was good enough luck, right? There’s no actual proof that the original ones who left were The Seven, it just said that seven half-bloods would answer the call. She’s a bit late, but she’s answering it now. After a quick field promotion for one of the other hunters and the hand off of the circlet, she officially takes back her vows to Artemis so that she can take her place as a normal half-blood. She can feel the immortality slowly leeching out of her over the next few days, but that’s fine. She had her share of avoidance, she’s ready to face her reality now.

Thalia gets to re-learn how to be a normal kid and ends up bonding with Hazel a lot, because even though Annabeth has spent more time with him overall, Hazel knows Jason better than anyone on the ship. (I guess I’m just throwing siblings at Hazel in this au??) She has to navigate her past perceptions of and relationships with Annabeth and Percy as well as figuring out how not to be immortal. Not a whole lot of time for anyone outside of the boat for now, though. Quest first, repairing relationships after.

I haven’t thought about how the trip back with the Parthenos goes, but that’s Nico and Jason taking on the world, just like always. Oh, and Hedge is there, probably. Forgot about him. oops?

@tinybro had thoughts about a CHB!Jason au and it gave me thoughts and now i'm giving those thoughts back but they got uhhh.... pretty long

Jason grew up in CHB and ran away with Nico when Nico left. Excellent! They’re best friends and travel together and all that. Nico still has his crush on Percy for a while at the beginning, Jason goes with Nico partially as a way to get back at Thalia for joining the hunters. The two of them had been getting along really well! Thalia had been a little bit bossy and all that, but she used to change his diapers. He understood, and he was doing SO well getting her to accept him as a mature adult (12-year-old child) and then she made this huge decision without even talking to him first and he was upset. Thus, he left with Nico and never looked back.

Jason—as a child of Jupiter—does not have the same freedoms as Nico in the Underworld and isn’t allowed down there whenever he wants. Jason is supposed to wait on the surface when Nico pops down for whatever reason, but Hades turns a blind eye if Jason ends up getting closer. As long as he doesn’t cross the ferry and go through the gates, nobody can accuse him of favoritism. (Hades does, in fact, like Jason (after an adjustment period!!!). Jason is very good for Nico. But Hades would never hear the end of it if he let some random demigod into his domain without at least /trying/ to trap him down there. Orpheus would stage a coup.)

(COMPLETELY UNRELATED BUT JASON DEVELOPS A FRIENDSHIP WITH CHARON FROM ALL THE TIMES HE’S JUST STANDING AROUND ON THE BANKS OF THE STYX WAITING FOR NICO TO GET BACK. HE TEACHES CHARON YO-YO TRICKS OR SOMETHING.)

The two of them learn about Camp Jupiter and Jason’s true heritage. They check it out and accidentally become, like, swords for hire or something. Jason isn’t going to give up traveling with Nico, are you kidding? Doesn't matter if he supposedly ~belongs here~ or not, he likes where he is now. On the other hand, they can’t just do nothing when these people are planning to take down Mount Othrys. Jason sticks around Camp Jupiter to help them out and Nico helps at CHB and they iris message each other daily to share intel and try not to get too lonely.

(What really grabbed my interest was the plot of HoO, though, so we skip to that now :3c)

In the aftermath of the Titan War, Nico went to the Underworld solo and pulled Hazel out. Jason was waiting for them at the exit doors. He gives Nico and Hazel time to bond as siblings and takes on all the chores of, like, getting food and setting up camp and stuff as they make their way to CJ. All this to say that by the time they get to CJ, Hazel and Nico are close! They’re siblings! And Hazel knows Jason, but she isn't nearly as close with him. She knows he won't let her die and she knows that he cares about her brother, but sometimes she doesn't quite get what his angle is.

Frank has been at CJ for a lot longer for… reasons that I don’t care enough to figure out. He’s established enough to be the one camp swapped, though, so he’s off in CHB right now learning how to interact with his Very welcoming sister Clarisse. Which means he’s not available for the quest :'( which gets assigned to… Percy? For reasons? Because Mars hates him and wants Percy to do his dirty work while Percy can’t remember shit? Because he thinks Percy will fail and he wants to laugh at it? No idea, logic doesn’t matter, plot ONLY. Anyway.

Percy and Hazel are going on the quest for suresies, but they need a third and Percy wants it to be Jason. Jason immediately protests that he’s not a viable option, he’s not a centurion here—but someone reminds him that he’s helped them in the past. He might not be a centurion by technicality, but he’s the Hero of Mount Othrys. His father is still a Roman god. Branded or not, he belongs here. (they have never given up hope that he’ll join up one day.) Jason tries to fight it a little more, but Nico stops him with a hand to his shoulder or something.

It’s alright, Nico says, he has to go to the underworld for a while anyway. There’s an errand that he’s been putting off because he hadn’t found a proper babysitter for Jason yet. He knows Jason will be safe with Hazel, so he can go take care of what he needs to. Works out perfect.

Jason can read between the lines—Nico wants him to protect Hazel and keep an eye on Percy—but doesn’t like the separation. In the end, he goes, though. All the canon bonding scenes between Hazel and Frank go to Hazel and Jason this time, and they’re completely platonic. He becomes a sort of second brother to her. Jason’s shit at lying and hiding things, so Percy finds out that he knew Jason even before he gets his memories back, and it’s a bit tense there afterward, but whatever. They get back to New Rome in time to save the day and meet the Argo II and Jason only climbs aboard at first because he’s making sure Hazel gets there safely, she still doesn’t have a whole lot of experience on the battlefield. He gets knocked out by the plot convenience brick while he’s on deck and nobody bothers to move him <3

When they find out about where Nico is and where he’s been, Jason absolutely flips his shit. This surprises everyone except Hazel. Jason has always been the gentler one of the Runaway Duo, and the members of the Argo II realize that’s because Nico The Grouch somehow brings out the best in Jason. Percy is initially against finding Nico—maybe phrased a bit gentler this time, with both Hazel AND Jason staring him down—and Jason yells at him so bad he starts crying. (Jason starts crying, not Percy.) There’s a lot of bottled up resentment that Percy did Not know about and they don’t talk to each other for a while after that.

(surprise, some of the resentment is because jealousy! Nico told Jason about how he had a crush on Percy sometime during their years together and Jason—who hadn’t even realized boys were an option until this very moment—can’t fathom for the life of him what Percy Jackson did to deserve that. Jason can make storms with his mind, too.)

[harvesthollowif]

What would the ROs reaction be to walking in on the MC changing?

~ in crushing stage ~

You were still in your room in the inn you were staying at with Aiden. Everyone had decided to meet at the library to try and do a little research on some new information on [redacted]. It was starting to occur to you that you might need to go shopping soon, considering you only showed up with the clothes on your back, yet it seems you will be staying longer than you expected. Luckily, the inn keeper was nice enough to lend you and Aiden some extra clothes they had lying around. Just as you were preparing to slip them on, someone walks in through the unlocked door-

Aiden: “Do you think this looks okay on me?” He’s looking down at his own clothes before he looks up to see you haven’t finished putting on your new outfit. He’s really kicking himself for not knocking first. “OH- SORRY- I’lljust- I’llletyoufinishchanging- sorry!” He speaks quickly before you have a chance to say anything. His neck and ears quickly turning red. Once you come out to meet him he apologizes once more making sure you know it was an accident and he didn’t walk in on you on purpose.

Atlas: “Are you finished in here yet, we really need to-“ He stops in his tracks and his eyes involuntarily take a quick look over your semi clothed body, coming back up to meet you own eyes. “You-“ He clears his throat and straightens himself, then abruptly turning around, “Please finish getting dressed and meet us downstairs.” He quickly walks out almost slamming the door on accident. Leaning his back against it, he runs a hand over his face to check if he really is as warm as he thinks he is. He is.

Jude: “Hey you almost ready? Oh-“ His eyes widen upon seeing you semi dressed and he immediately clasps both hands over his eyes “I’M SO SORRY I DIDN’T SEE ANYTHING!” He’s quickly backing away towards the door while apologizing when he shoulder checks the door frame. “Ow ow ow” with one hand rubbing his shoulder and one still covering his eyes he makes it into the hallway and manages to close the door “take your time I’ll just be out here!” A small small smile begins working it’s way onto his entirely red face.

Nox: “I think I know what books we need for-“ their eyes begin to lazily look over you “sorry did I interrupt?” “Nox!-“ “I’m going I’m going!” They start to head back out the door with their hands raised, and with a smirk on their face they look up at you one last time “I forgot what I can in here to tell you anyway” once you throw a sock at them they close the door to allow you to finish getting dressed. Once you’re done you open the door to see they waited in the hall for you. “I really am sorry for not knocking” your eyes may be deceiving you but you thought you saw a light blush on their cheeks for a brief moment.

Scarlett: “MC can I come in for a moment” vampires have to be invited inside someone else’s living space “Sure!.. Oh wait a sec I’m not-“ too late she’s taken a step inside and has seen you! “OH! I- forgive me! I didn’t realize you weren’t dressed! I’ll just.. wait out here!” She’s quickly turning around and back out in the hallway a flash. She can feel her face getting warm as her back is against the opposite wall to your room, really trying hard to not think about what she just saw. And failing.

Thalia: “Are you ready, we need to-“ her mouth hanged open for a moment before closing and she’s really regretting just barging in without knocking. Because she knows after this she’s not gonna be able to look you in the eye for the rest of the day. Turning her back to you she manages to speak “when you’re finished getting dressed everyone is waiting downstairs.” She swallows once and in what she hopes is a calm manner walks out and closes the door behind her. Before joining everyone back downstairs she stops by a restroom to splash some cold water on her face.

[stanning-reyna]

Her Future - a dark Annabeth fic

Chapter 7

The heat of the early-August sun shone down on her vigorously. Annabeth had returned to Camp to take care of any last-minute issues, but everything already seemed to be in place. Originally, she had wanted to wait a week before beginning her scheme, but now she was too anxious to wait. Annabeth was going to make it happen this afternoon.

That was, until something happened that she hadn’t accounted for. Unexpectedly, Thalia had showed up at Camp. It had been weeks since they last spoke. Weeks since the daughter of Zeus had accused her of trying to hurt Percy, a thought that had nearly made Annabeth attack her then and there. Instead, she had let the girl walk away, believing that the argument was the defining end of their relationship. A harsh and disastrous end, but a clean one.

The fact that Thalia was here, trying to reason with her as if this decision was still reversible, trying to talk to her as a close friend, made her gag. What was Thalia thinking? They clearly weren’t friends anymore. Annabeth knew they hadn’t been that way ever since she joined the Hunters years ago, so why was she pretending they were? Aside from the annoyance of the interference with her plan, Annabeth felt a strange and unplaceable sickly feeling from Thalia’s presence.

Her brother Malcom had come to tell her that the Hunters were at Camp and Thalia was waiting for her in the forest, near her tree. Why did she have to pick that spot?

“What do you want?”

“I think you know what I want,” Thalia replied, her voice surprisingly calm. It made Annabeth want to scream.

“I’m not having the same conversation with you again. So let’s just establish that I’m going to do this and you won’t like it, then we can both be on our way,” she said. She was standing far from Thalia, refusing to get close enough to be able to make out the blue of her irises.

The girl turned her face to the ground, but not in defeat. Her demeanor shifted. The storm was coming in. She was looking at the ground to prevent it from being unleashed before she was ready. If a fight was what she was looking for, Annabeth would give her just that.

“You’re doing the wrong thing. And you don’t recognize that, but it’s true. At the end of the day, you’re going to turn around and realize all the destruction you caused. I’m trying to spare you all that guilt.”

Annabeth couldn’t take any more of it.

“You won’t be around to see what happens.”

Thalia POV

Then Annabeth did the most peculiar thing- she took her bronze knife out of its sheath and slashed the blade across her own skin from her shoulder to sternum. She didn’t even flinch from the pain, simply standing there with an unreadable expression on her face. Annabeth then tossed the knife a few feet from herself and screamed “Percy!”

Thalia stared in confusion at the girl in front of her. Had Annabeth finally lost it? Had her mind snapped at this moment? There seemed to be no other explanation for her actions.

The blonde fell to her knees as she screamed Percy’s name again. Her voice was full of agony even though her face remained stone. Percy would arrive any minute now and see her on the ground in pain, and he would wonder who had done it.

Oh. He would wonder who had done it, and Thalia was the only other person around. She’d be on the receiving end of his anger, which was a place she didn’t want to be. All too late, Thalia realized she needed to run. But Percy had reached them and immediately went to kneel next to Annabeth.

“What happened?” he asked, pressing his hand against the bleeding wound in her chest, his body on high alert.

Annabeth stared at Thalia in fear. He got the message. Stiffening, Percy turned to the daughter of Zeus, getting to his feet between her and Annabeth.

“Why would you do that?” he asked, his voice unnervingly calm, like a waveless and flat ocean as a storm gathers in the sky above it.

“I didn’t. Annabeth is under a lot of pressure, and she needs hel-” Thalia was cut off by Percy’s voice, rising steadily in volume.

“No, what she needs is for her friends to not hurt her. But you did.” He was now advancing towards her, slowly but purposefully.

Normally, Thalia would hate to admit that she could ever be intimidated by this kid. But right now- well, he was terrifying. Her heart was beating loud in her ear as he kept moving towards her. The dark look in his eyes, the usually easy-goingness gone from his face, the tenseness of his entire body, and worst of all- he hadn’t even pulled Riptide out. She didn’t want to know what he planned to do to her without a weapon.

“Let’s talk about this, please,” Thalia said, almost begging. Her voice was loud in the otherwise silent forest, but it didn’t even seem to affect Percy. He slowly raised his hand out in front of him, making her blood hammer through her veins.

“Too late,” he said, squeezing his hand into a fist.

Pain erupted throughout Thalia’s body, starting in her neck. Strings of agony raced down her throat. It was as if her insides were thrashing around, burning her. She probably screamed, but the pain made it hard to recall.

As quickly as it had come, it went away. She was left with a horrible aching and the odd feeling that something was pulling on her veins. After taking a moment to breathe, she looked up at Percy from where she now lay sprawled out on the ground. His angry eyes dug so deep into her that she had to avert her gaze, glancing at Annabeth.

But her look was, if possible, even worse. A smirk rested on her face, as if she was saying “told you I’d win”. Her eyes were a steel slate, devoid of any concern or sympathy.

“Finish her,” Annabeth said sternly. Thalia saw Percy’s hand move out of the corner of her eye as a satisfied smile spread across Annabeth’s lips. The pain came again, but only for a moment. Then everything went black.

AN: lmao y’all guess who finally wrote the next chapter after 5 months off. Sorry to kill off Thalia, but someone had to go so Percy could show off his hot- kinda evil- boyfriend stuff

[redrobin-detective]

Starlit Vigil

Dannymay Day 4: Stars _____________________________

Everything has a story to it, a tale interwoven into it’s very being from it’s birth to it’s death. Sometimes the mystery of the story is as much a story in and of itself. 

Scientists and researchers can’t say when the constellation first appeared in the night sky. It could be seen above Antarctica, near where the edge of the continent meets the Indian Ocean. It confounded a great many people as stars simply didn’t appear out of nowhere. But these did, slowly over the course of several decades sometimes years apart but two appeared within hours of each other. Each new star, eight in total, had a glistening, almost unnatural twinkle to them. The constellation was named Mnemosyne after the Grecian goddess of memory and the stars eight of her nine daughters, better known as the Muses. 

You’ve always had your eyes turned towards the stars and Mnemosyne in particular had always captured your attention. You can’t really explain what it is about those stars that speak to you. Maybe it’s sheer impossibility of their existence. Perhaps it’s the particular beauty of these stars, sometimes appearing to shift in shape and change colors. Or it could be the story behind the stars, the mystery that couldn’t be solved and so imagination filled in the holes left behind.

They say there was a great king, hundreds of years ago. A king who was powerful and kind and helped create the world as we know it. The land of the dead exists and certain people can interact with those beyond it. Technology and understanding have advanced dramatically and, while no life would ever be perfect, there was a general sense of peace that could felt in this world and the next. This king loved our world so much it’s said he plucked the greatest jewels he could find and placed them in the stars where he could watch over and cherish them forever. It’s a sentiment you can understand. 

You study astronomy in school and when you’re given a chance to travel to the Antarctic Circle to study Mnemosyne, you can’t say yes fast enough. The bitter cold and isolation is a small price to pay to see your favorite constellation up close. Maybe when you see it with your own eyes, you can unravel some of the questions people have been asking over the years. Why the goddess of Memory? Why are the stars named after the Muses but missing the muse of astronomy, Urania? What is the true story behind the supernaturally bright stars that appeared out of nowhere?

It’s hard to sleep during the day, partially because it goes against your normal circadian rhythm but you’re also too excited for night to come. For the stars to come out. You bundle up in the warmest clothes, pack your cameras and notebooks and throw the highest quality telescope you can carry over your shoulder. Arriving at the best site for star gazing, you are so delighted by the clear skies and sparkling stars that it takes you an extra moment to realize that you’re not alone.

At first, you think it’s one of the many researchers conducting studies at the pole but it’s soon apparent that this is someone new. Their hair is stark white, almost appearing one with the blustering wind as it’s blown around. You can’t see what they’re wearing because a thick white cape covers them entirely; it has the consistency of freshly fallen snow. Atop their head floats a crown made of pure, crystalline ice. Your eyes widen behind your protective goggles. The existence of ghosts was common knowledge by now but it’s another thing to see one up close. You turn to leave, before the spirit notices you.

“Don’t leave,” he says quietly but despite the roaring of the wind, you can hear him perfectly clear. “You came to watch the stars too, I don’t mind. Mnemosyne is my favorite.”

“Mine too,” you say back without even thinking. “I would love to know their stories.” The ghost turns to smile at you and his eyes are a bright, glowing green without any pupils or sclera. 

“Come, I’ll tell you about them.” You know you shouldn’t. While most spirits aren’t malicious, this one exudes a power you can’t even imagine. But you find yourself stepping closer anyway. You want to hear the stories of the stars and his smile is the warmest thing you’ll find for miles. Somehow you know this ghost won’t harm you. He points up at Mnemosyne and your twin gazes stare up in wonder. 

“They say souls and stars are made of the same ingredients. When I was a boy, I loved this thought. There was something comforting in knowing that, no matter where I went, that I could carry the stars within me,” the ghost explains, looking at you joyfully. 

“But unlike stars, souls are mortal, impermanent,” he says, his smile turning sad. “So I thought, why not put a soul into a star? Then it could last for eons.” He turns back to the stars with a melancholic expression. “Danielle was the first, my little sister. She was always fragile and after only a decade of life, one day she just broke. Her core was too damaged to become a full ghost so I offered her another way to live on. I took the brightness of her smile and made it into a star, into Euterpe. She was the muse of lyrics and poetry, they say she was the ‘bringer of delight’. It suited Danielle.”

“My enemy died next,” the ghost continues. “He hurt me and, moreover, hurt the ones I loved. But he was the only one who truly understood me. His existence comforted me no matter how much bad blood existed between us. His life was full of misfortune, most of it self-inflicted but his fear of death pulled on my heart. My last move in our battle was to make him a star as well, Melpomene, the muse of tragedy. I put him far away from Danielle, I think he’d hurt her.”

“My parents passed a few decades later,” the ghost whispers. “Mom went first, in her sleep. Dad always followed her example so it wasn’t a surprise when Dad followed her in death before the day was done. They were scientists, I think but they loved me very much. Things were tense, I remember being afraid for some reason but their deaths pained me. They were too fulfilled to become ghosts. I grabbed bits of their essence before it dissipated and made the stars Polyhymnia and Terpsichore, the muses of hymns and dance respectively. They were a perfect couple, partners in everything. A song and a dance, always in time with each other.”

The wind rustles the ghost’s cape, he clutches it as if he is cold. You cannot tear your eyes from the the soft grief on his face. 

“Valerie went next, some sort of illness; I can’t remember the details,” the ghost frowned. “She had no desire to become a ghost, no matter how much I asked her to stay. I am King of All Ghosts and yet I got on my knees and begged for some part of her to keep with me. In the end, I stole a bit of her fading spirit and crafted Calliope, the assertive muse, the author of epic poetry. She shines so brightly up there like she had in life.”

“Jasmine died peacefully in her sleep like our mother. She was always protecting me, even in death. Her devotion to knowledge and my wellbeing kept her by my side for many years but it wasn’t enough to last forever. When her spirit was nothing more than wisps, I took her core and placed Clio with the rest of our family. The muse of history, the proclaimer of great deeds fit my older sister well.”

“Tucker and Sam stayed with me the longest. Tucker went first, a quick death from an aged body followed by years as the playful spirit I always knew him as. Sam, my life and my love, passed the same and was my queen in death as she’d been in life. But love can delay death but not deny it and their spirits needed to move on. I kissed them both, my soulmates and made them into stars. Thalia, the muse of comedy and idyllic poems for the light Tucker brought to me. Erato for Sam, muse of love and its poetry for all that she inspired and gave me.”

You see glowing tears running down his face, he holds his hands out to the night sky. His fingers are curved as if wanting to reach and tenderly brush the faces of people long gone. Only they’re not gone completely. You look at the stars with a newfound appreciation. They are no longer pinpricks of long dead light but people who lived and died and yet still lived on in such beauty. If you look closely, you can almost see them. Brushes of red hair, dark rugged skin, the glint of glasses, a flash of amethyst eyes. 

“There’s no Urania,” you say quietly, the wind tossing them. 

“Not yet,” he says longingly, “but soon. The Zone and the Earth are at peace, they won’t need my protection for much longer. When that happens, my spirit will leave this world and join my loved ones in the stars as Urania.” This ghost has been dead for longer than you’ve been alive, longer than many of your most recent ancestors. But his love can still be felt, still burns high above in the sky for everyone to see. What better eternity is there?

“May I tell their story?” You ask and he only nods in response, not taking his eyes off Mnemosyne. You get the feeling he has forgotten about you, caught up in the light of his loved ones shining down on him, waiting. All at once, you realize how late it is, how cold. You leave to return to the research shelter, to write the history of the miracle constellation. 

The stars made out of souls, crafted by love.

Twelve years later, you are not surprised when you look up and see a ninth star in the constellation of Mnemosyne. It glows brightly, twinkling with the other muses as if in conversation. You can only smile through your tears, so profoundly happy that Urania’s lonely vigil is finally over and they have assumed their rightful place among the stars.