#this might be able to apply to percy and hazel too

[hrts4caiiti]

I love traumatized younger kid with an equally traumatized if not more older sibling that isn't ACTUALLY their older sibling,,

yes I'm talking about clarisse and will, and also reyna and nico

I love these duos way too much

[thejudgingtrash]

can we pleeeease talk about how rushed the whole Nico and Will relationship was? They talked for 2 minutes, don't see each other forever and boom they're together. Like ??? When did that happen? Certainly not in the books? (okay I haven't read the books in ages, but it felt so forced and extremely rushed or is it just me? I'm queer myself so I'm all for LGBTQ+ representation, but that's not it)

Alright let’s tackle this! Sorry for answering so late, I always answer asks that will be longer super late ^^ anyway. I’ve sorta received this ask twice but the other one has more focused on Nico with a little bit Solangelo on the side so I’ll just fully tackle the Solangelo side on this one.

I have three simple issues with Solangelo.

Age

Substance

Fandom

Alright. Let’s start off with the first point or problem. Age. Or rather time. As in timeline. Because we all know that Rick Riordan basically spins a wheel whenever it comes to his timeline and I won’t go fully into the maths because I’m terrible at it and I’m not in the mood for embarrassing myself in that metier. Anyway, let’s proceed. My question is: what is their canonical age? The one from Will and the one from Nico?

I’ve caught glimpse in a group convo at the fact that Will was supposed to be 18 actually if you pay close attention to pjo? And I mean Nico is like 15 or something? Which is also sorta wrong? Because Riordan made him younger than Hazel who was 14 in the Herpes of Olympus saga. 14 and 18 is a fuck no from me, son. I guess Riordan forgot that HOO essentially took place in two days or something.

Riordan aging his characters down or rather refusing to let them age (looking at you, Percy and Annabeth!) because it doesn't convenience him isn’t something new. So, should they be mathematically speaking have that much of an age gap, yeah. That is problematic. That’s Frazel level kinda problematic. Even worse. I know that people are more inclined to look past age gaps in same-sex relationships but I always wondered why? There’s still a disproportionate level of maturity + a mighty power imbalance. So yeah. Watch out for that. Also they’re kids. So there’s no need in tying the knot and popping expensive champagne for their wedding just yet.

I mean I don’t have a problem with the time traveling aspect as in Nico still being mentally and physically a kid/teen. A little odd, sure. It’s not like Nico and Will are Edward and Bella and Nico’s goth ass is mentally aging along and stalking Will’s sorry self. It’s still weird because it’s so unbelievable? Nico is barely struggling finding his way into the modern world, chills at Hades and calls it a day? Now that’s something I have an issue with. I need more struggle. I need more vocab mix-ups. Nico’s brain exploding at the modern world. The difference between the 1940s and the late 2000s is massive. That isn’t just oh, weird little haircuts and why are women wearing pants, it would be not being able to comprehend things and questioning every new little object. Will could’ve been an amazing support character for such an arch, buuuut I’m deviating from my actual point. The timeline/age-line in the Riordanverse is for sure more on the concerning part for all new characters + OG side characters.

Second point. Substance. The thing you’ve touched in your ask.

How and when did Nico and Will become a thing? My memory is terrible and I’m too lazy to browse the wiki. The only thing I remember was Will being a nagging bitch in Blood of Olympus after Nico essentially said “I've got to move on and be who I am, I just don't belong here, I hope you understand, we might find a place in this world someday, but at least for now... I gotta go my own way...” to Percy who just went ??? That marked the beginning for this ship. Basically. I think. Well... I said before in my Percabeth ship roast (more like ship analysis, I have to redo that, that was way too mild and unfunny, omfg): most of the romance is in your head because there’s barely anything romantic in Riordan’s books to begin with (which we all should actually be thankful for!). This applies to essentially every goddamn ship in this series but especially Solangelo. Holy fuck. Y’all are pulling out the wildest stuff out of your ass based on... what exactly? I mean props for creativity!

It is abundantly clear to me at least, that Riordan didn't write Nico with the intention of being gay. There was no real indication in the Percy Jackson series (and I refuse to believe that he was this sort of mastermind, that plotted about doing all of this behind Disney’s back to get the gays and latinos in. There’s a market for everything and diversity was a coming trend in the 2010s).

One could say: Hey! Isn’t it great that Nico wasn’t labeled as being gay? It normalizes homosexuality and makes sure that the lgbtq+ community isn’t something abstract but rather folk like me and you. And to that I’d say yes, I mostly agree if the follow-up arch is believable and plausible. Which it isn’t in my opinion. We jump from the Heroes of Olympus saga to The Trials of (Mo)Lester I mean Apollo and we’re having this HUGE jump? From barely knowing each other to being soulmates, sitting next to each other, hanging out, going on in their business, having the picket white fence, two kids, three dogs, living in a gentrified neighborhood and baking cherry pie on Sundays? HOW IN THE ACTUAL FUCK DID ALL OF THIS HAPPEN?! That is incredibly rushed. 

Aren’t...you shippers....Mad? That’s so cheap? I’d say so? Wouldn’t you like to have more pre-existing relationship and plausible development? With Percabeth you at least have a five book long progression, Solangelo is Riordan basically taking a dump on your plate and forcing you to eat it. And no, Riordan teasing the last Apollo doesn’t count.

Additionally, wouldn’t it be way better to still have a character say “Yeah, I’m gay. Pass me that salt, will ya?” without it being gimmicky or a foil or something for woke points? Just showing kids: “Hey, if you think this is a label that suits you, it’s fine! It’s perfect even! No worries!” (Also, the “coming out scene” with Jason and Cupid wasn't it, my loves. That was horrifying and insulting imo).

I mean. Show and tell are powerful tools in narration and telling more than often resolves unnecessary conflict/dialogue. And whereas season one from Percy Jackson had barely anything in that direction with Nico’s identity, season two didn’t make it any better. And season three is a complete cluster fuck.

Yeah. For me, the ship is super rushed.

Final point. The fandom.

I have to inter-subjectively state that Solangelo shippers are fucking crazy. I know Percabeth shippers (including me, helloooo) and especially the Annabeth stans for some odd reason are insane, but Solangelo shippers take the fucking cake and then some. There’s already a disconnect between the age groups in the fandom and it’s clear that more of the older teens and adults center around the Percy Jackson story and some in the Heroes of Olympus sequel, but from what I’ve seen the Trials of Apollo fandom is super young and on a whole different level. Might be the reason why facing some criticisms seems harder, because the minute you open your mouth to say something about Solangelo, you have people attacking you left and right. Chill guys, it’s not that deep? And it’s definitely not a personal attack on you. After all, I don’t know who you are and tbh Idgaf. 

Talking about the lack of substance, fanon will automatically come in and fill the gaps. Which is fine and something we all do, but I really have to wonder about the levels of extremes that some take?

We all center around certain tropes and what not and while the trope and dynamic behind Solangelo isn’t particularly something for me, I really have to ask why people are behind it. Don’t get me wrong. My question is touching on more on M/M fetishization because I think that is mostly the driving force for some people rather than liking the actual ship? I see more people projecting things into Nico and Will and it’s really turning their characters into something they aren’t? Especially with Nico, who gets turned into this 5 ft. UwU punk princess which is hella strange???

All in all, I don’t have anything against the ship apart from it’s overrushed nature and Riordan’s wacky timeline. Do whatever you want with it (apart from fetishizing and sexualizing the ship), no one’s stopping you from liking it. But I do believe there are some things to look out for, especially in the fandom.

Take it easy, guys.

[gatesofember]

The Ballad of Ladon Creek

Chapter 1

Wild West au | Pairing: Solangelo | Rating: T | Read it on AO3 | Next Chapter

Summary: Doctor Will Solace had lived in the secluded Oregon town of Ladon Creek for a year when a mysterious stranger arrived and turned his world upside down.

For @solangeloweek​’s auctober 

In the years after the Civil War, a young woman by the name of Hazel Levesque discovered a massive supply of gold in the hills near Ladon Creek.  With the help of a few close friends, she established her own mine—something that she should not have been able to do, because Miss Levesque was not only female, but black, as well.  At the time, blacks had been prohibited from entering the state of Oregon at all; they certainly weren’t granted the right to own property.  It had taken some clever manipulation and sneaking around to have the land registered in her name.

The mine brought so many settlers in its first year of operation that one of Miss Levesque’s friends—Miss Annabeth Chase—designed a town named Ladon Creek after the nearby river.  It was the largest town for miles but not far from Grande Ronde and it sat largely undisturbed by the county marshal and outside lawmen.  That, and the fact that it had been founded by a black woman and her friends, was why Ladon Creek had attracted all manner of social outcasts and “undesirables” in the years since the mine’s opening—one of whom being Dr. William Solace.

Dr. Solace had kept to himself since arriving in Ladon Creek the year before.  While his mother, Mrs. Naomi Solace, was a pleasant and sociable woman, Will never sought out companionship.  Even when invited, he listened more than he spoke and hardly ever stayed long.

Still, Will remained well-liked in Ladon Creek.  Something about him made people feel safe and comfortable.�� He was of average height and his posture was unthreatening.  His face was handsome and smooth, his voice sounded pleasantly melodic, and his demeanor was gentle and calming.  His hands felt soft like he’d never worked a day in his life, yet he labored over his patients so arduously that you might have thought they were his own kin.  Every touch was careful and every word was warm.

On one bright summer afternoon, a stranger rode into Ladon Creek slouched on the back of a bay-coated horse.  He was clothed almost entirely in black and his face was hidden in shadow under the brim of his dark hat.  When he stopped a couple on the street and asked where he could find the doctor, they pointed him in the direction of Will’s clinic.

Will looked up when he heard the rustling outside his office and saw the black-clad stranger tying up his horse outside the windows.  He noted a limp to the man’s gait and clicked his tongue.  Wounded travelers came into his office too often for Will’s liking—out west, people were far too careless and the terrain was far too dangerous.

Will folded his hands on the desk in front of him as the man opened the door and walked inside.  “You’re the doctor?” asked the stranger.

“Yes,” said Will.  “How may I help you?”

The man took off his hat, revealing a head of unkempt black hair and a pair of bottomless dark eyes that reminded Will of staring into a well.  There was a sheen of sweat on his brow and dark circles under his eyes, and Will almost feared the man might pass out right in the doorway of his clinic.  But despite his obvious exhaustion, he was handsome in a rough kind of way—the dangerous sort of handsome that was best admired from afar.

“I’m looking to buy some bandages,” the man said.

Will glanced down at the leg the man had been favoring.  “You have a name, stranger?” he asked.

“Di Angelo—Nico di Angelo,” the man replied.

“Well, then, Mr. di Angelo,” Will said, rising from his desk.  “If you let me examine that leg, the bandages are free.”

To Will’s surprise, the man hesitated before nodding and taking off his duster, revealing the brown-stained bandage wrapped around his left thigh.

“Sit down,” Will said, gesturing to the exam table hidden from the view of the windows by a privacy curtain.  He took Nico’s coat and hat and hung them by the door before joining him.  Nico had already started unwrapping his bandages.  The wound was messy, caked with dried blood and slowly oozing a cloudy yellow fluid.  Will could tell it was at least a day or two old and that an infection was setting in.

“You must have gotten in quite a fight,” Will said, standing to fetch supplies to clean the wound.  “Run into some trouble?”

Nico didn’t answer.  Will hadn’t expected him to.

“I already got the bullet out and cleaned it,” Nico said.

“Good,” Will replied.  “You probably held the infection off long enough to make it here, but you’re lucky I asked to see it���otherwise, you might’ve lost your leg.”

Will poured alcohol on a cleaning cloth and Nico tensed when it touched his wound, but held still and didn’t make a sound until Will had finished and applied a healing ointment.  “You’ll need to stay in town a few days so I can keep an eye on your progress and care for your wound properly,” Will said.  “Mrs. Jackson owns an inn a little ways down the road where you can rent a room.  She’ll make sure you eat well and her son will take good care of your horse.”  

Nico was quiet and for a moment, Will worried that he’d argue.  But then he sighed and said, “I suppose there’s no helping it.  Where can I find her?”

Will tried not to feel insulted by Nico’s obvious disappointment.  “Only a few buildings down the road—I’ll take you there,” he said as he finished changing Nico’s bandages.  “Wait here a moment.”

Will went into the back room of the clinic and retrieved a wooden crutch from his supplies, then returned and offered it to Nico.  “You’ll need to use this to walk for a while,” he said.  “Try to keep your weight off that leg as much as you can.”

Nico looked at Will with tired incredulity, like he couldn’t believe Will was forcing him to do all this, but he got to his feet and tested the crutch without complaining.  Will handed Nico his hat and coat and brought him outside to where his mare was waiting.  Will offered to lead her while Nico got used to his crutch, and Nico shrugged like he didn’t care one way or the other.

The Jacksons’ inn was a two-story building just a short walk away with blue painted siding and windows of natural pine.  If he walked by at the wrong time, Will would smell a wonderful meal being prepared, which always left him hungry and jealous.  He had been invited to join them for supper a handful of times, and each time he swore it was the best meal he’d ever had.

Mrs. Sally Jackson sat on a rocking chair on the front porch as Will and Nico approached, humming softly and holding her sleeping six-month-old baby against her chest.  She looked tired, with a few brown and gray hairs out of place, but relaxed and happy.

“Afternoon, Mrs. Jackson,” called Will.

“Dr. Solace!” Mrs. Jackson said.  “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“I have a patient in need of a room,” Will answered, nodding to Nico.  “This is Mr. di Angelo.  He’ll be staying here until his leg heals.”

“Poor thing,” Mrs. Jackson tutted as she rose from her chair, careful to not wake the baby.  “Take a seat while I bring your horse to the stable out back, Mr. di Angelo.  Doctor, I’m sorry to trouble you, but would you mind holding Estelle?  Paul’s at the schoolhouse, Percy’s on the ranch, and poor Estelle has barely napped all day.”

“No trouble at all, Mrs. Jackson,” Will answered.  Estelle stirred when Will took her, but she quickly fell asleep again in his arms.

“Thank you, Doctor,” Sally said before leading the horse around to the back of the building.  

When Will glanced back at Nico, half expecting to find him passed out in the rocking chair, he was surprised to instead see Nico watching him with a curious, unnerving expression that made Will’s hair stand on end.  He felt like he was being picked apart, dissected and examined like a dead animal.  Will cleared his throat, but Nico kept staring—perhaps not even realizing what he was doing or not understanding that Will was trying to get him to stop.

“Your horse is lovely,” Will said, attempting to distract him instead.  “What’s her name?” 

Nico finally blinked and he looked thoughtful for a moment, like he’d never considered giving her a name.  Then he said, “Cavala.”

“Cavala,” Will repeated, rubbing soft circles into Estelle’s back.  “A beautiful name for a beautiful horse.”

Nico smiled, but it seemed more like he was enjoying a private joke than appreciating Will’s compliment.  Still, the smile made Will’s heart rate pick up for a second and he almost worried the hammering would wake the baby sleeping against his chest.  He glanced away and was glad to see Mrs. Jackson returning.

“Thank you for holding her,” she said when Will passed Estelle back.

“You’re very welcome,” Will said.  “Don’t let her nap too much longer or she won’t want to sleep tonight.”

“I know, Doctor—this isn’t my first baby, it’s just been a while since my last,” said Mrs. Jackson.  “I’ll set you up in a room on the ground floor so that you don’t have to bother with the stairs, Mr. di Angelo.  My husband and my son should be home soon and Percy will look after your horse while Paul helps me with supper.  Are you hungry?”

Nico looked at her blankly for a second before nodding, like it took a moment for his tired brain to comprehend what she was asking.  “Yes, ma’am,” he said.

“I ought to head back to the clinic,” Will said, before the idea of a Jackson supper made him start to drool.  “Come by tomorrow morning so I can check on your leg, Mr. di Angelo.”

Nico turned back to Will, once again fixing him with that unnerving stare, and slowly nodded.

When Will walked back to his clinic, he could still feel the stare on his back.

[noxtms]

IN CHARACTER DATE : december 25th, 2020. TRIGGER WARNINGS : n / a.

( at first, nothing. )

a woman screams. she is crouched before the veil, supporting the non existent weight of a skeleton - no, no, a man, so naked and emaciated that he passes too well - both arms wrapped around him, pulling him, trying to force him to his feet even while she struggles to get her own beneath her. cloaked figures stagger forwards across ancient stone, just as disoriented, taking him from her so that she can rise, shakily, to her feet. 

( SUDDENLY : EVERYTHING. )

she lunges. looks as if she's about to fall. doesn't. she is desperately trying to reach for the items that lie before the archway, her fingers extending, the edge of a silvery wisp of fabric just barely within her grasp when a jagged jet of red light collides with her arm. another explodes against the ground. another. 

figures - uncloaked, eyes wide, ferocious, shoulders squared, wands drawn - flood the room and take it all in. the destruction. the sight of the others who are only now beginning to rise. bellatrix scrambles backwards, clutching her arm to her, unheard of fear tinging her expression. a tall man with a long, dirtied beard raises his wand again -

they disapparate. all of them. everyone dressed in black disappears, only one extending a hand to grab onto her shoulder and take her with him, the last scream of protest echoing in the chamber. the man is gone too. has been brought. he looked dead. 

( lungs fill - oh god, oh god, they might explode - everything feels red, raw, fire, burning - ) 

beyond the archway stands another man, his shoulders hunched, damp & ragged long hair covering one side of his face. he looks like someone. someone known, once. someone remembered. someone who never appeared on the other side like he was supposed to. they are so alike that it is jarring, sets teeth on edge, forces you to look desperately for just one difference, just the one to set them apart - if he smiled, it would light his face so differently. not charming. shy. it isn't him, but if it isn't, then who is it? 

he jolts when the others realize he's there, a deer caught in headlights. his chest rises and falls, rises as if he is gulping air for the first time in years, like a drowning man who has just stumbled from the grasp of murky waters, every exhale hurried so he can inhale again, sharply. 

not him. 

not sirius.

someone moves. does not brandish a wand, just makes as if they are going to move toward him, and then he is gone with a crack. just like the others.

( it is so hard to focus. it is so hard to see. everything hurts - everything blurs - everything twists inside - ) 

a shock of red hair. she's lying so still, again, slumped near to the items abandoned. another redhead on unsteady feet clambers the dais - does not care about these meaningless things the wild woman tried so hard to reach - and pulls her into his lap. "ginny, ginny, ginny-" his whole body shakes. she’s so pale.  

another's hand presses to her neck, and something blossoms in their expression, brightens a face that had turned a horrible shade of grey. "she has a pulse. she’s alive.” 

is she? is she, really? she doesn't look it. no one thinks it. murmurs of how it can't be, it can't be, it isn't possible. 

she doesn’t look it. maybe it isn’t. 

( a whimper slips past broken lips. ) 

"who..." 

( who? ) 

noticed with a gasp. the pounding of footsteps. someone falls to their knees and cold hands press against his skin and he flinches away from the touch because it is still too painful - it is a relief, but it is too much, his skin feels too fresh, and they don't know, or realize, because they are mirroring the action done already, pointlessly searching for a pulse that flutters too fast beneath their fingertips. 

they babble with senseless confusion and others loom above him and he cannot make their features out, cannot see through blurred vision, but they are... warm- familiar- they know him. he knows them. 

"harry-" 

a legacy. a life done before. a name forms on the tip of his tongue, the salve to undoing : 

harry potter.

ROUNDUP OF FATALITIES & INJURIES ( DUMBLEDORE’S ARMY ):

dennis creevey took a stunner to the back & was knocked unconscious. aside from some minor cuts and bruises, he's in perfect health.

aura hargate's knees will have to be put the right way around again, and this in combination with some unnamed curses cast upon her by thorfinn rowle spells a few days in st mungo's for her.

nellie diggory is badly shaken by her experience under the cruciatus, and some additional injury sustained in the chaos of the battle means she will have to spend at least 24 hours under observation on a ward in st mungo's.

alicia spinnet managed to break her ankle in the second tumble that she took, and has some cuts from the glass case that shattered in the elder wands room. her other injuries are fairly minor, sustained in battle, but she will have to take heavy doses of skele-gro for a few days.

luna lovegood is battered and bruised, though the worst injury she seems to have received is the long gash along her arm that rendered it unusable for the latter half of the battle. she won't have to go to st mungo's, so long as she promises to apply a healthy amount of essence of dittany.

hermione granger's cheek was sliced cleanly by an unknown spell, and she has a number of other injuries ranging in severity, including ones sustained from the explosion of glass in the wands chamber, including what may be a shard in the eye - the healers will take a closer look at st mungo's.

ron weasley is shaken up badly by his time under the cruciatus, and sustained a number of other injuries in the battle. some of his ribs were fractured in one of the dives he made to avoid numerous confringo's, and should rest up for a while.

cassia trelawney's right side is badly burned from her dress going up in flames. though they were able to be put out, the damage was quite severe - she'll need to spend an extended time in st mungo's as they work to repair it.

dean thomas will spend at least twenty four hours in an induced coma as mediwizards work to undue the curse placed upon his skull, and reduce it to its normal size. when he awakes, he'll have to spend a few days for observation. the rest of his injuries are mostly superficial.

ginny weasley died, so there's that, but sustained a gash to her head after being caught with a ribboning curse and has a large injury shoulder to torso that will require immediate medical attention. she's fairly battered and bruised, in general, but st mungo's will focus on the former.

percy weasley was tortured for a number of days. he will have to spend as much time as they can keep him in st mungo's to be treated for the injuries he received at the hands of the carrows in addition to the starvation and dehydration from what was withheld from him. the healers think he'll make a full recovery - physically.

ROUNDUP OF FATALITIES & INJURIES ( THE DEATH EATERS ):

mikaela karkaroff is generally fine, though she sustained some minor cuts and bruises in the battle.

niko karkaroff is also relatively okay, though his minor cuts and bruises pale to those his feet suffered following the loss of his shoes. that's what you get for being a death eater, i guess.

hazel graves suffered serious lacerations at the hands of nellie diggory, though a few days in a st mungo's ward having essence of dittany applied regularly to them should heal her right up.

alecto carrow has a concussion from being thrown across the room. she did not take part in the initial battle and would have escaped unscathed if not for this - her brothers nose is broken by the stunner that he took to the face.

antonin karkaroff fared well, but fractured a number of his ribs when he took a serious tumble. he needn't visit st mungo's provided he has a private healer he can trust to take care of him in this time.

helen buchanan was knocked unconscious in a fall and also will have suffered a concussion from it, however, she was unfortunately caught in a blast when one of the stone benches around her exploded. she will need to be treated professionally for these injuries.

WORTH NOTING:

apparition in and out of the department is impossible unless one is travelling with a member of said department, or has been given strict overriding permissions. the death eaters being able to apparate will likely be cause for suspicion, since the order of the phoenix were only able to apparate directly into the department of mysteries due to permission granted by the minister of magic himself. 

cho chang informed the order of what dumbledore’s army was planning as quickly as she could - it wasn’t quick enough to stop what happened, but she’s owed a great thanks for her concern. 

jo diggory & theodore nott, notably unpresent for the past five plot points, are alright. jo was left with cho at number twelve, grimmauld place, needing rest and recuperation to heal from the sectumsempra that hazel graves hit them with. theo was found soon after the battle and revived, and aside from being disoriented - and the use of an unforgivable curse upon him likely to be revisited later - was unharmed. 

OUT OF CHARACTER:

this marks the official end of NOXTMS : PLOT ONE. it’s been a great few months, but trust me - we’re in for some FUN over the next few months and phase ! individuals who had characters that took part in this event are welcome expand on their own re: the injuries sustained that aren’t specified, and we’ll discuss in the discord what our next steps as the dumbledore’s army group is. 

while nox remains at the masquerade, event wise, moving slowly forward through the night to eventually incorporate this - you’re very welcome to start private and public threads dealing with the aftermath if you’d like. all the more for fun ! 

applications for HARRY POTTER & REGULUS BLACK will not be accepted for at minimum seven days, as i don’t intend on letting it be a first come, first serve situation. lord voldemort is understandably joining the ranks as an npc.

THANK YOU SO MUCH ! i’m going to want to make a larger ... thank you speech, later. but thank you all so much for your engagement, and i hope you’ve enjoyed ! 

[winryofresembool]

Things We Lost in the Fire, ch 21

aka Caleo uni au

Fic summary: Calypso starts studying at a new university, but to her annoyance her new flatmate is a loud mouthed mechanic who also likes to sneak his dog in whenever. But as she learns to know him better, she realizes they might have more in common than what she first thought. Eventually, even the darkest secrets come out…

Chapter summary: Calypso and Annabeth have an important encounter

A/N: Sorry for the lateness! It’s time for some Annabeth action. Just a fair warning, since next Friday is the Christmas day and the Friday after that the New Year, I am not sure when I'm going to be able to post again. Be prepared for at least one week's break, possibly even two. But don't worry because more is definitely coming.

I hope you enjoy and please let me know what you think!!

Calypso is the bolded text and Hazel the regular in the texting part.

Words: 2300+

Genre: romance & hurt/comfort

Warnings: none

previous chapter / AO3

…

Getting Leo to talk to her again was a huge weight off of Calypso’s shoulders, but there was still more to be done. Annabeth still kept to herself during the history lectures and Calypso didn’t want to force her to talk; she felt Annabeth should be the one to initiate it. From what Calypso had heard, Piper had tried to talk to her earlier, but so far Calypso hadn’t noticed any significant changes in Annabeth’s behavior. When she walked into the lecture hall that day, she noticed the blonde girl on the opposite side of the room, focused on her book. Letting a small sigh out of her mouth, she went to her usual seat pretty far from Annabeth.

Since the lecture wouldn’t start for a few more minutes, Calypso decided to use the time by checking her phone. When she opened her WhatsApp, she considered for a moment to whom she should text. Her first instinct told her she should contact Leo, but she imagined he was probably busy going to his own lecture at that moment, so she ended up scrolling through her other contacts instead. Noticing that Hazel seemed to be online, she started typing to her.

10:05: Hi, Hazel

10:05: Hi there! Was just thinking about you!

10:06: You were? How come?

10:06: Frank just texted me that on his morning jog near the campus today he had run into someone he had apparently recently met somewhere (he didn’t tell me where exactly).

10:07: and they had talked for a while.

10:07: At some point Frank mentioned the guy’s first name was Leo. I’m pretty sure it was /the/ Leo!!

10:08: How can you be so sure? I’m sure there are plenty of Leos around this campus. It’s not a rare name.

10:09: no but hear me out. The description matches with what you’ve told me. He said he’s a mechanic with a dog and when I asked Frank what he looked like, he said ‘dark hair, scrawny, eyes look like there’s some mischief going on in that head of his all the time but he’s not actually that bad when you talk to him’

10:09: I admit that does sound like the Leo I know

10:09: I told you! What a small world it is, apparently the boys we’re interested in know each other!

10:10: Still feels so weird when you put it that directly. You’re the only one who knows so far. So please, if you somehow happen to see him as well, don’t say anything.

10:10: Alright, I won’t. But what are /you/ waiting for? If he’s anything like the boys in our art class I’m sure he’s all over you by now.

10:10: Hazel!

10:11: Sorry, sorry. But you did talk to him after that… situation you had?

10:11: I did. We’re good now. Thanks for the advice the other day, by the way. It did help.

10:12: Ha, so you’re saying I gave you good advice. Could that mean that maybe you should also reread what I just said a moment ago?

10:12: Sorry, I gotta go. Something came up. TTYL!

10:13: Calypso!!

10:13: That’s so rude :P

Calypso hadn’t lied, though. She had noticed someone sneaking from the other side of the hall to the seat behind her, and that someone happened to be her friend to whom she hadn’t properly spoken for several weeks now. Trying to stay on her seat as neutrally as possible, still watching her now dark phone screen, she waited for Annabeth to start the conversation.

There was a tap on her shoulder. “Cal…” she finally heard Annabeth’s familiar voice say.

“Yeah?” Calypso asked tentatively, slowly turning on her seat to see the speaker.

“I think we should talk,” Annabeth stated, sounding more like her usual self.

“Um, sure,” Calypso answered but didn’t have time to say more when the professor stopped her, starting the lecture. “After this class, OK?”

“Right.” Annabeth nodded. Then she turned her focus to the professor, but Calypso noticed that not for long. She started doodling something into her notebook and was tapping on the floor with her foot, a habit that Calypso had noticed was very familiar to Leo, especially when he was nervous. Sometimes it was so easy to forget that Annabeth also had dyslexia and ADHD like him. The information seemed to come to her so naturally… but before the Percy incident, Annabeth had revealed that especially when she had been younger she usually had had to read the textbooks at least 5 times before she had finally absorbed what she had read. Later on, with the help of a teacher that actually understood her learning disability, she had learned some other methods that seemed to help her. One side of Calypso thought that it was relieving to see Annabeth show signs of weakness because usually she seemed so good at everything she did that it was mildly intimidating.

Soon Calypso realized that she herself had trouble focusing on what the professor was explaining while thinking about what she should tell Annabeth after the class. What could she say that she already hadn’t in the previous time? That she absolutely hated Annabeth’s boyfriend’s guts? That her flatmate made her feel weird things when they were in the same room so there was absolutely no need to be jealous?

Once the lecture was over, Calypso packed her things and gestured to Annabeth that they should have their conversation outside the lecture hall. They were walking silently until most of their fellow students had split into their own directions and found a quiet spot by the windows. There were some armchairs spread around the corridor to make it seem more comfortable and the girls sat down on two of them.

“I take it you may have changed your mind about me,” Calypso said directly once she had settled on her seat, feeling there was no need to tiptoe around the topic.

“I… yeah,” Annabeth started, and for a brief moment Calypso thought she showed a tiny bit of fragility. Suddenly she realized that maybe Annabeth wasn’t being her usual confident self, because she wasn’t that great at dealing with her feelings. Things like maths, chemistry and physics were simple to her because there were certain rules that needed to be applied. But the human mind was harder to read, Calypso knew that much. “Sometimes I think there are two different Annabeths: one that is very protective and jealous when it comes to the people she cares about, and then there’s the rational Annabeth who tries to yell to the other one that she is being ridiculous. I’m sorry. I overreacted.”

Calypso shook her head. “No, I think I can understand why it bothered you. I hate keeping things from you, but I promised to myself… I mean, it is safer to not get you guys involved.”

“But… why? What could happen?” Annabeth asked, folding her arms.

“I’m not going to go to details but my father… I’m sure you have figured out by now that he is not a nice guy. When he doesn’t like someone, or someone tries to get into his way… Good things don’t usually follow that. And I mean it. There is a very good reason why I moved this far from my previous home. To be honest, I would have liked to go all the way to Greece but that just wasn’t possible.”

“So you’re saying that your father is what you’re afraid of? And he could get us - I mean your friends - into trouble if you shared too much information with us?” Annabeth collected the pieces of the puzzle together.

“Basically, yes. But please, don’t ask more. I may already have said too much,” Calypso said worriedly.

“Don’t worry. My lips are definitely sealed,” Annabeth reassured her.

“Thanks.” Calypso hesitated a bit. “Um, can I ask you something?”

“Go ahead,” Annabeth nodded.

Calypso shifted a bit on her seat, trying to get more comfortable. “If I’m honest, I was not expecting you to forgive me that whole Percy thing that easily. What changed your mind?”

“Well, let me just tell you that you have some very good friends who managed to persuade me.” Annabeth gave her a playful smile.

“Huh? Who?” Calypso knew that Piper had talked to Annabeth but she didn’t know there were others as well.

“First of all, Percy convinced me that there was absolutely no reason to be jealous. I’m not going to tell you how he did it, but he can be pretty sweet when he wants to. Besides, between you and me: Seaweed Brain just can’t lie to me. I can read him like a book.” Annabeth’s smile only widened as she said that.

“OK.” Calypso didn’t think she wanted to hear more about that topic.

“But that wasn’t all. Piper also talked to me,” Annabeth added.

“What did she say?” Calypso asked curiously.

Annabeth’s eyes started sparkling mischievously. “A lot of things,” she started, “but she reminded me of some events that happened before Percy’s arrival that evening.”

“I don’t understand you now,” Calypso pretended to be stupid even though she was already guessing where Annabeth was going with her statement. “What events?”

“I don’t know…” Annabeth tapped her fingers against her forehead. “I think hugging, cupcake sharing and flirty bickering was involved. Keyword: think. I guess the people involved know more about that than I do.”

“That was… that was just us being friendly!” Calypso rushed to deny. “And what was so flirty about our bickering? We do that all the time and I’m not trying to…”

“Relax, Cal,” Annabeth stopped her. “It just kind of reminded me of me and Percy. But if you say so…”

Calypso groaned slightly. “Fine, you won. Again. Maybe… I may be starting to like him. But that doesn’t mean anything. He probably doesn’t like me back. And it wouldn’t work out for various reasons. I… When I moved here, I really thought I could just forget about everything that happened in my past and start to live my life. But it turns out that my past is still following me and stopping me from forming functional relationships. Besides… none of my former relationships worked. I may have been a kid back then but I made some bad decisions and it wrecked my self confidence. I don’t want to get hurt again and I also don’t want to hurt Leo. He has a very good heart, despite his weirdnesses…”

“Calypso, I know from my own experiences that ghosts of your past can be hard to fight. I have had plenty of family issues of my own in the past and they have probably influenced my later decisions, I admit that. But you seem to have taken an attitude that you have to deal with it alone. But you don’t. Let us help you. Maybe I can’t speak for all of us but I know I’m not afraid of your father. It is always possible to fight if you just come up with a good strategy.”

“This is probably a weird comment but that sounded like something I’d imagine the goddess Athena say. Are you sure you’re not her? Or related?” Calypso attempted to joke.

“Last time I checked, all of us were regular people,” Annabeth chuckled. “I admit I’m probably not quite as advanced in the greek mythology as you are although I have studied some of it, of course. But your question reminded me of this book series I read as a kid: Peter Johnson and the Olympians. The characters in it were children of Greek gods and I always wished that I’d be like one of the main characters who was a daughter of Athena.”

“Ooh, I read that series too!” Calypso said enthusiastically. “It was kind of cute although now that I know more about history and Greek mythology, not all the characters are quite like I picture them in my head. But I appreciate the effort to make the mythology more known to young readers.”

“Right! I agree.” Annabeth nodded before realizing they had gotten pretty far from the original topic.  “Sorry, we got a bit sidetracked here. I seriously do hope that you’ll let us help if needed. I myself am gonna try to be more patient and let you do it on your own terms, though.”

“Thanks, Annabeth. Um, about that Leo part, though…” Calypso felt her cheeks heat again and she wanted to curse her silly mind for reacting like that every time she thought about her flatmate. “Would you please be kind and keep it between us? I just really am not ready to deal with that yet…”

“Fine. I’ll let it be. For now. But maybe think about it. Who knows, you could be surprised by what might happen…” Annabeth said mysteriously.

“What do you mean?” Calypso frowned.

“Like I said, there are people who are ready to help you carry your burden even though you’re too absorbed by your issues to notice that. That’s all.”

“O-kay,” Calypso said suspiciously, wondering what Annabeth’s statement implied.

“You should know that one of the people who talked with me was Leo. He said he had noticed that you were feeling pretty down since the… incident and that you seemed to blame yourself for everything. And that you also felt very bad about not being honest. That’s what really opened my eyes and made me decide that I need to get over my grudge that doesn’t even make sense. I got what I wanted, didn’t I? Logically thinking, you should be the one who’s mad at me.”

“That Leo…” Calypso was so focused on that part for a moment that it took her a while to register what else Annabeth had said. “Um, sorry. To be honest, I think the Calypso from a couple of years ago would have been mad. But my priorities have changed and I also realized that Percy is way happier with you.”

“I’m glad you’re not holding a grudge, though,” Annabeth said.

“Life’s too short for that,” Calypso shrugged.

“I guess so. So, we’re friends, right?”

“Right,” Calypso confirmed, giving Annabeth a genuine smile. Some hope had risen in her heart again and she made a mental note to thank a certain mechanic later at home.

[fallfromthaliagrace]

Student Exchange- Percabeth AU

Summary: Annabeth Chase gets little more than she bargained for when she helps Percy Jackson get used to San Francisco, Los Angeles. (This is going to be an ongoing series of Percy Jackson AU that I been meaning to write!! I want it to be only six chapters but time will only tell ;) I never like AU but I really prefer writing them than actually following canons. Also!! Annabeth and Piper are from California meaning they go to “Camp Jupiter” than “Camp Half-Blood.” Eh, I thought that was more suitable as they do live in California. I’m can’t wait to continued writing this and stay safe!) 

Update Schedule: TBD (online classes are a nightmare) 

Warning: I can’t exactly remember but I don’t think so??

~ 

Chapter 1.

Annabeth thought this was dumb. The whole idea was dumb, an student exchange between two schools that had rival history? Jupiter Academy and Half-Blood Academy were rivals in… well everything. From sports to academics, both schools were competitive. And though both schools had made up last year, the students still had a grudge against each other. This was the second year of the student exchange between the schools and during the assembly, they had promised that they would treat the student from the exchange with respect despite the history. Last year, it almost ended with a disaster but didn’t; prompting the schools for year two.

Speaking of grudges, the reason Annabeth has a hatred for student exchange is because last year, she was one of the students chosen to go to Half-Blood Academy. It was a good experience and time for her, she always wanted to go to New York City to see the architecture. But, a fellow named Percy Jackson had made her go insane.

Percy Jackson was a rival of hers from sports and academics. Percy and her could never just let the other win, it was always him or her. And Annabeth wanted it to be her.  So the competitiveness never ended even after the sports and academics competition.

“I wondered who this year's group is going to be,” Said Piper, snapping Annabeth out her thoughts, “Hope Jason is coming.”

Jason Grace. Another golden boy in Half-Blood Academy along with Jackson. Grace was okay in her books, mainly because he was her best friend, Piper,’s boyfriend. Annabeth thought that Jason was perfect… too perfect, always obliged by the rules and not to mention that his hair isn’t even affected by the wind. Unbelievable. Annabeth secretly thinks that he is like some Roman god.

“Yeah, you haven’t seen him since last year.” Said Annabeth as she picked with her lunch, “Only FaceTiming and texting?”

Piper grimaced and nodded, “We hadn’t spoken to each other since summer, ugh, I hate this no phone policy.”

Piper and Jason were doing this long-distance relationship from California and New York. It was actually good despite the circumstances of a long-distance relationship. The two met last year during the student exchange and everybody was betting that they would end up together. But of course when school came, they had stopped talking to each other due to no phone policy (annabeth thinks it’s dumb rule too) and havoc that the beginning of school year begins.

“Hm, me too.”  Said Annabeth as she ate a piece of her salad, half heartedly.

“Are you okay?” Asked Piper as she furrowed her eyebrows and placed her hands on Annabeth’s shoulder.

“I don’t even know I was chosen for this whole thing.” Said Annabeth as she slumped down.

Annabeth was chosen to be student ambassador after Hazel begged her to apply for it. Annabeth didn’t think any of it and thought she would probably be rejected but when the letter arrived to her home, Annabeth almost had a heart attack.

“Aw Annie, not be so down. There is probably a reason why they picked you.” Said Piper as she comforted Annabeth.

“Like what?” Said Annabeth to challenge Piper with her eyebrows raised.

“Well, you’re smart, kind-hearted, a leader and so much more.” Piper said softly, “I would have been surprised if you didn’t pick you.”

Annabeth groaned as she packed up her unfinished lunch, “I’m going to hate these two months of my life. Now, I don’t even want to eat lunch.”

“You should, after all, they are coming today.” Said Piper, reminding Annabeth that today was the day the students would arrive.

“Wait, today? I thought it was tomorrow.” Said Annabeth, panic rose in her voice, “I’m not prepared.”

Piper smiled softly, and hugged Annabeth, “You’re going to be fine. After all, you are Annabeth Chase, you always find a way.”

Annabeth laughed softly, “Thanks. You think they’re here yet?”

Piper shrugged and glanced around, “Maybe, it'll take like five hours to get from New York.”

Piper and Annabeth cleaned up their table and threw away their trash. Piper and Annabeth then walked outside of their campus. Outside of the campus was a crowd of students surrounding a group of students who were definitely the exchange students. One look at them and Annabeth could tell that they were uncomfortable and tired.

Annabeth and Piper glanced at each other and rolled their eyes at the female audiences that crowded the mostly boys group from New York. Annabeth stood straight up and walked toward them. Percy was weary and was the first to take  notice of Annabeth. Annabeth could have sworn that his (sea-green) eyes were like a cute baby seal that needed help. Annabeth had fought back her smile that tugged on the corner of her lips.

Annabeth coughed and sternly said, taking the form of her leadership, “Ladies, can we back away from the exchange students?”

The crowd stopped bothering them and looked at Annabeth who was glaring at them. The crowd looked down at the ground and muttered a sorry. (Piper always told Annabeth that she had a glare so fierce that it could kill someone. Annabeth always thought that idea was crazy and a bit extreme… maybe.)

Annabeth softened her gaze and smiled, “Hm. Now, go to class before you're late.”

The students nodded and quickly scurried away, leaving the exchange group of student eyes widened at her like she was some goddess. Piper quickly rushed over to Jason and kissed him. A boy with curly black hair next to Jason, awkwardly shifted a bit over.

“How- How did- you’re- thank you!” Said a girl with flowers in her blondish curly hair, “I didn’t know how to rid them without being rude!”

Annabeth smiled heartfeltly at the girl and looked at the group. The group consisted of eight people who Annabeth probably saw before, but she couldn’t really remember them.

Annabeth looked at Percy who stood in front of everyone. and smiled genuinely at him and everyone else. (She might hate this whole thing but it doesn’t mean that she was going to mean to the people who came here.)

“I’m Annabeth Chase,  I'm a student ambassador for Jupiter Academy and I’m here to help you guys to settle around here.” Said Annabeth as she clasped her hand together.

Everyone awkwardly stared at her and said, hello. Annabeth introduced Piper to everyone. Piper detached herself from Jason and waved at everyone. In response, everyone waved back.

“Okay!” Said Annabeth, trying to get rid of the awkwardness, “Because you guys came here earlier than expected, all the student ambassadors aren’t here yet.”

They all nodded and their gaze tore away from Annabeth and toward the school.  Jupiter Academy was a large, three-story high building that closed to the city that allowed the students to go back and forth. There was also a huge field dedicated to sports, and a huge temple dedicated to the founder of Jupiter Academy. Unlike Half Academy, Jupiter Academy was more harsh, strict, disciplined toward it’s students.

“Impressed, is it?” Piper said as she smiled at her school.

“Eh. I have seen better.” Whispered a tall boy with elvish features and mop of curly brown hair to a boy who looked like him but shorter who giggled.

“Shut up, Travis.” Said the girl who had thanked her before, “I’m sorry about him and yes, it looked impressive.”

Piper glared at Travis then smiled at the girl, “I’m Piper McLean, you are?”

“I’m Katie, Katie Gardner.” Said Katie who sheepishly smiled.

“Well, good to meet you.” Said Piper then looked at the others, “Would the rest of guys like to introduce themselves before we soon find out?”

“Sure,” Said Percy as he beamed at Annabeth and Piper, “I’m Percy.”

Annabeth cocked her head to the side and raised her eyebrows then quickly softened her gaze as Percy stared at her. Annabeth then looked at the curly black hair boy with a scrawny (but cute) appearance. He blushed as he realized that Annabeth was staring at him.

“I’m Leo, Leo Valdez.” Said Leo as he went up to Annabeth and offered his hand, “Nice to meet you, ladies.”

Annabeth simpered and chuckled, “Nice to meet you too. I guess you know Piper?”

“Good friends since grade school.” Smiled Leo as he went back to the group, “Good to see you, Beauty Queen.”

Piper smiled and was about to say something but didn’t and turned around. Annabeth turned around by the sudden movement and saw Hazel Levesque and Frank Zhang, her good friends and also the co-student council president.

“Annabeth! Piper! Why didn’t anyone tell us that students were here?” Asked Hazel as she strolled over to them.

“They just arrived here like fifteen minutes ago, Hazel.” Smiled Piper sheepishly, “And we didn’t know where everyone was...”

Hazel smiled and said, “It’s fine, though we should get anyone together.”

“I’ll do it!” Said Frank, “I will also bring the sheet too.”

“Thanks Frank!” Said Hazel cheerfully as she waved Frank goodbye.

“Anyways,” Said Hazel, turning back to the group, “I’m Hazel and I’m the student body president with whom you just saw there, Frank. I’m so sorry that I couldn’t greet you guys to Jupiter Academy but luckily, Annabeth, our student body vice-president, and Piper, one of ours amazing students, was able to welcome you all into Jupiter Academy.”

“You will all be able to explore the school soon but we need to split you guys up and we need to introduce your students' ambassadors to one and other.” Said Hazel, “So come.”

Hazel gestured them forward and walked through the entrance way and they all followed her. Annabeth quickened her pace and was talking to Hazel. Piper had hooked her arms with Jason and was walking the group. Annabeth felt a pair of eyes but decided to ignore it.

They entered the entrance hall and Hazel and Annabeth turned around to look at the group whose eyes were widened. The hallways were empty as classes had started, except for the student ambassador which consisted of two students plus Frank.

The section group of student ambassadors consisted of Reyna Ramírez-Arellano, a piercing black eyes and glossy black hair who was a serious and strict girl. Michael Kahale, a tan-skin boy with dark hair and eyes with muscular arms. Annabeth was also an ambassador but she was only a last minute decision for some reason.  

Annabeth still was wondering why she was even chosen for a student ambassador. She hadn’t even thought about applying yet Hazel had begged for her to apply which she did but she didn’t know she would be accepted. I mean, yeah, Annabeth was smart and had the leadership skills but her?

Annabeth shook her head and sighed. Annabeth accidentally bumped into Hazel, Annabeth blushed and muttered a quick apology. Hazel smiled and grabbed Annabeth’s arm and led to where Reyna, Michael, Frank were. Now, she was even more aware that Percy was staring at her.

“Hey everyone, I’m Frank Zhang,” Said Frank cheerfully, “And I’m going to be helping you along with your student ambassadors and Hazel.”

Then Frank talked about more classes and what they were supposed to do during their times here; classes and etc.

“We’re going to take attendance and split you guys up into groups. Now, meet Reyna, Michael, and… um, Annabeth, your student ambassador.” Said Frank as he stumbled over Annabeth’s name causing the others to look at him.

Frank blushed and Hazel smiled sheepishly before continuing the rest of the speech, “Okay get ready for attendance, raise your hand or say here!”

“Nico di Angelo?” Asked Hazel as she scanned the crowd to see a pale hand in the air.

Hazel curiosity looked at Nico for a minute before continuing calling several others names like Will Solace (Sunny-looking guy,)  Leo Valdez, and Jason Grace. Out of the corner of her eyes, Annabeth could have sworn that Reyna shifted a bit out of her posture at the mention of Jason.

“All of four of you guys are going under Ms.Reyna's instructions while attending classes.” Said Hazel, “You guys will be toured around campus by Reyna.”

Reyna studied her group for minutes before nodding and everyone watched as the guys awkwardly walked toward her. Reyna then told them they’re starting their official campus tour, leaving four students left.

“And that leaves the rest of you to Michael but we shall take attendance,” Asked Frank, “Katie Gardner?”

Katie, the girl who was very flowery raised her hand and smiled. Next, was the Stoll brothers who were very alike beside the height difference.  Katie quietly grumbled at the mention of the Stolls’ in her group. Then Frank called out Malcom Pace, a boy who looked younger than the rest of them raised his hand. Annabeth couldn’t help but think how much they look alike… the blonde hair and grey eyes. He almost looked like Annabeth.

“All of you guys are going with Michael, ” Said Frank slowly as he scanned the group, then Hazel nudged him, “Yeah, Michael.”

Michael surveyed them before gesturing them forward, “We're going to visit the grand hall where…”

Annabeth had drowned out Michael’s voice and was slightly getting panicky. Percy was the only one left and awkwardly standing there while (making it very obvious) staring at her. Annabeth hoped Frank had forgotten about Percy but you couldn’t really forget about him, just look at him! But this couldn’t that mean…?

Michael and his group had left. Percy, Hazel, Frank, and Annabeth stood there in the entrance hall awkwardly. Percy had shifted his gaze from Annabeth to the floor and Annabeth was able to finally breathe. Annabeth didn’t know why but she couldn’t breathe when Percy was staring at her… like he had sucked the air out her.

“And Annabeth, you’re with Percy…” Said Hazel calmly though slightly anxious, that was on her face.

“But I-” Said Annabeth, getting cutted away by a loud shatter near them.

They all turned at the noise with their eyes widened then could hear Reyna loudly yelling at someone. And when you get yelled at by Reyna, it doesn’t end well. Unless someone stepped in.

Hazel rushed over there without a thought. Things were getting a little more hectic that it had alerted the students in their classroom. Students peeked their heads out the door as Reyna's voice got louder.

Frank, alarmingly, told Annabeth to take Percy to the opposite side of the school for the tour and get away as far as possible before rushing away to see the problem.

Without thinking, Annabeth grabbed Percy’s hand and ran up the grand staircase, startling him. Percy’s eyes widened and blushed and Annabeth would have blushed if it was for the fact, it sounded like pure chaos.

Annabeth led Percy near the dorm, very far away from wherever Reyna was. Percy was still panting for the unwanted jog that he got and Annabeth was sheepishly looking at him and let go of his hand. After Percy had recovered, he and Annabeth walked back to the middle to start the tour while Annabeth eagerly talked about architecture of the school.

“I’m sorry if I’m boring you with this stuff, it’s just so… fascinating.” Said Annabeth as they reached the grand staircase.

“It’s fine, besides, you look cute when you talk about some stuff you like.” Smiled Percy genuinely.

Annabeth didn’t say anything and stared at Percy, her face getting redder by the minute.

“You-argh, never mind. Let’s just start the tour.”

[whenthemarshmallowmettheslayer]

I’m happy that you like to hear people’s thoughts about subplots and ideas and such. I just got so caught up thinking about the time right after he was claimed and how “everyone was afraid of him” and how different his experience might have been if instead he could’ve met people with the undercurrent of “this kid might be my sibling” and that’s really neat :) I absolutely, 10000% look forward to whatever you write next!!!

I do! (About hearing people’s thoughts on subplots, ideas, and so on.) :) 

Heads up I’m going to break this reply in two parts. The first part is about claiming or rather Percy not being claimed and what that means later on in the series. The second part will be about his SPQR tattoo. Okay, onto the the first part, claiming: 

1.) Annabeth canonically assumed Percy was Zeus’ son even after Percy became the supreme lord of the camp’s plumbing (which Percy doesn’t become in this verse). It isn’t till she sees the water healing Percy that she puts the pieces together and then BAM Percy gets claimed. 

This is honestly a fair guess because in Greek mythology Zeus had the most children. This is also supported by the fact Zeus has the most demi-god children in PJ series. 

Before someone points out Hazel, Bianca, Nico, and I’m pretty sure it’s hinted in the books Hitler was Hades’ son and that three confirmed children of a big three beats the two (Thalia and Jason) children Zeus has let me remind you that Hades stopped having children after the oath was made that was result of the great prophecy and of their children being too powerful (about WW2).

Hades actually kept his oath which both is something Greek mythology supports in two different ways but that’s a discussion for another day. (I haven’t had caffeine yet. My cup of tea is still steeping.) 

Zeus had two children after the oath - one who Annabeth personally knew - while 

Poseidon only had one and Hades had none after the oath. 

So it was a valid guess to assume Zeus had fallen off the bandwagon again. 

Grover, on the other hand, states that he believed Percy is the son of a minor god or goddess. 

We never officially (key word officially) get Chiron’s guess on Percy’s parentage but 

I think it’s telling that out of everything he could have done Chiron gave Percy  Riptide during the school’s trip to the museum. 

It’s apparent in the chapter after Percy vaporizes pre-algebra teacher that Grover and Chiron knew she was a Kindly One (plus I just remembered in the first chapter that Percy made a remark after sententious that she was pure evil and Grover agreed). There’s also the fact it’s stated several times throughout the series that Grover, and I’m sure it’s a safe assumption Chiron too, could smell monsters. Even if they couldn’t smell that there was a fury in the school they would have noticed her appearing one day and manipulating the mist. (Thalia states TTC that Chiron taught her to manipulate the mist.) 

So Chiron must have known Mrs.Dodds was a monster. If he didn’t carry a weapon with him that would be beyond stupid (maybe he can’t personally interfere since there’s red tape for everyone but a demi-gods who only held back by their own bravery but that doesn’t mean Chiron couldn’t have kept a weapon to give Percy in case he needed it which he does) especially when Percy states in the book Chiron had a collection of weapons he would let the class mess around with. 

Out of all the weapons Chiron - Chiron who manipulates the mist, Chiron who had been training demi-gods for hundreds of years, Chiron who had a stash of weapons he let his class play around with - could have kept on him it’s Riptide - the sword Poseidon gave him - that Chiron gives to Percy. 

So even though Chiron is never officially guessed Percy’s parentage I think he had already guessed right in the privacy of his own mind. (This is something I hint about in the series.) 

Okay, so that’s Annabeth, Grover, and Chiron’s guesses in canon. 

It would be fair for other campers to assume that Percy was a child of Zeus because he was the only big three known to break the oath at the time (Thalia) and seriously the god could not keep in it his pants in Greek mythology. You would be surprised how many people are attributed to being Zeus’s. There actually are a few bad guys in Greek mythology that are sons of Zeus and some of Hades’ children that could be his are also said to be actually Zeus (Macaria, Zagreus, and Melinoe). 

But the kicker is Zeus doesn’t claim him.

It doesn’t matter what you or anyone thinks. If the kid isn’t claimed they have to stay in the Hermès Cabin. (Which really sucks if you’re a child of a god or goddess who isn’t an Olympian. Even if you’re claimed you still have to live in that overcrowded cabin because the camp only had twelve cabins until the end of TLO.) 

Zeus who apparently didn’t just only turn Thalia into a tree to save her life (and finally give the camp some protection) but kicked up a fuss on Grover failing to retrieve Thalia to camp safely.  (It’s mentioned throughout the series Grover was given shit about not saving Thalia and that Zeus doesn’t like him. I know for a fact Zeus still holds it against Grover because I reread the scene in TLO where the gods rewarded the heroes; I’m working on an oneshot with trans female Percy - Helen - that takes place in that scene.) 

So to most campers who were old enough to know about Thalia and the story behind the pine tree that protects them or were told about it by someone who did...it’s very telling and makes them wonder that Percy might not be Zeus’ son. 

That who knows...he could be the son of just a normal Olympian, a minor god, or a minor goddess. 

Who ever thinks not being a son of the big three, Ares, or Athena means you’re not powerful is dumb. We see this (off the top of my decaffeinated head) in Selina (her love for Charlie makes her trick the Ares cabin to defend New York which saves the battle, Clarisse’s love for Selina makes her slay a drakon that Percy with the Achilles’ heel couldn’t do, and there’s also the fact her telling Luke of Percy and Charles plans to blow up the cruise ship could have turned the tides of war if Kronos had been able to kill Percy too) who was a daughter of Aphrodite, when see this in Meg in ToA who is the daughter of Demeter whose children Annabeth brushed off in TLT, and in Luke who was a leader for the Titan’s army until Kronos possessed him and fought Percy (the son of Poseidon, of the big three, while Luke was only the son of Hermes). 

Demi-gods are important- this is stated several times in the series because they are only held back by their bravery, their hubris - no matter their parentage. 

In the last chapter I had a parts where Percy (who was told he was a pawn by Gaea) realize his worth and honestly this can apply to any demi-god who survives long enough and realizes their worth (the gods need demi-gods because the demi-gods are not held back but by their bravery): 

1.) “Percy would not be a victim nor would he longer be a pawn that Gaea had told him he was before promising to persevere him if he went north. Didn’t they know about the thing called promotion in a game of chess? Percy had still had not played a round of the game (he had kept meaning to download an app for it) but he had googled about pawns and the thing was if a pawn survived long enough and got to the other side of the board they could become anything but the king.

And Percy?

He was no longer a pawn because Percy had survived. Yet the thing was Percy had to wonder at what had been the cost. He wondered if had become a monster along the way because don’t you know? Monsters are made, not born. And two wars had certainly made Percy into something: a child killer, a person who watched his best friend die to bomb a cruise ship which Kronos had still survived, someone who intimately knew the smell of burnt human flesh from the pyres of fallen comrades, but Percy had not been made a good person. A good person didn’t talk the person, the titan Bob, they claimed (they lied) to be their friend and convinced them to murder their brother.” 

2.) “There it was again: pawn. Percy was no longer a pawn. He had survived and he had become what was needed of him to save his loved ones and to live after so many quests. (And maybe what he was was a monster that no one else could see because it was under his skin - in his soul. A monster that possibly couldn’t die until this body reached sixteen.)” 

3.) “I lied earlier,” Percy admitted as realization fell upon on him. (Don’t you know the king is the weakest player? Don’t you know if the pawn survives across the journey to the other side of the board it can become anything but the king?) Percy thought of Calypso and of vows sworn to the river of Styx. Percy remembered how Hera had told him he was the glue that held the Seven. (Don’t you know when you make a Faustian contract with the devil you will pay for it even if it’s years later - so many years you thought you escaped him? As if he would forget after what he’s given you. You struck a deal and you were a fool for ever thinking he would let it slide without payment. Not after he’s given for you because he gave you his soul in the end when he only meant to give you victory of your wars.) “When I said I was sorry and that it wouldn’t save either of us.”

Okay, that was the end of part one of my reply. I’ll try to write the second part later today. (When I post the second part I’ll come back to edit this post so there’s a link to the second part of the reply.) 

[jflashandclash]

Traitors of Olympus IV: Fall of the Sun

Fifty: Kalypso

Satyr Butts and Catching Up

             Kally was happy they waited until she was awake to fill in the group about what happened. Frank wanted to wait until everyone was up, but Axel and Calex did a convincing job dissuading him from waking Euna.

Clovis had gently beckoned Kally out of her surprisingly peaceful dreams and Chris Rodriguez and Matthias Severe Hanson very ungently pulled Pax from inside his nest. Hazel was even generous enough to give Alabaster a white board and some dry erase markers.

           Kally feared the first thing he’d write was, My helm or your first born child.[1] Considering the ingredients he kept for his spells, she wasn’t sure what he’d want if she’d lost something of his that was so important.

           All of their possessions were gone when Kally woke up: her notebook, messenger bag, and his Cloven Terror helm. Even her clothing was gone. Instead, she woke up with an IV drip in her hand, a surgical smock, and pain with each breath. She had barely been able to pick up her glasses from the pillow beside her.

           It was creepy to think someone had changed them. The only people Kally knew well at camp had also been unconscious. For the time being, Kally would just pretend that was one of Will’s powers: magically poofing people into surgical-friendly clothing.

           The only person in the room who was allowed to keep their weapon—and Kally guessed “allowed’ was a strong word—was Euna.

           Instead of asking about his missing things, Alabaster scribbled down, Why? and pointed to the balloon beside his sleeping bag. It depicted a satyr on one side and the satyr’s ass on the other with a note that said, “Poke me; I sing!” There were also streamers strewn off his IV stand.

           “Apparently this is how a certain child of Hermes decided to thank you for saving his brother,” Dr. Claymore said. He never looked up from the book he was reading, though the smile that he cracked said he’d watch the Stoll set up everything while Alabaster slept.

           Alabaster’s fingers flashed over the board to write, Ajax. No.

           Pax, meanwhile, pouted.

Axel sighed. “His arms are too messed up to throw anything at it. Trust me. He tried.”

           Frank and Reyna sat in foldout chairs they’d managed to stuff into the room, moving Lapis’ closer to the weird bird cage in the corner. Hazel stood ready by the door like the most unassuming of guards. None of them wore armor, just SPQR sweatshirts and workout pants. Hazel’s fingers tensed around her spatha’s hilt. Reyna twirled her knife into the edge of her seat. A sword hung at both her and Frank’s sides. Every time Euna mumbled in her mossy cocoon, they would startle and go for their weapons.

           While nibbling on some microwave breakfast sandwiches, Reyna got them up to speed.

           “Apparently, after Prometheus brought Axel and Pax back here, he contacted Helios—”

           Kally felt her jaw drop along with a piece of egg. “Wait—that creepy, former sun god that used to work with Hemera?”

Kally remembered Helios and Eos, the Goddess of Dawn, dream-messaging her to say that Hemera had been taken.

           “Creepy is a forgiving choice of word,” Reyna said, looking utterly unamused.

           Frank coughed off to the side. “Reyna may have brought Helios up to speed on the last few decades of equality on gender treatment.”

           “With her fist,” Hazel said with a giggle. Whatever transpired must have been intense. Hazel was fanning herself.

           Axel smiled, looking impressed. Although Merry and Calex had informed Kally about his flirt-session with a cat goddess, Kally had a feeling no one could distract Axel from this praetor.

           Reyna cleared her throat and continued, “Prometheus contacted Helios—”

           “And said there might be an open job listing for Sun Chariot Driver,” Pax filled in, bouncing on his haunches.

           Apparently, before Kally woke up, Pax had been refusing treatment. She forced him to take some ambrosia with a Reese’s Stick. Now, she was wondering if the extra sugar before real food was a bad idea. Though, with the barely convincing smile on his face, she wondered if Pax was acting as peppy as possible to distract everyone from how he actually felt.

           Reyna nodded, looking a lot less like she wanted to strangle Pax than Kally would expect. “If Nyx wanted Hemera to come back alive, Eris told Nyx that she had to wrap Apollo in the Golden Net and keep him there, but didn’t mention anything about the chariot. When Nyx’s old business associate showed up to borrow the Sun Chariot, she didn’t try to stop him.”

           “How did Helios know where to find them?” Calex asked. He leaned up against the wall, sitting on top his sleeping bag. Kally winced anytime she glanced at him. Half his handsome face was covered in some vicious scabs that cracked when he talked. The bandages peaking out of his clothing indicated that wasn’t the only part of him that was cracking.

           Merry, sitting between them, would occasionally frown and apply pressure with a clean cloth when something bled too much. Her face was marred with bruises, and when Kally had tried to put a thumb at neutral position to see how Merry was feeling, Merry had shaken her head and mouthed the words, later, sweetie.

           Frank snorted and leaned back in his chair. “Augh, you should have heard Helios. ‘I helped find Persephone when Hades kidnapped her. You think I can’t find someone as high on his own sun fumes and flamboyant as Apollo?’’

           Hazel frowned. “They really don’t like each other. After Sadie, Leo, and Jason got Hemera and Lapis back and Lady Nyx let Lord Apollo go, he stormed back here. Helios had come back to get rid of Python’s corpse—”

           “Corpse?!” Calex and Kally echoed.

           Her head spun. She had put her everything into the last light javelin she threw, but… corpse?

           Calex slipped a hand past Merry to offer Kally a high five. “Nice play, Kassand,” he said.

           Kally struggled to raise her arm that didn’t have the skin graft. Every move made her ribs burn. On the list of reasons she found her powers stupid, having the ability to conjure the heat and brilliance of the sun without being fireproof topped everything else.

Seeing her slow movement, Calex leaned the extra way to tap her hand.

“Thanks for the assist, McKenzie,” Kally said, sincerely hoping they’d be well enough and the chaos would settle enough that she and Calex could scrimmage each other on the soccer field. Every time they high-fived, it made her long for a fun, normal-seeming soccer match.

           “Python will reform one day,” Reyna said. “Until then, Helios pried out her fangs for the two of you. Thalia already called dibs on one of the eyes to add to her Aegis shield.”

           “Thalia’s okay?” Axel asked, his ears perking up at the name.

           Reyna nodded. “Once Lady Diana saw the sun fall, she returned to check on everyone. Thalia is with Lady Diana now, assuring that Lord Apollo doesn’t skip out on details when they explain everything to the other Olympians.”

           The squeak of a marker brought everyone’s attention to Alabaster. He held up his white board. If his jaw wasn’t wired shut, he looked like he might have been smirking.

           Helios and Apollo didn’t get along?

           Kally suddenly wondered whose side Helios was on during the Second Titan War and why Prometheus, who apparently had been hiding since Mount Othrys’ fall, had been comfortable going to him for help.

           Hazel continued her story from where Kally had interrupted. Kally felt her cheeks get red, realizing how much she’d derailed them.

“Helios’ actions helped save the camp, but Lord Apollo was furious the older deity had borrowed the sun chariot. And Helios began shouting at him for neglecting his employees. He demanded Lord Apollo give Hemera, Eos, and Astraeus more benefits and more days off during the winter solstice. I thought they were about to start brawling, but that’s around when Artemis showed up and calmed her brother down. It was…” Hazel smiled softly. “Kinda sweet. You could tell Helios really cared. He only left to check on Hemera and make sure she and Nyx were okay.”

           “At least he had some redeemable features,” Reyna grumbled. She flexed her hand and Kally noticed the bandages around Reyna’s knuckles. “And Lord Apollo helped a little with the healing before he left. His song saved Lou Ellen and Michael Kahale.”

           Alabaster made a noise.

           Kally glanced over to see him covering his stitched jaw, where she knew a bone had been sticking out a day before. Judging by his pallor, he must have tried to talk.

           Kally didn’t have the heart to ask which people Apollo hadn’t been able to heal. A moment of silence passed; everyone seemed to be thinking the same thing.

           Pax stopped rocking on his haunches. “So, two of the Special Seven are here.” He pointed to Hazel and Frank. “I’m going to guess Piper and Annabeth are still doing some massive sleep marathons to get rid of the kissing disease and the buboes. Commander Valdez just left, and his good mood means he’s got his blond Superman around. Where’s your Aquaman?”

           The tone of his voice was a little too careful. Kally didn’t understand the seriousness of the question—she assumed Percy had other important things to do now that he wasn’t glued to a chair—then she saw the way Merry jutted her jaw to the side.

           “After Jason assured him that he’d focus on reconstruction, Percy went to spend the day with his parents and little sister,” Hazel said, “I think the whole family is coming to help out tonight. He’s a little rough though. Um… I think the early stages of mono are setting in.”

           Kally held her breath as Pax, Axel, and Lapis all turned their gaze to Merry. Even Calex frowned in concern, showing she hadn’t told him about anything yet.

           Reyna cleared her throat, sitting up.

           Merry waved the diversion off before Reyna could begin. “I guess I can’t really avoid the Debby Downer anymore,” she said. The buoyancy vanished from her voice. “I…”

           Her gaze had sunk to the floor. Reflexively, she tapped her collarbone, like she expected the music dial on her jacket to appear. After sucking in a shaky breath, she looked back up, glancing from Pax, to Axel, to Lapis. “Baby Jackson is safe… but, by the time the EMTs got there...” A silent tear rolled down Merry’s busted cheek. She withdrew her hand from Calex’s reach when he tried to touch it. “Hiro is paralyzed from the waist down.”

           Kally froze. She could hear the sound of three different cheeks popping.

“He fell onto one of the parapets… I shattered his mind. It was all I could think to do when—he’s at Mount Sinai hospital.” Merry’s breath was so short, she sounded close to hyperventilating. “I-I’m sorry.”

           Kally felt her mouth hang open in surprise. Iciness in her stomach made her set the half-eaten breakfast sandwich down. Her appetite was gone.

Merry hated violence. She wouldn’t even hurt bugs. Shattering someone’s mind? Was that even something Merry could do?

           Tears streamed down Pax’s face.

           Axel closed his eyes.

           Lapis choked into his gag. His chair thudded on the ground as he thrashed.

           Pax shot up from his bedding.

           Frank rose to intercept him, but Reyna shook her head.

           Pax scurried to Lapis. With a whimper at moving his arm with the injured shoulder, he tore off Lapis’ gag before anyone could stop him.

           That mustn’t have been what the praetor thought Pax would do. Maybe a hug. Not giving a psychopath their most dangerous weapon back.

           Hazel, Frank, and Reyna all tensed. Kally expected Lapis to cast some kind of Egyptian magic and send everyone’s faces smashing into the ground.

           Instead, Lapis sobbed, tearing making black lines as they mixed with his charcoal liner. “He’s alive. Our stupid grime-licking Dartface is still alive. You hear that, Tufted Ears?” Lapis looked up, his expression one of crazed glee. “There are still four Pax boys! Eat garbage, world! You can ‘t eradicate us that easily!”

           Pax and Axel released broken laughs. Pax snuggled, as best as he could, against Lapis.

           Axel muttered something back to Lapis in a staccato language that Kally could only guess was Mayan. The Egyptian barked something back that made them burst into more sob-laughs.

           Merry looked understandably speechless. She hugged herself and huddled further from Calex’s worried glance.

           Axel exhaled slowly and opened his eyes. “Merry, we expected you to do what you needed to do. Hiro babysat Percy’s little sister for days and was willing to cut off her fingers without a moment of hesitation.”

           “His mind was more like a mirror hanging out at a skeet shooting lounge,” Pax croaked.

           “But he’s alive,” Lapis repeated, rubbing the coal-tear streaks against his sleeve. “Our crazy bastard is alive.”

Lapis sat up to glare at Reyna. “I’m going to hug my brothers,” he announced. He muttered something in Egyptian and his bindings disintegrated.

           The Romans clutched their weapons tightly as Lapis rose. He half-dragged Pax, half-limped over to Axel’s sleeping roll and collapsed beside him, dragging Pax down on his other side.

           “We’re going to be a Facebook-friendly, snot-happy family, and we’re not losing any more of us. But, I’m still kicking both your sorry asses for all this shit later,” Lapis said, rubbing his face on some of Axel’s bandages. His scowl darkened when he pointed to where Merry was now sobbing into her cupped hand. “Don’t think you’re off the hook though, Wine Babe. You’re coming over all the flippin’ time to try to fix up Dart Face’s messed up head.”

           Merry didn’t complain. She nodded her head feverously. With that tiny hint at forgiveness, she leaned toward Calex.

           Despite all the terrible things Lapis had helped put them through, Kally felt her own eyes warm. Axel and Pax looked so much more relaxed with their family member beside them, like neither cared what was going to happen next. For a moment, she could picture some of the stories Pax had told her, about them playing in the school yards of Belize or pranking the carnival with Frasco. Her gut twisted to realize there really were only four members left when there used to be seven in their Tumbling group.

           Like Reyna had read a book on how to ruin family moments, she twisted her knife deeper into her chair and said, “We need to talk about that.” Frank and Hazel’s expressions fell. Alabaster made a low growling sound, closer to something Axel might make. Dr. Claymore shut his book and examined them carefully.

           “Merry being a Wine Babe?” Pax choked through hiccups.

           Reyna ignored him. “Frank and I discussed matters with Chiron and Annabeth. Considering Merry’s father’s position at camp and her importance in saving Percy’s little sister, we believe the Olympians will overlook her involvement with the Triple A Chimera,” Reyna said.

           Kally felt her stomach make a valid attempt to punch its way out.

           “We believe Calex will also be absolved of any crimes, as well as Kally, especially considering their prominence in taking out Python. However, Euna is a different matter. Her declaration and continued vehemence towards the gods will make her a target for Olympian ire and they’re going to be looking for a target after this humiliation.”

           Kally glanced over at Euna. The daughter of Demeter snored softly in her moss and grass cocoon. Despite the scythe in her hand, Euna looked peaceful, in a weird feral dryad sort of way.

           Any relaxation Axel might have felt about having another sibling close must have tensed away. He sat up, away from Lapis and Pax, pulled his shoulders back, and raised his chin. “You’re not taking Euna without a fight,” he said.

           Reyna sighed. She stood and walked over to Axel’s sleeping bag. When she knelt down, his gaze remained firm. Then, Reyna pressed the butt of her knife into Axel’s bandages.

           Pax and Lapis exchanged a look and a short conversation in Mayan. One of Lapis’ hands shot up and Pax shoved it down.

           Axel’s face paled at the pressure on his wounds. He collapsed backwards with little more than a grunt.

           “Will says that you’d be dead if that goddess hadn’t helped you heal,” Reyna said, sheathing her knife. “And Euna’s not the only one we’re worried about. The Triple A Chimera isn’t safe. New Rome has wanted to hunt you down for years, and I assume the gods want the same. Look at what Ares did as an unofficial punishment. Image what it would be like with a full consensus.”[2]

Kally could feel the saliva building in her mouth and she swallowed back the urge to vomit. The thought of Pax’s fresh injuries and both brothers’ internal turmoil flashed through her head. She still couldn’t believe the Greeks and Romans worshipped gods that would force people to kill their own family members. She knew Axel and Pax had screwed up in the past—they’d even betrayed her—but nothing warranted what happened to them.

“None of you could defend yourself right now. The spellcaster doesn’t have a mouth to cast a spell. The thief can't use his hands to throw a smoke bomb or plan an escape. The tank isn’t strong enough to hold up against the gentlest press from the butt of a knife,” Reyna said, her tone tight.

           “You said butt,” Pax whispered, though his face was still pale.

           No one laughed at Pax’s joke. None of them were in a condition to help the Triple A Chimera or Euna escape, except maybe Euna herself. Even then, maybe not. Tearing one god apart left Euna comatose for a day. What would Euna do if they summoned her to Olympus with the twelve gods?

           Squeaks interrupted the ominous hush. They glanced over to Alabaster as he flipped his white board over, What are you saying?

           His scowl was intense.

           “I’m saying that we’re grateful that you helped save camp, but that doesn’t make up for your crimes in the past.” Reyna’s sternness didn’t break under his glare.

           Merry, Kally, and Calex exchanged a terrified glance. This wasn’t right, and they all knew it.

           Frank cleared his throat. “But, we are also saying there is a lot of chaos happening at camp right now and it’s hard to keep track of who is here and who leaves and who was supposed to be guarding the Pax Mobile. Hazel, wasn’t it supposed to be Dakota?”

Hazel coughed and became very interested in something outside their room. “I’m not sure. I thought Dakota had a sugar crash and Bobby was supposed to take over for him? It’s kind of hard to say.”

After dealing with Axel and Pax for so long, Kally was relieved to see that Hazel was a terrible liar.

           Tension eased from Kally’s chest. Merry squeezed Kally’s shoulder. Calex chuckled.

           Axel still looked concerned as he struggled to sit up. Although they made it as subtle as possible, Kally could tell Lapis and Pax were helping him, especially when Lapis rolled his eyes. “Reyna?” he asked, like he was looking for affirmation.

           Although Kally usually looked at Axel as a leader of sorts, she wanted to hit him with a, shut up and accept it speech.

           Reyna folded her arms across her chest. Her face was unreadable. “If I didn’t want to face the Olympian’s wrath, I wouldn’t be here when the sunsets. That’s as long as Thalia suggested she could stall the Olympians, if there was a need. But, also, I would get out of here as soon as possible, in case any guards decided they wanted to change how vigilant they were being. Speaking of which, Zhang?”

           Frank sat up, and Kally got the feeling he often forgot he was a praetor. It made him a lot less intimidating and made Kally feel even worse that she’d given him a massive concussion during one of their… misunderstandings. With the Triple A Chimera on the run again, Kally wondered if any of those misunderstanding would be cleared up, or if the Triple A Chimera would go down in the history books as exclusively monsters.

           “We should decide who we wanted to post here, since Leo and Sadie might consider leaving early for their trip without telling anyone and there might be a gap in the guard,” she said. There was a hint of humor in her tone as she turned to step out the door.

           As Frank went to stand, Axel said, “Wait, I’ve been meaning to say something to Praetor Zhang.”

           Reyna continued out the door with little more than a wave. Apparently she was done with Pax nonsense for the day.[3]

           Frank paused. His expression twisted to one of trepidation and Kally couldn’t blame him. Out of all the heroes of Olympus, this shockingly nice son of Mars had taken the brunt of the injuries from their group, both mental and… emotional.

           “I’m sorry about your ear,” Axel said. The comment felt almost like a casual formality and Kally contemplated whether maiming apology letters were a thing.

           Frank reached up to touch the bandages still plastered to the side of his head. He frowned. “Yea, I’m still pretty mad about that. But… um… Sorry my dad made me interrupt your date. I would have at least waited until you were alone to arrest you. Do you guys… know what happened to it? My ear, I mean? Will said we could have reattached my ear if we had it…”

           Frank looked a little queasy. Kally had to wonder: if someone ripped off her ear, would she rather they had eaten it or the ear just been lost?

           Alabaster and Pax exchanged a glance. Axel’s face remained blank, but he puffed up his cheeks and popped them.

           The son of Hecate tapped his white board to draw attention to him. After an uncomfortable period of marker squeaks, Alabaster held up his board, No. It would be weird if we took it, right?

           Frank’s shoulders slumped. “I just wish we hadn’t lost it,” he said.

           Calex cleared his throat. Kally made herself look anywhere but at Frank. Merry glanced at all of them with a disapproving, confused hum.

           Before anyone could stop him, Pax let out a nervous giggle. “Oh, we didn’t. It’s in a tube of formaldehyde in Alabaster’s basement.”

           Frank paled. His mouth moved a few times in horror. Hazel’s eyes went wide.

           “I just wish we’d lost it,” Frank corrected forlornly. If possible, his shoulders sank lower.

           “Oh!” Pax said, “Speaking of not losing things that could emotionally destroy cute Canadian boys.”

           From within his blanket nest, Pax withdrew a charred stick and balanced it on his busted hand like he was presenting a baby lion.

           Hazel reacted first. She snatched the stick from Pax’s palm and held it close to her chest. “When did you get this back?!”

           “We thought Atë still had it!” Frank said. He rushed to Hazel’s side, slipping a hand to hers to touch his stick.[4] “Thank—wait, were you the one that set it on fire during the fight? I felt that.”

           Frank scowled at Pax.

           Pax puffed up his cheeks and popped them. “If I said that I gambled your life force for a good cause—Aye!”

           “What Ajaxapax is trying to say is that he’s sorry for stealing your piece of ugly kindling in the first place,” Lapis said. His fingers were pinched tightly around Pax’s ear. His charcoal-lined eyes narrowed as he gave Pax a devilish grin. “Just ‘cause Tufted Ears traumatized you doesn’t mean you get an easy pass.”

           “But—but my year of consequence-free pranking!” Pax squeaked, squirming to break Lapis’ hold.

           Hazel tucked the stick neatly into Frank’s pocket. “When did you get it from him in the first place?” she asked. “Frank is really careful with his stick.”

           Lapis released Pax so he could give a proper explanation.

Heat rose in Kally’s cheeks. With everything going on, she couldn’t remember why she was so enraged by the mention of that stick, but she knew it was something that made her furious.

As they watched, Pax’s features shifted. His skin darkened several shades as his hair lightened to a cinnamon. His black eye lightened to match the hazel one. His frame shrank. Within a few seconds, there were two Hazels in the room. Fortunately, his hand stayed busted and bruised as a dead giveaway in the event that they decided to play a quick round of Ring around the Rosie. Pax-Hazel altered the way he was sitting, mimicking Hazel’s shy demeanor.

Frank’s jaw dropped.

Real Hazel gasped.

           Hazel-Pax batted his-her eyes at Frank and fanned her face. When he spoke, his accent mimicked her slight Louisiana one. “Oh, the day after we arrived in New Rome? It was just a little detour that Frank and I took on our walk to the training fields.  I needed you two to be too flustered to communicate, so no one would realize there were two Hazels walking around. And I needed a centurion that the praetors would trust to go into the principia on their own.”

           “Wait, what?” Axel demanded, scowling at Pax.

           “You dodgy perv,” Calex said, putting the good half of his face into his hand. “Do you want these blokes to go back on letting you go?”

           Frank looked like he couldn’t decide if he was going to be sick or if he was going to turn into a rhino and gore Pax. Hazel looked horrified. “You were mean to Frank? As me?!” she asked, sounding genuinely hurt.

           Kally remembered why she was in the let’s hurt Pax party.

           “Yea, ‘mean.’” Hazel-Pax lost the act. At real Hazel’s appall, he gave Frank an endearing smile. “She’s so cute and innocent.”

           Frank seemed to decide on goring Pax. He stood back to full height and Kally could see him tensing for an attack.

           Lapis twisted Pax’s ear again. Pax shrieked while morphing back into his raven-haired, hazel-and-black eyed, Hispanic self.

           “Aye! Okay! Okay! I’m sorry I impersonated your girlfriend and rocked your morning!”

           “We’re giving you this head start because you saved the camp,” Frank told him, shaking with rage, “But, once we help rebuild the camp, I’m fulfilling my father’s quest and dragging you before the Olympic council in place of your brother.”    

           With the threat, Frank stalked off down the hallway.

           Hazel paused. She walked up to Pax and punched him in the face.

           Pax squealed again, pressing his ruined palm to his face. “Well deserved punches are the most painful!”

           Hazel’s mouth moved a few times. She blushed. When she couldn’t think of the right words, she stormed off after Frank.

Although Kally knew Pax’s words were light, the tone was choked, like all his obnoxious bravado had met its match. For an uncomfortable moment, she wondered if Pax had been intentionally a jerk to let Frank and Hazel focus on that, instead of going easy on him after… everything.

           Kally shook off the feeling. She was still mad at him for doing whatever he did with Frank while they were almost-not-really-dating. She was also mad that she couldn’t decide if she did or didn’t want to know what it was or if that even mattered. There had been so much going on, and so much almost dying, that Kally hadn’t had a chance to think about her feelings for Pax, or that Alabaster had kissed her in the infirmary, or that Alabaster and Pax had dated, or that Pax had locked himself into a hopefully platonic date with his half-sister. There was still too much going on to acknowledge that train wreck.

           New rule: no flirting until at least one month after the most recent traumatic event. Preferably with everyone in safe locations with fewer gods trying to kill them.

           Kally glanced at Pax, wondering how long he’d make it before—

           “What did you do?” Axel demanded again, his voice tight.

           Tapping emitted across the room and Alabaster pointed to his board. And why did you need access to the principia? Unlike Axel, Alabaster looked amused.

           “Yep, still illiterate,” Pax reminded him, though Kally suspected he’d dodge that question regardless. “Let’s just say that Frank might know these hands better than Alabaster or Kally. And really, that—in itself—is a crime.” Pax held his hands up and winked at Kally. He blew a kiss to Alabaster as best he could. Although he was trying to look playful and cute, the way his shoulder slumped and the discoloration of his hand almost distracted Kally from the obscenity. Almost.

           Axel sighed. “Lapis, can you hurt Pax for me?”

           Pax didn’t squeak fast enough when Lapis snagged his ear. There was a split second where Kally could see Pax examining his hand. His forearm twitched with movement, but only his thumb folded to the bruised skin. A sickness returned to Kally’s stomach when she realized he was trying to move his other four fingers. All their hard work reattaching Pax’s tendons had been undone. She wondered if he’d ever be able to move his fingers again.

           In one way, that felt like karma, with how much of a sneak thief and pickpocket Pax was. But then Kally remembered how much Pax liked to paint and sew and bake for others. She remembered how he used his pickpocketing to help his brother combat his nicotine addiction.

           That moment of Pax’s silent recognition past, then he was whining under Lapis’ grip. “Aye! Okay! I lied! Kally still knows this hand better!”

           Merry shoved Kally’s shoulder while humming Let’s get it on.

           Kally felt like her face had caught fire, her head scrambling to figure out what he was—

           “Because I cut it open for surgery?” she half-asked, half-explained. That’s the only thing he could—  

           Something made a loud thump. Kally jumped. Pain exploded in her ribs and she inhaled sharply. That’s when she remembered there was an adult in the room, listening to this whole conversation.

           Claymore had slammed his book shut, which Kally didn’t even remember him reopening. “As charming as this teenage idiocy is, it might be prudent to follow the praetors’ suggestion of haste. The Triple A Chimera and Euna are on a timeline. I don’t want to see what will happen if they change their minds.”

 ***

Thank you for reading!!! I hope you enjoyed :D Stay tuned next week for Kally’s chapter, A Stalling Resolution. And, afterwards, stay tuned for the Part One/Part Two epilogues the following weeks! We’re so close to being done!

 ***

Footnotes:

[1] Pax would like to say that Alabaster probably wants to say this regardless, but not with the same intention that Kally fears.

[2] I just had to note the amount of swearing and anger Mel wrote in her betanotes about this. XD

[3] Mel beta note: “BUT YOU LOVE ONE PAX’S NONSENSE, RIGHT?! THERE’S STILLL A CHANCE, RIGHT?!”

[4] I will leave this how it sounds and judge all of you for saying anything between this cute Canadian and sweet New Orleans girl could be dirty.

[fireandgloryrpg]

Elephant Love Medley || Annabeth, Callum, Z, Percy, Sebastian, Benjy, Kolby, & Otis ft. Hannibal

Just for one day,            We could be heroes,                          forever and ever —

Our courageous heroes fight off the flames of the Senate House fire on one side of the roaring flames. Will they emerge victorious?

!! tw: injury !!

As the smoke rose from an indistinguishable place in the forum, a familiar feeling began to set in for Annabeth. It was the emotions that rose before a battle, the classic fight or flight response that all humans hold. And for Annabeth the answer had always been fight. So she had rushed towards the black smudge on the horizon, watching the curious faces of those she passed. Perhaps they didn't recognize tragedy when it struck for it had been some long, peaceful years since anything truly tragic had occurred, but the past was something Annabeth hadn't learned to completely leave behind. As she came up on the Senate building, she was greeted by a nearly blinding wave of heat, and for a moment she was thrust back into memories of Tartarus with her heart rate rising even further. But as she grit her teeth and planted her feet, she raised her eyes to the enormous and blazing building. The fire had already spiraled further than one might have wished, and suddenly she was taking in her surroundings, figuring out exactly who and what she had to work with to fix this chaos.

Callum had been returning to his Cohort when he heard shocked gasps from those around him. He stopped to turn, not knowing what to expect. As he saw the plume of black smoke rise above the skyline of New Rome, his heart rate speed up, and his instincts kicked in. He sprinted towards the unknown origin of the fire, using the smoke as his only compass. He shouted orders out to every legionnaire he passed, regardless of their Cohort. This was a matter of protecting New Rome in which everyone had the same responsibility to protect, regardless of your position. As he took the corner that lead to the senate house, he was greeted by a wall of heat, so hot, that he almost felt his eyebrows begin to singe. He saw Annabeth, the girl who had made a decent donation at his booth earlier today, close to the foot of the fire. He ran past her, putting his personal endeavors aside, and headed towards an emergency water supply, that had been installed due to the last devastation known to New Rome. He picked up a bucket and filled it with water, and without hesitation, tossed it onto the flames. The water partially turned to steam before it had the chance to douse the flames, but what other option did he have at that moment? He know that the Daughter of Athena would be constructing a plan in her head, but for now, this is all he could do.

In crisis situations, it was far easier to be a bystander than to take any initiative, especially if one could completely detach themselves by bothering those who were involved. The compartmentalization of this particular ideal had always appealed best to Z. He thought it better to shower money over disaster relief efforts than to ever get in and sully his hands; there were far more capable hands willing and able to fill the spot where his solid white leather brogue shoes would have been. At the mere sight of the smoke, these pristine colored footwear carried the small man toward the fray, something that seemed both unreasonable and uncharacteristic. The massive shirt he'd been given that day flowed loosely as his body rocketed in the direction of the forum. He cleared the distance in mere moments and wide hazel eyes were shut when a strong wave of heat rocked him on his feet. His forearms immediately went to cover his face and he coughed through the thickness of the air, a gasp following soon after. Z ripped his limbs away from obstructing his view and, in his moment of clarity, caught the sight of a familiar man of muscle and a blonde girl standing pensively. "That's not good," he called, voice growing slightly hoarse just from the heat alone. He stood on the edge, already looking around for any sort of object that could hold a decent amount of water. He locked sights on a cooler. Without another breath, he rushed toward it and began to pull it toward the flames, tossing bottles of tacky wines and beer as he moved.

The problem was never that Annabeth didn't have any ideas, it was that there were always too many. She was rifling through them fast, but there was only so much time to come up with something. If Percy had been here, the answer would have been obvious. Just throw him and his water abilities at the fire. What did fires need? Oxygen. But Jason wasn't here to suffocate the fire with his wind abilities. What she had was...a man who had been running a love advice booth earlier on, and one who seemed to think that stating the obvious not goodness of the fire would help. If you want something done right, you've got to do it yourself. So she sprinted towards the emergency water supply, already looking for handholds that might be able to help her to the top of it. "Do either of you have something sharp?" They were currently in the heart of New Rome, meaning that her weapon hadn't been allowed inside the perimeter. But if her plan was going to work, she needed something to pierce the top of the water supply. But she also needed something to apply pressure into the spigot. That would have to come second.

Callum's hands instinctively went into his pockets, feeling around for something sharp. If he had an enchanted bow and arrow, like some of his siblings, he could have summoned them, but unfortunately he never thought he would need them. 'Note to self, I need them.' He thought to himself before looking around. His eyes finally settled on the golden statues that were scattered around for decoration. "Hang on." He said before dropping the bucket and running over to one of the statues. He jumped up, grabbing onto one of the spears that was held at an angle towards the sky. He then shuffled along the spear towards it's tip. He began to fear that the statue would not break as it felt firm and steady under his weight, but with a little swinging and shifting his weight, the tip of the spear broke off. He dropped down to the floor, bending his knees to avoid hurting himself. "Would this work?"

Thank the gods someone here had a brain. "Perfect," was all Annabeth said as she reached to take the spear from Callum's hand. "Now find me something that can apply enough pressure into the spigot of the water tank. We're gonna shoot it all out the top onto the fire." Then she turned to the other man who she'd seen trying to spring into action. They needed something more than the emergency water tank if they wanted to put out this inferno. That would most likely only serve as a temporary solution. If worst came to worst, they could simply let the fire burn itself out. But they'd still need dirt mounds on each side or something to keep it from spreading while it did that.Too many ideas, and not enough hands. She let out a frustrated growl. There was one thing though that a single person could do. Her voice was firm as she spoke to the young man. "Hannibal. Go get the elephant, Hannibal, and bring him here. If you put a few of the treats in his stall in front of him, he'll follow you. Now do it fast and bring him back here." Then she was turning back towards the emergency water tank, and wasting no time, she began to climb to its top.

Pulling the large cooler to the fire hadn't taken much time, but it was slightly taxing on Z's arms. It had been filled with enough ice to make a miniature hail storm, which, for one small man, was physically exhausting. Once it was close enough, he tipped it over and cowered away from the ensuing billow of smoke and steaming water. Still, it was only a small portion of the overall problem. Just as he thought about determining what would be the best course of action from there, the girl had called out for him to find an elephant. There wasn't enough time to consider the absurdity of anyone having or needing an elephant on standby. He merely looked to her and nodded, then asked the nearest person where Hannibal could be found. With this information, he took off into a sprint. With his agility, he'd arrive there in less than a few minutes.

Callum watched as Annabeth scaled the water tank. Where was he supposed to find something heavy enough to apply enough pressure? He hesitated before calling out to her, "Like what!?" He looked around hoping to answer the question himself. There were a few shops down the road that should have some tables in them, but how would they get the table to the top of the tank to apply the pressure? "Could we not push the tank over?" He called out to her, moving his hand to the side of his face in an attempt to protect his face from the heat. He was so stuck into putting out the fire that he hadn't really noticed the other man that had just run off to fetch Hannibal.

Annabeth was nearing the top of the tank, having tucked the spear under one arm so she could use both hands to climb. Her hands were turning white from gripping it so tightly when she heard Callum call out to her from below. "Anything!" Looking around from her bird's eye view, she tried to find something that would work. Then, not too far away from them— she spotted the bouncy house that had been put out for the festival. Calling back down to Callum, she made sure to yell loud enough so her voice would carry. "The bouncy house! Bring it's engine here along with the tube that inflates it!" Finally she'd gotten to the top. For a moment she hesitated, spear now poised in hand. This needed to be perfect. If she didn't hit the tank just right, the water would spew uselessly in another direction. After taking a deep breath, she plunged the spear in an at angle she was certain was right, after doing some quick physics estimates in her head. Her attempt was rewarded by a fountain of water erupting from the tank and falling over a portion of the fire, helping to douse some of the flames there. But the sooner they had the engine the better. There would only be enough water pressure in the tank for so long.

Callum now understood what Annabeth was trying to achieve. He thought that they would try to to crush the tank to force the water out, but if they used the air pump to create pressure in the tank, the water would be forced out. He ran over to where the bouncy house was situated. He ripped out the tube used for inflation and watched as the house began to shrink, folding in on itself. He then raveled the tube up , slung it over his shoulder and lifted the engine with both hands. He then proceeded to awkwardly run towards the tank, the engine being held to his side, bouncing against his leg with every stride. By the time he had reached the tank, he was out of breath, and the hot air around them didn't make it any easier to breath. "Now what? Should I set it up and bring the tube to you?"

Percy had taken a little longer than he would've liked to get to the site of the fire. It was hardly a deliberate effort, but as everyone had made for the fire he had realised that there would never be enough water for him to really fight it effectively. So, whistling for Mrs O'Leary he had dashed down to the lake with her and carved a trench into the side of the lake using his powers. Turning, he had guided the water from the lake through the city, riding on the back of Mrs O'Leary and dodging through crowds of Legionnaires. Several times he had to urge his hellhound to leap over the crowds so that they'd get there quicker. All the while he dragged the trench of water after him, a thick sharp plough of ice that he had deliberately formed carved the way. He knew that Annabeth would've beaten him there, so he hoped she'd have the situation under control. So seeing Callum, Z and Annabeth was a small relief. Though he was still some distance off.

"Throw me the tube!" Annabeth shouted down to Callum. "And hook up the pump up into the spigot and turn it on full power!" Hopefully Callum would have enough sense to open the spigot as well, to allow the air to push the water up. Then, out of the corner of her eye she saw something that made her heart lift with relief. Percy. And it looked as if he'd brought half the lake with him. She was fairly certain he wouldn't be able to hear her from her perch at the top of the water tank, but she couldn't resist yelling out. "It's about time!"

Hannibal had the kindest eyes. It was the first thing many looked for when considering the autonomy or personalities of animals they were not familiar with, but even with Z now a sweating, soot covered mess, the elephant had responded only with the calmest of gazes. The psychologist began to breathe in the calm and allowed his own aura to disperse into the surrounding air. His hairs stood on end and a wave of force pushed at the lower hem of his shirt as he channeled as much of his charm into just his lips. When he opened his eyes after blinking through the energy coursing through his veins, he locked the now bubblegum colored saucers with Hannibals. One message played on repeat in his mind. "Douse the flames." After a few moments of this, he moved to lift the elephant's personal water buckets up and attach them to his armor, then clambered atop him and rode off toward the fire. He'd managed to get there faster than the rushing waters and the famed hero, but it was a tight margin. Hannibal's trunk took several dips into his buckets and sprayed it over the ever burning embers, though each snort was forceful enough to make Z clutch onto the animal for dear life. What a wild ride today had shaped up to be.

Callum was unraveling the tube as fast as he could when he felt the ground ruble more than the fire was causing it to. He looked over to his side not only to see Z riding Hannibal, but Percy just behind him on a hell hound. He then turned his attention back to the task at hand. He tossed the now unraveled tube up to Annabeth, then attached the pump to the tanks spigot and opened it to its fullest. With a thumbs up signal to his teammate on top of the tank, he flip the engine on, the whir of it's mechanisms blending into the roar of the fire.

Realising what Annabeth was doing, Percy couldn't help the rush of pride that over took him. Then Mrs O'Leary yelped in pleasure at the sight of her best friend, Hannibal the elephant. "I guess its a play date," Percy muttered before urging her onwards. As the lake dragged behind him, sweat dripped down the side of his face but he paid it no attention. As Mrs O'Leary screeched to a halt, Percy sprung onto the balls of his feet, before launching himself headfirst into the fire. Summoning the water, he wrapped it tightly around him, and for a second all he could see was the blaze. It engulfed him and tore at his shield, but he dragged more and more water through until he was sure he was safe. Then, he forced the water to expand and douse the fire around him, gaining them ten meters. "You doing ok babe?" he shouted to Annabeth, nodding to Z and Callum, "The calvary's here. What is the plan?"

Sebastian ran to meet the others fighting the fire as quickly as he could. Sebastian had skipped putting all of his armor on when he left his cohort. His top half was fitted with a breast plate and gauntlets on his arms, but the bottom half was, well, it was almost funny. Socks and boxers were his only protection from the flames. "Centurion!" He ran up behind Callum, spotting two large masses pass them by. Hannibal the Elephant and - he wasn't sure what the other was. "Are you okay?" He tried to inspect Callum for injuries and then looked around. "Are there any injured, sir?!"

Benjy clearly wasn't on his lucky day as he confusedly blinked and sat up. Most of the festival had been uneventful as nice as he could tell, and then on the very last day, going out with a bang. He'd been working, the fire started and then he was caught on the crowd, thrown to a sideline and hit his head against a wall. Oh yes, hit in the head the guy who already doesn't know who or where he is. The problem of where he was, was that he couldn't, for the life of him, remember the way out now. There was fire and smoke and his body was colder than most people's but even that wasn't helping to keep them at bay. Benjy stumbled around. He'd been in the wrong place at the wrong time and now he was way too lost inside the fire and smog, and shouting to do anything mildly helpful. Benjy stumbled around as he hit a dead end of two pillars that had collapsed, he could hear people from the outside. "HEY, I'M HERE, I COULD USE SOME HELP." He shouted from where he stood, pulling his shirt collar up to his nose as he coughed miserably.

It wasn't in Kol's nature to run towards danger, he had spent more of his life running away from it down dark alleys or traipsing halfway across the country to avoid a scary mob boss who hadn't liked his phone upgrade. So Kolby had to stop and orientate himself with his sudden desire to run towards the roaring flames that were trying to consume the town. Maybe it was something about the fire – he had always like fire, probably something to do with his dad, but seeing it so uncontained had caused him to step back. Which is when a falling piece of timber had hit him on the head and knocked him down. When he woke up again, head pounding, eyes blurring and throat aching from smoke, the first thing he heard was people shouting. Coughing through the smoke he shouted back, "Where is here? I can't see anything!"

Callum watched as the air pushed the water from the tank and doused a portion of the flames and then his attention turned to Percy as he dived straight into the fire. Callum's heart seemed to stop as he watched the man above the flames, but before a flame had even touched him, the water engulfed Percy, protecting him and cutting the fire back. Callum's attention was then turned to his Legionnaire, who had just arrived in his boxers. "Sebastian, top priority, clear civilians." He ordered, trying to take in everything that was happening around him.

Sebastian nodded and started to move. "Yes, sir!" He started towards the fire, a satchel around his waist kept bouncing against his thigh while he jogged. In the time it would have taken him to actually put on pants, shoes and more armor, Sebastian had instead opted to equipped himself with gauze, ambrosia and nectar. The first person he noticed around the Senate House who wasn't a legionnaire was Otis, the man he'd met just this week at the festival. "Otis! You okay?!"

Finally, Annabeth had gotten the tube positioned where she wanted it at the top of the tank. Now, with the pressure from the engine, she could effectively make a hose that would shoot the water through the tube from the tank wherever she directed it. Percy's voice called out to her over the din of the chaos, and she couldn't smile in the slightest while giving him a single nod. Just like old times with the two of them facing peril. But at least the fire seemed to be starting to become more contained. From her high advantage, she could see Kol, and quickly— she called out instructions to the son of Hephaestus to guid him out of the flames. "Right! Go, right! And then an immediate left!" Thank god that demigod had found Hannibal. Already his work was helping to dent the fire. She yelled down to him as well. "Take Hannibal opposite the tank! We'll move the fire in until there's only some left in the middle to douse!" Annabeth had that look about her, the determined gaze that tended to turn her eyes to slate gray, though right now they were reflecting the light of the fire.

Percy hadn’t fought for his life like this for a while. Normally enemies died and didn’t keep coming after you, but the fire was a different breed of opponent. It was unpredictable and ferocious. He knew that it would be unforgiving if he made a mistake and he was burning through water like mad. Dragging more water down the trench, he fired off jets of water at the base of any inferno that he noticed, the water dousing the flames with a hiss. Mrs O’Leary bounded away, Percy knew she would stay safe and help if she could. She was a good dog, very clever. The fire however was unforgiving and he hoped that they managed to save everyone. He couldn’t imagine being burned alive. Following Annabeth’s instructions was easy, they’d worked together for such a long time that he knew better than to question her. She knew exactly what she was doing.

Atop the elephant, Z had continued to command the creature to do its best jetting away the embers that surrounded them. Plumes of smoke floated up into the atmosphere. Tears prickled at the edges of his wide pink eyes whenever they were opened due to the close proximity to the flames. The duo had successfully cleared out areas where Percy and Annabeth's respective streams of water did not, helping to bring the overall fire into a more contained area. As they drew it in, Annabeth had called out to the son of Hypnos and he shot her a sparing glance. "Roger!" He leaned forward over the floppy, leathery ear of Hannibal and whispered the command to him in his calmest voice. They were moving then after, working double time to get rid of the outer edges of the flame on the other side of the tank in an attempt to corral it toward the middle. Hannibal appeared very overzealous about the matter, something he'd come to realize was associated with the Hellhound with whom he'd share brief noises of communication.

Otis ran toward Sebastian. “I’m fine, I saw all the smoke and came down.” Otis looked at the satchel Sebastian brought. “First aid? I can help, my dad was a doctor and he taught me a lot. I’ll follow your lead.”

Sebastian nodded. "Good, thank you for coming." He looked around and hummed in agreement. "There's some people over there who need to be patched up, let's go." He handed the demigod a roll of gauze and a packet filled with cubes of ambrosia, all from his satchel. "Alright, you know about the nectar and ambrosia, yeah? Only give each person one cube of it, no more. Same with nectar." He passed the man a small bottle. "Just a few sips, that's all."

Callum noticed that he was no longer needed at that exact moment as Annabeth had not given him an order. Realizing that there was not much more he could do to put out the fire, he ran over to where Sebastian was aiding the wounded. Trying to catch his breath, he placed his hands on his head, lifting his arms and creating more space for his lungs to expand in his chest. During this brief moment or clarity, he heard a voice from inside a nearby building. Without hesitation, he rushed towards the buildings door and kicked it open, unintentionally feeding the flames that were trapped behind the door, oxygen. "Sebastian, 5 minutes, If I'm not out by then, come look for me." He then leaped over the timber beam that was on fire and entered the building. "Where are you?!" He called out.

Sebastian looked back when he heard Callum call out for him. "Got it!" he screamed back. The son of Apollo watched his centurion move into the building and when he disappeared behind fire and wood, Sebastian's conscious began to work against him. Conscious and also the concern for a fellow legionnaire. He kept an eye of the time using his watch while he and Otis aided to the civilians. When five minutes had passed, he looked back - still no Callum. "Otis, wait here for me okay? Keep helping whoever you can, but go if the fire spreads, alright? Thank you, so much!" Sebastian took off his chest plate and gauntlets as he ran towards the entrance that Cal had used. His armor would do him no good here. "Callum!" Before even entering the building, Sebastian had started calling for him. 

Otis ran to aid two people as they carried a young woman from the fire. They set her down on the sidewalk, where she lay motionless. Otis knelt beside her and examined her body. She appeared to be severely burnt across the left side of her body. Her eyes were open and moving, so she was clearly alive and in shock. “You’re gonna be okay.” He said to her, and then opened her mouth and poured in a few sips of nectar. She visibly struggled to swallow it. Sebastian then left to go find the centurion in the burning building, leaving Otis to care for the victims. He rounded up a few bystanders. “We need to start moving the wounded to a safer location until rescue arrives. We can’t risk them being so close if the fire spreads.” The bystanders nodded and started bustling into action alongside Otis.

Benjy 's body was now covered in sweat that had been previously ice, which meant he still had a fighting chance but soon enough, when he wasn't sweating anymore, he'd be screwed. Benjy trying to find his way out of the shop he'd been entrapped started to lose hope. He was absolutely useless against being trapped in a fire. He laid down, beneath the smoke height and curled into himself, maybe he was lucky, maybe he wasn't going to get burned alive - and then there was shouting outside. "Here! In the---" The nasty smog made it's way through the plaid shirt he had wrapped around his mouth. "--in the bar." Benjy realized his words as he snapped his head around. It seemed to be a particularly bad place to be in a fire, if anyone asked him. He neared the door that had been blocked by probably fallen pieces of the ceiling and walls. "I'm in the bar, the door's blocked and the windows have locks!" 

Callum worked his way to where he heard the shouting from. It seemed to be coming from behind a door that was blocked by fallen beams. He cursed and started making his way round, looking for another entrance. He had no idea on how to get into the bar, and he knew that they both were running out of time. He used his hands to navigate through the thick smoke, when he felt a follow piece of wall. His mind rushed, thinking why it would be this way and he came to the conclusion that the structure must have been a newly added dry wall to block off the bar from the rest of the shop. He picked up a piece of timber, which he then immediately dropped as it hurt his hands. He ripped off his shirt and tried again, this time being able to hold it. His body worked over time as he rammed the piece of wood, along with his shoulder, into the wall. He had managed to get through half the wall before he heard someone else approaching. "I need help here!"

Percy had been ferociously battling the fires. For the most part he had managed to keep things contained. If they weren't in a city he'd have used his hurricane-esque abilities but he was too scared of causing it to spread anymore. As he lanced water away from him and into the base of the fires he heard someone cry for help. Dragging more water from the lake down his trench, he sprayed it around him and the call for help, and fought through the flames until he found Callum calling for someone to come and help him. "Move," he commanded, not deliberately being blunt but they simply didn't have time for the niceties. Blasting water through the wall, Percy nodded for Callum. "I've got your back," he said with a grim look of determination. As they fought their way across the room, Percy kept Callum behind him as best he could. This wasn't the time for a centurion to get injured. They'd need as many of them as they could. Spotting Benjy, Percy called his position over to Callum. 

It seemed that the majority of the fire was beginning to subside thanks to the demigods efforts, which was fortunate because Annabeth's makeshift hose had officially run out of water. Perhaps the Romans wouldn't be happy she had punctured a hole into the top of their new and shiny emergency supply, but wasn't it there to help? She made her way back to the ground carefully, but swiftly. There were still people in those flames, and after being able to see exactly where they'd been from her earlier vantage point, she was fairly certain she'd be able to find one, if not a few of them. The twisting maze of the fire had nothing on the Labyrinth. And she'd made it out of there, hadn't she? It was a few long moments before she found Callum, and immediately she lifted the beam Callum has holding in her hands, trying to ignore the burning that was searing along them from touching the hot piece of debris. And then she began to push. Soon enough the wall had finally given way with Percy’s help, and Annabeth glanced inside to see Benjy there. She hadn't realize it was her old friend stuck inside, and her eyes widened with a relief she hadn't even know she'd needed. "Benjy? Are you alright?" It was a few moments later before she was next to him, trying to help him up.

Percy kept with Annabeth, Benjy and Callum. There was no telling what more they could actually do to help the situation, so Percy kept battling the flames. They roared to their left, threatening to cut them off and Percy did his best to douse them with spouts of water from his trench, "Benjy, we're all gonna have a catch up later, but for now you guys need to get out of here." He gritted his teeth against the exhaustion that he could feel setting into his bones. Despite the fact that he was a child of the Big Three, even he had his limits and he was really starting to test them right now. Gritting his teeth, he kept dousing the flames, they were really starting to gain ground now, despite the loss of Annabeth's makeshift hose.

Callum was grateful for Percy's aid, although it did spark jealousy inside of him that he was not capable of doing such powerful things like Percy could. He quickly pushed this thought aside and made sure nobody else was in the room whilst Annabeth attended to Benjy. "Percy is right, we need to go." He motioned for everyone to head back out the way that they had come in and Callum took the lead. Luckily, no more structural damage had occurred and the same way in was still clear. On his way out, Callum bumped into Sebastian. "Thanks for coming in after me, but we need to leave now. I think Annabeth might need help with Benjy." Callum hesitated before backtracking and offering Percy support, he knew how draining using one's powers could be. 

Benjy sighed in relief when two more or less familiar faces showed up and one he did not know but recognized as a legionnaire. A blast of water had tore apart the blockage and if his legs weren't hurting as bad as they were, he'd be absolutely rejoiced. "Annabeth!" He recognized the Greek girl from UNR and smiled broadly, despite being almost burned alive, he accepted her help and in wobbly legs he stood up, he had been standing for too long and his legs were starting to get numb now. "I'm alright thanks to all of you but uh--" He waved towards the place. "We should get out of here right now, there's way too much alcohol, and I don't think we can salvage." There was urgency in his voice and he reached forward to Percy. "This includes you, you're not Prometheus yet." Benjy smiled lightly at Jackson and nodded to their exiting way, while still holding on to Annabeth. 

Percy nodded. "Don't worry," he said manipulating the water so that it created a barrier between them and the flames, "I don't plan on being in here any longer than I have to, but it makes the most sense for me to be the last one out. I stand the best chance of survival, so go!" He watched as Annabeth and Sebastian helped Benjy to his feet and began moving him out, leaving Callum and him behind. "After you Centurion," he smiled politely and nodded for Callum to head out. They didn't have long and he was already drained enough as it was. There was only so much more that he'd be able to do.

Maneuvering through the ashen madness in the aftermath of the fire was far easier than attempting to traverse through the flames themselves, a feat Z was thankful for. He rested his torso on Hannibal's back as he continued to force away as much of the fire as he could, but their supply was running low and the others had moved into the burning building. Carefully, he whispered to the elephant to focus, then, on only pushing away fires that were obstructing the psychologist's ability to move by foot. He hopped down onto wobbly legs and took a moment to right himself. "Off we go," he cheered, voice taut from the inhalation of so much smoke. Z wandered about, locating those he'd seen under wreckage and getting them to stand. A gentle aura wafted off of him as he smiled at each person he helped, taking in their fear and releasing a hypnotic sense of assured safety as a way to get them to stand. He helped each capable person on top of Hannibal. Others, he had to ask the elephant for assistance in getting them up there as his physical strength was once again put to a test and failed to pass. Once they'd collected around fifteen people, they headed toward the relief area and set to work on getting them down for the makeshift medics to tend to their wounds. Z then turned to rub his hand along the skin between Hannibal's eyes. "What a day, hm?" 

Callum was normally not stubborn, but at that moment, he refused to leave Percy's side. Which logically, he found irrational as the son of Poseidon would probably just survive and dive out the building just before it explodes, but his heart told him to stay and help. "No, we go together." He slid his shoulder under Percy's arm and placed his arm around his back, preparing to ignore any resistance.

Percy heard the house creek and groan and decided that now was most certainly not the time to be having a heroic pissing contest with Callum. Grunting, he nodded and allowed the centurion to help him out of the burning building. They exited just in time as with an almighty crash the ceiling collapsed inwards and Percy knew they'd have likely died if they had stayed. Gasping for air, Percy staggered against a wall and held himself there for a second. It wasn't long after that the ballista's opened fire from across the lake, he wasn't sure who'd organised that but all he wanted to do was hug them. With a sigh of relief he watched as all of the fires were doused with efficient precision. Percy had to hand it to the Romans, they really knew what they were doing when it came to things like this.

[cursedcurios]

quick hazel tidbit: this girl does not yell. in general, she’s just an all around simple, easy-going, rational person. i mean, sure, when a lot of people are talking & she needs to be heard/get their attention, she will raise her voice, but that’s about as far as it goes. brings her tone up a bit, then modulates it when attention is on her. also, when she’s really pissed, her voice will actually LOWER & she speaks VERY calmly, or she just gives them a death glare ( which is honestly more terrifying ). 

this also applies to whenever hazel’s upset/mad/freaking out. first of all, it takes a lot to get hazel to a point where she WANTS to yell or scream at someone. like, i’m talking damn near impossible. in canon ( & i use that term...loosely, at best ) there are about two times where hazel has lost her cool. TWO TIMES to date. 1) when jason said that they might be better off leaving nico in the jar, and 2) when the rock slide cut hazel+leo off from the others in the house of hades. 

to touch on the first one, that’s pretty significant bc jason & hazel are pretty close & they understand each other well. heck, hazel was one of the only people who hadn’t given up hope that jason was still alive after his disappearance & hazel was one of the only people jason remembered from camp jupiter (cough @rick cough). so i reckon they know each other pretty darn well. hazel would’ve been able to guess the reason behind jason’s thoughts, but she also loves her brother more than life itself sometimes, & her fear/frustration came out in that moment & it literally stunned everybody, ESPECIALLY JASON. the person who, arguably, has known hazel the longest at this point. but then she calms down after everyone agrees that they have to rescue nico ( otherwise she would’ve fought ).

& then we have the ICONIC SCENE where a rock slide/earthquake thing causes hazel+leo to be split from the rest of the group while they’re in the house of hades. hazel, quite literally loses her shit in the most dramatic way possible. that part’s in leo’s POV & he clearly mentions how she’s screaming, crying, pounding on the fucking rocks & how this is SO NOT LIKE HAZEL AT ALL that it kinda scares him a lil bit? & he doesn’t want to do anything that would set her off? once again, we have something keeping hazel from people she loves & cares for + being in a dangerous situation.

in my mind, this is something that has to do with hazel really repressing her emotions as a child with living in the Jim Crow south/being raised by a possessed mother/forced to revive a titan & then dying/coming back to life in a new era/being put into a camp that is harsh & not too friendly anyway. so like...there’s not a lot of room in her life to take time & come to terms with her emotions, so she has the habit of just...pushing them back down until she can get the time to deal with it. but that time never comes, so it’s all stored away until she literally bursts ( which is why i think another one of these “explosions” happens after the war & when she learns that leo is “dead” & subsequently blames herself ). hazel has issues with expressing her emotions in certain situations due to the lack of emotional support that camp jupiter/her childhood gave. 

which is why she holds onto her memories of sammy so much; why nico is a first priority for her; why she was so upset when jason disappeared; why she probably fell so easily for frank: bc they were all a source of emotional support for her & helped her express her feelings when no one else really tried to. & as time goes on, the closer her relationships get with others, the easier it is for her to come talk about her emotions in a healthy way ( painting/art also helps her as a sort of therapy, but that’s for another post ).

not to mention, she’s a fucking kid? like, the girl is a literal 13 year old. THIRTEEN YEARS OLD. do we all not remember that percy started this journey at twelve ( annabeth even younger ), & how being thrust into all of this was more than a little stressful?? at this point in the series percy is a seasoned veteran & a survivor of tartarus & he’s real fucked up by the end of it, so like imagine this girl, this child, LITERALLY DIES, then comes back to life to save the gods who let her die? the fuck? no wonder she doesn’t know how to express her emotions, preteens are the most emotionally constipated group of humans ever tbh.

tl;dr hazel levesque doesn’t yell or scream unless someone she loves is in immediate danger & she has no way to help them or the stress/frustration of being a demigod finally comes crashing down on her & she releases all of her pent up emotions :)