So in the Demigod Diaries Rick mentioned that Thalia and Luke met at a dragon's cave. Here's my own little version of that first encounter ;) Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own.
She hadn't meant to fall in love with him.
In fact she had expressly forbidden herself from doing so.
But Luke was so charming, so understanding. He was there for Thalia when she had no one else, he was the one she talked to, the one she trusted. He was the one she shared almost everything with. He was so handsome. And he was alive. When Thalia was on her own, surrounded by nothing important, he was there, and he was alive with her.
She was not alone when he was near.
Thalia had been on the run for 3 years when she had come across Luke. Amaltheia had led her to him, he was lucky. He was special. The moment Thalia had caught sight of him she had known he would be someone important to her.
Then she had helped him defeat the dragon in the cave where they had met, as if they were sealing their friendship with a victory, and Thalia had thought it was a good omen. Running across someone like her, defeating a monster she normally wouldn't be able to take down with his help... it had been good signs right? Leading to something special?
She had been so sure. Even now, after everything, she hadn't totally given up on that idea.
The night they had met Thalia had been running from a pack of... something. She wasn't sure what they were called, but they were huge slobbering dogs that varied from the size of great danes to the size of large pickup trucks. There was a scratch on her arm, her hair kept flying in her face- she needed to cut it again- and she was exhausted. She had been evading this pack for about 3 days now and she had spent an hour of so running from them before she caught sight of Amaltheia.
She had heard of the sheep that was sacred to her father. She had heard it was known for bringing bad luck but Thalia couldn't help but think that maybe- well maybe her father had sent it to her to help.
It was a futile hope, her father hadn't done a thing for her in her entire life, and yet Thalia couldn't stop it from rising up in her.
So she followed the sheep, praying to every greek god she could remember and hoping that something good would finally happen to her. When she had reached the cave she had walked in, without a moments hesitation.
That had almost gotten her killed.
She had been about to walk in on a dragon lair and had only just caught herself in time. Thalia had taken one whiff of the stench, a glimpse of the huge scaly beast, and hid behind a protruding rock.
She hadn't caught sight of Luke until she heard him yell.
"You know, you're pretty ugly for a dragon. Aren't you guys supposed to be all majestic and magical?"
The moment she had heard his voice... it was like there was no one else in the world. All she knew was in that moment a certainty filled her. This was what Zeus had been leading her to, this was why she had arrived here. Despite his stupid words she had known in that moment that she had to save him.
She peeked back around the rock she was behind. She was smart for a 12 year old, she had learned to observe everything in a situation before making a move and that was exactly what she did.
There was a boy, blonde hair, pale, very handsome; he was bound somehow, she couldn't see exactly because he was surrounded by boulders and piles of treasure. His t-shirt was dark and it looked like he was wearing jeans but Thalia couldn't be sure as the cave was only lit with sparse torches on the walls. But Thalia noticed a dark stain at his temple.
Blood.
But his eyes were open and he was talking so he was obviously conscious. If she could get over there...
Something hissed before she could think out a plan any further and her eyes were drawn to the huge dragon in the center of the room.
It was about the height of a house and was covered in shiny green scales. It's eyes were luminous yellow, glowing like a cats. It's tail seemed about 50 feet long and Thalia couldn't see how wide it was. It's claws looked like they were the size of Thalia's entire body and were shiny in the dim firelight. It had spikes along it's back and when it opened it's mouth to hiss again Thalia noticed teeth dripping with saliva and something green and foamy that Thalia suspected was poison.
Great. Just great. How was she supposed to go up against a dragon with nothing but a flashlight she had found in an alley, a water bottle filled with a magical drink called nectar that came from Amalatheia's udders, a bobby pin for locks and a celestial spear that couldn't pierce the beasts scales?
Suddenly the creepiest, most slithery voice hissed in her head and Thalia covered her ears.
"Foolish demigod. You think to taunt me? I am a dragon of old, we are the wisest creatures on this planet? You think to trick me?"
Covering her ears didn't help. The voice (which was most definitely masculine) sounded inside Thalia's head.
She was certain that if she survived this night she would have nightmares about it.
She peeked around the rock again and saw the boy (who looked about 14) frown. He was quiet which made Thalia think he had run out of ideas.
Fabulous. Looked like it would be up to her to get them out of this mess he had gotten into.
She thought hard for a few seconds before a plan entered her head. She smiled; if this worked she would be a genius. If it didn't... well they would both be dead anyways.
For a second she paused and thought about what she was doing. Was she really willing to throw her life away for some stranger? All because she trusted a magical sheep?
Anyone else might have said no, no they were not, and walked right back out of that cave leaving the unknown boy to try and get himself free.
But Thalia Grace was no just anybody. She was a demigod, a daughter of Zeus. And despite it all, she trusted her father and her instincts. Besides, she reasoned with a grim smile, her life wasn't all that great at the moment anyway.
With a quietness that came only from years of sneaking around Thalia made her way to the boy, making sure to hide behind boulders as she did so. She was careful not to make any noise, because if she did she may as well scream to the dragon she was right there, ready to be eaten.
Finally, after a minute or two of crawling, cursing infinitely in her head, running and jumping behind rocks just in time, she was behind the unknown demigod.
Now Thalia wasn't a boy crazy teen, she was only 12, and had run away at age 9. She wasn't the type of girl to swoon at the sight of any boy. Flirting? Thalia flirted about as well as a potatoe, and usually boys found her about as attractive as one. That didn't bother her, she didn't exactly dress or act like a normal girl. Boys weren't a big priority for her, she hadn't cared about them before she ran away.
Except for her brother. But that was very, very different.
And after she had run away, boys were limited. None of them would be able to relate to Thalia, she hadn't found anyone like her before. No one had caught her eye and she was sure she looked like a mess, maybe only slightly better than the guy tied up right in front of her.
However, despite not usually noticing boys, Thalia couldn't help but take a whiff of the guy in front of her.
And Holy Hermes, did he smell good.
She hadn't expected him to smell good. If anything, she had expected him to stink. He had obviously been on the run, like her, so it only made sense he wouldn't smell like a men's scents store.
This smell though... it wasn't fake. A mix of forest smell, fresh air, something that smelled like peppermint toothpaste- and yes, okay, a faint hint of dumpster.
It intoxicated her, and Thalia couldn't help but take a deep breath when she was a couple of feet away.
No Thalia, she scolded herself. You are not allowed to crouch on uncomfortable ground smelling a boy you don't know. Instead you should help kill this dragon and save him. You can have time to smell him later.
That was all the motivation she needed.
With barely a seconds hesitation she crawled the last few feet until she was directly behind the boy. From what she could hear and see, the dragon had turned and was rummaging through his many piles of treasure, seeming to have lost interest in the guy for now. Good, that was perfect.
As for the guy himself he seemed to be looking around, from what Thalia could see. His head was moving around and he was bending over his leg.
She glanced behind her to the mouth of the cave once more. Last chance.
She looked back to the boy, and leaned in to whisper as quietly as she could in his hear.
"Shut up and listen, okay?"
She made her voice so quiet he had to strain to hear her- Thalia had heard somewhere that a dragons hearing was incredible-but the boy still jumped and let out a yelp.
She ducked behind him, hiding herself right before the dragons voice hissed once again in her head.
"What is it now?" The lizard hissed annoyed.
Thalia couldn't see the guys face but she felt him tense. "Uhh, nothing," he said after a second. "I hit my hand on a rock." He said lamely. "But don't worry," he rushed on after a second, "I'm okay now."
Thalia couldn't see the dragon but she was sure it was shaking it's head; just like she was doing. Gods, this boy wasn't the brightest crayon in the box was he?
"Foolish demigod..." the dragon muttered in their heads again, "bad brains but lovely to eat."
She heard the sound of metal moving against metal and Thalia assumed the dragon was over at the other side of the cave with its treasure. She tried again.
"Gods, how stupid are you?" She said.
The guy craned his neck to turn around to look at her and Thalia caught her breath. He was very good looking. Very good looking.
What was happening to her?
The boy seemed taken aback at the sight of her, but spoke nonetheless. "Where the Hades did you come from? Who are you?"
She ignored his questions. "Hades? As in the Greek God of Death, Hades?"
A dark look flashed across the guys face. "Yeah. Look, it's not easy to explain but-"
She held up a hand. "It's okay," she whispered. "I think I'm like you."
His eyes, which were a startling blue, widened at that before narrowing suspiciously. "Is this some sort of trick? Or test?"
She shook her head. "No. I can't do anything to make you believe me but I know a way to get you out of here. You just have to do everything I tell you to, alright?"
He was still looking at her suspiciously. "What do you mean? I've tried everything."
She shook her head. "Believe me," she said, "you haven't."
He hesitated before looking back to his captor. He seemed to think through his options, realize Thalia was offering him a much better choice than Godzilla over there, and looked back at her. He let out a breath. "Alright fine," he said. "What do I do?"
After she had told him her plan he looked at her thoughtfully. "That might just work."
"Of course it'll work, stupid." She said with more confidence than she felt. "Just do it already."
He frowned at her. "Ya know for a girl, you're pretty rude."
She raised an eyebrow. "You want my help or not."
A smile flickered over his face and Thalia couldn't help but glance at his lips as it did. "Point taken. Hold on a sec, Wonder Woman."
Wonder Woman, Thalia thought as she crouched back down. What was she, a superhero now? Being a demigod was hard enough, Thalia sure as Hades didn't want to add superhero to her list of burdens in life.
"I heard that a dragon just above the border of Mexico defeated a hellhound, is that true?" The boy called out to his captor.
Thalia heard the thing move closer and prayed this would work. She had heard- maybe in school sometime- that a dragons biggest weakness was pride. Hopefully that wasn't just a myth.
"Which dragon would this be?" The dragon's words slithered through Thalia's mind, causing her to shudder.
"It was a big red one. I heard he was the fiercest dragon still alive. Is it true he defeated a hellhound?" The guy was doing a good ob of making himself sound impressed. At least he didn't sound like he was lying.
The dragon hissed. "If it is why should it matter? It does not make him the fiercest dragon alive." Thalia heard the smugness in it's voice as it continued. "That title belongs to me."
The guy scoffed. "Is that so?"
"Sssssssss, you doubt me demigod?"
"Well have you ever defeated a hellhound?" The boy challenged.
There was a pause. "No, however-"
To the guys credit he didn't hesitate to cut the dragon off before it finished it's sentence. "Then how can you claim that you're better than this other dragon?"
There was a hiss and Thalia flinched when she heard a huge crack, followed by a tremble of the gound. The demigod in front of her started and she was willing to bet almost anything that the dragon had just hit the cave wall with it's tail.
"I have defeated countless minor monsters, eaten more demigods than even Zeus could produce and have more treasure than any living beast alive." The dragon boasted, and while Thalia frowned at the Zeus comment, she glanced at the guy hoping he wouldn't falter.
Luckily he took it in stride, seeming almost bored. "Yeah that's great but..."
There was a pause. "But what demigod?"
He cleared his throat. "Well it's just you still haven't defeated a hellhound. So I don't know if you're better than the other dragon."
Another huge crack, more trembling and then there was hissing. Before the dragon could do anything more however, the blonde boy spoke. "But there is a way I could know for sure, be absolutely certain, that you were the best most fierce dragon alive."
A pause followed his words again, this one longer than the others. Thalia's arms were starting to go numb from crouching on them for so long.
Finally, after several minutes had passed, the hissing filled Thalia's head again. "What are you proposing half-blood?"
The boy looked up, probably to see the dragon's face, before looking away. "Maybe- hmmm... no I don't suppose..."
He was a good actor, Thalia acknowledged. She didn't even think that she could do as well as he was at the moment.
"What is it?" The dragon snapped.
Now, Thalia thought. This was when the boy should speak or the dragon would lose interest and patience.
Thalia was pretty proud of herself for coming up with this plan. If it worked she would be getting rid of 2 birds with one stone- er, so to speak. This dragon could take care of the dog problem- the boy had named them hellhounds- and hopefully get injured in the process. Maybe he would even be killed, but Thalia doubted it. Anyways, the dragon would come back injured and hopefully Thalia and Luke could get rid of it.
If it worked it was perfect. If not... well Thalia didn't like to think of that.
Luckily, the boy seemed to think the same as Thalia. "Well before you caught me I was being chased by a pack of hellhounds. Now, if you defeated them all I would know for absolute certainty that you were the dragon that should be most feared. The fiercest, most brave dragon to have ever lived even."
A hum filled Thalia's brain and she knew the dragon was hooked. "The most brave dragon to have ever lived, hmm, I like the sound of that." The humming stopped. "But what about you?"
"Me? Well, I'll have to stay here and wait to see if you actually do it." The boy spoke calmly, like there was no other option.
The dragon hummed again. "Yes, well... I suppose."
"I'll be here when you get back," the guy promised, "how could I even get up with this leg?"
"True." A moments hesitation and then the voice filled Thalia's mind again. "It will be as you say, half-blood. I will defeat these hounds and come back for you as a delicious treat afterwards."
"Can't wait for it," were the last words Thalia heard before a huge gust of wind blew against her, stirring the dust on the ground. A flap, flap sounded and luckily Thalia was covered with dust and dirt as the dragon soared over her.
Then it was soaring out of the cave and Thalia waited a minute before sitting up and rubbing her arms.
"Good job," she said.
The guy turned to look at her again, grinning. "Sometimes it pays off being the son of the god of liars."
Thalia racked her brains for a second. "Hermes?"
He nodded. "Yup. Now are you gonna help me or what?"
She rolled her eyes muttering under her breath, "so impatient," but got up anyways. She circled around to his front and held back a gasp at what she saw.
The boy's left leg was lying at an awkward angle and there was a huge red gash going down his thigh. The wound was leaking blood and pus and was giving off a foul scent that Thalia couldn't believe she hadn't noticed before.
It was infected. Fabulous. Just what they needed.
"Hades," she cursed as she knelt down beside it. "How am I supposed to fix this?"
The boy was looking at her, not her leg. He was staring, finally being able to look at her full on, and suddenly Thalia was outrageously self-conscious. She must look a mess and she was sure he eyeliner must be smudged.
Definitely not the best impression.
"What are you looking at?" She snapped, the leg problem momentarily forgotten.
The guy's eyes shot to hers before he shook his head. "Nothing," he muttered.
She raised an eyebrow. "Spit it out, will you? We don't exactly have much time."
He raised an eyebrow at her in return before a small smile toyed at the corners of his mouth. "You just don't look like a regular girl, that's all."
It shouldn't have offended her so much, but Thalia felt hurt go through her. She knew she wasn't exactly a beauty pageant contestant but hey, she had a hard life. The last thing she worried about was her looks.
Well, until she had met this jerk.
He must have seen something on her face then, because he shook his head slowly. "Hey, I didn't mean it like that," he said, oddly gentle and sincere. "I kind of like it."
She stared at him, incredulous. "Good," she finally said, before bending down to closer inspect his leg.
Good? Gods, she was absolutely hopeless with boys. What had she meant by that? What was he thinking of her now? She chanced a peek at him, noticed that he was taking in her combat boots and quickly looked back to his leg.
Definitely infected. The skin was torn in a ragged gash down the center of his thing and the blood coming from it had coated the guy's jeans and created a small pool on the ground.
"What the hell happened?" Thalia asked him.
He grimaced. "I was... running, and the dragon landed in front of me. He swiped at me, caught my leg with one of his claw thingies-"
"Talons." Thalia interrupted.
He looked at her. "What?"
She blushed, ridiculously. "His... claw thingies. They're called talons."
He frowned. "Why does it matter?"
"It doesn't, I guess." Thalia looked away. "It's just if you're going to speak about them, get the right term."
He was quiet and when she looked back she saw he was staring at her again. When she raised an eyebrow he looked away and cleared his throat. "Okay, talons. Right. Anyways, his talon got me right in the leg and after that I was pretty much easy prey. He picked me up, flew me back here, and then you came and scared the crap outta me."
She nodded. It didn't sound made up and really, it wasn't like the guy had gone and done this to himself. Thalia saw no reason not to believe him. "Alright then. How am I supposed to fix it?"
He hesitated. "You said... you had a drink in your pack? Called nectar?"
She nodded. "Yeah, I just got it before I came in this cave." She hesitated. "Why, what's it going to do? I'm sure I could find water if you're thirsty-"
He shook his head. "No, it's just," he shifted and winced. "I've heard about it. It's supposed to help us. Heal our injuries, make us stronger. That kinda thing."
Surprise filled her. Maybe Amaltheia was lucky after all. "You want to drink my magical healing juice that I could use for myself later? Is that what you're saying?"
He looked down. "Look, I understand if you want to keep it for yourself but I was just thinking-"
"No," she interrupted. "It's fine. Better to save you and put it to a good use right? Before I end up leaving it somewhere or letting it get stolen."
He met her eyes and his were hope-filled. "Really? You would do that?"
She shrugged, not seeing the big deal. "Sure, I mean I don't need it right now. And I might be able to get some more later."
He stared at her again, before nodding. "Okay. Um, thanks."
She looked away, uncomfortable. "It's no problem."
She took her pack off her shoulders and slipped out her water bottle. She had to admit as she screwed off the lid, the drink did smell good. When she got the srew off cap of the bottle she handed it to the guy.
"Thanks," he muttered, before dumping the bottle over his injured leg.
"Hey!" Thalia cried, snatching the bottle back from him. "What the hell are you doing?!"
He frowned. "It'll help me more if I pour it directly on my injury."
"Are you insane?" She hissed. "How would that-"
She faltered as she watched his leg. The longer she watched, the better it looked. Regaining some of it's color, it stopped leaking pus and blood.
In fact, Thalia saw in surprise, after a minute or two it looked little worse than a deep scratch.
Thalia knelt down again. "Here," she said quietly and ripped off the bottom of her jeans. They were so torn it hardly took any effort. Carefully, not wanting to hurt the guy, she wrapped it around the cut and tied it. She wanted to make sure there was no more blood loss.
When she met his eyes again she had to admit that even his face looked better. More color, a sparkle in his eyes. Thalia caught herself staring and had to look away before he saw her.
Luckily he was examining his leg and hesitantly he lifted it. When he didn't wince Thalia took that as a good sign.
"Hey, could you help me up?" He asked.
"Sure," Thalia replied and offered him her hand.
When their hands met Thalia's skin tingled and energy shot through her veins. The guy must have felt the same thing because when he was standing, albeit a little shakily, he pulled his hand away and studied it before looking at her.
"What was that?" He asked.
She blushed. "I'm a daughter of Zeus," she muttered. "Ya know, the god of the sky and storms?"
He kept looking at her. "Okay...?"
She sighed and rubbed her wrist. "He's the god of lightning." When she looked at him, he still looked confused. "Electricity is kinda my thing. Shocks and stuff."
"Oh," he nodded. "Alright."
He was quiet a moment before muttering something that sounded suspiciously like, "but that didn't feel like a shock."
She was about to reply when the dragon's voice hissed in her head. "...stupid, vicious mutts... clawing my stomach..."
She looked at the boy. "The dragon."
He met her eyes, his were faintly worried. "He's back."
"Do you have a weapon?" she asked. She probably should have asked him before, because there was no way she would let him use her spear, but she hadn't even thought of it until now.
Luckily he pulled out a knife. Thank Zeus it was celestial bronze. "Yup. Right here."
She nodded and looked towards the mouth of the cave, hearing wing beats getting closer and closer. "Ready?"
He nodded beside her before speaking. "Hey, I never got your name."
She looked up. "What's your name?"
He hesitated before answering. "Luke. Luke Castellan."
She smiled. She had always loved the name Luke. "I'm Thalia," she offered before hesitating. "Thalia Grace."
"Grace?" He said slowly. "I think I've heard that name before."
"It's a popular name," she said quickly, not wanting him to make the connection to her mom.
He nodded after a second before meeting her eyes. "Thalia, huh?"
She nodded, looking at him warily.
He grinned. "Thalia," he repeated. "I like it."
Then they both looked back to the mouth of the cave, waiting for the dragon to come back. And Luke Castellan slipped his hand into Thalia Grace's.
And she didn't pull away.
oooOOOooo
Yay Thuke! I love them and I'm going through an obsession at the moment so be prepared for more fanfics for them. Hope you liked it!
Question: Who would you all say is the Ice Queen in the PJO or HOO series? I'm writing a story and need a character to base it on.
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Percyjacksonfan3