Disclaimer: I do not own PJO, or any of the character that are in it. All of them belong to the wonderful Rick Riordan!
Dedication: To friends. Specifically two in particular; Emma and Beth, you two are amazing! Thank you both for all of your support in getting my butt in gear and writing this!
"The first time I remember using my powers was in sixth grade." explained Percy, "I pushed a girl into a fountain." Seeing the look on his girlfriend's face, he quickly added "She totally had it coming!"
He turned to face the huntress sitting across from him. "What about you Thalia? When was the first time you used your killer lightning powers?"
Shaking her head, Thalia laughed. "You guys really don't want to know."
She tried to think about something else, but it was too late. Before she could hear the next comment, she was lost in memories.
"So, a daughter of Zeus, huh?"
"Yeah," Thalia whipped her head around, and glared into baby blue eyes. "Got an issue with that Mister 'Son of Hermes?'"
Grinning impishly, Luke put up his hands in mock surrender. "Course not! Just making sure." Noticing the look on the girl's face, he quickly added, "You not a fan of your dad?"
Thalia shrugged indifferently. "He's okay I guess. I mean, he helps me sometimes. You?"
Expression darkening, Luke glared at the bench over Thalia's shoulder. "My dad never helped me with anything. I have no reason to even vaguely like him."
"That bad?" she winced. "There's got to be some upside to being a son of Hermes! Do you have a gift, or powers or something?"
Shrugging carelessly, he muttered "Well, I can unlock any lock and stuff. But I mean, it's not that big of a thing."
"Are you serious!" yelped Thalia excitedly. "That's a huge deal! Do you know how many places we can break into for supplies!? I mean—"
"I don't like, I mean I, no." Luke cut her off abruptly. "Just no."
Eyes widening in alarm, Thalia took a few steps back onto the grass. "Alright, sorry I asked."
"It's fine. What about you? Can you summon lightning and stuff?" Inquired Luke.
"Lightning?" questioned Thalia, "I've never tried to summon lightning."
"Well, there's no time like the present!" cheered Luke, with a hint of humor in his voice.
Thalia shook her head suddenly. "I will. One day, I promise, just-just not right now."
Raising his brows in question, Luke shot her a look.
"It's nothing!" laughed Thalia, "Come on, race you to the shelter!"
Days, weeks, months passed without further discussion of the conversation. The two misfits seemed to have found a home at last, a home in each other.
One frigid winter day, when the son of Hermes was feeling particularly cocky, he decided to venture into what he had gathered to be a sensitive subject once more.
"So Thals, are you up for testing those wicked lightning powers now?" asked Luke with a grin.
Gulping down the last of her stolen coffee, Thalia hesitated. Just when Luke was about to apologize for bringing it up, she nodded.
"Alright, why not?" the daughter of Zeus was concerned, but she plastered a smile on her face anyway.
Standing up from the bench that she was sitting on, Thalia scrunched her eyes closed in concentration.
However dear reader, there were (and still are) quite a few crucial pieces of information about her powers that Thalia was not aware of at that point in time.
One such fact was that when a child of Zeus does not pin-point exactly where they want their lightning to strike, it acts like regular lightning.
This is to say, it strikes the tallest thing in the general area that they are in.
In fact, Thalia would come to regret that she did not know this soon after she attempted to use her powers for the first time.
Why you may ask?
Well, the tallest thing in the deserted field at that point in time, just happened to be Luke.
"Luke!" Shrieked Thalia, throwing away any trace of the fearless girl she was normally. "Oh gods, Luke, I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have even tried that while you were here!"
Oh course, there came no response from the boy-he was out cold.
"Ambrosia, where's the ambrosia?" muttered Thalia hurriedly, rummaging through her bag like a mad man.
Finally finding the godly delicacy and stuffing it in her friend's mouth, the scared daughter of Zeus lifted her head towards her father's realm.
"Kratos, Nike, whoever's in charge of strength up there, please!" she whispered frantically, "Just let me be able to bring him back to the shelter!"
Heaving her companion off of the ground, Thalia sprinted over to where she and Luke had been staying. Or at least, she tried to sprint. It was rather hard to run when you were holding a person who weighed more than yourself.
Breathing heavily, Thalia set her friend down in relief. He had woken up when she was about half-way to the shelter, and had insisted in his incoherent state that he was able to walk by himself. Of course, no matter how hard he protested, Luke could not walk by himself.
Grabbing some Nectar, Thalia began spooning the heavenly liquid into his mouth.
After a few minutes, his eyelids fluttered wearily. "Hey!" whispered Thalia, leaning in close to him. "How do you feel?"
Groaning, Luke tried to sit up, and failed spectacularly. "Like that Hydra we killed with fire the other week." He mumbled. "Let's not try that again."
Laughing in spite of herself, Thalia agreed. "That's fine with me!"
"And that's how Travis and I stole a narwhal!" exclaimed Conner, shocking Thalia back into reality.
"You alright?" whispered Annabeth to Thalia, ignoring the laughter around them.
"Yeah," Thalia smiled, and told her almost-sister the same lie that she had told Luke all of those years ago. "It's nothing"
The premise for this was based off of the quote in Demigod Diaries "It's a Zeus thing. But I can't do it indoors. I'd have trouble controlling the strike. Last time I almost killed Luke."-Thalia
Like it? Hate it? Let me know!
Either way, thanks so much for taking the time out of your day to read it!