Title: Without Having to Say
Rating: K
Character/Pairing: Annabeth Chase (pre-Annabeth/Percy)
Summary: In which Annabeth contemplates the wisdom of an obvious decision.
A/N: Written for the LJ writing comm 31_days, theme: when a heart must go where it belongs. Set during book 2 The Sea of Monsters, when Annabeth leaves home to meet Percy at school.
After a full evening's travel - and a two hour nap, rudely interrupted by a monster that forced her to break camp in the middle of the night - it suddenly occurs to Annabeth that while she's traveling north she's not heading towards camp. She's heading towards Percy.
Her dreams - Camp Half-Blood under attack, on fire and dying - flash through her brain, and she pauses momentarily to consider her destination. Retrieving Percy will take more time, and if the camp - her camp, her home - needed her, maybe it wasn't worth the detour.
Behind her comes the noises of a monster - hopefully only one. It's either one with several legs or two small ones. She can hear the tree creaking and the brush rustling; her scent must be everywhere.
Sighing, Annabeth plunks her baseball cap onto her head. If she was walking directly into trouble she knew who she wanted next to her.
Athena grant me wisdom.
She'd learned long ago not to ask for anything else. Athena didn't grant wishes directly; she only gave its wisher the ability to find the answer for themselves.
Hitching her backpack, she kept on north, wondering if Percy would be surprised to see her.
Originally posted 12/20/2010