VIII
Jason
WHEN WAR COUNSEL WAS OVER, Jason was starving. The eight of them shuffled out of the door and towards the dining pavilion. When they got there, Annabeth caught up with him right before he sat down.
"She's lying." Annabeth said, strait to the point.
"About?" Jason asked.
"Everything." Annabeth replied. "Octavian never would have know we were leaving. Someone else must have told her."
"Who?" Jason had a feeling he knew what the answer was.
"Take a guess," Annabeth muttered darkly before walking away.
What was that about? Jason thought, but he was quickly distracted by the food. Jason had to much to think about already, now all he seemed to be able to think about is the mysterious girl. He still couldn't place where he had seen her. Where had he seen her...
News of the odd events apparently had not gotten around yet. Everyone was going about their daily business training. A few pegasi flew overhead, the Apollo cabin was working on their archery skills. (As if they need anymore practice.) Jason was happy no one had heard. He didn't feel like being questioned.
Whatever amount of energy that had kept him awake through all excitement had disappeared. Jason found himself barely able to move. The effects of another sleepless night had caught up with him. He shuffled past all the cabins without even a glance. Once he heard shouts and yells of surprise coming from the Ares Cabin, and Jason wondered vaguely if Frank was getting along well with his siblings.
He had expected her to be in Artemis' cabin, where there were actual beds. It was the place she called home now. But she wasn't. She was sitting on the floor, photos spread across the floor at her feet. Her finger was tracing the edge of one in particular. Jason recognized it, even though it was upside down. It was the one that had fallen off the wall, the one Jason had asked Annabeth about. The one that had helped him remember that Thalia was his sister.
She didn't realize Jason was there at all until he was a few feet away.
"Oh! Jason." She looked up and Jason realized she had tears in her eyes. She quickly wiped them away as for him not to notice.
"Whatcha looking at?" He asked lightly, as if he hadn't.
"Just going through some of these old photos. I don't think I've looked at them since we took them." Jason sat down beside her and pointed out one that seemed to have a particularly interesting back story. "Oh," she laughed, "That one."
So that's how they plunged into the story of how Thalia had played wackamole with some zombies. They joked and laughed, and Thalia would use different pictures to explain the events. She really was a wonderful storyteller, and as they went, Jason felt like he was finally getting to know his sister. She was afraid of heights and she liked cheeseburgers, just like Jason. He learned that she was a tree at one point, and that she'd hated pine needles ever since. Sometimes they veered away to more serious topics, like how she had left their mother when she was twelve. How she had turned her back on her father when she had joined the Hunters. But neither of them cared much for discussing such things.
She was no longer referred to as a daughter of Zeus, somehow she'd left that title behind, but no matter how old Jason got, Thalia would be his older sister, hunter or not.
