Damasen's hut became like a home to us. We ended up staying much longer than a few days. It was what I could only guess to be about three weeks and we were still working on Charlie's training. Bob had even stepped in, and Charlie responded to his form of fighting (SWEEP SWEEP SWEEP) better than my own method (From Chiron himself.) Well, Charlie was half titan.

Damasen reminded me a lot of Chiron. He gave tips on Charlie's training, but also insisted that mental training was just as important, if not more important, than our physical training. He worked with Charlie and I on our mental capabilities. He confronted Charlie about his frustration issues and taught him how to use it to his advantage during a fight.

"Confidence is your biggest strength, but it is also your biggest weakness," he advised.

Charlie stared at him with what I'd describe as a what expression. "Great, so confidence is good and bad. So, how is it my strength if it's my weakness and how can I use it?" he asked.

"By learning the difference between confidence and imposed immortality," Damasen answered. "You must be confident, or you will not allow yourself to gain an upperhand in the fight. While keeping this in mind, you must also know that you are not impossible to defeat. Always assume that your opponent is stronger than you, and anticipate the fight to run in your opponent's favor."

"Oh great, so have faith that I will die. That sounds like a great idea." Charlie's sarcasm wasn't hard to detect, but Bob didn't notice it. The titan nodded in agreement.

"But," Damasen overthrew Charlie's sarcasm with more advice, "Have confidence that you can come out on top. Not that you will win, but that you can."

The look on Charlie's face showed that he finally understood what Damasen was saying. The advice helped me too, not just Charlie. We could escape. I didn't believe for sure that we would, but that we could. If we fought hard enough. We could get out, but we had to earn it.

"Let's go hunt monsters!" Bob said, grabbing his mop to kill his boredom. He and Charlie had been going out almost every day so Charlie could try and kill a monster. So far, Bob had to step in and save him each time. Charlie jumped from his chair and pointed the new sword Bob had made him at me in a strangely affectionate way to say goodbye.

They left me behind, shaking my head with an amused smile. Damasen stood from the table where he had been teaching us and moved to his makeshift little kitchen. I say little, but that's compared to Damasen. It was enormous to me.

"Come," Damasen beckoned me forward. I hurriedly got up and joined him. "Help me with this." He motioned toward the herbs he was cutting up for his famous soup. I pulled a chair up and stood on it so I could reach his countertop. His knife was made of a sharpened rock (very sharp, trust me) with a wooden handle. It was about as big as a small sword but I managed. After I cut the vegetables, he had me tend to the soup as it boiled. I used to go out with Charlie and Bob until I realized that Bob could keep Charlie safe. I still watched them out the window above the counter, just to be sure. But I liked my talks with Damasen. He offered advice for everything I had to ask and more. He had a way of easing my worries. Today, we were talking about Charlie.

"We are in a place that steals all happiness. Your parents came through here and I heard laughter for the first time. It was a strange foreign sound here. But it was in its own way, defeating a part of Tartarus. If you had a chance at a real love up in the outside world, nothing would stop you from eventually falling into it," he said. He continued with, "But here, what is to stop you? Your nerves should be saved for your environment, not your heart."

I smiled. "Thank you, Damasen."

He nodded and began serving the soup into bowls. I liked helping Damasen cook. My dad actually enjoyed cooking, he used it as a therapeutic way to deal with Tartarus by working in New Rome's kitchens. Working with Damasen reminded me of that. Of my dad.

"You will see them again." Damasen seemed to read my mind.

"What happened to can vs will?" I joked.

He smiled sadly but didn't respond. He gazed out the window and stood perfectly still. I went to the bed and belly flopped with a groan.

"Jase, I did it!" Charlie burst into the cabin, tossing his sword onto the bed.

I turned around with a grin. "You did? I'm so proud!"

He jumped into my arms and I kissed him in congratulations. We'd been doing a lot of that lately. A few nights after we got to Damasen's hut, we'd finally talked about what happened…

"You kissed me," Charlie said plainly.

I didn't let my expression show how nervous his statement made me. "I did." I answered in the same voice.

Charlie smiled and my nerves somehow melted. I wasn't nervous anymore, just feeling anticipation for something I couldn't name. "Are you ok with that?" I asked gingerly.

"I am." He moved his hand atop mine as some sort of monster screeched in the distance. It was very romantic.

"Me too."

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! PS, WHAT ELSE DO YOU GUYS WANT TO SEE? ALSO, I'D LIKE TO THANK PuddlePirATEpro FOR THEIR SUGGESTION TO HAVE THE CHARACTERS SEND MESSAGES BACK AND FORTH FROM CAMP. I MAY NOT HAVE DONE THAT EXACTLY, BUT IT GAVE ME A PROBABLY BAD IDEA FOR LATER ON... MWAHAHAH LOVE YOU GUYS!

-AUTHOR