A.N.: Sorry for the wait! I took a break last week as I was working on some other stuff, plus I've had a bit of writer's block for the past two weeks. Thanks again to everyone who's been keeping up!
18
Mason
Time was an odd thing.
After spending months stranded on a picturesque island, Mason found it strange to try and adjust now that he was back home. It had been disorienting enough to be back in the "real world" after all this time, his house feeling equal parts familiar and foreign. But discovering that the island really had warped reality, and that almost no time at all had passed everywhere else? He was left feeling like he had just woken from a long nap by a blaring alarm telling everyone to evacuate the building, and that he had slept through most of it.
So, even as he started to prepare for them to leave again - packing bags, making calls, and anything else he felt was necessary – it still felt as though it wasn't him doing it, like his body was being guided by some outside force. His mind was certainly elsewhere, his hands moving absentmindedly. Consequently, time seemed to pass by in a blur.
As Mason and Reyna sat in the backseat of the Uber he had called, he thought about Nemesis and the shadow-Giant, and wondered what exactly Reyna had seen in the goddess' face that made her look so shaken and why he hadn't seen anything particularly chilling.
As Mason and Reyna boarded the commercial flight bound for Long Island, sitting in distant seats, he thought about the Torch (which he had somehow managed to get onboard, as he muttered a thanks for the Mist yet again) and how exactly he had been able to light it, specifically due to Reyna's help.
Finally, as Mason and Reyna sat in the back of a taxi making their way down Long Island, he thought about Reyna herself, moments of the months before flashing through his mind, from being carried up the sand on their first day, to her outburst towards him that one night, to the first uncomfortable night they shared the singular bed, to their lighthearted ocean escapade on their last night.
Mason may not have had full control over the wanderings of his mind, but he still made a definite effort not to linger on the memory of her hand in his for too long.
"We're here." Reyna's voice pulled him from his thoughts. He looked outside to see a hill just past the small road, leading up to a singular, tall pine tree at the top. Much more noticeable than that, however, was the forty-foot-tall ivory statue of what he assumed was Athena, towering over Long Island. The late afternoon sun shone down on the hill, illuminating the pale statue like a lighthouse. He paid the taxi driver before stepping out with their bags, the taxi turning around and leaving them on the side of the road and staring up at the hill.
"You know, normally I would ask how on earth something like that goes unnoticed," Mason said, gesturing up to the statue. "But I feel like it wouldn't be the craziest thing I've seen lately, so I'm just not going to worry about it."
Reyna nodded idly. They both were a bit lethargic from the long day of travel, and Mason assumed she had slept for part of the flight like he had. It had felt refreshing to properly clean up and get some fresh clothes, with him now wearing a plain grey-and-blue t-shirt and jeans, and her wearing a newly cleaned purple Camp Jupiter shirt and jeans. Her long hair was down, slightly wavy and freely draped down her back. Similarly, Mason had decided not to shave his now somewhat substantial beard, partially so he had some proof of their time-defying detour, but also just because he had grown used to it, and perhaps liked how it looked.
"Let's go," she said, starting up the hill. Mason followed after her, worried for a moment that he wouldn't be able to keep up given the incline and his ankle, but she held back, keeping a pace he could manage. Reyna stopped before they could reach the top, and as she turned to him, he thought he saw something underneath the tree.
"Follow my lead," she said, looking at him intently. "Mortals can't normally enter camp, and it's rare that any are allowed entry, so stay behind me. I need to ensure you'll be let in."
Mason nodded. "Right, the magic barrier."
"Well," Reyna said, looking back to the tree. "That and one other thing."
Mason raised an eyebrow, not remembering her mentioning her mentioning any other obstacles, but as they walked to the top of the hill, he saw the enormous copper-scaled beast curled around the trunk of the pine tree, and suddenly felt much more awake than he had five minutes ago.
"Alright, I take it back," he said. "That's the craziest thing I've seen lately.
The dragon lifted its head to the two of them as Reyna approached, holding out a hand. "Peleus is friendly, you needn't worry too much," she said as she rubbed her hand over the beast's cheek, which elicited what Mason assumed was a happy hiss from its nostrils.
"Well, I assume he's not friendly to everyone, or else he'd make for a pretty lousy guard."
She looked back to him. "If there's any outsider he will be friendly with immediately, it'd be you. Come on," she said, gesturing to him. "I, Reyna Ramírez-Arellano, give you permission to enter camp," she announced with a tone of authority.
Mason didn't feel any arcane blast of energy indicating his newly invited status, but nevertheless he approached the dragon slowly, watching its eyes as he held out his hand. The dragon looked to the newcomer intently, studying him with both his eyes and nose, before bowing his head slightly. Mason breathed a sigh of relief as he reached out to scratch the beast under its chin, which it seemed to enjoy. He smiled, reminded of the golden retriever his foster family had.
"See?" Reyna said with a smile. "You two will be the best of friends in no time. Now let's get going, we've waited long enough to see this curse broken."
(|- - - - -[H]- - - - -|)
At first, it seemed like a normal summer camp. It had all of the wide-open fields, excitable teenagers, and outdoor pavilions one might expect.
Of course, Mason knew this was not a normal summer camp, and knowing this, he began to notice strange things here and there as Reyna guided him through the wooded valley. Like the flute-wielding boy who rushed past them who definitely had the legs of a horse. Or the sign they passed that said "DO NOT FEED THE HELLHOUND." Or the massive rock-climbing wall that had what looked like actual lava pouring down it, the glowing, orange liquid spurting out at the brazen campers.
Mason had never actually been to a youth summer camp, but he imagined any that he would have been to would have been a far different experience than this one.
Even in an environment as strangely foreign as this one, he could tell that the energy of the camp was subdued. The few campers that were out and about were either anxiously rushing between buildings or taking to their activities with less enthusiasm. Mason wasn't sure how someone could climb a lava-laden rock wall half-heartedly, but it was happening nonetheless. There was an air of seriousness that permeated through the camp.
"Reyna?" a voice called out. Mason turned to see Tabitha, still wearing her black hoodie and red dragon t-shirt. The girl had a look of mild bewilderment as she walked up to them. "Mason?" she said, nodding to him in acknowledgement.
Reyna gave a half-hearted smile. "Hello, Tabitha. I assume you've been wondering where we've been?"
Tabitha stared at them. "Yeah, we all have. I mean, we assumed maybe you'd gotten snatched up by something, so we sent out a few people to search, but…" she trailed off as she looked the two of them over. "Wait, what in the Nine Hells happened to you two?"
Mason and Reyna both glanced at each other, particularly each other's hair, then back to Tabitha.
"It's a long story," Mason said. "Well, actually, not really, just a weird one."
"What matters is that we're here now," Reyna said. "And we can break the curse."
Tabitha's expressed shifted from surprise to worry. "Right. Okay, come on."
The three of them made their way to what Mason learned was called the Big House, which seemed like an accurate title, the multi-storied farmhouse towering over the surrounding area. It seemed inviting enough, though. They climbed up the steps and into the building, Reyna leading them to a side room where there was a burly tan-skinned boy in a black leather jacket standing guard. His eyes widened slightly at seeing the three of them, but he maintained his composure and nodded solemnly.
"Reyna."
"Orlando," she responded with a nod of her own. "We have it. Is Chiron in?"
The boy nodded. "He's just inside. He'll be glad to see you," he said as he opened the door, and the three of them entered.
It wasn't a pretty sight. Even after hearing about it from Reyna, Nico, and Percy, Mason still grimaced. There were at least fifteen cots laid around the room, nearly all of them occupied with a sickly demigod, their faces pale and tensed. Mason noticed with some shock that most of them were actually tied down, their wrists and ankles strapped to the beds with cloth or rope. There were multiple other people in the room, either tending to specific patients or running around carrying things to and fro.
"Chiron," Reyna said, walking to one side of the room. "We have what we need."
Mason turned to see a man stood next to one of the cots. Well, half-man. The other half was a horse. Thankfully, he knew of Chiron from Reyna, but that only made it slightly less weird.
"Reyna, my dear," he spoke softly. He seemed exhausted, his forehead wrinkled in perpetual worry. "It is good to see you alive and well. Tabitha and Percy here told me some of what happened," he said, gesturing beside him. Percy was knelt down at the nearby cot, only glancing up to them to give them a nod before turning his attention back to the person laid before him: a blonde-haired girl who Mason assumed was Annabeth. She seemed to be unconscious at the moment, her writhing against the restraints minimalized.
"You say you have the cure?" Chiron asked.
"The solution," Reyna said. "But yes, I think so." She glanced back to Mason. "We think so."
Mason nodded, pulling the Torch from his backpack. As he did, Chiron's eyes widened slightly.
"The Torch," he said quietly. "Yes, it makes sense." He shook his head. "I apologize, I am Chiron. I assume you're Mason, correct?" he said, extending his hand, which Mason shook. "You are quite brave to have come along this far, even with your Sight."
Mason nodded awkwardly. Despite everything, he was comforted somewhat by the centaur's warm and wise demeanor.
"I must tell you," Chiron said, looking between all of them. "Things have grown much more drastic since you were here last. As you can see, we've had to restrain most of them, to prevent them from harming both their caretakers and themselves. And also because…" he trailed off, a look of guilt crossing his face. "Some of them have gone missing."
"How?" Reyna asked quietly.
Chiron shook his head. "We do not know. They slipped through our watchful eye somehow. We have sent parties out, but…"
"How many?" Reyna asked.
"Three. Jeremiah, a younger boy from Tyche. Alex, from Dionysus. And Clarisse, from Ares." Chiron exhaled heavily. "The best that we could do was a whispered rumor among the nature spirits that they are still alive. I can only hope we find them soon. But first, let us do what we can for those here."
They all turned to Mason, who suddenly felt slightly self-conscious from the pressure. He alleviated it somewhat by turning to Reyna. "Are you ready?" he asked. "I'm not sure how exactly this is going to work, but… it'll be up to you once I light this."
She placed a hand on his shoulder, looking more determined than ever despite how tired he knew she was. "Yes. And thank you."
Mason nodded, closing his eyes. He focused on Reyna's hand on his shoulder, letting the other sounds and sensations of the room fall away. He let the feeling move throughout his body, warming it from the inside out. He attempted to channel it into a singular point on his palm, focusing the energy to be direct. Finally, he let the sensation of her hand fall away, imagining the lingering warmth as the contact slowly faded away, leaving an aching cold in its absence.
Just a moment later, he opened his eyes to see the Torch lit up in his hand, flickering intensely against his face. Reyna looked to him, her face glowing from the firelight.
"You're up," he said casually, handing the Torch to her. Even with the trust he had for her, he still felt a chill as the Torch left his hand, like he was letting his baby bird fly from the nest for the first time, and he suddenly understood a bit better what Hestia had told him about being careful who he let wield it.
Nevertheless, Reyna grasped the Torch with purpose, stepping out into the center of the infirmary room. The rest of the group kept their distance, watching from the side of the room as she held the item out in front of her and closed her eyes. A long period of silence followed, breaths being held as Reyna stood resolute, focusing.
Just as Mason was beginning to feel doubt, he saw the Torch's flame burn brighter, and then begin to flicker furiously, as though a strong wind was blowing through the room, even though nothing else was being affected. It continued to grow in size, brightness, and intensity, until the orange light became a blinding pinprick, basking the entire room in its color. He and the rest of the group shielded their eyes as it reached the pinnacle of brightness.
Then, in an instant, the light was gone, and Mason lifted his eyes just as he saw Reyna's knees buckle and the Torch, now unlit, fall from her hand. Even before the Torch hit the floor, he was running over to her, kneeling beside her.
She was still conscious, now sat on both knees with her hands on the floor, breathing heavily. He placed a hand on her back tentatively. "Rey, you alright?"
Even through her labored breaths, she managed a slight nod, her eyes flickering. "Feedback… is… a lot…" she managed. "-be fine."
Mason glanced back to the others, Chiron nodding to him before turning to observe Annabeth alongside Percy. Mason looked around the room to the many sick demigods, and the campers looking after them. All of the pained writhing had ceased, the restraints no longer being struggled against. None of the patients were up and fully conscious, but from the reactions of the caretakers, it seemed as though they were all okay for the time being. Mason breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps it had worked.
He turned his attention back to Reyna, who was still knelt on the floor and breathing heavily, though steadier. Eventually, she lifted her head to look around the room.
"We did it," Mason said. "You did it."
She nodded weakly, turning to look at him. "Thanks to you."
Mason managed a smile even though her current state still worried him, which was made worse by the matching glint of worry he saw in her eyes.
(|- - - - -[H]- - - - -|)
It felt as though the entire camp had taken one deep sigh of relief. Even though Chiron and some of the hardened Apollo campers tried to insist that they take it slow and still be cautious about the previously sick campers, even they couldn't deny the swarm of demigods that wanted into the infirmary to see their friends, siblings, and partners alive and well. Most of the cured campers were still weak and largely unconscious, exhausted and malnourished from their previous maladies, so many of the visits were more just to see that they were okay than an actual reunion. Still, just the knowledge that the curse had been cured sent a wave of comfort through the camp, and even though many of the campers were still absent from activities as they rested in the Big House, things seemed like they were starting to go back to normal, or at least as normal as a camp of Greek demigods could be.
Still, Mason felt off.
Maybe it was the feeling of being an outsider. The campers were all nice and inviting enough, but that didn't change the fact that he couldn't really participate in a lot of what went on, either because he literally couldn't or because it would be an unwise idea.
It was more likely a feeling of worry about what would happen next, and that the quest wasn't actually over entirely. Something felt unresolved, and he couldn't put his finger on what or why.
Mostly he was just concerned about Reyna.
It was clear that she was relieved at their solving of the camp's curse, and she quickly settled back into her leadership role and demeanor, looking after the recovering demigods and even overseeing some of the camp activities. It seemed much more like her natural environment. Still, Mason couldn't help but watch her whenever he could, finding himself overanalyzing every facial expression and thinking that she seemed to be hiding something. She would wait for a moment when eyes were off of her and then lean back and clear her throat, or rub her temples between bites of food. He felt nosy, but he couldn't help but worry.
Thankfully, Chiron and the cabin counselors were happy to provide Mason with some temporary accommodation, and he wasn't even bothered by having to sleep on a couch in the Big House. Even if that meant being accompanied by Seymour the sentient leopard head on the wall. At least he didn't snore.
(|- - - - -[H]- - - - -|)
The next morning, as Mason stood alone on the porch of the Big House and took in the crisp early morning air, he was joined by a red-headed girl that looked like a walking easel.
"You an early bird, too?" she said, leaning against the guard rail.
He looked to her. "Sometimes. Depends on the day."
"Mmm," she hummed in response, before turning to face him properly. Her face was freckled and vibrant, and he got the sense that there was more to her than meets the eye. "I'm Rachel."
Mason nodded, smiling warmly. "Mason. Good to meet you."
She nodded back. "So you're the new mortal, huh?"
He titled his head. "Oh, yeah. I… I guess so."
She gave him a gentle punch on the arm. "Chill, it's all good. You know I am, too, right?"
"Oh, right. I think I remember Reyna mentioning you."
Rachel huffed, looking out across the camp. There was a light fog over the valley in the early morning light. "That girl is something else. I'm surprised she's meshed so well with you."
Mason was surprised. "You think she does?"
"Yeah. I mean, you two are obviously extremely different, but even from what I've seen, she seems pretty natural around you."
He ruffled his hair. "Well, we did spend about eight months living together on an island, so I think any two people would be familiar with each other at that point."
"Right," she said, sounding unconvinced. "Can I give you some advice?" she asked after a minute.
"Uh, about Rey, or…"
"No, about this whole demigod thing. Mortal to mortal."
"Sure?"
She crossed her arms as she studied him. "If I've learned anything from being both an artist and the living host of an ancient Oracle, it's that you can't get hung up on what people say about you. A mortal among demigods is going to seem weird to them, especially if you end up serving an actual purpose, and a lot of the time they'll even try to convince you that they know better, since you're a mortal and all. You've just gotta ignore all of that and do what you need to do. Screw the haters, be yourself."
Mason nodded absentmindedly. He appreciated the sentiment, but it wasn't exactly advice that he felt he needed right now. After a moment, he spoke up, still looking out over the valley. "What if your biggest hater is yourself?"
Rachel was silent for a moment, which spurred Mason to look to her, and he saw that she seemed mildly thrown off by the question. She sighed and joined him in leaning on the railing again. "That's one I still haven't figured out myself."
(|- - - - -[H]- - - - -|)
Later that morning at breakfast was when Mason finally heard the words he had been anticipating since they had arrived at Camp Half-Blood.
"I'm leaving today."
Mason nodded, slowly chewing his scrambled eggs as he looked up to Reyna, who was sitting across from him. "When?"
Reyna looked down at her half-eaten breakfast. "As soon as we're ready to go. Percy was able to arrange for some pegasi aid again, enough for me, Nico, and Tabitha to get back to Camp Jupiter. All we have to do is let them know we're coming and collect our things."
She looked to him with some awkwardness. "I would offer to take you with us, but…"
"I wouldn't be of much use in a full-scale battle?" Mason said lightheartedly.
She gave him a mild glare. "That is not what I meant. I was going to say that I assume you would want to return home. Get some rest now that this is all over."
Mason nodded. "Chiron said I could stay here for as long as I wanted, so I think I'll spend at least a day or two more. But home does sound nice."
"What will you do with the Torch?"
"I'm not entirely sure. Chiron said it should be fine for me to take it, since I'm presumably the only one who can use it. I suggested just locking it up in some safe here at camp, but he told me Hestia gave it to me to be its protector, so if I'm going home, the Torch should, too."
Reyna nodded. She began to speak again, but went into a mild coughing fit first, taking a moment to collect herself. "Sorry. But yes, that seems fine."
They ate the rest of their meal in relative silence, Mason unsure of what to say in their last normal moments together. Things seemed so drastically different from even a couple of days ago, when they were living carefree in a magical island paradise, and it still felt foreign to be back in the world of, well, problems.
Soon enough, breakfast was over, the campers went about their day, and Mason found himself stood at the top of Half-Blood hill, beside Reyna, Nico, Tabitha, and two pegasi.
"Thanks for the help, man," Tabitha said, giving Mason a friendly pat on the shoulder. "I know we never really, like, you know, talked, but you seem like a cool dude. Take it easy."
"Thanks. You, too."
Nico extended a hand to shake, which Mason accepted. "Always be on the lookout," the son of Hades said. "Especially with that Torch. You never know what kind of attention it could attract."
"Gee, thanks," Mason said. "Good to know I'm painting a target on my back."
Nico titled his head apologetically.
Finally, Reyna stood before him, giving him a concerned once-over. "Are you sure you'll be alright?" she asked. "I hate to leave you so quickly after everything, but…"
"I understand," he said. "Camp Jupiter needs you a lot more than I do right now. Besides, I've got plenty of other demigod friends now, right? I'll be fine."
Reyna nodded, and the two of them stood awkwardly before each other. Mason considered moving in for a hug, but he didn't really want to without a signal from her, so they simply stood. She seemed hesitant to even come too close to him, for some reason.
"Will I… see you again?" he asked softly.
She furrowed her eyebrows in a look of sympathy and guilt. "Yes," she said. "I promise," she added after a moment.
He gave a tight-lipped smile and nodded, and as he stepped back to give the pegasi room, he felt the rush of air from their wings hit him as they lifted off into the sky, carrying the three demigods with them. He watched as they took off to the west with breakneck speed, quickly disappearing over the horizon.
Mason realized then that this would be the furthest apart he and Reyna would be since the two of them had met, which for them was at least eight months ago, and suddenly he felt like maybe a part of him had left with her, like he had forgotten his bag on a plane that was now bound for the opposite side of the world, his valuables and souvenirs now nothing more than a memory to be picked up in the lost and found bucket of wherever they happened to arrive, an analogy made all the more fitting by the subsequent realization that she had still been wearing his Winnie The Pooh hoodie when she left.