Eventide
part one: civil

ch. four: dawn, dusk


Annabeth was, so to speak, not happy. The past few nights had been spent with her twisting and turning in her bed, clawing at the sheets holding her down. She had woken up at two-twenty nine, had woken up at five-fifty two, and had woken up at three forty. Malcolm had woken her up the two nights in which she had not woken herself up. All in all, she was simply miserable. Nightmares plagued her during the night. Arachne, her beady eyes cruel and her breathing loud. Or perhaps Damasen, falling as Tartarus cleaved his hands in a downwards motion. Her life was no better during the day. Athena, in warning, had owls swooping overhead, always watching. The Fates were cruel, she noted. Of course they would not leave her alone.

Standing in the front of the cabin, she surveyed the currently chaotic cabin. Bella was running around trying to wake everyone up. John was busy smashing into SMART boards. His blood-related brother, William, was in the bathroom, yelling at everyone to hurry up. Little Amy was already up and at it, her hair gathered in pigtails as she, too, waited for everyone to line up. A few others were still snoring. And Malcolm, her admittedly closest brother? He was being shoved off of his bed. Someone was filming it with a camera found on the floor.

A smile crept up on her face. Electronics were allowed as long as they were the ones that didn't emit signals, such as cameras and Mp3 players. There was a reason the Apollo cabin was so loud in the mornings. There was a curious tickling in the back of her throat. Opening her mouth, she found it was a small chuckle. It felt good to laugh. It felt good.

Finally tired of the mess, she put her fingers to her mouth in the right position and blew. The piercing taxi-cab whistle shot through the room, effectively cutting off all noise. Malcolm, who had just gotten off the floor, had fallen back down in surprise. She smirked.

"Okay, hurry it up, Cabin Six! Hurry it up! Get to the bathroom and clean up now!" she yelled, taking order. This was the side of the Athenians no one ever really saw, the morning side, where everything and everyone went a little cuckoo in the head. Her brother was still on the floor, being filmed.

"That means you, Mal! I'm talking to you!" she boomed again, looking at him. A round of laughter. He turned red before scrambling to his feet, glaring at her, and disappearing into the bathroom as an act of submission. Everyone else was already moving, grabbing clothes or weapons. She took out her own dagger, its pale white surface stark in contrast to the room. Another small smile graced her lips as she sharpened it, generally scaring her siblings. They moved faster at the sight of it. It took, say, five or six minutes, but they had managed to finish getting ready. She counted heads; one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine... Athena had never bothered having that many kids. She shrugged off the thought of her mother. There was no time to think of that.

"Athenians, fall in!" she yelled. "Let's go!" They marched to the so called "mess-hall," though it wasn't much of a hall. The tables lined up and curved around, as they had added more tables for the new cabins.

Her siblings squished each other as they sat down, yelling about who got the end seat. The ending person always hung off, so no one wanted to be there. She sighed and slid into the middle. Her breakfast was easy, just eggs, bacon, and cinnamon waffles. She didn't dare wish for anything blue, though the milk looked cobalt. She shouldn't have tried.

Annabeth picked up a fork and walked towards the braziers. Each footstep took her closer. She didn't know who she was going to pray to. Who would listen to her? Who would help her? Athena kept coming up in her mind. Mother knows best, she thought bitterly. Not this time, though. Nope. It was when she reached the braziers that she made a reckless decision. Her logic protested against it, but who else was there to pray to? Not Athena, not Poseidon, and definitely not Aphrodite, who would mess with her head even more. Scraping a waffle and some bacon into the bowl, she thought of Hermes.

"Hermes," she muttered. "Please. I know I shouldn't be praying to you, but you were the only person I could think of. Please." The god of travelers was on pretty good terms with her. After Percy's disappearance, he had snuck out sometimes, wanting to talk to her. She had asked him if maybe they could start again, getting over Luke. If he would forgive her mistakes, then she would forgive his. She didn't really know why, but Annabeth had a sneaking suspicion that Hermes had pitied her in a way. He had known what it felt like to lose someone important.

As she turned away, the smoke turned into a faintly familiar scent, like back in her house at San Francisco. Her dad's stuff. Hermes had heard her, then. Only one god would smell like that freshly opened UPS box smell. She whispered a quick thank you to the sky, though nothing happened.

Breakfast was rather uneventful. Her siblings debated about whether or not to write a fanfiction about The Fault in Our Stars, because Bella was arguing that they should start something called The Fault in the Author John Green. Malcolm was doing a summer paper, half-eating, half chewing on his pencil. Amy was organizing her plate into different categories by color before devouring them. Nothing too new. (Except, of course, they were fangirling about the next season of Doctor Who, but Annabeth wasn't sure she wanted in on the next Whovian marathon. Together or not at all. Just a little too close to home.)

The first real activity of the day was pegasus-riding. It wasn't completely on the other side of camp, so it took a couple of minutes. The sun, however, seemed to burn low in the sky. She glared vaguely in the direction of it, cursing Apollo. It was August now, though it didn't feel like it. She ignored the worried looks other senior campers were giving her. Percy hadn't been at breakfast this morning; the last time, he'd been demigod-napped. Wonderful. She hadn't been able to turn and see, anyway. Maybe he was just in bed like usual, snoozing past the morning horn. She doubted the queen of Olympus had the time or the nerve to do something like that again.

Cabin Ten, the Aphrodite kids, were manning the stables this morning. Lacy waved. Piper gave her a one-armed hug as she reached down from the back of Porkpie. Drew muttered curses in the shadows, wiping her stilettos on the grass. Mitchell supervised the younger campers, and he would be teaching to the untrained riders in the Athena group. Other campers had already taken to the sky, grinning in pleasure as they proved that Aphrodite campers weren't afraid to get dirty.

She double-knotted her sneakers again. It was an old pair, colors faded. Mortals had always said to wear boots, but hey, perks of being a demigod. You were allowed to bend the rules more than often, and it would be okay.

The greetings of the pegasi reminded her she still had a hour to waste. Her grey eyes darted around. Which pegasus should she ride? Guido was still in stables, as was Astoria, Ginger, Firenze, Damon, though strangely enough, Blackjack was missing from his spot. Only Percy would have permission to ride Blackjack, excluding those eight months in which he let her take care of him. But when they had reunited, he only let her ride when Percy was in front of her. She shook her head in amusement. Leave it to the sassy pegasus to choose who got to ride him.

Guido was the only one in the stables who she could really ride. She was a little more familiar with the way he rode and his temperament, so she would ride him. Strangely enough, he smelled exactly like the UPS box smell. A sign. She had to ride him. Voicing this to Lacy and getting approval, she grabbed his saddle from the tack room and got him ready. He was patient with her, calm, though his eyes gleamed as he stared at the blue sky. She could feel his excitement underneath her as she pulled him out, could feel the joy in stretching out his wings.

Just to prepare and maybe annoy him, she had him canter in a small ring with his wings folded. He glared at her, his teeth baring in a snarl of sorts, but he did as he was told. She allowed herself a small smirk of victory before they took off.

Time slowed down. His wings stretched out fully, going from two feet to four feet and then six. The sunlight caught in them, making the feathers gleam a chestnut gold. She was only just aware of him leaving the ground, his hooves clopping against air. There was this moment of just insane clarity, when she felt real, free, before the moment died away. The sunlight simply danced across his skin. She flicked the reins, careful to hold him back enough, but she let him lead her.

Guido pulled into a dive, wind twisting her hair back as they shot towards the ground. It came nearer, fifty feet, forty, thirty, twenty... Ignoring the campers' yells, she played along and then flicked, twisting them out of it as they skimmed the ground. The stables had been placed on a higher point, and now they streaked past it, leaving the ground far below him. The laugh erupted from her lips, painful and gasping. She let go and stretched her arms out, keeping her feet firm in the saddle. The pegasus slowed down, maybe, turning to skim the surface of the lake. Soft spray pushed up on both sides, and she reached out to touch it, letting her fingertips pass through. Guido slowed further now, before twisting his head around, not stopping. He dropped something in a pouch, something he had been holding clenched in his mouth, then. She opened the drawstring bag. A message from Hermes, with Guido as the messenger.

There was a receipt. She didn't understand it at first. There was the order for a Coca-Cola and a hamburger, from Montauk's Best, but she didn't know why Hermes would send her this. And then she flipped it over and was experiencing that fleeting moment of pure clarity again. She felt suddenly connected to Guido, even being the daughter of Athena. They travelled further out. When she looked back, Camp looked like a speck, but she couldn't bring herself to mind. The water was nice.

What belongs to the sea must return to the sea, Percy had written. I love you. Think of me, please, whenever you go to the water. A shiver passed through her as she fingered the note. Percy had called her his, had claimed her as his equal, as his lover. I love you. Three words. That was easy enough to decipher. I love you. And finally, think of him whenever she was in the water? What did that mean? He had run away, and that was clear enough, but could she go to him? The sea was powerful, Annabeth mused. Guido would catch her before it was too late.

Swinging her leg over his back, she made her decision. Stroking his mane, Annabeth slid off of her pegasus' back, still holding the note. There was a cold impact as she hit the water. Her lungs screamed as she sank lower and lower, and her eyes stung. She kept looking at the pegasus, though, who was staring calmly back at her.

Annabeth dreamed of Percy's eyes, his crooked grin that annoyed her to no end. (Though it was very, very cute.) She dreamed about the way their fingers laced together perfectly, about how he would laugh, low and rumbling in his chest, how they would stay up talking and point to the stars. She couldn't feel the cold anymore. Not really. If she squinted, she thought she could see Guido giving her a look, as if saying, Keep the boss safe. Her mouth opened to tell him that she would, and warmth filled her lungs. Bubbles erupted upwards, and they were beautiful and small. A whiteout of bubbles, and then the water exploded.

Her lungs expanded again, and instinctively, Annabeth kicked upwards. Her head broke the surface, and she gasped in the air gratefully. Water spilled out of the side of her mouth, dribbling out of her ears, her nose, but she didn't care. Paddling to shore, the first thing the logical part of her mind noticed was that no way was she on Earth. No. Freaking. Way.

The sand was a black color, which wasn't exactly uncommon on Earth, but they were solid black, completely ink-colored. She dragged herself out, gasping as her baggy shirt clung to her skin. The sky was frozen in hues of red, orange, pink, and a faint blue. Thirty moons were slathered across the sky, all waxing and waning just as they would in a full month. Some spaces, of course, were empty, when it was time for a new moon. There was no sun. The first coherent thought that appeared in her mind was that maybe her life was a lie. Civil twilight with no sun, moons with nothing to reflect. Whoever had created this planet had tossed science out of the window.

Footsteps crunched on the ground behind her. Curling her fingers around her dagger, Annabeth whirled around and put the knife to the person's neck.

"Whoa, whoa, Annabeth. Didn't know you were still so violent. Old habits die hard, don't they?" She remembered that voice. She would remember it until even after death. Slowly, putting the dagger down, she looked up at none other than Luke Castellan. He gave her a slanted smile, but unlike Percy's, it was curling up on the left.

"Luke," she said, stepping forwards into his embrace. Then, she grabbed his arm and flipped him over his shoulder onto the black sand, anger suddenly rising to the surface. She forgot about everything else. "You little coward," Annabeth hissed through gritted teeth and narrow eyes. "You just went and left me alone. You left me alone, even after I loved you for years." He winced beneath her but said nothing, accepting her words.

"Annabeth," someone said. She felt the emotions dissipate as she relaxed, still staring at her former friend. Giving him an apologetic smile, she offered Luke a hand up. He took it, groaning as he stood. Well, she'd heard it had always hurt when she flipped someone. Percy wrapped her hand in his own, larger one, lacing their fingers together like she remembered.

"Aww," a female voice cooed. "I knew you would get together. I told you so, Charlie." Silena. She didn't let go of Percy's hand, but she turned and launched herself at the other girl, who hugged her back. Beckendorf scratched his neck awkwardly before giving her a one-armed hug. Finally stopping with the reunions, she turned to Percy and raised an eyebrow. It was probably his fault.

"What did you do, Percy?" He gaped at her.

"Why would you assume it was me?" he cried, then pausing. "Well, yeah, it was me, but why do you always turn to me first?"

"Troublemaker," two voices sang together, perfectly harmonized. Lee and Michael from the Apollo cabin. Good singers, good shots. Ethan Nakaruma grudgingly followed behind, glaring with one eye. He hit the two about the head.

"Shut. Up," he said, rolling his eye. "Please don't blast in my ears, thanks." So maybe she was starting to freak out. Next to herself and Percy, these people should have been dead. As if sensing her feelings, her boyfriend squeezed her hand in reassurance.

"It's okay," he murmured into her ear. "I, ah, bent a few rules." Like you always do. Still, she smiled, believing him. Percy was still Percy, even if there were a bunch of now-living friends around her. Not that she minded, of course, but it was weird.

"So," Annabeth said. "Where are we?"

"Thrae. The planet of, um, Chaos." Percy's voice was hesitant. "I mean," he hurriedly added. "I didn't want you guys to feel like you have to stay here, but I thought you might want to, and Chaos asked for recruits. And you don't have to stay here, not if you don't want to, of course, but I mean, you know, I thought you would. And I thought maybe you could join me here, but you know you don't have to and-" Annabeth kissed his cheek and whispered a shut up in his ear. His mouth snapped closed. She thought about what he had just said.

Chaos, the creator of the universe. Recruits -an army, maybe? Join him, which meant that whatever Chaos was recruiting for, he was already a part of. For some reason, Annabeth didn't feel surprised about Chaos, or this army, or the fact that Percy had already made his choice.

"Thrae," a new voice pitched in. "My planet. I am Chaos." A little girl, maybe eight or nine, walked up. Percy relaxed a bit. Trustworthy, then. The girl smiled at them all, then frowned, looking at Percy.

"You said you would get Zoe Nightshade as well, Perseus, did you not?" Her boyfriend seemed to communicate silently with her. She just nodded.

"Very well. Eight will do. You have chosen well, child." She cocked her head. Eight? Looking around, Annabeth spotted Bianca, who shyly smiled at her. She waved. "That is, if they choose to join you." Her blood chilled as Chaos seemed to change moods. Her eyes darkened before she turned and walked away, gone with the next gust of wind.

Percy put an arm around her shoulder, beckoning at the others. He led them to a pale blue cabin standing alone on the beach. It was the one at Montauk, she noted briefly. Leading them in, he waved for them to all get comfortable on the couch. She perched on the edge of one, studying her boyfriend's face. For a singular second, she seemed to see it jar, the joy turning to weariness as he broke, like sometimes when they were alone.

But then he smiled at them kindly, sitting down himself, looking so solid she couldn't help but forget the fleeting emotions.