RUNNING
Nico pulled out his sword as he approached the clearing he knew was ahead. He had been tracking a hellhound across the country for two weeks and he had finally caught up with it in the middle of the snowy state of Wyoming.
He slowed at the edge of the clearing, his breath coming out in white bursts. His breathing slowed as he peered around a tree. The hellhound was standing on the opposite side of the clearing, sniffing around with curiosity. Nico frowned slightly. When it came to hellhounds, he had only ever seen Mrs. O'Leary be curious about something.
"Put your hands up," a voice suddenly said behind him. The hellhound looked up. It looked straight at Nico before turning and disappearing into the woods.
"God dammit, Pinecone Face!" Nico shouted, spinning around to face the dozen arrows pointed at his face and the girl in charge of them. "I've been tracking that hellhound for weeks! What was that for?!"
Thalia frowned in confusion at Nico. She dropped her bow and signaled for the others to do that same. They followed suit, some more reluctantly than others.
"A hellhound?" she asked.
"Yes. A hellhound," Nico growled. "Try and keep up."
Thalia nodded to one of the girls. She quickly disappeared into the woods.
"That would definitely explain things," Thalia murmured.
"What things?" Nico snapped.
"Our hounds picked up an overpowering stench of death," Thalia answered, nodding backwards to their hunting dogs. "We decided to check out what new kind of monster the Underworld had thrown at us now. You and a powerful hellhound would definitely explain such an overpowering smell."
Nico nodded once before turning to look at where the hellhound had disappeared. After a few moments, the Hunter Thalia had sent after the hellhound reappeared. Thalia and Nico turned toward her. She shook her head before going and joining the other Hunters.
Nico turned back toward where the hellhound had gone. "I'd better go."
"Don't be daft," Thalia scoffed, beckoning for the Hunters to start setting up camp. "It's getting dark. There's no way you can catch that hellhound now."
"I thrive in the darkness," Nico responded.
"Okay Captain Gloom and Cliche," Thalia teased. "I insist you stay the night."
Nico continued to look out at the other side of the clearing before nodding slightly.
Thalia smiled before throwing a bedroll at him. "Dinner's in an hour."
Nico laid on his borrowed bedroll and looked up at the few stars that could be seen through the trees. The steady breathing of the sleeping Hunters filled the woods around him. He could hear the light shuffle of night animals hunting.
Suddenly, a louder, bigger shuffle sounded to his right. He bolted upright and reached for his sword.
"It's only me," Thalia whispered, dragging her bedroll next to Nico's and laying down.
Nico leaned back down and let go of his sword. They laid in companionable silence for a few minutes.
"What are you doing here?" Thalia asked.
"I'm hunting a hellhound," Nico replied.
Thalia shook her head. "But that's not all you're doing. You could've sent somebody else to do this. Or your father could have. But you're here yourself. Why is that?"
Nico laid silently for a second, contemplating. "I'm running."
"From what?"
"The prophecy."
"You know Percy is going to be the one to fulfill the prophecy."
"Do we, though?"
Thalia paused slightly. "Of course."
Nico shook her head. "No. You don't. It's why you're here too. Why you're part of the Hunters. You're running from the prophecy just as much as I am."
They laid in silence, staring up at the stars.
"Percy is the one who will answer the prophecy," Thalia whispered, less certain than before.
"And yet here we both are," Nico replied. "Slaves to the prophecy just as much as he is."
Thalia stayed quiet in reply. They listened to the night sounds of the woods and the Hunters around them.
"Do you ever wonder about what you're going to do if Percy fulfills the prophecy?" Thalia asked.
"No. Because I'll be doing the same thing I'm doing now," Nico replied. "There's nothing else for me to do. Have you thought about it?"
"Yeah."
"What are you going to do?"
"Probably stay with the Hunters for a few more years," she replied. "Then rejoin the land of the aging. There's someone I'd like to spend some time with."
Before Nico could reply, Thalia rolled over and kissed him on the cheek. Nico laid, stunned. He hadn't known that she had felt that way. He had thought it was hopeless.
"Can I change my answer?" he croaked out.
"Of course," Thalia laughed, dragging her bedroll back toward the Hunters. "Good night, Nico."
"Good night, Thalia."