IT'S AUGUST 18, PERCY'S BIRTHDAY! AND IT'S THE HUNDREDTH CHAPTER! #doahappydance because THIS IS AWESOMENESS. OH, yeah, it's mah birthday-well, technically it's Percy's, but you get the point.
I love it when momentous occasions coincide, and today's definitely one of those times. I post the hundredth chapter on August 18th, the day that just happens to be the birthday of the most seaweed-brained and awesome book character ever, who happens to star in this very same fanfic? I LOVE IT.
So, thanks to all you awesome people who just generally rock and are made of glittery perfection, because I would never have made it this far without you guys. I love you! In that weird creepy internet way, of course...nothing more.
This chapter is a little more than eight pages long, so it's definitely something special. Enjoy it!
Oh, and guess what I did to celebrate today? I took three chocolate chip cookies (they weren't blue, though, unfortunately), stacked them on top of each other, smooshed a birthday candle into the center, and surrounded the cookies by a fort made of all of the books in both series before lighting the candle and singing happy birthday to seaweed brain. It was fun. And delicious. My mom kept asking me what I was doing as I warmed up the cookies and collected the books from their scattered positions around the house and searched for a birthday candle.
I just told her it was better if she didn't know, and being the perfect mother that she is, she didn't question it, although she did make a few snide comments about how I wouldn't tell her when other people (meaning my sisters) started noticing and questioning my bizarre behavior, only to get the same response.
You know, sometimes I really love having something to do that totally baffles other people. It's like being the member of a super elite secret club. Can we come up with a secret handshake?
Cheers! And have a great day on this auspicious day of our exalted fandom-the 17th birthday of our beloved Perseus Jackson, known to most as Seaweed Brain. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PERSEUS SEAWEED BRAIN JACKSON! ;)
Chapter C
Nico
If it weren't for Reyna, Nico would have ran to his cabin, slammed the door, and thrown something. Probably the lamp he's already had to replace at least eleven times.
He can't. He can't go back to Greece. So far he's effectively managed to lock those memories behind an iron door, along with all the painful thoughts about Bianca and Percy. If he goes back, though, he can't stop hiding from them. If he goes back, he has to face them.
The angel of death must face the ghosts of his past.
Nico looks at Reyna, remembering the other lines of the prophecy, and knows that he's going to be battling madness the entire quest.
With Reyna.
I am so massively screwed. He thinks. Then Rachel falls further in his and Reyna's grip and he has to stop thinking about it to focus on her.
Every time they try to pull her back up, her arms around their shoulders, she groans and sinks down farther. Obviously, the prophecy took a lot out of her, and finally Nico just waves Reyna away and pulls Rachel up into his arms. Her head lolls back, her eyes closed and her breathing shallow, and her arm hangs limply from her side, but it's much easier than dragging her along the way they were.
Nico knows he doesn't look very strong to most people, but under the loose sleeves of his over-sized t-shirts, he has pretty decent built-up muscle. He's had to, especially in the Underworld. You wouldn't think heavy-lifting and strength would be a big requirement of being a son of Hades, but it really is. For some really weird reasons that he'd rather not ever have to explain.
As soon as they stumble within view of the cabins, people start running towards them, the nearest being Will, who Nico's noticed has a thing for Rachel, even if she's not allowed to date.
"What happened?" He asks, immediately checking over her; grabbing her wrist and checking her pulse, lifting up an eyelid to see the way her eyes have rolled back into her head-doing his Apollo thing.
"Prophecy." Nico grunts. "Bad."
For a moment, Will's hands still, and he glances up to meet Nico's eyes, and sees there what Nico doesn't have the energy to explain out loud. His shoulders slump slightly, and he rubs a hand over his face, the picture of defeat, but then he looks back down at Rachel and his jaw tightens in determination and he squares his shoulders, focusing back on the present.
"Can you carry her up to the Big House?" Will asks him, and Nico nods, feeling a few beads of sweat roll down his forehead.
A few of her attendants finally catch up to them and start clamoring to know more, but Will silences them with a few words and they fall back, following at a more reasonable distance to give them some space.
For the next few minutes, Nico won't let himself focus on anything except laboring up the hill to the Big House, and he falls into a mindless rythm that doesn't require him to think at all.
The next thing he's aware of is setting Rachel down gently on one of the spare beds in the Big House, with Will instructing him carefully and then asking him question after question about what happened.
After he's explained every last detail that he can remember, Will kicks him-and Reyna, who followed silently by his side all the way up-out of the room.
Nico leans against the wall, tilting his head up and closing his eyes, bracing, his mind spinning. Reyna leans next to him, but he can feel her staring into space at the opposite wall.
Finally, she turns to him, and he opens his eyes to meet hers. "I think we need to Iris Message the others now." She says dully, and he nods. But neither of them move.
And then, suddenly, she's in his arms, and he's holding her, and she has her face buried against his neck as if she's hiding from the world.
She doesn't cry. She never cries.
"I don't want to go back." She whispers.
"I know." Nico whispers back, when he finds his voice. Then he closes his eyes and holds her tighter, and they stand like that for a long time.
Then the door opens, and Will pokes his head out just in time to see them jump apart.
But Nico doesn't let go of her hand. And she doesn't let go of his.
Will takes them both in calmly, observing them as if it's not at all a surprise, and then he waves them into the room, nodding his head once to Nico and then to Reyna, in turn.
Inside, Rachel's sitting up. Obviously dazed, and more than a little tired, but awake, and sitting up.
"How are you feeling?" Reyna asks, avoiding the girl's gaze.
"Terrible." She rasps. "Tired. I haven't had a prophecy since Jason, Leo, and Piper left to free Hera. And it's felt like someone's been restraining the spirit of Delphi for months, so that just...hurt." She's rambling a little, now, and her eyes have slipped far away, but a soft touch from Will quickly brings her back. "But I needed to explain a few things to you."
Nico nods, and Reyna squeezes his hand.
"I don't know exactly what the third factor means." She tells them, blowing out a breath. "It's a phrase that's been rolling around in my head for weeks. All I know is that it refers to you-that you're the third factor of success. And I think it means that you two are crucial to the success of the Prophecy of Seven."
Reyna stiffens, and Nico can't even blink-all he does is stare. And stare. And stare.
"And you guys have to go alone-well, I mean, you two will be together, but no one else can go with you. Not even Coach Hedge." She continues, every word she says seeming to cause her pain. "And-I think..." She trails off and looks up at the both of them, her eyes clear for the first time. Clear, and full of worry.
"Watch out for Percy? Please? He's in...danger...somehow...I don't know. I think-I feel like he might be sailing to his death." Her eyes fill with tears, and she has to wipe one away before going on. "Just...just look out for him, okay? He's my best friend, I don't want him to die." She tells them, and Nico feels her words like a punch to the chest.
Percy. In danger. Sailing to his death.
Reyna has to answer for both of them, because he's too stunned to think, let alone speak.
"Yeah, Rachel, we will. He's-not quite my friend, exactly. But an ally. I won't let him die, if I can help it." He distantly hears Reyna say, and then she's leading him out of the room and back into the hall.
Out there, in the shadows, she looks at him, and her face is pale, pale, pale. "Nico," she says softly, "What are we going to do?"
And all he can say is, "I don't know."
*linebreak of random bananas*
Reyna leaves to explain their situation to Chiron, and when she comes back, she's got herself pulled together. Calm, collected-all the things that make her Reyna.
Nico watches her face as she talks, explaining her conversation with Chiron, and wonders how she did it. She's no longer scared, or despairing. Instead, there's a fierce line of determination in the set of her jaw, and steel in her dark eyes. In the same way his aura is death, hers is war.
"Nico." She says his name in a way that immediately sharpens his attention. Her tone is brisk, resigned-but resolute. "Whatever this is we have going on, we have to stop it now."
For a few wonderfully ignorant seconds, her meaning doesn't register with Nico. And then it does, and it feels like someone is shattering his newly repaired broken heart.
Her face softens at his expression, and she reaches a hand to touch his face, softly caressing his cheek. "Nico, I do like you. And I can't change the way I feel about you, as much as I'd like to." She must see how much her words hurt him, because she hurries to explain. "Not because of you, Nico. But because it endangers everything." She pulls her hand away and the softness disappears from her face again. "My job is to protect you, Nico; the prophecy made that much clear. And I can't do that if all you want to do is protect me."
"Why can't we protect each other?" Nico asks, and his voice is small. He sounds so impossibly young, even to himself-it reminds him that as much as he's gone through, Reyna's still older than him. Even if he looks older than he is.
"Because that never works out." She replies. "Every time two people try to protect each other, one of them always ends up getting hurt. And I won't let that be you." She takes a deep breath. "Also, not that it's a bad thing, but you kind of have this super overprotective personality that will end up getting you killed if we indulge in whatever's between us."
As much as he hates to admit it, Nico knows she's right. If he lets himself like her-if he lets himself fall in love again-then the only thing he'll be concerned with is keeping her safe. That's all he wanted for Bianca, that's all he wants for Hazel. Of course, his protection never seems to help anything. Bianca's dead and Hazel's on a quest to fight in a war that could very possibly get her killed.
He takes a deep breath too, closing his eyes to shove the emotions away, package them away in the neat little box that's always helped him through the hardest times. "Okay. From now on, we're allies again. Friends, I guess. But nothing more." He opens his eyes. "Okay?"
Her liquid dark eyes meet his. "Okay." She agrees softly, painful regret momentarily reflected in every line of her body. Then she regains control of herself again, and turns down the darkened hallway, gesturing for him to follow.
"Before we leave, we have to take care of a few things." She tells him, her tone brisk, all business. "Octavian can't be put in charge again. But since he's the augur, according to our laws, he automatically becomes praetor in my absence."
"Does this mean I can kill him now?" Nico asks, and she pauses to glare at him.
"Unless," she continues, emphasizing the word, "I strip him of his rank and degrade him to foot soldier." They reach the door, and she pushes it open without hesitation, starting out in the direction of the cabins. "But to do that, I need a reason."
"So? What's your reason?" Nico inquires, truly curious.
She smiles-a veangeful smile, not a happy one. "Treason."
Nico feels his blood calling to this girl-the dangerous, fiery light in her infinitely dark eyes, the way she bares her teeth in a grin like a wolf smiles at a rabbit, how her weapons, in her hands, sing for war. If anyone on Earth is made for him, it's her.
He feels his eyes glittering from this fevered attraction to her, and shares her grin-the smile a lion gives a lamb.
*linebreak of my authorly awesomeness*
"Gwen, I need you to go get Octavian from the camp." Are Reyna's first words when they find the centurion.
She blinks at them. "Why?"
"The oracle has given a new prophecy." Reyna explains briskly, wasting no time. "Nico and I are going back to Greece."
"What?" Gwen exclaims, but Reyna holds up a hand, quieting her.
"You know what happens when you fight a prophecy, Gwen." She tells the girl, and Gwen nods reluctantly. "We have to go. And Octavian can't be allowed to take over again, so I need to talk to him. Will you bring him to me?"
"I guess, Reyna, but are you sure about this? Won't talking to him just make it worse?" She asks uncertainly.
Reyna smiles dangerously again, and Nico admires her from his place at her side. "Not for what I've got in mind."
Gwen must be satisfied, because she leaves without another word. As soon as she does, Reyna turns to him with a frown. "You're doing it again." She accuses, crossing her arms.
"Doing what?" Nico asks, confused.
"We made our agreement, okay?" She tells him. "For the next week, you can't like me, and I can't like you. After, if we're both still alive, then we can figure things out. But for now, we're friends. Allies. So quit checking me out."
Nico's cheeks redden, but he nods, and she turns away, satisfied.
"Sorry." He mumbles.
"If it helps, you don't have to look at me all the time." She offers. "Just try to focus on something else."
Nico wonders if that's why she's hardly looked at them since they made the agreement, but she doesn't give him long to dwell on it.
"Time to find Clarisse." She announces, and squints up at the sky. "We need to call a meeting."
It really isn't hard to find her. They just follow the sound of yelling, curses, and the clash of metal to the sword arena, where they find her sparring with a younger kid who's desperately trying to fend her off.
"Come on, you can do better than that!" She taunts, and then spots Nico and Reyna walking towards her. She stops immediately, taking a step forward, and then stops to block a strike from the boy that would've taken off her head otherwise. She twists her sword, locking hilts, and pushes both blades against his throat.
"Try that again, and you won't be walking for a month." She snarls, and the boy's eyes widen in terror. Then she pulls away to greet them, and he visibly slumps in relief, his cabinmates walking forward to calm him down and attempt to help him recover from the trauma he just experienced.
Reyna nods appreciatively towards the boy. "Nice sparring."
Clarisse grunts. "Nothing special." But Nico can tell she's pleased by the compliment. "What's up?"
"Everything." Reyna replies. "Rachel gave a new prophecy."
Clarisse rocks back on her heels and gives Reyna an appraising sort of look. "What kind of prophecy?"
"The kind that sends both me and Nico back to Greece." Reyna replies, meeting her gaze unflinchingly.
Clarisse swears so loudly and horribly that the boy she just threatened flinches from all the way across the arena and backs away. When she's finished, she taps her sword against her leg and looks up at the sun before squinting at Reyna. "You know we can't afford to have that stupid blonde scarecrow in charge of your soldiers again."
"Way ahead of you." Reyna tells her. "I have a plan for that, and I think I'm going to put Gwen in charge once he's sufficiently dealt with. I'm here to ask if that's agreeable to you."
"Gwen?" Clarisse asks. "The-centurion, was it?"
Nico nods, breaking into the conversation. "She's a much better choice than Octavian, trust me, and there's no love lost between them. He tried to kill her."
"I know." Clarisse grunts. "I remember when Reyna said so at the meeting."
After a few more minutes, Clarisse looks hard at them both and points her sword at them warningly. "If she does anything out of line-"
"She won't." Reyna interrupts. "She knows the plan, she's agreed to it, and she supports the alliance completely. If it weren't for her, none of this would've even been possible. It's why I think she's the best candidate for temporary praetorship."
Clarisse nods thoughtfully. "Fine. I agree." Then her expression changes to something similar to caring. "What do you need done?"
"From you? Nothing. You've already done what you can." Reyna replies. But she hesitates, and Clarisse gestures for her to go on. "Just-watch out for the Fifth? And the younger kids, they barely have any experience in real battle. Not everyone here fought in the front lines when Polybotes and his army attacked our New Rome, and for most, that was the first real battle they've been in. They're good soldiers, every single one of them, but real war is different."
Clarisse puts a reassuring hand on Reyna's shoulder. "I'll look out for them. And I don't plan on having any casualties, so try not to worry about that, okay?" She pulls her hand away, and tightens her grip on her sword. "Too many people have died in this war already. I won't let there be any more."
Reyna nods gratefully, and holds out her hand. Clarisse takes it without hesitation, and they shake hands like the allies they've become.
"Oh, and Clarisse?" Reyna asks, and the girl looks to her. "We need to call a meeting. Think you can arrange that?"
Clarisse smiles-well, not really a smile, but her version of one. "I think I can arrange that just fine."
*linebreak of breakdancing mongoose*
Nico slams his fist down on the table, instantly silencing the room, and defers to Reyna for her to continue with her speech.
"We have to go, and we are going. No arguments." She adds sternly when Connor opens his mouth to object. "The giant leading the army is Pelorus, bane of Hermes. It doesn't have to be a child of Hermes who fights him, but it does seem that children of the god the giant is meant to fight have more success fighting them than any other. That said-Travis, Connor, I think you're the ones meant to kill Pelorus."
"Us?" They chorus incredulously, and even Nico has to raise an eyebrow at that one, remembering just how often the Stolls have failed to be serious in serious situations.
"Yes, you." Reyna tells them. "You've already survived one war, and you're the head counselors of the Hermes cabin. However foolish you might seem, you must be doing something right, otherwise you wouldn't be here now. It's obvious you're meant for something, and I believe this is it."
Travis swallows nervously. "But...us?" He repeats weakly.
"You're not a bad fighter, Travis. And neither is Connor." She reminds them. "And there are two of you, which will definitely be an advantage. You're smaller and faster than Pelorus, and no doubt having the two of you buzzing around him like the pests you are is going to make him mad. When anyone gets mad, they make mistakes. So confuse him. Irritate him. Harass him. Do what you both do best. If there's anything I'm sure of in this war, it's that the two of you are capable of killing Pelorus."
They nod, their eyes filled with new determination. "We'll do our best, Reyna." Travis answers.
"What he said." Connor agrees, and Reyna nods in satisfaction.
"Good." She says. Then she turns to the end of the table, where a certain daughter of Aphrodite is sitting, and her eyes turn fiery. "Drew, stay the hell out of everyone's way and use that blasted charmspeak of yours to do some good for once. Confuse the enemy, make them fight each other-and if you can't do that much, then keep your mouth shut and let the big kids handle things the right way."
Drew opens her mouth to retort, furious, but Reyna doesn't give her the chance to speak.
"If you do one single thing out of line, I swear on the river Styx that I will make life a living hell for you, and make sure you lose the one thing you prize above everything else." Reyna threatens.
Drew sits back, angry but arrogant, and smiles. "And what's that, sweetpea?"
"Your beauty." Reyna answers, and smiles sadistically. "How would you like a scar or two on that pretty face of yours, Drew?"
Drew's smile disappears.
"That's what I thought." Reyna says, and turns her attention from the girl.
No matter what Reyna tells him, Nico really can't stop admiring her. Maybe if she'd stop doing things that are admirable, he'd be doing a better job at keeping they're agreement.
As if she senses his thoughts, Reyna turns and glares at him until he looks away, her stormy expression reminding him of Annabeth-which is weird, to say the least. Thinking of the girl he likes as similar the the girlfriend of the boy he used to be in love with is just...weird.
Gwen strides into the room then, dragging an unwilling and cursing Octavian by the arm. When he sees the room full of Greeks, he spits Latin curses at them until Gwen tightens her grip on his arm to the point of pain.
"Oh, good, you're here, Gwen." Reyna says. She looks at the others. "If you'll all excuse me, I have something I need to attend to."
Nico follows her out of the room and into one of the many other rooms in the Big House-this one happens to be Chiron's study, identifiable by the piles of Dean Martin CDs, along with other albums that make Nico want to puke.
Reyna sits Octavian down in a wooden chair and stands in front of him with her arms crossed. "Gwen, do you agree to be witness of the following events?"
"I do." Gwen replies, and Reyna nods before continuing.
Nico leans forward, curious of her plan-she wouldn't explain it to him in any sort of detail.
"Octavian, legacy of Apollo, I hearby strip you of your rank as augur and sentence you to the duties of a foot soldier." Reyna starts, her voice like iron. Octavian starts protesting, but she raises her voice over his and continues. "As such, you are no longer a candidate for praetor in my absence. If you fail to abide by the rules of my sentencing, you will be killed, as the old laws state."
Octavian looks furious, but he doesn't dare try and challenge her-he knows he's no match for her.
Reyna turns to Gwen. "Gwendolyn, senator and centurion of the Fifth Cohort, as we no longer have an augur to step up, you will serve as praetor in my absence instead." Gwen stares at her, gaping, shocked, and Reyna smiles wryly, clapping Gwen on the back. "Bona fortuna, Praetor Gwendolyn."
"Reyna-" She starts to say, no doubt a protest that she's not up to the job, etcetera, but Nico interrupts her. He doesn't really want to get into it.
"Just look at it this way," he tells her, "now, if Octavian pisses you off, you have the authority to order his death. Good enough for you?"
Gwen looks at him, dazed, but nods. "Yeah," she says faintly. "Good enough for me."
"Good." Reyna nods. She catches Octavian moving out of the corner of her eye, and they all look to see his shoulders slumped in defeat, his eyes far away and his expression despairing. "You still have the chance to redeem yourself, Octavian." She tells him, and he looks up. "What you've done in the past year was against everything the old laws stand for. Being Roman doesn't mean being bloodthirsty and cruel. Being Roman means being loyal and protecting your family, your home, and your friends even if it means your death. You haven't been doing that, and you never have." She leans down, bringing her face closer to his. "If I were you, I'd start now."
Then she straightens and gestures to the door. "So I can make sure someone's keeping an eye on you, you're going to stay in this camp now. Yes, with the Greeks. And I wouldn't insult them, or do something to make them angry, Octavian, because the Greeks are a veangeful bunch. And they're a lot less forgiving than me."
Octavian snorts. "In what way are you forgiving?"
Reyna looks at him with those forceful black eyes of hers until he shrinks back and can no longer meet her gaze. "I could have killed you." She reminds him. "But you're still alive. For now."
Reyna
Reyna looks out at the sea of faces gathered before her, and stands tall, determined to stay strong. "A new prophecy has been voiced by the oracle." She announces, and there's silence. "It is the will of the Fates that Nico and I return to Greece to help fight the battle there."
Not a word. She gestures to Octavian, who's standing dejectedly a few yards to her left, beside Gwen. "Let it be known that Octavian is no longer augur, and has been demoted to foot soldier. As such, he no longer has any claim to the title of praetor, and I have appointed Gwen to lead during my absence. Follow her, or suffer the consequences that come from being an unfaithful soldier.
"Don't let fear rule your minds." She continues. "Fear has no place here. We are fighting for our friends, our family, and our home." She points in the direction of the monster army. "The army over that ridge think they can defeat us. They've come to kill us, and destroy all that we love." She allows herself a smile, and drops her arm. "They're going to get a nasty surprise, aren't they?" A few raw-throated yells of agreement. "Because we are Romans! We are Romans, and we'll protect our home to the last breath of the very last soldier." She lowers her voice. "We are Romans, and war is what we do. War is what we've always been the best at, and what we'll always be the best at. We are loyal, we are united, we are strong, we are soldiers. We are unbeatable. We are Romans!" She yells, and raises her fist-her call to arms; the battle cry of centuries past.
The Fifth Cohort echoes their agreement, shouting and stomping, raising their fists into the air and calling her battle cry back to her.
Reyna looks to Nico, and he bows his head to her in approval, his hands wrapped around the hilt of his sword-the point of which he has set into the ground, as if he's trying to stab the earth. Stab Gaea.
Reyna waits the minutes it takes for the Fifth to quiet, and then steps forward, drawing their attention again. "If I could fight side by side with you, I would." She tells them. "As it is, I have to help fight the war in Athens. But you have your own war to fight, and I wish you all the best. You're the best Roman soldiers in a century, and I have every faith that you'll win your war with ease." She draws her her sword, comforted by the familiar sound of it sliding from its sheath, and raises it over them. "Ave, soldiers of the Fifth Cohort!"
"Ave!" They yell back as one voice, and Reyna nods to them once before stepping down, where she bows her head to Gwen and gestures for the girl to take her place.
She doesn't look back to see it. She can hear the sound of Gwen's confident voice starting her own speech, accompanied by the cheers of the Fifth, and that's enough.
*linebreak of kickass awesomeness*
Reyna places the last item in her backpack and zips it shut, slinging it across her back. Then she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath before opening them and neatly folding her purple praetor's cape. She presses it to her chest for the count of five before finally placing it on the bed and turning to inspect herself in the full-length mirror mounted on the wall.
She's wearing her armor-an Imperial gold breastplate (which is more like a metal corset) over a leather jerkin, and a short skirt of pleated leather, chain mail, and Imperial gold. Her arms and legs are mostly bare, except for her bracers and greaves and the knife sheathes strapped to her shoulders, and her hair is done in her usual messy braid. Her sword is belted at her waist, and she's wearing her favorite black combat boots.
Even with the backpack slung over her shoulder, she looks more like a warrior than she thinks she ever has. The fierce fire dancing in her dark eyes only completes the image.
She heads out the door, not bothering to look for Nico-she knows he went down to his cabin to take one last shower and pack his own bag. And she has a few things left to do.
She stands on the porch of the Big House, and hikes her bag higher on her shoulder. Then she sticks her fingers in her mouth and whistles piercingly, a sound that echoes across the hills and causes more than a few people to raise their heads.
But they're not what she wants, and she quickly turns her attention to Half-Blood Hill, where the Athena Parthenos still stands tall. Soon, two figures come streaking towards her over the hill-one silver, and one gold.
"Aurum! Argentum! Here, boys!" She calls, and they veer towards her, their metal tongues lolling out of their mouths. She'd never really understood how their tongues could be made of metal and yet feel like perfectly normal, slobbery dog tongues, and she tried not to think about it too much. It just made her head hurt.
They both dart around her feet, their whip-like tails wagging hard, smacking into her legs as they try to jump up and lick her face.
"Infra!" Down! She commands, and they quiet immediately, standing still except for their wagging tails.
Reyna looks up and searches the skies, but doesn't see anything. She sighs and whistles again-this time, a perfect taxi-cab whistle guaranteed to work instantly in every big city in the country.
This time, it only takes a few seconds before she sees a pale figure spiraling down from the sky, out of the clouds, and she turns her attention back to the dogs, knowing he'll get here soon.
"I'm going to miss you guys." She tells them, and scratches their ears, laughing when they bump their noses insistently into the palm of her hand, wanting more scratching.
Bellator's hooves thud into the ground just off the porch, and Reyna gives Aurum and Argentum each one last scratch. "Go to Gwen! Ite! Go!" They whine and back away uncertainly, and she flings her arm up, pointing in Gwen's direction. "Ite! Go to Gwen!"
They lower their heads and whine again, but they listen. She watches them lope down to the cabins for a few seconds, then turns to Bellator, her heart constricting painfully in her chest.
Bellator arches his neck and paws the ground, snorting, and she smiles sadly, going to him and stroking along his neck. "Nice to see you too, Bellator." He butts his head against her chest, and she pushes him away with a smile, laughing a little when he shakes himself, tossing his mane.
"I have to leave." She tells him, and he stills, blinking a liquid golden eye at her. "And I can't take you with me, as much as I'd like to."
He snorts again, indignantly, and prances a bit, pawing at the ground, his shimmering silky wings opening and beating at the ground, stirring up dust and sending leaves twirling through the air.
"I know." She assures him. "Trust me, I really would rather not go without you. But Nico and I are shadow traveling, and it's more difficult for him with more passengers." She rests her forehead against the softness of his fur, and closes her eyes. "Besides, the last line of the prophecy said we had to leave all other allies safely behind. I don't know so much about 'safely,' but I know you have to stay here."
She runs her fingers through his mane. "You don't have to let anyone else ride you if you don't want to. But you're a warrior. So fight for me, okay? Give that monster army hell."
Bellator nickers softly and closes his eyes, butting his head against her chest again. She lets him, one last time, and then steps away. "Go back to the paddock, now." She grins at him. "Back to your pegasus lady friend."
He might be a pegasus, but she could swear he rolls his eyes at her before galloping forward and leaping into the air, spiraling higher and higher until she can't see him anymore.
She turns to go find Nico, but just then, she hears a voice shouting her name and turns back to see a figure running towards her from the woods. As he gets closer, she sees, with some surprise, that it's Coach Hedge.
So he has been in the woods all this time. She thinks, and waits for him to reach her.
"Why is everyone saying that you're leaving?" He barks at her.
"Because I am." She replies calmly. "And so is Nico. We have to go back to Greece."
"Says who?" He asks indignantly.
Reyna raises an eyebrow. "Says the prophecy Rachel gave us a few hours ago. We're somehow essential to the success of the prophecy of Seven, and we have to be in Athens for the Feast of Spes, otherwise Gaea will rise and we're all dead."
Coach Hedge's face darkens, and she remembers what the Stolls said about his wife.
"How's Mellie?" She asks gently, and he glances at her in surprise before looking back down and scuffing his hoof against the ground.
"Pregnant." He answers bluntly. "I can't leave her, cupcake, but I'd go with you if I could."
"I know, Gleeson." She replies, calling him by his first name. "But the prophecy says we have to go alone anyway. Stay here and keep Mellie and your baby safe."
He nods, and then, before she knows what's happening, steps forward and wraps his arms around her in an awkward hug. She pats his back slowly, too shocked to do anything else. When he finally lets go, he salutes her, military style.
"You're a good soldier, kiddo." He tells her. "Not as good as me, but good. Now go kick some monster butt."
Reyna nods to him, and then he turns and trots back down the hill. Back to the woods. Back to Mellie, and his unborn child.
*linebreak of totally ratchet hair days*
Nico's waiting for her outside his cabin, his own bag sitting at his feet, tossing something from one hand to the other while he leans against the skull-studded wall. When he sees her, he straightens, clenching whatever he was tossing in a tight fist.
"Hey," He greets her. "Ready?"
"No." She answers, and closes her eyes, taking a deep breath, bracing herself for the sensation of shadow-traveling.
"Ready?" He repeats, after she exhales, and she opens her eyes and nods.
"Ready." She replies, and steps forward to take his hand.
He grabs his bag and slings it over his shoulder, the same way hers is, but then he hesitates, and doesn't take her hand.
"What is it?" She asks, and his cheeks color slightly. She has to bite back a smile-he's really cute when he's flustered.
"Um." He says. Then he closes his eyes briefly before opening his fist, jerkily, and moving the object he was holding so that he's offering it to her. "I've had this since my sister died. It's the reason..." He trails off, and then blows out a frustrated breath before quickly pressing it into her hand. "Anyway. I want you to have it. Maybe it'll bring you luck."
Reyna looks down at her hand. It's a figurine-a little model of Hades, from Mythomagic.
She realizes what it is, then; remembers the story he told her of how his sister died. That she'd taken a figurine for him, a Mythomagic statue.
"Oh, Nico, I can't-" She starts, but he presses his fingers against her lips, silencing her.
"Yes, you can. I want you to have it. I'm giving it to you. And I won't take it back, so don't try to give it to me." He tells her, and slowly pulls his hand away. She wraps her fingers around the statue, feeling the edges digging into her skin.
"Thank you." She whispers softly, and he nods, looking beyond her.
"Okay." He says. "Ready?"
"Ready." She confirms quietly, for the second time, and places her hand in his, looking up to meet his eyes.
He might technically be only fourteen, even though he doesn't look it or act it, but his mind is far older than that after all he's been through, and Reyna can see that in his eyes in this moment. Along with everything else-his fear, his determination, his loyalty...And his love.
She knows his feelings go far beyond like. But then, so do hers.
She closes her eyes and holds tighter to his hand, clenching his gift in her other hand so tightly it cuts into her hand painfully. But she doesn't care.
Nico whispers something, his voice like shadows and smoke, and the next second, she feels the familiar chill as they're pulled into the shadows and the darkness wraps around them.
Ah, the beauty of plot twists. Love them. And I love the idea that you guys are gonna start freaking out now, wondering what's gonna happen next...*evil laugh sounds in the distance, echoing eerily* *manic grin* I LOVE IT.
I love you (SO MUCH, YOU GUYS ARE GREAT AND PERFECT AND SPARKLY AND GENERALLY MADE OF SOME SERIOUSLY AWESOME SAUCE), be crazy and insane because today is the day of the fandom (AND WE WILL NOT BE STOPPED), come up with all sorts of evil plans to get revenge on Octavian (that's actually what my best friend and I did today, before we moved on to plotting Rick's murder should he kill one of our babies), and HAPPY BIRTHDAY, once again, to that wonderful Kelp-Headed, Seaweed-Brained idiot we all know and love. You're my hero, Percy! Now and always.