When Thalia had made plans to pick Percy up from his new school's orientation, she hadn't expected him to leave the school by catapulting himself out the window, chased by a donkey-vampire-statue lady dressed like a cheerleader and a redhead.
The plan had been that nothing would go wrong at this orientation thing. Percy had somehow managed to get himself kicked out of his last high school (apparently something to do with the cross-country team, a roller skate arena, and a fire alarm) but his mother Sally's new boyfriend Paul has managed to secure a spot for Percy at the school where Paul taught. If Percy still wanted to go to school for his senior year, he would have to not mess anything up.
Signs were not good.
The cab driver stomped on the brakes and screeched to a halt with a swear. Percy stood up and dusted himself off before sidestepping a donkey-legged kick from the weird cheerleader. He lunged forward with his right fist, apparently forgetting that he had a magic sword and also magic powers - but just before his fist connected, the cheerleader shrieked and disappeared in a burst of green flame.
Thalia quickly asked the cab driver to stay there and wait. The man was clearly terrified and confused - whatever the Mist made him see was clearly not very nice - but he complied and put his hazards on.
Percy's fist burst through the flames and he stumbled a half-step forwards into the fast-vanishing fire. He caught his momentum quickly, just a step away from the redhead, but a tiny bit of green fire had caught his hair alight - the girl patted it out quickly and Percy gave her an appreciative look. In response, she blushed and stepped back.
It was then that Thalia realized why the redhead looked so familiar. It was Rachel Elizabeth Dare, the girl from the Hoover Dam. The dam girl.
She was cute, Thalia supposed. Delicate and artsy, but cute. Red hair in a messy bun which she fussed with for a moment while she had a hurried conversation with Percy. An outfit that had been carefully curated to be the exact right middle point between casual and attractive. The girl summoned a felt-tip pen from seemingly nowhere and scribbled something on Percy's hand, then rushed back into the school while shouting something. Thalia tried to ignore exactly why it burned so much that Percy was talking to a cute girl.
Percy opened the door to the taxicab with a sheepish grin. "Hey, Thals," he said, clambering down into the backseat next to her. "Sorry about that."
Thalia choked back a biting retort and shrugged instead. "Was that Rachel?" She asked instead. Percy nodded.
"Yeah, apparently she goes to Goode. When the empousae showed up, she saw them and helped me," he explained. "She also wanted to maybe hang out sometime. She's still working on the whole 'gods are real, monsters exist' deal and, I mean…"
Thalia shrugged, staring out the taxi window. "Sure."
Percy watched her for a moment longer before turning to the terrified taxi driver. Waving his hand, a purple mist floated forwards and calmed the man down. "Sorry, buddy," the demigod said. "You weren't supposed to see that."
"Anyways," Percy said, turning to Thalia and slapping his knee as though he had suddenly remembered something important. "We have to get to Camp Half-Blood, now."
Thalia nodded silently.
It was a long taxi ride. Thalia knew she didn't really have any good reason to be mad - Percy was allowed to speak to cute girls, obviously, and they were allowed to talk to him. Of course that was allowed. He and Thalia were just friends.
Thalia fingered the streak of gray in her hair nervously. Percy's matching streak stood prominently in his wind-tousled hair, sharply contrasting the raven-black surrounding it. He ran his hand through that hair as he stared out the window in a vain attempt to tidy it and Thalia was able to roughly decipher what Rachel had written. It was a phone number in amazingly neat handwriting given that it had been written just after flying out a window - and next to it, a little bundle of three hearts in the same red ink.
The taxi came to a stop in front of Camp Half-Blood before Thalia could think too much more about it. Thalia stepped out and made her way up the hill towards the boundary tree with its golden fleece and guardian protector dragon, and Percy hurried after her once he had paid the cab driver. Peleus the young dragon was curled around the tree, nearly as thick around as the tree itself. His golden scales glittered and Thalia was reminded of the great Ladon, who had wounded Zoe so severely that she nearly died over the winter.
Thalia doubted that this dragon would do the same, but she gave him a wide berth just in case. Behind her, Percy stopped and scratched the dragon behind the ear for a moment, causing a gout of flame to come from each nostril. The dragon flared its wings, kicked its hind leg once or twice, licked Percy. He grinned and then jogged off to catch up to Thalia where she stood, watching the boy play with his friendly dragon.
Gods, it was really hard to stay mad at him. Especially when she wasn't entirely sure why she was mad in the first place.
On the hill below them, Chiron waited, tail swishing idly. "Heroes!" He called. "Come join us. Annabeth has awoken!" Percy and Thalia exchanged glances and sprinted down the hill towards the centaur, all earlier dispute forgotten. Their friend was awake after more than six months in a magical coma. Chiron trotted off towards the Big House's infirmary.
Fighting could wait.
Percy made it first, on account of his significantly longer stride, but Thalia wasn't far behind and burst through the door before it could swing shut from Percy's entry - and she managed to find Annabeth first. Laying in a bed, watched over by Will Solace from Apollo and Nico di Angelo, was Annabeth Chase. She looked very, very different from the blonde girl Thalia remembered.
The most striking difference was her hair. While Thalia and Percy had gained gray hair from carrying the weight of the sky, their streaks were barely an inch wide. Nearly half of Annabeth's blonde hair was now platinum blonde, shiny and silvery in the light which streamed in through the window of the room. But other differences leapt out to Thalia. Gone was the confident, quiet pride Thalia had so admired about her friend, replaced with weary and tired eyes. Her body appeared in great health, still well-muscled and lithe, but Annabeth moved slowly if at all, as though every movement burnt. Worst of all was her voice. When she saw Thalia and Percy enter the room, she croaked out a hello and sounded as though she'd been smoking for decades.
Thalia simply crushed her best friend in a hug.
"God, I missed you, Annie," Thalia muttered into the crook of Annabeth's neck.
The daughter of Athena gave a raspy laugh and gingerly returned the hug. "Hey, Tree Girl," she said. "I missed you too."
Percy said a quick hello to Will and Nico and then came over, rubbing Annabeth's shoulder while she continued to hug Thalia. "Hey, Beth," he said. "Long time no see."
The blonde girl gave out a little 'eep!' when she realized Percy was there too. She dove her head into Thalia's neck and blushed a little bit, which was weird. Thalia shook it off for now, too happy to have her friend back in the realm of the living.
"So, how have you been, Annie?" Thalia asked when she pulled back. Annabeth was still flushed red and moving gingerly, but she sat up slightly. Her hospital gown slipped off her shoulder and Annabeth hurriedly pulled it back up before she responded.
"Asleep, mostly," the blonde said, and the two shared a smile. "But overall… it's weird to be missing such a huge chunk of my life, for sure, but I'm just glad to be alive. You know?"
Thalia nodded sympathetically. She did know.
"Well we're glad to have you back," Percy said. "You scared us with that fall, for sure."
Thalia could see the regret on Percy's face as soon as he said it, but it was too late now. The room fell awkwardly silent. Unasked, the question lingered thickly in the air. To be honest, Thalia was wondering it too - what in the Hades had possessed Annabeth to try and save Luke from that fall? She was supposed to be smarter than that.
Before anyone could muster the courage to speak again, Chiron clopped through the doorway. "Ah, Annabeth," he said. "It is good to see you awake still. How are you feeling?"
She turned awkwardly to the centaur in the doorway, his frame comically oversized for the building. Her spine popped and she groaned. "I've been better, Chiron."
The trainer of heroes smiled gently. "Yes, I expect you have. Demigods may be very sturdy, but six months in bed will make anyone ache." He came further into the room and the tension seemed to drain out of the air. "Now then, heroes. I expect you have many tales to tell your friend, and many questions to ask. But I must request that you allow her some time to acclimate, and further, that you come with me for a moment. Grover would like you to support him."
Percy and Thalia looked at each other, then at Annabeth. She nodded weakly. "I'll be fine. I'm not much fun right now anyways," she said with a laugh that sounded painfully raspy. "Grover could use your support."
"Support him with what?" Percy asked, a little confused.
"His hearing, before the Council of Cloven Elders," Chiron answered. "They are… deciding his fate. Formally."
That didn't sound good to Thalia.
As Chiron lead the way into the woods, Thalia wondered exactly why Grover's fate needed to be decided. After all, what could he have done wrong? It wasn't like when he'd lost Thalia on his mission to rescue her (though Thalia certainly didn't blame Grover for that) - the only notable thing that Grover had done recently was hear the Blessing of…
Oh.
Yeah, that made sense.
Nymphs peeked around tree trunks and through bushes at the passing demigods. Percy and Thalia rode on Chiron's back because apparently the matter was time-sensitive, and Thalia awkwardly wrapped her arms around Percy's torso for better support. The son of Poseidon, of course, had no issue staying perfectly composed on horseback as Chiron galloped through the woods.
Thalia didn't recognize this part of the woods. There was a beautiful arched tunnel of willow trees, a waterfall down a series of rocks, and a small babbling brook through a grassy clearing with a massive array of wildflowers. When they arrived at the clearing, Thalia became certain she'd never been here - there were three old satyrs leaning on stones in a small circle, being fed grapes by nymphs. The Council of Cloven Elders, Thalia concluded.
Before them stood Grover, speaking animatedly as he told a story. He looked physically like the same old Grover - acne, scraggly hair, little horns poking up out of that hair, goat legs - but he seemed much more animated and confident than Thalia remembered. He slouched less, made more eye contact. He was telling his story about Pan strongly and without hesitation, despite the apparent disbelief of the council.
Off to the side was a woman Thalia didn't recognize, with beautiful amber hair and an elfish face. She was visibly nervous but also seemed quite proud. Holding her hand quietly in support was - Clarisse?
What the hell had happened over the spring?
Chiron set Percy and Thalia down next to Clarisse and the other woman. Clarisse made a nasty face at Percy, nodded in respect to Thalia, and then turned her attention back to Grover's presentation.
"Hi, I'm Juniper," said the girl with a shaky voice. She held out her other hand for Percy and Thalia to shake as they made their introductions. "I'm Grover's girlfriend." Thalia nodded and stood next to her quietly as Chiron trotted to join the Council.
"Sorry I'm late, Silenus," Chiron said, folding his horse legs beneath him and settling in a spot ringed by wildflowers. He reached out and took a small bundle of grapes proffered by a nymph and ate a single one before he continued. "Please, Master Underwood, continue."
Grover nodded. However, one of the sleepy old goats on the stones spoke over him before the young satyr could begin. "No, Master Underwood. Tell me, do you truly expect us to believe this? For six months - six months - this esteemed Council has heard you tell spectacular and ludicrous tales about supposedly hearing the Great God Pan speak. Pan! Speak to you!"
Grover took an involuntary step back, slouching somewhat as the previously relaxed elderly satyr practically exploded. Thalia didn't really understand why the guy - Silenus - was so heated on this topic, especially because Grover actually had heard Pan speak. He said as much, bouncing back to be somewhat more confident once more. "I do expect you to believe it," he said, his voice starting off in the familiar old-Grover uncertain tone but gaining conviction, "because I heard him speak. I watched the trees shake and grow and the birds play. I watched a rubber rat come to life. I heard the Great God Pan speak, which is more than-" he cut himself off.
"Impudent billy goat!" bleated another satyr, to the right of Silenus.
"Now, Maron," Chiron said. "I find myself believing the young fellow. What does he stand to gain from lying?"
"I, I - I don't know," blustered Maron. "But he is! Pan would never speak to a silly, worthless satyr like him!"
Next to Thalia, Juniper took a step forward before Clarisse's hand shot out to stop her. The petite wood nymph was shaking with visible rage, but allowed herself to be pulled back into the arms of the daughter of Ares. "Wrong fight, girly," the muscular girl said quietly. "Let Grover handle this." Quietly, Percy and Thalia exchanged a worried glance. Clarisse actively avoiding a fight? Wonders, clearly, would never cease.
"I just need more time," Grover said plainly. "Another chance. Pan… he sent us a gift. Looking for him has never been easy. But I know I can find him."
The three satyrs discussed quietly, with Chiron interjecting occasionally. As an honorary member, clearly he knew he didn't hold quite as much sway as the others - but he also wanted to help Grover, and was much more reasonable than Silenus or Maron.
After a heated discussion, the third turned to Grover. "Very well, Master Underwood. You shall get more time."
Grover sagged visibly with relief. "Thank you, Laneus, I promise you wo-"
"One week," Silenus cut in. "One week to prove these ridiculous claims, to provide solid evidence. If you fail…" The threat lingered, and Thalia thought the old goat was going to leave it there, but apparently not. "If you fail we will revoke your license. Perhaps while you search you had best practice another skill. Any skill. Juggling, perhaps?"
Maron laughed. Thalia felt electricity coursing through her hands to zap the bleating idiot, arcing across her fingertips. Thunder rolled across the camp from a distant, roiling storm.
Percy took her hand in his. The electricity almost certainly gave him a serious jolt, but he held firm and met Thalia's eyes with a meaningful look.
She took a deep breath and calmed down. In front of her, Grover did the same.
"Thank you, sir."
"This meeting of the Council is now adjourned," said Silenus. "And with that - let us enjoy our noonday meal!" He clapped several times and many nymphs melted out of the trees bearing such delicacies as cheese, tin cans, and chip bags. The circle of satyrs broke and rushed towards the nymphs as fast as their ancient bodies could carry them. Grover turned to face his friends, shoulders sagging.
"Hey, guys," he said. "That went well."
Percy stepped forwards and wrapped Grover in a bear hug. "Don't worry about it, G-man. You got this. If anyone could find Pan in a week, it's you." Thalia nodded supportively.
"Those old goats!" Juniper said. "They don't know what they're talking about. They're too far up their own… well. You know."
"There is another option," Grover said darkly. Instantly, Juniper balked, eyes wide as she shook her head vigorously.
"No. No. I won't let you, Grover, I won't."
He looked ashamed and terrified, but held his gaze level with Juniper's. "I have to at least consider it. We don't even know where to look."
"What are you talking about?" Percy asked.
Before Grover could respond, a conch horn blew, one short burst followed by one long groan. Cabin inspection.
Shit.
Thalia and Percy had sprinted all the way back to the cabins. She knew Percy had a much bigger mess to clean up, but her cabin was always first, and she hadn't been there to clean it in months. Her armor was probably still strewn about the cabin from Capture the Flag, and she definitely hadn't picked up her laundry that she'd left behind when she went back to school after winter break.
Now that she was in the cabin itself, though, she was a little more reluctant to clean much. It wasn't really that bad, overall - she could just pick her armor up and put it on the stand in the corner, tuck her strewn clothes into the closet, and maybe sweep up.
She set to it, until eventually she came to the outfit she'd put on for the Winter Solstice party. She at least hadn't left it crumpled on the floor, and had taken the time to lay it out carefully on one of the spare beds in the big, lonely, empty cabin. She held it up to herself, remembering how it had felt to dance in, and smiled. On the wall was a picture somebody had taken of her and Percy dancing at that party. Percy was still in jeans and his coast guard jacket, a stark contrast to her fancy dress, but the brilliant smiles on both of their faces told a much more important story.
A low whistle pulled her out of her thoughts.
"Gods damn, Thalia," Silena said with a smile. "I bet that dress blew his mind." Thalia stammered out a protest, feeling her ears flush red, but a big part of her hoped Silena was right. She glanced back at the picture on the wall furtively as Silena gave the cabin a cursory search, checking under the beds for hastily hidden laundry before making a mark on her clipboard and smiling warmly at Thalia.
"You clean up nice," the daughter of Aphrodite said. Then, with a wink - "And your cabin looks great, too. I love the drawings."
Blushing at the compliments, Thalia turned to the artwork Silena was referring to. It wasn't anything particularly special, just things she drew on the nights she couldn't sleep.
That was a little too often, anymore, but that wasn't the point.
One was a pen sketch of a very shirtless Percy wrestling Old Man Nereus in the waves. Another, a painting of the towering Talos looking down through a foggy night, eyes glowing red. A simple charcoal work was based off the images Thalia had seen flash before her on Mount Othrys. Yet another was what she remembered of an adventure with Annabeth and Luke, in the before times.
"You do?" Thalia asked.
"They're amazing," Silena said. "Are they… all from your quests?"
Thalia shrugged. "Mostly, I guess."
Silena whistled, and Thalia tried to ignore her cherry red lips. "Well, they're great," she said with finality. "I might have to ask you to draw me one later. Now I gotta go check out Percy's cabin, but feel free to come with," the girl offered. Thalia decided she'd like that.
Percy's cabin was pretty tidy. Apparently, Tyson - who was not currently present, instead hanging out with the Hephaestus cabin - had been keeping it neat in Percy's absence. Silena gave it a bit of a deeper check than she had with Thalia's cabin, but also spent some of that time checking out Percy, so the math worked out. To be honest, Thalia couldn't blame Silena too much - Percy was in a tight-fitting T shirt and simple jeans, leaning casually against the doorframe of the bathroom, an easy smile on his face.
Thalia swore mentally and turned away. Instead, she started nosing around herself, looking for anything to ding Percy of a few points and maybe knock his standing behind hers - that was always a fun but mostly harmless prank.
On the wall above his bed were a few framed pictures. There was a poster of a rodeo, a picture of Percy's mom, and one of him and Annabeth after their adventure in the Sea of Monsters. But Thalia ignored those - the one that mattered was a picture she hadn't seen.
It was also from the Olympus party, just like hers. But this one was after they had finished dancing, and instead was taken from a side angle. She was leaning her head against Percy's shoulder with a soft smile, and his arm was around her shoulders. Their feet dangled off the edge of Olympus, but neither of them really cared much. The orange hues of the sunrise colored the marble behind them brilliantly. Next to them was a beautiful flowering bush with pink flowers, and at one a hummingbird was feeding. The demigods both looked extremely at ease, satisfied somehow, in a different way from how one might feel after saving the world.
Thalia flushed red and turned away.
Clearing her throat, she turned back to Percy after a moment. "How much of this was you cleaning and how much was Tyson?" She asked. Silena turned to face Percy too with a knowing look - she usually did cabin inspections and was well acquainted with Percy's usual cleaning habits.
Percy had the good grace to look vaguely offended. "Hey!" He protested. "I'm not a total slob!"
Thalia and Silena exchanged a glance and then fixed Percy with level stares.
He shrugged. "Okay, maybe I am - but I did clean up a little bit. Tyson just kept it up while I was away. He's a good kid," finished the demigod with a smile. "And he fixed my shield, look!"
On the wall hung Percy's wristwatch shield, which had been heavily damaged over the course of their winter quest. Now, though, it glistened beautifully. Gone were the holes pierced by manticore thorns, or the dents and scratches from the Nemean Lion's claws. Tyson had repaired it beautifully. But instead of fixing the shield to look brand new, Tyson had patched the holes in the bronze with some sort of silver - and in that silver, he had engraved or embossed pictures of Percy's new adventures with Thalia.
It looked great. Silena said as much, made a note on her clipboard, and then left the cabin to continue her inspections. Percy turned to Thalia, rubbing his neck.
"Well, now that we've both passed inspection," he said, "Wanna go spar for a bit? We can hang out with Annabeth after."
Thalia grinned. "You sure you wanna get your ass kicked, Perce?"
Instead of rising to the challenge, Percy sent her an easy smile. "Nope, but I'm sure I want to kick yours," he shot back. Thalia snorted, and Percy grabbed his shield off the wall, rolling out his shoulders. "Come on, we've got like an hour before dinner and I wanna hang out with Annabeth afterwards." That was a good point - and Thalia definitely wanted to spend more time with the daughter of Athena too.
"Let's get going then," she said. "Race you to the arena?"
Before Percy could even answer, Thalia shot off, Percy swearing behind her as he sprinted to catch up.
Thalia beat Percy to the arena, but only barely - he tackled her from behind and they rolled through the doorway together, wrestling and growling. Percy wrapped her in a bear hug, trying to pin her arms to her side, but Thalia managed to press his arms apart and break free. She scrambled to her feet and wrangled Percy into a headlock from behind in a sitting position, wrapping her legs around his torso to control his whole body better. Percy flung himself backwards onto her, crushing the air out of her lungs.
Thalia didn't let him take advantage of the moment, though. Instead she kept her legs locked around him and rolled, forcing him onto his back in the dirt as she straddled his waist. They paused for a moment, her hands on the ground by his head, their eyes locked.
Then, an enormous tongue swiped its way up the back of her head, followed by an earth-shattering bark.
Thalia and Percy instantly quit grappling and sprang apart. Percy rolled sideways and rocketed to his feet, Riptide immediately in hand. Thalia leapt to her feet while summoning her spear, leaving Aegis in its bracelet form for now so as to remain more agile. In moments, she and Percy were about six feet apart, weapons at the ready as they crouched low in combat stances.
In front of them a massive black hellhound, by far the biggest Thalia had ever seen, bowed on its front legs, tail wagging high in the air. Its glowing red eyes seemed playful, and the beastly dog gave another playful bark. Thalia felt the earth tremble slightly at the sound. She and Percy glanced at each other uncertainly and waited for an attack.
It never came. Instead, a man rushed over from the far side of the arena, shouting. "Hey! It's okay! Down, Mrs. O'Leary! Down!" Quickly he placed himself between the dog and them, petting the apparently female hellhound behind the right ear. Instantly she sat and began kicking one hind leg - which thumped against the ground with so much force that dust rose from the arena floor. "Sorry about that - she just gets excited," he said over his shoulder. Slowly, Thalia and Percy relaxed slightly, though they kept their weapons out.
Now that the man was closer, Thalia could pick out more details about him. He wore Greek armor, but it was old and well-worn, like some of the gear in the armory shed (though obviously better cared for). He had salt-and-pepper hair close cropped, and a trimmed gray beard. If Thalia had to guess, he looked to be somewhere in his fifties, but in obviously good shape.
"You have… a pet hellhound?" Percy asked, stupefied.
"She's harmless. I, um… I found her as a puppy. It's a harsh world for young hellhounds, but I nursed her to health and she's loved me ever since." The man stopped petting his dog and instead grabbed one of the training dummies. He lobbed it a solid twenty-five feet and the hellhound rushed after it, barking happily as she leapt onto it and crushed it like a bug. Then, she settled down to slobber all over it as she ripped it apart. "I'm Quintus, by the way. I'm the new sword instructor - helping out for Chiron while Mr. D is away."
"Oh," Percy said eloquently, and Thalia couldn't help but laugh.
The dog ripped the target dummy's arm off.
Thalia and Percy looked at each other and shrugged. Putting their weapons away, they shook hands with Quintus and said a quick apology. He shrugged it off, and when the movement shifted his armor strap, Thalia caught sight of a strange purple blotch below his neck, almost like a birthmark.
"You must be Thalia and Percy, I suppose?" He said. "I've heard a lot about you both. I've got quite the challenge lined up for you. They didn't have camps like this when I was a boy."
"You're a half blood?" Thalia blurted out in surprise. It made sense, but she'd never seen anybody with a hint of godly blood look so old - the oldest camper she knew of was only in his mid-twenties, and he was a grandson of a minor god of some sort - not exactly monster bait.
"Some of us do live to adulthood, you know. Not all of us are subjects of terrible decades-old prophecies," he pointed out with a chuckle.
"So, you're a sword instructor?" Percy asked to change the subject. "Mind watching Thalia and I duel, see if there's anything we can improve?" Thalia shot Percy a glance, but it was a good idea, really. She just didn't know how she felt about Percy inviting somebody else into what she had thought was going to be a private duel. As if reading her mind, he shot her an apologetic glance. In response, she shrugged. It was a good idea.
"Yeah, I can do that," answered Quintus. "Why don't you two get geared up? I'll get Mrs. O'Leary squared away so she won't bother you."
That seemed fair enough to both of them and they set about gearing up. Thalia ducked into the women's dressing room, shucking off her leather jacket and punk band shirt in favor of a simple tank top from her locker and a set of leggings. Then she pulled on the simple leather practice armor and grabbed the sparring spear and shield from her locker.
While it might have made a cooler and better spectacle to use proper weaponry and full bronze armor, it was far less useful. Being at risk of actually dying was great for adrenaline but didn't allow for full-out combat. With wooden weapons, Percy and Thalia could actually point out and exploit flaws in each other's defenses without actually stabbing each other in potentially fatal ways.
When she came outside, Percy was similarly dressed, except he somehow managed to fight in boot-cut jeans. Quintus had set up a timer and marked out a box in the dirt, with starting positions for the demigods and obstacles like boxes and training dummies scattered throughout the box. Percy was stretching his legs while Quintus laid out the simple ground rules for them both. Thalia worked her way through a quick stretch routine and then took her place on the mark opposite Percy.
"Begin!"
Thalia launched herself forwards, instantly on the offensive. A quick thrust towards Percy's head, followed by a sweeping strike at his legs. Not letting him gather himself, she pushed forwards with her shield, aiming to press him backwards and off balance.
But Percy clearly was prepared for that, because after ducking her stabbing thrust and simply stepping back to avoid her sweeping spear haft, he circled to her right, away from her shield. With a backhanded strike, he stabbed at her kidney, forcing her to leap directly away to avoid an instant loss of the bout. She catapulted herself over a box and turned to Percy, who was watching her warily instead of pressing his advantage.
She growled.
"Don't take it easy on me, Percy. I won't like it."
He nodded. "I'm not."
Thalia gestured with her hand and the box between them was flung into Percy by a sudden gust of wind. The same wind allowed Thalia to kick herself into the air behind the box, and when Percy rolled sideways to avoid being clobbered by the crate she was there with her spear to lay him out.
"Victory to Thalia," Quintus said. "Percy, she's not wrong. She's not a child. Fight her properly - and press your advantages when it's safe to."
Percy grunted and kicked his feet into the dirt on his mark.
"Again."
5,300 words. Not too bad - actually the third longest of the fic so far. Sorry for the wait - I have a lot of other stuff going on and this chapter wasn't particularly interesting to write because it's the slow start of the bigger arc for Labyrinth. Hopefully I managed to maintain something interesting. If not, let me know and I can see what I can do to make it better.
Annabeth isn't dead, I've got plans for her (that may yet go unrealized). Percy and Thalia have... something... going on romantically but exactly what remains to be seen. Grover's still looking for Pan. Nico isn't looking for revenge, but he's also got no clue about his heritage. Demigods use phones because it's easier to write that way - sorry if that's a deal breaker. Did some minor editing on Ch1 and 2 but only quality of life/writing stuff, no plot-critical information you'll need to reread for.
Thanks for all the support and thanks for reading. See you when I see you.