Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Clio!" Percy hollers at you from across the lunch room. You wave at him and Grover and make your way to them.

"Did you hear about the field trip to the museum?" Grover asks.

You set your tray down and say, "yeah, it sounds great doesn't it?" You adore history, Percy might be less than enthused, but you? You feel like you’ve won the lotto. Growing up in the foster care system and eventually just boarding schools; it really doesn't give a person many opportunities like this.

"At least we won't be at school." Percy agrees.

You pick up your fork and play with your mixed vegetables. "Oh come on Perc, all those stories? Mr. Brunner is going to lead the trip, you love his classes!" Grover and Percy are your two best friends at Yancy Academy(your only two friends actually). Percy and you started at the same times and, apparently, the two of you are pretty similar.
Well, to a point anyway. Percy's...accidents…are a bit more intense than yours. The social workers couldn't be bothered with you after four different families sent you back. They really hoped this school would straighten you out…after last time. But okay, listen, it really wasn't your fault that you leaked that archival information about your last school. They tried to push some unforgivable things under the rug, you couldn't stand for that.

"Yeah, and we'll get to see those textiles!" Grover adds, you look at him and laugh. He looks like he's dreaming about eating them not appreciating them.

"Yeah, well, I just hope Nancy Bobofit keeps her hands to herself." Percy grumbles.

Grover tries, "Oh, come on Percy, try to have a good time. Its a field trip."
Percy can generally get anyone to laugh, but after his last detention, he's been a bit off.

"Jackson, I'll keep you out of trouble. Just stick with me!" You wrap your arm around his shoulders and shake him a bit, finally getting a reluctant grin out of him.

"Yeah, that'll be the day." Grover grumbles under his breath.
You turned to him in mock shock. "What in heavens name could you be implying, Mr. Underwood?"

"All I'm saying is trouble follows both of you around like fleas on dogs." He replies.

Percy gasps in mock surprise, "I've never caused trouble in my life!" You’re barely holding back a laugh at this point and Percy’s grinning.

Even Grover can’t withholding a smile, "oh, so  you didn't stand guard while this one," Grover sticks a finger into your shoulder, "broke into the councilors office?"

"I didn't 'break in.' I picked the lock!" You say, starting to pout at this, "you have to actually break something to break in." You grumble under your breath. Percy laughs and elbows you playfully. "Besides, I knew that councilor was stealing kids mail. I was right."

"And you both got a weeks worth of detention for it." Grover says with an eyebrow raise.

"Okay, okay you two." Percy starts. The bell rings. “Lets go to class, before we get another detention." He finishes.

The day of the field trip is pretty cool. There are storms all over New York, but luckily, you only have a cloudy forecast. Percy barely pays attention and Grover seems to really dislike the sub, Mrs. Dodds. He keeps glancing at her looking very nervous, like he thought she'd sprout wings or fangs or something.
You, as always, can’t keep still. This place is everything you want to do in life and by the time you all get to the Ancient Greek exhibit, you are barely keeping your mouth shut. 
Mr. Brunner mentions that Zeus managed to get away and trick Kronos with a rock, you blurt out, "Thats completely erasing Rhea! She's the whole reason..." you trail off, Mr. B is raising an eyebrow at you. You blush and apologize, but he just nods.

"You're very right, Clio. I was over simplifying things for the sake of your classmates attention." He smiles at you after that and Percy nudges you, grinning. He loves to see you embarrassed, he thinks it’s hilarious. Although, the feeling goes both ways. Some of Nancy’s friends snicker and Nancy says something you don’t quite hear. You notice Percy shoot a glare back towards them though. You touch his arm and shake your head almost imperceptibly. Percy’s already on thin ice and you don’t want to have to finish the school year without your best friend.

A short while after this interaction, everyone on the field trip is sitting on the steps, eating their lunches.

"What was that in the Greek exhibit?" Grover asks after he finishes fixing his sandwich.

"What do you mean?" You ask back, picking pieces off your bread and throwing them to the pigeons.

"You almost seemed angry about Rhea being written out of the gods story." He explains.

You shrug, "I'm not a fan of history being edited."

"Greek mythology isn't history." Percy argues.

Your eyes sparkle, excited to share your theory on mythology. "All mythos and folklore is based in fact. It might have been embellished, like it could be the story of an original civilization that turned into legend and then into religion and-"

"You lost me." Percy says, a glazed look in his eyes. You just sigh, shaking your head.

Nancy Bobofit comes over, just to cause issues and interrupt your conversation. Percy gets a bit too heated. Which is fair in your opinion, Nancy is a bully and neither of you can stand a bully.
He storms over to her and somehow a wall of water comes up from behind him. You could swear a hand forms from it and yanks her into the fountain.

"Holy shit, dude!" You exclaim, pulling Percy back. Mrs. Dodds yells his name, causing you both to jump. She makes him come with her and you watch as the two of them head back into the museum. Its weird though, you could have sworn she is teleporting up the steps. She just moves way too fast.
"Grover, did you see-" you turn to look at him and he's gone. You stand then, confused. You look for Mr. Brunner, but he's gone too. No one seems to notice so you just decide, if Percy is gonna get into trouble, I can at least argue his side.
You hate when people get blamed for defending themselves, not that you felt like Percy could be blamed for a fountain exploding. You race up the steps, but as you reach the door, Percy steps out of the museum, covered in weird smelling, yellow dust. He looks like he's seen a ghost.

"Percy? Are you okay?" You start brushing the dust off but…is it disappearing? No you must be imagining things. Percy starts telling you that Ms. Dodds had sprouted wings and fangs and asked about a lighting bolt. He says Mr. Brunner (who was yelling at you to get back to the group) gave him a pen that turned into a sword. He says he killed Mrs. Dodds and she turned into the dust. "Okay, Percy, listen to me." He focuses on you "you really, really, shouldn't talk about that with just anyone okay? I believe you, but they're gonna treat you even worse-"

"Percy, Clio, it's time to go!" Mr. B calls again.

"We'll figure it out and then confront them about it alright?" He agrees and you head back down the steps.

Boys and Girls aren't allowed into each others rooms so Percy and you cant discuss the situation in any more detail that night. Well, at least not without getting into trouble and with Percy in so much trouble…it has you out and roaming the halls as per usual. Absently, you find yourself in the hall Mr. Brunner's class is held. A noise causes you to look up and there is Percy Jackson, waving his hands at you. You give him a look and almost laugh; obviously, he is telling you to be quiet but he looks a little funny waving all around like that.

Too late you realize the light in Mr. B's room is on and Percy has been eves-dropping. You hear something like hooves, Percy gestures for you to run and he turns to do the same. 

“Damnit Jackson!” You whisper in annoyance.  You turn to the nearest class room and try the door, locked, of course. You press yourself into the doorway, praying you can hide behind the doorframe, eyes closed (as if that would help).

No such luck.

"Clio?"

"Grover?" You open you eyes to see your friend…without his shoes on. “Um...?"

"You should come with me." He says nervously as he leads you back to Mr. Brunner's room.

"Ah...on our nightly walk, Ms. Smith?" He murmurs.

You ignore the fact that Mr. Brunner knows about your detention worthy nighttime activities to point out the obvious, "Grover, why do you have hooves?" You are staring at them which is, for sure, rude, but you can’t help it. "It was real. Percy killed a monster."

Grover and Mr. Brunner glance at each other. "Ah..." is all Mr. Brunner says.

"Percy has to think he's wrong!" Grover exclaims, following his outburst with his nervous little laugh.
You start to back away from them towards the door. "I don't know about that..." has Grover been lying about being your friend this whole time? Are they also monsters? No way those things you’ve seen are real…are they?
You turn to run out, but the door slams shut in your face. Instantly changing tactics, you lunge for the suit of armor in the corner and pick up the sword, holding it between you. It isn’t as awkward as you thought it’d be. You might even be able to get a good whack in if you have to, "if you're monsters, you'll...you'll have to go through me to get at my friend!" You sound a lot braver than you feel.

Your back is up against a door and Mr. Brunner is starting to…stand? Your sword hand droops a bit, "uh...Mr. B?" Again, you know staring is wrong, but the whole back half of a horse comes out of a wheelchair. You think you can be forgiven. "You...you're a centaur?" The sword falls, clattering across the floor and you notice that the room is suddenly full of a strange blue glow. Grover and Mr. Brunner are staring at something above your head. You look up to catch the remnants of a glowing symbol, a scroll falling from a chest. "What is that?" You ask looking back at them.

Grover looks confused and even more nervous, he’s worrying his hands now. "Which god has that symbol?" He asks.

"Not a god, a goddess. Clio, muse of history." Mr. B murmurs.

"I've never seen someone claimed outside of camp." Grover mutters.

"Muse of history? What, she blessed me or something?" You ask in confusion. "Why, cause I like history so much?" That reaction is weird it’s true, but you physically saw a glowing symbol above you so how else are you supposed to react? It isn’t like you’d scream and run, although, maybe you should have based on how this chronicle ends…

Mr. Brunner regards you for a moment before seemingly deciding something. "No, she has claimed you as her daughter."

You start laughing then, both of them stay serious, but this has to be an episode of 'Punked' or something. You scoff, "well you can't be serious." You argue.

"I'm afraid so my dear." Mr. Brunner says softly, "as such, you'll need to be taken somewhere safe where you can train."

"Your name isn't...it isn't Mr. Brunner is it?" It’s another stupid question honestly, but you are having a crazy night, again you think you can be forgiven for that.

"My name is Chiron, tutor to hero's." He answers.

Grover is looking at you as if you are going to jump scare him. "Chiron, what does it mean that she was claimed outside of camp though?" Grover asks again.

"I'm not sure my young satyr." He responds.

A sharp pain is starting behind your eyes and you wince. "This cannot be happening..."

"We'll send you to camp tomorrow morning." Mr. B, scratch that, Chiron is saying. It's hard to really focus on what they’re saying. Finding out you have a parent when you've been living alone for as long as you can remember? That is hard. Finding out that living parent is a god? That's a whole other ballpark.

"You aren't a child of the main twelve so you should be safe to travel alone, but we'll have another protector meet you here.” Mr. B is saying.

Your voice sounds far away as you ask, "what about Percy? I've met his mom..." Another dumb question, at least your mom isn’t the goddess of wisdom.

"Percy has his own destiny." Chiron explains, not understanding your question.

"I can't just disappear on him." You argue.

"I'll stick with him." Grover assures you.

You’re quiet for a beat, "and the government?" You ask.

"What about it?" Grover asks.

You give him a look, "they'll come looking for me? What are we telling them?"

"They won't come looking for you." Chiron says.

Now, this was before you knew what the mist was or anything like that. So honestly, as a kid that everyone wished didn't exist, well, it did not sit well. Mostly because you are positive, Chiron is right.

"Percy is gonna ask questions." You insist.

"I'll tell him you got expelled." Grover answers easily, shrugging a shoulder.

"Go pack now child, camp awaits." Chiron suggests gently.

Grover leaves when you do, so you cant even sneak into Percy's room. Now it's not that Grover scares you, but he’s lost your trust with all the secrecy. You want to explain things to Percy alone. He is like a brother to you. You’ve been figuring things out together since school started last fall. Sure maybe that seems like a short amount of time to be so close to someone, but sometimes you find your people and you just click. 


You stop by the exit of the school. You can run, right now. All of this is insane anyway. Camp, gods, satyrs...Chiron, ancient teacher of demi-god hero's...mom...you shake your head. A little annoying voice says, just imagine the history you'll be privy to, okay, thanks brain. Sure, but also, didn't most of those old hero's die awful deaths? Like, you’re pretty sure Heracles literally tried to burn himself to death before the gods intervened…

"Ms. Smith?"

You jump. Mr. Brunner nearly causes you to have a heart attack. “Jeez Mr. B..." you complain, turning back to look at him.

"My apologies, I did not mean to frighten you." He says, fixing the blanket over the legs of his wheelchair.

"Yeah well..." you turn back to the door. You really don’t want to talk to him, but guess that isn’t in your cards.

"Running away won't help you know." He says gently.

You roll your eyes, nodding back at him, "what, you read minds too?"

He chuckles softly. "It could be the prolonged stare out of the main exit."

You sigh quietly, you don't know what you expected; Mr. B is really observant. "Chiron, don't hero's..." you heave a huge sigh and turn away from the door and back towards him. "Grover said no one had been claimed outside of camp?" You decide to ask instead.

He is quiet for a moment, seeming to decide if he will ignore your first question or not. Eventually he asks, "true, and your question?"

That makes you stop and think because you thought the question is obvious. "She needed to tell you...were...were you going to leave me here?"

He looks away, out the doors himself. "Hmm, our focus has been on Percy." He explains, rubbing his chin in thought. "She was eager to claim you, so we wouldn't overlook you I believe. Over Mr. Jackson’s aura, even I didn’t realize what you were."

You turn away again. Aura, what the hell does that mean? "Well, I guess I'll go to sleep." You say, not wanting to really listen to how unremarkable you are even amongst your friends.

When you start to leave though, Chiron stops you again. "I know you and Percy are close, don't hold the future against him. You have very different destinies." He looks sad then and you wonder if it's your destiny or Percy's that's made him look so melancholic.

"You can't fight fate." You murmur, you don’t know who that’s supposed to comfort. It sure doesn’t feel comforting to you…

He sighs, "too true, child."

You take two steps away before stopping and turning back to him abruptly. "Chiron, can I change my name?" Your hands fidget with the hem of your pj top. You can’t help but look anywhere but at him.

Bemused, he asks, "why would you want to do that?"

You groan, "I mean, its like being named junior...won’t people…make fun of me?"

He regards you for a moment, a favorite past time it seems. A slight smile turns the corners of his mouth up. "I don't thing anyone would dare. Your mother is still a goddess."

"Right..." you sigh “well, thanks anyway..” you say and walk back to your dorm. You wonder if Sally knew about Percy and you. Well, it would make sense if Sally was a goddess, she's way too kind hearted to be anything else. Thinking back to Christmas brings a smile to your face.

~

She had practically forced Percy to invite you over when she found out you’d be staying at school for the holidays. You’d both tried to convince Grover too, but he had holiday plans. Percy's step-dad, "smelly Gabe," was kind of terrible, well actually, really terrible, but you stayed out of his way. You’d had celebrations before at the orphanage, but you’d never been given a personal gift before. The Jackson's got you a few old, ragged editions of the history and mythology of Greece. They were old and falling apart and so, so beautiful.

You cried, Sally cried, and Percy laughed. You ended up punching him and the three of you all started laughing. Ms. Jackson ordered you Chinese before you all watched old black and white Christmas movies. Percy and you had a blue marshmallow war in the apartment while you were waiting for the delivery person.

Sally's last letter said she was still finding them when she cleaned the apartment, this time had been on the top of a book shelf. You were supposed to stay for a week this summer...you wonder if that’s over now.

~

You only have a duffle bag's worth of clothes and the books and letters Ms. Jackson had given you that fit into your backpack. You knew you should sleep, but you decided to reread your books again, at least the mythology parts. You figure you’d need to burn them into your mind.

The next morning, really early, a guy with a baseball bat was with Chiron when he knocked on your door. You must have looked like hell because Chiron raised an eyebrow and the guy with the bat asked,

"You ever heard of sleep cupcake?"

"A tough night?" Chiron asks.

"Just...strategizing...I guess." You zipped your books up and it must have caught his eye because a faint smile crosses his features.

"Clio, this is Gleeson Hedge. He will be your protector on the way to camp."

You offer your hand and Hedge shakes it, nearly shaking your brain from your skull.

"Nice to meet you cupcake, we left the van running."

"Oh, yeah...sure." You lift your duffle bag and glance at Chiron. "You promise Percy'll be okay?"

"We'll do our best, Clio." He responds.

You heave a sigh, wondering if this is how protagonists in fantasy novels feel. "Lets go."

Getting to camp actually wasn't too bad. Gleeson regaled you with his many 'battles' and told you all about camp. He asked about you but theres not a whole lot to tell. You told him about the orphanage and he said he was sorry to hear about your mortal parent. You then had to explain that he wasn't dead (as far as you knew), he just hadn't wanted you. You laughed about it then, but he seemed to know it wasn't as honest as you wished it was. Your laughter trailed off into uncomfortable silence.

"So, your moms a muse?" He asks after a few moments of quiet.

"I guess so..." you were sat between stacks of empty strawberry containers. You tried to keep your eyes on them instead of the lady (harpy) driver.

"Don't worry about it kid. If anyone gives you problems just send 'em to me." He puffs up his chest and smacks his bat against the crates, showering the two of you in wood chips.

You laugh and brush the bits of wood from your shirt and bag. "I'll make sure to do that." Well, if it turned out really really badly, at least Hedge had your back and maybe Percy would be coming soon too.

Gleeson went on to talk a bit about the camps layout and the activities. He seemed very eager to talk about weapons class and the lava wall. The idea of a lava wall caught you by suprise, but he made it sound normal. It’s astonishing how quickly things you would have never believed in before were well, believable.

When the van parks, you look up at the hill before you. At the top stood a lonely pine.

"No turning back now," you mutter.

"That's the spirit kid!"  Gleeson races up the hill and you follow, practically wheezing by the time you get to the tree. "Welcome, to Camp Half-Blood." He waves his bat out over the valley thats spread out under you. If you hadn't already been struggling to breath normally it would have taken your breath away. It was like a summer camps dream. There was a big farm house painted blue with an eagle weather mane below you. A huge lake leading out to the ocean. There was a forest and arena, stables and a crescent moon of cabins flanked on either side by two white marble temples. It reminded you of pictures you’d seen of Ancient Roman and Greek architecture.

"Woah..." Brilliant, you know, but you were pretty sure anyone else seeing it for the first time would have trouble with coherent thoughts too.

"Come on kid, lets meet your head camp councilor and Mr. D.”

You started heading down the hill, following Hedge. Questions-that probably should have been asked-just spun around your head. Like, there are more than twelve gods, if your mom was a muse, was there a seperate part of camp for kids of lesser gods? Who's Mr. D? How many kids have godly parents? If you already have a camp councilor, were they from your cabin or is there just one for everyone? Although, maybe it's better you didn't bombard Hedge with a bunch of questions.
As you got to level ground again, you noticed that there's a bored looking character sitting on the porch of the farm house. When you are within speaking distance, Hedge bows to him.

"My lord, I have safely brought the daughter of Clio."

You didn't bow really but you felt you should bob your head a bit, just to show deference since Hedge was.

"So, you're the one Chiron was talking about?" He still looks bored as he observes you.

"I suppose so sir. My name's-"

"Clio, like your mother." He answers for you. You’re not sure why it makes you so annoyed, but if you were going to continually be reminded of how idiotic the hospital had been in naming you, well you weren’t going to be happy about it. That’s for sure.

"Quite." Mr. D. seems to answer your thoughts, causing you to glance up and regard him closer. He has a leopard print shirt on and a diet coke in his hand.

"I suppose you're Mr. D?" You ask, warry of him.

"You're quite right to be warry of a god, child." he responds as though he hasn't heard you.

"God?" You ask, eyeing him. He sure doesn’t look like what you thought a god should look like.

"You expect us all to wear chiton's everyday?" He asks. You can't really tell if it’s amusement of not in his tone. He just seems to be perpetually bored.

"Uh, I guess I did actually." You admit, "wait, leopard print, god, D...The only god I know with a D is Dionysus, god of wine." You glance at the can in his hand again, unconvinced. If you hadn’t reread all those myths last night you probably couldn’t have even guessed off the top of your head.

"Your first lesson is: names have power. Don't use the proper names of gods unless you want their attention." He responds, you can tell that ‘their attention’ was more a threat then anything. He doesn't verbally answer your conclusion, but you figure his non-answer is the answer.

"Right." You answer, glancing at Hedge who’s still bowing.
When you look back up Dionysus has raised an eyebrow and sighs. "Well, go on and meet with your cabin counselor." He waves a hand to dismiss you.

"Uh, thanks," you think for half a second and added a quick, "sir," to the end before following Hedge away from the farm house.

"Well, that went well." Hedge says.

"You could have warned me he was a god!" You exclaim, annoyed that you were thrown into a meeting with a being that could kill you with a thought. At least they probably could, right?

"That's not my place. Anyway, you'll be in cabin eleven." He points to a very, normal looking cabin towards the end of one row. All the other cabins have some kind of stand out trait, cabin eleven really doesn't. It looks like any normal camp cabin, just bigger.

"That's the cabin for the muses?" You ask.

"The muses don't have a cabin kid, that's Hermes." You stop a few yards from the door, hearing indistinct yelling from inside.

You stop abruptly. “What do you mean there isn't one for the muses?" You demand, turned towards him.

Hedge doesn’t respond he just gestures with his bat towards the door. “That’s your counselor.”

You turn, watching a handsome boy with a scar across his eye emerge and walk down the few steps towards the two of you.

"You're the new recruit?" He asks, a smile filling his face half-heartidly. "I'm Luke, your camp councilor."

Chapter Text

"He'll answer all you questions, cupcake. I'll come check in on you." With that, Hedge left you there.

After watching him leave you mutter, "are you kidding me?"

"Clio, right?" The boy asks gently.

You turn back, giving Luke a once over. He was handsome you guess, in a pretty boy way. "Unfortunately." You murmur and sigh, "so~ Hermes, god of messengers and thieves."
He laughs as you pull your duffle a bit closer. "Don't worry, most kids don't have anything worth stealing." He offers his hand and you take it.

"Clio Smith, though I guess you already know that." You must have looked a bit upset because he offered you a sad, knowing smile.

"Hey, lets drop off your things and take a tour of camp, how about it?" He asks. He has this charm about him. He just draws you in, its hard to say no to. Looking back it makes you wonder if that’s a Hermes kid trait. Probably not plenty of people dislike the Hermes kids.

"Sure, I guess." You respond, a bit more sullen than you should have been. He brings you into a very full cabin, introducing you to those within, causing groans all around. He tries to build up moral again...that must get exhausting after each new camper. You get a spot on the floor near the back wall and lay down your bags, floor sweet floor.

If everyone was gonna be thrown in here, why hadn't they made it bigger? You wonder.

"Come on Clio. Time for the tour." Luke calls from the door. As you walk through camp, Luke points out the other cabins and tells you their names and numbers.

At the Apollo cabin you stop, "why doesn't my mother have a cabin?" You ask, turning to look at him. You don't know why it bothers you. You'd never even known her, you hadn’t even known she was real until last night, but not only did it seem like a slight against her...it felt like a slight against you.

Luke rubs the back of his head and sighs, obviously uncomfortable. "The lesser gods aren't really that...respected...Hermes is patron to travelers so we take in anyone who doesn't have a place." 

You turn away from him then, "that sounds so fair." You mutter, glaring at the Apollo cabin.

"Come on, lets go see the arena." He leads you down an incline and over to an armory that's next to the arena. It looks like a Greek amphitheater with a road way for racing, circling the edge.

You turn in a small circle, fascinated by the building. "Wow...how did all this get built anyway? I mean the supplies alone must have gotten people looking." Everything seems made of stone and you really don't understand how normal, non-god related people would be able to just overlook a building project of this magnitude.

"The Mist." He states simply.

"The missed?"

"The Mist, it covers mortal eyes, makes them think nothings happening. Their eyes just skip over the area." He explains. "Where we see monsters, they see rabid dogs, that sort of thing."

"Luke!" A girls voice calls from behind the two of you, you both turn and you catch a genuine smile on Luke's face.

"Oh, Annabeth! Meet Clio, our newest camper."

You wave half-heartedly and she eyes you before turning back to Luke. "Grover said there was another one coming." 

You roll your eyes. Maybe she was cute with her curls and stormy eyes, but she was obviously stuck in her own head. Not someone you thought you’d get along with.

"He isn't coming yet." Luke explains to her. "Hey, want to help me with Clio? She needs a weapon." He flashes you grin.

"I don't know how to fight." You argue, putting your hands up between yourself and them.

"Every demi-god knows how to fight." Annabeth argues back, crossing her arms.

"Listen princess, I think I would know if I could fight or not." You grumble and rub your shoe in the dirt.

"What did you just call me?" She demands. Her hands drop into fists as she takes a step towards you.

He claps, "okay! Lets find you a weapon." Luke opens up the armory and you can't help but stand in awe.

"Woah... These are museum quality!" Your eyes are wide, you cannot believe that they just have these antiques scattered across the floor. "Who is in charge of the armory? Its trashed!" You kind of feel like you were being choked. The whole place is in severe disarray. You pick up a dagger and nearly drop it when you see something reflected in its surface that is definitely not what should be reflected there. Gently, you lay it back down on top of the pile you'd pulled it from.

"No one is in charge of it. It sort of does its own thing." Luke explains.

"Can we at least organize it?" You didn't know why you thought you were going to start crying. This had only happened once before with that stupid archive, it had also been in complete shambles. You'd been able to organize it though and that’s how you found out about the schools shady dealings.

Annabeth scoffs, "some of us have more important things to do than worry about a derelict armory." She says, narrowing her eyes at you.

"We can talk to Chiron about it when he gets back." Luke placates.

Annabeth sighs, "you're the daughter of a muse, you'll probably excel at archery. So, you should pick a bow and maybe a dagger for close combat." She finally suggests. They both help you dig through the armory until you find an old, forest green bow that Luke and Annabeth agree would be good for a beginner. Then Annabeth hands you an ornate dagger.

"Generally these were used for showing off, but they can still stab someone if it comes down to it." Annabeth is explaining.

"Why are there ornamental daggers in here if its an armory?" You ask, examining the floral design on the dagger a bit closer.

"Well, some of the items in here are seriously ancient, but they’re still weapons." Luke points to the first dagger you'd picked up. "That belonged to Helen of Troy."

That gets your attention, "not, the Helen of Troy?" You ask, looking from him to the dagger.

He just shrugs, "yup."

"Holy hell..." You straighten up a bit, nervous. "This is just a normal ornamental dagger, right?" You ask.

"Well, I think that was one of Atalanta's dagger's actually." Annabeth says, a smile crossing her features. You let out a sigh of relief and relax.

"Oh you're kidding. Thank god-I mean gods..." You strap the dagger to your belt then.

"How did you know that?" She asks, regarding you. You tilt your head as you look back at her.

"Atalanta wasn't born of a god. She was a human princess, or just a skilled huntress, depending on where you're looking." You explain with a small smile.

"You know your history." She says with approval.

You scoff at that, "you're joking right?" You ask, shaking your head. "My mother is-"

"Right, sorry." She says. "Have you met the Apollo cabin yet? I'd bet you would get along with them well."

"She just got here Annabeth, give her a minute to breath." Luke says in a pleasant tone. 

"Its okay." You glance around the armory again. "Lets go see the rest of this place."

The two of them show you all over the camp, introducing you to some other camp counselors. Apollo's camp counselor, Lee Fletcher, seemed very interested in you because of your mother.

"So, you're the muse?" He asked.

"I'm her daughter," you explained, already tired of this question.

"Which muse again?" He asks, unperturbed.

"Clio, muse of history." You explain, chewing on your lip, you catch Annabeth and Luke give each other a look.

"Your dad named you after your mom?" Lee asks.

"No, somehow, the orphanage just happened upon that name." You say, trying to turn it into a joke.

He winced, "oh...sorry I didn't know."

"Don't worry about it. He didn't want me so he gave me up for adoption without even naming me." You shrug and from the corner of your eye you can see them all share another look. You clear your throat then, "so anyway-"

"Right, anyway, feel free to treat the Apollo cabin as a safe house, if Hermes ever gets to be too much." He says, obviously teasing Luke more than you.

Luke laughs, "do you know how many of my cabinmates would kill for that offer?"

"I believe that." Fletcher says with a laugh. "We'll see you on the archery field tomorrow?" He asks.

"We'll send her your way once she gets her schedule." Luke agrees. The idea that this all seems a bit forced, like a play crosses your mind, but you ignore it.

As you're walking away, a young girl at the firepit smiles at you. You smile back weakly.

"What are you looking at?" Annabeth asks, following your eyes to the firepit.

You blink and the girl's gone, you shake my head. "Nothing. So, schedule?" You ask, looking towards the dinning pavilion.

"Yeah, so basically, we'll sit down and send you to all the activities and once we find what you're good at, you'll focus in that." He explains, "but, you just got here, so its gonna be an easy day."

Annabeth says she has to go to a strategy class. Then Luke explains that he has to go teach combat training. He invites you to come with him and you mean, what else were you gonna do? Mope around and whine? Please, you agreed, obviously.

A large group, about twenty, semi-armor clad demi-gods, stood around listening as Luke explains a particular move. "Clio!" He calls out to you. Twenty some heads turn to you and you can feel your face heat up with embarrassment. Too bad Percy wasn't here to tease you over this.

"Yeah?" You respond, trying to keep yourself from side eyeing anyone near you.

"Come here really quick." He says.

"Luke, I told you-" You start to argue.

"Don't worry." He waves you forward. Reluctantly, you move towards him, your eyes on his sword the entire time. "Alright, I'm going to try to hit you with my sword, you try to block it with kípos (κήπος)."

"Garden," you ask not even realizing that you translated the Greek automatically, "that's the name of my dagger?" You ask, unsheathing it. Luke doesn't wait to answer though, he slices his sword through the air and your body seemingly reacts on its own to block with your dagger. "What the hell, dude?" You demand angrily. Behind you, you can hear a slight murmur from the others. Luke doesn't stop though, he tries to hit with a different attack this time.

"Pay attention to your opponent, Clio." He demands and you barely manage to block him again. This time he kicks one of your legs out from under you. While you’re forced to a knee, he tries to stab at you and you barely manage to block his blade with yours. 

He takes a step back, grinning at you, "that was amazing!"

Your jaw drops, "what do you mean?" You demand.

"Well," says a voice from the crowd, "you managed to hold your own against Luke."

Another, this one younger than you, adds, "even if he was going easy on you."

"You almost got me on that last strike, I didn't expect you to try and kill me." You start to smile reluctantly and he offers you his hand to pull you back to your feet.

He starts explaining one of the blocks you managed and you melt back into the back of the group. Maybe Annabeth was right about all demi-gods knowing how to fight. You'd never experienced anything like that before. Looking down at Kípos, you trace one of the vines trailing along the blade. You look for the makers mark and find an anvil at the hilt with a Greek A indented in the center. You wonder if you should ask someone from the Hephaestus cabin about it. Actually, you kind of want to talk to each of the cabins and see what their focus' really were.

Soon though, thoughts turn angrier, Hera had an 'honorary' cabin, but they didn't have cabin's for gods who were actually having demi-god kids? Artemis, another childless deity had a cabin too.
Time must have gotten away from you because suddenly Luke was resting a hand on your shoulder.

"You okay?" He asks, a look of concern reflects in his features. You realize then that you've been angrily staring at your dagger for sometime. You relax your features and look around. Its just the two of you left in the arena.

"Yeah...sorry..." You say, looking up at him, wincing in the sunlight.

He considers you for a moment, "wanna talk about it? You can help me put all of this away." He gestures to the pile of armor and weapons behind him.

You put Kípos back in its sheath and move over to start sorting the pile so he can put it all away. "How can there be 'honorary' cabins, but they don't have cabin's for the other gods who actually have kids?" You ask, keeping your eyes on the pile.

"The main gods have big ego's. If they didn't get a cabin, they'd get upset." He explains with a sigh.

"So, the 'minor' gods don't get upset about not being honored?" You admit, there was a bit of venom in you tone and he sighs again. "No, I have a better question." You stop and look over at him, "how can they leave some of their kids without knowing, once they're here, I mean." You’re  actually angry now. He meets your eyes and frowns.

"They...the gods, don't always care." He admits and you look back down at the pile.

You are not going to cry. "How-" you choke on your words and stop to clear your throat and compose yourself, gripping the bronze chest plate in your hands. "How dare they ask anything of us?" Its more rhetorical than an actual question and a little part of you wonders why you’re so angry if you don’t care…

"Your mom claimed you before you even made it to camp." He reminds you.

"That doesn't make any of the loneliness go away!" You nearly shout. Tears fall down your face and you throw the armor from your hands and bury your head in your knees. Luke sits next to you and just exists with you until you're done crying.

"Hey," he starts softly, "maybe you can't rely on the gods." He puts his hand on your shoulder again, "but, you can rely on the campers." You look at him and he smiles sadly. "You've got a family here. Hermes cabin and Apollo's cabin have got your back."

You take a deep breath and nod, "right."

"You never know, maybe there will be a day when you can get back at them for letting you stumble along alone. Until then,"

You smile, "right."

He smiles back and you finish putting the pile away. Honestly, crying in front of others has always embarrassed you, but you're kind of glad Luke was there. You got the feeling he'd gone through the same thing, if not had this exact conversation multiple times.

At lunch, Fletcher kidnaps you and introduces you to the rest of the Apollo cabin. They exude the same energy as a sunflower field. Most of them seem to be easy going and quick to laughter. You notice that their table is the most full after the Hermes cabin.

"So, we heard you bested Luke during training today." Fletcher says, smiling at you.

"Well, Luke was going easy on me." You explain.

Victoria, who you recognized from earlier, chirped in, "she almost got him too. Her first time!"

"That's just beginners luck." You argue then you grumble, “I don’t know if I’d say I almost got him…”

"I cannot wait to see you with a bow and arrow!" Fletcher exclaims, much more excited than you feel he should be.

"Lets just go after this?" Suggests another kid from before, Will, you think? He’s really new here too, but seems to have integrated easily.

"Oh, well, at least let me make sure Luke is okay with that." You say, praying that Luke will get you out of this situation.

“I’ll handle that,” Fletcher turns, "hey, Luke!" he throws a roll at Luke and it catches him right on the forehead. "We're taking Clio after lunch!"

The whole place goes silent and you see smiles start to spread on some of the Hermes campers. Different emotions ripple through everyone.

"No!" Shouts someone from the Aphrodite table.

An excited laugh is all you can manage before another Hermes cabin camper shouts, "food fight!"

Mayhem erupts across the pavilion. What started with Apollo and Hermes quickly spreads to the other tables. The Aphrodite cabin makes a hasty exit out of the pavilion. Despite the amount of food being thrown, more just seems to appear, keeping everyone well stocked. The Athena cabin starts calling out formations and using plates as shields. The Ares cabin is throwing plates and silverware instead of food and the Hephaestus cabin has somehow made a catapult and are clearing the whole pavilion to hit the retreating Aphrodite cabin. Cheers erupt anytime a new targets been hit.

You throw a cupcake at Luke and miss by inches as he dodges. He nails Annabeth right in the nose. Everyone is laughing and yelling, it is utter chaos and honestly, the most fun you'd had since Christmas. By the time Mr. D finally calls an end to the war, everyone is coated in BBQ sauce. The Hephaestus cabin is declared the unofficial winner because the Aphrodite cabin wasn't able to make it out unscathed due to their ingenuity.

When its finally Hermes' turn for the showers, Luke has found you your own camp tee-shirt. Neon orange, yikes, but at least now you'll blend in with everyone else.

"Welcome to camp Half-Blood." He says with a mischievous smile. You could swear your smile mimics his and his siblings…

"Clio, over here!" A few of the Apollo kids wave you over to them.

"Hey! Sorry, the Hermes cabin seems to be last for everything." You explain in-lieu of an apology.

"No worries, ready for some archery?" Will asks with a smile.

You sigh asking, "you mean to embarrass myself in front of everyone?" You nod, "yes sir, I was born ready." He smiles and you make a mental note to treat anyone regardless of age as more experienced than you. Even if they’re just a kid

He leads you to the archery field where Fletcher and some others are already practicing.

"Okay, so, once you've strung your bow, we'll see if you can hit the normal targets first."  Kayla says, handing you a quiver.

"After you teach me how to aim and stuff, right?" you ask, already fearing the answer.

Will grins at you, "after you showed off earlier, we want to see if you can pull it off again."

You grimace. "You're kidding-"

"Clio!" Fletcher and another two Apollo kids come over to your small group, "ready to hit some bullseyes?" He asks.

"Well, I've never shot an arrow before..." You try to explain.

"And you've never fought before either." Luke says from behind you.

Turning around you ask, "what are you doing here, Luke?"

"I wanted to see if Annabeth and I were right or if I should get you a bigger blade." He says with a grin.

You're no stranger to failing, but after unexpectedly, doing so well earlier, you knew, just knew, you’re about to disappoint everyone. Normally, you wouldn't care about what anyone else thought of you, but, you really want them to like you. You suppose, even the rejects want to belong sometimes. You tighten the belt on the quiver and take a deep breath.
"Okay, I can do this." You draw an arrow and rest it against the top of your finger. You train your eyes on the target and take another deep breath, pulling back the string. As you breath out you release the arrow. It flies through the air and hits the leg of the target. Not even the target but hey, it isn’t the grass. "Woohoo! I actually hit it!" you throw your arms up in celebration.

The others are laughing and Fletcher claps you on the back. "Nice job. A bit of training and you'll be shooting arrows just as well as us." He says.

"Great job, Clio." Luke commends. You flash him a smile. "See you at the cabin later, yeah?" He asks.

"Of course." You smile, "I'm not going anywhere."

You continue to practice for a while together. Michael shows you some ways to shoot that really don't help you shoot. They do make him look really cool though. Not that you can do that, even with all the practice, you can barely make the target one out of five shots, but the others assure you that you're doing better.  Before you realize it, your face is burned and your arms feel like lead. Again though, this day has been one of the most exciting you've ever experienced. You’re actually good at some things for once and have more potential friends than any other place you've been stuck before.

The group broke up and all wave bye. It’s strange, like you've known each other forever rather than the few hours you've been at camp. You find yourself wandering the grounds alone, taking in the environment and familiarizing yourself with the layout. Some kids have taken over the volleyball court to play a game. You see some kids at the Ares cabin adding more barbed wire around the roof's edge. Pretty comical actually, it looks like they are hanging Christmas lights or something, not a war obstacle. You wonder how much they go through or if it's just fallen or something. Then you see Annabeth emerge from cabin six, Athena's cabin.

"Hey, Annabeth!" You jog over to her as she turns to look at you.

"Hey," she says in greeting, "what's up?"

"I was wondering, since your moms the goddess of wisdom and all, do you guys have a library in your cabin?" You ask.

She laughs a little, "its not really a library, but we do have a lot of random books, why?" She asks.

"Well, I was kind of hoping to read up on the history of camp." You admit.

"What do you mean?" She asks, confused.

"Well, I wanted to see the information on the camp? Like famous stories, time periods, famous ideas and campers? That sort of thing." You explain.

Annabeth thinks for a minute, "most of the camp's history is told orally through camp counselors and Chiron." She explains.

"So, there isn't a written camp history?" You ask.

"You could talk with Chiron when he gets back." She suggests.

"Okay, well, where do the adult demi-gods go? Maybe I could ask them too?" You ask, tapping your hand against your leg.

"There really aren't adult demi-gods, not many anyway." She admits. That stops your next question and you go quiet as the two of you walk towards the lake. "Its why we train so hard." She continues, seemingly worried that you'd be upset over this new information. Something has popped back into your head though. Annabeth wants Percy, that's who she had been looking for when you first met her.

"Annabeth?"

"Hmm?"

"Why’re you so curious about Percy?" You ask.

"Percy?"

"Yeah, my friend who's with Chiron and Grover. His name is Percy." You explain. She's silent for a while as the two or you continue walking. When she suddenly stops, it catches you by surprise.

"Your friend is my ticket out of here. To know if I'm actually good enough." She explains.

"Good enough?" You ask, confused.

"How can I prove myself if I never go on a quest?" Annabeth asks.

"Who’re you trying to prove that to?" You ask.

"The gods, my mom?" Its rhetorical and you scrunch your face up.

"Why do you care about what anyone else thinks?" You ask.

"Well, maybe its a little for me too." She admits and sighs, she looks out over the canoe lake and falls quiet again.

"Annabeth, I don't know you, but I think that everyone is good enough for themselves...Don't do anything just for the gods. Do it for the people you know and love. Do it for yourself." She grips the hilt of her dagger. “Otherwise what’s the point?” You ask.

"I gotta go." She says and walks away, leaving you alone next to the lake.

You guess some of you care about unknown variables in your life. You sigh and end up sitting down on the dock to think some more. Listen, do as I say not as I do.  You tell yourself. You also...kind of, wanted to impress your mom. You didn't know her, but, if there‘a someone out there who cares, even a little bit. Well, all you can say is you understand how Annabeth feels in that regard, she's just had longer to ferment on it. You hope you didn't just alienate her by telling her to do important things for herself. She's really serious for someone your age...Kind of worrisome, actually.

Something shoots a jet of water at you, catching you by surprise and breaking your concentration. You splutter.

Chapter Text

You wipe your face off to see a bunch of giggling Nymphs, just below the water.

"That was rude!" You say to them, unsure if they can hear you through the water. You get up in a huff and wonder if there's anywhere private at this camp. Grumbling to yourself, you wander away from the lake. A thought hits you, couldn't I just build my mom her cabin? You take in the cabin's layout, a secondary layer of cabins could go right behind the first set.

Now that you were actually looking at the camp with a critical eye, you notice campers keep glancing up at the clouds that swirl around the edges of the camp. It hadn't crossed your mind that the weather was being held at bay. Frowning, you head back to the Hermes cabin. The other's were definitely hiding something. That's why Annabeth wanted Percy, he had something to do with it. That's why Fletcher had seemed so oddly excited over something unimportant. What was it Percy had said Mrs. Dodds asked him for? A lighting bolt?

Seeing Luke and Annabeth talking by the tree line, you call out, "hey, Luke!"  He glances at you and Annabeth glances away. "Is Percy in trouble?" You demand.

"What?"

"I knew all of you were being weirdly optomistic. Percy was attacked by a demon math teacher. He said she'd talked about lighting or something-" A loud peel of thunder cuts you off. Luke and Annabeth wince.

"Keep it down, Clio." Luke warns.

"So he is in danger." You shake my head, "cool, well, bye I guess." Turning to walk away, Annabeth grabs your arm.

"Where are you going?" She demands.

"Dude, that's my only friend!" You wrench your arm from her grasp, "I'm not gonna let him just stumble around blindly if I can help it."

Luke winces and holds his hands up, "you can't leave camp without a quest."

You look back at him, "fine. Where is a phone I can borrow?"

"Demi-gods can't use phones, its like a beacon for monsters to pin point our location." Annabeth explains.

Now you’re getting frustrated, there's still a month of school left. "I want answers." You demand, crossing your arms. "Explain to me why I shouldn't break these rules and find my friend?"

"Well," starts Annabeth, "you don't even know what's going on. What would you tell him?" She asks carefully.

You throw your hands into the air, "I don't know! What ever I do know!" You exclaim, trembling in anger.

"Clio, if he doesn't know what he is, he's safer." Luke tries to explain.

Confounded, you ask, "what? How is being blind, safer than being aware?"

"Once a demi-god knows what they are, more monsters can smell you." Annabeth tries to explain.

"Smell?" Shaking your head you say, "no, listen, I cannot let my friend get hurt."

"Then you won't talk about it to him until he's ready." Luke states. "The reason Chiron sent you to camp was because there was no way the Mist was going to cover up your claiming."

Your hands are clenched into fists, of course you had to just wait around until something happened. "What ever." You say, turning away.

"You aren't leaving right?" Annabeth asks.

"Well, according to you, I can't." You shake your head and walk away from them. You can hear them murmuring again behind you, but you just don't care.

Wandering around for a while, you find yourself at the entrance to the amphitheater. At least no one seemed to be here for now. 
You lay down between the rows, no one would be able to see you if they just glanced over the area. So many things are floating around in your mind. You just need somewhere to think for a little while. Even though you didn't like it, you’re pretty sure Luke was telling the truth; you’d only put Percy in danger by telling him. You sigh and stare up at the storm clouds, they seem to push against the boundary of the camp. 'I wonder if they've ever broken through before,' you think before sighing angrily and covering your face with your hands. 'How am I supposed to just sit by and wait for Percy? I know Grover's with him and he's a protector like hedge, but if Percy was some big deal, was one satyr enough to protect him?' You groan.

"Hello?" Someone asks. You pop your head over the bench and startle a kid your age, who's covered in soot. "Gods, you scared me!" He complains.

"Sorry..." you respond, sullenly.

"Um, are you new or..."

You tilt your head slightly and sit up, "I'm Clio." You nod at him, "you?"

"Jake," he responds.

"Son of Hephaestus?" You ask, smiling lightly at his soot covered state.

He looks down at himself, "that obvious, huh?"

"I wouldn't know how else you'd be covered in soot." You admit.

"Weren't you with the Apollo cabin at lunch?" He asks, taking a rag from his back pocket and trying to wipe his hands and face off.

"That's because their dad oversees my mother." You lean over the bench next to you, "my mother is the muse of history." You explain purposefully leaving out her name.

"Oh." He looks around the amphitheater, "you don't have to go, I just came here to think for a while."

You smile again, "that's what I was doing. You think we can do that without bothering each other?" You ask, sitting back down.

"Probably," he says with a shrug, walking over to the far side. Your eyes follow him as he pulls a small notebook out of his back pocket. He glances at you and you quickly look away and lay back down so you’re staring at the sky again. 'Silent whining from now on.' You think.
I guess I'll just have to trust that someone else has Percy's safety in hand. Also though, not being able to leave is stupid. Why can't we leave? You sigh again and wince, 'sorry Jake.' 
Your mind wanders back to the idea you had earlier, you didn't know what exactly you thought you would be able to do, you don't know how to build anything, let alone a temple or even a cabin.
You know what 'Lincoln Logs' look like. So, maybe with a lot of time you could manage walls, but what about a roof? Actually scratch that, if Nymphs and Satyr's are real, Dryads probably are too. You are not gonna be cutting down trees if that's the case. You need a computer, or at least a library, somewhere you can do some research. Otherwise, this idea was dead before it even got started.

You sit up again and look around. You feel like you need to do something or you’d just keep going in circles in your head.
’I want to reorganize the armory.’ You stand up and run a hand through your hair, ‘no bobby pins, of course.’

"Tsk." You shake your head, heading down towards the ground and stop. 'I don't want to be stopped by anyone.' You wonder if Jake would help you. "Hey Jake?" He glances up from his notebook with a questioning look. "Would you mind giving me a hand?" You ask.

He closes his notebook and walks over to you, "with what?"

"I need to break into the armory-"

"Need?"

"And I sort of had a fight with Luke and Annabeth earlier. I don't want to get stopped by them." You think for a moment and add, "or the Apollo campers for that matter."

He asks, "okay? So you want a distraction or...?"

"Well, actually, I was just wondering if you would make it seem like we were in a hurry if someone tries to stop us." You admit.

"Where do you need to go?" He asks.

"Hermes cabin. My bobby pins and stuff are in my backpack." You start to walk and he follows.

"Are you sure you aren't a child of Hermes?" He asks the hint of a smile lifts the corner of his lips.

You shrug, "I don't like being kept out of places. I learned to pick locks pretty early on." You explain. “I can teach you how to pick a lock if you want, sometime.”

"You aren't trying to steal anything are you?" He asks after a moment.

You shake your head, "just wanting to organize it." You explain with a shrug. "Don't tell anyone though, Luke said I had to ask Chiron before hand so~"

"Need something to keep you busy?"

"Yeah"

He nods, "most of us can empathize with that." He tells you.

As you get closer, you start glancing around, you want eyes on anyone who could potentially take up time. 

"What kind of fight did you have with them, if you don't mind me asking." He grabs your shoulder to stop you as Will and another kid walk by. Thankfully, they don't notice the two of you.

"Thanks," you say as you start walking again. "It was mostly me putting too many things together and not knowing anything about...this," you say, gesturing to the whole camp. You admit, "it was just me being angry and frustrated, I guess."

“I get that.”

You come along the edge of the Hermes cabin and at that moment you didn't realize why, but you feel oddly uncomfortable.

"I'll knock so I can try to get Luke out if he's around." Jake suggests. You nod and stay around the side of the building. He knocks, but after a moment, and nothing happening, you peek around the building.

"Well?" You ask.

"I think it's empty?" He seems a little weirded out by everyone's absence and you feel the same, it didn't seem natural.

"Open the door and check," you tell him.

"You aren't really supposed to do that." He responds.

You roll your eyes and go up to the door, "fine, coward." You whisper.

"Don't call me a coward, you're the one sneaking into your own cabin." He whispers back. You’re pretty sure Jake and you looked like one of those scenes in scooby-doo where the gang all peek around the corner together as you opened the door to check the cabin. When you decided the coast was clear, you opened the door fully and walked inside. Avoiding all the sleeping bags felt like walking through a minefield.

"Man, I always forget how crowded it is in here." Jake murmurs, standing awkwardly just inside the door.

"Yeah, the gods who haven't claimed their children should feel terrible." You respond as you pick up your backpack and head back over to him.

"You should be careful about what you say." Jake warns.

"Why?" You ask, closing the door behind you. "They don't really seem to care all that much." You blow a lock of hair from your eyes as you look at him.

"Some of them do." He argues.

"Not enough." You respond back, zipping your backpack before heading towards the armory.

"Hey, wait up!" He hustles back to your side. "So, now you're gonna break in?"

"Well yeah, but its not like I'm going to steal anything." You move your bag to your back and shrug, "clean the armor and weapons, reorganize it, that's all really."

"Clio!" A voice calls from behind the two of you.

"Damn." You turn and there is Annabeth, jogging over to you.

"Where are you going?" She asks, eyeing your bag and then Jake.

"I was taking her to see the forge!" Jake blurts out. You give him a sideways glance before look back at Annabeth. 

"Right," she says, obviously suspicious. She turns back to you and says, "I figured out a way to send letters from camp if you need to."

Truly you were bemused, Annabeth seemed to only care about getting out of camp. Here she was though, figuring out a way to help you. "Thanks Annabeth, thats...really kind of you." You say, touched she had figured out a way around your problem for you.

"Yeah, well, don't mention camp or gods or anything telling and it'll be fine. Just come find me when you're done writing it." She says, crossing her arms.

"I will, for sure." You say with a nod. "Thank you."

"So now will you tell me where you're going?" She asks, cocking an eyebrow.

You pat Jakes shoulder, “like Jake said, we’re headed to the forge.” Annabeth has the ghost of a smile on her face and she nods.

"Fine, just don't be late for dinner." She says. She and Jake share a grin at the mention of dinner and you look between the two with suspicion.

After Annabeth had walked away, Jake asked, "do you actually want to see the forge though? I can introduced you to Beckendorf." He offers.

You glance at him and smile dryly, "only because we're friends." You say. You’ve never really had inventive ideas or anything like that. You’re not strong and you’re kind of afraid of fire. Its not like debilitating, but you didn't want to be within fall distance of it.

"We barely know each other." He argues.

"Strangers don't help strangers break into important armories." You point out.

"Or lie for them?" He says with a sigh.

"Terribly," you add with a snort.

"Okay, I see your point." He admits.

"Man, by the end of the week, I might just be friends with the whole camp." You joke as he takes the lead.

"What else can you possibly need help breaking into?" He jokes back.

Now, like you’ve alluded to before, you’re not someone who really finds peace in a loud and stiflingly hot room, surrounded by fire. However, it is pretty neat. The place is covered in all sorts of inventions, weapons, and just cool stuff. Jake shows you over to his work station.

"This is what I was working on." Jake explains, showing you a delicate cage with a metallic mini-bird. "I wanted it to sing 'Miss Independent' but it just sings bird songs." He sighs. You take the little cage and watch as the little bird flutters its wings and tweets cheerily.

"I think it's beautiful." You say with a wide smile, "maybe you're being too hard on yourself." You add.
The other Hephaestus campers had given you looks and a few had smirked at Jake, but no one said anything to the two of you. You got the feeling that it wasn’t normal to just show others around the forge, especially if one’s projects weren’t working properly. He introduces you to Beckendorf, the cabin counselor, who seems very nice, although he isn’t much of a talker. After Jake explains what you’re planning to do, Beckendorf hands you this special polish and an extra couple of rags which you stuffed in your bag.

"Thank you!" You say. He just nods at you and smiles. Jake leads me back outside and it's almost cold out in the summer sun after the heat of the forge.

"That was cool, thanks for showing me around." You say with appreciation.

"Yeah, thanks for complementing my defective bird." He jokes, walking in step with you.

You laugh, "you know what would be really cool?" You ask.

"Hmm?"

"If you could make it sing 'Gold Digger' you know, cause its made of metal." You finish.

"What's that?"

"A song?" You say.

"I haven't heard it." He admits and the two of you walk on in silence for a bit. "You know, I didn't notice it so much earlier, but it's a little weird that we barely ran into anyone." He points out. You look around.

"You're right, honestly, I've been a bit unnerved since we went to the Hermes cabin." Admittedly, you haven't been here long, but you’d seen all kinds of people around. Now, it's more like a ghost town. "I wonder why?"

"Well, in any case, it's good for you right?" He adds, "you can break into the building with no problem, right?"

You smile, "fair." You think for a bit, wondering if Jake knows what's happening with whatever Percy's been accused of. "Hey, do you know what's going on?"

"What do you mean?"

You gesture up to the clouds, "Whats up with the lighting?" You ask.

"Oh," he looks up, apprehensive. "We actually don't know, but something big happens at the solstice." He murmurs quietly.

You chew on that for a while as you get to the armory. "Okay, keep a lookout while I break in." You say as you rummage through your bag.

"So we are breaking in." He responds with a grin.

You roll your eyes, "oh, shut up." You turn your focus to the lock. It looks completely normal. To be honest though, with kids of the god of theives stumbling around there had to be some kind of magical barrier right?

"What's taking you?" Jake asks, "I thought you knew how to pick locks?"

"I do, I was just worried that it wasn't just a manual lock." You glare at him over your shoulder, grumbling under your breath about nonbelievers and start on the lock. The good thing about most locks is that they just need a bit of wiggling to unlock them. You hear an audible click and push the door open to reveal the hoard of weapons. You stand up, "told you." You look at him with a smirk.

"You're right, I stand corrected." He agrees, holding his hands up. "So, what do you know about weapons?"

You purse your lips and rest your hand on a hip, "well, technically speaking, I've never studied weaponry. I've got some passing knowledge."

He scoffs and shakes his head. "Right, do you even know the differences in swords?"

"Okay! Thank you for your help!" You turn to close the door and he laughs.

"Sorry, okay. Enjoy your little sorting activity."

"I'll see you later." You say.

"Don't be late for dinner or they'll find out." He warns.

"Right. I won't be late."

You close the door and survey the room. Really, you needed cleaning supplies. You sigh and sit with your bag against the door, pulling out the polish and rags, then pulling out a notebook from your bag. ‘What can I send to Percy to at least keep him from hating me?’

Percy,

I'm sorry I had to go. I got expelled for walking around at night. Mr. Brunner caught me. I wanted to tell you myself, but I got shipped off to a summer camp for troubled kids before anyone else was awake. If I had something lucky to give you for the finals I would. Hey, maybe if you're unlucky enough, I'll see you at this place.

You sigh through your nose and crumple up the letter. You don't think teasing Percy about camp was really the best option.

Percy,

The gods are real, like the Greek gods.

You scribble through this. Obviously you couldn't tell him that, but it felt good to write it down. You stare at the new blank page. It feels daunting, a simple letter shouldn't be scary, but what if Percy hates you after you just up and disappeared?

Percy, I'm sorry I had to go. I got sent to a summer camp for troubled kids. Maybe I can still see you this summer
-Clio

The troubled kids part didn't even feel like a stretch. You were just troubled differently than mortals. You fold up the note and slip it into your pocket. Standing up again you look around at all the weapons. Really, without shelves or something, all you could do was make new piles with the types of weapons in mind. That would at least mean the polearms and daggers were separated.

Just as you’re getting ready to start, you hear the dinner horn. "Shoot." You stuff your notebook back into your bag and wonder about taking it. Is that suspicious? You’re not sure. You throw it on anyway and leave the armory. Locking doors without the key always takes longer, so you end up running to the pavilion. You’re the last to show up, face neon-red, and lugging a backpack. You see Jake trying to withhold a grin; he's doing so, poorly. You lower your head and hurry over to the Hermes table, sitting across from Luke. At least you made it before they gave the offerings to the gods. That would have just added to the humiliation.

"Where were you?" One of the Stoll brothers asked, nodding to the items in your hand.

You close my eyes and groan internally. "I was just hanging around, ya know?" You slip the nail file into your pocket and the bobby pin into your hair. You happen to pass your eyes over Luke's and you’re almost positive that he knows you’ve broken in somewhere.

A mischievous grin creeps across the Stoll's face and he leans over. "Get anything good?" He asks.

"I didn't steal anything." You argue as the table stands to make your offerings.

"Why do you have your backpack then?" The other asked.

You grit your teeth, "because, I didn't want to carry my books around." You lie. The two look at each other and let it drop.

As the newest person, you’re the last to burn offerings. There are so many things you feel like you should pray for, but the big one, 'please let me be good enough.' You scrap off part of your plate and head back to the table. 

After everyone is finished, without the food fight this time, Mr. D stands to address you.
"Cabin six holds the laurels from last nights capture the flag." He says in a bored voice. A roar comes from the Athena table and if looks could kill, the Ares campers would have crushed them. You get the feeling that they might have taken the flag from cabin five.
Mr. D heaved a heavy, annoyed sigh. "Whatever, I'll add that we have a new camper, Clio Smith." Cheers go up from the Apollo cabin and several people from the Hermes cabin also cheer. "Yes, yes, you made it here alive, what an accomplishment. Go on now." He waves his hand and sits back down. 
All around you, the Hermes campers started pounding the table. You thought they were all going to break out in a camp wide rendition of 'We Will Rock You,' but they started chanting:

Half-blood, half-blood, rak-a-sak-a-soo.
Gitcheegumee, ratatooie, whose child are you?
Throw her in, throw her in, welcome to the camp.
No one's a half-blood until they're damp!

Then everyone else joined in and started pounding on the tables.

Ohhh~
Clio, kiss the boar! Clio, kiss the boar!

You feel someone tug your backpack off and then a bunch of hands lift you up and start carrying you over their heads. If you had any real reaction time, you might have avoided it, but you were confused at what was happening. Everyone is laughing and chanting and following along as the campers carry you down to the Ares cabin. Now you understood the boar bit they were shouting about. There is a boar mounted at the door. The taller guys raised you up so you could reach it.

"Come on Clio! Kiss the boar!" Jake yelled from behind you.

This boar is old and just horrid, you mean, who would leave any taxidermy to the elements? The whole thing was ruined.

"Kiss the boar! Kiss the boar!" The group chanted at a shout. Well, you kissed the damn thing, what else were you supposed to do?

A cheer went up around the small army that had amassed for this bizarre ritual. Before you could ask to be put down though, the stuffed things mouth opened and belched right in your face! Everyone starts laughing and all you’re thinking is, 'at last it didn't smell,' but a new chant is started.

"Throw her in! Throw her in!"

The canoe lake, of course, they were carrying you down and all you could think now was, 'please don't let those Nymphs make fun of me for this.' The boys swing you by the arms and legs, tossing you into the lake.

You’d have to admit you yelled as you flew through the air. You could hear everyone laughing and then the muffled sound of water. You sank like a stone, thank the gods for those free swimming lessons the public pool had offered. You managed to get back to the surface. Everyone cheered again, a couple of kids helped dragging you out. Jake was grinning at you. After that everyone went back to the amphitheater, normally, the Apollo cabin leads a singalong. Apparently, today just happened to be one of the scary story nights. A camper from each cabin came forward to tell a story. Unfortunately, most only scared their own cabins. Then, the Hermes cabin went. You didn't notice anyone leaving their seats, but at the scariest part half a dozen campers jumped out. Pandemonium broke out, people jumping out of their seats and carrying on, the fires blazed taller than you and bright red. It was hilarious, honestly. After this though, the horn blew again, signaling time to sleep.

Chapter Text

As you all start to leave, you manage to give Annabeth the damp note you’d written.

"Thanks again, Annabeth. I'm sorry about earlier." You rub your arm and avoid her eyes.

"Don't mention it. I enjoy solving problems." She says with a slight smile. The two of you part ways and you follow the other Hermes kids back to your cabin.
You were thankful Fletcher had managed to grab your bag earlier. That had saved your books from the unexpected swim because now entering the cabin, you finally see just how full it is. There was literally no where that you’d be able to set them out to dry.
Bodies litter the floor and the bunks, people are moving around getting ready to sleep. It's difficult to navigate to your spot in the back. Finally reaching it, you drop your backpack and sit down on your sleeping bag to observe the chaos. How many of these kids are actually children of Hermes? You glance around, noticing similarities between some of the kids. You shake your head to refocus your thoughts, how am I supposed to get out of here and walk if there are twenty or more kids on the floor?

You inspect the windows. From here, they just look like normal windows, no screens to pop off or anything. The cabin really wasn't that tall but you weren’t  sure if you could make it back up through the window once you were on the ground. You glance around, people are still making around no one seems to be paying you any attention. So, you decide to go over to the set of windows and look out. A line of boulders line the area right under the windows. You can't help but smile. This is Hermes' cabin, of course there would be easy in's and out's you sit back down on your sleeping bag wondering how long it would take for it to be safe enough to sneak out.
Unfortunately, you hadn’t realized you were being watched, by a pair of annoying brothers as it happened. They must not have let go of their previous question.

"So, where are we going?" Travis whispers, plopping himself down next to you.

You scoff, "What?"

"I hope it's got good loot." Connor adds, sitting down on the opposite side.

You chuckle awkwardly, "I'm not going anywhere?" You argue, glancing around to make sure no one’s heard them. Luckily, the dull roar seems to have covered up their whispers.

"Come on, we know when someone's planning to sneak out." Connor argues back.

"We also know that your nail file," he nods towards your bag, "wasn't for its intended use." Travis adds with a sly grin.

You glance around again and lock eyes with Luke, you sigh in annoyance. "Listen, the place I'm breaking into isn't going to interest you." You shake your head, "I'm cleaning something. I'm not stealing." Travis and Connor exchange glances and you notice that Luke is starting to make his way over to you. "Shit, okay, okay, you can come with me if you swear to keep your mouths shut." 

They both grin and get up to leave just as Luke's makes it to the three of you. “Making new friends, Clio?" He asks. His expression is neutral, but you’re sure he suspects something.

"Yeah, I seem to be pretty good at it here." You reply back, as evenly as you can.

"That's good to hear." He nods to the brothers, "nearly lights out, time to get back to your spots." He says. Obediently, they both move back to their bunks without a backwards glance towards you.

"Luke," you start, looking back up at him, "I wanted to apologize-"

He holds up a hand, "don't worry, no hard feelings." He sits down next to you, leaning against the wall. "Busy day?" He asks, an arm resting across a knee. You lean back next to him and wrap your arms around your own knees.

"Yeah, I'm actually a little tired to be honest." You admit. "How does anyone fall asleep like this?" You sigh, "I have such a hard time sleeping already..."

"Bad dreams?"

You look at him, "how did you know that?" 

His eyes are closed as he rests his head against the wall. "A lot, if not all of us have vivid dreams. They can be warnings or predictions." He opens his eyes and looks at you, "is it the same one every time?"

"I have a few reoccurring ones." You glance out the window.

"What happens?" He asks.

You take a deep breath, "I'm standing on a ship, leaning over the railing to look at the ocean below..." you trail off, feeling weird about talking about dreams.

"Go on." He insists.

"Well, there's a voice, its deep, like under the Earth deep. It asks if I regret my choice. I turn to answer and the scene is covered in the wings of metal birds." You’ve started chewing on your nail at this point. "I know it doesn't sound like it should be so stressful but I always wake up in shock, like the situation is life or death..." you start tapping your hand on your leg.

"Why do you think you feel like that?" Luke asks, glancing at you.

"I've hurt someone, I've betrayed them." Your heart is hammering in your chest, just thinking about it makes you want to run away or hide.

Luke is quiet for a moment before he says, "sounds important." Strangely, it seems as though he is talking more to himself than to you. You glance at him, but he doesn't seem to see you. He stands, "alright campers! Lights out!" He claps his hands and the lights click off.
You can hear everyone scramble to their spots. You stay leaning against the wall, listening to the sounds of a dozen people trying to sneak candy while their wrappers give them away or quiet conversations that can barely be heard.
You look out the window, luckily its open so at least you won't have to worry about it making noise. You relax against the wall, honestly, you are exhausted. You really don't know how you’re going to stay up. Luckily, you don't have to worry about that because the Stoll's wake you out of your stupor once everyone is asleep.
You swing your pack over your shoulder and move to the window, carefully so you don’t wake anyone. At the window, you all stop to make sure no one has woken back up. Seemingly no one has, so you slip over the edge of the window sill and drop down to the boulders. Once you've managed to reach the ground, both brothers follow. You hold a finger to your lips and listen again, no movement. You motion for them to follow and start moving towards the armory. When you’ve gone far enough away from the cabins, you start to relax.

"So, where are we going?" Travis asks.

"I told you, you'd be bored. We aren't stealing anything." You say, rolling your eyes at him.

"There isn't even anything over here to break into." Connor mutters.

"We're going to the armory." You pull your nail file out of your bag. "I'm organizing and cleaning it, but Luke told me I had to ask first. So~"

"You broke in instead?" Travis finishes. You shrug.

Surprisingly, the stars seem to give off enough light to move with little difficulty. You’ve never lived somewhere where the light pollution didn't ruin the sky. You look up at the stars, walking backwards. With your eyes not on the ground, you stumble over a stone and barely manage to keep yourself from falling. Both boys snicker at you and you glare at them. “Listen, I told you it'd be boring." You mention again.

"Well, at least we'll be able to see if she actually know how to pick locks." Connor nods to Travis.

"Yeah that'll be good to know." Travis murmurs back.

Confused, you ask, "what do you mean?" When they don't answer, you stop and see mirrored sly grins. You roll your eyes. "Here." You shove your bag into Connors hands and kneel by the door.
That's when you notice a light spilling through the crack in the door. "What the?" You twist the handle gingerly, it turns. "Scatter!" You stage whisper to the boys as you realize what's happening.
The boys are gone in a flash, taking your bag with them as the door begins to open. You try to dash around the side of the building, but a hand snatches the back of you sleep shirt and stops you in your tracks.

"Well, well, well. I'm pretty sure I told you, we had to ask Chiron before messing with anything in here."

"Luke?" You ask in astonishment. "How could you have possibly gotten here before us?"

"Us?" He asks, an eyebrow raised.

You wince, "I meant me, how did you beat me?"

"Honestly, I'm a little impressed." He lets you go to gesture at the polish you left earlier, "You really did pick the lock earlier. I thought I was imagining things."

You scrape your foot over a clump of grass. "It always takes too long to relock doors after me. Its why I was late to dinner." You mumble with embarrassment.

He scoffs, "Why didn't you leave it unlocked?"

You frown, "you didn't earlier. So I thought it was important to keep it locked." You explain.

He nods at this, "so, your accomplices?" He keeps a straight face, but his eyes twinkle mischievously.

"I worked alone." You insist.

He smirks, "believable, had I not heard you talking to them." 

You close your eyes and sigh, "maybe you were imagining it?" You suggest. You know that he isn't fooled at all, but you’re not a snitch. He chuckles and shakes his head. "Am I in trouble or something?" 

"You did sneak out and you went against what I told you before." Luke says, hitting the light and closing the door. 

You sigh, "how did you make it here before us?" You ask, "I mean me." You correct yourself, grimacing.

"You fell asleep." He answers simply, locking the door. He sighs as he turns back to you. "So, punishment time. You'll be cleaning the cabin alone for the next week." He shrugs, "if you outed those that followed you, at least you wouldn't have to do it alone." He's trying to goad you into telling him.
You’re positive he already knows, but he really wants you to say their names. "Luke, I respect you trying so hard, but you wont get names out of me. Besides I'm sure you already know, you're just trying to have me get them into trouble." You rest a hand on your hip. 

He laughs then, "loyal to a fault."

"It's not loyalty that's keeping me from saying anything." You shrug, "at this point its pride if its anything."

"Oh, so these aren't new friends?" He teases, walking beside you.

"Well, they may be, but they forced their way into the night excursion." You admit with a hint of annoyance. Had those annoying brothers not been with you, you might have noticed the light earlier. Maybe you would have even changed your mind to stargaze, who knows.

He pats your back, "maybe we don't sneak out at night?" He suggests.

"Eh...I tend to walk aimlessly since it takes so long to sleep." 

By time you get back, the Stoll's have long since made it and appear to be asleep. They even left your pack at your sleeping bag. You lay down, using a sweater for a pillow and fall asleep quicker than any other time in your life. Your dream is even more vivid than before.

~

You’re standing on what you know is a boat. The pale wooden planks beneath your feet, glimmer as you race to the railing. Something has fallen into the ocean. You shout a name at a retreating swirl of sea spray. You watch the spray disappear over the horizon and there is something unexplainably painful in your chest. You’ve hurt someone, betrayed them. Deep below, farther down than the ocean floor, a voice, terrifyingly quiet asks;

"Do you regret your decision?"

You turn to answer, when a million metal wings surround you. You cover your face in your arms, screaming. You can't see anything, save the metallic wings. Then something catches your eye. The only piece of jewelry you own, a little silver charm bracelet. You haven't ever seen it in the dream before, but a new charm catches your eye. An empty cage.

~

You wake in a cold sweat. Looking around in a panic. Everything is silent except for the early song birds. The sky outside is a light blue as dawn nears. You relax back into your sleeping bag with a deep breath. This nightmare can dig a hole, what kind of warning is this? I hate boats anyway! Much like fire, open water isn't your favorite, so the likelihood of you getting on a big boat is slim to none. That voice though, it wasn't something you felt you should ever hear in real life.

"Hey," Travis starts before breakfast, "did you get into trouble?" He asks keeping his voice low.

You look at him, exhausted, "yeah, gotta clean the cabin for a week." You explain.

"But, you didn't tell Luke about..." He gestures between him and Connor who's still sleeping on his bunk.

"No, I didn't. Thanks for bringing my bag back." You say with a small smile.

"Yeah, no problem, we owe you one." He says.

"Don't worry, I'll collect." You reply with your own sly smile.

The week goes by pretty quickly. The Stoll's, who've evidently adopted you after this incident, tell you the cabin is getting the best scores in months for the inspections. Hermes cabin finally doesn’t have last place for showers, which is pretty nice. Luke jokes that you should be in charge of cleaning for the foreseeable future. You told him, hell no. Everything else seems to be smooth sailing. You were better at defense than offense, which Luke didn't seem to mind. You thought about staying in the Apollo cabin, but honestly, it just seemed wrong. You did manage to get your hands on a book about single person building projects. Apparently, Annabeth was obsessed and you mean obsessed. If someone got her talking about architecture they needed to strap in for a minimum of a thirty minute lecture, complete with examples if available.
Annabeth was very surprised to learn that you hadn't been diagnosed with dyslexia. She explained that nearly all demi-gods have ADHD and dyslexia. The ADHD is for battlefield reflex and the dyslexia is because your minds are hardwired for ancient Greek. Well, you guess you won the demi-god, genetic lottery being able to read…

The following weeks were filled with classes include archery, strategy, battle training, history (your favorite), flying lessons with the Pegasi, general first aid, etc. Then some people had more specific classes, like Hephaestus' kids. Their cabin had specialty classes in weapons and invention making. Then there was capture the flag.

THAT is serious business. 

Clarisse from Ares' cabin seemed to have a personal vendetta against Annabeth. The Athena and Ares cabins seem to always lead the opposite sides. Chores were traded, bathroom privilege's too, just to get groups on either side. Everyone was supposed to participate, but the Aphrodite cabin, often, got out of attending. You didn't really understand why everyone was so insistent on taking it so violently serious. You always ended up climbing into the trees, just so you could observe what was going on down below…that is until a damn arrow threw you out of the tree you always sat in.

You land on your back, the wind knocked out of you. You pull the fist sized arrow off of your shirt and turn over, gasping.

"I know you've been sitting in that tree the last two games, Clio." A familiar voice accuses. You crawl forward, trying not to panic, which is pretty hard when you can't get a full breath.

"Fletcher-" you manage to gasp, stumbling up and clutching your chest.

"How are you supposed to get any real training if you hide the whole time?" He asks, stalking towards you with his bow drawn. Those sandbag arrows still felt like a punch even if they didn’t penetrate skin.

"You...could have...killed me!" You exclaim, anger overcoming you. You pull your dagger and stand shakily. "These war games are overly intense!" You complain. "Besides, what good am I to either side? Just an extra body?"

"You still have to learn to fight properly, you felt too safe in your little tree. You didn't even know I was aiming for you until you were flat on your back." He accuses, staying just across from you, an arrow set in his bow. You glare at him and you both hear cheers as the game is won. No one is around the two of you though. "One day, there could be a real battle. You won't be able to hide in a tree and if you aren't ready. you could die." He shakes his head, "we aren't mortal, we're demi-gods. Battles are real for us."

You glance away, "maybe I'm just not a fighter?"

He laughs, "I've seen you go toe to toe with Griffin from Clarisse's cabin. I know you're a fighter." 

"That's different." You argue.

"Explain."

"They were bullying the youngest in our cabin. They had a lesson coming and I just happened to teach it." You gesture around, "this though? This is just violence for the sake of it."

He shakes his head, "you're pacifism is going to get you hurt." He holds out his hand, "truce?"

You roll your eyes and sheath your dagger, "I didn't want to fight you anyway." You shake his hand. "However, I will be getting you back at some point, that hurt. A lot." You say, pursing your lips.

Your third week at camp, the storm clouds broke through the barrier and left all of you in a perpetual overcast. Even you were getting worried about it. It didn't seem natural here. You wondered how Percy was doing, he never sent you a letter back, probably because there wasn't a return address. School should be over this week. You wonder if he'll be sent here once he talks to Ms. Jackson. You glance up from your borrowed book to inspect the storm clouds. Any moment it seemed they would split open and douse all of you.

Travis and Connor had helped you organize the armory. Even though, you told them that wasn't getting rid of the favor they owed you. So, now you were starting to work on your cabin idea.

"Hey, bookworm." A voice calls out from the edge of the arena. You look up again.

"Jake?" You close the book and stand, "what's up?"

"So, I have a request." He starts.

You smile, "Ooo~ for me? Turning the script around, huh?" 

"I was thinking, you're starting on your building project, we could build a specialty roof,” he trails off before shrugging, “if you'd let me try that I’d."

"Aw, Jake! That would be awesome!" You exclaim.

He breathes a sigh of relief. "Cool, cause I was thinking we could design the roof itself to hold the suns energy and make it so it could glow once its dark. That way you could read at night." He explains in excitement.

"Like a solar panel roof?" You ask, interested.

He nods, "exactly."

You re-open the book to show him the half dug, half built hut you had been looking at. "I was going to asks the Nymphs if they could collect some clay for me."

"You sure you can do that on your own?" He asks, studying the building plans.

"Nope!" You reply cheerfully. "After I do one for the muses, I'm going to do others for the kids who've been claimed like me but have no where to go." You explain.

"Easy tiger, did you get the go ahead from Mr. D yet?" He asks.
You grimace and close the book. "No, I'm kind of scared of Mr. D." You admit.

"What? Clio Smith, scared of something?" He teases.

"You literally know that I'm scared of fire." You point out.

"Yeah, but that doesn't stop you marching into the forges anytime you want help." He argues.

"Well, I just don't like waiting..."

"Do you want me to go with you?" He offers.

"You'd do that?" You ask.

He wraps an arm around your shoulders, "hey, we're friends right?"

"Yeah, I guess that's fair." You sigh, "not today though."

"Why not?" He asks.

"I don't wanna..." you mutter.

"Oh, I see." He places his hands on your shoulders and starts pushing you towards the big house. "That's too bad."

"Hey!"

"Hey, yourself, I want to start working on that roof." He explains.

You grumble the whole way, but allow him to guide you. The first thing you notice as you approach is a centaur towering over the figure of Annabeth.

"Chiron's back!" Jake leaves you to run over, followed by several others who all exclaim greetings and pleasantries. The only reason you don't take the opportunity to slink away again is because Chiron and you make eye contact.
Its strange how much can be exchanged in quick glances. You’re pretty good at reading people normally, but you couldn't quite understand his questioning look.
Once Chiron has finally been able to dismiss most of the crowd, only the four of you are still left.

"Ms. Smith, how are you adjusting to camp?" Chiron asks.

"Good. I have some thoughts, though." You admit.

"Indeed?"

"She's already completely reorganizing and cleaned the armory." Annabeth explains. This gets a chuckle from Chiron.

"Ah, I should have expected such a thing. I apologize, it has been neglected for far too long."

"Thank you, honestly, the first time I saw it, I felt so sick, I just couldn't let it go." You explain.

"And what are your other notes?" He asks.

You glance at Jake, who nods encouragingly. "We think that it isn't fair for there to only be the twelve main Olympian honored here when some are never going to have demi-god children. Maybe some of the undetermined in the Hermes cabin would be claimed if they had somewhere to go." Chiron tries to interrupt you here, but you’re nearly done and you just want to get it out. "So, basically, I'm asking for permission to build my mother a cabin and then other missing gods cabins as well." You finish in a rush of breath, a death grip on the book in your hands. 

Chiron is silent for a moment, observing the cabins in the distance. "I fear this idea could be interpreted poorly. You would need to appeal the gods on Olympus." He advises. You can see Jake's shoulders drop and Annabeth winces in sympathy.

"Alright, no problem. How do I do that?" You ask, determined to not give up. Or maybe determined to be stubborn is closer to the truth.

"Let us speak on it more later." Chiron says, dismissing you and Jake.
As you both walk away, you’re fidgeting with your charm bracelet. You've been wearing it since that dream and you find toying with the charms therapeutic, even if the tinkling it made, made it hard to be silent. Normally you kept it in between the lining of your backpack so that no one would find it if they ransacked the bag. 

"Clio, don't even think about it." Jake advises. "I know that look and I'm telling you, if you have to ask the gods, you HAVE to ask them."

You prop a hand on your hip. “Why would they say no to honoring other gods though?" You argue.

"It doesn't matter, you don't want to get on their bad side." He warns.

"So, you aren't going to help me now, are you?" You ask, dejected.

"Not until you get permission."

"The gods are already in a bad mood!" You argue, gesturing at the swirling clouds.

"So you want to make them angrier?" Jake questions. 

You throw your free hand into the air, "whatever." You glare out towards the lake.

"Clio, just don't be stupid, okay?" He asks.

"Yeah, just let the gods-" you cut yourself off and shake your head. He sighs and you leave him there to take out your frustration on an inanimate object. You’re tired of feeling inferior. All the others, literally everyone, they had special skills. Apollo has healing and archery. Athena has smarts and strategy. Ares has courage and brawn. Demeter and Dionysus could grow plants like crazy. Hephaestus could create anything they wanted. Aphrodite were gorgeous, they could get just about anything they wanted. Hermes could get just about anything anyone wanted with enough time. What did I have? Organizational skills?

You found yourself in the arena, the weapons from training hadn't been put back yet. So, you picked up a sword at random and started fighting one of the dozen or so training dummies. You say fighting, but really this thing couldn't fight so it was more like you were wailing on it and it was not resisting. I get angry when old junk isn't taken of. You think as you stab. I can fight defense and wack an inanimate object. You slice the head off the mannequin, at the same time, someone says:

"What'd the dummy say to you?"

You swing the sword around in shock. Luke had been smart enough to hold his own sword, so you didn’t end up cutting his head off as he blocked you. "Luke?" You ask, finally taking a moment to breath and lowering your sword, "I could have seriously hurt you!" 

"Not holding your sword like that." He points out.

"Ugh!" You throw the sword to the ground and turn away. Then, you feel the tip of a sword press against your back.

"Don't turn away from your enemy." Luke says seriously.

"I'm not in the mood for a lesson, Luke." You warn, you hand moving towards your dagger.

"Who said it was a lesson?" 

In a flash, you've unsheathed Kipos and spun around, knocking Luke's sword away. You glare at him as he moves around you, his sword protectively between the two of you.

"Anger clouds your judgement in a fight." He says as he feint's to the left and manages to cut a deep gash into your side. You whimper and pull back, watching his movements. It feels like your side caught fire. You can already tell it’s really deep, your side is wet with blood.

"You better give up, you'll want that looked at." He murmurs.

You scoff, "give up? Make me." 

Now, Luke's right, anger clouds ones judgement, but it can also make one seem stronger and braver than they normally would be. 
You roll under his blade, picking up the sword you’d thrown down before. You come up on a knee. You knock Luke's next jab aside and slash at his leg, drawing blood. After stumbling back, he narrows his eyes. Luke was always joking that you pretended to be worse that you really were during trainings. The reality was that you’re just OKAY at sword play. Luke is the best in centuries. No one wanted to go one on one with him. 
With his own blood drawn, he pressed you a lot harder, doing fancy moves and maneuvers that really taxed your abilities. Within a few moments he had you on your back, fully disarmed, with his sword at your throat.

You grit my teeth, "I yield!"

"Good idea." He sheaths his sword and offers his hand. You push it away and roll over, not just your side is wet with blood now, your left pant leg was soaked and the area you’d been laying had a small pool of blood. When you manage to stand the world is spinning. "Woah, you alright?" Luke asks, steadying you. "Lets get you to the infirmary." He suggests, his tone worried.

"I have to get permission from the gods to build my mother a cabin." You finally tell him, leaning most of your weight against him as he helps you out of the arena.

"That's...unfortunate." He says, taking your arm to help you walk. "Don't let it get you down." You stumble and he catches you. Luke is practically holding you up now. "Clio?" He asks, but you can feel yourself slipping to the ground. The edges of your vision are dark. Guess that cut was a lot deeper than either of you thought. 

"Medic!" Someone yells.

"Clio, stay awake." Luke demands, then everything goes black.

For once, you don't dream about the boat:

You’re seated in a field of hyacinths and Iris’. Its so pretty you could cry. You can smell the light scent of the flowers, it is intoxicating. You look down and find that you have a scroll laying in your lap. The only words that are written on the unblemished page are: The History of Demi-gods.
The sound of cloth swishing through the flowers pulls your attention. A woman makes her way over to you. A trailing scroll in her hands, she’s beautiful but unlike an actress or model. Although she does have that odd glow that famous woman seem to have. Her fingers are stained with ink, a pair of reading glasses perch on her nose. Tucked behind her left ear is a simple black quill.

It's so obvious who she is, "Mom..." She looks up and smiles at you.

"Clio, I didn't expect to see you so soon." She says serenely.

"You didn't bring me here?" You ask, confused. She shakes her head, the quill dislodging from her ear and falling to the ground. 

"Blast, I'm always losing these." She says, bending down to retrieve it. "To answer your question, this is a safe haven. My children always find their way here eventually. I created this after I lost my Hyacinthus..." She looks so sad.

"I don't think I've heard that story..." you say.

She heaves a heavy sigh, waving a hand so the flowers make a space for her and she sits next to you. "He was my first child, he was beautiful. Apollo even fell in love with him. There was an accident and he succumbed to his injuries. From his blood sprouted the first flower of this kind." She gestures to the field before us.

"I'm sorry for your loss..." you mumble.

She smiles to herself and looks at you. "Daughter, I know it is hard to seem less important than all your friends. Believe me, watching from the sidelines can be a curse." She turns away and stares into the distance. "You are still important." She turns back and smiles. "Oh!" She pulls the scroll from your lap. "So this is what you will archive?" She inspects the scroll, like there are already words there. "Well done."

"I haven't even written it yet?" You argue. She just smiles.

”Here, I hope it will come in handy.” She digs an ink stained hand into the dirt next to her and comes back with a flower bulb, handing it to you. She smiles sweetly.

That's when you wake up in the infirmary.

Chapter Text

Apparently, you didn’t wake up until several days after your meeting with the business end of Luke’s sword. 
When you realized you were actually awake, though, you sat up quickly, frightening the camper next to you. You grimace in pain you immediately fall back down on your cot. Trying to hold your side, you find your hand is clenched around some kind of wooden ball.

”What the…”

”The daredevil awakes!” A voice exclaimed from the entrance.

”Michael?” Your throat is so dry you can barely get out his name. It doesn’t help that you’re so groggy. “What happened?” You croak.

”Well,” he starts, coming over to check the bandage wrapped around your mid section. “You picked a fight with Luke and got more than you bargained for.” He gives you this look like you were the stupidest person he knew. Honestly, that was probably fair, everyone knew better than to fight Luke. You just had a harder time keeping your anger in check. Michael hands you a glass of water from the table beside you.
After you downed half the glass, you inspected the object in your hand. “I was a little upset, he egged me on.” You explain with a shrug, wincing again in pain.

”What is that?” Michael asks, confusion in his tone, “you weren’t holding it earlier.” 
“I think…” you roll the orb with your thumb and notice the dirt clinging to your skin and trapped under your nails. “I think it’s a flower bulb.” You finally say.

”Where could you have possibly gotten that?” He shakes his head, “you probably still can’t walk, let alone dig around for flower bulbs.” His tone is almost accusing but he seems conflicted as if he wants to yell at you for leaving the infirmary, but knows you couldn’t have left.
“I don’t know honestly.” You try to swing one of your legs over the side of the bed and whimper, this seems to snap Michael back to the present.

”Oh no. You haven’t been cleared yet. You lost a ton of blood sis. You’re staying put.” His voice is stern and he gently pushes you back by your shoulder.

”Aw come on, Michael.” You whine, but you can’t really fight him as he pushes you back onto the cot. “I want to know what this is.” You argue, even though you know you won’t be able to walk yet. 

”You and your flower will be fine for another few days.” He says, handing you an ambrosia square. “Also, I would like, as your medical professional, to give you some advice.” You try to keep a straight face (not so hard once you’ve realized how much pain you’re in) as he continued. “Maybe no more one on one fights with people using swords.”

”Especially those people who are known as the best swordsman of the last few hundred years?” You ask, joking but he nods.

”Exactly.” He points to the ambrosia square, “eat that.” He demands.

Ambrosia isn’t bad, so long as it’s in it’s hardened oatmeal form. You cannot stand the pudding version. Pudding, jello, etc. personally, not a fan. You don’t envy the gods their food, at all. The flavor though? Not bad. It reminded you of marshmallows. It made you think about that first night at camp, shivering from being wet, roasting marshmallows while the Aphrodite campers told that horrible story about broken heels. 
Now, if you are talking Nectar? That’s a different story. Nectar tastes like every good thing anyone could imagine. Like jasmine tea, the way flowers smell, or lavender syrup. If you could drink it all day, everyday, you would. Ambrosia was the go to for serious healing though, and apparently this was serious healing.

Once you’d finished your square, you sighed, the warmth making your side burn. You glanced around then, watching Michael check the other few campers. Campers don’t normally get confined to the med tent. Generally, it’s more minor things, not life threatening. To be honest, it got boring quick. You spent most of your time drifting in and out of sleep over the next two days. The second day that you were awake, your fourth day trapped in the infirmary (as you would find out later), something interesting seemed to be the talk of camp. A new camper, he fought something seriously strong without a weapon and collapsed on the steps of the big house after dragging his protector over the property line. Everyone was tentative about it. Treating it like a secret, even though everyone would know eventually. So you weren’t sure why the Apollo campers kept glancing at you when they talked about it.

At some point in the day, you woke up to a satyr sitting by your bed.

”Grover?” You ask, confused.

He jumped a mile before saying, “you’re awake?” You start to sit up, but he pushes you back into the cot. “Don’t get up, you’re still healing.” 
“Dude, I’m so glad to see you!” You pull him down so you can hug him. “How were finals?” You ask after letting him go. You realize he looks so sad and your smile fades away quickly. “Grover, what happened?” You ask, sitting up more.

He tears up and covers his face, “I failed!” He moans, pitifully.

Your heart speeds up, “is Percy okay?” 
“He’s unconscious at the big house.” Grover responds.

”Help me up.” You demand, heaving your legs over the bedside.

He steadies you as you stand. ”What? Hey stay in the-“ 

“Grover, unlike Michael or Fletcher, who would knock me out to keep me in the bed, I know you won’t. You can either help me or stay here, but we both know you can’t boss me around.” You say as you take in just how weak and shaky you feel. Honestly, you feel nauseous.

"You’re way too stubborn.” He responds in a wail. You feel like you might be bullying him, but you’re going to see Percy. Grover holds onto your arm to keep you steady. “How did you manage to get stuck in here anyway?” He asks as the two of you walk outside.

"I lost a sword fight.” You say, uninterested in your own issues. “Tell me what happened with Percy.”

"Clio!” An angry voice exclaims.

You mutter under your breath, “Damnit.” 

“What do you think you’re doing?” Will demands.

“Will, you are younger than me you can’t tell me what to do. I’m not sitting in that tent. I have things to do.” You respond, avoiding his eyes.

“Uh huh,” he crosses his arms, “just because you pretend to not see me that doesn’t mean that I’m not here.”

“Come on Will,” you whine. “My best friend is unconscious.”

“Yeah, and he’ll still be there tomorrow.” He says, shooing you back into the tent.

Grover helps you back to your cot and sits next to you. Will sighs in annoyance, checking your side again which had reopened. When you wince, he sighs again and says, “Sorry, if Michael found out you’d left, I’d never hear the end of it.”

You ask, “do you know when I’ll get out?” Wincing again as he applies new bandages.

“Tomorrow, if you take it easy.” He responds with a look.

You sigh, frustrated. “Fine.”

Will goes about tending the few others as you turn back to Grover. Grover is smirking at you and you stick your tongue out at him.

“So, Will can’t tell you what to do huh?” Grover asks.

“Oh, shut up.” You shake my head and sigh, turning your gaze to the ground. “So, what happened?”

Grover’s face falls instantly. “I told you, I failed.” He answers, miserably.

Trying to reassure him you say, “you didn’t, you got Percy here.” You look at him and lay a hand on his shoulder to comfort him.

Tears fill his eyes again and he fidgets with the bottom of his shirt. “Ms. Jackson…” He covers his face in his hands. “She’s gone!”

No, no way. There was no way that he meant that. She couldn’t be- “What do you mean, ‘she’s gone’?” You ask softly.

“The monster got to her.” Grover answers.
You find yourself tearing up. You never would have thought that anything or anyone could willingly hurt Ms. Jackson.

“She…she can’t be…” you murmur. Sally Jackson was one of the only adults you’d ever looked up to; one of the only adults you though cared for you even a little. You shake your head and turn away, tears falling down your face.

“I’m so sorry, Clio.” Grover says sadly, “I know that you probably hate me-”

You cut him off, “oh, come off it, Grover. Everyone makes mistakes-” your voice cracks and you have to compose yourself for a moment. “We’re talking about mythical monsters here. You can’t always be a hero.” You take his hand in yours.

“It’s worse than that.” He groans, “I wasn’t even conscious.”

“Oh Grover…” you say softly, “that isn’t your fault. You couldn’t help it.”

“How am I going to face Percy?” He asks before bursting into tears again.

“Percy’s your best friend,” you wrap one of your arms around his shoulders. “He isn’t going to judge you for something you couldn’t help.” You assure him. “Don’t worry, besides, he’s really going to need you.” You murmur.

You’d seen kids lose everything before. When someone started out with nothing it didn’t feel the same as when you lost what you’d come to know. Those of you that never had the love of a family still feel that pain and emptiness. Its just that that form of loss wasn’t really imaginable. It changed you. The only thing you know anyone could do for him was to be there.

Grover sniffled a bit, “You don’t think he’ll hate me?” he asks and you shake my head.

After a moment he says, “I can’t believe you both got hurt within days of each other.”
A grin starts to spread across your face. “Really, you can’t believe that?” You ask.

He rolls his eyes. “You’re right. I can so believe that.”

You chuckle softly, “it really is like us to get into trouble at the same time, isn’t it?”
After a moment, you pull the flower bulb out from under your pillow. “Would you know what kind of plant this is?” You ask him, handing it to him.

He rolls it around in his hand for a moment. “It’s a Hyacinth.”

“How can you tell?” You ask.

He gives you a look, “are you serious?” He asks.

“What?” You roll your eyes. “Satyrs know all plants?” You ask.

He blushes, “no! I just happen to recognize this one.” He mutters. You regard the little wooden orb for a moment before he continues. “So, you woke up randomly with it?” He asks.

“Well, to be honest, I had a dream about my mother.” You explain the dream, that you were sitting in the field and how she appeared to you. “She told me about her first son.”

“Hyacinthus?” He asks and you nod.

“She said Apollo fell in love with him.” You shrug, “do you think I’m supposed to give it to the Apollo campers?”

“It seems like she wants you to have it.” Grover says, “was there anything else in your dream?”

“Yeah, one other thing.” You tell him about the scroll on demi-god history and how it was blank. How your mother had acted like it was already written, but you kept her affirmation that you’re just as important as the others to yourself. You felt like maybe it was a bit too personally to talk about yet, you didn’t want anyone to think you needed coddled or anything.

Grover shrugs, “I haven’t got a single idea how that has anything to do with flowers.” He admits.

You agree, “maybe I’ll see if someone from Demeter’s cabin can make it bloom.”

“Plant it though,” he says, “don’t put it in a pot.”

After Grover left you, so you could ‘get some rest,’ another unexpected visitor came.

“How are you holding up?” Luke asks.

“Well, I’m not dead, so that’s a plus.” You say with a smile.

He sits next to you and rubs the back of his head awkwardly. “I’m sorry, I should have made you seek medical attention as soon as I cut you.” He apologizes.

“I’m the one who didn’t stop; besides, I might not have talked to my mom if we hadn’t.” You fill him in on your dream and the gift.
He fills you in on the rumors swirling around camp, some of which were pretty laughable after what Grover told you.

“It’s incredible,” you murmur, wondering just how strong Percy would be after some training.
After a moment, you realize that Luke seems distracted. “Hey, are you alright?” You ask. You know, ironic coming from your sick bed.

“Listen,” he says, his eyes locking on yours, “a lot of things are about to change and I just need to know that you’re on my side.”

Confused, you nod, “you know I am.”

He doesn’t relax or explain himself, but he moves on, looking at the little orb in your hand. “Your mom gave you this?”

You hand it to him, watching him turn it over and over in his hands, “yeah, I guess.”

“And the scroll? She wants you to write about demi-gods?” He asks, handing the flower bulb back.

You roll the bulb between your hands, “she made it seem like I had chosen it.” You explain with a sigh. “It seemed like it’s something important to me. Not necessarily to her.”

“Someone must have written about demi-gods before.” Luke states, leaning back onto his elbows and looking up at the ceiling.

You think back to what Annabeth said, “I think no one has written about it. Stories are all passed down orally.” You explain.

“How would you want to do it?” He asks abruptly, looking back at you.

You incline your head slightly, “what do you mean?” You asked, perplexed.

He smiles, “well, if it’s solely your story, how do you want to record it?”

You shake your head, “it wouldn’t be just mine.” You gesture around, “I’d want it to be all of ours.” You think for a minute. “I suppose I’d want to do a cabin by cabin-based legends portion to start with. Then, after that maybe record the stories of those who are currently living.”

“Like an autobiography?” He asks.

You wrinkle your nose, “why would I write about me?”

He laughs, “maybe something’ll come along that’ll be more important to write about, then run-of-the-mill demi-god stories.”

“Like what?” You ask, interested. You may not have known Luke very long, but he was definitely hiding something. He seemed withdrawn, too in his own head. His laugh seemed more forced.

Fletcher gave you the all clear the next morning. The only caveat being that you take it really easy. Not the easiest thing to do in a camp created for the children of gods (did you have to mention the lava wall?). It took everything in you not to hurry over to the big house and guard Percy like a hellhound. In fact, everyone seemed intent on keeping you busy. Everyone and their mother seemed to want to make sure you were doing okay, it was driving you insane. By the time you were able to skip out from class, it was nearly dinner time.

Powerwalking to the big house from the archery field, you see Percy. He is talking with Annabeth.

“Percy Jackson!” You yell. He turns to look at you and you see that confused look he sometimes got.

You broke into a run.

“Clio?” He asks just before you slam into him. You hug him as tightly as your side muscles allow.

“Are you okay? They told me you were in the big house, but they wouldn’t let me see you.” You know you’re probably squeezing the air out of him, but you can’t seem to let go.

“I’m so glad to see you…” He says into your shoulder. You release him, clutching your side. “Are you okay?” He asks, worried.

You smile and wave a hand, “yeah, yeah, I’m okay-”

“She’s recovering from a sparing wound.” Annabeth helpfully explains, you glare at her.

Percy’s concern doesn’t subside, “a sparing wound…?”  

“I’ll tell you about it later, don’t worry about it.” You say, trying to ignore the burning sensation.

He’s quiet for a second before he finally continued, “so this is the troubled kids camp you wrote about?”

“Yeah…” you glance at the horn in his hand and look back up at him. “I’m sorry I disappeared; Chiron didn’t really give me a choice…” you try to explain. He shakes his head and Annabeth clears her throat.

“Clio, aren’t you supposed to be in class?” She asks.

You shoot her another glare, “aren’t you supposed to be in class, princess?”

Annabeth blushes and stomps her foot, “don’t call me that!”

“Then don’t try to dictate my time. Percy is my friend. You can’t just keep me busy so I can’t-” but your argument was cut off.

“Well! A newbie!”

“Gods above.” You curse under your breath. 

Here comes Clarisse, looking for a fight. Clarisse isn’t all bad, but she was trying to prove herself, just like everyone else.

“Clarisse,” Annabeth sighs. “Why don’t you go polish your spear or something?”

“Sure, Miss Princess.” Clarisse responds and you roll your eyes. “Just so I can run you through with-it Friday night.”

“Erre es Karakas! You don’t stand a chance!” Annabeth argues.

“I’d have to agree with Annabeth, Clarisse. We beat you four out of five times.” You say with a sly smile.

“We’ll pulverize you.” Clarisse responds, but her eye twitches and you know you’ve both gotten to her. “Who’s this little runt?”

“Percy Jackson,” Annabeth says, “meet Clarisse, daughter of Ares.”

Percy seems stunned before responding, “like…the war god?”

“You got a problem with that?” Clarisse demands.

“No, it explains the bad smell.” Percy snaps back and you laugh.

“We got an initiation ceremony for newbies, Prissy.”

“Percy.” He corrects.

“Whatever. Come on, I’ll show you.”

You hadn’t really made anyone your enemy at camp, except maybe Griffin. So, you’re not sure why Clarisse wanted to punish Percy for surviving, but you also knew Percy wasn’t going to like someone fighting his battles.

“Clarisse…” Annabeth starts.

“Stay out of it, wise girl.” Hisses Clarisse. Percy handed his horn to Annabeth and you could tell he was getting ready to fight. Clarisse was a lot bigger than him though. She had him by the neck in seconds and started dragging him towards the girl’s bathroom. You would of course, step in if things got too nasty, but as Clarisse went to push Percy’s head into the toilet, Annabeth stopped you from stepping in. Honestly, you should thank her for that because the next thing anyone knew, the plumbing exploded. The water pressure pushed the Ares campers out through the door. Drenching Annabeth and you in sewage water.

Percy sat in the only dry spot in the whole bathroom. When he stood up, you could see him shaking.

Annabeth started, “how did you…”

“I don’t know.” Percy responded.

“Percy, that was seriously amazing!” You punch him playfully and the three of you walk outside.

The Ares were laying in the mud. The Apollo campers, who had finally made it from the archery field, were standing around, gawking.

“You are dead, new boy.” Clarisse said, “you are totally dead.”

“You want to gargle with toilet water again, Clarisse? Close your mouth.” Percy responded cheekily. The Ares cabin held her back and you couldn’t help but laugh again. Annabeth was observing Percy, trying to figure him out.

“What?” Percy demands, “what are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking,” Annabeth responds, “that I want you on my team for capture the flag.”

“He’s Hermes’ until further notice, wise girl.” You remind her.

Since you were finally able to give class the slip, you follow along as Annabeth shows Percy around camp. It’s pretty much the same as your first day. When Annabeth is finished, you all end up back at the canoe lake.

Annabeth says, “I’ve got training to do. Dinners at seven-thirty. Clio will show you to the mess hall.”

“Annabeth, I’m sorry about the toilets.” Percy says.

“Whatever.” She responds.

“It wasn’t my fault.” He argues and both of you look at him. You can’t tell if he’s joking.

“You need to talk to the Oracle,” she says.

“Who?”

“Not who, what. The Oracle. I’ll ask Chiron.” Annabeth ‘explains.’

Percy waves to something in the water and you frown.

“Don’t encourage them,” Annabeth says. “Naiads are terrible flirts.”

“They shot water at me on my first day.” You grumble in agreement.

“Naiads,” Percy repeats, “that’s it. I want to go home now.”

Annabeth and you share a look, causing you to sigh.

“Don’t you get it Percy?” Annabeth says with a frown. “You are home. This is the only safe place for kids like us.”

Percy scoffs, “you mean, mentally disturbed kids?”

“I mean not human. Not totally human, anyway.”

You add, “half-human.”

“Half-human and half-what?” Percy asks.

“I think you know.” Annabeth states.

Percy goes silent for a moment before saying, “god, half-god.”

You and Annabeth both nod. Annabeth continues, “your father isn’t dead Percy. He’s one of the Olympians.”

“That’s…crazy.” Percy argues.

“Percy,” you start, exasperated, “what is the most common thing gods did in the old stories?”

“They ran around falling in love with humans and had kids with them.” Annabeth finishes. “Do you think they’ve changed their habits in the last few millennia?”

“But those are just…” Percy stops himself and starts over, “but if all the kids here are half-gods-”

“Demigods,” Annabeth cuts in.

“Or half-bloods.” You add, gesturing to the shirts.

“Then who’s your dad?” Percy asks.

You glance over at Annabeth; you’d actually never heard her talk about her family. You knew she’d run away really young. That Luke and Thalia had taken her under their wing, but that was about it.

“My dad is a professor at West Point. I haven’t seen him since I was very small.” She adds, “he teaches American History.”

“Bet my mom was jealous about that.” You murmur, giving her a smirk. She punches you in the arm and even though it hurt (a lot) you still laugh.

“He’s human?” Percy states.

“What?” Annabeth asks, turning her attention back to him. “You assume it has to be a male god who finds a human female attractive? How sexist is that?”

“Pretty sexist if you ask me.” You nod in agreement and Percy punches you this time. Atleast the bruises will match.

“Who’s your mom then?” he asks.

“Cabin Six.” She responds.

“Meaning?”

Annabeth straightens up all prim, truly the princess, “Athena, goddess of Wisdom and battle.”

He turned to you and you sigh. “Clio, muse of history.”

He looks confused, “which cabin is that?” You look away then, strumming your fingers on the railing.

“She’s in Cabin Eleven. Hermes.” Annabeth says.

“Some gods don’t have cabins?” Percy asks.

“Some gods aren’t honored. Yes.” You respond, unable to keep the growing bitterness from your voice.

Seeming to let it go, Percy asks, “and my dad?”

“Undetermined,” Annabeth answers with a sigh, “like I said before. Nobody knows.”

“I have a theory,” you murmur quietly, but neither seem to notice. Probably for the best. If Percy’s dad was who you thought he was, there would probably be big problems.

“My mother, she knew.” Percy says.

“Maybe not, Percy. Gods don’t always reveal their identities.” Annabeth says.

“My dad would have. He loved her.” Percy responds firmly.

Annabeth catches your eye again, asking a silent question.

“Maybe you’re right.” You agree.

“Maybe he’ll send a sign. That’s the only way to know for sure: your father has to send a sign claiming you as his son.” Annabeth explains. “Sometimes it happens.”

“You mean sometimes it doesn’t?” Percy asks.

You look away again, thinking about all the kids in the Hermes cabin. All, who’ve been here longer than you. Some twenty kids, still waiting.

“The gods are busy. They have a lot of kids and they don’t always…” Annabeth trails off. “Well, sometimes they don’t care about us, Percy.”

“They ignore us.” You add.

Percy was quiet for a bit, taking this in. You look down at the naiads, braiding their baskets. One who looked about your age, stuck her tongue out at you, so you returned the favor before Percy continued.

“So, I’m stuck here. That’s it?” Percy asks, “for the rest of my life?”

“It depends,” Annabeth says quickly, “some campers only stay the summer. If you’re a child of Aphrodite or Demeter, you’re probably not a real powerful force.” She nods at you. “Clio here would probably be fine.” You roll your eyes and she continued, “but for some of us, its too dangerous to leave.” As she keeps speaking, you struggle to keep yourself from interrupting, especially when she mentions how some famous people are demigods. You mean come on, finding out Stevie Nicks was a daughter of Hecate, or that Alexander Hamilton was a son of Hermes, or that George Washington was a son of Athena? That is life changing information, although, you’re not sure if Percy would care the way you did.

Finally, Percy interrupts to ask a question. “You asked me about the summer solstice.”

Annabeth’s hand tightens on the railing. “So, you do know something?”

“Well…no. Back at my old school, I overheard Grover and Chiron talking about it.”

You were holding your breath, no one told you anything and you were honestly worried Annabeth would remember you were here and clam up.

Percy continued, “Grover mentioned the summer solstice. He said something like, ‘we didn’t have much time, because of the deadline.’ What did that mean?”

Annabeth shakes her head, “I wish I knew. Chiron and the satyrs, they know, but they won’t tell me. Something is wrong in Olympus, something major. Last time I was there, everything seemed so normal.”

At the same time, Percy and you ask, “You’ve been to Olympus?”

“Some of us year rounders-Luke, Clarisse, myself, and a few others-we took a field trip during winter solstice. That’s when the gods have their annual council.” Annabeth explains.

“But…how did you get there?” Percy asked.

“The Long Island Railroad, of course. You get off at Penn Station. Empire State Building, special elevator to the six hundredth flood.” She eyes Percy as though she thought he was joking, “you are a New Yorker, right?”

Percy and you exchanged glances, wondering if both of you were crazy now.

Percy goes, “oh, sure.” As though he isn’t sure at all.

Annabeth continues as if she didn’t notice, “right after we visited, the weather got weird, as if the gods were fighting. A couple of times I’ve heard satyrs talking. The best I can figure is something important was stolen. If it isn’t returned by summer solstice, there’ll be trouble.” Annabeth continues talking, but you don’t hear her.

So, all these great beings must think that Percy stole this item, but why? He wasn’t at the field trip. It had to be someone then, right? An important item from Olympus itself, maybe a god’s symbol of power? I have a hard time believing that it’s just a favorite book that could cause such an issue. I’m positive that I’ve read somewhere that gods cannot steal each other’s symbols.

Stolen…

“I thought we could work together; I thought you might know something.” Annabeth is saying.

Percy doesn’t say anything and you sigh, “Annabeth, let me get him settled. We can talk more about it later.” She nods.

As Percy and you walk away, you see him glance back at Annabeth.

“Is she always like that?” He asks.

You can’t help but laugh. “She’s the smartest person in camp. Her mind is always in overdrive.”

You stop and Percy follows suit. “Listen, I know you hate the whole pity thing,” he goes to say something and you hold up a hand, “this is the only time I’ll mention it but…” you force yourself to look into his eyes. “I’m so sorry Perce.” He catchers your eyes before looking away. You can see his jaw working and you wrap an arm around his shoulders. “You’re like the annoying brother I always wanted.” He hugs you and it’s almost painful, like he’s lost at sea and clinging to a life raft.

“Thanks, Clio.” He chokes out.

You release each other and you give him a small smile, “come on Jackson, lets find you a spot to sleep.”

Chapter Text

When the two of you get to the Hermes cabin, Luke comes over to you immediately, “Found you a sleeping bag.” He says to Percy. “And here, stole you some toiletries from the camp store.” He hands over a small bag and eyes you, “looking good for an invalid.”

You roll your eyes, “oh please, if you had wanted to you could have actually done real damage.”

“If I remember correctly, I did do real damage.” He argues.

“Yeah, but I lived so was it really that bad?” You argue back and he chuckles. “Hey, Annabeth was saying you and a few others went to Olympus last winter,” you try to make it seem like you’re just vaguely interested in this subject but seriously, it’s hard to ever seem vaguely interested in a subject. You shrug, “I was wondering if you remember who all went?”

Luke’s face is unreadable, you wonder if he’s trying to think of names, but he responds, “I’m not sure, it was quite a few of us.” He shrugs, “why do you want to know?”

You search his eyes, but find no answers, so you smile and shake your head. “No reason.” You lie, noticing his eyes narrow ever so slightly. “I’ll ask Chiron.” You nod at Percy, “would you mind being Percy’s guide until I get back?”

He nods, “no problem.”

You touch Percy’s arm, “I’ll be back in just a minute, okay?” He nods, so you turn and leave, followed (as always) by the Stoll’s.

“What was that about?” Travis asks.

“Yeah, all you’ve done is worry about your friend since you got here.” Connor adds. “You’re just gonna leave him now?”

You sigh, “Percy is a big boy. He isn’t going to want my protection all the time.”

“You mean he doesn’t need it.” Connor corrects, “everyone knows about the bull-guy-”

“-and the bathrooms.” Travis finishes.

“You’re starting to annoy me.” You grumble. Suddenly a thought hits you and you stop abruptly. Both of them run into you, all three of you are falling. “Gods above!”

“What did you stop for?” Travis complains.

As you untangle ourselves, you ask, “do you two know who all went to the winter solstice meeting?”

“Most of the full timers.” Connor answers.

“Why?” Travis asks.

You wince, holding your side, “I need an actual list.”

“That’s not an answer.” Travis argues.

Exasperated, you answer, “Annabeth thinks that the weird weather is because something was stolen during winter solstice.”

“And you think it was one of us?” Travis wonders.

“Well, yeah.” You shrug, “the gods can’t take others symbols of power, and that’s got to be what happened right?”

Thunder rolls in the distance.

“You really think one of us would do that?” Connor asks.

“Well, I don’t have a reason as to why exactly, but that seems logical to me.” You shake your head, “it would have to be someone from that trip, if that is the case.”

Connor thinks a minute before looking at Travis. “Chiron has lists of everything.”

“From like decades ago. We could get them for you.” Travis suggests with a grin.

You shake your head again, “let me ask him first.”

“He’s not going to tell you without an explanation.” Connor says.

“I know.” Sighing, you admit, “I only know three for sure and I just don’t think it was Annabeth or Luke…”

“Well, who was the other person?” Travis asks.

“Clarisse.”

“She’s a bully wannabe and she’s the daughter of Ares.” Connor says.

“Sure, I agree, but can you see, Clarisse, stealing something without being caught?” You argue. They both agree. 

Travis stands and holds out his hand to help you up. “Let’s go ask Chiron then.”

As you made your way toward the big house, you realize that while you’d put it in your pack this morning, the flower bulb was clenched in your hand again. “What the…” you stop again, looking at it.

“What is that?” Travis asks as you hold up the orb.

“Uh, we’re pretty sure it’s a flower bulb.” You explain. “But I put it in my bag this morning.” Connor takes it from your hand to inspect it.

“Where did you find it?” Connor asks.

Travis holds up his hands. “Wait, wait, it just showed up in your hand again?”

You nod and take it back from Connor, “yeah, I had a dream about my mom and I was holding this when I woke up.”

“Your mom…the goddess of history…gifted you a flower bulb?” Travis asks.

You shrug, “Grover says it’s a Hyacinth and I know my moms first son was their…creator.” You explain. “I don’t know why it showed up in my hand again though.” You mumble, more to yourself than to the boys.

“What a weird present.” Connor states.

You chuckle, “tell me about it.” You pocket it, “let’s go talk to Chiron.”

By the time you make it to the big house, you’ve been dreading running into Mr. D. You suppose worrying brought it to fruition because who else was there to great you.

Mr. D was relaxing on the porch with a diet Coke. “What could you three trouble makers be up to?” He asks without looking up.

“We aren’t trouble makers-”

“Speak for yourself, Clio.” Connor says.

“Okay, I’m not a trouble maker.” You argue.

“Says the girl who snuck out night one.” Travis laughs.

“Anyway!” You say, glaring at the boys, “we wanted to know where Chiron is.” You explain, trying to keep your eyes anywhere but on his. Compelled to look up, however, you find his eyes on yours. Honestly, normally a grown up like this wouldn’t make you nervous, but Mr. D could make all your lives a living hell.

“Turn out your pockets, girl.”

You do as you’re told, the only thing in your pocket is the bulb and you hand it over. The moment it’s placed into Mr. D’s hand the orb cracks and the smallest of green shoots pops up.

“The sacred flower of your mother.” He murmurs.

“Yes sir. I woke up with it.”

“You haven’t planted it yet?” He asks with a raised eyebrow.

You glance at Travis and he shrugs, “no sir, I…well…” you rub your shoe over the grass. “I wanted to wait and plant it when she had a cabin.” You admit, almost at a whisper.

“You should plant it by that hole you’ve been digging.” He suggests, handing it back to you.

“What hole?” Connor asks.

Your brow furrows, “how did you-”

“You think I don’t know what’s happening in my own camp?” He asks softly.

You start, “Sir-”

“It’s for a prank!” Travis blurts out.

“Travis!” You admonish and he shrugs helplessly.

Mr. D rolls his eyes and pops the tab of the Diet Coke in his hand. “Chiron is teaching the advanced archery class.”

You take this as a dismissal and thank him, hurrying the boys away.

When you feel you’re far enough away you shove Travis. “What the hell was that, Stoll?” You gesture back the way you came, “You could get into serious trouble for lying!”

“I was just trying to protect you.” He admits.

This causes your brain to short circuit and you blink at him for a moment, unsure of what to say. He just grins at you, that classic sly smile.

“So, what’s this hole?” Connor demands, “how did I not know about it?”

“It’s the start of the cabin for her mom.” Travis explains.

You just stare at him; you didn’t think anyone knew you’d started on that.

“We can help.” Travis quickly adds, with a glance at you.

You just shake your head, a smile creeping onto your face, “thank the gods you’re on my side.”

“Well yeah, you’re practically family.” Connor says.

“Come on, there’s still time before dinner. Let’s plant this.” You hold the budding bulb gently in your hands, not wanting to crush the shoot. You head over to the semi-secluded side of camp.

Really, no where at camp is secluded unless you go into the forest, but you couldn’t dig it in the middle of the courtyard now, could you?

“You put it behind Apollo’s cabin?” Connor asks.

“I felt it was most appropriate.” You kneel down by the area you intend to put the door and scrap away what, you hope, is enough dirt.

Travis squats next to you, “you think it’ll grow?” He asks.

“I don’t know anything about plants.” You admit, placing the bulb in the shallow hole. “Mr. D made it sprout though so that has to be helpful, right?”

“We could drag Katie Gardner over here.” Connor suggests.

You cover the bulb with dirt and brush off your hands. “Maybe tomorrow.” You agree.

Just then the dinner horn goes off.

“Food!” Connor races off to the dinning pavilion, leaving Travis and you alone. He stands and helps you to your feet. You wince.

“Is your side still not healed?” He asks.

“It’s just uncomfortable.” You say quickly, “with how long it’s taking to heal, you’d think I nearly died.” You try to joke.

Travis inclines his head slightly, “Clio, you did.”

You scoff, “what do you mean?”

“You nearly died. That’s why the Apollo cabin wouldn’t let you out or let anyone visit you.” He explains. “Luke got a serious reprimand for taking the sparing too far.”

“No one acted like it was that serious though…” you trail off. You guess the Apollo campers did treat it seriously, it was you who wasn’t treating it seriously. “I was in there two days though, that’s hardly life and death.” You argue.

“Clio, you were in there five days in total. Not two.” He says softly.

Realizing your hand was still in his, you pull away as you walk to the pavilion. Five days? No wonder everyone acted like I was dying… You walk in silence for a bit before you finally ask, “That’s why it hasn’t healed fully?”

“Yeah, Luke said you kept going, even gave him a cut on the leg.” Travis shakes his head as if he doesn’t understand either Luke or you. “He didn’t realize how deeply you’d been cut until you passed out.” Travis says. No wonder the healers had been so adamant about keeping you in the medical tent.

 Travis and you separate to get into your spots in line. “Move over Jackson.” You say, cutting in front of him.

“Took you long enough.” Percy jokes.

You stick your tongue out at him, “I just got out of the infirmary, okay?”

You end up sandwiched between the Stoll brothers, across from Percy. Both brothers made sure to give you enough room so you weren’t being jostled around. You felt like royalty seeing Percy so squished across from you. A smile crept onto your face and Percy glared at you, seeming to know you were mentally teasing him.

“To the gods!” Chiron exclaims, raising a glass. Everyone responds in kind except for Percy, which was pretty much the norm. You were the same way when you first showed up.

You thought that, after several days of bland sandwiches, the smell of the barbeque was going to kill you. You got up with the brothers and made your way to the sacred flame, scraping a piece of the BBQ in. You thanked the gods for your fast recovery and thanked your mother for the gift (even if you had no idea how to use it). Halfway through dinner you had an epiphany; it was Percy’s first, awake, night at camp. You turn toward Travis with this revelation and he looks at you questioningly. Leaning over, you ask if everyone has to go through what you did on your first day. He nods solemnly.

“What is it?” Percy asks.

You smirk, “oh, its nothing Perce.” He raises an eyebrow. “I’d warn you, there’s so many people at this table, you’re liable to kick someone other than me if you try.”

He scoffs, “how old do you think I am?”

“I think you’re a pre-teen boy and violence is often your answer to any question.”

“Pot meet Kettle.” Travis interrupts and you stick your tongue out at him.

“What do you mean?” Percy asks.

You groan, “please don’t bring this up again.”

Connor grins, “I still can’t believe you took him to the ground.”

Percy smiles and you can see the trouble maker everyone else sees, “You what?”

“It wasn’t like that!” You frantically try to argue. “He was asking for it!”

“By asking for it,” Travis says, his face seemingly etched in a permanent grin, “she means he was bullying Alice.” He points to the end of the table were a little eight-year-old is stealing a roll from the plate next to her.

“Who did you Supplex for bullying a kid?” Percy asks, Travis’s grin reflected on his face as he looks at you.

You groan, “I didn’t Supplex him,” you shake my head, covering your face in your hands.

“She practically did.” Connor argues.

“It was Griffin from Ares cabin.” Luke butts in. “She didn’t Supplex him, she flipped him over using his own weight against him.”

“Thank you, Luke.” You say emerging from behind your hands. “At least someone remembers the facts.”

“Oh yeah,” Chris laughs, “if I remember correctly, you popped his arm out of his socket.”

You wrinkle your nose at him as you poke at your food. “He was accusing her of stealing-”

“She did steal.” Connor says with a laugh.

“I know that!” You say in annoyance, “but he was threatening an eight-year-old. He had it coming.” You pout.

Travis laughs and pats your shoulder.

Luke leans closer to Percy and says in a stage whisper, “we put dye in all their shampoo.”

“If you see their hair in the sun, you can still see the green tint.” Christ adds, pointing to their table.

“Wow, you’ve been busy, Clio.” Percy laughs.

“Oh, I didn’t have anything to do with the dye in the bottles.” You say innocently.
That gets everyone who is listening to laugh. “What? What’s so funny?” You ask, keeping your face as innocent as possible.

“Of course, you had nothing to do with the dye.” Chris laughs.

You sit up straight, “I said; I didn’t have anything to do with the dye in the bottles.” You emphasis with your fork. “I never said anything about the dye itself.”

“So, you did help with the dye?” Percy asks, apparently invested in the story.

You smirk, “you remember the textile room at the museum? They had a list of plants used to make various dyes.” You shrug, “I remembered the green one and asked some of the Dryads if they would help me find them.”

“The only bad thing about it is that we found out how little they wash their hair.” Connor admits.

You nod, “the dye only works if they actually use it.”

Travis grins again, “but, we also never found out if they changed their shampoo though.”

“Maybe we’ll see some more green around here.” Luke adds and the group laughs, Percy joining you.

You’d thought that you were starving but you find yourself pushing your food around your plate instead. By the time everyone is done and Mr. D stood up, you’d barely eaten a third of your plate. Percy have you a worried look but you just shrugged.

Mr. D gave the usual speech about the capture the flag laurels and introduced one “Peter Johnson” which amused you to no end.

Then the fun began. This time you got to join in the chant and Percy got to look confused. All around him, Hermes cabin started pounding on the table.

“Half-blood, half-blood, rak-a-sak-a-soo

Gitchee gumee, ratatooie, Whose child are you?

Throw him in, throw him in, welcome to the camp!

No-one’s a half-blood until they’re damp!”

Then one hundred or more pairs of hands start pounding the tables joining Hermes’;

“Ohh~ Percy kiss the boar! Percy kiss the boar!”

Chris and Luke lift Percy up on their shoulders and everyone follows, creating a small army of kids and nature beings heading towards the Ares cabin. Percy and you lock eyes and he questions what the hell is happening. You laugh.

“You’ve gotta kiss the boar!” You yell up to him.

“Are you kidding?” He shouts back and you laugh again. He hesitates at the boar as you’re sure everyone does, but the crowd of people egging him on gets to him. He kisses it and everyone cheers, laughing when it belches in his face. Its kind of exhilarating, everyone together. It just feels right, that all of you are together like this. No cabin squabbles or anything else to separate you now.

The chant changes and you head towards the canoe lake.

“Throw him in! Throw him in!”

Percy gets launched into the lake and cheers erupt, everyone is hollering and you see Luke help Percy out of the water. Honestly, a little part of you was hoping that something else would happen with the water, but it acted the way it should have.

As the crowd starts to head back for the sing-a-long, you stop and you feel your smile fade. Chiron’s words come to the forefront of your mind, ‘don’t hold his future against him. You have very different destines.’ Right now, you could see them. That stunt Percy pulled in the bathroom, the wall of water at the museum, Percy didn’t even know what he was and he could do things like that. Give him some training and he could achieve a lot. If he had someone like Annabeth on his side, he’d be unstoppable…

That’s about when you blacked out. You vaguely heard someone yell for a medic and then you were somewhere else.

~

Standing on a floor that resembled cracked eggshell, you see a small group of teenagers. A boy and a girl you don’t recognize and two others you would bet money were Percy and Annabeth…just older.

The two held hands and stared into a hole, you wanted to scream at them to step back.
It wasn’t safe!

You start to walk forward and the floor crackles under you, which is insane, there’s no way you’re really there. You shouldn’t have any weight.

The pale boy you don’t recognize looks in your direction, a strange expression crossing his face. Something akin to sadness then excitement.
“Clio?” You try to speak but you can’t hear anything come out of your mouth. He shakes his head at you, confused. Before you can think of anything else though, Annabeth hits the floor. She starts sliding back towards the hole and her sobs are heart wrenching. Percy grabs her and you sprint towards them, ignoring the crumbling floor beneath you, but it feels like running through ankle deep water, you’re too slow.

You have to reach them, you have to stop this.

Percy and Annabeth go over the edge. You reach it moments later and that evil voice from your other dreams laughs at you. Metal birds explode from the hole and you wake up, screaming.

~

Panic is a terrible thing. It makes you do stupid things like punch your friend in the face because their standing too close to you when your waking up.

Jake is sitting on the floor holding his bloody nose.

“Jake…?” You ask, your body shaking from unreleased adrenaline.

His response sounds muffled, “are you okay?”

You can feel tears threatening as you whip your head around, taking in your environment. You were back in the medical tent. Only Jake and Fletcher were with you.

“What happened?” You croak.

Fletcher hands Jake a small piece of ambrosia and sighs, “you passed out before the sing-a-long.”

You felt so disoriented, you didn’t understand how you saw something so far in the future. Was it even real? That wasn’t like the dreams you’d had before.

“What happened, Clio?” Fletcher asks.

You lay your head on your knees, trying to calm yourself down. It wasn’t real, it wasn’t real.

He sighs, “I have to go check on something. I’ll be back in a bit.” He leaves, then, the door closing behind him.

Jake sighs, wiping the blood from his face. “That was some left hook for an injured person.” He tries to joke, but you don’t look up. He sighs again.

“Jake, I’m sorry.” You say into your knees.

“Don’t be, you were screaming like a banshee. It took both Lee and me to keep you in the cot.” He gets up and sits next to you, “what happened? One second you were fine, the next you were out.” He explains.

“I think I might have had some kind of vision.” You admit, quietly. You know you’re going to have to tell someone and you feel like Jake is trustworthy, he’s one of your best friends…

“Like a dream?” He asks.

You shake your head, “it was like I was teleported somewhere else.” You’re starting to remember strange details:

the roof seemed to have been caved in, that the room was covered in silk…There had been something radiating power just out of your focus too. Why hadn’t you looked at it? Who was that boy? You’ve never seen him at camp, but he had to be a half-blood, right?

“Teleported somewhere else?” Jake repeats, “but you were here the whole time.” He says confused.

“Jake, if I tell you this, promise you won’t tell anyone.” You hold out your pinkie without looking at him.

“Okay.” He locks out pinkies together, “I promise I won’t tell.”

You explain the dream to him, about the cracked floor and the pale boy, how he seemed to actually see you. You explain about the weird energy and the hole. How Percy and Annabeth fell…you feel your nails dig into your legs as you try to keep the panic at bay. “The voice…from the boat…it was laughing at me and then those metal birds…” you shake your head and Jake takes one of your hands.

“I was kind of hoping that I could give you this at the sing-a-long, but since we’re talking about metal birds…” He drops something into your hand and you raise your head to look. There, tweeting merrily is his little caged bird. He’s even added a little loop so you can put it on your charm bracelet.

“Aw, Jake…You’re giving this to me?” You ask, turning to look at him.

“You liked it and gave me the inspiration to actually fix it.” He smiles, “it sings ‘Miss Independent’ and it can do ‘Gold Digger’” he says with a grin.

You hold out your bracelet, “will you put it on for me?” You ask. He smiles and nods. Its fascinating to you how he can work something so delicate without any tools. In moments, he has it fastened to your bracelet. You regard it for a moment before sighing, “I just got out of here. I don’t want to keep getting stuck in here.”

“Not to go back to the previous conversation,” he says, rubbing the back of his head, “but do you think that whatever the scary voice is, it might be trying to scare you with that vision?”

“What vision?” says a voice from the entrance.

“Chiron,” Jake says, standing quickly, “why are you here?”

“Lee asked me to check on our recent medical tent resident.” Chiron explains, gesturing at you.

“I’m alright now, nothing’s wrong.” You lie. You really, really, don’t want to be stuck in the med tent again. Jake gives you a look and wrinkle your nose at him. You were going to get a reputation with the Apollo kids and you just don’t like when people ask if you’re ‘okay’ constantly.

“Jake, I believe the smores will be gone soon.” Chiron states, obviously dismissing him.

Jake looks at you and you give him a nod. No need to put up a fight.

“Get better quickly, bookworm.”

You smile weakly, “night, Jake.”

He walks out after a brief night to Chiron.

Once he’s left Chiron kneels by your cot. “Will you tell me about this vision?” he asks, pulling a canteen of Nectar from his satchel.

“How much did you hear?” You ask warily. What if they think I’m some freak or something? Even Apollo kids don’t have visions, as far as you know.

“Very little, Jake thinks something is trying to scare you?” He questions.

You sigh and the night horn goes off, you look away and lay your head on your knees again. “Please don’t kick me out.” You say in a small voice. Honestly, you’re scared. You’d never felt like you’d belonged anywhere before, except maybe at Percy’s house and you just don’t know if you could take it if you get the boot.

Chiron chuckles gently, “child, we aren’t going to throw you out.” He pauses and gently adds, “you belong here.”

You turn to look at him and he offers you the canteen. You take it and swallow a few times, before laying your head back on your knees. It tastes just like the marshmallows at the campfire, the one’s you’d missed because something’s wrong with you…

“Please promise you won’t tell anyone. Everyone else only knows bits and pieces and I don’t want anyone to know…” you trail off, the image of Percy and Annabeth falling into the darkness has you hide your face in your knees again.

“You have my word, Clio.” He says solemnly.

You take a deep breath and start at the beginning with your dream of the boat and how it changed. How the voice sounded so deep and ancient and threatening. Then you tell him the dream you’d about your mother and the ‘demi-god history’ that was blank in your lap. He just listens the whole time, so you keep going. You explain the vision that had sent you here and try to express how the two voices are the same.

When you finish, he stays quiet for a while before finally asking; “What were you thinking about before you collapsed?”

“Why do you think I didn’t just suddenly have an unprovoked vision?” You ask.

He smiles ever so slightly, “just an educated guess.” He says.

You sigh and look down at the bed, “I was thinking about what you told me before. That Percy and my destinies are different and to not hold it against him.” You sigh and drop your chin into your hand. “I think Percy’s going to be really powerful if the bathrooms and the museum are anything to go by. I also think that if he has a strategist like Annabeth on his side then he’d be unstoppable…” you don’t really want to admit it but explaining everything to a grown up has made you feel better.

Chiron stares at the flickering flame of the lantern by your bedside for an agonizingly long time. Just as you’re going to ask him what he thinks, he sighs and turns to you. “I’ve heard of children of the muses having visions like yours.”

Your head shoots up at this, “You have?” You ask, hopeful.

“Yes, it isn’t something that happens often, although, the children of the muses are rare in general.” He rubs his chin thoughtfully, “the pale boy you saw, you believe he could see you?”

You nod, “he even said my name, like he knew me.” You shake your head. That kid looked terrible, deathly thin and pale as though he hadn’t seen the sun in years. “The ground cracked as though I had weight. If it was a vision, that shouldn’t have happened.”

“I agree, perhaps you viewed the scene through a future self?” He suggests.

You chew on your lip, “I feel like Jake was right, that maybe the voice was the reason I saw it. That it was trying to get a reaction out of me.” You try to explain. Chiron nods along with you and you sigh. “Chiron, do you think that this’ll happen again?” You ask.

Chiron looks at you with sad eyes, “I cannot say child. Has this happened before?”

A memory comes screeching to the forefront of your mind; a month before you met Percy, you had passed out on a hike. No one else had been around because you’d gone off on your own.
You saw old black and white movies and you were eating Chinese. In this moment you could swear it was Christmas with the Jacksons. Before, you had just written it off, but now…What would Chiron say if you told him? You didn’t want visions to be your power or anything.

“No.” You answer, your eyes to the ground so he can’t see you lie.

He regards you for a moment and sighs, “if it happens again, we shall handle it then.” He stands again, “I would try not overthinking these visions. They will make sense in time.”

As you opened your mouth to speak, loud cursing and shuffling can be heard outside. The edge of the tent next to you lifts up, a familiar pair of siblings crawling in.

“Clio, we brought you a-” Connor freezes when he sees Chiron.

Chiron looks amused and raises an eyebrow at you and you chuckle quietly.

“Busted.” Travis says after coming up behind Connor.

“It would seem you have visitors Ms. Smith. I’ll leave you in their capable hands.” He winks at the Stoll’s, “of course, I didn’t see them.” He says before leaving.

“You two are lucky Chiron didn’t make you clean out the stables or something.” You say as they lay contraband smore supplies on your bed.
You find yourself almost tearing up you’re so moved. It must be because the godly food always tastes like the smores here…

“We wanted to get Percy to come too.” Connor says.

Travis opens the little window into your lantern and says, “Luke watched him like a hawk, every time we got close, he also closed in.”

“Jake said you were back in the med tent.” Connor says, “we saved some smores since you never showed.”

Travis holds one end of a marshmallow and sticks the other end through the little window. “We know they’re your favorite.”

You snicker, “that may be true, but they’ll taste like oil.” You tell him, watching the marshmallow blacken.

He pulls out the molten treat and sticks it in your mouth, “it’s the thought that counts.” He says with a grin.

“Hah-ha!” You breath out, “it-hawt-!” You whine, flailing your hands in an attempt to get cool air in your mouth.

Connor laughs and hands you a square of chocolate which you stuff into your mouth to dissipate the heat.

The three of you share the remains and eventually Connor falls asleep on the empty cot next to yours. The lantern sputters out, leaving Travis and you sitting shoulder to shoulder in the dark. Watching the stars through the mosquito net roof.

“Guess you’re staying here to sleep.” You say softly, not wanting to wake Connor.

You hear the smile in Travis’ voice as he answers, “yeah, guess we’ll actually get into trouble tomorrow.”

Chapter Text

“Oh, you are in so much trouble.”

You rub your eyes as you sit up. Travis must have moved over after you fell asleep, because he and Connor were a tangle of legs and arms in the cot next to you. The linen sheet was tucked in around you; Travis must have done that too…

You look up at the voice that woke you and see Fletcher standing there, hand on hip, a basket of herbs to dry in his other arm. “Morning Fletcher.” You say with a sleepy smile.

He sets the basket on a table and shakes his head, “don’t ‘morning’ me, missy.” He jerks a thumb at the Stoll’s, “what are they doing in here?”
You look over at the brothers again and can’t help but laugh.

“This won’t seem so funny when you’re all shoveling out the stable.” Fletcher says all serious, crossing his arms.

“Oh, come on Fletcher. They’re my cabinmates.” You gesture around the tent, “they were worried about me.”

“So, they slept here?” He asks.

“I was lonely.” Even as you say it, you know it isn’t as much of a lie as you wish it were. You hadn’t even made it back to the cabin one night before you were back in here. Maybe Fletcher can tell that you’re being honest because he sighs.

He looks up and takes a deep breath, “wake them up and get them out of here before anyone else sees.” He says and walks back out the door.

You stretch, finding your side still sore but much easier to ignore now. “Boys, wake up.” You say, moving to the edge of your cot. Neither budge, so you sigh and stand, “Earthquake!” You shout as you start shaking the cots. Connor falls out of the bed next to you, Travis falls out the other side. Both boys groan and you laugh. “Sorry guys, you gotta go before Lee gets back.” You say.

“Did you have to be such a bully about it?” Connor whines, rubbing his eyes.

“Yeah, unless you want stable duty.” You threaten.

“No ma’am.” Comes his reply.

“Then you both better go before he gets back.” You say, pulling up the edge of the tent. They scurry under and you sit back on your cot. At least you’ll be able to play capture the flag since you already missed last weeks.

The days pass by pretty quickly. Lee cleared you again, saying your side was practically healed (and he kept the sleepover a secret). Chiron and Luke decided that Percy could stick to the same schedule as you. This was after his first day didn’t lead to anything particularly ground breaking. That meant you got to make fun of him for his atrocious archery skills and he got to make fun of you for your lack of athletics.

“Wow, you’re slower than me and I’m slower than a tree.” Percy says after you fall behind, even him, in the footrace.

“At least I can shoot an arrow straight.” You reply, not wanting to point out you’d been in a bed for the better part of a week.

A couple days after Perce and you are sharing schedules, you finally have sword fighting. With everything Percy is bad at, you have a feeling that with a little training, he’ll be as good as Luke. He has to be good at something right?

“I mean come on, Jackson. You have to be good at something other than canoeing.” You tease.

He laughs, “yeah, we’ll see.”

“I only have a month on you, you’ll catch up quick.” You assure him.

As you’re all armoring up, he asks, “why do you take sword fighting lessons anyway, C?”

You pause as you unsheathing Kipos, “well, everyone has to know how to fight.” You say, looking at him a little oddly.

He rolls his eyes, “I know that, C. I meant why do you, because you’re good with a bow.”

You smile at him, “bows are long range.” You look at Kipos and shrug. “I’ll let you in on a little secret. Just because I’m better than you at archery doesn’t mean I’m good.”

“I guess that’s fair.”

“I’m better at defense than offense to be honest.” You admit.

Connor appears at your shoulder. “Unless you get her angry.” He says.

You roll your eyes, but Luke speaks before you can. “Clio being angry is what put her in the infirmary.” He says. “Now, let’s start.”

Percy is like a sponge, soaking up the beginner’s positions as if he’s always known them. He seems to have trouble with every sword though. You aren’t sure why he hadn’t gotten his own weapon from the armory. The Hephaestus cabin dumps new weapons all the time. It takes everything in you to not let Jake’s siblings have it over their dumping ways. You mean seriously, it took you a week to clean up the armory.

Luke has you move on to pairs and while you try to call Percy, Luke said that Percy’d be with him because its his first time.

You hear Chris say, “good luck, Luke’s the best swordsman in the last three hundred years.”

“Maybe he’ll go easy on me.” Percy replies and Chris snorts.

Since you’re partnered with Alice, you can’t  really focus on Percy. You do hear him wince every now and then. At least he isnt gutted, which you think is good news.

By the time Luke calls break, Alice has finally been able to disarm you (at least you made sure she has). You all swarm the water cooler. Percy follows Luke’s example and pours water over his head. When he looks at you, you laugh.

“You look like a drowned rat, Jackson.” He sticks his tongue out at you. “Careful, it’ll get stuck that way.” You tease.

“Okay everybody, circle up!” Luke calls, “if Percy doesn’t mind, I want to give you a little demo.”

A couple of the kids around you snicker which doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to you. When Luke did this to you, you were able to hold your own. Surely, Percy could do better.

“Now, we’re going to demonstrate a disarming technique.” Luke says and goes on to explain that by using the flat of one’s blade your opponent would have to drop his sword. Personally, you think this is pretty nice of Luke. Better than the ‘I’ll try to attack you, don’t let me,’ which you had gotten. He told you all not to laugh at Percy because this is difficult. He shows you in slow-mo and Percy drops his sword. “Real time.” Luke is saying. “We keep sparing until one of us pulls it off.”

“Let’s go, Jackson!” You cheer and he turns to glare at you.

“Ready Percy?” Luke asks and he nods.

Percy does really well. He’s able to keep Luke from getting at his sword hilt and as you’ve seen Luke do before, he narrows his eyes and presses with more force. Then, Luke’s sword clangs across the paving stones. Everyone goes silent and you let out a whoop as Percy lowers his sword and apologizes. You can’t help but laugh because you’d do the same.

“Sorry?” Luke asks in astonishment. “By the gods, Percy, why are you sorry? Show me that again!”

Percy tries to bow out gracefully, but Luke insists they try again. Within seconds, Percy’s blade is on the ground. After a moment Connor says, “beginner’s luck?”

The next day, Grover, Percy and you are sitting by the lake. Percy’d almost burnt up on the lava wall, while Grover had gotten to the top like a mountain goat. Meanwhile, you had nearly been skewered by one of the spikes that randomly burst out in your path. You were left dangling until Percy managed to slice off the spike with a borrowed sword. When you managed to get to the top together and the wall reset, Chiron had congratulated you.

“Maybe we don’t destroy the wall’s weapons to get to the top though, hmm?” He added, his eyes crinkling at the corners. You grimaced at him, your hands on your knees.

“Is he kidding?” Percy pants next to you.

You sit for a while watching the naiads weave their baskets before Percy finally asked Grover how his conversation with Mr. D went.

“What conversation with Mr. D?” You ask, looking between the two of them.

Grover’s face turns a sickly color. “Fine.” He says, his voice quivering, “just great.”

Percy and your eyes meet. “So, your career is still on track?” Percy asks.

“Chiron t-told you I want a searcher’s license?” Grover asks.

“Well…no.” Percy admits, “he just said you had big plans; you know…and that you needed credit for completing a keeper’s assignment.”

You’re all quiet for a while before you finally ask, “so, did you get it?”

Grover looks back down at the water. “Mr. D suspended judgement. He said I hadn’t failed or succeeded with you yet, so our fates are still tied together.” He heaves a sigh, “if you get a quest and I go along to protect you, and we both come back alive, then maybe he’d consider the job complete.”

You stand up, shaking your head, “come on, walk and talk.” You say, no longer wanting to sit still.

“That’s not so bad, right?” Percy says, standing.

“Blaa-ha-ha! He might as well have transferred me to stable-cleaning duty.” He says in annoyance as he also stands. “Even if you did get a quest, why would you want me along?”

“Of course, I’d want you along!” Percy cries and you turn back to them.

Grover’s staring back at the water, “basket-weaving…must be nice to have a useful skill.” He says glumly.

You roll your eyes, “come on G-man, that’s enough negativity for one day.” You shake your head, “I’m not listening to you talk trash about yourself. We’re your friends.” You remind him.

You all make your way over to the pit that you’ve started behind Apollo’s cabin. You suppose now is a good time to mention the flower.

After planting it, it had bloomed by the next morning. You still aren’t sure what to make of it. The petals seem to change color at random and if one of the flowers is pulled off a new one blooms within moments. It’s also larger than the flowers you’d seen in your dream. This flower is almost above your knees. Now you are even more confused because it’s like, a super special version of this sacred flower, but you still don’t know why.

As you go about digging your hole, Grover shapes the muddy clay into bricks while Percy pulls off the petals of your flower, mindlessly. After some time, he finally asks about the four empty cabins. You huff and keep digging, you try not to let it bother you when the empty cabins get brought up, but damn. Nothing makes your blood boil like this. Virgin goddesses getting cabins while you and the others get to stay in Hermes cabin. You let Grover answer Percy instead of saying anything.

“Number eight, the silver one, belongs to Artemis.” He says, “she vowed to be a maiden forever. So, of course, no kids. It’s honorary. If she didn’t have one, she’d be mad.”

Percy eyes you, probably because you look like you’ve swallowed a lemon. “Yeah, okay, but the other three, the ones on the end. Are those the big three?”

You scoff, slamming the blade of your shovel into the dirt. “One of them is another empty, honorary cabin. It’s to Hera.” You explain, your voice dripping venom.

Grover takes over, explaining, “she’s the goddess of marriage, so of course she wouldn’t go around having affairs with mortals. That’s her husband’s job.”

Percy stops pulling blossoms from the flower to look at you. “You okay, C?”

You sigh and look up at the sky, “it’s just not fair.” You complain.

“I’m sorry.” He says softly.

You look over at him and smile slightly, “don’t be Perce. It’s not your fault that things are this way.” You scratch an itch on your cheek, leaving a streak of dirt.

Percy smirks, “you got a little something there.” Percy says, leaving a light purple stain on his own cheek.

Your eyes widen, “Perce, you’re a genius!” You say, scrambling out of your pit.

He looks startled, “it’s not that funny.” He says.

“No, no, look!” You take his hands and hold them up. His fingers are covered in red, purple, and blue stains.

“It must be from picking the flowers-” Percy suggests.

“I can use it to make special ink!” You exclaim, scooping up the blooms in your hands.

Sacred ink for whenever you write your history. You’re so giddy from this revelation you do a little dance right there, nearly falling backwards into the pit.

“Woah!” Percy manages to catch your arms before you fall. “Careful C. We don’t want you back in the infirmary again.” He jokes.

You laugh and hug him, “you’re the best Perce!” You exclaim.

Grover is just watching like he doesn’t understand what planet the two of you fell off of. So, Percy and you calm some and sit back down to pick up the blossoms. Grover takes the silence as an opportunity to continue what was being talking about before.

“When we say the Big Three, we mean the three powerful brothers, the sons of Kronos.”

Percy looks up at him, “Zeus, Poseidon, Hades.”

Grover nods, “right. After the Titan war, they took over the world from their dad and drew lots to decide who got what.”

“Zeus got the sky.” You say.

“Poseidon the sea, Hades the Underworld.” Percy finishes.

“Right.” Agrees Grover.

“But,” Percy glances at you again, “Hades doesn’t have a cabin here.”

“No, he doesn’t have a throne on Olympus, either.” Grover says, sitting another brick aside. “He sort of does his own thing down in the Underworld. If he did have a cabin here…” Grover shudders, “well, it wouldn’t be pleasant. Let’s leave it at that.”

You roll your eyes, “yes, let’s ostracize some poor kid because of who their parent is.” You say, anger rising in your chest.

Grover looks like he wants to argue with you, but Percy interjects, “Zeus and Poseidon-they both had like, a bazillion kids in the myths. Why are their cabins empty?” He asks.

Grover fiddles with your shovel nervously, “sixty years ago, after WWII, the Big Three agreed they wouldn’t sire anymore heroes.”

You tilt your head towards Percy, “you know, the war was basically a family squabble.” You add to Grover’s history lesson.

Percy asks, “you mean, the good guys on one side and Hades on the other?”

You scoff, “Hades isn’t evil just because he’s Lord of the Underworld. Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon, all had children on both sides.” You shrug, “the gods knew that their children were too powerful, they affected human events too much.” You explain.

“Anyway,” Grover says, “they made each other swear an oath: no more affairs with mortal women.”

“They swore on the river Styx.” You say to the ground.

Thunder booms around you, pulling your gaze up to the sky.

“That’s the most serious oath you can make.” Percy remarks.

Grover and you nod.

Percy asks, “and what, the brothers kept their word-no kids?”

You glance at Grover. You know a little bit about Thalia, daughter of Zeus. You knew she saved Annabeth, Luke, and Grover, but you also knew that she didn’t make it to today.

“Seventeen years ago, Zeus fell off the wagon. There was this TV starlet with a big fluffy eighty’s hairdo-he just couldn’t help himself. When their child was born, a little girl named Thalia…well, the river Styx is serious about promises. Zeus got off easy because he’s immortal, but he brought a terrible fate on his daughter.”

Percy grimaced, “but that isn’t fair! It wasn’t the little girl’s fault.” You nod vigorously in agreement.

Grover hesitates, “guys, children of the Big Three have powers greater than other half-bloods.” He shakes his head, “their aura is stronger, their scent attracts monsters. When Hades found out about the girl, he wasn’t happy that Zeus broke his oath. Hades sent the worst monsters to torment Thalia.” Grover takes a deep, shuddering breath before continuing, “a satyr was assigned to be her keeper when she was twelve, but there was nothing he could do. He tried to escort her here with a couple of other half-bloods she’d befriended. They almost made it. They got all the way to the top of the hill.”

Bother Percy and you glance to the hill across camp.

“All three Kindly Ones were after them,” Grover continues, “a hoard of hellhounds too.”

“Oh, Grover…” you say softly, turning back to him.

Grover continues, tears trickling down his cheeks, “Thalia told her satyr to take the other half-bloods to safety while she held off the monsters. She was wounded and tired. She didn’t want to live like a hunted animal.”

You reach out and touch Grover’s hand. “Thalia made her final stand alone at the top of the hill…” Tears are filling up your eyes now too, “Zeus turned her into the pine tree. So, her spirit could protect the valley.” You finish, connecting the dots from the rumors that you’ve heard.

Grover nods sadly, “that’s why the hill is called Half-blood Hill.” He adds.

A sad silence falls between the three of you. Thalia’s story is the worst reminder that things haven’t gotten better for half-bloods since the ancient days.

“Grover,” Percy asks, “have heroes really gone on quests to the Underworld?”

“Sometimes, Orpheus, Heracles, Houdini.” He says.

“Have they ever returned somebody from the dead?” Percy asks.

“No. Never. Orpheus came close…” Grover trails off, “Percy, you’re not seriously thinking-”

“NO.” Percy says, a little too quickly, “I was just wondering.”

Grover and you share a look.

“So-” Percy starts, obviously trying to change the subject, “a satyr is always assigned to guard a demigod?”

You have to laugh, going back to collecting blossoms.

“What’s funny?” Percy asks.

“Nothing.” You say, focusing on your flowers.

Very carefully, Grover says, “we go undercover at a lot of schools. We try to sniff out the half-bloods who have the makings of great heroes.” He shrugs, “if we find one with a strong aura, like one of the Big Three, we alert Chiron. Since they could cause really huge problems.”

You roll your eyes, “if it wasn’t for my mother, I’d never have found who I was.” You grumble and Grover gives you a look.

“You found me. Chiron, said you thought I might be something special.” Percy recollects.

Grover looks stricken, “I didn’t-listen, don’t think like that. If you were-you’d never ever be sent on a quest and I’d never get my license.” He shakes his head and says, “you’re probably a child of Hermes or maybe even one of the minor gods, like Nemesis, the god of revenge. Don’t worry, okay?” He sounds like he’s trying to convince himself and you know this is serious, but you can’t help but start laughing though.

“What?” They both ask.

“Grover-” you start, trying to reign it in, “Nemesis is the goddess of revenge.” You shake your head, “you have always lived in this world and you don’t know that?”

Grover turns a shade darker, “I don’t know every god and goddess personally!” He exclaims, but you’re laughing and Percy joins in. Grover finally gives in and joins too.

That night, after dinner, its finally time for capture the flag. You missed last weeks and you’ve been gunning for Fletcher since he knocked you out of the tree last time you were able to play. Unfortunately, as is often the case, fate has other plans and by other plans, you mean Annabeth Chase.

After the flags are brought out and teams are announced you, along with everyone else, head to the pile of armor to suit up.

“Not you, Clio.” Annabeth says, in front of everyone.

You freeze, “what?” You ask, seeing Percy give Annabeth a weird look.

“You’re a detriment to the team.” She explains.

“Fletcher cleared me!” You argue, your anger flaring again. 

“Then you were back in the infirmary within the same day.” She says evenly.

“That was days ago, Annabeth.” You say, trying to keep your voice under control.

“You’re not on my team.” She reiterates, her arms crossed.

You glance between her, Luke, and Chiron. Only Annabeth meets your eyes. “Fine.” Angry, you throw down your helmet and turn to leave. You catch Griffin pretending to faint and his asshole siblings all laugh.

“Can it, Griffin!” You hear Jake yell as you storm off.

Just my luck. Of course, Annabeth didn’t want you on her team. You’re a liability. Strategically, you can understand what she’s thinking. You wouldn’t want to worry about someone with an unpredictable sleep schedule either.

“Clio!”

You turn to see the beauty queen herself, Silena Beauregard. “Silena?” You ask, confused. “What is it?”

Silena isn’t like her other siblings. She actually cares about other cabins for reasons beyond ‘potential matches.’ She’s nice, but you’ve never really had a reason to talk to her.

“Are you okay?” She asks, coming up to your side.

You scoff, “besides the debilitating embarrassment of being kicked out of a team in front of everyone?”

Silena winces and you have to admit, even when she’s grimacing, she looks absolutely stunning. “That was kind of harsh.” She says.

“She could have at least told me privately beforehand.” You complain, rubbing your arm.

Silena looks back at the now retreating campers and watches as they disappear into the forest. “Well, actually, Luke brought up that he was worried about you.”

You glance over at the tree line as the last of Ares team disappears into the forest. “You’re saying Annabeth was listening to Luke?”

Silena nods and adds, “he just thought that after your injury you could use some extra time to heal.”

“He’s worried about me?” You ask, your anger fading.

“I think he feels a little guilty about you taking so long to recover.” Silena says with a shrug.

Exasperated you say, “but Percy gets to play.” You know you’re whining like a little kid, but you can’t help it.

Silena regards you for a moment before adding, “a little birdie told me you don’t really like capture the flag.”

“Yeah, but Fletcher has it coming.” You grumble.

Silena laughs and it’s so lovely the rest of your anger melts away. “I have a thought on something that might interest you.” She says with that perfect smile.

“What would that be?” You ask, intrigued.

She starts walking again, towards the amphitheater. “You know that some of Aphrodite’s children have charmspeak, right?”

You purse your lips and she laughs, “like Drew?” You ask.

She nods, “And me.” She sits down on a bench and you follow suit.

“Okay~~ ” you say, not really understanding where she’s going with this.

She smiles again, “well, I’ve noticed that no amount of charmspeak seems to work on you.”

You wrinkle your nose, “someone’s used charmspeak on me?” You ask.

She ponders for a moment, “Drew has tried a few times. Once about your dagger and once because I don’t think she likes how close you and Travis are.” She tries to withhold a smile, but you can see the crinkle at the corners of her eyes. “Anyway,” she continues, “I’ve also tried to use charmspeak on you after I noticed.” You frown and she holds up a hand, “don’t worry, you didn’t even react.”

“You’re saying I’m immune to charmspeak?” you ask in confusion, “wait, why would she care if Travis and I are friends?”

She smiles again like shes getting to the good part. “Not only do I think you’re immune, or at the very least, highly resistant, I think that it’s possible you have your own form.” She explains in excitement, glossing over your other question.

“My own form of charmspeak?”

She nods, “Who is your mother?”

You pull a face, “Clio?” She motions with her hands for you to go on. “Muse of History?”

“And the muses are in charge of~?”

“A bunch of stuff?” You ask, not following.

“Clio!” Silena says in disappointment, “the Muses are goddesses of inspiration!”

“Okay?”

She throws her hands up and mutters something in ancient Greek. “Clio, I think you might have a charmspeak ability related to inspiration!”

You laugh.

“Example.” She says, ignoring you, “you cheered on Charlie’s brother when he was going to give up.” She pulls your wrist up to show the twittering bird.

“That was just Jake fixing his own problem.” You argue.

“Whoever’s side your on in capture the flag, wins.” She continues.

“That’s just coincidence!” You try again.

“Gods above, Clio! Just the other day you cheered Percy on and he disarmed Luke in his first sparing match!” She finishes.

You roll your eyes, “that was just Percy-”

She holds up her hands, “fine, I understand that you don’t believe me.” She says, “then it won’t bother you to test it out.” She teases.

You scoff, “Silena, those are all coincidences. How are you supposed to prove that I have this…form of charmspeak?”

She smiles, “by setting your friends up against other people.”

“Other people?” You ask.

“People they couldn’t normal beat.” She finishes.

“Well, Percy was absolute trash at just about everything except sword-play.” You say, tilting your head slightly.

“And how much did you two banter back and forth?” She says, a sly smile creeping onto her face.

You smile and roll your eyes, “come on, you’re saying Percy was so bad because I was teasing him?”

Silena shrugs, “maybe.”

You think for a moment, “do you think I could use it in the opposite sense?”

She grins, “you’ll never know until you try.” She shrugs again and begins playing with her hair. “Maybe, you could use it defensively.” She suggests.

The horn sounds in the forest and you both turn to look towards the sound.

“But if you don’t want to~” she says, teasing again.

“Fine, I want to learn, but if it goes nowhere, I get to tell you I told you so.” You say, standing.

“If I’m right though, we get to give you a makeover.” She says, pulling a twig from your hair.

You laugh, “sure, Silena. Whatever you say.”

As you both walk to greet the other campers, a howl tears out of the forest.

“What was that?” You ask, nervously.

Silena shakes her head, “I haven’t heard that before, I don’t know.”

Fear crawls up your throat making it hard to breath. “Percy.” You run into the woods, pulling Kipos from its sheath.

“Clio!” Silena cries, racing after you.

Chapter Text

Faintly you hear, “it’s all Percy’s fault! Percy summoned it!” You speed towards the sound, Silena stumbling behind you. You felt your face and arms getting scratched up but you didn’t care. You were desperate to make sure Percy was okay.
You slammed into the clearing, just in time to see Percy step into the creek.

“Thank the gods.” You mutter, trying to catch your breath.

“Look, I-I don’t know why,” Percy is saying, he’s trying to apologize, but above his head a green glowing spear…no, a trident has appeared. You allow yourself a smirk, I called it. You think before realizing how bad this is for your best friend.

“This is really not good.” Annabeth says and all around Percy, even Clarisse, the campers are bowing.

“It is determined,” Chiron says.

“My father?” Percy asks in utter confusion.

“Poseidon, Earth-shaker, Storm-bringer, Father of Horses. Hail Percy Jackson, son of the Sea God.” Chiron says and Silena pulls you down to the ground.

“Pfft, I’m not bowing to that nerd.” You stand back up and walk over to Percy. His eyes meet yours and you can see the fear and uncertainty there. “You’re alive! That’s good news.” You say, gently forcing the sword from his hand.

“You’re bleeding.” Percy says after a moment.

You shake your head, “a couple scars’ll do me good.” You reply. “Come on.” You support his weight as you leave the stream. No one gets up to help you. Not even your friends. You find yourself glaring at a few people. You will not let Percy get ostracized by the camp. If no one else was gonna be there I always would. You think glumly as the two of you walk back from the forest.

“Ugh, I feel awful.” Percy complains.

You eye his chest plate, “yeah, well, it’s only gonna get worse.” You say with a shake of your head.

He’s quiet for a while before he says, “I’m sorry, C.”

“Oh, Perce.” You say softly, “don’t apologize. It’s not your fault.” You set him down at one of the picnic tables to help him get the breast plate off. “None of us get to chose our parents.” As you pull the tattered armor of, you see the ruined camp shirt underneath.

“I don’t want you to feel obligated-”

“Stop right there.” You hold a hand up between you. “Perseus Jackson, I do not care who your parents are. No mortal, demigod, or immortal could keep me from sticking things out with you.” You drop the chest plate on the ground and seeing as other people are slowly emerging from the forest, you help Percy up again.

“C-” Percy starts but you cut him off.

“Anybody who has a problem with you can go through me. If you need me, I’ll back you up.”  You can hear Percy getting choked up as you walk back towards the cabins.

Finally, he clears his throat and says, “back at you, C.”

You smile, “you’re like my brother, Perce.”

“Okay, I can’t handle the sap anymore.” He pretends to complain.

You laugh, “just trying to get you back on your feet, Jackson.”

You re-adjust him. “I have some ambrosia in my backpack.”

“Why do you have ambrosia?” He asks.

“Because I felt…” you trail off and look away.

He waits a beat before asking, “what is it, Clio?”

“Ah…” you sigh, “well we haven’t really had a good time to talk about it…”

“Your vision?” Percy asks.

You gape at him, “how do you know about that?”

Percy shrugs, “rumor around camp was that you didn’t just pass out from your side still being injured.” He tells you, looking a little guilty.

“Ugh.” The camp rumor mill is already exhausting. “No, not that. Yes I had a vision, but I’m not ready to talk about it…” you trail of again, you’d have to tell him at some point…

“Are you okay?” He asks as you get to the steps of Hermes cabin.

“Well.” You smirk sadly, “that remains to be seen.” You set him down on the steps and sit next to him. “Let’s see, I am the daughter of a lesser god, I get visions which ‘isn’t normal’ for demi-gods outside of dreams, and my best friend just got a glowing green target attached to his back.” You lean back on your elbows and look at him, “you mean other than that?”

He sighs, “you got me there.” He says, trying to withhold a smile.

“To tell you the truth, I don’t know anything.” You sigh and look up at the sky. “I wish I had something I could offer you besides friendship.” You shake your head, eyes up at the fading light. “Advice or something. Our destinies are gonna be very different.” You tell him, wondering if Chiron said the same thing to him.

Percy slips his hand over yours and you both sit in silence for a while.

“If I’m ever important enough…” He trails off.

You turn your head to look at him but he’s staring up at the sky, lost in thought.

You smile a bit sadly. “Come on Jackson. Let’s get some ambrosia in you.” You stand, brushing off your pants before offering him a hand. As you go inside and start rummaging around your backpack.

Percy says, “so, why do you have ambrosia?”

You pull out the sandwich baggie of Ambrosia, “ha!” You open it and pull out a piece. “Well, after my loss to Luke, apparently I was in the med tent for five days.” You hand the piece to him, “then I had that vision and blacked out…” you shrug, sealing the baggie. “I figured, just in case was a good enough excuse to have some on me at all times.”

Percy breaks the chunk in half and hands the smaller piece to me. “You’re covered in cuts and scrapes, C.” He explains.

You roll your eyes and take the piece he offers. “Thank you, I’m sure it’s not as bad as you’re acting.”

“Well, if I had a mirror.” He says, a grin forming on his lips.

You glare at him, “don’t even think it, Jackson.”

“What?” He asks, innocently blinking at you.

You roll your eyes, “oh sure, okay.”

After a second of silence Percy says, “worried you’ll break it?” As he nibbles his ambrosia with a barely concealed smirk.

“Gods above!” You throw your hands into the air, “I knew it!”

Percy starts laughing and you shove him lighting, but you’re glad that he’s laughing. You wrap an arm around his shoulders and the two of you lean back against the wall.

“C…”

“Yeah?”

“I’m scared.” Perce admits in a whisper.

“At least we know you aren’t brain dead, yet.” You whisper back, “don’t worry, I’ll back you up.” You squeeze his shoulder.

As the others trickle in, Percy and you stay there. No one pays you much attention. In fact, it feels like you’re getting the cold shoulder. You see a couple of glances, but Travis doesn’t look over once. What kind of friends back down at the first sign of hardship? They know what it’s like to be an outcast and still they are going to act like this?

The next morning, Chiron takes Percy to his cabin. Chiron is so damn solemn you wonder if he’s trying to freak Percy out.

Poseidon’s cabin is gorgeous. Greenish concrete with seashells embedded into it. Seashell and fish fossils are embedded into the floor inside where enough bunks for at least a dozen campers sit, covered in dust. After Hermes cabin you felt that it was a little lonely.

After whatever happened during capture the flag, no one wanted to train with Percy so Luke gave him one on one training. Anytime you could, you’d join at least to watch.

“Why don’t you spar Clio?” Luke says in the middle of a session.

You look up from your notebook, Percy and you lock eyes.

“What?” Percy asks.

“Why me?” You ask.

Luke rolls his eyes, “he needs to see how other people fight too.”

You set aside your notebook and come down the stairs with a sigh.

“But Clio only uses a dagger.” Percy says, “that’s not really fair.”

You raise your eyebrows, “oh, you think that’s not fair?” You bat your eyelashes at him. “Then it should be easy to take me down.” You suggest innocently.

Percy regards you warily.

“Come on Perce, don’t you think I’ll be easy to beat with a sword?” You goad, hearing Luke laugh as you unsheathe Kipos.

“Please go easy on me, C.” Percy begs.

“Not on your life, Jackson.” You say good naturally. You start to circle each other.

Percy is good, really good. Especially for only a week-ish of training, but you’d also been able to watch him. Percy didn’t like being forced to wait. So, that’s exactly what you did.

You circle him, waiting for him to make the first move. When he does, you side step, blocking his blade with Kipos.

“How hard are we supposed to go?” You ask, Luke.

He shrugs, “until one of you wins.”

You grin at Percy, “ready to lose, Jackson?” You instigate.

“You wish.” He responds.

You elbow him in the face and he stumbles back.

“Jesus, C!” Percy whines, but his nose isn’t broken.

“I’m not going to go easy on you.” You say with a smile, backing up again.

Percy sets his face into a fierce expression. “Fine, let’s do this.”

You circle each other and you can see something change in his eyes. It’s very similar to Luke. Percy feints to the left, but you’re ready for him. Your blades meet and sparks shower both of you. You try to kick out his leg, but he rolls out of the way. Bringing up his blade, you only just manage to avoid it before catching the hilt of his blade with Kipos, causing his sword to clatter away. You grin then, repositioning the dagger in your hand so it’s at his throat.

“Give up?” You ask.

Percy frantically glances between you and the blade on the ground, “not even close.” He says, rolling under your arm and managing to pick up the sword.

You laugh in surprise, “that was pretty good, Perce!” You see him smile and you wonder if you shouldn’t congratulate him while fighting, if Silena was right anyway.

The two of you circle again and you say, “let me know when you give up.” You taunt. Percy smirks and brings his sword down on you. You block with Kipos, but Percy moves faster, bringing the butt of his sword toward your chest. You block with your arm and hear a crack.
You stumble back.

Percy freezes, “C, are you okay?” He worries.

You curl your arm against your chest, breathing through your nose. “I am not going to the infirmary again without winning.” You say through gritted teeth.

Percy’s brilliant reply? “Uh-”

You yell in defiance and attack him with renewed vigor. The pain in your arm worsens with every movement. You have maybe thirty seconds before you’ve lost for good.

Percy’s barely blocking your attacks, you’re moving too quickly for him to fully register. You knock his blade from his hands again and sweep his feet out from under him.

“I yield!” He yells from the ground as you look over him.

The moment he says it you feel your eyes tear up and you plop yourself on the ground, cradling your arm.

“C?”

You start to cry, “I think my arm is broken!” You wail.

Percy gets up and kneels next to you. “I’m so sorry, Clio. I knew it too-” He wraps an arm around you and you cry into his shoulder.

“This is why we don’t block with our arms.” Luke says.

Percy glares at him, “dude, she’s hurt and in pain. Maybe now’s not the right time?” He retorts.

Luke squats next to you, “Clio.” You look at him, your eyes ringed bright red. “Always block with your weapon.” He reiterates.

You’d never thought it before, but if this was how life was going to be, you didn’t know if you wanted to live it. You were supposed to be playing four-square and jump rope. Not trying to keep your best friend from killing you. You turn back into Percy’s shoulder and cry come more.

“Come on, C.” Percy rubs your back. “Let’s go get you something for your arm.” He helps you up and starts walking towards the infirmary. “I’m sorry, C. I should have been more careful.”

You shake your head, your tears finally drying up. “No, you did what you were supposed to do.”

“But you got hurt.” Percy argues.

You sigh, “yeah, I noticed,” you croak.

Percy rolls his eyes and shakes his head, “maybe you should switch to a sword?” He suggests.

You smile a little, “I still took you down.”

Percy lets out a shocked laugh, “yeah, you did get really scary there at the end.” He admits.

“Sorry, I at least wanted to win if I was gonna have to crawl back to the Apollo campers.” You explain, “also, I was in a lot of pain.”

When you made it to the infirmary, Michael is hand up herbs to dry. He turns and sees you both closing his eyes. “Please tell me it’s Percy that’s hurt.” He says, his eyes still closed.

“Nope.”

“I think I broke her arm.” Percy explains worriedly.

Michael sighs in exasperation, “gods above, Clio. Can’t you stay intact for one week?” He asks, pulling out a flask of Nectar.

You wrinkle your nose, “do you think I want to be hurt all the time?”

Michael walks over to you and takes your arm in his hands, you can’t help but hiss even with how gently his touch is. “Gods above.” He curses again under his breath. “Okay, you’ve had a lot of ambrosia lately. There’s only so much that’s safe for demigods at once.” He lets go of your arm and opens the flask. “Take a swig of this and I’ll put it in a brace.”

“A brace?” You whine.

He fixes you with a look, “light activities too.”

“Please Michael-”

“No. You’re a hazard to your own health.” Under his breath he says, “even for a demigod.”

You take a swig from the flask, dejected and Percy takes your other hand. As the warmth flows down your arm, Michael sets your arm with a splint. You feel like you’ll bite your tongue off in an effort to stay quiet.

“Okay, that should be good.” Michael says.

“Thanks.” You mumble.

“If anyone asks-”

“Clio!” All three of you look over at the sudden appearance of Silena. “Are you okay?” She makes her way over and you fidget.

“It’s not a big deal, I just broke my arm.” I mumble.

“She’s not allowed to do anything strenuous with her arm.” Michael explains and you glare at him.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Silena says with a frown.

“It was my fault.” Percy tries to claim.

“No, it wasn’t.” You argue, you hold his gaze until he backs down.

“Well, the broken arm isn’t great news, but this would be the perfect time to start!” Silena says excited.

“Start what?” Percy asks.

“Oh, Silena thinks I have some kind of inspirational power.” You explain, rolling your eyes.

“That’s so cool!” Percy says.

You scoff, “I don’t have any special gift though.” You argue.

“Except with getting hurt.” Michael comments.

You wrinkle your nose at him.

“We are starting tomorrow.” Silena asserts.

You stand up, “thanks for my arm, Michael.” You say and turn, leaving.

“Did something happen besides her arm?” Silena asks, confused.

“C, wait up!” Percy calls, hurrying after you.

The next day, Percy and you get separated early. While he gets to go to archery lessons, Silena has decided that trial by fire is the best way to find out if you actually have something.

“Okay, so if you want to really see if someone can be inspired to win, we will put two people up against each other where one is drastically under prepared.” Silena says. There are only a few of you in the arena, Luke, Silena, Alice, Chris, and yourself.

“We decided to have Alice go up against Chris.” Luke continues. Until Silena had met with you this morning, you didn’t even know Luke was in on it. Little Alice looks pretty confused because Chris is nearly six years older than her.

“I don’t think this is fair.” You mention to them.

“Clio, you have to believe wat you’re saying.” Silena says seriously, “charmspeak works best when you tell the person what they want to hear and what you believe.”

You close your eyes, I have to believe this’ll work? Ugh. Fine if it doesn’t work, I get to say I-told-you-so. You kneel down in front of Alice. “Alice, you’re gonna win this fight.” You say, willing it to be so in your head and heart. You block out any negative thoughts and smile at her. “Show them what you’re made of.” You finish and she blinks a few times before turning towards Chris. You sit back onto the bench and Silena grins at you.

Alice can’t really use a sword yet, but she has a dagger like you. You were really worried Chris would actually hurt her, but somehow, even though Chris had years of training on Alice, he couldn’t seem to land a strike on her.

No way this eight-year-old was going to win, just ‘cause I said so. 
You can’t help but sit up straight, there was no way Silena was right was there?

“Holy Hera, she’s fast.” You mumble, watching Chris whip his head around to keep an eye on her. When she and you spar, she can barely get a hit in…

Alice slides through his legs and jumps, literally like a monkey, onto his back. Her dagger is at his throat.

“Yield! I yield!” Chris says, out of breath.

Alice hops off and skips over to the three of us. “Did you see me?” Alice demands in excitement.

“Wow, Alice, you’ve been holding out on me!” You exclaim, “that was awesome!” You say, giving her a high five.

You see Luke and Silena share a look and you shake your head, “however awesome that was,” you say, turning back to them, “it was just a coincidence. It didn’t have anything to do with me.” You say, giving them a look.

Luke raises an eyebrow and Silena sighs, “how can you say that?” Silena asks.

“She’ll say that every single time.” Luke argues. Chris lay’s down on one of the benches.

“You alright, Chris?” You ask. He gives a thumbs up. You squeeze the brace on your arm and stare off across the arena. If you could actually give anyone inspiration, then every single time you told someone to win, if they lost that would mean it was just a placebo effect. Right?

“Clio!”

You flinch and look at the others, “what?” You ask.

“We have another idea.” Silena says, nodding at Luke.

“We’ll put two people equally matched and see who wins.” Luke explains.

You groan, “guys, that isn’t going to change the fact that it’s just coincidence.”

Silena holds up a hand, “none of that, you promised you’d try.”

You take a deep breath, “Silena, you believe this is real and I don’t.” You roll my eyes, “I highly doubt that we’ll ever agree-”

“If you back out of a bet, the other person wins.” Luke says with a sly smile.

You scoff, “I never said I was backing out!” You grumble, “just that neither of us will win.”

“Okay, so do we think Ethan and Chris next?” Luke asks.

You glance at Chris, “I don’t know. Chris needs some recovery time.” You point out.

“How about Griffin and Charlie?” Silena suggests.

You can’t help but perk up. “You think they would?” You ask, eager to see someone else kick Griffin’s ass.

While the others try to convince Griffin and Beckendorf to help with your “special training,” you sneak over to the kitchens.
You need something to hold the ink together when you make it. You read that gum Arabic or Xanthan gum is the best.
Where can one find that? The kitchen.

“What are you doing?”

You jump a half mile into the air as a voice comes out from nowhere. You turn to see a familiar pair of brothers behind you.

“What do you two, want?” You ask, glaring at them.

Connor looks between Travis and you as the two of you glare each other down.

“Why are you breaking into the kitchen?” Travis asks.

“Why are you treating Percy like a pariah?” You throw back.

“Are you really going to stay mad at me for that?” Travis demands.

“Percy’s my best friend and you helped-no.” You hold up a hand, “You are helping to make him feel alienated.” You shake your head, “you think that I’ll just let that go?”

“Percy’s kind of scary, Clio.” Connor adds timidly.

“You didn’t see him take out the Ares campers.” Travis insists. “It’s dangerous to be around him.”

You shake your head, “whatever. Go away.” You turn back to the door.

“You’re really going to throw away your other friends for one person?” Travis demands.

You round on him, getting right in his face. “Percy Jackson is like a brother to me and anyone that slights him, slights me.” You poke your finger into his chest, “If I had real siblings and they treated Percy badly too, I wouldn’t talk to them. If someone treated you or Jake this way I’d steer clear of them too!”

Travis turns around without saying a word and walks away.

“Clio…are you okay?” Connor asks softly.

You rub your hands over your face, vigorously, trying not to cry. “Yeah, Connor, I’ll be fine.

He chews on his cheek for a moment before saying, “Travis is just worried you’ll get hurt if you’re too close to Percy.” He touches your arm gently, “we’re still your friends.”

You swallow thickly, willing yourself not to cry, “I-” you clear your throat, “I know Con-man. I’m sorry, I wouldn’t let someone treat you, Travis, or Jake the way everyone’s treating Percy.”

Connor’s quiet for a minute before looking at the door. “So, what are you trying to get from the kitchen?”

You sigh and pull out a little notebook you’d “borrowed” from the camp store. “I need a gum Arabic substitute.” You explain.

“Gum Arabic?” Connor asks in confusion.

You nod, “cabin six has enough books that I could find one with a couple ink recipes.”

“That doesn’t tell me what kind of gum that is.” Connor says.

“Oh, it’s not actually a gum, it’s a powder that helps hold things together.” You explain. “Kind of like glue.”

“Oh, and it’s in the kitchen?” Connor asks.

You sigh, “maybe but probably not, one of its substitutes might be though.”

In the distance someone is calling your name.

“What’s the sub called?” Connor asks.

“Xanthan gum.” You show him how it’s spelled.

“Let me get it while you go see what they want.” Connor suggests.

“The harpies will not be happy if they catch you.” You remind him.

He laughs, “they’d have to catch me first.”

The voice is a lot closer, calling you again. You fidget for a moment before tearing off the piece of paper. “Here, just don’t get caught, alright?” You hand it to him and he smiles.

“Nothing to worry about, boss.” He salutes you and you roll your eyes, leaving around the side of the building, walking right into Silena.

“Where did you go?” She asks.

“I was just taking a break.” You explain.

She glances behind you at the kitchen, “well, we managed to convince Charlie, but Griffin was more difficult.”

You grimace, “what do you mean?”

“Well,” she sighs, “they refused to allow any special training without their whole cabin watching.”

You stop in your tracks, “you can’t be serious.”

Silena winces, “well…Luke already said yes.”

You start grumbling.
What in the name of everything holy was he thinking? If I failed in front of the whole Ares cabin…

“Luke thought it might give you some motivation.” Silena admits.

Taking a deep breath, you start towards the arena again. “Motivation, right.” You grumble.

When you finally make it to the arena you’re greeted by the full Ares cabin, as well as some of Athena’s and Aphrodite’s who must have heard what was happening.

“We thought you chickened out.” Clarisse taunts.

“Fat chance.” You respond back with a sneer. You walk over to Luke who’s smirking at you. “Thanks for the ‘motivation,’ Luke.” You say with sarcasm.

He grins, “alright, sit down everyone.” After a few moments of everyone settling down, he looks at Silena, “care to explain?”

Silena stands, “we are trying to test if Clio has a form of verbal inspiration. She’ll try to help her companion by only giving them inspiration.”

Luke adds, “so far, her choice has won every time.” He gestures between Beckendorf and Griffin. “Who are you going to inspire?” He asks you.

You scoff, this is a little too showy for you, but if anyone thought you’d pick an Ares they were stupid. You turn to Beckendorf and he smirks at you. You haven’t got any idea what Silena told him to get him here, but you don’t care.

“Win.” You demand and this time you could swear you feel a wave of emotion sweep off of you towards him.

Chapter Text

It was hardly a fight and even though it had been Beckendorf who fought Griffin, everyone looked at you like you were the one who knocked Griffin's teeth out. The whole Ares cabin had it out for you now, even though you didn't feel as though it was your fault. 

"Holy shit," Chris remarks as the Ares cabin drags Griffin away.

"That was impressive." Malcom complements, nodding at you.

You let out a frustrated sigh.

"Oh do not say it was coincidence!" Silena said turning towards you after giving Beckendorf a celebratory hug.

"Tch-" You roll your eyes, "you all had me believing you for a moment there."

Beckendorf eyes you for a moment, "I could swear you did something." He grumbles.

Your shoulders fall and you hold your palms up, "sure, maybe it felt like...I don't know...a wave of emotion washed off me, but guys..." You shake your head, "you're just convincing me to see things that aren't there."

Silena rolls her eyes and throws her hands into the sky, Luke shakes his head.

"Next time, we should see if you can tell someone to lose." Luke says.

Beckendorf is already leaving, followed by a few the Athena kids. Which brings to your attention the fact that the Aphrodite kids are slowly circling in like lions on a kill.

"Next time?" You ask, eyeing them, "I can go?" You ask eagerly. 

Luke smirks and nods, "go on."

"Thank you!" You rush out of the Arena, much to the annoyance of the Aphrodite kids. You trip on the top step, but manage to keep yourself up right as you sprint away towards the cabins. Honestly, you didn't like all the attention, it was kind of weird. As far as you knew there wasn't special one on one training sessions. Except for Perce...

As you finally approached cabin three, you noticed the door propped open. You slowed to a walk, noticing that after a month of training you weren't as winded as you used to get. The fact that you ran without being forced to kinda said something about that too...

"Percy?" You call, knocking on the door. You don't hear a response so you crack the door open a bit more. Percy has his back to you, but you can see his hands shaking. "Hey..." You touch his shoulder, "what is-" that's when you see the newspaper clipping in his hand. The title reads: Boy and Mother Still Missing After Freak Car Accident. "Perce, why are you reading-" He cuts you off by thrusting the paper into your hands.

"I can't read it." He grumbles.

You sigh, "it'll just make you mad..." He insists he doesn't care so you shake your head and read the article aloud. "The phone number is what's circled..." You explain once you've finished. Percy flops on his bunk and covers his eyes with his arm. "Perce, do you know who left this here?" You ask, trying to keep yourself calm. No point in both of you being angry. Or at least, no point in showing that anger, but if you did happen to find out who sent this...maybe you'd make sure their arm was popped out of it's socket as well.

"No." Percy says, throwing his arm back on the bed and staring at the ceiling. "It was here when I came back from practice." 

You take a deep breath and glance out the still open door, wondering if even the Ares cabin could be this cruel.

"You should talk to Travis." Percy says after a moment, drawing you back from your thoughts.

You scoff, "what?" You look back at him. He's propped himself up on his elbows to look at you.

"He stormed up to me and demanded that we be friends because you wouldn't talk to him." Percy says, giving you a look.

You blink, "what? No he didn't." You argue.

Percy thought for a moment, "okay, fair. He did come up and ask if I'd talk to you though."

You laugh, but there isn't any humor in it, " he really think's that'll work?"

"Listen, I don't know what happened between you two..." You roll your eyes, "but he's your friend too right? You wouldn't give me the silent treatment." He says. The two of you stare at each other for a minute before Percy adds, "do you want to talk about it?"

"Ugh," you stomp your foot, "he's my friend sure, but he's treating you like an outcast!"

"Everyone is treating me like an outcast, C." Percy points out.

You huff, "I know that, but that doesn't make it right!" You throw your hand back to gesture at the open door, "if they're going to treat you bad it's basically treating me bad. I refuse to be friends with bullies."

"Did they treat you badly?" Percy asks, sitting up straight in his bunk, looking fierce suddenly.

You huff again, rolling your eyes and shrugging, "no I guess not, but-"

Percy relaxes back into his bunk, "well that's good at least." 

"Ugh!" You cross your arms, turning away. "I don't want to be friends with people that treats my best friend badly." You mumble out. You hear Percy sigh and the bunk creeks but you don't look. You just continue staring out at the hearth in the green.

Percy wraps an arm around you, "I guess I would feel the same if someone did that to you or Grover." He says, "especially if they were my friends too."

You scoff, "Connor said that being around you is dangerous."

You can hear the smile in his voice as he says, "oh yeah, I'm so dangerous." 

Sighing you say, "it's just not fair."

Percy and you stand there for a minute, just staring out of the cabin. "Do you think someone summoned the Hellhound?" Percy eventually asks.

Your breathing catches, "Perce..."

"I heard people talking about it." He admits.

"Monsters like that have to be summoned." You tell him. "Someone in the camp..." You trail off. This was one of the reasons you had been so prickly with everyone. How could you trust anyone after this?

"So, someone in camp is working with Hades?" Percy asks.

You look at him, "I don't know." You admit, fidgeting. "Percy, there's no way to know why they tried to attack you though." You rush on, "I mean we didn't know who your dad was until after it happened."

Percy just stares forward and you feel your shoulders fall. He turns to you and smiles a bit, "did you manage to get your gum or whatever?"

You laugh at his unexpected change of subject. "Xanthan gum and no, well maybe." You say, thinking, "Connor said he'd get it for me."

"Well at least you can get started on your fancy ink." He jokes.

The two of you walk out as the dinner horn goes off.

"Yeah, I just have to find somewhere to make it." You say.

"Use my cabin. It's not like there's anyone there to bother it." He offers and you laugh.

"It has to be boiled." You shake your head, "but maybe Jake'll help me."

"Hey, I'll help too!" Percy says and you laugh again.

The sad thing is, Percy wouldn't be helping you. The next morning he was taken off to see Chiron early in the morning.

"Hey, Travis!" You call, walking over to him, you see him freeze in place.

"What do you want?" He asks, crossing his arms.

You roll your eyes, "oh, stop it. Percy told me you basically apologized." You wrinkle your nose at him, "so there's no need to keep up...whatever this is." You say, gesturing between the two of you.

He sighs, his arms falling, "Connor gave me this long talk yesterday..." Travis admits.

A corner of your lips pull up into a half smile. "He told me you helped him get my Xanthan gum."

Travis scoffs, "do you know how hard it was to find that?" 

You laugh, "sorry, at least I had it written down for you."

Travis laughs and you join him, both of you are just so relieved this didn't go on any longer.

"So, uh, do you wanna come with me to see if I can use the forge to boil the ink?" You ask.

"Why don't you just ask to use the kitchen?" Travis asks.

You fidget with your wrist brace, not looking at him. "The harpies kinda..." you trail off, not really wanting to admit to another fear. "I don't know...they kind of freak me out." You finally admit.

"Oh."

You shrug, "but you're probably right. I need a big pot anyway." You sigh.

"Well I'll-"

That's when it started to rain.

Personally, you love rain, but you hadn't seen it rain within the camp boundaries, ever. You and Travis star in stunned silence up at the sky.

"This is bad." Travis says, taking a step back towards the cabins.

"Don't be dramatic." You argue, though you know he's right. Travis gives you a strange look, "what?" You ask.

"Aren't you freaked out?" He asks.

You shake your head and smile, offering your hand. "It's just rain. Let's dance!"
"Dance?" He half-yells, startled by how calm you seem, "are you crazy?" 

You take his hand, "things are only as bad as you make them!" You yell over the thunder. "Come on!" You grab his other hand, both clasped together and start dancing. There's no music and you know you should probably treat this particular storm like it's poison, but rain is one of your favorite types of weather. You also feel like there's been so much stress lately that you don't want to worry about it.

It takes no time for you both to be soaked to the skin, but by the time you stumble into the Hermes cabin, you're both smiling and laughing. Honestly, you all deserve to just be kids playing in the rain. Of course, the biggest problem with happiness is how unlikely it is to last, especially for demi-gods.

The storm didn't let up and you, along with the other campers, were standing at the doors of Hermes cabin watching the rain when you felt something heavy drape over your shoulders. Travis smiled at you, stepping up to your side. He had brought you a towel and wrapped it around your shoulders. As the group of you watch the rain, another figure runs out of the rain.

A satyr, holding a big leaf over his head, ran up and said, "that Percy Jackson kid was just given a quest!"

You gasp, your eyes going wide.

"Percy?" someone asks from the group.

The satyr nodded and went on, "Grover and Annabeth are his companions!" He said excitedly. You just blink in shock.

Travis grabs your hand, "come on!" He pulls you both back out into the rain. Your both sprint over to Percy's cabin. Hermes kids run so fast, you end up doubling over when you get to the cabin, dripping water everywhere.

Percy looks very grim, "hey, Clio..."

Wheezing you ask, "you took a quest?" Shaking your head at him, shivering, "what were you thinking Perce? You've been here a week!"

Percy just glances back down again at his backpack. "I didn't have a choice." You sit next to him on the floor with a sigh. "How long were you two out in the rain?" He asks, eyeing your soaked clothes. You ignore his question and wrap your arms around him tightly. Normally he'd complain about getting wet, but this time he hugged you back.

"Gods above, Jackson." You mumble under your breath. "How am I supposed to watch your back now?" You ask, still hugging him.

"I'll have Grover-"

"That makes me feel so much better," You grumble.

"Well, Annabeth is going." Travis says, "she'll probably keep him alive."

You laugh and sit back, desperately trying not to cry. "At least someone smart is going." You joke.

"Hey!" Percy says, indignantly.

You look up at his face again. "you'll be as safe as you can, right?"

"Yes, ma'am." He says, standing back up.

You stand up with him, holding a pinkie out. He rolls his eyes, but you just shake your hand, "pinkie promise you won't take unnecessary risks." You demand.

He locks your pinkies together, "pinkie promise."

You don't really feel better, but you aren't trying to make him more scared than he already is.

"So, what's the quest?" Travis asks.

Percy hikes the backpack up onto his shoulder, "Zeus' Master Bolt."

"That's what was stolen?" You ask in shock.

"You know where it is?" Travis asks, obviously excited.

Percy glances at you before saying, "Los Angelos."  

You wonder why that strikes a cord, but get distracted by Travis' whistle. "Good luck, Jackson."

Percy nods and the three of you head to the edge of camp.

"I'd ask you to keep C out of trouble, but I feel like a Hermes kid might not be the best to ask."

"Hey!" Both of you complain and Percy laughs.

After a moment you grab Percy's arm to stop him, "Perce, you should take my dagger." You say.

"What? I couldn't do that." He says in confusion. 

"Well, you can't leave with nothing." You argue, "and I don't have anything else." You sigh, "I don't-"

"Give me your charm bracelet." He says, abruptly.

"What?" You ask.

"You can get it back. It'll be for good luck." He smiles. You sigh and unclip it from your wrist.

"If you lose this..."

Percy grins, "I won't."

You clip it to his wrist and try not to laugh. It looks a little silly, but you hope it brings him good luck. "The bird sings Gold Digger-"

"And Miss Independent." Percy finishes. "I know."

You smile and both hurry to catch up with Travis. 

When the three of you get to where everyone is waiting you run up and hug Grover. "You better be careful too G-man." You say, "no-"

"unnecessary risks." Percy finishes for you.

You sigh and glance at Annabeth, the two of you aren't besties or anything, but you hug her anyway. "Kick ass, Annabeth." You say, giving her a smile.

"Hey, how come I didn't get a 'kick ass'?" Percy complains.

You shrug, "Because Annabeth is cool and you're just a nerd." You say with a laugh.

"Don't worry Clio, he'll make it back." Annabeth says, her face determined.

The three of them wave at the others and head up the hill to meet with Chiron. You have to wonder if they'll come back in one piece. As you turn back to do something, anything to get your mind off your best friend walking into danger, you see Luke rush by with a box. Travis explains that the weird flying shoes were a gift from Hermes during Luke's quest. You find yourself chewing on your lip, you hope you never have to go on a quest.

"Percy'll be okay." Travis says, trying to console you.

"Clio, Travis, what are you two doing?" Luke calls as he comes back down the hill. The crows was dispersing and the rain had finally turned into a chilly mist.

"I was..." You think back, what the heck had you been about to do today anyway?

"We were going to see if we could make ink in the kitchen." Travis says.

"Oh, yeah." You chuckle, "I was really distracted with Percy and all." You say, gesturing up at the hill.

"Ah, jealousy is normal, but I'm sure you'll get a quest someday." Luke says, completely misunderstanding.

You can't help but laugh, "what? Jealous?" You wave your hands back and forth, "I do not ever want a quest." You say.

"What do you mean?" Travis asks.

You look at him like he's crazy, "what do I mean? What do you mean? Quests are dangerous. I'll be happy if I don't break my neck tripping over a rock, thank you very much." You say, pointing at your wrist brace.

Travis bursts out laughing, "that's honestly, so fair."

Luke smiles, "well maybe you'll find something just as important to do instead." He chuckles then too, "something with less bodily injury."

You glance at him, "like what?" You ask.

He stops laughing and regards you with an unknown look. Gods above, Luke could be weird sometimes. "You'll know when it happens." Luke says. He looks between you and Travis, "you guys should change cloths before you get sick." He finally says.

Travis and you look at each other and you glance back up the hill to see Percy disappear over the other side.

"Yeah," you agree, "we should change."

When you change into dry clothes, you really want to cry again. Your best friend was safe(ish) for a week and now he had to go on some dangerous quest. He might not come back. "Don't think like that." You admonish. If Percy got stuck in the Underworld, you'd just have to march down there yourself and- "Holy Hera!" You shout, suddenly, "They're headed to the Underworld?" No wonder Percy said Los Angelos so weirdly. He was trying not to say that he was literally about to waltz into the Underworld to get Zeus' weapon back? You really feel like punching a wall. How dare the gods ask this of a couple of kids?

Someone pounded on the stall you were changing in. "What's taking you so long freakazoid?"

You groan, "Clarisse, could you maybe think up a better jeer?" You ask, opening the door with your wet clothes bunched up in a towel.

"Think up a better what?" She asks, confused.

"A jeer, a jest, a taunt?" You say, trying to think of a better way to explain yourself before you sigh and say, "at least think of something original."

Clarisse shoves you against the wall, her arm at your throat. Your clothes fall to the floor with a wet flop as you reach up to push against her arm. "You want something original?" She asks, "how about a scar?" She threatens.

You scoff, "you wouldn't." Normally Clarisse wouldn't bother you, so you really don't know what her deal it.

Clarisse laughs, "You embarrassed my cabin yesterday."

You try to push her off, "that wasn't me!" You argue, but she just slams you back into the wall.

"Prissy isn't here to watch your back anymore." She pushes off of you, glaring before leaving you in the bathroom.

"What is her problem?" You ask out loud in what you thought was an empty bathroom. The stall farthest from you opens and Katie Gardner walks out.

"She's been really touchy since her spear was broken." Katie says, washing her hands.

You stoop down to pick up your clothes. "It's not my fault Percy did that." You complain.

Katie shrugs, "I saw your flower the other day." She says, "you know it glows in the dark, right?" 

You freeze, looking at her slowly, "What?"

She nods, "it glows in the dark, it's faint if you are far away, but if you walk up to it, it shines brighter."

"My mom gave me a night-light flower?" You ask, slack-jawed.

Katie laughs, "what, you thought it was just a normal flower?"

"I-I knew it wasn't normal. It's like half my size!" You say, following her out of the bathroom.

"That's true, that thing is giant." Katie agrees.

You make a face, "wait, why were you out behind the Apollo cabin at night?" You ask, a smirk creeping onto your face.

Katie blushes, opening and closing her mouth like a fish a few times, "that's none of your business!" She finally manages to say.

"So~" You say in a sing song voice, "is it Lee Fletcher?" You ask, grinning. If her blush could get darker it did and you laugh. "So, are you two dating then?" You ask.

"What do you want?" Katie asks.

You chuckle, "I don't want anything, I'm just curious."

Katie regards you for a minute, "fine." She mumbles in embarrassment.

"Well?" You ask, amused.

She rolls her eyes, "yeah, okay, it was Lee." She admits. You smile as the two of you walk towards Hermes cabin, "we aren't official yet, so don't snitch."

"Who am I going to tell, Gardner?" You ask, turning to look at her.

She scoffs, "those delinquent brothers you're so fond of." She says back.

"Brothers?" You ask, "oh, you mean the Stoll's?"

"You rang?" Travis asks, appearing at the top of the steps.

You grin, "is your calling card being a delinquent?" You ask him.

"Well, that's just rude." He says.

Connor peeks out from behind him and grins, "hey, Katie. You here to help Clio make her ink?"

"What are they talking about?" Katie asks you.

You push past the brothers to toss your wet bundle on the floor before you answer, "well," you sit your hands on your hips, "my mother gave me a magic flower whos petals replenish the moment they get pulled off." You say with a shrug.

Katie raises an eyebrow, giving you a weird look, "your first thought after getting a glow-in-the-dark flower, was 'I gotta make ink out of this'?" 

You fidget, reaching for your bracelet which isn't there anymore. "Well, in my defense-"

"It glows?" Connor asks and Katie nods.

"That is so cool!" Travis exclaims.

You shrug and Katie sighs, "Do you even know how to make ink?" She asks you.

You pull air through your teeth, "I have a recipe?"

Katie rolls her eyes, "okay, that's a start. Can I see it?"

You pull out your notebook and flip to the notes you took. "Flowers, water, salt, vinegar, and gum Arabic but it said I could substitute with Xanthan gum." You say, happy that you know exactly what you need.

"Uh...huh..." she says, "that's all you have?"

You shrug, "and that it need's to boil for an hour."

Katie rubs her forehead, "you don't have measurements or anything?" She asks. 

You glance at Travis and Connor and they shrug, "uh, I was just gonna...guess?" You ask.

Katie groans, "okay, where did you get the ingredients list?"

"She got it from the Athena campers." Connor says and you nod in agreement.

Katie thinks for a minute, "okay, get me the book, give me the ingredients. I'll do it?"

"Wait, really?" You ask.

She scoffs, "yes really, you're liable to blow the kitchen up." 

"Hey we aren't in the Hephaestus cabin!" Travis argues.

You go back to your sleeping bag and sort through your ever growing pile of books. "Here, it's this one." You walk back over to them and open the book to the dog eared page. Katie takes it from you and stares at it for a while.

The Stoll's and you exchange a series of glances:

Can she read it?-You

How should I know?-Travis

Should I ask her?-You

You are literally the only person who isn't dyslexic.-Connor

You wince and tentatively ask, "um, can you read it or..."

Katie glances up at you, "oh, I can read it." She glances between you and the brothers, "it just takes me a minute."

"What are you all plotting in here?"

The four of you turn around to see Chris, walking in and plopping down on his bunk.

"No plotting here." You say.

"We're learning how to make ink." Connor says.

"Well, I am." Katie says, closing the book and tucking it under her arm.

He makes a weird face and asks, "why are we learning how to make ink?"

The other three look at you and you stammer out, "well...well I didn't know like what to do with my flower or whatever so I just thought-"

"She thinks it'll be special ink for recording her histories." Luke says, walking in as well.

"Wow, it's a party in here," You grumble.

"Your histories" Chris asks, giving you a look.

You fidget, rubbing your shoe on the boards, "I just...had a dream about it..." You mumble, hating how many eyes were on you.

"It was basically an assignment from her mother." Luke adds, saving you. You glance up at him, but he's looking at Chris. Something seems to pass between them, but Chris turns back and smiles at you. Confusion reflects back at him and he winks at you. The boys say something you don't catch and then Katie says something...

"Hey," she says, tapping your arm.

You flinch and look back at her, "what is it?"

She rolls her eyes, "Connor said you already had the Xanthan gum?"

"Oh," you shake your head to clear it, "right, right." You go back over to your spot and grab a covered basket and the paper bag with the gun. "Here." You say, handing it over to her.

"What's with the basket?" She asks.

"It's the flowers I collected, if you want more just let me know." You say, distracted by whatever Luke could be implying with all his cryptic messages and all.

"Yeah, will do, Clio." With that she leaves.

After the door closes behind her, Travis says, "she seems really dedicated to that all the sudden."

Connor nods, "I've seen her sneak into the kitchens before, I think she likes cooking and following recipes."

You chew on a nail, staring at the floor, what did Luke know that he seemed to share with Chris? It had to be something important right? What was he planning?

"Clio?" A hand falls on your shoulder and you whip your head up to look at Luke. "You okay?" He asks.

Your brows furrow, "Luke, what are you planning?" You ask abruptly.

Luke seems startled for a moment before he laughs, "what do you mean?"

You glance at Chris and then back at Luke, "nothing..." you say, taking a step back from him so his hand slips from your shoulder. You shake your head, "nothing." You say again. "I've gotta go check on the walls of my...pit." You side step Luke, taking a step backwards towards the door.

"Are you okay, Clio?" Luke asks again, concern crossing his features.

"Just have to make sure it doesn't collapse because of the rain." You say, giving an awkward smile and wave before turning and hurrying from the cabin.

Travis calls to you, "Clio-" but you head Luke say something.

You shake your head, Luke's a good guy, even as a son of Hermes, he hadn't ever tried to prank you or anything. He included you even though you were claimed as the daughter of a muse. Why was he acting so weird? 

"Clio! Wait up!" Luke calls from behind you.

You half turn to look at him. He reaches your side and says, "Let's talk, okay?"

You look up at him, "yeah," you say, "okay."

He gestures forward towards the woods. You trust Luke, he's like a big brother. You're sure most of camp feels the same way. You follow him, one step behind. He leads you out of sight from camp and sits down on a stone.

He sighs as you sit across from him, "there's a war coming." He says, catching your eye, his face deadly serious.

Chapter Text

"A war?" You ask, confused.

Luke nods, "we're trying to keep it from the younger kids, but you," he chuckles and shakes his head, "you are just too observant."

You blink, unsure if you should be embarrassed by his compliment or if it was negative... "What war do you mean?" You ask, deciding to move on.

Luke sighs and looks up at the canopy above him, “the gods are fighting over the master bolt." He finally explains.

"So?" You say, "that doesn't have anything to do with us." Your voice taking an angry turn.

Luke regards you for a moment, "you really think so?" He asks, raising his eyebrows.

You lean back, "the thief." You say, "it's one of us."

Luke nods, "you were asking about who all went to the winter solstice,” Luke reminds you.

You take a deep breath, "do you know who the real thief is?" You ask, glancing back toward camp and lowering your voice.

"Yes." You look at him quickly and he holds up his hands, "at least I think I do." 

"Who?" You ask, leaning toward him.

He shakes his head, "let me gather some more evidence first." He says.

You reach for his hand, "I can keep a secret, Luke." You say, really wanting him to trust you.

He smiles, "I know Clio." He sets his hand on your shoulder. "I wouldn't have told you this much if I didn't trust you." 

You nod seriously, biting your lip, "so, this war..." You start, "it's between Zeus and Percy's dad?" You ask.

Luke sighs, pulling his hand back, "I'm not super sure, but that's the way it seems."

You nod, "do the other cabins know yet?"

Luke and you both turn to look back towards camp, you can't see it through the trees and the idea that a war would make it so you permanently couldn't see it...

"Maybe a war is the only way to fix things..." Luke says bitterly.

You look at him and then set you chin on your knees, "but people, our people, could get hurt." You murmur.

Luke looks angry, not at you, you know it's not you, but still. "The gods chose this." Luke insists, "whatever happens now is their doing."

You want to point out that your mother along with the other muses don't have so many kids and they don't seem to expect anything out of you either. You think that might just make him angrier though. To be fair though, you agreed with Luke that most of the gods didn't seem to care about the campers. They just used them.

"If there was a war you'd have much more interesting things to write, though." He says after a moment.

You scoff, "it'd be better if it was boring as hell. At least everyone would be okay."

Luke shakes his head, scoffing, "you are so unlike the rest of us." 

"I'm not interested in glory." You respond, picking up a stick and drawing in the dirt.

Luke watches you for a while, "just interested in recording other's glory for your mother?" It's less a question and more an observation that he nearly spits out as he says it.

You freeze, looking down still.

"It's because she told you to, isn't it?" Luke asks, his tone softening.

"She made it seem-"

He cuts your off, "You don't have to do something just because the gods want you to." You look up at him and he nods at you. "You can do what you want, choose glory if you want to."

Your heart speeds up, is Luke right? Have I been so anti-quest because I was supposed to sit on the sidelines? That's what your mother had said, staying on the sidelines was harder than fighting.

"Do what I want?" You ask, shaking your head. What did I want to do?

"Stick with me, Clio. I'll make sure you can do what you want." Luke says, ruffling the hair on your head.

You swallow, "even...even if I do want to write an account of demi-gods?" You ask, almost nervous.

Luke looks away, "even if that's what you actually want." He stands and smiles, offering you his hand.

You drop the stick and take his hand, standing up. "Okay, Luke." You say, giving him a slight smile.

"Good, let's go back before my brothers come looking for you." He jokes, leading the way back out of the forest.

You wonder if Luke's right. That it wasn't your choice to record the history of demi-gods. Your mother made it seem like your own choice though. Like you had decided to pick this. She had said you were still important. That counted for something, right?

You dug the final areas of your cabin-to-be as you thought about all of this. Somehow the hole hadn't even been effected by the harsh rain. It had been bone dry when you came over after talking with Luke. Your mud bricks were even dry.

"I figured I'd find you here." A voice says from above you.

You turn, wiping dirt off your cheek. "Jake? What's up?"

"You missed lunch." He says, handing you a sandwich and sits on the edge of the hole. "It's getting a lot bigger. Does that mean you get permission?" He asks hopefully.

You take a bite of your sandwich and shake your head. "Nope."

Jake shakes his head and sighs, "you have a death wish."

You flex the fingers on you braced hand and wince, "hey, you mind digging for a while?" You tease.

Jake laughs, "I can not help you until you get proper permits, ma'am."

You roll your eyes and climb up next to him so you can rest a bit. "Thanks for bringing me something to eat..." You sigh, "I didn't even notice the horn." You admit.

Jake looks at the flower next to him, "yeah, it's your passion project." he says simply. "What happened to your bracelet?" He asks.

"I let Percy take it for good luck." You finish the sandwich and lay on your back with a sigh. "You know I don't think it's worth it anymore."

"You don't think what's worth it?" He asks. You pound a fist on the ground indicating your 'passion project.' He looks confused, "Why wouldn't it be?"

You cover your eyes with an arm and groan, "Luke just made me realize that my obsession with history might not really be mine."

"What are you talking about?" Jake asks in confusion.

You toss your hands up and then cover your eyes with an arm. "all this time..." your voice cracks, "I've been chasing something that isn't even mine to chase." You barely contain a sob, "what if, what if I don't even enjoy history and...and..." You start crying then, it's not just what Luke said, with Percy gone it really has you feeling powerless. Jake is pretty uncomfortable but he pats your shoulder awkwardly.

"You said...Luke made you feel like this?" Jake asks, he almost seems angry.

You sniffle, trying to regain some of your composure, "I mean, it's not his fault..." You say.

Jake just hums quietly, looking annoyed, "listen, Clio, your mom is history. Obviously you love it. It's who you are. Fighting against that would be like...fighting yourself." Jake tries to explain.

You peek at him from under your arm, your face wet with tears. "You think?"

Jake smirks, good naturedly. "Yeah, I do." He lays down next to you, his hand covering yours.

You sigh, "I felt like...I don't know..." You think a moment before saying, "like I was just following my mom blindly or something."

Jake sighs, "didn't you do history stuff before you even knew about your mom though?" He laughs, "wait, didn't you get kicked out of a school over it?"

You groan, "I got kicked out because I outed the school for selling student information."

Jake taps on your hand, still smiling, "yeah and the only reason you knew was because you obsessively reorganized the archives?"

You scoff, "they were in complete and total disarray! Someone had to fix it!" You argue, turning your head to look at him.

Jake shakes his head, turning to look at you too, "see?"

"See what?"

"You already loved history. That isn't a bad thing." Jake says, giving you a small smile.

You sigh and look back up at the clouds. "I guess you're right.'

The two of you sit quietly for a while, watching the angry storm clouds.

"What did Luke even say that freaked you out so badly?" Jake asks after a few minutes.

You take a deep breath, you can't bring up anything with the war yet, "he just...kind of accused me of only wanting to do this," you kick your heel into the wall of your hole, "and writing the demi-god history because mom told me to." You shrug, "he said I didn't have to do things just because the gods told me to."

Jake props himself up on his elbows, "didn't you decide to make her cabin without her say?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

He goes on, "and didn't you also say that the scroll was already in your lap in your dream?"

You sigh, "yeah..."

He lays back down, "then you aren't doing it for the gods, are you?" He finishes simply.

You sit up, wrapping your arms around your knees. "I guess you're right." You admit.

He clasps his hands behind his head, "can I give you some advice?"

You roll your eyes, "I'm sure I can guess what you'll say, but go on..."

"Luke isn't always right." He says.

You look at him, confused. "What are you talking about?"

He looks at you and shrugs, "I'm just saying, you don't have to listen to everything he says just cause he's the camp big brother." Then he adds, "also though, maybe don't dance on the cliffs edge?"

You look at the hole, "I wouldn't really call it a cliff..."

He rolls his eyes, "no, I'm saying you probably shouldn't act like you could take a god in a fight."

You laugh, "I've never said that, not ever!"

Jake sighs, "you don't have to say it. Clio, you act like their permission doesn't matter to you."

It doesn't matter to you, but you bite your tongue, hopping back into your hole. "Well, even if I did act like that I'd never say that."

Thunder booms around you and you glare up at the clouds.

"You could get your mom in trouble you know." Jake says, sitting up.

You sigh, picking up your shovel. "Okay, okay, I'll ask permission, but I'm still going to build it." You say.

Jake eyes the dirt before asking, "how did you keep it bone dry in here?"

You shrug, "I didn't."

Jake inclines his head, "you're telling me, that after that torrential down pour, it didn't flood, and you had nothing to do with it?" He asks in shock. "Clio, your mom probably did that."

You stop short, the shovel stuck in the dirt. "What? Why would she even know about it?" You ask, looking back up at him.

Jake rolls his eyes, "come on Clio, I know you aren't this dense."

You glance around at the dry earth. Did my mother really approve enough to keep it from flooding? 

Jake laughs, "why do you look so upset? Isn't that a good thing?"

Isn't it a good thing?

Your arms feel like noodles as you make your way to your archery class. You skipped sword training to start laying your bricks against the walls. Once all the bricks were all set, you'd have to figure out a way to seal them into place. Then you'd have to start scavenging the woods for fallen trees you could use for a roof and-

"Clio!"

You turn to see Michael jogging up to you. "Hey." You say.

Michael gives you a look and pats your back, "worried about your friend?"

"You mean Percy?" You ask, your face drooping.

Michael frowns, "yeah, you know he'll be okay." Michael says, you know that he is just trying to make you feel better, but you really don't feel better. 

Target practice goes pretty well, out of twenty or so shots, you manage one bullseye and about eight other target hits. Nine out of twenty isn't bad thing, right?

The actual interesting stuff was (of course) the rumor mill's newest talking point. Already it seemed that the idea of war had creeped into camp. It really made you wonder if the real lighting thief was trying to figure out who would be on their side or not.

Luke caught you after archery though, obviously annoyed that you had skipped out on training.

"I know that you're worried about Percy, but that doesn't mean you can neglect training." He says, crossing his arms.

Lee walks by and pats his shoulder, "she didn't miss archer." He teases, "maybe she was just avoiding you."

"Lee!" You complain as he walks away, laughing.

"You missed my class and not Fletcher's?" Luke asks, pretending to be wounded.

You roll your eyes, "it's not like that." You shrug, "I was working on the cabin and-"

Luke sighs and shakes his head, "Clio..." he says in that disappointed tone.

"I'm not doing it for the gods." You say quickly, "it's for me and once it's done I was going to work on other cabins." You explain. "They can't just throw us in Hermes cabin and ignore us!"

Luke sighs and pats your shoulder, "what am I going to do with you?"

Things escalate quickly over the next few days. Your nightmares always have those stupid metallic birds in them, but sometimes you see Percy, Annabeth, and Grover. Other times it's that big boat.

You haven't been sleeping well.

You've taken to following Luke or Chris or Katie around camp because Hermes and Demeter are the only two cabins left who haven't taken a side. Also, its safer to stay with someone older than you with Clarisse out to get you.

When there are three days until Summer Solstice, Katie comes to you with a fist sized vial of rainbow colored ink.

"Okay, it took a lot longer than I thought it would," she admits as you examine the liquid. "I think I finally found the recipe though." She says with excitement, her hands and her face are splattered with blue and red stains.

"You didn't just use the one in the books?" You ask in confusion.

She shakes her head, "no, I figured that there was a way to retain it's special properties." She quickly (almost too quickly) explains the changes she made. "First, I used a celestial bronze pot because I figured just a normal pot might leech away any properties." She goes on to explain that she switched out the water for Nectar. "I had to tweak it a couple times because I couldn't get the right amount of Nectar, but in the end I got that." She explains proudly, pointing to the glass in your hands.

The ink seemed to endlessly swirl in the crystal and the colors didn't mix. Even when you shook it, they stayed a pretty marbled pattern.

"Clio, guess what the best part it?" She asks.

You look up at her with a smile, "what?"

"It glows in the dark!"

"Really?" You ask, surprised.

Katie nods and claps her hands together, "so you could use it almost like a flash light!"

You raise your eyebrows, "it's that bright?"

She shrugs, thinking for a minute, "well, it glows brighter than celestial bronze, but not by much. It's still dimmer than the real flower." She explains.

You laugh, "you are so cool. I could have never done all that, Katie." You say, eager to try it. "Would you mind being my first entry?"

Startled, Katie asks, "your first entry? Like for the history of camp you want to write?"

You smile, "it's not camp I want to record." You say, "it's demi-gods."

You see her ears turn pink, "why would you want to put me first?"

Laughing you say, "Katie, you're one of the reasons it'll be written!"

After Katie finally agrees, the two of you sit down and talk about her life. She's kind of bossy and high strung but she's also almost motherly, even to you. You're kind of glad she'd be the first demi-god in your records. Sure, Percy'll be in there and as many demi-gods as you can get to agree, but Katie's help would be seen on every page, it just felt right.

Katie Gardner; Daughter of Demeter, Summer Head-Counselor.

You smile as you look at your notes, you weren't going to use the ink just yet. It was only a first draft after all, but having it started almost made you giddy with anticipation. 

The day of the Summer Solstice, no one had heard from Percy or the others in ten days. It was making you antsy, not to mention that Chiron and Luke were barely able to keep camp from devolving into war. Normal camp activities had all but ceased to exist. Most campers walked around in packs as if everyone expected to be jumped at any moment.

With the camp falling into disarray, you weren't sure if you should care about your cabin, but finally you were finished lining the pit. It actually looked something like a room now...just without a roof.

"Hey, Clio, right?" A voice asks from behind you.

You glance back, "if Clarisse sent you, tell her to do it herself." Clarisse had already sent her siblings and allies at you a few times. They even kidnapped you out of your cabin. You still had the scab on your cheek to prove it.

~

You sat up in you sleeping bag, you were sure you heard something and since you hardly slept any more anyway, you might as well check it out. However, before you could even collect your bearings, a hand closed over your mouth. An arm wrapped around you, trapping your arms at your sides.

"Time to pay your dues, sidelines." Griffin muttered in your ear. He yanked you up. You struggled but even with a month and a half of training, you weren't strong enough to get Griffin off of you and before you knew it someone had ahold of your legs so you couldn't kick out and make noise.

"Mmh!" You tried to wake someone, anyone up but no one even seemed phased.

The two dragged you out on to the green and tossed you. You winced as you fell and tried to come up standing but you only made it to your knees. "What the hell are you doing?" You demand.

"Someone needs to drag you down a few pegs." Griffin says.

You try to stand and his sibling shoves you back down. You land with a thump onto your back. "Coward," you spit out, "you knew you couldn't beat me when I was actually awake so you kidnapped me while I was sleeping?"

Griffin takes a step towards you, but his cabinmate stops him. "You've made a joke of our cabin one too many times, Sidelines." She says.

"We're going to make you regret it." Griffin says.

You glance around, you know you can't take two campers, let alone, two Ares campers. "Not really a fair fight," you say, hoping to delay them as you scuttle backwards to try to get enough room to stand. They just laugh and stalk towards you.

"See, it's not really about a fair fight, it's about revenge." Griffin's sister says.

"You'll get into serious trouble if you touch me." You say, wanting to sound intimidating, but you know you sound frightened.

"Oh I'm so scared," Griffin says, waving his hands in front of himself.

"I've never been in trouble before." His sister says, giving Griffin a look.

"The real question was what we were going to do to you." Griffin says, moving behind you.

"But then we heard Clarisse muttering about giving you a scar." His sister says.

"And we thought you'd just love to match your favorite camp counselor." Griffin jokes.

His sister jumps on top of you, "get off me!" You shout, hoping someone, anyone will hear. As you try to shove her off, griffin grabs your arms and forces you onto the ground. His sister pulls a dagger from her belt and holds it up to your face. Just as you feel it cut below your eye, a sword is pressed to the girl's throat.

"I think you should listen to her." Luke says, "let her go."

"Luke!" You cry, thankful someone came at all.

"Piss off, Luke." Griffin says.

"She isn't even a daughter of Hermes!" The girl complains, "she isn't your problem!"

Luke presses the blade harder against her throat and you see the tiniest drop of blood trickle down. "I'm her camp counselor, so she is my problem." He hisses, in the moon light he almost looks evil, you’ve never seen him like this.

The girl backs off, followed by Griffin. Luke takes your arm and yanks you up, pulling you behind him. "Get out of here before you regret it." He threatens them.

~

"Clarisse didn't send us." Says a second voice.

You brush your muddy hands off and stand up to inspect the pair of twins. "Aren't you Mr. D's kids?" You ask in confusion, they never really seemed to involve themselves with the other kids at camp.

"We were wondering if we could help with your building project." One asks.

You're quiet for a moment, Mr. D hadn't been at camp since the trio left. You wondered if it was getting to his kids. They were the only two in their cabin, it must have been lonely. You regard them for a second longer before asking, "worried about your dad?'

One looks at the ground and the other glances at his brother before saying "we need a distraction." He admits.

You smile and then climb out of the hole, offering the one who spoke your hand. "Clio Smith."

He takes your hand, "Castor." He gestures to his brother, "this is Pollux."

You offer your hand to the other and he takes it. "So, you've built walls before?" You ask, teasing. You're pretty sure no one in camp has built a building before.

Pollux shrugs, "we thought we could help hold the walls together."

Castor nods, enthusiastic, "to add some stability."

You turn back to your unfinished project, "well, I've gotta at least build the walls first." You say, gesturing to the stack of mud bricks you had been able to stock pile.

"We can help with that too." Pollux says quickly. You eye both of them, your eyebrows raised.

"Seriously, we're tougher than we look." Castor says, noticing your look.

You nod, "okay, this trench," you say, gesturing to the trench you've dug around the edge of the pit, "it's for the first layer. Hopefully," you say, crossing the fingers on both hands, "it'll work like a foundation. After that we'll add a double thick row of bricks." You hop back down and lug the basket of mud you've been using as mortar up to ground level. "It'll only need to be another couple of feet." You say.

"I've gotta say, it's really impressive you did all this yourself." Castor says, starting to lay the first bricks down.

You laugh, "thanks, but it won't stand the test of time." You explain, starting to lay bricks on the other side. "Also, Grover helped me make the bricks." You add.

With three of you, the base layer is laid quicker than you originally thought you'd be able to do.

After a while, the three of you take a break, Pollux asks, "so, who are you siding with?"

You sit back, looking at the dwindling pile of bricks. "I don't know," you say honestly. "Percy's, always, but I don't want to fight a war that isn't mine." You add.

"Are you and Percy related?" Castor asks, curious.

You laugh, "I wish. Percy and I are like...honorary siblings I guess." You shrug, "he's my best friend."

The twins look at each other then back at you, "we thought the Stoll's were your best friends." Castor says.

"Or that kid from the Hephaestus cabin." Pollux adds.

"Who Jake?" You ask, "well, I mean yeah, Jake, Travis, and Connor are my best friends, but Percy is like my best friend." The three of you are quiet for a while before a commotion breaks out in front of the Apollo cabin. "You've gotta be kidding me." You say as you jump up to intervene. The twins following you.

When you round the edge of the cabin, you see the Ares cabin and the Athena cabin both fully decked out in armor, weapons and all. You know that if this doesn't cool down immediately, bloodshed was inevitable. 

"What in Hades name are you two thinking?" You exclaim, stepping between them. You realize a little too late, you have no armor of your own.

"Don't get involved, Sidelines." Clarisse hisses at you.

You turn on the Athena campers, "your mother is the goddess of wisdom! Do you really think now is the time to start a fight?" You demand.

Malcom points a sword at the Ares campers, "they started it, but we'll finish it."

"We heard you plotting against out cabin!" Griffin accuses. 

"Shut up!" You yell. "We can't afford to break down into chaos!" You try to say, holding your hands up between them.

"She's right!" Pollux jumps in, "you can't seriously want to start a war."

"It's rocky enough as it is!" Castor adds. Both of them are still standing off to the side, seemingly much more aware of their lack of armor.

You give them a grateful look, "have Chiron help you reach-" 

"Chiron can't fight our battles forever!" One of the Athena kids argues.

"Thankfully, there are no battles to fight at the moment." Chiron says, from behind all of you. Luke is trailing behind Chiron and you wonder if he had gone to grab the centaur.

You sigh in relief and feel your shoulders fall. Luke looks worried, but thankfully the campers seem to back down with Chiron present. 

Chiron seems exhausted, but is able to calm the campers down enough that they walk away, sending glares at each other.

A hand tugs you back by your shoulder, "watch your back, Sidelines." Clarisse whispers in your ear. You glance back at her when she releases you, wondering what else she had planned, if you were her ally would she back stab you?

"Clio," Chiron says, you look at him and he nods, "thank you for keeping the peace until we could get here.”

You gesture to Castor and Pollux, "they helped."

"I thought you'd end up a shish-kabob." Pollux says.

Luke glares at you, "not the smartest thing you've ever done." He says, crossing his arms.

"Better than blood being spilt and allowing a war to start at camp." You say with a shrug. You and Luke didn't quite agree on the war front.

"Too true," Chiron agrees tiredly.

Luke shakes his head, rubbing the back of his neck, "we can't keep this up."

Chiron nods in agreement, "I fear it will only get worse as this squabble is prolonged."

"Percy and the others will make the deadline." You say, unwilling to believe the alternative. Luke gives you a sad look; no one's heard from them for ten days. You refuse to give up on them. Any hour you'll hear from them and things will calm down. You know not a single one of them would allow the quest to fail.

You glance at the ground then and see that a bunch of the tiny, wild, strawberry vines  have climbed up your sneakers and wrapped around your jeans. You glance over at the twins with a questioning look.

"Sorry, I thought we'd have to yank you out of there." Castor admits.

You allow a shocked laugh to escape as you ask, "you can do that?"

"Castor and Pollux are a wonder with fruit bearing vines." Chiron explains, "much like their father."

The twins shift uncomfortably. You pull yourself free of the vines and step closer to Chiron, "have you heard anything from Percy?" You ask earnestly.

Chiron shakes his head solemnly, "I pray we hear from them by tonight or we will be unable to stop the next fight." You chew on your lip, looking at the ground.

"Hey, I'm sure they'll make it in time." Luke says, placing a hand on your shoulder. 

The last week or so had been hell on him. He was constantly having to listen to the Hermes campers argue over sides and who they should follow if a war broke out.

Of course, just about every camper in cabin eleven would follow Luke with whatever he picked, but you knew he didn't want to side with any gods.

You look up into his tired eyes. You really hoped he'd be on Percy's side, you didn't want to have to pick between the two.

A while later, you're working on your cabin again with the twins help, when the Stoll's run up to you, out of breath.

"Nice of you to join us." You tease, handing Castor one of the last bricks you have finished.

"They...did...it!" Travis wheezes.

"What?" You ask, you've never heard Travis sound out of breath before.

"Grover and Annabeth-" Connor starts.

"They just arrived!" Travis finishes.

For a moment, you're frozen, then the words register and you're sprinting towards the big house. You didn't even know you could move so fast, you suppose that's why people call it flying.

By the time you reach the top of the steps of the big house, you have to stop. You hunch over, your hands on your knees, trying to get your breathing under control. The others reach the bottom of the steps as Grover and Annabeth step out of the door.

"Clio?" Grover asks. You hold up a finger, still breathless.

Annabeth touches your shoulder, "Percy is okay, he's dropping off the bolt." She tells you, her tone so serious. You pull her into a hug and after a moment she hugs you back.

"I'm so glad you all came back." You murmur. You could swear Annabeth tightened her grip before she pulled back, wiping her face quickly. You pretended not to see and turned to Grover.

He wraps his arms around you and you hug him back, "it was so scary, you have no idea." He says almost tearfully.

You pat his back, "don't worry, you're safe now." You murmur.

When you step back you breath a sigh of relief. "Seriously, I'm glad you guys are safe.." You say again. Annabeth and you share a look and you're pretty sure that the two of you will end up being good friends.

"Congrats Annabeth!" Castor exclaims.

"You completed you're quest!" Pollux adds.

You blink, a bit confused as to why no one else seems worried about them. They're happy they succeeded sure, but still...

You weren't sure if Percy would be back today, tomorrow, or if he would even be back at all, but you decided to wait at Thalia's pine tree for him anyway.
Even though you invited Grover and Annabeth to wait with you, Annabeth seemed to think you should greet him alone. She even elbowed Grover when he said he'd wait with you that changed his mind.

As you sat beneath Thalia's pine tree, you were actually grateful they hadn't come with you. You felt like you would burst open, the well of emotions you'd been holding back since he'd left, threatened with every breath and you didn't want anyone else to see. Sidelines was still a better nickname than crybaby.

For an hour and a half or so you’d been ripping up pine leaves. Your fingers were sticky and you were covered in bits of pine needle. When a taxi finally drove up the road below and stopped at the base of the hill. You stand, letting the pine leaf you'd been ripping up fall onto the ground.

Percy gets out, handing some cash to the driver who quickly drives away. He looks up and sees you, a small smile crossing his face. You hesitate though, you haven't been outside of the boarder since you arrived, would you get into trouble for going down there?

It only takes a moment though for your empathy to win out and you find yourself racing down towards him. He just opens his arms as you slam into him. Both of you topple over. He crushes the air out of you and you return the favor.

"Percy, I'm so glad you're safe." You sob out. He doesn't say anything and you realize he's also crying. 

The two of you lay there in the tallgrass, comforting each other for a while. When you both finally sit up, Percy croaks, “mom's back home."

You smile slightly, "see, I knew you could do it."

He takes your hand and drops your bracelet into it. "Thanks for the good luck." He says, offering you a smile. You try to clip it on and after he watches you struggle for a minute, he leans over to help. "If you hadn't given me some luck, I don't know if we would have made it back." He says as he clips it back together.

"Maybe it was unlucky instead if it was so difficult." You suggest with a frown.

He shakes his head and stands up, offering you his hand, "if there was bad luck, it was already around."

You take his hand, standing. "You know you'll have to tell me everything, right?" You say as the two of you climb the hill.

He nods, "I know, C."

You take a deep breath, finally relaxing as you both cross back over the boarder. "Hopefully, the rest of the summer will be easier for you three."

Percy nods, "yeah, to be honest, I'd be happy to never have to go on a quest again."

You shake your head, "hey man, that's why I never want to go on one."

Percy wraps an arm around your shoulders and you mirror him. As you both see the camp spread out below you, Percy sighs.

"Welcome home, Perce." You say, shaking him slightly. Percy gives you a tired smile and you both head down the hill.

Chapter Text

You'd be lying if you said the rest of the summer was uneventful. Even though you dearly wished it wasn't a lie.

The first interesting thing was that Percy and Annabeth nominated you for camp historian. You were under the window at the Big House, getting ready to eavesdrop on their debrief. Grover snitched on you before they even started, however, which brought you before Chiron for a scolding.

You're standing outside the window, looking at the peeling paint on the windowsill as Chiron starts, "Ms. Smith, this is a private-"

"She should be able to listen and like copy down the story for...the future of whatever." Percy cuts in quickly, jumping up to stand by Chiron at the window. You glance at him and you notice Annabeth barely containing a smile behind him.

Chiron raises an eyebrow and then Annabeth steps up. "Clio's mother is the muse of history. It only makes sense that she should be camp historian." She reasons.

Chiron tries to keep his face neutral but with the crinkle at the corners of his eyes you can tell he is amused. "Very well, Ms. Smith, if you would transcribe the debrief."

Your eyes widen, "really? Of-of course!" You hop up and heave yourself through the window. Percy laughs, he and Grover grab your arms and help pull you into the room. You fumble with your notebook before sitting on the floor to take notes.

You wonder if the others are exaggerating at all because they keep glancing at you during the really intense parts like they're more excited to tell you the story than explaining it to Chiron. Honestly, you feel like a child being shown a terrifying puppet show. Just starry-eyed wonder as they talk you through the horrifying adventure.

When Percy talks about jumping from the Arch, you held your breath. "By the gods, could you three maybe be a little less campfire in your retelling?" You ask. "You're freaking me out." Percy takes this as a challenge, adding splashing noises and explosions.

When Annabeth talks about Cerberus, you can't help but feel bad. You wonder when the last time someone played with that poor boy was. You pat Annabeth's knee from your spot on the floor, sensing how upset she is.

The three of them fight over which story is the correct one when they talk about Percy's battle with Ares. 

You gap at him, "you went up against the God of war and won?" You ask.

Annabeth nods, "he was amazing."

Grover agrees, "I've never seen a demi-god fight like that, not even Luke."

You shake your head, notating the three different versions of this story. "Percy you're the dumbest person I know." You point at him with your pencil, "who do you think you are, risking your life to fight a God?"

Percy rolls his eyes, "Ares is a bully. He deserved it." he gives you a look, "you can't tell me you wouldn't have tried the same thing." You raise your eyebrows and look back down at your notes; he's right, you probably would. "Exactly, "he says, crossing his arms.

Quickly recovering, you say, "I like to think I know my limits enough to not fight a literal God."

Annabeth nods, "Clio's right, no one likes a bully. That doesn't mean the rest of us would be able to go toe-to-toe with a God." She adds, giving Percy her own look.

"Especially the God of war." Grover adds.

Percy shrugs, "we needed the helmet."

You pinch the bridge of your nose, "you've gotta be kidding me." You mutter.

Chiron commends the group. "Go enjoy your celebration." He says, dismissing them. You hop up, following them to the door. "Clio, a moment."

You glance at Annabeth and she nods reassuringly, "we'll wait for you." She says. You nod, closing the door behind them and going back to Chiron.

"I'm sure you were eavesdropping to record their quest." Chiron starts and you drop your head bashfully. Apparently, you were still going to get reprimanded. "While I don't agree with your tactics," You look up, hopeful, "I do think it could be a useful way to spend your time."

You sit up, looking at him, "wait, you really mean I'd be Camp Historian?" You ask. You'd thought that was just to placate the others.

Chiron smiles, "could you take the role seriously?" He adds, "could you record it without bias?"

You look out the window, "I-I'll do my best." You say turning back towards him. "Without bias might be hard," you admit, "but I'll try to keep it to my notes." You say as seriously as you can.

Chiron observes you for a moment before nodding. "Alright, you and I will start going through my personal records in the next few weeks."

You stand, your hands clasped together at your chest, "really?" You ask. Chiron nods and you do a little celebratory dance. "Sir, I promise, I won't let you down!"

Chiron chuckles, "go on now. Your friends are waiting." 

You race out the door, jumping clear of the steps and let out a whoop, still in the thralls of your celebration. You don't even notice someone is in your way.

You run over Jake.

You're both sent tumbling over each other. You're pretty sure you do several full somersault's before landing on your back with a groan. "Dude..." Jake groans in response and both of you lay there for a moment. You can hear laughter coming from behind you.

"Are you two okay?" Percy's voice asks.

You look up at the blue, blue sky, finally clear of those terrible storm clouds. "Ugh, I think I ran over something." You joke and Jake starts laughing.

Percy casts a shadow over your face, "need a hand?" He offers his, you take it and he helps you up, brushing you off.

"Not gonna lie, C. that was like watching sketch comedy." Grover says with a grin.

You roll your eyes and turn to Jake, "you okay?"

He sits up, grass tangled in his hair, "I'd be more worried about yourself. You're the clutz here." He says as you offer a hand to help him up.

"Hey, at least once was not my fault." You argue, helping him up.

"So, what did Chiron say?" Grover cuts in.

You grin, "oh! Guess who's the official camp historian!" You say, holding your arms out.

"Congratulations!" Jake says, clapping you on the back.

Percy grins, "I knew you'd be perfect for it."

"I won't even have to break into the records. Chiron invited me to go through them with him!" You explain, your eyes bright with excitement.

The five of you walk towards the amphitheater, "that's really impressive, Clio." Annabeth says, "you're twelve right?" You nod, "I mean, having Chiron give you such an important job before you even turn 13?"

"The only other person who could pull off such an important job so young is Annabeth." Jake adds.

You look at Annabeth, "yeah, well looks like they know who the most trustworthy kids are." You tease and she grins.

"Yeah," Percy agrees, giving Annabeth a little bump. You roll your eyes at Annabeth who looks away quickly. "What?" Percy asks.

Before you go too much farther, Jake catches your arm, pulling you to a stop. "Uh, sorry about running into you." He says.

You laugh, the others turning back to look at you. "I ran into you don't worry about it."

He smiles a bit, "so, I was wondering if I could borrow your ink." He asks.

You give him a weird look, "uh, why?" You ask, "not that you can't I just, don't know why you'd want to." You say.

Jake sighs, "Oak wants us to do leather working in arts&crafts and I don't really want to, but," He's rushing through his words and it's a bit funny honestly. "I was thinking I'd actually try if it was for someone else."

You cover your smile, with your hand, "and what does that have to do with the ink?"

"Oh!" He shakes his head, "sorry, I was thinking about how you carry the ink around in your pocket," he shrugs, "so I was wondering if I could make a belt that could hold it."

You grin, "that'd be so cool, but if Oak is making your class do that, don't you think she'll make mine do that too?"

"Are you two coming or what?" Percy yells.

You wave a hand at him, "we'll catch up." You holler back. You see him give a thumbs up and the three of them start to walk away again.

"Shoot, I didn't think about that." Jake grumbles.

You pull the bottle of ink from your pocket and offer it to him. "If you're going to make me a new belt, I have a couple specifications." You say with a grin.

"You're going to make this so difficult for me, aren't you?" Jake asks, taking the bottle gently.

You shrug, "I mean if you think you can't~" You tease.

Jake scoffs, "oh please. Like you'd believe me if I thought that."

You laugh, "okay, so I'd like to request two other things."

"What other things?" Jake asks, glancing up from inspecting the bottle.

"I'd like to be able to sheath my dagger and have a spot for a scroll." You explain. "I mean the ink is only one part of a three part process." You explain.

Jake thinks for a minute, "uh, are you going to give me your dagger too then or..."

You blink and laugh, "oh right." You unclip your current sheath from your waist and hand it to him.

"It won't be great, I'm no expert in leather." he says.

You roll your eyes, "oh stop it."

You part ways. You had told Percy that you'd catch up with them but you knew that everyone was getting ready for the celebratory feast, so you head over to your cabin.

Castor and Pollux had been growing strawberry vines up the walls of your cabin and it almost blended into the foliage behind the cabins now. Seeing it nearly finished brought a smile to your face. It wasn't much, it didn't even have a roof, but it meant something to you. Once you figured out what to do for the roof you'd move your sleeping bag in and consider it a job well done.

You settle into a far corner opposite the door and go over your notes. As you reread the harrowing trials your friends were forced through, you can't help but wonder if Luke's right. That a war is the only way to change things. The gods had kids just to do their bidding, were you suppose to just accept that your friends might be sent on dangerous fetch quests forever?

You murmur, "they think it's Kronos..."

A shadow crosses over you as you say his name and you look up, a bit shaken. "Luke," you say with relief.

"I'm a little surprised that you aren't running around with your friends." he says, sitting next to you.

You shrug, "they'll be busy for the next couple of days." Glancing over at him you add, "I have to go through their debrief and edit it for Chiron."

"He let you take notes?" He asks, seeming to become more interested, "can I see?"

You smile, "yeah of course," you hand him your notebook. "You're looking at the new camp historian." You explain.

A startled look crosses his face, "wait, official?"

You nod, "yup, I'm going to start helping Chiron with his records and everything."

"Congrats Clio, I'm sure you'll do great." He turns his attention to your notes and flips through them. He takes a moment before he murmurs "Kronos..." Running a finger across the name.

A cold chill runs through you and you could swear that the sunshine dims. "We shouldn't say his name." You warn.

"Why not?" he asks, giving you one of his strange looks.

"Why not?" You echo back, "because it's like a cold front comes in anytime his name is spoken." You say, giving him an are-you-serious look.

Luke leans forward, "maybe he could do something about the gods." He says in a low voice.

You glance up at the sky, "Luke..." You warn, not wanting to get the wrath of the gods cast upon you right after your friends barely obverted a war.

Luke hands you back your notebook, "sometimes you have to pick the lesser of two evils."

"Luke, a war would destroy camp-" 

"Maybe that's a good thing!"

"You can't be serious!" You argue, "Luke, there are actual children here. It's the only safe place for us." Even as you argue you can see his point. Maybe monsters couldn't come in willy-nilly, but the gods could. Percy hadn't been safe. Hell, you hadn't even been safe...

"The gods are worse than monsters." Luke grumbles, seeming to read your thoughts.

"Luke..." You don't know what to say, its always so worrisome when he gets like this.

He stands, "go celebrate with your friends." He takes a step to walk away.

You jump up, "hey, I'm not done talking to you!" You say, fidgeting with your notebook.

He glares at you, "What?"

"Don't be mad at me. I'm still on your side." You say, giving him a worried look. "you...you should come with me." You add, "to celebrate I mean." You shrug, "Annabeth is going to want your approval."

Luke's expression softens, "yeah, maybe you're right."

Percy and Annabeth had their celebration and burned their burial shrouds. (The Ares cabin had called dibs on Percy's shroud so it wasn't as nice as Annabeth's)

Fourth of July came and the fireworks were just unbelievable. Percy and Annabeth sat together. You were going to join them, but Travis pulled you away just as the fireworks started. You were an honorary member of the Hermes cabin and since this was to get back at Griffin, you were inclined to help. You and a few other Hermes campers set up a glue and feather trap in Griffin's bunk. Anytime you could get back at Griffin was worth it. Connor argued in your favor and made sure you could see the finale since you hadn't ever seen it before, though. On that front it was unlike anything you'd ever seen. Fireworks weren't supposed to move after they exploded...

When Chiron had you start in his personal records room you were very overwhelmed. The basement room seemed to go on and on forever, more like a cavern than a basement.

"Chiron?" You asked, "when was the last time this was organized?"

He winced, "before the last time we shifted, I believe." He admits.

You close your eyes, taking a slow breath in and out, "you're kidding," You squeak out. There are piles and piles of papers, papyrus and clay tablets. No organization at all. There were some filing cabinets but far too few to handle the amount of information down here. 

You pick up a clay tablet and Chiron clears his throat, "some of the information down here isn't for the other campers to know." He gives you a look, "I must swear you to secrecy."

You give him an odd look, "okay."

Chiron regards you for a moment, "you must swear on the River Styx that the information within this room stays between us."

You tilt your head back a bit, "history is meant to be learned from, Chiron." You argue.

He sighs, "I will give you a caveat," he says, turning away from you and clasping his hands behind his back, "any piece of information you ask and then receive my permission for can be brought up outside of the two of us."

You bite your lip, looking over the piles of information and then down at the clay tablet in your hands. There was relevant information down here. Present day, relevant information that had to be why Chiron was being so secretive. It might involve one of your friends, how could you keep that to yourself? Could you handle the consequences of breaking a pact so serious? You set the tablet down and put your hands behind your own back, turning to face Chiron. "I swear on the River Styx." You hear thunder booming outside and you feel almost as though you're choking. You hope the Styx observed crossing your fingers to break a swear.

Chiron takes a deep breath, "now then, where should we begin?" 

In the first few weeks, the best you've managed are several piles based on time period. Anything within a hundred years of itself were separated into different piles. You even found some information from more than a thousand years ago.
As you're only starting the sorting process, you try not to read too much of any document, just enough to know what age it belongs in. Otherwise you'd never make it out of the records room. That is until you find a scrap of a document that looks oddly different. There isn't any date on it and it seems to be written as though it were a prophesy. It reads like what Percy said he was told by the oracle...

A half-blood of the eldest gods

Shall reach sixteen against all odds

And see the world in endless sleep 

Hero's soul cursed bl

The rest was torn off. You must have been suspiciously still because Chiron noticed. "Clio, what have you found?" He comes over to you, reading the slip of paper over your shoulder. 

"Chiron...what is this?" You ask, looking up at him. Something about this makes you feel almost sick.

He looks very upset as he pulls the paper from your hand. "Clio, this is something you may not talk about outside of this room."

"But Chiron-"

"Remember your promise, child." He says, slipping the paper into his personal journal.

"But we can talk about it here." You try to argue.

He shakes his head, "the less you know the better." 

You shake your head, "no, please Chiron it'll drive me crazy if you don't tell me what that means." 

Chiron sighs deeply, "this is the great prophecy." He explains, "we do not know what it means yet. It has not come to pass." 

"So, one of the children of the oldest gods, that has to be one of the original six right?" You ask.

Chiron's tone is wary, "Clio..." but your mind is already moving too quickly.

"Hestia has no children, neither does Hera, that leaves it at four gods..." You fidget, tapping your fingers against your thigh. "So Hades, Poseidon, Demeter, or Zeus." You say.

"Clio!" Chiron says. You flinch back at his tone and he sighs again. "We can never understand a prophecy before it takes place." He reminds you.

"But-"

"The time is not right to discuss this." He insists.

You don't want to stop now, your mind is sprinting through ideas, but you know that Chiron isn't going to tell you much. "Well, several of Demeter's cabin are already sixteen or older-" Chiron gives you a look and your shoulders fall, "fine...but sometime you'll tell me?" You ask.

Chiron looks away, "yes. At some point we will have this conversation, but," he shakes his head, his face weary, "not today."

A week or so later, Chiron asks you a question.

"Have you thought about what you will do at the end of the summer season?" He asks.

You stop, surrounded by papers, a Hunters of Artemis pamphlet in your hand, "what do you mean?"

He looks at you over his reading glasses, "will you stay here with us after the part-timers have left for the school year?"

Your hands fall to your lap as you relax, "I...I didn't know I could since my mom isn't... ya know a big deal..." You answer honestly.

Chiron chuckles, "of course you can. Any demi-god is welcome at camp year round." He observes you for a moment, "especially if they have no where to go." He points out gently. You swallow, looking down at the picture on the front of the pamphlet. "Clio," you look up at him, "Camp Half-Blood is always going to be a safe home for any half-blood. Regardless of who their parents are. All the gods are important, as are their children." He explains, setting the papers in his hands down on the top of a filing cabinet. 

You clear your throat, "I-I would really love to stay-" your voice cracks and you drop the paper to rub your eyes vigorously. 

Chiron gives you a soft smile, "of course. I'll make sure the paper work is filled out." He says.

"Thank you, Chiron." You say, giving him a weak smile.

"Of course, child."

You spend more time in the basement than you do outside, either alone or with Chiron. To the point that several days you haven't even seen the sun. You wake before dawn and don't leave until dark.

On the last day of summer, you stumble out of the dim basement into the night, heading towards the fire. Tomorrow everyone will go home, those that have one to go to anyway. Percy hadn't really told you yet, but you knew he'd chose to go home. Who wouldn't want to escape into the normal world after what he went through? He literally went all the way to the Underworld to get Sally back, obviously he'd be going home.

When you make it to the campfire, you see Percy and Grover sitting together, singing along with the Apollo campers. Your eyes itch and your hands are covered in papercuts, you haven't been sleeping much and you know you should probably go try to get some, but you want to grab at least a marshmallow or two...

You make your way over to them and Percy cheers as soon as he notices you. "We haven't seen you in days!" He remarks, tugging you to sit between them.

Grover leans over to hand you a stick with a row of marshmallows already skewered onto it. "Don't you think you're working too hard?" Grover asks in a worried tone.

You smile sleepily, "I am, I just can't focus on anything else." You admit.

"Well, you're just in time, their about to announce the yearly bead." Grover says.

"Oh, that's right." You and Percy'd get your own camp necklace. You'd both officially made it a whole summer without dying. You hold the marshmallows in the fire, watching the outside crack and blacken. Some of the camp counselors had started talking but you weren't really paying attention. Not until Percy disappeared from your side and Grover tapped your shoulder. You looked up blowing on your burnt marshmallows, "what's up?" You ask, glancing at Grover.

"They asked for new campers." He whispers, pointing at the head councilors. You look over, only to see Percy and a few of the other new campers staring at you.

"Clio, aren't you a new camper?" Luke asks. You hop up, fumbling with your stick until Grover yanks it out of your hands and pushes you forward. You stumble a bit because of this, causing a few campers to snicker, and hurry over to the small group. Percy whoops and you can hear someone in the crowd whistle.

"I'm so sorry." You say, thankful that the campfire hid your embarrassed blush. Once you're standing next to Percy, he bumps you playfully. You shoot him a glare and he grins in response. Lee and Silena hand out the leather necklaces to your little group as Luke announces the bead design.

"The choice was unanimous," he says. "this bead commemorates the first Son of the Sea God at this camp, and the quest he undertook into the darkest part of the Underworld to stop a war!"

The entire camp cheered, even the Ares campers. You glance at Percy who's looking down all bashful and you give him your own shove. He looks at you and you wrap an arm around him, shaking him a little . Maybe you both enjoyed the other being embarrassed.

The bead is pitch black with a glowing green trident at the center. You are kind of happy your first bead would always be linked to your best friend. At least while he was gone having a normal life again you'd have a part of him with you.

After the ceremony, there was some more singalongs and Annabeth joined the three of you. That's when Grover told you all that he had finally gotten his searchers license. The four of you celebrate, congratulating him and wishing him good luck. He was leaving that night after the campfire. You were very glad to have made it tonight. You end the night practically arm in arm them, singing camp songs and joking with each other.

The next morning, Chiron insists that you take the day off. He seemed to be of the opinion that you hadn't seen the sun enough recently. So he said to see your friends off to get you out of the basement. Honestly, that was fine with you, you'd been trying to figure out how to ask for the day off anyway. You and Chiron had already talked about staying so you didn't need to worry about the sign up sheet.

You knew you weren't losing too many people. Most of your friends were year rounders, but it was hard to think you wouldn't be getting into trouble with Percy anymore. You wondered if you'd even still be such close friends when he came back.

You waited outside his cabin that morning, you didn't really feel like you could go in this time. You really weren't sure what had changed in the last few hours, maybe you were just sad that he was leaving. So, you sat on the steps, watching everyone saying goodbye and getting last games of volleyball in. 

"C?" Percy asks from behind you.

You tilt your head back to look at him. "Hey, you're finally up." You say with a small smile.

He sits next to you, "I guess you already know..."

You look back out at the green, "I'd have called you an idiot otherwise." You say with a weak shrug. 

Percy's quiet for a bit, "I'll write you letters." He offers.

You laugh a little, "no you won't Perce." He sighs and you shake your head, "can you just promise me something?"

"Yeah, anything." He says quickly.

You tilt your head towards him, "don't forget me." You flick your eyes towards him, trying to keep your expression neutral.

"Clio," he looks like he might cry, "I could never forget you." He says.

You swallow and look back out at hearth. "It's just because I know that things are different now and I'm not important like you-"

You're cut off by Percy crushing you in a hug. "Don't you ever say that again." He says angrily. You don't want to, but you tear up, your hands griped into the back of his shirt. Your face against his shoulder as you start to cry. "You're just as important as me." He says, rubbing your back. "Hey," He pushes you back and holds you by the shoulders, "I'll talk to mom." 

You sniffle, rubbing your eyes with a hand, "what, why?"

Percy scoffs, "duh, so you can go to school with me." He says.

That shocks the tears into halting, "what'd you mean?"

"Mom loves you," Percy explains, "she still sends you letters, right?"

It was true, Ms. Jackson and you had been sending letters back and forth again since she'd gotten back home. You adored her, but you didn't think she'd want you there all the time. "Well yeah, but-"

"I bet she'd love to have you at home." He says, "then we could still see each other every day." He's excited, like this is a brilliant plan.

"But, Perce..." You glance away, "you aren't going to want to share your mom." You say gently.

Percy has the nerve to laugh at you, causing you to give him a look of disbelief. "Sharing with you wouldn't bother me." He smiles, "besides, someone has to keep you in line." He teases.

You give him a little smile, "you really think you're the one to keep me out of trouble?"

Percy grins, "well, maybe it'll work both ways." He admits. he holds out his pinkie.

You shake your head, rubbing your face, "okay," you hold out your pinkie towards him.

"Pinkie promise." Percy says as he locks your pinkies together.

Chapter Text

"Clio!" Katie calls from across the green. 

You wave and stand up, "you coming?" You ask Percy.

He shakes his head, "go on, I want to get some training in before the shuttle takes off." He explains.

You smile, "don't get hurt before you go home." You tease, jogging over to Katie and her group.

"Hey, I just wanted to say bye." Katie tells you, handing over a slip of paper. "Keep me up to date, alright?" 

You flip open the folded paper and read it, she's scribbled her address there in block letters. You smile, "of course, thanks Katie." 

"Don't get into too much trouble while I'm gone." She teases.

"Psh, you know I'm friends with the best tricksters at camp." You joke back.

"Don't worry, Katie. I'll keep an eye on her." Miranda says seriously. She's about Connor's age and it makes you both laugh to hear her sound so serious.

Honestly, you liked the children of Demeter, you felt they got a bad rap. "I'll see you guys later." You wave goodbye to them and search for Jake. The Stoll's had said they weren't leaving so you weren't worried about missing them, but with you being so busy the last few weeks you hadn't been able to ask Jake about it.

"Nyssa!" You call, seeing her with a duffle bag.

As you jog over to her, she turns to you. "Hey Clio, what's up?"

You pause next to her, "do you know where Jake is?" You ask.

"Oh, he's probably in the forge with Beckendorf." She explains, tossing her thumb over her shoulder.

You smile, "thanks, see you next summer." You say, taking a backwards step away.

Nyssa cracks the smallest smile, "yeah, see you then." She says, waving as you go. Most of Hephaestus' cabin didn't leave camp at summers end, apparently. You knew that, but you still wanted confirmation from Jake. 

Unlike most other people at camp you didn't hesitate to go into the forge. Maybe you'd hesitated the first couple of times, but it was the only way to find Jake that wasn't during meal times. Besides, no one seemed bothered that you did just barge in.

When you step into the forge the intense heat hits you. You still weren't used to it. Honestly, it made you sleepy.

"Clio." Beckendorf says in greeting. You nod and he turns back to his work.

You smile when you see Jake at his station. He's fiddling with a tiny machine. "Hey." You say, leaning against the opposite side of the table.

"One. Second." He says very slowly as he lays a final cog wheel into place causing the thing to spring to life.

It starts cleaning up the area and you clap. "Awesome!" You exclaim.

Jake laughs, "you're so easily impressed." He says, standing up.

"It's just because you're so impressive." You shoot back with a grin.

He picks up a rag from the table and wipes some of the oil from his hands. "So, where have you been?" He asks, looking over at you. "You've missed like the last five campfires, except last nights." He says, watching you move a pencil out of place over and over to mess with his little machine.

You wince, letting the little guy place the pencil where it wants as you look up at Jake. "Sorry..."

He gives you a look, "I also haven't seen you at meal times." He crosses his arms, raising an eyebrow.

You hold up your hands, "listen, Chiron makes sure I eat something." You say.

Jake rolls his eyes, "you should try to relax a little." He tosses the oily rag at you.

"Hey!" You complain, swatting it out of the air.

"You don't need to kill yourself to get the job done." He explains.

You laugh, "pot meet kettle!" He rolls his eyes and you sigh, "listen, I have the whole day off today."

"And you came to the forge so I could fill your boredom?" He jokes.

You smile, "well, I came to see if you were leaving or not actually."

Jake shrugs, "I don't have anywhere to go." He says simply.

You nod, "me too..." You say, chewing on your lip.

Jake snaps, "almost forgot, I have something for you." He says, crouching down and opening a drawer.

You lean over the table to look and the little machine whirrs at you. You take the hint and stand back up off the table, holding your hands up in defeat. "okay, okay, damn." The machine goes back to work, tidying the table.

Jake laughs, standing up and walking over to your side of the bench. "Here." He holds out a beautiful belt to you.

"You finally finished it?" You ask, taking the belt and holding it up to look at.

It was a beautiful piece of work. Two to three inches wide, the leather had been dyed a reddish brown and carved into it were strawberry vines that wrapped around the belt in such a way that they almost looked life like. There was a perfectly shaped pocket for the ink bottle; it was clipped in in such a way that in a dark room one could still use the glow in the dark properties. Next to it was a cylindrical tube, the top had a clip to keep the papers inside. On the opposite side was the dagger's new sheath and on the inside was a secret pocket.

"So a few things you should know." Jake explains taking the belt back from you. "This pouch is  waterproof. I tested it out a few times and so long as the clip is on, no water can get in." He turns the belt so you can see the hidden pocket. "Now this thing is cool. Beckendorf showed me how to do this. Within reason this can hold just about anything that'll fit through the opening and it'll feel like its empty while being worn." He finishes proudly, handing the belt back to you.

You take it back, reverently, staring at it in awe. "Jake... this is..." You shake your head, "I don't know what to say, this is amazing..."

He rubs the back of his head, glancing away, "I had so many ideas that it took way longer than it should have." He admits.

You crinkle your nose at him, "well, I think it's perfect." You say, wrapping the belt around your waist and clipping it closed. It wouldn't hold your pants up, but it did everything else it needed to. 

Jake heaves a sigh and smiles at you, "come on, lets go say goodbye to everyone then." He says, heading towards the exit.

You smile, "thank you." You skip after him. Beckendorf doesn't say anything to either of you, but you're sure you can see the ghost of a smile on his face.

The two of you walk around, saying bye to a few friends. Jake stutters out a quick goodbye to Michael Yew and it's all you can do to not laugh. After Michael walks away you say, "I think you're blushing."

"Shut up, bookworm." Jake mutters. You set your arms behind your back as the two of you walk in step with each other. "So," Jake continues, "how are you feeling?

You look at him, "about what?"

He gestures in front of you, "with everyone leaving?"

The real question hung in the air between you, how do you feel about Percy leaving?

You shrug, "well there's nothing I can do about it right?" You turn and walk backwards in front of him, "and Perce says he'll see if his mom would let me live with them so I could go to school with Percy." You explain. You know you shouldn't be so hopeful, but you couldn't help it.

"Wow, that would be nice." Jake says, grabbing your arm as you stumble over a rock.

You smile at him as you steady yourself. "I know right? That would be so cool, I'd still be able to go to school and all."

A warning horn sounds from across camp, both of you look at each other.

"What's that?" Jake asks.

You shake your head, "come on!" You yank him after you as you take off towards the sound.

You reach the green breathless, only to see Percy collapsed on the ground, his arm smoking, Chiron crouched over him.

"Percy," you move to run to him, but Jake holds you back.

"You have to give Chiron space." Jake insists, keeping you back as other people run over, alerted by the horn.

Annabeth makes her way over to you, "what happened?" She demands.

You shake your head, "we don't know."

"He was already collapsed when we got here." Jake explains. His hand still on your arm like he thinks you'll bolt at any second.

"Come on." Annabeth says, taking your hand and getting both of you through the crowd. "Chiron, what can we do?" She demands.

"Follow," is all Chiron says as Argus picks Percy up. The five of you make your way to the Big House...

Chiron continues working on Percy's wound for ages. Eventually he wraps it up in a club of a wrap.

You and Annabeth sit on opposite sides of the bed. She manages the Nectar, you handle the washcloth. 

The four of you sit in absolute silence as you wait for Percy to wake.

"Pit scorpion venom." You say again. "It's just like the Hellhound." You shake your head, "someone is purposely targeting Percy." You insist.

"Did you see him today at all?" Annabeth asks.

You nod, "this morning, he said he wanted to get some last minute training in." You explain, 'we parted ways on the green."

Annabeth adjusts the glass, "Luke must have seen him then. Someone should ask him."

None of you moved though.

It took another thirty minutes for him to wake up.

When his eyes opened, he said, "here we go again."

You let out a relived laugh as Annabeth says, "you idiot, you were turning grey when we found you." 

You cut in, "if it weren't for Chiron's healing-"

"Now, now," Chiron interrupts, "Percy's constitution deserves some of the credit." Percy's eyes flit between you and Annabeth before going back to Chiron when Chiron asks, "how are you feeling?"

"Like my insides were frozen then microwaved."

"Apt considering that was pit scorpion venom." Chiron leans forward, "now you must tell me, if you can, what happened?" 

The story Percy told leaves you cold. Luke could do that; you believed Percy with no hesitation, but the idea that this whole time you'd trusted Luke... 

He was behind the Hellhound. He had to be and now, everything seemed to crash around you. 

"I can't believe Luke..." Annabeth starts. You meet her eyes and her expression changes to anger. "Yes. Yes, I can believe it." Her voice cracks, "may the gods curse him." She shakes her head, "he was never the same after his quest."

"This must be reported to Olympus," Chiron murmurs. "I will go at once."

Percy tries to sit up, "Luke is out there right now." He says, "I have to go after him."

You shake your head, helping him sit up as Chiron says, "no, Percy. The gods-"

"Won't even talk about Kronos." Percy snaps. "Zeus declared the matter closed!"

Chiron winces, "Percy, I know this is hard. You must not rush out for vengeance. You aren't ready."

Percy glares down at his hand. It takes him a moment to collect his thoughts. "Chiron...your prophecy from the Oracle...it was about Kronos, wasn't it?" He leans forward, "was I in it? And Annabeth?"

You whip your head towards Chiron, he hadn't even told you the whole prophecy. You only knew the first few lines. Chiron hadn't let you talk about it. You hadn't even really thought about it...

"Percy, it isn't my place-" Chiron tries to say.

Percy cuts in, "you've been ordered not to talk to me about it, haven't you?"

Chiron glances at Percy with sad eyes, "you will be a great hero, child. I will do my best to train you, but if I'm right about the path ahead of you-" thunder booms so loud the windows shake. "Fine!" Chiron shouts.

You feel for Chiron, it can't be easy watching people suffer the way he has. Chiron tries to get Percy to stay at camp, without actually saying Percy should. He's all about campers personal choices...

As he's leaving he mentions to Annabeth that someone is here for her. It causes you to wonder vaguely if Chiron can sense regular humans in some special way. Similar to the way satyrs can.

I'm going to have to tell Percy what I know about the prophecy... 

You move around the side of the bed to stand next to Annabeth as she asks Percy if he needs anything else. You glance at her, the two of you hadn't talked much since they'd come back. You'd both been there to say bye to Grover last night, but she was always glancing at Percy, which amused you. You wondered how long it'd take Percy to notice.

"I want to go outside." Percy says abruptly. Annabeth tries to argue, but he's already standing...well, trying to stand, anyway. He falls into the both of you.

"Percy, just give it a few more hours-"

He glares at you, as best he can as he turns green from standing. You roll your eyes and sling one of his arms over your shoulders. Annabeth realizes she's lost and grabs his other arm. 

After nearly falling down the hall, you set him on one of the rocking chairs.

You glance up the hill, seeing a loan family standing there. Annabeth tells Percy she's taking his advice. She's going to try again with her dad.

"Good luck, Annabeth." You say, your expression tired.

Annabeth nods, "keep in touch, Clio. Chiron's got the address."

You nod, "right."

She turns to Percy, "you won't try anything stupid during the school year, will you?" She hesitates, "at least not without sending me an Iris-message?"

Percy manages to smile as he says, "I won't go looking for trouble."

You scoff, "yeah, because normally trouble comes looking for you!" You tease and he laughs.

"When we're all together again next summer," Annabeth says, "we'll hunt down Luke. We'll ask for a quest, but if we don't get approval, we'll sneak off and do it anyway. Agreed?"

Percy nods, "sounds like a plan worthy of Athena." They shake hands and then turn to you. 

You realize Annabeth was including you in her plan. You gesture to yourself, "you don't mean me?" You ask.

Percy snorts, "well she wasn't suggesting that the rocking chairs go."

"But, I don't know anything like you guys do." You argue. You hold your palms up, "what would I possibly add to your quest?"

Percy rolls his eyes, "C-"

"Clio, walk me to the hill." Annabeth demands. Bewildered you nod at her demand. She turns to Percy and says, "take care, Seaweed Brain." She nods her head to the cabins, "keep your eyes open."

"You too Wise Girl." Percy responds.

Annabeth turns and head down the steps, "I'll be right back." You tell Percy, before following her.

When she feels the two of you are sufficiently away from Percy, Annabeth cocks her head towards you. "Listen, I wanted to apologize for..." She fidgets with her luggage handle, "for before." She says in a rush.

"Before?" You ask.

She stops and turns to you, "for listening to Luke and embarrassing you in front of the other campers."

"Not to be mean, but I didn't really take you for the apologizing type." You admit.

Annabeth nods, "when we were on our quest, Percy...explained that it really upset you." She looks into your face tentatively.

You glance back at Percy, rubbing the back of your neck. "Well, yeah. It embarrassed me. People already thought I was weak and then you kicked me off the team even though Percy was also unconscious."

Annabeth rolls her eyes, "he was tired, you'd been sliced open." She reminds you.

You sigh, "did you really only do it because Luke asked?"

her shoulders fall a bit, "he seemed really worried that you'd stay with Percy because it was his first time. Since the plan was to have Clarisse follow him, you could have been hurt again." She shakes her head, "although, now I think he might have been worried about the Hellhound."

"Mmm..." You rub your forehead before throwing your hand out and letting out an aggressive sigh. "How about this?" You suggest. "Luke and Silena are convinced that I have some kind of inspirational power."

"Like charmspeak?" Annabeth asks.

You nod, seeing her start to smile, you follow suit. "How about eventually, when we get back to capture the flag~"

"You're proposing an alliance?" She asks.

You grin. "Well, if they were right...should make it easier for the best team to win."

Annabeth sticks out her hand, "if you can prove it, you've got a deal."

The two of you shake on it and continue towards the hill.

"Annabeth."

"Hmm?"

"I accept your apology. "You smile at her and she gives you a genuine smile back.

"So you'll help us find Luke?" Annabeth asks again.

Sighing, you nod, "I don't know how much help I'll be, but you can count on me." You hold out a pinkie. "We'll fix this."

She looks at your hand and then up at your face before nodding curtly and locking your pinkies together.

"Have fun at school, Annabeth!" You call as she climbs the hill.

You wave as she reaches the top and turn back towards the Big House. Percy is looking out towards the water, he looks...really grim.

"Hey, Perce." You murmur as you sit on the top step and lean against the railing. 

"What did you two talk about?" He asks, still staring at the water.

"Capture the flag strategies," you start before sighing, "and apparently I'm helping look for Luke." 

Percy turns to you, you're smart, C. You'll be able to help." You roll your eyes and look away, back towards the cabins. "Roll your eyes all you want. I know you." He says, pushing your arm with his foot." Once you get started on something nothing can stop you."

You sigh, "Perce, I'm not a fighter-"

"You've beat me in a fight." He argues.

"That was-"

He cuts you off again, "you were even injured at the time." He shrugs, "and I bested Ares, imagine what you could do."

"You're stronger now." You argue back, "I haven't really practiced in weeks!"

Percy pulls a face, "then practice?"

You groan, "you said yourself, when I focus on something I take it all the way." You turn to him, "the archives are still in shambles."

"C, you've been running yourself ragged down there." Percy complains. "You need sunlight and people too."

You look out over the water, he's right of course. -which is annoying- Training hasn't held any interest to you over your new position as camp historian. You chew your lip, now with Luke gone and a war looking you know you messed us avoiding training all this time.

"C," Percy says, sinking onto the porch next to you. "A fight is coming and I just don't want you to get hurt..." He touches your shoulder gently.

You lip tastes metallic and you realize you've chewed it raw. "I know, Perce...I just...I want..." You trail off. You don't know your mom. She's talked to you one time and it wasn't even in Person! You hang your head, "I want my mom to be proud of me." You mumble.

Percy's quiet for a while, both of you staring out over the water. "If she's not proud of you for being ready to fight like the rest of us, then what's the point?" He leans against your shoulder as you both watch the sun set.

"You know, they say when an artist dies they're allowed to paint the sky." You remark, taking in the golden oranges and vibrant pinks.

Percy chuckles, "you think the gods would allow that?"

You sigh, "I suppose not." You wrap your arms around your legs and lean your head against Percy's shoulder. "How are you feeling?"

he lays his head against yours, "better than I was. C, you should just come back with me. Mom wouldn't be that annoyed."

"I can't, Perce." You sigh, "just ask her first, alright? We'll go from there."

"Okay, but promise me something."

You offer a hand and he takes it, "anything man."

He lifts his head off of yours, "don't try anything dumb until then." He says seriously and you laugh. "I'm serious, Clio. Don't try to be a -"

You lift your head and give him a look, "what?" You smirk, "don't be a hero?" You ask, your tone mocking.

Percy rolls his eyes, "no, I just know you. You try to fix problems alone until you have to get someone else's help or someone inserts themselves in your schemes."

"Perce, what could I do in the span of a month?" You ask.

Percy looks annoyed, "I don't know, that's just the problem!" He gestures towards the hill. "You and Annabeth are always like ten steps ahead!"

You scoff, "oh Perce, don't compare me to Annabeth. She's brilliant."

"And you aren't?" He demands.

"Tch, not like her." You argue, "she's like...I don't know, a general in a child's body. I just want people to remember and respect history." 

"yeah, but you also know that history too!" He insists, "you can take what you learn from that and use it in present situations."

You roll your eyes, "fine, I guess. You know that I don't like quests though."

Percy scoffs, "neither did I." You groan and he smirks, "welcome to the club."

"I really would rather not be a part of this club." You complain.

"Yeah, well, every demi-god is."

"Until we do something about it." You grumble.

Percy nods and wraps an arm around you, "just be careful, please?"

"Yeah. Alright." You sigh, glancing down. "Percy I have to tell you something..."

"What is is?"

You wince, "you have to understand, I swore on the Styx not to talk about it..."

"Clio, you can't break that kind of promise..." Percy warns.

You shake your head, "I think you deserve to hear about it, promise or not." You shrug, "besides, I crossed my fingers."

Percy doesn't say anything for a beat, "is it about the great prophecy?" 

"Yes."

Percy groans, "how do you even know about that?"

You scoff, "you can find anything in archives." You turn to him, "actually, how do you already know about it, by the way?"

Percy shrugs, "I do have a brain sometimes." Percy sighs, "I don't know if you should say anything, not if it'll hurt you."

"Maybe the Styx honors the whole finger crossing thing?" You offer.

Percy laughs, "What is it that you even have?"

You tap your fingers against your leg, "part of the prophecy." 

"Part of it?" He asks.

You nod, "it was ripped and Chiron wouldn't tell me the rest..."

Both of you sit in silence for a while, the stars starting to peek out in the sky, before Percy finally says, "until you have the whole thing, keep it for now."

"But Perce-"

"I'm serious Clio, even Chiron's not allowed to talk about it." Percy says, squeezing your shoulder.

You, rest your chin on your knees, "what if something happens?"

"Like what?"

You shake your head, hiding your face in your knees. Percy sighs and you both continue to sit there until Chiron comes back.

Percy explains to Chiron that he's still going home and you see pain flash in Chiron's eyes before weariness replaces it.

When the cab finally arrives to take Percy home, you walk him to it.

"Keep training." You demand, "if you want to go after Luke, you'll need to be in good shape."

Percy nods, "back at you. Once you're home, we'll be able to train together."

You smile, "we'll see."

You wave until the car is out of site. Your hand slaps your leg as you let it fall. If you ever saw Luke again you'd do your absolute best to kick his ass. He tried to kill your best friend, twice. You promised you'd take it easy; that you wouldn't get into trouble, but what could it hurt to interview the other campers close to him? You glance up at the stars above you, it was so frustrating. How can the stars continue to sparkle so brightly? 

As you're heading up the hill you see a familiar face, "Jake?" You ask.

"Is he okay?"

You nod, "Chiron managed to heal Percy." You explain. "Sorry I left you on the green." 

Jake nods and says, "let's grab a smore and sit down for a while." You nod as the two of you walk down the hill. "What happened to him?"

Sighing you say, "pit scorpion. Luke is a traitor." You spit out.

Jake stops in his tracks, "what?"

You turn back to look at him, "Luke has sided with Kro-" you stop yourself, "he's sided with the Lord of the Titans."

Jake's face is in shock, "wait, you're saying...you're saying Luke set the pit scorpion on Percy?" His voice wavers slightly.

You look back up towards the stars, "yeah...and on the quest he was the one who enchanted the flying shoes to take the wearer to Tartarus." You can feel yourself tearing up and you close your eyes. You needed to harden up. A war was coming, you couldn't afford to be a crybaby. "He was also behind the Hellhound..."

"We have to tell everyone." Jake says.

"We have to see what Chiron says." You correct, "He went to Olympus this afternoon." You explain. "He has to do what the gods say."

Jake nods, "okay, let's find him then."

The two of you hurry to the Big House and find Chiron on the porch. "Chiron, we have to make an announcement at campfire." You say, "we have to warn everyone."

Chiron takes his time continuing to look at the stars. It always makes you acutely aware of how antsy you are.

He sighs and looks down at the two of you, "unfortunately, Olympus doesn't believe this to be a real threat."

"What?" Jake asks, "how can they think that?"

Your hands curl into fists, "they what?" You grit out through your teeth. "How dare they? This is why this is happening in the first place!" You argue, your voice raising. "They treat us like...like fodder for their own games and we're stuck with the outcome!"

Chiron holds up a hand and you tremble, barely containing yourself. "I agree with you Clio."

You blink, your shoulders dropping, "you...you do?"

Chiron nods. "The gods may work in mysterious ways, but sometimes it is nigh impossible to understand them." He sighs, "if they will ignore this, there will be no changing their minds. Perhaps, not even when it is too late."

How many times has Chiron seen this happen, you wonder. He's as old as the gods, older then most of them even if the myths are right...

"What are we supposed to do?" Jake asks.

You look at Jake and then up at Chiron. "He's right, what are we supposed to do?"

Chiron sighs again, "we train and get ready as best as we can." He says.

"How are we going to get ready when the gods don't think it's real?" You ask.

"We can make the announcement instead." Jake says. You give him a strange look. "What?" He asks.

"I just never thought I'd hear you go against the gods."

Chiron holds up his hand again, "I will make an announcement in the morning, when we decide who will take over Hermes cabin."

"It's got to be Chris right?" You say, "he's the next oldest-" You cut yourself off when you notice Chiron's expression. 

"He's gone...isn't he?" Jake asks. "Makes sense...he was Luke's second in command."

You think back to a dozen different moments when Chris and Luke shared those secretive looks. "How many campers?"

Chiron sighs again, "a handful of Luke's closest followers have already left camp." 

"Who's in charge of Hermes cabin then?" Jake asks.

In his most exhausted tone yet, Chiron says, "Travis Stoll." 

Chapter Text

Dear Clio, 

Percy has been begging me to have you come home for the school year. So I talked to the school. They might be able to get you in, if that’s something you would like? I know things are tough at camp right now, so don’t feel as if you have to do this.

I will say, I would adore you living with us for the school year. Schools only been going for a week. Let me know how you’re feeling in your next letter.

Stay Safe

Sally

P.S. Maybe less Marshmallow fights, but I’m sure we could think of something.

You let your arms fall to your lap as you finish rereading the latest note from Ms. Jackson. Obviously, yes, you wanted to go. You actually liked school and getting to be with Percy and Sally would make you unbelievably happy. The only problem was that you felt like going to school would be…unhelpful. 
Full time campers had slowly been disappearing over the last few weeks. Not only that, you had been helping the Stoll’s try to wrangle what was left of Hermes’ cabin.

You stand and walk to the doorway of your cabin, parting the hanging vines that are the current door. A few nymphs and dryads had helped you find fallen lumber in the woods for a roof. Then Miranda and a few of her siblings had grown ivy vines in such a way that the roof was water tight. Often, you found it funny that your little self made cabin was more living plant than building. 
While you basically had a cabin now, it had been pointed out to you that without a door, unwanted visitors could easily get in. So, more often than not, you still crashed in the Hermes cabin.

As you pass the flower perpetually blooming outside the door, you pat the ground next to it. It was late, you should have been at campfire ten minutes ago, but sometimes you just couldn’t handle seeing the still dwindling numbers of campers. You slip Sally’s note into the secret pocket in your belt and drag your feet as you head towards the amphitheater. 
You were sure if you asked your friends they would tell you to go to school. You just didn’t want to give them something else to worry about.

If only there was some way for us to know what Luke was planning. 

“C!” Travis calls, waving at you.

You smile and wave back, heading over to him. “Where’s Connor?”

Travis points over to a shadow, slinking amongst the Demeter kids. “Where have you been? I didn’t see you at dinner, again.” He accuses.

You roll your eyes as you sit next to him. “Don’t worry, I had dinner. It was just in the archives.”

”Hmm.” He hands you a few marshmallows and his stick. “You should actually come out for meals.” He chides.

”Why? So someone can convince me to do something else?” You ask. He shrugs. “Okay, we’ll it’s not like I’ve seen the cabin manage a good prank in a while.” You point out.

”Fair point.” He sighs, “we’re still recovering.”

You nod, stabbing a marshmallow, “I have a bit of an idea, just a spark really…”

Travis laughs, “for a prank?”

You hold your marshmallows out towards the fire, “no, like to combat the enemy.” You say, lowering your voice a bit.

”What were you thinking?” He asks, lowering his voice as well.

You turn to him, “we need a spy. Someone on the inside who can slide us information.”

”How would we do that?” He asks before nudging you, “your marshmallows are burning.” 
“Oh!” You pull them back quickly and blow them out. “Thanks.” You turn to him again, “I don’t know how we’d do it. I guess someone would have to reach out to him. Pretend to want to join.” 
“It would have to be someone who we trust, but even if we could get them on his team, how would we get the information back?” Travis asks. 
“Iris message?” You shrug, “like I said, it was only the beginnings of an idea.”

Travis sighs, “it could be really dangerous for a spy. If Luke found out-“

You cut him off, “they would have to be excellent at lying.” You look at your s’more with disinterest.

”You think a Hermes kid should do it?” He asks, glancing from your face to your s’more.

Sighing you shrug again. “I don’t know, I’d be worried…” you trail off, Luke was actually the Hermes cabins big brother. 
Travis looks away, “you’d worry they’d turn on us?”

”I didn’t mean anything by it. It’s just more likely because they’d be closely related to him.” You say, breaking your s’more in half and offering him the larger piece.

Travis looks down at it and takes it before looking back at you. “Then who though? Annabeth?”

You shake your head, “I’m not sure, when she’s back maybe we can talk to her about it.” You look down at your rapidly cooling s’more. 
“You’re worried about the same thing with her?” Travis questions.

You sigh and look around at the campers. Everyone is speaking amongst themselves and the fire is lower than normal, it’s color dull… “No. With Annabeth I’d worry she’d over step with Luke; trust him too much and get hurt.”

Travis breaks a piece off his gram cracker and crushes it into dust. Both of you watch it fall to the ground. “You really think he’d hurt Annabeth?”

You shrug, “I don’t know,” you lower your voice even lower so the two of you have to lean towards each other, “he’s aligned himself with the Titans. The gods might suck but the Titans were eating their kids and terrorizing the mortals. I mean I know Zeus ate his first wife but-“

Travis leans back startled, “what do you mean Zeus ate his first wife?” His voice has bounced back to its normal level, “He had a wife before Hera?”
Other campers are looking at you now but you give him a look, “he had six wives before Hera. Do you not know about that?” You set your s’more down on the bench and brush off your hands. “Zeus married Métis and then ate her to make sure he kept her council.” You shrug, “he was worried his kids would steal the throne away from him.” You wave your hands back and forth, “anyway, Métis was already pregnant when he ate her, so she hammered away at a suit of armor inside Zeus.” You’re breathless as you continue, “the hammering caused Zeus to have a migraine so Hermes convinced Hephaestus to take a wedge and split Zeus’ head open. When he did that Athena sprang from the wound, fully formed and clad in battle armor.” You finish in a rush. Travis’ mouth is agape for a moment, just long enough for you to ask “What?”

He coughs, quickly recovering his composure, “nothing, I just don’t get how you remember all of that. It’s all so complicated.”

You roll your eyes, “if you paid attention in mythology class-“ 

Travis holds his hands up, “hey, I remember the ones that’ll keep me alive.”

”Tch, you sound like Percy.” You complain and Travis cracks a smile. You glance around at a few of the other campers and they go back to their previous conversations. You look over at Chiron and he gives you a little shake of his head. Maybe that hadn’t been taught in class…

”You sleeping in our cabin tonight?” Travis asks.

You shake your head, “neh, I’ve got some stuff to think about.”

Travis takes a bite from his s’more, “wha’ s’uff?”

You snort and pull out the letter from your belt. “Percy’s mom says I can go to school with Percy.”

”That’s awesome news isn’t it?” 
You shrug, “yeah…I just feel like I should stay…”

Travis drops his hands to his lap, “Clio, you like school and you were so excited about getting to live with Percy.”

Groaning, you say, “I know. I just don’t want to leave camp with things like this.”

Travis rolls his eyes, “we can handle it. Even without he camp historian.”

”Campers are still disappearing, Travis!” You remind him, annoyed.

“They’ll keep disappearing too. You staying won’t stop that.” He argues, “besides if you go, maybe you’ll learn something new to annoy me with next time we see each other.”

You sigh, “would you tell me if something happened here?” You ask, looking up at him.

He smiles at you, a lopsided, trouble-maker smile. Teachers would send him to the hall for existing…”of course, Sidelines.”

”Rude!” You cry, shoving him. The two of you laugh and you look at the fire again, a smile lingering on your face.

By the time you finish your s’more, the conch signals bed time. You stand up and stretch. Travis hands you back Sally’s letter.

”See you in the morning.” He says with a smile and you nod.

You walk back with the Apollo campers and walk along the worn path around the side of the cabin. You smile down at your feet. Honestly, part of you was really glad that the Jackson’s cared enough to invite you for the full school year. Grownups didn’t do stuff like that for kids that weren’t theirs…

As you approach the entrance to your cabin, the Hyacinth glows brighter. You figure you’ll write a couple of letters. Tell Katie about the missing campers and that you’ll be at school with Percy before you answer Sally. You smile again as you descend the steps and pat the ground by the flower. It was practically a pet at this point. If I could give you treats I would, ya know. You think as you part the curtain of vines. 
The first thing you notice is that your lantern is still lit. You could have sworn you turned it off when you left for campfire-

A sword is at your throat, a hand holds you still by the shoulder, “not a sound.” A familiar voice says.

Your eyes widen, your breathing feels erratic; how did Luke get into camp? 
Luke shoves you to the other side of the cabin and stands in front of the door. “Sorry Clio. I couldn’t risk you giving us away.” He explains, sheathing his odd looking sword.

Spinning around, your eyes narrow and your hand grips the hilt of your dagger, “what are you doing here, traitor?”

Luke holds up his hands, “don’t make this a fight, Clio. You won’t win.”

Your nose is wrinkled with anger, “what do you think you’re doing?”

Luke sighs, “Clio, I know you think about the gods the same as I do-“

”I’d never attack my friends like you did.” You spit out. Your arm is tense, ready to pull your dagger the moment Luke makes a move.

Luke’s shoulders fall, “believe me, I wish I didn’t have to.” He holds a hand out to you, “but you have to understand, Percy would have tried to stop me.”

You glare at him. “Why shouldn’t I return the favor you so graciously offered Percy?” 
Luke’s hand drops down to his side, “your histories.” He tries again, “I told you that you could have something more important to record.”

”You think I’d ever join you after what you did?” You demand. Then your expression shifts: He wants me to join his army and we need someone on the inside…  Your shoulders fall, it has to be me.

Luke seems to notice the change in your demeanor and takes a step towards you, “I know you care about Percy, but this is bigger than him. This is the only way to beat the gods.”

You look at the ground, “you don’t care who you hurt to get what you want…doesn’t that make you just as bad as them?” You ask in a small voice. You feel crazy, how are you supposed to go through with this? How were you supposed to get information back to camp?

”Clio, it’s a war. Of course I don’t want to have to hurt anyone.” He touches your shoulder and it takes everything in you to keep from yanking away. “Sometimes, we don’t get what we want.”

You look up at him. He’s coming off as almost desperate, like he knows what he’s doing is crazy… “what do you want from me?”

Luke let’s go of you and takes a step back; if you were fast enough, you could get around him. When you realize this, your legs tense to run, but you can’t. You know you can trust yourself to be a spy, at least to never turn on camp, or Percy…You hang your head. 
“Clio, I want you to be my record keeper. You could be my advisor too. You aren’t a yes man like other people.” He clears his throat, “please. We could use your knowledge.” He adds.

You feel sick, Percy might never forgive you for siding with Luke even if it was as a spy.

How am I going to get information back to camp?

”Can I think about it?” You ask, your head still lowered. 
Luke is quiet for a while, so long you look up at him. He isn’t looking at you. His head is tilted slightly and the shadows from the lantern make him look almost cartoonishly evil. You dig a nail into your palm, waiting.

”At first light, a dingy will be waiting for you at the beach. Do not miss it.” He unsheathes his sword again and you shrink back against the wall, pulling your dagger from your belt. He holds his other hand out, placating, “don’t worry.” He cuts a symbol into the wall and a strange portal appears.

”That’s how you got into camp?” You ask.

He nods, “remember first light. Please, don’t disappoint me.” He says, then he steps through the portal. It closes with a blast of air that blows out your lantern. You feel frozen with your back against the wall of your cabin.

This was insanity. Really and truly crazy. You weren’t like Percy or Annabeth…How did you think you could do this? 
You slid down the wall, staring at the spot where Luke disappeared. In the darkness you couldn’t tell if the symbol was still visible or not. You could feel your body trembling, you had held yourself tense way too long…

‘No one can leave camp without a quest’ Annabeth had said. Sure, the people who didn’t plan to come back might not have thought about it, but you were determined to come back. The only way for a quest to become official was to get a prophecy from the oracle.

You take a deep breath, pulling yourself back up by the wall. “Okay, first things first, I have to sneak into the Big House.” You move to the doorway and push aside the vines. 
Lights are out in the cabins, but you don’t know how long Chiron and Mr. D stay up. You’re still trying to steel yourself, you could still back out… “No. I have to do this.” You murmur to yourself. You pat the ground by the flower. Less than thirty minutes ago you’d done the same thing, but it was in such a different place. This time felt so much sadder.

”Come on, Sidelines.” You whisper, climbing out and walking over to the back of the cabins. You couldn’t risk anyone catching you.

The first part, getting around the cabins was easy. No one noticed you. Now though, you had to get all the way to the Big House which was across camp. You start to run, knowing you only have a handful of hours to figure everything out by. As you run you murmur a silent prayer of thanks to Astraea, the goddess of starlight for giving you such bright light to travel by. 
You could hear the cleaning harpies in the distance, but they faded off into the woods as you neared the farm house. 
You step up onto the porch and catch your breath, you cant have heavy breathing give you away.
After a few moments of being unable to calm down, you try the door. Luckily (or unluckily) it isn’t locked. You open it just enough to slip through, not wanting to cause any unnecessary creaks.

You hesitate a moment at the door, not knowing if you should close it or leave it open. Closing it would risk unnecessary noise. Leaving it open would say someone had opened it…in the end you left it open. You didn’t want to risk three more sounds that could alert an awake grownup to your presence.

Percy had said he had to go all the way up to the fourth floor and then pull down a trap door to the attic…

You take tiny steps, crossing quickly to the stairs. You stand stock still at the bottom of the stairs. You can see light flickering under Chiron’s study door, but the murmuring you hear from behind the door doesn’t stop. You step up, standing as close to the wall as possible. You take the stairs two at a time, hoping to avoid as many creaks as possible. Even skipping steps though, you feel like it takes you years to reach the first landing. It gives you time to wonder why on Earth the Big House was so big anyway? Only Chiron and Mr. D stayed here…

As you circled around, trying to stick to the walls and testing boards, you really wish that you had taken your shoes off. Socks would have been the quietest. 
You repeat this pattern all the way up to the fourth floor. Here the floor is cluttered with broken furniture and cobwebs. You follow the only walkable path, slowly. Unfortunately, there was no way to walk next to the walls where the wood would be the strongest. Luckily, it didn’t seem to matter because there were only a few spots you had to avoid.
When you reach the end of the path, you see a long cord hanging from a green trap door. You wonder vaguely if there was a god to pray to for ‘please don’t let this creak or I’ll get it’ before pulling the cord and opening the door.

It didn’t creak necessarily, but you saw the ladder clacking open and caught it just before it made the loudest sound ever on the wooden floor. You breath a sigh of relief. The clacking of the ladder unfolding had been louder than you you wanted, but you were pretty sure that no one would notice. 
You notice the smell. It was like most attics, but there was a hint of something else…some kind of chemical…formaldehyde you think. Some kind of preservative. You take a deep breath before climbing up. I can still back out…

You couldn’t see very well at first, up to this point the light you’d been using had come from the open windows. Here though, it was stuffy and dark. Your foot hits something and you stoop down to put it back in its spot; a lantern! You shake it, hearing a slight slosh of oil inside. You check your pocket for your matches and light it. 
The light blinds you at first, causing you to look away quickly. Blinking a few times, you take in the overpacked attic and wonder why Chiron hadn’t had you up here organizing things too…Maybe that would be your next project, if you ever got done with the basement.

You stand, holding up the lantern to inspect some of the artifacts. There are all sorts of bits of monsters pickled in jars, which you figure is were that awful smell was emanating from. You take another step further in, noticing more items. It makes you wonder just how often questers left their trophies up here to hide them. 
A bright pink scarf catches your attention and you inspect the little tag attached to it: 

Scarf of Aphrodite
Recovered by Annabeth Chase

Wow, Annabeth had told you about the scarf when you’d recorded their quest, but you hadn’t thought about it since then. You guessed it made sense that she hadn’t kept something like that. 
Something creaks further into the attic and you swing the lantern around quickly, nearly knocking a precariously hung hydra head off the wall. There, at the edge of your pool of weak light are a set of glowing green eyes. You have to fight the urge to cry out , even so, you were pretty sure a weak whimper escaped you.

A neon green, glowing mist swirls out of the things mouth and writhes across the floor as if a bunch of snakes were slithering towards you. The most wraps itself around your feet and legs, you hear a voice:

I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach seeker and ask.

The voice sounds odd, as if the speaker had smocked six packs a day for the last forty years and hadn’t had a drink of water. There was no backing out now. You step closer to the green eyes, bathing a wrinkled hippie mummy in the glow of the lantern. Fear is causing your knees to tremble, but you clear your throat and ask, “should I spy on Luke for the sake of my friends?” You have to keep your voice low, not wanting to cause anyone to investigate. 
The most seems to thicken, surrounding you until all you can see are shades of green. 

You shall travel with the fallen son, watching with eyes tainted in blood.

You could swear you heard a girl shouting and the sounds of a ships bell clanging in the mist.

You shall harbor bronze wings, the rats word, lug.

You could hear voices, a conversation maybe, but it was whispered, impossible for you to make out.

You shall lose a lost piece of yourself to another’s wrath.

And you shall be forced to follow a divergent path.

The light from the lantern sputters out causing you to cry out quietly as you’re left in the darkness. You blink, allowing your eyes to adjust to the darkness. It takes a moment, but you realize the most must be gone because you couldn’t see the glowing eyes any longer.

”Lose a lost piece? Bronze wings?” You grit your teeth, you feel like crying or screaming or both. What a waste of time. She hadn’t helped you at all! You hold yourself still for a count of ten. You don’t want your anger to give you away. 
After taking a few deep breaths you move back over to the ladder and sit at the entrance, setting the lantern back where you found it. You sit there for a moment the lines of the prophecy swirling through your head. It really sounded bad to you. How were you supposed to take anything good away from bloody eyes and rats and wrath? Anyway this still didn’t fix your information problem-bronze wings.

For months, almost a year you’d dreamed of mechanical birds. They appeared in nearly every dream you had. What had you been given? It was even made of celestial bronze! It was like puzzle pieces clicking into place. 
You let out a surprised laugh, quickly covering your mouth. You wait for another count of ten, hearing nothing but the faint sound of old fashioned music floating up from several stories below. Quickly recovering, you hurry down the ladder. You glance around just to make sure you’re alone and then slowly push the ladder closed again. Despite your best efforts there was a thud as it bounced back into place. 

You find yourself uncomfortable as you travel back down your first flight of stairs. The hairs on the back of your neck stand up; it feels like someone is watching you. No matter how many times you look back though, you never see anyone. 

By the time you manage to reach the second floor landing you can see an open door. This is where that old timey music was coming from. Back at school, during study hall, Chiron had played this before. You think he called it Frank Sinatra? It wasn’t really your kind of music, but that wasn’t the issue now. The issue was how to get passed the room without being seen. As you got closer you could hear Chiron humming along to the slow ballad. 

You peak your head around the doorframe just enough to see that Chiron’s horse end is facing you, his head bent towards his journal. You hold your breath and hop past his door, freezing on the other side. His humming pauses momentarily and you can almost see him looking at the door in your head. Then the humming resumes and you breath a silent sigh of relief. 

Just as you reach the stairs, the big, old grandfather clock on the ground floor chimes the hour. The sudden sound causes you to jump and you hear the stairs creak beneath you as a result. The clock must have drowned it out though so you take the chance and hurry to the first floor landing. Realizing that the clock just struck midnight. You only had six hours to think of a plan to send messages to camp. Scratch that. Jake would have less than six hours to rework the singing bird.

You make it down the last set of stairs without incident, although you see that the front door has been shut again. So much for causing less noise. You open it slowly, again, only enough to squeeze through then close it behind you. 

You’d already wasted so much time…You leap down the steps and sprint across camp. You need to give Jake as much time as you had left. 

By the time you made it back to the cabins you were out of breath and while you had staved off exhaustion until now, you could feel it creeping up on you. Normally you’d be in bed by now. 
You lean against the side of cabin nine and caught your breath. You didn’t want to risk waking Beckenforf when you went it. Chewing on your lip you move over to the cabin door, glancing around to make sure no one is around to see before opening the door. You pray you don’t trip some kind of alarm system that the Hephaestus campers rigged up. 
Nothing happens. You tiptoe to Jake’s bunk and cover his mouth with your hand, causing him to open his eyes in a panic. You hold a finger to your lips and he relaxes after realizing who you are. He rolls his eyes, annoyed at this disturbance to his sleep, but allows you to tug him to the door. 
“Clio-“ You cover his mouth quickly, glancing back at Beckendorfs bed before pulling Jake outside.

He shoves your hand away, “what in Hades name-“

”Shh, keep your voice down!” You push him to the back side of the cabin. “You need to swear that what I’m about to say stays between you and me.” You whisper in a voice that is a lot more frantic then you’d like.

Jake looks bewildered, but nods his head, “sure. I swear.”

”On the Styx.” You insist.

Jake’s eyes widen a bit, “I swear on the River Styx.”

You glance around quickly again, “Luke showed up in my cabin-“

”What?!” 

You cover Jake’s mouth again, pressing him up against the cabin. “We need a spy, someone who can send camp information from Luke’s side.” You explain quickly. “I need to leave at first light, but I have to have a way to send the information back to camp.” 

Jake pulls your hands off his mouth “what time is it?” He asks, his voice finally lowered.

”It’s already midnight.” You answer, wrapping an arm around yourself. “But I have an idea.”

”You do?”

You nod, “your song bird.“ he gives you a look and you hurry to explain. “It already repeats music it knows. You just need to finagle it to record sound then play it back to the right person.” You fidget with the bracelet causing the bird to start singing. You jump covering the bird with your hand and holding it to your chest to deaden the sound. “Find a way to send it between you and me and we’ll be golden!”

Jake looks down at the ground, “that’s so little time…”

”Please Jake, you have to try. It only needs to make it back to you once, then you’ll have more time to fine tune it-“

”Come on.” Jake grabs your hand and two of you run for the forges.

Chapter Text

You and Jake run towards the forges. Already out of breath, you collapse onto a stool as soon as you make it inside.

"Give me your bird." Jake demands, unclipping your bracelet from your wrist and taking it over to his table. LJ III popping up from the corner to inspect what Jake's brought over. "Tell me everything, Clio." 

You take a deep breath before telling him everything you could remember from your conversation with Luke. How he wanted you to be his record keeper and advisor. You also tell him how Luke got into camp so that he'll be able to keep an eye out for anywhere that symbol could show up.

"And I thought that the only way to leave without getting into trouble would be to get a secret quest..." You finish.

Jake doesn't look up from his table as he asks, "secret quest?"

You hop up, carrying the stool over to the other side of his table. "Yeah, think about it. If we've thought about having a spy, Luke must have too. So very few people can know that I'm on a quest." You explain.

"Because you don't want the spy to find out?" Jake asks.

"Yeah," you agree with a nod.

Jake sighs, laying the bird on the table, "to have a quest you have to have a prophecy though." 

"You're right..." You agree again, looking away. You aren't really sure if you want to tell Jake or not yet...

Jake pauses and looks up at you, "you already got one, didn't you?" He asks, his eyes searching your face.

Your eyes quickly flit over to his before you look back at the table again, moving a couple of lug-nuts around so LJ III would fix them. "Well, I just thought that if I wanted to leave camp and be able to come back I had to have a quest and to get a quest I had to have a prophecy-"

Jake cuts off your rambling, "what'd the oracle say?" He asks, turning his attention back to the bird.

"Nothing good." You mumble, pulling your knees up to your chest and wrapping your arms around them. "But it was the reason I thought of the bird to get information back to camp..." Jake looks up at you, obviously unimpressed with your explanation. You sigh, "okay, fine." You take a deep breath:

You shall travel with the fallen son, watching with eyes tainted in blood.

You shall harbor bronze wings, the rats word, lug.

You shall lose a lost piece of yourself to another's wrath.

And you shall be forced to follow a divergent path.

You lay your head on your knees and the two of you exist in silence for a while.

Jake clears his throat and starts fiddling with the bird again before speaking. "Trying to figure out what prophecies mean will drive you crazy."

You smile into your knees. Lifting your head to observe his hands you say, "yeah, tell me about it." 

Jake scoffs, "that being said though, lose a lost piece of yourself?" He shrugs, "that sounds like complete nonsense." 

"Right?" You exclaim, letting your legs go and sitting up, slamming a hand onto the table. "Like what am I supposed to even take from that?" You groan, setting your elbow on the table and resting your chin in your hand. "How would I even recognize something like that?" You slouching, continuing to mess with LJ as Jake fiddles with the song bird.

"Clio, are you sure about this?"

You sigh again, poking LJ so it whizzes at you in annoyance, "I already have a prophecy. I think its a little late to back out now."

You're both silent for a few minutes, then Jake speaks again, "I just don't think I can do this fast enough..." He admits, "I...I don't want to fail you." 

You look over at him. His hands have stilled, but he's still looking at the bird, now in pieces in front of him.

"Jake," You start, reaching over and touching his hand, "you can do this. I believe in you." He looks up at you and you smile encouragingly. "You fixed it once before. You can do it again."

Jake's eyes glaze over for half a second, "I can do it." He says almost in a monotone before shaking his head, "jeez bookworm..."

You wince, "sorry..."

He looks back at your song bird and then up at the clock, "I needed time to figure out the problem before...We only have a few hours this time." He frets.

"Don't worry about the time. Just focus on the machine." You suggest and he sighs again. "Do you want me to move so I don't distract you?" You ask, already hopping off your stool.

He rubs his face vigorously, "ugh, we should get Charlie."

"Beckendorf?" You ask, stopping short.

Jake nods, "he could work this out in thirty minutes, tops."

"We have to keep this as quiet as possible, Jake." You sit against the far wall, "you can do it." You say again, pulling your notebook from your back pocket. Jake groans and gets back to work, leaving you to figure out something to occupy yourself with. 

The first thing you do is write down the prophecy. You probably couldn't forget what the prophecy said, but you didn't want to risk messing it up in your memory later.

It only took a few minutes of staring at the words you'd written to agree with Jake again. Trying to figure out a prophecy would drive a person crazy, but you were pretty sure you understood some of it...At least about the bird.

If it was son not sun then both that and the rat were probably Luke. Although, the rat could me too-

You groan and from across the room you hear Jake say, "stop thinking about it."

Even though he couldn't see it, you stuck your tongue out at him. You look back down at the prophecy that would dictate your foreseeable future and sigh, closing the notebook and slipping it back into your pocket. Instead you pull Sally's note from your belt and reread it.

Let me know how you're feeling in you next letter.

Stay safe,

Sally 

You take a deep breath and rub the sleepy feeling from your eyes. 

Ms. Jackson,

things at camp aren't great. I'm going on an emergency quest and I don't know when I'll be back. I'm sorry.

-Clio

You look at the note and sigh, folding it up. You'll ask Jake to send it tomorrow after you're gone. You lean back against the wall, the warmth of the forge making you feel even sleepier. Before you know it, you're asleep.

~

You find yourself standing in a bedroom. Against the wall is a brand new bunkbed, the instructions still laying on the floor. You take a step towards the bed, inspecting its occupant. 

"Percy?" You ask, confusion causing you to take a step back and look around the room again. It sunk in, this was Percy's room. That terrible photo of you, Grover, and Percy from school is pinned up to a corkboard. You look back at him. Percy is spread out, his mouth hanging open, a leg off the side of the bed; he looked so silly and you smile.

You glance at the door which is cracked a bit, a wedge of light spilling through the opening. Casting a final glance at Percy you push the door open and look down the hallway. The dim light is coming from the far room, the kitchen you remember. You tiptoe towards the light before realizing: no one is going to hear me in a dream. Rounding the corner you see Sally at the kitchen table. She's typing away at her laptop, a cold cup of coffee next to her. You knew she was working on her novel, but you hadn't realized she was pulling such late nights. 

Just as you're wondering why you were dreaming of the Jackson home, something strange catches you attention; the sound of waves. Both you and Sally turn towards the backroom where the sound is coming from. Sally sighs and looks at her watch before leaning back in her chair. She stares up at the ceiling for a few minutes.  You decide to investigate the odd sound yourself.

As you enter the back room, you see that the window opening to the fire escape has been left open. The sound of the waves much louder and obviously coming from outside the window. You can also swear you hear a conversation, you just can't quite make out what's being said. You turn back to look down the hall and see Sally walking towards you. Realizing Sally is headed towards the sound too and worrying she would shut the window, you crouch and step out onto the fire escape.

However, upon stepping out of the window, you find yourself in a completely new place. You can still hear the waves, though they are much louder then before. Looking back though, you don't see the window or the fire escape, you only see a wall.

"Luke, she's just a kid, do you really think she'll join us?"

You turn sharply, seeing two figures. You knew the person speaking...

"Clio is smart. She feels the same way about the gods." Luke answers the first person, laying a hand on his shoulder. "Besides, who better to recount our victory over them?" Luke lets go of Chris and sighs, "to be honest, I was worried she'd try to fight me."

Chris nods, "you tried to kill her best friend...I'm surprised she didn't."

You take a step towards them, part of you wanted to run, but they couldn't see you. Might as well see if you could give Jake any information before you left...

Luke shrugs, "she would have died if she did." Chris shakes his head and looks away, right at you. You freeze, holding your breath, panic makes your limbs go numb. He doesn't acknowledge you though, you aren't really there after all.

"I know we need all the recruits we can get, but don't you think that the younger kids should be kept out of this?" Chris asks.

A third voice joins the conversation. It's not quite human, there's a strange animalistic sound to it, "you know the gods will use them, despite age." The voice is coming from behind you and you shudder, turning to see some kind of bear hybrid. You can't help backing up, right through Chris and all the way against the far wall.

~

The moment your head hit the wall, your eyes open. You're still on the floor of the camp's forge. You sit up, rubbing dirt and metal shavings off your arms. Your note to Sally is crumpled in your hand. You stand, trying to smooth the note out. At the same time you hear something crash across the room.

"I can't figure it out!" Jake cries, "we're running out of time!'

You walk over to him, rubbing the sleep from your eyes. "Chill, there's still time-" but as you look up to check the time you realize you were asleep a lot longer than you thought. There was only an hour left before you had to be at the beach. "Oh no..."

Jake looks down at his clenched fists which are resting on his table. While he had knocked his tools across the floor (including LJ III) the bird was still sitting there along with a thick bronze ring. He looks back up at you. You shake your head in disbelief, crouching down to pick up the angry little robot off the floor.

"Jake, don't-don't be upset, it was a lot to ask in such a short amount of time..." You try to comfort him, but it doesn't sound genuine. You look back at his face, but he is staring at the robot in your arms.

"Maybe..." he trails off, plucking LJ from your hands and walking towards the fire.

You follow him, "hey, what are you doing?" You ask, "don't destroy Little Jake just because you're upset!" You step in front of him, trying to stop him.

Jake side steps you and holds LJ out over the fire. "I'm not. I'm going to offer him to my father and beg for help."

Your mouth drops open a bit, "you think he'll help?"

"I hope so." Jake says, dropping the little robot into the flames. Before it can even get scorched, it disappears.

"He could sort by color." You lament.

Jake takes a deep breath and pats your shoulder, "I'll build a new one." A sound, metal scrapping the ground, has both of you whip your heads towards the door. "Get down!" Jake hisses, pushing you to the floor behind his bench. You kneel there, peering between tools, scraps, and containers, determined to see whatever or whoever was coming in. Jake rushes to pick up his tools as a tall figure walks in. "Beckendorf?" Jake greets in confusion.

"Where's Clio?"

You pop your head up behind Jake as he tries to lie, "it's just me, why would you think she was here?" Beckendorf listens to Jake and then points to you causing Jake to turn, "what the heck, Clio?" he demands, throwing his hands in the air.

"Well, what was I supposed to do?" You stand, "he obviously already knew I was here."

Jake turns to Beckendorf, "how did you already know Clio was here?"

Beckendorf comes over and inspects the work bench you both are standing at. "Had a dream you two were doing something stupid." You'd heard Beckendorf talk before, but it usually wasn't in full sentences. Most of the time he was quiet, observing or thinking about inventions probably.

You and Jake look at each other. "It isn't stupid." You argue, crossing your arms over your chest. "It's important."

"I don't know, Clio. It's pretty stupid." Jake admits.

You lick you lips and sigh, "listen I-"

"Have a quest and need a way to send information to camp." He finishes for you. You and Jake share another confused look and Charles continues, "I heard you when you kidnaped Jake."

You groan, "this is why I wanted you to be quiet!" You reprimand Jake, who grimaces. You turn to Beckendorf, "Please, this is really serious. Don't tell anybody." You beg. 

Charlie looks up from the bits of metal bird and regards you for a moment, "quests always have three." Your eyes widen a bit.

"You mean, you'll help?" Jake asks and Charlie nods.

You sit down at the bench next to them. Jake's dad must have sent Beckendorf that dream to come help...You watch them astonished, as always, at how nimble they are. Able to work with suck tiny pieces.

The minutes tick away and you start biting your nails. Your heart is running a mile a minute and you realize it isn't just because you didn't know if the bird would get finished or not; you're scared. You will be alone on an enemy ship and now you knew Luke wasn't just working with a Titan. He was working with monsters. You were about to strand yourself on a boat on the ocean with a bunch of demi-god killers. You accidently knock over a box of scrap. "Shoot." You stoop down to gather them back up and Jake kneels next to you to help.

"You're going to have to relax a little bit. You'll give yourself a heart attack." He says, dropping a handful of scraps into the bucket.

You sit down, a handful of scraps still cupped in your hands. Even though you know Beckendorf will still hear you, you lower your voice to say, "Jake you're right."

He keeps picking up, "it isn't stupid, Bookworm." He says, finally looking at you. "It is important."

"It's scary, Jake..." You look away, "I'm scared." You say, barely audible.

Jake has the nerve to laugh, "At least you aren't brain dead." He says and you could swear you hear Percy laughing at you too in your mind.

"Yet." You add.

Jake rolls his eyes, "Clio, only an idiot wouldn't be afraid. That goes for any quest, let alone something this scary." He holds out the box and you drop the scraps you've been holding into it. He sets the box back where it came from and you pull your knees up to your chest. 

"He's working with monsters." You say and hear both boys freeze.

"You mean the Titans?" Jake asks. You shake your head and tell them about the dream you had. "You can't go."

"Jake." Beckendorf reprimands.

"It was already going to be dangerous, but monsters?" Jake argues, "we have no idea how long she'll have to be there. You're already uncomfortable with the harpies-"

Charles shakes his head. "That's enough Mason." 

You lay your head on your knees. You feel like crying. Taking a shuddering breath you say, "he's right, Jake. I already accepted the quest. I have a prophecy."

"Oh yeah, tell him about the prophecy." Jake says, "all it talks about is blood and rats and loss."

Beckendorf sigh, "might as well tell me anyway."

You repeat the prophecy again, already hating it. When you're done, the boys are silent. You look up at them and see Charlie has gone back to work and Jake has his back to you.

It takes another fifteen minutes before Beckendorf taps your head. "Test time." He says, handing you the bracelet.

You look down at the little bird. It ruffles its metal feathers and tweets at you. "What do I do?"

Beckendorf points to the far wall and hands Jake the ring you saw before. Once you're over at the wall Charlie walks to the midway point between the two of you. "Say ἀκούω [akoúō] for it to record what you need. When you're done say πτερόν [pterón]. For it to repeat what you recorded say λέγω [légō]." 

You nod and whisper to it, "Akoúō: please please work." You take a deep breath and in a normal voice say, "pterón." The little door to the bird cage opens and out flies the song bird straight over to Jake, it lands on the ring and chirps brightly.

Jake hesitates, glancing at you before he says, "légō." His eyes widen as the bird must be speaking properly. "It sounds exactly like you!" He exclaims.

Beckendorf holds up his hand, "send it back." Jake nods and whispers something to the little bird and sends it back. You find it hard to follow the little birds progress until the door closes on the cage and the bird tweets again. "Légō." You say and you can hear Jake's voice, clear as day:

"I think it does."

You can't help but cheer, Jake joins you and the two of you celebrate at Beckendorf's midpoint. "I can't believe it! Thank you!"

Beckendorf stops your celebration, "You have five minutes to make it across camp." He points at the clock.

"Shit!" You exclaim, frantically pulling the note for Sally out of your pocket. "Please get this to Percy's mom."

Jake takes it, "Clio, uh...be careful." He says. "Come back in one piece." He says.

Your lips tremble and you pull him into a hug. "Only give the information to Chiron." You say, not waiting for a reply, you run from the forge. 

Please don't leave. Please don't leave.

The sky is starting to lighten and you know that you have almost no time to get to the Sound. You race past buildings and fields with the deep hope that you'll be able to see it again. Just as the first light of dawn breaks the sky you reach the beach. There, knee deep in the water is a dingy. You really don't know how to row a boat very well, nor do you know where you're going, but you splash out to it anyway. Grateful Apollo held the sun back long enough for you to reach this stupid boat.

The second you've pulled yourself into the boat, it starts moving. It's as if the boat was waiting for you (which it was). You sit up as it pulls away from the beach and you turn back in time for a flash of light to blind you.

"Ah!" You cover your eyes with your hands. The loudest crack of thunder you've ever experienced deafening you. It takes you blinking many times to get rid of the burn mark that has seared itself into your eyes. You're left wondering what in Hades name that could have been. You're tempted to send your bird back to ask, but think that might be a waste of time. 

Unsure of how long you'll be sitting in this tiny boat, you glance around. Its a lot bigger than you first thought, making you wonder if its actually a lifeboat. After this revelation, though, you're still stuck in a dinky boat in the middle of the ocean. It's not the best situation. You can't even look over the edge, worried something'll look back. You sit in the middle of the boat as far from the edge as you could get. You weren't sure how your best friend had turned out to be the Sea Gods son when you found open water so terrifying. Still on the boat sometime later, however, your anxiety has fallen to the back of your mind. You end up carving your name into the bench a couple of times just for something to do.

Finally, midmorning, you see a cruise ship coming rapidly into view. "That must be it..." You say, taking a deep breath. "I can do this." You remind yourself.

It only takes a few more minutes to reach the ship and by the time you think of it you can't see the name of the ship any longer. The boat hoists itself up to the deck. You take another deep breath as you clear the edge of the deck. The first thing you see is Luke's face. He's smiling.

"I knew you'd make the right choice." He says, helping you off the lifeboat.

You purse your lips, "I'm just glad I'm not seasick."

Luke smiles and shakes his head. "Sorry the trip was so long." 

"I understand. You can't just sit outside camps borders." You say with a glance around. "Luke, how did you manage to get this?" You ask, gesturing generally toward the ship.

He throws his arms wide, "investors."

You frown, "what do you mean?"

Luke leads you down the deck. "First, lets find you something to change into." He gestures at your camp half-blood shirt. You feel a little nauseous, You knew that your shirt was going to have to go, but you didn't want to. It felt safe...

"Right," you agree uncomfortably.

"I know you're still apprehensive, Clio." He starts, "but you made the right decision." You can't help but sigh and Luke lays a hand on your shoulder, turning you to look at him. "Listen, we grow stronger everyday. Its only a matter of time."

You glance around, eyeing what seem to be normal mortals. "Luke," you start, lowering your voice. "You know the Titans won't let us have our freedom-" You try to remind him, but he cuts you off.

"Ye of little faith." He says, "come on." He starts walking again and you follow him. Part of you wants to help him. If there is a way to. "I know I said you could be my advisor, but don't go against me in front of anyone other than Chris. Alright?" He says, his voice seems a bit darker to you, this felt more like a threat than anything...You nod in agreement.

Luke leads you to a souvenir shop where he tells you to grab anything you like. You look around and figure either the ship was named the Princess Andromeda or the owners were obsessed with the story she was from. Everything in the gift shop had Princess Andromeda plastered across it. You grab a couple of shirts and a pair of Bermuda shorts so you'd have something to change into. Luke had told you to grab anything you wanted, but he hadn't come in with you, so you walked up to the cashier at the counter anyway.

"Uh, I don't have any money, but Luke said-"

"Thank you for your purchase." The lady says, her eyes seem glazed over.

"No," you try again, "I didn't purchase-"

Her cadence is the exact same as she says, "thank you for your purchase."

You wave your hand in front of her face, "hello?"

"Clio," Luke calls, waving you over to the door. You look back at the body once more and then go over to him.

"Luke, something's wrong-"

He shakes his head, "the mortals are heavily influenced by the mist aboard the ship. She practically can't see you."

You look down at the clothes in your hands, just to conceal your disgust. "Oh." Is all you manage to reply.

"Don't worry about the mortals, Clio." He says wrapping an arm around your shoulders. "Lets get you to your room so you can change and then you'll get the tour." He smiles and shakes you a bit, "just like old times."

You scoff, "oh yeah, when I was angry and confused all the time?" 

Luke snorts, "did that ever change?" You crack a smile; you can't help it. He still feels like a big brother. You had to remind yourself this person tried to kill Percy.

You walk down some stairs, two decks you think and Luke throws open a stateroom. You walk in a bit, shock registering on your face.

Luke leans against the door, his arms crossed. "A little better than that crowded cabin, huh?" Luke asks, a smirk plastered across his face.

"Wait," you turn back to look at him, "this is mine?" You ask.

Luke nods, "you're one of my top men. I treat my people well." He says.

You walk into the room a bit; to the right is a chair and desk, already stacked with notebooks, pens, pencils, and a sharpener. To the left your own TV, a queen sized bed..."There's a balcony..." You say softly.

Luke opens up a door by the entrance, "private bathroom too, kiddo." You turn back to him, "welcome to the high life." He steps forward to you and drops a key into your palm. "Here. I'll wait outside for you." He leaves and you close the door behind him.

This room is unbelievable...

You drop the clothes onto the bed and open the sliding door to the balcony. When the ocean breeze hits your face its as if Percy is in the room with you. It hadn't been something you noticed before, but maybe Percy did remind you of the sea, or vice versa...

You take a deep breath and turn back to change; you don't want to leave Luke waiting too long.

"I thought you jumped overboard." Luke jokes when you finally join him again. 

You roll your eyes, "you'd never catch me jumping into the ocean this far from the beach."

He nods at your shirt, "next time we get supplies we'll get you something normal to wear."

You look down at the tie-dyed cruise shirt. "I don't mind it." You say, unsure if Luke is talking about stealing supplies or not.

"Come on." He takes you on a tour of the whole ship, from the Bridge to the Engine room. He introduced you to some of the monsters that had already joined the cause. The first one you came across is a snake lady, you aren't sure you know what she is in myth to be honest. Luke doesn't notice, or maybe doesn't acknowledge, your hesitation. The snake woman does though and you can't help but feel like she would kill you if Luke wasn't in charge...

He shows you the pool, the dining hall, the various entertainment rooms, the hold (which looks more like a makeshift prison). Then finally, Luke shows you to the room you'd seen in your dream. Apparently it was Luke's personal room. It had been so dark before you hadn't realized there was a whole portion of the deck that was private, just for the use of this room. He must have had the best room on the ship. Standing at a table, inspecting a map, is someone you recognize.

"Chris!" You exclaim. You knew he was on the ship, but seeing him still surprised you for some reason.

"Hey Sidelines." He greets with a tight smile.

You roll your eyes, "that nickname stuck way too fast." You complain.

Both boys laugh, "it could have been worse." Chris says.

Shaking your head you say, "it'll haunt me 'til the end of his days."

"You're so dramatic." Chris says, "do something cool and you'll get a new one." He suggests.

You scoff, "or I'll just have two terrible nicknames."

"Didn't Percy call you ocean or something... what was it?" Chris asks.

You let out a short laugh, "What?" You shake your head in disbelief, "I'm pretty sure it's just C."

"That was it, a tiny ocean."

You shake your head, "No, C, like the letter, like my name?" You explain. "At least I'm pretty sure he meant it like the letter." You say.

Luke laughs and Chris shoves you, "whatever Sidelines." He says. "Anyway, we have your first job already figured out." He says.

You incline your head, "job?"

"Research." Luke explains.

Chapter Text

Most days, life on the Princess Andromeda wasn't much different than those days leading up to Percy succeeding his quest. Luke made just about everyone train for long periods; 'til they physically couldn't anymore. Every time you looked at him it felt like looking at someone you'd never met. Something was changing; something was wrong with him...

Within two weeks of joining, the monsters outnumbered the demigods. After another week they even outnumbered the barely functioning mortals. Walking from place to place had you on edge, especially because Luke encouraged battling out any issues. You often found yourself stepping in to mediate fights so people didn't end up killing each other. Luke had told you off for it once, but he seemed to find it amusing that you tried to sew comradery between a group of people only joined by hatred. You often wondered if this was the reason why few messed with you; because you tried to actually be a good person still.

The real truth of the matter was that you were a top three. The hierarchy on the ship went Luke as the leader, Chris and a few others as second in command, then there was you. You the official records keeper and researcher; you the youngest advisor...You'd won a new nickname because you were always at Luke's beck and call.

To be perfectly honest though, the new nickname didn't bother you as much as whatever secret the monsters seemed to be keeping...They would whisper amongst themselves and cease the moment they noticed you; always following the silence with secret smiles and side ways glances between each other.

Your first message back to camp had gone something like:

Luke's got a boat from investors, I don't know what he's talking about with investors. The ship is called the Princess Andromeda. The ship has really intense mist, there are mortals held on board as some kind of cloak. Chris is here too and monsters join everyday. Demi-gods are coming from somewhere; I don't know a lot of them from camp.

It took twenty-four hours before Jake sent a reply:

A freak lighting bolt hit you cabin. It turned the bricks into glass. Rumor at camp is that you were struck down by Zeus. The cabin counselors are still debating giving you a funeral or not. Chiron is trying to figure out a way to track the ship, if there is a way. Don't do anything dumb. 

You had been pretty spooked when the bird came back. It's chirp had even gotten you to draw you dagger, but hearing Jake's voice tell you to be smart had you smiling. You had never pulled your dagger out at camp, even after you were kidnapped from your cabin. Camp was safe, here it was like your danger meter was always screaming at you so anything could send you over the edge...

Most of your information back to camp was lists of monsters and updated numbers, but occasionally you updated Jake on how you'd gotten a new scar.

~

You generally weren't expected to fight, unless you wanted to or Luke wanted to make a point. On average, you were one of the youngest demi-gods in his little army. While you couldn't fairly beat bigger opponents, Luke enjoyed using you to point out that age wasn't the only thing to cause a win.

You glance up at the demi-god across from you. Both of you are pouring sweat. This kid was one of Luke's favorites. A brute who only answered to Luke, which caused the seconds to punish him, often. He was the one who came up with that new nickname that followed you everywhere.

You run the back of your hand across your forehead; your dagger firmly gripped in your fist, the blade running up your forearm. Luke had thrown you in with no preparation. His reasoning being a fight with a god or their allies could happen at anytime with or without armor, but you felt this might actually be punishment for something.

"You've held your own so far lap-dog, but you're done." The demi-god hisses, obviously tired too. He had full armor on, a shield and a short sword. He held a disadvantage in all that extra weight, but you'd only managed to slice his arm. It wasn't even that deep, still, he hadn't gotten you.

"Don't. Call. Me. That." You grit out. You knew it was good for your image as a spy to seem like the loyal dog, but damn did you hate it. 

The kid laughs, "what are you if not a lap-dog?" He asks, pressing towards you. "Lap dogs are just for show, they have no bite."

You circle slowly, your body feels heavy, but Luke never calls a duel until someone's almost died. "I'll tell you to lose." You threaten.

"You think I believe that crap?" He asks, but the waver in his voice proves he's at least worried it could be true. He swings his sword down and you manage to block it, locking your weapons in the air. He huffs and slams his shield into your side, knocking the wind out of you. Your dagger slips and his sword slices a cut down the length of your arm. "Ha!" You back up, switching your dagger to your other hand.

"Stop playing games, Clio." Luke demands. You shoot him a glare, full of everything you really think about him, but he just gives you a smirk in return.

The demi-god gives you a mock pout and says, "aw, is the lap-dog angry?"

You scoff, "fine." You fix your glare on your opponent, "the lesson is never underestimate your opponent. You will not win against me." The boys eyes glaze over, a look of confusion crossing his features and his arms droop slightly. You take the chance to rush him, before he can come back to his senses. It's almost too easy to knock him to the ground, his sword clatters away across the deck. You pin his arms to the ground with your legs, your dagger at his throat, "Yield." You hiss, anger at Luke and your situation clouding your judgement. Your hand, covered in blood, is clutching the top of his chest plate, pulling into your blade.

"You cheated!" He exclaims, "you couldn't win fair, so you used some kind of trick!" 

You push the blade harder against his throat, a drop of blood trickling to the side. "Yield." You demand again, you don't even realize how close you are to causing actual damage until Luke claps his hand. 

"Alright Clio, that's enough." Luke says. You shove the kid back onto the deck and stand. Your hand print leaves a glistening stain on the stain on the boys armor. You step back behind Luke as you try to get your breathing under control. 

"There is no cheating in battle." You say, glaring down at him. Though, it's as if someone else is speaking.

Luke offers a hand to the downed demi-god. "When we underestimate our enemy we end up dead."

Luke gestures back towards you and you hear yourself talk, but again it's as if you're on auto pilot. "I'm not the best fighter. The faster you win, the less time your opponent has to one up you." You honestly agreed with him that you had basically cheated. You hated using your gift in combat. It felt great using it to inspire your friends, but in combat...not so much.

The kid glares at you when Luke nods in agreement. "That's enough today. Clio, with me." Luke demands, walking back into the shade. You turn to follow him, grabbing a towel off a chair to hold against your arm.

"Run along, just like a good little lap-dog." One of the other demi-gods says. You freeze and half turn to tell her off, but remind yourself its better they think that. You grit your teeth and decide to follow Luke again instead.

As you walk back to Luke's room, you think over the fight. You really could have hurt that kid. Why had you gotten so angry so fast? It was like you weren't even thinking properly. 

I wanted to keep going, I wanted to kill him. 

The thought stops you in your tracks and you throw a hand onto the wall for support. 

Why? I've never, ever felt that way before. What is wrong with me? What is happening to me?

You blink back sudden panicked tears, swallowing back the lump in your throat. Your breathing is uneven, but you hurry forward after Luke. Your eyes are burning, but you don't think Luke would show you any understanding anymore. Luke immediately sits down in a highbacked chair.

You shift uncomfortably, not wanting to leave blood anywhere. "Luke, I'm worried that we're only reinforcing anti-teammate sentiments-"

"Why don't you lead with your gift?" He asks abruptly.

You can't stop the eye roll before it happens and you see his eyes narrow slightly. "You know I don't like cheating."

Luke shakes his head, "you have an advantage in battle." He gestures at you, "you have to use whatever you have to win."

You scoff, "it isn't all about winning, Luke." You argue, "your recruits need to feel something for each other or they could turn on a dime."

Luke stands, glaring at you. "It is all about winning."

You tense, straightening your back, "you're blinded by hate."

You flinch back as Luke grabs a handful of your collar, pulling you to his face. "I am not blind to your lack of research towards bringing back Lord Kronos." He says, his voice low.

Your lip trembles, "L-Luke, I need time." You say. "Be realistic, you've barely given me anything to work with." Your uninjured hand digs into the wound on your injured arm. "N-not to mention the gods destroyed all kinds of information on the Titans." He releases you and you back up a few steps. "I'll find something, I just need time." You assure him. "I have to record everything too." You remind him.

He covers his face in his hands, "I-I know." He says. When he drops his hands Luke notices your arm and his face falls back to a familiar worried look. "Here." He walks over to his desk and pulls out a flask of Nectar. "Go...clean yourself up." He says, holding out the flask towards you. "We have a meeting tonight." He reminds you as you take the flask.

You blink a few times and nod. "Right." You agree, leaving hurriedly. You'd gripped your nails into your already bleeding wound and started a new flow. The whole towel was soaked by the time you made it back to your room. The sudden burst of cool ocean breeze shakes you out of the slump you'd been falling into...The odd comfort that you found in the breeze caused that awful sob you'd been holding back to bubble to the surface.

As you washed out the wound in the sink you let yourself cry. It was painful to keep it quiet. You honestly wondered if Luke has been about to kill you this time.  You rub your face on your shoulder to clear your eyes before you pour some of the Nectar over the gash. You tense and then relax as the pain fades. 

Luke was acting weird, like actually weird. He hadn't been too bad when you first arrived, but it was like two versions of him were struggling for control and one was seriously evil.

You glance down at your shirt, wondering how many of these you were going to go through. Sighing, you take it off and switch out with your extra. You should probably send a message to Jake...

~

When the monsters outnumbered the demi-gods it was already well into October and you'd been on the ship for almost a month. Every few weeks you dropped off the mortals and picked up new as if your ship was still an actual cruise liner. At the same time you picked up supplies, which was how you managed to get your first brand new coat. Not a hand-me-down or a thrift store find. It was bought, brand new by the "benefactors" for you. It was even in your favorite color...but that wasn't the only new or surprising thing with this supply run.

"Luke, we just walked all over the city trying to find enough clothes so your recruits don't freeze over the winter." You complain, following him down to one of the meeting rooms that hardly anyone used. 

Ignoring you as always, Luke says, "you'll love this. I promise." 

You groan, but follow him into the room. There, wall to wall, are hundreds if not thousands of books, scrolls, and clay tablets. "Woah." You feel like you've been thrown back into the camp archives.

Luke grins, "our investors sent us all of these. Some of these books have the oldest information available on Greece." He explains.

You shake your head, pulling yourself back to the conversation. "What exactly am I looking for here?" You ask.

"Anything involving the Titans. We're looking for a way to bring them back." He answers. "There's got to be a better way," he mutters.

You look back at him confused, "a better way then what?" You ask, your brow creased, but Luke shakes his head.

"Nothing." He adds, "you're relieved from all other duties." He pats your shoulder. "I know going through all of this will take a while, so don't worry about anything else."

You click your tongue, "what about record keeping?"

Luke shakes his head, "if it's an important meeting I'll make sure you're there, but focus here." he turns and opens the door again, "I'll make sure your meals are brought here too." Then he leaves you.

You sigh and inspect a scroll close to you. "This is in Latin." You grumble. You knew a little Latin from camp, but it was much more difficult for you than Ancient Greek.

It takes you three days to sort out the different types of records. Then another two days to sort them into languages.  You left a corner open to put the non-helpful records. The variety of languages was what shocked you though: Ancient Greek, Modern Greek, Latin, Italian, English, German, and a few Turkish volumes. At least, that's what you think you have, half them you'd never even seen before. You have to ask Luke for translator books. Instead though, he sends in the Manticore. Luke knew you hated the monsters and now you had to work with one, alone?

His argument: "we have the resources at our disposal, why not use them?"

However, now, after storming out of the room and demanding Luke explain himself, the manticore knew, without a doubt, you didn't want it near you.

"My dear demi-god, if we did not have similar goals, we would not be in this situation." He lays on the floor next to you, too close for comfort. When you shift away from him, he grins. "Believe me, never in four thousand years did I think I would do something other than eat your kind."

You exhale a controlled breath, "don't threaten me." You say, trying to come across firm and determined.

He takes a deep breath, leaning towards you, "but your fear is such an intoxicating scent." He breaths in amusement.

Your hands tighten on the book you're holding. "You know other languages?" You demand through gritted teeth.

"Linguae multae." He offers with a grin. "Bir liste ister mis?"

You take a deep breath. Your rudimentary understanding of Latin helped understand the first part, but you had no idea what else he had said. "Is that a yes or what?" You ask angrily.

The Manticore chuckles darkly, deep in it's chest. "Yes, little researcher." He says.

You flex your fingers, "fine. I need that section translated." You say, pointing to a pile of records. "I can handle the Ancient Greek works." You pause for a moment, "can you write?" You ask, eyeing him. He chuckles again and before your eyes transforms into a short man with graying hair. The only peculiar thing about him now was his heterochromia. You hadn't ever actually seen a person with different colored eyes before. You wonder if his monstrous form had that too; you hadn't noticed before. You shake your head a little and notice wisps of mist trailing away. "How did you..." He grins and while it's a lot less unnerving than when he was a cat monster, there's still something unsettling. You feel as though his smile is just a little too wide for a person.

"We have a much stronger control over magic than your kind." He explains as he picks up a book.

"I only need information on the Titans." You say, ignoring him. "Don't worry about the rest of the information." You add, turning towards the largest pile.

You have to admit, he works extremely quickly. Most of the newer books have little information on the Titans. Some don't even cover the myths which is a little frustrating. The good thing was you only had to work with the Manticore for three days. At the end of the week he leaves you to ponder the information he's translated. You joked to Chris that the Manticore didn't seem too smart. You had figured that he'd throw out useless information himself, but he seemed to barely comprehend writing. 

His translations looked like a child had scrawled them haphazardly across the page. It took you several days to decipher them and even then only one book gave you anything to work with. An 1883 copy of The Ottoman Empire: Novelties, Descriptions, and Translations; by Osman Hamdi Bey.

His describes a fourth century Hellenistic sarcophagus. Around its walls are graphic depictions of terrible carnage, but the the really interesting thing was that while it was described as Hellenistic, there was some kind of writing that hadn't been deciphered. On top of that, the coffin was several times larger than what one human would need. 

Bey offered that potentially the sarcophagus was used as a family vault, even though they had never found a way to open it. Bey also noted that it appeared as though the coffin had been shattered at some point, though again, they could not tell what had been used to stick it back together. Photography was still newer at the time so detailed sketches had been noted in the book.

It's been painted with water colors, so you know it must have been golden. The reliefs from the sides and across the top have been blow up on the next few pages. As you turn the pages you see images of the Gods being massacred. The seven wonders of the ancient world crumbling or succumbing to natural disasters. Mortals being slayed and eaten, ripped apart. A chill runs up your back when you see the final sketch. A charcoal rubbing of the mysterious words across the top of the lid. It feels as if the lights dim in the room.

"This is it..." You breath. You close the book quickly and look around. Searching for eyes that aren't there. "I've gotta get rid of this." You mutter, standing and moving hurriedly to the door. All you had to do was hide it in your room. When night fell you could throw the book into the ocean and no one would be the wiser. 

As you open the door, you walk face first into Luke. You back up a step as he says, "Clio, I was just coming to check on you." He says, looking into the chaotically disorganized room behind you.

"I just needed to go to the bathroom." You say, cold anxiety making your brain slower.

He rolls his eyes, the corner of his mouth up turning in a smile. "That's why you're in such a hurry." He notices the book in your hands. "Anything interesting?"

You chuckle, hoping he won't notice how forced and awkward it sounds. "Everything in that room is interesting, Luke." You tap the book you're holding. "This one has information I'm interested in. Hopefully it'll help you." You say and shrug. "I was gonna separate it into my room so I don't lose it." You explain.

Luke nods, "smart. That what you're planning on doing with the rest?" He asks, gesturing back into the room.

"Anything worthwhile." You look back into the room, crossing your arms. "Most of those just repeat the same stuff." You complain.

Luke sighs, "I figured as much." He says, "I know you're the best person for the job."

You look up at him with a frown. "I couldn't read a third of them." You point out.

Luke shakes his head. "Doesn't matter. I've never seen someone so invested in stuff like this. Even Annabeth-" He cuts himself off and you look down. "Well anyway..." He says, clearing his throat.

"Yeah." You say, nodding and side stepping him. "I'll just go..." You say, he nods and you hurry up to your cabin.

When you shut the door, you breath a sigh of relief. You look down at the book again and shake your head, worrying your bottom lip. Luke's seen it now, how am I supposed to get rid of it? A cold breeze causes you to shiver and you glance up at the open door. It's almost November now and it's too cold to be sleeping or even existing, really, with the door open. You left your jacket in the meeting room. Now you wish you had it. 

Setting the book on the desk, you walk out onto the deck. Goosebumps cover your arms; you cross them and slip your hands into your armpits. At least it hadn't snowed yet.

  "akoúo" 

Jake, I told you that Luke had me researching Titan stuff. Well, I actually found something, but now I don't know what to do. The idea was to throw it into the ocean, but I ran into Luke and now he knows this book is important and if it disappears now he'll suspect me of something. I don't know what to do. Also, the freaking Manticore can turn into a person! The mist was a terrible idea to be honest.

"pteron"

You watch the cage open and the bird fly away. Then you close your eyes and take a deep breath. What in the name of Hades am I going to do now?

You took another week to go through all of the remaining information, you didn't even get to enjoy Halloween. One clay tablet had an absolutely ancient version of Ancient Greek. It was much more difficult for you to translate, but it also talked about the sarcophagus of a Titan. At least you're pretty sure it did, the tablet was practically crumbling apart in your hand so it was hard to say. Both the book and tablet lay on your desk and you stare at them, trying to think of something, anything, to get rid of them.

Tweet Tweet

Your sudden intake of breath causes you to start coughing and you're lucky you weren't holding the tablet or it'd been destroyed, well actually, maybe unlucky. "Finally," you say once your coughing fit is over. You hold the little bird up to your ear.

"Lego."

Clio, listen. I know that you think it's best to get rid of the information, but think about it. How long are you going to be there? Try to give him the summery not the details. You don't even know if what you found will amount to anything. Even if it does, we'll deal with it. Don't endanger yourself.

You roll your eyes and look away, "that isn't helpful..." Tomorrow you were going to have to give Luke the information that you had. You'd done a bit more research on the sarcophagus in the week you'd waited for Jake's answer. There were a couple pictures from just before WWII that honestly showed less detail than the sketches. The really good information though was that the sarcophagus had seemingly vanished during WWII. No information existed after 1943.

Wait, you could use that to your advantage, right? What if the book did disappear and you were only left with the tablet and the Manticore's translation? You chew on your nail. How could I pull off the book disappearing though?

You shake your head and head off to grab something to eat for dinner. You find yourself so deep in thought, running over and over your problem that you don't even realize you are being spoken to. It takes a tap on your arm to pull you from your thoughts and then...its not pleasant. You immediate reaction had your blade drawn and Chris (who had tapped you) on his back, his food splattered around you both.

"Whoa, Sidelines. Chill out."

You freeze, looking around at the people staring at the two of you, some have gone for their weapons. "I-I'm sorry-" you say, getting off of him quickly. 'I-"

He cuts you off, "don't worry about it." He snaps his fingers at one of the crew and they robotically clean up the mess. You rub your face with a hand, your nails digging into your scalp. "I just wanted to know how your work was going." He explains after getting a replacement plate.

You sheath your dagger, sitting at the table again. You lean on the table covering your face in your hands. "I think I have something, but I don't know where it'll go." You answer honestly.

Chris nods as you look up. "Luke'll look into anything you think'll be worthwhile."

You groan, "that's what I'm afraid of." You mutter without thinking.

"Luke won't hurt you if nothing comes of it." Chris assures you.

You give him a look, did the others not notice Luke's behavior? Did they think Percy was a one off? "Chris," you say, lowering your voice, "if Luke thinks I or anyone else is getting in the way, he won't hesitate-"

Chris shakes his head, "I know that you think Luke is evil, but life isn't black and white, good and bad." Chris sighs, regarding you. "He cares about us-"

"He cared about Percy." You argue, glancing around to make sure no one is eves dropping.

Chris sighs, "Percy is the son of a major deity. He was Luke's biggest risk if he didn't join us." Chris states and you shake your head in disbelief. "I know you care about Percy, but you need to face the facts. He's our enemy." With that, Chris picks up his plate and leaves, joining another table. You watch him go and then look down at your own, hardly touched plate. Looking at it now made you feel queasy.

That night you had a dream for the first time in months. You dreamed of your mothers field of flowers. For some reason the flowers are spotty this time, as if fall had a hold over wherever this land was. The flowers, at least most of them, looked dead-

"Clio!" Your mothers voice rang out from behind you. As you turn around, your mother almost knocks you over. "What are you doing here?" She asks, clutching your shoulders. "You have to leave!" She's disheveled, her eyes wild. She turns to look back as if she's waiting for something to happen.

"Mother? What's wrong?" You ask, fearing for her safety even though you know she's immortal.

She turns back to you. "Gods are fighting child, some are choosing sides. Other sides." She emphasizes. "Zeus has forbade me from speaking with you-" The sky darkens and the wind picks up. "I am friends with the winds, use them as an excuse, but go. Now!" 

You hear thunder as you jolt awake in bed. Jumping from your bed, you yank the book off the table. The wind in your room is so fast it's almost impossible to get to the balcony. Papers are flying around you and you find a storm raging on the sea. Rain falls as if it's hail and you cannot hear anything save the scream of the wind; which is lucky because you find yourself yelling as you throw the book as far as you can out into the ocean. You watch as it flies into the darkness, letting yourself smile briefly.

Good.

You turn, grabbing the tablet before bursting through your bedroom door and hitting the opposite wall. The terrible wind and all your loose notes follow you into the corridor. It's got to be believable. You sprint down the hall, yelling at people and monsters to get out of your way. The storm is throwing the ship around and anyone trying to get down the corridor keeps running into the walls, but you keep moving. 

"They stole it!" You cry, racing towards Luke's room. "They stole my book!"

As you near his room, the door opens, slamming into the wall as Luke pulls himself out, his sword is in his hand. "Clio?" He asks, holding your shoulder, "Calm down, what happened?"

You gasp for air, holding out the practically ruined tablet, "something-broke into my room-" You say between gasps. "The winds stole my book-" You say. 

As he tries to calm you down you can see lighting and angry waves through the windows of his room. You pray that Poseidon doesn't capsize the ship with you in it.

"Slow down Clio-" But Luke is cut off by another demigod racing up the corridor;

"Sir, the cabins on the starboard side-all their windows have been blown out!'

You and Luke look at each other; your cabin was on the starboard side.

"What was in that book?" Luke demands.

Chapter Text

Your eyes are brought back to the angry storm outside.

It had calmed down enough that the ship wasn't being tossed around like a bath toy, but the sky was still flashing violent shades of purple and blue. You're mesmerized by the churning waves. Giving Percy's dad a quick mental thank you for not sinking the whole ship.

"Clio!" Chris smacks your arm to get your attention. 

You look back quickly at the person speaking. "Sorry-"

"I know you're scared of open water, it's alright." Luke says, "but I need to know, were your notes also in your cabin?" 

"You were obviously onto something if the gods caused this." Chris says, gesturing towards the storm. He's half in pajamas, half in armor; one gauntlet, no shoes or socks and his helm-which he'd since tucked under his arm.

Luke nods, "I agree, the gods are desperate."

You want to scream. The idea was to get rid of the book. Now you've only made it seem more important. This had to be the worst plan you'd ever thought of. Sighing you say, "I did have most of it committed to memory, but the details might be wrong."

Chris grins, "of course you have it committed to memory."

"What's that mean? My godly grandmother is literally the Titaness of memory." You say, giving him an annoyed look.

He shrugs, "after our dinner conversation I was just worried about your commitment."

"Hey!"

He holds up a hand, "now I know you're just as committed as the rest of us."

"And my weeks of work didn't prove that?" You grumble.

Luke shrugs, "you could have kept the information from us."

"Wait, this was a test?" You ask, concern flashing across your face.

He rests a hand on your shoulder, "in a way, but your reaction to having that information stolen proves your loyalty to me." He assures you.

You nod uncertainly, "well, we'll have to go to port. How long do you think repairs'll take?"

Luke lets out an exasperated sigh, "we'll have to assess the damage when the storm ends." He admits.

The following morning, the sea is calmer than you've ever seen it. Probably because it did it's job. Not only had the windows on your side of the ship been blown out, the ship'd thrown a propeller blade in the night which meant it'd be slow going to get back to port. Added to that was that you'd been blown off course.

You brought an orange back to your room after breakfast. Your notes were soaked through, clinging to the floor and walls like bad wallpaper. You sigh, turning the orange over and over in your hands. It was a mess in here, but that wasn't why you'd come back.

Carefully, you step over the bit of glass that managed to cling to the cabin floor and step onto your balcony. You take a deep breath, "Lord Poseidon, thank you for the storm and also for not sending the ship to the bottom of the ocean while I'm on it." You murmur softly before tossing the whole orange into the ocean. You watch it fall to the waves, several stories below. Once it hits the water you don't see it again. You lean against the safety rail, looking out over the sea. Its flat, almost like a lake, but the color, a blue-gray-green, is something you've never seen before. It is absolutely lovely.

"Ms. Smith?" Someone asks behind you. You turn back, one hand gripped onto the rail. You see a few of the newer demi-gods standing hesitantly at your door.

"It's just Clio." You say with a weak smile. "What can I do for you?" You ask, dropping your hand and walking over to them.

"The Seconds asked us to help you gather your notes." The girl explains.

You nod, "thanks." You gesture around. "All of these papers are what we have to collect, try not to rip them."

A voice at the back asks, "the papers in the hall too?"

"Yeah." You agree.

The next hour or so has your little party peeling papers off the floors and walls. By the end of the hour the four of them ask if they can join you for meals and you couldn’t help but agree. Three of the four are about your age and you're desperate for some kind of normal interaction. Obviously you needed to stay careful, but you find yourself joking with them. Even so, you hadn't expected for them to become your pose. They follow you everywhere in the five days it takes to get back to port. To the point that you start to wonder if Luke told them to follow you. Although, they seem to be more in awe of you. Finally, you just have to ask:

"Why do you all follow me around?"

The four exchange glances before the most outspoken of the four, a daughter of Apollo, says, "you're actually nice." 

You laugh, "that's why you follow me around?"

Calliope shrugs, "have you met some of the other people on this boat?"

"Yeah, also, like I saw you sprinting down the hallway that night. You had this look of determination...like a real leader." Tony adds. You're sure Anthony's a son of Athena, though he hasn't been claimed. The idea that he's here; that any of them are...

"And I don't know if you know this or not Clio, but you're a high ranking officer. You already have enough Kleos to get noticed and whispered about, outside of the whole youngest officer bit." Andy points out, ripping his apple apart. Andrew had the only other confirmed parent in your little group; Ares. Alice nods in agreement. The nine year old didn't talk much, but all she had to do was touch a person and they were down. You weren't sure what god created hallucinations, but you were determined to keep the kid on your good side.

You shake your head, flipping a sausage around your plate as you talk, "but I don't understand how you got here-"

Tony grabs your arm, "don't start."

"I've got to agree with him, Clio." Calliope says, "there are people on this ship who would happily turn you in."

You scoff, "turn me in? For what?"

"Sewing dissent amongst the ranks." Andrew says, taking a bite of his apple. "Telling people they should have gone to that camp."

You click your tongue, "where did you hear that? I haven't said that."

Al says a single word, "Alex."

You groan. That demi-god had it out for you since he’d lost. The thing was you had the scar. He'd only walked away with a bruised ego. "What about him?" You ask.

 The older three share a look and you realize you don't really know how things are for the rest of the people on board. You got your own room. You practically had free reign; they had to answer to someone...

Calliope sighs, "he doesn't like you." Andy snorts and starts choking on a bit of apple. Tony smacks him on the back to help him clear his air pipe.

When Andy finally recovers he says, "that's an understatement. Alex hates you." 

Tony sighs, "if he could get away with killing you he would."

"Guys!" Calliope admonishes.

You wave her off, "no, I need to know."

She sighs, "he's jealous of you. Not only did you embarrass him in front of everyone-"

"You're young and a higher up." Tony finishes.

Al adds, "he's a bully."

The others agree and you sigh, "so he's spreading rumors or something?" You ask, shoving your plate away.

Tony nods, "he says he's overheard you sympathizing with the enemy."

"I do." You respond bluntly.

"What?" Andy demands, "how-why?"

You roll your eyes, "they're my friends." You answer, "my family."

Andrew shakes his head, "you're a fantastic fighter, why would you fraternize with your enemy?"

Anthony smacks his shoulder, "that isn't fraternization, meathead."

Calliope groans, "don't you two start." 

You laugh and it really feels good. You wonder if there'll be anyway to convince them to go with you when you can finally leave. Somehow you'd have to convince them...

You finally reach a port and repairs are underway when Luke sends out a team to find the sarcophagus, Chris leading. Calliope and Andrew volunteered to join along with a few others. It doesn't take them long to disappear in the busy dock. Al and Anthony are standing with you at the railing. Alice waves until the others are long out of sight.

"I have a bad feeling about this." You admit, cradling your head in your hands, sitting on the deck with your back against the railing.

Tony sighs, standing up against the railing, "I tried to talk them out of it, we both did." He reminds you, laying a hand on your head. "They want to prove themselves."

You look up at the sky, "I know, I wish they didn't care about that though."

He laughs, "they'll be fine. Besides, if they do well it'll reflect well on the whole group."

"I don't care how they reflect on me." You look up at him, "why did you join this army?" 

He sets his chin in his hand, "they found us. Your camp didn't."

You look away; if I was found by the Titan army, I'd be just like them...how could the gods do this?

It's nearly a month of silence. You send Jake a warning that Chris is leading a quest of monsters and demi-gods for the sarcophagus. Jake responds soon afterwards that they would be on the look out. Luke has been on edge for the last week. You had tried to find out what the group even went on a quest for because the coffin had disappeared over sixty years ago. As far as you knew if hadn't been seen since. How would they even start a quest like that? Luke wouldn’t give you any new information though.

Then you got sick.

Mortals get sick often, but half-bloods? It wasn't normal for a them to get sick, let alone stay sick. Generally speaking, the godly part of their DNA burned away any virus of bacterium that dared entered their blood stream. Whatever this was though, it stayed. You could barely keep your eyes open. Your head hurt, your body hurt, any time you opened your eyes they watered to the point that you were practically blind. As if you were perpetually crying.

Normally, even if a demi-god became ill, Nectar would help. Currently it doesn't even lower your fever. Luke brought in a dracaenae named Cynthia and she diagnosed the issue as godly. Some illness your mother or another god purposely struck you down with. Luke had looked so angry when he heard, but it was so hard to focus...maybe you were wrong. Cynthia ended up creating a potion of Nectar and medicinal herbs to try and alleviate the symptoms. Though it still took almost two weeks to become well enough to hold full conversations again. Sometimes Al or Tony would sit with you, but more often it was Cynthia.

Those two weeks were full of confusing and often terrifying dreams. Gods fighting in a giant hall. The sea boiling. That terrible laughter, that had haunted your over the summer, followed you through every vision. An odd mortal, frantically writing in a journal; you never see their face, just pages and pages of notes in code. At one point you see Percy playing basketball with a cyclopes. Then you see Chris and Alex in some kind of bunker. They look excited, but you can't tell if Calliope or Andy are with them...

Around day ten, you were finally able to sit up and hold a conversation. Cynthia kept you company the next few days, regaling you with stories of her first life. She was a queen in Scythia once upon a time and even knew Heracles. She sighed when she said his name as if she was in love with him, which made sense. Everyone seemed to love Heracles even though you didn't really understand it. She's really kind to you and you find yourself liking her. The two of you are closer than you'd care to admit, but you can't help it. She strikes you as a being similar to Chiron. At least a little bit, she did help you after all and she seemed interested in teaching what she knew. Did Chiron count as a monster? He wasn't a god was he?

Jake, sorry it took so long to send an update, I got really sick and before that there wasn't much else to tell. Cynthia, a dracaenae, had to make a potion just to bring my fever down. She's quite nice, she keeps me company now and the two of us talk almost exclusively in Ancient Greek. No word yet about the crew that left, but repairs are finished and we're leaving in two days.

It took less than twenty-four hours this time to get a reply, but it wasn't from Jake. It was from Beckendorf.

Be careful Clio. I know you've been stuck on that ship alone, especially after being sick, but these are your enemy's. Don't let your guard down.

He was right of course; Cynthia was still a monster. She wasn't here to be a healer or a teacher. She was here to bring back and fight for Kronos. The likelihood of saving your little friend group was minute as well. The gods had failed them. You look out onto the sea, it's been too easy to forget why you're really here. You cup your head in your hand and sigh.

You shall travel with the fallen son, watching with eyes tainted in blood.

You shall harbor bronze wings, the rats word, lug.

You shall loose a lost piece of yourself to another wrath.

And you shall be forced to follow a divergent path.

This isn't for fun. These aren't your friends.

knock knock

"Yes?" You call.

Tony opens the door, obviously excited. "Clio, they're back! They found it!"

You stand up so fast your chair topple backwards. "What?" 

"Come on!" He grabs your arm. The two of you racing towards the deck. You are met with a crowd of beings. It seems the two of you were the last to arrive.

"Move." You demand, pushing through to the front. Breaking through the front line, you stumble forward, catching yourself on the golden box that's haunted your nightmares the last two months. Instantly your whole arm feels frozen and you rip your hand away as if you'd touched a red-hot stove. There it is. The scenes looked so much worse in person. It was frightening and you had to resist the urge to flee. You don't even realize the crowd was jeering until Luke calls your name and they quiet down.

"Clio!" 

You pull your eyes away from the horrific scenes to look at him. You see a tiny flash of worry cross his face as he beacons you forward. Responding stiffly, you walk past a familiar kneeling figure; the mortal who had been scribbling away in your dreams. You stop in your tracks. 

"Clio, do you know who this is?"  Luke asks, stepping towards you.

You nod your head once, "I-I've seen him in a dream." You answer quietly.

Luke nods, "that makes sense." He gestures to the spot next to him. "Join me."

You follow his instructions and stand to the side, finally seeing the mortals face. Wait, his eyes-

"Clio Smith, meet the mortal man who abandoned you" Luke clenches a fist, "just as the gods did." He spits with disgust.

You blink and look up at Luke, "what?"

Luke points his sword at the man, "your father."

You scoff, he has to be joking right? "Why would...why would you bring a mortal like that here?"

"So he can be punished for his crimes against you and our cause." Luke explains, excitedly.

Your half smile falls a bit, "what crimes against me?"

"Your abandonment." Luke tries to stress, his excitement dropping. "For colluding with your mother." He scoffs, "For trying to keep the casket hidden from us."

"But he's mortal?" You shake your head slightly, as if to clear it. "It's not as if you can kill him."

Luke chuckles darkly, "I won't take that from you. You can kill him."

Your eyes widen and you take a step between Luke and the man. "I didn't ask for this!" You say, lowering your voice. "Let him go home-"

"He's working with the gods; with your mother." Luke says, his tone almost pleading. "He chose to be a traitor against us, against you."

You look at him, appalled. "He's mortal! You can't-" When the word leaves your mouth you regret it.

Luke's expression hardens and he shoves you to the side. "Mortal or immortal!" Luke cries and the crowd cheers back. 

You look at the man; his eyes on you. The sword is brought down, "NO!" His eyes no longer meet yours. You stare at a seam on the floor just behind where they were.

Don't look.

Something warm has splashed across your face.

Don't look.

A trembling hand wipes at the spots of warmth on your face and look down. You fingers are stained red.

Don't look.

From the corner of your eye you see Luke lift his sword and something else...

Don't look.

Luke yells and you see the crowd yell back, but it's drowned out by the ringing in your ears. Your eyes flick over Tony and Al before focusing on a chip of paint over the shoulder of a cyclops. Luke yanks you forward. You keep your eyes trained on the chip of paint. Even when something is set in your arms. It's heavy...wet...

Don't look.

You feel something warm run down your arms. It drips off your elbows.

Don't look.

You aren't sure how you're still standing, you feel numb. Is this what it was like to kill monsters too? You stare at the scratch in the wall.

Chris grabs Luke's shoulder and says something to him. Luke nods and lifts the weight from your arms. From the periphery of your vision you see him toss it towards a lump on the floor.

Don't look.

Someone grabs your shoulder and pulls you behind the line of monsters that encircles the scene. Your arms are still frozen in front of you. When they lower to your sides, its as if they move of their own accord. Chris, his face grim, is pushing you along. He opens the door to a cabin, followed by the door to the bathroom. You watch him start the water, but it's as if your mind is moving in slow motion. 

He says something to you. When you don't respond he lifts you up and sets you in the shower, clothes and all. He says something else to you and leaves, closing the door behind him.

You glance up at the shower head and its as if someone has suddenly cranked the volume on the scene. The water is so loud it's almost deafening. Finally you look down at yourself. 
Blood.
It covers your arms. It's splattered across your white shirt. You run a shaking hand down one arm, trying to wipe it off. The water just thins the color, turning your clothes pink. You brush your other hand down the opposite arm-It won't come off.
A sound somewhere between a wail of agony and a scream of panic erupts from you. It echo's around the small bathroom. There's a part of you that knows it can be heard in the corridor, but that doesn't stop it from happening again.

You back into the corner of the shower, another of those terrible sounds escaping you as your back slams into the wall.

You scrape your hands down your arms over and over again. Why won't it come off? You're crying, a glint from Luke's sword flashes through your mind. You move your hands up and grip your hair as you sink to the floor. How could he do that? How could I let this happen? I'm supposed to be a hero. I didn't do anything. I'm a monster. I'm just like Luke.

You weep bitterly for ages, your hands eventually falling to your lap. The water turned cold long ago. Your whole body is so heavy; you find it hard to stand up. The water raining down on you feels like needles.

You undress slowly, wringing out as much of the water as you can and then tossing them in a pile outside the shower. You're freezing, but you scrub your skin with a wash cloth until it’s pink and painful. Turning the water off, you dry off. Finding clothes waiting for you in a neat little pile. That must be what Chris said to you before.

You get dressed, your movements sluggish. I want to go home. You feel your eyes tear up again and you almost laugh: how could you possibly have more tears to cry?

When you finish and open the door, Chris is waiting for you.

He's sitting with his back against the bed, a ragged looking journal on the floor next to him. He looks up at you. "Hey Sidelines," He greets, patting the ground next to him. You sit, but leave a wide area between the two of you, sitting in silence for a while. "Luke wants to see you." He says eventually.

Your hair is still dripping wet and you can feel the back of your shirt dampening. "I don't want to see him." You say. Your voice is practically at a whisper, but you can't bring yourself to raise it.

"This isn't a democracy Clio."

"No, it's a monstrosity." You fire back.

Chris sighs and leans his head back against the bed, "I admit, that was...harsh."

"Harsh," You repeat. That word didn't even scratch the surface.

Chris touches your shoulder, "that man killed Calliope."

You look at him. "You really think that mortal killed a demigod in her prime?" You ask. 

Finding out Calliope was dead doesn't even faze you. It’s as if you already knew. Chris drops his hand from your shoulder, “this was his, I thought you might be able to decode it.” He taps the journal.

You pick it up and say, "take me to Luke then,” as you stand.

You only see mortals on your way to Luke's cabin. Its as if the halls were cleared.

Andy and Alex step out of the room as the two of you reach it. Alex smirks at you and walks by. Andrew can't meet your eyes and follows Alex. Beckendorf was right. These people weren't your friends, this ship held nothing but enemies. 

Chris opens the door for you and you can't even bring yourself to thank him.

Luke glances up from the table. It's been thrown against the side of the room to make space for that awful sarcophagus. "Clio." He greets coolly.

You just stare at the windows. Wishing you were back at camp, wishing you weren't alone, wishing Percy or Travis or Jake were there to back you up.

"You can leave Chris." Luke says, standing up. You hear the door click behind you and you turn to give your full attention to Luke. "Are you alright?" He asks, but he isn't looking at you. He's straightening his sleeves instead.

"No." You answer honestly.

He looks up at you, crossing his arms. "This is war."

"You killed an unarmed mortal."

He scoffs, "who was working with the enemy." He adds, "who left you alone-abandoned you." Luke moves towards you. "Do you want to know why he left you?"

You feel so tired. You can't even muster the energy to glare at him. "Stop it Luke."

"He already had a wife who he felt he couldn't possibly bring a baby home to." He says, standing in front of you. "And do you want to know something else?" He seethes.

You find yourself tearing up again, a lump forming in your throat, "please-"

"He had a daughter with that woman the following year." He seems furious, as if this was his story and not yours. "He replaced you with a nice normal mortal child."

You shift your eyes away from his as tears slide down your face. You hadn't ever given a whole lot of thought to what your mortal parent's life was like. Why did it hurt so badly then, if you didn't care?

Luke lets you stew for a few minutes before sighing and turning away. "He was working with the gods all this time to hide this." He says, gesturing towards the casket. "You are the reason we've gotten this far."

You wipe your face with the back of your hands, "Luke-"

"If you argue with me again in front of others," Luke says raising his voice, "there will be very harsh punishments." 

"Punishments? You told me I was an advisor."

You bite your lip as he cuts you off again, "Calliope, your little follower? Do you know why she is dead?" Luke asks.

"Chris said my father killed her." You say.

Luke rolls his eyes, "no. Alexander heard her begging Andrew to leave with her." He tilts his head towards you, "she was a traitor."

Your mouth drops open in shock. Was this...was her death-

"Now why would she want to run away to camp?" He asks, stalking back towards you.

"I didn't say anything about camp to them." You say defensively.

Luke raises an eyebrow, "that isn't how Andrew remembered it."

You shake your head in disbelief, "I don't know what to say..."

"Are you a traitor?" He asks, his hand on his sword.

You glare at him, "I'm the only reason you found out about that fucking sarcophagus in the first place. How dare you question my loyalty again?" The two of you glare at each other for a few long moments. It crosses your mind to draw your dagger, but you restrain yourself.

"If you argue with me in front of others, you'll regret it." He threatens.

You look away, "you're just like them." You add, "using threats to get your way."

Luke's shoulders fall, "don't say that." He begs, "Clio, I have to appear like I'm in charge at all times. There are monsters and demigods on this ship who would love to over throw us."

You look back at him, "you killed a mortal Luke. That isn't what I signed up for."

Luke touches your shoulder, "sacrifices have to be made. I thought, with everything that happened to you, you'd understand." He says softly.

You look away and mentally fortify yourself. You touch the hand that's squeezing your shoulder. "I understand, Luke." You say softly as you look back up at him. He looks relieved. You pat his hand and turn to go.

"If you need anything-"

You cut him off, "I'm not really feeling well. I'm going to lay down." You don't wait for his answer. You head straight through the doors. Leaning against the doors for a moment, you take a deep breath.

Put on a good show.

You stand up and square your shoulders. Out here you'd be the good little lap dog. You wouldn't give anyone ammunition to derail your quest. This all has to be stopped.

"You lived?" Alex demands as you are walking back to your stateroom.

You fix him with a glare. This idiot is asking for it, "Alex," You say, a smile creeping onto your face. "I hear that I'm not the only one with blood on their hands." You say quietly, so only he can hear it.

He has the nerve to laugh, "I didn't do anything." He jerks a thumb over his shoulder and you see Andrew standing behind him. "We both say your traitor father killed her."

Your nose wrinkles up with distaste, "a liar too." You grab a handful of his shirt and yank him closer to you. This seems to catch him by surprise because he doesn't try to get away. "If you cross me again, you will leave the confrontation with a permanent reminder."

Andy splits the two of you up. "Calm down, don't start anything." 

You jerk out of his grip, relaxing your face and posture. "Do we have an understanding?" You ask Alex.

"Why you little-"

You walk by him, unwilling to engage with him any longer. You also really don't have the energy to duel right now. That little outburst has drained the tiny amount of reserve energy you had stored up. You find yourself practically running to your room. When you reach it, you turn and lock the door, wedging your chair up under the knob.
It's stifling in this room. You rush to the balcony. It's freezing out here, but the smell of the ocean clears your thoughts a bit. You look back at the bed and decide that you don't care how cold it is out here. You couldn't sleep trapped in this cage.

You carry the table and chairs into the room, followed by all the blankets and pillows out. You shut the door behind you and try to pretend you're somewhere else, anywhere else.

Exhaustion quickly overtakes you. 

Chapter Text

They found the coffin. Luke beheaded my father. I couldn’t-I didn’t stop it. So much for being a hero.

That wasn’t the kind of message Jake was hoping for a week before Christmas. He and Beckendorf had only just sent Clio a message warning her to be careful. To top it off, Clio had sounded ragged. Jake had never heard her sound like that. Even when she’d been stuck in the infirmary, scared over her visions, she’d had emotion in her voice. It didn’t help that her message was concise. It really didn’t make a whole lot of sense. Clio hadn’t ever known her father, why had Luke found him?

”Jake.” Beckendorf calls.

Jake looks up from the little bird resting on its ring. “There’s a problem.” He whispers, gesturing toward the door.

”Clio responded already?” Beckendorf asks.

”λεγο” Jake says, holding the bird up for him to hear.
Charles’ frown deepens over the short message. “So they managed to find it.”

Jake pulls his hand back and looks out across the camp. Snow has dusted the grounds and the cabins. Something about it is nostalgic. It doesn’t feel right with Luke and Annabeth gone… “How could Luke do that?”

”Go tell Chiron. He needs to know.” Beckendorf advises.

Jake gives him a look, it wasn’t unusual for him to be short. He was a half-blood of few words, but Jake was little uncomfortable with him not even mentioning Clio. “Right…I’ll go tell Chiron.” 
The two part ways, but Jake doesn’t head to the Big House. He goes to a burnt husk of a building out behind Cabin seven. No one bothered to fix or fill the ruin in since it’s destruction four months ago.

”Mason?”

”Shit!” Jake looks around startled. His eyes land on Travis Stoll. “What is wrong with you, Stoll?”

Travis scoffs, “what’s wrong with me? You know no one’s supposed to come here.” He climbs out of the pit, patting the ground by the still surviving flower.

It’s Jake’s turn to scoff, “and you’re here because~?” 
“I’m a camp counselor.” Travis responds.

Jake raises an eyebrow, “that’s why you’re sitting in the ruins of your friends cabin.”

Travis flounders, looking for a way to back peddle. “Whatever.” He finally says, turning to leave.

”Stoll wait.” Travis pauses and turns slightly to look back at him. For the millionth time since Clio left, Jake wonders if he should tell Travis the truth. He wonders if Clio’d be mad…Clio trusts Travis. There’s a strict swear in the way though. How could he get around that?

”What is it Mason?” Travis asks.

Jake looks around quickly before taking a deep breath, “λεγο.” He holds the ring up between them and Clio’s soft whisper fills the still air.

They found the coffin. Luke beheaded my father. I couldn’t-I didn’t stop it. So much for being a hero.

Travis blinks, looking between the bird and Jake’s face. “She’s alive?” He asks.

Jake winces, it had been much easier to let camp think that Clio had been struck down for some absurd reason. Plenty of people refuse to believe that she’s been killed anyway. It was like cabin twelve had argued against her funeral. Not because she’s angered the gods, but because they didn’t think she was dead. Hermes cabin had been convinced though; the Stolls refused to believe she’d turn traitor. Travis knew that Clio wouldn’t have turned on camp for any reason. The last conversation replace in his head.
~
”We need a spy. Someone on the inside who can slide us information.”
~
”She’s how Chiron’s gotten information on the titan army.” Travis says, his mouth hanging open.

Jake nods, lowering his hand back to his side trying to think how he can answer.

”She needs help.” Travis says, seeming to see Jake’s hesitation.

Jake shoulders fall and he nods, “Yeah…”

Travis glances around, stepping closer to Jake. “Where is she?”

”We don’t know exactly. Listen, she made me swear on the Styx. I have to be careful what I say.”

Travis has the nerve to laugh, “of course she made you swear on the Styx.” He shakes his head. “Mason, weren’t you worried about my being a spy?”

”There isn’t any proof there is a spy at camp.” Jake says. He fidgets with his ring. “I…” He sighs. “I think somethings actually wrong.”

Travis scoffs, but keeps his voice down, glancing around the area. “Well no duh. She’s trapped with a bunch of traitors. That’s not exactly the best environment.”

Jake shakes his head, “no like… she was okay  before this last message.” He pauses and consider some thing. “Well, I mean she was sick, but her voice is wrong-“ Jake groans. “Listen I don’t know how to explain it okay? I just know somethings off.”

”Well yeah, you’re her friend.”

Jake looks confused, “so?”

Travis rolls his eyes, “seriously?” He motions with his hand and says, “friends can tell things about each other?”

Jake looks down at the ruined cabin, “Beckendorf acted like he didn’t notice.” 
Travis sighs and crosses his arms. “She sounded… like she wasn’t even sad anymore.” He thinks a moment, “like emotionless?”

Jake picks up a stone and throws it into the cabin, knocking down a bit of brick. “She shouldn’t have gone alone!” He says angrily.

Travis raises an eyebrow, watching as Jake continues to throw stones at the ruin. “Clio isn’t going to appreciate you knocking down the cabin.” Travis sighs, “can you like, tell me what she’s found out? Like whats with the coffin she’s talking about?” He points at Jake’s ring as he asks. 
Jake’s breathing heavily, his back to Travis, “Luke’s army gets bigger every week. It’s not looking good for us.” The last stone he had in his hand falls to the ground as he answers. Unfortunately, the damage is done and the rest of the cabin collapses in on itself with a loud crash. Both boys cringe at the sound of the structure falling. It takes no time for others to flock to the sound.
”What did you squirts to do?” Clarisse asks, scoffing at the ruined pile.

Travis rolls his eyes. “Can it Clarisse. It was already falling in on its self.”

Jake raises an eyebrow. He is still breathing irregularly from his anger, but he’s a little impressed. Travis didn’t hesitate in his lie. It came more naturally than the truth seemed to.

Clarisse rolls her eyes. “That’s why you punks were conveniently already over here?”

”Enough Clarisse.” Selena says. She looks at the cabin a bit sadly. “No use dredging up the past.” Clarisse huffs, and stalks away. Selena give the boys a once over. “You know we aren’t supposed to be back here.” She nods back towards a green before leaving, the few others left quickly trickle away after her. 
Once they are alone, Jake says, “you lied.”

Travis laughs once, “you wanted me to tell them you’re knocked down?” The two are quiet for a moment before Travis sighs and looks at the collapsed building. “Have you told Chiron yet?”

Jake shakes his head. “The message only came in like 30 minutes ago.”

”Tch, you came here to mope?” Travis accuses.

Jake frowns, “what’s Chiron going to even say?” He shakes his head, “it’s not like we can stop them finding the coffin now.”

”Are you serious?” Travis asks his eyes narrowed. “What about Clio?”

”What?”

Travis throws his hands up, “obviously she needs some kind of back up-“

Jake scoffs, “you think we haven’t tried finding their location?” He touches his chest. “She’s my friend too.” He says softly.

”Whatever.” Travis looks back at the ruined cabin. 
Jake sighs, “are you coming or what?”

”Coming where?” Travis asks, looking back at him.

Jake rolls his eyes. “To talk to Chiron?” Jake shrugs. “You might as well now.”

The two boys observe each other for a moment before Jake turns to leave, and Travis hurries after him.

”Chiron!” Travis calls, startling the centaur from his card game. 
He looks over at the boys, “oh, Mr. Stoll, Mr. Mason. What can we help you with?” He turns back to his game.

Jake takes a minute to glance around the area. “Sir, we have a new message from the spy.”

Chiron sighs deeply, and sets his cards down. “More good news I take it.” Mr. D grumbles summoning a can of Diet Coke after tossing his cards down in annoyance. Chiron turns his wheelchair to face the boys. He doesn’t seem surprised that Travis has joined. He doesn’t even question it. 
Jake and Travis glance at each other, and after a moment, Jake steps forward, “λεγο.”

They found the coffin. Luke beheaded my father. I couldn’t-I didn’t stop it. So much for being a hero.

A cold winter wind sweeps through the room, bringing with it a few stray snowflakes. The quiet is deafening. Travis and Jake glance at each other, but neither wants to break the silence first. Finally, Chiron releases of breath he has been holding. “Unfortunate-“

”Unfortunate? I told her she was making a mistake sending her lover after something like that.” Mr. D shakes his head. “Now look what’s happened.”

Chiron fixes Mr. D with a look, “that might not be appropriate for the children.” He admonishes.

Travis looks between Mr. D and Chiron, “you heard her voice though right? She really needs help.”

Chiron sighs, “she is in the middle of a dangerous quest-“

”Yeah that you sent her on alone! She needs back up!” Travis argues.

Jake taps his shoulder, “Travis she decided to go on her own.”

”Quests are threes. Why didn’t you go with her?” Travis demands turning on Jake.

Chiron holds up a hand. “Peace. We are all worried about her.”

Travis glares at the floor, “Percy wouldn’t have let this happen.” Jake frowns at Travis, his mutter striking a nerve.

Chiron sighs again, “Clio knew what she was getting into.”

”I don’t know about that…” Jake says under his breath. 
“Oh so she knew she was going to watch her father get BEHEADED?!” Travis says at the same time.

Chiron shakes his head, “no one could know the lengths that the Titan army would go to.” He glances out the window for a moment; uncomfortable silence filling the room, only broken by the sound of the winter wind against the window panes. “In all honesty I do agree with you, Mr. Stoll. Clio was ill-equipped to handle such a quest.” 
“Then why didn’t you stop her then?” Travis asks.

Jake jumps in, “it was her quest!” He gestures around with his hand, “Who else was going to do it?”

”Ms. Smith also, helpfully, did not consult anyone before taking on this quest.” Chiron adds a hint of amusement in his tone.

Travis seems startled, “you didn’t know? I thought you had to OK quests?”

”It would seem that is the Oracle’s final decision.” Chiron explains his tone carefully controlled.

”Chiron,” Jake starts, “what are we supposed to do now?” He taps his ring nervously. “With that coffin found and…what happened to the mortal.”

Chiron sighs. “We must train for the coming war.”

”What about Clio?” Travis asks.

”We can only give her our verbal support.” Chiron says. “There is nothing we can do for her now.”

The next few months were hard on the boys. Clio sent messages back, less and less, despite their continued efforts to cheer her up. The real problem was how do you cheer someone up who watched a friend turn into a villain? Most of the time it was hard to think of something worthwhile to even express to her. Hermes cabin wasn’t doing too many pranks anymore. Although, Griffin did have bright green hair again. Her messages were quiet, emotionless, reports of figures. She rarely had other news to report.

The end of February, maybe the beginning of March saw an uptick in monster sightings. No one was really sure why all of a sudden more monsters were finding their way to the edge of the camps border. The answer was obvious though, Luke.

The worst came at the end of May.

”Thalia’s pine has been poisoned!” A dryad cries in the middle of dinner. 
The pavilion erupted it in panic. A mob, following the dryad back through camp and up Half-Blood hill. There is a puncture mark oozing a sickly green shade of sap. Whispering quickly descends across the crowd suspicious looks are cast, and it seems as though a fight is likely.
Horrified Miranda asks, “who would do something like this?” 
“Luke.” Travis says, stepping forward.
”Travis…” Connor starts, touching his arm.

Travis yanks away, “who else could’ve done this?” he demands, and the others look away.
”Luke couldn’t hurt Thalia’s tree. He loved her.” Selena argues.

Travis scoffs, “oh yeah, Luke’s loves done a lot around here.”

Argus is fired the next morning for failing to catch the culprit, or even seeing them. Within days, the monster attacks become a problem. A really big problem. Nothing the nature spirits nor Chiron tried seems to help Thalia’s  tree recover. In a week bathroom privileges aren’t being traded for capture the flag anymore. They’re being traded to avoid border patrol. Then the gods seem to decide Chiron is to blame for everything. They replaced him with Tantalus, a real monster, on special assignment from the field of punishment.

Jake and Travis start to wonder how long it would take for Annabeth to show back up at camp. They wondered what she would think about the situation. Luckily, the next morning she showed up with Percy Jackson and a cyclops in tow. 
Travis had been unable to get out of patrol duty with Clarisse, and a few others from her cabin. It had been pretty quiet until the bulls attacked. Made of celestial bronze, they seem to have no weaknesses and they were HOT. If Percy and Annabeth hadn’t had a cyclops with them, camp might’ve been toasted, literally. As it was a handful of campers needed to seek medical attention, Travis included. He had a burn, covering his right arm and traveling up his neck. He was in way too much pain to think about anything. So no one mentioned Clio when the fighting was over and someone could have told Percy.
It wasn’t until the next day that Percy even tried to find Clio. He couldn’t shake his shadow, though, so both of them ended up behind the cabins.
”I knew you’d come here first thing.” Annabeth’s voice said.

Percy shook his head and shock, “what in Hades happened?”

Annabeth materializes next to the collapse entrance, her baseball cap in her hand. “No one seems to know.” She turns to inspect the damage again. “When I didn’t see her at dinner, I went looking for her.”

Percy stands quietly, “with everything that happened…” he trails off.

”You were overwhelmed.” She side eyes Tyson, before saying, “I doubt Clio would be upset.”

”Who is Clio?” Tyson asks.

Percy plucks one of the blooms off the hyacinth. “She’s like a sister.” He cups the blossom in his hand. “Mom said she had to go on a quest…”

”A quest? What kind of quest?” Annabeth asks.

Percy shrugs, “a secret one? She didn’t give us any details.” He kicks a stone and it clacks down into the pile of rubble. Annabeth is quiet thinking about some thing.

Tyson looks at Percy, “we have a sister?”

”Oh,” Percy shakes his head, “no big guy. She’s just one of my best friends.”

”I have to go check some thing let’s meet up to talk about the chariots.” Without another word, Annabeth put her Yankees cap back on and disappeared.

Travis and Jake are huddled behind a tree in the forest. 
“I think we should tell her about what happened. She wanna know.” Jake insists.

Travis shakes his head. “No, I don’t want to worry her after everything.” His arm is wrapped up, a bandage covering the burn on his neck. “It’s not like Clio could do anything. She’d just blame herself for not being able to warn us.” He insists.

Jake sighs, “maybe she’d sneak away if she was worried about you?”

Travis groans sits down on a log, “Jake, she’s going to put the quest first.”

Jake leans against the tree trunk, “she’s been alone on that ship for almost a year.” He throws a hand up in the air. “All she did was help them.”

”Watch your mouth, Mason.” Travis says dangerously.

Jake scoffs, “well tell me what exactly she’s done that we couldn’t have lived without?” His voice, barely staying at a whisper.

Travis’ voice raises, “how about the number of enemies or that serpent attack or the training strategies they’re using?”

Jake looks away, crossing his arms. “We could’ve lived without that.”

”Tell that to cabin six.” Travis grumbles.

”Tell what to cabin six?” Annabeth asks stepping out from behind a tree.

Both boys jump, Travis standing quickly. “How long have you been there?” He demands.

She observes them for a moment before she says, “long enough to know you’re up to something.” 
The boys glance at each other, but neither says anything. Travis looks back at Annabeth, “we were just thinking with Chiron gone and all, the brain work’ll fall to you Athena kids.”

Annabeth narrows her eyes, but Travis doesn’t react. She makes a humming sound. “Right, that was enough for you to to meet in secret, in the woods?” She brushes her shirt flat. “Since when are the two of you such a good friends? Did something happen this winter?” She looks up at them, obviously insinuating some thing.

Travis swallows and Jake says, “Clio died Annabeth.”

That gets her attention her, “What?”

Travis glances at Jake?, “dude-“

”What do you mean she died?” Annabeth demands.

Jake looks at Travis, “that’s what everyone else thinks!” He says, ignoring Annabeth.

”You should leave the lying to professionals.” Travis reprimands.

”Well what was I supposed to say?” Jake argues.

Travis scoffs, “nothing!”

Annabeth groans, “will you two shut up?” Both boys glare at one another. “Tell me the truth. Now.” She demands.

Jake sighs again, “we can’t.”

”Swore on the Styx.” Travis adds.

She looks between the two of them for a moment. “Can you tell me if she’s alive at least?” The boys look at each other, and Travis shrugs.

”Yeah she’s alive.” Jake says.

Annabeth sighs in relief, “okay at least there’s that.”

”Annabeth listen please don’t tell anyone about this.” Jake asks.

”I can keep a secret better than the two of you, that’s for sure.” She responds. “Who can I ask about what happened?”

”Anybody else. Just don’t ask us.” Travis recommends. Annabeth rolls her eyes, but nods in agreement.

She tracks down Malcolm from her cabin. After finding very little info from the two she actually knew had the information, she hoped he could give her some context. Unfortunately, Malcolm didn’t have anything better to say, at least not in Annabeth‘s opinion.

”Nobody knows what happened to her.” He explains. “One morning a lightning bolt blew up her little cabin. No ones seen her since.” He shrugs. “The cabins were divided on if she died, or if she defected.”

Annabeth makes a face, “Clio defecting? I don’t think so.” She thought about it though. How well did she actually know her? Sure the two had been pretty good friends after the quest last summer, but a few months wasn’t long. There was Percy though. As far as she could tell Clio would try to burn Olympus down if it saved that seaweed brain. Percy would do that for anyone he cared about, he’d do that for me… She shook her head.

”You really don’t think she’d follow Luke?” Malcolm asks.

”No. She wouldn’t have done anything to betray Percy.” She shrugs. “She was supposed to go live with him and his mom, ya know?”

Malcolm shrugs, “people change, Annabeth.”

Her talk with Malcolm felt useless. Whatever Travis and Jake were hiding, seemed to suggest some kind of safety concern in bringing her up. Percy had mentioned Clio was on a quest. Maybe she really was, but then why didn’t everyone know about it? Of course if it was a secret that would explain why only a few people knew. Then again, why was it a secret? She stomped her foot normally she would be able to talk to Chiron, but he had to leave.

It didn’t help the situation that they had to leave camp the night of the chariot race.

~

You were walking along the beach. It was a beautiful, clear night, and the stars were out, but that wasn’t important right now. You recognized this beach. This was camp. You hadn’t dreamed about camp in weeks. 
You look down the beach at a pair of figures and your brow furrows. All the campers knew that the cleaning harpies were out late at night. Why would someone be on the beach? You move closer to the pair, straining to hear their conversation.

”…father should be able to help you reach the ship.” The taller figure says.

”Ship?”

Percy! You race toward the two, feeling tears of excitement pick your eyes. You stop a few feet away, remembering suddenly that you won’t be able to hug him.
”…good night, cousin, and dare I say it? May the gods go with you.” The man said. He reached out a hand and a caduceus flew into it. Wait not a caduceus, THE caduceus. The man was Hermes. He pocketed the now cell phone and turns to jog towards you. 
He gives you a little wave as he jogs by, and you wave back hesitantly. Could Gods tell when demigods dreamed like this? You turn to watch as he leaves only to see him shimmer and vanish. You blink a few times before turning back to Percy. He looked tired and you frown. The guys had told you Chiron was being forced to leave, but that didn’t seem like the problem. That’s when it hit you; Hermes had just given Percy a quest. What had he been saying? Some thing about a boat?

You look out over The Sound to see a large cruise ship. Oh no. Was that the ship you thought it was? You grimace hoping against hope you weren’t about to have to make impossible decisions. How much help could the first year of information really do in a war that might take years? That made you pause,  do I really want to do this for multiple years? Can I do this for multiple years? Before you can think about it too much you hear people calling Percy’s name.

Annabeth and a-was that a cyclops? How in Hades name had a cyclops gotten into camp? Annabeth and Percy didn’t seem bothered by him though and after Percy explains what Hermes wanted the two quickly agree to go with him. Percy and Annabeth have a very short argument about the cyclops, who is presumably named Tyson. Then Percy ask his father for a way to get them to the ship. Quickly several lines of water speed towards them. When they finally break the surface you can see a set of Hippocami. They are beautiful, but you step forward anxiously. There’s no way for you to follow them when they go out on the water. You want to know what happens.

You groan and rub your hands on your face. Of course, your dream wouldn’t really tell you anything. 
You sigh and lower your hands from your face, only to find yourself on a lower deck of the Andromeda. You look around confusion. Why had you shown up here? It wasn’t really a deck you went to often. Mostly mortals were on this deck. Then you laughed. There was a staff ladder to the waterline here. You lean over the railing and search for them. It doesn’t take the three long to reach you. The rest of your dream is spent watching them get onto the boat and search around for a bit. By the time they mention how odd it is that no one is around, you’ve already noticed it. Where are the guards tonight? Some of the monsters never slept, so how are they not been found already? You wondered if the gods had some thing to do with it. It doesn’t take them long to find two empty cabins and bunk down to sleep.

You wake immediately, clutching the sheets around you. The suns first rays peaking above the horizon. For the first time in months you find yourself smiling.

Chapter Text

You can’t fall back asleep. Several times you find yourself moving toward the door before your conscious brain takes back over. You end up sitting down with your back against the door. You almost wish they’d walked into your state room…well, they wouldn’t have been able to; you kept it locked with a chair under the knob for months now. Still, it would have made your job a bit easier. As it stood now, you’re sure the next 12 hours or so would be…stressful to say the least. You aren’t sure when you nod off again, but you must have because at daybreak someone comes knocking on your door. You jerk awake and glance around; the gray sky of dawn is glowing through the open sliding door. 

Groaning, you stand up, grateful that you removed the chair earlier. Opening the door, you see Chris, “what is it?” You ask.

”Luke has an early meeting. He wants you taking notes.” Chris explains.

You groan again, and cover your face. “It’s so damn early.”

Chris nods, “yeah…” he rubs your head and you smack his hand away, half heartedly. He chuckles, “hurry up, Sidelines.”

You close the door and lean your forehead against it. Percy’s here, so is Annabeth…maybe they’ll be able to get through to-you shake your head and change your clothes. There wasn’t any way to get through to Luke anymore. You know Annabeth won’t be convinced of that though.

You follow Chris down the corridors and wonder how Percy and Annabeth are fairing. On second thought they were probably still asleep. It was only just after first light. 
“What’s the meeting about? Normally he tells me ahead of time.” 
Chris shrugs, “what else? Planning to overthrow the gods.”

You groan. “At 6:30 in the freaking morning?” Chris smiles, and shakes his head. “You can’t tell me this couldn’t of waited until say…eight or nine in the morning?”

”You know how Luke is.”

You look down, “yeah. I do.”

The meeting is the same old things; how many new members, where can we find new members, battle strategies. 

“What of the tree?” Luke demands from the groggy group. Your hand freezes halfway from reaching for a bagel. 

“They’ve send Clarisse, daughter of Ares, on a quest to find the fleece.”

”How do you know that already?” You ask, letting your hand fall to the table.

Luke rolls his eyes, “come on Clio. By now you must have guessed.”

You look down at your notes. They’re mostly doodles at this point, nothing helpful. “A spy.” You look back up at him and he nods.

”I’m surprised it took you so long.” He comments.

”Little Miss teamwork, would never think of some thing like that.” One of the lieutenants mutters.

”The lap-dog, and her morality.” Another says under her breath.
Luke pretends not to hear and continues, “her quest for the fleece, it’s just what we need. Let them risk their lives in the Sea of Monsters.”

This isn’t the first time you’ve heard them talk about the Golden Fleece. It isn’t the first time you heard about the Sea of Monsters. This time, though, it triggers something in you. You jolt from your chair, disregarding Luke’s questions. If you could just make it out of this room…but, as your hand touches the door, the vision overtakes you. You feel yourself fall and wonder vaguely if you’re really falling or if it’s just an odd feeling attached to the vision.

~

Squinting uncomfortably in the bright morning sun, you raise your hand to shade your eyes. You look down and see waves washing up at your ankles. Then an argument pulls your attention up to the dock. A teenager in a red and gold letterman jacket, blonde hair-Annabeth!

You take a step forward only to discover you’re already next to them, “what in Hades?” You look back towards the surf you’d come from, could I always teleport? You wonder.

”You have to get the fleece back safely.” Percy tells Clarisse.

She looks suspicious, but decides to trust him, jumping into a waiting cab. “You can count on me. I won’t fail.” 

Percy has the slightest hint of a smile as he says, “not failing would be good.”

The cab peels out, Clarisse leaving them in the dust. You look around as the trio continue talking. The newspaper catches your eye. 
Miami June 18th.

Okay, so just over a week. You look back at the three and Percy says, “come on. Let’s find another way home.” He turns towards you. A sword raises next to you pointed at his throat.

“Oh little researcher.” A terrible voice says. With a start, you realize it seems to be coming from the sword. “Shall I show you your fates?” 
You fall from the scene with a scream. Landing in that terrible vision from last year. Percy and Annabeth falling. You try to run forward but your feet don’t listen as you fall again, the floor cracking like an eggshell. 
Now you’ve landed on the deck of the Andromeda. You’re standing over Percy as Luke brings Backbiter down on you. That evil laughter filling the room again as pain explodes from your chest causing you to stagger. You fall, feeling arms catch you and you jerk awake with an agonizing scream. 

~

Had Luke not been holding your hand you might’ve fallen off the couch you were laying on. You yank your hand away in panic; trying to crawl backwards, but you find your shoulder really does hurt as though you’ve gotten an injury. You freeze and curl in on yourself, holding your shoulder.

”Woah, woah chill out. You’re okay. You’re safe.” Luke says.

You try to catch your breath. Glancing around the room you realize Luke must have taken you back to his quarters. Your eyes fall on the sarcophagus and a shiver runs through you. 
Before you had tried to deny it; why would he bother with you after all? Now though, you were certain who it was that the terrible voice belonged to.

”What did you see?” Luke asks.

You focus on him again, “Percy-“ you stop yourself with a shake of your head. You couldn’t tell Luke everything, but its as if something compels you to speak. “Percy finds the fleece.”

”You saw it in his hands?” Luke asks eagerly.

You hesitate before nodding. You hadn’t seen the fleece, not really, but you’re positive that the jacket Clarisse held really was the fleece.

”Where was he?” Luke demands. “Tell me exactly what you saw.” 
So you do, at least…mostly. 
You tell him Annabeth was wearing the fleece. You tell him that Grover was safe. You tell him it may have been noon or just before noon that they arrive in Miami.

That last bit sneaks out just before you can stop it…

”How did you know it was Miami?” Argrius demands. Luke glares at him.

”I…I saw…” You’re trying to think of something, a marina name or anything that could help hide some information.

”Well?” He demands again.

”Agrius!” Luke barks.

”It was a newspaper” you admit in a defeated tone. You sit up despite Luke’s protests.

He sets a hand on your back, taking one of your hands to help you sit up. “A newspaper…” Luke touches your shoulder as he helps you and you jerk back, a whimper of pain escaping you. He hesitates, looking at your shoulder with a frown. “Did…did you see anything else?”

You touch your shoulder gingerly, almost expecting to see blood on your fingers. “I think I saw my own…” your voice trails off and you shake your head. “Nothing important.” You can tell Luke isn’t convinced, but his willingness to let you keep it to yourself, at least for now, shows you that he trusts what you’ve said.

Agrius doesn’t feel like letting it go though. “You obviously know something else, child.” He growls, taking a step towards you.

”She told us what we need to know.” Luke warns, his voice taking a threatening edge that declares the matter finished. 

The bear twins are animalistic in a way ever true animals aren’t. The way they eye you and even Luke at times makes your skin crawl. Even so, you find yourself zoning out a bit as the two talk, thinking about the bow you’d left at camp. Sure you could get any you’d like now from the ships armory. Probably even one made specifically for you. It isn’t what you want though. You wonder if it’s still hanging off the Stoll’s bunk-hang on…

”What is that?” You ask.

At the same time Argrius demands silence.

Luke looks between the monster and the door, “Are you sure?”

He nods, “yes.” The three of them approach the door. “Right outside.”

With a jolt that causes you to jump to your feet you realize what it must be: Cyclopes can mimic voices.

“Run!” You hear Percy shout just as they throw the doors open. 
You reach for your dagger. You don’t care if it ruins the mission, you’d never let Luke hurt them if you could help.

”Well, if it isn’t my two favorite cousins.” Luke says, gesturing back into the room. “Come right in.” 
The two Demi-gods and their cyclopian friend step into the room. What else were they gonna do?

As they take in the room, both sets of eyes freeze on yours. You try to keep your face neutral, but with everything that just happened you’re sure that isn’t the case.

Percy looks furious for half a second before his expression turns neutral as well.

Annabeth glances between the two of you, a look of concern flashing across her features. 

“Well,” Luke says, “a little nicer than Cabin Eleven, huh?”

”Luke,” you start, but he sends you such a withering glare that you lower your head and take a step back. You didn’t want to set him off with the others present. It bothers you how quickly he can flip that switch.

”Sit.” He demands, waving a hand so three chairs move to the center of the room. 

No one does.

You can’t blame them. Even with your earlier elation at the idea of seeing Percy, the vision and seeing him in such a dangerous situation has you on edge and well…you didn’t feel like sitting either. 
You glance back up and Percy is staring at you again. You can’t tell if he’s trying to figure something out or thinking of the best way to kill you. 
“Where are my manners?” Luke asks. “These are my assistants Agrius and Oreius, perhaps you’ve heard of them and of course, you know Clio. My personal records keeper.” 
From the corner of your eye you see Annabeth smirk as if she just figured out a difficult puzzle. When you look at her fully though she’s got that same poker face. Luke doesn’t seem to notice as he asks, “do you not know the twins story?” He snaps his fingers at you, “Clio.” You look at him. “Tell our guests their story.” You see Percy grit his teeth in response to Luke’s disrespect. Luke again seems not to notice as he says, “it’s sad really.”

You have to take a breath before saying, “as you wish.” You notice Percy glaring at Luke as you start. “Aphrodite ordered their mother to fall in love. She refused and begged Artemis for help. Artemis let her become a huntress, but it only pissed Aphrodite off. She enchanted the girl to fall in love with a bear.” You sigh and shake your head. “When Artemis found out she abandoned the girl in disgust-“

“Typical of the gods.” Luke interrupts, “wouldn’t you say? They fight one another and poor humans get caught in the middle.”

Your anger hits you fast, “poor humans? You-“ you shrink back as Luke gives you another look. You hate yourself for it, but he scares you and the image of him bringing his sword down on you is still fresh in your mind. 
“That girls twin sons here, Agrius and Oreius have no love for Olympus. They like half-bloods well enough though.”

”For lunch.” Agrius laughs and you cringe back; your hand moves to your dagger as Oreius laughs hysterically. Agrius’ smile turns to a frown, “shut up, you idiot!” He growls, “go punish yourself!” Oreius hangs his head and drags himself over to the dinning table. He proceeds to slam his head against it as he has many times before. 
You have to look away. Even if he is a monster you aren’t the biggest fan of how he’s treated and it’s no wonder he seems to have brain damage. He’s in a constantly concussed state…

Luke sits on the couch behind you and you step to the side. “Well Percy, we let you survive another year. I hope you appreciated it. How’s your mom? How’s school?”

Percy glares at him. “You poisoned Thalia’s tree.”

From the corner of your eye you see Luke shake his head and sigh. “Right to the point, eh? Okay, sure I poisoned the tree. So what?”

”How could you?” Annabeth explodes, her earlier neutrality abandoned. “Thalia saved your life! Our lives! How could you dishonor her-“

Luke cuts her off. “I didn’t dishonor her!” He snaps. “The gods dishonored her, Annabeth! If Thalia were alive, she’d be on my side.”

”Liar!” 

You wince and look away; more than anyone or anything, Luke had betrayed Annabeth. You couldn’t stand to see your friend like this. 

“If you knew what was coming, you’d understand-“ 

Annabeth cuts him off, “I understand you want to destroy camp!” You can see tears welling up in her eyes as she yells: “you’re a monster!”

”The gods have blinded you.” He tries again, leaning forward. “Can’t you imagine a world without them, Annabeth? What good is that ancient history you all study?” He gestures at you and you take another small step away. He looks disgusted. “Three thousand years of baggage! The West is rotten to the core. It has to be destroyed.” He reaches out a hand. “Join me! We can start the world anew. We could use your intelligence, Annabeth.”

You look at him as he and Annabeth continue arguing. It was the same thing he’d told you. He really knew a persons weakness.

You wanted to know as much as possible no matter the cost…Annabeth wanted to be remembered no matter the cost…

No. That isn’t true.

You and Annabeth were different from the way Luke thought you were. For the two of you, no matter the cost, only applied to protecting what you both really cared about.

”The heroes who survive will have no choice but to join us or be hunted to extinction.” Luke is saying, “you really want to be on a losing team…with company like this?” Luke points at Tyson. Percy cries out indignantly but Luke continues. “Traveling with a Cyclops, talk about dishonoring Thalia’s memory.” He clicks his tongue and you grip your dagger, you can practically feel yourself vibrating with anger. “I’m surprised at you, Annabeth. You of all people-“

”Stop it!” Annabeth shouts.

You feel tears well up in your eyes and you turn on Luke, “quit it Luke! What is this accomplishing?”

Luckily for you, Luke doesn’t notice because at the same time Percy says, “leave her alone and leave Tyson out of this.” You and Percy lock eyes and you see something cross his face, but you aren’t sure what it is, confusion maybe.

”Oh yeah, I heard.” Luke laughs. “Your father claimed him.” You look at Tyson and then at Percy. Luke continues, “yes Percy, I know all about your plan to find the fleece. What were those coordinates again…30,31,75,12?”

You glare at the floor. How could you go back to camp without knowing who the spy was?

“I still have friends at camp who keep me posted.”

Percy glares at him, “spies you mean.”

Luke shrugs and leans back on the couch, “how many insults from your father can you stand, Percy?” Luke scoffs, “you think he’s grateful to you? You think Poseidon cares for you anymore than he cares for this monster?” 

Tyson growls at Percy’s side and you have the sense to put a few more steps between you and Luke. You’d rather the young Cyclops have a clear path to the fallen son then decide to make a door through you. 

“The gods are so using you, Percy. Do you have any idea what’s in store for you if you reach your sixteenth birthday?”

You don’t hear the next words he says. That bit of paper you had found: the great prophecy. You’d never found the rest, but you hadn’t even considered…other children of the original six had already died before their sixteenth birthday. You look up at Percy, trying to keep your breathing from becoming too panicked. 

Percy could die-no not could-probably would and if Luke is the one to kill you-you shake your head. I won’t let that happen.

Tyson breaks you from your thoughts as he charges Luke. The bear brothers step in to stop him though. 

“Too bad, Cyclops,” Luke says. “Looks like my grizzly friends together are more than a match for your strength. Maybe I should let them-“

”Luke,” Percy interrupts, “listen to me. Your father sent us.” Your eyes widen and you wave  your hands in warning from the side. 

“Don’t-even-mention him.” Luke says, fury evident on his face as he stands.

“He told us to take this boat.” Percy says, unperturbed. “I thought it was just for a ride, but he sent us to find you. He told me he won’t give up on you, no matter how angry you are.”

”Angry?” Luke roars. You step back into the dinning table, cowering away from his tone. “Give up on me? He abandoned me, Percy! I want Olympus destroyed! Every throne crushed to rubble! You tell Hermes it’s going to happen, too.” He takes a step toward them. “Each time a half-blood joins us, the Olympians grow weaker and we grow stronger. He grows stronger.” Luke points at the golden coffin. 

“So?” Percy demands, “what’s so special…” he pauses. “Woah, you don’t mean-“

Luke sneers at him, “he’s re-forming, thanks to Clio, we’re calling his life force out of the pit.”

”Clio?” Percy asks.

You look up at Percy, “I didn’t know what exactly it was!” You try to explain, gesturing at the sarcophagus. “My father-“

Luke cuts you off, “Clio’s father tried to hide it from us, but we took care of him.” The grizzly twins lick their muzzles and you feel the blood drain from your face and hands. You feel sick, you hadn’t had enough recuperation after your vision and you really tried your damndest to not think about your father…

Luke continues, “with every recruit who joins out cause, another small piece appears-“

”That’s disgusting!” Annabeth says.

Luke rolls his eyes, “your mother was born from Zeus’ split skull, Annabeth. I wouldn’t talk. Soon there will be enough of the titan lord so that we can make him whole again. We will piece together a new body for him, a work worthy of the forges of Hephaestus.”

Annabeth shakes her head slightly, “you’re insane.”

Luke tries again, his ‘we can give you anything you desire’ shtick, but Annabeth glares at him. “Go to Tartarus.”

Luke sighs, “shame.” He calls the mortal security. “Ah good, security.” Luke says when they arrive. “I’m afraid we have some stowaways.”

”Yes, sir.” They reply.

”It’s time to feed the Aethiopian drakon.” Luke tells Oreius, “take these fools below and show them how it’s done.”

Oreius laughs and his brother grumbles, “let me go, too. My brother is worthless. That Cyclops-“

”Is no threat,” Luke glances at the coffin. “If it worries you so much…Clio!”

You flinch back slightly, “yes?” You ask.

”Agrius and I have important matters to discuss. Help Oreius feed the Drakon. Don’t fail me.”

You follow the group out the door and take the lead. I have to give them an opportunity to escape-

“Clio, what did Luke mean by records keeper?” Annabeth asks.

You glance at Oreius and look away; why did it feel like you were also being led to the slaughter? “I keep all the records on board,” under your breath so only Annabeth can hear you, you add, “supposedly.”

Annabeth is quiet for a moment and in the silence a bright chirp, chirp can be heard.

Oreius growls, “I hate your little metal bird.” 

“It plays songs too.” Percy mutters.

You shake your head, “not anymore.” You open the double doors out onto the deck, if they were going escape, now was their only chance.

Percy seems to agree as he shouts: “now!” Tyson knocks Oreius all the way back into the pool, scattering a mortal family. Annabeth knocks one of the mortal guards down, but the other runs to the closest emergency alarm.

”Stop him!” Annabeth yells, but Percy’s too late. The sirens go off, alerting everyone to their escape. 

“Lifeboat!” Percy yells, racing after Annabeth and Tyson. As he passes you he grabs your hand, pulling you forward. “Come on Clio!”

You yank away and he pauses to look at you, “Percy, I’m-I’m so sorry-“ you look back at the advancing army. “Make it look believable! Luke’ll kill me for letting you go!” You whisper in a panic.

”How do you launch this thing?” Annabeth yells.

Tyson slams a hellhound away as Percy continues to look at you. “Clio, you don’t belong here.” He tries, “please don’t do this.” He begs and you can feel tears fill your eyes again.

”Tyson.” You say and he looks at you, “wack me with that extinguisher.” You demand. “It’ll be easy. I’m an easy target.” You didn’t mean to use your charm speak so thickly but you must have because Tyson’s eye unfocuses and he hits you, HARD.
You go flying back, knocking down two archers who are aiming at your friends. Their arrows shoot two others who instantly explode into yellow dust. As you right yourself, Percy and you lock eyes for a fraction of a second. Then he cuts the ropes. 
The next volley of arrows goes straight over them and you stumble forward. You’re pretty sure you’ve broken some ribs as you grab hold of the railing to watch what they’d do. You know as you look down at the free falling boat that this is the dream you’ve had for months. Tears prick your eyes again, of course, some of it is the pain that’s radiating through you with every breath. You have a feeling Percy isn’t going to be so gracious next time you meet and if he finds out you told Luke about your vision?

All around you monsters and half-blood roar in anger as the tiny boat flew out of sight in a whirwind of sea spray. You pray that Poseidon will keep them safe before collapsing to the floor unconscious.

~

After Iris messaging and trying to tell Chiron about the Princess Andromeda, Percy is glaring down the bench he’s sitting on. Roughly gouged into the wood several times is the name Clio Smith (one with a longer last name scratched out). One in Ancient Greek, one in blocky cursive, and several in regular old print.

”What in Hades is she thinking?” Percy demands, scratching a nail through one of the names. Annabeth looks over at him, down at the bench and then back at her own bench without saying anything. “I…I can’t believe she’d betray me-I mean camp-“

”Percy, I don’t think she did…” Annabeth starts.

Percy scoffs, “how can you say that?”

Tyson nods, “the rude one said she helped with the bad box.”

Percy’s shoulders slump. “He mentioned her dad…you don’t think…” 

“Don’t think what?” Annabeth asks.

”You don’t think they killed him do you? She looked so scared of Luke.” Percy covers his face in his hands. “Is it because I left her at camp?”

Annabeth shakes her head, “Percy, I don’t think she did betray us.” She asserts.

”Okay, fine, why do you think that?”

Annabeth sighs, “I saw Travis and Jake conspiring in the woods, arguing over if they should tell ‘her’ that Travis was injured.”

”And you think they were talking about Clio?” Percy asks, still unconvinced.

Annabeth nods, “Clio told your mom that she had to go on a quest and that’s why she couldn’t go live with you, right?”

Percy looks over at her, “you think she’s on a quest?” He asks.

”Yes.” She shrugs, “I couldn’t figure out why no one would have known about her quest at first-“ 

“but the pieces fell into place on the ship.” Percy finishes.

She nods again, “Luke says that there’s at least one spy at camp. If her quest involves infiltrating Luke’s army then it would be safest for no one to know.”

”So Luke can’t find out.” Percy says, looking back down at the names scrawled into the wood.

”Also, the way Travis and Jake made it sound, she’s been slipping as much information as she can to them. Which means they have to have a way to communicate.”

The group is quiet for a minute, trying to think how that would be possible.

”It couldn’t be Iris messaging. They’d have no way of knowing when it would be safe to send one.” Percy says. “What was it she said about her bird?”

”It doesn’t sing anymore.” Annabeth responds.

Percy scoffs, “you don’t think-“

”That they found a way to send the bird back and forth?” Annabeth asks and Percy nods. “I think that’s exactly what they did.”

”That’s why she had Tyson hit her.” Percy says.

Tyson frowns, “didn’t mean to. I swear.”

”I know big guy. Clio has charmspeak.”

Annabeth nods, “Malcolm told me about that.”

”That was your friend-sister?” Tyson asks, worry creeping into his voice.

Percy pats his arm, “she won’t be upset with you.” He adds quickly, “neither am I.”

”Clio’s our spy.” Annabeth continues. “If we see them again we have to help her by treating her like a traitor.”

Percy frowns, “it must have been so hard for her to tell me no…”

He covers up some of the carvings with his hand. “She’s been there all alone for months and I almost ruined it for her…”

Annabeth sighs, “I wonder when her quests over?”

Chapter Text

You do have a few cracked ribs. Tyson could pack a hard wallop. 

Luckily, because of your injury, even with eyewitnesses claiming you had done nothing to stop Percy and the others escaping; Luke believed you had been trying one last time to get them to join the titan army.

You have a flask of Nectar in your hands as you stare out over the vastness of the sea. Somewhere out there, Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson are in a tiny lifeboat speeding toward the Sea of Monsters. You can't let yourself cry right now with your ribs the way they are though. You sip from the flask sitting on your little balcony.

"λέγω [légō]," you say softly, wincing from the painful burn in your chest. You've been breathing so shallowly, you almost feel lightheaded, even with the Nectar.

Jake's voice fills the silence, "Clio, Percy and Annabeth disappeared from camp last night before we could figure out what to tell them."

"-we weren't going to tell them anything."

"Keep your mouth shut Stoll, I'm recording." There's a length of silence before Jake says, "anyway, Clarisse is also after the fleece. Once someone comes back with it, hopefully that'll be enough to save Thalia's Pine." The recording goes quiet again, but you can just barely hear the two boys bickering about something. "Listen Bookworm, I know this quest is really important, but I really think you should come home, please think about it." The recording ends and you shake your head. 

So far your quest feels like a waste. Sure, you knew some of the big plans for the future, reclaiming mount Othrys, wherever it ended up being. Or finding out if the Labyrinth still lived under the skin of the mortal world, but you feel like it isn't enough.

You let your hand fall to your lap and look away from the sea, down at the grey floor of the balcony. "I don't want to die." You say softly, the image of Backbiter filling your thoughts. 

You hide your face in your arm, letting your tears fall. Your chest is pulsing painfully as you weep. "Come home," Jake'd said. How are you supposed to tell him you might never come home?

Your weeping continues for sometime. By the end of it, your breathing comes in painful gasps. It had been months since Cynthia had been put on a special assignment back on land. So, besides Alice, you hadn't had much in the way of mortal contact because your little group had shattered when Calliope never came back. Sure you were going to the trainings and meetings and listening to Luke wax poetic about “your turn” but it wasn’t the same and Alice was like, actually little. 
Carefully so you don’t jostle yourself too much, you pull out your personal notebook from the inside pocket of your belt. Over the last few months you started a list of things you wanted to do when you got back to camp. It isn’t much, just something to keep your mind occupied:

1. organize the attic
2. finish organizing the archives
3. rebuild my cabin
4. do something for dad father

You add a new line:

-Burn shroud for Calliope, daughter of Apollo

You let your hands fall to your lap as you look out to the water. How is a dead girl supposed to honor another dead girl? The day that Percy and the others come back from the Sea of Monsters, maybe I can run away then? 

You shake your head once. I can’t let Percy take the hit instead. If anyone is going to die to Luke’s sword, at least it can be you. Percy and Annabeth are important for the future of all Demi-gods, maybe even the world. They have a future. No one can run from their fate. Besides, you aren’t a coward who abandons her friends.

knock knock

”Yes?”

The door to your stateroom opens and Alice steps in. “Clio?” She asks, “ready for lunch?”

You stand up slowly, “yeah.” You aren’t really in the mood for food, but you have a hard time saying no to Al.

As the two of you head down the corridor Al says, “Tony is still sad.”

You want to sigh but stop yourself. “He will be for a while, Al.” You say. Anthony had come aboard with Calliope. The two had been traveling together for a while before they joined the Titan army. You figured it would probably take him a very long time to recover from the loss. Although, there’s a little part of you that felt like he is being very selfish. He’s older than you after all and you feel like you didn’t get the grace to mourn. Then again, you hadn’t known your father was even alive…

You pat the little ones head, “he’ll come around.” Tony had stopped talking to Andy when Calliope didn’t come back, but that wasn’t all. He stopped coming to trainings, briefings, meals, it worry’s you, but what can you do? Alice floats between you and Tony, not fully understanding what’s happening.
None of you talked to Andrew since the scouting party had come back and it had been months. You see him waltzing around with Alex every moment, but when he met your eyes (if he’d meet your eyes) he seemed almost desperate. As though he felt he had no other choice…

You’ve only just sat down with your lunch tray when someone tells you Luke is looking for you. 
“I’ll find him after lunch.” You say slowly, breathing and speaking really aren’t your forte right now. 
They shake their head. “You’d better go now. He’s on a war path.”

You close your eyes. You already know he isn’t going to kill you now, but you aren’t really in a position to tempt fate. You open your eyes again, “where is he?” You ask.

”The bridge.” They leave to get their own meal and you look down at yours.

”Al, when you’re done, bring my tray to Anthony. Try to get him to eat.” 

You stand and Alice grabs your hand, worry etched into her young face. “Careful.” She says softly.

You smile weakly and pay her hand. “Always.”

As you head to the bridge, you wonder what Luke can possibly be so agitated about. His plan to have someone else get the fleece is working. Thalia’s Pine will eventually be saved and he won’t have to feel so guilty about injuring it. He has the stupid sarcophagus-

“Clio!”

You’re yanked, painfully, from your thoughts with a gasp as someone grabs your shoulders. “Luke, what is wrong with you?” You ask, your voice more winded then you want it to sound.

He pulls you out onto the deck, the wind has been very strong recently and no one else is out here. “I need to speak with you.”

You look up at him in confusion. "You can, anytime. You know that."

Luke shakes his head and pulls you over to the railing, further away from the door. "It has to be alone."

"We are alone." You don't know if you've ever seen Luke like this. He's always been calm and collected. You're actually a little freaked out by his behavior actually.

"The Titan Lord, he-he wants something awful-"

You start to say, "Kro-" but Luke slaps his hand over your mouth and pulls you further down the deck, looking around frantically.

"He can hear us."

You pull his hand off your mouth. "Okay, okay. What do you need me to do?" Maybe you can help shut this down before its too late...

Luke shakes his head, "we have to get the fleece. If we don't...I'll have to-" He stops himself. "No. We know where the fleece will end up." He looks back at you, his eyes wide. "You know where the fleece will end up. We have to get it." 

"But...but what about Thalia?" You ask. "She won't survive-"

"Thalia is dead, Clio!" Luke says angerly. "She isn't some fucking tree!" You flinch back, he frowns and looks away, letting go of you. "We have to stop them from leaving with the fleece. Or there wont be another option for me."

You're quiet for a moment. "What's going to happen to you Luke?"

He leans against the railing, staring into the great expanse of ocean. "Sometimes I think it would be easier if I jumped into the sea." He says, barely loud enough to be heard over the wind.

You bite your lip and look away. You know Luke is being manipulated in someway, he has to be...You wonder how long Kronos has been in his dreams. "Luke," you start. It doesn't matter how you conflicted you feel. You're here for one job. "Luke," you start again, "how can you think that?"

He looks back at you, his frown causing him to look depressed. "sometimes I feel like-" he trails off and shakes his head.

"Like becoming a murderer isn't worth the revenge?" You ask. Its out of your mouth before you can stop it. Luke looks at you and you feel yourself tense to grab your dagger. "I', sorry-I-I didn't mean-"

Luke sighs, but he must be too distracted with his own thoughts to be mad at you. He leans against the rail and asks, "how is your ribcage doing?"

Loosely, you wrap an arm around yourself. "Still broken. It'll take about a week to heal fully."

He nods, "I'm sorry."

You frown, "what for?"

"About Percy and...Annabeth. I know you don't want them as enemies." He shrugs, "I didn't either."

"You aren't going to be able to fight Annabeth, Luke." You're positive that if it comes down to it Luke can't hurt her.

Luke scoffs, "you're probably right about that."

You lean an arm against the railing and look out at the sea with him for a while when a thought occurs to you. Luke knew that one minor demi-god, a monster, and some mortals, were not going to be a match for Percy 'I-fought-the-god-of-war-and-won' Jackson and the smartest child of Athena born this century. "Luke?" He tilts his head toward you. "Did you want them to escape?"

He fixes you with a look, "how else could they retrieve the fleece?" He asks coolly. "Do you really think I expected you to take on Percy, let alone Annabeth?" He smirks, "you may be a good fighter, but I knew you wouldn't hurt them."

"And they wouldn't hurt me." You add. How have you not thought of this before?

He shrugs, "well, I didn't really know how they'd react, but I was a little surprised that Percy let his pet hurt you." He looks at you and you can't tell what he's thinking. "Guess he doesn't care about you as much as I thought."

You blink a few times and assert, "he doesn't control Tyson." You know that neither of them were at fault and you feel like you need to defend their actions.

Luke just rolls his eyes at you, "come on, Sidelines." he scoffs, turning to face you. "You have to know that monster listens to everything Percy says."

"Stop calling him a monster." You argue.

"How can you be defending them still?" Luke shakes his head. "I know you aren't this hard headed. Obviously, Percy used his brother," he uses his free hand to make bunny ears as he says 'brother' before continuing, "to hurt you so you wouldn't blame him." 

"Percy would never act like-" you stop yourself before saying 'you.' You turn away and look at the ocean. Just agree. "You're quiet for a moment, collecting yourself. You catch a lock of hair and trap it behind your ear before sighing. It hurts, you wince, but finally ask, "do you really think that?"

Luke frowns again, "I wish that Percy was still on your side, on our side." he sets his hand on your head. "He isn't going to have your best interests at heart anymore."

Percy is nothing like you. You push his hand off. "Stop calling me Sidelines. You know I don't like it."

He laughs, seemingly at ease again, "what, would you rather I call you lap-dog like all the others?"

You frown, "no."

"I'm sorry about Percy, but you'll see. Once we beat the gods-"

You interrupt, "if we beat the gods."

He shakes his head. "When we beat the gods, we'll have our turn. We will do better than they ever could."

"Luke, what is it that the Shattered Lord wants from you?" You ask. He still hasn't told you what it is that's scared him so badly. Luke has already done some awful things, you hate to imagine what else could possibly be in store...

He drops his head and stands back up. "It won't matter. We'll stop the fleece before they can get back to camp. Percy and Clarisse are never going to trust each other." He sighs and smiles. "Thank you, I feel much better now."

You scoff, "but-but we didn't even talk about anything." You argue.

"Go and rest up." He says, ignoring your protests. "We need you healed for next week."

You watch Luke leave and turn back to the ocean. What in Hades name was that about? You look back at the door Luke retreated to. Why had he been so frantic? You press a hand to your chest. For the briefest of moments, you had hoped that your last week alive wouldn't be stuck in so much pain. You look around the deck and, seeing no one, whisper, "ἀκούω [akoúō], Jake, Travis, I have some things I need you to do if I don't make it back." You take a steadying breath before continuing. "My father died for my mother, he should have some kind of service of something...I don't know." You pause and sit down with your back against the railing. "Second thing, a girl, a daughter of Apollo. She was killed because she wanted to defect from the army and go to camp. She deserves a real shroud. Third thing, I'm going to try to convince a few to leave for camp, a boy and girl, neither claimed." You take a painful breath. "Lastly, I hope you forgive me for not doing more." You pause, rubbing your side lightly. "πτερόν [pterón]." You watch the little bronze bird leave its cage and fly into the sky. It disappears quickly and you look down at the wood planks you're sitting on.

"He should have jumped in. Then none of this would be happening." You say viciously. You want to believe it, you want to but you feel guilty. This isn't who you want to be. You want to be better than him. You groan, why is it so hard to be good? You aren't even sure if you want revenge or if you just want to be as far away as possible from Luke...

The next day, you head to the hold where Tony's been holed up since the expedition came back.

"Anthony?" You call out. His little nest is empty and you frown. Where can he have gone?

"You shouldn't be wandering around." A voice behind you says.

You jump and wince. "What the heck, Tony?" You demand, turning to look at him. He looks awful, more like a corpse than anything. Its been months and this is the first time you've wondered if he's even seen the sun. His clothes hang from him as if he's a child whos gotten into the adult section at the clothing store. You let out a breath and frown. "We have to talk Tony."

"Al said you broke your ribs." He says. Ignoring you, he steps around you and leans against a box.

You scoot one of the boxes and perch yourself on the edge. "Yeah, Luke's enemies." You smile just a bit, "got me with a fire extinguisher." You explain.

"Why are you down here?" He asks crossing his arms in front of himself.

You look away. Anthony and you haven't spoken much over the last few months. The shear force of will it took for you to make it through these months and appear as unbothered as you could? Well, it hadn't really left room for worrying about someone else. Let alone, someone several years older. Someone you thought would be able to handle themselves, but obviously couldn't. "My fa-" you cut yourself off and take a long, slow breath. "The mortal, he," you struggle to find the right words. "He wasn't who killed Calliope."

"Don't say her name." He demands, his hands balling into fists, you can see them shaking though. 

You lean back on your hands. "Okay, I won't." You close your eyes. "She wanted to leave the army." You look back at him. "She tried to get Andy to leave with her." 

Anthony's arms loosen, "she did want to leave?"

"Alex heard her trying to defect to camp." You explain. "He..." You trail off. What you can't bring yourself to say, hangs in the air between the two of you.

Under his breath, you hear him mutter, "bastard."

You move your hands to your lap as you sit forward, "listen, no one else knows-"

"Andy sided with that prick?"

"Lets get some stuff laid out here," You say. "You can't take either of them and I'm pretty sure Andrew only sided with him so Alex wouldn't kill him." Tony looks away and crosses his arms again. You look around the boxes and stand, stepping closer to him. "Listen, I might be gone soon and someone has to take care of Alice."

"What are you talking about?"

You look away, "I might be dead soon." You splay your hands open and say again, "Al needs someone to look after her." You take a deep breath. "I wish you could have some more time to mourn, but you can't stay down here." You take a slow breath. "You're lucky none of the uppers have had a reason to come find you."

He takes a step toward you and lays a hand on your shoulder, "why are you worried about dying, Clio?"

You look up at him, you don't know if you can trust him, but Calliope had... "Because I'm not going to let Luke kill someone else."

"He's going to kill someone?"

"He will." You look around again, you can feel your heart quickening. Anything you tell Anthony now can cause you big issues, you feel like you have to try to save one more person though. "Anthony, if something happens to me," you lower your voice so he had to lean in to hear you, "please, take Al and get off this boat. If you want go to camp, go on the run, something, anything else."

He leans back and looks around himself before leaning back toward you. "I thought you're supposed to be a lap-dog?"

"You know I hate that nickname."

He leans against a box. "What changed."

You roll your eyes and shake your head as you turn away. "I always knew I was gonna be useless in the long run."

"For who?" Luke hardly does a thing without you trotting behind him." Tiny says.

You sigh and look at your hands, "listen, just promise you'll start to take care of yourself?" You look back at him. "For Al's sake."

He looks around at his make-shift room. "Calliope wanted to leave?"

"Yes." You say softly.

"When do we dock next?" He asks. You close your eyes and feel your shoulders relax with relief. "Well, do you know?" He asks, a hint of annoyance in his tone.

The two of you start to head through the hold toward the stairs, "yeah, just a few days from now." You say, "Luke will be out on a scouting party for Percy Jackson." He pauses and you turn back to look at him. "Don't worry, that'll be enough time to hoard some food away."

He shakes his head, "you can come with us."

You start walking again, "no I can't. I have to stop Luke from killing my friend."

"That's why you think you'll die?" He asks.

"Sort of. Its complicated, but I see things sometimes." You sigh. "Premonitions of historic events."

He snorts and you look back at him. "I'm sorry, its not funny-" he struggles to get the smile off his face for a moment, "but come one, doesn't that seem a little on the nose?"

You shrug, "hey, I don't want them. Take them if you'd like."

He scoffs, "Nah, you keep that away from me. I'd rather have my wits about me."

"Yeah, me too."

The next few days, you were able to get Tony to clean himself up and start appearing at meals. Alice is ecstatic and you notice the first time Tony shows himself, that Andrew jolts up from his chair, his face pale as if he's seeing a ghost. Tony pointedly kept his eyes above Andy's head as he grabs his food and sits with Alice. You frown. As far as you know, Andy is only backing who he thinks will keep him from dying. That's what you tell yourself anyway. He had once mentioned that being friends with you put him higher up on the food chain. You have to hope his reaction to seeing Tony for the first time in months says something about his true character.

Luke makes plans to send his scouting party out from first light. They could patrol the boardwalk and that means they'll be able to catch the group before they can leave with the fleece. He doesn't have the faith in Percy to think that he'd send Clarisse ahead without them. The only real landmark you know is the beat up old newspaper stand which doesn't help pinpoint a location, at least not for Luke. You keep the fact that the fleece doesn't look how you imagined it would.

After your meetings with Luke, you manage to find a set of cheap bookbags in the gift shop. They're bright blue with a picture of the masts head on the front. Personally, you could do without thinking about Andromedas awful story for the rest of your life, but the bags would have to do for Anthony and Alice. Your interaction with the poor store's associate went about as uneasily as every time you've had to interact with the enchanted mortals, but you were able to steal what you hoped would be enough money for travel at least halfway. It surprised you that no one else had stolen all the money from the till.

You printed out directions from Miami to Long Island, hoping that the monsters and bad luck that seems to follow demi-gods wouldn't stop a gray-hound bus the way it had for Percy. Otherwise, if they have to walk, it'd take a month or longer to get to camp.

Everyday you and Tony steal extra fruit and bread rolls to stock up, but you know it won't be enough for the full trip...

The night before the questers make it back to solid land, Tony and you are sitting on your balcony, Alice is asleep in your bed. "Here." You hand over your personal bag of Ambrosia, its smashed and looks more like bits of flour than anything, but it'll do in a pinch. "Just in case." You push your half full flask of Nectar into his hands as well.

"You shouldn't have stolen from the infirmary." He chastises, but slips the Ambrosia into his bag and the Nectar into Al's.

You roll your eyes, "I didn't. I've had that for a while, just in case." You frown at the half full bags. "I'm sorry it can't be more."

He sighs, "I need to get something off my chest."

"Go on." You say.

"I'm sorry."

You give him a confused look, "what for?"

He fidgets with his bags straps. "You're right. I should have thought about all this on my own." He sighs, "you saw something horrific and you've had no one to rely on."

"Anthony-"

"I mean, you're a kid, not that I'm a grown up, but I'm older than you and I just left you and Al to flounder-"

"Tony-" You try again, but he raises his hand.

"Clio, I still want you to come with Alice and I. We would do so much better as three and you know..." He pinches the bridge of his nose and says, "I mean fuck this war anyway, lets not go to the camp either, lets just go find somewhere safe-"

"Stop Tony." You rub your chest. Its still a little sore, but its practically healed at this point. "I wont let Luke kill my best friend." You scoff, "Percy's more like a brother anyway and when you don't have any family that's a big deal."

He's voice lowers slightly, "Al and I could be your family." You're both quiet for a few minutes, staring out at the ocean. "I really can't convince you?" He asks and you shake your head. 

"Really, I have to do what's right..."

"Even if you die?" He asks, his voice low.

You lay your head back against the sliding door. "Some of us aren't meant for the spot light." You say softly and after a beat of silence you add softly, "but I don't want to die."

"What exactly did you see?"

You explain that you saw Luke bring Backbiter down on you and he agrees that it seems pretty cut and dry. "You are going to die a hero's death though."

You scoff, "who cares?"

"Isn't that a big deal to you selfless types?" You tear up and, hesitantly, Tony wraps an arm around you as you try not to cry. No one has hugged you in months. Alice hates being touched and there isn't anyone else here you feel safe enough with to be that vulnerable. Tomorrow you are going to die and the only way you can accept it is knowing you'll be saving your best friend. You just hope he won't hate you for it. You end up crying despite your best efforts, Tony consoling you the whole time.

That night, you can't sleep. You know that everything you've done on board might have been a waste of time, but at least you can do one good thing before dying. 

You find yourself walking the deck. All this time you've been avoiding the thoughts that come to overwhelm you. If I'd stayed at camp, maybe Luke wouldn't have found the sarcophagus. Maybe I would never have seen something so awful...maybe I could have spent my time in a more beneficial way; done something more worthwhile. Maybe I won't block Luke- You stop yourself and shake your head once to clear it. Percy would never think like this. He wouldn't hesitate to protect his loved ones.

You lean over the railing and watch as the sun rises in the far distance. Blinking in the blinding light, a new thought occurs to you: who says I had to lose to Luke? So what if he's the best swordsman in a century? I know don't even know if my premonitions are a hundred percent accurate and besides, Kronos messed with my last one. Maybe he's just trying to scare me.

"Clio!" You jump as Luke, along with his small landing party, make their way to you. "I don't think I've ever seen you up this early." He jokes.

"Couldn't sleep." You remark.

He nods, "soon we'll have the fleece and we won't have to worry."

The group makes their way to a lifeboat and leaves for the shore. You watch them, staying in your spot as the boat grows smaller. "You're right, soon we won't have to worry." All you have to do is kill the leader of the Titan Army.

Chapter Text

It's nearly noon before the ships alarm goes off, alerting everyone to Luke's approach. You, along with every other occupant of the ship, hurry to see the captives.

Well, there might be a mix of interest in the captives and the Fleece.

As the group climbs aboard, you sigh with relief. All of them look awful, as seems to always be the case at the end of quests, but they're alive. That's really all you can hope for. You know that, as you follow Luke the others, Al and Tony are making their way to the shore. With all the hullaballoo, they should have plenty of time to escape.

Luke brings his prisoners to the swimming pool area. You have to suppress a smile as you realize it’s the same place they escaped from just over a week ago. You hope they'll escape just as easily. As you glance around, less of Luke's army is here than you originally thought. Those from his scouting party are here, of course, but only a few others have made their way on deck.

"The fleece, where is it?" Luke demands, poking his sword against Percy's chest then moving his sword toward Grover.

"Hey! That's real fur under there!" Grover exclaims.

You position yourself on Luke's left side as they continue on. You aren't sure why, but this feels like the best spot to dive into action. While Percy seems to be concerned with Luke, You and Annabeth lock eyes for a moment. You see an emotion there, something your current compatriots could never understand. In that moment you know: the people your heart belongs to, the people you truly care about, they've guessed what you're doing. They know what you're trying to accomplish...

You watch as Percy throws a drachma at Luke, knowing he'll dodge, he shouts: "DIONYSUS AT CAMP HALF BLOOD!" You realize he's really outdone Luke because he's outsmarted you. You don't think you've ever thought about using the pools spray as an Iris message. When Percy mentions an audience, you don't even have to look behind you.
As all the others do, including Luke, Percy looks at you for the first time and you see the same thing you saw reflected in Annabeth's face, understanding and forgiveness. Your best friend, your brother knows what you're doing. He knows and he'll help you if he can.

Luke slices through the rainbow, "Kronos was right, Percy. You're an unreliable weapon." Luke says, his eyes filled with hate. "You need to be replaced." One of the higher ups blows a whistle and more followers surround the two of them. It’s all you can manage just to stay in eyesight of them as the others incircle Percy and Luke.

"One on one," Percy says, "what are you afraid of?" The Pegasus from the hold is brought onto the deck as Percy continues to goad Luke.

"I told you last summer, Percy," Luke says, "you can't bait me into a fight."

"And you keep avoiding one," Percy taunts, “scared your warriors will see you get whipped?"

Your eyes light up, you barely keep yourself from smiling. Percy has just trapped Luke. There's no way that after months of teaching the army to fight over every little slander that he can back down. Of course Luke will fight Percy. Part of you wonders if Luke put it off so long because Percy had fought Ares and now Luke worries he really won't be able to handle Percy in a fight. 

"I'll kill you quickly." Luke says, he whistles at someone in the crowd and they toss him a shield. The moment you see him raise Backbiter, you feel your blood run cold. How are you supposed to know when to jump in? You watch as Percy seems to be in lala-land. Luke nearly guts him on the very first strike. Percy tries to counter attack, but Luke easily knocks it out of the way. "My, Percy," Luke mocks, "you're out of practice."

The two have a brief back and forth before Percy jumps backwards into the pool. You take a step forward only for Luke to bark at you all to stay put. Good thing too, as Percy launches himself out of the water and flattens Luke. It only takes him a moment though before he's on Percy again. He stabs at Percy's legs and you cry out as Percy falls. His sword skitters across the deck toward you, but you can't seem to move. Percy rolls under a deck chair, but Luke cuts through it as though it is paper.

Percy crawls toward the pool and Luke advances. Something in you finally snaps: will I just keep standing here or am I going to stop Luke?  You rush forward, grabbing Riptide off the deck. Just as Luke is bringing down his sword, you manage to block him. The swords lock in the air above you. A shower of sparks raining down on you.

The smug look Luke has been sporting, quickly turns to surprise and then furry. You hear Grover and Annabeth shout in alarm as Luke asks, "You dare defend the enemy?"

Your arms shake with the effort to keep his sword from coming closer. "I won't let you hurt my friends, Luke."

He doubles down, forcing you to take a step back toward Percy. "You traitor. I warned you, I would kill you if you got in the way again!" He lifts his blade back and you bring Riptide up to meet his strike again. They clash in front of you, but only for a second, long enough to slow his momentum as Riptide disappears from your hands and Backbiter slices down your shoulder and chest.

"NO!" Percy shouts.

The pain is unimaginable, so much worse than the faint echo you felt from your vision. As your vision blackens and you fall back, you hear a familiar and unwelcome voice say, "this may not kill you, little researcher, but it shall be the guide for that which will." The last thing you experience is someone catching you then the void overtakes you.

"Is she alive?" Percy demands as the centaurs finally stop at a trailer park.

Chiron says nothing as he lays your body down on the blanket laid out on the ground. "She is gravely injured." He shakes his head and starts tending to the gash across your chest. Backbiter has left a clean laceration from your left shoulder all the way to your sternum. Your stolen tie-dyed shirt is soaking wet with blood. It takes Chiron a while to fully clean the wound, "a weapon such as that can leave severe lasting effects."

Percy takes one of your hands. "Why didn't you make someone go with her?"

Annabeth bites her lip, "quests usually have three, but the other two were left at camp, why Chiron?”

Chiron sighs deeply, bandaging your wound, "Ms. Smith took it upon herself to go on this quest."

Grover frowns, "you can do that?'

"Not without good reason." Chiron moves his attention to Percy's wounds. "One still has to get a prophecy from the Oracle. Without one, there is no quest."

Annabeth shakes his head, "wait, she didn't have permission from you to go?" 

Chiron frowns, "no. She departed at night in an effort to keep her departure a secret."

"Of course she did." Percy grumbles, wincing in pain as Chiron continues to bandage his leg.

It’s night when you wake up. At first, the sight of the stars nearly draws tears to your eyes. You can’t believe it, "I lived..."

"No thanks to you." Percy grumbles.

You tip your head slowly to look up at him. You can feel both his hands wrapped around yours. "I had to stop him, Perce." Your voice is slow, exhausted, and weak, but Percy’s dumb face has got to be the best thing you’ve seen in a while.

He is quiet for a while, "I thought I lost you..." You can hear his voice crack on the word 'lost.'

"Perce..."

"I told you to be careful, C," Percy reminds you. "Why did you do all this alone?"

You shift slightly and whimper. "Shit that hurts," you complain.

"Here." Percy feeds you a square of Ambrosia.

Your shoulder's awful throbbing pain lessens to a dull ache and Percy helps you sit up. "Perce," you pause, looking at the ground. There's so much you want to tell him, but the only thing that comes out is a pathetic, "I missed you," before you break down. He wraps an arm around you, careful of your shoulder.

"I missed you too, C." He pats your head gently as you cry into his shoulder. You dam up your feelings, knowing you aren't done yet, you sniffle quietly. 

"We were waiting for you to wake up before we go back to camp." Annabeth says from behind you.

You wipe your eyes quickly before turning to her. "I can't go back to camp."

"Yes you can." Percy argues.

You shake your head. "No, I can't-"

"Chiron said you had a prophecy so you had an official quest." Grover assures you. “You can come back.”

You sigh, "guys, I know I can go back to camp, but there's still something I have to go do."

Annabeth asks, "what do you have to do?"

At the same time Percy says, "then I'll go with you."

You take a deep, slow, breath, "I have to find my fathers wife and tell her what happened to him."

"Your father?" Grover asks in confusion.

You look away, "I didn't stop Luke…" You don't think you'll ever forgive yourself for letting Luke kill him. It isn't something you want to explain to your friends through. They are heroes. All you've done is let an innocent mortal die and help the enemy locate a long lost coffin. How can you tell them you’d failed so severely?

"Why would Luke care about your father?"  Grover asks.

Percy and you share a prolonged look, you have to look away and he says softly, "if you'd tried to stop Luke he would have killed you for real."

You frown and shake your head once, "at least I would have done the right thing instead of-" You catch yourself, looking at the floor angrily. 

The group is quiet for a while, its uncomfortable, but you aren't really sure what to say. You'd done nothing but fail for the better part of a year. Are you just supposed to suck it up and keep going? You haven't been able to sleep well in months...

"Ah, Ms. Smith."

You look up to see Chiron walk up to your little group. "Chiron, I can't believe you saved us." You say, grateful for a distraction from the silence.

He nods toward Percy and says, "I couldn't very well let you die. Especially since Mr. Jackson here cleared my name." His smile seems a bit forced as he says, "now, my cousins are ready to take you all back to camp now that you've woken up."

Percy, Annabeth, and Grover all look at you as Tyson says, "Percy's not-sister has to find a wife."

You close your eyes and press your lips together in an effort to keep from smiling. Either, Tyson hadn't been paying attention fully to the conversation, or he was just really bad at wording things. Chiron sighs and settles next to the group. "I figured as much."

You look at him, your brow furrows in confusion. "You did?"

He gives you a look, “you forget, I have been told your every move,” you look away quickly. "Percy," Chiron starts, turning his attention to the others, "my cousins are ready to take you and the others back to camp."

"I'm going with Clio." Percy asserts.

Chiron looks at you expectantly and you fidget slightly before saying, "you can't, Perce."

"Why not?" He demands, "you did enough of this on your own."

Annabeth shakes her head, "you had help though." Annabeth points to your bracelet, "didn't you?"

You look at the empty bird cage. "I needed a way to get information back to camp safely." You agree.

"Okay, well they aren't here, so let me go with you." Percy implores you.

Chiron clears his throat, "unfortunately as a precaution, I have already made arrangements for Mr. Stoll and Mr. Mason to meet with Ms. Smith in Washington, D.C."

You look at him, confused again, "D.C.? Why there?"

"You father worked as a museum curator for the Smithsonian." Chiron clarifies.

Your eyes widen, "you knew my father?"

Annabeth stands, "come on Seaweed brain. lets go before the centaurs run out of patience." The two of you share a look and you wonder, what shes helping you with now. Just another person agreeing that Percy shouldn't go with you? You figure that she'd know better than to fight Percy over something like his friends being in danger...maybe she’s just empathetic to not knowing much about one’s parents?

Grover and Tyson stand, but Percy frowns. "C, you had better come back in one piece." He offers you his hand.

You take his hand, standing. Your vision tunnels instantly and he has to hold you up. "Sorry. Sorry-" Percy helps you sit back down, your shoulder is throbbing again. "Guess I'll say my goodbyes here." Your voice is pained and you offer them all a weak smile, but all that’s reflected back are worried looks. You’re starting to hate those looks…

Percy doesn't say anything, but from his expression you can tell he's upset. "Be careful, C."

You look at the ground, "I'll do my best."

"Keep your wits about you. Travis and Jake aren't going to be the thinkers." Annabeth says. She has the tiniest smile and you feel the corners of your mouth lift in response. 

"Can't wait to tell them what you really think." You joke.

Annabeth rolls her eyes. "I'll say it to their faces when you make it back to camp."

"I wish your quest was done." Grover says and kneels back down to hug you. You gasp painfully and he quickly lets go. "Sorry-"

"Don't worry about it." You say, giving him another pained smile. "Once I'm healed up, I owe you a hug." You see his eyes are teary and you have to fight the urge to tear up yourself. This is getting to be too much. The goodbyes you’d done at camp hadn’t been this dramatic. 

Tyson frowns at you and waves, "bye-bye."

"Bye Tyson. You can just call me Clio or C like Percy does." You wave back. "You don't need to keep calling me Percy's not-sister."

"Okay,” he waves again, “bye-bye Clio,” He says, following after Annabeth and Grover.

Chiron clears his throat "let me confirm with Gleeson the train schedule." He says, standing and following the others. Giving you and Percy privacy.

Percy lingers, takes a deep breath and squats next to you. "I trust you, you know that." You nod. "Just, seriously," he looks at your shoulder and frowns, "please be careful. I'm not ready to journey into the Underworld again."

You chuckle, "hey, give me some credit here,” but Percy doesn’t smile.

"I'm sorry, C." Percy says quietly.

"What for?" You ask.

He bites his lip, "about...about Riptide disappearing." 

"Oh Perce-"

He cuts you off as he continues, "Chiron told me Riptide would have stayed in your hand if I'd given it up willingly."

You shake your head, "Percy,” he stops, "I knew what I was doing." You scoff, "to be fair, I didn't think Riptide would disappear on me..." You touch your shoulder gently, "but I knew I was going to at least get hurt."

Percy frowns, "you saw it? Like a vision?"

You make a face, "I was shown it, although to be honest, I thought I was going to die."

"What does that mean?" He asks.

You hesitate, you don't think that Percy'd like knowing Kronos has figured out how to abuse your visions. You don't really want to burden him with that knowledge, but how are you supposed to keep something so important from your best friend? "The Titan Lord knows I see things sometimes." You admit with a sigh.

"What?" Percy demands, "can he manipulate them?"

You nod. "I saw you all get the fleece. He seemed like he knew the whole time that I was a traitor." You fidget, "he showed me my 'fate.' I didn't know I'd stand up to Luke with your sword though."

"You thought you were sacrificing yourself for me." Percy says, his voice quiet.

"I would give my life for you without a second thought." You say easily. "You'd do the same."

He frowns, "you're too much like me," he complains.

You smile wryly, "so sue me Jackson." The others call to Percy and both of you look at them. "Go on, Perce. We can argue all summer over if I made a mistake or not." He doesn't smile, but he wraps his arms around you. You're able to hold your whimper back as you wrap your good arm around him. The two of you stay like that for a moment. "Okay, okay, Perce. Go on now." You say, your voice thick with emotion.

He pulls back and looks at your shoulder. "Whatever is ahead of you, take it easy. Rely on your team."

You roll your eyes. "I will. Go or the others'll blame me for you taking so long." Percy stands and the two of you hold hands until they slip apart as he walks away. You watch the four mount their centaur companions and in a blur they're gone.

Chiron makes his way back over to you. "I suppose you have an idea of what I'm going to say." You lower your head. "I could not be more proud of you."

Your head snaps up, "what?"

Chiron regards you silently for a while and you shake your head to argue, but he continues, "there are few heroes who could survive what you went through." He looks up at the stars, "you are amongst the best."

"Don't patronize me, Chiron." You finally say. "I know you know what happened. I know you know I failed."

The two of you are silent for a while as Chiron stares at the stars. "Maybe you failed your father and I wish things could have been different, but your parents knew the risks..." 

You glare at him, "he knew he'd get-" you struggle to find the words and finally manage to say, "how can you even call me a hero?"

Chiron studies the stars for a while longer before finally looking back at you. "You put yourself in harms way for the people you love." He pauses, "there are less people, demi-god or otherwise, who would do that than you might think."

"Chiron, how did my being on that ship help anything?" You open your hands, "I led the army right to Kronos' sarcophagus!" Your wound aches sharply when you say the Titan Lords name and you wince, cradling your shoulder.

"The army would have found out about its existence without you, Clio." He adds softly, "you only rediscovered its existence. You did not find its hiding place."

You let Chiron's words sink in. He's right, of course, if it hadn't been you, someone else would have found out about it, but you can't shake the feeling that your fathers death is your fault. If you had only found a way to destroy the information instead of handing it to Luke on a silver platter, with the wrath of the gods as a backdrop...

"Think of the lives you have saved." Chiron finally says, interrupting your negative thoughts. "How many of your campmates might have been injured or died if you hadn't given us a warning."

You frown at the blanket. He’s right, again, but you still feel like you could have helped more people-a sudden thought hits you, "oh, Chiron, there's a pair of demi-gods, Anthony and Alice." You quickly explain that after Calliope's death, Anthony had no willingness to stay with the army. You’d finally convinced him to break away with a little girl named Alice. You explained they might be headed camp, but they probably needed someone to meet up with them.

Chiron nods, "Gleeson is accompanying your questmates to D.C. Before he and I depart, I will have him look into it." Chiron rummages in his pack again, pulling out a bottle of Nectar. "May I check your wound again?"

You nod and allow him to unwrap your shoulder. The bandage has soaked through and you’re a little dizzy still from trying to stand earlier. Once exposed to the open air, it begins to sting something awful. "Chiron?" You ask through gritted teeth.

"Hmm?"

"Luke said Backbiter could wrench souls from its victims." You relax slightly as the Nectar he pours over the still open gash numbs the pain.

"It can separate a soul from the body, true, but it cannot house them. Those souls still find their way to the Underworld." Chiron says this softly as if trying to pacify an unspoken worry.

You chew on your lip as he rebandages your shoulder. "Can it curse someone?"

Chiron hesitates in his wrapping. It’s only a moment, but you register it. "Why do you ask?" That awful threat, hopefully the last you'd have to hear from Kronos, it replays in your mind. Your hesitation causes a sigh to escape the old centaur. "Trying to decipher prophecy's can only lead to heart ache." He admonishes.

You frown, "what?"

"You are speaking of the Great Prophecy, correct?" You don't say anything and Chiron sighs again, taking your silence as confirmation. "Hero's soul cursed blade shall reap, a single choice shall end his days. This is what you speak of?" he shakes his head. "We cannot know a prophecy's meaning until it has come to pass." He gives you a look, "you should understand this."

You look away, that's the rest of that prophecy from the archives. Chiron hadn't let you know then, so what's different now? The realization hits you, Percy must know now. You sigh, your body feels so heavy, like gravity has increased. You had wanted to tell Percy last summer, but he’d convinced you not to. "So can I talk to Percy about it now that he knows?"

Chiron purses his lips together in annoyance. "I suppose you may be released from that particular oath."

A pressure you haven't noticed before lifts from your chest. "Woah..." You never realized that oaths could be physical. You sigh and finally say, "I wasn't talking about the Great Prophecy though." You fidget and touch your shoulder. "Kronos-" you suck a breath in through your teeth as the would aches again, sending pins and needles down to your finger tips.

"The Crooked One," Chiron amends.

You nod, "when Luke wounded me," you hesitate and look away again, "I don't want anyone else to know..." You look at the blanket you're resting on. The edge is fraying and you see a lone ant make its way over the threads.

"Understood." Chiron says, "please continue."

You take a deep breath, "as the blade touched me, I heard his voice say that the blade wouldn't kill me, but it would be the guide for what will." You feel cold as you watch your ants progress across the blanket. You're starting to wonder if it actually bothered you, the idea of dying. You wonder if the ant thought about that sort of thing. It seems to be determined to move along alone, fearless of anything it might encounter. You wish you could exist like that, not worried about what lie ahead, so long as you could keep going.

"My father is the Titan of time. When I was very young, there was a period that he had trouble differentiating between the far future, the past, and the present." You look up at him as he continues. "He may have the ability to see other's destinies," you look back down at your little ant. "however, I believe, as with others, he is trying to demoralize you."

You tilt your head toward him, "why would it matter to him if a single demi-god felt bad?"

The ant has gotten close to Chiron's bent legs at this point and he absently brushes it away. "Would it be a single demi-god if you came back from your quest changed?"

You watch as the ant struggles for a moment to right itself before it starts its journey again. "What are you saying?" You hate having to guess at what someone is trying tot tell you.

"What would happen to say, Percy, if you came back with such a weight attached to you?" Chiron asks.

"What would happened to Percy?" You pause before saying, "He'd be angry, overprotective, vengeful-" you look up at him quickly and he nods his head.

"Mr. Jackson might go into a fight distracted. Thinking about revenge, would he not?"

You fidget with the clasp on your belt, "I mean, Percy's too smart for that."

Chiron smiles slightly, "despite our opinion of him, the opposition may hope that he will enter a fight while being distracted by something else." 

You nod, "so you think he was lying?" You look up at Chiron, you want desperately for him to say yes, for him to easily say yes. You want him to be telling you the truth.

Chiron hesitates before saying, "it is possible." His hesitation, just long enough to sigh tiredly has given you his real answer.  

Even if the Titan Lord was lying, you should keep the threat to yourself. "Percy doesn't need to know then..." You say, looking down, from your periphery you see Chiron relax slightly, as though he is relieved by what you said. He must agree that Percy has too much on his plate. You decide to move on, "Chiron, I think the Titan Lord can manipulate my visions."

"What?" Chiron looks shaken as though he never thought this could be a possibility.

You explain what happened in your last vision, how he suddenly took control of it and changed it to that first vision and then to the one you thought would be your end. "He said he'd 'show me my fate.' Then he showed me..." You shrug your good shoulder, "well I thought he showed me dying."

Chiron nods in acknowledgment and looks up at the stars again as if looking for an answer. You look up too, the stars are beautiful out here. Camp has magic around it so mortal light pollution doesn't reach it, but here, wherever it is, there's stars burning just as brightly. "I think it best you take your visions with a grain of salt." He finally says.

You pull your eyes from the heavens and look at him, "don't trust them you mean?" You hesitate before asking, "Chiron, will they ever go away?"

"I do not pretend to know the will of the gods." He says. Seeing your look he adds, "gifts generally do not leave, but perhaps," he hesitates before finally saying, "perhaps, we can train you to suppress them."

Chapter Text

The next morning, Chiron wakes you with the dawn. Your arm is stiff, but you're able to stand and move on your own. As he changes your bandage again, he lets you know that you'll need to clean the wound daily (if possible). Warning you that, given the nature of the weapon used, it may never properly heal. It was very sore, more sore than you wanted to admit. You wonder just how serious it must be for Chiron to warn you the way he does. Cursed blades always leave a mark.

Riding a centaur is unlike anything. You'd ridden the Pegasi at camp a few times, but they never went at this speed. It feels like only a minute or two has passed when you put your trembling legs on the ground of the D.C. Amtrak station, just as the early morning train is pulling in. There are very few mortals milling about at this time, but you still notice a few weird glances. You wonder what Chiron looks like to a mortal. Maybe a man riding a horse-

"Clio!"

You turn in time to get the wind knocked out of you by Travis. "Ow, ow, ow-Travis." He backs up with a quick apologies.

Jake's eyes are wide, "you look awful," he says, his eyes lingering on your shoulder.

"Hey cupcake, glade to see you in one piece." Gleeson says, a baseball stuffed into his backpack. 

Compared to your tattered and bloody shirt and shorts, the three of them look pristine. "Glad to to see you're still enthusiastic." You joke, cradling your shoulder.

"Always am." He grumbles, but he's eyeing you with a very unhappy expression. "Chiron, you said there are some half-bloods I need to escort?" Gleeson asks.

Travis looks back at him, "wait, you aren't coming with us?"

"Quests are three's, Nimrod." Jake points out. Travis glares at him. As Travis turns, you see the scar that runs up his neck. Its only been two weeks or so since he got it, but its healed well.

Just another reminder of the inadequate job you'd done as spy for the camp. Before he can argue though, Chiron cuts him off with a wave of his hand.  "The rest of your journey should be relatively peaceful." He says, "you need only find the mortal woman and explain the situation so she may grieve."

You frown, "and you don't have like...I don't know, an address? Since, you know where my father worked?"

Chiron shakes his head, "while I know where your father worked, I didn't feel the need to dig into his personal life." He opens a hand, turning to Gleeson, "yes, two demi-gods on their way from Miami to camp," he hesitates and adds, "hopefully."

You nod, "Alice is little, we think maybe eight to ten, maybe? She doesn't know her birthday." You pull out your notebook and tear out a page with a little note. "The boy is Anthony and he's going to turn sixteen in September." You hand the note to Hedge. "I told Tony that anyone I sent to help them would have that note." Gleeson takes the note, folds it in half and pockets it. "I don't know if they'll agree to come with..." You frown. You can't help but hope that they come back to camp. Out on their own they wouldn't have back up or supplies...

Gleeson rubs your hair, musing it up worse than the ride already had. "Good luck. Come back with a story." 

You knock his hand away playfully, "alright, we'll see."

Gleeson climbs onto Chiron's back. "May Tyche stay with you." Chiron says and in a blur, the two of them are gone again.

"Is this how all quests start?" Jake asks.

You raise your eyebrows and sigh. "So far, in my experience, they seem to all start pretty abruptly, yeah."

"So, quest leader," Travis jokes, turning to you, he pauses, taking in your appearance. "Well," he hesitates, "I was going to ask where to start, but I think we should figure out a way to look less...conspicuous?"

He's right. The moment that Chiron and Gleeson leave, the occasional looks have turned into open stares.

"Lets find a bathroom." You suggest.

The bathroom in train station isn't as nice as the personal bathroom you've used for the last ten or so months. In fact, you're pretty sure its worse than the shared ones at camp. In one of the stalls, you pull off your ruined shirt slowly. If you had thought about it, you would have changed before Chiron brought you here, but it hadn't really crossed your mind. Now, with the ruined Princess Andromeda shirt in front of you, you realize you probably looked like you'd been mugged or something. You'd purposely hidden your camp half-blood shirt in your belt pouch, both in an effort to keep yourself safe from ridicule and also to stop yourself from losing it. You felt like keeping it with you reminded you where your loyalty's really belonged. It takes you a while to get your clean camp shirt on. Your shoulder burns with the effort of moving it. You're pretty sure it's started bleeding again as well by the way the bandage clings to you. Despite that you pull out your camp necklace. Only one bead, but its Percy's and something about it feels like home. You slip it over your head and steady yourself against the wall. You had to make it through the rest of this quest. You had to be strong as the quest holder. You don't know if you should tell the boys just how injured you really are.

You look at the tattered and blood soaked shirt you'd been in again. No wonder everyone's been looking at me so worried, you think to yourself before sighing. Stepping out of the toilet stall you stuff the remains of your shirt to the bottom of a trash can. Luckily the boys came fully stocked, deodorant, travel sized shower stuff, extra socks, the whole shebang. You wash yourself as best you can in the public sink before heading leaving.

"Took you long enough," Travis says, eyeing the shoulder you'd gotten injured.

You hold up a hand, "I'm still healing, Stoll. Cut me some slack."

He grins and says "orange looks better on you than red." 

Jake nods at your shoulder, "gonna tell us what happened?'

"On the way." You pull out the journal Chris gave you months ago. Its all encoded, but you're hoping there's some way to decipher it in your fathers office.

"On the way?'

You nod, "we should start at the Smithsonian."

Travis cracks a smile, "your dad worked at the largest museum in the United States?'

You correct him absently, "actually the Smithsonian Institute is the biggest museum system in the world. The biggest singular museum is the Louvre."

Jake scoffs and rolls his eyes while Travis says, "of course you'd know that."

You flip open to one of the few legible words, not encoded in the journal: Paleontology.

"Clio, if its an 'institute' how do we know which building its in?" Travis uses bunny ears around the word institute.

"You do know which building its in right?" Jake asks.

You shake your head. "Nope, but this was my dads journal." You move over to them and hold the book out for them to see.

"What is all that gibberish?" Travis asks.

You bump him, "its not gibberish. Its code. Now," you point at the English word. "I looked up a map of the Smithsonian ages ago, back when I was in school." You close the book. "I think there's a Natural History Museum there."

"You think?" Travis asks incredulous.

You shrug. "I don't have a lot to go on here." You admit.

"Do you even know his name?" Travis asks. Both he and Jake give you a look.

You fidget, avoiding their eyes, "sort of..."

Travis closes his eyes, probably to keep from seeing you as Jake asks, "what's that mean?"

You open the front cover of the journal. There in blue ink is the name D. L. Kingsley.

"That's all you've got?" Jake asks.

You nod, "Dr. Kingsley, hopefully, a paleontologist at the Natural History Museum."

Travis sighs, "I guess that's a start."

"Better than nothing." Jake adds.

On the way out of the station, Travis grabs one of the free maps off a kiosk. He opens it as the three of you head out onto the street. "Looks like its a bit of a walk." He says, showing you the map.

You nod, "lead the way."

The boys insist that you stop at a small shop to grab coffee and muffins. You're surprised at how good the cappuccino is. Travis picked it out and while you know he had a short stint out on the streets like most half-bloods, you have a hard time believing that was when he learned to love coffee. You get several muffin variants as well. It takes you no time at all to scarf one down as Travis wraps up a few to put away in his bag.

You had argued against stopping at all, but the boys were right, you were staving. You can tell you really need something in your system besides Nectar and Ambrosia. Even if the caffeine is making you jittery.

"Spill." Jake demands as the three of you start back down the road.

You pick at the blueberry's in your second muffin, "where do you want me to start?"

Jake frowns, "after your last message we thought you were planning something really stupid."

"And based on your appearance at the train station, we were right." Travis adds.

You sigh, "I saw Luke kill me in a vision." You add, "at least, I thought I did."

"What's that mean?" Travis asks.

You frown, it isn't something you've really shared with any other half-bloods. Jake, Percy and Annabeth were the only ones you'd told. It isn't as though you don't trust Travis, but you don't really want it getting around camp that you see things. Jake glances at you, waiting for you to explain yourself. There's an odd look there, like he doesn't understand why you aren't telling Travis. You tear off a chunk of muffin and toss it into the road, "sometimes I see things that'll happen." You shrug, "I saw Luke find the others on the boardwalk and Kron-" You wince, your wound burning again. "The Crooked One," you correct yourself, "said he'd show me my fate." You loosen your grip from your shoulder, rubbing it gently.

"Show you your fate?" Jake asks.

Travis frowns, "that's why you were in the med tent." He hesitates, "you saw a...a vision?"

You sigh, "yes to both." You take another bite of muffin and take your time chewing. It turns to cement in your mouth and you have to take a sip of cappuccino before you continue, "it isn't like they're super clear or even one-hundred percent accurate." 

"Then why even bother with them?" Travis asks.

You shake your head, "because they aren't just hallucinations, Travis." You wrap up the rest of your muffin and stick it in your pocket.

"The first one hasn't happened yet." Jake says.

"You knew about this?" Travis demands.

Jake grimaces, "I mean, well-"

"You never asked why I was in the med tent again Travis, Jake was one of the people there when I woke up." You pull the map from your pocket, "it'll be easier if we cut across here." You lead them across the street and pause to stare at the Capital Building. It's your nations capital after all, two hundred years of political history had been made here. You are actually a little surprised Mt. Olympus hadn't found its home here instead of New York City.

"Clio," Travis says gently, pulling you out of your thoughts, "go on."

You click your tongue, turning away and heading west toward the Natural History Museum. "Well, I didn't think I had a choice really." You shrug, "fighting ones fate never ends well. So I made sure to try and help those who wanted to defect." You frown and say a silent prayer to Hermes, begging him to help your friends.

"You risked your position with Luke?" Travis asks.

"Charlie told you not to trust them." Jake admonishes.

You roll your eyes, "its not like I was spouting off to everyone on the ship about my double life you know."

Travis shakes his head, "idiot."

"Anyway," you sip your drink again, "the day the others showed up with the fleece was the day I thought I'd die." You ghost your fingers over your shoulder, careful not to press into the wound. "Luke and Percy fought and when Riptide slid toward me, I picked her up and tried to stop Luke." You sit on a bench, enjoying the sunshine for the first time in months. You can still smell the sea in your hair, but thankfully, the first think you think of is Percy. It's comforting to know he's still with you, even if just a little. You sigh, "during my vision, I thought Luke just attacked me.” You explain. “I didn’t think I’d try to fight him.” The boys sit next to you. “Riptide disappeared though. Right as Luke was striking me. That’s how I got hit.”

“Disappeared?” Travis asks.

Jake nods, “of course, Riptide always returns to the owner.”

You nod, “yeah, blacked out after. Came to somewhere south of D.C.” You frown, “Chiron knew, the whole time, that my father was here.”

Jake lays a hand on your shoulder and starts to say something, but Travis cuts him off, “guys,” both of you look at him, “where is everyone?”

You and Jake look around quickly. Travis is right, where hundreds of tourists should be milling around, there is only the very rare person, hurrying across the park.

“That’s not normal.” You say with unease.

“Weapons?” Travis asks anxiously.

Jake shakes his head, “for what? The invisible monsters?”

“There’s no such thing!” Travis says, but both boys look at you for confirmation.

“Don’t look at me, how would I know!” You say, “there’s plenty of stories of invisibility in mythology. Look at Lord Hades, he’s got a helmet that makes him invisible, and wind is pretty much invisible I’m sure lots of other stuff could be!”

Jake clicks his tongue, “let's just get this over with. It’s creeping me out now.” He pulls you to your feet. Hurriedly now, the three of you make your way over to the Natural History Museum. There, on the front door is the reason for the uncomfortable lack of mortals.

CLOSED DUE TO ILLNESS

Had the three of you checked any of the other museums you would have found the same signs. It seemed that every museum in the national mall has been closed.

“Oh great.” Jake says.

“Now what?” Travis asks.

You huff, “now, we break in.”

“Break in, are you crazy?” Jake asks

You head back down the steps, “do you have a better idea?”

Travis follows you, “what are you thinking here, Clio? We can’t read your mind.”

At the base of the stairs, you stop. “We break in, find Kingsley’s office, find his address and go there.” You look around needlessly, adding quickly “it’s not like we’re stealing anything.”

“That’s your plan?” Jake asks.

“Simple.” Travis says appreciatively, “how do we break in?”

You give him a look, “are you a son of Hermes or aren’t you?”

“Oh, right.” He looks a little embarrassed. “Uh, we should try to find a backdoor though, I think the front is too obvious.”

“I agree with that at least.” Jake says.

You look around again, the lack of mortals for coverage isn’t how you would prefer to handle the situation. “Come on.”  The three of you follow the edge of the building until you find a back entrance with a loading dock. “You think you can break into a secure facility, Stoll?” You ask.

He rolls his eyes, “no facility is secure enough to keep me out.” He creeps over to the door while you and Jake stay near the corner of the building.

“Why didn’t you want to tell him about your visions?” Jake asks, pointing out that the security camera that sits above the back door seems to be offline.

You give him an exasperated look, “even Apollo’s kids don’t see visions, Jake.” You turn back to watch Travis. “I don’t want everyone to think I’m a freak.”

Jake snorts and you glare at him, but as you start to say something else Travis hisses that he got the door unlocked. Before you can make your way too him though, Jake puts his hand on your shoulder and whispers, “a few mild hallucinations won’t turn Stoll away from you.”

You shove him, “oh shut up, Mason. What would you know.” He grins and the two of you hurry over to Travis. With a single backwards glance, Travis shuts the door behind the three of you. You hesitate, allowing your eyes to adjust to the darkness. “Okay, plan is: find Kingsley’s office, find the home address, get out.” You reiterate.

“And steal a fossil.” Travis says at the same time Jake says, “without getting caught.”

You close your eyes, “Travis, we are not here to steal national artifacts.”

“Oh come on, as if the Camp Historian wouldn’t love to have an official fossil from the national fossil museum.” Travis goads with a smirk, “but not getting caught is good too.”

“Come on.” You say. The three of you creep around or a bit, but after finding no resistance by way of security officers or locked doors, you spread a bit more apart.

“How are we supposed to find his office?” Jake asks.

Travis opens a door, “there’s got to be a directory somewhere.”

You look at him, “you know what a directory is?”

“I’m not as dumb as I look, Sidelines.” Travis says a hint of annoyance in his voice.

“Don’t call me—” Your eyes widen as you take in the scene before you, trailing off in the middle of your sentence. In front of you is a giant whale. “Woah.” You stare at the whale replica, and a grin starts to spread across your face, “did you know, that there’s supposed to be a fossil here of a T-Rex and a Triceratops fighting? Maybe we could take a quick detour...”

Behind you, Travis and Jake share a look. “Listen Bookworm,” Jake starts, “we’ll take you to a museum for your birthday one of these days, okay?”

You look back at him, your smile quickly fading, “oh,” you nod quickly and straighten up, “right, right.” You look around and clear your throat, “looks like the directory is over there.” You point to the center of the room and the three of you walk over to it, your footsteps echoing in the stillness. You can feel your face burning with embarrassment. This is serious.

After studying the list for a while, Travis interrupts, “uh, guys?”

You turn to him, “what’s up?”

He points to the opposite wall and says, “research wing, staff only.”

“Nice work, Stoll.” Jake commends.

The three of you walk to the other wall, hyper aware of the sounds of your footsteps, but after some quick work from Travis, enter the research wing without incident. It doesn’t take long to find Dr. Kingsley’s office from there.

Inside are fossils, carefully packaged, pictures of his wife and daughter, framed articles and boy it is cluttered. It looks to be in the same state as the camp archives. You pick up a photo of his family. The two girls are grinning cheerfully up at camera, soaked as though they just ran through a storm. The daughter has his eyes, your eyes. She looks to be close to your age, maybe a little younger. Your hands tighten around the frame: Luke was right, he did replace me with a nice normal mortal daughter.  The frame cracks, you wince as the glass cuts you, dropping it in surprise.

“Clio?” Travis asks with a worried look.

“Sorry,” You say quickly, brushing the frame under the desk and grabbing a few tissues to hold against your hand. Jake gives you a look. “Its fine. I’m fine.” You assure him. “Let’s find that address already.”

You take the filling cabinet, Jake takes the computer, and Travis starts on a pile of papers on the desk. You’re only looking for a few minutes when Travis calls you over.

You and Jake stand over his shoulder, a mountain of paperwork pushed to the side, he’s pointing to a desk sized calendar. A note on the seventeenth of December is scratched into the corner: remember her birthday.

“Who’s her?” You ask, “his daughter?”

“No,” Travis rifles through the pages, “her birthday is May.” He says, tapping on the page, “same as his wife.”

Jake looks at you, “maybe, maybe it’s your birthday, Clio.”

You shake your head quickly, “no, my birthday is the first of January. They celebrated all of us that day.”

“What?”

You shrug, “the foster house I was in, when we didn’t have an actual birthday they just gave us the first of the year, but…” you trail off, actually thinking about it, “that date does sound familiar.”

The boys give each other a look and Travis asks, “you don’t know your birthday?” Jake leans back over the computer and starts typing.

“Yes I do,” you say stubbornly. “I just don’t celebrate it.”

Travis raises an eyebrow, “what historically happened on the seventeenth of December?”

You scoff, “I don’t know every historical event and its date, Travis.”

“Think anyway,” he says.

“Why would it matter if there was or wasn’t a historical event on that date?” You ask grumpily.

“The first Wright Brothers flight.” Jake answers cutting off your and Travis’ bickering. You and Travis look at him with surprise. “Your birthday would have been the ninetieth anniversary.” He continues, reading a search page.

“Why are we assuming it is my birthday?” You demand.

Travis rolls his eyes, “who else would he be so odd about? His wife and daughter both have their name on their birthdate.”

“Ugh, whatever—”

“I found it.” Jake interrupts, printing off a page. “Lets get out of here—” All three of you freeze, a set of heavy footsteps can be heard coming down the hall. You all exchange panicked looks.

“Security!”

“Get under the desk!” You hiss, shoving Travis down. Jake topples over the chair in his haste to get down. “Shit!’

“Security! Come out where I can see you!”

In a desperate bit of quick thinking, you pull out the journal and step out of the office. “I-I’m sorry,” you say, “my-my dad sent me to grab something he forgot.” You’re normally a pretty terrible liar, but all your time with Luke has given you a good bit of practice. All you can hope is that Kingsley’s daughter doesn’t show up at his job.

“That you, Abby?” The guard asks, his flashlight dropping. You nod vigorously and he sighs, “You startled me kiddo. What’re you doin’ here all alone?”

You hold up the journal, “dad couldn’t find his journal.” You explain. The word dad feels foreign as it comes out of your mouth.

The guard sighs, “sorry if I scared you. I heard the chair overturn.”

You nod, “oh don’t worry, I should have told you. I figured my guardian would have called.” The guard gives you a strange look and you cringe internally. Regular kids don’t call their parents guardians, “anyway,” you say quickly, “I’ve got it, so I’ll be going now.”

“I’ll walk you out.” He offers.

You force a smile, “that’s awfully nice of you.” As the security guard starts to walk away, you glance back into the room. The boys are staring at you from under the desk and you make a hand movement to wrap it up before hurrying after the guard.

“How’s your dad doin’?” The guard asks, holding the door open for you.

“Thank you,” you say stepping through the door, “he’s uh,” You can feel your hands starting to go numb as you desperately try to focus on the lie instead of the truth, “he’s uh.”

“Still sick?” The guard asks kindly.

You clear your throat, “yeah,” you agree in relief.

The guard shakes his head, “it’s crazy how all the lead curators across every museum in the area got ill the way they have.” He shakes his head, “peak tourist season too. Glad I didn’t get it, but your dads been out what,” he thinks for a moment, “six months now?”

You nod along with him, curious how it’s even possible for so many people to get sick without some kind of investigation. Maybe it’s the same mystery illness you came down with…that was six months ago though, no way they’re related. “Yeah, six months…” You agree.

“You take care now, Abby. Tell your folks I said Hey.” He opens the front door for you and lets you out. You wave and go down the steps, turning toward the Washington Monument in the distance. Once you’re out of sight of the doors, you duck behind the building and wait. Hoping the boys had enough time to make it out the back.

Just when you’re really starting to worry, you see them come around the side of the building. You sigh in relief and grin. “I thought you two were done for!”

“Us? What about you?” Jake says back, also grinning.

Travis laughs, “that was pretty quick thinking, lying about the journal like that.”

You nod, “a hail Mary.” The boys look at you confused, and you explain, “its an expression.”

The three of you start walking away from the building and you feel giddy as you go. So far this was proving to be a piece of cake. You’d be done by the end of the day and on your way back to camp. Jake pulls out the paper with Kingsley’s home address on it. “We’ve got the address, lets get this over with.”

You follow him as he takes the lead, “that guard said something weird.”

“About the curators being sick?” Travis asks.

You nod, “yeah.”

Jake frowns, stopping to look at you, “Clio, you don’t think its related to your illness, do you?”

“You got sick?” Travis asks in bewilderment.

You nod, “yeah,” you turn back to Jake, “but that was so long ago, I can’t imagine it’s the same thing.”

Chapter Text

By the time you manage to read the map properly, it’s getting into the early afternoon. The three of you have been in such a relaxed state that none of you notice the dracaenae until you're practically on top of her. Travis and Jake yank you behind a hedge as she turns around, sniffing at the air. Luckily she was reclining on the steps of the Kingsley home so she hadn't spotted you.

You frown, "thanks, sorry I didn't notice-"

"She looked like a regular mortal to me too until we got close." Jake assures you.

Travis peeks through the hedge, "why's it guarding his house?'

You look out, "I don't-" your eyes widen, "that's Cynthia."

You stand up, but Jake yanks you back down. “Clio, she's your enemy. She only helped you because you were with Luke!"

You look back through the bush, "you're right." You begrudgingly agree. Cynthia sat with you for ages when you where sick and then Luke had abruptly sent her off ship. You wonder if she's been here the whole time.

"We'll have to fight it." Travis says.

"No!" You say, grabbing his arm as he tries to pull out his crossbow. 

He shoves your hand off, "what is with you, Clio?" He jerks a thumb toward her, "she's a monster."

"I-I know that," you frown, "but its broad daylight." You quickly add, "I think I can convince her I'm still in the army." You clear your throat and stand up, "Cynthia?"

She turns around with a hiss and seems take-a-back to see you, "Clio?"

You swallow  and walk toward her, "I'm here to relieve you."

She takes you in, looking suspicious, "relieve me?"

"Yeah, I messed up," you look away, "got put on probation."

Cynthia frowns, "Little Researcher, what could you have done and," she wrinkles her nose in distaste, "why are you in those clothes?"

You tug at your camp shirt, "I'm a soldier, Cynthia, what if the enemy shows up?"

"You think this will convince them?" Cynthia asks, tugging at your sleeve.

~

"Why are we letting her do this?" Travis mutters.

Jake sighs, "because killing a monster in broad daylight in a well populated suburb is a bad idea."

"She's actin real chummy for a lie." Travis hisses.

"Do you trust Clio or not?' Jake asks in exasperation. Travis mutters something, but goes back to looking through the hedge.

~

"Go back to base." You say, "I've got this handled."

Cynthia nods at your shoulder, "punishment?'

You touch your shoulder gently, "yes."

"What did you do?"

You sigh, "had morals."

Cynthia hisses and it takes you a moment to realize she's laughing. "The mortals shouldn't bother you." She pats your other shoulder.

You nod, "thank you."

She turns and heads away down the sidewalk. As she nears the far corner you notice that her image shifts back into that of the jogger you had seen before. You watch her until she's out of sights and let out a breath as she turns a far corner. "I can't believe that worked." You say as Travis and Jake join you.

"You hardly seemed nervous." Jake says.

"That's because she wasn't actually lying about most of it." Travis explains with an obvious hint of suspicion.

You side step him, "lets just get this over with." You walk up the steps, pausing at the plants on the edge of the steps.

"What's wrong?" Jake asks.

You point at the boxes, "their all dead." You add, "like, dead dead, as if they never got replanted after winter."

"You're gonna judge someone's gardening habits?" Travis asks, incredulous, "what are you, a child of Demeter?"

You shake your head, "its just...odd."

Jake shrugs, "Kingsley's been missing since December. Maybe they were just worrying about that instead of their plants."

"Right, you're probably right." You aren't sure what has you so rattled. Maybe a dracaenae guard, maybe a guard at all. You can't place the awful feeling building in your gut. You reach out and knock on the door, no response.

"Maybe they aren't home." Travis says hopefully.

You roll your eyes, "why would the house be guarded if they aren't here?" Travis shrugs and you try the knob, it twists easily. You look at the others confused.