In the morning, I didn't leave right away. I still had to talk to Annabeth... It's not that she'd never forgive me if I left without seeing her. I'm more convinced that she'd find a way to sneak out of camp and follow me if I didn't.
Instead, I climbed Half-Blood Hill.
Thalia
You know what? I'm just going to talk about it. Right here. Right now. Get it out.
No, wait. One thing first:
If any of you little thieves in my cabin are reading this right now, snickering "Oh Luke Castellan has a diary," the enchantment I had commissioned will tell me everything I need to know.
By now, I know what you are doing. I already know who you are. I know who you are with. I know who you like and who likes you.
And I will find you, and I will embarrass you in front of everyone you care about in ways you haven't even dreamed existed.
So put it down.
There.
It's funny. I'm way more okay talking about freaking out over the Oracle than this... but I guess that's me all over. I'm still having a hard time just doing it.
The gods failed Thalia. They can strike me down right here and right now but it's still the truth.
Zeus, her father, who led her into danger after danger, let her die on this hill. She fell, bravely defending us, her family... bravely defending a camp she'd never been to.
So what did Zeus do? Send down Apollo to heal her? A lightning bolt to smite the enemies before they got to us? Even... you know... warned camp so that all the trained warriors sleeping peacefully just feet away could have been up, given us the protection of Greek Fire and arrows. The dumb goat could have rammed all of the doors or something.
He turned her into a tree.
Not just that, he turned her into a tree, and then used her spirit to protect the Camp. The barrier everyone enjoys is because of Thalia.
There's only one or two campers left who even remember that it happened... The bead that year was a pine tree... the tree Thalia ... is now. And I see it every time I look down, or look in the mirror to shave or catch my reflection.
Annabeth was too important to both of us and I had to get her to safety... you see, when we came to Camp, there was an absolute army of monsters following us. Some of that.. that's my fault. I was angry. I was reckless.
I didn't want to be a traitor, I wanted to be a hero. And heroes don't hide from monsters, right? They fight them!
Yeah, I was stupid.
But I was shaken up and... the thing I was scared of wasn't the fangs and the teeth and the poison, but .. what everyone seemed to know about me. And well... the monsters I could fight, so I did. We might have made better time if I didn't.
I think about that a lot. If he'd just TOLD me, maybe.. maybe I know what I'm supposed to be doing and worried about that. But, not like that would ever happen.
Shit. This is a rambling mess, isn't it?
The point is, I left Thalia to fight alone, to get Annabeth to safety. I was going to drop her off behind the trees and go back to help. But there wasn't time, and I didn't get a chance. I saw her fall. There was so much blood, I've never seen that much blood and I've seen a lot.
I've taken care of a lot of injuries.
Just one look and I knew... she was done. And then. LO. MIGHTY ZEUS.. turns her into the world's most powerful magical item.
The good guys win. I
Anyways, Halcyon was right. Thalia changed, became a tree. Which meant that someday, she'd change again, and find her real family again... us. I tried to talk to Mr. D about the prophecy and asked a quest to heal her, but he said quests were the affairs of the gods only, and told me not to ask again.
I mentioned that I've wanted to punch a god? I've wanted to punch a god for a really long time.
In the mean time, Hal also said that this time was a lonely time so I would go up and talk to her, every couple of days. Juniper, a dryad here, said she doesn't think Thalia can hear me when I talk, that she wasn't like a normal tree. But, she wasn't about that either. So... since she wasn't sure I kept trying.
You know, just in case, Thalia can.
That morning, I told her about the food fight and the quest. I told her about the oracle and all the stuff I didn't tell Chiron. I told her about the shoes and how maybe this could all work out. I told her, if she didn't remember, I'd tell her all again later.
I mean, this probably sounds sad, or obsessive, but when I'm talking to her, my head feels clearer, and I feel better when everything's off my chest.
I guess that's why I haven't written much here.
So, I'm finishing up, I declare to Thalia that I'd do her proud. I'd come back as a hero.
And I got hit in the face with a pinecone.
So, I'm gonna admit here that it probably just some freak coincidence, but I just started laughing. Like, full body, by the gods I needed this, laughter.
When I walked back to camp, I felt better. Leave it to Thalia.
Annabeth was waiting for me at the bottom of the hill. She held a lot of papers in her hands, a backpack and, honestly, looked like she hadn't slept all night.
"I found a bunch of stuff," she explained with a yawn. She had to be really tired if she was going to leave her explanation as 'stuff.' Ever since she found out she was one of Athena's she's really been gung ho on all that daughter of Athena business. I'd be lying if I didn't admit it was kind of off putting sometimes.
"Thanks," I said, kneeling down to give her a hug. She suddenly looked really shy. Feeling pretty merciful, I asked her for the plan.
Her expression screwed up with frustration. "I don't have one yet." I could tell she didn't like admitting that.
Normally, I'd tease her a bit, but not today. "Don't worry about it. You know me, I'll think of something."
She nodded, reluctantly. She gave me a smile, and a quick kiss on the cheek, but I could tell she was still beating herself up. "You have drachma. Message me."
If you throw a drachma into a rainbow, the goddess, Iris, if she's not too busy, will sometimes connect you with anyone else, anywhere in the world. It's really handy.
"I will. If I get stumped on anything, you'll hear from me."
She liked that. "You'd better."
I put Halcyon's journal, Annabeth's notes, and my practice blade - celestial bronze - in the backpack she'd given me. Inside was zip lock bags of ambrosia. A thermos probably full of nectar and some regular, honest to goodness sandwiches. She really hadn't slept last night.
"You're amazing." She liked that too. Annabeth was practically beaming at me and.. well that kind of thing is infectious. So I sat down next to her and opened the box again- the one with my dad's gift. "Wanna see something awesome?"
She looked at it suspiciously.
Look, not every time I use that phrase, is it followed by a prank or an explosion.
"Seriously. I'm going to start this quest in style."
"Lets see." Suddenly, eager, I noticed her glancing at the H on the shoes, and checking my expression, like she half expected me to throw them away as my 'in style.' I can't say the thought hadn't crossed my mind.
But no, I laced up the shoes, and threw my old sneakers, ratty, beat up sneaks that had carried me across the country more than once, into the backpack too. I zipped it up, put it on my back and braced myself.
"Maia!" I shouted, striking a pose.
Which is why I nearly ate dirt.
Note to beginners: Do not pose when using magical flying shoes the first time. I don't care who you are the son of.
The important thing is that I didn't eat dirt. I got my feet under me and soared upwards... up there, I could feel the winds around me like I was a bird. It was like the whole sky opened up and my brain just... felt like it was wired into a compass. I knew where all the roads were, where all of the thermals and air pockets were around me, like... some weird three dimensional game.
Except it was real, and the whole sky was mine.
I saw Annabeth down below me, looking up, amazed. I grinned, did a jaunty little flip and waved at her.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
I COMMUNE WITH A TREE
Instead, I climbed Half-Blood Hill.
Thalia
You know what? I'm just going to talk about it. Right here. Right now. Get it out.
No, wait. One thing first:
If any of you little thieves in my cabin are reading this right now, snickering "Oh Luke Castellan has a diary," the enchantment I had commissioned will tell me everything I need to know.
By now, I know what you are doing. I already know who you are. I know who you are with. I know who you like and who likes you.
And I will find you, and I will embarrass you in front of everyone you care about in ways you haven't even dreamed existed.
So put it down.
There.
It's funny. I'm way more okay talking about freaking out over the Oracle than this... but I guess that's me all over. I'm still having a hard time just doing it.
The gods failed Thalia. They can strike me down right here and right now but it's still the truth.
Zeus, her father, who led her into danger after danger, let her die on this hill. She fell, bravely defending us, her family... bravely defending a camp she'd never been to.
So what did Zeus do? Send down Apollo to heal her? A lightning bolt to smite the enemies before they got to us? Even... you know... warned camp so that all the trained warriors sleeping peacefully just feet away could have been up, given us the protection of Greek Fire and arrows. The dumb goat could have rammed all of the doors or something.
He turned her into a tree.
Not just that, he turned her into a tree, and then used her spirit to protect the Camp. The barrier everyone enjoys is because of Thalia.
There's only one or two campers left who even remember that it happened... The bead that year was a pine tree... the tree Thalia ... is now. And I see it every time I look down, or look in the mirror to shave or catch my reflection.
Annabeth was too important to both of us and I had to get her to safety... you see, when we came to Camp, there was an absolute army of monsters following us. Some of that.. that's my fault. I was angry. I was reckless.
I didn't want to be a traitor, I wanted to be a hero. And heroes don't hide from monsters, right? They fight them!
Yeah, I was stupid.
But I was shaken up and... the thing I was scared of wasn't the fangs and the teeth and the poison, but .. what everyone seemed to know about me. And well... the monsters I could fight, so I did. We might have made better time if I didn't.
I think about that a lot. If he'd just TOLD me, maybe.. maybe I know what I'm supposed to be doing and worried about that. But, not like that would ever happen.
Shit. This is a rambling mess, isn't it?
The point is, I left Thalia to fight alone, to get Annabeth to safety. I was going to drop her off behind the trees and go back to help. But there wasn't time, and I didn't get a chance. I saw her fall. There was so much blood, I've never seen that much blood and I've seen a lot.
I've taken care of a lot of injuries.
Just one look and I knew... she was done. And then. LO. MIGHTY ZEUS.. turns her into the world's most powerful magical item.
The good guys win. I
Anyways, Halcyon was right. Thalia changed, became a tree. Which meant that someday, she'd change again, and find her real family again... us. I tried to talk to Mr. D about the prophecy and asked a quest to heal her, but he said quests were the affairs of the gods only, and told me not to ask again.
I mentioned that I've wanted to punch a god? I've wanted to punch a god for a really long time.
In the mean time, Hal also said that this time was a lonely time so I would go up and talk to her, every couple of days. Juniper, a dryad here, said she doesn't think Thalia can hear me when I talk, that she wasn't like a normal tree. But, she wasn't about that either. So... since she wasn't sure I kept trying.
You know, just in case, Thalia can.
That morning, I told her about the food fight and the quest. I told her about the oracle and all the stuff I didn't tell Chiron. I told her about the shoes and how maybe this could all work out. I told her, if she didn't remember, I'd tell her all again later.
I mean, this probably sounds sad, or obsessive, but when I'm talking to her, my head feels clearer, and I feel better when everything's off my chest.
I guess that's why I haven't written much here.
So, I'm finishing up, I declare to Thalia that I'd do her proud. I'd come back as a hero.
And I got hit in the face with a pinecone.
So, I'm gonna admit here that it probably just some freak coincidence, but I just started laughing. Like, full body, by the gods I needed this, laughter.
When I walked back to camp, I felt better. Leave it to Thalia.
Annabeth was waiting for me at the bottom of the hill. She held a lot of papers in her hands, a backpack and, honestly, looked like she hadn't slept all night.
"I found a bunch of stuff," she explained with a yawn. She had to be really tired if she was going to leave her explanation as 'stuff.' Ever since she found out she was one of Athena's she's really been gung ho on all that daughter of Athena business. I'd be lying if I didn't admit it was kind of off putting sometimes.
"Thanks," I said, kneeling down to give her a hug. She suddenly looked really shy. Feeling pretty merciful, I asked her for the plan.
Her expression screwed up with frustration. "I don't have one yet." I could tell she didn't like admitting that.
Normally, I'd tease her a bit, but not today. "Don't worry about it. You know me, I'll think of something."
She nodded, reluctantly. She gave me a smile, and a quick kiss on the cheek, but I could tell she was still beating herself up. "You have drachma. Message me."
If you throw a drachma into a rainbow, the goddess, Iris, if she's not too busy, will sometimes connect you with anyone else, anywhere in the world. It's really handy.
"I will. If I get stumped on anything, you'll hear from me."
She liked that. "You'd better."
I put Halcyon's journal, Annabeth's notes, and my practice blade - celestial bronze - in the backpack she'd given me. Inside was zip lock bags of ambrosia. A thermos probably full of nectar and some regular, honest to goodness sandwiches. She really hadn't slept last night.
"You're amazing." She liked that too. Annabeth was practically beaming at me and.. well that kind of thing is infectious. So I sat down next to her and opened the box again- the one with my dad's gift. "Wanna see something awesome?"
She looked at it suspiciously.
Look, not every time I use that phrase, is it followed by a prank or an explosion.
"Seriously. I'm going to start this quest in style."
"Lets see." Suddenly, eager, I noticed her glancing at the H on the shoes, and checking my expression, like she half expected me to throw them away as my 'in style.' I can't say the thought hadn't crossed my mind.
But no, I laced up the shoes, and threw my old sneakers, ratty, beat up sneaks that had carried me across the country more than once, into the backpack too. I zipped it up, put it on my back and braced myself.
"Maia!" I shouted, striking a pose.
Which is why I nearly ate dirt.
Note to beginners: Do not pose when using magical flying shoes the first time. I don't care who you are the son of.
The important thing is that I didn't eat dirt. I got my feet under me and soared upwards... up there, I could feel the winds around me like I was a bird. It was like the whole sky opened up and my brain just... felt like it was wired into a compass. I knew where all the roads were, where all of the thermals and air pockets were around me, like... some weird three dimensional game.
Except it was real, and the whole sky was mine.
I saw Annabeth down below me, looking up, amazed. I grinned, did a jaunty little flip and waved at her.
I took off running, and it felt great.