Thia's POV

Part of me figured I was being a little unfair. Yes, I'd done something rather impulsive and could have very likely gotten into trouble but I hadn't. I was fine and in one piece. Still I couldn't necessarily shake off how upset I felt.

I couldn't exactly figure out what it was that particularly bothered me, I wasn't too good with feelings. I was great at processing the easy emotions and talking through them but this time my emotions were difficult. See, it wasn't just my lack of power that bothered me. I'd grown somewhat comfortable with that part of me. What bothered me the most was that I could be lectured for not listening when either of them would have done the same thing.

I just wanted to be like them. They'd done so many cool things and challenged the world while I did absolutely nothing. I lived each day like it was boring and unimportant. I was insignificant and I didn't want to be insignificant anymore.

Growing up in NewRome had fostered a desire in my to do something big or go somewhere exciting. It's why I liked the sky so much; it reminded me that there was so much more out there than what I saw. Maybe it was why I liked dragons and for some reason still had the paper ones floating on my bedroom ceiling. They had wings. They could go anywhere they wanted. More importantly, they were strong and resilient. They were significant.

All of the stories I heard growing up should have made me afraid of the real world. That's where the monsters were. Where bad people lurked in the shadows ready to prey, both mortal and mythical. I should have despised the idea of doing anything outside of home. I accepted that idea and didn't think much about it after that. At least not for a while.

Now that I was here though, now that I was seeing all of this, I wanted to be here. It's hard to explain but this intense sort of fluttering in my heart was encouraging me to fix things. Fix this problem. That the world was good and this was just a hiccup in the path. One that I could scare away.

But how was I supposed to fix this if I had no powers? If I could just be like my parents then it wouldn't be a problem. I'd get rid of all the things that could scare me away from the real world and no one would have to worry about it ever again.

They wouldn't have to fight anymore wars or monsters. Neither would my uncles and aunts. Everyone could have the peace they sometimes joked never existed. I could get rid of all the bad people who hurt others. Maybe I'd have been able to help Marianna more than I did.

I could have intimidated Jenna and her lackies if I'd just been strong enough instead of curling up in a ball and taking the beating. Only I'd always been like that. I'd always been the type of kid who would rather take the beating than fight back. What good did it do to hurt the other person too?

"Sometimes you can be pretty stupid you know?" I kicked at the ground as I talked to myself. Every now and then I scanned the trees. I wasn't really looking for anything I just wanted to go on a walk so no one could see whatever emotions were being betrayed on my face. "How can you want to fix something but not have the audacity to fight against it?"

Shaking my head I plopped down onto the ground and leaned back against a tree. Resting my head on the oddly slick black bark I tried to see up through the branches but the sky was blocked. A soft crow caught my attention and I glanced about spotting Bastion on a low branch.

"Hey Bastion. How'd you get here?" I asked, frowning slightly. His spindly legs skittered on the branch as he fluttered his wings. "Okay, I'm getting the silent treatment I see."

just titled his head not making a single noise. I wondered if everyone else was trying to find the correct path out of here. I couldn't imagine being stuck here forever. It'd be horribly bland.

As if to spice things up the universe decided to intervene. Off to my right the sound of a large stick snapping I'm half drew my attention.

"Not another monster," I grumbled, scrambling to my feet. Reaching up I broke off a branch to use as a weapon if need be. Clutching it in my hands I eyed the direction of the noise waiting for something horrible to happen. "How many nasty things are even in here? What are they anyways?"

Bastion cried loudly and flew off to who knew where. Swallowing hard I was about to take a step forward when something emerged slinking out of the wilderness. It didn't seem aggressive. It looked at me with wide round eyes like that of a cartoon animal appearing non interested.

It had four legs with large paws for feet. Each paw had three toes like that of a dinosaur. A series of black scales glinted on its legs somehow looking soft. Halfway up the legs the scales petered out and faded into a feathered torso built like a panthers. Sleek and dark with slight muscles. Wings lay tucked up against its back, thick and heavily feathered. The monster was absolutely majestic.

A tail swished about half heartedly in the air and the head of the animal ,or monster I should say, resembled a ravens face. It was sort of dragon like.

"Shoo!" I called, not wanting to bother it too much if it had no intentions of eating me. The creature's head tilted slightly and its large beak opened up as its eyes squinted shut. It was almost like it was smiling. "I don't want any trouble okay?"

I waved my pathetic weapon causing it to skittered nervously. Regarding it with caution I watched as it hesitantly stepped back towards me. "Don't you listen? Can you not hear me? Or do you just not understand?"

The tail swished with more vigor and I yelped in surprise as the creature pounced sending me onto my back with a thud. A rock cracked against my shoulder blade. Cringing, I squinted my eyes shut and raised my arms instinctively expecting it to unleash a barrage of attacks. Nothing happened.

Opening my eyes very carefully I sucked in a sharp breath surprised to see it studying me with its head tilted and it's eyes scanning my face. "Okay. You wanna play? Is that it?"

A muffled purr was my reply. Reaching up hesitantly I rested my hand on its forehead. When there was no aggressive response I ran my hand lightly through the feathers. They were soft, almost unnatural and wisp like. They were feel and dark like fog covering the ground at night.

"Wow," I laughed, smiling slightly. The creature nipped playfully at my hand. "You're the first friendly thing I've met here."

A loud squeak rumbled from its throat and I had to cover my ears to avoid any damage. "Okay you liked the compliment I think. Can you understand me?"

The creature slowly got off of me and padded around almost obliviously. "I guess not."

Getting up, I dusted myself off. It seemed completely absorbed in its own world walking slowly around almost like it too was unfamiliar with the woods. "So are you a boy or a girl?"

The question may have seemed absurd but I was curious. Could you blame me?  I tried to study it for any gender identification but shrugged and gave up after a moment or two. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you...be with your other mean friends?"

The creature sat down. It's tail swished against the dark plagued leaves causing a light rustling. "You don't have friends do you?"

The animal responded with a saddened noise. I guess any creature could understand when it was alone. "That's okay. You're my friend...right?"

It seemed silly but I hoped so. It was just too cute. I had this feeling drawing me towards it. The creature skittered nervously and backed up against the trees. At first I didn't know why.

"What is that thing?" I glanced up to see my Mom looking at it wide eyed with her hand reaching instinctively for her sword.

"Wait! It's friendly I promise." I held up my hands and approached the creature again indicating I meant no harm. Its eyes shifted more nervously than before but once I was within reach if let me touch its wings. "See? He stumbled upon me and didn't do anything. We just kind of played."

"Right." My mother was still regarding it skeptically but she ignored her sword.

"He needs a name," I stated, not bothering to ask if we could keep it.

"You're going to name it?" She asked in surprise, taking a few hesitant steps forward.

"Well yeah. It's the nicest thing I've met from in here. Guess they aren't all that bad." I smiled as it purred again.

"Maybe." My Mom held out her hand and the creature sniffed it hesitantly.

"It has to be a cool name though," I insisted, already trying to think one up.

"Did you tame this thing?" Mom asked as if the idea of it surprised her.

"Not really. At lest I don't think I did. Um he's also not too good about listening." I pointed out as the creature took off pouncing on a rare beam of light that had broken through the tree line. "I'm not sure if he can understand us."

"You want to keep it don't you?" Was her next question.

"Why not? We need more help and maybe it can lead us out of here," I smiled hopefully. "Besides, it seemed lonely."

"Right," Mom laughed, seeming to warm up to the idea of it. Any thought of our argument had vanished from my thoughts awhile ago.

"How's everyone else?" I asked curiously.

"Fine. How are you?" She asked.

"Fine. Like usual," I smiled slightly. "Sorry for being dumb and arguing with you. I was being really stupid."

"You're not stupid or dumb. Arguments happen. I just wanted to make sure you weren't beating yourself up over anything." I was going to say that I hadn't but I had, at least before I'd gotten distracted. I couldn't help it. I hated messing up. It made me feel like I'd be even less than I already was.

"Yeah. I'm cool," I sighed.

"Good," mom smiled.

"Hug it out?" I asked hopefully.

"Of course." Smiling I tackled her in a hug and she hugged me so tight my back cracked which only caused the two of us to laugh.

"I have a question though." I pulled back feeling slightly better about things. "Do you think I could be as cool as you some day?"

"Some day? You already are. You have to learn to give yourself more credit. You sell yourself short too much." Maybe she was right, but it was a habit. Not a good one but a habit none the less.

"Okay. Let's head back. I want to get out of here," I sighed. The two of us set off back to where the others would be gathered with my new creature friend trotting along beside us.

Grover eyed it wearily but everyone soon discovered he was rather friendly despite the menacing looks. As it turned out Andy had discovered a way out much to everyone's relief.

"What's the plan? Where are we going?" I asked, glancing around.

"CHB. It's the closest thing we can get to. They need a heads up about what's going on." I nodded at Mom's words.

"I've never even seen Camp Half Blood," Leah smiled. "Is it anything like home?"

"It's very different but their are some similarities," I explained, Leah didn't look comforted by my words. "They'll like you. You're sweet."

"Um, thanks," she laughed. As for Andy, well , he still seemed upset about his motorcycle being ruined but other than that he seemed to be okay.

"Let's go then. We should get their before the sun goes down." Andy studied the sky. "I'm not a big fan of the dark. This place makes me nervous as it is."

"Do you need a night light to sleep?" I smirked.

"It's a shark one," he admitted, earning snickers from the group.

"Its pink," Leah snitched.

"They didn't have other colors!" Andy grumbled, crossing his arms defensively. It wasn't something I was particularly keen on knowing but hey, it lightened the mood.