Thia's POV

I had two days to prepare for the quest. According to Chiron, risking anymore time could be catastrophic. I never realized how little I knew until I was being bombarded with information and skills that I would have to know. Thankfully, it was as bad for my friends as it was for me. I got little sleep after the first night because my mind just wouldn't turn off. All I could do was wonder about what would happen and repeat the stupid prophecy over and over again in my head like a mantra.

If I'd thought the first day was bad then the second was easily the worst. A sword was thrust into my hands early in the morning when I was hardly awake standing next to my friends in the arena. Uncle Percy was tasked with teaching us any survival skills we'd need to know when it came to combat with a blade.

The sword's handle felt awkward in my hands and for a moment I forgot what I was supposed to do with it. Andy held the axe he'd used previously and seemed pretty comfortable meanwhile Leah gripped a double bladed spear. Both of them seemed much more confident with their chosen weapons than I did with mine.

"Alright first thing we're going to do is a little sparring. Just to see where you're at and what you need to learn. Leah you first," Percy directed, Leah's expression gave away her doubts about going head to head with the most powerful son of Poseidon. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna destroy you."

"Thanks! That's somewhat reassuring." Leah stepped forward anyways and Andy and I made sure to stay back a good ways. Uncapping his pen I watched as it elongated into a very threatening blade, Riptide. Leah stepped into a firm stance and with Percy's nod she attacked.

It was amazing watching the way the spear twirled in her hands. It was certainly a dangerous weapon. If you missed the opposite end you'd get sliced. It was similar to a two headed snake. You had to be twice as alert with the enemy. She held her own for a good while and I couldn't help but be impressed with the smoothness and efficiency of her combat but my Uncle was quick to catch her off guard. Leah landed flat on her butt with a wince but took my Uncle's hand as she was tugged to her feet.

"Not bad at all. You're quick. Alright Andy, it's your turn." Andy nodded and was the next to face off against my Uncle. He wasn't as quick as Leah but he had the force and strength to at least cause my Uncle to struggle under the blows of his battle axe. In the end Andy suffered a similar fate as Leah. "Good job, the axe definitely suits you. Alright Little T, your turn."

Nerves caused butterflies to flit around in my stomach as I started to take notice of the small crowd that was gathering to watch. The sword suddenly felt even heavier than before but after a nudge from Leah I took a step forward. I was certain that I looked like a deer in headlights but I stepped back into a fighting stance anyways. At my uncle's signal I stepped forward testing the waters with a slight jab. He easily stepped aside and with a sigh I upped the tempo. A slash then a parry and a thrust. Only that was the last thing I accomplished before the flat of his blade disarmed me. My own sword went flying before its blade plunged into the dirt.

Instantly the heat of embarrassment flared up in my cheeks as I scrambled over to retrieve it. Tugging it out of its firm place in the ground I faced my Uncle who was trying but failing to mask his surprise. He awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. "Well, not bad, you just have work to do."

"Yeah. I know," I nodded, moving to stand next to Andy and Leah again but really I just wanted to stab my head in the ground like an Ostrich. The sparring continued on for a while and soon I was easily out of breath and covered in a thin layer of sweat but I had yet to improve much. Andy and Leah on the other hand were completely excelling.

"Little T come here." Uncle Percy beckoned me over after having talked to Andy for a moment. "You're gonna partner with him."

"Okay but you know he's way better than me right?" I laughed awkwardly but that didn't deter my uncle from his decision.

"You ready?" Andy questioned, twirling the axe in his hands.

"I guess." Raising my blade I engaged him in a small skirmish before he slammed the flat of his axe into my blade and it went skittering once more. Grumbling in irritation I picked it up.

"You're being too timid," he noted as I shuffled back over. All of my enthusiasm was now gone.

"Are you kidding? You're just really strong." Frowning, I took up my stance ready to face off against him once again. Timid my ass. I took the first swing this time and made sure to put as much force and effort into it as possible. It seemed to take him slightly by surprise before a gleam entered his eyes and suddenly he was hitting back twice as hard as before. I was proud to say that I lasted longer but when I fell, I fell hard right into the dirt on my side. Grunting, I struggled up onto my feet blowing a strand of hair from my face. "Dude, chill."

Andy smirked and shrugged before rolling his shoulders. "Try harder, kid."

Setting my jaw I prepared for a third round. My motivation? Knocking the smirk off of his face. He took a swing at my head and I managed to duck landing a hit to his gut with the hilt of my sword. Sucking in a sharp breath he parried my next attack and pressed harder if it was even possible. His face scrunched up into an intense look of concentration and as his axe slammed against my sword I could feel the vibrations tremor up my arms causing my bones to ache.

My grip faltered and the blade slipped from my grasp leaving me undefended. Andy kicked me excruciatingly hard in the chest and I went toppling backwards. The dirt grated roughly against my skin sticking to the sweat that coated my arms. Gasping and clawing my way to my feet I couldn't help but feel an intense anger boil in the pit of my stomach. "What was that for? What's your problem?"

Andy took a small cocky bow as if what had happened was simply part of the show for the growing crowd. It had to at least number half the camp by now. "Like I said- try harder. Kid."

Swallowing the bile that rose in my throat I grasped my sword once more. I wasn't going to give in to his games. Rolling to the side I watched Andy stumble past. The momentum of his first strike had carried him forward. Popping back up to my feet I seized the opportunity to kick at the back of his knees. Legs buckling, Andy fell to the ground. Swinging downwards he narrowly rolled out of the way from my blade. This time my own momentum threw me off balance and Andy didn't hesitate to plant a foot in my back sending me sprawling onto my stomach.

My elbow grated against the ground and I could feel the warm bubbling of blood already starting to form. I couldn't quiet explain the amount of anger I felt in that instant . This was supposed to be an easy sparring match to fine tune our skills. What was he doing? He was making a fool of me in front of everyone and I was looking like some stupid little kid. I was sick and tired of him mocking me. He wanted me to actually try? Well, screw that. I was going to do way more than just try.

With my sword in hand I clambered back to my feet and let out an angered yell before attacking him with every ounce of strength and rage I could muster. He needed to back off and leave me along for Gods' sake. What did I ever do to him? Andy raised his weapon in an attempt to block my strike but when our blades connected he stumbled backwards with a surprised look before smiling.

"That's it. Come on! Hit me!" His comments only made me angrier. I didn't want to do this. I didn't want to be there with a sword swinging at someone.

"Leave me alone!" Growling, I swung at his arm and the gleam in his eye returned once more as my strike caused his arms to quiver from the power of it.

"Again!" He laughed.

"Stop!' I demanded, ducking one of his wild kicks and pushing him backwards with a shove to the chest.

"That's it. Get aggressive!" His jaw set firmly and a muscle in his cheek twitched. He seemed to be sneering.

"You want aggressive? Fine!" I didn't attempt to control myself anymore and swung wildly putting every ounce of my being behind the attack. His attacks became less and less until he began to only block. Eventually that began to fail. His eyes widened as his axe went tumbling to the ground and my blade slashed a deep cut straight across his chest causing blood to stain his white shirt. Tripping over his own foot he collapsed to the ground and scrambled backwards. Tossing the blade aside I attempted to catch my breath but the white hot rage refused to go away. "I don't want to fight anyone. Why doesn't anyone understand that? I don't want to hurt anyone, and I don't want people to be afraid of me."

Andy blinked and the fear in his gaze slowly began to recede but I had noticed it before hand. It took me a moment to realize my hands were shaking uncontrollably and stray tears had slipped down my cheeks. "No one's afraid of you kid."

"You just were." My voice was quieter than I meant it to be but I was distracted by the blood spilling from his wound. "Some people have reasons for being timid. I know what I'm capable of Andy, and I don't like it. It scares me."

"Thia, that's enough. Good job." My gaze shifted to the face of my smiling Uncle. He helped Andy to his feet and gestured to the infirmary.

"Yeah, great job." Picking up the sword from the dirt I shoved it back into his hands and made my way out of the arena. "I love being congratulated for stabbing a kid."

That evening I didn't feel like going to dinner. eBay little time I'd spent outside just made me angrier. All anyone could talk about was how much potential I had and that I was the next best sword fighter. What they didn't know was that I purposefully kept myself in control. I didn't like being angry. Mama had a reputation for losing her temper and it was a scary thing to witness. She had good intentions whenever she got mad, but that didn't mean I ignored the way other people could be scared of her.

So instead of going to dinner I got Maria to help me analyze the prophecy and anything I might need to know. She didn't bring up the events from earlier which I was thankful for. Together we gathered an idea of where to start and what direction I'd have to head to.

The next morning was the day we left. I'd had everything ready since yesterday but I couldn't help but worry that I'd forget something vitally important despite my parents and their help. Everyone was already waiting anxiously on the top of Half Blood Hill. Both Leah and Andy had backpacks strapped snuggly onto their backs and were talking in hushed voices. Andy averted his eyes when he saw me and I made a point of standing close to Leah. I felt bad, it was clear she could sense the tension but she just acted as if it wasn't there.

Chiron trotted over to give us the last briefing we would need but it was mainly just a motivational speech that I didn't really listen to. After that came the worst part: the goodbyes. It was one of those things where you were saying goodbye in hopes that you were coming back but everyone knew there was only one person coming back alive out of all this. So one wasn't sure whether to say goodbye for good or not.

"I'm nervous," I whispered, feeling my anxiety flare up as I tackled Mom in a hug.

"That tends to happen but you'll be okay. You're prepared for this and you're smart. You're very good at thinking on your feet in tough situations." I tried to believe her words but I wasn't really certain I could. This wasn't something I'd ever done before. It was tough pulling back from the hug but my only motivation to do so was so that I could hug Mama as well.

"You're gonna be okay right? You wont do anything stupid?" I teased, trying desperately to lighten the mood.

"That's why I have your Mom. Besides, we have a job to do. The Gods are going to need a strong talking to. Also, I'm offended you think I can't function without being baby sat." Laughing lightly I grudgingly went to pull back from the hug but Mama didn't let go. This only caused me to laugh harder.

"You're gonna have to let go eventually."

"Take me with you. I'm portable," she joked but let go at last. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed that both Andy and Leah were watching with a bit of envy. I felt bad knowing there wasn't really anyone here for them to say goodbye to.

"Alright, it's time," Chiron sighed as I rejoined the group. "I wish the three of you luck. I hope to see all of you back here eventually."

With that, Chiron gestured to the border. For a moment none of us moved until at last I took the first step and ventured outside. This was it. This was the beginning of our quest, the first step. The send off.