six.
( the lightning thief. )
❛ parting is such sweet sorrow. ❜

"WHAT'S THIS I HEAR about my baby cousin leaving for a quest?" Colette paused from where she stood over her bed, her hand hovering over an extra shirt as her door was thrust open and a masculine shadow loomed in the doorway. she grumbled as two lanky arms wrapped around her dramatically followed by another pair of footsteps running into her cabin.

a disheveled mess of blonde hair suddenly formed in front of her eyes. "Is it true?" prodded a wide-eyed Will Solace as he clambered to sit on her bed, "are you actually going on a quest?"

"oh, I'm afraid it is, William." cried out Lee from where he practically suffocated the younger girl in his grip, his arm wrapped tightly around her shoulders as her lips drew into a tight-lipped line. "Collie's leaving us."

pushing her way out of Lee's grip, the brunette manoeuvred her way back to her bed. "you're so weird, Lee." she grumbled, "hey, don't touch that!" she snatched her bow out of Will's grip. "i don't need your little ten-year-old gremlin hands dirtying my stuff."

"you promised you wouldn't call me that!" Will scowled, kicking his legs off the side of her bed.

"you're right, Wilson. you're no gremlin, just a portable nightlight." Colette gave him a faint, teasing smile as she ruffled his blonde tuffs of hair. "and we love you for it." he looked up at her, almost sadly and Colette could tell that he didn't really want to believe the news that his older cousin would be gone for a time, unaware wether she'd even come back.

maybe it was biased of her to say, but in the quarrel of cabin seven kids she had for cousins, will was her favourite. well, maybe Will and Lee. though they bickered and teased each other, fought and defended, there was an unexplainable bond between the daughter of Artemis and the younger son of Apollo. a balance of warmth and tenderness matched with freshness and strength.

she'd been there when will had first arrived at camp, and she could still remember the traces of shyness as he followed her around to her lessons for a solid two weeks. he looked up to her—he still did. but it hadn't taken too long for Will to open up, and then, Lee had declared himself a member of their small duo.

the oldest of the three dropped onto a wooden chair opposite the bed, kicking his feet onto the desk and putting his arms behind his head.

"how long will you be gone for?" asked Will curiously. "will you be back by my birthday?" he scratched at the sun-kissed skin of his arm in thought. it wasn't that he wasn't happy for her, not at all, this is what she had wanted and deserved but it wouldn't make it any easier to be apart.

Colette gave the smaller boy a laugh, "Will, your birthday's not for another month yet. i could go on three quests and back in that time."

"like that'd ever happen," snorted Lee, "so is that what you're planning to wear?" he asked, arching a brow at her summer-ish outfit. She glanced at him, frowning. It was what she always wore—a 'camp half-blood' shirt tucked into denim shorts with a belt and her black converse. and he stared at her like she was crazy.

"what's wrong with it?"

he blinked at her. "Collie, you'll freeze!" the older boy scolded before reaching for his brown corduroy jacket and tossing it over to her, "here, take this. It's my favourite so you best bring it back in one piece."

she rolled her eyes but tugged it on nonetheless. it was much too big on her, courtesy of the boy being older and taller, but it kept her warm so she didn't have a problem. after placing on the jacket, she turned back to the set of weaponry before her—her bow and arrows. they glimmered slightly, enchanted and gleaming with glamour as they adorned crescent-moon symbols along the tip. the weapon had been a gift from Artemis, though the goddess hadn't been the one to provide it.

instead of personally giving it to her daughter, she got her hunters to do so during their last visit to camp. when not being used, they'd been blessed with transforming into two twin keychains though most of the time she chose to adorn them over her clothes. and due to the mist that blinded mortals, they appeared as a wooden guitar that made the public think she would've been a musician or something along those lines.

"when're you supposed to be leaving?" inquired Will, watching as she turned back to her backpack and tugged the zippers closed.

in response she gave the younger boy a shrug, "now, I guess. or whenever that asshole percy is ready." She grumbled the last part lightly to herself, moving to sit down on her bed and tighten the laces of her shoes.

"and you have everything you'll need?" Lee asked sternly, his voice laced with a familiar tone of seriousness that Colette was too familiar with. there was a reason lee was the Apollo cabin counsellor.

"ambrosia and nectar?"

"yes."

"spare clothes?"

"obviously."

"mortal money and gold drachmas?"

Colette gave the older boy a flat look, "Lee, I've spent months waiting for this. do you really think I don't have almost everything I could need?" she arched a brow at him, watching as his expression hardened with a fracture of brotherly concern.

before the older son of w could respond, an anxious knock resounded against the wooden framing of the door, a shadow of a boy darkening the blue and violet stained-glass of the door's window. and following the sound, an almost timid voice rang out, "Colette? are you ready to go?"

from behind the door, Grover blinked as two heads of blonde hair appeared from seemingly nowhere, the two sons of Apollo giving him half-amused glances. "give us a minute, goat boy." winked Lee, shutting the door before grover could utter a word, leaving the satyr to stutter a weak response with a blink.

with a roll of her eyes, the brunette went to stand up, brushing herself off as she spared one last look at her cousins. she'd miss them the way she would whenever they were separated, like the distance that divided the two eternal spectacles of light that formed the sun and the moon. but this was a golden opportunity that she couldn't waste on homesickness.

endless nights scheming for scenarios that could've brought her to the current moment had finally met its momentum. her heart ached and beat to see what awaited her outside—to see the rain and the trees, to see the animals and the valleys. and she would, hopefully, do so without dying in the process.

she jolted as two suffocating arms suddenly wrapped around her side-on, tightening with every second. "please be okay." Will's muffled voice reflected. though he wasn't much smaller than her, he dug his head into her shoulder momentarily as she wrapped an arm around his back.

she pulled back after a moment, giving him a smile. "course i will. see you soon, trouper." she ruffled his hair to which he grumbled in response, pushing himself away and towards the door. on his leave, he passed by grover who stood skittishly and the younger boy waved at him friendlily before dashing off to most likely go to the infirmary.

"stay safe, moony." began Lee, pulling his younger cousin into a tight hug. lee's hugs always held a radiating sense of warmth, capable of brightening any mellow moment. she wasn't fond of hugs, but there was something about Lee's that she didn't mind. he pulled away after a moment, holding her at arms length with his hands on her shoulders. "Bring me back somethin' cool, alright?" he grinned down at her, "and if you need me, i'm only an Iris message away."

"i know." She responded with a harmless roll of her eyes as she backed away towards the door. "i'll be back before you know it!" she spared him one last glance, savouring the moment before she slipped out of the cabin to meet Grover.

the door lay ajar, but Lee could see the younger girl greet Grover with a nod, conversing with him for a moment—mostly with the satyr flushed red as it happened before they set off out of his view. and when they were gone, he sighed.

it was bittersweet, pinching at his heart with a new sense of homesickness that would follow his cousin as she left. he couldn't remember the last time she and the Apollo cabin had been separated whilst within the camp walls—they were bound together, intertwined and attached in a divine lineage. descended from twin deities and fated to be forever interwoven like the stars sowed upon the inky canvas of the night sky.

but it warmed him brightly—this was what Colette had strived for. what she'd craved upon each morning and night, wishing upon ever uncanny star that dared to take pity on her. she deserved her chance wether it was full of dangers or not. so as long as she was happy, so was he.

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

COLETTE TAPPED HER FOOT IMPATIENTLY, watching as Percy spared one final glance to the camp before walking to meet the trio. his backpack looked considerably less full than her, Grover and Annabeth's, and he adorned an orange camp half-blood shirt hidden under a blue zip-up jacket with plain black jeans. his hair, as always, was askew as though he'd just taken a walk on the beach.

next to the brunette, Annabeth walked in a plague of thought. her hand was encapsulated around the yankees cap that her mother had given her for a twelfth birthday present and to accompany her on the journey, the blonde had brought a book surrounding famous greek architecture to keep her occupied. and the final member of the group, Grover, wore his fake feet and his pants to pass as a regular mortal and a cap to hide the creases of his horns that became visible in rain. and to keep him interested, he'd brought along his reed pipes.

and with one last glance soaking up the essence of the camp, the four set off towards the top of the hill where chiron awaited them. to the left of him stood Argus the head of camp security (who also carried an unnerving amount of eyes along his whole body, though the chauffeurs uniform he wore only allowed his extra eyes to be spotted along his neck and hands.)

"this is Argus," informed Chiron, mainly directed to Percy. "he will drive you into the city, and ... well, keep an eye on things." towards the end of his sentence, his eyes trailed over their heads, directed at an approaching figure behind them.

to their surprise, it was Luke who came running up the hill, carrying a pair of basketball shoes and his signature brotherly grin. "hey!" he let out a playful pant. "glad I caught you."

Colette raised an eyebrow towards Annabeth who blushed feverishly and her expression grew dejected with disgust. it was impossible for her to understand the blonde's attraction to the older boy, let alone attraction as a whole—the whole charade of romance just seemed pointless to her. still, Annabeth continued to smile, her cheeks defined in a rosy hue that only increased when Luke's eyes skimmed over her.

"just wanted to say good luck," stated Luke, giving them all a soft and encouraging smile. "and i thought ... um, maybe you could use these." he outstretched a pair of sneakers to Percy, which looked pretty normal in the dark-haired boy's eyes eyes. hell, they even smelled kind of normal.

"maia." Luke announced, urging a pair of white bird's wings to sprout out of the heels, startling Percy so much that they fell from his grip. the shoes shook around on the ground, like they had a mind of their own, until the wings folded up and disappeared.

"awesome!" Grover's eyes gleamed with brilliance, shaking his head in awe at the sight of the shoes that were now sprawled on the floor.

Luke let out an amused huff. "those served me well when I was on my quest. gif from dad. of course, i don't use them much these days...." his expression turned melancholy, and Colette mustered a small, sympathetic smile. "listen, Percy ..." Luke began and Percy would've dared to say the older boy looked uncomfortable. "a lot of hopes are riding on you. so just ... kill some monsters for me, okay?"

Percy smiled gratefully, shaking hands with the son of hermes. Luke's grip was unwaveringly strong, callous with the weight of sticks and stones. after doing so, the blonde boy turned to the remaining three, ruffling Grover's hair and giving annabeth a tender good-bye hug (which had managed to leave the girl as red the strawberry's in the fields.)

then, he moved to encase the brunette in a brotherly embrace. he reminded her of Lee sometimes, and not simply because they shared similar features. although Luke was quite a bit older, he and Lee were both gifted with the same mischievous aura that seemed to captivate those around them. "guessing lee already gave you the 'whatever you need' lecture?"

she exhaled in a nod, pulling away from the older boy and standing back in line with the other three. "somethin' like that." She shrugged, her lips twitching up into a smile. "see you soon, Lu."

"see you soon Collie." he grinned, turning his back and walking back down from where he came from. his shadow was enlightened with the grace of the sun and was permanently cast in a dark glare as he turned his back to them. from beside her, colette grimaced as Annabeth finally released the breath that had been stuck in her throat for the past two minutes.

Colette raised an eyebrow, "breathing properly again now, annie?" the blonde turned to her still in a flush of pink and shook her head feverishly.

inspecting Annabeth's flushed demeanour and obvious display of puppy-love, Percy pointed at her knowingly: "you're hyperventilating."

Annabeth's head snapped over to him and her dismissive attempt to brush him off made Colette cringe. "am not."

Percy dismissed her weak defence, his eyes glittering with a hidden amusement as he did so. with a knowledgeable tilt of his head percy arched a brow, "you let him capture the flag instead of you, didn't you?"

releasing a huff and rolling her eyes in embarrassment, Annabeth turned away from the boy, "oh ... why do I want to go anywhere with you, Percy?" she turned and stomped hastily down the other side of the hill, where a white suv waited on the shoulder of the road. Argus followed, jingling his car keys and humming a faint tune.

in the midst of Percy's distraction, Colette leant forward to pick up the shoes and inspect them. She frowned thoughtfully—the shoes would no doubt help in many a situation, but actual usage of the shoes would be a result of levitation. and something told her the very second percy was in the sky, Zeus wouldn't hesitate to attack. "Sorry, Jackie, don't think these shoes'll be much use to you."

Percy glanced at her, frowning at the shortage of his name. he looked down at them longingly, releasing an exhale that told colette he knew exactly why he shouldn't wear them. "Luke meant well, Percy." chiron's frown was slightly pained, "but taking to the air ... that would not be wise for you."

the son of Poseidon nodded in solemn disappointed, but brightened up momentarily as though a lightbulb had flashed in his mind. "Hey, Grover. you want a magic item?"

Grover blinked once, then twice before actual registering Percy's question. his eyes lit up as he did so and his cheeks flushed as though it were the greatest of honours. "me?"

with a shrug, Colette handed over the shoes to grover who was quick to adjust them to fit. "maia!" He yelled, a sudden lightness washing over him as his feet grew to lift off the ground. he balanced for a second before he fell over sideways so his backpack dragged through the grass.

"practice," Chiron called after him, sparing Colette a scolding look as she turned the other way to hide her snickering. "you just need practice!" but his words seemed to go past Grover who was dragged sideways down the hill as though he'd been possessed, heading towards the van.

smirking to herself, Colette moved to join annabeth and grover at the bottom of the hill before chiron cleared his throat in a successful attempt to grab her and Percy's attention. "i should've trained you better, Percy." the mentor seemed to deflate, his brows knitted together and a prominent apologetic glimmer cast over his features and in his guilt, Colette wondered wether he saw a thousand piercing eyes of Percy's ancestors gleaming back at him. "Heracles, Jason—they all got more training."

Percy blinked at him silently, then plastered on his constant smile of appreciation. "that's okay," he sighed, "I just wish--"

he stopped abruptly, his gaze locked onto the floor below in thought. internally, he scolded himself for almost coming across in an unappreciative tone, but he couldn't lie and say his lack of mythical items didn't pinch at his courage. Grover had Luke's flying shoes, colette had Artemis' bow, and annabeth had her invisibility cap. all he had was a desperation to retrieve his mother and shit-ton of adrenaline.

his head snapped sideways as a shoulder nudged his, not too harshly but not soft enough to be deemed accidental. "don't worry, Chiron." smiled Colette, her eyes wielding a promising truth, "Percy's about as bright as a puddle, but Annie, Grover and i'll keep him safe." her tone held a smugness as she insulted him, but she didn't choose to look at him as she spoke. her gaze was locked tightly on Chiron, and it seemed her words only brought him a moment of contentment before he one again grew annoyed at himself.

"you're bravery is admirable, Colette." Chiron smiled at her, a solemn smile. that that didn't quite reach his eyes. he sighed, "Percy, what was I thinking? I cant let you get away without this!" he reached into his pocket, producing an ordinary-looking ballpoint pen.

"woah," sarcasm overran Percy's tone, "thanks." he momentarily clenched his jaw as he heard the brunette beside him snicker faintly. of course she got something cool and he was left with some silly little pen.

ignoring his unpleasant tone, Chiron gestured towards the pen. "Percy, that's a gift from your father. i've kept it for years, not knowing you were who i was waiting for. but the prophecy is clear to me now. you are the one." he stated so surely that not even Colette had the nerve to argue against him.

she tapped her foot on the ground, folding her arms as her patience thinned into a thread thinner than ariadne's. and then, as Percy uncapped the plain, black-inked pen, it grew longer and heavier in his hand. in half a second, in the pen's place now rested a shimmering bronze sword with a double-edged blade, a leather-wrapped grip, and a flat hilt riveted with gold studs. it seemed to morph perfectly to fit his grip, comfortable and stable compared to the weapons within the Hermes shed.

"the sword has a long and tragic history that we need not go into," Chiron watched as the boy tossed the sword from hand to hand in disbelief. "Its name is anaklusmos."

Colette observed as it took Percy less than a second to translate Chiron words. "riptide." he translated. compared to his barely acceptable performance in literature and greek translation, he seemed to be doing just fine now—it almost made her impressed. well, maybe almost was a strong word.

"use it only for emergencies," lectured Chiron in his tone of fatherly advice, "and only against monsters. no hero should harm mortals unless absolutely necessary, of course, but this sword wouldn't harm them in any case."

Percy's eyes seemed to brighten as he gazed down at the sharp blade in his hand, his lips contorting into a giddy smirk before his eyebrows creased in faint perplexity. "what do you mean it wouldn't harm mortals? how could it not?"

"the sword is celestial bronze. forged by the cyclopes, tempered in the heart of mount etna, cooled in the river lethe. it's deadly to monsters, to any creature from the underworld, provided they don't kill you first. But the blade will pass through mortals like an illusion." explained Chiron, "they simply are not important enough for the blade to kill. and I should warn you: as a demigod, you can be killed by either celestial or normal weapons. you are twice as vulnerable."

Percy nodded as though he understood, but Colette doubted he really did. he turned to her after a moment, blinking at her. "that bow and arrow," he gestured to her back, "are they celestial bronze?"

she made a so-so face, her nose scrunched as she made a sound as if to say kind of. "i guess you could say that." she shrugged, pulling out on an arrow for him to inspect. "It's about... seventy-five percent celestial bronze, twenty-five percent silver."

"silver."

she nodded, "yeah, not cause it's necessary a monster-killer or anything, but it's sacred to my mom. all the hunters of artemis use silver in their arrows—that's basic knowledge," she shrugged, not even glancing at him as she added, "so of course you wouldn't know."

"woah, thanks."

"Colette." Chiron's tone was fatherly, the way you'd scold a child who was provoking an animal. he turned back to the boy after a moment, "recap the pen, Percy."

Percy touched the pen cap to the sword tip and instantly riptide shrank to a ballpoint pen again. after a moment of staring with a stunned expression, he tucked it in his pocket, his face contorting into a look of nervousness as he recalled his instability to keep a pen safe for more than three days.

"you cant lose it Jackson, cheer up." stated Colette, moving to rest her weight on her other foot.

upon noticing Percy's distrustful look, Chiron sighed wistfully. "You can trust her, Percy. the pen is enchanted. it will always reappear in your pocket." he stated before outstretching an arm in demonstration, "try it."

Percy glanced between them warily, but decided to take his chances and lean his arm back before throwing the pen as far as he could into the distance.
"that your best throw?" Colette glanced to him out the corner of her eye and he rolled his eyes in response.

"it may take a few moments," stated Chiron to Percy, noticing how the boy seemed to pull his lips into a line when, after about five seconds, the pen was yet to return. "now check your pocket."

then after a moment, he reached his hand into his pocket and pulled out the pen. "okay, that's so frickin' cool," he admitted with an awe-struck radiance. "but what if a mortal sees me pulling out a sword?"

"most is a powerful thing, percy."

"mist?"

the centaur gave a nod, "yes. read the iliad—i believe Colette is quite familiar with it. it's full of references to the stuff. whenever divine or monstrous elements mix with the mortal world, they generate mist, which obscures the vision of humans. you will see things just as they are, being a half-blood, but humans will interpret things quite differently. remarkable, really, the lengths to which humans will go to fit things into their version of reality."

glancing over her shoulder, Colette took a subtle step backwards, practically glowing in anticipation. there was an excitement in the air, fresh and lingering as it locked them in chains of apprehension. having a quest was an honour—one that was rarely ever granted after luke's incident. it sent shockwaves of adrenaline through her blood like strikes of lightning bursting in flames of excitement.

being a demigod itself was considered a gift—though many, including Colette, sometimes struggled to see it given how it was practically fated for them to die painfully young and be lost in the unfolding and ever changing script of history. if her thread of life were to be cut shorter than ideal, she was damn sure she'd make her time worth it. being the only known child of Artemis was a starting point in itself—a golden ticket to at least being labelled in centuries to come.

and if, for any unexplainable reason, the quest wouldn't leave her corpse in a wooden coffin and sent to live amongst the stars for eternity, surely this would be enough for Artemis to finally give her a rank amongst the hunters. Surely. of course she would prefer for her life span to not be cut short by her first ever quest, not whilst she still had people to reunite with. she couldn't leave will and lee or luke and chiron. no, she wouldn't.

she turned back to the two as Percy's voice infiltrated her ears once again, "Chiron." his voice was quiet, almost small, "when you say the gods are immortal... i mean, there was a time before them, right?" he asked in curiosity.

"four ages before them, actually." responded the centaur, "the time of the titans was the fourth age, sometimes called the golden age, which is definitely a misnomer. this, the time of western civilization and the rule of zeus, is the fifth age."

"so what was it like ... before the gods?"

Chiron pursed his lips before speaking, his dark eyes brimmed with uncertainly like pools of knowledge that percy was persistent to investigate. "even i am not old enough to remember that, child, but i know it was a time of darkness and savagery for mortals. kronos, the lord of the titans, called his reign the golden age because men lived innocent and free of all knowledge. but that was mere propaganda. the titan king cared nothing for your kind except as appetizers or a source of cheap entertainment. it was only in the early reign of lord zeus, when prometheus the good titan brought fire to mankind, that your species began to progress, and even then prometheus was branded a radical thinker. zeus punished him severely, as you may recall. of course, eventually the gods warmed to humans, and western civilisation was born."

Percy blinked, his eyebrows slightly furrowed as he fiddled with the straps of his backpack anxiously, "but the gods can't die now, right? i mean, as long as western civilisation is alive, they're alive. so ... even if i failed," he paused briefly, "nothing could happen so bad it would mess up everything, right?"

the brown-haired girl raised an eyebrow at the question, or more specifically at the look on his face. this was the first she'd seen him confess concern about the gods, and though she wasn't his biggest fan, it made her thoughts flicker with a fracture of respect. Percy wasn't in any way brilliant company nor had he made a place upon Colette's list of acceptable people, but she couldn't assume he was careless about the grand scheme of things.

"nobody can predict how long an age will last," explained the girl from behind him, "The gods are immortal, obviously, but so were the titans and they're still alive. just locked away in places you don't want to know."

Chiron cleared his throat as his smile turned melancholy, "may the fates forbid that the gods should ever suffer such a doom, or that we should ever return to the darkness and chaos of the past. all we can do, child, is follow our destiny."

"our destiny ... assuming we know what that is."

"relax," coaxed Chiron. "keep a clear head. and remember, you may be about to prevent the biggest war in human history."

percy exhaled, "relax." He told himself, "I'm very relaxed."

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

( authors note : )

annabeth chase is so itsv and atsv gwen stacy in ways i'm not going to explain