𝙩𝙪 𝙢𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨 - p. jackson [₂]

𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒙𝒍.

―✧―

"𝐔𝐒𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐇 𝐓𝐎 𝐏𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑 𝐘𝐎𝐔."

hazel closed her eyes, listening to theo's advice, trying her best to implement it.

he'd promised to help her more with her magic, and while he didn't have much of a chance to help out before his short, impromptu exile in ogygia, he didn't want to waste any time now.

theo worked in actual magic, while hazel manipulated the mist. while they were two different things, the concept of using them was pretty similar. if hecate wanted hazel to learn how to control the mist, then theo was going to do everything to teach her.

as of right now, hazel was able to create small illusions, after coming to the realization that she had to make the mist show what the others wanted to see, not what she wanted them to see. she had to start small, and work her way up.

"like this?" she asked, holding out her hand and doing absolutely nothing.

theo waited for a second, but still nothing happened.

"no, look, let's try this again," theo said, motioning for hazel to come in.

a string of angry italian grumbling made theo lose his focus.

nico, theo's nephew in a sense, sat against the railing — after theo had scolded him and made him get off of it. (with riley not here, i'm in charge! she would join me up here! no she wouldn't, she's scared of falling! you're so overbearing, i'm technically older than you. dieux alors aidez moi (gods so help me), get down right now! ugh, fine.) 

he chomped on a grilled cheese sandwich, occasionally muttering angrily in italian.

theo did his best to ignore him at times like that.

he loved the kid, he really did. riley had accepted him as her own child and had introduced him to everyone the same way. there was no way theo couldn't have a soft spot for him.

but sometimes, like when he was being a little brat, theo couldn't help but want to whack him with a newspaper.

"you're trying too hard," he told hazel, driving his thoughts away from nico and his cursing. "you need to let the magic do its work. you've got the gist of it, but you still need to practice. just step back, and stop trying. it'll come to you. the earth will feed you with magic, it'll give you the energy to manipulate the mist the way you want. you need to trust yourself."

hazel shook her head, "i don't know how. i've been trying, but it doesn't always work. if we're in a bad situation — if percy, riley and annabeth need me — i don't know if i can help."

"yes you can," theo insisted. "you just need practice. when i learnt that i was magical, i used my powers for everything. i changed my siblings' shampoo and conditioner bottles—"