anti hero - percy jackson ²

xv. the moon, pluto, and stars

Dear Reader,
I suppose our time together
has come to an end
Take all of this advice with more
than a few grains of salt
...
But if you must take one
line seriously, let it be this:
Never take advice from someone
who's falling apart
...
Which means you should probably
find another guiding light
No matter how brightly I shine
—

Cassandra found Nico at sunset—tying ropes around the Athena Parthenos's pedestal.

The short walk to the top of the hill had been nice, especially since the sun wasn't as harsh on her sunburnt skin as it had been earlier. Small Bob had trailed beside her, occasionally brushing up against her legs, but now laid at her feet, licking his paws.

"Hey, Cassie" He said, not bothering to look up at her.

"Hey, Nico" She responded, staring up at the statue. "I came to wish you luck. And to say thank you."

Nico frowned. "Why?"

"You helped lead the others to the House of Hades" She said. "You told us how to cut off Gaea's control of the Doors. And... And Annabeth said that you helped her keep Percy from jumping after me."

Nico tied the ends of the ropes together, creating a halter. "You helped get me out of that bronze jar in Rome. You and Percy saved my life yet again. It was the least I could do."

His voice was steely and guarded, making Cassandra wonder what she'd done wrong. He was so different from that little kid running around with his Mythomagic cards and the angry loner who had followed Minos through the Labyrinth.

"Thank you for visiting Bob" Cassandra added. Her voice let in more emotion, despite her attempts to seem normal again. "I wouldn't have survived without him. And, well, by extension, you."

She told him parts of her journey in Tartarus, pushing the tears in her eyes away. She left the worst parts out—things like her torturing misery, Nyx's palace, and the god Tartarus appearing—in an attempt to keep some of his innocence intact, but Nico seemed to know she was leaving things out.

Originally, she had planned to keep the entire story to herself, not wanting to burden anyone with her terrible experience.

But this was Nico—the person who had gone through pretty much the exact same thing as her barely a month ago. If anybody would understand, it was him.

"You made Bob think that he could trust me. Made him think that he could trust demigods" Cassandra said. "You were kind to him, even when Percy had completely forgot about him. You were his friend. And that small act of kindness saved my fucking life."

"It costs nothing to be kind" Nico said. "So, really, it was nothing."

"Look, Nico, I'm just trying to say thank you."

Nico laughed without any humor. "And I'm trying to say that it really isn't necessary. Now I need to finish this, so can you just give me some space?"

"Uh...sure" The blonde muttered, stepping back. Nico took up the slack on his ropes, and slipped them over his shoulders like the Athena Parthenos was a giant backpack.

Annabeth walked up the hill to join them, preventing Cassandra from dwelling too much on the amount of hurt she felt, being dismissed like that by the only person who could understand her experience.

"Good luck" Annabeth told Nico.

"Yeah." He actually met her eyes as he said it, but the look was hard to decipher. "You too."