Light in the Darkness - Nico X Reader

Chapter 3, Under the Canoe Lake

Getting claimed by Athena was a pretty cool experience, except I got tackled by a crazed Annabeth and fell into the lake. It went a little something like this.

"OH MY GODS," Annabeth shrieked as she tackled me in a large bear hug. I attempted to escape the rib-crushing hug. That was a terrible idea. I tripped over the tree root again, and landed back first in the canoe lake. I held my breath to prevent further water inhalation as Annabeth released her grip on me. I heard a splash as someone dove into the lake after us. It was Percy. A large air bubble encircled our heads as we calmed down and caught our breath. We sat down at the bottom of the lake. "Oh gods, I wasn't fast enough was I?" Percy muttered worriedly. Annabeth passed out from almost drowning as Percy performed CPR at the bottom of a lake. It was slightly awkward as I just watched them, unable to help. I heard two splashes from the surface of the river. I and looked up to see who it was. Nico and Jason were swimming down, Jason with a weird hurricane around his head and Nico just holding his breath. They reached the bottom and looked at us, carefully assessing the situation.

We heard a gasp, Annabeth started coughing up water, her head in Percy's arms. "It's okay wise girl, I've got you," Percy murmured, completely in control of the situation. At this point, Nico ran out of oxygen, he swam quickly to me, sharing the air bubble around my head. He took a few deep breaths and relaxed. "Umm, you okay?" I asked. Only then did he realise that our faces were centimeters apart. He quickly jerked back, "Uhh y-yeah," He stammered. Percy looked over to us and saw our awkward exchange. "Hey Nico!" He sent an a large air bubble towards Nico and he gratefully put his head inside. "I'm going to bring wise girl to the infirmary, Jason, make sure Nico and Anira get back safely," He ordered.

"Sure Percy," Jason agreed. We watched as Annabeth and Percy surged towards the surface, Annabeth in his arms. "Well, we'd better get to the top before we all run out of oxygen," Jason muttered. We swam to the surface, to see Piper, Leo, calypso, Frank, and Hazel gathered by the side of the lake. "Thank the gods you guys are okay," Piper gasped, running towards Jason and kissing him.

"What a wonderful way to get claimed eh?" Leo laughed as he pulled out a large hair dryer. "I call this, The Hottie!" He exclaimed as he blasted me and Nico with hot air. We were dry in seconds. "Obviously inspired by me," He said. Calypso shot him a glare. "I mean, Calypso! Since she's so hot," he corrected. We all laughed at the sight, except Nico. He was sitting under the shadow of a tree, quiet and guarded. "Is he okay?" I asked Hazel as the others joked around.

"Yeah, he should be fine. He's always like this, I guess he needs some time alone," Hazel answered, loud enough so only I could hear her. Nico suddenly got up. "Bye," He said to me and Hazel, and he disappeared into the shadows. 'Shadow travel'. It came into my mind, like what happened when I realised Piper could charmspeak. "That's so cool," I murmured. Hazel laughed. "I'll tell him you said that, he'd be quite glad someone finds his powers intriguing,' Hazel's golden eyes sparkled with interest, and something else... Relief? "Well, since Annabeth's in the infirmary, I should probably bring you to Athena's cabin," She said.

We said our goodbyes before leaving to pick up my things from Percy's cabin and leaving to cabin 6. Like Percy's cabin, there was a large number 6 above the door, an owl as well, the symbol of Athena. "Here we are," Hazel confirmed. She rapped on the door. The door opened, revealing a tanned man. He was about the same age as Annabeth and had curly blond hair as well. "Hey, Hazel," he greeted her gladly. "Who's this?" He asked. "A new Athena camper, Annabeth couldn't escort her here because she kind of, fell into the canoe lake." Hazel informed.

"Well, I'm Malcolm, second in command here in the Athena cabin, Nice to meet you," he stuck his hand out.

"I'm Anira Ash, nice to meet you," I shook his hand. His eyes were warm and welcoming, his eyes were grey like Annabeth's but not as intimidating or stormy. "Make yourself feel at home," He said as he opened the door for me. Inside was a large library, comfortable reading chairs were placed in the corners, the lamps emitted a soft glow, perfect for reading. Large bookshelves stretched all the way to the ceiling, each row neatly organised according to the author's name. Maps and weapon racks adorned the room. Beyond that was a small center room with a fountain inside. The soft water cascading down from the rocks, creating a serene environment. Behind the fountain were two large glass doors leading to a balcony above the canoe lake. The room was brightly illuminated. Next to the center room were two rooms on either side. One for girls, and the other for boys. There were 6 bunks in each side. Some were occupied. It was a personal heaven for me. "It's... Beautiful," Malcolm chuckled, "That's what I said the first time I was in here," He led me to the girls' room and stopped by the doors. "Go on in and unpack. We don't have chores and training until after lunch, the schedule's pinned on the bulletin board." He pointed towards a large board next to the girls' room door. There was one next to the boys' room door as well. "I'll come get you when it's time for lunch," He waved goodbye and left me by the girls' room door. I looked at the bulletin board.

There were a few posters for chariot races and lava wall races. A large poster of Einstein sticking his tongue out was next to the posters. A schedule was posted at the bottom. I checked the schedule for Monday, week 1. (Today).

8:30 - Breakfast

9:30 -

10:30 -

11:30 -

12:30 - Lunch

1:30 - Archery with Cabins: 1, 3, 7, 11, 13

2:30 - Sword Fighting with Cabins 3, 5, 9, 11, 13

3:30 - Pegasi Riding with Cabins 3, 7, 11, 13, 17

4:30 - Pegasi grooming with Cabins 3, 7, 11, 13, 17

5:30 - Showers

6:30 - Dinner

8:00 - Songs by the campfire

10:00 - Lights out

"Weird training huh?" A girl about the same age I was (14) stepped out of the girls' room.

"Yeah. I'm Anira by the way,"

"Emma, pleased to meet you," She introduced herself. She was an average heighted girl with long black hair and dark chocolate brown eyes. Her smile was friendly and her eyes happy. "Come on in, choose a bunk," She invited. I looked around at the empty beds. "I think I'll go with this one," I say, pointing at the bed by the window. "Good choice, I sleep above you," She seemed ecstatic I was sleeping in the bunk under hers. "Annabeth sleeps over there," She pointed at the bunk in front of mine. It was covered in blueprints and a laptop. Several pictures of her and the 8 demigods I met by the lake were stuck onto the wall. "Well, I hope she doesn't snore," I giggle. Emma laughs along with me. Before we know, we're good friends. We talked about our lives and how we were brought to camp. Emma was from a city in China, like me. Her father remarried shortly after she was born as well. She had come to camp when she was 12. We were discussing the art of knitting before a knock sounded by the door.

"Lunchtime," I hear Malcolm announce. We rush out of the door, whamming into Malcolm as we run all the way to the amphitheater to get lunch.

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A/N Hey guys! I realise this chapter is kinda sucky and cliche. Sorry about that... It's the weekend over here and I've been on a writing spree. Normally I'd post a 600 word chapter at least once a week if I can. Hopefully, I'll keep on updating and not procrastinate! Thanks for reading this story! It means a lot to me! If you like it please give it a vote or leave a comment. Thanks!

~BlueFandoms~