Personae Non Gratae (a Percy Jackson AU)

A Parting of Ways

***Leo***

           I didn't want to see another fire-not after the one that had killed my mother. I had gone over to fix Piper and Jason's oven, but Thalia started yelling at me to leave. I finished the job in a rush, but I could have sworn I had fixed it right. 

      Calypso and I were taking a moonlit stroll through the village together when I heard loud and familiar sounding sobs and smelled a familiar scent that made me almost tear up: smoke. Calypso and I ran towards the scene without ever consciously deciding to.  

      I had to choke down a sob of my own. Piper was crying beside an unconscious Jason, who had an ugly knot forming on his forehead. An ash-covered brick lay beside him. Thalia was slumped out on the ground and from the putrid smell of vomit on her clothes and sour smell of wine, I could tell that she had been drinking. I stared at my friends' house in terror as the smoke billowed from it. Firefighters finally arrived and began fighting the flames, but I knew it was too late to save their house.

        I had to force myself not to think of my mother's last moments. Calypso seemed to sense that and she took my hand in her own and led me over to Piper, Thalia, and Jason. "Piper," I said, unable to think of a joke for once. "How did this happen?"

      "It started in Thalia's room," Jason said weakly as his eyes fluttered open. "It wasn't your fault. It wasn't the oven."

        I felt as if I had discarded a heavy lead jacket that I had been wearing. The guilt was gone, but the fear for my friends was not. "You guys need a place to stay," I said. "Leo's place is the best. It's a good thing you're married Piper or Calypso would be jealous. After all, all the ladies love Leo!"

      Piper stared at me and then looked at Jason, who blushed crimson as she helped him up. He groaned as he saw his sister in a half-sitting position on the ground, her eyes closed. "Thalia has been drinking heavily," he said. "I'm not sure how she's been finding all the alcohol."

      "Castor and Pollux sell it to her," Piper said in a matter-of-fact tone.

       "Putrid brick-heads," he cursed.  

        "They're not the ones who got knocked out by a brick," I pointed out.

        "Right," Jason said. "Sign me up for the most useless brother and husband awards."

         Right then, Thalia groaned. "Why do I see pine trees?" she asked before promptly vomiting.

       Jason and Piper ran over to her and helped her to her feet. Thalia stared at her house, which was now a pile of half-burnt timber, charred bricks, burnt rubble, and piles of ash. "No!" she said and unsteadily walked forward.

      Her brother and sister-in-law grabbed her again. "It will be fine,"Jason said in a shaky voice.

      "You're alright, Thalia," Piper said in a soothing voice that calmed even my nerves. "Leo is going to take us to his home. We'll get this all figured out. You're alive and that's what matters."

     When saying the last part, she met Jason's eyes and something seemed to pass between them. "Come on," I said. "I'll put on tofu tacos tonight and you can sleep in our living room."

     "Leo!" Calypso said sharply. "As guests, they should get our bed."

    "Yes, mam," I said with a salute and we headed into the sunset towards our house.

***Luke***

           I was about to shoot the elephant standing in the peanut field when I felt a punch to my gut. I turned my head to see someone I hadn't seen since she was seven. When I was younger, I had ran away from my mother for a short time. During that time, I had befriended a young girl who read books and played hopscotch outside. That same young girl was glaring at me now, her grey eyes narrowed with dislike. "Annabeth?" I said incredulously.