The Dissonant Notes Of Fate

Five

A/N: Ooh, Update! You can thank me later, folks. Don't forget to vote, comment, review, or leave a kudos. Anyway, it may seem like that but we are not rushing Percy and Thalia's relationship. There is a reason for their...uh, connection, which will be explained later on in the story. Like I said before, there are two Olympian spies now, and the Princess Andromeda is setting sail for The West Coast. As usual, if you have any question, feel free to ask! Excidium Troaie will be out soon :)

LUKE was the first - well, second - camper to rise that day and it wasn't even dawn yet. It was a creaking sound which had made him stir in his sleep - the sound of someone upsetting one of the old cabin floorboards. Luke's eyes narrowed into slits when he spotted the shadow, creeping out of the Hermes cabin. His first instinct was to call out. But that would be stupid. He couldn't tell who it was so it would be better to remain silent. He jumped off the bed, making sure to be as silent as possible.

He followed in the shadow's footsteps, hopping over campers in sleeping bags and in bunks and Luke scrunched up his nose. The cabin was crowded. Too crowded. For a second, he felt a twang of anger. For all the unclaimed campers who had to cramped into this moderately medium-sized cabin, just because his father was the god of travellers. He quickly shook his head, clearing them of those thoughts. He was on the alert now and he walked on cautiously.

The figure walked out the door and Luke took in a deep breath, before slinking out after him.

He spotted the new camper a few seconds later. It was Nico di Angelo. Luke was confused. It wasn't even dawn yet. What was he doing out? Again, he wanted to call out but he stopped himself. It would be better to see what the kid was up to first. Nico made his way through the twelve cabins, in a small crouch, making sure not to be seen. He followed.

Luke came to a stop next to the Zeus cabin. Biting his bottom lip, he looked away. He was feeling a bit guilty and angry with himself for exploding on Thalia the day - well, night - before. He knew he had to apologize. He'd had a lot of time to think that night and although he still didn't like Perseus and the idea of freeing him and giving the titans power, he had to accept it.

Chiron himself had told him. It would happen one day. It was inevitable. And going on this quest...he wasn't even sure why he had even agreed. He guessed it was because he didn't want to lose Thalia too. Sure, he had been a bit of a prat to her the night before. But he had already lost Annabeth and he wasn't prepared to lose the other member of his family once again. The quest would be difficult. It would be like strolling straight into the hands of Kronos and offering themselves to him. The sword would be right there...and he would pull it out. Then Perseus would be free and later, so would Kronos.

He sighed. He had to work up the courage to speak to Thalia and apologize. He knew she was probably still mad at him. For a daughter of Zeus whose fatal flaw was overconfidence and lust for power, she could really hold a grudge. He had learned that the hard way. Luke had called her out in front of the cabin counsellors, Chiron, Dionysus and Zoe. He had made it seem as if she was shielding the greatest enemy of Olympus - which technically speaking, she was. Thalia was probably pissed.

He hated it when he quarrelled with her. It just felt...wrong. He was also always the one who went to apologize first because Thalia would never say sorry unless he did. And he was okay with that. As long as they were on good terms again. The son of Hermes looked up, just in time to see Nico disappearing into the dining pavilion.

He snorted. Had he seriously woke up just to get an early-morning snack? Although that was how it seemed, Luke knew that it couldn't possibly be true. Nico didn't look like the type who woke up in at three am to grab a bag of chips. He exhaled and took off on a jog. Time to bust a ten-year-old.