halfbloodhill | Not-So-Triumphant Return (Action)

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Not-So-Triumphant Return (Action)

[Most people (newbies excepted) would probably recognize the teenager that walks straight out of the ocean on the afternoon of the 19th, just as casually as if he were walking down the street in Anytown USA. If the fact that he's choosing to swim fully-clothed in October in New York doesn't give away who he is, the fact that he isn't soaking wet probably does.]

[He needs to meet with Chiron, but the first place Percy goes is actually the Poseidon cabin, closer to the ocean and his home-away-from-home, so he can drop off the small pack he's carrying - but less than ten seconds after he walks through the door, he tears back out it again and back down to the ocean.]

When were you gonna tell me I had a sister?!

[Yup, he's totally screaming at the ocean. This would have been nice to know, okay Dad?]

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Yeah? Well, you've got me now, too. Your half-sister, or... quarter-sister? I'm not... not really sure how it works.

[She presses her lips together, one hand idly playing with her long strands of hair.] Yeah. Uh, thanks...? [It was more a question than anything else.] I was elected a while ago. Reyna... thinks I'm great at it. I don't know...

[She used to be. Then everything changed, and here she was. The laughing stock of the camp. Sure, some people were nice to her, but probably only because they didn't want to look like they were bullying the crazy girl or something.] I... Kinda? I'm not really... into violence. [At all. Most everything she did was defensive rather than offensive now.]

Iiiiiiii'm... not really sure either? Probably better just to think of it like half-siblings, since genetics and all. Even if godly genetics don't really count. Annabeth'd know better than I would. [She always does.]

[And he doesn't mean to be rude, but that last comment really confuses him and he looks it.] If you don't like violence, how come you're in the Legion, and a Centurion? [The question's at least entirely honest and not condescending - but the Legion is a military unit. They're kind of built for violence, after all.]

Half-siblings works, I guess. [She smiles, and it's clearly an off-kilter smile.

She can tell he's confused- it's a weird thing, and honestly, she's really confused by it, too.] I got into the First Cohort a lot earlier... I was voted as a Centurion later, Reyna thinks I can do it. I just... Er- [She blinks, then glances behind her.]

I don't like to talk about it. [her voice is small. It was true, she hated it. People never looked at her the same when she told them. But Percy was her brother. Half-brother, as they'd just decided. And her counselor.]

If you want, uhm, I could... tell you? Just- not out here. [Another glance around. If Gabe was here, he'd eat this up. And she didn't want to give him more ammunition. Though, truth be told, what was the point of hiding her history? Everyone, at least, all the Romans, knew it. How sweet little Annie Cresta killed her family and went crazy. How her demigod powers saved her life. How if you provoked her enough, she could very well go crazy and try to kill you, too.]

[Yeah, something's off here. She's not screaming "dangerous" like some of his other half-siblings he's met, but something's slightly out of whack. This is probably going to be a really big deal, isn't it?]

Well... if you don't like to talk about it, you don't have to. [Okay he's dying of curiosity now, but she's uncomfortable and a fairly unknown quality, so he's not gonna push her if he doesn't have reason.] If you wanna tell me someday, I'll listen.

[Oh good, I'm glad to see that you've been paying attention, Percy.]

It's... it's okay. Most people know. I just... never know how to say it? It was a big deal, a while back... [She tugs at her hair, looking off into the distance. The newspapers back in Washington had covered it, but she didn't know if the brutal murder of her family, and her ensuing acquittal had become national news. If it had... Well, Percy, you are speaking with former star swimmer and alleged murderer, and verified basket case Annie Cresta]

It's- it's okay, though. I just don't want you to hate me. One way or another. I'd like to be your friend. [She giggles nervously.] I just don't have many friends. [Her eyes fly open wide as she realizes what she just said.] I'm sorry! That was forward, wasn't it? I didn't mean to. Sorry. I'm probably just- I should leave you alone.

[He occasionally does this! It's good for him to stay in practice.]

Uhhh... [Real eloquent there, Percy. And he never actually heard the story, he doesn't pay attention to the news. Especially since his jerkass stepfather used it to twist him around into a mother-killer and runaway while he was hanging out with a blonde bimbo. Useless waste of space, was Gabe.] Look, whatever happened, I won't hate you, okay? We've all done some stupid things. A lot of them, for me. I mean yeah, I really wanna know now, but it's up to you, got it? You've got a new place here, a new start. You should be able to choose what you wanna do.

[All right, that last bit? Makes him smile. She's... well, probably unstable, definitely unsure, but she's pretty cute. Kind of like Naomi, in a way.] We'll be friends - we're siblings, that's better than friends. Usually. [He knows the Ares kids are trying to kill each other when they're not trying to kill the other campers, after all.] And wait 'til you meet Tyson - he's awesome, you'll love him.

[For a moment, Annie doesn't know what to say. She stands there, her hand paused in her hair as she watches him, just takes in this kid who has to be about her age, maybe a bit older. And the things he was saying? It was everything she needed, wanted to hear. She was going to believe him, even if previous experiences said otherwise.

Unable to stop herself, she moved to Percy, wrapping her frail arms around him in a quick hug, before realizing that oh, that's probably an awkward move to do with the half-brother you just met. Dropping her arms, she steps back.] Sorry. I just- wanted to- thank you, Percy. [She smiles waterily at him.] I'll tell you. Because we're friends and siblings.

[She looked down, a hand going back to play with her hair again. Glancing out to the ocean, she looked back at Percy. This was gonna be hard. But she owed him. She told him she would, and he was her brother.] My family... Two years ago... I came home and... Sorry. They were... they were killed. All of them. Then, uhm- [She pauses to pull down the sleeves of her cardigan.] Everyone thinks I'm insane. That I did it.

[And she thinks they're right.]

[He's not perfect, and he knows that better than anyone. But his protective instincts? Oh Poseidon, you do not mess with anyone he cares about. He will end you. The hug, yeah, is unexpected. Kind of awkward, not gonna lie. She ducks away before he can recover and return it, and he's left reaching out to her kind of halfway before raising that hand to run it through his own hair, making it even more messy than it was before.]

Did you do it? Everyone thought I'd killed my mom a few years ago- [yep that's totally a flash of a very dark look over his face but he pushes it away quickly] -but we'd been attacked by the Minotaur coming here for the first time and then she was kidnapped by a god. The Mist can make things pretty crazy sometimes.

[He... won't comment on the insane thing just yet. But he knows who to go to to ask about it in the future...]

No! No, I didn't! I mean- I don't think I did. I was acquitted. But sometimes-- I don't know! I don't remember it! Any of it! They told me what happened when I woke up. Said I'd done it. Put them all to bed and called the police, then went to the pool- ruined all the evidence.

[Her eyes are wide and she looks around wildly, both of her hands back in her hair now. That's never a good sign.] I'm sorry. I just- Sorry.

[She seems to shrink slightly.] I'm sorry about your mom.

[And that's definitely not a sign of being well-adjusted. No matter what happened, it deeply affected her. He's not sure of the actual term, but he can pick out the signs of possible PTSD when he sees them. And she seems to be getting wilder and more frantic, which is about the opposite of helpful, so he instinctively reaches out to try and grab one of her hands to get her to stop pulling her hair out.]

Hey, don't apologize - I believe you, okay? Whatever happened, it wasn't easy for you at all, and it really sucks that you had to go through it. [He's not the best at being comforting, but he'll try. But Percy is watching her closely, debating something - there's a possible solution here, if she wants to take the chance.] My mom's okay, so don't worry about her. Look - what if I told you that we could do something about that here? About helping you remember, I mean, so you know for sure what happened.

[She pauses as he takes her hand, looking down at it in wonder as he removes it from her hair. Wow. He's... touching her. Helping her. Percy Jackson is a saint.]

You really mean that? You're not just saying it? To find out more and then humiliate me? [It had happened before.]

What... What is it? That you could do, I mean? What do you have here that we didn't at Camp Jupiter?

[He's trying. Percy will always try, even if he doesn't always succeed.]

I'm not saying it's definitely gonna work, but there's a chance. The Hypnos kids - some of them can do this thing where they go in dreams and... something like that. Anyway, I think the idea is that you never really forget stuff, it just falls away or fades or something, and sometimes they can use your dreams to help you get back whatever you forgot. Especially if there's some kind of a block on it, and it's not from when you're a little baby or something like that.

I don't know it'll work, but if anyone can do it, they can. It's worth a shot, right?

That would... That would be helpful. Things like that happen a lot... More than I want to admit. Ever since I was little. So it would be... nice, I guess. To know for sure. [Except, y'know, the idea of reliving it even in dreams- not that she didn't deal with it enough in her dreams- was not one she exactly relished.]

Just think about it, okay? They're not going anywhere, so we can go see them in a few days if you want to do it. We don't have to rush into anything. [People would probably laugh at Percy saying that, but he has learned enough to know that that's not always the best option. And since no one's in immediate danger right now, he's willing to wait and let her get used to the idea.]

For now, wanna come help me unpack? Not that I've got much, but some company's nice.

Okay. [She shrugs, shifting again. There's no need to rush it, like he said. And rushing her would only make her freeze up.]

Sure. It's just me in the cabin right now, anyway. It'll be nice to have company in there.

[He guessed that was the case - she's so skittish. While her history explains a lot of that, if she's gonna make any progress on it, it'll have to be slow.]

It's a pretty great place, huh? [He'll start back up the beach to the cabin as he talks.] A lot of the other cabins are really not comfortable, or really crowded, so it's a pretty awesome place to get to live.

I think I'll like it more with someone to share it with. I, uh, I like the fountain. [She follows after him.]

And it's a beautiful cabin on the outside, too. What are the others like? When I arrived, they put me in it right away, so I didn't stay in any of the others.

[Oh hey look is he looking embarrassed? He's totally looking embarrassed and kind of sheepish.] I'll try and get one of the Hephaestus kids to fix it. I, uh - I cut it in half two years ago. [And had left it that way since then. About time it was repaired.]

Ummm, you've seen ours - I stayed in Hermes for awhile, until Dad claimed me. It's kind of run down and a lot more like a summer camp cabin than anything; any unclaimed demigods stay there until they're claimed since Hermes is the god of travelers. Also all the kids of minor gods without cabins used to stay there too so it was always packed until last year. Aphrodite built a Barbie house so I'd keep away from that place if you don't want to come out looking like you've been attacked by the entire makeup aisle at Shop'n'Save. Athena basically has a command center that's a cross between a college classroom and a military bunker. Hephaestus has all these really cool gadgets in all the walls and the bunks are all mechanical. Ares is always a mess and really ugly. You always need sunglasses at Apollo and their music's always too loud which is awesome if it's good music but it's not always good. Demeter's really... homey, there's plants everywhere and it's kind of like living in a forest or a hill. Zeus and Hera are a lot more temples than cabins and I know the Jupiter kids are sleeping on the roof instead of inside 'cause there's this giant statue of their dad in there just watching everything. Mr. D's cabin always has a party going on inside, I don't know how his kids sleep.

Uhhh - last year we added a bunch of cabins, too. Nico built Hades' and it looks like a Halloween store exploded all over a crypt, I don't even know what's going on with Iris' place, don't go into Hypnos' place without anyone else because you will fall asleep, Nemesis actually has a really simple place that looks like a pretty normal house, Nike basically ripped off the Jets' locker room and turned it into a cabin, Hebe seems to be living in one of those old novels that girls like to cry over, Tyche basically stole a casino and it's loud, and never touch anything in Hecate because there's magic runes on almost everything and you never know when one of them's gonna explode.

[How's that?]

[...Wow, that was a lot of information. But Annie follows along, committing it all to memory. When he's done, she nods.] Wow. Okay, I think I got it. I mean, there's really not much of a danger of me going, uhm, into any cabin other than ours.

[Maybe the Aphrodite cabin, but even that... She won't press her luck. Finnick is just flirting with her like he does with all the other girls, anyway. She's nothing special.]

You, ah, really don't seem to like the Aphrodite kids, though.

[She asked. And he kind of makes a face at the last statement, because ehhhhhh...]

They're pretty useless as a group. I mean, some of them are nice - Selena was really cool. [There's a bit of a dark expression crossing his face at that, but she may not catch it.] But she died last year in the Battle of Manhattan. She's pretty much the only one I know who's ever really tried to do much other than worry about clothes and makeup and who's hooking up with who. Maybe it's 'cause she ignored their right of passage for being stupid, which is really is.

...Right of passage? [That gets her attention, and she raises an eyebrow as they walk up the steps to their cabin.] I didn't know they had one. What... What is it?

[Her mind is racing with all thoughts concerning one Finnick Odair.]

[Percy, of course, is completely oblivious to that. To him these are just regular questions.]

I guess... not all of them like it, but they kind of push it, especially since Silena died. They've gotta make someone fall for them and then break their heart. I was warned about it and apparently everyone knew me and Annabeth were stupid about each other a long time before we did, but I've seen it happen to other people.

[Fair warning is fair, Annie.]

Still... Silena and Beckendorf were a pretty awesome couple.

Oh.

[She looks away, her hand in her hair again. Finnick was always kind to her. She wanted to consider him a friend but... if he was trying to make someone fall for him... Well, he had her eating out of his hand already.

She blinks rapidly. If Finnick was-- no, he was better than that. But... He flirted with everyone else. And she didn't even think he liked her.

Maybe it was just another game. Like Gabe played. Only worse, because she didn't know what would happen, if he broke her heart. Gabe was just playing with the pieces of her mind.

She swallows, digging her nails into the palm of her hand that isn't in her hair.]

Thanks, Percy. For the warning. I, ah, I appreciate it. [She giggles a little.]

[Okay he might be sort of a dunce but he can hear that. Also, he can see that. Kinda hard to hide as obvious a reaction as she was having when he's right there next to her, pushing open the door to let her inside.]

What is it? Something wrong?

No! Oh, no. Nothing's wrong, Percy.

[Liar. She swallows as she pushes into the cabin.] I just really appreciate the warning.

Not-So-Triumphant Return (Action)

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