Tidal Wave (Luke Castellan)

The Bus

It was finally time to leave for the quest. Grover, Percy, and I stood near the edge of the forest, watching as Annabeth said goodbye to Thalia's pine tree. I wasn't up there saying goodbye with her, it didn't feel right since I didn't actually know Thalia. Sure, I was there when she'd transformed into this symbol of hope but that didn't mean I knew anything else about her besides what Luke and Annabeth had told me.

"She's really attached to that tree, huh?" Percy asked me and Grover quietly.

"When Annabeth and Luke first arrived here, they were being chased down by monsters. They had been sent by Hades to intercept Thalia, the daughter of Zeus," Grover began.

"Furies. Mrs. Dodds?" Percy asked.

"Yes, one of them was our Algebra teacher, Alecto. Thalia turned back to give her friends some time to get to safety. Her satyr protector tried to stop her but she wouldn't listen. Cass stepped in to try to help as well, but Thalia's fate was as good as sealed. At the last second, Zeus intervened to save her life and changed her form."

I could feel Percy's eyes on me as Grover told the story, but I didn't look at him. I kept my eyes ahead. I didn't want to see the look of pity he'd likely have as the sad story. I'd seen enough of those looks throughout my life. I didn't need to see another one.

"The most powerful being in the universe's best idea to save his daughter's life was to change her into a tree?" Percy asked Grover.

I tried my best to hide my smile. He was most definitely my brother. I had that same thought after her transformation too, only I hadn't said anything out loud. He, on the other hand, was definitely the kind to speak out stupid questions.

Annabeth walked back to us, "She was the bravest demigod I ever knew. She fought valiantly to the end and she met a hero's fate."

"She met a pinecone's fate," Percy said back. It took everything in me not to laugh at that one. I knew the seriousness of this conversation but that was a truly good line.

Annabeth's posture changed. Her spine straightened and her stormy eyes stared daggers at Percy, "Forbidden children are always in danger, even the strongest ones. Ask Cass, she can tell you all about it. This is no joking matter. If you don't take this seriously, you will die. Are we clear?"

Percy didn't have time to answer because we heard Chiron wheeling down the hill. Argus, the man of a million eyes was with him. I always did my best to avoid Argus, he scared me. I always felt I was being watched around him, which, to be fair, I usually was. You couldn't hide anything from a guy who could see in all different directions at once.

"This is Argus," Chiron introduced to Percy, "He will drive you into the city and keep an eye on things so to say."

Very punny Chiron.

There were footsteps behind him. We all looked past Chiron to see Luke running towards us. I had said my goodbyes to him last night when he'd left Cabin 3. Part of me kind of hoped I wouldn't see him before I left since it would only make leaving harder. But the other part of me was relieved to see him one more time.

"Hey!" he tried to catch his breath, "I'm glad I caught you guys before you left. I just wanted to say good luck. And I thought you could use these."

He held out a beat up box towards Percy. I recognized it instantly. Percy definitely didn't know what was so special about the pair of shoes being shown to him. They were Luke's gift from his dad, Hermes. For him to be giving them to Percy... that showed a lot of trust.

"Maia," he said. The tiny wings sprouted from the shoes. Percy dropped the box, causing the shoes to fall out and flop around on the ground at his feet. The wings disappeared after a while.