Nico

The next morning, I think more about that girl, Lila. A child of Poseidon, how have monsters not eaten her up yet? She must be like a shining beacon to them. Demigods do tend to attract less attention before they learn who they are, or I guess she was under serious protection before she lost her memories. A child of Poseidon… A child of the big three! The big three made a pact to not have children, because that would kick-start the Titan war. But Poseidon and Zeus both broke the promise, and the Titan war happened anyways. We kicked their ass, by the way. But could Poseidon have broken his promise twice?

In case you’re wondering, no, Hades did not break the pact. I was born in the 1930s, and was stuck in a hotel where time passes differently, thanks to my father. In what felt like a month, 70 years passed. But there’s no way Poseidon broke the pact twice and got away with it…

Percy has a sister! I bet he has no idea. What am I saying, of course he has no idea. And I bet her memories were wiped to keep her safe. I’ll probably never see her again, I think I scared her off. For once, I’m disappointed that I scared someone off. Usually it entertains me, or at least makes me feel better. But now I just feel like a jerk. Whatever.

I stand up and brush myself off. Wherever I travel, it’s usually hard to find a place to stay for the night, especially since I’m not exactly raking in the dough. So I usually convince someone to let me stay the night or longer. And if nobody wants to let me in, my last resort is to shadow-travel to somewhere I know I can stay. But for the past week, there’s an old lady who’s nice enough to let me stay in her attic because I ‘remind her of her deceased grandson’. I would say ‘convenient’, but that’s not necessarily true. As an old grandma, she probably sees what she wants to see, and it helps that I’m the son of the lord of the dead. The Mist and my power probably does make me look like her grandson. Whatever it is, I’m glad she let me in. I quietly go down the ladder and leave her house.

I almost walk to the beach where I met Lila, but I don’t. Instead, I walk in the opposite direction, towards what looks like a little forest. I let myself get lost in the trees, until I find a cute little spot with a rock that I can relax on. So that’s what I do. I lie back, and close my eyes. A couple of rays of light peek through the leaves, and a few hit my skin. For once I let them. I’ve lived in the shadows, and that’s how I prefer it, but today for some reason I want to feel the sun on my skin. It warms my body, and I’m so relaxed that I almost fall asleep.

Almost.

Instead, I’m interrupted by a CRASH somewhere nearby. I open my eyes, angry, but I don’t get up. I hear footsteps coming closer and closer to my little alcove, but I don’t move a muscle, only enough to close my eyes.

“Well isn’t this cute?” Well isn’t this disappointing? I recognize Lila’s voice, and my mind races with confusion. Although I didn’t like the thought of scaring her away, I definitely did not want to see her again so soon, much less here when I’m so relaxed. I’m so not relaxed anymore.

“Go. Away.” I say through clenched teeth.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I see now that I’ve interrupted something very important. Some kind of ‘son of Hades ritual’, maybe? Or just a midday nap? I’m sorry, I’ll leave.” No she won’t. I’m proven right after five minutes pass, and I can still feel her presence.

“What do you want?” I open my eyes.

“I don’t know. I didn’t mean to find you.” Lies.

“Funny how you just happen to get lost in the same place as me. Also, didn’t you say you rarely leave the ocean?”

“I’m not a fish, Death Boy. I can breathe on land, too.”

“Fish breath.”

“Numbskull.”

“Blowfish”

“Duke of depressing darkness.”

“Scowling saltwater serpent.”

“Touché. But mine was better.”

“Whatever.” I close my eyes again. From what I can hear, it sounds like Lila took a seat, making herself comfortable. I openly sigh.

“Wow, you’re talkative.” Lila complains.

“Are you done? Why are you here, anyways? I thought you’d hate me after yesterday.”

“Did I disappoint you? Did you want me to hate you? Were you expecting to never see my face, never hear my voice, ever again and be rid of me for the end of time?”

“Not really…”

“Because I’m not easy to get rid of.” Lila keeps talking, as if I didn’t say anything. “And as much as your words hurt, your first impression counted more.”

“What are you talking about?” Eyes open.

“You’re seen as a scary, intimidating son of Hades with most of the other kids you know, aren’t you? I bet you are. But all that has to do with impressions. Especially first impressions. They’re the ones that happen to last. And your first impression was a caring stranger who was confused and curious at the same time. I’m sure that with most other people their first impression of you is some ray of darkness, wielding your black sword and wearing your worst scowl. But that’s not always who you are. That’s what I mean.”

“I guess you take a lot of time thinking about people’s first impressions. Do you always decide how your first impression to other people looks like?”

“Well, no. You can’t always control that kind of thing. I mean, what was your first impression of me?” I flinch. The image of Lila’s face highlighted by gentle rays of sun with her black hair flying behind her crosses my mind, but I push it aside. “Well?”

“I don’t know. You were in some kind of trance, and you were saying the weirdest things.”

“Oh. Well, maybe that’s why you don’t like me. Ok, well now I know. Sorry if I’m bothering you, it’s just too much fun.”

“Yeah, I can tell.”

“So, why are you lying here?” She asks. I sit up, frustrated and frowning.

“Why were you looking for me? Why are you still here? Why all these questions? Why aren’t you on your way to New York to find the amazing Camp Half-blood to be trained as a hero like everyone else, instead of bothering me?”

“You get angry really fast, you know that?” Lila says accusingly, and stands up. I scowl again, and stand up, ready to leave. “Ok, I’m leaving now. You were here first, and this is your place. Going. Bye.” Lila slips back through the trees, and out of my sight. I sit back down, but it’s no use. I can’t get relaxed like I was before, and I can’t stand the sun right now. I turn and walk further into the mini-forest, hoping to come across a cave or dark space. Maybe a marsh. Something. But after walking for a couple of minutes, I don’t see anything like that. Trees and rocks and plants and sun touching all of it. So I turn back around and try to find my way out of the forest. Then I remember that I let myself get lost in the forest, and at first it was calming. Now it’s annoying, not knowing where I am or how to get out of this place. I ball my hands into fists, and punch the tree next to me. I know it’s not exactly the smartest thing to do, or the safest, but it’s what I’ve been doing recently. When I get angry or upset, and there’s no other way to deal with it, I simply punch a tree. You could say I’m no tree hugger. I laugh out loud at my own joke, then check my hand. Just blisters, no splinters. My knuckles have gotten used to it by now, I think. I sigh, and just shadow-travel out of the forest and to the beach I was at yesterday, under the pier. Only because it’s a place that I remember, and it won’t be weird if I just appear. Unlike if I traveled into the grandma’s house. I pace back and forth under the pier for a while, unsure of what to do next. It’s pretty hard, sometimes, not having to do anything.