Hawk & Stri

“It’s your quest,” Nico reminded Rue. “If you meet someone in the coming days that you’d rather have along, by all means choose your heroes based on your own preference.” There was a sort of irony in the word ‘heroes,’ as though he didn’t think he deserved to be counted among those. Yet, by definition of a prophecy, he now was one. It was weird, having a prophecy directed towards him and not just mentioning him as a side note. “And don’t apologize. The quest isn’t your fault. And you’ll be fine. We’ll make sure of it, I promise.” It was a hard promise to make, but he didn’t make them without knowing deep in his heart that he’d die before he broke them. He didn’t really know if it counted because he was destined to die in this quest anyway, but perhaps the line meant something different than he thought. Prophecies had a way of doing that. Although he had never seen one so up front about who was supposed to die. Then again… “It may not be as grim as you think,” he murmured, meeting Rue’s gaze. “Twins snuff out the Angel’s breath. That line was about me, but I’m still here, aren’t I? Don’t worry too much.” Optimism wasn’t a good look on Nico, but he really was trying. Because there was no way he was going to let this sour Rue’s opinion on the world she’d been thrust into. There was already too much disillusionment as it was.
“Your mom will help, if she can,” Rachel smiled softly, catching Nico’s gaze before looking straight at Rue. Almost as though she was reproaching Nico for the cynicism he had displayed earlier. “It won’t be much, but Demeter cares more than a lot of the other gods do. And I’m sure she’s no more happy about the quest than you are.”
Nico couldn’t help but wonder if there were some deal that had been made to force Demeter and Hades to send a combined quest to their children. Something must have happened to force the two of them together.
“We’re never really sure how prophecies are made,” Rachel went on. “It’s possible that this one has existed for a while and you’re the only child Demeter trusts to get it done. Perhaps she told Apollo to send it through me now. Or perhaps it just happened without anyone’s permission. It’s hard to tell with prophecies. But either way, this quest wouldn’t be given to anyone but a daughter of Demeter. And chances are she chose you to receive it.”
Nico looked on as Rue quietly spoke to her mom. It hurt to watch, but it rang true. Perhaps it hurt so much because of that fact.
“I’ve got a ride to get us out West, but it might be an issue if they mean Greece rather than the Western states. It could actually…” he pondered for a moment. “We’ll have a few days to puzzle it out so you can get acclimated before we leave,” he told her, knuckles still white from gripping his sword. “If you want some peace tonight, you can sleep in my cabin instead of the Demeter cabin, or you can meet more of your siblings. It’s up to you, but mine will be empty.”

Nico shifted uncomfortably. How could he tell Rue that she couldn’t talk to her mom when he was leaving to go talk to his father? How could he explain to her that his situation was different than hers, that he had a closer relationship with his father than almost anyone else at camp did with their godly parent? How was he supposed to tell her why that was?
“She likes the strawberry fields, I’ve heard, but gods don’t often come to camp unless they absolutely have to. If she wants to talk to you she might come to you in a dream, and ou can ask her to, if you want to. Doesn’t mean she’ll answer, but…” Nico shrugged, twisting the ring on his finger around and around.
“We could be wrong, of course, about your mother…” Rachel trailed off at a look from Nico. There could be doubt, sure, but no reasonable doubt. Harvest’s feast was perhaps the most obvious line in there.
Nico let his eyes drift closed for a moment, trying to deal with the information that had been presented to him. There really was no way to say for sure what the prophecy was saying, but his mind was going in the worst directions. He knew he would have to tell Will soon, and that Will would try to convince Rue not to take him, but Rue couldn’t know about the fading. Otherwise she would choose someone else, and Nico knew that he had to go. If someone were to die, he would do everything in his power to ensure that it was him, because he was the only one who made sense. You could only avoid destiny for too long, and he hadn’t told Will but even without using his powers the fading was getting worse by the week.
“Don’t worry about it,” Nico muttered after a while. People were starting to notice them just standing there and were coming nearer to investigate, but still keeping a safe distance. “Tomorrow the two of us will have to go and talk to Chiron… it might be best you write down the prophecy so you can present it to him tomorrow. Rachel… let’s try to keep this quiet tonight.” Rachel opened her mouth to say something, but Nico cut her off. “I know it’s not protocol, but let’s give Rue one night of rest. Just tonight.”
He turned back to look at the girl, trying to think what to say. It wasn’t fair to her that she had been thrown into this so suddenly. It wasn’t fair that she now thought that someone’s death would be on her shoulders because she picked them for a quest. There was nothing fair about it, and although Nico was used to it, it still hurt to see it begin to crush someone else.
“C’mon,” he murmured, tone softer than he seemed capable of being. “My cabin is this way. I’m… going to do some research… so you’ll have the whole thing to yourself to get settled in tonight.” He needed to talk to Hades as soon as possible. He just had to hope that his father would be willing to see him. And he had to hope that his powers would get him safely in and out of the Underworld. He knew Will would kill him for the trip, but he had to take it.

“Will’s never gone on an actual quest,” Nico replied quietly. “For that matter, I haven’t either. I’ve been in prophecies, but none of them required me to go on a quest. This is… different. But the point is, not only is Will an overprotective *sshole,” there was a hint of a smile on his face as he said that, as though to confirm he was at least slightly joking, “but we’ve all got a bit of a drive for glory, even if we say we don’t.” He knew everyone at camp yearned for a quest, whether they were willing to admit it or not. It was like being chosen and having a chance to prove yourself to a parent you weren’t always sure cared. Except for Nico. He knew his dad cared, now, at at least, and he just wanted a break. He didn’t want to have to worry about the world any longer. He was tired of saving it, even though that task had never squarely been on his shoulders.
He continued walking, glaring at anyone who looked at them like they wanted to approach. He knew Rue would probably get a lot of weird questions in the morning about why she was spending time with him of all people, or why she was okay with him being possessive and wanting a friend all to himself before she could catch opinions against him, but he didn’t know if he cared what they said about him. Things had certainly gotten better since he’d helped save camp, but despite what Will had said, there were definitely still rumors and strange whispers about him, and h was never going to be treated as normal here. He had come to accept that. That wasn’t to say he didn’t have a good number of friends, but only those he had fought directly alongside during the war.
“Iris message me when you’re ready to go in the morning,” he told her as they approached the black building that stood, ominous and imposing, slightly away from the other cabins. Not in a way that made it obviously inferior, but just in a way that said it had clearly been built after the rest of them. “There’s a fountain in the cabin, just toss this into the spray and say my name.” He held up a coin that obviously wasn’t modern-day currency. It was pinched between his thumb and forefinger in such a way that, when he held it out to her, there was enough space on it for her to grab it without risking their hands brushing up against each other.
He considered the last part, then shook his head firmly. He couldn’t explain to her how he knew it was a quest meant for him as well, but he knew it was. “I’m going unless you decide before we leave that you hate my guts, which I’m not ruling out as a possibility,” he returned, his lip curling up into a smile that was either entirely humorless or merely self deprecating. It was hard to tell with Nico.
Turning back towards the building, he unlocked the door and opened it wide enough for Rue to step inside. It was… gloomy, to say the least. The lighting was dim and there were no beds, merely coffin-like structures with plenty of padding and pillows throne inside. Not out of malice, obviously, but Nico didn’t like sleeping there. There were certain knickknacks spread around that claimed the space as his, and it was obvious he was at least somewhat comfortable inside, but it was strange.
“Rue?” He asked, turning back towards her. “You were chosen for a quest for a reason. You’re going to do just fine. Get some rest for now.”

“Not really,” Nico admitted, scratching at the back of his neck. “I’ve been involved in quests, and we’ve had our place in prophecies, but we’ve never actually been on a prophecy driven quest. I’ve come closer than Will has… I uh,” he frowned, looking at his hands for a moment before he shoved them into his pocket. “I was sort of on a quest to bring the Athena Parthenos to Camp Jupiter with two others, but I don’t know if that counts as an official quest. But I’ve done my fair share for the gods. I know more or less how to keep safe on a quest, and we’re going to need a doctor. Will really takes after his father’s healing powers. Besides, we’ve got shifts covered if we need them. I’m more of a night person and Apollo never lets his kids sleep past like five in the morning anyway.” He glanced around the cabin, wanting to fix it up a little bit to make it a bit more presentable for Rue. Of course, there really wasn’t much more he could do. There were parts of it that were more or less stuck the way they were.
“The coffins are surprisingly comfortable,” he said, not quite meeting her gaze. I wasn’t that he was avoiding answering her question, it was that he was trying to find the best way to respond, which didn’t really work when there wasn’t really a best way. “You’ll be fine here until morning, I hope. Don’t worry about messing anything up, there’s nothing here that can’t be put back the way it was in a matter of minutes. You could throw a party in here if you wanted, but… I’m guessing you aren’t the type to do that.” He swallowed, finally meeting her gaze as his rambling died off.
“No,” he murmured, cutting through the silence. “Your mother and my father haven’t been able to work together for centuries. They both need something, and if they’re willing to have us work together to get it… it could do wonders for them. If we don’t do it… we risk angering them. Badly.” He didn’t know for sure if that was true, but that was how it felt. “They won’t take it out on us, but they might take it out on camp. There are usually some pretty high stakes when it comes to quests. Just because we don’t know them yet doesn’t mean they aren’t there.” Besides, as selfish as it was, Rue didn’t have a relationship with her mother yet and Nico really didn’t want to ruin the one he had with his father.
“I…” he didn’t know if he should even be telling Rue this, but he was going to. “I’m going to meet with my father now. Demand an explanation more or less, see if they can’t retrieve the items without us. He might not be willing to listen, but I can try. I don’t know if Demeter will be willing to bargain, but…” he sighed. “I’ll do what I can.” If he could prevent this from happening… well, he wouldn’t just be doing it for himself.
“You don’t need to thank me for anything,” he added, looking away. “I haven’t done you any favors. Just introduced you into a crazy world that you may end up wishing you weren’t a part of.”

If Nico were one for physical contact and if Rue had shown any inclination to shake anyone’s hand, Nico would have reached across and ruffled her hair. But he wasn’t and she hadn’t, so he didn’t. “You’ll be fine for tonight,” he murmured, running a hand through his hair as he tried to figure out if he was forgetting to tell her anything. It was clear from his body language that he really wasn’t sure what role he was supposed to be playing here. Most people he had been assigned to welcome split off only minutes later to find people who were more outwardly friendly and who weren’t as intensely cynical and pessimistic as he was. “And the coffins… they’re probably nicer than where we’ll be sleeping on the quest unless Chiron decides to be nice enough to give us enough drachmas for a hotel for a night.” That seemed unlikely, but who knew. Sometimes they got lucky, and it wasn’t like Chiron wanted them to starve. Dionysus always seemed to pack away something in the quest gear as well - or so Nico had been told. Of course, questers weren’t supposed to know it was from Dionysus because it would ruin his image, but… it was sweet anyway.
“Thanks,” he replied, letting the word hang in between them. It was only a little bit awkward. Nico knew that Rue probably wanted to talk to her mom, but… he frowned and reached into his bag before placing a few more drachmas in front of the small fountain. “If you want to try to talk to Demeter, Iris message her. She might not answer, but if she does… well, you might be able to get something out of her. I’ll…” it seemed like he was about to say something else before he thought better of it and closed his mouth.
He was about to turn to leave when Rue’s word hit him. His brows raised in surprise and for a moment he looked like a confused puppy before his expression sorted itself back into the hardened mask he was used to wearing. “Be careful of casting judgements too soon,” he warned, but his features softened just a moment later. “But you’re welcome. And thank you. It’s not often newbies want to spend time with me for more than a few minutes.”
Nico was confident that the rest of Camp Halfblood would get to Rue eventually. One day she’d hear all the stories about his past, about everything he had done wrong, the way he had betrayed camp… they would talk in whispers about how he hadn’t saved Octavian and how when he was angry the ground split and skeletons attacked anyone in his way. Rue would find out how he had banished a soul to the Underworld without even realizing he had done it, and the power had almost consumed him. Even the crew of the Argo II would speak of how he seemed to appear out of nowhere and wanted nothing to do with anyone… maybe they would have regretted going back to save him if he hadn’t been the key to uniting the camps… but he shook the thoughts away. For now, they just had a quest to worry about. Rue wouldn’t know all the things he wished to hide until after they returned.
“I’ll see you in the morning,” he said finally before he stepped out and closed the door behind him.

Nico’s meeting hadn’t gone as well as he had anticipated. Of course, he knew his father could be fickle on the best of days and downright impossible every other day, but it was still frustrating. Besides, it wasn’t as though the gods could really control prophecies, even if they themselves were involved in it. For the first time, Nico found himself desperately wishing that Apollo were his father instead of Hades. That way, at least, he might be able to get some additional input into what a prophecy meant, and whether there was any way out of his dying for it. As brave a face as he was putting on in front of Rue, he really wasn’t prepared to die. He didn’t think it was a fair request for him or anyone else.
The trek back from the Underworld didn’t take any longer than usual – although he usually shadow travelled. Jules-Albert had been a willing chauffer back to Camp Half-Blood. Nico didn’t know what he was going to tell Rue. He had hoped to get some help, some additional information about what was missing or what was required of them, but the best he got was that Demeter was likely going to target him and try to turn Rue against him. Nothing that he hadn’t already anticipated. Nothing he could do anything to stop. He didn’t expect to get through an entire quest without Rue at least questioning his morality.
The one useful bit of information he had received was that his suspicion was right about which items were missing. The drinking horn and the cornucopia, although there was no way of knowing where those might be hidden, especially if the gods themselves couldn’t find them. It would be dangerous, Nico knew, otherwise the gods would have just gotten up and retrieved the items for themselves. If there were any little bit of challenge involved… well, then they had a legitimate excuse to give the job to someone else under the guise of making them a hero.
He had been pacing outside Cabin 13 for at least ten minutes. He just needed to go in and tell Rue the truth. Hades hadn’t been as free with information as Nico had hoped, and they would have to go into the quest as blind as any other group of questers were. He hadn’t really expected an advantage, but now that one had been denied him he was a little bit peeved.
Softly, he rapped on the door. He didn’t know for sure that Rue was still inside – well, yes he was. He could sense her life through the door – but he wasn’t sure what she was up to, and he didn’t want to interrupt anything, especially if she weren’t awake yet. Nico hadn’t gotten any sleep, which he knew would cost him later in the day, but it would be fine. No sleep was better than sleep interrupted by nightmares. Part of him wondered if Rue had been successful reaching out to her mother, but he decided he wasn’t going to ask unless Rue willingly offered an answer. Even if she had managed to contact Demeter, he doubted she had been any more helpful than Hades had been.
How was he supposed to tell Will about this quest? He groaned, realization hitting him for the first time. This was a serious quest. It wasn’t world changing or anything, but this… this was a goodbye. And he wasn’t ready for it. There would be nobody waiting to greet him in the Underworld, maybe not even his father. His death in this quest… he had tried so hard to keep from overusing his powers. Dying was one thing, but this… the death this quest promised him? It was something else entirely. There was no guarantee his soul would find its way where it was meant to be. There was no way to guarantee he wouldn’t be trapped somewhere in between. And that, above all, terrified him. Desperately, he schooled his features so Rue wouldn’t see his panic when she opened the door.

“Hey, don’t apologize,” Nico replied quietly, forcing a small smile. He needed to get better at positivity, that was what he had been told countless times. He might as well try now, when someone needed to lean on him. He didn’t think Rue would like that implication though. “Dreams aren’t often very helpful, but sometimes they provide just enough information that it can tip the balance. The gods try to be helpful, I think. They just don’t understand what it’s like to be human. They don’t get that sometimes finding out way out of situations isn’t a riddle we enjoy solving. And sometimes they want us to prove ourselves, and they don’t want to make it too easy. What did she say? Demeter, I mean.” He knew that if Rue didn’t want to tell him, she wouldn’t. It seemed to be an unspoken agreement between the two. Just because something was asked didn’t mean it warranted an answer.
“And don’t worry about it. I…” he frowned, seeming to question what he was about to say before continuing. “I wish I didn’t have all this space just for myself, but I’d rather this than most of the other cabins.” He had never gotten a chance to share the cabin with Bianca, but it was nice when Hazel came to visit, at least. Alone it just felt rather… overwhelming. And morbid, what with the coffins and décor. It made sense to him that Rue didn’t want to get all buddy-buddy with her new siblings on her first night at camp.
Nico’s brow raised at the question, the way Rue phrased it. There were demigods who hadn’t really fought in either of the wars that were more than eager to take on their first quest, to leave camp and prove themselves. Fortunately, that number was smaller now than it had been when Nico had first come to camp, but there were still a few. The wiser campers… well, they knew what quests were like and they knew it was their duty to take them on when necessary, but very few would volunteer unless they had a personal reason to. Unfortunately for Will, Nico counted as a personal reason.
“We’ve,” Nico hesitated for a moment, “discussed it. Sort of.” Nico had asked, and he’d given Will the prophecy, and then there had been an argument. “He’s as much on board as he can be.” He’s just wasting his breath trying to convince me not to go. Nico didn’t say that part – it didn’t concern Rue, and he didn’t want her to worry about anything more than she needed to. Right now, Nico’s impending death and Will’s reluctance to let him plunge headfirst into it were… a part of the quest, yes, but not one that Rue needed to deal with on top of everything else. Nico had made Will promise not to tell Rue the truth behind some of the lines of the prophecy and Will, however angrily, had agreed.
“It’s early enough that most people won’t have gone to breakfast yet,” he said after a moment, picking up one of the knickknacks from the nightstand and rolling his finger over it. He didn’t quite look at Rue as he did so. “If you’d like to beat the crowd, now might be the best time.” He wasn’t hungry, but he figured Rue very well might be. He’d need to start eating and sleeping again normally if he wanted to be healthy enough for a quest, but it wasn’t as easy as just remembering that fact. “You’ll have to eat at the Demeter table per camp rules, but there shouldn’t be too many people there right now. A lot of them have already eaten to go look after the strawberry fields. Miranda tends to eat around this time, though…” he thought for a moment, trying to remember who usually ate when. He was good at noticing and remembering those things, but he usually didn’t pay much attention to the Demeter table. “I think you’d like Miranda. She’s a little less overbearing than Katie tends to be.” She didn’t like him much either, of course, but he left that bit out.

Nico gave a tight smile at that. There had been wars fought over the role the gods played in the lives of demigods, but Rue was right. Despite their best intentions, they often made things much more complicated. Right now, though, the last thing Rue probably needed was a lecture about the history of Camp Half-Blood and a play by play of the most recent wars. It wasn’t fair to her that she had been brought to camp under these circumstances. It wasn’t fair that she had to get used to it in the aftermath of two major prophecies. Granted, Camp was a better place now, but the people were more wary. More scarred and battle hardened. But they were still kids, weren’t they? They could have fun and play Capture the Flag and hope for ways to win their parent’s favor… there were certainly kids at Camp who had emerged a lot less broken than others. Nico had done his best to put himself back together again, but… Rue deserved a better guide. Someone who wasn’t quite so cynical about the way things were. She deserved someone who wasn’t so reluctant to go on a quest – he tried to hide that reluctance, sure, but he was sure Rue could see it.
Demeter’s warning was no surprise to him, but perhaps Rue’s response was. He did his best not to let on that Rue’s determination to form her own opinions was a shock to him – a good shock, but a shock nonetheless. Yes, he could see why he liked Rue from the beginning. Nico himself had tried to form his own opinions without Hades’ influence, and he liked to think he had succeeded for the most part. Minus the whole bit about getting Percy stuck in a death trap… which he had then saved him from, so maybe it was even? Nico pushed the thought away. It would never be even, but he would try every day to at least try to make up for his mistakes.
At the end of Rue’s words, however, was what seemed like an ultimatum. No secrets. Nico was a boy made of secrets, and he couldn’t fully divulge any of them. Not right away. Maybe not ever. He couldn’t promise that there wouldn’t be any secrets, but he could offer an olive branch of sorts. A secret he’d been planning on keeping, and with it – though Rue wouldn’t recognize it – a promise that he’d do his best not to keep too many. Promises were sacred to Nico di Angelo. He wouldn’t break this one, but he wouldn’t promise no secrets either.
“I appreciate you telling me. I’m still coming with you, and as long as I’m going, Will’s going. I… suppose I should warn you that Will doesn’t want me going. But that’s my decision, not yours, not his. It’s just… we’ve got some ideas what a few of the lines might mean.” He shifted uncomfortably, not sure how much he wanted to give away. As certain as he was pretending to be that it was his decision, Rue could kick him off the quest and replace him with anyone else at camp. Although he doubted she wanted to at the moment, if she found out that Nico was pretty sure he was going to die going into it? Nico had no idea what she would do then.
His thoughts were cut off by Rue’s next words. It was strange, to hear her thinking of him.
“Don’t worry about me,” Nico replied quietly, the hint of a smile on his face. “I’ll walk you to breakfast if you’d like, but then I might head to the Big House to update Chiron a bit on the situation. He’ll probably want to talk to you after breakfast, if you’re up for it.” If she wasn’t, Nico wasn’t going to make her talk to Chiron about the quest.
He hesitated for a moment before adding something else. “I won’t tell you how to feel about me, or what you should think. I don’t want you to take my opinions of anyone else as the truth of what they’re like, either. You’ll… probably hear a lot about me, from more than just Demeter. I trust you to form your own opinion, no matter what that ends up being.” If the words were hard for Nico, he didn’t let on. Instead, he opened the door and held it so Rue could exit the cabin and they could head towards breakfast.

If Rue was the talkative sort who asked all sorts of questions that Nico didn’t want to answer, he might have been a little less comfortable being the one to guide her around camp and be there with her for her quest. Which was… a bit of a hypocritical thing to say, given that he had been that sort of kid, but that was beside the point. Where he was now, he was comfortable having Rue besides him, asking questions when she didn’t understand things, but otherwise not causing any harm. Of course he wished she could stay at camp and learn to be comfortable here, where she didn’t have to worry about monster attacks or living alone without a family, but that wasn’t the situation they found themselves in, and unfortunately Nico couldn’t change any of it. They were going on a quest, and it wasn’t going to go well. Nico was going to leave Rue alone – hopefully with Will – to finish it, and she’d have to live with the fact that he went into it knowing.
I’m sorry, Rue, he thought to himself. She didn’t deserve him putting her in an unfair position, but it seemed like that might be what he had to do. But she was leading the quest, and Nico couldn’t leave her in the dark about this, no matter how much he wanted to. He just needed the right opportunity to tell her, and heading to breakfast was not that time.
When Rue asked, Nico couldn’t help but give that grim, humorless smile of his. “They’re not great,” he admitted, “But I’ve got a feeling we’ve got a say in what a few of them mean.” There were lines that they could take control of, that was for certain. Lines that could turn out to be good things, once they got there. But even he couldn’t twist the line that was so clearly about him. He couldn’t pretend that going on this quest was anything but a final mission to his death, or whatever it was that fading away meant. He didn’t think his spirit would go to the Underworld, but he could be wrong. He hoped he was wrong, because the alternatives… did not bear thinking about. “I wouldn’t worry too much about it right now. Prophecies tend to be intentionally cryptic, and you often get to decide more than you think. I don’t think this quest will fail.” It wasn’t exactly a fantastic pep talk, but it was all Nico had to give for the moment. Of course, there were still plenty of things they would have to do to ensure that it didn’t fail, but they weren’t set up for failure right from the very beginning. Or… Rue wasn’t set up for failure at the very beginning. Nico could tell from his father’s expression the previous night that they both knew how this was going to end for him, whether he liked it or not. Then again, Hades was hard to read, so maybe Nico had been wrong about it. It was, after all, his first time actually being one of the three primary members on a quest. Maybe he’d be surprised.
His smile turned a little more genuine when Rue mentioned allowing him to give her advice. “My advice right now is to trust your gut about people,” he told her quietly. If she found friends and allies at camp, that would be the best possible thing for her. At least she’d have people to return to when she came home, either with Will or alone. Nico hoped it was with Will. The prophecy seemed to imply that two people would make it, and Nico already knew he wouldn’t, so… so Will and Rue would get back alright. They had to.
It had been a while since Nico had actually eaten anything at breakfast besides what he took as an obligatory offering to the gods, though Rue’s response to seeing the food that was there was enough to get him to soften to the idea of actually trying to get himself to eat. If it was so plentiful, why waste more by not eating any himself? He grabbed a muffin from the table, unwrapping it before taking a small bite.
“Take as much as you want. If you want something you don’t see, just… tell your plate and it’ll appear. That’s sort of how it works around here. Just remember to take enough that you can scrape some into the fire afterwards,” he explained, gesturing towards the blazing fire a bit of a ways off. Hestia wasn’t tending it like she usually did, which was a pity. Nico could have used her company at a time like this. “The gods like it when you leave an offering, and you’ll need as much godly favor as you can get right now.”

Nico wished he could tell her. He wished he didn’t have to tell her. Deep down, he wished he didn’t have to go on this stupid quest, and he wished that Rue didn’t have to either. Of course, the one new person who wasn’t afraid of him at first sight, who could prove to be some sort of turning point, proof that Nico belonged at camp and could be a good role model… of course he was going to have to die in front of her. It would have been easier if it were any of the other children of Demeter. Not that he thought they actually wanted him to die, it was just that… well, it would be easier to die in front of people who didn’t think he was particularly redeemable. He wouldn’t feel as guilty for ruining their quest.
Considering his own death was ruining Nico’s appetite, though he hadn’t had much of one to begin with. He took another bite of the muffin before tossing the remaining half in the fire. An offering to Hades, or Demeter, or whoever was willing to listen to him. A prayer not for his own life, but for Will and Rue. Sometimes Nico thought he had always been more ghost than human, dying wouldn’t change that much. Unless, of course, there was no afterlife waiting for him if he faded away. He supposed karma really had come back to bite him. For years he hadn’t needed to be afraid of what happened after death. Now he was nothing but afraid of it.
He glanced at Rue, sensing, somehow, that the optimism didn’t come easy to her. Somehow, that made it a little bit more precious. Worth holding onto, at least.
“I’m not worried,” he murmured, and it was almost the truth. “If there’s one thing demigods are good at, it’s finding ways to avoid the really bad things. We have no idea what’s going to happen until we actually leave Camp.” Besides, Nico himself was going to make sure everything was done perfectly. He was going to make sure they weren’t heading anywhere dangerous without knowing what lay ahead. He was going to make sure that Will and Rue would get back to Camp just fine. He would protect them, he had to. Because he hadn’t been able to protect Bianca. Because he knew what it was like to lose someone to a quest, and if anyone at Camp was expendable, it was him.
It was just unfortunate that Rue and Will would have to live with that.
A small smile pulled at Nico’s face as his thoughts were pulled back to the situation at hand. He wasn’t dead yet, and he wasn’t going down without a fight. Rue, shoving bacon into her mouth like she expected Nico to pull it away from her if she took more than a few seconds to eat it, needed him alive. She needed some sort of stability, and though Nico couldn’t’ give that to her, though eh was possibly the last person she should turn to for that, he was what she had. He was what the Gods had thrown her way, and he was going to do his best. Silently, he asked the Gods why him. Why was he the one who was supposed to keep her safe on this quest? Why give her someone who was destined to die? Who would just each her that trusting people was too painful, that you’re always let down in the end? Why choose him when he wouldn’t even be able to teach her to trust when he was still alive? Nico had been through more than his fair share of pain, and the last thing he wanted to do was pass that on to Rue. The last thing he wanted to do was be part of her pain, especially if he couldn’t help it.
“Just wait until dinner,” he murmured quietly as they began to leave the now somewhat crowded dining area. “There are cups that will fill with whatever liquid you want, so long as it’s legal and not deadly. It’s a little strict about the restrictions sometimes. Percy can order blue mountain dew that didn’t exist before he dreamed it up, but I can’t have traditional coca cola.” He shook his head as though the inability to have the coca cola of his childhood was a true travesty, then gave an almost smile to show that he was mostly kidding. “Shouldn’t be too big an issue for you though.”
His expression darkened slightly when it was time to move on. “I believe it’s time you met Chiron. Don’t mind Mr. D, though. He’s a little bit cranky but he does care. A lot more than some of the other gods do. This is… unusual, just so you know. That you’re forced to leave Camp so soon after arriving. We might have to Iris Message some people I know from Camp Jupiter to see if they have any ideas about lines in the prophecy. That’s the nice thing about our camps finally working together, I suppose. More heads on the same lines of prophecy. Chiron will help us prepare to leave, tell us when it might be best to start heading out. And he’ll probably want to make sure you get a little bit of training time before we leave.” There were so many things to get done before they left. Selfishly, Nico found he wanted to draw it out as long as possible.

Nico wished he could tell Rue to stay here. Wished he could drag another child of Demeter into this, one who knew what was going to happen, and could shoulder the burden. Rue didn’t deserve this. Not because she wasn’t strong enough to handle it, but because she had just arrived. She had just found somewhere safe, and she was about to be sent off on a dangerous quest. How old was she? 12? 13? Barely older than Bianca had been when she had gone on her quest. When she had died for a quest. Nico had hated everything about Bianca becoming a Hunter of Artemis, but the one benefit he saw – that nobody could kill Bianca – hadn’t even lasted a few days. But she had gotten her immortality. She never would grow past 12. At 14, Nico was still angry about that. There was nothing he could do. The best he could do was protect Rue, stop the death of another young girl who needed somewhere safe to spend her life, not a deadly quest.
Nico saw the way Rue looked at the food. He saw the reluctance as she scraped the bacon into the fire, the moments of hesitation before she went back for seconds. Nico had been homeless. He’d lived in the Labyrinth for a year, surviving on nothing more than McDonalds, and when that ran out… well, he'd done exactly what Rue had done. He stole as little as he could that would still keep him alive. It had worked, but he’d been grateful for the meals at Camp Half Blood and Camp Jupiter when he’d finally been welcomed to both. Now, though, working up an appetite was more difficult than he cared to admit. Nonetheless, he grabbed a handful of grapes, tossing a few of them into the fire before he rejoined Rue. Lest she feel guilty for taking seconds.
“Don’t worry,” he murmured, conspiratorially quiet, “Once we’re actually on a quest you don’t have to worry about offerings. And we usually get enough drachmas to splurge on something fun like ice cream on the way back, if you want.” After all the psychological trauma and the stress of completing a mission that would kill at least one of them. Nico chose not to mention that part. If he could get Rue looking forward to something, then she might be a little more willing to leave. It wasn’t fair, he knew that, but it was the only kind thing he could do. If Nico skipping a few meals on the quest could ensure Rue and Will a chance to go get ice cream afterwards? It was the least he could do. Especially given the fact that both of them would surely be pissed at him for knowing he was going to die all along.
It wasn’t terribly unusual that, when faced with the inevitability of his own death, Nico’s thoughts went to the others around him. Nor that he’d ever admit to that, as it cast him in a far better light than he thought he deserved.
“We’ll probably still be here for dinner,” he murmured after a moment. “Chiron might keep us here for up to a week to make sure you can defend yourself against monsters, and even if he does send us out tonight, it’s your quest. You get to decide when we leave – and if you want apple juice, then I’d say soonest we should get out of here is tomorrow morning. We can have a low-key celebration feast tonight. If you’d like to join the campfire – and you should, at least once – tonight’s as good a night as any to do so.” Selfishly, Nico wanted one last campfire. But if that wasn’t Rue’s speed, if she would rather leave right after dinner, Nico would go along with it. This wasn’t about Nico, it was about Rue. It was about getting her through her quest as smoothly as possible.
It was clear that Rue didn’t realize the scope of what she’d been asked to do. It likely wouldn’t take very long, it wasn’t an end of the world mission, but it was still a quest. It was designed to test demigods. Heracles’ twelve labors had just been quests as well – quests of the supposedly impossible sort, but still quests. Nico didn’t want to be the one to break it to her that she likely wouldn’t return to camp as the same person she was now. He didn’t want to tell her, but it seemed a cruel lesson to make her learn on her own.
“Tsundere?” Nico repeated, amused by the word. Probably something from pop culture he’d never heard of. There was quite a list – Nico had only just started cracking into the 80s music everyone had hyped up for so long. Now that he actually had time to explore the 21st century. Now he likely wouldn’t ever get to watch half the movies he’d been told were generation defining. Then again, based on what he’d heard, he didn’t know if it was that much of a loss that he’d never get to see Shrek. It was probably for the better.
“He’s the god of wine. And partying, and theatres, and supposedly a lot of other things. But he’s sort of been cursed to be our camp counselor – and with that job comes an inability to drink alcohol. Figures.” Nico let himself smile just a little bit. “Don’t be offended if he purposefully gets your name wrong. Percy Jackson is probably the greatest hero of our generation, and Mr. D still insists on calling him Peter Johnson.” Talking about life at Camp… hurt. Nico had just begun to settle in. How was it fair that he’d have to leave it behind for the last time now?
“You’re right,” he murmured, glancing at Rue. “We can. Although I hope you get to discover what training is like for yourself at least a little bit before we leave.”

Nico wasn’t great at making other people feel better. It wasn’t something he tried to do very often, but that was mainly because most people he spent any amount of time with already had friends who knew how best to comfort them. Rue didn’t, not yet. The least he could do was make her feel just a little bit less self conscious about taking an extra plateful of food. Not that anyone’s plate could be counted as “full” after they’d tossed half of it into the fire, but he wasn’t about to start getting upset about the offerings now. They had more important things to worry about, going forward.
There was something in Rue’s expression that made Nico almost want to turn away. Hopelessness, maybe. Nico already had a pretty low opinion of Demeter, but it had just hit rock bottom. How dare she throw this on her kid the moment she walked into camp? How dare she take a kid who clearly had been struggling to get by, possibly living on her own for months before this, and give her a quest this dangerous? Hell, how dare she give her a quest at all? Something intense burned in Nico’s eyes, and a muscle twitched in his jaw for just a moment before he took a deep breath.
“You know,” he said lightly, “There are a few of us who have had bad experiences with quests, but historically most people come back. They’re meant to be transformative experiences, but in the old days you would get back and realize that nobody else had changed at all. It’s… it’s different now. Everyone here knows what it’s like to face the real world. You won’t be alone when you get back – I think you’ll find more people that understand than you expect.” He didn’t mean to exclude himself in the image of coming back to Camp, but he was acutely aware that he had said ‘you’ instead of ‘us.’ He hoped Rue wouldn’t notice.
“Besides, there’s ice cream to look forward to.”
He relaxed a little bit as the mention of training seemed to work wonders on Rue’s nerves. He didn’t know how much training she could possibly get in a short period of time, but Nico was going to damn well make sure she ended up prepared enough to take on a few monsters.
Nico almost laughed at her comment about the campfire. “The campfire’s not really my speed most nights, but it is nice,” he returned, glancing back at Rue. “Also, s’mores are the great American invention, so it’s never a good idea to miss out on those.” At that he did let himself laugh, just a little bit. He was getting better at doing that. He was getting better in general. It hurt to think that he’d never fully recover.
Rue drew him away from his thoughts again and he frowned. Anime? “I… I’ve probably heard of anime,” he said, uncertainty coating his tone. “Maybe.” He shook his head. He’d missed so much in the seventy years he was in the Lotus Hotel. It was hard to catch up. In any case, it didn’t seem like anime had been invented when he was a kid. Animated films… full length motion pictures, really… had just been achieved. Unless… “Is anime a modern term for animated feature-length motion pictures?” That was genuinely his best guess, and he had a feeling he was wrong. At some point he’d have to confess that he’d been born in the ‘30s, but now didn’t seem like the best time for that particular conversation.
“Either way,” he added, bullheadedly moving past his question which, in hindsight, was definitely wrong, “I suppose it’s a term that accurately describes Mr. D.” He glanced at the Big House, shaking his head just a little bit. “Interesting is one work for him. And… don’t tell anyone, least of all him, but he likes it here. He’s a better Camp Director than anyone else could be, and he knows it.” After a long moment of thought, he considered Rue again. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but he might like you better than most of the rest of us. He tends to be a little softer on girls because he doesn’t think they’re complete asses.” He let out a huff of amusement. “Really, though, he likes all of us. I think he’s here by choice now, though he would never, ever admit it.”
Rue’s next question surprised him a little bit, but he was glad to see that Rue found it all funny. “He hates it. I used to think he hated Mr. D, too, considering he almost punched him in the face my first time here. Word to the wise, don’t punch the gods.” Although… if Nico ran into Demeter any time soon he might not be able to help himself.

Nico wished she could tell Rue that her quest would turn out fine, that there was nothing to worry about, but if she wanted someone who was going to tell her kind falsehoods, she’d have to choose someone else around camp to befriend. Nico had been fed plenty of lies in his life, and he wasn’t about to spread anymore. Especially not to someone who didn’t seem like she was looking for lies.
“If you want someone who’s optimistic about quests, you’re looking in the wrong place,” he admitted quietly, looking away. “Statistically, most people don’t die. You’ll have two people who have been here for years looking out for you, and as long as you don’t…” he took in a deep breath, letting his eyes drift closed for just a moment. “As long as you don’t do anything stupid and self-sacrificial, you’ll probably be okay.” He fell silent for a few moments, not sure how much to tell Rue. He didn’t like sharing too much about himself, because seeming more human… wasn’t always a good thing. It usually meant people took him less seriously. It also sometimes meant people pitied him, and that was the absolute last thing he needed.
“My sister died on a quest.” There. Out in the open, though that didn’t help it hurt any less. Nico turned to watch Rue’s expression carefully. “We’ve lost people at Camp, but… best I can recall she’s the only one who’s died permanently on a quest in a long time.” He gave a soft sigh, meeting Rue’s gaze only after a long moment. “You’re only supposed to have three people on a quest. They took more, and my sister paid the price.” He didn’t know how to tell Rue that not all of them were coming back alive from this quest either. He didn’t want to have to break it to her.
He took in a deep breath, changing the subject as soon as there was an opening. “I’m everyone’s unwanted plus one,” he replied softly, giving a small huff of amusement. “But yeah, I’ve seen my fair share of quests. Been on a couple unofficial ones as well. You’re in good hands.” Which normally he would never say outright, but it felt okay to tell her that now. She needed to know that someone at least knew what they were doing, right?
“You’ll need those skills,” he went on, nodding as she explained what she could do. “The biggest thing about fighting monsters is that the element of surprise is invaluable. If you can climb, a cyclops won’t be able to reach you, and they’re often too slow if you’re good at running around them.” He considered something for a moment, then frowned. “Unless you want to learn through experience, you’d probably study some of the more common monsters we encounter. That way you’ll at least know their weaknesses if you come across them. The reading may not be much fun, but it’s better than having to learn from experience.” He didn’t elaborate on how he knew that. “Don’t worry about the weapons – we’ll get you trained on something in no time, so at least you have something to defend yourself with. You probably won’t become a master before we leave, but you don’t need to be. You just need to be quick, and lucky.”
His expression faltered as the conversation continued, and his cheeks reddened just a little bit. Then again… he supposed if he’d still been little and someone from half a century before had asked him what a telephone was, he’d have laughed in their face as well. He wasn’t going to hold that against Rue.
“Yeah, I guess there are… better words for that,” he admitted, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. It seemed to do Rue some good to laugh, though. Nico couldn’t begrudge her that. When was the last time he had laughed? More recently than he thought, surely, but he didn’t tend to laugh very often. Things just didn’t seem that funny to him, when he was used to his world being seconds away from ending. It had taken a long time to recover from that.
His brows raised as Rue referred to herself as an ass, and though he didn’t know her well enough to contradict that statement, that was far from the impression he’d gotten about her.
“If you watch the orientation film, maybe he’ll like you a little better,” he replied, amusement thick in his tone. “Seemed to work for me, though I think I’m the only one who’s ever watched that thing.” He rolled his eyes at the memory, then glanced back at Rue. “C’mon. The sooner we get there the sooner you get to pick out a weapon.”

Nico was aware of the way Rue was looking at him now. The way it had changed from earlier. He was lucky – Rue had been through enough that her first reaction wasn’t pity – but it still wasn’t very nice to know that her opinion of him was changed now that she knew the truth. Of course, she had the wrong opinion of him anyway, he just didn’t want to correct it. Let someone think good things about him for a while. There was no harm in it, especially when he was trying to be good. Let one person get to know him without his past clouding their judgement.
“You don’t have to apologize,” he murmured quietly, shaking his head. “It was a long time ago, and she… she thought she was doing the right thing. She was a hero.” His expression softened a little bit as he remembered Bianca, remembered the way she’d looked before she had left for her quest. The way a few days with the Hunters had changed her in ways Nico didn’t have time to appreciate. He wished he could go back now, but he couldn’t. He just had to hope he might see her again, in the afterlife. Eventually.
“I didn’t tell you because I wanted an excuse not to go with you,” he added, shaking his head, “I told you because I’m a lot more cynical about quests than most people. I’m one of the few people at Camp that can’t forget that quests can be deadly, and that’s probably not the perspective you should start yours with. I just… thought you deserved to know why I feel that way.” He offered a grim smile, slowing his pace a little as they neared the Big House. “You’ll be alright, Rue. Will and I are going to make sure of that, and you’ve got a number of tricks up your sleeve.”
He tilted his head a little at her question. “An unofficial quest doesn’t have a prophecy attached. Doesn’t mean it’s any less important, but it wasn’t exactly foretold.” He shrugged, then pointed off in the distance. “You see that statue over there? The one that guards the entrance to Camp? Coach Hedge – a satyr protector, here – a roman demigod, and I dragged it here all the way from Greece so we could hopefully stop a war between our Camps. No prophecy asked us to do it, but we sort of had to anyway. I guess that’s the most Official unofficial quest I’ve been on. I also uh…” he reddened a bit, realizing he was rambling. Realizing he was bragging. “I was sort of given an unofficial quest by my father. Play at being Ambassador of Pluto so I could make sure my sister was nice and safe at Camp Jupiter. And also to smooth things out once the second big prophecy started happening.” He looked back over at Rue, dozens of memories swimming past his expression.
Nico shook the thought off, turning his attention solely back on Rue.
“Don’t worry about that,” he returned, a ghost of a smile touching his features, “Camp Half-Blood doesn’t tend to do textbooks or anything. We’re all hands on here.” He had to consider her next question as he began walking again. “Cyclops are usually a big one, empousa, furies, chimera… all sorts of things. Climbing won’t help you much with the really big ones or the ones that can fly, but it may give you the element of surprise in any situation. You’ll get to know what works and what doesn’t – good reflexes are sort of in our DNA. You’ll know what to do even before your mind has caught up, usually.”
“Hm?” He looked surprised for a moment, jolted out of his thoughts by her apology. “Oh. No, I…” he shrugged a bit, looking at the horizon instead of Rue. “Anything you find funny is good. Besides, there’s a difference between laughing at something someone’s said and mocking them, and I know you weren’t mocking me.” He was more lenient than he’d be with most other campers, but Rue was an exception. Rue had slept in his cabin last night because she hadn’t wanted to deal with people. She’d been hesitant about taking extra food when she was half starving. She’d apologized how many times about a quest that wasn’t her fault? No, she wasn’t a cruel person. Nico wasn’t going to even pretend she was.
“He probably won’t even ask you to watch it,” Nico replied, voice lighter than usual. He was trying really, really hard to make Rue feel as welcome as he felt when he first arrived. Before everything went wrong. That was the only gift he could give her before he moved on.
“Here we are,” he murmured after a few moments, pulling open the door to the Big House. “It’ll be fine,” he added, in case she was nervous. “Chiron and Mr. D are going to want to help.”