The DAM Oneshot Collection || PJO

Reyna - Closing Chapter

Spoiler Alert: Definitely don't read this if you haven't read Trials of Apollo - The Tyrant's Tomb yet. Trust me.

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Leaves rustled underneath the steps of Reyna's black boots. Her legs were hurting. For days they had been roaming the woods for the Calydonian Boar. It had rampaged a small town outside of Atlanta for weeks, and finally, the Hunters had managed to force the monster into the woods. They lost his track after that.

"Stop. We'll rest here and continue tomorrow." Artemis announced as she looked into the tired faces of her Hunters. Reyna pulled out the box with the size of a chewing gum pack out of her bag. It unfolded to a silver tent. In a few seconds, an entire campsite was built, and the hunters gathered around a campfire. The girls chattered excitedly and laughed about insides jokes or men in miserable situations.

Reyna hadn't been with the hunt for long yet, but she couldn't complain. On the contrary, she was astonished at how familiar it all felt. Of course, she missed Camp Jupiter. It had been her home for a long time. But after being Praetor in charge of Camp for so long, it felt like a well-deserved vacation. Besides...at Camp Jupiter were too many hurtful memories.

The Death of her close friend was still a stabbing pain in her heart. The hunt distracted her.

"What's with the long face, Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano?" Thalia joined her, throwing her arm around Reyna's shoulder and playfully nudged her.

"I regret telling you my full name." Reyna responded huffily. Thalia grinned at her friend. Her electric blue eyes wandered over Reyna's face. There was nothing unusual about the roman girl -the same regal face with the determination to take on any challenge in her eyes. But when someone looked a little closer, one could see the faint traces of dark circles underneath Reyna's eyes. Her black eyes looked even darker. Behind the determined look glimmered sorrow. A somber expression crept over Thalia's face. She then let go of Reyna and sat opposite her, shifting around until she sat comfortably.

"Come on. What are you thinking about?" Thalia urged her with a soft voice. Reyna plucked grass from the ground. She hesitated. Not used to speaking her emotions out loud, Reyna searched for words.

"Jason." she revealed in one short breath that was accompanied by a sharp, throbbing pain in her chest. Thalia's face faded to grey. She slumped against the tree behind her. She joined Reyna to mow the woods.

"I can't stop thinking about him, too." Thalia confessed in a mutter. "We've just found each other again." The girls kept their thoughts to themselves, allowing their grieving silence to settle in.

"You two were close,right?" Thalia asked, her voice barely a whisper. Reyna noticed how much energy she used to avoid her voice from breaking. Thalia closed her eyes. Reyna knew precisely what she was doing. She'd done it many times to keep herself from crying, too. When Thalia opened her eyes again, watery red eyes looked back at her. Thalia had the same electric blue eyes as her brother. Reyna nodded silently.

"We basically grew up together."

Reyna lost herself in her childhood memories. When they were thirteen, they sneaked into weapon and armor storage. Jason lifted a chest armor over his head. Reyna had been surprised by how strong he was, but the second the total weight hit his shoulders, he lost balance and fell on his butt. Reyna had laughed at him. Jason asked her to help him up and reached out for her hand. The second their hands touched, he pulled her down. An old trick, and yet Reyna had fallen for it. It had ended in childish giggles until they were caught and had to scrub the lavatories for two weeks.

"Gods, he could be an idiot." Reyna chuckled. It felt like the sound released of a tiny fraction of her grief. Thalia joined her, suppressing a sob.

"When this-" she pointed at herself, pointing out the state she was in, "gets better, you have to tell me more about him and everything I missed out."

Reyna nodded an unspoken promise. She tried to stay composed and not let herself be consumed by her emotions. But it was hard. Gods damn hard. Her chest felt heavy, her lungs squeezed out all of her air.

A peal of laughter sounded from the campfire, catching her attention. Seeing the other hunters, Reyna felt slightly more at ease. It was as if they were grounding her. The air flowed back into her lungs.

"I have to admit." she started, her voice built strength with every word she spoke, "Without Jason...I am not sure I would have been able to make the jump to join the hunters."

Thalia tilted her head, troubled to understand her.

"Because of Aphrodite?"

In an instant, Reyna's body tensed. A cold rush ran down her spine when she heard the greek goddess's name. Her face hardened.

"Don't remind me of her." she demanded bitterly, her jaw clenched. She needed a moment to push back her anger. Venus had cost her many restless nights filled with unreasonable doubt and rage. She didn't like talking about it, but she supposed Thalia had a point.

"I hate to admit it, but I think Venus was right about this whole 'no demigod shall heal my heart'. Sometimes you have to learn how to love yourself first. And that loving yourself is enough."

Thalia smiled at that.

"Do you think you've learnd that?" she asked, a genuine interest swayed in her voice. Reyna gazed back at the hunters and Artemis, all of her new friends. They lived in freedom, roaming through the woods and hunting down monsters. But the most liberating thing about this was how no one pressured her into a relationship. No one expected her to date her Co-Praetor or took pity on her failed love life. Ever since joining the hunt, Reyna felt as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. For the first time in a long time, Reyna felt free. She could see herself become happy.

"Yeah, I think am about to." she finally replied. Her lips curled to a small, shy smile.

Thalia looked content, but suddenly she straightened her posture. Her eyes scanned the area behind Reyna alertly.

"Do you sense this, too?"

Reyna wasn't sure what she meant, but then she felt it too. This feeling of near doom rising in her chest, her ADHD kicking back in.

Then she heard a rustle of leaves not far from them.

"Alert the others.", Thalia ordered her, "The Calydonien Boar is back."

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A/N:

Heyyy.

I hope you've enjoyed this. 

I feel like, how Reyna had to deal with the death of one of her closes friends was never really addressed in the books.

Let me know what you think or give this story a vote :) 

What are your thoughts on Reyna joining the hunt?

All the best,

Jojo xx