Riordanverse One Shots

I Promise (Greco-Roman)

Requested by: nobody
(Wow, Annabeth requests a lot of stuff, doesn't she?).
Also, this is part of the background to one of my characters: Max Whitfield.

Thalia was a bit on edge. She, Luke and Annabeth had been attacked by a huge hell hound a day ago. She had been separated from the other two during the attack and was still trying to find her way back.

She kept glancing over her shoulder as she walked down the alleyway. She didn't like alleyways. It was easy to get trapped in one and there was no way to escape. Sure, cramped spaces were easy to defend with her shield, but that didn't matter much when the monsters were strong enough to simply crush you.

A noise suddenly caught her attention. Thalia quickly touched her bracelet, causing her magical shield, Aegis, to spring out. She drew her spear as well and began walking forward cautiously. She slowly rounded the corner and froze.

There was no monster. Instead there was a boy, very young, probably the same age as Annabeth. His blue eyes were what caught her attention. They were so eerily familiar it made chills run up her spine.

"Stay away!"

The boy's yell snapped Thalia out of her trance. She also noticed the boy was pointing a rusty wrench at her. It wasn't the best weapon, but she imagined it was the only one he could find.

"It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." she assured.

But the boy was still scared.

"No! Monsters! Stay away!"

That cleared up any doubts she may have had. The kid was clearly a half-blood. Looking closer, she noticed that his eyes were more of a pale blue than the vibrant electric blue of her own, and that his hair was a chestnut brown rather than the blond she had originally thought. She also noticed that he was trying his best not to look at her shield.

That was when she remembered the time she had met Annabeth. The shield had also scared her. Thalia wanted to smack herself on the head. The kid was probably terrified of her. She immediately put away her shield and spear.

"No no, it's okay. I'm not a monster. I'm like you." she said calmly as knelt down next to him.

"No you're not. No one's like me."

Thalia smiled sadly. She knew what the kid must be thinking. That he was the only one who saw the monsters, that no one would believe him, that everyone thought he was crazy.

"I am. I see the monsters too." she told him.

He seemed surprised, like it was too good to be true.

"Really?"

She nodded.

"Yes. I fight them. I'm a half-blood, just like you."

"You mean your dad's a god too?" he asked her.

"Yes. I'm Thalia, daughter of Zeus. What's your name?"

"Max. Max Whitfield."

*

Thalia managed to convince Max to leave the alleyway with her. It wasn't very hard, seeing as he didn't want to be left alone with the monsters. The two were now sitting in a makeshift camp, sharing a packet of chips Thalia had stored away in her pack.

They talked as they ate. Thalia learned that Max really was the same age as Annabeth and that his godly parent was Hermes. It made sense to her, he looked pretty similar to Luke.

"Why were you alone, Max? Did you run away?" she asked.

Max shook his head.

"No. I was in this building with my mom but then a big black dog attacked. She told me to run and I did. Now I don't know where she is."

Thalia felt both relieved and saddened at this information. She was relieved because it meant that Max didn't have a bad mother like she did. He actually had a mother that cared about him. But she felt sad because of how lost he seemed without her.

Suddenly, she remembered something she had found a long time ago. She had never really needed it, so she had been carrying it around ever since.

"Hey Max, I've got something for you."

As he came closer she pulled out a Swiss pocket knife. It was completely black except for a small golden symbol depicting a wing. Thalia had offered it to Luke, but he had immediately turned it down. He didn't want to have anything to do with his father. But she didn't think Max would mind.

"What is that?" he asked.

"It can be a lot of things." she explained.
"See these blades? When you draw them it turns into a different weapon. It can be a sword, a spear or an axe, depending on what you choose."

"Cool!"

Thalia smiled.

"Yeah. It's definitely better than a wrench." she agreed.

"Will you teach me how to use it?" Max asked.

"Yes. And I'll help you find your mom too."

Max's eyes widened in shock.

"Really?"

Thalia gripped his hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

"Yes, Max. I promise, I will help you find your mom. I promise."