The Winds Of Heaven (Annabeth Chase x Male Reader)

25. A Crack In The Stone

Annabeth surveyed the camp grounds, dotted with demigods and demigoddesses moving about, busying themselves with their daily activities. Two Apollo kids climbed the lava wall, competing against two from the Ares cabin to know who'd be quicker. The Aphrodite kids were still at the stables; some girls and boys were doing each other's make-up and chatting outside, while their siblings brushed and harnessed the pegasi. Drew Tanaka sat at a distance with two of her siblings, glaring at Piper, who listened as one of her sisters explained to her how to trim a hoof. Loud noises came out from the forge, followed by a cry of surprise from a child of Hephaestus anytime an engine malfunctioned. Some campers—one from Iris's cabin, one from Hecate's and two from Hermes's—relaxed in the dining pavilion, enjoying the brazier's warmth.

Annabeth shook her head. They all didn't seem to realize the gravity of what was happening outside camp. Occasionally she heard them say "Gaea," "war," "giants," or "Ethan", but they quickly changed to other, more pleasant topics. She knew talking about all this would just make them feel downhearted, which would do no good. But still, she couldn't bring herself to think about anything else.

She shook her head, turning back to her task. She poured a bit of water from a bucket next to her on her sharpening stone, set her celestial bronze knife's blade at an angle against it and pushed her right hand—the one holding the knife—forth while she held the stone with her left. Then she moved her knife's blade back to its first position and did it again, occasionally pouring water to get rid of the swarf.

It was the type of activity she did when she needed to distract herself but couldn't concentrate on a book. Sitting on the ground by the lake, leaning over the sharpening stone set on a wooden plank on her thighs, honing her knife. It was easier than designing buildings for the new Olympus.

Except it did nothing to help distract herself. Push, by push, by push. As her knife's edge refined, her awareness of her situation grew more intense. Percy had gone missing. Each passing second brought them closer to Gaea's awakening. Ethan was dead. And to add insult to injury, Y/N was at the end of his rope. He hadn't slept or eaten since they'd got back the day before; he barely spoke to her, exchanging just a few words, and most of them less than two hours ago, yelled in anger. She knew how hard it was for him—it was hard for all of them. Couldn't he see that? Now was the time they had to be there for each other. But he was building a wall around himself. And she couldn't understand; she couldn't understand him, nor process her own emotions.

It made her angry. Then that anger made her ashamed. Chiron managed to keep his emotions under control. She had to remain patient and try to understand what crossed Y/N's mind.

Even trying to approach the problem made her want to scream. How long could she go thinking about this? Always the thoughts, never anything changing. Soon she felt she'd explode.

She dropped some water on the stone, then edged her knife again. She didn't like what this repetitive action was doing to her. She was a daughter of Athena. She should've been able to figure it out. But, more and more, she feared that she would lose balance and become useless under the pressure of her grief.

She wanted to support Y/N, wanted it desperately. But she needed him to support her, too. Ethan had also been her friend, and his loss affected her deeply. Though Y/N had been closer to him, she'd known him longer. He'd been one of these people she'd deeply associated with Camp Half-Blood, and Camp Half-Blood seemed less itself knowing he wasn't around anymore. Her world was failing.

"Are you all right?" a voice asked.

Annabeth started, looking up, straightening so abruptly that she cut the tip of her finger with her knife. She gasped, then sucked her index. She hadn't noticed that someone was approaching. Piper stood in the shade of a tree a short distance away, her arms folded.