a story as endless as the ocean . pjo / allie jackson

1.0 once more unto the breach

1.0 Re-Entering the Mortal World is Different than I Expected 

Chiron let us have the rest of the day off, as we were to leave bright and early in the morning.

Luke had moved my stuff from the Hermes cabin to Cabin three while I was out talking with Katie, Nessa, Silena, and Clarisse. I'd finally faced reality, so we talked briefly about my parentage, but it didn't last long.

Connor and Travis had run up to our girl group and practically tackled me a little after our topic change. They'd told me how awful the nights would be now that I wasn't going to be there anymore. I'd laughed and told them they'd get over it, but they disagreed, citing Luke's complaining that I wasn't there anymore as a starter.

The day went by quickly after that and before I knew it, it was time for me to sleep. As I was heading towards my cabin (it still felt odd walking there instead of following Luke to the Hermes cabin), I heard a voice calling my name.

"Allie! Hey, wait up!"

I turned towards Cody, recognizing his voice despite the fact that we hadn't been able to talk a lot during my week at Camp Half-Blood. "Yeah?"

He smiled as he stopped in front of me. "I just wanted to talk for a minute. I haven't really had the time and you have a pretty big day tomorrow. I promise I won't take too much of your time."

I grinned back at him and nodded. "I'll hold you to that," I joked. "Anything in particular you wanted to talk about?"

"Yeah— well, I mean, kind of," he told me, scratching the back of his head nervously. "It's nothing too big if you'd rather go ahead to bed."

I shook my head. "I don't mind," I assured him. "Please don't be scared to ask me something. You're a friend— unless it's something offensive, I probably won't react harshly."

It was hard to tell in the majority darkness, but I could see a bit of pink rush to his cheeks. "You consider me a friend?"

I shrugged. "I mean, yeah, why wouldn't I? I know we haven't talked much, but you haven't done anything to make me consider you anything else."

"Oh, well, okay," he replied bashfully. "Um, I just wanted to, you know, be all brotherly and tell you to watch Luke's back," he finally said. "His last quest wasn't exactly... done in his best interest and I'd hate for this one to end up the same way. You're a talented girl Allie, and you've left an impression on him— and even without that he's a self-sacrificing asshole a lot of the time— I just want to make sure you'll watch his back as much as I'm sure he will yours."

My expression softened and I placed a hand on his arm. "I promise I'll do everything I can to make sure this quest is successful and we all come back safely. I'll bring your brother back to you."

Cody gave me a grateful smile and then cleared his throat. "Thanks, Allie, that means a lot," he told me. "Well, I, uh—"

"My brother's not keeping you up, is he, Angel?" Luke's voice interrupted from a few feet away, getting louder as he approached.

I moved my hand back down to my side. "'Course not. Cody was just giving me a few good luck wishes."

Cody nodded, giving me an obviously thankful grin that I was sure Luke could read. "Yeah, that's all. Well, goodnight, Allie."

"'Night," I replied, turning toward Luke. "Ready for tomorrow? Or regretting your decision to join me?"

Luke gave me a soft smile, different from the suspicious frown he'd been giving his brother. "Not getting rid of me that easily, Angel," he affirmed. "I'm with you, no matter what."