The Unusual Half-Blood

Chapter 8: Annabeth's Dilemma

Annabeth's POV

When I first met him, I was kind of intrigued by the Minotaur incident. He was untrained, and the same age as me. No matter how you look at it, it was an amazing feat.

But other than that and his good looks, he seemed so.......ordinary.

He had no talents or skills to boast. No defining qualities.

His facial expressions never change, like a doll.

That, coupled with his bored voice and lack of social skills, eventually made everyone lose interest.

I would've been the same, if not for Chiron. He asked me to keep an eye on Keith but didn't provide any valid reason.

This piqued my interest, so I decided to hang out with him for a while. Finding out about his dad, reminded me of my circumstances- abandoned by a mortal father, at a young age.

I didn't want him to feel alienated at the camp, so I asked him to join my team.

We didn't expect much from him. He was the bait, after all.

But what happened with the hellhound left me speechless.

I only saw it for a moment, but I was certain.

He was strong.

Stronger than any of us.

If it wasn't for this incident, I would've never known.

It's possible that he received a powerful blessing from his mom before he was claimed, but I refuse to accept it as a mere coincidence.

He must've been hiding his abilities from the start.

But Why? Heroes live for glory.

It's the very reason we train and fight.

To make a name for ourselves.

It started as curiosity and later turned into annoyance.

Being an Athena kid, who had been training for years, a part of me couldn't help but think that he was looking down on me, on all of us, because of his nonchalant attitude.

However, all of that changed when the quest was issued.

There was an even bigger problem now.

If what Chiron said wastrue, then that means the camp had little to no information about him.

In which case, was it wise to trust him?

Come to think of it, how could  the child of a minor goddess can be so powerful?

It was so suspicious, why did Chiron trust him to begin with?

For all we know, HE could be the lightning thief.

In which case, he might even try to backstab us.

And if not, then who exactly is he?

Ugh, this is a nightmare!

Should I confront him about this?

I know I might be overthinking , but what if I'm right?

What then.....?

**************

New Jersey Subway station

"Where is he? I can't even sense him or the furies anymore. Holy Zeus, this is so stressful", Grover asked apprehensively, "Wait, you don't think they captured him, do you?"

Annabeth scoffed, "As if"

"And what's wrong with you, today? You've been in a bad mood from the start."

"Nothing. It's just annoying that none of you can see it when it's so obvious."

"See what?" 

"Just forget it", Annabeth replied, shaking her head, "I'll look into it later. I have to."

"Look into what?" I asked, approaching them from behind.

"What took you so long?" Grover asked

I held out their bags, left behind on the bus.

They were in a decent enough condition, considering the bus caught fire after we left. However, not everything was burned, thanks to the rain.

"You went back?" he asked

"We still have a lot of ground to cover. I thought it would be a good idea to save what I could."

"What about the furies?"

"I lost them in the woods, somehow."

"Of course", Annabeth said, rolling her eyes.

"Wait, so they are still chasing after us?" Grover asked

"Maybe. That's why we should hurry up." I replied, pointing towards the subway entrance.

"Man, it's only been what, a few hours?" Grover sighed, "I hate to imagine what else is waiting for us out there."

True.

The quest has just begun.

And if my speculations were right, finding the master bolt was the least of our worries.

Author's notes:

Hey there, guys :)

This chapter was a bit shorter than the others because i wanted to focus on Annabeth and Kiyotaka's bonding, a little more in the upcoming arc. So, I decided to give her an entire chapter to highlight the dilemma and distrust she has for Ayanokoji right now.

On an unrelated note, when did you guys start reading Percy Jackson? Also, what's your favorite series out of all Rick Riordan books? I'm curious.

I started in 2022. I was just done with Harry Potter and didn't think anything can come close to it but boy, i was soo wrong. Everything about these books- the concept, worldbuilding, humor, the character progression- absolutely blew my mind. 

My favorite is the Heroes of Olympus. It had so many good character moments for Nico and Percabeth.