The Half-Blood Games | Percabeth

Chapter 17: An Ally

There was a moment of silence as I stared at him.

The only time I had talked to this boy was when he had called me out for staring at Percy at fire-starting. I could think of no reason for him to save my life.

Yet here he was, pulling my knife out of Thalia's chest and tossing it to me.

"The words you're looking for are 'thank you'," He said, a grin on his face. "Your welcome."

I just stared at him, shocked and awed at the same time.

"Does it make me psychotic if I enjoyed that?" Leo asked. "Because I kind of enjoyed that."

Once I got over my shock, I found that I had found the ability to speak again. "Um, thanks? Why did you save me?"

He smiled at me, which kind of made me want to smile back at him. I remembered his interview. He had joked around with Loki, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't laugh once or twice.

"Why, because I want to be your ally, of course!" He beamed. "I can't do that if you're dead, can I?"

A few minutes later, we were eating crackers together. I had decided to trust Leo. If he wanted me dead, all he would've had to do was let Thalia kill me.

Hestia's words rang in my head; don't make your fathers mistake. Don't trust anybody. But Leo had this... trustable feeling to him. He was impossible not to like, and I found myself ignoring my great-aunt's advice.

"You have shared crackers with me," Leo said. "I now have guest rights. You cannot harm me."

I laughed. Guest rights were an old tradition, from old cultures. I had read about them in books.

"And I am your host," I said. "Which means you can't harm me."

And just like that, we were allies.

Was it sudden? Yes. But like I said, Leo had a trustable vibe to him. Plus, the whole reason we were even here right now was because he had suddenly jumped out of a tree and saved me after I had suddenly been attacked. Today was full of sudden things.

"So, what's it like in District 12?" I asked, hoping to start a conversation. If we were going to be allies, we should know some things about each other. "Are you a miner?"

He snorted. "Girl, do I look like I have a miners physique?"

I laughed. "You got me there."

Leo had a scrawny build, and definitely didn't look like miner. I'd seen ten-year-olds with more muscle than him. Like one of the orphans back at home, Harley. That kid was scary.

"I'm a builder," He said. "I go to rich people's houses, mainly Peacekeepers, and fix their broken stuff. You?"

"I work in a factory," I replied. "Making T.Vs and those sorts of things."

"So we both make things," Leo stated as he polished off his crackers. "Cool."

"I've always wondered about life in other districts," I said. "What's it like in District 12?"

"Well, pretty much everyone is a miner, duh," Leo said. "And almost everyone is starving. It's the number one cause of death in our district. I'm an orphan, but thankfully, my job pulls in enough money to pay for food."

"I'm an orphan, too," I replied, which he probably already knew from my interview. "I live in an orphanage with my Great-Aunt. My job helps keep the place running. Why didn't you go to an orphanage?"

"It's called a Community Home in District 12," Leo said. "And it's packed, with not nearly enough staff to run the place or enough food to feed everyone. Trust me, I've been there, and running away was the best decision I've ever made."

I wouldn't be surprised if the Gamemakers aren't showing our conversation. They don't like people knowing what goes on in other districts.

"I'm guessing your Great-Aunt's orphanage is better than the Community Home," Leo said.

I nodded. "From the sounds of it. My Great-Aunt cares about everyone there, and does her best to make everyone happy."

Leo looked sad, like he was imagining what could've been. "District 3 sounds great."

I shook my head. "Barely. The air is so polluted you can't see the sun sometimes, and the water in our wells is poisoned. Factory work is so dangerous I see at least one person die every day."

"In District 12, sometimes the earth shakes from mining accidents," Leo said. "That's how I lost my parents."

"Then I guess both of our Districts suck," I said. "Where have you been staying?"

Leo pulls a photo out of his pocket and hands it to me. A beautiful girl is on it, with dark almond eyes and caramel-coloured hair. I know caramel because I've seen it in the windows of the sweets shop before. "With her. Her name's Calypso. We want to get married someday."

"I hope you do," I reply, giving him the photo. Neither of us say what we're both thinking. That in order for him to marry her, I'll need to die.

"You wouldn't happen to have grabbed an extra sleeping bag at the Cornucopia, would you?" Leo asked.

I shook my head. "Sorry."

He sighed. "I wished I had the guts to run in there. I had sprinted straight to the forest. I don't know how you had the courage to do it."

I smiled. "Oh, I didn't just run to the Cornucopia. I faked my death, waited for the Careers to leave, and took everything I could grab."

His eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Yup," I grinned, grateful for the sudden mood change. "I also blew up Clarisse la Rue before the game even started by throwing a bracelet at her land mines."

Leo covered his mouth with his hands. "No way! I just assumed she accidentally stepped off!"

"Nope," I laughed.

"I knew I made the right choice by allying with you," Leo grinned.

"You made the best choice of your life," I said, standing up. "Now, let's go find some trees to tie ourselves too and fall asleep."

And with that, Leo and I walked off. Leo was the first friend I'd ever made. And with him at my side, I felt like I could do anything.