The Raven's Call {Percy Jackson based}

Chapter 18- Coming Out

{Sofie's POV}

Dinner went quickly, not being that different to lunch, apart from the fact that there was no harpy announcing our fate. I was surprised to find that there was a large variety of vegetarian food, so I managed to eat something. Alivia had awoken from her unconscious state, and Georgina had poured water over herself, so she seemed to be okay, apart from the fact that she fell over while we were walking to our cabin.

"Do we have some sort of time we have lights out, or anything?" Georgina asked.

"It depends on what Leila and Anthony decide. Leila's going to be out tonight, so Anthony will decide." Millie said. As if he had been listening, he walked in on cue.

"Is two in the morning too early?" He asked, as Georgina was nodding off.

"Yes, it is. What about three?" Alivia inquired.

"No, that's the witching hour," Millie disagreed.

"Alivia, you're not tired like the rest of us, because you weren't awake most of the games." Anthony told her, almost sternly. She looked away, as if ashamed, and then went silent. I had a sudden urge to whack him in the head.

I wondered whether Raven would be waiting for me in the Camp Half Blood woods, where I'd promised him I'd be. I decided that I was going to go the woods here anyway, because I liked midnight walks. It was almost dark already, so I would have to find a way to escape soon. I could just pretend that I was going to the loo, but then everyone would think that I was seriously constipated, and that would be weird.

"Hello, Sofie? You there?" Georgina was waving her hand in front of me, something that I hated people doing.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Anthony asked, which I was slightly surprised at. What was it to him?

"Murdering people. That's what I was thinking of." I lied, glaring slightly at him.

"Me too. Maybe even about the same person." Alivia spoke, the first thing she'd said in a while. I resisted the urge to laugh, and I could see her doing the same.

"I'm going to go and use the showers." I announced, my best excuse for leaving. I got down from the top bunk, and swiftly left the cabin.

The night air was fresh, as if it cleansed the entire place, ready for morning. New Rome was so big I wasn't exactly sure where the exit was, and I think Reyna said something about Terminus guarding the entrance and exits. This meant that if he was, then I couldn't get out of camp without tricking or killing him. I was fine with those options though. I kept on walking, until I came across what looked like a main street. Apparently there was night life here. I wondered if there were any demigod nightclubs. If there were, they were quiet, which I was glad of. The dark silhouette of a bird flew down in front of me, as if trying to block my path. It looked like a regular raven, apart from the startling amber and green eyes. They almost certainly belonged to Raven, so when it started to walk away, I followed it. The raven then started to fly, while I carried on following, all the way to the same place where we had played war games earlier. I was thankful that no-one had seen me, or I would have been deemed crazy. I had been running for what seemed like ages, so I was also thankful that it had stopped. The raven turned around, and as it did so, it transformed into Raven, not unlike Frank's power.

"You could have warned me that you were going to take me on a marathon. I would have at least worn better shoes," I told him. He laughed.

"I see that you have taken up on my offer, then."

"You did just appear in front of me. I couldn't not follow. Also, how did you know I'd be here?"

"Curiosity killed the cat." He remarked.

"But satisfaction brought it back."

"What a nice comeback."

"As always." He seemed to be wearing the same clothes as the last time I'd seen him; a black cloak which covered him, but he seemed to be wearing black clothes underneath too.

"Back to your offer, how and when are you going to teach me to talk to the ravens? Because it's kinda hard to meet up with boys in forests at midnight without gaining attention."

"I am not a boy." It had never occurred to me. I'd just obliviously presumed.

"I am so sorry. I should have a-"

"Gender is for puny mortals." So, Raven, was agender. That was fine by me.

"What pronouns would you like me to use?" Raven seemed pleasantly surprised, as if no-one really asked that often.

"They/them is fine, thanks." There was a moment of silence, but it wasn't awkward. It was pleasant, like we were both happy with just each other's presence. Raven then whistled something to the trees behind them. I hoped I didn't have to whistle, because I couldn't for my life. A raven started flying towards us, and Raven quickly bolted to me and lifted my arm up. The raven landed on my arm, and was surprisingly light. I could feel its sharp toes digging into my arm, drawing blood, its eyes glaring at me. Raven shouted something at the bird in a language I didn't understand. Their voice seemed genuinely worried, which made me feel weird, but I didn't quite know in what way. I wasn't good with identifying my own emotions. The bird flew off as if hurt.

"Are you okay? I'm so sorry it did that-" They fussed, looking over my wound.

"I'm fine, really. I'm okay." I looked down at my arm, expecting slight scratch marks, but where the raven had been were deep cuts, like someone had thrown keen knives at me. I was fairly sure that regular birds didn't do that. Blood was dripping out, but I couldn't feel the pain too much. All I could feel was Raven's hand on my arm, which was that weird feeling again that I couldn't quite place. I tried to ignore it, and focus on the situation at hand. They muttered something in Latin, but I couldn't quite tell what it was. I did understand Latin, but it sounded like some sort of dark spell, that radiated power.

"There. Does it still hurt?" They let go of me. The cuts on my arm were now reduced to faint scratches, but they were still visible.

"Not at all," I lied. "Shall we carry on?"

"No. You need to go."

"What?"

"I'm sorry, Sofie, but I can't guarantee your safety tonight. Something is stirring."

"Why do you care about my safety anyway?" I snapped back. Raven looked at me as if they wanted to say something, but then looked away, and transformed back into a raven. They led me to the path that took me to the barracks, where we walked in silence, and then they flew away.