Snowfall

Almond

He has returned.

Thalia had always hated almonds. Growing up, they were her mother's go-to snack and were always sitting around the house. Thalia's hatred of the nut came from her mother, and being a kid, she had thought they were like the alcohol. She knew better now, of course, but the hate never left.

It was Irimis who convinced her to give almonds another try. More like Percy, but she liked to think of it as her eagle's fault instead of Percy's. Irimis had started spending more and more time away from the camp, which didn't worry Thalia too much, but it was gettting weird. She had no idea what the bird was up to.

She soon found out, however, when one day Irimis returned in the evening campfire with another eagle on his tail. Well, not an eagle, but a hawk. It was a beautiful bird, with a soft brown chest and dark brown wings, not quite as dark as Irimis but close.

"What do we have here?" Thalia asked the two birds, stepping closer to the log that the two had landed upon. "Irimis, do you have a friend?"

"This is my mate," Irimis announced. "She will stay with me."

"Oh, so it's a lady friend?" Thalia mused. "What's her name?"

"Birds don't have names," Irimis said. "You know this. She doesn't have her own name."

"Well then, we should fix that, shouldn't we?" Thalia said, turning to the hawk. "Hello."

"Hello, my Lady," the hawk said hesitantly.

"This is Thalia," Irimis said. "She is my mother."

"Mother?" The hawk said, her voice surprised. "Impossible!"

"I raised him," Thalia explained. "He's my adopted child."

"You never told me I was adopted!" Irimis said dramatically, throwing his wing over his heart and pretending to die. "You've hurt me so! I thought you loved me!"

"Of course I love you, you idiotic bird," Thalia said. "Stop being theatrical."

"What's Irimis doing?" Someone butted in. Thalia turned to see Percy striding toward her, the rest of the camp caught up in a song.

"Being his normal idiotic self," Thalia said. "And he brought a lady friend."

Percy looked at the female hawk. "Irimis, you are an eagle," Percy stated. "That is a hawk."

"Yeah. So?" Irimis replied. Thalia translated for him.

"Can you two even be mates?" Percy asked. "I mean, that's interbreeding. Birds can't do that."

"I'm not your normal bird," Irimis stated. "Give her some time, and she won't be, either."

"Does she have a name?" Percy asked before Thalia could repeat what Irimis said. "I mean, if she's going to stick around, she'll need one."

"Birds don't have names," Thalia told him. "She doesn't."

"Then she needs a name!" Percy exclaimed. "Any ideas?"

"What is Irimis from?" The hawk asked. "How did you name him, my Lady?"

"First of all, if you're staying with me, no 'my lady' shit," Thalia said. "Second, we named him after Artemis."

"Artemis is a kind goddess," the hawk said. "I do like her."

"But we can't have us both named after Artemis, can we?" Irimis questioned. "It'd be weird."

"What about a name that starts with A?" Thalia offered. "It's still got resemblance to Artemis but gives us a wide range of options."

"That sounds nice," the hawk said.

"Perhaps something like Angel?" Thalia said. The hawk sent her negative emotions. "Aris?" Again, negative.

"Almond," Percy suddenly said. "It starts with A, and it relates to her. Look at the colour of her chest. Like an almond."

"You're right!" Irimis exclaimed. "What do you think?"

"I think I'd like that," the newly named Almond said. "Almond. Isn't that a sort of food?"

"It's a type of nut," Thalia said, wincing slightly. "My mother loved them."

"You do not like your mother?" Almond noticed. "Why not?"

"My mom was not very kind to me," Thalia sighed. "She let my brother be kidnapped and didn't care for me. I've always related almonds to her."

"Perhaps I could help you to not hate these almonds, then," Almond said, fluttering her wings.

Thalia smiled. "I'd love that, Almond."