Survival

Prologue

"We won." I whispered through the shouts and cries of joy, collapsing on the ground soaked in blood.  

Bone tired and covered in the ichor of monsters and the blood of demigods, I tried to somewhat gather the thunderous thoughts in my head about what the next step would be. As the daughter of one of the Big Three and a descendant of a majority of the Gods of Olympus, I knew that this wouldn't be the end for me, though I hoped that it would be.

"Leilah!" A cry struck through the joyous but drained teens, Romans and Greeks alike in craze. Percy broke through the crowd and gathered me in a strong hug, despite both being covered in blood that was partially ours, I hugged him back fiercely. We had both survived.

"It's over." He reassured me, his hand patting my back to calm my still fried nerves.

"For now," I said and let go of him to settle back on the ground and survey the destroyed land in front of us, "Now it's time for the clean up and decide the next step."

-

It took a long time before Camp Half-Blood was restored to its previous glory, though what could exactly be glorious about a plot of land on Long Island containing a few dozen cabins with the basic amenities. The strawberry garden was a great asset though. Nonetheless, it was home to myself and many other campers over the years and provided what most of us had been missing out on, an actual family.

In the time that it took to clean the Camp, I thought about the next step for myself and my unsure future. Would I continue living at Camp or return home to my mother in New York?

"Leilah, my dear." Chiron's steady and solid voice broke me from my stupor as I gazed from the window of the Big House. I had a sack of most of my belongings in my bag, ready to leave. He was in his wheelchair today, forsaking the use of his four legs to exercise his arms. I managed to give him a one-armed hug, my left and was in a sling after being broken in two places during the battle. I had also sustained various other injures in the fight; two bruised ribs, a sprained ankle and various deep cuts and bruises from the Roman eagles before they switched onto our side. Having to dodge their long talons was an incredible feat.

"Chiron. How have you been?" I smiled as well as I could with the blooming bruise on my right cheek. Nectar only healed so much before it became dangerous to consume. He guided me to the sitting table, and retrieved some snacks from one of the cupboards

"I've been good. have you come to your decision about where you will go?"

Nodding, "Yes, My mother and I were talking beforehand during the War, she said that when this was all over I could go and stay with her cousins kids in Virginia." taking a sip from the coke, "We used to live near them before we came here. It's not too far from here incase of emergencies"

Chiron nodded before staring at me with that old, grandfather stare, "Are you going to be alright with that decision? Do you still get the nightmares?"

"The nightmares come with being what I am, and I'm sure that this will work. I want it to." i shrugged my shoulders. The prospect of being able to have a sense of normalcy after this long was something that I felt like I couldn't pass up.

He grasped my hands in his and shook them, "You best heal before you get there then, take some time and relax. I would think that they would have some questions if you were to show up in the state that you are in now." he gestured to my broken body and we both shared a laugh.

With a goodbye hug, I left the cabin in search of my half-brother and our friends to wish them goodbye. We had each shared our thoughts and wishes of what to do since the great war was over, most seemingly driven to return to each's home.

We all gathered in a great hug, each strong in our grasp. Since the loss of some demigods and Leo especially, we all felt that it was necessary to keep in contact with each other no matter the circumstance.

"I'll Iris-message when I get settled." Detached from the hug and smiled at each of my family as I left the border of the Camp and started walking to my car that lingered in the outskirts. She was luckily not too damaged in the battle but of course the windows were smashed in. They were quickly replaced by the Hephaestus Cabin, reinforced with bullet-proof windows.

Now was the time to start anew, in a simple life.