Of Shocks and Seashells

Of Talking and Home

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or any of the things that come with it, like a crotchety old man who would like to be drunk right now. Rick Riordan does.

Percy's Point of View

Annabeth and I had volunteered to show Thalia around the camp. She had seen the arena, the Big House, the lake, the climbing wall, the arts and crafts center, the sword-forges...she had seen the whole camp. Except for the cabins; we were saving the best for last.

Thalia's eyes widened when she saw the cabins. "Whoa. These are so cool!"

"That's Percy's cabin," Annabeth points it out.

"Smells like seasalt," Thalia says, looking at me, a quirky grin curving up the edges of her lips.

"Better than smelling like a pine tree," I retort, causing Thalia to give me her famous death glare. If you've never seen Thalia give a death glare, you've never been truly scared before. Her eyes seem more vibrant and electric, but they narrow and flare with coldness. Her lips turn into a scowl, her eyebrows furrow, and her nostrils flare slightly. Somehow I find the nostril thing utterly cute...GAH! Percy, what are you thinking?

"This is my cabin," Annabeth continues, gesturing to it.

"Looks like something worthy of Athena," Thalia replies, and she and Annabeth share a knowing smile. It makes me feel uncomfortable for some reason.

"And this is your cabin," she says, steering Thalia to a giant, columned, white building with holograms of streaks of lightning flickering down the sides.

Thalia's eyes widen and she gasps. "Majorly awesome." She cautiously sets foot inside the building almost reverentially, laying a hand on one of the huge columns. She walks towards the inner room and lets out another gasp. Annabeth and I exchange looks and smile.

"Annabeth!" Malcom, one of Annabeth's brothers, jogs up to us. "We have archery in about a minute! We need to get down pronto."

"Oh, gods," Annabeth moans. "I completely forgot about archery!" She turns to me, her gray eyes distraught. "Percy, would you do me a huge favor and stay with Thalia for a while? Like, help her get settled?"

"Sure," I answer. Annabeth runs off with Malcom, and I'm left alone, staring at a cabin that I probably souldn't go into. But I'm Percy Jackson, and, let's face it, I have a major talent for ticking off the gods, so I decide to go in anyway.

The Zeus Cabin is themed in the colors of a sky blue and a soft silver. That's probably not going to strike Thalia's chord. Oh well. There's a spacious skylight that lets in streams of sunlight, and a giant marble statue of Zeus in the corner. The cabin is lavishly decorated, but not over-decorated. And the air smells...slightly electrified.

Thalia sits on her bunk, unhappily staring around. I sit by here, but she makes no acknowledgement of me being there.

I clear my throat nervously. "Well, Thalia, how do you like your new home?"

"It doesn't feel like a home," Thalia mutters. I'm surprised. Cabin Three is one of the only places I feel at home, and I'm so comfortable there.

"What?" I ask, slightly stunned.

"It...I dunno. The only time that I ever felt at home was on the run with Annabeth and Luke, and we didn't actually have a home." Thalia's face hardened slightly. "And besides that, I've never really had a home. I ran away when I was ten, y'know. This place..." she gestures around her, waving her hand airily. "It doesn't have that feel. I don't feel like I should be here."

"Of course you should," I reply. "Camp Half-blood is the only place where you're safe."

"Gods, Percy, do you think I'm stupid or something?" Thalia says exasperatedly. "I know this is the only safe place for half-bloods! But that's exactly what it is to me. A safe place. Not a home."