Darkness and Duty

Not a Surprise

They got all the way to the border between California and Arizona before their first monster attack.

Reyna wasn't surprised that they had attacked; it was a fact of life for a demigod to always be on the lookout and to always expect danger. What surprised her was that they had taken this long. She figured Nico's cloak of darkness had done a lot to shield them, but eventually their demigod stench would escape and beckon.

Somedays Reyna really hated being a demigod.

And somedays she didn't; she had to admit it was thrilling fighting a Hydra with one of her closest friends. As the daughter of Bellona, she didn't take pleasure in fighting, but when she was, her instincts took over and she didn't have to think so hard. Thinking was perilous.

Fighting was natural.

And back to back, with adrenaline pumping and senses heightened, Reyna didn't have to worry, either. About Camp Jupiter, or Nico, or Percy and Frank.

All she had to do was worry about herself.

It was almost easy, chopping off a head and lighting the stump on fire, watching it flail around wildly trying to extinguish itself. Not just that--it was normal.

"So what now?" Reyna asked, wiping her blade on the grass next to where the Hydra had fallen. It had dissolved away, the ash floating away on the wind and leaving only the memory of another monster vanquished behind.

"We keep going," Nico answered, his eyes dark as he scanned the area. With a quick tilt of his head, they carried on.

They managed about five more miles before the sun set, the dark night eating up the pinks and blues. Nico was right at home, something in him easing out the closer they got to midnight.

A few hundred dollars later, they had checked into some cheap motel room and were eating cheeseburgers by the light of a single, flickering lamp. Reyna had to smile, watching Nico eat. He hadn't lost any of his voracious appetite, quickly scarfing down two burgers before settling back in his chair.

He seemed happier, too, away from all the people in the camps (some of who still--still--shunned him) and just traveling across the country. It was... normal. Safe. (Well, in a relative sense, mind you.)

"I'll take first watch," Nico said as Reyna finished up, gathering all the wrappers and tossing them in the wastebasket next to the single bed. Reyna opened her mouth to argue, but Nico cut her off with a, "Seriously, Reyna. I'm not tired."

A blatant lie, but Reyna let it pass. She settled herself on the bed and took her hair out of her braid, sliding the rubber band on to her wrist and laying down. The bed was hard, the pillows lumpy, but it was a lot better than the ground.

Nico sat with his back against the door, his eyes closed. If Reyna didn't know better, she would've thought he was asleep.

With a sigh, she turned so she wasn't facing Nico anymore. It was too hard for her not to look at him and not worry.

Reyna was the type of person who could sleep whenever, wherever. So when she told herself to sleep, she slept.