The Rebirth

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"So," Frank announced. The dinner was a celebratory dinner the small group of them always had in honor of Bob, and Damasen, and their quest- their amazing, insane, crazy quest- they had so many years ago. Piper and Jason and Annabeth and Percy were coming in from New York just for this occasion. Leo sometimes brought Calypso, sometimes didn't, and nobody objected to her presence. Reyna and Nico always came together, and their respective husbands (or, in Nico's case, husband-to-be) happened to stay home to fully allow them to connect with old friends. Octavian always felt a little off about this, considering he almost ruined the whole quest once upon a time, but he always managed to stay through the Bob and Damasen honor before trudging home. This was one of the only years Coach Hedge had come. This was one of the only years Tyson and Ella hadn't come, respectfully declining so they can spend some time together after being apart for so long (Tyson working in the ocean, Ella working on Olympus).
"So," he said, after Octavian sat up and stretched, starting to gather his jacket and things, "Did you hear? They officially opened the doors between the different cultures."
"You mean... some of your Chinese ancestors will soon be chatting with our Lares, Frank?" Percy asked casually, his arm thrown around Annabeth's shoulder. It was always there. It'd always been there for the past sixteen years.
"Funny. No." And yet, Frank actually laughed. One of the most amazing changes about Frank over the years was his newfound ability to laugh at everything- especially himself. He never really did, back in the day. "Just Egpytians. But the way that they're talking, I wouldn't be surprised if the Chinese and Japanese gods were invited to Camp Jupiter."
"Huh," Reyna said, delicately. "I suppose we're suddenly an open shelter, now?"
She was a little touchy about the toughness of her camp.
"Of course not. The new praetors and Senate just seem very set on openness and friendliness after all the good prosperity the Greeks brought to the camp."
"And," Hazel glanced at Reyna with a knowing 'Roman' expression, "The good prosperity we gave the Greeks."
"Yeah. Equality all over. Tolerance all over." Octavian piped up. Everyone looked over in surprise. He was leaning against the doorway, seemingly staying purely out of interest in the conversation. "They are very big on tolerance, now. Of course," he added hastily. "This doesn't mean we're weaker, in any way. But we now recognize strength in ALL cultures, not just our own. Not that we were racist, or anything-"
Nico was frozen.
He'd gone completely rigid.
The conversation between all the others faded to a dull murmur in the background, as his mind began to spin, his thoughts began to whirl...
"We get it, man, we get it. Octavian- do you think we're going to shoot you every time you say something partially offensive?" Leo called out.
He was so stupid.
He was so stupid!
"Lay off, Leo."
Of course. Of course, of course, of course.
There's only one god of rebirth. Nico knew this. He looked through this, researched, year after year... Attis. But this god was more involved in reincarnation, rebirth within the earth, not tied with the Destinies or the Fates, definitely a very minor god....
"Huh. Do you think I'm going to have to get all of them down, too? All the Egyptians, I mean? Try to check those minor gods off on the list? I don't know if I'll be able to handle it."
Yes, there was only one god of rebirth.
In the Greco-Roman cultures.
There are other gods.
There are other worlds.
"...Egpytians here? Percy, when's the last time we talked to Carter, or Sa-"
The doors have been opened.
Egpytains. He seized on that word. Egyptains.
Was there an Egpytian god of Rebirth?
There had to be one. The Egyptians were PROS at afterlife rituals, they made fabulous tombs for the dead, their whole life built to preserve them so they could possibly rise again....
By now, he was up and out of his seat. He gave Hazel a quick kiss on the cheek, gave Reyna and Coach Hedge quick hugs, waved to everyone else absent-mindedly, heading out before Octavian had even left.
His pace was quick. His mind was quicker. All he could think about, every spark of idea, every excited flash of inspiration, began to circle back to the same sentence, over and over:
There are other gods.
There are other gods.
There are other gods.
There are other gods.
Like the wimp she was, the first thing Elena noticed when she woke up was the pain.
Her shoulder still hurt like a... Hurt like a word her parents would kick her out of the house for saying. But not nearly a fraction of it hurt like it did during that battle. What had even happened then? If she ever remembered, she was going to keep those memories for the rest of her life.
The second thing she noticed was that her shoulder didn't feel like it had as much glass underneath the skin than it had before. There were still chunks and pieces that she could definitely feel, but... definitely not as much as before. Nowhere near as much as before.
The third thing she noticed was that she could feel her shoulder moving. Not in a way like "Elena moved her shoulder" but in a way like "it was whirring in action all on its own". If she stayed completely still, holding her breath for twenty seconds, she could just barely feel the small tickling of motion underneath and in her muscles and skin.
It was surreal, and weird, and she wasn't sure if she was amazed or appalled.
"Thank the gods. Hi. Hi. Sorry about your arm; I really am. So glad you're awake."
It took some effort, but Elena managed to make her face smooth, polite, calm. She turned towards the voice.
A girl with auburn hair tied in a messy braid leaned forwards. She was in this very long, faded blue t-shirt that reached her knees and screamed "I'M ABSOOOLUuuTELY NUTS" across the front along with a little cartoon of a head full of almonds. A complete storm of dark freckles flung itself all over her cheeks, nose, forehead. Her smile was dreamy, cloud-like, carefree, drifting but her amber eyes were sharp.
She seemed very young, like a ten or twelve-year-old, but her appearance was much older- around Elena's age.
"It's healing, yeah? I saw that. How painful it was. I saw your battle. Um, and you were pretty amazing, I have to say. I hope it doesn't hurt as much as it did before. Of course, it's going to hurt for at least another two days, maybe day and a half, if you're really really really lucky, which I'm having some trouble figuring out if you are, or not. Do you do that stuff a lot? Dive headfirst into battle? If so, are you brave? Or just not thinking?"
Elena was having trouble keeping up. Her mind was still stuck on "At least another two days". "What do you mean, at least another two days? My shoulder... It was completely..."
The girl's smile fluttered throughout her face. Something about her expression made Elena want to smile, too, despite her total confusion. "It was completely smashed. I don't know how you managed to do that. You've been out for two days, of course, since your injury was so bad, but in two days, you should be somewhat on your way, don't you worry! We tried to contact your family, but we weren't really sure how to work your phone... It's a bit ancient... Not that there's anything wrong with ancient!"
"Four days? Are you saying... I completely broke my shoulder bone into splinters and I'm going to get out in four days?"
"Two days, actually. You slept through the first half. I wish I could do that. I like to get up at night and wander around for a bit; sleep doesn't do much for me, for some reason."
"How is that possible?"
"Oh, our magicians are fabulous. Some people disregard us because of our youth, but honestly, our fifteen-year-old magicians are better than some who have been practicing for decades now."
"You used magic on me? I thought it wasn't safe!" She remembered back to her conversation with the boy.
"Oh, no, quite safe. As long as you use the right amount, I guess. Potions are a little trickier- you have to check through the allergies and such. I'm not quite certain or specialized in that spectrum myself; I'm more of what you were doing, battling that Sphinx."
"I... Where...? My god." Elena realized that every question coming out of her mouth must sound infinitely stupid, but the girl with the Nuts shirt simply nodded happily and understandingly, as though she knew how stupid they sounded and didn't care in the least.
"I'm sorry. This must be an awful shock, honestly. I can't imagine. And, you're...?" the girl leaned forwards even further, her hands on the edge of her chair and her eyes gleaming bronze in total, wide-eyed interest. "Not a magician?"
"Oh. Oh, no. Definitely not. I wish." The last part came out of Elena's mouth unexpectedly. She blinked in surprise.
"Just regular? Completely ordinary?"
Elena made sure to keep her voice even and in check as she gave a small smile and replied, "I wouldn't say regular..."
"Oh, but that's what I meant! You haven't been given all these powers, this magic, or anything, and yet you still managed to do what you did, which makes you more extraordinary than the ordinary person and more extraordinary than the extraordinary person! You're special, you know that? You're really, really special."
The sincerity in the other girl's voice took Elena aback. She didn't know what to say for a couple of seconds. She never really acknowledged, never really realized... She knew she was different, but special? It felt really warm to have someone say that to her. It felt really buttery in her chest. Everything she's done? Special?
"Well... My, god. Thank you."
"Oh, you're welcome. Hey! Hey- I wanted to ask- how could you see the Sphinx? The magic in London is veiled especially thick."
This time, Elena was ready with the answer. Most people she happened to run into or fight alongside with asked her the same question. "Born with it. Lucky or unlucky gift; you choose."
The other girl's eyes lit up with that sentence, sparkling a liquid amber gold. "Oh, but isn't it more what you decide?”
Elena hesitated, uneasily. “I’m not sure what you mean, exactly.”
The other girl smiled again, with a look of complete confidence, total certainty, complete understanding:
“You will.”
Elena couldn’t help but smile at her. The other girl was just so… sweet, and nice. Kind of odd, but caring.
It was a nice change.
“Thanks.” Elena realized she hadn’t really introduced herself. She couldn’t move her arm to shake the other girl’s hand, because her shoulder was still throbbing, but she made eye contact and everything and said, “I’m Elena.”
There was an expression of total surprise on the other girl. She didn’t bother to hide it. She looked at Elena curiously, in wonder.
After a pause, she beamed, and said, “I’m Greywyn. Some people just call me Wyn. Or Grey. Or Greywyn.”
Elena found like she couldn’t find any response to that. Except for laughing. And more laughing. “Oh. Well. What should I call you?”
“The Great Grey Weenie?” someone called from the door, to the left of her. Elena froze.
Her memory began to come back. She knew who it was before she even looked. He had been running after the Sphinx. He had thrown her silver knife. He was the one that made her fall, made her lose the monster.
“And this,” Greywyn gestured towards the door, with a goofy look plastered on her face, “Is Benji.”
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Notes