Sparks in the Flame

Percy
Percy, Jason, and Leo were standing in Jason’s cabin, trying to figure out how to get out of camp without alerting Chiron to their real intentions.
“Okay, okay, I’ve got it this time!” Leo said triumphantly. “We tell Chiron that Ben and Jerry are actually demigods and have asked us to help develop a new ice cream flavor with them!” Percy groaned and rolled his eyes at Jason, who chuckled.
“I don’t think Chiron’ll go for that one, Leo.” Percy said. “He knows pretty much every demigod out there.” Leo frowned and began fidgeting with some gears he’d pulled out of the pocket of his overalls. Percy was beginning to get frustrated. Every second they wasted trying to get out of camp Grace was getting further and further away.
Next to Percy, a fly landed on Jason’s glasses. He swatted it away, took them off, and cleaned them on his shirt. “What if we just – hear me out here – tell the truth?” He said, putting his glasses back on and cocking his head at Percy.
“Jason, this isn’t really a truthful mission we’re going on here.” Percy responded. “If you care about Nathan at all you’d be taking this more seriously.” He huffed.
Jason rolled his eyes. “It’s because I care about Nathan that I’m apprehensive about this. The Oracle wouldn’t have picked Grace if she wasn’t capable of doing this, and Grace wouldn’t have picked Nathan and Reed if she didn’t think they were capable.” He put his hand on Percy’s shoulder. “Percy, I trust that they can do this. On their own.”
Before Percy could argue, Leo gasped and dropped a few small gears onto the marble floor. “Estelle!” He cried.
“Why are you bringing my other sister into this? One’s enough for me, thank you very much.” Percy said.
“No, no, you don’t get it. We’ll tell Chiron that the three of us are going into the city for a few days to visit Estelle, maybe we say she’s sick, or she’s about to start preschool or something, and that your mom really wants us there to see her.” Leo explained, picking the gears up off the floor and grinning at them.
Jason started to object, but Percy interrupted him. “You know, Leo, that just might work.” He said.
“Okay, I guess you’re pretty set on that idea now, but what about Frank, or Nico? And Annabeth? We can’t just not tell them what we’re doing.” Jason said, seeming satisfied that he’d found a hole in their plan. However, Leo had the answer to that too.
“Nico’s leaving soon to help his dad take care of some business down under, and Frank doesn’t need to know what we’re doing. We can’t bring everyone important, or Chiron will get suspicious. He can stay here with Hazel to take care of Annabeth while she’s in the infirmary.” Leo said, swatting the fly away again.
Annabeth. Percy had almost completely forgotten about his unconscious girlfriend. He couldn’t just leave her here, could he? No, he had to. She would understand why he needed to go. Well, hopefully anyways.
“Leo’s right, Jason. We need to do this, and we need to leave soon, or Grace and the boys will get too far away for us to follow.” Percy said.
Jason nodded. “I suppose you’re right. I’ll get extra supplies. Leo, you’re in charge of food, and Percy, you go talk to Chiron and let him know why we’re leaving, okay?” Percy and Leo nodded, and they all exited the cabin. As Leo ran off to the dining pavilion, Jason grabbed Percy’s arm. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Jackson.”
“Trust me, Jason. This is going to be great.” Percy answered. “You should try having a little fun sometimes, Grace. Do something risky. This’ll be good for you.”
“Gods, I hope you’re right.” Jason sighed, walking back into his cabin. Percy grinned to himself and set out for the Big House. Campers smiled at him as he walked, a few clapping him on the back and congratulating him for Grace’s quest. At the Big House, he didn’t find Chiron, but instead, Nico, sitting on the porch with a panting Mrs. O’Leary.
“Hey, Nico. Aren’t you supposed to be with your dad?” He said, jumping up the porch steps. Mrs. O’Leary leapt to her feet and greeted him with a wet kiss to the hand. He wiped it on his shorts and sat next to Nico on the bench.
“Hi, Percy. Later today, yeah. If you’re looking for Chiron he told me to sit here and tell campers he’s at the infirmary for a while, so go there if you’re looking for him.” Nico said, turning his attention to Mrs. O’Leary with a sigh.
“Thanks, Nico.” Percy said. As he turned around to leave, he noticed that the air around Nico seemed darker. He looked at Nico, who had his head in his hands and was staring into the distance. “On second thought, maybe I’ll hang here for a minute, since you’ll be leaving soon.” Percy said, sitting down next to Nico, who grumbled a response and scooted over. “So….” Percy started. “You seem a little, I dunno, gloomier than usual today. Any particular reason?”
Nico sighed and turned to Percy, and it was only then he could see that the boy’s eyes were shining with tears. “I’m okay, just having a rough few days with the new arrivals and stuff.” Nico responded, looking away and swiping his eyes with his sleeve.
“Are you sure?” Percy probed.
Nico sighed and shook his head. “No. I miss Bianca, Percy.” He finally said, putting his head in his hands. “It’s just that when they all came, you, Jason, and Will got new siblings, and I guess it just reminded me that I’m missing one.”
Percy wasn’t really sure what to do, so he put his hand on Nico’s head and gave it a pat. “Nico, I’m so sorry. I had no idea that you were feeling this way.”
Nico sniffed and shook his head. “No, it’s not your fault at all. It’s just hard because she was all I had for such a long time, and then she was gone just like that.” He snapped his fingers, causing a little hole to open up in the dirt at their feet.
“I’m not going to say I completely understand what you went through and are going through right now, but almost everyone here has lost people, especially during the last few years. I just want you to know that Bianca was an amazing girl, and that everyone here has your back, no matter what. We’re your family too, Nico. We all care about you.” Percy said.
Mrs. O’Leary licked Nico’s hand then, and he grinned a little, wiping a tear from his cheek. “Does Will know that you’re feeling this way?” Percy asked.
Nico shook his head. “No, but I bet you’re going to say that I should tell him, right?” Percy nodded. “Alright then.” Nico said, standing up. “I guess I’m going to go do that.” He began to walk away, but turned. “And if you need any help on that quest you’re going on, you know where to find me.” He said, grinning. Mrs. O’Leary jumped up and loped after the boy as he walked towards the infirmary.
“How did he-“ Percy began to say to himself, when he heard someone call his name. Looking up, he saw Chiron trotting over to him, coming from the direction of the infirmary.
“Ah, Percy, there you are.” The centaur said once he reached the porch. “I heard you were looking for me.”
Percy stood up. “Hi, Chiron. Yeah, so I was just going to tell you that Jason, Leo, and I are going to go visit my mom in the city for a few days.” He said nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.
Chiron nodded. “That’s alright with me, you are all adults after all. But may I ask the reason?”
“Yeah, it’s Estelle’s, uh, first recital, yeah.” Percy lied. “My mom called and told me that Estelle asked for Jason and Leo to come specifically.”
“Very well then. Don’t be gone too long, though, or you’ll miss our make-up game of capture the flag at the end of the week.” Chiron said with a smile.
Percy smiled back. “Yup, wouldn’t miss it!”
Once Percy had said goodbye and had shoved some clothes and food into a backpack, he met Jason and Leo at the entrance to camp. They each had a backpack on, and Leo was carrying an extra bag full of food, which he lobbed at Percy once he got there.
“So?” Jason asked, swiping at a fly buzzing around his head.
Percy gave him a thumbs-up. “We’re all set to go to Estelle’s first recital!”
“What are we waiting for!” Leo said, practically vibrating with excitement. “Let’s go save some siblings and kick some shadowy butt!”

Notes

Hi, y'all, I'm back! Things are finally getting rolling here, and I'm super excited to share my new chapter with everyone! I really appreciate any comments, feedback, and just any reading done at all. I'm super proud of this fic so far and I hope you all like it too!

xoxo, galeckey1234