I was already struggling to keep up with Percy.
He attacked fast—way faster than I remembered. Every swing of his sword forced me to step back, raise my shield, improvise with my spear. I had no idea when he'd gotten so quick, so strong... but I guess surviving wars, titans, and actual Tartarus makes you improve whether you like it or not.
A moment of distraction, one second thinking about anything else, and Percy took the opportunity for one of his classic dirty tricks: he tripped me. Before I knew it, I was on the ground, staring at the sky.
Great.
At least Apollo and Artemis weren't around to see it. Small mercies.
Percy walked over and offered me his hand, his smile right on that perfect edge between "I'm helping you up" and "I'm trying not to laugh."
"Everything okay, electric girl?" he asked, amused.
I rolled my eyes, but took his hand and let him pull me to my feet in one go.
"You're abusing the fact that I can't electrocute you mid-training," I muttered, brushing off my clothes.
He laughed.
"You seem distracted. Want to take a break? There's a creek nearby."
I sighed. I could insist on continuing the training, but... what for? My head was elsewhere. So I nodded, grumbling something even I didn't understand.
We walked through the trees to the creek. The water ran clear and fast over the rocks, making that sound I always found annoyingly relaxing. Percy didn't hesitate: he rolled up his sweatpants, took off his sneakers, and dipped his feet in the water with a satisfied sigh.
I stayed on the bank, arms crossed, staring at the water like it was some kind of sea monster.
"It's cold, right?" I asked.
"Freezing," Percy confirmed, smiling. "But it wakes you up."
I decided to pass. I'm not that much of a masochist.
I sat on a rock while Percy played with the water, making little splashes. He stayed quiet for a few seconds, then gave me a quick glance.
"What's wrong, Thalia?"
I swallowed. I didn't want to talk about it, I didn't want to sound weak. But it was Percy. If anyone knew what it was like to deal with dumb fears... it was him.
"Artemis," I murmured, lowering my voice. "The training for the games. All of it."
Percy stopped moving his feet in the water and leaned back on his hands, looking at me.
"She's gotten more intense?"
I let out a dry laugh.
"She's always been intense. But now... now she wants me to train my 'divine abilities.'"
"Like what?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
I shifted uncomfortably on the rock.
"She wants me to learn how to fly," I said, reluctantly.
Percy didn't say anything at first and I appreciated that. He already knew. He knew I was afraid of heights short before I became a hunter, ever since that crazy mission where we nearly got ourselves killed.
"Fly?" he repeated after a moment. "Wow. And how's that going?"
I shot him a murderous look.
"What do you think?"
Percy smiled, but not mockingly. It was that kind of smile that said, "Yeah, I get it—you want to rip someone's head off."
"It's not weird that you're scared," he said. "I used to be terrified of drowning. Still kind of am."
I frowned.
"You? Son of Poseidon?"
"Yeah." He shrugged. "On a mission with Hazel and Frank, a swamp almost swallowed me whole. Not fun when the water decides you're dessert."
I laughed despite myself.
"You survived?"
"Obviously," he said, winking at me. "But I had to learn to keep going, even with my legs shaking. Otherwise, I was dead. Me and a bunch of others—it was in the middle of the war."
I sighed, lowering my head.
"It's not that easy."
"It never is," he replied, more seriously. "But... you could talk to Artemis. Tell her. Give her the chance to understand."
I pressed my lips together.
"You think that'd work?"
"I don't know," he admitted. "But I think it would help you to say it out loud. And no one starts off flying straight to Olympus." He smiled sideways. "Start with a jump. Half a meter off the ground. Then one meter. Then two."
I stared at the creek for a while, letting his words sink into my head.
"You don't have to be perfect, Thalia," he added. "You just have to try."
I looked at Percy. For some reason, I pictured his fourteen-year-old self—the one I hugged right before becoming a Hunter.
"Thanks, kelp face."
"Anytime, pinecone face."
We grinned at each other like two idiots and let the creek keep running in front of us, carrying away a little of the weight we were both holding.
━━━━━━━༺ - ༻━━━━━━━
The next morning came way too fast.
As I crossed the clearing toward the training field, each step felt like dragging chains. My temple throbbed with nerves. And I wasn't exactly the nervous type. Or at least, I didn't usually let it show.
Artemis was there, standing with her bow slung across her back, waiting for me with that impossible calm of the gods. There was no impatience in her posture, just a serenity that made me want to kick something. How could she be so calm all the time? I felt like a frayed wire about to spark.
I could've turned back. Faked anything: a twisted ankle, a sudden hellhound attack, a monster horde urgently needing my help. But no. Not after what Percy had said.
So I took a deep breath, planted myself in front of her, and spoke before I could change my mind.
"Before we start..." I said, crossing my arms like an improvised shield. "There's something I need to tell you."
Artemis said nothing, just raised an eyebrow, expectantly.
I swallowed hard.
"I have acrophobia," I blurted out, fast, like the words might catch fire if I held them too long. "Fear of heights. It's not that I don't want to learn to fly... it's that the very thought of it freezes me."
A heavy silence fell between us. I felt my heart pounding in my ears, like each beat might betray my fear. I lifted my chin, bracing myself for disapproval, for a lecture, for whatever might come.
But it didn't come.
Artemis blinked, genuinely surprised. She seemed to be trying to fit that piece into her mind, unable to associate it with me. The daughter of Zeus, leader of the Hunters, invincible in battle... afraid to fly.
"Your father is Zeus," she said at last, her voice almost soft, like she was speaking more to herself than to me.
I forced myself to hold her gaze.
"Yeah. And believe me, I know. Ironic, right?" I said, with a hint of a bitter smile.
I expected a reprimand. Disappointment disguised as advice—something. But what I got was very different.
Artemis sighed, crossing her arms too, in a gesture that, for a fraction of a second, made her look less like a goddess and more like... I don't know, an older sister who wasn't quite sure how to handle the topic.
"If you had told me sooner, Thalia," she said, not harshly, just with a hint of sadness, "I could've helped you from the start."
I felt a lump in my throat, but pushed it down like I always did.
"I'm not very good..." I forced myself to say, lowering my voice, "...at asking for help."
She gave the slightest of smiles, almost invisible.
"I wasn't either," she admitted, to my surprise. "Until I realized that leading doesn't mean carrying everything alone. And even then, I still forget."
I didn't know what to say to that. So I just nodded, awkwardly. Artemis stepped a couple of paces closer, not invading my space, but letting her presence feel nearer.
"We're going to take it slowly," she said. "You don't have to fly like lightning on the first day."
Her words were firm, but there was something in her tone... a quiet patience, a confidence I hadn't expected from her.
I stayed still, like a deer about to bolt... but I didn't.
Artemis motioned for me to follow her to a small clearing where the ground sloped gently into a low hill. A few meters up, thick branches stretched between the trees at various heights. Some barely off the ground, others reaching three or four meters high.
She looked at me, gauging my reaction.
"Today," she said, "I just want you to try jumping. Not flying. Just jumping. Pick a low branch, climb up, and jump back to the ground."
I swallowed the automatic sarcasm rising to my tongue. This wasn't a joke, not for me. I nodded, clenching my fists.
I climbed the first branch. Barely half a meter off the ground. Ridiculous. My legs were tense, my throat dry. It was absurd, and still, my instincts screamed to climb down, to grab onto something, to not let go.
Artemis said nothing. Just watched me calmly, as if she had complete faith I could do it.
I took a deep breath. Closed my eyes for a second. And jumped. Perfect landing. Nothing special. But the adrenaline rush left me shaking all the same.
She gave a faint smile.
"Good. Now another one, a little higher."
And so we continued. One jump, then another. One meter, one and a half. Until I reached a branch hanging two meters off the ground.
There, I stopped, my heart racing. I looked at Artemis. She didn't say a word, didn't push. Just waited.
I knew I could stay there all day if I wanted. I knew she wouldn't force me. I bit my lip, took a deep breath to focus again, and jumped. The impact shot up my legs like a whip, but I landed. Alive, intact, and—strangely—grinning like an idiot.
Artemis nodded, serious, but I saw a flicker of pride in her eyes.
"That's enough for today," she said. "There's no rush, Thalia."
I didn't know whether I wanted to laugh or cry, so I just let myself fall backward onto the grass, staring up at the sky through the branches.
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Tournament start's soon!! Let me know If you are liking the fic!