He Was Making A Brave Attempt, But

I Held Out A Lead Figurine Of Hades—the Little Mythomagic Statue Nico Had Abandoned When He Fled Camp Last Winter. Nico Hesitated. "i Don’t Play That Game Anymore. It’s For Kids." "it’s Got Four Thousand Attack Power," I Coaxed. "five Thousand," Nico Corrected. "but Only If Your Opponent Attacks First." I Smiled. "maybe It’s Okay To Still Be A Kid Once In A While.

Come On," I Said. "i've Got Some Questions For Thoth. And Then I'm Going To Punch Him In The Beak.

A Little Background: Annabeth Used To Adventure With Hermes's Son Luke. Over Time, Annabeth Developed A Crush On Luke. As Annabeth Got Older, Luke Developed Feelings For Her, Too. Luke Turned Evil. Hermes Blamed Annabeth For Not Preventing Luke From Turning Evil. Annabeth Blamed Hermes For Being A Rotten Dad And Giving Luke The Capacity To Become Evil In The First Place. Luke Died In War. Hermes And Annabeth Blamed Each Other. Confused? Welcome To My World.

So I Took Her Hand, And I Don't Know What Everybody Else Heard, But To Me It Sounded Like A Slow Dance: A Little Sad, But Maybe A Little Hopeful, Too.

I May Be Biased, But I Think Jackals Are Cute And Cuddly, Even If They Were Known For Digging Up Graves In Ancient Egypt.