Drachma For Your Thoughts {Nico}

[Annabeth Chase]

Annabeth sat on her own near the lake, watching the placid surface. Everyone else was at dinner, but she’d opted for just grabbing a little bit to go (tossing the allotted amount into the fire, of course), and leaving early. Things were getting crazy. Her hands had been seriously full trying to help Chiron with all the new campers, while still keeping up her usual duties as head of her cabin. Thank the gods construction on Olympus was pretty much finished or she’d lose her mind! And then there was Percy and how jittery he’d been of late. That dream he’d told her about at the beginning of the summer, when they were sitting right here. And then what happened in the lake. What was going on around here?

She pinched off a piece of one of the biscuits she’d grabbed and popped it in her mouth, pulling her knees up and watching a couple of dryads drifting aimlessly through the water a little ways off the shore. A slight breeze picked up and sent an involuntary chill down her spine. Okay, so maybe it was summer, but it was early summer, and the nights could still get a bit chilly. Especially if it was breezy! Why hadn’t she thought of grabbing her jacket rather than relying on her usual Camp Half-Blood t-shirt for some measure of warmth (something it was not very reliable at providing).

Her silent thoughts were broken when a robin decided to tentatively join her, though it was obviously more interested in the biscuit in her hand than anything else. Annabeth laughed slightly. “Alright, I’ll share.” She broke off a tiny piece of biscuit and tossed it toward the bird, who paused, grabbed at it, and flew off like it was afraid she’d change her mind and try to get it back. She rolled her eyes and looked up at the stars slowly coming out as the sun was beginning to set and simply pondered things. As a daughter of Athena, puzzles were one of her strong suits, but there were a lot of them floating about that didn’t seem to have answers at all. It was certainly safe to say it was a bit frustrating.

[gunbun]

Hovering over the water lapping at his feet, Nico ran his fingers over the elongated oval-shaped bruise that covered his right cheek like a purple tattoo. Smiling softly as pain rocketed through his face, making him shudder slightly. It was still surprisingly raw, even after all of yesterday. The son of Hades smirked as he pulled up his left sleeve, and eyed the fine set of bruises, shaped exactly like a hand print, that coated the under-side of his arm.

A fine collection, right?

Chuckling to himself, the boy raised himself from the crouch he'd been resting in, and tugged his shirt-sleeve down. Bruises weren't something that you displayed lightly.. because next thing that you knew, everyone was all over you, asking stupid questions like " What happened? " and " Are you okay? " Obviously, and for obviously obvious reasons, Nico didn't want to have these questions directed at him, nor be forced to answer them. Certain people at this camp might look at his bruised face and just come to the conclusion that he had gotten the nasty end of some monster in the forest.. or gotten into a scuffle with some Ares camper or something... Or maybe the smarter campers might assume that he had merely tripped, or something stupid like that. With skin as frail and thin as Nico's it would be too easy to figure that bumping into anything would cause severe bruising. The di Angelo boy had never cared to test the theory, but it was a probably likely possibility.

Today, just to suit the cool night air, Nico wore his usual black jeans, the material that had fit when he bought them, a few months ago, now hung baggy and loose over his emaciated skin. To keep his thin body warm enough, in addition to the black long-sleeved shirt, he also wore a black coat, a miniature-trench coat, if you would. Shoving his hands deep into his pockets and strutting down the edge of the beach, his feet digging into the coarse sand with every step. Nico, having all the spare time in the world, much to his frank displeasure, was forced into pondering his past week. The weekly meeting with Alecto and his father, Hades, had gone well, despite his injuries... there hadn't been much to report.. and a few more orders to carry out while at camp. Nothing high-profile really. The only downside to complying with the whims of his father, was the feeling of betrayal that poured through him.. even when he wasn't doing anything detrimental to the camp.

Sighing angrily, Nico ran a had through his hair, making it stand on end, to an extent. The boy hadn't realized how fast he'd been walking until another person came into view. Annabeth Chase. Always a delight, wasn't it? Groaning internally, the boy debated on whether or not to quickly change directions and walk away.. but the daughter of Athena had probably already seen him. It wouldn't work if he were to simply turn around and walk away.. because then she'd be liable to ask questions about his ungracious behavior the next time they met..

It was probably just good to go and talk to her.. though, no doubt, her prime object of conversation would be his embarrassing fit in the cabin. There was a chance that Percy and Annabeth had already spread the news of his childish outbreak around the camp. " Annabeth, " the boy greeted tersely, nodding stiffly and sitting down beside her, the tails of his long coat brushing against the ground. Yes, it might've been rude to sit without being invited, but the invitation to join her was, obviously, forthcoming. What kind of person would look at Nico, poor young Nico, poor skinny Nico, and not offer him a spot beside them?

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[Annabeth Chase]

Annabeth had been absorbed in her thoughts when there was a small snap of a twig breaking not far from her. She was torn from the puzzles that swam teasingly through her mind, just out of grasp, and looked up at the familiar figure. Nico looked just as pale and thin as usual, though there was a large bruise on his face… She wondered to herself what had happened, but decided maybe it was best not to ask. After the last time she saw him, she could guess at least one possible reason he might have a bruise. After all, throwing things around one’s cabin wasn’t exactly a hazard-less pastime.

She offered him a friendly smile; after all, he was, in her firm opinion, a friend, wasn’t he? “Hey, Nico. How are things?” She was about to invite him to sit with her when, out of the blue… he did. If it weren’t for his tone, she would actually take that as a good thing. She had to admit he was a confusing one. He spoke like he wanted nothing more than to go away or something, or like this was some sort of business meeting rather than just friends sitting by the lake and talking. But then he sat down next to her like he really did want to talk to her. Add another puzzle to the list…

Okay, so whether or not he wanted to be friendly and chat, or some combination or either or… she would just follow his lead for now. Maybe he had actually decided to be friendly. Okay, so the chances of that were slim to none, but still. She took another of the dinner rolls out of the napkin she’d brought with her and offered it to him. “So what brings you out to lake tonight?” It was a lame conversation starter, but hey, you had to start somewhere.