Thalia Grace (wasatree) wrote in thearenas, @ 2014-04-06 21:58:00 |
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Entry tags: | ⊗ luke castellan, ⊗ thalia grace |
WHO: Luke Castellan and Thalia Grace
WHERE:
WHEN: Apr 6
WHAT: A reunion...sorta
RATING: PG
STATUS: log; complete
Luke was back. Thalia had never expected to see him again, at least not until she’d gone to Elysium herself - and even then it was iffy. By the time she got there, he could have very well moved on to his next life. But he was back, and that was beyond anything she could have hoped for. Yes, he didn’t seem to remember being here before, or any of the things they’d gone through together - the arenas, the death, the kisses they shared - but that was okay. They could rebuild all that. What mattered was that he was back, and Thalia was thrilled. She stopped just long enough to shout to Violet that she was heading out to find him, and then she was racing towards the Visitor’s Centre on foot, not bothering to wait for the monorail. By the time she got to him, she was sweaty and breathless, but she didn’t care. He was here. “You!” she shouted in glee, and threw her arms around him. *** Luke was disoriented and confused. One moment he’d been in Elysium, having finally found peace for the first time in his life, then he was...well…here. At first he thought he’d been reborn, but he was still himself, and he still had all his memories intact. That wasn’t part of being reborn, was it? Of course, he didn’t have all the details but he was pretty sure that your mind didn’t remember anything except in the time in between lives, when you found yourself back in Elysium. Hundreds of questions were flitting through his mind, and he didn’t have the answers for any of them. It was confusing, and annoying, and it wasn’t something he wanted to deal with right now at all. He was tired. Yes, he was only twenty-four years old, but the years since he’d run away from home hadn’t been easy ones, and he just wanted to rest. He sighed, closing his eyes for a moment, and that was when she attacked him. Well, not attack really, although it felt that way at first. He took a step back, looking at her in surprise. “Thalia?” *** “Hey.” Thalia stepped back as well, pinging onto the realization that he totally wasn’t in the same head space as she was. She should have known that, of course, but she’d just been so excited to see him here again that she hadn’t really stopped to think about it. So she just gave him an awkward wave, wishing she could just wrap her arms around him again and kiss him until they were both breathless. But even she knew that wasn’t a good idea. “So...welcome back to the island.” *** “Welcome back?” He asked, looking at her strangely. “I’ve never been here before.” He was confused about a lot of things in his life, but he was pretty sure about that one. He thought he would remember a place like this, as well as getting pulled out of Elysium to get there. “But, um, you look good?” He wasn’t sure exactly why she wasn’t trying to kill him, or yelling at him, or something, but she did look happy. And that was a good thing. *** “Thanks. You too.” Thalia smiled at him, though her initial joy was starting to fade. Had this happened before? She knew that there were some people who’d been here and back several times, but she hadn’t paid enough attention to remember if they knew if they’d been here before. Luke obviously didn’t. What was the point, then? To bring him back just to put him through all that trauma again before they tossed him back into Elysium? That was possibly more cruel than just taking him away in the first place. “So...um…” She ran her hand through her hair. She wore it longer than he would remember it, though it’d been so long that she’d had the longer length that she didn’t think too much about it. “What do you last remember?” *** Well, that was a weird question, to be sure. “What do I last remember?” He looked at her for a moment, not sure what she was asking. “Um, I remember stabbing myself, and then ending up in Elysium. Still not exactly sure how that worked.” What else was he supposed to remember? *** So this was an even earlier period than he’d been brought in from last time. Before, he’d at least had some time to settle into Elysium and come to terms with his past before he’d been brought here. This time, he hadn’t even had that chance at all. Thalia made a mental note to give the aliens an extra big blast of lightning in the face if she ever came close enough to them. “Okay, this is going to sound really weird,” she said slowly. She wasn’t smiling anymore. She wanted to scream in anger and frustration, in fact - but at the moment, the priority was to get Luke oriented, and then she could vent to Violet later. “You were here before. The people who brought us here and keep us trapped here brought you in from Elysium last time too, and kept you for a year. Then, about a week ago, they sent you back. I guess they changed their minds, because you’re here again.” *** None of it made sense. None of it made any sense, and Luke shook his head as if that alone could deny this weirdness and send him home. It didn’t, of course, and he crossed his arms across his chest, almost petulantly. “I haven’t been here before, Thalia. And I know for a fact I haven’t been here for a year. When would I have done that? The past year? The past year I’ve been with Kronos. The past year, I’ve been Kronos. Did I have golden eyes when I was here? Because otherwise, nothing you’ve said makes any sense.” He was maybe a bit angrier than he should have been, but he was tired, and confused, and he just kind of wanted this to be some sort of joke he’d wake up from, and find everything normal again. *** “No. No, you didn’t. Gods, Luke…” Thalia exhaled loudly, frustrated. In the past week, she had, in moments of weakness, wished that the aliens would bring Luke back even though she knew he was happier in Elysium, but not like this. To have to go through all this with him again… ...well, at least she wasn’t likely to punch him in the face this time. Maybe. “They bring people from all different points in their lives,” she said. “Annabeth was here, and she was months ahead of me. She knew of things I didn’t even...anyway, the point is that it’s possible, and that’s what happened. So you should be prepared for people knowing who you are even though you don’t know them.” *** Luke scoffed. That had been happening more and more anyway, with him basically in charge of Kronos’s Army of Evil the past year. But it had never been in a good way - and he couldn’t help but wonder if it was in a good way here, either. But that was that, and it wasn’t something he could change, even if he wanted to. “Yeah, okay,” he shrugged. “I don’t understand any of this,” he said, deflating a little. “And I don’t understand why you were so happy to see me, after everything I’ve done.” *** “Like I said, you were here for a year,” Thalia said, watching him carefully. “We had time to work things out.” He looked so tired now that the shock and confusion were wearing off, and she wished she could go and just hug him. But that would probably just mess him up even more right now. Which was why she wasn’t going to tell him about them being together. Not yet. *** A year? Well, to him it didn’t seem like nearly enough time to work out all the things he’d done wrong, but maybe it had been. He missed her friendship more than just about anything he’d ever lost, but he’d never expected to have it back. He didn’t deserve to have it back. The things he’d done...well, there was no coming back from that. “Well, that’s…” he shrugged. “Optimistic.” After a moment, he looked back at her. “Look, I’m excited to see you and all, but I really need to...I don’t know. I need a few minutes. To figure all of this out.” *** “...yeah, of course,” Thalia said, trying not to feel hurt by it. It wasn’t personal - he was confused and lost and needed time to process it all. Of course. It was just that...in the past, and again when they’d finally reconciled, he’d process things with her. She’d forgotten how much she missed it. “Um…” she wracked her mind, trying to think of what might help. “Do you know where you’re living yet? If not, you can stay with me and my friend Violet. We have this huge house, and it’s just the two of us.” Because people kept leaving. *** “I have...no idea where I’m staying.” They’d told him a bunch of things when he’d arrived, but his head had been spinning too much to really process them properly. All he knew for sure was that he wasn’t still in Elysium, and that Thalia was here. And had been here for a year, even though he knew she’d been at the Battle of Manhattan. Seriously? This was too much. “Um...are you sure that’s a good idea?” *** Thalia shrugged. "Would you rather live with people who might or might not know you from before?" It was going to be awkward and painful either way; but at least if he stayed with her and Violet, they could probably help him get adjusted better than the others. *** He looked at her awkwardly, pretty unsure which would be better. He’d wanted a new start, it was true, but not necessarily one where he could still remember the old one. That hadn’t exactly been what he was going for there. “Um, I guess I can stay with you guys for a little while,” he finally answered. “Until I get my bearings.” *** It sounded like he couldn't wait to get away from her, and that he was only staying because he didn't have any better options. Thalia smiled awkwardly to mask her pain. Most of the joy she'd felt upon seeing him here again was gone now. She was still happy to see him, just because he was him, but if she'd harbored any illusions that they could just pick up where they'd left off, or even work towards it, were gone now. "C'mon, then," she said. "I'll take you there and you can meet Violet. I'm sure you have a ton of questions, too." *** Questions? He supposed he should, shouldn’t he? But right now he was so confused, and they were all piling down on him, that he wouldn’t have even known where to start asking. Not to mention how tense and on guard he felt around Thalia. He shouldn’t. Especially after how happy she seemed to see him, but he just felt...broken. And he’d betrayed her worse than any of the others, so how could he look at her and smile? How could she look at him and smile? “Yeah,” he said tiredly. “I’ll try to...figure out what questions I want to ask.” *** "Take your time; it's not like I'm going anywhere." Thalia's lips twisted. Other people came and went, but she and Violet seemed to be stuck here forever, dying over and over again, and watching people come and go. Or return without their memories of this place. She led him to the monorail that would take them to the district where she and Violet lived. Along the way, she pointed out places of interest. It was easier to talk about those, than think about the year he'd lost. *** It was surreal, being here and watching this place unravel before him. Right now, he wasn’t really making sense of any of it, he was just watching, absorbing it to understand later. If there was a later. If this wasn’t some strange death that he was going to be suffering here. Or if it wasn’t just a hallucination - maybe they did that sort of thing in Elysium. He was quiet while she pointed out landmarks, but as she continued, he watched her with more and more interest. Why - what had he said while he was here to win her back to his side? It did make him feel better to know it was possible; that she wasn’t completely lost to him. “Thalia,” he said, after a long moment of silence. “How can you forgive me? How did you forgive me?” *** That stopped the flow of awkward chatter Thalia had been keeping up to fill the even more awkward silence. She turned to look at him, and forced herself to keep looking even though it hurt to see him so confused and lost once more. "Time," she said after a moment. "A few punches to your face. And you saved me a few times, in the arenas. And I guess after a few times seeing you die, it just kind of lost its appeal, you know?" *** Time. It was an easy answer, but a good one. And he was glad to hear also that she had been angry with him. He’d definitely deserved those punches to the face - there was no doubt of that. “The Arenas?” He’d heard something about them, but still didn’t quite get them. Of course, he knew enough of his history to know what Arenas were, but surely that wasn’t what they meant. “What kind of Arenas?” *** "Oh, everything," Thalia said tiredly. How many had she been through now? Way too many. "It changes every month. Just last month we were in Jurassic Park, and the goal was to get out without getting eaten. The one before that was pretty fun. Some competitive game in teams, and no one had to die. Sometimes they stick you in an arena with someone else and it's a classic game of kill or be killed. They bring you back if you die. Sometimes you have your powers, sometimes you don't. The only constant is pain and angst. There's one going on right now that sounds really brutal, but I haven't watched yet." Too busy moping over Luke's disappearance. She had a feeling that wasn't going to change even though he was back now. *** “That’s - “ He didn’t even know what that was. Sick? Twisted? All of the above? What kind of a place had he found himself trapped in, anyway? “And, uh, how do they choose who gets to do this, anyway?” *** "Who gets brought here, you mean?" Thalia asked. "Or who does the arenas?" She answered both anyway. "No one knows how they decide who gets brought here, or who gets sent back. Mostly it's fighters, or people used to fighting. Demigods are pretty good for that, I guess. As for the arenas...sometimes you volunteer, or sometimes you just get called up. If you volunteer, they kinda leave you alone for a while." *** “People volunteer for that?” He asked, appalled. He wouldn’t, well, unless it was to take the place of someone he cared about. “So do we get thrown in there a lot, since Demigods are good at it?” He shrugged. “And who decides who goes in? I mean, if you don’t volunteer?” *** "Think of it this way: if you knew that this month's arena was just traveling around the grid looking for Pokemon, and the one who catches the most wins, whereas you don't know if next month's is going to have you fight against a friend, wouldn't you volunteer for this one?" Thalia asked. "As for who decides...I dunno. The puppet masters behind all this have only shown themselves a few times. But they don't put us in any more than anybody else." *** Well, that made sense, Luke couldn’t say it didn’t. So he just shrugged his shoulders and nodded. Of course he would. “So they tell you ahead of time what they are?” *** "Not always," Thalia admitted. "Most of the time, no. But the ones that we do know about that doesn't sound too bad?" She shrugged. "I go for those." After all this time, she'd developed a system. She looked out the window at the passing scenery for a moment, struggling with her thoughts and emotions. This was very much still Luke, she reminded herself. He just wasn't at the point where he was before, when they were friends - and more. Maybe he'd get there again, but no matter how much Thalia wished she could do some sort of mind meld to get him back to the way he was, it wasn't going to happen. She was going to have to be patient. Hah. "Look," she said finally. "I know this is all overwhelming for you right now, but I want you to know that I'm here for you. Because we're friends. Because you do find some peace, and you end up being the great guy you were before. I just want you to know its possible." *** “I wasn’t ever a great guy, Thalia,” he said tiredly. Maybe that was a little harsh on himself, but he’d come to feel that way. That he’d always been a bad person inside, and it had just taken the right combination of events to bring it all out. He didn’t think he was as evil as Kronos had made him, but he didn’t feel like a particularly good person either. He’d hurt a lot of people. He’d killed people. He’d ruined lives. And the worst part was that he couldn’t say for sure that he wouldn’t do it again, if the same things came to pass. “And what about you? Where’s Artemis?” *** "You are," Thalia insisted. "And always have been. You just...made some really asinine decisions without me around." Her voice softened. "But I'm here now." She watched him for a moment more before answering his question. "I've been here for two years. I haven't seen Artemis at all. Wherever she is, she can't get to me." *** “So you’re...not forever fifteen?” He raised an eyebrow and looked at her. She’d somehow shaken off the yoke of Artemis? That was impressive. And had...definite implications that he wasn’t going to think of right now. He had too many other things to deal with. He couldn’t help but laugh, though. “Oh, so if you’d been around, I wouldn’t have made those decisions, I suppose.” *** "Who knows?" Thalia shrugged. "It's so different here. I still have my Hunter powers - you know, when our overlords let me have them, but -" She wasn't a Hunter anymore, not really. Not since she'd made the decision to be with Luke. Not that it made a difference now. She gave him a wry look. "You think I would've let you go on for so long without telling me about your dreams? Or letting you go off on your own to join Kronos? Even if he'd gotten that far with you, I would've been trying to drag you back every step of the way." *** It was true, actually. He could absolutely see her doing just that, and it brought the first grin to his lips that he’d had since he’d arrived there. “Yeah, true,” he admitted. “You would have been. And you never would have let me get that far to start with, no matter what I tried to do. “And I don’t think I would have wanted to,” he added a moment later, nervously. “I mean, with you there, things were always easier. Everything was.” *** She'd missed that grin. It wasn't the cocky, mischievous grin that made her heart flutter, but it was the first sign of happiness he'd shown since seeing her again. "Well, I'm here now," she repeated, and reached out for his hand to give it a swuick squeeze. She didn't hold on, however, despite wanting to. The poor guy was freaked out enough already. *** He was glad that she didn’t hold on; he didn’t know what he would have done with that. But he did appreciate the contact and the closeness for a moment, and that human contact that he had always so badly needed, and rarely ever got. “Yeah, okay,” he said, some of the tension leaving his shoulders. “Show me where you’re staying.” *** "We're coming up to it now," Thalia said, as the monorail slowed at the next station. "C'mon." It wasn't a long walk from the station to the house she shared with Violet, and as she'd promised, it was large - and homey. It was similar to the kind of place Luke and Thalia had once talked about living in when they grew up: something with lots of windows and warmth, spacious enough for the three of them and any demigods that might need a place to crash. Thalia called out to her roommate, but received no answer. Violet had probably stepped out to give her time with Luke or something. She was great that way. Not that being alone made any difference, with the head space he was in. "So we have six bedrooms and it's just the two of us," Thalia said, after giving him a quick tour. "You can choose whichever one you want." *** Luke nodded, looking thankful that he didn’t have to figure these things out right now. He had more than enough on his mind without doing that. He picked a room near Thalia’s (they all were, of course), and went inside, collapsing onto the bed. He was tired from so many things, and he just needed some time to think. “Thalia?” he said through the open door. “Thanks for this. Really. Thanks for everything.” *** Thalia stood at the doorway, wishing she could just go up and curl up beside him. She didn't, though. "Hey," she said gently. "That's what family's for." |