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( AUDIO | TEXT | VIDEO | ACTION | GEORGE AND MARTHA | ETC )

( identifiers: luke castellan | ophiotaurus | αλεπού (the fox) | george and martha through luke castellan || LOCKET + COMPASS )

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[ despite already texting luke once and figuring that she was done, it only takes thalia a few minutes to pick up her locket in order to ramble out another one. ]

by the way, i actually got the chance to talk to Annabeth about you. that was the last conversation that we had. go figure, right? I talk to Annabeth about our family and then everyone i consider family but you is gone.

I seriously blame Hera. I don't know how, but this totally reeks of her doing. I can't blame the dogs on her though. Not her style.

You better be alright from those dogs, by the way. Otherwise I'm going to be pissed. More pissed actually. They got the better of me and got my arm bad. so I can't use it for now. I hate how paralyzed I get when it comes to stuff like this, did I ever tell you that? Its stupid. I'm Artemis's lieutenant, after all. I should be able to deal with whatever they throw at me.

[ of which less than five minutes pass. she's certainly on a roll. ]

one more thing. you disappear on me this month and I'm done. There is no way that I can handle another loss right now. I don't think I can hate this month any more right now.

or maybe i can, who knows. i'd rather not test it, i've already run out of arrows from shooting them at things.

xoxo thalia

[ send quickly after the other one. ]

p.s. what is so hard about a cheeseburger that they don't have any here. i'm leaving it up to you to get me one. consider it an early birthday present.

[ and a few more moments later. ]

p.p.s. is it weird that i miss piper? we weren't close, but she seriously left around the same time that jason did. go figure, right? i thought percy and annabeth were bad. they make a good couple. sorry, rambling. i can't sleep. i seriously hope you didn't read all of these.

[ holy shit, thalia. ]

[ luke thinks this is the most he's ever seen her talk — text or verbally — ever in the years he's had the fortune of knowing her. but he hadn't known her when she was grieving, nor had he known she had a family out there somewhere, perhaps searching for him when she had been tied to luke in their own adventures of finding a safe house and safe ground to grow up and be themselves, their lives no longer punctuated by the appearance of monsters nor dictated by them. it's a side of thalia that frightens him, being unable to help her when she's in pain, despite her not crying nor screaming so loud the walls of caer glaem's castle shake. ]

[ for the talker he is, he's not sure how to begin comforting her at the loss of her brother. jason had been his first friend, a kid so stubborn he'd never given up on luke like luke had on himself or even hermes. jason's resilience to believe the best in him had seen him shrugging his shoulders when he'd gifted him backbiter and after learning the history of the sword. it's not something he'll ever forget, someone not knowing him outside of the tales depicting him as a villain, giving him a chance he knows he never deserved nor ever will. but it's not about him and his small loss. ever since nico chose to publicly declare the loss of three important demigods, one luke had never met, one he was beginning to know, and someone who was his family, he's been uncertain of how to respond to any of them. the girl who should be the easiest is the most difficult, especially given how their relationship still remains in tatters, regardless of the small steps they make toward repairing it. ]

[ it's the loss of annabeth that hits him harder than the sky falling atop his back and crushing him. it's a loss he's dealt with poorly before, fleeing to the station in a bid to not remember any of it — if he's far from caer glaem, he's far from the truth, and denial's warm embrace has always been a hell of a lot more kinder to luke than anyone else's. but he can't run now, not when thalia's falling apart and percy's probably breaking at the seams. despite his own urge to see if he's okay, it's thalia who takes priority, someone he hadn't been sure of how to approach after learning the loss of her brother. had she been the one to find out first and relay the message onto nico? had nico even contacted her privately? it's questions he wants to pry into deeper and tear at, ensuring thalia hadn't been the last to know in a series of demigods who need to be informed at the loss of their family members. luke's never been good at the comforting thing outside of those at camp coming to him first. it's never been the other way around, him seeking another out to ensure they're okay. ]

[ luke doesn't respond to any of what she's sent, instead taking to her own pleas for items she no longer has. abandoning george and martha to his room, promising to express his condolences from the two snakes, he takes to the armoury first, stealing a quiver of bows and popping over to the station to steal two cheeseburger meals and fries as if he's at mcdonalds. grabbing two cokes from the modern realm, he pops on back over to caer glaem and finds his hands are full as he dictates over his locket. ]

Your wolves. Two questions.

1. Do they like me?

2. Are they inside pets?

[ despite how rapidly her texts had sent before, there's a bit of a pause before she responds back to him. she hadn't expected a response. at least, not until morning. or maybe she expected luke to be off on his own grieving over annabeth. she wasn't sure. ]

i'm having stella keep an eye on nico. delia won't do anything.

go to bed, luke. i'm fine. [ obviously she wasn't. this was the furthest she had been from fine in a long time, but it was worth a shot. giving luke a chance to do what's best for him instead of thinking about her. ]

[ i'm fine is the lie he tells himself and all those around him when they pry too closely with their fingers into his open and gaping wound. i'm fine is just as much of a hollow sentiment as i'm sorry for your loss is. it only encourages him further, his strides steady and purposeful as he navigates his way along the corridors to her room. ]

I'm going.

[ she never specified which bed it is he should take to. ]

[ minutes later, luke stands in front of her door. he thinks to wave his hand over the lock to unlock it if it happens to be, but with his hands full, burgers and drinks clutched in them and the quiver slung over his shoulder, he chooses to respect her privacy and her by not pushing himself where he doesn't belong. it should be her choice to open her door to him and hers to let him in. no one had stolen that from him; he may be a thief but he's one with a conscience, knowing when and when not to thieve from someone. ] Room service.

[ I'm going. reading those words, thalia assumes he's going to bed. cuddling up into the cushions of his own mattress rather than head to her room. its why she doesn't move from the spot that she had claimed in her own room. sitting with her legs folded up against her on her own. it was better that luke had chosen to sleep. he probably needed it, after all. for the same reason as why she hadn't talked to percy. deciding to give them space rather than truly interacting with them as she had done with nico. except, she had allowed nico to grieve to her. it was what she wanted. keeping her own emotions neatly tucked away as how she learned over the years. ]

[ she doesn't expect the call for room service. despite pouring out her anger over the world to luke over text, she wasn't entirely sure that she wanted it. traveling with luke, she never spoke about her brother. burying it deep inside her from the moment they met. honestly, she wasn't sure if she fully grieved in front of him before. it takes a whine and a scratch at the door from delia for thalia to actually get up and open the door. ]

Didn't I tell you to go to bed?

[ it was a terribly attempt at a tease as she found her voice to sound more dry than anything. inside, her room was a mess making it evident that thalia had torn it apart while grieving. still, she was handling it much better than before. while her memory was a slight blur as to how she had managed to almost completely destroy her room, she hadn't gone hysterical. she'd grown stronger since then, and there was still a chance she would see him again. but it was still painful and reopened old wounds she thought had been able to heal since finding jason again. ]

[ thalia doesn't give the food more than a seconds glance before moving aside to allow luke in. not quite caring if luke sees the mess that she had created. overall, she didn't look much better. tears still apparent on her face as wound on her arm was exposed. ] Make yourself at home.

[ it's a reprimand he expects, and one he answers with a light shrug, ] Never specified which one. [ it's flippant, merely following her lead as to how she wishes to proceed, for once allowing her to navigate their way from the labyrinth of grief they find themselves within. ]

[ he takes her invitation to move into her room, moving quickly to a desk to drop the food she had requested, perhaps in jest, onto the surface. he takes to removing the quiver from his arm to lay it down on its surface beside the food she'd ordered quickly during her rambling messages. he's uncertain if she even remembers asking him for a cheeseburger for her birthday, her own texts coming to him quickly and on top of one another as she had uncharacteristically rambled her feelings away to him. she hadn't needed to say i don't want to be left alone for luke to glean the message she hadn't wished to have dictated, her perhaps not strong enough to even utter the words aloud to perhaps the only person from home she knows inside and out, maybe even better than the back of her own hand. rather than pick up a burger or even an arrow to show her he'd been reading, even if he hadn't chosen to spam her inbox back with his own replies to every point she'd made, his hands remain empty. ]

[ it's a struggle to decide whether or not he should give into his instinct to approach her or to snuff it out before the ember ever has the chance to spark into an engulfing fire that sees him take to her as though time and a titan had never wedged itself between them. he lingers by the desk, fingers gliding against the surface, before he turns toward her. the tear marks hadn't been hidden from him when she'd opened her door to his voice, the stains upon her cheeks the one sign she gives him that she's not okay. it's not a question he wishes to even ask her, knowing from experience it only makes one stiffen and harden when all they want to do is collapse into the safety of one's arms, or even isolation, falling apart where no one could bear witness to their own vulnerabilities being exposed. it's never truly disappeared, his desire to fix things, to ensure no one he cares about ends up hurt or in danger. it'd been the crux of his war, wishing for the gods to see their own children in pain. it'd be cruel of him to follow in their footsteps and jest when she's hurting, even if a joke or two may make her feel better, distracting her from the inevitable that will ultimately consume her with or without him present. ]

[ lifting his arm, he scratches the back of his neck before his it falls uselessly to his side. with his eyebrow arched, he tries to communicate to the wolf he comes in peace before he takes the steps needed to erase the distance between them. he doesn't hesitate, nor even think — giving into instinct and following the steps of his heart as martha had whispered to him to during his journey of collecting her things — as he steps into her space, arms open as he wraps them around her, pulling her to him. his palms press hard against her back, fingers splayed, as though he can capture her within his hands and ensure nothing else comes to harm her. it's quiet, his mouth pressed against the side of her head, ] For what it's worth, I'm sorry.

[ thalia takes a moment to close the door as luke steps her, her hand moves to lock it but stops short. that was just an action that could be done once the visitor leaves. she doesn't retort to his comment. the words flowing right over her head instead of being shot back at like lightning. her storm of emotions that might have screamed at him for coming had passed for the moment; leaving now both of them of the eye of it all. it had begun to die now the moment that she texted him and only him. not being able to bring herself to speak to percy about the loss of any of her friends and only going to nico due to his unspoken request. thalia had always grieved and suffered alone, but this wasn't the case tonight. it had changed the moment she had decided to endlessly complain to luke rather than go to the station to listen to music. she'd chosen the one that allowed her to remain hidden away in her room rather than in public. ]

[ thalia remains by the door despite finishing closing in. keeping her distance from both luke and the mess that she had already created. simply gazing across the room gave her unsettling feelings about the loss of her two favourite blondes. already it was becoming a reminder of how little control she had over protecting her friends or her brother. each time she began to feel at home again with either of them, it would be ripped away. whether it be from the gods or some other stronger power. it was sickening how little she truly got to say goodbye to those that she cared about. her gaze settles on luke albeit unfocused. in no way was she actually focusing on what he was doing, nor fully addressing what he had brought. despite all the time that they had spent together, this wasn't familiar territory. the most that they had grieved together was over the death of hal. a loss that they had managed to cope well due to the circumstances behind it. and not long after, they had found a new companion in annabeth. ]

[ as luke moves, her gaze doesn't follow. remaining fixated at the sling of arrows that he had brought for her. delia lets out a worried whine of approval as luke moves towards thalia. keeping her space by letting down onto a heap of fabric that had been torn off and placed down on a makeshift bed. it takes thalia a moment to recognize that luke is hugging her. allowing her body to be cradled into his arms. she doesn't hug back, but allows herself to be held for the moment. her eyes lowering to the floor with a harsh shallow. ] My baby brother is gone again. [ speaking the words aloud felt more heart-wrenching than writing it done. static and anger quickly devouring the sentence as she speaks it. the quiescent, plaid veil of emotions that screaming over texts had given her begins to wear off as her body shivers from antipathy. ]

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2/ about a minute or two later

3/4 as more time ellipses

4/4 done!

5/5 i lied

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