Thunder, Water, Wisdom and Nature

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{Camp Half-Blood, 12th of June 2006}

Thalia POV

"Thunder, water, wisdom and nature," I said aloud as I descended the attic stairs, my mind still reeling from the prophecy I'd just received.

"So you got one?" I heard a weathered voice beside me. Turning, I found myself face to face with Chiron, his centaur form in all its glory. His ancient eyes searched mine, probably looking for any sign of distress or uncertainty.

As I looked at his weathered face, my thoughts drifted back to a particular verse of the prophecy: "for darkness child will fail his quest." Did that mean Ozzy was going to fail? It seemed impossible, given how capable he was. And if he was going to fail, should I try to go to Tartarus to help him? Would it even make a difference?

No, I had to focus on the task at hand – finding Jason. The prophecy said Ozzy would fail, not that he would die. I had to believe that, at least. I looked back up at Chiron, forcing a smile. "Yeah, I got one."

He smiled back, probably relieved that I had gained a quest and, therefore, permission to leave camp – the very thing I had wanted, though now I was starting to think it wasn't so great. He seemed to want to ask me about the prophecy, but since I didn't want to worry him, I feigned ignorance and quickly left the Big House.

The moment I stepped outside, a gentle breeze carried the scent of ripe strawberries and sea salt. Then came the unmistakable smell of Dr Pepper.

"Hey Pinecone Face, looks like you got what you needed, huh."

I felt a vein pop in my head. "Pinecone Face" – that was the name Mr. D had been calling me since I turned back from being, well, a pine tree. I honestly wanted to summon a bolt and disintegrate the god next to me, but I knew that wouldn't end well. So, I simply walked past him and toward the girl waiting at the end of the deck.

Annabeth Chase stood with her arms crossed, her stormy grey eyes sharp with curiosity. Her blonde hair was tied back in a messy ponytail, and she wore the standard orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt. Around her neck hung the necklace filled with camp beads – she had more than me now. I made a mental note to have Chiron give me some; I couldn't have Wise Girl be better than me, or her big head would only get bigger.

"So," Annabeth said as I approached, her voice a mix of excitement and apprehension, "did the Oracle say anything? Did you get one?"

I cracked a smile, knowing that Annabeth was itching to get away from camp, maybe even more than I was. "Let's just say things are about to get interesting," I replied, my voice low. "We need two more."

Annabeth's eyes widened, a grin spreading across her face as the implications sank in. "A quest," she breathed, her voice barely above a whisper. "We got a quest."

I nodded, grateful for her quick understanding. "Yeah, and it's a big one."

"Tell me everything," Annabeth insisted, falling into step beside me as we began to walk away from the Big House.

We made our way down the path that wound between the cabins, and I recounted what had happened up in the attic. I described the eerie green mist, the vision of Ozzy and the strange black and white woman, and the cryptic words of the prophecy.

"Four souls," Annabeth mused as we walked. "Water, wisdom, nature, and thunder. Well, thunder is obviously you, daughter of Zeus. And I guess I'm wisdom?"

"As for nature, maybe it's a child of Demeter?" Annabeth added, probably overthinking every person in Demeter's cabin as for who would best fit.

I nodded. "Maybe. As for water..."

Both of our eyes drifted towards the low, long cabin at the end of the row. Cabin Three, Poseidon's cabin. Its walls were rough gray stone studded with pieces of seashell and coral, as if it had been hewn straight from the bottom of the ocean floor.

"Percy," we said in unison.

We approached Cabin Three, the sound of laughter drifting through the slightly ajar door. It was a mix of bleating giggles and deeper, more human chuckles. Annabeth and I exchanged a glance before I raised my hand and knocked firmly on the door.

The laughter inside abruptly ceased, replaced by the sound of scrambling and hushed whispers. After a moment, the door swung open, revealing a slightly disheveled Percy Jackson. His black hair was even messier than usual, and his sea-green eyes sparkled with barely contained mirth.

"Thalia! Annabeth!" he exclaimed, a bit too loudly. "What are you doing here?"

Before either of us could answer, a familiar face popped up behind Percy. Grover Underwood, his curly hair wild and his rasta cap askew, grinned at us from over Percy's shoulder. "Hey guys! We were just, uh, celebrating my new searcher's license!"

I raised an eyebrow, taking in the scene before me. The inside of Cabin Three was a mess of rumpled sheets, scattered playing cards, and what looked suspiciously like the remains of a pillow fight.

"So you think this one is nature?" Annabeth asked me, as her own eyes inspected the room from the outside.

"Guess so," was all I could say. After all, it was super lucky to find Grover, a satyr who had just gained his license to search for Pan, the god of nature – something neither of us knew – at the same time we were coming for Percy. It was as if it was fated, which it probably was, now that I thought about it.

Percy looked embarrassed, something which would probably make me laugh if I hadn't just received the quest. He seemed to want to change the subject quickly as he asked, "So what's this about nature? Are we playing another capture the flag?"

Annabeth shook her head. "No," she muttered, though her lips twitched with a suppressed smile.

"We're leaving camp," I said, my tone growing serious, "and you're coming with us."

Percy and Grover exchanged a quick glance with each other, then pointed at themselves and asked, "Us?"

I nodded at their words, but before I could explain anything, Annabeth jumped in, "We're leaving on a quest west. We need four people: thunder, water, wisdom, and nature."

Percy and Grover still seemed to be lost, so Annabeth added, "That's the four of us, you dimwits."

"A quest?" Percy's eyebrows shot up. "What kind of quest?"

I took a deep breath, knowing that what I was about to say would change everything. "We're going to find the Roman camp."

The silence that followed was deafening. Percy's mouth hung open, Grover's eyes were as wide as dinner plates, and even Annabeth looked shocked.

"Roman camp?" Annabeth was the first to recover. "What do you mean, Roman camp?"

I sighed, running a hand through my spiky hair. "It's... complicated. But there's another camp, like ours, but for the children of Roman gods instead of Greek ones."

"But... how is that possible?" Percy asked, his brow furrowed in confusion. "The gods are Greek, aren't they?"

"They're both," I explained. "They have two aspects – Greek and Roman. And apparently, they've been keeping the two groups of demigods separate for centuries."

Grover bleated nervously. "But why? And how do you know about this?"

I hesitated for a moment before answering. "Because... my brother is there."

Another stunned silence fell over the group.

"Your brother?" Annabeth's voice was barely above a whisper. "But I thought..."

"I thought so too," I said, my voice thick with emotion. "But he's alive. His name is Jason, and he's at the Roman camp."

Percy stepped forward, his expression serious. "Thalia, are you sure about this? It seems... well, it seems crazy."

I nodded. "I know it does. But I'm sure. The prophecy... it mentioned 'wind.' I think that's referring to Jason. He's a son of Jupiter – that's Zeus's Roman aspect."

Annabeth's mind was clearly racing, trying to process this new information. "But if there's been another camp all this time, why haven't we ever heard about it? Why keep us separate?"

"I don't know all the details," I admitted. "But from what I understand, it's been this way for a long time. The gods feared what might happen if Greek and Roman demigods met."

Grover nervously chewed on the edge of his t-shirt. "And now we're just going to waltz into their camp? That doesn't sound very safe."

"We have to," I insisted. "The prophecy was clear. We need to go west, and we need to find Jason."

Percy, who had been uncharacteristically quiet, suddenly spoke up. "Wait a second. You mentioned something about a 'child of darkness failing his quest.' What's that about?"

I felt a knot form in my stomach. I'd hoped they wouldn't pick up on that part. "It's... it's about Ozzy," I said quietly.

Percy and Grover looked incredulous. "Ozzy?" Percy asked. "But how? He's like, the most powerful demigod we know, and not by a little."

I shook my head. "I don't know. The prophecy just said that the 'darkness child will fail his quest.' Ozzy's on a quest of his own right now, and... well, it doesn't sound good."

"But how can Ozzy fail?" Grover bleated, his voice filled with disbelief. "He's Ozzy!"

"I don't know," I repeated, frustration creeping into my voice. "Prophecies are tricky. Maybe it doesn't mean what we think it means. But right now, we need to focus on our own quest."

Annabeth nodded, her analytical mind already at work. "Thalia's right. We can't do anything about Odysseus' quest right now. We need to concentrate on finding this Roman camp and Jason."

Percy ran a hand through his messy hair, clearly still processing everything. "This is a lot to take in. A whole other camp of demigods... It's hard to believe."

"I know," I said, my voice softening. "But I need you guys. The prophecy was clear – we need the four of us for this quest."

Grover nervously adjusted his rasta cap. "But what about my searcher's license? I was supposed to start looking for Pan..."

I placed a hand on his shoulder. "Grover, this quest might lead us to places no satyr has gone before. Who knows? Maybe it'll help in your search for Pan."

He seemed to consider this for a moment before nodding slowly. "I guess you're right. And I can't let you guys go on a dangerous quest without me."

Percy looked at each of us in turn, his sea-green eyes filled with determination. "Well, if we're doing this, we're doing it together. When do we leave?"

"As soon as possible," I replied. "We need to pack supplies and let Chiron know. But we should aim to leave by nightfall."

Annabeth nodded. "I'll go back to my cabin and gather supplies n . Percy, Grover, you two pack whatever you think we'll need for a long journey."

As Annabeth turned to leave, Percy called out, "Wait! What exactly are we looking for? How will we know where to go?"

I smiled at him for a moment remembering Ozzy's letter, "That's simple my kelp headed friend, we need to get Lailaps."

"Odysseus' dog?" Annabeth asked. "How is that gonna help us?"

"It seems she went with Ozzy to the roman camp once so she knows where to go." 

"Wait," Grover interjected. "Odysseus knew about the Roman Camp? Why didn't he tell the camp?"

"He probably had his reasons," Percy said. Looking at him I realized something, he had the same look Annabeth had for me when she was little, he admired him, I didn't know why but I should probably ask later.