3 days after the attack by the Stymphian birds

[chameno_koritsi]

Thalia sits in the library at a computer terminal and scratches lightly at the cut on her face from where one of those bird feathers had hit her. She shakes her head in wonder at it all. She saw the birds, felt the wounds their feathers had made and yet still a part of her wonders if she isn't loosing it or already lost it.

Blinking to focus she reads the computer screen as her search for "Aegis" hits with the first try. Funny how even with misspelling the word she heard in a dream she had found it. And with over six million hits, all of which agree with each other (except for the software and business names). She clicks on the first and reads:

"When the Olympian shakes the aegis, Mount Ida is wrapped in clouds, the thunder rolls and men are struck down with fear. "Aegis-bearing Zeus", as he is in the Iliad, sometimes lends the fearsome goatskin to Athena. In the Iliad when Zeus sends Apollo to revive the wounded Hector of Troy, Apollo, holding the aegis, charges the Achaeans, pushing them back to their ships drawn up on the shore. According to Edith Hamilton's Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes, the Aegis is Zeus' breastplate, and was "awful to behold."

Thalia leans back and rubs her temples. This makes no sense. If she were to believe that dream than that would suggest that Zeus was her father? Right, pull the other one.

A nearby newspaper catches Thalia's attention and she snatches it from the man reading it. She's not sure if it was the headline, "Woman arrested for DUI, daughter missing" or the old picture of herself that caught her attention. As the man yells, "Hey!" and begins to stand Thalia shoves him back down and reads:

"Late last night Ms. Grace was arrested for driving while under the influence. Her blood alcohol was reported as 1.3. As she was being arrested Ms. Grace reportedly ranted about robot birds and her missing daughter. Police were only able to calm her once the assured her they would find her daughter. Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Thalia Grace (the woman's daughter, turn to page A4 for her description) is strongly encouraged to contact the police."

As the man attempts to stand again Thalia throws the newspaper back at him and flees. She has to get out of there.

She stops only long enough to grab her backpack and then is gone. Dammit, she had runaway so her mom would be safe and now she's ranting about robot birds and driving drunk!

"Thank God...thank the Gods it's an old picture before I cut my hair," she mumbles as she bursts through the front doors.

[[OOC: Edited due to continuity error.]]

Comments

Later that night

[chameno_koritsi]

Thalia is curled up behind a dumpster for the night and can't stop thinking about that article. Her vision blurs as she thinks about it and so she punches the dumpster.

And punches it again.

And then again and again, over and over until the pain registers and she can't see through the tears.

"Fine then, I'm all alone," she says to the rat who pokes its head out of its hole to see what the noise is about. "Where the hell am I going to go?"

The rat has no answer so she turns and curls up to go to sleep. Oddly enough, she finds sleep almost immediately.

Re: Later that night

[theoi-npc.livejournal.com]

"It's hard to be alone," a man's voice says. "Especially when you're traveling such a dangerous road."

Re: Later that night

[chameno_koritsi]

Thalia starts awake or thinks she does. This feels like her "meeting" with her "father".

"Who are you supposed to be, my brother?" she says snidely. She really doesn't need this.

Re: Later that night

[theoi-npc.livejournal.com]

"Close," he replies not taking her bait, "half-brother."

He sits near her feet, looks at her shoes and tsk's. "These won't do. You can't do a long journey in vans, no arch support."

Re: Later that night

[chameno_koritsi]

"Oh?" Thalia replies not bothering to fight it. "I suppose you have something better?"

Re: Later that night

[theoi-npc.livejournal.com]

"As it so happens, I do," he replies pulling a FTP messenger bag around his back and pulling out a large shoe box. He flips the lid to show a pair of black combat boots.

"Black seems to be your choice for footwear yes? These guys are certified for the 101st Airborne and trust me when I say they are a damn fine boot to go marching around in. Good arch support, steel toes for kicking and taking names."

Re: Later that night

[chameno_koritsi]

"Why are you doing this?" Thalia asks as she takes off her vans to put on the new boots.

Re: Later that night

[theoi-npc.livejournal.com]

He checks the fit before nodding with satisfaction.

"Perfect. North's pretty good this time of year by the way, just follow the geese."

Re: Later that night

[chameno_koritsi]

"You didn't answer my question."

Re: Later that night

[theoi-npc.livejournal.com]

He looks her in the eye before replying, "Family's not all bad. Sometimes we help each other out." He stands and brushes off his hands.

"Keep an eye out for a guy about your age named Luke. He could use a friend. Just like you."

And then he's gone.

Re: Later that night

[chameno_koritsi]

And behind the dumpster Thalia sleeps more soundly than she has since leaving home, her new boots keeping her feet warm.