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Piper was on the roof with Jason. They defeated Gaea seven days ago. And they lost Leo seven days ago.
It was in the evening. They would normally sit down by the campfire and celebrate their victory, but nobody felt like it; not even the children of Nike. Piper hugged her friends, but they couldn't look each other in the eye. Everyone grieved in their own way. They all went to their cabins early when they saw how low the fire was burning. On good days the fire could be up to twenty feet high when everyone was in an exuberant mood. But for the past seven days, the fire had only managed a small dark purple sparkle.
Fortunately, it was very warm. It was August now. But with the lack of heat, there was also a lack of security. It wasn't just Leo. They had lost so many demigods that day, Piper couldn't count the burial shrouds. She was sitting on the roof with Jason every night now. They talked about all sorts of things. Jason talked about his time at Camp Jupiter, Piper about her dad and what strange things she had already experienced as the daughter of a popular film star. Of course, they also talked about the latest camp gossip. Piper was just saying that she believes there is something going on between Will and Nico.
Jason's eyes widened and he said: "Oh gods, I have to interrogate Nico for breakfast tomorrow!"
Piper laughed: "Don't put him under pressure. He just decided to stay here. Don't scare him away.”
“Hey!”, Jason said, pinching her arm. He was offended but smiled.
It could be that way forever, Piper thought. She would like to stay on this roof with Jason forever. No life-threatening demigod adventures and rude gods who needed help with their problems all the time. She put her head on Jason's shoulder and enjoyed the silence.
Jason looked unsettled as if he didn't know what to say. Then he relaxed and looked up at the sky.
"What is Leo doing now?" Piper murmured.
Ultimately, they always talked about Leo. They missed him terribly. Even if his jokes were bad, he always brightened up the mood of the group. And they felt guilty because he sacrificed himself for them and they didn't appreciate him enough. Without him they would not have defeated Gaea.
"It's just not fair that he's dead!", Piper sniffed.
"I know," Jason murmured, stroking her back. He wished he could do anything. But he was helpless.
Suddenly they saw something light up in the sky. Something shimmered bronze. Something that Piper and Jason felt familiar with. They raised their heads in disbelief.
"Is that what I think it is?" Piper asked hesitantly.
Jason's mouth was open, he couldn't believe it. Was it really Festus in the sky? Festus, the bronze dragon that Jason, Piper and Leo did their first quest with? The glittering flying object came closer and if their eyes weren't deceiving them, Piper and Jason saw two figures on the dragon.
Piper shot up and said, "Come on, come on! We have to go down!” She grabbed Jason's hand and he let himself be dragged along.
When they got down there, they heard a big crash. The dragon landed in the middle of the camp and emitted a large cloud of smoke.
"Man, Festus! That could have been a gentler landing”, they heard a laughing voice.
Piper's heart dropped out. She ran and hugged the boy smeared with oil. "You damned idiot! I'll kill you!”
“But Pipes, I was just dead!”, Leo replied. He grinned all over his face but stopped when he realized that Piper was sobbing.
"How could you sacrifice yourself for us?! I really thought we lost you forever! Nico said you died without a doubt."
" Um, I did. But I'll explain that to you later.” Piper showered him with lots of kisses on the cheek. Leo blushed: "Hey, Beauty Queen. I have a girlfriend now. May I introduce, this is Calypso!”
Piper looked guiltily at Calypso, but she just smiled. "Glad to finally meet Leo's friends," she said, and Piper smiled back.
"Hey, now I want to," Jason said, hugging Leo.
"Jason! You're crushing me”, Leo squeaked, but Jason didn't let go of him.
"Man, buddy. What was all that crap with I sacrifice myself for everyone? We would have found a solution together.”
It became quiet. Deep down, everyone knew there was no other way. Leo had in fact died for his friends. Piper gnawed on her lip and was about to cry again. "Hey, be happy! I'm back now!”, Leo grinned. "Why aren't you all around the campfire at this time?"
And then Jason realized that they had their old Leo back. “I'm going to let everyone know you're back. We have to celebrate!”, Jason started, and Leo smirked.
Soon the campfire was full of people. Everyone stood around Leo and wanted to hug him. He couldn't believe what was happening there. Did all these people really miss him? Had he found something like a home? He tried to suppress the tears coming up.
Percy was standing in front of him now and grinned. “Risen from the dead? Seriously Valdez?” Leo shrugged and then Percy hugged him too. "We are proud of you," he whispered in Leo's ear. For the first time he didn't know what to say and just nodded.
Then the next campers arrived. It was his siblings from the Hephaestus Cabin. Nyssa grinned at Leo and said: "Come on, we have to show you something."
"Yes, yes, yes!" a small 8-year-old boy squeaked and pulled Leo by the arm towards cabin 9.
Beside Percy, Annabeth stood with her arms crossed, staring at Calypso. "I think we need to discuss something," she said to Calypso in a threatening tone. The titaness looked up frightened.
"Hey Annabeth. Perhaps this is the wrong time”, Percy warned.
"No. When Percy and I were in Tartarus, we were put on your pretty curse. Do you remember?” Annabeth's voice was hard.
Calypso's mouth was open in shock and she said, "I ... I didn't know this curse would ever hit you ... So, that's no excuse ... I mean, I'm sorry, Annabeth. Really."
" Yes, I believe you. Let's just forget that”, said Percy.
"No", Annabeth's eyes glared badly. "Percy didn't forget you on purpose. He had to endure a lot of curses in Tartarus. It's not fair to blame him or me for leaving you. He asked the gods to let you free. It's not Percy's fault that the gods didn't keep their promise-”
“Annabeth…”, Percy looked uncomfortable.
"No, she's right," Calypso's voice was firmer now. "My anger shouldn't have been directed at you. Please don't feel guilty just because you couldn't save me, Percy. And Annabeth, I'm sorry for what you both had to go through. I shouldn't have cursed you. I never wanted it to get this far. You have to believe me. I'm really sorry and I regret it.” She looked pleadingly at the couple.
“Apology accepted”, said Percy.
He nudged Annabeth. "Apology accepted," she said grimly.
The fire was twenty feet high and glowed golden. Marshmallows were roasted, the Apollo kids sang songs, the Hermes kids performed their pranks. Everything was normal, but somehow not. Leo had never felt so comfortable. Yes, with his machines alone. But never with people. Especially not that many. He just came out of the Hephaestus cabin with his siblings and joined the campfire. They wanted to have a huge firework display. One that was otherwise only shown on July 4th. Leo felt honored and helped them with the finishing touches in the cabin. Now they let the rockets go off. There was a beautiful firework display in the sky and at the end you saw a sparkling dragon. Harley, the little 8-year-old boy, Leo's brother, had the idea and was now jumping up and down with joy.
Then Leo noticed a sob next to him. It was Hazel and as soon as he looked up, she fell around his neck "Leo! I thought you were dead forever.”
“Especially you should know that there are other ways” he laughed.
"I felt so guilty because Frank and I kept your plan secret," she said seriously.
"You made the right decision. I knew I could trust you.”
Hazel looked skeptical. "Why didn't I feel that you were alive again?"
"Probably because you were too busy grieving," said a voice behind them. It was Nico. Leo felt uncomfortable. Whenever the son of Hades was around, Leo could feel the darkness Nico radiated.
"Wait. Does that mean you felt it? And you said nothing?!”, asked Hazel.
Nico avoided her eyes. "To be honest...I didn't notice either." Nico's voice sounded strange. He was hiding something. He looked distracted, as if his head were somewhere else. Leo was certain that Nico was distracted from something other than grief.
"Anyway. Now you're back”, and Hazel fell around his neck again.
"All da ladies love Leo, don't they?" He grinned.
"Fortunately, I'm not a lady," said Nico dryly.
Hazel looked from Nico to Leo and then whispered in his ear: "He missed you too, believe me." Leo decided to leave it at that. Whatever Nico was going through, he didn't want to annoy him.
"So, tell me," began Drew, a daughter of Aphrodite.
Her siblings were sitting around her. Calypso was sitting in the middle and she had no idea how she ended up here. She had been looking for Leo, but he was constantly surrounded by new campers who wanted to greet him. She was happy for Leo, really. But she felt a little bit left alone. And now this pretty but very conceited girl was sitting in front of her and asked her about her romance with Leo.
"How did your story start? Was it love at first sight? Hm.” She looked over at Leo and then turned back to Calypso. "Probably not. So, he must have convinced with his talents.” She looked meaningfully at Calypso, whom Drew only looked at without understanding.
Drew laughed: "Oh gods, you are so innocent. Your curse must have been hell. Falling in love with every hero who visited your island, only to get turned down immediately. And then you will be presented with Leo, who also had to leave you. Tell me how long did you have to wait? Those must have been the worst weeks of your life.”
Calypso hated this girl. Drew was cruel. Cruelly dangerous. She could immediately see the weaknesses in you and was not shy about addressing them. Calypso tried to stay calm. "Yes, but now I'm here.”
"Funny. Leo doesn't seem to be interested anymore. Now that he's a hero, he can have any girl…”
Calypso clenched her fists and…"Drew, that's enough!", Piper appeared behind Calypso. "Don't you realize how dismal you sound?" Piper's voice was full of contempt. Drew looked at her in fear. Something had happened between the two, Calypso thought. Drew wasn't afraid of anyone except Piper.
"Hey, Calypso. Should I show you around the camp?” Calypso nodded gratefully. When they were far enough from the campfire, Piper spoke. "Don't believe a word from Drew. She's a sneaky bitch.”
“Isn't she your sister?”
Piper snorted. "You can't get along with all siblings"
"I think she's afraid of you."
"She should be", Piper smiled. Calypso started to like Piper. Maybe the camp wasn't that bad after all. Piper caught her eye and said softly, "It must all seem new to you. I can understand when you're overwhelmed. We can postpone the camp tour if you like.”
“No”, Calypso said firmly. "Where do we start?"
Piper showed Calypso all the important places. The Big House, the lake, the dining pavilion, the Amphitheater, the Camp Store and of course the cabins.
"And there are demigods in every cabin?", Calypso asked.
"Uh, no," replied Piper. “See, Hera's cabin is empty because she is the goddess of marriage and does not have any mortal children. Thank god. She was a terrible babysitter to Leo. And Artemis has no children either, but her hunters are allowed to stay here."
"But otherwise does every deity have a cabin? "
" Yes, after the second titan war more cabins were built. There were originally only 12. But now we have 20.”
Titan war, Calypso thought. "I'm a titaness," she said quietly.
Piper fell silent next to her. After a while she said, "Yes, but you have given up your immortality. You get a second chance now.”
“But I also gave up my magic.” Calypso looked unhappy. "Now I'm useless."
Piper looked at Calypso for a long moment. "You know what? I also thought I was useless because I am “only” a daughter of Aphrodite. What useful can I do in a war? When Leo landed on your island, I had to fight Khione alone because she froze all my friends. I felt so helpless. I was able to defeat her thanks to my charmspeak, but I swore to myself that I would never be so unprepared again. After that I started practicing sword fighting with Hazel. What I mean by that. You are not useless. You can acquire qualities.”
Calypso had to think about it first. After a while she said, "Would you show me the armory?"
Piper smiled, "Yeah, sure."
Leo and the others started cleaning up. It was now past eleven and it was time for them to go to their cabins. It was the best welcome party Leo could have asked for. He hadn't expected one, but it was just perfect. Then he realized that he had barely seen Calypso. He was so overwhelmed by the campers that he had completely overlooked her. The last time he'd seen her leave with Piper. He made his way to the Aphrodite cabin and knocked. Piper opened the door.
"Hey, do you know where Calypso is? You were together last, weren't you?”
Piper looked at him in surprise: “Yes, but she told me that she was on her way to you.”
Leo had an unpleasant foreboding. "Um, thanks Pipes. I think I have to go find her."
"Should I come with you?"
"No, no. Good night!"
"All right but let me know if you do!"
He found her in the forest. With the nymphs. She cried and sobbed. The sound alone froze him. But he kept going. He sat next to her and waited. He hoped she would turn around. But she didn't seem to notice him.
"Calypso ..." he said softly.
She was startled and turned. "Leo, don't sneak up on me like that!"
He grinned guiltily. "I guess I copied that from you, right?"
But Calypso didn't respond. Not even an evil eye sparkle. Then he knew he had screwed it up. He raised his arms and dropped them desperately. "I am sorry. I don't know how to comfort a sad girl. I'm not good at that.”
She looked at him, sighed, took his hand and started talking. She told him how uncomfortable she feels in the camp because she doesn't belong. She is sad because she has not only left her prison, but also her home. She is happy that Leo saved her, but she would like to learn how to defend herself. She has lost her magic and feels useless. With Piper she looked at weapons earlier, but none seemed to fit. She thinks she doesn't fit in. After all, it's a camp for demigods.
Finally, she said quietly: "What if the gods continue to punish me?"
She seemed so helpless. Leo felt sick when he looked at her. But with the last sentence anger gripped him. "The gods? They did enough. And if I have to go to the fucking Olympus to get you back! I will not let them continue to punish you!”
Calypso smiled sadly. "But where should I go? There is no cabin I could go to.”
Leo had no answer to that either. He felt helpless. Powerless. He had been so happy to come to Camp Half Blood with Calypso that he hadn't thought about such problems. "It’s...it's all my fault. I was just thinking about myself and my home. This is the first home I've had in years. I should have known you didn't want to come here. Maybe we can live somewhere else-"
"No, Leo. Stop it! I know Camp Half Blood is your home. There were so many people here tonight who missed you. You shouldn't give up this home for me!”
And that's when it hit him. He had truly found a home and people who loved him. He was not only tolerated or "endured". He had found his true family. Jason, Piper, Hazel, even Percy. Nyssa, Harley and his other siblings. That was too much for him. He burst into tears and buried his head in Calypso's lap. She stroked his hair and waited for him to stop.
Then he said softly, "I have to tell you something." He told her about his childhood. How Hera manipulated him. How his mom died in the fire, how he couldn't save her, and that’s why he was afraid of his fire powers. How his family gave him away after his mother's death and how he then left every foster family because they didn't want him either. He told her how he felt alone and rejected and that he only found friends when he met Piper and Jason in the Wilderness School. Friends for life. All the while Calypso listened carefully and did not interrupt him. Now that he was done telling, he looked at her for the first time since he started talking.
Something bright orange glowed in her hands. All her attention was on the flame in her hands. Leo stared at her but couldn't say anything. The flame went out, instead she was holding a small piece of paper in her hands.
"What-" Leo started, but Calypso shoved the paper into his hand. It was a photo. A photo of him and his mom. He was maybe six years old. His hands were shaking. "How...how did you do this?" He stammered.
Calypso looked surprised and then murmured, "Magic...I....I still have it." Her voice sounded incredulous. "I don't know how I did it. I just listened to you and then closed my eyes. When you said everything was burned in the mechanic shop and you can hardly remember her face...I wanted so much that you had a memory of your mom.”
A single tear rolled down from Leo's cheek. It landed on the ground before he noticed it. "Thank you," he breathed. They hugged for what felt like an eternity. Then Leo realized. "Hey, you can do magic again! How cool is that?! You may just need a little practice, then you will be as good as before!”
Calypso smiled tormented. Leo's enthusiasm waned and he said quietly, "Of course. I shouldn't have taken you away from your island. Because of me you have no home. You certainly don't want to have anything to do with me anymore.” He thinks he screwed it up again.
But Calypso rolled her eyes and said, "You're such an idiot," and kissed him. Confused but happy, he reciprocates the kiss. Then she smiled at him. "Yes. Maybe I miss my old home. But now I've found a new one with you. You are my home.”
Something exploded in Leo's stomach and he hoped he wouldn't go up in flames. Then he cleared his throat and said, "You know, every problem has a fix. Let’s ask Annabeth where you can sleep. She always has a plan.”
Calypso thought about their conversation earlier and was not very excited. But she didn't feel so helpless anymore. Now with Leo Valdez, she could do anything.
Back at the camp, they met Lou Ellen, the head counselor of the Hecate cabin. "Hey, I was waiting for you. Can I speak to you, Calypso?"
"Yes, sure."
"Well, I felt that someone was using magic at the camp. Very old magic. That was you, wasn't it?”
Calypso nodded shyly. "I think I had my magic back for a moment. But that won't happen-"
"Are you kidding?!" Leo took out the photo. "She conjured up this photo, although it actually went up in flames years ago!"
"Leo…", Calypso murmured uneasily.
But Lou Ellen eyed the photo with interest. "Can we borrow the photo for a while?"
"Uh, sure," said Leo.
Lou Ellen took Calypso's hands and examined them. She muttered under her breath. "If we practice a little ..." After a while a little louder. "Calypso, I would like to invite you to my cabin. I am the daughter of Hecate. Goddess of magic and uh, some other stuff. I think she wouldn’t mind. I feel very old magic in your hands. It won't be easy to regain the magic, but if we practice a little, it could work. So, what do you say?”
Calypso was touched and nodded hesitantly. "Um, I'll be right there. Give me a minute, okay?"
"Good, I'm waiting at the door," said Lou Ellen, and headed for cabin 20.
Maybe she could really settle in here, Calypso thought.
Leo hugged her excitedly. "Oh, gods! That's great! Soon you can master real magic again and weave my fire-proof clothing.”
She punched him lightly in the shoulder. "Ouch!" He complained, but he grinned and whispered in her ear: "I told you. Every problem has a fix."
Calypso smiled and hugged him. "I'm definitely on Team Leo," she whispered back.
Leo's skin tingled and after a short silence he scratched his head and asked shyly, "Um, can I get a good night kiss?"
Calypso rolled her eyes but gave him a gentle kiss on the lips. Leo held his breath.
"Hey, you two! The curfew starts now. Off to your cabins!” Coach Hedge stood angrily in front of them.
Leo grinned: "Anything else?"
Hedge turned red and was about to yell. Then Calypso said: “He doesn't mean it. Please turn a blind eye” and jangled her eyelashes.
Coach Hedge looked like he still wanted to yell at them, but he held back. "All right. But I'm keeping an eye on you, Valdez!”
“I don't expect anything else”, Leo grinned and turned to his girlfriend. They were standing so close, he could inhale her cinnamon smell.
"Well, see you tomorrow," said Calypso, winking at him. Leo's heart leapt. He would really see Calypso again in a few hours. He would see her every day now. He whistled and made his way to his cabin.
Calypso made her way to the Hecate cabin, where Lou Ellen was already waiting. She grinned meaningfully: “Welcome to your cabin. These are my siblings. Say hello to Calypso.” Calypso took a deep breath and then entered.