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The campers were used to strange sights, so the landing of a bronze dragon inside the borders of camp wouldn't have been something to take particular notice of these days, if not for the fact they knew exactly who that dragon belonged to.
It had been weeks since the end of the Giant war and the arrival of Leo's message saying he was alive, but there hadn't been any sign of him.
As soon as Festus appeared in the sky, a call had gone up amongst the campers, and when the bronze dragon landed (flapping his wings and blowing smoke a little to show off), Leo was met with a crowd of relieved and angry friends to welcome him home.
The chaotic greeting was a mix of hugs and punches and 'I'm so relieved to see you' and 'I'm gonna kill you for worrying us Valdez'.
There was still a part of Leo, the part of the runaway boy who'd spent too long in the foster system, who still couldn't quite believe that there were this many people who cared about him.
Piper clung to him, face soaked with tears, and Jason kept hugging him again between every other camper. Percy hugged him so tight he thought he'd crack his ribs and when Annabeth approached he tried to hide, afraid he would get judo flipped, but she just laughed and threw her arms around him. Nyssa and Harley were both crying, and Nico had already punched him twice, and the Stoll brothers had pulled out a list of prank ideas they'd made in his absence they needed his help with, and Malcolm was ranting about a project he wanted them to try together, and Leo was overwhelmed and relieved and he really couldn't belive that he was finally home. Home was a place he hadn't had since he was a kid, when his mom died, and yet, here he was now, surrounded by people who loved him, family, and he was home.
The campers has just finished dinner, Leo realised, which was a pity because he was hungry, but as soon as he voiced this disappointment Katie was running off to the dryads promising to get him something, and before he knew it he was being led by the crowd to the amphitheatre.
They sat around the campfire, but instead of songs he was bombarded with questions about what had happened and where he'd been.
He felt suddenly guilty, remembering Calypso who trailed after them a little awkwardly and sat down beside him as he told his story between their questions.
Percy and Annabeth sat a few seats away, both smiling with relief at seeing their friend returned, safe and sound. Still, as happy as Percy was to see Leo, he couldn't help the awkwardness he felt at seeing Calypso. The mix of emotions inside him, guilt at not getting her out sooner, relief she'd returned, anger at the curse she placed on Annabeth, left him feeling slightly sick.
Annabeth squeezed his hand and he looked down at her to see her eyebrows furrowed in concern.
"You okay?" She asked him quietly.
Percy grimaced, knowing there was no point lying seeing as she would see right through it.
Annabeth's expression softened. He was grateful he didn't need to put it all into words, she knew him well enough to understand.
Still, as they watched Leo and Calypso, another feeling started to unfurl in Percy. At first he couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong, but the more time passed the more uncomfortable he began to feel.
It was small things he noticed first, the proprietary hand Calypso laid on Leo's arm may have been nothing on its own, the way she blinked and batted her eyes at Sherman when he passed her a chalice could have been insignificant, the way she laughed, slapping Leo on the shoulder and calling him an idiot when he made a comment might have been harmless.
Annabeth had told him more than once that Percy was only oblivious when it came to himself, but when he was removed from the situation he could be remarkably observant. He didn't know about that, but he did know that what he was watching didn't sit entirely right with him.
He looked back to Annabeth to see her watching the couple with a frown. She met his gaze, and the storm in her eyes told him she was seeing what he was.
Maybe it was that the two of them had already been wary of Calypso, given their history, and especially given the curse in Tartarus. They'd already discussed, when Leo's measage said he was going looking for her, what they'd do if she came back with him. Percy had admitted that while there was a part of him that felt guilty over leaving her and not checking that the gods fulfilled their promise, there was also a part of him that couldn't help his anger over what had almost happened to Annabeth because of her. Annabeth, surprisingly, had been the calming voice, saying that while she too was angry at Calypso for the curse, and didn't agree that it was Percy's responsibility to free her, she thought that they should give her the benefit of the doubt, especially for Leo's sake, their friend deserved happiness, and Calypso had saved Percy's life, something that while she'd been jealous at the time, she was now grateful for.
Now though, watching her, Annabeth found it hard to remember that peaceful train of thought.
The look of confusion Percy was giving her would have been cute if not for veil of anger behind it.
"Is it just me," he asked, voice low so none of their friends around them could over hear, "or is she being very..."
"Manipulative," Annabeth said filling in the gap.
Percy nodded.
"Percy," she said hesitantly, "was she like that with you when you were there?"
Percy's brow furrowed as if he was trying to remember but couldn't quite form his thoughts together properly.
"I.. I don't know," he said, "I don't think so, but it's... it's kind of blurry."
He'd told her about his time on her island after they'd started dating, had been entirely honest with her about the two weeks, but now he looked confused as if he was trying to merge two conflicting memories together.
"I mean," he continued, "I remember what it was like, I remember being there, but now, looking at her, it's like I'm looking at someone completely different."
"What do you mean?" Annabeth asked him, not entirely following.
"I think... I think it might have been the magic," Percy admitted, shifting a little uncomfortably. Annabeth squeezed his hand, trying to convey that it was okay for him to talk about this stuff, she was there for him.
"When I was there, I thought she was beautiful," he admitted, looking at her with a mix of apology and apprehension. Annabeth wasn't exactly delighted to hear that from her boyfriend, but she also knew it had been before they'd started dating, and that there was a point he was getting to, so she just nodded for him to continue.
"But now," Percy said, glancing back at the topic of their conversation, "she's just a girl. There's nothing special about her, I don't mean that in a rude way, but," he shrugged, trying to find the right way to say it, "she doesn't have anything on you. I'm not even trying to be romantic saying that, I just mean she's kind of... plain..." he trailed off, struggling to explain his thoughts, and wincing at his own wording. Annabeth knew it wasn't in him to speak about someone like that, and decided to take pity on him.
"You don't find her attractive," she filled in, smirking a little as he blushed.
"Right," he said.
Annabeth nodded. "She's mortal now."
Percy tilted his head at her. "You think that's why?"
"It would make sense, right? The whole island was supposed to be magical. Maybe part of that magic was making her appear more attractive, more tempting for the guys that washed up on her island. Maybe it was all part of the spell. Like Circe."
Percy grimaced at the reminder of being a guinea pig, which he knew Annabeth had brought up on purpose, but considered the rest of her point.
"That... would make a lot of sense," he agreed.
"And," Annabeth said, "now that she doesn't have that anymore, she needs to keep Leo's attention another way... and maybe not just Leo's," she added, a growl seeping into her voice as she watched Calypso laugh at one of Connor's jokes.
Percy turned his attention back to them, frowning.
"What should we do?" he asked her.
Annabeth, for all her knowledge and planning, wasn't as good as she'd like to be in these situations. She wished Silena were here, she always knew how to handle these things.
"Let's not say anything yet," she decided, "it's a good evening, let's enjoy having Leo back. We can ask Piper what she thinks tomorrow."
Percy nodded, a weight seeming to shift off his shoulders that at least they had a plan.
"You two okay?" Grover asked, dropping down beside them. Between the empathy link with Percy and his bond with his best friends, plus just how well he knew them, he could tell they weren't exactly comfortable.
"Yeah," Annabeth said, smiling, "Just talking about whether or not I should stab her."
Grover and Percy exhanged a grin, they'd never envy anoyone on the receiving end of Annabeth's anger.
"Hey, if she bothers you guys, I can always turn her into a tree. I'm good at doing that to Titans," Grover offered, causing the trio to laugh. It was good being back together again, Percy had really missed his best friend, and while he loved Annabeth more than anything, they just weren't complete without Grover.
It wasn't long after they'd finished the conversation that Calypso herself sat down beside them. Up until that point she hadn't garnered too much attention from the other campers, but now most of the older campers, Percy and Annabeth's closest friends, were watching them curiously. They all knew that Percy had ended up on her island during their quest through the labyrinth, but Percy and Annabeth hadn't told any of them about the curse. At first it had been too hard to talk about, and then it just hadn't been one of the important details.
Now, their friends watched them with a mix of unapologetical nosiness, but also a hint of wariness, as if wondering if Calypso was about to do something stupid and set Annabeth off on her. Percy had a feeling his friends would be more amused than anything if that happened, but he knew after the conversation they just had, that would be the least of their worries if things didn't go well here.
"Percy," Calypso greeted cheerfully, "it's so good to see you again! And this must be Annabeth, it's so nice to finally meet you."
It was moments like this that Percy really loved his friends, because the amused looks Grover and Thalia were exchanging were the distraction he needed to stop himself from saying something he'd regret.
"Nice to meet you too," Annabeth said, politely if you didn't know her better. Percy knew her better. So did the rest of their friends who were easily picking up on the tension.
"Look, Percy," Calyspo said, turning to him with an earnest look, "I just wanted to say, I hope everything is good with us. I don't want things to be awkward."
In Percy's experience, saying 'I don't want things to be awkward' when no one else had brought up the topic, seemed like the quickest way to actually make things awkward. But he tried for a reassuring smile.
"No worries," he said, "I'm just glad you and Leo are both here."
She smiled sweetly. "Thank you, Percy. I'd feel better if we could just get some stuff out in the open though. I just wanted to tell you, for the sake of honesty, that I've thought about it a lot, and I think, I'd like to forgive you. I'd feel a lot better if I knew you were sorry, but then I'd like to put this all behind us."
There was utter silence around them as everyone tried to process her words.
"You want him to apologise?" Annabeth demanded, all pleasantry gone out of her voice as she glared at the newcomer.
Calypso flinched away from Annabeth's icy look, but was quick to regain her composure.
"What in Hades does he have to apologise for?" Thalia asked, voice just as sharp.
"For leaving me on my island," Calypso explained.
The campers exchanged incredulous looks.
"You're joking, right?" Will asked her.
"It's not his damn responsibility to jail break you," Clarisse snarled, looking as if she were a second away from reaching for her spear.
"He did try to get you out," Katie said, "we were all on Olympus when he made the gods promise to release you."
"Right, because he was doing nothing except fighting in two wars the last few years, but sure, he should've just dropped everything and rescued you," Connor grumbled, looking suddenly much less enamoured with the girl.
Calypso looked shocked by the sudden vehemence with which they were all speaking up for him.
"Hold on, guys, wait," Leo said, trying to figure out what was going on, "Percy, you asked the gods to free her?"
The campers exchanged looks between each other.
"At the end of the war," Nico answered, "Percy made the gods swear on the river Styx to claim their kids, build cabins for the minor gods, and pardon the Titans and minor gods who'd fought for Kronos, including freeing the ones like Calypso."
Leo's brows drew together. "You never told me that," he said, "did you know?"
Calypso rolled her eyes at him. "Does it even matter? And I probably did tell you, you're just being an idiot."
"You know what," Piper finally said, snapping, "we'll get back to this in a second, but stop speaking to my friend like that. Leo deserves more respect."
Leo blinked at her. "Pipes, it's fine, she was joking."
"No, she wasn't," Piper said, glaring at Calypso.
Calypso rolled her eyes. "Not that our relationship is any of your business," she snapped.
"I'm one of Leo's best friends, and he's mine. It's my business."
"It was a joke," Leo tried again, holding hands out to each girl placatingly, but his smoking sleeves betrayed his nerves. "Like Percy and Annabeth joke, or Travis and Katie, or loads of other couples."
"No, dude," Travis said, usually being one of the least likely to jump into a conversation like this, but given that he was called out by name, feeling like one of the better options to make Leo listen to him. "It's not the same. Katie and I have been arguing since we were kids, it's part of who we are, same goes for Percy and Annabeth, they're nicknames for each other started out as insults. But that's not what relationships are about, those are jokes, funny because they remind us how far we've come, but we don't mean them. We have respect for each other. I don't think she meant that respectfully."
"You know," Drew said, finally allowing herself to speak up, "I wasn't going to say anything cus I've been trying that whole new leaf crap, but since we're on the subject, she's been way too manipulative since she got here."
Calypso turned to Drew with a look of afront. "I have not-"
"Don't bother," Drew said, cutting across her, "I know all the tricks, I can recognise them when I see them. Manipulation isn't cool, and that's coming from me, someone who has no problem with taking advantage of others. Just saying."
Leo was looking from Calypso to Piper uncomfortably.
"I'd like to get back to why she has the nerve to think she deserves an apology from Percy?" Thalia demanded. "He doesn't owe her anything."
"Right," Clarisse growled, "I say we just pulverise her now, saves all of us a lot of trouble."
None of the other campers were looking eager to jump to her defense, and even if any of them wanted to, none of them were likely to be stupid enough to go against Thalia and Clarisse when they agreed on something. In any other situation, they probably would've found it amusing how protective the two girls were being of Percy.
"Guys," Rachel said, looking nervously at the group, "I think there's something else you should all know about her."
Everyone quieted, giving the Oracle their attention, because the serious tone of her voice made it seem like they weren't going to like this.
Rachel glanced hesitantly at Percy and Annabeth. "They should know," she said softly.
The two exchanged a surprised look. "How do you..?" Annabeth started to ask.
"Prophetic dream," Rachel said simply. "I didn't see all the details of what happened down there, but I saw enough, and I saw her make the curse."
"What curse?" Grover demanded, because if there was one thing that was quick to set the Satyr off, it was the idea of his friends in trouble. And since hearing their account of what happened in Tartarus, the word 'curse' sent tingles of apprehension from his horns to his hooves.
"Can I tell them?" Rachel asked her friends, unwilling to spill the story without their permission.
Percy and Annabeth exchanged a look, before each giving a resigned nod.
The other campers were leaning forward expectantly, and Calypso had gone pale, not realising that Percy and Annabeth had found out about that curse.
"When they were... down there...," Rachel began, shooting a worried glance at the couple and at Nico, "um, they came across some curse spirits."
"Yeah, they told us that, what about them?" Malcolm asked impatiently, just as capable of being an overprotective brother as anyone.
"They were near the edge of, well of Chaos I guess, and Annabeth had already gotten a curse from Polyphemus making her blind, and Percy was trying to draw their attention but they were both outnumbered, and then Annabeth got another curse, from her. It made her think Percy had abandoned her there, and it physically separated them. It almost made Annabeth fall off the edge, and if Bob hadn't shown up when he did..." Rachel trailed off, but she didn't need to finish the sentence for them all to know it would've been the deaths of their friends.
Calypso had remained stoic throughout Rachel's story, but now, as the campers all turned to her, the looks in their eyes murderous, she found it hard to keep her composure.
She glanced at Leo, only to find him looking at her with apall.
"How could you?" he asked, voice hoarse with shock.
Leo turned to Percy and Annabeth, eyes filled with sorrow, "I didn't know, I swear."
"We know man, don't worry, it's okay," Percy said, and despite everything that happened the guy still had it in him to give Leo a warm, reassuring smile.
"But I blamed you," Leo said, "for leaving her there, I didn't know..."
"Hey," Percy said, putting a reassuring hand on the younger boys shoulder, "It's okay."
Leo swallowed thickly and nodded.
"Yeah, but she's not," Clarisse growled, and Leo suddenly realised the only thing holding back the rest of the campers was him, they were waiting to turn on her for his sake.
"Leo," Piper said gently, offering him her hand, "She's not the person she's made you think she is. You deserve better."
Leo was too shocked to really process it all, but he knew he trusted Piper, trusted all these campers, so he took her hand, let her pull him a few feet away, symbolically separating himself from Calypso. If what he'd heard was all true, he didn't want anything to do with her anymore.
"Guys," Percy said, "just let her leave, we've all had enough violence in our lives."
"Percy's right," Annabeth said, "she's not worth it."
"Maybe not to you," Thalia snarled, "but she doesn't get to hurt either of you and get away with it."
"I'll turn her into a tree," Grover said again, sounding like he really meant it this time.
"Only if we can chop it down," Clarisse snarled.
"I think she'd make good target practice," Kayla said.
"I could just drive her mad," Pollux offered.
Katie rolled up her sleeves, looking a second away from punching her, and Malcolm was wearing an evil scheming expression.
"She's mortal now," Nico reminded them all, "If you kill her, I can make sure she ends up in the fields of punishment."
A lot of the campers nodded enthusiastically at the idea, and it suddenly seemed to hit Calypso that they might actually be a little serious with their threats of violence.
"Guys," Annabeth started, but was quickly cut off.
"You and Percy have been protecting all of us for years," Malcolm said, "It's out turn to stand up for you guys."
"Percy's right though," Thalia said, "we've had enough bloodshed."
The others nodded.
"Fine," Clarisse growled.
"Get out of here," Katie snapped, "but if you ever step foot in this camp again..."
"Grover won't turn you into a tree until after the rest of us are done with you," Will said.
"And I'll be waiting for you in the underworld," Nico added with a scary smile.
The former Titan stared at them as if waiting for them to say it was all a joke.
"I'd get going, if I were you," Drew said, tone fake pleasant, "before we all go and grab out pitchforks to chase you away."
"I- I can't just walk," she said, "I don't know where to go."
"I'm sure Argus will give you a lift into the city," a new voice said, and the group turned to find Chiron standing behind them.
If they'd expected him to give his input on the situation, they were wrong, though the stony look in his ancient eyes told them he'd heard enough and he wasn't about to offer the former Titan any friendship.
"And go with the reminder that you were released by the will of the gods, and we can as easily return you to your prison, mortal now or not," Dionysus said, appearing from the shadows.
She left.
The campers returned to their campfire, and before long, they were back to singing their usual songs, the incident forgotten as just another obstacle overcome.
Leo's shock slowly wore off to sadness, disappointment. He'd thought he was loved, thought he'd finally gotten the girl, he couldn't help wonder if any of it had been real.
Yet as he sat surrounded by friends who's relief to have him back was palpable, he knew he'd be okay. He may not have a girlfriend anymore, but he had plenty of family, and these were the relationships that mattered most.
He'd be okay. He was home.
Percy and Annabeth also sat with their friends, and for the first time in a long time, Percy felt a weight lifted off his shoulders. He'd spent so long feeling guilty for so many things, blaming himself for so much. Everything that had happened with Bianca and Nico, but Nico and he had talked after the Giant war, and they were on good terms now, better than Percy could've hoped. He may never be over the guilt of Beckendorf and the others who'd died, but his friends and family helped him carry that burden, and now, the guilt, the misplaced guilt, over Calypso was gone too. He felt free of a weight he hadn't really even realised he was carrying.
His heart warmed as he thought of the way they'd all stood up for him and Annabeth, despite the fact they knew they were both well capable of taking care of themselves. For so much of his life, it had been him and his mom against the world. It meant more to him than he could put into words, that he had so many people now willing to stand up for him just because they could.
Annabeth squeezed his hand, and Grover leant against his other side, Thalia poked him in the back as she sat down behind them, and Clarisse gave him the finger when he met her eyes across the campfire. Katie smiled at him as he moved his his gaze over the rest of his friends, and Travis sent him a finger gun, Connor a grin, Malcolm nodded, and Drew winked, Rachel flicked her paintbrush and Nico gave him a blank stare softened by an upward quirk of his lips, Will beamed. Every look, from them and the others whose eyes he met and who sent him a smile or cheesy grin, washed away more and more of the hardship from the last few years.
It may not have been permanent, these things had a way of coming back, but as long as he had his family, he knew it would always be bearable.