𝕚𝕧𝕪; annabeth chase

xviii.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

flying was a talent that only children of zeus possessed. not children of poseidon.

maddie could find her way across the atlantic with no maps or compass, could stay underwater for hours on end, and could probably drown the entire of camp half-blood, if she tried hard enough, but put her in the air, and she was completely helpless.

the wings that donned her back were stiff and uncomfortable, and were giving no assistance as maddie plummeted further and further down. 

she was getting a first-hand experience of icarus' final moments, and she did not like it one bit.

"spread your arms!" maddie heard from somewhere above her. "keep them extended!"

after a quick reminder to herself that she was the one in charge of her body, maddie followed annabeth's instructions and spread her arms as far as she could reach. the effect was immediate, the wind shooting her upwards and away from the rocks that waited to crush her body.

maddie felt slightly sick as she floated in the sky, the wind whipping her hair in all directions. she could see percy having the time of his life on her left, doing loops in the air, the biggest smile on his face. the other three spiraled above her, their figures like speckles of glitter in the sky.

maddie had to admit, that after getting used to the height, the experience of being a human-bird was pretty cool. she grinned as she tested her abilities, flapping her bronze wings, raising higher and higher into the sky.

the cool wind in her hair and the sun on her back, maddie felt lighter and freer than she had in weeks. it was surreal, the feeling of soaring through the sky, all the while feeling it on every inch on your skin.

percy made a circle around her, and maddie laughed, diving and soaring up again, twirling around him in the air. they messed around for several moments, trying to one-up each other in tricks. 

maddie felt like she had crossed the borderline of feeling human, and falling seemed like a far-off worry that seemed near impossible. it was the very opposite of what she had felt when she had held up the sky. then, she was struggling, the weight of everything on her shoulders, her knees digging into the earth itself. but now, she was one with the sky and stars, her wings providing her more freedom than she had ever felt before.

"land!" annabeth called to the twins, breaking them out of their competitive state. "these wings won't last forever."

although the feeling of flying hundreds of meters into the air was fun, maddie was looking forward to being on her own two feet again. she and percy raced each other to the ground, doing a spiral around one of the rock spires, no doubt scaring several rock climbers. 

the park itself was pretty empty, but still, to be safe, the demigods landed on the hidden terrace of the visitor center, and hastily discarded their wings. maddie could see up-close how damaged the wings had already gotten from their brief trip in the sky; has they stayed even a minute longer, one of them would have ended up falling. 

percy walked over to one of the binoculars, looking up at the hill where they had jumped from.

"the workshop moved," annabeth said. maddie looked up and squinted. there was no sign of the smoking room that they had been in not five minutes ago. "there's no telling where."

percy turned away from the binoculars and frowned. "so what do we do now? how do we get back into the maze?"

annabeth gazed at the summit of pikes peak in the distance. "maybe we can't. if daedalus died . . . he said his life force was tied into the labyrinth. the whole thing might've been destroyed. maybe that will stop luke's invasion."