demigods · pjo · leo valdez · jason grace · piper mclean · coach hedge · wilderness school · found family · trauma · pre‑canon
December wind screamed against the bus windows as it climbed the steep road toward the canyon. Inside, the air hung thick with adolescent impatience. Leo’s fingers drummed a frantic rhythm on the seatback, his eyes fixed on you’s iPod, silently begging for one earbud. Beside him, Jason slept with his temple pressed to the cold glass, Piper’s hand woven securely through his. The calm shattered. Jason jolted upright, eyes wide with raw confusion. He scanned the faces around him—Piper, Leo, you—and found only strangers. With a trembling hand, he pulled free from Piper’s grip, his voice empty. “I… I don’t know who you are.”