Jack's POV

Because of Percy's disappearance, camp was... not camp. Everything was normal, but there was a silence we were used to Percy filling. It just felt... strange without him. I felt terrible for Annabeth. She suffered the most. It was hard, with her being in my cabin, to see her wake up every day, and not getting up to answer the door for Percy who'd be up early for her. She was no longer full of life. It was like she was a whole different person.

Even though all of these problems put us behind on everything, we still had to do our daily schedule. I was supposed to be the pegasus flying instructor. Lucky me. Blackjack was NOT cooperating at all.

First Attempt:

"Hey Blackjack, can Lacey ride-" He snorted and trotted off. "- you..."

Second Attempt:

"Blackjack, do you want some treats? If you let Macy ride..." He hesitated, then nicked the bag from me and galloped off, snorting.

Third Attempt:

While Blackjack was eating his stolen snack, I snuck up to him. Then, I hefted myself up onto his back after getting hit in the face by his tail.

"Victory!" I cried.

Blackjack shifted his weight ever-so-slightly as a warning. When I didn't respond, he leaned forward more.

"NOOOOOOO!- oomph." I fell face first on the ground.

Fourth Attempt:

Blackjack was taking a nap. I crept up to him and hoisted my self on. He awoke instantly, and leaned forward.

Leaning back, I said "Not falling for that one."

And of course, he reared and I fell off backwards.

Interjection:

Okay, at this point, me trying to ride Blackjack was entertainment for anyone watching. After unseating me, he would bow and they'd clap. The Stolls thought it would be fun to videotape it. Of course, I'd been a little preoccupied with getting on Blackjack so I didn't notice. I was gettig more and more frustrated as it went.

Fifth Attempt:

I distracted him by tiptoeing exaggeratedly up to him, then rolling under when he whipped around, and again, then launching myself onto his back. I gripped tight, not going to fall off, he leaned forward, reared, bucked, over and over again until finally he sayed still, head drooping in resignation. I was wary at first but relaxed when he showed no sign of last minute rebellion. I sighed with relief, thinking it was over. Unfortunately, it wasn't.

"NEIGH!" Blackjack roared with noise. He galloped fast and shot into the air, me hanging onto the reins, barely.

"AHHHHHHH!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, the velocity to becoming unbearable. I let go, and promptly started falling to my death. Falling, falling, falling at what I worked out later to be 89 miles per hour, and then Blackjack flew under me, taking the impact, bouncing me up, and somehow grabbing me as he landed. I collapsed, exhausted on the ground of the stables.

Annabeth, who had lightened up after the possibility of Percy being at the Roman camp, was walking towards me. There was something I hadn't seen a while in her face. There was almost an amused expression there.

"Let me handle this." She walked towards Blackjack and whispered something into his ear. He whinnied and trotted off to the stables. When he returned, Casey was riding him. He grinned then they trotted off.

"What did you do?"

"I asked nicely."

"You so promised him treats."

"Whatever you say."