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winryofresembool · 4 years

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Things We Lost in the Fire, ch 16

aka Caleo uni au

Fic summary: Calypso starts studying at a new university, but to her annoyance her new flatmate is a loud mouthed mechanic who also likes to sneak his dog in whenever. But as she learns to know him better, she realizes they might have more in common than what she first thought. Eventually, even the darkest secrets come out…

Chapter summary: Game night at Leo and Calypso's flat.

A/N: So sorry for the delay with this chapter, but better late than never, right? This chapter was both fun but also challenging to write, because I wasn't sure how much game description I can have without making it boring. I myself am a big Pokémon fan (among other things) so adding that was very self-indulgent of me, but I hope that even those of my readers who aren't that familiar with Pokémon will be able to enjoy this chapter. I tried my best to explain some of the most important terms in the author's note on ao3 so you can check that if you want to.

Now, please enjoy and let me know what you think! I've been feeling a bit under the weather lately so comments would really cheer me up! (Ps. since it's already Sunday, I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to update next Thursday but I'll try)

Characters in this ch: Calypso, Leo, Piper, Jason, Annabeth, special guest appearance in the end ;)

Words: 2900+

Genre: romance & hurt/comfort

Warnings: none

previous chapter / next chapter / AO3

…

Saturday came and Leo still hadn’t heard anything from his professors, which he took as a bad sign. Maybe they were still considering if such a problem student would ever be able to go through the tough education. He hadn’t even talked to Jo and Emmie after the incident, claiming that he was currently busy but he’d call back when he had time. He was still determined to try to get over his fear because his flatmate believed in him and thought that he could do it. And if not for anything else, Jo and Emmie hadn’t adopted him just so he would waste the opportunity. Calypso and he had agreed to continue the training the upcoming week, but now, they had something different in their minds: the game night.

Jason and Piper arrived first. They brought their Switch, some games and snacks with them and seemed about as confident about winning their battles as Leo was. Annabeth had told the group she would be arriving a bit late as she had promised to tutor a pupil that afternoon but that arrangement suited everyone well since she wouldn’t be able to participate in the Pokémon tournament anyway.

The group decided to have three battles and the team winning two of them would win the whole competition. Unfortunately for Team Flatmates, Jason and Piper won the first battle quite clearly, causing Calypso to throw annoyed glances at Leo.

“Mister Pokémon Master, I thought you had a plan,” she growled at him while their opponents were highfiving each other.

Leo leaned closer to her, attempting his sneakiest expression: “Just trying to make them feel comfortable, Sunshine. And when they think they got it…”

“You’re either an evil genius or simply an idiot.” Calypso shook her head.

“Hey, what are you two whispering there?” Piper asked loudly from her seat. “One would think that you’re plotting something… Maybe even cheating.”

“Just a mandatory team meeting, Pipes. We don’t cheat. I feel offended that you’d even consider that.” Leo put his hand over his heart to feign innocence.

“Yeah, right,” Piper rolled her eyes. “We almost believe that.”

The second battle was much more even than the first one. In the end both teams were down to one Pokémon, but Leo’s Charizard was faster than Jason’s Magnezone and it managed to finish it off with one final Flamethrower.

“See, Sunshine, if it hadn’t been for my Charizard…”

“Oh my gods, Leo. You just happened to get lucky that Tyranitar’s Rock Throw missed it earlier. Otherwise you’d been done for.”

“Well, they say that even luck has to be deserved,” Leo smirked.

“So that’s what your strategy is?” Jason asked. “Luck?”

“Do I hear complaints? You guys just don’t respect the genius in his element.” Leo protested.

“Well, I guess the final battle will decide who really is a genius and who’s not,” Piper noted and that was the group’s cue to stop trash talking and continue playing.

...

Jason and Piper’s team got a strong start in the last battle. They took down two of Leo and Calypso’s Pokémon before they got any major damage done. But after that Leo showed that sometimes he did have luck on his side; he took a small risk by making Luxray use Thunder against Jason’s flying type and it was worth it. The attack didn’t miss this time and Braviary went down in one hit. After that Leo took another risk by telling Calypso to use a water type Slowbro against Piper’s grass type Lurantis. He had planned ahead though by using a move that made Slowbro faster than Lurantis, and his Pokémon also knew a fire type move Flamethrower, which caused Lurantis to go down after two hits.

From then on the battle progressed more evenly. Charizard and Venusaur were Leo and Calypso’s last Pokémon to stand against Piper and Jason’s Manectric and Umbreon. Calypso suggested they’d try to use Venusaur against Manectric but Leo claimed his Charizard might be able to beat it with one hit. He miscalculated, though. Manectric was still faster and its Discharge was enough to take the Charizard down. Calypso looked at Leo with a ‘what did I say’ expression and took over. Her Venusaur, which was resistant to electric moves, managed to win Manectric, and Calypso couldn’t hide her smug smile when Jason and Piper switched to their last Pokémon.

In advance the last match up seemed pretty even, apart from the fact that Venusaur had already taken a bit of damage in the previous battle. Both Pokémon kept slowly chipping the other one’s energy and then healing up again for a good while until finally, Venusaur got a critical hit with its Giga Drain and made Umbreon faint.

“YES!” Calypso yelled probably louder than Leo had ever heard her yell in the short time he’d known her. Before he had time to react, he felt her arms wrap around him.

“Woah! Someone’s excited.” Leo mumbled against her hair.

“Sorry,” Calypso blushed. “I may have overreacted a bit. But we did it!”

“A critical hit, huh? Those need some luck, don’t you think?” Leo asked her smugly once Calypso had removed her arms from around him.

“Yeah, I guess…” she said, wondering where he was going with his comment.

“I’d advise you to check Venusaur’s held item.” Leo winked and Calypso clicked Venusaur’s data open.

“Dire Hit?” she asked in disbelief. “Did you predict this would happen and that’s why you gave him that? To boost the critical hit ratio?”

“Well, I told you the luck has to be earned sometimes.” Leo’s grin was about as wide as it could get. Calypso didn’t know if she should punch him or hug him again. Her hand remained still in the mid air for a while before she finally decided to put it down, in the small gap between his and her thigh.

“You could have told me that earlier, you frustrating, evil…” She started scolding him.

“Yes? Finish your sentence, please.” Leo challenged, leaning a bit closer to her.

“Not genius,” she said quietly, not able to look him in the eyes.

“Has anyone ever told you guys you’re adorable?” Piper asked all of a sudden and it was then that the flatmates remembered that Jason and Piper indeed were in the room too. They flinched for a moment and then jumped farther from each other.

“Hey, what are you implying?” Leo casted an annoyed look at his friend.

“Pretty sure Mister Genius knows what I’m implying,” Piper said back and caused Leo to groan loudly.

“No way. No. We’re not… I mean I wouldn’t… She wouldn’t…”

“No one understands you, Leo,” Jason stopped his stuttering.

Leo wasn’t about to admit his defeat quite that easily, but luckily he was stopped by the buzzer. Annabeth had finally arrived and Calypso rushed to open the door, trying to put her poker face back on.

“Hi! Sorry I’m late, the pupil had quite a lot of questions this time,” Annabeth explained, glancing at the clock on the wall that showed that the four others had been playing for almost an hour already. “And of course Percy had lost his swimming goggles again and we were searching for them for at least 15 minutes. I promise to kick his butt for that later tonight.”

Calypso was still too distracted by the earlier situation to pay attention to the name Annabeth had mentioned.

“No worries, you probably wouldn’t have enjoyed it anyway. The boys were getting a bit enthusiastic about Pokémon,” she told Annabeth.

“Excuse me, who was literally just screaming and glomping people because she won?” Leo retorted back and Annabeth chuckled at his reaction a bit.

“Hmm, to me it sounds like I’ve missed a lot.” She smirked. “Moving on, though, what are you guys thinking of doing next?”

“We were planning to play Mario Kart,” Calypso gestured towards the console, as she went back to her seat.

“And this time we won’t be playing in pairs so it should be interesting to see how these two will be behaving,” Piper meddled in.

Both Leo and Calypso pretended they didn’t hear her, instead starting to trashtalk each other.

“Okay, Repair Boy, let’s see how far luck will get you in this game.”

“Sunshine, if you think I need luck in Mario Kart… you’re as wrong as my middle school teacher who claimed that my jokes were bad and threw me out of the class just because of that.”

Jason had to disagree with that statement, though. “For me you told that that joke was about the teacher himself and that it was kind of inappropriate. So your teacher was right.”

Leo turned to Calypso. “Why did we invite these two again?” He nodded towards Piper and Jason. “They’re ruining my stories.”

“I think they are just telling the truth,” Calypso chuckled.

“Oh yeah? Let’s see who laughs last when they win this contest.”

“Alright, children,” Annabeth stopped them. “This is fun to listen to but I think the only way to find out who really can play is to play.”

“Annabeth’s right, as usual,” Piper said too. “Let’s do it.”

The friends shared the remote controls and put the game on. Before they got to the character picking, though, Calypso confessed something.

“I have to admit that I haven’t played this game before. Well, I haven’t played most of the games before. Pokémon was easy for me to understand because it’s one of the few games I did play as a kid.”

“Wait… what?” Leo turned to her, his eyes wide. “You have only ever played that game as a kid and did that well?

“You created the team, I only picked what felt good in that moment.” Calypso waved it off. “Without that Dire Hit…”

“Looks like progress has been made between those two,” Annabeth whispered to Piper who snorted at her comment.

“One could say that,” she said with amusement.

“Alright, guys, let’s focus on the relevant things here. It’s time to pick your characters.” Jason ordered and the others had to listen to him. Leo picked Mario, Calypso Princess Daisy, Jason and Piper Toad and Toadette and Annabeth Yoshi (she claimed it reminded her of her boyfriend). Leo had to instruct Calypso briefly on the functions of the remote control for this specific game, but after that the group was ready.

It took Calypso a while to learn to use the remote control but Leo had to give it to her, she really gave it her all. In the first race she was the last, but she slowly started getting better until finally she was fourth, managing to win Piper while Leo, Jason and Annabeth were still better.

“At this rate you’ll win the guys before they notice it,” Annabeth complimented Calypso. “But don’t expect me to be as easy as they are.”

“How are you that good?” Calypso asked her, knowing she had meant what she had said.

“I guess I just do a lot of things that develop my hand-eye coordination; I draw, play some sports, and believe it or not, my mom also wanted to make sure I’d be good at knitting and weaving so she started teaching me at a young age. Now I haven’t seen her in a long while but I’m still trying to maintain the skill.” Annabeth shrugged.

“In that case, I’m going to continue my hobbies too. Imagine seeing Leo and Jason’s faces when we both win them,” Calypso said, causing the boys to protest.

“The next Cup will decide who wins, OK?” Jason tried to solve the situation after some bickering between the parties.

“Fine,” the girls agreed, but Leo’s face told that he was very ready to show Calypso who the teacher was.

By the last race of the Cup Annabeth was in a clear lead, Jason was second, leading Leo with 5 points, Leo third and somehow Calypso had sneaked to the fourth place 7 points from Leo. In the last round of the last race Leo was leading, others close behind him, when Jason managed to get a blue shell, shooting it at his friend’s car.

“Hey! That’s so unfair!” Leo yelped as he watched his car getting knocked over. Unfortunately for Annabeth, he was situated on the road in a way that she had to slow down a bit when she passed him, but Calypso and Jason had the space to drive on the full speed on the other side of the road. They were already close to the finish line and if the track had been any longer, the race would probably have ended differently, but Leo didn’t have enough time to bounce back after the collision. Jason ended up winning the last race, Calypso being the second, which meant she gained seven points more than Leo did. That, on the other hand, meant that they ended up with exactly the same amount of points in the Cup.

After Leo said a couple of quiet curse words in Spanish, he dared to look at Calypso from the corner of his eye. She was looking at him too and seemingly trying to figure out what she should tell him. He wasn’t able to stay mad after that.

“Guess we’ll be on the podium together,” he went first.

“Yeah,” Calypso nodded. “Hey, you’re not a half bad teacher.”

“Half bad?” A smile spread on Leo’s face. “Hey, guys, did you hear that? Coming from Calypso, that was a big compliment!”

“I can also take it back, if you want,” she said calmly but couldn’t stop herself from smiling as well.

“Good game, Cal,” both Annabeth and Piper told her, giving her high fives.

“Thank you! Next time, I’ll even try to challenge the champion.” Calypso nodded towards Annabeth.

“Good luck with that!” she responded. “I promise I won’t go easy on you.”

“I wouldn’t want that,” Calypso said before turning her attention back to the screen again.

Silence fell into the room as the group watched the award ceremony. Annabeth’s Yoshi rose to the highest podium, Jason’s Toad followed and Leo and Calypso’s Mario and Princess Daisy shared the third one.

“We don’t look that bad together, huh?” Leo noted while drumming his fingers in the same rhythm as the background music. At first he didn’t realize there was anything weird in his words, but the others’ chuckling and Calypso’s pink cheeks woke him up.

“Hu-huh?” she asked, flustered.

“I mean… our characters! They look pretty neat!” He yelped and folded his arms. The others had to bite back their smiles but Piper decided to be kind and change the topic.

“So, we’ve played Pokémon and Mario Kart now… what next?”

Calypso seemed relieved by her question. “I forgot to mention I prepared some presents for the top three! I made some cupcakes and I thought the winner would get three, the second one two and the third one… Don’t worry, Piper, I think I should have one extra cupcake in the fridge.”

“You wouldn’t have had to, I could have eaten Jason’s extra,” Piper said but accepted the cupcake nevertheless when Calypso started sharing them.

Leo wasn’t very willing to give up on his cupcake that he was supposed to share with Calypso.

“So you had an extra cupcake but we still have to share?”

“You already ate one last night! And I don’t have more of them with the frosting right now, the rest are in the freezer.” Calypso protested.

“Such a cold hearted woman,” Leo muttered and snatched the last cupcake from the plate. Calypso didn’t have time to stop him before he had already split the bottom part in half with a knife that had been resting next to the plate. Then he put the other half on the top of the cake and took a huge bite of it.

“Leonidas, what are you doing?!” she exclaimed and tried to reach the cupcake in his hand.

“Eating my share, of course!” he said as he stuffed more of the cake into his mouth.

Calypso was prepared for Leo to run away from her like he had the other day after the chili incident but to her surprise he stayed in one spot. Leo started laughing at her baffled expression.

“Open your mouth,” he ordered her, putting the remains of the cupcake near her face.

“What?” Calypso asked, not expecting that reaction.

“What what, do you think I won’t give you your share of the cupcake? You deserved it!” he said, his eyes gleaming mischievously.

“But you bit that already!” Calypso tried to protest.

“Are you 8? I can always cut this in half with this knife if that’s what you want.”

“Fine,” she finally said, waiting for Leo to finish the cutting before letting him feed her. They didn’t notice that Piper was whispering something to Annabeth and Jason. The group seemed to agree about something, but their whispering was interrupted when there was a knock on the front door.

“That’s probably just Percy, he must have gotten out of his practice by now.” Annabeth said and went to open the door.

“Hi, I tried to call you but I guess you didn’t hear your phone or something,” a male voice could soon be heard in the hallway. “Someone let me in downstairs while I was… you?”

Everyone was now able to see the newcomer who stopped in his tracks when he recognized Calypso. She had frosting all over her face, Leo’s hand on her shoulder when she turned to look at him. “Percy?”

#caleo #leo valdez #calypso #heroes of olympus #percy jackson and the olympians #trials of apollo #my fics #caleo uni au

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nicostolemybones · 4 years

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Ghostly Gods (2)

Of course, Nico and Will had stayed around camp after receiving godhood, but now, walking towards the cabins, it became blindingly obvious how different everything was. It wasn’t necessarily that the architecture had changed- after all, even when it had, Nico and Will had been around to notice. But now, not wrapped up in each other and trying to relive their youths, they were able to notice how different the people were. It felt weird to be walking towards the campfire, because it was so familiar yet so foreign. Because they were used to Percy and Annabeth and Jason and Cecil and Lou Ellen and Kayla and Austin and Lacy and Mitchell and Drew and Leo and Piper and Harley and Jake and Nyssa and everybody else they grew up with- it wasn’t the camp they recognised, because that camp was dead.

Hestia was the only face apart from Chiron that Nico or Will could recognise, greeting them like old friends and disappearing into the background once more. Nico seemed to withdraw, shrinking back into the form of a fifteen year old boy with an oversized aviator’s jacket and ripped black jeans, fading closer and closer into the shadows. Will was thriving in the excitable and nervous buzz of the campfire, leading the traditional campfire songs with his ukulele. The campers took to him instantly- he seemed to have a way of calming the nerves of even the most anxious campers. It was easy to forget that Will was a god when he was like this- Will seemed to embody all the positive traits that made up humanity. The faint warm glow encompassing him made him difficult to ignore- people found themselves drawn to him no matter what, even the most broken campers finding solace in his company.

Whereas Nico was invisible and cold and closed off, because becoming a god, being near infallible, didn’t take away the fact that Nico was deeply uncomfortable in these situations. He didn’t know anybody, and he could tell he had nothing in common with most of them. Making friends through shared circumstances almost never bodes well, forming too fast and too fickle, only to find that the similarities you share are superficial, surface level, sheltering you from seeing the toxicity of the people who claim to care but don’t. He rather liked being invisible today, but the way people looked through him, he wondered if he’d turned into a ghost for good. It was only Will reaching out and pulling him gently into the light of the campfire that Nico felt visible, and a part of him was glad- it wasn’t that Nico didn’t want to talk or interact with the campers- but rather he was so used to his own company or the same company that he’d forgotten how to meet people, how to strike up a conversation- the shadows never made for good small talk after all. He was surprised with how at ease everybody was around him now- that’s when it finally hit him that they seemed to be used to the aura of death and decay just like Will was- there were Hades campers here, blended in, conforming innocuously with the neon orange crowd. He smiled inwardly- acceptance always struck close to home with Nico, who had to fight to be accepted.

A solemn wave of pity made a nest in Will’s heart- these were temporary people, with temporary lives and temporary consciousnesses and temporary legacies. Nico was used to death- it didn’t seem to bother him anymore- knowing that everybody he knew would die, because death was his territory, and he’d accepted it. But Will didn’t think he could ever accept death- he’d become a god to avoid it. He didn’t want to be a puppet of bones summoned to dance the danse macabre by a curious necromancing demigod for entertainment. He didn’t want to have his skull sat upon a camper’s desk as a memento mori, an empty hourglass and a reminder of mortality. He didn’t want to be a tool to be summoned to fight with regardless of what he believed in or wanted to fight against like all the other skeletons. And Will couldn’t help but see every camper the way Nico had once described people- as living corpses. They were all temporary, to be washed away if he should chance to close his eyes, and he couldn’t save them from that. He couldn’t help but think about the organs within, just biological mechanisms, cells using chemical messengers, every thought just an action potential somewhere deep inside their brains. Just skeletons inside an illusion of life, being puppeteered like marionettes by charged impulses rapidly firing through a lipid organ. Will wished he could take away the existential fear he remembered having as a mortal, but all he could do was comfort the dying, because everybody, no matter how healthy, was slowly dying.

Nico had accepted their mortality, his own once, his sister’s, his friend’s, Will’s once. So Nico saw the life inside them, he saw it burn with passion, a cause to fight for, because every person was temporary, and every person deserved to have their voice heard, to have their identity worn proudly, to stand up and change things for a hope of a better world for the next generation. Nico saw and understood and accepted them before he knew them, because he’d seen asphodel, seen the chattering husks that called themselves somebody but couldn’t remember who that somebody was. Asphodel wasn’t full of morally grey people, it was full of those who had no acceptance, who had to stay silent, who weren’t allowed to make a difference and weren’t allowed to live their own lives. It was full of people who were scared to die, and had to stay silent to stay safe. He’d always said; ‘your voice is your identity. If you don’t use it, you’re halfway to asphodel already’. He remembered when he couldn’t use his voice, when he was too scared, too alone, too hurt to stand up proudly, too full of self hate to accept himself. And he remembered how glorious it was when he did accept himself, when he paraded unapologetically, when he allowed himself to love, to protest, to riot, to fight back. He remembered how alive accepting himself made him feel despite how dead the hate tried to make him feel. He remembered the buzz of being free, and it reminded him that even a temporary life was a life worth accepting, if only for a short moment of comfort.

The campfire was a place of comfort, of stability, of reassurance, a place where everybody was accepted and everybody was allowed to be bitter about the sting of rejection from their families. It was a place Nico and Will had the most fond memories of- there was something about the way even the most anxious or shy of campers were able to find their voices, something about the way everybody came together that felt like home, reflected in the homefires kindled in Hestia’s eyes. Will liked the campfire because it felt like comfort, and Nico liked the campfire because it felt like acceptance- the two weren’t binary opposites after all, people realised, in fact they had a lot in common. Nico had been a soldier, a martyr, and Will had been a healer, a service- both had been resources to exploit, both had been the boy who couldn’t cry, who when they broke, they exploded in a supernova of mirror shards, each shard reflecting the consequence of everybody’s expectations and judgments and choice to turn a blind eye to their suffering. Comfort and Acceptance were two sides of the same coin- it was impossible to truly have one without the other, and both had only truly found the other side of that coin within each other’s arms.

“How did you find hope in all of this,” a camper asked timidly, brokenly, and nobody answered for a while.

“Because even when the sun isn’t shining, even in the darkest of nights, the stars are a thousand suns shining just for you. And when you’re feeling alone, if you reach out to the sun,” Will began gently, summoning a ray of light from a distant star and holding the sunlight in his palm, “and you take a ray of sunshine,” he continued, placing the light in the camper’s hands and closing their fingers around it, “and you put it in your pocket,” he instructed, waiting for the camper to do so, “then you aren’t alone anymore, because the sun shines on us all, and somewhere, somebody else is feeling alone too and looking up at the sun, so you’re never truly alone, and the sunshine in your pocket will keep you company.” The camper smiled, their cheeks tinted a healthy dusty rose as they found a new hope, a new confidence, found comfort.

“What about you, sir,” the camper asked Nico, and Nico took a moment to gather his thoughts.

“I didn’t,” Nico began strongly, “I accepted that some situations are hopeless, and I learned that chasing after a ray of hope that isn’t truly there wasn’t healthy for me. Reaching towards hope that wasn’t made for me felt like the darkness was pulling me back and cutting into my soul. But when I let go of that hope, let the shadows take over and let myself fall, I found myself being pulled backwards through the shadows, only to emerge at the back,” Nico explained, summoning tendrils of shadows around his wrists and gripping them like reigns in his hands, “but from behind the darkness, I found myself at its helm, in control of this chariot of darkness within. I made my own hope, because I controlled the darkness now, it didn’t control me. I accepted it, I accepted the pain and I accepted that I couldn’t change the things I wanted to change. I let go of hope, and it allowed me to take control, to find power in the shadows that I once feared. False hope prevents us from accepting our circumstances, it keeps us wanting something more, stops us from being satisfied with who we are and what we have. Sometimes the hardest thing to do is let go of hope, but sometimes, just sometimes, accepting what you can’t change and accepting who you are is far more powerful than the relentless hunt of an elusive better life. Only once you accept what you can’t control can you begin to take the reigns and fight for a better life, but hoping for it won’t do anything but hurt you should you fall short. I go into everything with no hope for myself. I fight for what I believe in, not for what I hope for. Don’t fight or keep going for some utopian vision of the future. Accept the dystopia you’re in and learn how to use it against them, learn how to control all that rage and hate and all that darkness inside and turn it into your weapon, your voice, your identity. If the ichor of a toxic society or person or idea is causing you pain, use the burn to fuel your passion, and use their own ichor to make them face what they’ve done.”

“My mom would’ve approved,” the camper said with a small smile, and Nico noticed the eye patch worn proudly on their face.

“Justice is a virtue favoured by the underworld,” Nico replied, “and I intend to fight for what is just, but in my own name, and in the name of those who can’t use their voices themselves. I speak on behalf of those in personal asphodel.”

“What about you,” the camper asked, turning to Will, “what do you fight for?”

“I don’t fight unless I have to,” Will said candidly, “do I stand up for what I believe in? Yes. But fight? I prefer to heal, to allow for recovery and growth. So I guess I do fight, I fight alongside those who need to know somebody out there has their back. I fight for brighter times, to be a guiding light through the darkness and to bring some warmth and compassion and comfort and recovery to an otherwise cold and bleak reality. But one thing they don’t tell you? Sometimes it’s okay to fight for yourself. You don’t always have to fight for others. Sometimes you can fight for yourself, love yourself, try to change things for the better for yourself. You have to fight for yourself, because others won’t always fight for you. You can let go of hope or cling to it, just never stop fighting for yourself, okay? Sometimes you won’t find comfort in others, sometimes you have to recover by building up piece by piece, one kind word at a time. Believe in yourself when you can’t believe in anyone else, or anything else for that matter. The world isn’t a kind place, so fight to stay kind. Be the comfort to others you wish others were for yourself, and one day, if everybody thinks like that, hope might live again.”

#ghostly gods #nico di angelo #solangelo #will solace #nico di angelo x will solace #nicohasahappymeal

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thosekidshaveissues · 6 years

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Rekindle (A Pipabeth Ficlet)

Your first crush can leave you, and then walk out of the trees years later only to leave again.

Your hero can betray you, can fail you, can fall at the point of your dagger.

Your biggest what if may stay just that, what if? Hovering in the back of your mind.

The world is different.

He becomes immortal, becomes a god, and she builds his first temple. Percy smiles at her still, warm and hopeful, but Annabeth refuses. She finishes rebuilding Olympus and returns to the world of mortals. She will not be another god's plaything.

No matter what they might have become in another life.

After the temples have been raised, the streets rebuilt, she returns back to her home. Her camp. Her siblings welcome her proudly, clapping her on the back. They mourn for the lost, but they celebrate the world they still have.

Annabeth feels – empty.

How can she rejoice in those they still have when they can disappear in a moment? How can she smile when the world can fall apart in a heartbeat. How can she trust anyone when they can just walk out of her life?

It's a simple choice for her. She locks herself away. She'll sit in the strawberry fields, but she'll sit apart. She has Daedalus' laptop to work through. She has cabins to design for the minor gods. She does not need friends. She does not need people.

She has her future to concentrate on. However short that future may be.

The world is quiet for a while. Campers are claimed, cabins are built. School starts, but Annabeth opts out. She takes online classes, she skypes with her father. There are shadows under her eyes, her hair is a rat's nest. “I'm fine.” “I've just been working a lot.” “There's so much still left to do.” “I love you dad.”

It's not because Percy left her. It's because everyone leaves in the end. She has so little of herself left to give, she doesn't dare come close to someone else. She still has to leave her mark on the world, and she can't do that if she doesn't have any part of herself left.

It's just a normal day for her when things change again. The sun is shining above, the laptop is whirling on her lap and her fingers are flying across the keyboard when the chariot falls out of the sky. Her storm grey eyes barely flicker up. It's not her problem anymore. Gone are the days she would go racing to their aid. She has only so much time left before she will disappear forever, she doesn't have time to worry about new demigods.

They'll be claimed. There will never be another Luke. Another Thalia.

Her heart contracts inside her ribs, but she pushes off the sensation and resumes her calculations for the perfect arch to support an archway big enough to cover an old pine tree.

It's not until late that evening, after dinner when even she can't escape from the campfire gathering, that she meets the three new campers. They're grouped together on a log, glancing around at the rest of them. They're talking about a quest. Annabeth scoffs. Her eyes catch briefly with those of the new young woman, her dark brown eyes heavy with weight, so thoughtful, so worried.

Annabeth feels sorry for her. Caring, especially when going on a quest, is the most dangerous thing someone can do. She doesn't watch them leave, she doesn't wish them good luck. Luck has no place in the games of the gods. Not good luck at least.

They return and the girl is. Changed. She was always confident, Annabeth could tell with how she carried her shoulders. But now she is assured. She has no heavy weight on her shoulders, or perhaps she shed it along with her fears at the camp border.

What Annabeth does know is that Piper McLean is something wholly different than the expected. She becomes the head of Aphrodite cabin through intimidation, through a battle of wills. She smiles and laughs with Jason and Leo, but her hand is light on her ex-boyfriend's shoulder. There is no bitterness, there is no desire to retain him.

There is a coil of jealousy in Annabeth's stomach and she looks away.

But it's hard to avoid the head of another cabin.

Piper inserts herself in to Annabeth's life almost without her noticing. She will pull Annabeth from her laptop for meals, will sit and fight with her hair until it's smooth waves again and not a ball of tangles. She reminds Annabeth to shower, to train, to care for herself. Her coaxing, warm brown fingers will pull Annabeth to her lap and play with her hair as the daughter of Athena sleeps on her lap.

It's too late for Annabeth to pull away when she feels fear race through her heart at the thought of Piper leaving on another quest. On flying across the country on a metal boat made around a dragon's head. It's too late for Annabeth to rescind herself when she's on her feet, insisting she go to this New Rome with them. Because she's been at Camp Halfblood the longest. Because she can answer any questions the Romans might have.

Not because she is afraid of losing Piper. Not because she can not stand the thought of something happening to her without Annabeth by her side.

And it's such a relief for everyone that no one argues with this decision of Chiron's to let her go.

(There are things that remain the same. Things that do not change. It is harder to convince the Romans without Percy there, but there is an innate heroic nature to both Hazel and Frank. Hazel wants to find her brother, Frank – well, he's a hero, a leader, and this crew of four is leaderless. A praetor torn between worlds, a mechanic unsure of himself, a sweet talking girl with anger under her skin, and a soft spoken, half-alive daughter of Athena. Frank really doesn't have a choice but to go with.

Annabeth still bears the Mark of Athena, she still travels alone. It's on the shore of the Tiberius that Piper takes her hand. It's on the bank of the river that the daughter of Aphrodite stands up on her tiptoes, pressing her soft lips against Annabeth's smooth skin. “You will return.” Her voice is commanding, her voice is warm. Annabeth nods. She will return to Piper's side.

When the floor cracks below them, it is Piper who is leaning over the edge, but it is Annabeth who falls. And only Annabeth who treks across the body of Tartarus. But it is strange, how she feels here. She expected pain, she expected death. But the fire of the river flows through her like the cleanest water. She keeps moving forward, she can not give up.

She will return.

(They don't have time to reunite. Annabeth steps out of the Doors of Death and they are fleeing towards Camp. They don't have time to speak of themselves, only of the future.))

There's something about returning to Camp Halfblood that has Annabeth's shoulders slumping. After the war is won, after everything is done. There are, memories here. There's a heavy weight that comes to her when she sees the tree on the hill. There's a cold stone in her heart when she looks at the Hermes Cabin. There's a dead look that comes to her eyes when she looks at the water lapping against their soft shores.

When he steps out of the water, an easy smile on his face, she wants to cry. It's not fair, it's not right. When he comes towards her she steps back, her hand lifted as though to ward away an evil spirit.

“I heard your voice.” He says softly, his sea green eyes filled with. Something. Sadness, regret, pride. “While you were. Down there. I did what I could to help you.” He spreads his hands, smiling weakly. “Minor god of fresh running water. I gave to you what I could.”

Annabeth shakes her head. It hurts to feel again.

“You've done so much for us Annabeth. You deserve your own reward.”

Us. He says us. Not them. He has only been among them for a year, but she can tell. He has changed. He is good but he is different. He is a god now, and she will always be the mortal who rejected him.

“I have my reward already.” She murmurs to him. She looks up at him, tears held back as she crosses her arms. “You'll always be my friend Percy, but I was always meant to find my happiness here.”

It hurts when he hugs her gently, wrapping his arms around her. But there's a freedom to it as well.

She makes her way back to the campfire that night and stands slightly to the side. Piper spots her, as Piper always has. This beautiful girl with the wild blonde hair and the broken grey eyes. Annabeth watches as the daughter of Aphrodite comes to her and offers her hand. “Walk with me.” She murmurs and they walk towards the strawberry fields. They walk under the stars and whisper to each other. About the fear that ate at them, about the fear that still nips at their heels.

But they speak of other things too. The future. Of stupid boys and stupid girls.

It's under the stars that Piper pulls Annabeth closer, standing on her tiptoes. “Time to write your story Annabeth. Not theirs.” Piper whispers to her before reaching up, her hand tangling in her blond hair and pulling her down for a searing kiss.

The warmth had been returning to Annabeth for months now, but under Piper's careful hand it is stoked back in to life's flame.

#pipabeth #ficlet #fic rec #my originals #annabeth chase #piper mclean #Percy Jackson and the Olympians #pjo #percy jackson and the heroes of olympus #HoO #femslash #God! Percy #god percy #Happy ending #annabeth chase x piper mclean #piper mclean x annabeth chase

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freedomfighterposts · 6 years

Text

Mornings. Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano x Genderless Reader.

Reyna had long ago found that she had a love/hate relationship with mornings. She hated them because it meant that she was forced out of bed to do menial tasks like; allow extra toilet paper for cohort three or break up a fight between a legionnaire and a Huntress of Artemis/Diana. However, Reyna had grown accustomed to forcing herself out of bed for these tasks. She simply loathed this part of the morning, however she hated with a passion the other aspect of the morning. It meant having to leave her precious baby. Yes, the great, unemotional Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano had fallen for someone. At first the Roman Praetor had been worried about falling for the dangerous game of love again. But after eleven months of peace, adoration and a surprising amount of surprise kisses, Reyna decided that she had made the right choice. Reyna’s deep seeded hate for mornings appeared one morning as she woke up. Reyna’s eyes fluttered open slowly, a light yawn escaping her plump lips as he legs stretched down to the foot of the bed. The gilded purple covers of her bed felt soft and warm at Reyna’s touch. In this moment, everything was perfect. Birds chirped outside in the warm summer breeze of July. A cloudless sky gave way for Apollo’s sun chariot to spread its rays to the mortal world below. Reyna’s body was warm and lazy, despite her usually ever-present professional exterior, Reyna was often a big teddy bear behind closed doors. A lazy smile formed on the Praetor’s face as she felt someone shuffling beside her. Yes, it had been the first night where Reyna and (Y/n) had decided to sleep together. But the pair wholeheartedly agreed to not perform any extremely intimate acts. The most the two did was kiss… a lot. Reyna felt as if she was addicted to (Y/n)’s kisses. Their full lips felt naturally soft against Reyna’s. Reyna had once tried to slip her tongue inside (Y/n)’s mouth, however this resulted in the Daughter of Bellona receiving the silent treatment for the rest of the week. Reyna didn’t hold it against the child of Hercules though. (Y/n)’s body curled into a fetal position, trying to stay as warm as possible. (Y/n)’s back was pressed against Reyna’s side in an attempt to draw heat from her. Reyna’s smile turned from lazy, into one of adoration as her eyes lingered on (Y/n)’s form. (Y/n) had worm a pair of pajama bottoms with a theme of Lion King. The pair had gotten quite a laugh out of that. (Y/n) also wore a pajama shirt of just plain silver. Reyna however, was more outgoing and comfortable with their relationship. True she had felt guarded and against it at first, but the child of the God of Strength had worn her down. Due to this, Reyna simply wore her undergarments to bed, much to the embarrassment of (Y/n) who wouldn’t stop blushing. But now, in the morning, Reyna wanted nothing more than to simply lay here with (Y/n). However, there were still things that needed to be done. Especially after Gaea’s attack on the camps. Even several months after the seven Heroes of Olympus had defeated the Earth Mother, things were not back to normal. Jason’s incessant badgering for new temples gave Reyna more migraines than Octavian. Usually, Reyna slept next to the edge of the bed so she could quiet literally, roll out of bed in the morning. But she had wanted to be next to (Y/n), and now she was in the middle of the large, king sized bed. (Y/n) turned around, still sleeping. (Y/n) wrapped their arms around Reyna’s waist, a smile tugging at their lips as (Y/n) laid their head against Reyna’s exposed back. Reyna allowed herself a small smile, she bent down and kissed (Y/n)’s forehead gingerly before flinging the covers off herself and stepping from the bed. What Reyna did not prepare for, was (Y/n) waking up. “Reyna?” (Y/n) mumbled sleepily, rubbing their eyes lazily. (Y/n) had felt the disturbance from Reyna flinging the blankets away. “Sorry baby, I didn’t mean to wake you.” Reyna’s soft, melodic voice made (Y/n) feel warm inside. (Y/n) reached out with a hand and clasped Reyna’s hand. “Don’t leave me” (Y/n) whined dramatically. Reyna bubbled out a laugh but silenced herself quickly. “I can’t stay my Flos Pulcherrimus. I have work” Reyna’s heart shattered into a trillion pieces when she saw the tears forming in (Y/n)’s eyes as a pout wobbled on her face. (Y/n) sniffed, trying to keep the tears in. “Fine” (Y/n) spoke, not daring to say more. (Y/n) rolled over so that Reyna was facing (Y/n)’s back. “Flos Pulcherrimus. Don’t be like that” Reyna spoke softly, worried that if she spoke any louder (Y/n) would disappear before her eyes. “Sadness doesn’t look good on you.” But (Y/n) still refused to meet Reyna’s face. Guilt and sadness hit Reyna like one of Jason’s lightning bolts. The pain of making (Y/n) so sad was worse than anything Reyna had felt before. She would gladly face against Orion again if it meant that (Y/n) would be happy. However, Reyna is a duty first love life second kind of girl, so with a bitter sweet kiss to (Y/n)’s cheek, Reyna left the cabin she and (Y/n) shared while at Camp Half-Blood. The Heracles cabin at Camp Half-Blood wasn’t the most loved cabin nor was it the most looked after. Most if not all Demi-gods detested the God of Strength. Even (Y/n), who was normally the sweetest and nicest person around, didn’t like the immortal son of Zeus. Its foundations had been made haphazardly and it was only at the command of Chiron that the children of Vulcan and Hephaestus began reworking the cabin so that (Y/n) wouldn’t nearly be killed by a falling beam in their sleep. Reyna knew what Heracles had done that really ticked (Y/n) off. Usually, the gods and goddesses claimed their children on their thirteenth birthday with a holographic projection of their symbols above the child’s head. Grover had brought (Y/n) to camp when they were fifteen years old and it took the anger of Perseus Jackson and several other key Demi-Gods to finally find out who (Y/n)’s father was. Unfortunately, no one was exactly happy. Especially after (Y/n) learnt from Percy and Annabeth about what Heracles had done to Zoe Nightshade. The temple of Hercules at New Rome also remained deserted. It reminded Reyna of the Neptune temple before Percy had been made Praetor. Old, moldy fruits and nuts sat at the pedestal, cobwebs covered all the corners and pieces of stone crumbled from the lack of attention. Reyna knew it was a sore subject to talk about Heracles in front of (Y/n) so she stayed far away from the subject. Whenever someone talked about how Hercules did something bad, (Y/n) would do nothing to defend him. What Reyna did not know, was that as she left (Y/n) alone in bed that morning Reyna would be in some deep trouble for a long time. Reyna walked into the mess hall at exactly twelve O’clock. After a morning full of paperwork and boring talks with architects and even a talk with Chiron regarding the Mars/Ares inter cabin competition. So, when it was time for lunch. Reyna was more than happy to eat something with (Y/n). However, when Reyna walked over to (Y/n)’s usual spot she found no child of Heracles in sight. Confusion crossed over Reyna’s face as she sat with her friends, the Heroes of Olympus. “Yo, Reyna what’s cracka lacking?” Leo asked cheerfully, Reyna didn’t acknowledge the son of Hephaestus’ childish remark. “Have any of you seen (Y/n) recently?” Reyna as the plate before her filled with sandwiches. “Not that I can think of” Offered Annabeth from beside Percy and Piper. “Oh, I saw (Y/n) at the archery range this morning” Offered Frank. This made sense to the daughter of Bellona, because (Y/n) hated using the naturally inhuman strength gifted by Hercules. Instead (Y/n) favoured the bow, which Reyna knew she disliked because even Jason Grace had been impressed by the way (Y/n) had used an imperial gold combat axe. “Yeah, although (Y/n) did seem really upset. And that’s putting it mildly.” Piper added “Yeah, they just left me hanging this morning.” Percy mumbled as he ate a double decker blue pizza. “Yeah but we all know how… delicate… (Y/n) can be” Hazel defended and her words got Reyna thinking. “Delicate… Oh, by the gods.” Reyna cursed herself silently as she stood, taking her plate of sandwiches with her. “You’ll have to excuse me. I must fix a mistake” With that, Reyna sped walked out of the Mess hall. The Praetor of the Twelfth Legion briskly walked through the newly formed Greek/Roman camp. She passed hundreds of Demi-Gods as she made her way to the beach. Reyna knew that (Y/n) simply adored the ocean. Apparently, (Y/n)’s mother was an open water swimming coach and so (Y/n) and their mortal family often went swimming in the ocean. Reyna’s eyes scanned the golden beach carefully, waves crashed gently across the shore. A evergreen tree grew at the edge of the beach, where grass turned to sand, its branches stretching over the waves. Hidden below the branches, Reyna saw the hunched over form of (Y/n) (L/n). Reyna felt the sand shift beneath her feet as she discarded her sandals. The soft, foaming waves caressed Reyna’s toes as she sat down next to (Y/n). The pair sat in silence, Reyna simply content with being next to (Y/n). “I thought you had work to do” Reyna heard (Y/n) mumble beside her. In response, Reyna scooted closer to the child of Heracles. “I did, I still do. But, I noticed you weren’t at lunch so I brought you some food” (Y/n) looked down at the plate of sandwiches nestled in the sand at her side. The child of Heracles picked a sandwich filled cheese and ham, with only slight hesitation (Y/n) began nibbling on the food. After a while all the sandwiches had been eaten by the pair. “I’m sorry for this morning (Y/n)” Reyna spoke sincerely, not wanting to hurt (Y/n) any more than she already did. “No. It was my fault. I was being selfish and wanted you to myself. I should have known that I couldn’t have the great Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano to myself. Especially since you’re Praetor.” Reyna scowled at the use of her full name but said nothing. The pair of demigods just stared across the never-ending, never-beginning ocean, peaceful silence enveloping them both. “You know this is usually the part where you say it isn’t my fault then we kiss and make up” (Y/n) said breaking the silence. Reyna had to bite her tongue hard to force her laughter down. Instead she appeared stoic and serious. “But it is your fault.” Reyna said bluntly, causing (Y/n)’s happiness to drop. “I am a Praetor of the twelfth legion. I oversee the daily routines of over hundreds of demigods, even more now thanks to you Greeks.” Reyna’s heart broke a little as (Y/n) curled into a sitting fetal position, Reyna saw tears threatening to spill from (Y/n)’s eyes. And so, she wrapped her significant other in a tight embrace. Resting her chin on the top of (Y/n)’s head. “However, you are still far more precious to me to leave you alone. Flos Pulcherrimus.” Below Reyna, (Y/n) sniffed a little. “What do you mean?” (Y/n) asked. “I mean… That I think Frank can allow me to sleep in a little later, so long as my baby’s happy” Reyna nuzzled (Y/n)’s neck making the younger demigod blush, (Y/n)’s mouth opened to speak but words quickly turned to moans as Reyna nipped her ear lobe. “Let us finish this in your cabin.” Reyna continued huskily. As Reyna thought back to that fateful day, she couldn’t help but smile. The thought of the huge make out session her and (Y/n) had shared that day was enough to make her extremely happy. So yes, Reyna hated mornings. But she loved them because the look in (Y/n)’s eyes when (Y/n) saw that Reyna was still here was greater than any gift the gods could ever give. Speaking of which, Reyna felt the body next to her shift its position. (Y/n) uncurled from a fetal position and laid their head against Reyna’s covered bosom. Reyna wrapped her toned arms possessively around (Y/n)’s shoulders, letting the sheets fall down into their laps. Reyna’s fingers danced through (Y/n)’s bed hair. (Y/n) could feel the softness of Reyna’s fingers causing their eyes to open slowly. “Good morning Flos Pulcherrimus.” Reyna greeted warmly. A smile graced (Y/n)’s lips, their eyes closing once more. “Good morning to you too αστέρι μου” Although Reyna was not fluent in Greek, (Y/n) and Annabeth had taught her more than enough to know the cute pet names (Y/n) called her. “You have your thinking face on… What were you thinking about?” (Y/n) asked rising from their lying position to sit next to Reyna, both their backs being supported by the wall of Cabin 61. Reyna smiled at the person she adored most. “Nothing kind one. Nothing at all.” She replied sweetly.

#reynaavilaramirez-arellano #reyna #femalereaderinsert #malereader #love #affection #mornings #percyjackson #demigod #heracles #camphalfblood #pipermclean #leovaldez #romance #kisses #lime?

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rosesnvines · 7 years

Text

The Empousa

Leo just sat and sketched, letting the designs flow from his head and through his hand onto the paper. He had been up since five just designing whatever came into his head, but he wasn’t tired, and a soft smile played on his lips. He liked being Firebird, it gave him a chance to interact more with the gorgeous Susan Pevensie, the one girl he always claimed was his Muse. How could he not? Hearing her voice, seeing her smile, it just seemed to help the ideas flow much more freely. He couldn’t really explain it, nor did he really want to since he was just glad it was someone as lovely as Susan, but it certainly made for some interesting scenes with the Pevensies, considering her brother Edmund was one of his closest friends. Yeah, they ended up brawling a lot, but that was the whole fun of their little competition to one up each other. They just enjoyed throwing snarky, sassy comments at each other. Sometimes one of the other guys would chime in, though it was usually either Corin or Percy Jackson and when they got started, it usually took both Jason and Peter to stop it. A full-blown impish grin had grown on his face, oh yeah, good times. Not that those times were that far back in the past, but, now that he was a superhero and all, it seemed to be becoming somewhat distant. That, and becoming a superhero had caused Leo to rethink a few things. One of those was his relationship with Susan, and with the way he flirted with just about every girl he met. Could that be the main reason why she didn’t seem to care? Here he was, claiming to love only her, and yet he would openly flirt with the next girl that crossed his path. That realization might have been a long time coming, but it took a mask to help him see it clearly. Maybe it was time to change tactics, and focus only on Susan all the time.

“What ya thinking?” asked the miniature Phoenix as he landed on Leo’s shoulder.

“About growing up and giving my love to only one woman,” replied Leo with a smile.

“What? Already? It’s only been a few days since I turned you into a superhero!” blurted Phoenix.

Leo let out a laugh before replying with, “Yeah, but, thanks to that mask, I can now see what I’ve been doing wrong to Susan. She deserves better than what I’ve been giving her.” He picked up the drawing as he finished speaking, satisfied with the result.

“Whoa, you drew that?” exclaimed Phoenix.

“Oh yeah. Susan’s always been my muse. Whenever I see her, or hear her voice, I . . .” Leo set the piece of paper down on top of the others on the desk and laid his head on his arms.

“Wow, you really like her alot,” Phoenix muttered gently, impressed.

“Yeah, I do, and I haven’t been treating her right. Well, I’m going to change that, I have to, starting today, I’m going to treat her like the queen she is, the queen of my heart.”

“Yay!” cheered Phoenix. At that moment, an alarm blared throughout the cabin. “Oh, it’s already time for everyone to get up and get ready for school.”

Leo stretched, “Yup, I just hope today’s going to be as quiet as the last two days have been, or that the monster doesn’t show up until after I’ve given this to Susan.”

Phoenix chuckled, “Good luck with that, we have no control over when the monsters how up.”

“I know, so I’d better get to work as soon as I can on this.” Voices and footsteps resounded throughout the cabin, everyone heading towards the kitchen. “Sounds like everyone else is up, let’s get you some breakfast.”

“Alright!” Phoenix jumped into Leo’s pocket, and Leo walked out of his room. With the general disorder in the kitchen, Leo could count on getting something for Phoenix without anyone noticing, and this morning was no different. The two quickly ate their meal before Leo dashed back to his room, gathered his things, and set out for school. The school day went on like any other, with Alecto’s boring history class, Dionysus’ much more fun home ec class, Mr. Tumnus’ casual language and literature class, Mr. Tavros’ hysterical arts and crafts class, Mr. Oreius’ much more serious science class, Miss Tulmei’s vibrant math class, and Miss Luflia’s lively music class. But Leo was itching to get to the Hephaestus’ Forge club room and get working on his project. In the meantime, he would glance every now and then at Susan, a soft smile spread across his face. He hoped that she would like it, and really couldn’t wait to give it to her, which got him thinking about hurrying it up and making it.

Finally, the school bell rung, marking the end of the day, and Leo dashed off to the club room. It was the largest club room, complete with a forge and everything. The club itself was comprised mainly of children of Hephaestus, but it was open to all who wanted to be blacksmiths, jewelers, or anything like that. Leo burst through the door, the forge was just about finished heating up, he could tell by the heat, and Charles Beckendorf was just sitting back in his club captain chair and relaxing.

“Oh, hey Leo, you’re . . .”

“Hi Chuck, I need the forge. Thanks!”

“. . . early.” Charles blinked as Leo dashed off towards the back wall, gathering metals, jewels, and tools. He set everything by the forge, took out his drawing, and went to work. He melted, he hammered, he polished, he pushed and pulled, he twisted and turned, until he was satisfied with the result. He wiped his arm across his sweaty forehead before letting out a breath of relief.

“Whew! It’s done! Now, to get it to . . .” Leo turned, and paused, a small crowd had gathered around, watching in rapt surprise.

“Dude! That’s a nice piece!”

“It’s so beautiful! Who’s it for?”

“Where did you come up with that?”

“So pretty!”

“Um . . .”

“So I leave for five minutes, and everyone’s left their station?” Charles’ voice echoed throughout the room. Leo’s little crowd scattered and rushed back to their stations. “Leo, hurry it up with the forge, will you? There’s more than one person waiting in line. Oh, and nice necklace.” Leo grinned as Charles winked before cleaning up his mess, grabbing his backpack, and rushing out the door.

“I’m done now, thanks!” he blurted before he slammed the door shut behind him. He dashed down the halls in search of Susan. Eventually, he found Edmund and Lucy all decked out in suits for their monthly televised talks with Chiron, Jesse Aarons, and the Archenland twins. “Hi Ed, hey Lu, um, where’s Susan?”

“She should be on her way back from the cabin with Peter. Why?” asked Edmund.

“Oh, um, I, uh, wanted to give her this.” He showed them the necklace.

“Why Leo, it’s exquisite! She’ll adore it!” exclaimed Lucy, her eyes sparkling.

“Wow, great job, man! You really outdid yourself this time!” exclaimed Edmund as he patted Leo on his back.

“Thanks! Now, I’ve just got to give it to her.”

“You know, if you hurry, you could still catch them before they get here and give it her then. We’ve still got a few minutes to spare,” said Edmund with a grin and a wink.

“Great! I’ll do that! I won’t keep them for long!” Leo shouted as he began to run away.

“You’d better not, it only starts in a few minutes!” Edmund shouted back as Leo disappeared down the hall. Leo laughed right before he turned the corner and bolted for the front entrance of the school. When he didn’t meet them at the halfway point between their cabin and the school, Leo kept on going, thinking that Susan was putting on some final touches to her make-up or something. He grinned, well, here was another thing to add to those last-minute touch-ups. As he got closer, a sudden dread seemed to creep over him. He knew that feeling, and it urged him on even faster. He almost stopped in his tracks when he caught sight of the cabin, the door was ajar, and he knew the Pevensies never left their front door open. Instead, he put on a burst of a speed, reaching the door in a couple of seconds. He entered a messy scene, curtains were torn, tables and chairs were overturned, a couple of Susan’s potted plants had exploded on the ground, and there were quite a few claw marks. Whoever attacked them soon realized that these were not easy prey.

“Susan! Peter! Are you here? Are you alright? Susan! Peter! ” he called out frantically. A low moan answered him from behind the table. “Pete! Are you alright?” asked Leo as he pulled debris off the eldest Pevensie.

“Susan . . . must get . . . Susan . . .” he mumbled. He tried to rise, but would have fallen over if Leo hadn’t caught him.

“Hey man, you’re not doing so hot yourself. Where is she? I’ll go get her.”

“Another . . . monster . . . empousa? Female vampire,” slurred Peter as he showed the bite marks on his neck. “She took . . . her.” Rage filled Leo like a roaring furnace, but he had to calm himself down or else he’d burn down the cabin.

“Ugh! Come on, I can’t leave you here like this. The faster we get to the nurse’s office, the faster I can go after Susan, alright?” Peter nodded sluggishly, and let Leo lead him out of the cabin and back to the school. Surprisingly, the two made good time, and Leo knew it, as he counted the seconds as they walked. “Help! I need a doctor, a nurse, child of Apollo, anybody!” called out Leo as they entered the nurse’s office. Will Solace stepped out from behind one of the curtains, his face pale from some kind of shock, and it got paler upon seeing the two of them. “Well, you going to help your king or not?” snapped Leo as he brought Peter closer. He really didn’t have time for this, Susan was still missing! In reply, Will only pulled back the curtain to reveal a TV, and Leo’s knees just about gave under him. On the TV screen was the room where the Pevensies were supposed to meet with Chiron, Jesse Aarons, and the Archenland twins, but the roof had caved in and a pile of debris was stacked in front of the door. Sitting on the chair was a bound and gagged Susan while an ugly monster that Leo quickly recognized as one of the female vampires, the creature known as Empousa, was glaring into the camera.

“If your so-called superheroes do not meet my demands, I will give your pretty queen to the pirate Chrysaor. I’ll repeat it one last time for you puny, forgetful mortals, your superheroes must give themselves up to me in exchange for the pretty queen and reveal their true identities. I shall be waiting where the river meets the sea. You have until the sun sets.”

Leo didn’t wait to hear more. He practically pushed Peter into Will, shouted, “Take care of him!” and was out the door, booking it to the anchor room. By the time he got there, Edmund was leading an attempt break down the door, but wasn’t having any luck. “Let me try!” shouted Leo, his hands bursting into flame. Edmund nodded and made everyone back up.

“What took you so long?” called out Edmund so Leo could hear him over the sizzling door.

“I was getting Peter to the nurse’s office!” Leo shouted his reply, his hands melting through every obstacle. But when they finally got through, the Empousa and Susan were already gone. Leo simply turned and rushed out the door, he had to turn into Firebird, now.

“Leo! Where are you going?” shouted Lucy. At that moment, the shadows parted and Ghost Hound stepped into the hall.

“I caught the tail end of the announcements. Where did the monster take Queen Susan?”

“Where the river meets the sea,” growled Leo. “And we have until sunset.”

“We?” asked Ghost Hound, his eyebrow raised in confusion.

“I promised to save her!”

“No, leave this to us superheroes, we’re the ones she wants anyway. If you see Lioness and Firebird, relay this message to them, please. I’ll meet them by the ruins of Cair Paravel . . .”

“They’re not ruins anymore,” blurted Lucy.

“OK, fine, just tell them to meet me at Cair Paravel, we don’t have much time.”

“No kidding,” scoffed Leo. Ghost Hound glanced at Leo as he backed up slowly.

“You’re right, this is no joking matter, hence why I expect you fully cooperate with me to get our queen back.”

“Our queen?” asked Lucy. Ghost Hound merely glanced at her before stepping back into the shadows and disappeared from view. Leo took that as a cue, and bolted down the halls to get outside. As soon as he hide behind the first spot he could find, Phoenix came out of his jacket pocket.

“Alright Phoenix, power up!” Phoenix flew into the belt and Leo was changed into his Firebird suit. He took off to the sky, grateful that he could fly. He soared over the river, following it to where it met the sea, and Cair Paravel. He swooped into Cair Paravel, finding Ghost Hound fairly easily, hiding in the biggest shadow.

“Good, you’re here. Lioness will, unfortunately take the longest.”

“Why don’t you use the shadows to go find her and bring her here?” asked Leo, a bit of annoyance in his voice.

“And leave you alone to do something stupid?”

“What are you so worried about?” spat Leo.

“That you could do something to jeopardize this mission and put Queen Susan in even greater risk than she is now. I know you like her a lot, but don’t let your anger cause you to do something that could lead to her death.” Leo clamped his mouth shut, had Ghost Hound figured out who he was? Maybe Hades was right in not having them reveal their secret identities to each other just yet. And if Ghost Hound could figure it out, who else could?

“I see. I won’t do anything until you return, I promise.”

“How can I trust you?”

“I promise on Susan’s life, and my mother’s grave, that I will not leave Cair Paravel until you return.” Ghost Hound’s eyes seemed to widen at that statement, but he regained his composure, nodded, and disappeared into the shadows, again. True to his word, though his heart ached, Leo only observed the encampment on the other side of the river. For the most part, the Empousa merely paced back and forth, and was probably spilling every kind of scenario she could think of to destroy the superheroes to Susan. Leo really did wish he could march over there, beat up the Empousa and fly off with Susan into the sunset, but he gave his word, on her life. He just wished that Ghost Hound and Lioness would hurry it up. Sure, they still had two hours before sunset, but Leo wanted them to hurry simply because he wasn’t sure how much longer he could stand watching the Empousa brag about how she was going to win anyway or leaving Susan in her grasp. Though it felt like forever since Ghost Hound left, it was really only a few minutes when he returned with Lioness. Leo let out a soft squeak. “You’re back!” he whispered.

“Well, yeah, it wasn’t too long.”

“Really? Felt like ages ago.”

“If it was, you’d have started attacking Empousa because the sun was setting,” Ghost Hound quipped drily. Leo grinned sheepishly.

“So, what are we going to do?” asked Lioness. Ghost Hound led them to a spot where they could just make out Empousa and Susan without giving themselves away.

“Someone’s going to have to go in as bait,” began Ghost Hound.

“Wait, what?” asked Leo.

“Listen, this is a completely different set-up than our first two, alright? The Empousa is cunning and maybe something of a strategist, more so than either the Hydra or the minotaur, both of which just attacked without thinking. This one, she’s got a plan, and we don’t quite know it yet.”

“I don’t think she does either,” mumbled Leo. Ghost Hound glanced at him questioningly. “She’s been going on and on about what she’s going to do when we give ourselves up.”

“She thinks we’re going to give up without a fight?” asked Lioness incredulously. Ghost Hound began to smirk, and Leo shivered.

“So, hubris is our ally today,” muttered Ghost Hound. “Listen, I’ll go in as the decoy . . .”

“What? No! We need you to turn her into a stone,” hissed Lioness. “I’ll do it.”

“But I need you to come in on Susan’s side in order to protect her!” blurted Ghost Hound. Leo sighed, had they forgotten already? “And Firebird can shoot flames at her from behind, it’s not like I have to reveal myself.” Ghost Hound glanced at Leo. “That is, if you don’t make it up there in time.”

“Uh, I will, but, um, why not let me go as decoy?”

“Didn’t you just hear me? You can fly and shoot flames. Lioness can get around to Susan and protect her from them.”

“What about you?”

“I can shadow away, or get behind Lioness’ shield. Either way, you’ll get the first attack on her.” Leo began to grin as he realized what Ghost Hound’s plan really meant.

“Sounds like a deal to me.”

“Good. I’ll shadow Lioness to the other side while you fly low and get behind Empousa. Don’t attack until I’ve said, ‘OK, if you insist’. Alright?”

“Right,” chorused Leo and Lioness.

“Good, let’s go.” Ghost Hound grabbed Lioness’ hand and the two shadowed away. Leo waited a second to make sure Empousa’s back was turned before he flew towards the beachfront. Keeping as low as possible, he turned and made his way towards where Empousa was waiting. So far, his approach went unnoticed, but he didn’t let out a breath of relief until he was situated behind the largest rock closest to Empousa’s camp. A loud snap startled all three as their eyes went towards the treeline. Ghost Hound walked out from beneath the trees.

“Ah, so you’ve made it, good. Took you long enough. Where are the other two?”

“That’s why I was late, I was searching for them. They might not know what’s happened yet. But I did leave word that if anyone were to see them, that they are relayed the news.”

“I see,” the Empousa replied in a soft hiss. “Well, since you are here, and you’re the most important of the three, I guess this will do. Take off your mask.”

“Why? I’m here, I’m giving myself up. Isn’t that enough?”

“Oh no, you’re the smartest of the three, that I know.”

“We’ve only faced two monsters, how could you know that?” Empousa clamped her mouth shut. “So, does Gaia actually know who we are?” asked Ghost Hound, his voice becoming low and deadly as he took a couple of steps forward.

“Not another step, or, or I’ll kill your queen!” Ghost Hound did pause, though Leo knew it had nothing to do with the threat. It was a pretty weak threat, Empousa was further away from Susan than Ghost Hound was, if he really wanted to, Ghost Hound could just simply grab Susan and shadow her to safety. But he was certainly right, hubris was an unlooked for, yet very welcome ally. “Alright, I’m the one in charge here, superhero, so you’re going to do as I say! Take a seat next to your queen!” Leo couldn’t see him very well, but he knew Ghost Hound was raising his eyebrow in surprised pleasure, this was going a little better than planned.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, just, sit!”

Ghost Hound did as he was told, but, he had to ask, “But I thought you wanted to reveal myself. With the way you’re talking, it sounds like you already know who I am.”

“No, we don’t, at least, I don’t. Maybe Gaia does know, but, she hasn’t said a word. But we do know that you’re the smartest, the Nemean Lion is the strongest, even though he should have been on our side, and that the Phoenix is the fastest.”

“You do know that it’s a girl who’s working with the Nemean Lion, and we call her Lioness? I’m Ghost Hound, and the fellow working with the Phoenix is Firebird.”

“Oh, shut up and take off your mask!” shrieked the Empousa.

“Are you sure . . .”

“Just do it, or I’ll kill her!”

“Say what?” said Ghost Hound in a very low, very dangerous voice. The Empousa involuntarily stepped back a bit. That’s when Leo noticed Lioness behind one of the trees, she was ready to jump in front of Ghost Hound and Susan.

“J-just, just do it!”

“OK, if you insist,” replied Ghost Hound with a shrug. But he made no move to take off his mask, because at that moment, Leo was flying towards the Empousa, his hands yielding flames, and Lioness bounded from behind the trees and planted herself in front of Ghost Hound and Susan. “Now!” shouted Ghost Hound. Lioness put up her shield, and Leo let loose the flames. The Empousa shrieked as the flames licked around her.

“You cheaters!” she shrieked as she battled the flames.

“Firebird, again!” called out Ghost Hound. Leo sent the flames at his adversary yet again. “Lioness, the stone is in her right arm!”

“Right!” Lioness’ claws gleamed in the fading sunlight as she charged and slashed at the Empousa’s right arm. The armour fell off in pieces, and Ghost Hound attacked, bringing his scythes down hard. The Empousa screamed as the stone activated and began sucking in her essence.

“We’re not finished! You may have won this battle, but Gaia has an army! She will destroy you all! And that other one will rule Narnia!” The next thing they knew a bloodstone was sitting at their feet, but their faces were pale.

“So . . . that one she’s referring to . . .” began Lioness.

“Is the White Witch,” growled Ghost Hound.

“Gaia did bring her back,” muttered Leo as he went to Susan and freed her.

“Of course, the two made a deal, neither like mortals, so this works for the both of them,” stated Susan. Ghost Hound reached down and picked up the bloodstone, putting it in his pocket.

“Can you make sure she gets back safely, Firebird?” he asked.

Leo grinned, “With pleasure.” He turned to Susan and gave her a bow. “Your majesty, if I may.”

“Well, I guess so, but first.” She hugged Lioness and planted a kiss on Ghost Hound’s cheek before planting a kiss on Leo’s cheek. “Thank you all for saving me.”

“Hey, we’re superheroes, it’s what we do,” replied Leo with a grin. He picked up Susan and held her close. “Hold on tight,” he told her with a wink. He glanced at Lioness, “Hey, need a ride?”

“Well, actually, I was wondering if Ghost Hound could give me a ride before he goes to Hades. I’d like to get back quickly.”

“Of course,” replied Ghost Hound, the two stepping into the shadows. Leo flew off through the sky, a huge grin across his face, he was flying into the sunset with Susan, as he had hoped to. The two chatted a bit during the trip, but it was over far too soon, at least for Leo it was. He landed at the front of the school, where everyone had gathered. Peter was looking much better now, but he was still leaning on Edmund.

“Susan!” called out Lucy as she rushed in to hug her sister. Then the rest of the crowd rushed in to make sure their queen was alright. Peter and Edmund approached Leo, Peter extending his hand.

“Thank you so much for looking after her.”

“No problem, but it was a team effort,” replied Leo as he shook Peter’s hand. “Well, if you’re no longer in need of my services, I’ll be off, I’m tired.”

Peter let out a laugh, “Of course, you’ve deserved it.”

“Thanks, see you around, your majesties.” He shot them a grin and a wink before flying off to a safe spot to detransform. He waited a few minutes before rushing out to join the crowd. “Susan, you’re alright!” He wrapped her up in a hug.

“Leo! Where have you been man? I’ve been looking all over for you!” berated Edmund.

“Just wanted to see if the superheroes needed my help, guess they didn’t need it after all.”

“You were going to help save me? Oh Leo,” stated Susan as she gave Leo a big kiss on the lips. Leo couldn’t help it, though he was blushing as red as a tomato, he was grinning like a Calchester squirrel.

“Oh, right, um, I was going to give this to you,” said Leo as he pulled out the necklace.

“Oh Leo, it’s beautiful!” she gasped as she fingered the golden sun set with jeweled flowers. “Can you put it on?”

“Of course!” Leo quickly obliged, the golden necklace a welcome addition to Susan’ already graceful beauty.

“It looks good on you Susan!” exclaimed Lucy.

“Of course it does, Leo knows me way too well,” replied Susan with a beam at Leo.

“Well, now that we have our queen back, I can announce that we will postpone the meeting until next week, along with all school activities. Until we can get our school fixed up,” announced Chiron. Cheers went up all around, no school for a whole week! Maybe having monsters around wasn’t half bad. “And now that the excitement is all over, I expect everyone to their cabins! We’ll figure out something else for you to do with your time.” Everyone else groaned. Leo merely chuckled, he didn’t mind, as long as he could turn each outing into a date with Susan, he’d be happier than a satyr in spring.

#Guardians of Narnia #narniaweek2017 #narnia #heroes of olympus #supernarnians

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jflashandclash · 7 years

Text

Blood of a Mayan

Twenty-Seven: Ajax

Learning Nothing in Life is Free… Except Free Vouchers

There is no good way to apologize for death threats. Sure, you could send someone flowers and a note that said I’m sorry I threatened to kill you. Dinners on me, but that didn’t feel sincere. Pax could tell that’s exactly what Axel was thinking each time he glanced at Kally. Well, except without the dinner on me part, since that would be too much like a date and would be weird for all parties.

Once Axel gained full control of himself, he looked like he needed a two year vacation to Disneyworld. His eyes looked solemn and exhausted. His face was pale and sweaty. When he stood up, his legs wobbled.

Despite his danger status being at level newborn, Kally gave him a wide berth when she went to heal Leo Valdez. Pax figured it might be awhile before the two could partake in group hugs.

“What was your sister talking about?” Kally asked while kneeling beside the son of Hephaestus. She wouldn’t make eye contact with either of them, but took one of Leo’s hands into her lap. As she sang to heal his wrists, her voice quivered.

“I don’t know, but it sounded pretty end-of-the-worldy,” Pax said. He tried to think of something else to say to her that might explain away some of their actions or maybe something cheery like, “Good thing you have nightmares about Python every night so you don’t need to worry about Axel and I showing up.” That didn’t really feel appropriate.

Red Alert: The Silver Tongued Snake has run out of words.

Axel’s eyes drifted until they fixated on Pax. Had this not been Axel, a being that was—as far as Pax was concerned—a gift from the gods of Awesome and Wow, Pax would have said Axel looked scared and confused.

“We need to get all of you back to Camp Half-Blood,” he Axel. He staggered over to the work bench with the brightly colored beach towel. He grabbed it and walked to Backbiter. The blade still lay on the ground, glistening sinisterly in the moonlight and torchlight.

Both Kally and Pax flinched when Axel wrapped up the blade.

“You’re not seriously going to keep that sword are you? I mean, you go all ‘Here’s Johnny!’ when you touch the metal,” Pax said.

Axel frowned.

That was the worst Pax had ever seen Axel struggle with the Leonis Caput. Considering Axel had even been wearing a silver onesie and still looked terrifying, that meant this was pretty serious. That was the real monstrosity there: adult onesies.

“Help me get everyone back into the van,” Axel said.

By “help me get everyone back into the van,” Axel had really meant, “Watch me pass out in the back and do all the work for me.” After Axel collapsed halfway into the van and Pax dragged him the rest of the way inside. Pax took Hunnie out of his pocket and gently placed her on Axel’s face. Within moments, Baller hopped into the back and rushed to investigate the beach towel at Axel’s side. Experimentally, Baller bit at the material.

Pax hoped that the sword wouldn’t call some inner demon out of Baller. He really didn’t want to fight a ten foot long weasel wielding a sword and demanding beef jerky.

The next half hour was a little awkward. While Kally fixed up Leo, Pax raided the shack for leftover stew and to-go boxes. Pax even paid for the stew and wished he could write up a little citation notice for Leo about violating California Code SB-1221 from Officer Doofus. Leo wouldn’t remember who that was, but that might make it even better. Unfortunately, he figured Kally wouldn’t be in the mood to transcribe for him.

Pax swiped a few of those vouchers his mom had mentioned off the counter and walked outside to meet Kally.

She’d finished fixing up Leo and managed to drag him onto the work table beside Calypso. While Pax was inside pillaging, she must have gathered her messenger bag. Pax frowned when she saw her hand defensively on her Argonaut statue.

“I stole each of us free vouchers for Reese’s Sundays,” Pax informed her, holding up the slips of paper. “Located at Moma’s Sweets only a ten minute drive without donkey power.”

“Free vouchers are meant to be taken,” Kally said.

“Oh, well, I legally acquired them,” he said with a devilish grin. That somehow sounded more sinister and Pax would have normally been proud of it.

She didn’t crack a smile. Those green eyes were soul crushing. She tried to stand up tall and look authoritative, though Pax could see she was still shaken. “When we get back to Camp Half-Blood, you’re telling Chiron everything.”

That sounded about as smart as skydiving with a trash bag. Pax opened his mouth to protest.

Kally continued, gulping, “If you don’t, I—I will.”

That was like skydiving with one of those complimentary, airplane throw-up bags, prefilled for grossness. “Uh, eternal torment. Orkus—” Pax reminded her. His heart thumped in his ears. The little stunt with the River Styx might be back firing.

“I don’t care. What happened to Axel back there wasn’t good for him and he’s not fit to… do whatever with your dad. Obviously you really want to stop your dad, but—but maybe we should leave it to the real heroes. Maybe, if we tell Chiron, Jason Grace or Percy Jackson can do it.”

The real heroes.

Ow, my tiny bit of pride. Getting hit in the pride and the righteousness all in one day? Pax was waiting for someone to finish him off, to tell him he wasn’t cuter than a baby panda, and send him to tears. Though by nature of how pathetic and adorable he would look while crying, he might be able to disprove their claim.

A part of him screamed that Jason and Percy weren’t any better than he or Axel. He, Axel, and Alabaster had been training to and probably could have taken them out, but that tidbit of information might not help defend his case.

The rest of him realized she was right. Relief flooded over him when he thought about someone else—some real heroes—arresting their dad. Axel had always said it was a family matter, but Pax didn’t care. If Piper, or Jason, or Annabeth were on the line against the Pax family, it would mean Axel was safe, hiding with him. They wouldn’t need the stupid Golden Net or Backbiter.

“We could hold a game show to find out which hero gets the quest and a complimentary shirt—” As he spoke, he could see the rims around her eyes getting red. Yea, he couldn’t handle it if she started crying, because he would definitely start to cry too and then Ares would show up and beat them both up for being wimps and take their lunch money, or at least rob Leo’s shop since that’s where all of Pax’s lunch money had gone.

“Sorry,” he cut himself off. No jokes. No jokes, he chanted in his head to keep focused. He puffed up his cheeks and popped them. He wanted to make everything right. This might have been the best way. “I’ll tell Chiron everything. I… I swear on the—”

“Stop.” She held up a hand and took a step closer to him, eyes wide. “I—I don’t want anyone to have a River Styx curse. And I want to know that you’re going to do it because you’re going to do it, not because you’re afraid of eternal pain or whatever.”

Pax puffed up his cheeks and popped them. He realized he’d messed up a good thing with Kally, but he didn’t realize how good a thing it could have been until that response. She really was a fantastic person. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he and Axel didn’t deserve good people. “Can I quote you on a motivational poster?” he asked.

Something about the way he looked at her must have cued Kally in to the type of adoration he was feeling. She blushed, then scowled. “Shut up, I’m still mad at you.”

“Cyclopes got fangs,” he teased. Upon seeing the way she gripped her Argonaut statue, he held his hands up. “Sorry—I’m sorry. You have every right to be mad.” Don’t joke. Don’t make a joke. Keep it together man!

She sighed and motioned towards the van. “This is why I didn’t agree to date you.”

Pax glanced around at the general, torched vicinity. “Uh, because you knew I’d assist in an amazing party then bring about the reforging of a talking sword that belonged to the Grinch Who Stole Olympus? Er, tried to?” He walked alongside her, towards their friends. Pax almost reflexively grabbed her hands, but realized that would probably incite a good lesson in karma, taught with fists.

“Because I can’t trust you,” she said. Kally didn’t make eye contact, but Pax could tell it wasn’t just because she was upset. Her gaze was distant. “The forge ambushed in the lion’s maw. Not to flame or plea will force withdraw,” she quoted.

Pax winced. Couldn’t Rachel have told Kally, “That Axel dude is going to attack Leo. Attacking back or begging him to stop won’t do anything, so prepare a good pep talk.”

Kally frowned and continued. “I think Joey’s quest is one of the dominos Rachel was talking about. Things are about to get serious.”

When they got out to the van, Euna was awake and raiding the to-go boxes. As she munched and they approached, she gave them an absent wave. She didn’t seem the slightest bit concerned that everyone was fast asleep around her.

If Pax wasn’t absolutely sure she would kick the snot out of him for it later, he’d prop a box up with a stick, put a cheeseburger under there, and see if Euna would get boxed. But, knowing Flower Girl’s power, she’d probably bring the box and stick to life and they would go Groot on him. Recycling at its most violent.

Several of the satyrs and nymphs were yawning and sitting up. Calex was up and stretching as well.

Pax wondered if everyone had happy dreams of rainbows, sunshine, and rodents. Morpheus Dust was supposed to grant happy dreams from what he remembered. From the way Calex looked relaxed and not sad over his mom and brother, he guessed Calex had a nice dream about cleaning Hazel Levesque and Frank Zhang’s house for them, then fetching coffee for Percy and Annabeth afterwards.

“Hey Calex, Euna, can you help us get everyone in the van?” Kally asked. “We need to get to Chiron as fast as possible.”

Kally might as well have sprinted up to Calex, socked him in the stomach, and shouted, “I grew a backbone Scrum Lord! And your football team sucks!”

He gave her a perplexed glance, looked back and forth between Pax and Kally, then glared at Pax. “What happened?” he slowly asked. “This perv upset you?”

Kally frowned.

Pax figured now was a fantastic time to tell the truth. “My pop is ascending tomorrow morning. No time to get a signature from Leo. I already wrote him a note.” Just not the whole truth. That would come later. He really hoped no one remembered he was illiterate, since his note was a metaphorical one in the form of coins.

“Ascending?” Euna repeated. She set her to-go box down. Pax could envision her movie trailer now: When Euna sets food aside: Stuff. Gets. SERIOUS.

Kally nodded. She joined Calex in his glare at Pax. “When we get to Chiron, Pax will explain everything—” He gave her his best charming grin of I’m a sleazebag and I’ve accepted that as a friendly term. “—but the sooner we get there, the better. Do you think we have enough time to drive back and get Percy or Annabeth out here? Or, uh, should we Iris Message?” Kally seemed to realize she was being a proper domineering heroine and tapered off to return to sidekick status.

At hearing the plan, Pax wanted to hug Kally. If it was mandated by Camp Half-Blood, they could trap Axel at Camp Half-Blood to prevent him from interfering and force him to play games, like volleyball and sneak-past-Argus. No one had beaten that game yet, but he was going to prove to the Stoll brothers that it could be done.

“We’re not going?” Euna asked. She sounded incredibly relieved.

Calex looked surprised. “Won’t your bother be—where’s Axel?”

Again, Calex always sounded so suspicious of Pax. Although the reaction proved some intelligence on Calex’s part, Pax had to feign an indignant huff—an excellent mimic of Joey’s—to pretend Calex was still ridiculous.

“Unconscious,” Pax assured. Knowing that should be enough explanation, he cheerfully stepped towards the van.

He could still hear the others as Kally and Calex walked over to Merry’s sleeping bag. “Just let me know if this dodgy prick bothers you and he’ll be in love with a Reese’s Stick right quick.” The Son of Eros tapped the pencil pouch sticking out of his jean’s pocket.

“I’d never be able to eat it!” Pax cried, terrified of the thought.

From the grin Calex gave him, that was the full intention.

“You monster,” Pax grumbled.

Kally blushed and broke eye contact with Calex. “Thank you Calex, but I’ve been able to take care of myself.”

Judging from the dull pain in his stomach from where Kally’s elbow had a romantic rendezvous with his gut, he had to agree. From both times Pax had upset her to violence… had it really been two times? Should Pax have an intervention with Kally about her friendship choices? He never would, as he’d have to recommend Kally to stay away from him, but the sentiment was there.

He expected her to be glaring at him warily, but she was staring at the van. He winced. Ajax Pax wasn’t the Pax she was afraid of.

“That offer never expires,” Calex assured her. He knelt down beside Merry, who was curled up on her side. “Will she go mental if I wake her?” He glanced to where Euna had woken up Joey. Joey didn’t seem nearly as pow! and bam! as her sister. Pax imagined that Joey only got like that when she realized they didn’t have any showers or mirrors.

Kally shook her head and covered up a laugh with her hand. It was good to see her smile, especially at the potential misery of Calex. “No, she just complains a lot in the morning.”

“Mmm, sweetie Kal, you don’t know this pain,” Merry whined from her sleeping bag. She stretched, rolled over, and stretched on the other side, reminding Pax of a slow motion weasel. “Give me five minutes of stretching and seven Tylenol. Then I’ll be ready to face the pain in my back. And that massage that Calex owes me for dragging him away from that model mania.” She peered up at him slyly from her lazy sprawl.

“How about I carry you to the van?” Calex offered instead.

“Oh honey, you won’t—” Merry yelped when Calex picked her up, bridal style. As though she feared he’d get a bad case of bodacious butterfingers, Merry clung to him. When he didn’t drop her, but continued towards the van with little more than a quick neck crack, she said, “You can carry me? But I weigh like, three Paxes!”

“Hey!” Pax resented that. “I am a tiny ball of muscle!”

Merry ignored him. Her voice carried over Calex’s shoulder as they went to join the Song sisters in the van. “Calex, we should be asexual life partners. You’re a useful sweet teddy.”

From inside, Pax could hear Joey say, “Asexual? Wouldn’t your dad have to disown you for that?”

As their Scooby Team assembled, Pax bowed slightly to Kally. “Cyclopes,” he said.

She looked at the ground and walked to the passenger door.

Pax puffed up his cheeks, popped them, and walked to the driver’s side. For Christmas, he’d have to buy Kally a coupon book full of Free Punch Pax Day and Fill in the Blank for What Stupid Thing You Want Pax to Say to ___ Hero that Can Kick His Sorry Butt.

Pax decided—if they got pulled over for speeding, he was going to hand Calex over as a sacrifice to the American judicial system.

Axel was still passed out in the back with the Phobetor sleeping bag carefully tucked over his head. His Mist mask always fell away when he slept, so he and Pax had a careful system of assuring he was properly cocooned.[1] Calex freaked out as soon as he went near Axel. Pax wanted to assure that yes—Axel would emerge a beautiful butterfly, but he suspected that wasn’t Calex’s problem.

“What’s in the towel?” Calex demanded. “That’s it, isn’t it? One of the things screaming malice back here?”

The towel containing Backbiter was tucked tightly beside the fluffy sleeping bundle of Axel, completely unseen to the average eye.

“Calex, you suck,” Pax grumbled as he sat in the driver’s seat. He was frustrated to find the seatbelt still broken from the dart-jamming incident earlier. “First you understand Axel and I when we’re trying to have a familial conversation, then you can tell Kally and I had a spat, and now you get feelings off our evil sword. You don’t have X-ray vision too, do you? Because I’ll be quite disappointed if you ruin the surprise of which boxers I wear on special occasions.”

They had a brief argument over what to do with the sword, not once mentioning the importance of his boxers. At first, Pax was disgusted to agree with Calex about leaving it behind, but Kally pointed out that Chiron would know how to get rid of the blade properly. Joey and Euna were confused, though Euna busied herself assuring everyone was settled on the couches so they could drive. Merry remained quiet, listening, and didn’t interject until they decided to bring the sword to Camp Half-Blood.

“So, Pax,” she said as he pulled out of the parking lot. “I assume you’re going to explain why all of us adults needed a nap time at one of my parties when we talk to Chiron? No one ever yawns at one of my parties.” Her brown eyes flashed.

Maybe they should plan to have a dunking booth. Everyone would get a turn for each thing he’d screwed up so… he’d probably be better off with having Percy drown him. “Yep!” Pax puffed up his cheeks and popped them. “Come one! Come all! The Pax secrets divulged! Except my night cream routine. Joey might steal that.”

He glanced in the mirror at her. Joey rolled her eyes at him, butshe was too deep into a to-go box for a real response.

Pax entered the coordinates off his ice cream voucher into the GPS, but didn’t engage Luke’s system. He didn’t want the donkey to tug him. Pax wanted to tear down the highway on his own to get his mind off the conversation he’d have when Axel woke up. “Axel, this is an intervention. We took your sword away and gave you an ice pop.”

Only slightly better than the convo with Chiron. Pax wanted to make sure Kally didn’t have any secrets that needed keeping. But… would Chiron accept the argument that they weren’t going to do any more evil seeming things and that it must be the start of their redemption arc?

Pax corralled the conversation towards Joey’s cheerful Winter Break plans: Greek Hell. That’s not what it actually was, but Pax liked to make it sound as horrible as possible to get everyone’s mind on a safer topic.

Ideas were pumping through the back about Joey’s quest from Hera, like how to get to Hades and how to get help from Persephone. Pax tried to contribute. He suggested they tell the Ares Cabin that the Athena Cabin said they could dig a bigger hole using their brains than their brawn, and vice versa for the other cabin, and then sit back and wait.

Kally stayed quiet. She would stare out the window at the shadows of trees and the distant, polluted glow of the town of Berkeley Hills. Then she’d jump and glance back to where Axel and the sword laid dormant. Axel never moved; he only ever slept like this when he had two nighters or when Pax darted him. Pax wanted to tease, “naww, look at him and his widdle sword.” He wanted to say a lot of things, to ramble until Kally forgot what happened and felt better, but he was getting this strange inkling that maayyyybe that wasn’t the best way to solve this.

They were leaving the park’s forest when the sign for Moma’s Sweets caught his headlights. Pax couldn’t actually read the writing, but he recognized the double scoop logo from the vouchers. Pax pulled off the side of the road into the far side of the parking lot, away from the other occupants and closer to the trees—in case Leo Valdez magically got his memory back, woke up, and was searching their van out on the road.

There was a small, single room shop just off what Kally had called out as Grizzly Peak Boulevard, which—Pax was surprised—still had its lights on. The shop was painted red, with yellow shutters, very hipster friendly. Pax knew they were near a college town and wondered if he was about to run into exactly the kind of child-adults that Michael Kahale was worried would test out fireworks during flame season.

“We’re stopping for ice cream?” Joey asked skeptically from the back. “Isn’t your dad like, ascending tomorrow? What happened to hurrying to Chiron?”

“Ice cream is clearly more important,” Pax said. He put the emergency brake down when he parked, as if Luke couldn’t tear right through that. The driver’s seat belt was in ribbons from Axel cutting at it—totally worth pranking Leo—but they’d need to get that fixed. Although Pax tended to enjoy a good bout with danger, one with the windshield was something he’d rather save for a few hundred years.

“Besides,” he continued as he hopped out of the van. “I’ve always wanted to know if I could balance or juggle seven sundaes on my own. I’ll be back.”

Before anyone could offer to come with, he jammed his hands into his pockets and stalked towards the shop. In reality, he didn’t know what kind of exchange the vouchers demanded, and he was sure he was going to end up exhausting his mortal money supply on guilt desserts for the group. And maybe he could ask the cashier how you apologized to your friends for drugging all of them and lying for months. Pleasant evening chatter.

There were only two other cars on the other side of the parking lot: a white ice cream truck and a pickup truck that looked like an extra from Mad Max. Pax found it strange that not many people would want ice cream at midnight in November, but he figured others didn’t have as good of taste.

Pax was fumbling with the vouchers while he shoved the door opened and took a step inside. He almost ran into a guest. He was about to bow grandly and apologize to the sir or lady or other when he heard the familiar click of someone cocking the hammer on a revolver.

“Hello Ajax,” a male voice cooed.

If Pax had ingested a pound of cockroaches and they all made a dash up his esophagus at the same time, he imagined this was about how it would feel. He was going to need a lot more than some sundaes to make up for this mistake. Though he couldn’t figure out what before something metal cracked across his jaw, knocking him backwards.

Thanks for reading! :D

[1] So, I definitely cocoon when I sleep. (Mel will verify this and has conducted several studies on the process.) Is this normal? Do you guys do this? (Also, Mel—upon reading this footnote—denied that she conducted studies. She said she happened to watch my sleeping process because we roomed together for a bit XD)

#Traitors of Olympus #Blood of a Mayan #Percy Jackson and the Olympians #Heroes of Olympus #auuuughhg too lazy to do this properly ><

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supernarnians · 7 years

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