Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Rick Riordan. Except the plot. *Sigh*
Sighing, Annabeth sat down on her bunk. Since everyone was at dinner, her cabin was empty, which she was glad for; at the moment, she needed the space.
It'd been more than five months since Percy had gone missing. Every day, her first thoughts were of her boyfriend. His smile, his eyes, his hand in hers, all haunting her, the hopelessness hanging over Annabeth like a dark cloud. It seemed to fill the air with despair, so much so that she could easily darken a room just by steeping through the door.
She still continued to search, hoping beyond hope that Percy would return to her, safe and sound, and everything could go back to the demigod standard of normal. But the five and a half months had been wearing on Annabeth, and though she knew she had to keep going, and searching, and fighting, it was, undeniably, tiring her. From conducting countless Iris messages during the day, to lying awake in bed at night due to stress, and all the time in between spent at the apartment with Sally, there was barely any time for her to simply focus on herself, and replenish her energy.
Lying back on the bunk, Annabeth considered letting herself pass out from exhaustion, so that maybe she could get some sleep.
Suddenly, a strange scratching noise came from outside, against the wall of the Athena cabin. It was quiet enough, probably made by a creature no bigger than a house cat. Sitting bolt upright, Annabeth grabbed the nearest weapon, and slowly crept out the door; demigods were no strangers to monsters, no matter what size said monsters might come in. Anything could be dangerous, no matter how innocent it may seem at first. Plus, with the magical woods so close by, no one really knew what could creep out of them and come after you in the night.
Circling to the back of the cabin, a small, black form became visible to Annabeth, it's tiny paws scratching at the wall, prancing back and forth unhappily. Its small, perky ears flopped back and forth with the anxious movements.
Annabeth lowered the dagger clutched in her hand. A… puppy? As she pondered the small canine, it suddenly stopped, and looked at her.
Fluffy black tail wagging, pink tongue lolling out of it's mouth, the puppy bounded towards her joyfully, yapping and jumping up on her, though it only succeeded in reaching her mid-thigh.
Stumbling back in surprise, Annabeth gasped as the excited pup practically jumped into her arms, licking every inch of her face. She concluded that this had to be a normal dog. No monster could master the Mist this well. Besides, there was something familiar about this animal that she just couldn't put her finger on. Yet.
Its dark coat was soft to the touch, fairly thick and warm. But it's eyes made Annabeth freeze on the spot. They were sea green.
The dog tumbled back, giving her the classic 'play bow' position dogs take when they're having fun, barking an invitation for play.
"What are we going to do with you?" she muses.
A.N.
So, this was a pretty bad ending to a chapter, I know, but hang in there! What's to come is [most likely] much better, and fluffier. But, did you get it? Can you see where this is going? Are these question annoying?
Was it terrible? Was it mediocre? Was it the most amazing thing you've ever read? (Yeah, I doubt that one too...)
Well let me know in a review! Everyone knows it's what fanfiction authors live on.
If you review, I might give you a marshmallow...
-timetocreate
