The three demigods trudged up the grassy hill, avoiding the snakes. Frank's spear and bow slapped his back, and he grunted and rolled his eyes.
"Why does he look so irritated?" asked Clarisse, who would be Franks Greek half-sister (Her Dad was Ares, and Frank's was Ares' Roman form, Mars).
"He doesn't like the spear I gave him," Ares grumbled, picking at his teeth.
"But does he know what that spear can do!?" yelled Clarisse, her hands flying to the air in frustration.
"What can it do?" asked Piper, not familiar with the weaponry.
Clarisse rolled her eyes, "It can-"
"Daughter, no. Frank will learn, and so will all the other brats," Ares said, cracking his knuckles. Aphrodite rolled her eyes, irritated.
Frank shook his head, as if clearing his thoughts, and looked around, making sure no snakes were coming to attack. Frank looked nervous, as if he believed the rainbow would appear, and burn them.
Twenty yards from the store, a slight hissing noise travelled from the tall grass.
"GO!" Frank shouted, taking control. Percy stumbled, and Hazel helped steady him again. Frank took an arrow out of his quiver, and nocked it in his bow.
He shot blindly, and a signal flare arrow flew out of his bow.
"Flare arrow?" asked Will.
"He probably had meant to grab an exploding arrow," Apollo guessed.
"He should be using the epic-ass spear!" Clarisse grumbled, playing with her celestial bronze pocket knife.
A bright, orange light skidded through the grass, whistling and flaming. The light, not killing anything, at least illuminated the snakes. Sitting in a patch of withered yellow, brown grass was a lime green snake, as short and thick as Franks arm. Its head was ringed with a mane of spiky white fins. The snake stared at the arrow as the arrow flew across the land, wondering what it was. The creature's large, yellow eyes bore into Frank, who took a step back. The snake slithered forward, the grass dying in its trail.
Percy and Hazel climbed up the steps to the porch, and Frank didn't dare move. He stared at the snake, who hissed, flames blowing out of his mouth. Frank's brown eyes widened with nerves.
"Nice creepy reptile…Nice…Poisonous, fire-breathing reptile…." Frank's hands drifted to his pocket, a small, thin object making a slight budge.
"What in his pocket? Why is he protecting it?" Annabeth wondered out loud.
"Oh, it's his life line," Hera said, her voice obviously uninterested.
"So if whatever that is gets hurt he dies?" Annabeth summed up,
"A piece of wood. And yes, if it burns to a crisp he dies," Hera said, not looking at her least favorite goddess.
"Frank!" Hazel yelled, "Come on!" She held her hand out for Frank, waving him over.
The snake sprang at him, sailing through the air so fast, Frank couldn't draw his bow. With a scared expression, he swung his bow, smacking the snake. He smiled, proud of himself as the snake flew away, hissing.
He looked down at his bow, which was steaming. His eyes saddened as he watched it crumble to dust.
"No! That was such a great bow! And he had such talent!" Apollo cried, with his sons nodding along with him.
More hissing came from down the field, and Frank dropped his crumbling bow. He sprinted to the porch, his spear on his back. He made it to the steps, and Percy and Hazel helped him up. Frank turned around, seeing all three snakes encircling the porch step, breathing fire and turning the grass brown with their poison.
"We'll never get out of here," He whined, miserably, rubbing his buzz cut hair with his hand.
"Then we better go in," Hazel said, coming up next to him and putting a dark hand on his arm. Hazel pointed over to the hand painted sign.
"Rainbow Organic Foods and Lifestyles?" Leo read out loud, his voice in question. He looked over at Butch, who raised both his eyebrows, silently asking "What about it?"
Hazel walked inside, and Frank followed, walking Percy through the door. As they stepped indoors, the lights flicked on, and flute music started to play. The small stores aisles were lined with dried fruits and nuts. There were apples, tied dye apparel, and the ceiling was covered in chimes. Crystal balls, geodes, and dream catchers were in glass cases along the wall
Frank sniffled, signaling the presence of incense. "Fortune teller's shop?" he asked, looking around.
"Hope not," Hazel muttered, her eyes drooping with sad memories from her past.
Percy leaned against Hazel, barely able to hold himself up. He looked worse than ever, his face a sickly pale, his hair drained of color and his eyes a dull green. He shook and shivered, and could barely speak. His face was glistening with sweat. "Sit…Down…" he muttered, his head lobbing from side to side, dazed. "Maybe….Water…"
"Yes! Give him water!" screamed Poseidon.
"Brother, hold your tongue," Zeus warned, irritated with all the distractions.
"Yeah, let's find you a place to rest," Frank said, taking Percy's arms and navigating them between two Neptune fountains. The floor board creaked with every step.
A young girl's head popped up from behind an aisle, "Help you?" she asked in a perky voice, a smile on her face.
Frank tripped backwards, in surprise, and knocked over the statues. He fell into a fountain, making it crash to the floor. Neptune's head rolled off, water spewing from his neck, spraying a bunch of tie dyed man satchels.
"Sorry…" Frank muttered his cheeks pink with embarrassment. He bend down to pick up the mess, and almost impaled the young girl with his spear.
"Man, he is such a klutz" Clarisse snickered, as if she was the most graceful warrior in the world.
"Clarisse, stop," Annabeth scolded her.
"Don't tell me what to do, Princess," Clarisse replied.
"Eep! Hold it! It's okay!" the young girl yelled, steering clear of Frank's spear. Frank straitened slowly, trying his hardest not to knock anything over. Hazel looked mortified, her hands covering her mouth in shock. Percy turned a shade of green that no one should be, as he looked down at the head of his father, rolling around on the floor.
"Oh, Perce" Poseidon put his head in his hand.
"Oh, well that isn't a good shade of green…" Apollo muttered.
The girl clapped once, and the fountain dissolved into mist. She smiled, weakly, at Frank, "It's no problem, really. Those Neptune fountains are so grump looking, they bum me out,"
The gods snickered.
"My Roman side is grumpier! I, myself, am not grumpy looking!" he defended himself.
The girl was shot and muscular, with lace-up boots and cargo shorts. She looked ready to hike, wearing a yellow shirt that read ROFL; Rainbow Organic Foods and Lifestyles. She looked to be in her young twenties, but her hair was frizzy white. The girls eyes changed from grey, to black, to white, distracting Frank.
"Uh…sorry about the fountain. We were just-" Frank started, before the girl waved her hand.
"Oh, I know! You want to browse! It's all right. Demigods are welcome. Take your time. You're not like those awful monsters. They just want to use the restroom and never buy anything!" She said, stomping her feet. She snorted, her eyes flashed a bolt of lightning across them.
"Sweet," Thalia muttered, "Annabeth, why don't your eyes do that?"
"Because I'm not a nebulae," she replied.
"How could you possibly know what she is?"
"Daughter of Athena," she pointedly said.
From the back of the store, a voice called out, "Fleecy? Don't scare the customers, now! Bring them here, will you?"
"Your name is Fleecy?" Hazel asked, her head tipping to the side in question.
Fleecy giggled, her hand covering her mouth. Her eyes turned from grey to white.
"Well, in the language of the nebulae it's really-" she made a seried of crackling and blowing noises, reminding Frank of a thunderstorm. She smiled, "But you can call me Fleecy,"
"Nebulae… Cloud….Nymph…" Percy muttered, in a daze, his eyes unable to focus on anything.
Fleecy smiled, and touched Percy's arm, "Oh, I like this one! Usually no one knows about Cloud Nymphs," she complained, "But dear, he doesn't look so good. Come to the back. My boss wants to meet you. We'll get your friends fixed up,"
"Finally! Someone help my son!" Poseidon said, throwing his hands up in exasperation.
"Jason, where you ever like that?" Annabeth turned to face Jason, who was frowning up at a sweaty, sick Percy.
"Nope. And if I was, then never for that long. I don't know why it's so bad for Percy," he shrugged, his sky blue eyes flashing with a bit of thankfulness for not becoming that sick. Percy looked ready to pass out, his green eyes glazed over, sweat beading his forehead.
Fleecy led them through the produce aisle, between a row of fruits, all with signs that read 'Fresh produce!'. Percy was breathing hard, and Hazel and Frank kept glancing nervously at him. At the back of the store, behind a counter with an old fashioned register, stood a middle-aged woman with olive skin, long black hair, rimless glasses, and a T-shirt that read: The goddess is Alive! She wore amber necklaces and turquoise rings. She smelled like rose petals. She smiled at the three, and Frank's face looked shaky. The woman was smiling with one corner of his mouth, and her head was tilted like she was asking a question.
Butch smiled and whispered "That's my mother,"
"She is a hippie?" asked Leo, who regretted it as soon as Butch glared at him.
"Your dad is a cripple,"
"And he is also sitting right there and can kick your ass," Leo retaliated, daring to raise his voice.
"Watch it, Valdez," Butch said.
"Boys, stop fighting now," Piper said, her voice laced with charmspeak.
Leo and Butch stopped, turning their attention back to the screen, Piper's voice washing over them.
"Hello!" Her voice friendly. She leaned over the counter, which was lined with dozens of little statues. She smiled, and said, "So glad you're here. I'm Iris!"
Hazel's golden eyes widened, "Not the Iris-the rainbow goddess?"
Iris made a face, "Well that's my official job, yes. But I don't define myself by my corporate identity. In my spare time, I run this!" she gestured around to the fruits and wind chimes which were dancing in the light breeze. "The R.O.F.L co-op-an employee-run cooperative promoting healthy alternative lifestyles and organic foods,"
"Ew organic," whined Hermes and Apollo nodded in agreement.
"Try it on for size," Artemis retorted, high fiving Athena.
Frank stared at the goddess in amazement, "But you throw Ding Dongs at monsters,"
Iris's face was struck with horror, as her hand covered her mouth, "Oh, they're not Ding Dongs!" she rummaged under the counter, her long hair falling over her shoulders. She stood back up, brushing her hair away with a hand, and put a package on the counter. They looked exactly like Ding Dongs; chocolate covered cakes. "These are gluten-free, no-sugar-added, vitamin-enriched, soy-free, goat-milk-and-seaweed-based cupcake simulations,"
"All natural!" Fleecy added, smiling and bouncing, her eyes flashing grey, and then white.
All the boys and gods made gagging noises, while the girl demi-gods just wrinkled their noses. None of the woman demi-gods seemed fazed.
"They are actually quite good," Athena said, and everyone turned to her. She shrugged, "We all have had one, us goddesses. They aren't that bad," The other goddesses nodded in approval.
"I stand corrected," Frank said, his face wrinkling in disgust.
Iris smiled at Frank, and pushed the cupcake simulations to him, "You should try one, Frank. You are lactose intolerant, aren't you?"
"How did you-"
"I know these things. Being a messenger goddess…well, I do learn a lot, hearing all the communications from the gods and so on. Besides, those monsters should be glad to have some healthy snacks. Always eating junk food and heroes," she scoffed, "They are so unenlightened. I couldn't have them tromping through my store, tearing up things and disturbing our feng shui,"
"So unenlightened," Travis nodded, and Connor snickered.
"Shhhhh!" Katie shushed them, a finger to her lips.
"Isn't Hermes the messenger god?" Leo asked to everyone, and Hermes answered,
"Iris and I sort of share the position. We got each other's backs, basically,"
Percy pulled away from Hazel's assisting grip, and leaned against the counter. He looked like he was going to throw up all over the nick-nacks and dream catchers. "Monsters marching south!" he struggled to speak, "Going to destroy…our camp. Couldn't you….stop them?" he managed to say, gripping the counter so much his knuckles turned white.
"Yeah couldn't she have stopped them with her magic rainbow?" Leo suggested, looking at Butch.
"Nah, she is non-violent," he shrugged, defending his mother.
"Oh I'm strictly nonviolent," Iris said.
"Apple doesn't fall to far from the tree, I suppose," Thalia joked.
"I can act in self-defense only, but I won't be drawn into any more Olympian aggression, thank you very much. I've been reading about Buddhism. And Taoism. I haven't decided between them,"
"But isn't she a Greek goddess?" Leo asked.
"But…Aren't you a Greek goddess?" Hazel asked, her brown curls bouncing.
"Hey you think just like Hazel," Jason punched his arm, and Leo rubbed the spot that got hit.
"Ow, bruise," he said.
Iris crossed her arms at Hazel, "Don't try to put me into a box, demigod! I'm not defined by my past!"
"um, okay" Hazel said, unsure of how to respond, "Could you at least help our friend here? I think he is sick…"
Percy reached across the counter, and for a second it seemed he was reaching for the fake Ding Dongs. "Iris…Iris-message. Can you send one?" he choked out, squeezing his eyes shut before opening them again, his green eyes in pain.
"Someone help him!" Annabeth whined to Thalia.
Frank looked confused, his hand scratching his head, "Iris-message?"
Percy seemed confused, as if he himself didn't even know, "It's…Isn't that something that you do?"
Jason nodded, "That happened. You say something on instinct but then can't explain it. It sucks,"
"This whole thing sucks," Annabeth glared at Hera, who was watching the screen, seeing her plan unfold for a second time.
Iris stared at Percy, sizing him up, "Intersting… You're from Camp Jupiter, and yet…Oh, I see. Juno is up to her tricks,"
"What?" Hazel asked, looking from a sick son of Poseidon to the rainbow goddess.
Iris glanced at Fleecy, having a silent conversation. Then, the goddess pulled out a vile from behind the counter, and spayed some strange oil around Percy's face, who wiped it away, "There, that should balance your chakra. As for the Iris-message-that's an ancient wy of communication. The Greeks used it. The Romans never took to it-always relying on their road systems and giant eagles and whatnot. But yes, I imagine…Fleecy, could you give it a try?"
"Sure, boss," she smiled.
Iris winked at Frank, "Don't tell the other gods, but Fleecy handles most of my messages these days. She's wonderful at it, really, and I don't have time to answer all those requests personally. It messes up my wa."
"The cloud nymph handles Iris's duties!?" questioned Zeus, and Hermes shrugged, "As long as it gets don't it should be fine. There isn't a difference,"
"Mmm. Fleecy, why don't you take Percy and Hazel into the back? You can get them something to eat while you arrange their messages. And for Percy…yes, memory sickness. I imagine that old Polybotes…well, meeting him in a state of amnesia can't be good for a child of P- that is to say, Neptune. Fleecy, give him a cup of green tea with organic honey and wheat germ and some of my medicinal powder number five. That should fix him up,"
"Herbal fixings? Rock on Iris," Apollo said. The god of medicine nodded at Iris.
"Will it really make him better?" Annabeth asked, her grey eyes boring into the god.
"Yes, child, it should heal him fine,"
Annabeth let out a breath of air she didn't realize she was holding.
Hazel frowned at Iris, "What about Frank?"
Iris turned to Frank, and tilted her head quizzically, and smiled, "Oh, don't worry. Frank and I have a lot to talk about,"
