Well, sorry for the lapse! Along with my momentary Writers-block, my Internet went down for a little minute. But, here- at last- is the much anticipated (Thats what I say in my utmost optimistic narcissism) Chapter. I'll be sure to write more soon, but my Writers-block is still in tact. Enjoy! Thanks for reading!
Chapter 21- Optimism Helps
Recap: "Fours a crowd. It'll do," Percy said, and I smiled at his decision.
"Fantastic" Chiron said. How 'fantastic' this was I wasn't quite sure.
I actually didn't think it was fantastic at all. "This afternoon, we can take you to bus terminal in Manhattan. Sorry to say, after that you'll be on your own," the thunder over head rumbled. "There isn't much time to waste. You should start packing now," I know I should've probably felt nervous or dreadful or angry or some type of emotion while packing, but I wanted to concentrate on something else. Chiron had met me outside of my cabin. We were given $100 dollars, and 20 golden drachma coins that were abnormally large. Chiron said they were for any non-mortal transaction, but I didn't really know what he meant by that.
We also got nectar and a bag full of ambrosia squares. But he warned us, that if we ate too many we would burn up, and I had a feeling he meant that literally. Annabeth brought her Yankees cap that made her invisible. It was a birthday gift from her mother. She also had a book on architecture written in Greek, and a bronze knife, which she hid in her shirtsleeve. It was so long, that I was surprised that she didn't cut herself with it by accident. The knife made me wary. Besides, I thought it would probably set off a metal detector. Grover had on fake feet, and a hat to cover up his horns that showed when it rained, and his hair flattened on his head, an orange backpack with scrap metal-which I only recently figured out that he ate it- and a set of reed pipes his dad got him. I hadn't heard him play it, but I was anxious to see what songs he knew.
Percy and I were the only ones who didn't have any particular item to bring with us, just clothes a toothbrush, a comb, the necessities. That and the cane that I almost left behind. We waved to the other campers, and saw Chiron waiting for us in his wheelchair. Next to him was a large man. Grover said he had eyes all over his body, so he could never be surprised. I wished I had two eyes that worked, and this guy had them all over himself.
"This is Argus. He will drive you into the city and… keep an eye on things," I wondered if he intended to have the pun. I sensed someone running up from behind us. It was Luke, I could tell. There was something about how he ran though. There was an urgency in the way he ran that made me nervous.
"Hey!" he panted; he was holding a pair of shoes in his hands. "Glad I made it time before you all left," I sensed Annabeths' heart speed up. She blushed and smiled. Her typical reaction towards Luke. It caused me to smile. She realized that I noticed her crush on Luke, and she attempted to compose herself. "I wanted to wish you all good luck," he then turned to Percy. "And I thought that… well that you could use these," he handed him the sneakers. I couldn't sense anything different about them, but then he yelled "Maia!" white wings, like those of a dove, emerged from the heels, and the shoes flapped around in an attempt to escape Percy's grasp.
"Cool!" Grover marveled at it. The battering wings gave me a headache for some reason, and I tried to ignore it. Luke grinned
"Those were pretty useful when I was on my quest. It was from my dad. But, I don't use them much these days," his expression suddenly turned disconsolate, it was obviously a touchy subject, him and his father.
"Thanks a lot man," Percy said. I thought I could feel a faint blush break across Percy's face also. So now, Percy had a magical item also, and I was left with nothing. Just me and my blind self.
"Just promise to kill a lot of monsters for me," they shook hands. Luke patted Grover on his back, and he gave Annabeth and me a hug. I thought Annabeth was going to faint against his embrace, she hesitated leaving his grasp. When Luke hugged me, it was awkward; it was almost as if he was trying a little too hard to be nice. It was strange since he had always seemed so kind to me without difficulty. Or that's what I thought. Percy and Annabeth were getting into some type of quarrel about how she was hyperventilating. She ended with an exasperated sigh
"Why do I want to go anywhere with you!" I got the feeling it was a rhetorical question. She stormed off to the other side of the hill, Argus following behind her jingling his keys. I was about to follow but nostalgia stopped me. It wasn't too long ago when I wandered by instinct to this same hill. Where a snake had bitten me, nearly killed me at that. I wasn't ready to leave the sanction of this area. Even though I had Hellhounds on speed dial- and I didn't know how that worked exactly- I didn't feel safe. The real world seemed…frightening to me. I heard Percy and Chiron speaking softly on how the magic flying sneakers that gave me a headache probably wasn't the best thing for Percy. I heard my name flung into the conversation and Chiron objected.
"Hey Grover you want a magic item?" he said. Grover was ecstatic with the offer. The conversation droned on between him and Chiron, but I was too busy standing at the border between camp, and the real world. That's when an electrical charge was sent rippling through the air. It sent a tingling sensation down to my fingertips. "Riptide," I heard Percy say. It was the same weapon that cut Mrs. Dodd's in half. Ok, so he still had a magic item. And from his father. I didn't want to seem jealous. I was just chagrined I guess. I took a deep breath. I was still on the border of Half-Blood Hill, and the world that lay before it.
"You shouldn't be too nervous Lorelei. You inherited a lot of wonderful traits from your parents, you're strong enough." Chiron had wheeled up next to me. I assumed he wanted to give all new half bloods a mini pep talk before sending them off on a quest.
"What do you mean?" I questioned without turning to face him
"From your mother, you're beautiful, clever, quick-witted, you learn quickly, and of course her awesome musical talents. Then again, Hades gave you his sense of just, the ability to be stealthy, devise intricate plans. And now you are caring, but in battle who knows? You may be as relentless as he when it comes to the test." I winced at the thought of me being…relentless. "Which reminds me, do you have that Python's fang?" I had decided to leave it at camp. I would come back for it… that's what I thought in my utmost optimism.