A/N: Hey guys! I'm back. For a little while at least. Quick question: anyone else here Hamilton trash? Just me? Okay. But serious, isn't it so fucking good?! I am in love with the soundtrack. I'm very proud to say I can rap all of Lafayette's lines (and Daveed Diggs is crazy fast). Sorry, rant. Anyway, here is chapter 36 for your reading pleasure. Hope you guys are enjoying the holiday season!
Disclaimer: PJO doesn't belong to me, much to my dissatisfaction.
Creep
Chapter 36
Tabitha was halfway down the second flight of steps when she heard weeping quickly followed by loud sniffling. It was obviously Annabeth; even in her distressed state, she still breath with an air of pride underneath her hoarse croaks. Between her blubbering, Chiron spoke softly as comfort.
"He… in Mount St. Helens… and the eruption…" She sucked in a hiccuping breath and cleared her throat, her voice more resonating, "How could I have left him?"
"I am sure he is fine. You know as well as I do he is quite capable." His tone didn't quite match up with the bravado his words held. "It is Percy, after all… He always comes back."
Tabitha crept into the living room with Pollux and Delilah at her heels. Annabeth was sitting on the couch hunched over with her head in her hands, an untouched steaming cup of tea in front of her. A blanket was draped over her shoulders. Chiron wheeled back and forth in agitation, his eyes never leaving her; Tabitha was sure his tail was sweeping in wide, wild arcs. As if sensing them, he glanced over, barely making eye contact, then back to Annabeth. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and she looked up with a grimy, tear-stained face.
"Go… Go wash up and rest." He suddenly sounded much older. "We will… discuss this in greater detail later."
She nodded crisply and stood mechanically, the blanket sliding off her shoulders. She stopped in front of him and suddenly leaned down to wrap her arms around him. As quickly as she's done it, she was already making her way out the door. He sighed deeply as he turned towards them.
Tabitha ventured forward. "What… What happened?"
Chiron bit the inside of his cheek nervously. "I'm afraid the quest has hit a bit of a… snag…"
"Define 'snag,'" Delilah said slowly.
He straightened anxiously in his wheelchair. "Percy, Grover, and Tyson are…" He faltered helplessly, gesturing in circles as if trying to find the right word.
"They're missing?" Pollux supplied lowly.
The centaur wrung his hands. "It appears so. Grover and Tyson went off in search of Pan-"
"The Wild God?" Tabitha wondered aloud.
He nodded grimly. "And they haven't been heard from since. Percy's case is much more complicated…" He tapped his thumbs together in thought. "We will discuss this further at the war council tomorrow. I hope to see you there, Tabitha."
She flinched, stunned. Her jaw went slack for a moment, but she caught it and was quick to regain her composure. "Of course."
He nodded grimly, yet satisfied. "Go about the rest of your day as if everything were normal. I have a feeling they won't be for some time." He let his face fall a little.
Pollux and Delilah were already brushing past her. She stood there awkwardly for a moment, fiddling with the sleeves of the hand-me-down cardigan Delilah had given her; Delilah was giving her a lot of clothes now that she thought about it. She glanced at Chiron. He rested his chin on his knuckles and gazed out of the corner of his eyes, his dark orbs impossibly black in the shadows. She stepped forward, almost by accident, and it caught his attention.
"What kept you this morning?" he asked, genuinely concerned.
"I was talking to my brother," she stated simply without further thought. In response to the curious dip of his brow, she pulled out the mirror and explained how it worked.
"Where did you get this from?" He eyed it with an animal-like cautiousness.
"My… My stepmother, Macaria."
His eyebrows nearly collided with his hairline. They slowly lowered to their natural position as he cocked his head to the side in deliberation. "She is known for being a kind goddess… I just didn't imagine she'd be this generous to…"
"A bastard," she finished without consideration. Her cheeks tinged light pink as he looked at her apologetically. She cleared her throat. "She said she was nothing like her aunt, so…"
Understanding who the unnamed goddess was, he simply acknowledged her with an incline of the head. "She is a good goddess to have on your side; she has powerful ties."
At first Tabitha thought he was talking about her father and her expression soured. Then she remembered Macaria was the daughter of Hades and Persephone and she relaxed. Having sensed her discomfort, he smiled softly.
"I apologize if I hit a sore spot-"
"No," she interjected, shaking her head half-heartedly. "You're-You're right…" She rubbed her thing self-consciously and kept her eyes low. Inclining her head, she murmured, "I'm, uh, I'm gonna go…"
She walked passed him, eyes glued to the floor before her feet. She could sense his stare piercing her back and she resisted the urge to shiver. Her hand slid into her pocket and her fingers ran over the paperback in reassurance. As the screen door shut behind her, she pulled out the book and opened it to her spot.
She read as she walked, using her peripheral vision to avoid awkward collisions and embarrassing trips. She stuck close to the edge of everything so she didn't get in anyone's way. A sliver of blonde out of the corner of her eyes caught her attention and she stopped. Her eyes trailed off the page as Beatrice finished cutting Benedick's ego down a notch or two to find Lacy approaching with a look of dismay marring her delicate features.
"Is it true?" she hissed in a mangled voice. She flailed a little as if for emphasis, her bracelets jangling loudly.
Tabitha sucked in a sharp breath. She shifted uncomfortably, glancing around nervously. She pressed the book against her chest as she crossed her arms. "M… Maybe…?"
Lacy's bottom lip quivered. Her eyes were wide and watery. Tabitha reached forward and gently gripped her upper arm. She spoke softly and as reassuringly as she could, "Hey… it's going to be okay… okay? I'm sure we'll figure it out…"
Her breath hitched looking into those doubtful eyes. The lovely child pulled away and wiped her eyes, careful to avoid messing up her perfectly winged eyeliner. A weak smile tipped her lips.
"I'm sure we will." She glanced at the book still clasped to Tabitha's chest. "What're you reading?"
The sudden change in topic tripped her up for a second. "Um, Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing."
The blonde's brow dipped a bit. "Aren't you dyslexic?"
Her brow dipped deeper than Lacy's. "N-no…? Am I supposed to be?"
"Well… most demigods are, even children of Athena… huh…" There was a hint of fascination in her eyes that made Tabitha a little uncomfortable. Then she just shrugged and plopped down in the shade. "Shakespeare was a demigod."
Tabitha quickly followed. "Really?"
Lacy hummed. "Mhmm. A son of Apollo."
"That makes sense, I guess." She was silent a moment. "Who else?"
She didn't hesitate. "George Washington, Athena; Abigail Adams, Hebe; Alexander Hamilton and Ernest Hemingway, Poseidon; Harriet Tubman, Hermes… and a lot more."
Tabitha was silent as she wondered if she was related to any known names. She highly doubted even Chiron would know and made a mental note to ask Macaria at some point. "That's… our history."
"And those are only some of the American demigods." She was quiet for a long while.
Tabitha glanced over and analyzed the fair girl's features. Despite her soft, childish face and blonde pigtails, the brunette was beginning to realize most of it was a front. Behind this pretty face was a beautiful brain she wanted to pick. Lacy must have felt her gaze because she shifted to look at Tabitha. Said daughter of Thanatos felt like swallowing her tongue as she turned away with warm cheeks.
She roughly cleared her throat. "How do you remember all this stuff?"
"I have the worst dyslexia in the cabin, so Silena records herself reading all these books and I just… I listen," she confessed, a little embarrassed. She kept her eyes low and mumbled, "No one in my cabin's very good with Shakespeare though…"
Tabitha's grip on the book tightened involuntarily. She thumbed through the pages. "I, uh… I just started and, um… I don't mind starting over…"
Lacy looked at her skeptically, but with a hint of hope in her eyes. "Are you sure…?"
She flipped to the beginning and leaned back against the tree, looking expectantly at Lacy. She fought back the urge to laugh at Lacy's squeal of excitement, but had to fight back even harder to push down the blush creeping up her neck when the blonde laid down and rested her head on Tabitha's thigh. She was so lucky Lacy closed her eyes.