Chapter 17: Honest
Percy
It was four in the morning, or in my case, I found myself walking down a breathtaking sandy white beach in the middle of the night. The consul ended something like an hour ago. Now, every pantheon leaders in the meeting were back in their cabins.
There was no decision.
But there was no objection either.
In fact, one could say there was a clear lack of impression after the overall plan was laid out by Annabeth, my girlfriend for seven months and counting, and also the daughter of the Goddess we were trying to rescue from the clutches of the enemy.
And as I paced along the shore, my feet gently washed over by steady long waves, I couldn't help but think long and hard about the plan Annabeth had come up with.
As usual, she was really thorough and did not leave a single detail unturned. It won't be fair to say she wasn't a natural. What's more, she gave everyone confidence in her plan, something that would take ages if our position were reversed.
You sure are amazing, wise girl. I smiled inwardly.
But even as perfect as her plan was, I admit I was a little worried. The reasons weren't clear to me, at least, I couldn't put them into words. Pacing along the beach alone under the purple night was probably just me trying to figure out what I was feeling.
"Annabeth…" Her name whispered from my lips as I looked up and searched the endless vastness above.
Poke poke… Suddenly, I got a light jab on my left side. It took me less than a second to figure out who was behind me.
"I am here, Percy…" She called my name too with a smile of fireworks complimenting her flawless features. She was so beautiful when my eyes landed on her.
I grinned back and felt all my worries eased.
"Let me guess: you think it's crazy too, don't you? That's why you ran off on your own."
For whatever reason, wise girl snuck up on me when she shouldn't have been able to. She made a dramatic lean over and tilted her head at me. I lost myself for a moment. The youthfulness of her pretty face, her slightly annoyed but gentle lips pursed in wonder.
"How did you find me?" I asked instead.
Instead of a snarky reply like I'd expected, she flashed me a prankish smile from behind and jumped to the front. Perplexed, I watched as she pressed down on her phantom bracelet.
All of a sudden, fireworks of bright digital lights burst between us and filled around in the form of an oval hologram.
It was a map!
And not just any map. An augmented map in real-time, the result of all the hard-work Annabeth put so much effort into last night.
"Wow…" I blinked and stared at the two faint blue dots in the middle of the beach: Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase, "How did you have time to do all this anyway?"
Pressing the button again, the augmented map disappeared in the blink of an eye as she skipped right in front of me. Staring with a mysterious smile, I felt like there wasn't a secret safe from those grey eyes.
"You didn't answer my question, seaweed brain." She leaned and held her hands behind her back.
There was something about her childish personality that made me tilt my head and could only return her gaze with periodic sideways looks, "Well… it's not crazy, at least, I don't think so…"
Just like that, those blissful and innocent wonders were replaced with a pout brimming with sarcasm. I turned away and rubbed my cheeks, "W-Wait… I think your plan has some great ideas too, you know?"
"Know you are going to say that!" Annabeth huffed and paced the shoreline ahead of me.
Left with a defeated sigh, in many ways, I already knew beforehand she would storm off with the answer I gave her, but was she really angry about it? Was it just an act? Should I say anything when I catch up?
I looked up.
Her elegant figure was adorned with the same white dress during the meeting, but somehow, underneath the starry night, as glitteringocean waves washed over our feet, my heart stopped. No words could have escaped me, I was captivated beyond reasoning.
Only one thing came over my instinct: I ran after her and caught up to—
WHAM!
Then, nothing but painful groans escaped me. I was hurled off my feet and so pathetic in my attempt to not fall face-first, I landed on the opposite side of my intended target.
Splash!
It took less than a second before I heard those obnoxious laughs chortling through the air; a beautiful rendition, if not slightly irritated, as the bright sliver moon enveloped us gently in its quiet serenity. I wiped my wet face with soaked hands and stared wide-eyed at the girl on the beach.
"Ha-hahaha—"
Tanking one of her unfair sneak attacks, I was drenched from head to toe. Of course, she was fine, didn't get even one single drop on her long white dress as she crotched over the edge of the waters laughing uncontrollably.
"What was that?!"
I flipped around and made another splash, sitting on my butt never felt so weird while I leaned back on my arms. Without missing a beat, more laughs echoed around this deserted shoreline occupied only by the two of us.
"I- I… a-am sorry-yy but— Haha! D-Did you s-see the way you fell?-? Hahaha..."
It's not fair she is having so much fun… Once that thought passed my head, I silently vowed revenge if it was the last thing I would do. Now what should I do…?
"Yeah-yeah, laugh all you want, wise girl." I pretended to get up by reaching out a hand, "Now help me up, will you?"
She reached out with a beaming smile, and just before I could grab her hand, she retracted before I could attempt my revenge, "Ha! You'd really think I would fall for that! Hehehe... You really are a seaweed brain!"
"Oi! I am right here!"
She saw through me like reading a book, which meant now I had to resort to violence, "Alright, you are going to get it now!"
I got up halfway and with both hands sunk in the waves, I knowingly aimed for my target.
Splash!
"Ahhh! Seaweed brain!" She tried to shout but all I heard was her laughing, "It's freezing!"
Her soft figure was now drenched from head to toe, her hopeless smile so brilliantly bright, my heart stopped right away. I couldn't breathe as I took in everything about her in that one mesmerizing moment.
Splash! Splash!
"Yeah! That's what you get!" I continued to my heart's content, "Not so nice now, isn't it?"
Shrieking away from my relentless attacks, my heart throbbed double timed as I watched her grin like a kid, laughing hysterically, and throwing her arms up to shield herself from splashing water.
"Fine-fine! You win, okay? You win!"
I almost didn't want to stop.
"Hmph! I am waiting for an apology for that unfair sneak attack. And besides, what was that a-anywa-yy— Pfffftt…"
Looking away for just a second, my face was now dripping with a fresh bout of cold splash, I opened my wide eyes and heard,
"You are always so easy to read, seaweed brain."
Standing in front of me and shivering from the cold as well, my wise girl sunk herself ankle deep in the waters with me, then with a challenging look locked directly at my eyes, she finally grinned, one that took not just my heart but my very soul in this world.
Splash!
"Oh, it's on now!" I screamed back.
"Ahh!" She squealed again and again with nothing but delight in her voice, "P-Percy-yy!"
And what ensure were plenty of giggles, her joyous laughs, crying and screaming and splashing the waves around when we ran across the shallow edge. It all felt unbelievable, something very strongly rose from a warmth glowing in my chest and I couldn't ignore how suffocating it felt.
….
"Muaawww! I am cold and soaking wet!"
Pouting as if this was all my fault, it was still a valid complaint on her part. Of course, I smirked away when I sensed a glare coming from my right side.
"How are you dry right now?! Tell me how, seaweed brain!"
I whistled away.
"Don't you dare make me hit you again, Percy."
Ouch… Saying my name had never sounded so hostile and uncomfortable before, and I didn't need any clues to figure out I was in trouble with my girlfriend again.
Sitting next to each other, we left the coast behind and went back to the beach. After the intense battle we had, Annabeth stayed with her knees bent close to her chest while I leaned back with my legs out. It was a much-needed respite since by the end of it, she was panting heavily and waving the white flag.
"Hmph! This is so unfair how you are the son of Poseidon so you can just dry yourself like that." She pouted, "And when did you figure that out, Mr. Cheating-with-element-control."
"I didn't cheat!" I stammered, "W-Well, minus that one time when—"
"— you grabbed me with water and threw me off my feet, you mean?" Annabeth sulked so adorably I was overcome with the urge to…
You are so cute… I whispered to myself without letting her hear it.
My lips parted a second time, "Come on, you were so fast at running away! I had to find a way to slow you down somehow…"
"Ha! So you are not denying it! You cheated!" She hit me.
"Ow..."
Tried as she might to shake her head in despair, I saw through her. She was pretending to not smile with that adorable way she sucked in her cheeks. I wanted a picture right away.
"That hurt…"
Instead, I feinted a pained groan, then just to tease her, I flashed a grinning smirk when she turned to face me. It worked perfectly.
"Muawhh, you are so annoying." She shoved me away all embarrassed-like but I came back like a wacky inflatable and nudged her back, "Seriously, are you planning to keep me soaking wet and freezing all night long?"
If I get to keep seeing that adorable side of you, then maybe…
But for the sake of wanting to be alive, I sealed a lid shut on those dangerous word choices.
"Hey, Percy?"
As if making sure I was paying attention, she drew her knees closer and pressed her cheeks on them, those beautiful grey eyes staring pointedly at me with a sideways look, "I am going to catch a cold at this rate, you know?"
Bringing my attention back to her current attire, I came to realize something else besides what she was concerned about. I didn't even notice it before!
"Uhhhh…" Barely stopping a sudden nosebleed, I looked away immediately, "Stay still, I'll dry you now."
There was a reason why I had been hesitating. I wouldn't tell Annabeth in a million years though, not if I wanted to keep my face from being punched in.
I could literally feel a question mark popping up on her head, like one of those video game quest-giving NPC, though her state of perplexity was the least of my worries now.
"Percy?" Annabeth was thoroughly confused, "Why are you looking away like that?"
"Just stay still, okay?"
"Humm?" She tried to peek over my shoulders, but I turned away at each attempt, "What are you really up to, seaweed brain?"
Focusing all my willpower, I hurried and powered through all the tingling sensations running through my head. They were giving me flashbacks of what happened earlier tonight, except one hundred times more potent.
"…." It was sudden quiet behind me.
I couldn't help but shiver as I continued to dry my girlfriend, then with a breathless sigh of anxiety, I replaced the last of my focus on an area where I would most definitely get an earthquake smack across the cheek if she ever found out.
I rushed through them without letting my mind linger.
And after it was done, I sighed a huge breath of relieved and turned around. Instead of meeting a smiling Annabeth thankful to not be wet, I saw…
"There, you feel better, right-tt— eh?"
Sitting behind me with a rather bashful look on her face, she was literally blushing like a pink flamingo from head to toe. She tried to hide her eyes, but those grey orbs kept sneaking glances at me.
"Ahem… I don't know how I feel about your power to dry people now…."
Like a lightning strike, two thoughts came over me at that moment.
First: Gulp! How can my heart survive if you keep giving me these looks?
Second thought: Ah crap, I am so dead now…
"Ah-ha ha haha… I- I didn't do anything, okay? Hm! Seriously, I did my best to hurry up so I didn't— uhh, I definitely didn't try to…"
But I didn't get sliced down, or at the very least, there was no knife against my throat. In fact, there wasn't anything. Annabeth was strangely quiet. When I looked over slowly, I saw her blushing away from me.
"I… I didn't say I was angry, did I?" She whispered just barely enough for me to hear her.
"Eh?"
A binding spell of speechlessness consumed me. It shouldn't be possible, but from the way she was acting, I seemed to have been spared from imminent death.
"You are not mad?"
A part of me wasn't sure if I should be thankful or expect the worse yet to come. Then again, what I involuntary did was basically as bad as the indecorous thoughts clouding me right now, and she seemed to realize it too. Drying her soaked body meant I had to focus on each drop of liquid on her skin and her drenched clothes, so in that sense, I was keenly aware of every tiny sensation, every tingles, each shiver, even the subtle movements, all working to add more improper-ness inside my head.
Her face shifted from annoyance to a full-on blushing pout, "I… I am not…"
Even now, I still have a vivid recollection of Annabeth's figures and her wonderful curves etched inside my mind, something that I wouldn't be easily able to forget, if I'd even want to.
Pervert! Pervert, pervert, pervert… stop it right now, pervert!
My eyes stayed wide open at my girlfriend who was seconds away from consuming my body and my mind like an unhealthy addiction.
"And because it's you, so…."
"Huh?"
Whatever she said was so fast I completely missed it, but before I could ask, she jumped me— like literally jump from her current pose and tackled me on the sandy beach. Lost my composure, I couldn't react when she took advantage of my confusion and climbed on top of me.
"Annabe-th-"
Without missing a beat, I was on the receiving end of a random heated kiss.
I lost myself the second she made me kiss her back, our lips pressing and pulling each other like a made-up game, yet it was anything but playful. She was trying to seek something beyond just my lips, a reaffirmation of some kind.
"Percy…" Her soft whispers were drowned out by the crickets chirping and the soft ocean waves crashing to shore. There were real vulnerabilities after she pulled away and stared right into my eyes, "Am I doing the right thing?"
She straddled me still, both hands propped up on my chest but I didn't care about her current display.
A long breath left me. I stared back into hers and tried to imagine how she would feel after asking everyone in camp to risk their lives to save her godly mother.
However, there was only one thing I wanted to say.
"I trust you, Annabeth. I always have and always will."
Her looks returned surprised. I smiled back, "I don't care if it's right or wrong. I'll follow you wherever you are going, and I'll support whatever it is that you want to do."
Her lips trembled.
"You don't have to worry about the others' decisions, because I've decided long ago to stick with you until the end, and I am glad to be able to spend them with you."
A tiny whisper escaped her.
"You…" I reached up and cup her cheeks. She sunk into my palm and shivered, "You are the one I want and the only one with who I want to be together forever, so don't worry,"
I placed my thumb gently below her tears-stricken, sparkling grey eyes and wiped across her cheeks.
"You won't get far from me even if you want to. I'll always come running back to you."
I captured her left arm which was shaking on its own, then I brought them over until her hand was directly over my beating heart, "Because I love you, Annabeth Chase."
I wanted my confession to be as heartfelt as possible, and it seemed to have worked too well. Annabeth was a sobbing mess after what I said, and before I could comfort her, she gave me no such chance.
Her pink lips were wet with fresh tears, I kissed her back passionately, trying to return all the uncontrollable feelings she was trying to convey. In response, she kissed me back even more, her intimacy growing like a warm fireplace, I immediately wanted more, to seek her radiance blinding me with nothing but pure love.
"I am so glad I met you…" She whispered during a brief pause, "I love you so much."
Arms collapsed on my chest, she pressed her whole body into me and kissed me urgently. She clung to my shirt with trembling fingers as if I would disappear if she didn't hold me tightly. My heart jumped then stopped abruptly.
In the next moment, passion overtook my reasonings.
I flipped us over as gently as I could so I could pin her down underneath me. She was so fragile right now, I was afraid she'd break like glass if I didn't try to be as slow as possible and take great care to be protective, and yet she left me burning so much so that I could barely breathe without pressing my lips against hers in a hurry
"Percy…" She whispered as I held her hands, "Please…"
She closed her eyes and parted her lips, waiting for me to take the initiative. I closed my eyes too and leaned down. Her soft lips met mine like a dream and soon after, we were locked together with no chance to separate any time soon.
Minutes passed to hours. Hours passed to days… or rather, it would have been nice if we could do this for days on end, but even as I ran my hands over her slender figure while she did the same with me, I knew our time together like this would eventually end, that's why…
"Percy…" Her breath hitched.
I pulled my lips away and attached them behind her ear, gently nipping until I got to her earlobe, then I nipped on them as well.
She was now making sounds I wouldn't dare dream about under normal circumstances.
In the heat of the moment, I went lower and lower until I reached her exposed neck, and just like before, I made gentle nips and planted soft kisses as I trailed along.
Suddenly, I felt a small hand running up from my abdomen all the way to my chest. Sparing no attention to my shirt, she seemed desperate to touch me, wanting to reach higher and higher and to draw her fingers closer to my beating heart.
"Annabeth…" I let out a barely composed breath and left her neck alone. I looked down once again. Just seeing her flustered and glowing red was enough to make me lightheaded. She stared back at me in a daze, her flushed looks were half-blanked and half-consumed with passion.
I didn't wait for her to reply.
"Mm…" She mewled into my mouth weakly.
I hummed back. My hands started to act on their own accord and as I drew near her naval. At the same time, she too reached underneath my shirt again, except this time she went to my back and pulled me against her body until I was pressing up against her tightly.
I almost collapsed but somehow found a way to keep myself upright.
She pressed my lips for more, pulling them and sucking on my bottom lip in a desperate attempt to get me even more heated. I waited no more and sneaked my free hand to rub her left side, running over her smooth skin hidden behind that silky thin fabric until I got closer to her naval.
I brushed them softly and drew circles.
Her loss of breath echoed in my mouth.
This time, I dared myself to draw closer, drawing up and up and up until I was just inches away from her chest. I stopped there.
"Percy…" She whispered into my lips, "Keep going…"
From that point on, I lost my sense of coherent thoughts and went along with my instinct. The result was a memory so perfect that it was greater than finding any treasure in this world.
…
The sun was steadily rising over the horizon, golden shimmers reflected off the waves and cast a brilliance so breathtaking one would have a hard time describing their feelings of this god-like scenery beauty.
But even despite its otherworldly display, I was drawn upon a warmth even greater than the perfect sunrise.
"Mmm…"
Holding her in a protective barrier, I couldn't pull my eyes away from the princess sleeping peacefully in my arms. She cooed, and in the best way possible, I wanted to make her feel completely safe, that's why I had my arms wrapped around her as she cuddled me like a teddy bear.
"Thank you, Annabeth," I whispered and blew a very soft breath on her forehead, tickling her loose strands and stirring her dreamless state, "For everything last night."
"Mmmm…." Her whimpers grew louder, a sign of her gaining bits of consciousness back.
Just for fun, I poked her cherubic cheeks and earned myself a pair of sleepy grey eyes as they slowly opened and stared at me back, then a slow smile crept across her pink lips as soon as she saw that I was the only one in her field of vision.
"Good morning, wise girl."
She smiled, didn't say anything, and just planted a kiss on my bare chest with the gentlest peck. I grinned and rubbed her nose when she pulled back, "As much as I want to stay together with you like this, I think we should go back."
There was a sudden inescapable disappointment in her eyes. She almost wanted to shake her head, but at the last second, a sigh left her pouting expression, "Five more minutes?"
I shook my head and hopelessly chuckled, "You know in five minutes, they might put up a search party and someone might find us like this. Is that what you wanted?"
The sleepiness in her eyes faded like snow in the summer sun. She was wide awake now, then out of nowhere, my t-shirt from last night smacked me in the face and stay stuck there.
"H-Hurry up and put your shirt back on, s-seaweed brain…"
Despite trying to pull my shirt away, it stubbornly stay and blocked my vision, at least, not until I felt the girl in my arms leaving the protective cuddle did it finally escape the clutches of her grip.
"That's not fair, wise girl…"
Sitting a few inches away, Annabeth had her face turned away but I knew exactly what kind of face she was making, hence why she was hiding from me. I could only smirk.
"Shut it and hurry up seaweed brain." She demanded, "I don't want people to find out what we did out in the o-open and… a-and…"
On the beach under a starry night too… I grinned but refrained from teasing my wise girl as much as I wanted to. In any case, I quickly slipped my shirt back on and watched her blush with her dress from last night. She looked just as gorgeous as she was when underneath my body.
"Alright. I am good."
She turned to face me, but those pursed lips remained quiet. There were clear conflicts in those grey cloudy eyes, and not wanting to leave what happened last night with regret, I needed to make absolutely sure.
"Annabeth," I reached out and brushed her arms. It was a good sign she didn't pull away and let me continue, "I just want you to know, you can tell me whatever it is that you are feeling. I don't want you to feel like I was…"
"— you are not, Percy." She cut me off and looked down blushing, "I… I wanted last night to happen as well."
I held in my surprise and could only nod in response.
"And it was good, so…"
Upon her admission, I tried to be as nonchalant as possible and smiled at her, but inside, I was probably squealing like a little girl and as happy as I could be. After all, she just admit that I was…
"B-But… don't get so full of yourself—!" She turned away pouting as if she read my thought through my suppressed reaction, "It wasn't that good, okay?"
Choosing to nod instead, I got up on my own and held out my hand for her. It was taking all of me to hold back how much I was shaking in excitement.
"Gosh," I saw her trying so hard not to smile, "I can't believe how hopeless I am with you…"
Then she took my outstretched hand and let me pull her up. She quickly dust herself from the sand on her dress and looked back at me all embarrassed-like, "W— W…what about you-uu?"
"Hmm? What about me?"
Shock and spontaneously angry like someone tripped over her puppy, her bright eyes shot wide and she was on the verge of hitting me, "Don't… G-gosh, d-don't make me spell it out for you, seaweed brain…"
I scratched my head much to her disbelief, but in reality, I knew exactly what she was referring to and couldn't help myself.
"Muhawww! You are such an idiot!"
Just like that, Annabeth stormed off and left me behind. I watched as she huffed with each step and crossed her arms as she did so. I smiled to myself, then ran after her.
We were back in Camp Half-Blood in less than fifteen minutes.
The first person to greet us wasn't anyone from the consul meeting last night. Instead, Alfred was waiting for us at the entrance of the forest clearing.
Annabeth sucked in a sharp breath and paused suddenly. As a result, I slammed face first into her back and we almost tumbled forward like a couple of clumsy idiots. Again, I saved us from repeating the one accident we were most prone to.
"No way…"
"Huh? What now…?" I asked her as she stared blankly at Alfred.
I had to squint my eyes to keep the sunlight from blinding my eyes, but Alfred was in his Centaur form waiting next to a tree, seemingly specifically for us.
"Good morning, you two…"
Annabeth went speechless.
"Good morning, Alfred-d— er… I mean, Chiron." I greeted him, "What are you doing there?"
Chiron shifted his gaze from me and looked away uncomfortably, "Well, it's complicated, but I guess I wanted to keep this place from prying eyes…"
This time, I couldn't understand. Annabeth certainly caught on though, maybe I should ask her later.
"Not a word, Alfred." Those words leaving Annabeth carried such a heavy weight to them that even the thousand years old Centaur tilted back and sighed.
"As you wish, Annabeth… I won't say anything." He trotted from his resting spot and gestured us to follow, "Anyway, follow me… We've all made our decisions."
Hearing those words, I knew it was time for the moment of truth. With every ounce of her being pour put into last night, we were about to find out the results of her hard work.
I just hoped it was a good one. Similarly, Annabeth gulped as she followed Chiron down the clearing on a path back to the main camp ground. I quickly grabbed her left hand, bringing her attention back to me and smiled.
Of course, she smiled back.
Pretty soon, we were coming up to the main hearth surrounded by the cabins. They were all waiting for us and hushed whispers left them.
"Well, Clarisse mostly made the decision for everyone, so she should be the one to say it." Chiron gestured at all of us to gather together, "Clarisse?"
The group turned toward us. We were both nervous, waiting for an answer that could easily be something else than we had hoped.
Then a single girl with violet eyes the color of lavender walked up with a proud, confident look.
"I will admit Annabeth, your plan is a little crazy, maybe even borderline stupid, but I don't hate it." The daughter of Ares said, "So that's why we've all decided to help."
I was relieved beyond words.
"You mean you decided to make us all help unilaterally…" Chloe interjected with a soft grumble and both of us heard it.
"Shut it, Chloe! You still owe me last time for saving your butt."
Chloe stuck her tongue out, turned around, and huffed in annoyance
"Sigh~ I think what everyone is saying is we all want to help, isn't that right?" Will added with an awkward smile, "I mean, even if Clarisse is forcing us, all of us do want to help out of our own free will— No pun intended…"
This time, my surprise drifted toward speechlessness.
"Wait… Why?" Annabeth mumbled at Clarisse, "I thought you…"
"Don't get the wrong idea, princess. I still don't like you or your boyfriend very much, and I am not going to apologize for what happened."
Feeling like I missed out on something important, I watched as Clarisse looked away from me specifically, "This isn't for either of you because of what I did… and certainly I am not doing this because of Lady Athena."
"Then why?"
Clarisse sighed deeply, then turned to meet our eyes head-on without any doubt, "Because you rescued my sister, and I'm repaying you a favor."
"Rescued your sister?" We echoed at the same time and our eyebrows scrunched together.
But before anyone could answer us, a small girl broke through the group and ran over to Annabeth without hesitation. She threw herself into a hug and almost knock Annabeth back on her feet.
"I heard you needed help, Annabeth!"
Then wise girl almost shouted, "Shelly?!"
For some reason, the girl looked familiar and her name prompt my memories of two nights ago to the surface, "Wait, she's your sister?!" I looked forward at the group who awkwardly turned away from my gaze except for the daughter of Ares.
Clarisse sighed again, "Look, it's none of your business… but since you saved her, I guess I'll tell you."
I could only gulp.
"Before I came here, I was traveling with my sister trying to find refuge from the monsters hunting us. I was the one they want because I have already awakened, but my sister didn't. That's when I met this really nice family who promise me they'll take care of my sister until I've found a safe place to live."
"Then I found Camp Half-Blood, though when I went back to the home where my sister was staying, the family there was slaughtered and my sister went missing. That's why I was…"
Again, she looked away from me and paused there.
"Anyway…! Now that you found her and brought her back to me, I'll help you out this one time, and for damn sure, I'm about to repay all the things they did to my sister fully." Her gaze grew like fire.
I gulped a second time.
Then again, the resemblance was definitely there after a second look. Both of them have the same violet eyes, and they both wore their dark brunette hair in a long braid. Side by side, there was no doubt they were sisters.
And after sharing a long hug with Annabeth, Shelly finally pulled away and proclaimed loudly, "I've convinced my big sister to help out. I still don't know every detail, but I want to help! I know something is troubling you, Annabeth, and I want to be the one to help you this time. And if this Lady Athena can give us a peaceful place like this to live, then I don't think she can be so bad like everyone keep saying."
Beside us, I suddenly saw how uncomfortable the other pantheons' leaders were, but they said nothing.
When I heard a few sniffles next to me, I glanced at my wise girl who had fresh tears in her eyes. She head pat the tiny girl and smiled, "Thank you, Shelly. I'll remember this."
Then Shelly beamed a bright and happy smile back, "Please go rescue your mother, Annabeth! I want to meet her too and thank her properly for keeping my sister safe."
"I will, Shelly. I definitely will."
Only then did Clarisse's little sister finally let her go, "I'll wait for you to come back, I'll wait for everyone to come back safe and sound."
"Hm! I promise I'll bring everyone back safe and sound."
Shelly returned to her sister and hugged her too, "Can I stay up with you a little longer?"
"No. You've gotta get some sleep. I'll take care of the rest and be back in the room as soon as I can, so go inside and wait for me?" Her voice was firm yet gentle, something I never thought a girl like Clarisse could pull off.
"Okay," Shelly yawned as expected and plod away for one of the cabins, "Please be safe! I won't let even one of you come back hurt, okay?"
The group smiled at the girl as she disappeared into her cabin, then without missing a beat, a series of grumbles escaped from some members of the consul.
"Man! I'm so not ready to disappoint such an innocent girl like her!" Connor bemoaned and got smack in the head, "Ow! What the hell?!"
"We won't disappoint my sister! Not if we all follow Annabeth's plan to the dot."
"You are awkwardly confident in her plan, Clarisse." Chloe spoke up, "Besides, how do we know if those things can actually save us anyway? Not to mention, we can't perfect them in such a short time."
Clarisse turned to Annabeth, but she was already on top of it as expected of my girlfriend. Again, my heart thumped faster as I stood next to her and watch her explain passionately.
I don't even know when I fell in love watching you like this, Annabeth… I thought to myself.
"No, I am not asking for anyone here to be perfect in your role. We just need to surprise them enough to cause a stir, but you are right. Given that none of us had any actual training working with this, I want us to take three days in camp just practicing. It'll make it a lot easier when the real infiltration starts."
Annabeth passed a glance at me too, I turned away and rubbed my hair, "Right, I'll need to work on that as well, don't I…?"
"Yeah, you do." She stared pointedly and pouted, "Anyway, I'll be the point of contact if anyone is having trouble, and I'll help us get started on some equipment we can train on. Let's go, e-everyone-ee…?" Annabeth stopped halfway and blinked. The group never moved away from the hearth, "Oh! I am sorry… we can start tomorrow, but first thing in the morning, okay? O six hundred sharp!"
"Wait, what are you, my drill instructor?!"
Annabeth's confidence wavered and she took a step back in alarm.
"Hahaha! I'm just messing with you." Connor shared the same playful laughs with everyone, "I kinda have to admit though, you are pretty enjoyable to tease, but…"
He passed a glance at me, "I'd rather avoid having a sword at my throat with the way your boyfriend is looking at me right now, word bro?"
Travis quickly yanked his twin brother by the collar, "ahem… We'll see you tomorrow morning and will also try out best to figure this out. If anything, you two can stay in one of the unoccupied cabins here. it's supposed to be yours anyway, that way Owlfred doesn't have to temporal gate you back to the mansion, but it's up to you two."
The consul member slowly disbanded one by one after the Hermes pantheon went off on their own. The next person to leave was Chloe, the leader of the huntress of Artemis. She was heading for the forest closest to the mountain we were just on, not even saying a word. Then Katie hurried and followed Travis, leaving us with a smile and a wave, bidding everyone a good rest of the day.
The rest of us that were still here….
Thalia, Jason: the children of Zeus. Piper and Silena: The daughters of Aphrodite. Me: the son of Poseidon. Annabeth: the daughter of Athena. Illya: the gifted magic mage. Wil Solace: the son of Apollo. Last by not least, Clarisse and Reyna: the daughters of Ares.
All in all, it was still a plenty full party to get some extra training done.
"You guys tired?" Clarisse asked and seemed more fired up than before.
Respectively, we shook our heads, though I couldn't discern whether we were shaking our heads because we really weren't tired, or rather in fear of being bashed in by the tall, buffed girl who wore a dangerous smile on her face.
Some unlucky soul was going to end up with their face in dirt with this rage-filled demon, just saying...
"Now I am itching for a good fight! You! Get over here!" She bellowed and grabbed someone with a chokehold, "We are going to duel until one of us wins!"
Sadly, that unlucky soul was me…
"L-LL-Lett-tt g…go o-ff m…me—" It was impossible to speak when Clarisse was dragging me along like a piece of paper and forcing all the air out of my lungs.
I heard the group sigh behind me and trail after, but no one seemed to want to help. Luckily, I was finally saved from suffocating by none other than my girlfriend.
"Not one more step!" Annabeth stood at Clarisse's front, knife pointing at her throat, "Why do you want to fight Percy right now? Is it because—"
"Again, I am not going to apologize, and come on, I'm itching to find out just how skilled your boyfriend is with a sword. Besides, we never got a proper winner last time!" Clarisse pointed at me, "This is me finishing what I've started with you, Percy Jackson."
"Eh?" I didn't understand whatsoever.
The glare behind my wise girl stayed lit, then it soften and she smiled faintly, "Fine. I'll let it happen, and this time, I'm going to make sure he beats you properly."
"Eehhh?!" I shouted into the air.
