The last thing Reyna wanted to do was be given a credit card and told to go shopping to get a whole new wardrobe and anything else she may need. Scratch that. The last thing Reyna wanted to do was be given a credit card and told to go shopping to get a whole new wardrobe and anything else she may need with Annabeth Chase.
It was no secret that Annabeth didn't like Reyna. She may have been a human, or so Reyna had been told by Chiron earlier in the week, but she acted like a damned werewolf. Chiron's house and the bar were Annabeth's territory, and she did not like having Reyna in her territory.
Reyna had spent the last week at Chiron's house getting more and more restless as she healed. It was on a Wednesday that she couldn't take the laying around and left to go on a walk. Her walks became longer and longer throughout the week until she had circled the city twice, memorizing everything and getting a feel for the streets.
It wasn't the worst place to live. Safer than the last city she had been in, with plenty of places to hide. Most people left her alone, and anyone who looked at her wrong was met with a glare that sent them scurrying.
Chiron had plenty of visitors throughout the week, and Reyna excused herself each time. She noticed that Piper and Jason stopped by every few days. Annabeth was there every damn day. There were others from the bar, but Reyna never stayed around long enough to greet them.
Now, it was Saturday. Reyna had woken up and been ambushed with the fact that Chiron was going to pay for her to buy new clothes: both for work and casual clothing. Reyna tried to decline, but the centaur did not take no for an answer.
Reyna hated it. She already owed the centaur for letting her stay at his place. Not to mention all the food she ate. She tried to keep a running tally in her head, but she knew that she owed more than she wanted to, which was anything.
Owing something to someone meant they had power over her. Reyna kept waiting for Chiron to bring up the fact that she could pay him in other ways, but he never did. In fact, he went out of his way to alert her when he was coming into the room and did his best not to scare her or get too close.
Reyna bit back a sigh and looked around the store. It was understaffed for the day. According to a cashier named Brittany, Jerod hadn't showed up to work 'for like, the fiftieth time this week'. Reyna almost wanted to ask how that was possible, but she used it to her advantage.
There was a way for Reyna to limit how much she would need to pay Chiron back, and that was by stealing a majority of what she needed. The store had a place where she could check herself out, and the person who had been watching it was now checking people out on a lane. Reyna would just stuff some of the clothes in the backpack she was buying and scan just the backpack when no one was watching.
Reyna looked around for her tail. Chiron was the one who suggested they go together. Annabeth didn't seem too keen, but she agreed the second Chiron pulled his credit card out and handed it off to Reyna.
Reyna looked down at the things she was going to buy. Three sets of uniform for work and five outfits to get her through most of the week. It was probably the most amount of clothing she had owned for a very long amount of time.
At the moment, Annabeth was off looking at jackets. She had the credit card, and while she didn't state it out loud, Reyna knew that Annabeth expected her to run away with the credit card the second her back was turned.
Reyna walked towards the merpeople part of the store. Most mermen or mermaids would be busy with work and didn't shop until after work. Most also didn't bother with clothes like these: designed to form to the legs or fins. Reyna took a moment to glance around the different sections of the stores.
There was a human section that dominated the front half, full of different kinds of clothes for the upper half with a varying amount of sizes. The sizes went so small that a pixie could wear them to so large an ogre could wear them without unwanted tears.
There were a few shirts for werewolves that would expand when the wearer transformed, but Reyna knew clothing in a beast form was a one way ticket to an ass beating and lecture from the packs that lived in the wilds. Maybe city packs were more modest.
Reyna felt a headache as she saw fire-resistant clothes for a fire demon. Pants that would fit the horse half of a centaur, and while she would swear that she had seen Chiron wearing those, she would also chalk it up to a fever dream.
Reyna sighed and placed her basket of clothes down. She carefully opened the new backpack that she was going to stuff most of the items in. Reyna carefully rolled up the pants, keeping an ear out for anyone coming near. Her eyes darted around as she did her task, but she saw no one watching her.
Her gaze moved down to the backpack as she carefully rolled most of the items inside. As she was putting the last item in, she heard someone clear their throat, "I think you are supposed to pay for those."
Reyna froze and looked up. She stared at the man that stood in front of her. He wasn't wearing the green and khaki that the workers wore. In fact, he was wearing swimming trunks and an orange shirt.
The man studied her with eyes as green as the sea. His black hair looked freshly cut, enough to keep any excess hair from his eyes. There was a smirk on his face, not of triumphant but of troublemaking.
"Percy!" Annabeth exclaimed as she walked over. The man looked at her, and a bright smile came to his face. "What are you doing here?"
"I was picking out a winter coat for Estelle," Percy answered. His eyes moved back to Reyna. Annabeth turned her head as well, and her eyes narrowed. Reyna realized that she still had the shirt halfway in the bag. She was quite literally caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
"What the hell are you doing?" Annabeth demanded. She tore the backpack from Reyna's grasp and turned it upside down. Reyna tensed as nearly everything she picked out tumbled out of the backpack. "Were you going to steal these?"
Reyna just stared at the woman in front of her. When she had first started stealing, she got caught plenty of time, but most people didn't want to call the cops on an eleven year old kid and instead sent her on her way with a stern warning. She got better at it as she grew older and hadn't gotten caught since she was thirteen. This was almost an entirely new experience for her.
"Don't touch another fucking thing," Annabeth snarled. She threw all of the clothes back into the basket and threw the backpack on top. Then, she shoved it into Reyna, and since Reyna wasn't expecting it, she took a rather heavy basket to her still healing stab wound.
Reyna grunted in pain and slowly grabbed the basket. Annabeth looked surprised, as if she had forgotten about the wound. Her expression hardened a moment later.
"Chiron let you use his card to buy clothes. Not so you could steal. What the hell is wrong with you?" Annabeth demanded. Reyna remained silent and almost flinched after the words. She hated to be yelled at. To be reprimanded. And, what right did Annabeth have to lecture her?
"Hey Annabeth, you're drawing a crowd," Percy warned. Annabeth huffed a deep breath out of her nose and then jerked the basket out of Reyna's hands as if she thought Reyna would try to steal once again. Annabeth stormed away.
"That was a little awkward," Percy commented. He looked at Reyna. "My name is Percy Jackson. Estelle talks about you all the time. Nice to meet you."
"How do you know me?" Reyna asked tensely.
"Estelle is my younger sister. She talked about you while I was trying to lay her down. She said she wanted to have hair braided like yours and black eyes. When I told her we can't exactly change her eye color, she got all pouty. She also mentioned your scar, and I told her not to talk about stuff like that. So sorry if she mentioned it," Percy said. He grinned at her.
Reyna just studied him. She didn't like that this man knew her and was acting all friendly. Even if he was Estelle's older brother.
"And don't be too mad at Annabeth. She's seen a lot of people take advantage of Chiron, but I know you won't," Percy stated.
"Because I haven't done it already?" Reyna muttered in a half-question half-statement.
"No. Because Estelle likes you," Percy said. He looked at his watch. "I better get back to the ocean. Nice meeting you."
Reyna remained silent as Percy walked away. She then trudged her way up to the front, taking as long as she could. When Reyna made it to the register, she saw Percy was checking out a pink jacket, and Annabeth was standing next to him.
"You read a lot of books," Percy stated. He looked at Annabeth. "You should know by now not to judge one by its cover."
"I know that she's nothing more than a thief," Annabeth snapped. Reyna leaned against a display and watched the two. Her hearing was better than that of an average human. Twice as good in fact. It meant she had no difficulty listening to the two of them. "Just look at what she tried to do."
"You have to give her a chance," Percy said. "You did say that she saved you."
"She didn't save me. She just helped, but I think she was looking for an excuse for a fight. Why else would her face be so fucked up?" Annabeth spat. Percy shook his head, and as he did, he met Reyna's eyes. Reyna watched them with a wolf's glare. "And-"
"Annabeth," Percy warned. Annabeth looked at him, and when Percy motioned his head, she turned to look at Reyna. It took a moment for Reyna to push herself off of the display and walked towards the two.
Reyna tried her best to ignore the things that Annabeth said and the looks that she gave her. She tried to keep the instincts, that of a werewolf, from taking control of her. Reyna did not enjoy being insulted. She hated when people couldn't talk to her face. And mentioning her facial scar was the number one way to piss her off.
Reyna didn't want the fucking scar, and it wasn't her choice to get it. She remembered every fucking day when it had been reopened when she disappointed- No. Reyna wasn't going to fall back into memories. She was going to give into her instincts for once and give Annabeth Chase a piece of her mind.
"Hey," Percy began as Reyna stopped in front of them. Reyna paid no attention to him. She saw Annabeth had two bags in her hands and the backpack. After a second glance to make sure it was all hers, Reyna jerked the bags and backpack out of Annabeth's hand.
"Do you want to finish what you were saying?" Reyna questioned as she got directly in Annabeth's face. She forced eye contact and felt her lip twitching. Annabeth remained silent, trying to avert her gaze. "I'm right here. You can say whatever you want."
Annabeth still didn't say a word. Reyna grinned, but she felt like it was more of a snarl. It was so funny that people couldn't talk shit to someone's face. Reyna spoke, "Then, leave me the fuck alone."
Reyna shoved past Annabeth and stormed out of the store. She made it outside and felt sick to her stomach. There was so much more she wanted to say, but a lump was forming in her throat. When was the last time Reyna stood up for herself? When she didn't just let things happen?
It took a few moments for Reyna to realize it was raining, pouring actually. She quickly stuffed the two bags into her backpack and continued to walk forward. It was only a few moments later that she heard running, "Reyna!"
Reyna stopped walking and slowly turned to look at Annabeth. The human spoke, "It's pouring rain. Let me give you a ride."
"I can walk," Reyna muttered as she turned back around.
"I'm sorry. About what I said. It wasn't right," Annabeth began. Reyna flinched and tensed as a hand touched her shoulder. The hand quickly moved away. "Come on. Let's get out of the rain."
Reyna took a moment to slowly follow Annabeth towards her car. She sat in the passenger seat and stared out the window. Annabeth sat in the driver's seat and started to drive. The drive was in complete and utter silence. Reyna was still stewing in anger, and unwelcome memories were trying to come back while squeezing the air out of her lungs.
Annabeth seemed focused on driving, and she looked a little embarrassed about what happened. When they made it to Chiron's house, Reyna saw another car outside. It was one she didn't recognize. Annabeth got out of the car, and it took Reyna a few moments to follow. The two of them walked into the house.
Reyna's nose twitched as she smelled the hamburgers being made. She set the backpack down and then walked into the kitchen, a few steps behind Annabeth. Reyna glanced into the kitchen and saw a woman too large to be a human. She was twice the size of one at ten feet tall, and she was muscular and bulky: an ogress.
"Hey, Clarisse. What are you doing here?" Annabeth asked. "You never come over."
"Meeting the new girl," Clarisse grunted as she started to unload condiments from the fridge. It was a rather humorous sight as she had to hunch over to reach inside. Her head practically touched the ceiling. Chiron stood over the stove and was making hamburgers. Clarisse turned and looked Reyna up and down. "Doesn't look like much."
Reyna wasn't in the mood to meet the challenge, especially as Chiron handed her a plate of three hamburger patties. All three looked incredibly rare, like Chiron had just kissed it on the stove long enough to brown the outer edge.
"For you," Chiron said with a small smile. "How was shopping?"
Reyna shrugged and saw Clarisse set the bread down on the table. Then, she turned and left the kitchen. Annabeth pulled out Chiron's credit card and the receipt. She handed it to Chiron but didn't say anything about the incident in the store.
"You could have gotten more," Chiron began. Reyna remained silent as she grabbed cheese and put it on her burger. Then, she placed it inside the bun. "Well, don't worry about Clarisse. She seems intimidating, being a half-ogress, but she cares about everyone at the bar."
Reyna squeezed the burger slightly and saw blood come out. Her mouth almost started watering. Clarisse walked back in and spoke, "New girl, let's get this straight. You mess with anyone at the bar, and I will crush you."
Reyna kept her mouth shut. She hated meeting new people in general. And, she had met a few ogres and ogresses before. None of those memories were pleasant. Clarisse continued, "And, thanks for saving Chase's ass from those drunk idiots. She's a know it all, but we need her there."
"Oh, you need me?" Annabeth teased as she made a burger for herself.
"Who else is going to sit on their high fucking horse and annoy the rest of us?" Clarisse countered. She pulled out a chair. "Here's your throne, princess."
Annabeth rolled her eyes but took the seat. Clarisse grabbed burgers for herself, and Reyna sat at the table. Her gaze focused down on her burger, and she took a huge bite. Reyna did her best to savor the flavor, even though she was starving. It had been three hours since she ate, which was like a year for her.
Reyna didn't meet the eyes of anyone else. She didn't react to Chiron or Annabeth's attempts to make conversation. It felt like Clarisse was just staring her down the entire time, trying to make an impression of her most likely. Reyna didn't care. She was still pissed about what Annabeth had done, and there was a new ball of anxiety in her chest.
When Reyna finished eating, she placed the plate in the sink and walked towards the living room. She shoved the backpack off of the couch and laid on what had been her bed for the last week. Reyna wrapped the blanket around herself, laid facing the couch, and fell into an angry and bitter sleep.