I felt kind of bad that Piper was stuck with Drew as a sister and a head counsellor as that really sucked. Still, I had a feeling that Piper could hold her own, so I told her not to worry about anything and to not let Drew push her around which Piper seemed to appreciate. "It's fine, I've dealt with girls like her before. I'm just glad I'm not the only one who thinks she's a snob." Getting the feeling that Piper had wanted to use some rather stronger worlds, I grinned at her.
"Oh Drew will see anybody who's superior to her in some way as a threat, she can't stand it when there are other girls who are prettier or better than her at something but she can't really do anything about people like me and Annabeth because we can easily kick her butt, so she goes after people she thinks are easy pickings. She likes to think that she's the most gorgeous girl at camp and has some pretty twisted views about Aphrodite, but it's all pretty stupid. She hates me too, if it makes you feel any better. She started trying to mess with me last summer but it did not go well for her. If she bothers you too much, just tell her that I'm not opposed to throwing her back into the lake again. Like I said, just hold your ground and she'll leave you alone eventually." I listened as everyone else continued with their singing though no one was really as into it as before, though the marshmallows seemed to be going down a storm as I'm pretty sure some of the cabins were fighting over a bag of them.
"What do you mean Drew has some twisted views about Aphrodite?" Piper questioned me slowly so I shrugged.
"I'm sure you'll find out soon enough, but I'll tell you now, it's complete rubbish. Your mom is nice, I've met her. She even transformed the Golden Fleece into his jacket for me, so I don't have to look like an idiot wearing a golden goatskin cloak everywhere I go." Holding out my arms for her to look at my jacket, I then winced. "Ah, long story. Anyway, just a word of advice. Don't judge your mom on her kids. You're pretty sound, right? That means most of the time, it's the mortal parenting that makes all the difference, and since your mom is the goddess of love, there's no way she wouldn't love all her children. The gods are stuck with some pretty harsh rules concerning their kids and getting close to them, but I've learned that they keep an eye on us in their own way." Piper gave a humph of noise that told me that she didn't fully believe me, so I just let it slide. "Anyway, I'm glad you made it here Piper, and good luck on your quest. You'll do great." Patting her back lightly I returned to the amphitheatre seats and resumed my place next to Annabeth where we both spoke quietly to one another, conferring everything that had happened and our thoughts of the matter. Honestly there was a great deal that still remained unanswered, but this was no different from usual so after the sing-along I slept the best I could through the nightmares, moaning and calling out in my sleep, sometimes so loudly that Snowstorm would wake up in her remodelled stable joined onto the cabin and try to comfort me. I felt bad that I was always disturbing her, but eventually she'd sleep deeply enough that she wouldn't hear me. Like Annabeth, I was going to head out and continue the search for Percy, having made a list of places I wanted to check, trying to think of all the kind of places Percy might have been taken that would beyond the reach of even Grover's empathy link. They were few, but I wasn't about to give up. I would comb through all of America city by city and ask everyone I could grab if they had seen Percy if I had to.
When morning came around I was up and packed to leave, intending to go after breakfast and one last meal at camp. I saddled up Snowstorm with the saddlebags which carried all our extra supplies including all of her essentials such as shampoo, grooming brushes, her favourite blanket, apples, sugar cubes, you know, the important things. Things got interesting though when a metal dragon descended from the sky with Leo riding on it, and I had immediately switched to sight in order to take a look and grin up at the kid, telling him that this was one of the coolest things I had ever seen, and I'd seen a lot. Leo seemed quite happy with that. Although a lot of the campers were uneasy about having the dragon that had caused so much trouble lately just casually landing on the green, they thankfully didn't try to attack it and set it off though one of the Ares kids wanted to. It was clear that Leo had thought this up himself, and I was impressed that he managed to fix the dragon, who he called Festus, despite the fact that a lot of the Hephaestus cabin were unable to make any of their projects work at the moment. With their ride prepared, it was time for Leo, Piper and Jason to go. "Good luck." I said to them all as they gathered ready to leave. "You guys have everything you need? Spare clothes, weapons, food and blankets? Here, I have some spare drachmas and mortal cash for you. I set it aside in case you would need it. Oh right, the golden coins are currency that we use on our side of things, you'll be surprised what they can buy, but dollars are always useful too." I explained to them as I pressed the pouch of gold coins and a thick wad of money wrapped up in plastic to keep it waterproof to Piper who smiled at me.
"Thanks, we appreciate this. You know you kind of nag a lot." I shrugged at her.
"I'm a big sister and Camp Leader, it's what I do. Just be careful, all of you, and trust one another. It's the best way to survive, working as a team." I offered Piper a hug which she quickly accepted, though Leo also gave me a cheeky grin and spread his arms expectantly, wanting a hug too with a bright glint in his eyes. I laughed, ruffled his hair then turned to Jason whereby I offered him my hand to shake. "Lead well Jason. Spero te invenire responsa quaeras. I hope you find the answers you seek."
"Gratias tibi, Lily. Invenias etiam quod quaeris." To this I smiled. Jason had thanked me and also hoped that I found what I was looking for in Latin. "Be safe out there."
"Oh I will. I'm a daughter of Poseidon and I wield Typhon's Bane. I dare anyone to stand between me and my brother when I find him." I laughed aloud before letting go of his arm as we had clasped our hands around one another's forearms. "Trust your instincts Jason. They'll be what keeps you alive out there." Knowing that they couldn't stay any longer, I ushered them to go, though now Leo was yelling to me as I walked away.
"You're a kid of Poseidon? And what's Typhon's Bane? It sounds epic!"
"Survive, come back, and I'll tell you!" I called back to him with a wave of my hand to say goodbye, letting my vision fade away. Soon enough I heard the great metal creaking of the bronze dragon as it lifted itself into the sky and flew away, leaving everyone else in a stunned silence until I finally clapped my hands. "Alright everyone, show's over. Breakfast time!" Breakfast was an active affair because everyone was buzzing with the new quest, whereas mine and Annabeth's minds were focused on searching for Percy. We'd decided to split up to cover more ground seeing as we could both take care of ourselves though deep down I couldn't help but feel that Percy wasn't going to be found anytime soon. At least, not until the time was right. I hated it, because once more the gods had interfered in our lives where they weren't wanted, and if Hera was responsible, then part of me hoped that she'd stay in that prison she was currently trapped in forever. Before leaving to begin searching further for Percy, I'd stopped by the beach and waded into the surf until I was completely underwater, walking along the sand with my hair and clothes billowing with the movement of the water whilst remaining completely dry. "Dad? Can you hear me?" I called out to him, hoping that at least this way if communication was cut off from Olympus, at least in his own domain he might have some leeway. "If you can, then I need your help. Just a hint of where Percy is, or at least tell me he's safe. Anything. Mom's going crazy, first me vanishing and now Percy…I really don't know what to do."
The water felt cool and refreshing against me, but other than the sensation of it caressing at my hair and cheeks, I got nothing back. I should have known this was pointless, but I forced myself not to get angry. "I know you're under lockdown right now, so I'm not mad. I just wish we could have at least had some time away from all this craziness, you know? I really wanted to take mom to the Caribbean this year with Percy and Paul, maybe even drop by to see your palace or something. I don't know, I just…feel like I'm just not helping anyone. It's like no matter what I do, it doesn't really matter because it doesn't make any difference to anything. I thought the war would be the worst thing we would ever face but now something else is supposed to be coming? It's so not fair, I wish…jeez here I am complaining like a spoiled brat again. I do that a lot, huh?" Trying to offer a smile to the ocean, I sighed deeply as I placed my hands under my head and floating like I were in a dream. "Percy's alive. I can feel it. No matter what gets thrown at him, he always seems to pull through so I'm not going to panic. He'll find his way back to us, and once this new threat has been settled, maybe then we can finally have some peace and quiet. I might finally graduate. Wouldn't that be great? Anyway, I've bored you long enough, I've gotta get going. If things change and communications open, send me a sign, okay? I'll do my best on this side of things, see if you can't knock some sense into the Big Guy Upstairs for me." Glad that I was underwater so that Zeus couldn't hear me, I gave one final grin before kicking with my feet and shooting back to shore.
Snowstorm snorted in alarm when I suddenly burst out of the surf, floating upon the foam before lightly stepping off onto the sand where I then moved towards her. She could tell immediately that my attempt to contact dad had been unsuccessful so she assured me that we would not give up the search and that she was confident that if Poseidon could, he would help me. I agreed, so I brushed my fingers against her nose and leaned into her for a moment. Percy, wherever you are, just please be alright. If I lost you, then whatever's coming next will not stand a chance. I'd tear this world apart if you die, and I would have no regrets about it either. When it came to my family and people I loved, I was more than capable of going to the extreme, and with my temper being as volatile and deadly as the ocean, I was not someone you wanted to mess with. Dad had been right. I was most like him. Mostly calm and smooth like a clear day upon the ocean without a ripple or wave in sight, but make us mad? Then you'd better watch out, because we would flood the world and shake the earth until it was broken into splinters if our mood was pushed to that degree. Percy had to be safe. Because otherwise, I might be the calamity that brought the end of the world, or at least the end of the world of the gods as they knew it. After all, I still had no deep love for all of them or the way they ran things, but I wasn't about to start a war over it for no reason like some people. If my brother had been hurt, however? Then that was an entirely different story, and if Hera was the one at fault, then being imprisoned would be the least of her problems when I found her because no one, repeat, no one, messes with my baby brother.