Some more Piper and Drew. I loves them very much. Anyway guys, enjoy!
The official Clarisse: Yep, understandably so I'd say. And you have no idea, you really don't.
Undeath9078: Yeah, the gods do kinda deserve to be told off, don't worry though, there will be plenty of demigods speaking their minds I assure you.
Weirdhead: Oh yeah, she's real bad. We all been knew.
Piper was willing to admit that maybe, just maybe her first impression of Drew hadn't been entirely accurate- she'd though the girl was just another looks obsessed bitch who cared more about looks than people- but clearly she'd been wrong. As weird as it was Piper found that she actually trusted Drew- maybe it was because she'd told Drew everything and the other girl hadn't judged her- hadn't even threatened to tell anyone, she'd actually promised the opposite.
Which made no sense to Piper- she was a threat, she was a threat to everyone but Drew was giving her a chance- and she wasn't sure if that made her feel worse or better. She wasn't sure what would happen when the time came. She didn't want to hurt anyone.
And Drew actually understood that better than anyone else probably could have. It was weirdly comforting.
Admittedly she was still kind of a bitch- but given her childhood Piper could sort of understand that- and she could respect it too because Leo was right- there was clearly still good in here. She clearly cared she just didn't act like it.
If she didn't care Drew would sure as hell not be taking her to get a new weapon, she wouldn't have an arm slung over Piper's shoulder- or be glowering anyone who turned to look curiously in their direction.
Piper could hardly believe she was thinking it but Drew was almost acting... protective. "So-" Drew's voice was light, "I personally use a whip but-"
"A whip?" Piper flushed, raising an eyebrow, "You use a whip as a weapon-"
"You'd be surprised how effective it is." Drew remarked, "If you know how to use it- mine's metal tipped, if you use it right it can catch your enemy just so. Besides I prefer keeping a distance from the monsters- wouldn't want to get monster dust on my clothes." she winked- and Piper found herself actually laughing at that.
"I don't think a whip would be right for me. I don't know what would be." she admitted, "I've gotten into fights before but I'm not exactly trained and I've never used a weapon."
"Well we'll see what we find in the weapons store- there's a lot of stuff in there- some of it's really old- and if nothing suits you then you can find something temporary- you seem to be good friends with Leo and as much as he can be a dumbass between him and his siblings I have no doubt that they could make you a truly awesome weapon."
She led Piper around the side of the cabin, to a big metal shed that looked like it was meant for gardening tools. Drew unlocked it,
and inside were not gardening tools, unless you wanted to make war on your tomato plants. The shed was lined with all sorts of weapons—from swords to spears to clubs like Coach Hedge's.
"Oh wow." Piper breathed the words out, her eyes wide as she took a small step forward, "How do I even know where to start."
"Well." Drew hummed thoughtfully, "The most usual weapon for a demigod is a sword-"
"Leo didn't have a sword-"
"Leo doesn't do weapons, he's a mad genius at heart not a fighter though if he does decided to fight he just sets himself on fire and uses himself as a living fireball-"
"That does sound like Leo." Piper laughed despite herself, shaking her head as she looked around, hesitating before picking up a sword- though she put it down very quickly because she could barely lift it.
"I'd go for a slimmer blade if you want a sword." Drew looked very amused, "You need to build up some muscles though."
"This coming from you-"
"Oh screw you trashbaby." Drew snorted, grabbing the sword and lifting it easily, twirling it dramatically before stabbing the air in front of her, "I might look pretty but I can do the heavy lifting when I need to. I prefer avoiding the fights but I'm more than capable in a battle if I need to be,"
"I-" Piper gave a small nod, "I can see that. Think you can teach me some time?"
"Of course I can." Drew set the sword down.
"What are the other options if I don't use a sword? Jason had a spear or something I know that."
"Hm, well there are knives and bows... Bows need a lot of training through." Drew's voice was thoughtful, "Leo used a dagger when he has to... Rache is a badass with her throwing knives and Annabeth has the dagger Thalia gave her when she was younger." Drew paused "So, tell me about this Jason boy- tall blond pretty boy. Tell me more." she smirked as Piper flushed.
"I-" she hesitated, "I thought that there- so apparently my memories of the last few months or so are fake-or altered to include Jason- right now the only thing I have that's real is my friendship with Leo and the rest are just fake memories of a fake relationship that Hera gave me." she blinked back the tears that stung- and when Drew didn't make some quip and joke she turned her head to look at the older girl and saw that Drew's eyes were narrowed, her fingers were curled into fists.
"Are you saying Hera fucked with your memories and made you have feelings for this guy you've never met before." her voice was icy, "She fucked with your emotions?"
"I-" Piper faltered- Silena might not have been happy when Piper had told her that but she hadn't looked nearly so angry.
Drew looked about ready to murder a literal goddess- and that was oddly heart warming actually. "That's incredibly fucked up." Drew hissed the words, "She had no right- no right at all Piper holy shit."
"I'll be okay-"
"That doesn't fucking change the fact that she did it." Drew shook her head, "And this Jason kid has no memories at all right? He wasn't in on it?"
"I don't think so." Piper shook her head, "It sucks. I really like him but all of that is based on lies."
"Well." Drew huffed "I suppose you're not so bad looking if I squint- you're a daughter of Aphrodite, you should be able to win over a cutie like him if you want to."
"I don't want to push him into it just because of my stupid feelings-"
"Oh you are way too nice." Drew snorted, "I would be snapping the boy up- admittedly I'd break his heart in the end but it'd be fun while it lasted."
"I don't want that." Piper shook her head, "I want- I thought... I mean... I was starting to fall for him- or- I feel like I was. I guess I wasn't since it was fake but-" she gave a small shrug, shaking her head before she looked away and focused on the weapons, "Can we stop talking about him-" Piper paused- something in the corner of the shed caught her eye, and she moved towards it quickly, picking around the other weapons as Drew followed her- and together they moved things until Piper could carefully picked it up. It was a knife in a sheath- it was dusty- clearly no one had used it for a long time but Piper didn't care as she blew the dust off.
The sheath was worn black leather, bound in bronze. Nothing fancy, nothing flashy. The polished wood handle fit beautifully in Piper's hand. When she unsheathed it, she found a triangular blade eighteen inches long—bronze gleaming like it had been polished yesterday. The edges were deadly sharp. Her reflection in the blade caught her by surprise. She looked older, more serious, not as scared as she felt.
"Well now." Drew's voice was taken aback, "That's unexpected- but it called to you- maybe it's meant for you."
"I like it." Piper said slowly, "What do you mean, it's unexpected."
"Well little sister." Drew leaned against the wall. "That dagger belonged to Helen of Troy- no ones been willing to use it since, considering how things turned out-"
"What?" Piper almost dropped it in her shock, her eyes flicking back down to the blade, "You- you have a- but- it actually belonged to Helen of Troy?"
"Oh yeah. A wedding present from her first husband, Menelaus." Drew explained, reaching out and laying a hand on Piper's shoulder,
"I only know all this because of who's blade it was of course-" Drew smirked, "It was one of moms great stories- one of the best. It was her favorite before." Drew faltered, "Mom likes tragic stories. From what I've heard she spends half of her time squealing over the tragic fate of 'Perachabeth and how sad it was.'"
"She made up a name for them?"
"Oh yes." Drew laughed bitterly, "Our mom is slightly ridiculous when it comes to that sort of thing."
"Didn't it end in war? Helen I mean."
"Yep, tragic romance- that's her favorite- I admit I quite enjoy the drama and chaos of watching a relationship flame and burn but it did go a little bit too far with your new daggers owner. She named it Katoptris. "
"Meaning?"
"Mirror, look at it- it's so polished you can see your face in it."
"It is beautiful." Piper admitted, "It feels right in my hand, does that make sense?"
"Oh yeah- sometimes a weapon does call to you- when you find a weapon like that my advice? Keep it, if it calls to you that much them the fates probably want you to have it- besides it's hardly the most tragic weapon in the world, it's not actually cursed or anything."
"There are actually cursed blades?"
"Yeah, and they can be cursed by anything-" Drew looked away, "Some blade worse than others."
Piper looked at the blade again. For a moment, her own image stared up at her, but then the reflection changed. She saw flames, and a grotesque face like something carved from bedrock. She heard the same laughter as in her dream. She saw her dad in chains, tied to a post in front of a roaring bonfire.
She dropped the blade, hands flying up to cover her mouth to stifle her scream as she stumbled- and Drew was there, grabbing her arm gently. "Woah there trash baby, what the Hades just happened?"
"I-" Piper stared at the dagger on the floor, her eyes wide, "I saw something in it."
"What?" Drew's eyes widened and she glanced towards the dagger, "What did you see?"
"My dad." Piper's voice wavered. He was- he was in chains tried to a post in front of a fire I- do you think-"
"Helen never used it in battle." Drew said very slowly, "Maybe she used it for something else. We already know the enemy has your dad. Maybe that dagger- maybe it can show you things."
"I-" Piper straightened up, pulling away from Drew to pick the dagger up off the ground, a thoughtful look on her face, "It was horrible."
"Maybe if you get lucky you'll be able to use it to help you." Drew suggested, "Could be useful if you can figure out how to use it- it could give you warnings or whatever." she reached out, laying a hand on Piper's shoulder, "Your choice though. We can find a different weapon if you want it."
And Piper knew instinctively that Drew was showing a side of her that not many people got to see.
This wasn't the 'I'm a stone cold bitch who can and will make you regret existing if you so much as annoy me' persona. This was Drew trying to be a good sister- and doing a pretty good job of it if Piper was honest- she liked Silena but... she felt guilty with her.
She didn't feel that with Drew.
"I'll keep it." she decided after what felt like a lifeline. "It was meant for me. I'll need it." and Drew's back straightened.
"Excellent choice Pipes." she flung an arm over Piper's shoulder, "Now let's go back to the Cabin before Silena comes back and assumes I've killed you and ran off to hide the body."