Peri's POV
"And this is your bed!" Hazel patted a soft cot pushed up next to her own. The Fifth Cohort was very cramped and pretty messy as well. All the beds were squeezed in like sardines, trying to use the maximum amount of space. Most campers were already sound asleep, and I realized that we had stayed in the mess hall for many hours. Clothes, bags, and weapons were strewn across the floor in a haphazard manner. Near each bed was a nightstand overflowing with the personal items of whatever girl slept there. Piper, Bonnabelle, and I followed Hazel carefully through the minefield of junk on the floor, trying our hardest to keep from stepping on peoples' possessions. Seeing as this was the girls' room, I figured the boys' area would be ten times worse.
The Fifth Cohort reminded me of mine and Gram's pawn shop back in Chicago. Everything was in chaotic order; the junk all had a place.
I liked it immediately.
Hazel led us to the back of the cabin. There was a door there, and she swung it open, revealing a large room. For probably the hundredth time today, my eyes widened. This "closet" would've put any celebrity on MTV Cribs to shame.
There must've been some type of magic going on here, because this closet was like the size of the entire cabin itself.
You've heard of Puppy In A Pocket, right? Well, this was like Wal Mart In A Pocket.
Only better.
Rows and rows of shelves went from end to end, creating aisles of clothes. Spilling over with clothes of various shapes and sizes, the shelves reached all the way to the ceiling. A rainbow of bags, purses, and backpacks racks. Glittering accessories dangles from jewelry hooks. My eyes immediately found the gems sparkling in the light.
Hazel must've seen me eyeing the jewelry. "The Venus kids find a way to accessorize no matter what." She rolled her eyes at the thought of any more precious metals.
"Thanks for that," Piper muttered.
"O-oh!" Hazel quickly stuttered out an apology. "I didn't mean you, Piper! You're different from the other Venus girls."
I moved to peruse the shelves, losing interest in their conversation. My feet automatically took me to some nearby gems. I reached out to touch the cool metal.
I love shiny things.
Gram and I had a pawn shop back in Chicago and there were so many shiny things there. I remember how I would just sit and stare at all the fancy jewelry Gram had to offer. We would polish them until they were sparkling. Actually those were probably some of my happiest memories as a child. Just sitting with Gram, shining antiques as she told me of all the wonderful adventures and stories behind each item. Gram had traveled all over the world when she was younger, collecting the most beautiful and interesting things ever. In her older years, she decided to open up a storefront and share her precious mementos with the rest of the world. I loved listening to her stories. But now-.
"Peri!"
I snapped back to reality.
"Peri!" Hazel waved her hand in front of my face trying to rouse me. "Your eyes glazed over! You must've been having a daydream!"
I nodded quickly. "Y-yeah." I stuffed my hands deep into my pockets. Hazel looked at me peculiarly for a few seconds before turning away.
"You can change into something more comfortable for bed. Help yourselves to anything and everything!" She pointed us towards different directions, telling us which way to find tops, bottoms, undies, and even fitting rooms. Hopefully I wouldn't get lost as we split off to find pajamas.
I wandered aimlessly between the shelves for far longer than it should have taken. I just couldn't find anything to wear. To be honest, there were so many clothes, I didn't know where to start! I rounded a corner when something caught my eye. I bent down to the ground and was greeted by an adorable pair of raccoon slippers. I kicked off my shoes quickly and slipped them on. To my surprise, they actually fit!
Well, you're mine now.
After I found the cutesie slippers, the rest of my pajamas came together quickly. I came across a Muppet's shirt that amused me and some knee high socks. I was a sucker for those. They were the only part of my old academy uniform that I actually liked, but of course I didn't let anyone else find out that.
After changing, I found a mirror to check my appearance. [polyvore]
I reached up and pulled my hair free from its bonds, my golden tresses bouncing happily. I brushed my hair to the best of my ability before making a loose ponytail at the base of my neck. I tied a black bandanna around my head to serve as a headband as well for good measure.
I padded out of the ginormous closet eagerly. When I opened the door, I was surprised to see Hazel, Bonnabelle, and Piper already changed into bedclothes. They were sitting crisscross applesauce on Hazel's bed chatting about something or other. I caught Piper's eye, and she waved me over quickly.
I started walking towards them, but halfway there I decided that that would be boring. I sprinted forwards a few paces, sprang high into the air and landed on my stomach next to Bonnabelle, making the whole cot bounce and shudder. The girls almost fell off the bed in giggles. Grinning, I righted myself on the bed. I had just the slightest amount of difficulty, but it only added to their laughter.
We talked about a bunch of stuff for a while, and I rather enjoyed their company. Bonnabelle insisted on briefing me about everything from Gaea and the giants to more random crap about being a demigod. Blah, blah, blah. Yeah, she was even worse than Hazel. After the formalities, we started talking about stuff any normal teenage girls would talk about.
Smirking, I looked at Piper. "So Pipes, I saw you making googly eyes at Jason all day. Do you liiiiiike him?" I waggled my eyebrows at her suggestively.
The three girls looked at each other, then roared with laughter. At first, I thought they were laughing at how preposterous my suggestion was, but then I realized it was one of those inside joke laughs.
I crossed my arms. "What?"
Piper wiped laughing tears from her eyes. "Peri," She spoke between laughs, taking many breaks to catch her breath. "Jason is my... Jason is my boyfriend! Of course I like him!" She laughed again as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Oh," I murmured, feeling stupid for not seeing it before.
An idea popped into my head as I tried to regain my confidence. "Hey, well then Hazel do you have a crush on Frank?"
She chuckled. "Frank and I are going steady already."
Going steady? Who says that anymore?
"Oh." I muttered. I glanced in Bonnabelle's direction, frowning.
"What, are you going out with Leo then?!" I said, my words coming out a bit more demanding than I had intended.
The disgusted look on her face told me I was wrong. "Leo?!" She shrieked, her nose scrunched up like she just took a face full of elephant poo. "That's just gross! Peri, don't play like that! I'm dating Percy!"
I nodded. That made sense. Except...
"Well then what about Leo?" I wondered curiously.
"Now that I think about it," Piper started, "Leo is all alone. I feel bad for him..." The daughter of Venus looked away as if she were thinking deeply about something.
I shrugged my shoulders. "Yo Pipes, I was just wondering. You don't have to go all soul searchy on me."
She continued on with that wistful look in her eye.
I yawned, and Bonnabelle must have caught me.
"Hey, we should all hit the hay for now. We're gonna have a hectic breakfast tomorrow."
I nodded gratefully and shuffled to the bed Hazel had assigned me.
"Goodnight, guys." I called over my shoulder as I climbed into the cot. I pulled the covers up to my chin, relishing in the warmth.
OK, so I was wrong.
I slept.
And let me tell you, my dream was weird.
It was second only to the one about me being chased around the halls of St. Mary's by a featherless ostrich with no legs.
Yeah . . . Don't eat three cans of squirtable cheese before bed, kids.
In my dream, at first everything was pitch black. Then, I heard a sound like someone snapping their fingers, and a golden glow illuminated the space around me.
I was standing in just a void of emptiness, which I guess fits a dream fairly well. Swirling tendrils of smoky clouds rolled in, like someone turned on a dozen fog machines.
Except I wasn't alone.
Towering above me was a figure that radiated power, confidence, and intelligence. He had golden blonde hair and bright, golden eyes to match. His skin was the color of warm brown Celestial Bronze. He wore a suit of armor made entirely out of Imperial Gold that molded to his muscular body. His face was better than any actor I've ever seen- even better than Tristan McLean! He had a calculatingly playful smirk on his face as if he were contemplating who was worthy of being the next victim for an awesome prank.
On the chest of his armor, was the Omega symbol.
"Hello, Periwinkle."
"Anastasios?" I asked.
His smirk grew into a full out grin. "Why so formal with your father?"
"Dad!" Overcome with joy, I ran to him and leapt into his arms. He embraced me warmly, spinning me in the air like a little kid. Golden glitter sprinkled around us with the movement, and I got the feeling it was coming from him. He put me down gently, and I could see how happy he was to be reunited with me.
"This is so cool!" I grabbed his hand and started tugging him away in no particular direction. "Come on! Wake me up so I can show you to everyone!"
He shook his head. "No, Periwinkle. . ." he murmured.
I let go of his hand and looked up, confused. "What do you mean 'no'?"
"The gods aren't to be having any contact with the demigods at the moment."
"Oh..." I nodded. "Right, that's what the others were telling me. Olympus has gone silent. But then-?"
He shrugged his shoulders, anticipating my next question. "I do what I want. You're my child, and I wanted to see you. I think meeting your friends would be pushing it, but nobody on Olympus would dare call me out on anything."
I beamed proudly.
My dad is a total badass.
I lifted my eyebrows skeptically. "So. . . am I going to have to expect these dream - mode heart to hearts every night?"
He snapped his fingers like he was just remembering something. "Ah, yes!"
He held out both hands, palm up. A glowing orb of golden light shone brightly, floating just above his palms. Tendrils of golden energy flared and curled around it. It was like a miniature golden sun with bright solar flares flowing around it.
On instinct, my hands opened, palm up as well.
What am I doing?
To my surprise, the golden sphere zipped out of Anastasios's hands, and came to hover over my own. I felt the warm energy radiating from it, and it made my toes curl in my socks. The orb grew until it covered both of my hands in a divine light. There was a flash of blinding light, and I blinked away the spots in my vision.
When I looked down, the ball of light was gone.
Instead, there was a shining Celestial Bronze ring on my right hand in the shape of the omega.
"Woah," I breathed.
Anastasios grinned. "Happy Birthday, Periwinkle."
"Thanks, Dad." I murmured absentmindedly. With all the craziness that had happened to me recently, I had completely forgotten that today was my birthday. Actually, that was the reason I finally ran from St. Mary's in the first place. I didn't want to spend another birthday with nuns telling me to "Beware of the devil, for he lies within the teenagers!"
Like, seriously?! Who says that?!
"That's not all," he said, yanking me free from my thoughts. "As my child, you have the ability to control Imperial Gold and Celestial Bronze better than the average demigod."
He smirked mischievously. "You'll find out precisely what I mean in due time."
"What are you-?" I started, but he snapped his fingers quickly, cutting me off.
"Sorry, but that's all the time we have to chit chat now."
"What? No!" I scurried towards him quickly. "Don't go! I still have more questions to ask you!" My words were futile; Anastasios was beginning to fade as I spoke.
"Dad!" I cried urgently.
He was almost transparent now, and I could see the edges of my dream world beginning to dissolve as well.
"Don't worry, Periwinkle." He soothed. "I'll always be here for you. Don't ever forget that."
I tried grasping for him, but my hand passed right through his form.
"I love you, Periwinkle. Always and forever."