Ch. 17 Vanilla Twilight Part II

•Katniss's POV•
I fly on a Pegasus. The beautiful crescent wings and grace made me love the animal at once. It's not the first time I've seen one, though. There is a whole herd back at Camp Halfblood—the Panem one. Mitzuki and I went to feed them once. You know, back when I thought she didn't know they were actually there. I'll never get over the fact that they lied to me at first and it took them—what? Four months to tell me: "Oh! By the way, we do know who's causing this, we just didn't think you could handle it. And we are all part of an organization that told us to keep you as our pet! Just an FYI, Katniss!"

That makes me sick.

"Can we stop somewhere? My bladder begs you, oh, great lightning bolt's offspring." Kyron calls desperately and with all seriousness to Thalia who—I could have sworn had a smile on her face with his joke for once—now looked annoyed.

"Yeah. Sure, rainbow boy. Let's stop at some burger place while we're at it." You should have seen Kyron's face. Thalia gains my respect more and more even though we rarely speak. She then looks over at Percy and Annabeth. "You two love birds okay with that?" Percy nods and I bet Annabeth would have too if she wasn't, you know, unconscious. Ha. Ha.

We landed somewhere in Louisiana according to Percy. New Orleans, to be exact. Pretty city, I'll admit.

"Why are we even this far?" Nico grumbles behind us as we walk to this place. No one answered him. It's not like it matters. There's food here, so therefore, I'm a happy Katniss. I just need Aminta to die and the worm hole to close and I'll be in Paradise. Throw in some Capitol bombing and I'll be in heaven.

Sometimes, fantasizing isn't good enough.

•Percy's POV•
I picked up the rose Aminta left behind after her apparition. I stuffed it in my pocket and I'm just going to make myself forget about it for a while. I also fainted along with Katniss for like five minutes because it turned out that the weapons took our energy to do that. That's what the glowing energy was. Our energy being sucked out. Anyway did I mention Thalia can sniff out some good places? The burgers here are amazing! Kyron already had four! Nico three and I'm starting my third. But get this, Thalia is on her fifth! Katniss is on her second so she's dead last. Tsk tsk . . . Unless you count poor, unconscious Annabeth.

She's fine, by the way. Just has a minor eating disorder. I would love to let her scarf down what she pleases and I'm sure she'd love me forever if I did, but I can't. She can die if she eats so much when her body isn't used to it. She has been held captive by those spiders for some four or five months. Even I haven't been kidnapped that long. Remorse kills me for letting her wait so long.

About the whole magical-voodoo-sword-glowing-majigy . . . I have no clue. I don't know how, why, or what the hell happened there—at all. The scar I saw on myself is another story. First of all: How is that possible? I know lots of things are possible in this world now. Like the time warp. Or Greek Mythology being reality. But that is just weird. And it's gonna rack my brain for a while.

Oh . . . Joy.

•Katniss's POV•
"Can I have . . . some water . . .?" Annabeth mumbles while she lays pale on her bed.

I helped her sit up and got the icy glass off her nightstand. She gulps it down slowly as she was told too. And not just by me. The others are out in the city getting a doctor that can see through the mist. The Apollo kids don't help now. What Annabeth has can probably be incurable.

"Thank you." She coughs for a while. I look around the infirmary in the meantime. It's so white. Why are infirmaries so white? Is it so they can blind you while you die? Or to give you hope as you die? Or maybe—

"Katniss, can . . . I ask you a question . . .?" Annabeth starts slowly, casting her head down. I turn to look at her. Her gray eyes are in a storm—like mine are. Her perfect blond hair goes up about five inches above her hip and it's still perfect all the way. Her small hands lay there so fragile and weak yet so youthful and strong with every muscle she bares. Her skin stays as lifeless, yet so full of it. How can she stay so perfect and weak—all at once . . .? Is that what Percy sees in her? Her flawlessness?

"Katniss?" She tilts her head on angle.

I turn away in embarrassment. Don't stare.

"Sorry. Yes, you can." I turn back and sit in a chair facing her. My storm challenging hers. My fire against her air.

"Who are you?" Her eyes streak through me. Causing a moment paralysis for me. Too vague for my liking.

"I'm . . . from the future. I'm not a demigod but I can see through the mist. It's a pretty long story. And—" She cut me off. How dare she even? I've been taking care of her for three days and this is what I get? No wonder Thalia warned me of Annabeth's ways. In case I haven't said: Me and Thalia share Artemis's cabin. She refuses to sleep in Zeus's. That explains why I wear her clothes and such.

"Yes, I know. Percy talks about you, a lot. Almost all the time. About how you and him will save the world from Aminta and blah, blah. But, I mean, why are you here with me . . . like right now? Don't. . .don't you hate me?" Her questions . . . There's something in there. Something that makes me want to choose every word with precaution.

"I have no reason to hate you." I get up to circle her bed. Making my steps resound through the room. "I was appointed to stay here with you. So I did." I trace the cold window with my fingers. Making the dust invade my fingertips. "I don't know you so therefore," I turned at her—challengingly, "Why should I judge you?" She bites her lip. And looks down.

"I see." She looks up. I swear I hear the snowflakes fall to the ground outside from the tension of silence in here. "But both you and I know that's not what I meant. So answer my question: Why do you hate me?" This girl—something about the way she asks the questions. Who did they say was her parent? Athena...right? That's what Rachael and Stephanie told me. Athena is . . . wisdom. So, she is using her wisdom to question me and get unnecessary answers from me. A classic strategy. The key to this is to not say more than you need to or just ignore that person. But I won't ignore her. My pride prevents me from letting her win.

"I don't hate you." I pierce her with my eyes, which are in an icy blaze. "You. Hate me, correct?" I love this game.

I can tell her fists are balling in frustration under the sheets. I bet no one—maybe besides her siblings—can play this game as well as we can. She takes in a large breath and let's it out. Just so I could hear it. "Don't revert the question on me. I asked you. So you answer."

"I already did. I told you who I was." I smile as my head still faces the window.

"You didn't answer it. I just asked you more specifically." She clutched her teeth.

"No," I turn to her, "You asked me who I was. Then you asked me why I hate you. Two questions. Two totally different questions." I tilt me head in frustration. Anymore of this and we'll both blow.

"It was one question. I just asked more specifically because you didn't answer it right." Every word had more and more poison in it.

"So like an extension?" I place my hand on the ledge of the window and my nails dig into it. I won't let her win. "You asked me if I could answer one question. One. Not a question plus extension."

I'm surprised she hasn't blown yet. She impresses me. I've underestimated her. "An extension still lies under the definition of 'one'. Just longer." There are marks on the window and the paint is now chipped off. Specifically in five areas.

"If that's the case, then show me that book in which the definition lies." Her eyes are furious. I bet mine are too. But still no explosion.

"It's an abstract definition that just requires common sense and—" She got cut off as the door opened. I've never been happier by a door being opened.

"We found someone!" Percy's voice rang like wedding bells through a funeral. "Am . . . Am I interrupting . . . something?" Then that sounded like a child interrupting mama and papa fighting.

"No!" Annabeth and I said in unison. We faced each other and just gave each other this look of acknowledgment. Rival respect. For what? No clue.

"That's my cue to leave now. I'll be in Artemis's for a while." I called as I swiftly passed by towards the door. "I liked finally getting to talk to you, Annabeth. It's nice to know that there's someone else like me here." Then, I smiled. She gained my respect. She is like me. She smiled back from her bed.

"Yes, it is." She called slowly.

Respect. That is all.

•Percy's POV•
I'll never understand women and their dastardly ways.

So. . .

You like it? 8D I love the tension with Annabeth and Katniss! And it only makes sense that Annabeth's straightforward personality is going to spark up with Katniss's rebelliousness! Anyway Im back from my trip across the pond ;) If you know what I mean HARR HARRRRR! Gah~! Anywayyyy! I wrote CH. 17-CH. 19 and half of CH. 20 :D REMEMBER MAH CHAPPSS ARE LONG, FOO! :DD Not that my trip was a total trainwreck (Yes, Im listening to that song this very instant :D) but it was like A LOT of roadtrip so…. Cant waste that precious time on sleeping…right? (Or reading my summer readingS) "I'LL SLEEP WHEN I DIE, DAMMIT." ~My awesome ETHICS teacher ;DD So um…yeah lol ill upload the other chappss as soon as my AWESOME LEGIT beta finished editing ;D

PS!

LOVE ALL THE FREAKING PPL WHO FAVORED THIS STORY AND REVEIWED! BROUGHT A SMILE TO THIS SOUL - 3

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