[1] something new | pjo

xxii. twenty two

AFTER SPENDING TIME WITH THE ROMAN DEMIGOD IN THE CAMP JUPITER, DAPHNE THOUGH A FEW THINGS FINALLY RUBBING OFF ON HER.

If you think Clarisse is violently scary, then think of at least half of the camp is like that. Because she can't even remember the last time she had her outburst like that. Daphne is known to be the most level head in cabin five. But looked back a few minutes behind when she practically walking in the thin line for not actually knocked Percy into unconsciousness.

Rose and Jason is her good friends in Camp Jupiter. But there's not a lot of them with that kind personality. For example Octavian and his cronies that attempted to fight her at least twice a day or how the child of Venus—or Aphrodite actually knew how to put on a good fight. Daphne just can't imagine Silena Beauregard or anyone from cabin ten want to lift a sword that can ruined their perfectly polish nail or ruined the perfectly styled outfit.

"Daph,"

"Yes, Percy is there anything I can help?" she answered with a fake smile.

"Hmm...no, no it's just why are you so...calm?" Percy rubbed his neck awkwardly. The only female species he encountered is only his mother and Annabeth—since they go on the mission when they're twelve—perhaps Thalia, but that's it. So it's still awkward for him to spend time just the two of them alone in a car ride.

"What? Do you prefer I always snap at you like before?" Daphne raised her brow.

"No," Percy mumbled, "did they find Nico?"

"Nico who?"

"Nico di Angelo, he's missing,"

"Whoa, how can he's gone missing?" Daphne asked, surprised.

"You don't know?"

"Well, for the record, I haven't go to camp yet until today, so yes my dear Percy I don't know," she said with a sarcastic tone, "please enlighten me,"

"Where have you been?"

"Here and there," Daphne shrugged her shoulder, "what happened with Nico di Angelo, I thought you're his perfect role model or whatever it is?"

"When we get back to the camp after the winter solstice Nico was...angry,"

"Angry?"

Percy nodded, "Livid, no one told him about what happened with her sister. I think he blame it on me because I did promise him that I'll keep an eye on Bianca for him,"

"But you can't help it, Bianca death is in the prophecy, it's not anyone fault,"

"So, we walk to the dining pavilion and I tried to explain to him, and we got into a fight,"

"Nico said...he said she can felt his sister death. He can felt that she's in the Fields of Asphodel, standing before the judges, being evaluated," Percy said.

"What do you mean?"

Percy ignored her question and continued his story while looked at the window. At this rate, they can arrived at Camp Half-blood any time.

"The skeleton suddenly showed up. Nico thought I was going to trap him, to kill him," Percy said in a low tone. Daphne felt sorry for the boy.

"What a misunderstanding," Daphne mumbled, "then?"

"I actually don't understand this part. I fight the skeleton but as you know already, they can't be killed. Suddenly, the ground rumbled beneath me and then the skeletons froze. I rolled out of the way just as a crack opened at the feet of the four warriors. The ground ripped apart like a snapping mouth. Flames erupted from the fissure, and the earth swallowed the skeletons in one loud CRUNCH! In the place where the skeletons had stood, a twenty-foot-long scar wove across the marble floor of the pavilion. Otherwise there was no sign of the warriors,"