Another Love ─── L. Castellan

xl. i'm a nice person but even i have my limits

"That's impossible!" Clarisse said.

"Time travels differently in monstrous places," 

"Thalia's tree must be almost dead," Grover wailed. "We have to get the Fleece back tonight."

Clarisse slumped down on the pavement. "How are we supposed to do that?" Her voice trembled. "We're hundreds of miles away. No money. No ride. This is just like the Oracle said."

"Clarisse, calm down, we can still do this," Luke placated as Grover and I stressed in a corner.

"We're gonna die," Grover muttered. "We're gonna fail."

"Obviously," I nodded, urging him on. 

"Andi, stop stressing Grover out. Clarisse, now is not the time for a crisis," Luke placated everyone, as Clarisse stamped her feet, Grover chewed on his cap and I snickered in a corner. 

Finally, I decided that perhaps this might be the time to be a serious. I know, what a rarity, but I do have my sincere moments on occasions.

"Clarisse," I said, "what did the Oracle tell you exactly?"

She looked up. I thought she was going to tell me off, but instead she took a deep breath and recited her prophecy:

"You shall sail the iron ship with warriors of bone, you shall find what you seek and make it your own, but despair for your life entombed within stone, and fail without friends, to fly home alone."

"Ouch," Grover mumbled.

"No," I said. "No...wait a minute. I've got it."

I searched my pockets for money, and found nothing but a golden drachma. "Does anybody have any cash? Luke, please say you do."

"No such luck, Sleeping Beauty," Clarisse pulled a wet Confederate dollar from her pocket and sighed.

"Cash?" Tyson asked hesitantly. "Like...green paper?"

I looked at him. "Yeah."

"Like the kind in duffel bags?"

"Yeah, but we lost those bags days a-g-g—"

I stuttered to a halt as Tyson rummaged in his saddle pack and pulled out the Ziploc bag full of cash that Hermes had included in our supplies.

"Tyson!" I said. "You absolutely amazing brother. How did you--?"

"Thought it was a feed bag for Rainbow," he said. "Found it floating in sea, but only paper inside. Sorry."

He handed me the cash. Fives and tens, at least three hundred dollars.

"Luke, I love your dad," I told my boyfriend, who rolled his eyes, before grabbing Clarisse and tugging her to a taxi. "Come on. You're going to the airport. Luke, give her the Fleece."

Clarisse said, "You'd let me—"

"It's your quest," I said. "We only have enough money for one flight. Besides, I can't travel by air. Zeus would blast me into a million pieces. That's what the prophecy meant: you'd fail without friends, meaning you'd need our help, but you'd have to fly home alone. You have to get the Fleece back safely."

I could see her mind working, processing what I had said, before nodding.

She jumped in the cab. "You can count on me. I won't fail."

"Not failing would be good."

The cab peeled out in a cloud of exhaust. The Fleece was on its way.

"Another happy quest," I muttered, turning back to look at Grover, Tyson and Luke, who was shaking his head. "What?"