sweet dreams • leo valdez

12

After a close call with three monstrous fire-breathing snakes, they made it inside 'Rainbow Organic Foods and Lifestyles'.

It was certainly a strange shop. There were tie-dyed shirts, fairy-like dresses, wind chimes. It seemed like hippie central. She was sure she could smell incense, and there was macrame and crystal balls everywhere. 

"Fortune-teller's shop?" Frank wondered out loud. 

"Hope not." Hazel muttered under her breath. 

Percy was looking even worse than before, all pale and sweaty. "Sit down... maybe water."

"Yeah. Let's find you a place to rest." Frank nodded and moved between two fountains with Neptune statues on them. 

"Here." Delilah reached into her bag and pulled out a flask which she'd packed earlier and handed it over to Percy. He immediately gulped it down, looking rejuvenated (though not by much) in mere seconds. 

"Can I help you?" A girl suddenly appeared from behind some piles of granola, causing Frank to jump and knock over on of the fountains. Neptune's head cracked off and rolled onto the floor and water sprayed onto some rainbow print satchels. 

"Sorry!" Frank blurted out and bent down to help clean up, only to narrowly miss hitting the girl with his spear. 

"Eep! Hold it! It's okay!" She shouted out. Frank thankfully stood up straight and stilled. Delilah felt second-hand embarrassment for him, Hazel looked mortified, and Percy looked sick at the sight of his decapitated dad.

This turned out to be the best solution, since with a clap of her hands, the girl got rid of the fountain and spilled water. "Really, it's no problem." She told Frank. "Those Neptune fountains are so grumpy-looking, they bum me out." Delilah was then able to get a good look at her. She was short, yet muscular, with white frizzy hair despite her youthful look. Her eyes were striking, changing from grey to black to white in the matter of moments. 

"Uh... sorry about the fountain. We were just-" Frank stammered out. 

"Oh, I know! You want to browse. It's all right. Demigods are welcome. Take your time. You're not like those awful monsters. They just want to use the restroom and never buy anything!" The girl snorted and her eyes flashed briefly with lightning. Something about her clearly wasn't mortal, though she didn't have the aura of a goddess. 

"Fleecy? Don't scare the customers, now. Bring them here, will you?" A voice suddenly called from the back the store. Now this must be the goddess. 

"Your name is Fleecy?" Hazel asked, one eyebrow raised slightly.

Fleecy just laughed. "Well, in the language of the nebulae it's actually-" Then she made some strange noises which sounded like the wind and crackling of a thunderstorm. "But you can call me Fleecy."

"Nebulae... Cloud nymphs." Percy said as well as he could in his current state. 

"Oh, I like this one!" Fleecy beamed at him, clearly pleased with his knowledge. "Usually no one knows about cloud nymphs. But dear me, he doesn't look so good. Come to the back. My boss wants to meet you. We'll get your friend fixed up."

They followed Fleecy to the back of the shop, past rows of fruit and vegetables. Behind the counter sat a quirky middle-aged woman. She was wearing colourful necklaces and rings with rimless glasses, and Delilah could smell rose petals as soon as she got close to her. 

"Hello!" The woman said enthusiastically, leaning over the counter to them. "So glad you're here. I'm Iris!"

Delilah wasn't expecting that, although it did make a lot of sense when she thought about it. Especially given the rainbows everywhere.