Another Love ─── L. Castellan

lxvi. i just wanted one morning where someone didn't try to kill me

"Then, they've changed the-oh shit." Luke's change of words caused me to stop and turn to face him, my hand reaching for my pocket as I tried to see what he was looking at. There was no monsters around, and as far as I could see, it was just mortals.

"What is it? What's the problem?"

"You remember I told you that I almost killed a mortal at the Hoover Dam?"

"Yeah." I had laughed hysterically when he told me that one.

"Well, she's here," Luke muttered, looking over my shoulder at something behind me. 

"She's here?"

"Yup, red head over your right shoulder," I pretended to look at the arrivals board, my eyes searching through the crowd until I found who Luke was looking at. "See her?"

"Yep and she's looking right at us," I muttered, turning away and smiling up at him. "Should we run?"

"Annabeth's plane has just landed so we can't." He looked like he wanted to bolt.

"She's coming over." I whispered.

"Damn it." He hissed, and I wondered if our day could get any more awkward, or worse. That was always a dangerous thing to say when you were a demigod, because the answer was always yes, your day could get a lot worse. 

"Oh, there's some empousai here as well, they're also looking right at us."

"You jinxed it!"

"I didn't."

"You jinxed it in your head." Luke countered, as I scowled. "Alright, rock, paper, scissors. I win, you have to deal with the Rachel and I'll deal with the empousai, you win, I have to deal with Rachel and you can deal with the empousai."

Both of us had decided that the empousai were the easier of the two options.

"Good plan," We held both our hands out. "Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!"

"Shit!" Luke hissed as I cackled. What he didn't know was I was very good at rock, paper, scissors. He scowled, before brushing past me for Rachel, who was still walking towards us as I headed in the other direction. Hurrying over, I got Riptide into my hand, ready to flip the lid off and attack them. Their grins dropped, having not expected me to walk over willingly.

"Ah, Andromeda Jac-"

"Yeah, yeah, you're here to kill me, your master is great and wonderful, blah, blah, blah. I've heard it before." I wrapped my arms around their shoulders, holding their arms into their side as they struggled. "Let's take this outside."

"Curse you, half-blood,"

"Thanks." 

"We will kill you!" The other one called.

"Get in line." I muttered, smiling at a security guard who was watching me with suspicion. I put on my best grin, wondering what he was seeing through the mist, before he turned back to the arrivals hall. We got outside, away from the cameras, before I threw them away from me, pulling out Riptide.

They struggled to get their bearings, leaving me enough time to kick the first to the floor. She was no match for Riptide, which I had thrown at her as it changed back into it's sword form. She evaporated into golden sand, as the other yelped more a moment, backing away. It took her a moment as she seemed to process what I had done, and how casually it had happened.

When I first realised I was a demigod, killing my first monster had left me shattered. But like Luke had said, it gets easier as time goes on. I'd long since given up on caring about monsters, not when I knew that they'd kill me given half the chance.