𝐏𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐎𝐑𝐀'𝐒 𝐁𝐎𝐗! heroes of olympus²

v. vengeful appetite

    Percy told Savreen about Hazel.

    She was surprised when he pulled her and Leo aside before they left. They had heard so much about Percy Jackson that seeing him, in person, almost didn't feel quite real. She had heard of great achievements and she had heard of little sweet things. Claire had talked about him so much to Savreen as a way to keep herself going that she almost felt as if she knew him. She did not, though▬she supposed that was the strangest thing about it.

    Savreen understood that he believed he was doing them a favour, but she had a feeling he didn't know he sounded as if he was prepared to throw them into the water and feed them to a great white shark if they let anything happened to Hazel.

    Claire once said to Savreen that she reminded her of Percy. That in many ways, they were similar. After speaking to him and hearing about Hazel's story, Savreen didn't see it▬she didn't know what the daughter of Apollo had meant. She couldn't see any similarity in herself to that of a hero▬for that was what everyone at Camp Half-Blood called him. That was how they treated him.

    He told them that Hazel was the daughter of Pluto. That she had died back in the 1940s and had been brought back to life only a few months ago. This startled her▬it made Savreen blink and look at Hazel completely differently than she had before.

    When they dismounted at the beach, Arion threw his head and whinnied▬his hooves scuffed the sand. Hazel pursed her lips and quickly explained: "He needs to eat. He likes gold, but▬"

    "Gold?" frowned Leo.

    "He'll settle for grass. Go on, Arion. Thanks for the ride. I'll call you."

    And just like that, the horse was gone▬nothing but a trail of billowing left where he had just been. Savreen coughed and wafted it away.

    "Fast horse," muttered Leo, "and expensive to feed."

    "Not really," murmured Hazel off-handedly. "Gold is easy for me."

    Leo and Savreen shared an incredulous look at this. "How is gold easy? Please tell me you're not related to King Midas▬I don't like that guy."

    Hazel pursed her lips. She looked as if she regretted bringing it up and now wanted anything more than to change the subject. "Never mind," she muttered.

    Savreen watched her for a moment longer, curious. But she let it be. Deep down, she wondered how any of them could ever be a team if they kept secrets from each other. If Greeks and Romans could form an alliance▬work together, they needed to trust each other. But she could tell Hazel was hesitant around Leo▬no, it was more than that. She looked at Leo as if she was staring at a ghost she once knew, and it made Savreen uneasy.

    If he noticed, he didn't say anything about it. Instead, Leo knelt down and cupped a handful of white sand. "Well ... one problem solved, anyway. This is lime."

    Hazel made a face, "Wait▬the whole beach? Seriously?"

    "Yeah. See?" he held it up for her to look. "The granules are perfectly round. It's not really sand. It's calcium carbonate. Sav..."

    "Yep▬" she jolted out of her thoughts and opened one of the pockets of his tool belt. It was a magical masterpiece▬a rabbit hole of endless resources from breath-mints to hammers. As long as Leo thought of it, there it would be waiting. Savreen pulled out an airtight bag and opened it up, holding it out so he could pour the lime inside.

    She secured it again and passed it over to which he grinned, "Gracias."

    But then just like that, he froze. The smile wiped off his face and he stared at the lime inside the bag. Savreen frowned, alarmed. "Leo?" she spoke up carefully. Hazel grew tense▬and Sav knew what she was thinking, that the same person Leo had been that had fired on New Rome had returned. Her fingers inched towards her sword. "Leo," Savreen said again, more urgent this time. "You all right?"