EUDAEMONIC - p. jackson

chapter six

the next morning, maeve woke up extra early. if you consider 3 a.m. extra early, of course. she tried falling back asleep, but at around 5 a.m. she gave up. as silently as she could, maeve began to pack her bag.

she kept her backpack as lightweight as possible while still carrying all of her necessities. she had two spare outfits and all of the hygiene products she could think off. with that, she packed some extra batteries for her flashlight, a first aid kit with mortal medicine, and attached a bedroll to the back of her bag.

she knew the others would all be bringing nectar and ambrosia, but since she wasn't actually a demigod, chiron warned her not to take the godly food unless absolutely necessary.

by the time she had all of that packed, maeve barely had enough space to stick a few protein bars in. the cabin was still silent as she tried, and struggled, to put her hair into a ponytail.

"fuck!" she sobbed out in a whisper, repeatedly slamming the hairbrush against her head. the stress of the last few days was hitting her all at once, and the fact that her hair wasn't cooperating just topped it all off.

suddenly, someone was in the doorway. maeve tried to wipe away her tears, but the evidence was still on her face.

"you okay?" leah asked, her voice groggy from just waking up.

"yeah," maeve sniffled. "i'm fine. sorry for waking you."

"don't worry about it," the young girl smiled. "do you want me to make you some breakfast?"

"oh, no thank you," maeve smiled softly.

leah didn't look sad, but instead mad. "are you sure?" she insisted.

"uhm, yeah," maeve nodded again. "sorry."

leah looked upset, scared even, but eventually wandered off back to her bed. maeve shook her head, but she knew the young girl was just nervous, as was the entire camp, so she continued on with her hair. after what felt like ages, she finally managed to get it into a high-pony.

for an outfit, maeve settled on a pair of athletic leggings with a tight camp shirt like she'd worn the day before. overtop, she slid on a baggy zip-up hoodie she'd stolen from percy.

with her bag packed and slung over her shoulder, maeve took a deep breath and pushed open the door.

the brunette's first stop was to get some breakfast, so she made her way to the dining hall. the breakfast was still being prepared, but one of the cooking harpies had made some of food extra early, so maeve got a piping hot plate of waffles. she added on all of the toppings she wanted, and after thanking the staff, she took the plate with her to the beach.

the sun was barely rising as she sit atop a picnic table, staring out at the waves splashing against the shore. she finished her plate, but still stared silently out at the water. the sun was just above the horizon when maeve could hear footsteps behind her.

she turned around and met the eyes of cleo, whom looked like she did not want to be awake. "hey girl," cleo greeted with a smile, her voice still groggy from just waking up. she took a seat next to maeve, though she actually sat on the bench, in contrast to maeve, whom sat on the table itself.

"hey," maeve greeted back. "you're up early."

cleo laughed softly. "what kind of friend would i be if i let you go off without saying goodbye?"

"don't say it like that," maeve scrunched her face up. "it makes it sound like i'm not coming back."

"would you rather i say 'see you later, alligator'?"