anti hero - percy jackson ²

xvi. coffee and conversations

"let's go kill a giant."

She woke up at a sidewalk cafe.

It was a sunny morning, and the air was brisk. Other people sat at the other tables, chatting and drinking coffee.

The smell of eucalyptus trees filled her nose, bringing back not so pleasant memories.

They were in California.

Lots of foot traffic passed in front of the shops, the streets lined with bottlebrush trees and blooming azaleas, like winter was an entirely foreign concept.

The rest of her quest mates sat in the chairs around her—all of them dozing pleasantly, with their hands folded across their chests. They also had brand new clothes on.

"Mother!" It came from Piper, who had also just woken up.

Jason flinched, bumping the table with his knees, and then everyone was awake.

"What?" Hedge demanded. "Fight who? Where?"

"Falling!" Leo grabbed the table. "No—not falling. Where are we?"

Jason made a little choking sound when he looked at Piper. "What are you wearing?"

Piper blushed. She was wearing a turquoise dress with black leather boots, and a snowboarding jacket, which surprisingly matched her outfit. Her hair had also been done, making it not look like a birds nest. She pulled out her dagger to examine her reflection.

"It's nothing" She said. "It's my—" She stopped herself. "It's nothing."

Leo grinned. "Aphrodite strikes again, huh? You're gonna be the best-dressed warrior in town, beauty queen."

"Hey, Leo." Jason nudged his arm. "You look at yourself recently?"

"What... oh."

All of them had been given a makeover. Leo wore pinstriped pants, black leather shoes, a white collarless shirt with suspenders, and his took belt, Ray-Ban sunglasses, and a porkpie hat.

"God, Leo." Piper was trying not to laugh. "I think my dad wore that to his last premiere, minus the tool belt."

"Hey, shut up!"

"I think he looks good" Coach Hedge said. "Course, I look better."

The satyr was wearing a headache inducing amount of pastels. Aphrodite had dressed him in a baggy canary yellow zoot suit with two-toned shoes that somehow fit over hit hooves. He had a matching yellow broad-brimmed hat, a rose-colored shirt, a baby blue tie, and a blue carnation in his lapel, which Hedge sniffed and then ate.

"Well" Jason said, "at least your mom overlooked me."

Jason was dressed in jeans and a clean purple t-shirt, like he had worn at the Grand Canyon. He had a new pair of sneakers, and his hair was newly trimmed.

"Does anyone have a mirror?" Cassandra asked. "I wholeheartedly trust Aphrodite when it comes to fashion, but I'd like to actually see... why are you staring at me?"

"And you and this Percy dude are like totally in love with each other, right?" Leo asked, nudging a metal napkin dispenser in her direction.

"First, I'm not in love with Percy" She said, narrowing her eyes slightly. "And second, I wouldn't date you if you were the only person left in the entire universe."

She picked up the napkin dispenser to examine her reflection.

Her hair was in a slicked-back ponytail, that was then braided. She was wearing a minimal amount of makeup, mainly just some pink lip gloss and concealer to cover her dark circles, but she could tell that Aphrodite had applied some blush, highlighter, and mascara.