no matter how many times a snake shed its skin, it would always be a snake. no matter how hard kit dempsey tried to prove he was no longer a traitor, camp half-blood would always view him as the boy who betrayed them for kronos. but not leo valdez...
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CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE: HEAR A WHISPER
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"TOTO, I'VE A FEELING we're not in Kansas anymore," sang Leo, who stood beside Kit at the control panels the next morning. It was earlier than he would've liked to wake up. The sun was slowly creeping into the sky like Apollo was late to taking his Sun Chariot for a spin, but despite this (and the constant threat of danger and impending doom, duh!), everyone was in relatively high spirits.
Well, almost everyone.
As Kit sighed and dropped his head into his hands, Leo began humming the tune of We're off to See the Wizard for what felt like the billionth time since Leo had woken him up with a pillow to the face. It wouldn't have shocked Kit, really, if Leo had been singing the wretched song in his sleep - ever since Kit and Piper had joked about it the night before, even. It was a very Leo thing to do and it drove Kit bonkers.
"Please," he groaned, rubbing his temples and pouting when a fresh-faced Piper walked past with a bagel in hand. Just one glimpse at Kit's deadpan expression and Leo's gleaming eyes as he bobbed his head to the song and she was on the brink of laughter. "Shut up."
The last thing he wanted -- or needed -- was the Wizard of Oz soundtrack stuck on a loop in his head.
"But Christopher," Leo smirked at him. "We're off to see the wizard, aren't we?"
"I'm going to strangle you."
"Would you? Sounds hot."
"Goodbye!"
Leo snorted then, infuriatingly unbothered as he tapped away on his controls. He gazed at Kit's hunched shoulders with a keen sense of fondness as Kit joined Piper and Jason by the railing. Jason nodded at him in greeting; albeit, he was more focused on Piper, who had broken off a piece of her bagel and handed it to Kit.
"A peace offering," she chuckled when he raised an eyebrow at her. She dipped her chin at Leo. "For encouraging that."
"Apology not accepted," Kit huffed, but he took the bagel anyway and Piper seemed more amused than bothered by his moody scowl. She merely grinned, patting him on the shoulder while he chomped away on the pastry.
Fortunately, it didn't take long for everyone else to show up. Percy stood nearby with his arm around Annabeth's shoulder. The blonde girl couldn't contain her smile, and Kit had to admit (begrudgingly so) that it was good to have the old her back. Even if the old Annabeth meant having the metaphorical gum on the bottom of his shoe, aka Percy Jackson, around again too.
