𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍° ! percy jackson

𝐢.𝐱𝐯𝐢𝐢𝐢 - 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐛𝐨𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐯𝐚 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 (𝐚)

"The other animals first," Grover said, and Percy obliged, cutting the locks off with his swords. Aurora's brain wasn't exactly working properly, still yearning for sleep, but she managed to unsheathe Oleander and mimic what Percy was doing, her heart squeezing with relief as the animals galloped out of their restricting and inhumane cages.

Percy's brows furrowed. "Will the animals be okay? I mean, the desert and all—"

"Don't worry," Grover replied. "I placed a satyr's sanctuary on them."

"Meaning?"

Aurora finally spoke up, rubbing her eyes, looking around in a daze as all the animals rioted around the people of Las Vegas. "They'll reach wild safely, find shelter, and whatever more they need until they find a safe place to live." Percy stared at her strangely, and she shrugged. She was one with nature, and everything that went along with that title.

"Why can't you place a blessing like that on us?" Percy asked, turning to Grover with hope.

Grover just looked at his friend and stated plainly, "It only works on wild animals."

"So it would only affect Percy," Annabeth reasoned.

Aurora let out a laugh as the said boy let out an indignant, "Hey!"

She turned to Percy and reached out her hand, squinting due to her waking up not even five minutes ago. She wrapped her fingers around his cheeks and squished them so he was making what looked like fish lips. His skin was warm under her grasped fingers. "This face? Definitely an animal."

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Aurora never had the best sense of direction, but she decided that Tyche might've done her a favor as she turned to a dead end and approached a huge neon flower.

It was a lotus, its petals lighting up and blinking. Nothing reminded her more of home than that, an electric flower with petals bigger than her entire body and an intoxicating aroma.

No one was going in or out, but the glittering chrome doors were open, spilling out air-conditioning that smelled like a lotus blossom. It was a familiar scent to Aurora, but something was slightly different. She couldn't put her finger on it, however.

The doorman smiled at them. "Welcome to the Lotus Hotel and Casino. You look tired. You want to come in and sit down?"

Aurora wanted to be suspicious, but the flower seemed so happy. It was as if Persephone had given her a gift. And for the first time ever, someone seemed sympathetic of their situation.

Percy nodded eagerly. "We'd love to come in."

"Woah. This is unreal." Aurora's jaw dropped as soon as they entered.

The whole lobby was a giant game room, leading to five movie theaters. There was an indoor water slide snaking around the glass elevator, which went straight up at least forty floors. There was a climbing wall on the side of one building, and an indoor bungee jumping bridge. There were virtual reality suits with working laser guns.

"Come on, Shark Boy. We're going in there." Aurora walked forward, giddy with elation. Her friends followed, eyes wide with amazement as the place seemed to expand and get even bigger, with even more incredible attractions.