𝙼𝙸𝚂𝚂 𝙶𝚁𝚄𝙼𝙿𝚈 {𝙿𝙴𝚁𝙲𝚈 𝙹.}

v; "𝙈𝙄𝙎𝙎 𝙂𝙍𝙐𝙈𝙋𝙔"

Percy rose and settled beside Eloise on the hay, their knees touching.

Eloise manipulated the message, its movements accompanied by an ethereal ringing indicating a potential connection.

The light from outside cast a beautiful array of colors as it reflected onto the truck's wall.

"I've got a signal," Eloise remarked. She glanced over at Percy, whose gaze reflected amazement at the colorful spectacle.

"..Toss it, Seaweed brain," Eloise nudged him with an elbow, noting his grasp on a drachma.

Percy casually tossed the drachma like any other coin, watching as it vanished into the mist of the reflective surface.

"Okay. This will never stop being weird," Percy muttered, perplexed. "If you want the god's attention, you have to pay for it," Eloise clarified.

Eloise closed her eyes gently. "Oh, Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, please accept my offering," she intoned, opening her eyes.

The reflection began to shift and transform, maintaining its colorful hue, indicating Iris had accepted her offering. Excitement lit up Eloise's eyes. "Okay, show me Camp Half-Blood. Chiron's office."

The reflection began to reveal a familiar figure: Luke. His back turned slowly away from them, gradually revealing his face. "Luke?" Percy muttered, perplexed, unsure why he was appearing.

"Eloise? Percy! Are you guys okay?" Luke's voice echoed faintly through the connection. "Yeah, w-we're fine... Where's Chiron?" she stammered.

"Chiron's holding camp together with both hands. Everyone thinks we're going to war, so the cabins are taking sides."

Juniper's eyes flickered open, accompanied by a slight yawn. She glanced at the wall in front of her, "What the- Luke?" she said, her voice laden with fatigue.

Luke smiled upon seeing Juniper. "Hey, Juniper! Please tell me you guys are calling in with good news," he said, hopeful for a positive update.

"We know who stole the bolt," Percy declared, his voice brimming with confidence. "How do you know?" Luke asked, his eyebrows furrowed in curiosity, briefly glancing between Juniper and the two who sat on the hay.

"We ran into Ares, and Grover and Annabeth got him talking and realized Ares knew who the thief was but was covering for them. So, who would Ares cover for other than..." Eloise explained, her tone serious.

"His favorite daughter. Clarisse is the lightning thief," Luke said, his voice tinged with realization. "Chiron's gotta arrest her, find out what she knows. There's more to this than just the bolt, something bigger. Don't ask me how I know, you just gotta trust me," Percy urged, shifting his gaze between Eloise and Luke.

Luke nodded. "Okay, I'm on it. So, Ares, huh? What was that like?" he asked, his tone playful.

"Well... compared to the Chimera on Monday and Medusa on Sunday, could have been a lot worse," Percy replied, nodding.

Eloise scrunched her nose, turning to Percy. "Medusa was Saturday," she corrected him.

"I thought Sunday," Percy said, his voice softer. Eloise shook her head at him. "No monsters Sunday. Monday, you died in the river," she clarified. Percy nodded, understanding. "Right. So, Medusa on Saturday," he corrected himself.