𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐋 𝐃𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑, percy jackson

CHAPTER 81! she'd die knowing the only people who loved her were out of reach

annabeth picked up a chunk of jagged black obsidian and crept to the left. percy went right, his sword ready. cherry could feel her hands warming up.

bob took the middle, his spearhead glowing in the fog.

the humming got louder, shaking the gravel. the noise seemed to be coming from immediately in front of them.

"ready?" bob murmured.

annabeth crouched, preparing to spring. "on three?"

"one," percy whispered. "two-"

a figure appeared in the fog. bob raised his spear.

"wait!" annabeth shrieked.

bob froze just in time, the point of his spear hovering an inch above the head of a tiny calico kitten.

"rrow?" said the kitten, clearly unimpressed by their attack plan.

it butted its head against bob's foot and purred loudly.

it seemed impossible, but the deep rumbling sound was coming from the kitten. as it purred, the  ground vibrated and pebbles danced.

cherry gasped.

she picked up the animal, without waiting to see if it'd grow a large pair of fangs and eat her in one gulp.

"oh my god." she cooed, holding up the cat as if it were a baby.

everybody took turns holding the cat.

finally, the cat grew leaped out percy's arms, and padded over to bob.

percy laughed. "somebody likes you. bob."

"it must be a good monster." bob looked up nervously. "isn't it?"

tartarus swallowed titans and demigods and kittens indiscriminately.

bob knelt down and scooped up the cat. it fit perfectly in bob's palm, but it decided to explore. 

it climbed the titan's arm, made itself at home on his shoulder, and closed its eyes, purring like an earthmover.

suddenly its fur shimmered. in a flash, the kitten became a ghostly skeleton, as if it had
stepped behind an x-ray machine. then it was a regular kitten again.

"what the.." cherry trailed off.

"oh, man, i know that kitten. it's one of the ones from the smithsonian." percy realized.

atlas's first attempt to create skeleton warriors out of dragon teeth went wrong. he'd planted saber-toothed tiger teeth by mistake, and raised a batch of skeleton kittens from the soil.

"that 's one of them?" annabeth asked. "how did it get here?"

percy spread his hands helplessly. "atlas told his servants to take the kittens away. maybe they destroyed the cats and they were reborn in tartarus? i don't know."

"it's cute," bob said, as the kitten sniffed his ear.

"it's so cute." cherry agreed, her heart warming up.

percy and annabeth could feel the pure joy radiating off of her. it made them feel better.

"but is it safe?" annabeth asked.

the titan scratched the kitten's chin.

"i will call him small bob," said bob. "he is a good monster."

end of discussion. the titan hefted his spear and they continued marching into the gloom.

cherry and percy spent the entire walk holding hands.