Nina's Destiny

Echidna and the Chimera

Nina's POV

That night, we camped out in a clearing close to the road. There were beer and soda cans littered all over the ground. Teenagers had used this spot to party. Grover had looked sadly at the ground before climbing up into a tree and lying down. I guess being a satyr made him really connected to the earth. Percy leant back against the tree Grover was sitting in, and they started talking. I wanted to give them some privacy, so I walked away and curled up on the ground near Annabeth.

"Hey," Annabeth mumbled. I looked up to see her in the tree above me.

"How's it going," I said, craning my neck to be able to see her.

"Good, I guess," she sighed. "This isn't how I expected my first quest to go. I thought it would be easier."

"Yeah," I said. "This isn't how I expected my summer back from school to go."

Annabeth giggled a little. "I guess you just got sucked up from one crazy world to the next," she laughed. I nodded. "Well, I'm going to sleep," she said. "Night."

"Night," I mumbled back. I closed my eyes and instantly fell asleep.

The next morning, I was awoken by the sun. The rays of light were just peeking through the trees. It was beautiful. I had always thought the sun was beautiful. I looked around. There was no one else awake.

"Nina?" Annabeth mumbled from above me. I looked up. "Can you move a bit, so I don't land on you?"

"Sure," I said. I moved to the side to make room for the other girl. She smiled at me as she landed next to me.

"Anyone else awake?" she asked. I was about to shake my head when I saw Grover moving.

"Hey, guys," he said, standing up and stretching. "There any food?"

"I'll go find some," Annabeth volunteered. "I'm sure there's more food in Medusa's lair."

"I'll come too," I said. "I highly doubt wandering around alone is a good idea."

"Probably," Annabeth agreed.

Annabeth and I started off in the direction we had come from last night. It was a short, silent walk. We quickly made our way through the supply of food Medusa had and brought it back to where we had been camping. Percy was still sleeping, and Grover was sitting on the ground with a pink ball of fluff in his lap. A poodle?

"Hey, guys," Grover said to us, grinning. "This is Gladiola. Say hello."

"Hello, Gladiola," Annabeth said. She rolled her eyes fondly at Grover. I wondered how long they had known each other.

"Hello," I said.

I sat down next to Percy and poked his cheek. He groaned and opened one eye.

"What?" he asked.

"Food," I replied, holding up my bag of chips. There hadn't been much in the way of breakfast in Medusa's lair.

The food seemed to get Percy's attention. He immediately sat down and grabbed one of the bags Annabeth and I had brought back. He was halfway through his bag of chips before he even noticed the poodle in Grover's lap.

"Who's the poodle?" Percy asked, raising an eyebrow at Grover.

"Percy, meet Gladiola. Gladiola, Percy." Gladiola yipped at Percy.

"I'm not saying hello to a pink poodle. Forget it," Percy said.

"Percy, I said hello to the poodle. You say hello to the poodle," Annabeth said.