𝐌𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐅𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐒 [pjo]

two; that awkward silence

━━━that awkward silence

.・゜゜・───・゜゜・．

The forum was bustling with energy, food whisked through the air by wind sprites and Romans chattering amongst each other.

The air at Cal's table was full of a nervous spark that crackled up and down her spine. She sat next to Annie, Percy on her other side. The rest of Annie's crew sat with them, along with Hazel, Frank, Reyna, and Octavian. Hazel kept staring at Cal's hand, which was resting in Annie's like she was waiting for it to disappear.

Cal swallowed the lump in her throat.

Annie and Percy were whispering to each other, and Annie kept squeezing her hand. Cal squeezed back.

When Annie leaned away from Percy, her shoulders were tight.

"Sunshine, you okay?" Cal whispered, and Annie glanced at her. She stared at Cal's eyes, watched the sunlight catch in them, and she nodded.

"I'm fine, Cal." She whispered back. Cal didn't believe her, and she squeezed her hand tighter.

Reyna stood up and toasted to friendship.

After, the whole group of them passed around stories. Jason explained how he got to Camp Half-Blood, memory-less, and how he'd gone on a quest with Leo and Piper to rescue Hera (Callahan rolled her eyes at Hera's name, and muttered 'fucking Hera.' under her breath. Annie slapped her shoulder.) from the Wolf House in northern California.

"Impossible!" Octavian yelled, "That's our most sacred place! If the giants had imprisoned a goddess there--"

"They would've destroyed her," Piper said. "And blamed it on the Greeks, and started a war between the camps. Now, be quiet and let Jason finish."

Octavian opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

Callahan grinned ear-to-ear, "Piper, right?" Piper nodded, "That was fucking amazing!"

Piper blushed, smiling back at Cal. "Thanks."

"So," Jason continued, "that's how we found out about the earth goddess Gaea. She's still half asleep, but she's the one freeing the monsters from Tartarus and raising the giants. Porphyrion, the big leader dude we fought at the Wolf House: he said he was retreating to the ancient lands—Greece itself. He plans on awakening Gaea and destroying the gods by...what did he call it? Pulling up their roots."

Percy nodded thoughtfully. "Gaea's been busy over here, too. We had our own encounter with Queen Dirt Face."

Percy recounted his side of the story. He talked about waking up at the Wolf House with no memories except for two names—Annabeth and Callahan, who woke up next to them. Callahan chimed in sometimes, adding her own piece once in awhile.

When Annie heard that, she had to try hard not to cry. Percy told them how he'd traveled to Alaska with Frank, Hazel, and Cal—how they'd defeated the giant Alcyoneus, freed the death god Thanatos, and returned with the lost golden eagle standard of the Roman camp to repel an attack by the giants' army.

Percy opened his mouth, said Cal's name, but shut up at Cal's fervent head shaking. Annie stared at her, questioning her, and Cal shook her head at her too.

Jason whistled appreciatively, "No wonder they made you praetor."

Octavian snorted. "Which means we now have three praetors! The rules clearly state we can only have two!"