Willow POV:
I walk towards the Mess Principia, which housed the Praetor House and Mess Hall. Before I could get too far, though, I was stopped by a familiar voice. "Got any food for me, Praetor?" I turn around and find myself looking at a curly haired, brown eyed boy with glasses and a worn down satchel. Except it's not a boy. From the waist down, he is a goat. "Hey, Don! Don the Faun," I say, laughing and pointing finger guns at him. Don smiles and walks, or gallops, towards me, slinging an arm around my shoulders. "You should wear your cape. I almost didn't recognize you," he says, making me stop. I facepalm myself. Of course, I forgot. I quickly reach my arm into a shadow portal and pull my purple hoodie out. Slipping it on, I brush my hand over my shoulder, and a purple cape with gold armor appears on me. "Better?" I ask, twirling around to face Don. "Looking like a true praetor," he replies, giving me two thumb ups. I smile at him warmly. "So, about the food?" He asks, rubbing his belly, "I'm hungry." I look at him sadly, "So am I Don," I say, and his smile falls off of his face. "So you don't have any food?" He asks, and I shake my head. "But I can get some," I say to him, and he smiles again. I quickly shadow portal some sandwiches and hand them to him. "Enjoy!" I say. He grabs them and stuffs one in his mouth while putting the rest in his satchel. "By the way, Jason and Reyna were asking for you," he says. I stare at him, "And you didn't tell me before?!" He shrugs, and I groan, then turn and walk on the path. "They're in the Praetor House if you're wondering," Don calls out, making me roll my eyes. Of course, they were there. They're praetors, aren't they?
When I reach Mess Principia, I am thoroughly surprised. No one seemed panicked. All the campers looked calm and normal. So what was the emergency. Suddenly, Reyna rushes towards me and engulfs me in a hug. "Thank the gods you're here. There's a big emergency," she blurts out as she hugs me. "Let her breathe, Reyna. Calm down," someone says from behind her, and she let's go. Reyna flips her long black braid behind her back and stares at me with her obsidian eyes. To anyone else, she would look really intimidating. But to me, she was a cinnamon roll. She was one of the sweetest people I knew. Ambling casually behind her is a tall, muscled boy with close-cropped blonde hair and electric blue eyes. Jason Grace. "Thank you," I huff out. "So, what the emergency?" Reyna looks around nervously, and Jason rolls his eyes. "Octavian's missing," she whispers. "Ummm...OK... So what's the emergency?" I ask again, genuinely concerned now.
Reyna looks at me flabbergasted, and Jason laughs. "I told you," he says, and I look at them confusedly. "That's the emergency, Wil. Octavian's missing," Jason says. I turn to Reyna in annoyance. "That's the emergency?! You should be happy that we're finally rid of him. That annoying rat," I say angrily. "That's what I told her," Jason says grumpily, "But she insisted on calling you. Hopefully, you can track him down," he continues. "Wait," I say, raising my hands up, "You want me to FIND a person who I've been trying to get RID OF for the past 7 years??" I exclaim, waving my hands around frantically. "He's the augur, Willow. The camp depends on him for luck," Reyna reasons. Jason scoffs, "Yeah, bad luck," he says, making me snicker in amusement. Reyna glares at him, and he pretends to zip his mouth and throw the key away. "I figured that if you can find people using your powers, you can find him," Reyna says matter-of-factly. I scoff and roll my eyes, "That's only for people who I'm EMOTIONALLY ATTACHED to. Maybe you should try since you seem pretty worried about him," I say annoyedly.
"You hate Octavian, right?" Reyna asks. "Nooo, I love him," I reply sarcastically. Reyna rolls her eyes, "Well, that's an emotion," she says, and I frown, well aware of where this was going. "That makes you emotionally attached. Bonded through hate," she says with a flourish, and my frown deepens when I realize that she's right. "Though I don't think he hates you, Wil. I think he's in love with you," she says with a laugh. My face contorts in disgust. "No way in Pluto's realm," I say, shaking my head in denial. "Can you just find him so we can get this done with? Plus, didn't you have something to say?" Jason says to me in annoyance. My mind goes back to the whole scene with Stiles, and I shake my head, "Yeah," I say and then focus my powers on the earth, pouring all my hate for Octavian into finding him. Ironic, right? After a few seconds, I feel his hateful and disgusting aura. I roll my eyes and sigh, "Did you check the temples?" I ask boredly. Reyna shakes her head slowly. "Wow. Because the AUGUR would NEVER be in the temples!" I exclaim sarcastically. Reyna looks down sheepishly. "He's in Neptune's temple. I have no idea what he's doing there. Maybe you should ask him," I say, then walk towards Jason and grab his arm. "By the way, I'm borrowing your boyfriend," I say to her and pull Jason towards Bacchus's garden. "He's not my boyfriend," Reyna calls out at the same time as Jason says, "I'm not her boyfriend." I laugh slightly, "Keep telling yourself that."
When we reach the Gardens, I plop down angrily. "What a waste of time!" I exclaim as Jason sits down next to me. "I told her not to bother you. Well, what did you wanna talk about?" He asks, and I turn to look at him, "You will never believe what Stiles said to me!" Jason raises an eyebrow, but before I can continue, I hear soft giggling from behind me before someone hushes it. I turn around to find a group of 10 to 11 year old girls staring at us, "Not a single peaceful place in this whole stupid camp!" I say, looking at the sky in annoyance, before getting up, "I don't think they know what privacy is," I say, about to walk towards the group when Jason grabs my arm and pulls me down. "There just kids. Let them have some fun. Nothing interesting happens here anyway," he says. "When I was their age, I was fighting monsters and saving lives. Not watching two praetors talking," I said. "I know. I know. But you did that, so others would be safe. Now they don't have to go through what you did. Isn't that what you told me?" He states gently. I hang my head in defeat. He was right. I had said that. "I'm just so annoyed, and I need someone to vent to, and these people are being annoying, and -" Jason puts a finger to my lips.
"How about we go somewhere ... quieter?" He says, "Somewhere you can vent freely?" He continues and stands up, holding his hand out. I get up and grab it. "So where do you wanna go?" I ask. "Anywhere," Jason replies. "Let's go to Beacon Hills," I say to him, heading towards a shadowy place when Jason stops me. "Not like that," he says. I look at him curiously, "Then how?" He smiles and wraps an arm around my waist, pulling me towards him, "We'll fly," he says softly. I laugh, "There's no way you can fly to Beacon Hills," I say. "Faith, trust, and a son of Jupiter," Jason replies with a wink. Suddenly, I feel a light wind envelope me, almost like the shadows do when I shadow travel. And then we're up.
The wind whipped through my hair as we flew through the sky. I tried my best to use the Mist to cover us up like Chiron had taught me. I'm pretty sure seeing two flying teenagers wasn't normal. Not even in demigod standards. It was exhilarating but scary at the same time. I was afraid that Jason might drop me, but he didn't even falter a little. Guess he had changed a lot. Before I knew it, my feet touched the soft ground, and I breathed a sigh of relief. We had arrived at a cliff outside Beacon Hills. You could see the whole town from here. "Well, that was fast," I exclaim and look up to find Jason's blue eyes staring into mine. I froze slightly before clearing my throat and pushing away from him. Jason quickly let go and rubbed his neck nervously, "I told you we'd reach here quickly," he says. "I guess you were right. I'm impressed. You really are Peter Pan," I say and laugh, making him laugh too. "Actually, I'm a blonde superman. So, what were you going to say," he asks. I sigh annoyedly, "Stiles was being overprotective, possessive, and annoying," I say. "Is that really a new thing?" Jason says, raising an eyebrow. "Normally, it's different. This time, it was his best friend. He asked me if I liked Scotty and was acted like we were together or something," I say angrily, and Jason nods, encouraging me to go ahead. I proceeded to tell him about everything that happened. One of the things that I love about Jason is that he is an amazing listener. I could talk for ages, and he would listen, never making me feel as if I was being heard or that I wasn't important. He never interrupted either. He just listened.
After ages of talking, I take a deep breath and pause, "So, that was my problem," I say to him. Jason hums softly, deep in thought before speaking, "You don't think that Stiles...you know...likes you, maybe?" He says. I let out a laugh. "Stiles? No. Never. He's too in love with Lydia to pay attention to any other girl," I say. "Are you sure?" Jason asks, staring intensely at me. "Positive. Why?" I ask. He looks away towards the town. "Anyone could like you, Wil," he says softly. "Well, that gives me a lot of confidence," I reply with a smile. "Why? Do you like someone?" He asks, looking at me curiously. "Yeah," I sigh, "But the problem is, one of my best friends likes him too," I say, dejectedly. Jason raises an eyebrow, "And?" He asks. I look at him incredulously, "And, I don't want to seem like a jerk when I know that she likes him," I reply annoyedly.
"I think you should do what you think I'd right," he says with a shrug, "Who is this guy anyway?" Jason asks. Should I tell him about Camp Half-Blood? My other home? My other family? I take a deep breath, "You remember when I went to Manhattan last summer?" I ask, and he hums in agreement. "Well, I met him there," I say. Jason nods, picking at the leaves of a branch that he had torn from a nearby tree. I flop onto the soft grass and sigh, "Let's talk about something else," I say as Jason sits down next to me. "Like what?" He asks. I am quiet for a minute before replying, "What should we dress up as for Halloween?" I ask. For the past 7 years, Jason and I have been dressing up as a duo or with the same theme. When Reyna joined camp, we became a trio. But Reyna almost never went trick or treating with us. She had a fear of ghosts, and I knew why, so I never pushed her.
"Shouldn't you be more focused on your birthday? It's in 3 weeks," he questioned, making me turn around in surprise. "You remember that?" I ask in confusion. Even I didn't remember that. Jason laughs, "How could I forget?" I smile sadly, "Most people forget. Including me!" Jason frowns, "Do you remember my birthday?" he asks, and I roll my eyes, "1st of July. Come on, Jase, it's the easiest birthday to remember," I say. "Now, back to Halloween costumes," I state. "OK, how about Superman and Wonder Woman?" He asks. "No way! That's what we did last year, and I hated that costume," I say. "OK. Then you tell me," Jason says. "How about Captain America and Wanda?" I say. "You're blonde, and I'll just color my hair red. I've been meaning to do that for quite some time," I continue. Jason nods, "That seems fun. But what about the haunted house. And the decorations for the Senate House?" he asks, referring to the annual Halloween setup that always occurred at Camp Jupiter. Everyone pitched in to help. Too bad Camp Half-Blood didn't have that. Everyone individually set up their Cabins or their places. It was never decorated as a whole. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," I say dismissively. There is silence for a bit before I speak again.
"Why don't you come to Beacon Hills High?" I ask, "I could use your company. You're my best friend," I say softly. "You know I can't. There has to be one female and male praetor leading the Legion. Plus, I can't leave Reyna alone. Especially since Octavian is dead set on becoming praetor," he reasons, and I nod, understanding where he was coming from. "Maybe you should choose another praetor," I tell him. We're allowed to have four. 2 boys and 2 girls. For backup purposes. I choose Reyna to be my backup. Nowadays, it seems like I'm the backup, but it doesn't really matter. I'd rather not lead a legion. "Who? Octavian?" he asks grumpily. "Oh gods, no. Not him. What about Dakota?" I ask. "I'd rather not," he says. I frown and cross my arms like a spoilt child, "At this point, you're just making excuses. You're fake," I say grumpily. Jason sighs and rolls his eyes, "Trust me, Wil. I'd rather go to high school with you than lead the Legion. But with great power, come great responsibility," he says. "Don't you dare quote Marvel as a defense for your fakeness," I say, pointing at him accusingly. "Then don't accuse me of being fake," he replies defiantly. "You're an idiot," I state in annoyance. "But I'm your idiot," he replies. "No. No, you're not. I'm my own idiot. I dont need another," I say with a yawn. All of a sudden, I felt sleepy again. Now, this was getting weird. Children of Hades don't get sleepy, at least, not this often. "I think I need sleep," I say, getting up and stretching my arms. "It's 6 in the evening," he replies, raising his eyebrow. "I know that, but I don't think my body does," I tell him, my eyes already drooping. Jason snaps his fingers loudly in front of my face. "I know what'll wake you up. Ice cream and a movie marathon," he says triumphantly. I look up lazily, "I don't think that'll work," I say, already thinking of my soft pillow, warm blanket, comfy room......
¤》¤》¤》¤》¤》¤》¤》¤》¤》¤》¤》¤》¤
I look up suddenly and find myself face to face with the ethereal figure from before. Ma'at, goddess of balance and order. She frowns at me angrily. "Do you have any idea how tiring it is to constantly make you fall asleep?" She says grumpily, "But you never listen. Some demigod," she huffs out, and I frown, putting the pieces together. "You're making me sleepy?" I demand, and she nods like it's the most obvious thing. "You... you can't do that," I stutter, my brain feeling slightly foggy. "I'm a primordial goddess, darling. I can do anything I want," Ma'at replies.
"So what do you want me for?" I ask annoyedly. "I need a human host to defeat the Serpent. And fate chose you," she says. "Again with fate," I mutter, "And what happened to 'I'm a goddess, I can do anything' ?" I say sarcastically. She huffs angrily, "Look, I don't have that much time, so listen carefully." I roll my eyes, "Here we go again," I mumble furiously. "The world is ending. You have to let me take over," she says. I sigh, "Say, hypothetically, I do let you. What are you gonna do in my body that you can't do in yours? And also, how do I let take over me?" I ask. "I can channel my power through you. I can't come to your realm otherwise. And I can't stop Chaos without coming to your realm. To answer your other question, you have to find the Kane siblings. Once you let me into your mind, I'll tell you the code," she says urgently. "Why can't you just break into my mind? Aren't you an all-powerful primordial being?" I ask skeptically.
"Because, for some weird reason, your mind is highly protected. And I'm weak," she says, and I nod slowly. "So how did you warn me about Derek the other day," I question. "You let your guard down. You were distracted," she says. I take a deep breath in, "How serious is the end of the world this time?" I ask. "Well, it's about to end in one week or so... and what do you mean again?" I gape at her. "One...week? Why do you gods do everything at the last minute??" I exclaim in exasperation. She shrugs nonchalantly, "We're creatures of habit," she says. "But creatures nonetheless," I reply annoyedly. "Fine, you can go into my head. But don't distract me from school, and don't even try to take over me," I say, pointing at her authoritatively. She raises her hands in surrender, "As you say Your Majesty," she says, and I nod contentedly. "So...umm... how does this work?" I ask sheepishly. "Just say that you let me in," she replies. "OK...umm... I'm letting you in, but you can't control me," I say and mentally imagine the walls around me coming down. Ma'at smiles, "Good job. It's not easy to master this," she says. "So when will you go in?" I ask. "When I do, it'll hurt a little bit. You might have a headache later," she says. I shrug, "I think I can handle a little bit of pain," I say. "OK, here goes," she replies and closes her eyes. I brace myself, but it was nothing like I expected.
As soon as Ma'at started dissipating, agonizing pain rushed through my head like a giant river. All my memories and thoughts poured out and flooded my mind like a hurricane. Fending for myself as a child. Finding Luke and Thalia. Luke promising me a family. Joining the camps. Meeting Percy. Becoming praetor. Then the bad ones. Thalia turning into a tree. Bianca and Zoe's last words. Lee dying. Silena's face melted off. Charles telling us to run. And then Luke's face as hr made us promise to never let Ethan's or his fate get repeated. Then, a loud scream cuts through all of that, and I realize that it was my scream. My head throbs painfully, and another sound cuts through. A sound that slowly turns to words. My... name...??
¤》¤》¤》¤》¤》¤》¤》¤》¤》¤》¤》¤》¤
"Oh my gods, wake up, Willow," a voice yells in my ears. I jerk awake and look
around nervously. I was in my room. My eyes settle on a handsome, blonde boy with blue eyes. Jason? What was he doing here? My mind drifts back to
lacrosse tryouts, Octavian hiding in the temple and Jason and me talking
about Halloween on the cliff outside the town. I sit up quickly, then grab my
head, which throbs painfully. The world swims in front of my eyes, and I shut
them tightly. "Wha-what happened," I ask confusedly. Jason sighs, and I
assume he sits on my bed because the mattress sags a little. "You were
standing up and suddenly just fell down. I'm assuming you fell asleep since
you were obviously tired. Your head hit the root of the tree and started
bleeding slightly. I carried you here and tried my best to close the wound. I'm
no expert, though, so you should probably check it," he explains, holding his hands up as he says the last statement. I move my hand to my temple and feel a giant bump. Thankfully, it isn't bleeding, but I'm gonna need a really good excuse to cover this up. Sheriff got worried easily since he'd always considered me his daughter. I groan slightly as another bolt of pain shoots through my head. "What's wrong? Are you OK?" Jason asks worriedly. "Yep, just fine. It's not like I have a bump the size of Archimedes' sphere on my head," I say sarcastically.
"I'm just trying to help, Willow," he says in annoyance. "That's what AI said before they took over the world," I reply, gasping again as another bolt of pain passes through my head. "Don't you have ambrosia or nectar?" Jason asks worriedly. I nod slightly, gritting my teeth. "It's in the top drawer," I reply. Jason quickly gets up, and I hear the drawer open, then close. Jason comes and sits down next to me and gently removes my hands from my head, then tilts my head up. "Here, eat this. You'll feel better," he says, putting a square of ambrosia in my mouth. I swallow it quickly and sigh in relief as the pain subsides. "Thank you, Professor Lupin," I say, "But if you have any chocolate, I'll happily take that too," I reply with a laugh. Jason smiles amusedly, "If you ever fight Dementors, I'll buy you a whole packet," he replies. Suddenly, someone starts banging at the door. Me and Jason jump up. I grab my bracelet, and Jason pulls out his coin.
"Willow! I need to talk to you!" I groan and roll my eyes, sitting down on the bed. Jason looks between me and the door confusedly. "Come on, it's important," Stiles yells from outside the door. "Go talk to someone who cares, Stiles," I yell back. Jason frowns and sits down next to me. "What's Stiles doing here?" He whispers. "He lives here, Jason. I live with the Stilinski's," I reply. "You didn't tell me that," he says annoyedly. I shrug, "You never asked," I answer as Stiles continues to pound the door. "Maybe you should open it," he says. "No way! He can knock as much as he wants," I say. Jason sighs and gets up, "Well, I have to go back anyway. It's already pretty late," he says. I get up SD well, "Already?" I ask. "I've been here for a long time. Too bad you were unconscious for most of it," he replies. Jason walks over to the window and opens it, letting a gust of wind flow through, ruffling his blonde hair. He almost steps out before I grab him and pull him into a tight hug. Jason hugs me back warmly. "You better visit, Grace. Or else I'll find you," I say, and he laughs. I let go, and Jason steps back, giving me a long look, "Bye, then," he says and steps out the window, flying away into the night. I smile. He looked exactly like Peter Pan.
"Come on, Willow. I'm sorry. Just hear me out," Stiles yells from outside. I roll my eyes and huff angrily. Marching towards the door, I yank it open and glare at Stiles, who is looking down. "What do you want, Stilinski?" I demand. "You have to go to Lydia's party with me," he says. "I'm not going anywhere. Least of all with you," I reply angrily. I had forgotten about that. "After you hear what I discovered, you'll go to the party yourself," I cross my arms grumpily. "Go ahead," I say. Stiles takes in a deep breath. "Scott's a werewolf," he says in his blunt fashion. I give him a look, "Right. And I'm an abominable snowman," I snark back. "I'm serious!" Stiles exclaims. "So am I!" I say back. Stiles looks taken aback, "Really?" He says. "No!" I replied bluntly. Stiles groans, "If you don't believe me, then look at this," he says and pulls out a chair from behind him. I raise my eyebrow before my eyes widen in surprise when he turns it around. There were 4 long gashes in the leather back. They looked strangely like...claw marks. It's full moon tonight, Wil. And guess where Scott is right now," Stiles asks. I look up at him, mortified. "Lydia's party?" I ask. "Lydia's party," he agrees. I take a deep breath, running my hand through my hair. "Let me get ready," I say, heading inside. I see Stiles smile slightly, and I turn to look at him. "And don't forget Stilinski. I'm not doing this because you said so. I'm doing this, so Scott doesn't hurt anyone," I say and head inside, worry flooding my brain. This was going to be an awful year.
•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~
So that's this chapter. The longest one so far.
So, lmk what you think
Don't forget to comment and vote
QOTD:
Jason or Reyna?