"Now that's just crazy."
Cassia eyes the electronic device in Annabeth's hand, her dark brows raised in question as she finishes her breathless rant that consisted of running around after the daughter of Artemis who was trying to busy her thoughts with dirty launch to distract from the whole Percy ordeal.
"Will you quit being negative for once and listen?" The blonde stresses alongside Grover, "the Golden Fleece can heal anything.. including Thalia's tree."
"Annabeth, you and I both know it's bullshit-" The brunette retorts, scrubbing away at a T-shirt, "all those... healing stones, crystals, cloths that are specially made to be extra shiny and expensive are cons. They're meant to make a quick buck off of poor half-bloods like you and me."
"But, this is serious-" the blue eyed demi-god exhausts, "without that barrier.. we'll all end up dead. And you know that. You're just in one of your 'Cassia's gotta turn off her feelings mode' which prevents you from thinking straight-" Annabeth sighs as she snatches a pair of underwear from her hands, the brunette opposite her obviously displeased she's been interrupted:
"Okay, you have to wash those now."
"Cass, listen. You're scared, anxious.. I get it, I really do. But you of all people should know how important Thalia was to me.. to us-" Annabeth pauses, watching as Cassia pauses her manic episode to thoroughly listen, "she died for us, Cassia. We can't just let that go down in vain."
A small breath escapes the girl's full lips, a faraway look embedded in the depths of the brown as she seems to be in deep thought. She then nods, turning towards her friends, "you're right. Thalia fought to save us.. the least I can do is find a way to help her. Okay, what do we need to do?"
—
"It's completely out of the question."
The trio of campers storm after Dionysus as he walks into his office, the drunken man completely brushing off Annabeth's request as she pleas, "If you couId just listen to me for one moment-"
"I am listening-" the bearded god replies, "you want to go on a quest. It must be Thursday."
"I'm serious." Exhausts the daughter of Athena. "I'm absolutely sure that this is gonna work."
Mr. D, once again ignoring the negotiations brought on by the girls, takes a swig from a glass of liquor aging on his desk, "it was such a good year."
"Listen you old dingbat-" Cassia speaks up, her tone firm as she places the iPad in front of their mentor, "the Golden Fleece can heal any living person or thing... including Thalia's tree." Dionysus picks up the electronic, squinting down at the hieroglyphs explaining the healing cloth, "We heal the tree,
we restore the barrier around camp."
"I'm surprised you want to go along with them on this, Mr. Undershirt." The graying man speaks towards Grover."
"Underwood."
"Whatever. Every satyr who has ever
gone after the Fleece has died." Mr. D explains.
"Right? I mentioned that to them-" Cassia elbows the satyr with a glare, "but it's a risk I'm willing to take for the good of the camp."
Dionysus shakes his head before standing to his feet and walking over to a pull-down map of the sea, "Look, the last I heard...the Golden Fleece was in the Sea of Monsters...
what the humans call the Bermuda Triangle. A place not only a satyr should be afraid of.
So, the answer is no. No. I'm sorry Annabelle, Cassandra."
"Annabeth"
"Cassia"
"Whatever it's a terrible idea."
"I'll show you a terrible idea-" Annabeth grips the shoulders of her friend, frowning before guiding her away, "no, no! Lemme at him! I'll show him what a bad idea looks like!"
When it came to a temper, Cassia owned one like no other. It flares up at the worst of times, stirring up tension between the people in charge of camp and scaring her fellow demi-gods. Grover had the daughter of Artemis over his shoulder, shaking her and throttling her as she fights to be let down. But, both her friends knew that if they were to let the girl roam free with steam coming out of her ears, there'd be a lot more to worry about than the barrier.
They soon reach Percy who was talking to Chiron, the two turning around at the commotion coming from the girl who wouldn't stop punching the satyr's arm. Grover, with a wince and a complaint, lets the girl down in front of her prophecy-bound boyfriend, huffing, "here, you take her. Annabeth and I have been dealing with her fit for that past twenty minutes."
"It's not my fault Mr. D is acting like a complete idiot!" The daughter of Artemis spits, turning to Chiron with an accusing finger, "you better have a little chat with that drunken douchebag, C, or else my arrow will have to do all the talking.. and by talking.. I mean impaling his throat."
"Cass, hey, take a deep breath-" a soothing touch grasps her shoulder, the girl's radiating heat immediately subsiding at his mere hands, "you're okay."
"Whatever." The girl grumbles, immediately falling into the open grasp of her soon-to-be lover, no hesitation as Percy wraps his arms around the girl. "I hate gods."
"Well, the gods aren't too fond of you either, Ms. Orion-" murmurs the centaur, "now would you like to explain why you're upset instead of threatening the whole camp?"
"The Golden Fleece, alright?" Murmurs Cassia, "Thalia died for us, Chiron. The least we can do is find that dammed healing blanket and save her!"
The older man squints down at the brunette, a long sigh escaping his lips as he replies, "have you taken your nap yet?"
"Oh, for Christ's sake!" Shouts Cassia, unraveling herself from Percy and beginning to walk away, "but, if Mr. D ends up hanging on the flagpole by his underwear don't be surprised!"
—
A knock could be heard from the opened door of her cabin, the girl not bothering to spare a glance her intruders way as she felt in no mood to have a conversation. Instead, Cassia stares out at the lush scenery, enjoying the faux battle scene that the girl looked forward to every weekday afternoon.
"Hey." Percy's smooth tone sends a chill up her spine, goosebumps giving away the affect he's already having on her. "How are you feeling?"
The daughter of Artemis shrugs, sucking in her lips as she tries to control the boiling temper threatening to overflow in a series of curses and insults. "Could be better, could be worse. There's no really telling what's going on up inside my head; it's a new episode everyday."
The blue eyed boy chuckles, a sound so melodic to Cassia's ears that her heart began to race, before slowly making his way over to the girl and taking a seat, "and what's the title of his specific episode?"
Cassia turns to meet the piercing gaze of her best friend, a small smirk upturning her full lips, "'Cassia doesn't get her way'"
A comfortable silence falls over the duo as their eyes return to the grunting of the warriors in front of them, their sharp blades clinging together as they train hard to please their parents who were surely judging from Olympus. The girl then speaks up softly, "you know, I was supposed to die that day instead of Thalia."
The son of Poseidon's gaze finds her profile, brows furrowed and lips parted as if he were going to speak on her confession; but, the girl beat him to it as she continues to voice her whining thoughts, "I told Thalia to run, to take Annabeth, Luke and Grover and get them safely behind the arch.. but, she didn't listen. Thalia was never the one to listen anyways." She chuckles softly, "so instead of letting me kill myself, she pulled the trigger instead. And everyday I thank her for letting me live, for allowing me to grow up in such a magnificent place." She pauses, swallowing harshly as a tearful lump threatens to escape her lips in a sob, "and everyday it kills me knowing she can't do the same. I know it kills Annabeth too. I think that's why I'm so adamant about finding this.. fleece; because if I weren't the one to do it, it's like her bravery was for nothing.. she died for me for nothing."
A soothing hand runs across Cassia's back, consoling her as her shoulders hung dreadfully. A guilty emotion spread across the girl's features, displaying how she really felt about everything going on. She felt as if Luke coming back was her fault, Thalia's tree dying was her fault... not being able to recover the fleece was her fault; and it took a toll on her, eating away at her brain and preventing her from thinking straight. Her friends saw it, the misty gaze that was so out of the ordinary for Cassia, and it concerned them; especially Percy, her future husband. "Hey, none of this is your fault-"
"It is." She interrupts firmly, "I should've made sure he was dead, Perc. I-I knew in my mind that he wasn't, that he was acting like a nasty little possum and flopping on his back for show. It's my fault he's here again."
"Cass, you almost died. You shattered your knee. There was nothing you can do about it." Percy retorts, "you're blaming yourself for something you have no control over."
A soft breath escapes her parted lips as her doe browns meet his crystal blues, a clash of colors that emits sparks in both of their hearts. She frowns, "I'm scared, Percy."
His hand reaches out to cup her cheek, his thumb running softly across her prominent bone as he offers a sympathetic smile, "you have nothing to be scared of, Cass. You know I will never let anything happen to you."
She closes her eyes, leaning into his touch as a tear slips passed her facade, a mask now cracked to reveal the slightest hint of a broken girl underneath. The blue eyed boy wipes away the lone tear before bringing her into his chest, the duo holding each other as a comforting silence washes over them; the two knowing that their feelings towards each other wasn't some prophecy-bound thing, but real.