"No, no, this is all my fault." Cassia's words flow passed her lips without filter, cursing and muttering incoherent phrases that only made sense to herself.
After a whole discussion about how Luke had taken Grover, Cassia began to pace the steps of the Capitol Building where the four remaining campers had set up base to take a minute and gather their thoughts. The daughter of Artemis refuses to speak her mind, continuing to store the rage inside her brain until it'd inevitably burst in one big meltdown after a day where she forgot to take a rest.
"Cass, you're waring yourself thin." Percy begins, watching as the girl he loves gnaws on her thumbnail.
"You're waring yourself thin, oh shut your mouth and stick it up your half-blood hiney." Cassia pauses as she stares down at the three who sit stumped on the steps. She snaps her fingers, a lightbulb seeming to appear above her head, "the Oracle was right! Luke is going after the Fleece, that's why he needs a satyr."
"But, what does Luke want with the Fleece anyway?" Asks Annabeth.
Cassia sighs, "I'm working on that part, give me a minute."
"Well, if we're gonna get Grover back, we need to find Luke." Percy adds, his gaze meeting the brunette as she visibly tenses, obviously uncomfortable with the fact that they're gonna set off to find her murderous ex boyfriend.
"But, we don't know where he is." Tyson states with a frown.
That's when the three teens turn their attention towards the glum huntress, the girl pausing her inner monologue to stare back. "What? You think I know how to find that spawn of Hades?"
Annabeth perches a brow with Percy frowning slightly, both of her closest friends knowing damn well she had a way of finding out where Luke could be. Cassia's doe browns trail along a moving UPS truck, her stomach turning in knots as she knows her friends won't let her be until she spills her guts. She sighs, gripping her stuff, before jerking her head forward, "I swear to the gods you guys owe me a triple fudge chocolate cake when... if we get back to the camp. Follow me."
—
The teens soon find themselves at the front of a mailing company, Cassia crossing her arms with a sour frown as Percy speaks, "what? Are we shipping ourselves overnight express to the Sea of Monsters?"
"You wanna find Luke? Good old papa bear will know where he is." Cassia retorts, leading the way as she opens the door, "the Olympic postal service. Been here multiple times whenever my glorious ex disappeared without my knowledge. His old man's a friend of mine."
"Hey, Hermes." Cassia greets the man who was busy at the front counter, her gaze hardened, "long time no see. We need to talk."
He didn't bother looking up at his intruder, busy with an older lady at the register, "well, I'm with a costumer right now, you'll just have to wait."
An impatient eye roll later, Hermes is now free of costumers and now busying himself with boxes on the back shelves, still not bothering to look up at the four teens. "What can I do for you?"
Cassia slams her hand on the desk, obviously not appreciative on Hermes's nonchalant attitude. With a regard from Percy towards the girl about calming down, the daughter of Artemis takes a deep breath, steadying her raging temper and speaking calmly yet abruptly, "Hey, Herm, I don't have all day here. I need to talk to you."
The man visibly tenses at the nickname, the only girl who would rudely use his god-given name as a joke being the one who was almost killed by his son. He continues to fiddle with the boxes and packages at the counter, his back towards the teens as he speaks, "about what?"
"We're looking for... Luke." His name tastes vile on her tongue, almost like she needed to brush her teeth after speaking of him. Her stomach tenses in a nauseous knot, tears threatening to break her harsh demeanor as the grip on the counter tightens. She hates this, every bit of this. But, for Grover's sake, she had to do it.
"Oh, what has my boy done to you this time, Cassia?" Murmurs the messenger of the Gods, turning around and replacing his grimace with a smile, "Cassia Orion! Haven't heard that name in forever! How have you been?"
"Quite shit, actually-" Cassia retorts, her arms across her chest as he steps out of his space and approaching the half-bloods, "yeah. You wanna know why? Because that batshit crazy son of yours attacked Camp Half-blood and kidnapped our friend."
Annabeth steps forward with a sympathetic chuckle, gripping the brunette by the shoulders and shoving her back softly, "what Cassia is trying to say is that we need your help and we don't have a lot of time."
"That's cute..." he grins, staring between the two girls, "how you two protect each other. Follow!" The messenger then opens a door to a mail room, his tacky beige shorts immediately replaced with a snappy suit. "Like my new tie? Just bought it. Hermes of course." He holds out his hand which was soon occupied with a snake-embedded golden staff, "check it out, state-of-the-art sorting, processing and packaging facility. You can box it, we can ship it. The speed of... well, me."
As Hermes continues to explain his plan to expand the company, Percy butts in, "excuse me, sir, we're in a bit of a hurry."
"Relax, my friend, take it slow." Winks the messenger before a whiny voice could be heard softly,
"Oh, come on! Give me a break!"
"Easy for you to say, your immanence."
"Actually, Martha, is not easy for him. He's the god of freakin' speed!"
"He's not the one who's butt is stuck to a big silver stick... forever!"
"Oh gods, help us all." Cassia rolls her eyes as she's once again met with the green and red snake that are constantly bickering.
As the snakes continue to go at it, the green serpent catches sight of the brunette, a gasp emitting from her mouth as she speaks, "Cassia! My, my, the last time I saw you, you and Luke were locking lips-"
"Gods, please, Martha!" Cassia interrupts the slithering snake before she could reveal any more rebellious stages of her early teens, "I don't want to hear about it."
"Oh, I'm sorry, baby-" the snake then faces Percy, "is this your new boyfriend? He got all.. fussy, when I mentioned Luke. Are you jealous, boy? With your daddy's blue eyes, mmm-mmm if I were you, Cassia, I'd be all up on that-"
"Okay, I'm leaving-"
"Martha, leave the girl alone." Hermes interrupts, "I need you two to demi-google Luke for them, they're looking for him."
"Why?" The red serpent begins, "do they have a death wish?"
"Doesn't matter. Just-" he gestures for one of his worker's to take the staff as the snakes are lead away, scoffing and commenting at how ungrateful Hermes is.
"An acquired taste-" the messenger begins to walk away, the teens soon following, "Luke! I don't know what to do about him. I tried reaching out but he gets angry, he's resentful, and he holds a grudge like nobody's business. Just like his mother now that I think of it. You of all people should know that, Cassia."
"Yeah, Herm, I get it. I made a mistake by dating your son. That was a like two years ago, you know, before he tried to murder my friend and me." Retorts the daughter of Artemis.
"Well, if you're going to cross paths with him, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to have a thing or two to help you out-" Hermes retrieves a metal cylinder, holding it out to Cassia, "collectors item. Mint condition. From Hercules Busts Heads season one."
"Hercules Busts Heads?" Questions Tyson.
"Best TV show ever. So of course, canceled." He frowns angrily, "got this off deity-bay. You twist the cap off of this, you release the winds of the four corners of the earth. Now you tell me that isn't cool?" Cassia goes to twist off the metal cap, but was startled into submission after Hermes shouts, "no, no, not in here... not in here!" He pauses, snatching the item from the brunette, "by gods, George was right, you do have a death wish."
Hermes then retrieves a tape gun that held a roll of yellow tape, handing it to the brunette, "now you're gonna want one of these."
She studies the mechanism with furrowed brows, "mythical box sealer?"
"You wound me. Truly, I am wounded-" the God sighs, "I hold in my hands a Matter Eliminator. Trademark pending. Anything you outline with this-" he wags a finger at the daughter of Artemis, "not in here. Will disappear. Gone. Instant hole."
"Awesome." Breaths Cassia, "hey, Tyson, mind if I test this out on you?"
"Sure!"
"No, no, no, enough of that-" Percy grips the dangerous tool before Cassia could kill his brother, "thank you, Hermes."
Before the messenger could reply with a grin and another conceited remark, the hissing voices of the snakes are soon heard as his staff is brought back to Hermes. "Demi-google Luke he said. Except, how am I supposed to type without fingers?"
"You were supposed to use the mouse!"
"I'm a snake. I eat mice."
"All right, thank you. Have you found Luke?" Asks Hermes.
"Did he just say "thank you"?" Questions Martha the green serpent.
"I'm sure it was just a lapse-" retorts the red serpent, "Luke's on a yacht called the Andromeda. It's passing by Chesapeake Beach as we speak."
"Thank you." Percy nods gratefully.
"You're ssso welcome-" the red snake replies, dramatically hissing before turning towards the God, "there, you happy?"
"Hush."
Cassia smiles at Hermes, patting his cheek, "thanks, Herm-Herm, we couldn't have done it without you."
The man's lips upturn genuinely, warmth and sympathy embedded in his mischievous glint as he speaks, "hey, listen, I'm uh- really sorry I hadn't reached out earlier. I spoke to your mom and she said to leave you alone or else she'd shoot an arrow in my butt. Otherwise, I would've come to see you, really. But, do me one favor, okay? If you see Luke... please explain to him for me that parents... we make mistakes sometimes. He has every right to be angry at me. Just, please tell him not to be angry with the world."
"I'm not sure if there's anything that I can say that will change him." Retorts the brunette.
"If it's one thing I learned in three thousand years, it's you can't give up on family." The sandy blond man adds with a small smirk.
Cassia nods, a pitiful soft gaze on her features as she grips the hand of Percy and begins to walk away, "thanks again, Herm."
—
"Hey." Percy's soft tone snaps the girl from her adrenaline-induced speed walking.
"What's up, Jackson? I'm on a mission and I don't intend on stopping anytime soon." Cassia retorts.
"Slow down." His hand pulls at hers, the shockwaves immediately slowing her pace, the girl too focused on her heating face now instead of the task. "Hey, talk to me."
Cassia remains behind with her future husband while Annabeth and Tyson lead up front, the nymph trying to coax a conversation out of the warrior, but was always shut down with her silence and harsh eye rolls. The brunette releases a breath, "I don't know what you want me to say, Perc. It's been almost two years since everything's happened, that should be enough time for me to forget about it, right? But, it's not. Every time I hear his name, his face pops into my mind, that evil smirk as he stabbed me. And every time that happens, I want to chicken out, head back to camp and lock myself in my cabin and forget everything that's happened." She pauses, glancing up at Percy, "but I know I can't. And I won't. I've got a friend to save and a Fleece to retrieve... and a prophecy to live out. I'd never leave you hanging like that, Jackson. We're a team. Now and forever."