● _____《°•○ \|/ ○•°》_____ ●

THE NEXT DAY, IT WAS HER TURN AT THE BEACH. only now, the sea seemed to be mocking her in a high tide, the water touching her toes, teasing her and tickling her feet. she was reminded of how holding percy's hand felt. the way his fingers tickled her palm, the way he held it loose enough for her to realize he was holding her hand.

"hey,"

"annabeth, i don't want to get lectured."

"um. . .not annabeth."

andromeda turned around. and her eyes found ones the colour of the ocean.

"jackson," she pursed her lips, turning to face the sea again. "to what do i owe this displeasure?"

percy sighed, he sat on the sand, a file of papers in his hands.

"don't —" she sighed in imitation "— me. i will bury you right here."

percy smiled. "i missed your threats, you know that? always so refreshing."

she glared at him. "well, you have a lot of threats pent up when you were ignored the whole year."

percy looked through the files. "you were the one who stormed off,"

"you were the one who went out with rachel for the second time after telling me we would watch a movie."

he looked up at her, confused. "i didn't go with rachel."

"then who?"

he pursed his lips, falling into silence.

"secrets," andromeda scoffed. "great."

"don't act like you don't keep your own secrets," he frowned at her. "remember nico? remember the prophecy? you hid those."

that comparison only angered her more. "i don't keep secrets without reason, hero. nico, i'd forgotten about. and the prophecy. . .even i didn't know it. i heard it with you for the first time, if you haven't got amnesia."

he rolled his eyes. "you know, for a while last summer, i thought you'd changed. i thought you'd finally admit to accept help, that you wouldn't single yourself out. but i guess not."

she pressed her fist close. "well, when i try to reach out, assholes like you ignore me. can you blame me? it's like luke all over again."

percy gave a hard glare. "why do you keep comparing me to luke? i'm not like him, if you haven't noticed. i'm still on the right side."

"choosing a side isn't the hard part, percy," she frowned. "staying true to it is."

she thought about all the summers he'd spent with her, all the little moments they'd gotten together. and then about the year he'd spent with rachel. . .the way he was ready to ignore all of those summers for her. it seemed like he'd chosen his side.

percy opened his mouth, but he was cut off before he could even speak.

"are you —" stammered kayla, a daughter of apollo. "are you guys taking the shift or. . .?"

andromeda stood from her chair, wlaking away rapidly. she wanted to get as far away from him as possible.

he stepped in her path.

"do you want me to punch your teeth out?"

he smiled, just a little, like the thought amused him. "i think you'd better hear me out before you give me a lisp."

she crossed her hands. she considered. but she might as well have agreed straightaway. because no matter what percy jackson asked, her answer would always be yes.

"okay. but if i hear an insult in there, i will seal your lips."

he chuckled a little. "i don't doubt that."

they began walking aimlessly.

precy breathed deeply. "i'm sorry about that birthday thing. . .i just had other things to do. but i'll take you to that movie. i swear. i'll do it if it's the last thing i do."

he said it with such determination, she almost believed him.

"and secondly," he frowned, like he was trying to find the right words. "i didn't ignore you. not in my head. my mom told me you called, but i'd felt so guilty about that movie that i couldn't call you without atleast thinking of what i would say first. but then rachel asked us to go that vacation and. . .i guess the time wasn't right."

andromeda held back a scoff.

"but i didn't ignore you." percy went on. "i thought about you. everyday. i looked at that flower in the window vase and that scent — it just reminded me of you. and everytime i looked at the moon, i was wondering if you were looking at it too. i wanted to call you. so bad. but i told myself no. i won't call you unless i can take you to that movie for sure. until i can find a proper way to apologize than just some lame words. but i never got there. and i really am sorry. i know it's not even acceptable. but it's all i've got. so i'm sorry."

andromeda replayed the words in her head over and over. like they were her favourite song. a poem she would dedicate to her lover. she smiled involuntarily at the path ahead of them.

"i liked the cake, even though we just played around with the icing."

she looked at him, and he was already looking at her. he didn't seem to hear her.

"what was the flavour?"

he snapped awake. "what?"

"the flavour? of your birthday cake?"

"oh," he closed his eyes, like it took him a lot of effort to recall that, despite it being just last year. "um, it was vanilla."

"probably why i didn't eat it," she shrugged.

"you like chocolate?" he askd curiously.

"just might be my favourite edible thing, after ofcourse —"

"lemonade." he nodded. "you love lemonade."

she raised a brow at him. "i never told you that."

he shrugged a shoulder. "i noticed."

i noticed.

she hated how he didn't have the guts to call her back, but would notice things about her down to minute details. sparkles in her eyes and what not. she looked away, the ticklish feeling going off in her stomach.

"atleast that's one thing you noticed."

they'd reached the volleyball court.

"i notice," he insisted. "i notice you a lot."

andromeda stared up at him. she was still half a head shorter than him, despite being few of the tallest in her grade. "not just me though, right percy?"

his brows furrowed.

"i mean, she is pretty," andromeda smiled bittersweetly. "i bet her red hair looks like rich copper in the sunset. i bet it doesn't have a sliver of gray."

his expression fell. "andromeda, rachel and i. . ." then it morphed into something else, like he had forgotten something and just remembered it. "rachel. . ." he repeated.

the sound of her name off his tongue made her ears bleed. "what? miss her?" she dug her fingernails into her arms.

"no," he replied confidently. "it's just this dream i had. . ."

and he told her about the dream of rachel, which andromeda managed to listen with immense effort. she was in her room at her house, throwing darts at a painting of percy. (to that, andromeda could relate. maybe she would ask for a turn later, it sounded therapeutic.) her father came in and blah blah blah then he left, and rachel uncovered a painting of young luke. without a scar, without a scratch. then another painting of the empire state buzzing with lightning, a storm across the skies behind.

truthfully, that did worry her. but that worry was overlapped by the anger she was feeling. "and what do i do with this information?"

"well. . ." percy started hesitantly. "you looked like you were thinking along the same lines when we saw typhon. you know magic. what would you do if you had an extremely powerful obstacle and an extremely efficent way to get rid of it?"

she grit her teeth. "i would use the power to distract the obstacle while i get easy access to my victory."

percy nodded. "typhon is a distraction, kronos is taking olympus while the gods are busy in the west. just like in rachel's picture."

rachel. rachel rachel rachel. the word ran in her ears over and over. she pushed her hair back in frustration. "well, rachel is a mortal."

"but what if her dream is true?" percy insisted. "those other titans — they said olympus would be destroyed in a matter of days. they said they had plenty of other challenges. and what's with that picture of luke as a kid —"

andromeda was eager to step away from the conversation. "we'll just have to be ready."

"how?" he went. "look at our camp. we can't even stop fighting each other. and i'm supposed to get my stupid soul reaped."

andromeda threw her arms up in anger. "that prophecy only scared you! you won't be getting your soul reaped by a stupid blade as long as i'm here!"

"you might be a savior," he frowned. "but that prophecy doesn't say you'll save me!"

"well, fuck that!" she stood up to her full height "an ancient set of words spewed by a corpse won't change anything between us! you'll be making stupid decisions, and i'll he ready to save you. that's how it's always been!"

"really?" he said, eyes glaring. "and what about take a life by will or force, hmm? a gift used a tool to pierce? we both know we can't stop the prophecy!"

andromeda was stunned by his implementation. he really thought she would be the one to kill him. she frowned, angry tears pooling in her eyes. "i fucking hate you."

"i'm only telling the truth." he stood his ground, though she thought she might've seen the slightest bit of hurt cross his expressions.

"if you don't like our chances," she huffed, "maybe you should go on that vacation with rachel." she turned away.

"andromeda —"

"you clearly like her company." she wiped away the tears of frustration, ripping her wrist from percy's grasp.

"that's not fair!" he yelled desperately.

she didn't hear. she pushed past him and stormed toward the strawberry fields. the tetherball was ripped off the ground and coiled in the air, no doubt by her accidental magic. she kind of wished she could shoot it at percy's head.

● _____《°•○ \|/ ○•°》_____ ●

they burned beckendorf's shroud that afternoon. it was made of metal chains intricately woven into hephaestus's symbol. andromeda wondered how the chains burned so easily, but she supposed the fates helped.

the amphitheatre was quiet in respect, the only sound being occasional sobs and sniffles. even the birds were silent, as if they were sensing the sorrow from the crowd that was gathered. annabeth and andromeda stood beside each other, hand-in-hand for support. both of them seemed to not want to cry, but still shed a couple of tears. it was impossible not to.

beckendorf had been the camper who kept things lighthearted. the one who took charge in honoring fallen heroes and encouraging others to do their best. he was everyone's friend. so sociable and simple that he had an approachable charisma. his interest and hardwork could be seen in little things all around camp: the forges, for one, mrs. o'leary's collar and chew toy, various weapons that belonged to other demigods. one of which belonged to andromeda herself.

it's some of my best work. he had said. he cherished it as a tool, she would cherish it as a memory of him.

● _____《°•○ \|/ ○•°》_____ ●

the funeral was dispersed, and andromeda took to the woods right after. she was in need of some peace and quiet after that shouting match with percy. the trees bowed low, the monsters were kept at a bay, apparently sensing the urgent need of peace radiating from her. could monsters be empathetic?

she walked in an arc around the woods, and about eight pomegranates had fallen on her head.

ever since andromeda had offended the goddess hera by putting her in her place, cows poop was nearly everywhere she went. she would wake up sneezing with peacock feather layering her bed. pomegranates fell on her head from trees that didn't grow pomegranates in seasons that pomegranates weren't found in. all of it had reduced greatly at camp, she supposed the trees liked hera more than she did.

on her walk, she came upon the council of cloven elders. the place didn't look so good. the grass had turned yellow. the three topiary thrones had lost all their leaves. still, a figure stood in the middle.

"juniper," andromeda called, walking over to her. "hello."

juniper gave her an anxious smile. "hey."

"what are doing out here alone?" she asked. "miss grover?"

juniper sniffed. "yeah. . .but i've got a lead,"

andromeda's eyes widened in hopeful ecstacy. "really? from who?"

and right that moment, from behind the thrones, stepped in a pudgy, old and wrinkly stayr. he tutted as he walked in, nuttering about in conveniences and waste of time.

"leneus," she spat. "come to your senses?"

"how rude!" leneus snarked. "i am here on request! and i will not be talked to this way!"

juniper's face contorted in anxiety.

andromeda sighed, gave him an apology just for her sake. she turned to juniper. "you got the lead from him?"

juniper nodded. she faced leneus. "i want to know what's wrong, please?"

"wrong?" andromeda asked.

juniper nodded. "i just know that something's wrong. grover doesn't —"

and then, someone fell down before them from the shadows. juniper squeaked loudly and shrunk away into herself, leneus yelped and kicked in surprise, and andromeda reflexively took out her spear, pointing it down at the figure.

then she noticed the aviator's jacket. a glimpse of t-shirt with dancing skeletons. combined with the outgrown raven hair and stygian iron sword, this could only be one person.

she knelt down cautiously. "nico?"

nico panted as he raised his head. "hi,"

andromeda was tempted to hug the life out of him. she helped him up.

"you scared us!" juniper scolded.

"sorry," he admitted.

"what's wrong?" she asked him. "are you okay? have you found. . .?"

nico shook his head. "i lost the trail, and i've been a bit busy to follow it since."

andromeda remembered. nico had been searching about his family. "you found any information yet?"

he looked mischievous, for just a second before it passed away. "a bit, i'll be getting more soon." she saw him glance over at camp, perhaps unintentional.

she worried for him. nico often had questionable methods to get what he wanted. "you haven't been talking to any ghosts, have you?"

nico cracked a little reminiscent smile. "no. not committedly, anyway. i talked to charlie's."

andromeda's interest peaked. "really? how is he?"

"he's enjoying elysium. he said he's waiting for someone. don't know who, though."

"you can talk to ghosts?" juniper asked with horrified curiosity.

"i'm a son of hades." nico nodded. "nico di angelo."

"juniper," juniper introduced. "say, you don't happen to have felt a stayr die, would you?"

"well," nico frowned. "if grover dies, he'll be reincarnated into a flower or something. i can only feel mortal souls pass."

juniper found in disappointment, then turned to leneus. "please," she begged. "tell me what's wrong. i know you know."

another interruption was caused, but this time, it was on four limbs.

mrs. o'leary came in through the west side. she licked andromeda's face a few time, making her giggle. then she stood between her and nico happily. nico sctrached her under the ears.

"hey girl," andromeda combed through her fur. "what are you doing out here? so far away from the arena?"

the old satyr was the most unsettled. "will someone — what is this underworld creature doing in my forest!" he waved his arms and trotted on his hooves as if the grass were hot. "you there, percy jackson! is this your beast?"

percy stepped in behind the hellhound. "sorry, leneus, that's your name, right?"

androneda wanted the ground to swallow her up. she had come here to get away from him. could the fates not make their paths cross at times like this?

"well, of course i'm leneus." the satyr scoffed. "don't tell me you've forgotten a member of the council so quickly. now, call off your beast!"

"woof!" mrs. o'leary barked happily.

leneus gulped. "make it go away! juniper, i will not help you under these circumstances!"

juniper turned to percy. "percy i was just asking about grover. i know something's happened. he wouldn't stay gone this long if he wasn't in trouble. i was hoping that leneus —"

"i told you!" the satyr protested. "you are better off without that traitor."

juniper stamped her foot. "he is not a traitor! he's the bravest satyr ever, and i want to know where he is!"

"woof!"

leneus's knees started knocking. "i. . .i won't answer questions with this hellhound sniffing my tail!"

nico looked like he was trying to not crack up. "i'll walk the dog," he whistled, and mrs. o'leary bounded after him to the far end of the grove.

leneus huffed indignantly and brushed the twigs off his shirt. "now, as i was trying to explain, young lady, your boyfriend has not sent any reports since we voted him into exile."

"you tried to vote him into exile," percy corrected. "chiron and dionysus stopped you."

"bah! they are honorary council members. it wasn't a proper vote."

"i'll tell dionysus you said that."

leneus paled. "i only meant. . .now see here, jackson. this is none of your business."

"grover's my friend, he wasn't lying to you about pan's death. we saw it purselves. you were just too scared to accept the truth."

leneus's lips quivered. "no! grover's a liar and good riddance. we're better off without him."

andromeda pointed at the withered thrones. "if things are going so well, where are your friends? your council hasn't been meeting lately."

"maron and silenus. . .i. . .i'm sure they'll be back," he said, but there was panic in his voice. "they're just taking some time off to think. it's been a very unsettling year."

"it's going to get a lot more unsettling," percy warned. "leneus, we need grover. there's got to be a way you can find him with your magic."

the old satyr's eye twitched. "i'm telling you, i've heard nothing. perhaps he's dead."

juniper choked back a sob.

"he's not dead," andromeda insisted. she remebered something. she turned to percy. "your empathy link. . ."

"empathy links," leneus said disdainfully. "very unreliable."

"so ask around," percy insisted. "find him. there's a war coming. grover was preparing the nature spirits."

"without my permission! and it's not our war."

percy grabbed him by the shirt, his expression suddenly much less tolerant. his ocean eyes were raging like the sea itself. "listen, leneus." he spoke angrily. "when kronos attacks, he's going to have packs of hellhounds. he's going to destroy everything in his path — mortals, gods, demigods. do you think he'll let the satyrs go free? you're supposed to be a leader. so lead. get out there and see what's happening. find grover and bring juniper some news. now, go!"

percy shoved him, and he fell, then scrambled to his hooves and ran away with his belly jiggling. "grover will never be accepted! he will die an outcast!"

andromeda gave him a glare. she waved a hand, and leneus's lips were locked. they didn't seperate, and he gestured to them dramatically.

she rolled her eyes. "don't be so dramatic. it'll wear off in a couple hours. enough for you get lost, right?"

he disappeared into the bushes.

"you actually sealed his lips." percy marveled.

"yes, and unless you want your's to be next, you'll shut up."

she knew it wasn't fair to lash out at him like that, but all that pent up anger had to go somewhere.

juniper wiped her eyes. "i'm sorry, you two. i didn't mean to get you involved. leneus is still a lord of the wild. you don't want to make an enemy of him."

"not a problem, june," andromeda assured.

percy nodded. "we've got worse enemies than overweight satyrs."

nico walked back. "good job, percy. judging from the trail of goat pellets, i'd say you shook him up pretty well."

andromeda was eager to walk away. "well, i'm going." she announced, then turned to juniper. "tell me if you have some news on grover, okay?"

juniper nodded.

she turned to nico. "want me to take mrs. o'leary back?" she volunteered.

nico shrugged. "i'll send her with percy."

andromeda didn't wait to leave.

● _____《°•○ \|/ ○•°》_____ ●

writing them is so fun you guys

never a dull moment with these two