「010. boycott blessings from the wild, they lie」

PEOPLE ALWAYS told barbie that drinking coffee at such a 'young' age would be bad for her, because it would stunt her growth. quite frankly, she'd have to agree. because that was the whole reason she loved it so much. she was tall already (for a fourteen-year-old anyway) and she didn't need the extra height.

but on the very big plus side, coffee always kept her awake. and right about now, she was on the verge of falling asleep every second. the little sleep she had managed to get wasn't enough to power her exhaustion filled body and she was constantly bumping into people.

it was around the fifth time she'd bumped into a random pedestrian when percy had gently grabbed hold of her and said, "you're staying next to me until we find you some coffee."

"i'm 'wake," she slurred from exhaustion, blinking slightly and opening her eyes again, "see?"

"she's definitely not awake," commented thalia, "i've never seen an aphrodite child with eye bags befor-"

"-that's because i don't have them!" she snapped sleepily, "that's jus' my skin telling me i need coffee."

"so, eye bags," stated thalia.

"i think she gets offended when you say that," commented percy, "oh, look. it-"

"coffee," mumbled barbie, trying to get herself to be more awake and... alive, "coffee!"

barbie was filled with a short rush of adrenaline. she reached into her bag and scooped out her mortal money and basically made a b-line to the coffee house along with zoë and grover. she'd ordered a normal mocha because she needed something sweet and she needed coffee, so she turned to the glorious mocha.

something was wrong with grover. it had been his second cup of coffee when he froze. barbie was about to ask him what was up, and maybe joke that he didn't like his muffin until she felt a strong breeze push past. it was like a gust of springtime, even if it was the middle of winter.

zoë gasped and pointed to something, "grover, thy cup."

grover dropped his coffee cup as the birds on their peeled off of his coffee and flew away in a flock of doves. a squeak was heard and barbie looked to what percy was holding, a fake rat. but now, it was actually a live rat, and had ran off into the woods without another squeak.

"what-"

"hey!" said thalia, "what just... is grover ok?"

"i don't know," spoke percy with a panicked expression, "he just collapsed."

"uhhh...." spoke grover, groaning.

"well!" spoke thalia, panicking slightly, "get him up! we have to get out of here!"

percy heaved as he picked up grover, and barbie helped, swinging one of the collapsed satyr's arms around her shoulder whilst percy did the same with the other.

"that was either some really strong coffee," announced barbie, "or some crazy shit is happening."

when grover underwood said a gift. barbie thought he meant a manicure or a free ride. or even some cute pegasi they could use as transportation. heck, even an extra flask of nectar would have been good or just some comfy clothes. 

anything would have been better than a big pig that made weird noises. the pig in question had stomped out of the woods, and it didn't look happy to see anybody. it swung its tusks and the skeletons they'd seen where smashed into pieces. then, after the boar/pig (she didn't know what species, give her a break-) had finished with the skeletons, it turned to them.

and it didn't look too happy to see them either. barbie flicked her wrist downwards as she held her sunglasses and heartbreaker appeared. thalia raised her spear whilst barbie held her dagger like it was a throwing knife.

"no!" yelled grover, "don't kill it!"

"that's the erymanthian boar," zoë said, trying to stay calm, "i don't think we can kill it."

"it's a gift," grover said, "a blessing from the wild!"

barbie looked panicked as she said, "yeah? well tell the wild next time i'll settle for something gucci!"

reeeet! 

the so-called 'blessing from the wild' swung its tusk. zoë and bianca dived out of the way. percy had to push grover so he wouldn't get launched into the mountain and barbie had pushed herself away just in time.

"yeah, i feel blessed!"  yelled barbie, "real fucking blessed!"

"scatter!" ordered percy. 

they all ran in different directions, and for a moment the boar was confused.

"it wants to kill us!" thalia yelled.

 "of course," grover said, dancing around the boar, trying to avoid getting killed as he yelled, "it's wild!" 

"so how is that a blessing?" bianca asked. the pig was offended and charged her. she was faster than barbie realized. she rolled out of the way of its hooves and came up behind the beast. It lashed out with its tusks and pulverized the 'welcome to cloud croft' sign. 

"keep moving!" zoë yelled. 

she and bianca ran in opposite directions whilst grover danced around the boar, playing his pipes while the boar snorted and tried to gouge him. when the boar turned on barbie and percy, thalia made the mistake of raising aegis in defence. the sight of the medusa head made the boar squeal in outrage. they managed to keep ahead of it because they ran uphill, and they could dodge in and out of trees while the boar had to plough through them.

"this way!" yelled percy as he grabbed both the girls arms and ran along the rails while the boar roared behind them, slipping and sliding as it tried to navigate the steep hillside. 

its hooves were just not made for this, thank the gods. ahead of them, barbie saw a covered tunnel. past that, an old trestle bridge spanning a gorge. 

"follow me!"

"to certain death? hell no!"

but percy dragged her along anyway.

behind them, a ten-ton pig tank was knocking down pine trees and crushing boulders under its hooves as it chased them. thalia and the other two ran into the tunnel and came out on the other side.

"no!" thalia screamed. she'd turned as white as ice. we were at the edge of the bridge. below, the mountain dropped away into a snow-filled gorge about twenty metres. the boar was right behind them 

"come on!" percy said, "it'll hold our weight, probably."

"probably!? " screeched barbie, "not helping, jackson!"

"i can't!" thalia yelled. her eyes were wild with fear. the boar smashed into the covered tunnel, tearing through at full speed. barbie saw thalia's legs shake, but they didn't have time. they had to cross.

"now!" percy yelled at thalia. she looked down and swallowed. the boar was charging through the tunnel, straight towards the three of them. percy grabbed barbie's hand and tackled thalia and sent them sideways off the edge of the bridge, into the side of the mountain. 

they slid on aegis like a snowboard, over rocks and mud and snow, racing downhill. it would have been epic, if there wasn't a wild giant boar behind them, trying to kill them. but you know, minor details.

the boar wasn't as lucky, it tried to cross the bridge but fell due to its weight. it landed near them and was squealing with pain.

thalia, barbie and percy skidded to a stop.  barbie began to gasp loudly, gaping like a fish to breathe in air. percy was cut up and bleeding, barbie had knocked her head at some point and her fuzzy leggings were cut up to show her knees that were bleeding. thalia had pine needles in her hair. next to them, the wild boar was squealing and struggling. 

percy looked at thalia, almost afraid to smile, "you're afraid of heights."

now that they were safely down the mountain, her eyes had their usual angry look, "don't be stupid."

"that explains why you freaked out on apollo's bus. why you didn't want to talk about it."

"doesn't explain her shit driving," muttered barbie darkly, hoping the two of them didn't hear her.

thalia took a deep breath. then she brushed the pine needles out of her hair, "if you tell anyone, i swear-"

"no, no," percy said, "that's cool. it's just....the daughter of zeus, the lord of the sky, afraid of heights?"

"jackson, you're literally asking for a death wish, shut up before i make you," hissed barbie, her breathing ragged.

grover's voice called, "helloooooo?"

"down here!" called percy.

a few minutes later, zoë, bianca and grover joined them. they all stood watching the wild boar struggle in the snow.

"a blessing of the wild, " grover said, though he now looked agitated.

"i agree," zoë said, "we must use it."

"you guys are nuts," spoke barbie, looking at the two of them

"hold up," thalia said irritably. she still looked like she'd just lost a fight with a christmas tree. "explain to me why you're so sure this pig is a blessing."

grover looked over, distracted, "it's our ride west. do you have any idea how fast this boar can travel?"

"fun," percy said, "like... pig cowboys."

barbie snorted, "you must be a hoot with your english teachers."

grover nodded at percy's statement, "we need to get aboard. i wish...i wish i had more time to look around. but it's gone now."

"what's gone?" grover didn't seem to hear percy. he walked over to the boar and jumped onto its back. already the boar was starting to make some headway through the drift. once it broke free, there'd be no stopping it. grover took out his pipes. he started playing a snappy tune and tossed an apple in front of the boar. the apple floated and spun right above the boar's nose, and the boar went nuts, straining to get it. 

"automatic steering," thalia murmured, "great... c'mon barb."

thalia and barbie trudged over and jumped on behind grover, as they got on barbie giggled, "hey thalia, love how you're going back to your... roots."

"i will throw you off this boar, don't test me."

rosie speaks!

another chapter. i think i might get
through editing all of tlc today or tomorrow.
anyway, have fun with this.

word count: 1,679 words