──── VALLEY OF ASHES
❝ the family gathers 'round and reads it and then someone screams out
"she's laughing up at us from hell" ❞
﹙ percy jackson 𝒙 fem!oc: annabeth chase 𝒙 fem!oc﹚
﹙ the titan's curse; the battle of the labyrinth; the last olympian...
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THE HUNTERS SET UP THEIR CAMPING SITE in a matter of minutes. Seven large tents, all of silver silk, curved in a crescent around one side of a bonfire. One of the girls blew a silver dog whistle, and a dozen white wolves appeared out of the woods. They began circling the camplike guard dogs. The Hunters walked among them and fed them treats, completely unafraid. Falcons watched them from the trees, their eyes flashing in the firelight, and the girl got the feeling they were on guard duty, too. Even the weather seemed to bend to the goddess's will. The air was still cold, but the wind died down and the snow stopped falling, so it was pleasant sitting by the fire.
Almost. . . except for not having Annabeth by her side.
Her mind never fully processed that Annabeth was gone. And she didn't want to believe that was true. Ever since the two girls met each other five years ago, they were glued to the hip, one never without the other. She was the person that Giselle could always count on, her second half as they called each other. And even when stupid arguments come up between them, it would end quickly. They both knew they couldn't be here without one another.
What had Annabeth wanted to tell her in the gym? Something serious, she'd said. Now Giselle might never find out. The brunette thought about how they'd danced together for half a song, and her heart felt even heavier.
A bit further from where she was, Thalia pacing in the snow at the edge of camp, walking among the wolves without fear. She stopped and looked back at Westover Hall, which was now completely dark, looming on the hillside beyond the woods.
Seven years ago, Thalia had been turned into a pine tree by her father, to prevent her from dying. She'd stood her ground against an army of monsters on top of Half-Blood Hill in order to give her friends Luke and Annabeth time to escape. She'd only been back as a human for a few months now, and once in a while she would stand so motionless you'd think she was still a tree.
One of the Hunters brought their backpacks. Giselle stuffed Annabeth cap into her bag as Grover and Nico came back from their walk, with the satyr now trying to help Percy fix up his wounded arm.
Emphasize on tried.
"It's green!" Nico said with delight.
Percy winced as Grover dressed the wound, and Giselle looked up at the sky and shinning stars, trying to find different constellations to calm her mind even just for a bit.
Nico rummaged through his own bag, which the Hunters had apparently packed for him, though how they'd snuck into Westover Hall unseen, the girl didn't know. Nico laid out a bunch of figurines in the snow ─ little battle replicas of Greek gods and heroes. Giselle recognized Zeus with a lightning bolt, Ares with a spear, Apollo with his sun chariot.
