𝕬LYANEVER WANTED the next day to come, but of course, it did.
The night beforehand had been spent curled up by a fire together, discussing plans for the quest and then reminiscing old memories until the fire's light depleted and their adolescent giggles turned to whispered sweet nothings and they eventual lulled off to sleep.
Alya had woken up with sand in her hair and an arm around her, but that had been hours ago.
Now, they were in the nearest town to the coast, hitting each and every store they could to try and find a map of the place. So far, they'd been to three and struck out entirely.
Wandering down the boardwalk, Alya wondered if they were ever going to find a way to navigate.
"This is so beyond stupid." Alya groaned, throwing her head back at the sky.
"Couldn't agree more." Luke said whilst mindlessly clapping his hands together, the sweat rolling down his brow annoying him beyond measure.
"I mean, Aphrodite was literally with us a few days ago, what's stopping her from coming and getting these damn seeds herself?" The girl groaned.
"Because the gods always use their children for their smaller tasks. And our fates are intertwined with their quests and yada yada, prophetic stuff." Luke explained even though she already knew, throwing in a stupid hand gesture at the yada yadas.
"Yeah, well maybe," She began and leaned closer to his ear so that she could whisper. "The gods are just lazy fucks."
Right as the disrespectful words slipped past her lips, a crack of thunder shook the sky.
"Shut up!" Luke laughed, lightly shoving her in the shoulder. "You're gonna get us both smited."
"Smited?" She laughed at his choice of language. "Baby, you need to take some English lessons."
"Is that not right?" He asked through laughter. He didn't even know what he was laughing at, he just knew that Alya's laugh was so beautifully infectious that he needed to join.
"No, it's like . . . smote or something." She informed him with a crinkled nose and through giggles, which betrayed the fact that she was unsure of the proper term herself.
"Smote?" He repeated, now letting out a laugh of his own. "You've gotta be making that up."
"Yeah, okay. Like you know proper grammar, your teacher's Chiron." She jabbed a finger into his ribs, provoking another laugh out of him.
"I'm afraid that the lady is correct."
Alya flinched. She heard the voice in her head, like it was something that the Oracle might be saying to her from beyond the grave.
