[1] 𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐃𝐎𝐌 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐄 ― p.jackson ✓

015.

「015. how everything turned out fine」

THERE ARE no words to describe the sheer euphoria she felt when she reached camp safety and not dead. she felt like crying, actually. they rode on the backs of centaurs on their return. and the excitement in cadie's body outweighed the nerves. she was coming home (or, well- to one of her homes). she was going back to cam and lily- she was going back to the apollo cabin (she'd missed them so much. she even missed their heavy shakespeare debates) and she was going back to layla (she wondered what colour her hair was now). she was coming home- she was coming home- she was coming home. and that seemed to be the only thought that fueled her mind as she was carried back.

it didn't take long to get back to camp, though- not long at all. they arrived just after clarisse did thanks to centaurs travel powers. on the way, there was murmurs from the centaurs- stuff about mr d. apparently, they were anxious to meet the wine god. they'd heard of his parties and were kind of intimidated. sadly, there wasn't much of a party greeted- and instead, there were all the campers stood in solidarity. all filled with anxiety and hope.

the camp had been through a hard two weeks. the arts and crafts cabin had been burned to the ground from an attack by a draco aionius (a large lizard that blows shit up- according to layla when cadie asked later when they were walking back to their cabins). she spotted lily and cam in the crowd- looking relatively okay. lily looked back at her with a small grin and a wave. silky black hair dressed into a low ponytail, strands coming out with a tattered large zip-up jumper covering most of her with a white crop top underneath paired with shorts. a few bruises littered her skin, but she didn't look that hurt. that was the good thing.

cam, surprisingly, was fine. she'd later learn that he did in fact use the pipe bomb in his pinkie toe which was why he was in crutches as his leg was getting a pinkie toe replacement. a stub as to where his knee would be was covered by his long shorts and white baggy tank top. his blonde hair was ruffled, like he'd just got out of the shower and on his arm was a bandage near his shoulder- slightly stained with blood. but he was standing and alive, which was what cadie would take to be an exaggerated plus side.

the big house, as it seemed, was overflowing with the wounded. the apollo cabin, who were the best healers, had been working overtime performing first aid. cadie looked to layla- at first not noticing her as she no longer had her electric blue hair. but was now sporting a wolf cut coloured bright yellow. they all looked tired- and though layla tried to hide it, she could see the tired lines around her eyes, the dazed expression and glassy eyes of tiredness.  everybody looked battered and bruises, terribly weary as they all crowded around thalia's tree.

they circled around the tree- waiting as clarisse stepped forwards. she looked nervous, but cadie spotted cam grinning and mouthed the words, you got this. clarisse nodded, taking a deep breath as she stepped forwards. the moment she draped the golden fleece over the lowers branch, the moonlight seemed to brighten, turning from grey to liquid silver. a cool breeze rustled in the branches and rippled through the glass, all the way into the valley.

everything came into sharper focus. the glow of the fireflies seemed brighter, the smell of the strawberry fields grew sweeter, the sound of the waves sounded like they were singing into her ears. the stars no longer looked like dim lights in the sky- but patterned the world above like twinkling fairy lights. everything seemed so much more fantastical in that moment- and she felt like they were all glowing. it was something out of a fairytale.

gradually, the needles on the pine tree started turning rom brown to green and everybody cheered. it was happening slowly, but there could be no doubt about it. the fleece's magic was seeping into the tree, filling it with new power and expelling the poison. after that, chiron ordered a twenty-four/seven guard duty on the hilltop. well, at least until he could find an appropriate monster to protect the fleece. he said he'd placed an ad in olympus weekly right away.