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SIX, mean old ladies
❀ ✿ ❀ ✿
ASTER KNEW HER SIBLINGS loved to stick their noses into everyone else's business. So did she, sometimes. She just didn't expect to get jumped when she walked through the door of cabin four.
"What'd Chiron say?" Miranda asked.
Aster jumped, her heart thudding wildly. "Gods, Miranda. You could wait until I crossed the threshold before asking questions."
Miranda stuck her bottom lip out, but stepped back, crossing her arms. "Whatever."
Aster let out a breath of amusement, walking towards her bunk. "He gave me a quest. Well, technically Percy Jackson did."
"A quest?" Steve said, leaning beside her bed. "That's huge, Aster!"
Katie—who always seemed to sense her bad moods—clapped her hands. "Okay, give the girl some space. She needs to pack."
Aster pulled out her backpack and started shoving clothes into it. She felt Steve settle on the bed beside her, but she didn't look at her. "What's going on, tree-hugger?"
A corner of Aster's mouth quirked up at the nickname. The first time she had met Steve two years ago, she hadn't been having a good day. She'd fallen asleep the previous night at Thalia's tree, after another fruitless attempt of trying to speak to her lost friend. In Steve's defense, it had looked like she was hugging the tree, but he'd luckily never told anyone how disheveled she looked. Aster had a reputation of ruthlessness she needed to uphold, after all.
"It's nothing," Aster replied, but Steve gave her a knowing look. "I'm just... worried. Worried that I won't make it back again. Worried that I'll end up..." she swallowed, her throat suddenly tight. "That I'll end up like Thalia. Or that someone else will, and I'll be powerless to stop it."
"If there's one thing you're not, it's powerless. All of your training the last five years has seen to that." Steve laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. "We can't save everyone, Aster. And we can't pause life because of that fear. I know it's hard for you to trust people, but you need to at least trust yourself."
Aster was quiet for a moment, allowing her brother's words to sink in. "I know you're right. I–I'll try. Try my best, anyways."
Steve grinned, ruffling her hair. "That's the Aster Reed I know. Ready to face every challenge head-on."
Aster snorted, resuming her packing. "I'm not sure what gave you that impression."
"I think it was when you fell off the rockwall the first time and decided to make it your bitch."
"I didn't fall, okay, Clarisse pushed me–"
Steve shrugged. "I guess we'll never know. Get packing, tree-hugger, or you'll be late."
