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THIRTY FOUR, rematch
❀ ✿ ❀ ✿
ASTER, PERCY, ANNABETH, TYSON and Grover arrived in Long Island just after Clarisse, thanks to the centaurs' travel powers. Percy rode on Chiron's back while the rest of them were given to some of his brethren. Aster rode with the cow-colored centaur that had rescued her, and when he learned she lived in Salem, he asked a lot of Hocus Pocus questions that she had no idea how to answer because she'd never seen the movie.
When they got to camp, the centaurs were anxious to meet Dionysus. They'd heard he threw some really wild parties, but they were disappointed. The wine god was in no mood to celebrate as the whole camp gathered at the top of Half-Blood Hill.
The camp had been through a hard two weeks. The arts and crafts cabin had burned to the ground from an attack by a Draco Aionius (which, more or less, was Latin for "really-big-lizard-with-breath-that-blows-stuff-up"). The Big House's rooms were overflowing with wounded. The kids in the Apollo cabin, who were the best healers, had been working overtime performing first aid. Everybody looked weary and battered as they crowded around Thalia's tree.
The moment Clarisse draped the Golden Fleece over the lowest bough, the moonlight seemed to brighten, turning from gray to liquid silver. A cool breeze rustled in the branches and rippled through the grass, all the way into the valley. Everything came into sharper focus—the glow of the fireflies down in the woods, the smell of the strawberry fields, the sound of the waves on the beach.
Gradually, the needles on the pine tree started turning from brown to green. Aster's lungs filled with fresh air for the first time in weeks.
Everybody cheered. It was happening slowly, but there could be no doubt—the Fleece's magic was seeping into the tree, filling it with new power and expelling the poison. Aster could feel the life seeping back into the tree, the sensation sliding across her skin like a snake. She wasn't sure if that was due to her new power, her familiar ones, or a combination of both. What Aster did know was that she was scared of what they meant for her, and subsequently her friends—but she could talk to Chiron about that later.
Chiron ordered a twenty-four/seven guard duty on the hilltop, at least until he could find an appropriate monster to protect the Fleece. He said he'd place an ad in Olympus Weekly right away.
In the meantime, Clarisse was carried on her cabin mates' shoulders down to the amphitheater, where she was honored with a laurel wreath and a lot of celebrating around the campfire.
Nobody gave Annabeth, Percy or Aster a second look. It was like they'd never left. In a way, that was the best thank-you anyone could give them, because if the camp admitted they had snuck out of camp to do the quest, they'd be expelled, which was less than ideal. Besides, Aster was tired of the attention that came along with being friends with Percy. It felt good to be just one of the campers again, which she hadn't been for a while now.
