no matter how many times a snake shed its skin, it would always be a snake. no matter how hard kit dempsey tried to prove he was no longer a traitor, camp half-blood would always view him as the boy who betrayed them for kronos. but not leo valdez...
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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: EYES AND EARS
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KIT DEMPSEY WAS ALMOST positive that Thalia Grace was trying to kill him. Like, he couldn't blame her, but come on -- if it was Kit trying to murder someone, the least he would do was make sure he did it right the first time. Thalia forcing him to sit through the tortuous reunification of a long lost brother and sister was almost worse than an endless sentence in Tartarus. She should've just suffocated him when she had the chance.
"My Gods!" the wretched daughter of Zeus exclaimed before she rushed into Jason's outstretched arms. "She told me you were dead..." He definitely didn't look dead when she pulled back to grip his face in her hands. Still, she stared at him like someone might've stared at a ghost. "Thank Artemis, it is you. That little scar on your lip? You tried to eat a stapler when you were two."
The thought of a blonde-haired, blue-eyed toddler -- that is, a toddler destined to save the world -- chewing on a stapler was almost comedic to Kit. He let out a snicker just as Leo threw his head back and laughed.
"Seriously?" the Hephaestus boy smirked.
Grinning, Kit added teasingly, "Daddy dearest must be so proud."
Jason's eyes instinctively narrowed, but he didn't have the chance to retort before Hedge gave an approving nod, declaring, "Ah, staplers. An excellent source of iron."
With rosy cheeks, Jason forced himself to focus on Thalia and Thalia only. "Wait, who told you I was dead? What happened?"
The small moment of amusement almost immediately sobered. Kit rolled his eyes, an idle hand reaching up to trace the throbbing bruises on his neck. The gesture prompted Thalia to glower at him, only growing distracted when one of the white wolves waiting at the entrance of the cave barked. She turned towards the animal and nodded. "My wolf is telling me I don't have much time, and she's right. But we have to talk first, so let's sit."
If Kit hadn't already noticed the slick sheen of sweat on Piper's face, he would've been very surprised to find her unconscious in his arms just a second later. Still, the second he saw her eyes roll into the back of her head, he reached out and stopped her from cracking her skull open. Everyone gaped at him for a moment, stunned, Thalia especially surprised by the concerned gesture.
"Well, don't just stand there," he scoffed at them, struggling under the dead weight of a body pressed against him. "Someone help her!"
Snapping out of her stupor, Thalia was the first to rush over. She all but yanked Piper out of Kit's embrace, already trusting this strange girl more than she did him. If he wasn't so concerned about Piper, he would've said something about it. If she trusted Piper enough just for being in her brother's presence, then why was Kit so different?
Why was it so impossible to believe his intentions weren't always nefarious?
"What's wrong with her?" Thalia demanded, sparing Kit an almost accusing glance before realisation hit her. "Ah, never mind. I see. Hypothermia. Ankle."
