ᴾʰᵒᵇᵒᵖʰᵒᵇⁱᵃ [ᴶᵃˢᵒⁿ ᴳʳᵃᶜᵉ]

iii.

Aza had always hated jolting awake when she was half-asleep. The patterned knock on her door was so light she hazily opened her eyes and rolled over, already forgetting it had happened. She was just about to fall asleep when the knocks sounded slightly louder, and she groaned in response, peeking an eye open.

The door opened a crack, and through the light that filtered through the small gap Aza could just barely make out Piper's head sticking through the door; she could see some of Hazel's coils popping through the crack as she stood on her tip-toes behind the girl. Piper called softly, "Sorry, we didn't mean to wake you. We, uh - we're going to get some midnight snacks and tea. Do you wanna come with?"

"Mmm?" Aza groaned, and she rubbed her eyes, yawning loudly. She slowly shuffled to sit, resting back on her palms. She blinked slowly, her voice coming out slightly garbled, "Midnight snacks? Do we have Oreos?"

"I think I saw some hidden in the kitchen," Hazel's voice floated quietly through her room, "Are you interested?"
Aza swung her feet over the bed and slid them into her slippers, swaying slightly as she did her best to shake the sleep from her head. She pulled her door open and stepped out into the hallway; Piper and Hazel took a step backwards to make room. The daughter of Aphrodite smirked, "Nice pajamas."

Aza looked down at herself, her cheeks burning slightly as she nearly forgot what she had gone to bed in - her soft grey pajama shorts patterned by cartoon cows had been swallowed by her oversized blue shirt with little sharks. She tucked part of her shirt into the side of her shorts and said, "I swear, I'm wearing pants."

"Nice slippers," Hazel's eyes shimmered with mischief, and Aza's cheeks grew hotter as her gaze landed on them. She hadn't even thought about it before slipping on her light blue bunny slippers. She defended, "Mrs. la Rue gave them to me."

"And they're very cute," Piper placated, beginning to walk backwards down the hallway. She turned fully around once Hazel and Aza began to follow, and the three made their way down to the kitchen, starting to rummage through the cupboards the instant they entered. Hazel nearly fell off the small stepladder when she triumphantly pulled out a small box of Double-Stuff Oreos, "Aha! Aza!"

The daughter of Phobos' eyes widened, and she quickly shook her head, her face paling. She counted the cabinets to the one Hazel had been investigating. Aza's voice came out far harsher and more commanding than she meant it to, "Put those back! Not that cupboard - that's... that's Annabeth's stash."

"Oh," Hazel said slowly, and she gritted her teeth, glancing at Piper before slowly putting the cookies back, "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

Piper's eyes narrowed in Aza's direction, and she gave the girl a pointed glance. Aza sighed, rubbing her hands over her face, "Sorry - that came out wrong. I just... I want to leave everything the way she and Percy left it. For when they come back."

"You must really miss them." Hazel descended the ladder and moved it several shelves over, climbing back up and opening the cabinet. She pulled out yet another box of Oreos, which Aza nodded to and caught once the girl threw them, hungrily pulling it open. She nodded slowly, pulling apart the cookies and using her bottom teeth to scrape the cream into her mouth. She made a small pile of the cookies to burn as an offering once she was finished.

Piper made her way over towards the countertops, and she began to boil water. As she rifled through the shelves for tea-bags, she asked, "Aza, how long have you known them?"

She smiled dryly and ate another Oreo in the same way, collecting only the cream with her teeth. She missed Annabeth, who only liked the crackers - together, the two of them could put away an entire box in one sitting. Her voice was raspy, and in her sleepiness it was hard to hide the sadness, "I met Annabeth when I came to Camp. She hung around the Hermes cabin a lot because Luke was there, and I stayed there because I was unclaimed. We didn't really get along at first - she thought I was too mouthy, and I thought she was too bossy."