𝐏𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐎𝐑𝐀'𝐒 𝐁𝐎𝐗! heroes of olympus²

v. vengeful appetite

chapter five!
005. vengeful appetite

savreen

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

    SAVREEN TRIED very hard to not make it seem as if she was keeping an eye on Leo. It wasn't as if she didn't trust him▬that was far from the reason. But she had remembered how he had looked when he regained consciousness after the attack on New Rome. She had never seen him so defeated▬realising that he had no answer; no excuse. He had set fire on the forum. Whether it had been of his own, complete conscious or under the control of something else, Savreen knew him well enough to tell that despite that, there had been some part of him that had wanted to. And he understood that, and he was terrified of it. She knew he was determined to find what they needed to fix the Argo II and continue on their way▬to prove that he could still be trusted; that he wouldn't ruin this quest. Not just to the others, but to himself▬prove that he wouldn't make that estranged, haunting decision again; that he could control it.

    It wasn't just what had happened at New Rome that was bringing out this new side of Leo. In the months it took to built the vessel they travelled, her best friend had grown more and more distant. Instead of joining them at the campfires, he was working well into the night to perfect the ballistae. Instead of playing capture the flag, Leo was taking his dinner to Bunker 9 and wouldn't resurface until the morning. Savreen had tried to follow; had tried to sneak in and stay with him, but he quickly learnt how to get away without her noticing until it was too late and she couldn't enter without him opening the Bunker 9 door. She tried not to feel hurt by it, but deep down, she did. Maybe it was unsaid▬or maybe, she had imagined it▬, but she thought that they had made a promise to fight this together.

    Leo was determined to be useful▬to be a part of a machine that was always moving, always working, always keeping them going. Savreen wondered that he was scared that if he stopped moving, they wouldn't need him anymore.

    She wasn't exactly sure how to tell him that she needed him▬she needed Leo Valdez, her best friend, more than she needed a working machine.

    For now Savreen was scared, herself. She was scared that by wearing the necklace to help this fight against Gaea, she had already faced her tragedy▬that she was going to lose Leo. It was silly, she knew it was. But that irrational fear that stemmed from the understanding that Leo's father was the creator of this necklace; the creator of her nightmares, of her friend not wanting to be around her anymore▬that this necklace not just amplified her powers, but amplified the rooted hatred between their parents passed down onto them ... that it would push and pull them apart until Savreen lost Leo forever. He had never wanted her to wear the necklace in the first place, and ever since she donned it▬thinking she was doing the right thing▬, he started to grow distant all over again.

    Something was happening between them. Something was changing. She couldn't explain it. But it terrified her, all the same.

    She was squeezed between him and Hazel, clinging on for her life to make sure she did not fall off Arion's back. He was the fastest horse Savreen has ever ridden▬and to be sure, she has never actually ridden that many horses except the pegasi back at Camp. None could amount to the sheer strength Arion had in his legs. His flank pulsed with each galloping step he took across the lake, turning the surface of the water into salty mist. Ahead lay an island▬a line of sand so white it looked more like snow or salt; the shore spread out further until it rose into an expanse of grassy dunes and weathered boulders.

    Savreen could barely see the world around them in the blur that Arion ran through. She held onto Hazel's shoulders, hearing her cheer with delight while they had to make sure they were holding in their stomachs.