safe || leo valdez x oc

eighty-nine: the place has L vibes

ARUNA

~•♡•~

The tunnel spiraled gently downward, the ceiling supported by white tone arches that made Aruna think of a whale's rib cage.

As they walked, Hazel ran her hands along the masonry. "This wasn't part of a temple," she whispered. "This was... the basement for a manor house, built in later Greek times."

"A manor house?" Frank asked. "Please don't tell me we're in the wrong place."

"The House of Hades is below us," Nico assured. "But Hazel's right; these upper levels are much newer. When the archaeologists first excavated this city, they thought they'd found the Necromanteion. Then they realized the ruins were too recent, so they just decided it was the wrong spot. They were right the first time. They just didn't dig deep enough."

They turned a corner and stopped. In front of them, the tunnel ended in a huge block of stone.

"Oh. That isn't weird at all," Aruna remarked as she tilted her head.

"A cave-in?" Jason asked.

"A test," Nico answered. "Hazel, would you do the honors?"

Hazel stepped forward. She placed her hand on the rock, and the entire boulder crumbled.

The tunnel shuddered. Cracks spread across the ceiling. As soon as the rumbling stopped, and the dust settled, Aruna felt it.

Death. So much endless death. Pain washed over her. Horror, terror, fear, panic. Any emotion one might feel during death coursed over her like a supersonic sound wave. She felt herself trembling. Her heart raced aggressively, like she was the one being killed. A million and one voices washed over her, whispering to her, pleading for her mercy, her kindness, her help. It felt like her bones were trying to rip apart. She felt like her heart had exploded in her chest. Her head felt like a bomb about to go off, ticking rapidly in her skull.

She hadn't realized her eyes were closed until Piper started tapping on her shoulder. Aruna shot her eyes open, staring at Piper, her eyelids practically peeled back so she wouldn't try to shut the death out.

"Are you okay?" Piper asked nervously.

Aruna stared, not blinking. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

Piper frowned as Aruna turned back to the doorway. A set of stairs curved deeper into the earth, the barreled ceiling held up by more repeating arches, closer together and carved from polished black stone. The descending arches made Aruna feel even more woozy, her barley cake rising into her throat. Painted on the walls were crude pictures of black cattle marching downwards.

"I really don't like cows," Piper muttered.

"Agreed," Frank said.

"I like 'em," Aruna said quietly, barely trusting her own voice.

"Those are the cattle of Hades," Nico said. "It's just a symbol of-"

"Look." Frank pointed.

On the first step of the stairwell, a golden chalice gleamed. Aruna was fairly certain it hadn't been there a moment before. The cup was filled with a dark-green liquid. As aruna stared, it almost seemed to be bubbling and toiling, but she knew it wasn't.