σɾɳιƚԋαʂ (ρʝσ x ɱαʅҽ σƈ)

I Say Hi to a Poodle

Theo's POV

I was convinced that we were cursed by Tyche or something. I mean, all three Furies AND Medusa in the span of like, what, 2 hours? That kind of shit luck cannot be normal.

We camped out in the woods, a hundred yards from the main road, in a marshy clearing that local kids had obviously been using for parties. The ground was littered with flattened soda cans and fast-food wrappers. We'd taken some food and blankets from Aunty Em's, but we didn't dare light a fire to dry our damp clothes. The Furies and Medusa had provided enough excitement for one day. We didn't want to attract anything else.

We decided to sleep in shifts. Percy volunteered to take first watch.

Annabeth curled up on the blankets and was snoring as soon as her head hit the ground. Grover fluttered with his flying shoes to the lowest bough of a tree, put his back to the trunk, and stared at the night sky. I tried to sleep, but I couldn't. I just wasn't feeling tired enough to sleep.

Yeah, turns out I can stay awake for 7 days straight at a time without any repercussions. I slept 2 days ago, so I still have plenty of energy.

Anyway, I decided to stay awake and help Percy keep watch.

Percy: (to Grover) Go ahead and sleep. I'll wake you if there's trouble.

Grover nodded but still didn't close his eyes.

Grover: It makes me sad, guys.

Percy: What does? The fact that you signed up for this stupid quest?

Grover: (points at the garbage on the ground) No. This makes me sad. And the sky. You can't even see the stars. They've polluted the sky. This is a terrible time to be a satyr.

Percy: Oh, yeah. I guess you'd be an environmentalist.

Grover glared at Percy.

Grover: Only a human wouldn't be. Your species is clogging up the world so fast ... ah, never mind. It's useless to lecture a human. At the rate things are going, I'll never find Pan.

Percy: Pam? Like the cooking spray?

Theo: (sighs) Oh, for the love of...He meant Pan. P-A-N. As in the God of the wild.

Grover: Exactly! Thank you, Theo. What do you think I want a searcher's license for?

A strange breeze rustled through the clearing, temporarily overpowering the stink of trash and muck. It brought the smell of berries and wildflowers and clean rainwater, things that might've once been in these woods.

Percy: Tell me about the search.

Grover looked at Percy cautiously, as if he thought he'd make fun of him.

Grover: The God of Wild Places disappeared two thousand years ago. A sailor off the coast of Ephesos heard a mysterious voice crying out from the shore, 'Tell them that the great god Pan has died!' When humans heard the news, they believed it. They've been pillaging Pan's kingdom ever since. But for the satyrs, Pan was our lord and master. He protected us and the wild places of the earth. We refuse to believe that he died. In every generation, the bravest satyrs pledge their lives to finding Pan. They search the earth, exploring all the wildest places, hoping to find where he is hidden, and wake him from his sleep.

Percy: And you want to be a searcher.

Grover: It's my life's dream. My father was a searcher. And my Uncle Ferdinand ... the statue you saw back there—