daylight | percy jackson

is this the end of all the endings?

˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

BOOK ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY.

❝ assuming i live that long ❞

THE FOUR of them were the first heroes to return alive to Camp Half Blood since Luke, so of course everyone treated them like they had won some kind of reality tv show contest. According to camp tradition, they wore laurel wreaths to a big feast prepared in their honour, then led a procession down to the bonfire, where they got to burn the burial shrouds their cabin had made for them in their absence.

Annabeth's shroud was beautiful, grey silk with embroidered owls.

Percy didn't have any cabin mates, so the Ares cabin had volunteered to make his shroud. They had taken an old bedsheet and painted smiley faces with X'ed-out eyes around the border, and the word LOSER painted really big in the middle.

Aria's shroud was one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen. The fabric, a mix of baby blues and sunlit golds, was adorned with intricate patterns of constellations and sunbursts. It was a shame she had to burn it.

As Apollo's cabin led the sing-along and passed out s'mores, Percy was surrounded by his Hermes cabin mates, Annabeth was surrounded by friends from Athena, and Grover was surrounded by his satyr buddies, who were admiring the brand new searcher's license he'd received from the Council of Cloven Elders The council had called Grover's performance on the quest. "Brave to the point of indigestion. Horns-and-whiskers above anything we have seen in the past."

Aria sat alone, fiddling with her s'more, the melted marshmallow providing her little comfort. Maybe she had protected her heart a little too much. Put up too strong of a barricade, made it impossible for anyone to touch. She looked over at Annabeth's smiling face. She didn't want to ruin her fun by being the one to pull her away just because she refused to make other friends.

A brunette with long, flowing locks adorned with a delicate, pretty pink bow, gracefully settled down on the log next to Aria. As she took her seat, the air seemed to carry the enchanting fragrance of blooming flowers, wrapping the cool night air in a floral embrace.

Her eyes, a shade of hazel reminiscent of a lush forest, sparkled with a mischievous glint. A few strands of hair escaped the confines of the bow, framing her face in an effortless cascade making her look like she had just walked out of a fairy tale. The gentle moonlight revealed a constellation of freckles that adorned her cheeks, like stardust scattered by the gods themselves.

"I'm Aurora," the girl put simply, and she stretched out her hand for Aria to shake.

"Aria."

Aurora let go of Aria's hand, instead placing it on the wooden beam below them.

"Do you normally sit by yourself on logs like a loner?" Aurora asked with a grin, her perfectly shaped lips turning up at the question.

Aria liked her already.

"I think I protected my peace a lil too much," Aria explained, picking at the splintered bench, the chips flying off and hitting the grass.

"Are you Apollo's kid?" the other girl asked, readjusting her pink bow.

"Yep...want me to write you a haiku about it?"