𝐖𝐀𝐑 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐒 | percy jackson

trouble brewing

"Two days until we reach Los Angeles," Grover grumbled, rubbing the sleep from his eyes with a sour face. Mornings didn't sit well with him. "Here Groves, beans and toast will help," Ciarda fed his plate with steaming hot food. 

Grover was already in a temperamental mood after being woken up early, she didn't want to test him by offering him a cooked animal. Instead, she slipped the sausages onto her plate. 

"Plenty of time to reach our deadline to the Underworld," She smiled at the three questmates. Her grin quickly dissipated when Percy snatched the hash brown from her ceramic dish and bit into it with delight. 

Staring at him murderously, Annabeth was quick to hide the knives and forks. "I am going to smother him slowly," She turned monotonously to Annabeth who smiled, reaching for another hash brown and filling up Ciarda's plate. "Please sit down, murder doesn't sit well on an empty stomach."

Ciarda huffed, scraping the remnants of egg yolk from her plate with a fork. The Daughter of Athena cringed at the sound.

Percy looked up at Ciarda who lifted her head simultaneously. He tried to talk to her visually, but she glanced away hurriedly. Clearly, she wanted to forget all she had spilt the night prior. 

The sun was low on the horizon, a quarter of it basking in the treeline whirring past the train. Navy blue skies littered with scarring stars could be seen in the West still. 

"Can I ask a dumb question?" Percy wondered aloud. Annabeth looked up at him, her serious eyes slowly draining with life. The boy decreased the amount of brain cells she had. 

"It's like you need me to make fun of you," She mused. Her fingers crossed and uncrossed repetitively, something she did when she was nervous - Ciarda had noticed from the years of watching her friend's body language in camp. 

"I've never been to Los Angeles before. And I'm assuming neither of you three have been to Los Angeles before either," He looked to them, all of whom shrugged nonchalantly. "So, how will we have any idea where we're going?" 

Ciarda chuckled over her toast, munching and wiping the crumbs onto the floor. A fluffy labrador, owned by a travelling couple drinking orange juice and yoghurt bowls, came over. He rapidly licked up the buttered remains and stared up at her, begging for more. 

"No," Annabeth warned, but Ciarda couldn't help herself as she fed the dog a piece of marmalade-spread toast and gave him a scratch under his slobbering jaws. Percy had never seen the Daughter of the God of War so carefree. 

He watched as she actually smiled when the dog licked her hand. "No idea," Grover answered, bringing Percy back to their previous conversation. 

"Yeah but that is step thirty-seven and we are still on step four. Cross that bridge when we get there," Ciarda smiled at the couple who pulled their dog back under the table, opening more toast to make a sandwich.

...

"Follow up stupid question," Percy broke the five minutes of silence the group had - a rare occurrence. Annabeth was streamlining the coffee machine every three minutes, stocking up on her caffeine amount in rapid increments. 

Percy then grabbed the tomato sauce for his eggs, Ciarda also reaching for it. Their warm hands brushed momentarily, her fingertips soft when they touched his. 

Their eyes locked for a moment before she smacked his hand away, speedily grasping it for her sausages. "Dude," Annabeth rolled her eyes, exhausted even though she got the most sleep out of everyone. 

"And you shall fail to save what matters most in the end," Percy recited part of the Oracle's speech. When he had come down from the attic, Ciarda had been chatting to Chiron about how to play different types of poker - she sometimes listened to Eurytion and Eros' gambling talk.