𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐎𝐟 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 (Annabeth X Malereader)

[12] Y/N misses George

Crystal Dolphin - Engelwood
0:37 ━❍━━━━━ 3:01
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THEY ARRIVED ON THE OUTSKIRTS of a little ski town nestled in the mountains. The sign said WELCOME TO CLOUDCROFT, NEW MEXICO. The air was cold and thin. The roofs of the cabins were heaped with snow, and mounds of it were piled up on the sides of the streets. Tall pine trees loomed over the valley, casting pitch-black shadows, though the morning was sunny.

"Apollo talked to us last night." Percy said as they walked.

"What did he say?" Grover raised an eyebrow. "Did he tell you what the monster is that Artemis went looking for?"

Percy frowned. "No. He said to go seek out an old man named Nereus or something. I think he lives in San Francisco.

Grover looked uneasy. "That's good, I guess. But we've got to get there first."

They stopped in the middle of town. You could pretty much see everything from there: a school, a bunch of tourist stores and cafes, some ski cabins, and a grocery store.

"Great," Thalia said, looking around. "No bus station. No taxis. No car rental. No way out."

"There's a coffee shop!" said Grover.

"And hot chocolate." Y/N sighed.

"Yes," Zoe said. "Hot chocolate is good."

"And pastries," Grover said dreamily, practically salivating. "And wax paper."

Thalia sighed. "Fine. How about you two go get us some food. Percy, Y/N, Bianca, and I will check in the grocery store. Maybe they can give us directions."

They agreed to meet back in front of the grocery store in fifteen minutes. Bianca looked a little uncomfortable coming with them, but she did.

Inside the store, they found out a few valuable things about Cloudcroft: there wasn't enough snow for skiing, the grocery store sold rubber rats for a dollar each, and there was no easy way in or out of town unless you had your own car.

"You could call for a taxi from Alamogordo," the clerk said doubtfully. "That's down at the bottom of the mountains, but it would take at least an hour to get here. Cost several hundred dollars."

Y/N decided to buy a rubber rat. He said it reminded him of George. Then they headed back outside and stood on the porch.

"Wonderful," Thalia grumped. "I'm going to walk down the street, see if anybody in the other shops has a suggestion." She trudged off.

Bianca and Percy stood together awkwardly, with Y/N sat on the porch, swinging his rubber rat.

"So..." Percy began awkwardly. "How do you like being a Hunter so far?"

Bianca pursed her lips. "You guys aren't mad at me for joining, are you?"

Percy and Y/N glanced at each other, before shrugging. "Nah." Y/N said. "Long as you're happy."

"I'm not sure 'happy' is the right word, with Lady Artemis gone. But being a Hunter is definitely cool. I feel calmer somehow. Everything seems to have slowed down around me. I guess that's the immortality. Although, Nico didn't understand my decision," Bianca murmured.

"He'll be all right," Y/N sighed. "Camp Half-Blood takes in a lot of young kids. They did that for Annabeth."

Bianca nodded. "I hope we find her. Annabeth, I mean. She's lucky to have a friend like you."