Personae Non Gratae (a Percy Jackson AU)

Festus Saves Everyone (Well, Almost Everyone)

***Festus***

Leo and Calypso were good for humans. They scratched me behind my ears, took me for walks, and fed me tidbits of freshly looked chicken tacos. Seriously, Leo's chicken tacos were the best. Unfortunately, like all humans, Leo and Calypso don't always obey my orders. After Leo and Calypso came back to their house smelling like ash with three unfamiliar people, they forgot about my afternoon walk in their eagerness to satisfy "Jason", "Piper", and "Thalia."

Nobody interferes with my afternoon walk-especially the humans that I thought were kind and obedient. While Calypso and Leo were comforting their friends, I slipped out of the house. It was harder than I expected. Opening the door with my mouth was difficult and left me with a sore jaw. I didn't bother to close the door; my humans could deal with that.

I relished in my freedom and wagged my tail as I breathed in the scents of the village. I smelled the tantalizing scent of sausages and I followed my nose to a market stall. While the human wasn't looking, I grabbed a couple and gulped them down. One my stomach was full, I decided to explore the village.

I trotted over to a puddle of water and lapped some up. I wagged my tail; the day was fine with sunshine filtering through a blue sky touched by fluffy, white clouds that resembled sheep. Then, I smelled something that made my nose twitch unpleasantly: it was the smell of fear. I tasted the air and breathed in the fresh reek.

My jaws set in a snarl, I followed the scent and it grew stronger until I was practically bathing in it. Personally, I don't see how humans have such a dull sense of smell. It was easy to detect the difference between a fearful and a calm person based on their odor-which grew sharper whenever their fear increased.

I stopped and whined softly as I smelled another scent mingled with the fear-laced scent of two unfamiliar human females: I smelled blood. I curled my lip and followed the scent until I was practically choking in it. I hid behind a rock as I saw four unfamiliar human figures. Two of them were male and both smelled like sweaty, rotting cheese. The two females were reeking in fear, but underneath that I could smell something softer, as well as a floral scent that reminded me of something I'd seen female humans spray on themselves.

One of the males-a scrawny blonde with eyes as sharp as the knife he held in his hands, was chanting. The other male, a brown-haired human who resembled the nasty cat I used to fight with,was guarding two females who had been tied to stakes that were propped up against a large boulder. "That's enough chanting, Octavian," the brown-haired male snapped, his voice flat. "It's time for the sacrifice."

The female with curly red hair spat onto Octavian as he leered over her and her companion, a tall female with dark hair. Octavian held up his knife in the air and as it caught the light, the smell of fear rolled over. Without even thinking, I dashed forward, barking loudly enough to scare all the cats in the village.

I bowled over Octavian, who yelped like a baby scaly-tailed squirrel, and growled as the other male, showing my fangs to scare him off. He just sneered and his hands flew to his belt, but before he could pull out a weapon, I bit his hand and he screamed. He tried to pull his had away, but to no avail. Then, he swung his other hand at me and I yelped in shock as his fist connected to my snout, which released his hand from my grip.

Octavian got to his feet, cursing loudly and picked up his knife, which had been strewn against the sandy earth. I was kicked aside and the other male grabbed me by the scruff and started taunting me with words and wounds. I was already pretty beaten up, but by the time Octavian was beginning his ritual again, I was covered in cuts and bruises.

I was in agony, but the thought of letting the innocent females suffer hurt more. Before I could escape from the evil male's grip however, a familiar voice interrupted my thoughts. "Festus!" Leo cried as he ran towards me.