THE HOUSE OF MEMORIES [J. GRACE]

THIRTY-FOUR

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ THE HOUSE OF MEMORIES ༉‧₊˚.[THE HEROES OF OLYMPUS]

C H A N D L E R
chapter thirty-four: mellie finds coach hedge attractive & i can't help but wonder how she thinks jason & hedge are even in the same league

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CHANDLER'S MOUTH dropped open completely.

the central of aeolus's fortress was as big as a cathedral, with a soaring domed roof covered in silver. television equipment floated randomly through the air; cameras, spotlights, set pieces, potted plants, and there was no floor. leo almost fell into the chasm before jason pulled him back by the material of his jacket in a way that was oddly familiar.

"holy shit," leo gasped, his breathing heavy, blinking wildly. his expression was screwed up in almost betrayal at the fact that their tour guide hadn't even tried to give them some type of heads up. "hey, mellie. a little warning next time?"

an enormous circular pit plunged into the heart of the mountain. it was probably half a mile deep, honeycombed with caves. some of the tunnels probably led straight outside. other caves were sealed with some glistening material like glass, or wax. the whole cavern bustled with harpies, aurai, and paper airplanes, but for someone who couldn't fly, it would be a very long, very fatal fall.

"oh, my," mellie gasped, her hand coming to her chest in genuine apology, as chandler wouldn't have been surprised if the wind nymph had forgotten they couldn't float as she could, "i'm so sorry." she unclipped a walkie-talkie from somewhere inside her robes, and spoke into it: "hello, sets? is that nuggets? hi, nuggets. could we get a floor in the main studio, please? yes, a solid one. thanks."

a few seconds later, an army of harpies rose from the pit, three dozen, or so demon chicken ladies, all carrying squares of various building material. they went to work hammering, and gluing, and using large quantities of duct tape, which didn't reassure chandler.  in no time there was a makeshift floor snaking out over the chasm. it was made of plywood, marble blocks, carpet squares, wedges of grass sod, just about anything honestly.

"that can't be safe," jason frowned at it.

"oh, it is!" mellie assured him happily, with a nod of confidence. "the harpies are very good." it easy for her to say. she just drifted across without touching the floor. chandler looked to the honey blonde, and all he could do was sigh, and nod, as she was right in her silent request, he had the best chance at surviving as he could fly. the zeus demigod stepped out first, and amazingly, the floor held.

chandler stepped after him, squeezing his hand a bit, "if i fall again, you're catching me."

"of course," he answered immediately, not even a single hesitation in his voice. his cheeks got that red flush the hephaestus girl liked so much, and she could only roll her eyes to prevent a stupid smile from crossing her face.

leo stepped out next, somewhat put off with the obvious flirting between his sister, and his best friend, "you're catching us, too, superman," referencing himself, and piper. he gave the blonde some side-eye, "but we ain't holding your hand."

piper took chandler's free hand, wrapping her own around it, and stepping closer. the two girls, and jason, who was on the far end feeling unincluded, held hands as they cautiously crossed the chamber. mellie led them toward the middle, where a loose sphere of flat-panel video screens floated around a kind of control center.