𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐌𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐓! [pjo]

XXII; words of wisdom

━━━words of wisdom

.・゜゜・───・゜゜・

The plane was quiet and tense. Cal's head rested against the cold glass of the window, her feet curled underneath her. She listened to the white noise of the plane and the three talking around her. Frank's voice was thick and slow, getting over his tears. She listened distantly as Frank told them about Juno and her many, many fucked-up plans, one of them being connecting Frank's life to a piece of firewood. Cal couldn't tell if she wanted to laugh or cry, but at this point, crying seemed easier.

    She was tired, her bones ached, and she wanted nothing more than to sink into the cool leather beneath her. Percy's warm hand rested on her calf, shaking her slightly. She tuned back in.

    "So, you're both children of Greek gods," Hazel said. "You are greek demigods."

    Percy's hand wrapped around his leather necklace and his other hand tightened on her calf. "Yeah, we are. There's another camp, a greek one. Camp Half-Blood."

    A flood of good memories and warm feelings washed over Cal. Good memories popped up before she could stop it, memories she didn't think she had: the smell of strawberry fields in the warm summer sun, fireworks lighting up the beach on the Fourth of July, satyrs playing panpipes at the nightly campfire, a kiss in the middle of a destroyed Olympus, and another in the woods behind Percy's cabin. An echo of a laugh rang in her ears.

    "Another camp?" Hazel said, breathless. "A Greek camp? Gods, if Octavian found out—"

    "He'd be murderous." Frank interrupted. "He'd declare war. He's always been sure the Greeks were out there, plotting against us. He thought Percy was a spy."

"That's why Juno sent us," Percy said. "Uh, I mean, not to spy. I think it was some kind of exchange. Your friend Jason—I think he was sent to our camp." He glanced at Cal. " In my dreams, I saw a demigod that might have been him. He was working with some other demigods on this flying warship. I think they're coming to Camp Jupiter to help."

Frank tapped nervously on the back of his seat. "Mars said Juno wants to unite the Greeks and Romans to fight Gaea. But, jeez—Greeks and Romans have a long history of bad blood."

Hazel took a deep breath. "That's probably why the gods have kept us apart this long. If a Greek warship appeared in the sky above Camp Jupiter, and Reyna didn't know it was friendly—"

"Yeah," Callahan agreed. "We've got to be careful how we explain this when we get back."

"If we get back," Frank said.

Percy nodded reluctantly. "I mean, I trust you guys. I hope you trust me. I feel...well, I feel as close to you two as to any of my old friends at Camp Half-Blood. But with the other demigods, at both camps—there's going to be a lot of suspicions."

Cal nodded quietly.

Hazel did something Percy wasn't expecting. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. It was totally a sisterly kiss. But she smiled with such affection, it warmed Percy right down to his feet.

"Of course we trust you," she said. "We're a family now. Aren't we, Frank?"

"Sure," he said. "Do I get a kiss?"

Hazel laughed, but there was a nervous tension in it. "Anyway, what do we do now?"

Cal returned to staring out the window and watching the world, and all its time, go by. Percy, Frank, and Hazel's voices turned into background noise. She felt a solid weight rest on her lap, and she looked down to find Percy's eyes closed, his head on her lap. Cal followed his example.