WAIT FOR ME [ nico di angelo ]

Reyna cuts people off a lot

LOUIS KNEW THERE was a battle going on, but he didn't fight. Well, too be fair, he wasn't allowed to fight. Which he found quite stupid. The last time things had gotten out of hand. And to make a long story short, accidentally almost stabbing Reyna Arellano in the back with a sword may of not been the best decision. So she'd banned him from whatever battles that were to come in the future. So that's exactly why he was sitting in the Principia now, waiting for Reyna to come back so he could talk to her.

Louis looked up from the ground as he heard people approaching. In walked Reyna, Hazel and someone he didn't recognize. He was tall, wearing a bright orange shirt, with black messy hair and sea green eyes.

"What are you doing in here?" Reyna asked, looking over at him. Louis shrugged. Reyna had always scared him, so sometimes it was a little hard to answer her questions under her intimidating stare.

"I was waiting here so I could talk to you." He paused, glancing over at the boy with green eyes. "Who's this?" 

The guy was looking around the Principia, he looked mesmerized. Although he couldn't blame him, for it did look pretty amazing. On the ceiling glittered a mosaic of Romulus and Remus under their adopted mama she-wolf. The floor was polished marble and the walls were draped in velvet. Along the back wall stood a display of banners and wooden poles studded with bronze medals. In the centre was one empty display stand. In the back corner, a stairwell led down. It was blocked by a row of iron bars like a prison door. In the centre of the room, a long wooden table was cluttered with scrolls, notebooks, tablet computers, daggers, and a large bowl filled with jelly beans. Louis had always wondered why those were there. Two life-sized statues of greyhounds—one silver, one gold—flanked the table. Reyna walked behind the table and sat in one of two high-backed chairs.

"This is Percy Jackson." Spoke Hazel, answering his question. Although Louis was still pretty confused.

"So..." Percy started to say.

The dog statues bared their teeth and growled.

Percy froze.

"Easy, guys," Reyna told the greyhounds.

They stopped growling, but kept eyeing Percy as though they were imagining him in a doggie bag.

"They won't attack," Reyna said, "unless you try to steal something, or unless I tell them to. That's Argentum and Aurum."

"Silver and Gold," Percy said. 

"So Reyna," Louis started nervously. Reyna interrupted him. "Not now. We have bigger things to discuss." She then gave a small gestured towards Percy.

Louis was about to start arguing, but quickly closed his mouth, knowing full well that Reyna would yell at him.

Reyna set her dagger on the table. Her hair was black and glossy as volcanic rock, woven in a single braid down her back. She had the poise of a sword fighter—relaxed yet vigilant, as if ready to spring into action at any moment. The worry lines around her eyes made her look older than she probably was.

"We have met," Percy decided, which surprised Louis. "I don't remember when. Please, if you can tell me anything—"

"First things first," Reyna said. "I want to hear your story. What do you remember? How did you get here? And don't lie. My dogs don't like liars."

Argentum and Aurum snarled to emphasize the point.

Percy told his story—how he'd woken up at the ruined mansion in the woods of Sonoma. He described his time with Lupa and her pack, learning their language of gestures and expressions, learning to survive and fight.