𝖘𝖍𝖎𝖊𝖑𝖉 𝖔𝖋 𝖌𝖑𝖆𝖘𝖘 ── 𝔭𝔢𝔯𝔠𝔶 𝔧𝔞𝔠𝔨𝔰𝔬𝔫

i. celeste

Celeste was sure she had never been so miserable. 

She had spent nearly 8 months trying to look for her boyfriend, and instead, they found a clueless malibu ken barbie, a scrawny-looking kid, and a girl who looked like she could model for a new hello kitty store. The wannabe's soon proved to be a great help and turns out, they were a part of the great prophecy. Celeste had really hoped that in this lifetime, she would never have to take part in a big prophecy that almost made her lose the ones she loved.

Except this one didn't even have a battle yet and she had already lost her boyfriend. 

His absence had almost broken her, she had spent hours crying when she woke one morning and could no longer recognize him through their mental bond. The panic she felt could never be compared to any moment in her life when she realized that she had probably lost the best thing that happened to her.

They searched for months looking for him and following any and every lead they could find on him. In the months that Percy had disappeared, Celeste had changed physically (in appearance) and somewhat emotionally, although her feelings for him never changed. She had decided to dye her hair with her front strand seeing a blonde color and she had cut her straight locks to a length that came to her shoulders. The freckles that dotted her nose and cheeks had defined and she had a more defined face now.

She had grown emotionally stronger too, trying to deal with the loss of her loved one had helped her learn how to mentally be stronger since she had woken up. And along with her emotional strength, she was much better with daggers too now.

Her sword, Kallias as she had fondly called it, had been her the only souvenir of her past adventures that had been found with her and she had never parted with it. But before Percy disappeared, he had gifted her twin daggers, with the promise of teaching her how to use them properly even he was horrible at it himself.

The snake ring that crawled up her right middle finger was the only reminder of his presence that seemed to be constant.

✧

She could practically feel his presence.

They had come so far since the search for him began, and now within a few minutes, she would (hopefully) be reunited with him. And when they met an exploding statue, Celeste hoped she wasn't going crazy. 

Unlike Annabeth, Celeste hadn't previously been pacing the deck, trying to double-check and see if everything was right. Instead, she had been sitting on the deck, her feet through the railings and she was staring at the ocean, trying to find him through their bond. 

But when she realized that she wouldn't be able to find him mentally, and would have to wait for the physical reunion, she started analyzing her surroundings and her quest mates. 

On the stern quarterdeck, Leo rushed around like a madman, checking his gauges and wrestling levers. Most helmsmen would've been satisfied with a pilot's wheel or a tiller. Leo had also installed a keyboard, monitor, aviation controls from a Learjet, a dubstep soundboard, and motion-control sensors from a Nintendo Wii. He could turn the ship by pulling on the throttle, fire weapons by sampling an album or raise sails by shaking his Wii controllers really fast. Even by demigod standards, Leo was seriously ADHD.

Piper paced back on forth on the deck, murmuring under her breath "lower your weapons, we just want to talk" and Celeste noticed that her charm speak was so strong that Annabeth almost dropped her dagger. For a child of Aphrodite, Piper tried hard to play down her beauty. Today she was dressed in tattered jeans, worn-out sneakers, and a white tank top with pink Hello Kitty designs. Her choppy brown hair was braided down the right side with an eagle's feather.