CWH 2

Fifth Feathery Week

Annabeth

It had been Five. Freaking. Weeks. Five weeks since they had entered the camp for the first time, and they were at a standstill. They were about halfway through the camp time, and just about nothing had happened.

Did the Neverseen get eaten by some monster or something? Not that she would complain about it, but she was hoping that there would be some sign or something. The night air was stagnant and humid, just another lazy day that wanted nothing to do with them.

Of course, she regretted such thoughts once Keefe went missing. Seriously, were they in some cheesy horror movie?

Sophie was definitely better equipped to search for Keefe, and after a quick mental search she nodded towards the cliff they had found her near.

The group made their way towards the foot of the cliff, intending to use one of the winding paths up, when they froze in shock. Standing on top of a manticore was a hooded person, and that hooded person was lifting Keefe above the edge of the cliff.

Annabeth looked to where the rest of the cloaked people were, trying to think of a plan, any plan.

There were no negotiations. They just dropped him, just like that. Sophie let out an unearthly wail, then sprung forward. Instead of falling to the ground or beginning a scramble to get revenge, the blonde girl continued to rise. 

Wings, actual wings unfolded themselves from her back, and with a powerful flap she rushed into the air, catching Keefe easily.

The cloaked person laughed, then said "Thank you, Sophie dear. Now they'll do our dirty work!"

Sophie let out a sob, and Annabeth felt unstoppable. How dare this woman attack Sophie, stabbing her emotionally and twisting the dagger?

Leo and Alex had snuck off with T.J. during the chaos, and Annabeth smirked when she saw the threesome behind the enemies. "Think again, creepy lady!" Annabeth shouted, signalling the team to strike.

Leo set the manticore on fire, forcing it to throw the woman off and right into Alex, who knocked her out and abruptly spun to the next opponent. T.J. seemed to be playing cleanup for the most part, keeping Alex's back covered and tying the incapacitated enemies up so they couldn't escape.

During all that, Sophie had disappeared, leaving a bewildered Keefe standing there.

"S'up?" he said awkwardly, before pointing at a tree in the distance. "Sophie went over there." Keefe began to amble in the direction he had pointed, and Annabeth followed.

Carter

There were quiet sniffles coming from the tree, and Carter could spot the unique color of Sophie's wings from a distance. Not exactly camouflage for the forest, but in the sky she'd be unstoppable.

Piper was the first to step forward, putting enough power into her voice to soothe Sophie. "It's okay, it's okay. We're not going to hurt you, you're our friend!"

Sophie sniffled slightly, but her wings shifted back a little, revealing a tear-filled eye.

Keefe stepped forward and kneeled so that his face was level with Sophie's. "This is about what Gisela said, isn't it?" He seemed to need no confirmation. 

"Sophie, you aren't a freak." he said, putting a hand on her shoulder gently. "You're brave, beautiful, strong, and amazing, and anyone who says otherwise isn't worth the time of day."

Aaaand this was their cue to leave. A 'about to kiss' speech if he'd ever heard one, and Carter was pretty sure they'd be annoyed if the 'fan squad' ruined it. "C'mon, Sadie."

There were some protests, but between him, Annabeth, Percy, Piper, and a very annoyed Sam, they were able to herd the rest of the group into the grove.

Will

How do the wings work? How did she hide it? Has she had those for long, or were they a recent development? Was it some weird avian elf experiment she didn't tell us about, or maybe a curse of some sort? 

Will needed answers.

Of course, based on the way Sophie reacted he couldn't exactly go and ask her these questions, so he continued to geek out next to Nico.

It would explain a lot, from how she had gotten to that ditch to even her escape... and them dropping Keefe. With a sinking heart and rising anger, Will realized that it had been all planned from the start.

Even if she didn't know it yet, Sophie loved Keefe, and she would do anything for her friends, so the reaction was catastrophic. The comment that had been thrown, the woman said that they would do the evil group's 'job' for them.

He felt sick. Using them as a weapon against a girl who had too much? Not cool. She was their friend, and if the cloak-covered jerks had gotten their timing just a bit better (worse for the good guys), Sophie would have been chased out of camp by a mob of scared people!

I call dibs on making them spill information first, Will thought. And I won't help heal them when I'm done either.

Sadie

Sadie was not happy that she had missed the Sokeefe moment, and right when it was just starting to get good. 

However, she was mildly- okay, extremely- afraid of Annabeth, so she went along with only a few grumbles.

I'm still gonna grill Sophie for information when she gets back.

Of course, Annabeth immediately elected herself leader and told them to get ready for bed. Not wanting to pick dirt out of my hair while trying to prevent bruising, I followed orders like a good camper.

When I got out of the bathrooms, I saw some feathers pass overhead. It seemed to be Sophie, so I tracked where she went just in case there was yet another emergency, this one resulting in us having to get a ladder or convince an old lumberjack not to keep Sophie as a pet mutant.

Sam

Sadie was standing outside the den staring off into the distance, and Sam was worried. "Sadie? What's going on?"

Sadie turned, snapping out of the trance she was in. "I saw Sophie fly by. I think she landed on some outcropping or something, and I was just noting where she was going in case we needed a rescue mission."

Knowing the history, Sam figured that was a good idea. Speaking of good ideas, they would have to keep the boys from blowing the campsite up.

"Sadie, do you have any ideas for keeping the boys from destroying stuff?" she asked, cringing at how the words sounded.

Walt said from behind Sam "We could start a round of truth or dare?"

It sounded like a minimal damage way to keep from being bored... why not?

"Sure, Walt!" Sadie said, sounding way too excited. "I'll round everyone up!"

Walt turned to Sam with a groan. "We're dead."

Sam couldn't help but agree.

So. There is fluff coming up. Much fluff. And a really sweet Sokeefe moment.