misplaced || l. valdez

28 || mari and jason both somehow find long lost sisters

° ~ •. ♆ chapter twenty-eight ♆ .• ~ °
"mari and jason both somehow find long lost sisters"

For a minute, Jason and Thalia faced each other stunned. Then Thalia rushed forward and hugged him.

"My gods! She told me you were dead!" She gripped Jason's face and seemed to be examining everything about it. "Thank Artemis, it is you. That little scar on your lip— you tried to eat a stapler when you were two!"

Leo laughed. "Seriously?"

Hedge nodded like he approved of Jason's taste. "Staples— excellent source of iron."

"W— wait." Jason stammered. "Who told you I was dead? What happened?"

At the cave entrance, one of the white wolves barked. Thalia looked back at the wolf and nodded, but she kept her hands on Jason's face, like she was afraid he might vanish. "My wolf is telling me I don't have much time, and she's right. But we have to talk. Let's sit."

Piper did better than that. She collapsed. She would've cracked her head on the cave floor if Hedge hadn't caught her.

Thalia rushed over. "What's wrong with her? Ah— never mind. I see. Hypothermia. Ankle." She frowned at the satyr. "Don't you know nature healing?"

Hedge scoffed. "Why do you think she looked this good? Can't you smell the Gatorade?"

Thalia looked to Leo with an accusatory glare, as if asking him why he let Hedge be the doctor. Then she looked to Mari and winced. "And you look like you need your arm properly taken care of. You and the satyr, take the girls to my friend at the entrance. Phoebe's an excellent healer."

"It's cold out there!" Hedge said. "I'll freeze my horns off."

Leo got up. "Come on, Hedge. These two need time to talk."

"Humph. Fine." the satyr muttered. "Didn't even get to brain anybody."

Mari grabbed her sword and followed Hedge as he carried Piper toward the entrance. Leo went with her when Jason called, "Actually, man, could you, um, stick around?"

Leo glanced at Mari, but she waved him off. "We'll be fine."

He nodded before turning back to Jason. "Sticking around is my specialty."

Mari rolled her eyes as she walked out of the cave. To her surprise, when she got out, a silver tent awaited them. The Hunter, Phoebe, stood outside, waiting for them. She zipped the tent opened and ushered them inside.

The inside of the tent was nothing like Mari had expected. It was way bigger than it should have been, with a kerosene heater and a bunch of throw pillows. There was a long table with a coffee maker, food, and first aid supplies.

Phoebe motioned for them to sit on the pillows, which were way more comfortable than the cave floor. She came back with three pairs of parkas, gloves, and camo pants, like a Hunter's normal outfit. "You can change into these when I'm done."

First she worked on Piper, bringing her closer to the heater. She gave her a cup of nectar and a square of ambrosia. As Piper ate and drank, Phoebe went over and grabbed a little bag filled with some kind of thick, green-ish paste. She rubbed some of it on Piper's forehead and wiped it away after a couple of minutes. They talked for a bit, but Mari couldn't really hear them.