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🍪 — 016. freefall.
ISA HAS TO ADMIT that the Hunters knew how to survive in these horrible conditions. Piper, Isa and Gleeson left Jason and Thalia to talk, and Leo was there as a moral support for the blonde, and the three were welcomed in a cozy camp. The inside was a kerosene heater keeping them toasty warm and a bunch of comfy throw pillows. Hunter had offered them some new clothes, which Isa agreed right away and was now dressed in silver parka and some new pants and sweater. Piper looked back to normal, decked out in a new parka too, gloves, and camo pants like a Hunter. Isa, Piper, Hedge and Phoebe were kicking back, drinking hot chocolate.
"Oh, no way," Leo said. "We've been sitting in a cave and you get the luxury tent? Somebody give me hypothermia. I want hot chocolate and a parka!"
Phoebe sniffed. "Boys," she said, like it was the worst insult she could think of.
"Agree." Isa said.
"It's all right, Phoebe," Thalia said. "They'll need extra coats. And I think we can spare some chocolate."
Phoebe grumbled, but soon Leo and Jason were also dressed in silvery winter clothes, given hot chocolate too.
"Cheers!" said Coach Hedge. He crunched down his plastic thermos cup.
"That cannot be good for your intestines," Leo said.
Thalia patted Piper on the back. "You up for moving?"
Piper nodded. "Thanks to Phoebe, yeah. You guys are really good at this wilderness survival thing. I feel like I could run ten miles."
Thalia winked at Jason. "She's tough for a child of Aphrodite. I like this one."
That sentence seemed to made Jason uncomfortable.
"We're not. . ." the blonde said.
"Oh," Thalia said awkwardly, giving her brother a tight-lipped smile.
"Hey, I could run ten miles too," Leo said, trying to change the subject. "Tough Hephaestus kid here. Let's hit it."
Naturally, Thalia ignored him.
"What does each color mean?" Piper asked.
Thalia ran uphill through the snow, hugging a tiny little path on the side of the mountain. Coach Hedge leaped around like a happy mountain goat, coaxing them on like he used to do on track days at school. "Come on, Valdez! Pick up the pace! Let's chant. I've got a girl in Kalamazoo ─ "
