Drowning in the Siren's Song

Chapter 47

Percy though she looked like an angry kitten. 

That was the first image his mind came up with when she met his eyes. Eyes like black marble cut through him, making him blink in submission. A fierce glare unsuitable for someone her size and starved fingers wrapped tightly around daggers, she looked ready to kill someone as well as collapse herself. 

Of course she couldn't attempt either because the monsters behind her would definitely mind.

Percy was already on his way when he'd caught sight of her. Keria had alerted him of the group of harpies who'd entered the forest and he was made aware that Lupa was also privy to the information. Confident that Lupa would take care of the young demigod, he set off, efficiently killing the annoying monsters. 

But before Lupa got there, Percy had sprinted towards her, catching her just in the nick of time. She'd fainted, he noticed. He shook her roughly but when she showed no signs of awakening he shoved her behind his back, holding her steady while he threw his knife the last remaining harpy just before her claws reached them.

It landed with a thud, embedding itself in the head, killing it instantly. It turned to dust a moment later, just as Lupa and the wolves arrived. Jason had come too, jumping down from the back a wolf to stand before him, weapons without sheaths. 

"Who's she?" He'd already scanned him up to down and had shifted his attention to the small girl on his back. Percy didn't reply because he had no answer. He laid her down against a rock, moving away to collect his knife while Lupa took a look at her. 

"She is a new guest." She sniffed around a second longer. "Rey, take her." Lupa left promptly, disappearing through a traffic of bushes. Just her style. Most of the wolves followed behind but a few stayed back to search the area for any leftover monsters while Rey shuffled over, taking his turn to sniff the new entity. 

Percy lifted her again and was surprised by how light she was. In the chaos of the monsters he had grabbed her before but hadn't noticed how underweight she was. She was really small too. According to what he saw, he guessed she was around his age but was easily half his size. 

He called Rey over and arranged her on his back, taking his time to observe her. She was definitely a fighter. He could see the calluses on her hands and the wiry muscle she'd built somehow. She'd probably been running around, because her black hair was unkept and her clothes were dull with age. 

"Gah! Just carry her, will you?" Jason finally snapped, helplessly watching Percy struggle with her. Indeed, it would be better if he were to carry her. It was a dilemma, because riding a wolf was not easy and maintaining balance was tedious, even for them. Expecting the same from an unconscious girl was a bit too much.

He quickly jumped on Rey's back, adjusting her limp body in front of him. The ride from there to the Wolf House wasn't a long one so he wasn't particularly worried, but he still kept a hand close to his side where his weapons were kept. 

Unfortunately, he was right to be worried.