Melaina's Burden Of The Aegean Sea

Chapter 8

"Is this a good enough campground spot for you, your grace, or should we move elsewhere?" Thalia says, unloading their belongings and placing them down on the dirt ground.

"No this will do," She says not realizing the tone of voice she was using. Thalia nodded and gave her a courtesy before walking away.

"You know she's still mad right?" Castor says coming next to her with his things on his shoulders, glancing towards Thalia.

"She seems fine to me," She says setting up her sleeping bag. "Thalia jokes a lot with me. It's how our relationship goes"

Castor shook his head before walking away from her. Both Achlys and Desdemona went to a nearby lake head bobbing for supper, while the two Pegasus took a sip of the water. Melaina watched Thalia as she looked for firewood in the distance before going back to fixing up her sleeping bag.

A few minutes had gone by before everyone had settled down. With the animals feed and clean, thanks to Thalia, who had only poured water down their backs in another nearby lake, as a way to keep herself busy till nightfall fell over them because she didn't want to say another word to both Castor and Melaina, but mostly to Melaina. Castor spent the majority of his time cleaning his clothes and himself, since he had tripped in one of the animal's waste, causing the two women to laugh at him, they held eyes for a second till Thalia had caught herself and looked away. Melaina didn't do much of anything but laid down in her sleeping bag that she placed next to Thalia's, looking up at the night sky, mentally wishing that she was able to talk to her siblings about what's been happening as well as the things that are unspoken to herself with them.

It was nearly midnight, and the night sky was picturesque. Everyone had settled into their sleeping bags, looking upwards at the black to navy gradient sky for their backdrop while the full moon was shining bright; the night sky was so clear that they could almost see every crater. The moon, a glowing yellowy white, loomed large, surrounded by an ethereal glow. Millions of stars were sprinkled behind it, a few large ones but mostly a multitude of little white pinpricks. Now and then, a twinkle would catch each one's eye.

This was an unfamiliar sight for Thalia from her city life, where the lights never went down, perpetually hiding the beauty of the nighttime sky. The lake's waves lapped lazily at the shore, a jumble of navy and royal blue that glistened in the night. White foam crested the top of the waves as they approached, spilling onto the dirt like a net being cast. The foam bubbled over the dirt and the rocks that littered the ground. It offered no surprises yet it had more things to show here than anyplace else of where she had ever been. It was much less populated, and its only residents were of the night creatures and the insects.

"Talley? Are you asleep?" She heard the woman's voice beside her. She didn't look at her but hummed in response. "I don't know what I said back there to have offended you, but I know I didn't mean to upset you"

She internally groaned to herself, before turning to face her. She was weakened by the wholesome apology from her friend but tried to keep her demeanour hard.

"I know my words can be harsh and cruel, but with you, I don't ever want you to feel like I'm doing it on purpose. I'm sorry"

"It may take a while for you to realize, but once you do, you make great apologies," She tells her truthfully. "And if we're apologizing then I'm sorry too," She says sitting up on her elbows.

"You weren't in the wrong. No, need to apologize"

"Fair, but I still should have told you, instead of making such petty and sarcastic remarks"

"Can I be honest? I was not offended by any of that, because I don't quite understand it"

Thalia couldn't help but smile, which turned into a chuckle. Laughing out loud at her clueless friend, she took a moment to catch her breath.