madness and ecstasy // leo valdez

-slowly learnin' that life is okay. take on me (take me on)-

⋆˖⁺‧₊🎧🧨🍷🎬🍓₊‧⁺˖⋆

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Their footsteps echoed in the entry hall. Teqi couldn't see more than a dimly lit few steps in front of her, but she called it a hall, judging from how far away the glinting decorations in the shadows were. It could've been bigger than Boreas's penthouse. If that was even possible. And it was just as cold.

The only illumination came from the yard lights outside, through the breaks in the thick velvet curtains that covered what must be enormous windows, that rose about ten metres tall.

Statues, or carvings, or rich people decorations, whatever they were, sat spaced between the windows. As Teqi's eyes adjusted, she could make out the lumpy shapes in the middle of the room. Sofas, and coffee tables, and more further back. The massive chandelier overhead was hard to miss.

Her tender face muscles pulled and stretched painfully when she looked up.

"Where's the light switch?" Jason's voice was alarmingly loud in the dead quiet.

"Don't see one," Leo said. He sounded hollow.

"Fire?" Piper suggested.

Leo held out his hand, but nothing happened. "It's not working."

That was vaguely worrying, she flicked through a few scenarios, ranging from power dimming technology and magic to emotional burnout, but it wasn't on the top of Teqi's what-the-fuck-is-happening-list.

Ranking in at number one would be the searing pain that was making her right eye stream with tears. She could feel it swelling up as the argument spiked around her.

"Your fire is out? Why?" Piper asked.

"Well, if I knew that—"

"Okay, okay," she said, obviously shocked at Leo's rudeness. "What do we do—explore?"

Teqi shook her head. As if she was about to traipse around this manor with a group of grumpy demigods and no painkillers. She rubbed her forehead. "No, you all need to sleep. And eat something."

This was all so very reminiscent of the conversations in cabin twelve when she was hungry, or Castor was hungover, or Brandon had spent all night up playing video games underneath his blankets, and Ollie was just trying to concentrate on his homework.

And not the bickering about which way to cook pasta sauce and obviously you had to put water in it otherwise everything gets burnt. And Brandon, please wash your hands before you strain pasta with them.

She sighed. She wanted to go home. The feeling swelled in her stomach and made her sick. Like she'd eaten too much pasta.

"Teqi's right," Jason said. "We're not separating again—not like in Detroit."

"Oh, thank you for reminding me of the Cyclopes." Piper's voice quavered. "I needed that."

"Oh my god all of you shut up," Teqi groaned. "Dawns in a few hours and it's too cold to wait outside, so me and Jason are going to bring in the cages and we'll make camp in this room until daylight. Then we'll decide what to do."

They all blinked at her like stunned little deer in headlights. The whites of their eyes were reflective in the darkness.

She huffed, and gestured to Piper and Leo, who both looked cold and wet and on edge. And sad. "You two. Sofas. Find something to eat and for the love of the gods put a statue between you if that's what it takes for some quiet."