madness and ecstasy // leo valdez

-cardio-

⋆˖⁺‧₊🧋🛠️🕯️🍂🥠₊‧⁺˖⋆

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Leo had imagined his friends all cramped up in the little tent waiting for them, but when he saw what was inside, his jaw dropped.

He'd been freezing his ass of outside in the snow, sitting in Teqi's shredded clothes and puddles of blood (he may have hyperventilated about it, but that was besides the point), while the girls were sitting around a kerosene heater on plush throw pillows.

Piper looked fresh as a daisy, conversing quietly with Phoebe, who was showing her different ways to hold her knife. Like anyone needed to make Piper more lethal.

"Oh, no way," Leo said. "Somebody give me hypothermia."

Phoebe sniffed. "Boys," she said.

Teqi was wearing clean clothes now. She certainly looked less spooked and skittish, sitting with her legs crossed and her hair brushed out, or whatever it was girls did with their hair to make it shiny and soft-looking. He doubted, though, that it still smelt like milkshakes. Not that he was still thinking about how close she'd been leaning over him. Or anything.

The wrappings around her fists weren't for boxing with Piper, at least.

"It's all right, Phoebe," Thalia said, ducking in and pulling the canvas flap of the door closed, silencing the howling wind outside. "They'll need extra coats. And I think we can spare some chocolate."

Phoebe still eyed him as she handed over lightweight silvery winter jackets, like liquid in their hands. But they were warm when Leo pulled it on. The hot chocolate was first-rate too.

Piper handed him the rest of her cup, and he took it.

"Cheers!" said Coach Hedge. He crunched down his plastic thermos cup.

"That cannot be good for your intestines," Leo grimaced, consuming his the normal way.

Thalia squatted down and patted Piper on the back. "You up for moving?"

Piper nodded, rubbing her eyes. There was a cotton patch taped over the swelling on her face, and her brown skin shone with oily medical products. "You guys are really good at this wilderness survival thing. I feel like I could run ten miles."

Thalia smiled at Jason. "She's tough. I like this one."

Teqi stood, but Leo couldn't catch her eye.

It took Phoebe exactly six seconds to break camp, once the lot of them had clambered out of the tent, which Leo could not believe. The tent self-collapsed back into a rolled up package.

Leo wanted to ask her for the blueprints, but they didn't have time. By the time he'd realised what was happening, half of their little gang were already racing off through the trees.

Thalia ran uphill through the snow, hugging the thin path on the side of the mountain Teqi had tried to direct them up before they turned right around and followed the sounds of the wolves.

Coach Hedge leapt around like a happy mountain goat, coaxing them on like he used to do on track days at school. God, (or should he be saying Gods, now?) that was hell. Or what was the Greek version of hell? His train of thought was interrupted.

"Come on, Valdez! Pick up the pace! Let's chant. I've got a girl in Kalamazoo—"

"Let's not," Thalia snapped.