opia . . . 𝘫𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦

i. how to meet strangers

O P I A . . .

CHAPTER ONE
❛ sorry, she's not the easiest person to talk to right now ❜

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❝ you know, being your friend should come with a warning label ❞ said butch, as he ran after maya who stormed angrily towards the pegasus stables, so much that the two of them almost got decapitated as they passed the ares cabin.

"if you don't want to help me harness the pegasi and hook them up to will's chariot then you can go get annabeth," maya answered him, knowing he wouldn't dare to see annabeth unless he could tell her that percy was fine.

his tall frame shrugged down, "no ma'am."

maya shot him a look that said something along the lines of do i look like a ma'am to you? that butch promptly ignored, handing maya a harness.

as he left to prep the chariot for the pegasi's arrival, maya let out a soft sigh, gently running her fingers through the palomino's soft white mane. butterscotch, who was named after her cream coat, let out a neigh of comfort as the dark haired girl started talking.

"such a pretty girl you are butterscotch. you gonna help me find percy?" she asks, waiting for the high-pitched voice of the horse to enter her mind. of course, maya, butterscotch answered, butting her head against her handler to encourage hope. later she brought butterscotch and another pegasus to butch so he could attach them to will's brightly painted chariot that he did not seem eager to depart with.

soon enough, the trio of butch, annabeth and maya were in the air, heading for the grand canyon in which hera promised answers. maya was hesitant to believe the goddess of marriage as for their bad track record. for most of the trip annabeth kept quiet, likely broodily pondering of her fate, while butch tried to entertain maya until she would get annoyed and tell him to shut up.

in a little while, the chariot started to descend to land at the far edge of the skywalk. if maya squinted she could see the faces of the three people at the opposite side of the glass. she saw a gorgeous brunette that looked of native american descent, a curly haired hispanic boy who held the resemblance of an elf and a towering blonde boy with a strange aura.

just as they landed, butterscotch and her friend tucked in their wings and snorted, creating a loud fluttering sound that echoed in maya's head. maya, butterscotch stressed, we want to go. i feel like the glass will break and we'll fall. the brunette quickly reminded the pegasi that they needed to speak with the three teenagers and that even if the glass broke the pegasi could both fly.

annabeth instantaneously jumped out of the chariot, running towards the confused persons, blonde hair, that was tied back into a ponytail, whipping in the wind. butch and maya ran after her, nearly skidding to a halt as annabeth demanded percy. "where is he?"

if possible, the trio across from her look even more muddled. "where is who?" asked the blonde boy. his blue eyes may have been marred from disorientation, but maya could immediately tell that he was a demigod from his confident demeaner and build.

annabeth frowned at his response and maya grabbed her hand, turning to the other two. "what about gleeson hedge? your protector?"

the short latino cleared his throat. "he got taken by some... tornado things," he answered with a pause as if he was still trying to process that.

"venti," the blonde boy said. "storm spirits."

maya's head snapped towards him. she never heard the term venti before, but this certainly confirmed her suspicion. "you mean anemoi thuellai?" annabeth asked, letting go of the brunette's hand. "that's the greek term. who are you and what happened?"

the blonde looked straight at her, as if he was too afraid to meet annabeth's intensely grey eyes. he introduced them as jason, piper and leo and did his best to explain that their classmate, dylan was a storm spirit who attacked them on their field trip to the skywalk. he told them how piper fell over the edge and jason saved her while hedge was captured saving leo.

by the end of his story, the two girls stood arms crossed while butch stood with a raised eyebrow that marked confusion.

"no, no, no! she told be he would be here. she told me that if i came here, i'd find the answer," annabeth started angrily. as much as maya wanted to join her, she realized that both of them panicking would do no good. of course she was worried and terrified of the things that could happen to percy, but he was also a trained swordsman who had  a brain. and she also knew that screaming and getting worked up would only scare the new demigods they discovered, who were already likely out of their minds.

"guys," butch commented. "check it out," he pointed at jason's feet.

the blonde was missing his left shoe. "the guy with one shoe," said butch. "he's the answer."

"no, butch," the annabeth insisted. "he can't be. we were tricked," she glared at the sky, pointing towards the gods. "what do you want from me?" she screamed. "what have you done with him?"

the brunette quickly lent annabeth's shoulder her hand. "beth, your scaring the kids."

"are you not angry?" annabeth wasn't happy.

"of course i am but there's no point in doing this in front of everyone. besides, i wouldn't wanna accidentally cause a tidal wave."

annabeth lightly chuckled, muttering a quick apology, before giving maya's hand a squeeze.

the skywalk started to shudder and the girl could here the pegasi voice their panic urgently and repeatedly whinny.

"maya, annabeth, we need to leave and get these three to camp. the storm spirits might come back."

annabeth turned her heel and marched back to the chariot in annoyment of butch. piper shook her head,"what's her problem, what's going on?"

"seriously," leo agreed.

she gave them a small glare. they couldn't judge the situation when they didn't know the extent. her brother, annabeth's boyfriend, the beloved son of poseidon and savior of olympus was missing.

"we have to get you out of here," butch said. "we'll explain on the way."

jason gestures towards the blonde," i'm not going anywhere with her. she looks like she wants to kill me."

well, maya couldn't say the boy was stupid.

butch hesitated. "you gotta cut them some slack. she had a vision telling her to come here, to find a guy with one shoe. that was supposed to be the answer to the problem."

"what problem?" piper asked.

"she has been looking for one of our campers, who's been missing three days," butch said. "she was going out of her mind with worry and she hoped he'd be here."

"who?" jason asked.

"my twin brother and her boyfriend," she replied. "a 6ft dark haired idiot that answers to the name percy jackson."