Indigo Eyes

Chapter 4

After Percy had made the stupid decision to mail Medusa's head to the gods on Mount Olympus, they followed Grover who found Cressida standing by a water fountain as she talked to a rainbow. There was actually a hint of a smile on her face, and they didn't need to see who she was talking to, to know it was her brothers.

She'd told them about the Furies and was wrapping up her talks about Medusa as they sang praises of encouragement when she saw them coming and her smile vanished. She waved goodbye before blowing them a kiss and waving her hand through the rainbow, cutting off the connection.

That night was rather miserable as they camped out in the woods a little way from the main road. Grover had been surprised when Cressida had handed him her empty chip packet, the satyr bleating a nervous thanks before beginning to help set up camp as he ate it. They'd also stolen some blankets and extra food from Aunty Em's, both of those coming in handy as they decided to sleep in shifts.

Grover had been explaining to Percy about a satyr's purpose, about Pan and the great search for the god of Nature and then he almost slipped up and told him about his first screw-up while Annabeth slept, and Cressida sat on her blanket as she focused on the small grapevine she'd grown from the ground. She had an earphone in one ear, the boys assuming that she had the other one in, but they were wrong. She was half listening as she tried to make the vine move but it didn't do anything.

"You ok?" Percy's voice asked as he moved to sit next to her, and she flinched.

"Gods of Olympus! Announce yourself. You'll give someone a heart attack," she exclaimed as she yanked her earphone out and slipped her hood off her head.

"Sorry," Percy said and she rolled her eyes as she went back to holding her hands over the grapevines and trying to focus. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to concentrate," she answered.

"But why? What are you doing?"

"Gods, you don't know how to listen or how to shut up, do you?"

He had the audacity to smirk as she turned to face him. "Call me curious."

"How about I call you annoying?" she returned before trying to focus again.

"Cressida, it's just us. You don't have to be angry all the time," he said, and she scoffed.

"You don't know anything," she replied.

"Not unless you tell me."

"Di immortales! You don't know when to stop, do you?! What part of leave me alone don't you understand?" she snapped, trying to be quiet so as not to wake the others.

"I just want to know why," he insisted.

"You don't need to know. We just need to get through this quest and get back to camp so I can get back to my brothers and everyone can go back to ignoring me," she announced before turning back to her grapevine.

"Cressida-"

Percy was cut off as the girl groaned before pushing her hand towards the ground and making the vine vanish beneath the earth. "You are the most annoying Barnacle...Butt, I've ever met."

"How did you do that? And Barnacle Butt, really?" he said, and she rolled her purple eyes again as she pulled another vine from the earth before pushing it back down.

"Yes, really. And it's actually quite easy to grow them. Controlling them is another matter," she explained. "My brothers only have this power so they're much better at it than I am."

"How come they don't have the mind control thing like you do?" he wondered, and she sighed.

"Wish I knew. Probably because I'm the daughter of Dionysus. Papa, hardly has children anymore, much less daughters. I'm apparently rare," she said and Percy nodded, seeming to understand her theory. "Have I given you enough that you'll leave me alone now?"