Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
"so . . . how come we've never met before?"
maddie balances on a fallen tree trunk as she speaks, walking across as if she is on a tightrope.
sebastian shrugs, walking along beside her. "don't know really . . . i guess cause you and your brother are always on quests all the time."
"oh," she replies. "have . . . you ever been on one?"
"once," sebastian answers, swinging his sword absentmindedly. "a long time ago. and i don't think chiron's in any position to give me another one."
maddie senses the topic is sensitive, so she drops it. the pair walk along in the forest for a while, the trees casting long shadows on the grassy floor. it was still daytime, but being in the middle of a thick forest made it feel like night.
"so . . . how old are you, anyway?"
"seventeen," he responds. "i'm going into senior year in the fall."
"oh, cool."
maddie feels a jolt in her stomach when she remembers that she might not even make it to that age.
she tries to ignore it, and continues walking with the son of ares. her thoughts drift back to their current task, and the angry thoughts from before come back to her.
"i can't believe quintus put percy and annabeth together," she mutters angrily to herself. sebastian hears her, and snorts.
"why, are you scared they're gonna win?" he asks, a teasing tone in his voice.
maddie whirls around to look at him. "what? them? no way in tartarus are they winning. they can barely go two minutes without fighting, anyway."
"so, why are you so pissed?"
"i am not— oh never mind."
they had reached a creek. to the left, the woods went thicker, and maddie was pretty sure she could hear loud voices coming from it, and on their right, the trees grew taller and more scarce.
"which way do you reckon?" maddie asked the boy beside her.
sebastian takes a minute to think, before pointing to the other side of the creek. "that way. that's the west woods. monsters come more frequently there."
sebastian went first, jumping over the creek, and narrowly missing the edge. he looked back expectantly. "need a hand?"
maddie raised an eyebrow and snorted, before stepping into the water and wading across. she came out onto the other side, as dry as a bone. she grinned back at the boy.
"show off," he muttered, then swore when a splash of water hit him directly in the face.
