𝒍𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒛𝒆 - pjo x hp [₂]

xxi. ungrateful children

"𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐇 𝐃𝐔𝐓𝐘," Percy groaned, informing Raya of the punishment Tantalus had given him, Annabeth, and Tyson.

"It didn't help that you told him to go chase a donut," Raya responded, a small smile on her face. It had been pretty funny.

Percy grinned at the memory, dropping down next to her.

The two of them had taken most of the night Border Patrol duties along with Beckendorf and Lee on the other side of Half-Blood Hill. Raya loved the night — reading the stars and their stories while the world finally quieted around her for once.

She pulled out the Snitch from her pocket, passing it from hand to hand absentmindedly. She didn't even remember where she found it at this point, but it was like a piece of her. She refused to let it go.

Raya noticed Percy fiddle with his sword, almost as if he was hesitating to say something. She gave him a minute, but it seemed like he couldn't bring up the courage to talk about it.

"You wanna say something?" Raya finally asked him. "You've been fiddling with your sword for a while now."

Percy looked up at her, almost surprised she'd noticed. "It's — it's about Grover."

Raya perked at the satyr's name. She wasn't particularly close to him, but she knew Percy was, and she was a little invested in the empathy link he'd created.

"What happened?" she asked. "Did he contact you through the empathy link?"

Percy nodded, "Yeah, but it was weird. He said something about the Sea of Monsters, turning left when you reach Florida, some blind Cyclops who's a shepherd and wants to marry Grover, and nature magic. It was really weird. Apparently he only has two weeks before the blind Cyclops finds out he's really a goat and kills him. He wants me to save him."

Raya's heart began to thunder at the name of the Sea of Monsters.

"The Sea of Monsters?" she asked, just to make sure. "Grover said something about some strong nature magic there, and that's why no one comes back from the search for Pan?"

"Yeah," Percy nodded. "What is that? The Sea of Monsters? I've never heard of it before."

"It's this great Sea that all the old heroes travelled during their quests," Raya explained. "Like with the West, it shifted. Monsters, demons, that place is infested."

"How do the humans not notice?" Percy muttered to himself. "The Mist can't cover something that big, can it?"

"It can," Raya told him, "but usually, it doesn't. Mortals call it the Bermuda Triangle. And the Cyclops, he's blind? In the Sea of Monsters? Polyphemus?"

"That's his name!" Percy exclaimed. "Why's he blind?"

"Jason poked him once a really long time ago," Raya waved it off. "It's a long story, but... the nature magic..."

Raya tried not to get her hopes up, just in case she was wrong. In case it wasn't what she thought it was.

"You know what it is?" Percy asked.

"It — I'm not sure if it's what's leading the satyrs astray, but there is something Polyphemus guards with strong nature magic," Raya told him. "The Golden Fleece."

"The Golden Fleece?" Percy asked.

"I don't remember the story, except for the part where someone fell off a flying ram and died," Raya admitted. "But the fleece was supposed to give prosperity and health to the lands, and it did. If Polyphemus has the fleece, if you can save Grover and bring it back—"