the warrior of olympus [ the heroes of olympus ]

chapter two

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚆𝙰𝚁𝚁𝙸𝙾𝚁 𝙾𝙵 𝙾𝙻𝚈𝙼𝙿𝚄𝚂༉‧₊˚.[𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙷𝙴𝚁𝙾𝙴𝚂 𝙾𝙵 𝙾𝙻𝚈𝙼𝙿𝚄𝚂]

chapter two: i've been given a lot of things, but a quest is the only one i'd return

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ASHANTI PACED.

it was something she did a lot over the past three days. it'd taken her less than fifteen minutes to completely unpack everything she'd brought back with her from napa valley. or, maybe she'd just been completely on autopilot, and it felt like only fifteen minutes. she'd robotically transferred several folded outfits from her dufflebag to her drawers, and tucked the pairs of shoes she'd brought underneath her bed neatly. besides otto, she hadn't brought any other significant items with her, emotions practically nonexistent as she numbly milled about her back-home bedroom haphazardly putting together her luggage the night before, mere hours before boarding a plane to fly across the country.

in the midst of her absentminded unpacking session, she'd finally noticed the rather large difference in their cabin that hadn't been there when the long summer session had wrapped up for good. their father, dionysus, had kindly upgraded their living accommodations, she guessed as some kind of gift after their efforts in the war. even the wine god showed appreciation, even if he was much more nonchalant, and secretive about it. he'd replaced the rows, and rows of empty, unused bunkbeds in their cabin, to simply three full sized, four poster beds pushed in various corners of the room. she hadn't noticed just how large their cabin was without the extra beds taking up space. she figured it was apparent he didn't have any other demigods running around, no use for the ridiculous number of beds.

ashanti's corner was the furthest from the door, a lacy black canopy gracefully draped over her bed, deep purple sheets that gave a dark elegancy that she adored. a soft black carpet accented underneath her bed, numerous lush pillows scattered her duvet. everything appeared magically decorated to her liking, from decorative vinyls to tapestries with skeletons that mimicked renaissance esque poses. a deep, ebony stained wood bedside table caught her attention, the exterior with deep vines, and ivy leaves carved into it beautifully. on top, there was a small jewlery box engraved with curly looking purple grapes, a lamp with a deep violet lampshade, and several other little trinkets that belonged to her.

the only one that truly seemed to catch her eye was the picture of her, and percy. homecoming. her dress a deep, violet silk, loosely draped over her curving figure, the back completely open to reveal the beautiful diamond waist chains she was wearing underneath. her hair was long, so dark, it was almost purple, and in luxurious pin-curls that gave her appearance a more vintage look. she was faced toward percy, her back toward the camera, but a playful look casted over her shoulder as her hand rested glamorously over his heart. her date was paying the camera absolutely no mind as his sea green eyes dutifully watched her, pupils dilated as if her sole presence was the very reason for his existence. one hand was placed at her waist, the other holding her hand delicately to his chest, it was undeniably the best picture they'd ever taken together.

she picked it up off the stand, flipping it over. sophomore homecoming was signed off in practicied cursive of her own hand. ashanti had been so happy that night, her brothers had gone, too, both with dates. castor with a cheerleader friend of ashanti's, shaela she recalled. pollux with another friend of her's, m.j., a dancer in the spirit squad. they'd not only gone to their homecoming, but crashed their rival's homecoming afterparty in beacon hills after an invitation of a friend of pollux. diane had been a bit apprehensive about letting them drive two towns over, but agreed when they said it was most likely the least dangerous thing four demigods had done all year. the night wrapped at the diner, and by night, she meant at least three a.m. they dipped salty fries in double-chocolate malt shakes, and split bacon burgers ( ashanti was heavily against cheese except in certain cases ).