¹Pocket Full of Posies, p. jackson

xv. The Way Things Go

chapter fifteen
❛ the way things go ❜

━━━━━  POSIE HADN'T REALIZED how much she missed Camp Half-Blood until she saw the familiar cluster of trees as they ran down the road. It was something she felt last summer, somehow making it all the way from New York to California, finding this heavy feeling of longing on the Santa Monica beach. Even then, understanding the feeling of missing Camp Half-Blood, the only place she ever felt comfortable enough to call home, Posie didn't fully grasp the fear she held as she rode away from the shores on the back of a hippocampus — until she arrived at the grassy base of Half-Blood Hill, where the magical borders had long-since failed.

Naturally, the questers who didn't fly back were left riding on the back of the centaurs. Even with the nerves at the prospect of riding on the back of a centaur, Posie's excitement far outweighed that ball of anxiety tugging at the pit of her stomach. She would be back home; she would see Rose and Wyatt again; she would be able to lie her head in her bottom bunk inside Cabin Seven. She missed her siblings horribly, even finding herself missing their stupid jazz or contemporary debates (or even worse, the many arguments regarding Shakespeare and his plays). Posie was going home, and that exciting anticipation overpowered any feeling of nerves bundled in her chest. Truthfully, she wasn't exactly sure what she was nervous about — whether it was the lingering aftershock of Polyphemus's island or her gift of foresight that something was going to happen (and with the latter idea, Onesimus murmured his agreement to). Either way, she did her best to push that heavy feeling to the side, eager to get her feet back on Camp Half-Blood ground.

You should never ignore your gut feelings, Onesimus warned her. To which she promptly ignored him. Perhaps it was some silly protest at the fact he, once again, left her high and dry, dangling the prospects of answers over her head the way zookeepers do for their exhibits.

Just as it had been a matter of minutes (even if it felt like mere seconds), traveling with the Party Ponies made the long trek from Florida to New York miraculously quick — they arrived just after Clarisse, thanks to the centaurs' traveling powers. As they galloped through states in a matter of minutes, Posie heard the centaurs chatter excitedly amongst themselves (as they did nothing quietly, she quickly learned) — it was excited chatter of Camp Half-Blood's Camp Director, Dionysus. As Chiron explained to her, his brethren were excited to meet the Wine God. Through the grapevine, the Party Ponies heard the God of Madness threw spectacular parties; they hoped he would throw one for them upon their arrival at Camp. All those from Camp Half-Blood (and who had dealt with Mr. D) didn't have the heart to break the upsetting news to the Party Ponies — Dionysus was never in the mood for parties anymore, not after he got booted to the camp as its Camp Director.

No, instead of a party, all the campers had gathered at the top of Half-Blood Hill, anxiously waiting for the rest of the questers to arrive. Even from the brief glances Posie saw as the centaurs trotted up the hill, reaching its crest, she saw the rough two weeks the camp had gone through. The Arts & Crafts Center had been burned to the ground after an attack by a Draco Aionius (which, as far as Onesimus told her, was Latin for "really big lizard that breathes fire"). The Big House's rooms were overflowing with wounded campers; in turn, Posie's siblings, who were the best healers Camp had, were working overtime, doing their best to heal the injured as fast as they could. Posie frowned as she spotted Will — her younger brother, who had been claimed by Apollo while in the infirmary, had turned out to be one of the most natural healers in many years (at least, that's what Lee told her). He was rubbing at his eyes, his feet dragging across the grass, as his blond hair lay flat against his forehead. He was one of the best healers from Cabin Seven, even for being a new camper, but it looked like they were trying to run him into an infirmary.