νεκρός || Annabeth Chase x Fem!OC

Vol. 3-18: IF GOD LOVES PURITY WHY DOES HE CHALLENGE ME WITH ANNABETH CHASE

TEMPEST

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We were doing okay until we hit the tree roots. The spider raced along and we were keeping up, but then we spotted a tunnel off to the side that was dug from raw earth, and wrapped in thick roots. Grover stopped dead in his tracks.

"What is it?" Percy said.

Grover didn't move. He stared open mouthed into the dark tunnel. His curly hair rustled in the breeze.

"Come on!" Anne said. "We have to keep moving."

I kept an eye on the spider, making sure I didn't lose it. "Grover, sweetheart-"

"This is the way," Grover muttered in awe. "This is it."

"What way?" Percy demanded. "You mean... to Pan?"

Grover looked at Tyson. "Don't you smell it?"

"Dirt," Tyson said. "And plants."

"Yes! This is the way. I'm sure of it!"

I growled, "You can find dirt and plants in 90% of the world!" Up ahead, the spider was getting farther down the stone corridor. A few more seconds and we'd lose it. I refused to stop staring at it, afraid I'd lose it if I even tried to look at my friends.

"We'll come back," Anne promised, her voice frantic. "On our way back to Hephaestus."

"The tunnel will be gone by then," Grover said. "I have to follow it. A door like this won't stay open!"

"But we can't," Annabeth said. "The forges!"

Grover looked at her sadly. "I have to, Annabeth. Don't you understand?"

Don't you understand? I heard Anne's breathing still and I turned to look at her, spider be damned. She looked desperate, like she didn't understand at all. The spider was almost out of sight. And for some reason, I thought about trying to find my family. In a sense, Pan was the ancestor to the satyr kind. I imagined it was my dad down there or something, whether or not that sounds weird. Grover is searching for a connection of some sort. I'd kill for that.

"We'll split up," I suggested.

"No!" Anne cried, suddenly gripping my hand. "That's way too dangerous. How will we ever find each other again? And Grover can't go alone."

Tyson put his hand on Grover's shoulder. "I- I will go with him."

Percy blinked harshly. "Tyson, are you sure?"

Tyson nodded. "Goat boy needs help. We will find the god person. I am not like Hephaestus. I trust friends."

Grover took a deep breath. "Percy, we'll find each other again. We've still got the empathy link. I just... have to."

I stared at him. "I know you do."

Grover met my eyes, and we found a strange sort of understanding. Grover and I... we've got a strange relationship. I don't like him because I don't like anyone, but I kind of love him to death, I guess. Grover feels horribly unsettled around me because of my masked aura of death, but I know that he cares about me like I care about him. After all, he's the person that's comforted me most- other than Aphrodite- about being a lesbian. He stepped forward and hugged me, and I found that it wasn't so bad. He smelled pretty much like dirt and plants.