━━ ❝ 𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 to shine like a star you must burn
like one ❞
•--• ✹ •--•
[ i. completed / edited
ii. previously called folklore
iii. extended summary inside
iv. book 1 of the greek tragedy series ]
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They arrived in Long Island just after Clarisse, thanks to the centaurs' travel powers.
Cassie and Percy rode on Chiron's back, taking about everything and nothing at the same time.
When they got to camp, the centaurs were anxious to meet Dionysus.
They'd heard he threw some really wild parties, but they were disappointed. The wine god was in no mood to celebrate as the whole camp gathered at the top of Half-Blood Hill.
The camp had been through a hard two weeks. The arts and crafts cabin had burned to the ground from an attack by a Draco Aionius (which translated to "really-big-lizard-with-breath-that-blows-stuff-up").
The Big House's rooms were overflowing with wounded. The kids in the Apollo cabin, who were the best healers, had been working overtime performing first aid.
Everybody looked weary and battered as they crowded around Thalia's tree.
The moment Clarisse draped the Golden Fleece over the lowest bough, the moonlight seemed to brighten, turning from gray to liquid silver. A cool breeze rustled in the branches and rippled through the grass, all the way into the valley.
Everything came into sharper focus- the glow of the fireflies down in the woods, the smell of the strawberry fields, the sound of the waves on the beach.
Gradually, the needles on the pine tree started turning from brown to green.
Everybody cheered. It was happening slowly, but there could be no doubt —the Fleece's magic was seeping into the tree, filling it with new power and expelling the poison.
Chiron ordered a twenty-four/seven guard duty on the hilltop, at least until he could find an appropriate monster to protect the Fleece. He said he'd place an ad in Olympus Weekly right away.
In the meantime, Clarisse was carried on her cabin mates' shoulders down to the amphitheater, where she was honored with a laurel wreath and a lot of celebrating around the campfire.
Nobody gave Annabeth, Cassie or Percy a second look. Except for Ethan, the Stolls and Silena (and of course the Hermes cabin), who greeted them back.
Later that night, they roasted s'mores and listening to the Stoll brothers tell them a ghost story about an evil king who was eaten alive by demonic breakfast pastries.
The next morning, after the party ponies headed back to Florida, Chiron made a surprise announcement: the chariot races would go ahead as scheduled.
They'd all figured they were history now that Tantalus was gone, but completing them did feel like the right thing to do, especially now that Chiron was back and the camp was safe.
Anabeth, Cassie and Percy teamed up. Percy would drive, Cassie would defend, and Annabeth would attack.
They spent the next two days training like crazy. The three agreed that if they won, the prize of no chores for the rest of the month would be split between their three cabins.
