𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐅𝐔𝐄𝐋. pj & ac

VIII.

𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖑𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙𝖓𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖊𝖋

THAT NIGHT THEY CAMPED OUT IN THE WOODS, a hundred yards from the main road, in a marshy clearing that local kids had been using for parties. The ground was littered with flattened soda cans, red solo cups, streamers, and fast-food wrappers.

They'd taken some food and blankets from Aunty Em's, but they didn't light a fire to dry their damp clothes. The Furies and Medusa were enough excitement for one day. They didn't want to attract anything else.

Even Phoenix didn't mind the idea, at least for a couple of hours she wanted to rest her legs. She wasn't too used to walking for so long.

They decided to sleep in shifts. Percy volunteered to take first watch.

Annabeth curled up on the blankets and was snoring as soon as her head hit the ground. Grover fluttered with his flying shoes to the lowest bough of a tree, put his back to the trunk, and after a while he drifted off.

Then there was Phoenix.

"Go ahead and sleep," Percy told her. "I'll wake you if there's trouble." He nodded, but still, she didn't close her eyes.

"There are no stars here..." Phoenix looked up, she lied in the middle of a clearing. Her back pressed to the grass as her obsidian eyes glared at a blank sky. "Why not?"

Percy looked stuck, "Um...Pollution. The artificial lights don't let you see them."

He was surprised to see her sit up and frown deeply. Phoenix's face was usually stoic and hard. He didn't even think she could get sad. Which he realized was kind of messed up of him.

She picked out her sketchbook, her hands began to trace over the paper with her charcoal. She began to draw, her hand moving as if it were automatic rather than controlled by her.

"Can you see well? It's kind of dark out—"

"It's sad." She stated. Her hand not ceasing. "Humans are sad. There's garbage here when there should only be grass and trees. There's black in the sky when it should be filled with constellations."

"You didn't exactly strike me as an environmentalist." Percy quipped,

Phoenix shrugged, "I just see what I see. Just because I like fighting and like when things aren't boring doesn't mean I like sad things."

Percy swallowed, "Well your definition of boring can be a little questionable but yeah—"

"Chaos isn't always sad." Phoenix cut him off. She turned to look at him. She signaled him over with a nod.

He hesitated, but he made his way forward. He sat beside her. Phoenix stared down and kept drawing. Percy watched her hand moving across the paper.

Phoenix's charcoal brought life to the paper as she sketched a scene that left Percy mesmerized. The figure of an adult satyr with a large pointed beard, adorned with a wreath of vibrant flowers, sat amidst a tapestry of nature.

Phoenix's charcoal strokes brought the satyr to life amid the play of light and shadow. Blooming poppies emerged as intricate charcoal sketches, their petals unfolding in grayscale. Ivy crawled up the trees, and oak leaves rustled in delicate lines.

There was an owl perched on a branch, its feathers rendered in varying shades to capture its speckled feathers. A sleek fox, with its black fur, peeked out from behind a bush, its curious gaze fixed on the satyr.

A horse grazed peacefully, its mane drawn to look as if it was swaying with the wind. Beside the horse, a nimble goat stood on a rocky outcrop, surveying the floral haven below.