Umbra

Chapter 18

Seattle was colder than San Francisco.

It looked mysterious from above, cloudy after a sudden shower. It wasn't all that different from San Francisco, yet to Emilia, it was a completely new world that she wasn't prepared for.

"Why did you choose to come during the coldest time of the year?" complained Emilia as she shivered, following Pollux off the bus that dropped them off at a hotel a block away from the University of Washington.

"You're from the Bay!" said Pollux. "You should be used to this."

"We've been living in New York, where everything is nice and sunny." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "Camp did not prepare me for a brittle cold worse than SF. I'm not made for this."

He side-eyed her. "You kinda are, child of the Underworld and all."

"It's not like that makes us not feel cold! At least, I didn't get blessed with that. I can't have a shadow sweater all the time, it drains me."

"Then you need to get better at packing." He passed her suitcase to her. "Come on, we still have to check in before the tour."

"Why would you schedule the tour after a flight and a bus ride?" she complained yet again. "Not even a day of rest?!"

Pollux grinned. "No rest for the wicked. Come on, you've got your quest-survival badge now, that's more than I have."

"You fought in a literal war."

"Yeah, but I got injured really quickly. Percy had to tell me to keep an eye on things elsewhere. It makes sense, I guess, I would've had to fight with my non sword arm, but still..."

"I wonder what he's doing right now," mused Emilia, lugging the suitcase behind her. "I wonder if the Romans accepted him or... I don't know."

Pollux blew air out of his mouth, a tiny cloud of hot steam curling between his lips. He looked pensive, worried even. "I don't know either. But he's strong. He's a leader, like Jason. I don't know Jason well enough, I acknowledge it, yet somehow I still think Percy is... capable of fitting in there just fine."

They checked in at the hotel and got to organizing their things. Pollux immediately claimed the bed with the better view, leaving Emilia to take up most of the closet beside her bed. They had brunch downstairs before making their way to the university.

It was a beautiful campus, with tall ornate buildings and towering trees that made Emilia feel like an intellectual. It had a very different feel from the only other university she'd ever visited, but she wasn't sure Berkeley could be compared to this– its buildings didn't seem to follow a certain pattern and its environment was nothing like the University of Washington.

Some part of her still longed to go to Berkeley, even more so now that Daniel was a student there, too. But she didn't want to completely disregard this campus. It was beautiful. Pollux would fit right in here. He was sociable, he knew how to adapt to formal and informal situations, and he dressed like he was smart. Emilia liked her new wardrobe but felt that she still didn't follow a specific style. Her abnormality had felt like it had a place at Berkeley. Here... she stood out.

She was tired about five minutes into the tour, but tried to keep a good expression on for Pollux's sake. He asked way too many questions (though the tour guide seemed to like that, flashing him several smiles and even blushing at one point when Pollux stopped her from running into a lamppost) and wanted way too many pictures in front of every building. Emilia was forced to get good at using a Polaroid.

They ended the tour back where they started, and walked to have their lunch at the Drumheller Fountain, which Pollux wanted another picture with. "This campus feels so alive," he said, inhaling deep as he sat back down. "I wish I could make those cherry blossoms bloom all-year-round. But maybe conjuring up some strawberries under it would be nice..."