Melancholy Kaleidescope | PJO

Ch. 4: A Quest

Jinora sat in the infirmary with a bandage taped over her cheek where the hellhound had scratched her. Luke had made sure she got to the infirmary and would check in periodically to make sure she was still there.

Will Solace, one of Apollo's kids and the best healer at camp, had given her some nectar and a little bit of ambrosia to get the healing going on. The boy–no more than eight years-old–had also gone ahead and sung one of his father's hymns. At the end of the day, it would scar, but she was fine. He still made her stay the night in the infirmary, and she was sure that Luke had had something to do with that. He'd always been a bit of a helicopter parent when she got hurt ever since...well, ever since they had barely made it to camp alive.

Percy came and saw her in the morning, meeting her before breakfast. Chiron had already moved him into his new cabin, cabin three. He had tried to act like it was all fine, but he was clearly miserable, and Jinora could see it.

"Well, don't think you can use your dad being the sea god as an excuse to not be my friend," she said to him as they walked up to the pavilion. "I'm not that easy to get rid of."

He let out a small laugh before the smile faded from his face. By the look he wore, Jinora knew he had a question he was itching to ask her.

"Alright, waterboy. Spit out your question."

Percy hesitated but asked, "Did you know about Annabeth's plan during capture the flag?'

Jinora looked up at him with a twinge of anxiety before nodding. Percy's frown deepened on his face.

"So, you knew that I was going to be used as bait to draw Clarisse away?"

"Yes, but Percy I swear I didn't know Annabeth was actually going to let Clarisse come at you that hard," she insisted. Percy nodded, though he was still pretty upset at the answer.

After breakfast, Percy was led away by Grover to the Big House where Jinora was certain Chiron and Mr. D would be waiting for them. She had started to head off to get her chores done when a hand gripped her upper arm. She turned around to see Annabeth with her Yankees cap in her hand.

"They're going to give Percy a quest," her friend informed her. "He's headed up to see the Oracle right now."

Jinora raised a brow. "You asking me to eavesdrop with you, Chase?"

"No, I'm asking you to bake cookies with me," Annabeth retorted sarcastically. "Yes, I'm asking you to eavesdrop with me."

Annabeth grabbed her hand and put the cap on, both of them shimmering out of sight.

"Woah," Jinora said in awe. "I didn't know you could do that."

Annabeth tugged her along to the front porch of the Big House. As they approached, they became much more careful of where they stepped and how sneaky they were. Mr. D was gone and Percy had just returned from speaking to the Oracle when the two girls had arrived. Whatever he had heard in the attic, it unsettled him.

"Well," Chiron asked as Percy slumped into the chair beside Grover.

"She said I would retrieve what was stolen."

Grover sat forward, chewing excitedly on the remains of a Diet Coke can. "That's great!"

"What did the Oracle say exactly?" Chiron pressed. "This is important."

Percy looked uneasy. "She...she said I would go west and face a god who had turned. I would retrieve what was stolen and see it safely returned."

"I knew it," Grover whispered, relieved.

Chiron didn't look satisfied. "Anything else?"

Percy hesitated and flexed his fingers. At that moment, Jinora knew whatever came out of his mouth was about to be a lie.