~ { Shadow and Beauty } ~

Pen And Paper

{Kiara}

Kiara wasn't happy to be woken up again, but seeing Piper's face made it worth waking up.

   "Go talk to Hercules without me," Kiara groaned, slamming her pillow on her face, half to hide the heat in her cheeks.

   "You seriously don't want to meet the most famous of demigods?" Piper asked.

   "I thought that was Percy," Kiara said, lifting her pillow a bit. "I already met him."

   Piper laughed and Kiara smiled. She loved hearing Piper laugh. She wanted to make the daughter of Aphrodite smile more, but she wasn't good with jokes.

   "Fine," Piper said, and Kiara guessed she was smiling by the way she spoke, "I'm leaving. You can miss out on meeting Hercules."

   Kiara could tell Piper was taking her time on leaving Kiara's cabin. Kiara debated in her mind if she should join Piper and the others, or continue sleeping. She guessed she wouldn't be able to sleep after this anyway, so she sat up in her bed.

   "Ugh, fine. Let me get dressed first, though."

   Piper grinned victoriously. "I'll be outside."

   Kiara quickly discarded her pajamas and put on dark shorts, and a t-shirt she'd "borrowed" from Hazel. She put a brush through her dark hair and rushed outside, stumbling into Piper. Thankfully, the daughter of Aphrodite was light on her feet, so they didn't fall down. That would've been really embarrassing.

   "Sorry," Kiara said. She was one hundred percent sure her face was as red as a tomato. She averted her gaze from Piper's. "I didn't think you would actually wait for me."

   "Why wouldn't I wait for you?" Piper asked as they went up to the deck. "I'm your friend."

   Great, Kiara thought. Friendzoned yet again.

   "Won't Hercules be on our side?" Hazel was asking hopefully. "I mean... he's one of us, right?"

   Jason grunted. "He was a son of Zeus, but when he died, he became a god. You can never be sure with gods."

   "Great," Percy said. "Eight of us against Hercules."

   "And a satyr!" Hedge added. "We can take him."

   "I've got a better idea," Annabeth said. "We send ambassadors ashore. A small group—one or two at most. Try to talk with him."

   "I'll go," Jason said. "He's a son of Zeus. I'm the son of Jupiter. Maybe he'll be friendly to me."

   "Or maybe he'll hate you," Percy suggested. "Half brothers don't always get along."

   Jason scowled. "Thank you, Mr. Optimism."

   "It's worth a shot," Annabeth said. "At least Jason and Hercules have something in common. And we need our best diplomat. Somebody who's good with words."

   All eyes turned to Piper.

   Kiara could see how reluctant Piper was. But when her gaze slid to Jason, she seemed to relax a bit. Kiara couldn't help but feel jealous.

   "Fine," Piper said. "Just let me change my clothes."

Once Leo had anchored the Argo II between the pillars, Jason summoned the wind to carry him and Piper ashore.

   Kiara thought Jason looked ridiculous when he flew. She wasn't saying that because she disliked and was jealous of Jason, the guy actually looked weird and displaced in the sky.