Hearts Crossed - Kayla Knowles (2)

Lavinia IV (SON)

Chapter Title: From One Mess To Another

If I had to be honest, Bakersfield just seemed like one of those large places in the middle of nowhere which to be honest, technically it was - located in the San Joaquin valley, which was the southern part of the Central Valley region of California. This is what the Berkeley Hills that Camp Jupiter is in border to the east of it, anyway. I'll admit, I never really paid all that much attention to the region when I was sent up to the Wolf House.

In fairness, I probably should have. But hey, now is most likely not the time to be reflecting on what I should have done in the past. Not when the fate of your home is clearly on the line here.

I was feeling that kind of anxiety greatly, which is why the closer to Bakersfield we got, the more bubble gum that I chewed on. The other three people in the car with me didn't seem to mind it all that much, probably because they were all way more focused on all of this than I was, it seemed.

Colton, as per usual from what I could see of him, was focused on the objective as always. Michael, meanwhile despite having a serious look on his face, seemed to be content to stare out the left back seat window, watching the scenery go by as Chàris continued to drive the car. I honestly wondered how he could enjoy the scenery with the threat of Camp Jupiter's destruction hanging over all of us.

Anyway, we came into Bakersfield along Highway 58 or the Blue Star Memorial Highway after getting off Interstate 5 west of the town. Colton seemed to be a bit more restless as we got closer and closer to the town after getting on Hwy 58, as if he was anxious to get out of the car and cover more ground towards what we were after. It was understandable, since for one the car only had about 30 miles left, not nearly enough to get into the Tehachapi Mountains and then perhaps make it back to Camp Jupiter in time. Chàris would have to refill the car while in town, which given that he was the fire herald, seemed like that plan was just asking for trouble.

Soon enough however, the fields of Central California for now gave way to suburban areas followed shortly thereafter by urban areas. Chàris turned off Hwy 58 onto the Stockdale Hwy, and continued on until turning left about maybe a mile or more down from the previous turn and then turning right into the parking lot for the Flame and Fire Brazilian Steakhouse Restaurant.

"My apologies, young master, and to the rest of you in general, that I can not go farther without more gas in this inefficient heap of technology.." Chàris muttered angrily, yet politely too after pulling into a parking spot, which honestly just felt weird hearing him talk like that. To be fair, it was weird hearing him talk in general for me.

Colton simply nodded, and placed his hand on Chàris' shoulder. Despite what I was expecting to happen, Colton's left hand did not immediately burst into flames. "You did what you could, Chàris.." Colton said back to him. "You have been a great help so far on this quest. Meet us back on Hwy 58 on the east side of town if you can get gas. If not, inform us and I will tell you what to do based on the situation at the time we next speak."

"Understood, young master.." Chàris said back, and Colton turned to the rest of us. "Alright, everyone out.. let's get our gear on.." he said, as Chàris did a bit of hand waving stuff and I could have sworn I saw particles of some sort of red mist leap from his flaming fingertips and touch all three of us on our clothes before disappearing. Maybe I was just imagining things, I do not know.

Either way, we definitely were going to have to do some walking.

- — - — - — -

I strongly began to suspect that the red mist that had leapt from Chàris' fingertips and touched our clothes probably was some sort of mist manipulation or camouflage, since none of the mortals were batting an eye at Cameron and Michael not only wearing armor - well, we all were at Cameron's orders - but also carrying most of their weapons, including the MG42 and Whitworth both strapped on Colton's back in addition to his two swords, and Michael's bow in his hands with his sheath also on since the strap was around his body plus a sheathed sword on his belt on his waist too, in broad daylight. Since my weapon, a Manubalista (A/N: Lavinia doesn't have her imperial gold Manubalista yet at this point in the timeline, just a heads-up here), wasn't all that practical to carry out in the open much less in combat due to it being heavy and hard to aim - plus taking a few minutes just to set up, load, and get ready to fire in between shots, I just kept it in the garbage bag I was carrying over my shoulder which for some reason wasn't making the bag that heavy at all. I did have a Gladius sheathed on my belt on my waist just in case though, so I wasn't completely unarmed in this case.