𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 | pjo

eight

"you're joking!" lyla complained, clutching at her side as they got off the train. she wheezed, nearly collapsing (even if it was totally for the dramatics). percy, alarmed, grabbed her shoulder as if to steady her. 

lyla turned to face him, noticing full well the blush that tinted his cheeks when they made eye contact. "i'm fine, percy. i just really hate cardio." her eyes flitted to the chest pocket of on flannel. "also, what stung you earlier? do you feel alright?" 

he shrugged. "i feel fine. for now, at least." 

"shush, you two," annabeth said. "you know what that was earlier?" 

she was met with silence. 

"the chimera," annabeth said. "she's young, so she can't go too far from her mother. but echidna said earlier... she's learning how to hunt." she exchanged a look with grover. "and this seems like the hunting part." 

"we aren't going to outrun them for very long," grover pointed out as the four of them speed-walked through the streets. 

annabeth didn't look at him as she replied, "we don't need to. we just need a safe place to hole up." 

"some place safe..." percy mused. "any idea where we might find one of those?"

"i do," annabeth said promptly. "a sanctuary, dedicated to athena. it was built by one of her demigod children a long time ago." 

"an athenian temple? so far downtown?" lyla questioned, her eyebrows furrowing.  

the four of them soon rounded a corner, where the st. louis arch stood in all its glory, standing out against the pale blue sky. 

"it's the perfect temple," annabeth explained. "it's 630 feet wide, 630 feet tall, both to within an inch, with no internal support—each side is balanced perfectly against the other."

"the arch is held up by symmetry. it's held up by math," annabeth continued to explain. "and it's earthquake proof, which means that poseidon can't destroy it," she added with a sideways glance at percy. 

"nice," percy said, almost sarcastically. 

"this is how you show athena your love," annabeth said, with a distinct note of wistfulness in her tone. "a monument to the power of perfection." 

"it's a monument to some other stuff too," grover said with a frown.

"you're talking about what some humans want this place to be about," annabeth objected. "i'm talking about what it actually is. 

"we're safe here, right?" lyla asked. 

"no monsters can enter," annabeth said firmly. "not even echidna."

"well," grover said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "since our train exploded, i'm gonna see if there's another one we can get tickets on. we can't stay here forever; just because we're prey, doesn't mean we need to be helpless." he glared at the three of them, then stalked off. 

"he doesn't like it when people mess with animals," percy said by way of explaining. 

"yeah... i shouldn't have snapped at him, i just..." annabeth trailed off with a sigh. 

percy looked around. "so, this is your mom's place? wonder if she's around," he said, then his voice changed to a high-pitched british accent. "be right down! just going to the potty!"