▃▃▃ ᴅᴏɴᴛ ʟᴇᴛ ʜᴇʀ ʟᴏᴏᴋ ᴏꜰ ɪɴɴᴏᴄᴇɴᴄᴇ ꜰᴏᴏʟ ʏᴏᴜ ꜱʜᴇ ɪꜱ ꜰᴜʟʟ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴇꜱᴛ ᴋɪɴᴅ ᴏꜰ ʙᴀᴅ-ᴊ ɪʀᴏɴ ᴡᴏʀᴅ
▃▃ ʙᴏᴏᴋ 1 ▃▃ In which the only daughter of Persephone sneaks on a quest to see the world for the first time since she's been at camp. The daughter of wisdom...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⭑ ‧₊˚ ⋅ જ⁀➴๋࣭ ⭑๋࣭ ⭑
The next day, June 14th, they finally arrived in Denver. Elara was exhausted, famished, and desperately in need of a shower and some deodorant. Actually, they all needed a shower; the funky smell was becoming unbearable.
"Let's try to contact Chiron," Annabeth suggested. "I want to tell him about your talk with the river spirit."
"We can't use phones, right?" Percy asked.
"I'm not talking about phones," Annabeth replied.
They wandered through downtown for about thirty minutes until they stumbled upon a do-it-yourself car wash. They headed to the farthest stall, making sure to avoid any patrol cars.
"What exactly are we doing?" Percy asked as Grover pulled out a spray gun.
"We're Iris-Messaging," Elara explained quietly, remembering how Lysander would always IM her when he went home once a month.
"What?" Percy looked confused.
"It's seventy-five cents," Grover grumbled. "I've only got two quarters left. Annabeth? Elara?"
Elara sighed, fishing out some change and handing Grover a quarter.
"Excellent," Grover said. "We could use a spray bottle, but the connection isn't as good, and my arm gets tired of pumping."
"What are you talking about?" Percy asked again.
Grover fed the machine the change and turned the knob to 'Fine Mist'. "I-M'ing."
"Instant messaging?" Percy guessed.
"Iris-Messaging," Elara corrected. "The rainbow goddess Iris carries messages for the gods. If you know how to ask, and she's not too busy, she'll do the same for half-bloods." She had done this many times, and the goddess always answered her.
"You summon the goddess with a spray gun?" Percy asked, incredulous.
"You don't really need a spray gun," Elara said, looking at Percy with a smile. "You just need a bit of water, sunlight, and a drachma."
Grover twisted the nozzle, and water shot out in a sparkling arc. Within moments, the droplets formed a vibrant rainbow that shimmered in the air.
"Percy, give Elara your drachma," Annabeth instructed, her voice steady and confident. Percy dug into his pocket and handed the coin to Elara.
Elara's brow furrowed in confusion. "Wh-why me?" she stammered, glancing between her friends.
Annabeth offered a casual shrug. "You're the most polite out of all of us. And from what I've heard, the goddess always answers you."
