𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄, 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆
♫ 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐀 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐓𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐖𝐄'𝐑𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐒 𝐓𝐎 𝐄𝐀𝐓 ♫
[Percy Jackson x male oc)
Αγελαστος (Ah-Gee-Las-Tos), a Greek last name that means, "The One That Never Laughs...
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THEY ARRIVED IN Long Island just after Clarisse, thanks to the centaur's travel powers. Percy and Mitchell rode on Chiron's back, but they didn't talk much, especially not about Kronos.
When they got to camp, the centaurs were anxious to meet Dionysus. They'd heard he threw some really wild parties, but they were disappointed. The wine god was in no mood to celebrate as the whole camp gathered at the top of Half-Blood Hill.
The camp had been through a hard two weeks. The arts and crafts cabin had burned to the ground from an attack by a Draco Aionius (which as near as Percy could figure was Latin for 'really-big-lizard-with-breath-that-blows-stuff-up').
The Big House's rooms were overflowing with wounded. The kids in the Apollo cabin, who were the best healers, had been working overtime performing first aid. Everybody looked weary and battered as they crowded around Thalia's tree.
The moment Clarisse draped the Golden Fleece over the lowest bough, the moonlight seemed to brighten, turning from grey to liquid silver. A cool breeze rustled in the branches and rippled through the grass, all the way into the valley.
Everything came into sharper focus — the glow of the fireflies down in the woods, the smell of the strawberry fields, the sound of the waves on the beach. Gradually, the needles on the pine tree started turning from brown to green.
Everybody cheered. It was happening slowly, but there could be no doubt — the Fleece's magic was seeping into the tree, filling it with new power and expelling the poison.
Chiron ordered a twenty-four/seven guard duty on the hilltop, at least until he could find an appropriate monster to protect the Fleece. He said he'd place an ad in Olympus Weekly right away.
In the meantime, Clarisse was carried on her cabin mates' shoulders down to the amphitheatre, where she was honoured with a laurel wreath and a lot of celebrating around the campfire. Nobody gave Annabeth, Mitchell or Percy a second look. It was as if they'd never left.
Later that night, as they were roasting marshmallows and listening to the Stoll brothers tell everyone a ghost story about an evil king who was eaten alive by demonic breakfast pastries, Clarisse shoved Percy from behind and whispered in his ear, "Just because you were cool one time, Jackson, don't think you're off the hook with Ares. I'm still waiting for the right opportunity to pulverise you."
THE MORNING AFTER the party ponies headed back to Florida, Chiron made a surprise announcement: the chariot races would go ahead as scheduled. Everyone figured they were history now that Tantalus was gone, but completing them did feel like the right thing to do, especially now that Chiron was back and the camp was safe.
