WHITE NOISE , percy jackson [1]

SIX

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

    It took Milan ages to pack. He stood in his cabin, walking to and from his trunk to start packing a bag. The issue was, he had so many clothes, and he had no idea how to pack light. The instant Castor and Pollux stepped inside the cabin, they shot each other a glance and emptied half of Milan's bag.

     "Hey!" Milan protested. "You can't just—,"

     "You had so many clothes, you probably would've never made it to the interstate," Castor joked. Then he got serious again. "Good luck, Milan. You can do this."

     Pollux stepped forward, and pressed a bracelet into Milan's hand. It was a simple silver bracelet with a silver charm of the Greek comedy and tragedy theatrical masks. "For good luck," he said. "Keep it. It suits you better than it suits me." With that, he hugged Milan.

     Along with his brother's gift, Milan had received a carton of nectar and a little bag full of ambrosia squares that were to be used in emergencies, in case someone was seriously injured. Too much would make them feverish, and an overdose would burn them up. Literally. He had also chosen to bring some poetry books, in case of a long train ride: Ariel, and Leaves of Grass. And of course, he always had his poker chip in his pocket.

     Annabeth was bringing her magic Yankees cap for the obvious reasons, in case something required her to be invisible. She brought her book on classical architecture, along with her long bronze knife. Grover, meanwhile, wore his fake feet and pants to pass as human; he wore a green rasta-style cap to cover his small horns. In his backpack was scrap metal and apples to snack on, along with his reed pipes, on which he only knew two songs: Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 12, and "So Yesterday" by Hilary Duff, both of which sounded pretty bad on reed pipes.

The four of them waved goodbye to the other campers, took one last look at the strawberry fields, the ocean, and the Big House, before they hiked up the hill to the pine tree that used to be Thalia.

Chiron was waiting for them in his wheelchair. Next to him stood Argus, the head of camp security. Because he was wearing a full chauffeur's uniform, his extra eyes could only be seen on his hands, face, and neck. "This is Argus," Chiron told Percy. "He will drive you into the city and, er, well, keep an eye on things."

Before Milan could laugh at that unintended joke, there were footsteps behind them. Luke came running up the hill, holding a pair of basketball shoes.

"Hey!" he panted. "Glad I caught you."

Annabeth blushed, the way she always did when Luke was around.

"Just wanted to say good luck," Luke said to Percy. "And I thought, um, maybe you could use these." He handed Percy the sneakers, which looked and smelled normal, until Luke said, "Maia!"

White bird's wings sprouted from the heels, which startled Percy so much, he dropped the shoes. They flapped on the ground until the wings folded up and disappeared.

"Awesome!" Grover said.

Luke smiled. "Those served me well when I was on my quest. Gift from Dad. Of course, I don't use them much these days...." His expression turned sad.

     "Hey, man," Percy said. "Thanks."

     "Listen, Percy..." Luke looked uncomfortable. "A lot of hopes are riding on you. So just... kill some monsters for me, okay?"