Alacrity

V

v. Creepy Curio Shops

"Really," Annabeth said as she walked beside Lyra. "Eat shaving cream, bitch?" Lyra chuckled and nodded. "I'm not ashamed of that at all, Annie. Not at all. Actually, I'm quite proud of that. Grover was behind the two, shivering and braying. His pupils had gone vertical and were slits, full of terror. "Three Kindly Ones. All three at once."

Lyra shook herself. The shock of what had happened hadn't quite hit her; she was still running on the adrenaline. But she dug her hand into her pocket and tossed Grover a slightly crushed Diet Coke can. He accepted it thankfully, nervously munching on it as Annabeth tugged Lyra's wrist and said, "Come on. The farther we get away, the better."

"All out money was there," Percy said. "Our food and clothes. Everything."

Lyra rummaged around in her pocket and said, "I still have some money. Luke stole - er, borrowed - some from the camp store." The instant she said the word 'borrowed', in perfect sync, her three quirked a brow. Lyra pulled out the seven drachmas and fifty dollars that Luke had given her, causing the others to sigh with relief. Lyra shoved it back in her pocket and said, "And I still have ambrosia, nectar, a toothbrush and toothpaste," she then added as a afterthought, "and three cans of shaving cream, Cecil's cologne, a couple smoke bombs several stink-bombs. Connor and Travis made sure I was well prepared."

Annabeth shook her head and said, "I never thought a stink-bomb and shaving cream would save my life. Thanks, Lyra."

Lyra chuckled. "That's what I'm here for, Annie. Saving your life with odd objects." She sighed and said, "I just wish we had more. I should've packed extra."

Annabeth looked behind her and shot Percy a look. "Well, maybe if Percy didn't decide to jump in the fight—"

Percy frowned and snapped, "What did you want me to do? Let you get killed?"

Annabeth's grey eyes flamed. "You didn't need to protect me, Percy. I would've been fine."

Grover brayed in fear and crunched the Diet Coke can Lyra had given him even harder, grinding it with his molars and then swallowing it. "Sliced like sandwich bread, but fine."

Annabeth gripped Lyra's hand tighter and snapped, "Shut up, goat boy."

Grover brayed once more, but this one was a more mournful, sad sound. "Tin cans... a perfectly good bag of tin cans." Lyra chuckled and reached her hand back into her pocket, pulling out another Diet Coke can. She tossed it to the satyr, who gratefully accepted it and began to tear it in pieces, chewing on it.

The four sloshed across the mushy, soggy ground and through nasty trees that smelt just like Spruce Wood Fantasy, but the real deal. It made Lyra feel slightly homesick for cabin eleven already, and she had only been gone for a few hours. Annabeth trailed behind the dirty-blonde and began to walk beside Percy. She could hear the two conversing lightly, but Lyra turned to Grover and asked, "How you doin', buddy?"

Grover froze momentarily. He chewed his can quickly and swallowed it before saying,
"M-me? I'm great. Fantastic." There was a short tremor in his voice that Lyra quickly detected. She gave him a soft smile, pulled out a green apple from her pocket and handed it to the satyr. "I'm glad you're on the quest with us, Grover," she said, humming lightly. "there's no other satyr I'd want on this quest with us. Not even Gleeson."

What had been an attempt to cheer the satyr up only seemed to make him sadder. His eyes drooped and he said, "But Gleeson got all his half-bloods back to camp safe."

"But Gleeson only had Clarisse to protect, and as powerful as she is, her scent doesn't attract as many monsters as a child of the Zeus, a child of Athena and two children of Hermes."