floriography [ stories five ]

carnation || arc two / a

[ this is gonna be a train wreck i can feel it

⚠️- language, violence, monsters, stupidity, etc

chase's pov

stay safe,
lew. ]

——————

Lemme just tell you, I am not excited about this quest thing. Ezra and I aren't too compatible, and given past experiences, we shouldn't be paired together for anything.

But the prophecy is pretty damn clear. Fear's spawn, war's son, youth, and beauty. That would be me, Ezra, Bailey, and Ronnie. Normally, four people on a quest was unheard of. A group of five left, three came back. But after the whole 'seven demigods on the new Great Prophecy' deal, Chiron's been pretty lax.

Bailey's most definitely spooked. He's always been a more stay-at-camp dude, ever since we first came here. Me, on the other hand... I love leaving and doing shit.

I'd been on two quests since we first started staying at camp, and both of those involved Ezra. So I didn't get to fully appreciate the experience, because I was busy dodging friendly fire and other fun stuff.

I'm thirteen, until November. Bailey just turned thirteen, and Ezra just turned fourteen. Ronnie's turning fifteen in August. We're literally a fucking train wreck crew to send, but... we get shit done.

I'll skip the preparations for our trip and get into the good stuff. Because I don't need to describe little weird details like some of our friends do. Yeah, I'm talking about Lewis and his account of what happened on his quest. No, I didn't finish reading it, because it was boring.

We left camp right after lunch. We've all got backpacks, but most of our medical supplies and stuff are in Ronnie's, because he's lucky and got a gift from one of his godly ancestors. His backpack was a super special one that could hold pretty much anything without getting heavier.

Bailey sticks his hand out and wraps it around mine, like he always does when he's nervous. All his little siblings at camp ask if I'm his girlfriend because we hold hands a lot, but I have no interest in having a boyfriend.

Ezra and Ronnie walk ahead of us, but they're talking quietly enough that I can't hear what's being said, which is fucking annoying. I hate being left out of a conversation.

But Bailey whispers, "We're gonna be okay, right? I mean..."

"I won't let Ezra hit you with his sword," I promise, smiling up at my friend. Bailey's just a worrier, and a lot of his fears are super irrational. I should know. My one 'special ability' from my divine ancestors is that I can sense fears, or at least vague ideas of what people are afraid of.

For example? Bailey's biggest fear at the moment is his stepmom finding out that he's not following her very strict rules about cleanliness and medication. Ezra's afraid of the police, only in the loosest terms, because that fucker is otherwise fearless. Lewis doesn't want his dad to find out about a really personal secret, and Harry's afraid that Logan's gonna find someone else.

Logan and Ronnie are hard to get a good read on. Fear is irrational and defies most logic, but Ronnie's really good at hiding his fears. I don't know why I can't understand Logan's, but it's whatever.

"Hey, pretty boy!"

Ronnie looks back at Bailey and I, looking kinda annoyed but he shouldn't be. I'm a fucking blessing to be around. "What, Chase?"

I check the strap of my shield, giving the prince a smile. "What's this quest even for?"

Unfortunately for me, Ezra stops in his tracks and glares back at Bailey and me. Bailey jumps, the poor kid. "We have to go find something that Ronnie's mom lost before our 'friends' end up killing each other. Okay?"

"Why would our friends kill each other?" Bailey asks, and out of the corner of my eye, I can see him starting to chew on his shirt sleeve again. He's scared, fear beginning to radiate off of him.

"It started a couple days ago, remember? Couples fighting, people cheating on each other more often than normal," Ezra explains, rolling his eyes.

Ronnie chimes in. "Everyone thought it was my siblings playing games again, but that stopped last winter. Then, I had a dream—"

"That sounds like Hypnos shit, my guy."

"Shut up, Chase."

"Go fuck yourself, Ezra."

"Anyway!" Ronnie clears his throat and gives us matching disapproving looks. I hope it's just my imagination because it seems like Ezra got a slightly nicer glare than I did and treating your boyfriend better than me just seems wrong.

"My mother appeared in my dream and said that something was affecting her magic. All the couples she's arranged or mortals that have her favor are going to become unstable. Unless—"

"—unless we find whatever the fuck it is that she lost."  I finish.

"I swear to Zeus, if you don't stop interrupting me—"

"You won't do shit."

———————

[ eh i feel sick so this is a good place to stop this cool?? cool

currently i'm reading the second trials of apollo book and?? i missed reading about leo valdez?? he was my favorite since i first picked up the lost hero wow wow wow