floriography [ stories five ]

carnation || b

[ cool logan said that chase has deadpool vibes and that's the kind of chaotic crackhead energy she always has had in my mind

stay safe,
lew. ]

———————

Our first night goes as well as can be expected.

I mean, we're four demigods. Three of us have divine parents. And three of us have divine ancestors. We're a fucking homing device for monsters.

We pitch our tents in a little clearing for the night. Ronnie offers to take first watch, but before Ezra or me can offer to help, Bailey scrambles over with his little slingshot and pouch of Celestial bronze ball bearings. "I wanna talk to him and he wanted to IM Harry."

IM for demigods isn't instant messaging. It's Iris Messaging, and Bailey can almost always get a free call. He's handy to have around.

I want to see what's going on back at camp, but since I know they'll catch me up, I decide to head off to bed. Which is a massive fucking mistake because demigod dreams suck Cyclops dick.

——

Turns out, I don't need to ask Ronnie how camp is.

Just a quick summary: my dreams showed just how much of a shitshow it's turned into since Aphrodite lost her whatever-the-fuck.

Formerly happy couples stare daggers at each other; unlikely pairings that hated each other four days ago are inseparable; and worst of all, some of our friends seem to be affected.

I see Logan and Harry avoiding each other like we all try to avoid stable duty, meaning like we'd avoid angering the gods. Instead, Logan hangs around that boring idiot Lewis, who seems to have a permanent blush on his face at the attention. It's sickening.

Then, suddenly, someone's beside me, sighing unhappily as she surveys the damage. When she catches sight of me, she gasps a little, as if she's caught off guard. Which, I mean... if a little demigod with twigs in her hair and dirt on her face showed up and you weren't expecting her, you'd be startled too.

"You're not my son," she says, appearances shifting so much I can't pinpoint what she looks like. I have a sinking suspicion that she isn't just another demigod.

"No, ma'am."

When unsure of who the fuck you're talking to, always go the polite, respectful route. Unless you wanna die a super painful death.

Finally, though, the gears in my mind click into place. She's definitely a goddess. That puts it at either Bailey's mom or Ronnie's. Bailey's mom normally appears as a teenager, which must get really weird when her kids look older than she does.

The shifting face and hair and general appearance is normally a sign of Ronnie and Harry's mom, the goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite.

And with that revelation, I quickly add, "I can give him a message, Lady Aphrodite. He took first watch tonight."

Unfortunately, she either decided to ignore me or she can't hear me. Dreams fucking suck.

Then, as if she's noticing me for the first time, she smiles down at me and says, "I'd love to make your life interesting, but I'm afraid we won't have the time."

And of-fucking-course, before I can press for more details, I wake up.

——

Bailey's face is right next to mine when I regain consciousness, gasping and reaching for my sword.

Bailey's smart and moved it out of easy reach.

"Calm down, Chase," he says gently, clasping his hand around mine. "It's just me, you're okay."

He looks exhausted. His eyes are red and there's monster dust in his hair. Slowly, I force myself to get up and let him rest. But before I pick up my weapons or anything, I make sure he's comfortable enough, and give him a quick kiss on the forehead.

We've been through a lot together, and he barely ever asks for anything. It's the least I can do for him.

Outside, I meet up with Ezra, who doesn't look a) happy to see me, and b) like he slept much at all. "Weird dreams?" I ask as I sit down next to him, rubbing at my eyes.

"Yeah."

Ezra's not really talkative towards me in the best of times. Nothing new. His dad and Ronnie's mom could be considered my many-times-great-grandparents, and I think it pisses him off. That fact, and the whole fears thing.

I'm very good at pissing people off.

I wisely decide to ignore Ezra's mood and tell him about my dreams. I'm important and he needs to know anyway.

And of course, he has nothing to offer me in the way of advice or encouragement or even a simple 'that's rough, dude'. No. Instead, you know what he tells me?

"Shut the fuck up, Roush."

————————

[ cutting this short again but i'm here to say i've got a vague end to this plot planned out and it's not going to be a happy one

but in a way it'll be a happy one bc it's not like anyone's dead