the winemaker's daughter [ percy jackson & the olympians ]

chapter eleven

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚆𝙸𝙽𝙴𝙼𝙰𝙺𝙴𝚁'𝚂 𝙳𝙰𝚄𝙶𝙷𝚃𝙴𝚁༉‧₊˚.[𝙿𝙴𝚁𝙲𝚈 𝙹𝙰𝙲𝙺𝚂𝙾𝙽 & 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙾𝙻𝚈𝙼𝙿𝙸𝙰𝙽𝚂]

chapter eleven: fred the hobo is also fred, the incognito god

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THEY WERE crossing the potomac when they spotted the helicopter. it was a sleek, black military model just like the one they'd seen at westover hall. and it was going straight toward them.

"they know the van," percy told them. ashanti assumed he had experience from being a fugitive the summer before last ( it was a long story ). either way, he was right. the helicopter was following trailing them. "we have to ditch it."

zoë swerved into the fast lane, but despite her efforts, the helicopter was gaining. "maybe the military will shoot it down," grover said hopefully. ashanti appreciated his effort to stay positive, but it was highly unlikely.

"they most likely believe it's one of theirs," ashanti blew air from her nose sharply. the mist was quite a useful tool when it was on their side. when it was flipped, it made things a bit more complicated for everyone involved.

"okay," percy acknowledged, but still had questions he needed answered. "but how can the general use mortals, anyway?" ashanti admitted, it was a pretty good question.

"mercenaries," zoë answered him, her tone bitter. she gave another sound of pure disgust, "it is distasteful, but many mortals will fight for any cause for the right price."

ashanti agreed, it was disgusting. those who had no morals and would fight, regardless of what was right, for a pretty penny.

"but don't these mortals see who they're working for?" percy wondered aloud. ashanti debated whether or not it was worth trying to explain to percy that yes, some mortals could see through the mist, but no, they didn't care. only if they'd still receive their fat paycheck for their labor. "don't they notice all the monsters around them?"

zoë shook her head, not having an exact answer for the poseidon boy. "i do not know how much they see through the mist," she told him. it was tricky pinpointing exactly how much mortals could see through, that is if they could at all. "i doubt it would matter to them if they knew the truth. sometimes mortals can be more horrible than monsters."

that left them in a mild silence. it was a few minutes before anyone spoke again, but it was percy ( unsurprisingly ) who'd broken it. "hey, can i hold otto?"

he was gesturing to the lavender-spotted octopus that was propped on ashanti's lap. she'd taken him out of her bag once they'd returned to the car. but the poseidon boy was having some separation anxiety. ashanti shook her head 'no.' call her stingy, but it was a weekday, therefore percy's visiting hours had well passed. "it's monday," she reminded him.

"but you took him yesterday," percy clarified, not letting it go. "which was a sunday. you cut into my otto time, so that means i'm owed a few hours."

ashanti disagreed, she picked up the octopus at night meaning percy's day was pretty much over. when she explained her reasoning to the boy, he very much did not agree.

"that's garbage reasoning," he insisted. "i deserve a couple otto moments." never in her entire life would she admit it; in fact, ashanti would take it to her grave that she gave into percy's baby seal eyes, and handed over her stuffed animal to him. after all, who wanted to be in a custody battle in the middle of a car chase.