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I 010. I
𝑪𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑪𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒐𝒓𝒔
❝ cloudcroft, new mexico ❞
CLOUDCROFT, NEW MEXICO. Their new destination for a few hours. They had arrived on the outskirts of the town nestled in the mountains. As far as she could tell, it was just another little ski town.
The sign said WELCOME GO CLOUDCROFT, NEW MEXICO. The air was cold and thin. Roofs of cabins were heaped with slow, and dirty mounds were piled on the side of the streets. Tall pine trees looked over the valley, casting shadows, even though the morning was sunny. Ariadne was never a fan of small towns, there was nothing going on or to do.
Even with her lion-skin coat, Ariadne was freezing by the time they got to Main Street. She couldn't even imagine how the others were feeling, most of their jackets were torn and she was tempted to let them all have a turn to wear the coat.
Ariadne and Percy told Grover their conversation with Apollo as they walked the half mile from the train tracks. They talked about how he told them to seek out Nereus in San Francisco.
Grover looked uneasy. "That's good, I guess. But we've got to get there first."
The group stopped in the middle of town. You could practically see everyone's there was to see from there: a school, a bunch of tourist stores and cafes, some ski cabins, and a grocery store.
"Great," Thalia said, looking around. "No bus station. No taxis. No car rental. No way out."
It was slightly funny to the brunette how they could spin in a circle and see everything from every direction. But, she kept that thought to herself.
"There's a coffee shop!" Grover said.
"Yes," said Zoe. "Coffee is good."
"I could go for some," Ariadne said. Her hands were shaking in her pockets, and she realized she had no money.
"And pastries," Grover said dreamily. "And was paper."
Thalia sighed. "Fine. How about you three go get us some food. Percy, Bianca, and I will check in the grocery store. Maybe they can give us directions."
All of them nodded and Ariadne turned to walk with Zoe and Grover towards a coffee shop down the street. Her shoes were becoming wet with snow, and she realized she couldn't feel her toes.
Grover walked ahead of them, urging them to go faster to get the wax paper he had been dreaming of since they started the quest. Zoe hung back with Ariadne.
The Hunter spread the girl a glance. And when they were out of earshot from their other group members, she spoke. "Your sword, what's its name?"
Ariadne remembered her dream from the night before. "Lunacy," she said.
