Heartworm -
When you can't get a relationship out of your head, even after it's ended long ago. Replaying memories, songs, scents that remind you of them or just their name on loop in your head is referred to as Heartworm.
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Luke was my boy...
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The way Tantalus saw it, the Stymphalin birds had simply been minding their own business in the woods and would not have attacked if Annabeth, Tyson and Percy hadn't disturbed them with their terrible chariot driving.
I had argued with him, pointing out that Annabeth was in the lead until she and Percy turned round to help the camp. When he still wouldn't listen I told him to go chase a doughnut, which landed me in trouble, but it was worth it.
He sentenced us to kitchen patrol - scrubbing pots and platters all afternoon in the underground kitchen with the cleaning harpies. The harpies washed with lava instead of water, to get that extra-clean sparkle and kill ninety-nine percent of all germs, so Annabeth, Percy and I had to wear asbestos gloves and apron. The blood from the demon birds had dried, but the heat made the cuts sting like mad.
Tyson didn't mind. He plunged his bare hands right in and started scrubbing, but the rest of us had to suffer through hours of dangerous hot work, especially since there were tons of extra plates. Tantalus had ordered a special banquet to celebrate Clarisse's chariot victory - a full-course meal featuring country-fried Stymphalin death-bird.
The only good thing about our punishment was that it gave us all a common enemy and lots of time to talk. Percy told me about his dream about Grover being trapped Polyphemus, a dangerous cyclops. Percy told us he'd found some magical item that smelled like Pan.
"If he's really found it," Annabeth murmured, "and we if we could retrieve it -"
"What even is this item?" I asked.
"I'll give you a hint. What do you get when you skin a ram?"
"A mess?" Percy asked, oblivious.
"A fleece." I told him, rolling my eyes. "Could it be the Golden Fleece?"
Annabeth shrugged as she scraped a plateful of death-bird bones into the lava. "Percy, remember the Grey Sisters? They said the location of the thing you seek. And they mentioned Jason. Three thousand years ago, they told him how to find the Golden Fleece." Annabeth told us the real story of the Fleece.
Short version is two children of Zeus about about to be offered up as human sacrifices. They prayed to their dad. Zeus saved them by sending a flying ram with golden wool. It carried them to Colchis in Asia Minor. One sibling died along the way, but that wasn't important to the story. Cadmus, the surviving sibling, sacrificed the golden ram to the gods and hung the Fleece in a tree. The fleece brought good harvest and health, etc.
"It could cure Thalia's tree." Percy said.
Annabeth nodded. "And it would totally strengthen the borders of camp. But, the Fleece has been missing for centuries. Tons of heroes have searched for it with no luck."
"But Grover found it." Percy pointed out. "He went looking for Pan and he found the fleece instead because they both radiate nature magic. It makes sense, guys! We can rescue him and save the camp at the same time. It's perfect!" I frowned. I thought about my little chat to Hermes this morning. No matter what Percy and Annabeth decided, he wanted me to leave for the boat.
