𝐌𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐅𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐒 [pjo]

twenty-four; italian sun

━━━italian sun

.・゜゜・───・゜゜・．

In the midst of all the panic, no one noticed Callahan's missing figure. The girl was quiet in her power during all occasions, only growing loud to spew insults and jabs and sarcastic quips.

    The septet were forced into a circle by Chrysaor's men,  spears leveled at their chests while the golden boy paced the desk, appraising them like cattle.

    Then he stopped and quirked his head, looking over the lot of them before saying,

    "It looks like you lost one."

    Percy furrowed his brow, exchanging confused glances with Annie,

    "What do you mean?"

    "I was informed there were eight of you. I see only seven."

    Annie glanced over her shoulder at their friends, silently doing a headcount and coming up missing one.

    "Percy, where's Cal?" She whispered.

    In front of them, Chrysaor grinned, "missing one? Well that's too bad!"

    Percy swallowed, Chrysaor's taunts echoing underwater and far off as he turned into their little group,

    "Callahan?"

    Everyone was looking, craning their heads in the vain hope of catching Callahan's thick black hair, "Callahan?"

    The world tilted when everyone came up empty.

.・゜゜・───・゜゜・．

Callahan was melting. The Italian sun pounded down on her, scorching the back of her neck and baking the world into a melted gooey and slow mess.

    Everyone of sound mind and body stayed inside in cool rooms with air conditioning and fans and windows that brought in the cool breeze. Callahan wished she was one of those people. Her throat was dry, her neck was burnt, and her shirt was soaked through with sweat and all she had been doing was walking.

    Her pockets were empty of any money, and she had no way of contacting Percy and Annie and explaining how and where she was. Obviously, she didn't have any drachma, because that would be too easy.

    The only good part of this whole mess was the architecture. She could just barely hear Annie excitedly chattering about Rome's beautiful arches and columns and ancient buildings, her voice full of excitement as she explained everything they, Callahan, was seeing.

    God, Cal. Where the fuck are you? Callahan thought to herself as she wandered. She really was up a creek, fucked, stuck. In a mess. And of course, it was her mother's fault.

    She turned her head toward the opening cafes, eyes stuck on the cool glasses being served to tourists and locals alike. They all had the right idea.

    "Darling, are you lost?"

    The girl turned her head to find a woman smiling at her from a fountain side seat, thick black hair and glowing blue eyes meeting her head-on.

    "Are you?" The woman sighed, "You look lost, dear."

    Callahan turned and glanced over her shoulder, and saw that no one else was reacting. Unease settled into the pit of her stomach.

    "Come sit," The woman patted the seat beside her, "I can help."

    She swallowed, stepping forward as the woman smiled wider. She nodded at Callahan's steps, pulling her in with a sweet smile and a break from the hot sun.

    "Who?" Callahan stuttered, "who-who are you?"

    The woman shrugged, "A kind helper."

    "Helpers are never kind," Callahan retorted, "Not in my experience."

    A soft laugh left the woman at that, her eyes lighting up with something ferocious as Callahan stepped back. Her teeth seemed a little too big for her mouth.

    "You're right, my dear." The woman swallowed, and her teeth disappeared, "Nothing is ever free."

    From the way she was staring at her, Callahan knew she wanted her to sit down. Demanding it, even. Callahan swallowed around the thickness in her throat, shyly shuffling forward to sit beside the not-human woman.

    "There, was that so hard?" The lady smiled, "Now, if I help you, I will need something in exchange."

    "And what if I don't want your help?" Callahan asked.

    The goddess shook her head, "You don't have a choice. You'll need this, I promise, and in return, I want a favor."

    "A favor?"

    The woman turned her face out to the street, watching the locals and tourists order brunch at the cafe. Her tongue ran along the front of her teeth, almost as if checking their size. Looking over her shoulder, Callahan counted the five exits she might be able to reach if she had to run at a moment's notice.

    "Don't worry about that, yet. There's something more important at foot." her voice seemed to drown out the sounds of Rome's bustling streets, "You've seen what's happening to the Gods. You've seen your mother."

    Callahan shuddered at the memory.

    "Yes, you can at least guess at what's happening, and what you need to do." The woman glanced at Callahan from the corner of her eye, "Your friend is the only one who might be able to heal the rift if she succeeds."

    The statue. The mark. Everything Annie had been alluding to, everything that gave Callahan nightmares and anxiety cramps.

    A searing hand clamped down on Cal's wrist, burning into the flesh and causing her to scream. She tugged hard against the hand, staring wide-eyed at the woman as her teeth filled her mouth and her pupils swallowed her eyes whole. Callahan thought she caught the flicker of tail behind her,

    "Don't fall, Callahan Lee, or he will be your doom."

━━━italian sun

.・゜゜・───・゜゜・．

a/n: besties I took an unannounced unprompted hiatus and I'm sorry!! but I'm back!! and here's a cliffhanger!!

I wanna hear your guys' thoughts on what's gonna happen in HoH!!

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