RECLUSE - (n) a person who lives a solitary life and tends to avoid other people.
MAISIE ELLIOT WAS ANGRY.
Angry at the world.
Angry at the Gods.
Angry at the demigods who seemed to move on too fast.
And when forced onto a quest with three stranger...
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MAISIE WAS NOT READY
She stood on the deck of the Argo II as everybody prepared for the possible battle they would have to fight.
It took them a week of sailing to arrive at Camp Jupiter (as Jason called it). Annabeth paced around the deck, double checking everything. Like the flag, and the plan, and the backup plan, and the backup backup plan. She was starting to stress Maisie out.
Coach Hedge had been advised to stay on the ship. The last thing they needed was a battle-thirsty satyr threatening an entire camp of dangerous demigods.
The warship dipped and began to descend through the clouds, Maisie could only hope they wouldn't be shot down on site.
Leo had created a holographic scroll to alert their friends inside camp about their arrival. His original plan was to write WASSUP? on the bottom of the hull with a smiley face— Annabeth quickly vetoed.
Speaking of Leo, he was currently rushing around like a madman. Checking gauges, wrestling levers, and tapping random buttons. He went a little overboard with installing unnecessarily complicated equipment. Like how he could fire weapons by sampling an album on his soundboard, or how he could turn the ship with a twist of his Wii controllers. He was seriously ADHD.
Also speaking of Leo, the lasting awkwardness hasn't left. She wasn't sure what had changed that made her feel this way to Leo, but she could only hope it faded once they were back in life-or-death situations.
Piper paced back and forth like Annabeth, practicing her lines.
"Lower your weapons, we just want to talk." He murmured continuously.
She had tried to downplay her beauty today. She wore tattered jeans, worn-out sneakers, and a white tank top with Hello Kitty designs. Her hair was also braided along her right side with an eagle feather.
Jason stood at the bow of the ship. Over his Camp Half-Blood clothes, he wore a toga and purple cloak— symbols of his old rank. He seems calm and collected, but if you looked at how his knuckles were ghostly white on the hilt of his sword, you'd know the truth.
It looked like Annabeth and Leo were the only ones who didn't bother to change for the quest. Maisie had changed into a pair of baggy black jeans and a burgundy long sleeve shirt with black lacy patterns along the neckline. Her silver brass knuckles sat on her fingers and her layered necklaces clinked against each other as she walked. She had even tried out some eyeliner, leaving a sharp line that extended out from the end of her eye. She had swapped her combat boots for some converse, she could only hope there was no actual combat today.
Horns had sounded from below them. They had been spotted.
The valley was twice the size of Camp Half-Blood. A small river snaked around one side and curled towards the center like a capital G, emptying into a sparkly blue lake. Directly below the ship, the city of New Rome glistened in the sunlight.
