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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GETTING TWO UNCONSCIOUS BOYS ON TOP OF BLACKJACK WAS HARD
It took a lot of pushing and shoving, but by some miracle, Maisie and Piper had managed to get them on the Pegasus.
Now their new problem was getting all of them to fit.
Piper sat at the very front of Blackjack, cradling Jason in her lap, securing one arm around the boy and another around Blackjack's neck.
Maisie sat at the back with Percy in front of her. His head falling backwards to rest on her shoulder. Maisie had her arms wrapped around his body and holding onto Pipers abdomen.
She could only hope Blackjack didn't buck her off during this process.
BY SOME OTHER MIRACLE, THEY ALL MADE IT TO THE ARGO II IN ONE PIECE
It was a little bit of a shock for the two girls to come back with half of their group unconscious. Especially considering Maisie's face was stained by the blood from her nose and her cheek cut. Frank and Hazel attended to all of Blackjack's needs, while Annabeth and Leo helped to get both boys to the sickbay.
"At this rate, we're gonna run out of Ambrosia," Coach Hedge grumbled as he helped tend to their wounds. "How come I never get invited on these violent trips?"
Piper sat at Jason's side and took a swig of nectar for some scrapes. Maisie sat in a chair on the other side of the bed, bandaging her own face with a handheld mirror and scrubbing the dried blood from her nose.
"Leo," Piper said, "are we ready to sail?"
"Yeah, but—"
"Set course for Atlanta. I'll explain later."
"But... okay," Leo hurried off, eyes darting to Maisie's before leaving.
Annabeth inspected her boyfriend's injured face, noticing the large bruise that was forming on the side of his head.
"What hit him?" She demanded.
"Maisie did," Piper stated.
Annabeth's head whipped to face her so fast, she must've gotten whiplash.
"Wasn't too difficult," Maisie said, closing the compact mirror in her hand. "So much for a big three kid."
Within a few minutes, both Jason and Percy were fully conscious, trying to remember their fight through fuzzy memories.
"Knocked out twice in two days," Jason said. "Some demigod." He glanced sheepishly at Percy, "Sorry, man. I didn't mean to blast you."
He managed a weak laugh, "not the first time. Your sister got me good once at camp."
"Yeah, but... I could've killed you."
"Or I could've killed you," Percy said.
Jason shrugged. "If there had been an ocean in Kansas, maybe."
