pocket full of posies
❛ ii. monster-hunting etiquette ❜

━━━━━ POSIE HAD TO admit—she didn't understand what could be so special about Bar Harbor, Maine. It didn't seem like a hub for monstrous activity, and it didn't seem like a place for many demigods to hide out—unknowingly or not. But Hades insisted; this would be a key to her answers, and Posie had a hard time finding a way to tell the Lord of Death "No".

              ( You find yourself face-to-face with Hades, God of Death, and try to tell him "No". See how easy it is, then! )

              But Bar Harbor, Maine seemed to want to prove Posie wrong. There were monsters here ( see in: a monster ), and demigods were hiding out here ( see in: two demigods, and they were seemingly full-blooded siblings, which was rare for gods ).

              Grover also struggled to see why Posie would want to go with him, but he didn't tell her no—so now, Posie was stuck in Maine, cold as a popsicle ( she hated the cold, if she hadn't told you that already ), and waiting for her so-called "answers" to show up. She didn't know what those answers would be—hopefully a book titled Posie's Go-to Guide for Preventing the Sickly—but she had her doubts. And it wasn't like the mission was a total bust—Grover still had found two siblings named Bianca and Nico di Angelo, and he was certain they were half-blood. He had also found a monster named Dr. Thorn, but Grover didn't want to claim that find.

              Posie was tasked with finding the others sent out to help with the expedition—Percy, Annabeth, and Thalia. She left the gymnasium, heading for the entrance of the school. The school, Westover Hall, looked like an evil knight's castle—built with all black stone, with towers and slit windows, and a big set of wooden double doors. It stood on a snowy cliff overlooking this big frosty forest on one side and the grey churning ocean on the other. And the inside wasn't any better—the inside walls of the entrance were lined with battle flags and weapon displays: antique rifles, battleaxes, and a bunch of other stuff. Westover Hall was a military school, but this just felt like overkill.

              She heard talking from the entrance and hurried, worrying the worst ( and the worst was unfortunately Posie's normal ). From the large set of oak doors, Posie saw her friends, along with Mrs. Gottschalk and Dr. Thorn. That wasn't good. The others couldn't even make it five feet inside before having teachers on their trail.

              Mrs. Gottschalk had short grey hair and a black military-style uniform with red trim. The woman had a wispy moustache, and she walked stiffly like she had broomsticks taped to her spine. She blinked at the half-blood owlishly. "I ... Yes. I believe I do, sir." She frowned at them. "Annabeth. Thalia. Percy. What are you doing away from the gymnasium?"

              Posie skidded to a stop behind Mrs. Gottschalk and Dr. Thorn. "You guys made it!"

              The teachers turned around and frowned at her. Posie winced when Dr. Thorn narrowed his two-toned eyes on her. He looked similar to Mrs. Gottschalk—cropped grey hair, a black military-style uniform, and a rigid posture. However, Dr. Thorn was clean-shaven, had a hawkish face, and had two-toned eyes—one brown and one blue eye, like an alley cat's.

              "Um, Mrs. Gottschalk, Dr. Thorn—"

              "What is it, Miss Easton?" Dr. Thorn sneered, his tone admitting how he felt about her: absolute hate. "What do you mean they made it? These students live here?"

              "Yeah, um," Posie swallowed nervously, "that's what I meant. I just thought ... they wouldn't come. But they did! 'Cause here they are!"

              Dr. Thorn glared from Posie back to the three half-bloods. He looked like he wanted to pitch them all off the castle's highest tower, but then Mrs. Gottschalk sighed dreamily; "Yes, Miss Easton, here they are. Now run along, all of you. You are not to leave the gymnasium again!"

              They didn't need to be told twice. They left with a lot of "Yes, ma'ams" and "Yes, sirs" and a couple of salutes on Percy's part. Posie had to grab him by the arm before he got left behind. She led the three toward the gymnasium and toward the pounding music.

              "How did you do that finger-snap thing?" Percy asked Thalia in a low voice.

              "You mean the Mist? Hasn't Chiron shown you how to do that yet?"

              Percy swallowed, an uncomfortable look flashing across his face. Posie looked off and hustled them all into the gym, waving Grover over from the bleachers.

              "That was too close, you guys," chided Posie as Grover clopped over. "Did they find you right as you walked in?"

              "Yeah," answered Annabeth. "We barely got time to hide our bags."

              "Thank the gods you're here, you guys!" Grover told the three, wrapping them in hugs.

              Meeting back up with him in late November, Posie noticed Grover had changed some. He had gotten a little taller and had sprouted a few more whiskers, but otherwise, he looked like he always did when he passed for human—a red cap on his curly brown hair to hide his goat horns, baggy jeans, and trainers with fake feet to hide his furry legs and hooves. He was wearing a black T-shirt that read WESTOVER HALL: GRUNT.

              Posie gave Annabeth and Thalia hugs, hesitating for a moment before hugging Percy awkwardly. "It's good to see you all again," she told them.

              "So what's the emergency?" Percy asked, pulling away.

              Grover took a deep breath, taking a glance in Posie's direction. "I found two."

              "Two half-bloods?" Thalia asked, looking around. "Here?"

              "That's what I asked ..." muttered Posie, acutely aware that Percy still had a hand on her arm. She didn't want to smack his hand away, but it was like that part of her arm was starting to burn—and not in the call-upon-the-sickness type of way.

              The fact Grover found two half-bloods at once was a miracle. Finding one half-blood was rare enough. This year, Chiron had put the satyrs on emergency overtime and sent them all over the country, scouring schools from fourth grade through high school for possible recruits. These were desperate times—Camp Half-Blood was losing attendants, and they needed all the fighters they could find. But an unusual problem arose; the gods were starting to have fewer kids, right as more fighters were needed.

              "A brother and a sister," Grover said. "They're ten and twelve. I don't know their parentage, but they're strong. We're running out of time, though. I need help."

              "Monsters?"

              "Monster," Posie corrected. She frowned and looked around for the monster. "He's suspicious. But I don't think he's positive yet. But today's last day of term, if he's going to find out—it'll be today."

              "Every time I try to get close to them, he's always there, blocking me." Grover frowned to himself, chewing on his bottom lip. "I don't know what to do, you guys! Posie and I have tried everything!"

              "Right," Thalia decided. "These half-bloods are at the dance?"

              Grover nodded.

              "Then let's dance," Thalia said.

              Annabeth held a hand out. "Wait, who's the monster?"

              "Oh." Posie crossed her arms, tilting her head in the direction of the teacher. "You've met him. It's vice principal, Dr. Thorn."

✿

Percy had a dilemma—many dilemmas in truth, but about three were bothering him most today. One; military schools. He's attended many in his fourteen years of life ( attending schools as a half-blood was not easy—monsters attack and things get blown up, and then you get blamed for it ), and they're always the same: stupidly strict, impossible rules, and kids go absolutely nuts when given a sliver of freedom.

              Two; getting Bianca and Nico di Angelo out alive. Half-bloods attend a lot of schools because of monsters ( most of the time, at least ), and it always happens a certain way—a half-blood starts attending a new school, the monster finds a half-blood at school, the monster "acclimates" themself ( some monsters are better than others, Percy has learned ) to blend in so they can wait for the half-blood to lower their guard, and then, the monster attacks. And it's no different for the di Angelos—Dr. Thorn was waiting for his moment to attack them, to see if they really were a couple of unsuspecting half-bloods. Percy wasn't sure if he, Annabeth, and Thalia made things worse, waltzing in when it was obvious they weren't students here. But Grover called and Percy couldn't let him and Posie try and save the di Angelos on their own ...

              Third; Posie Easton. It was simple, really—or not simple, at all. Things had never really been simple ( they were half-bloods after all ), but they became even more complicated after C.C.'s Spa and Resort. It was simple when they hung out—when Posie would tell him about the constellations and space, and when she would listen to him talk about the comics he had read and the new music he had discovered. They were friends, and they shared laughs. And the best way to learn who someone is to go on a life-threatening quest with them ( or two, in their case ).

              It felt like Posie was always hiding, and Percy supposes she was. She never talks about what happened with the Sirens. She never talks about how a man convinced her to take the wax out of her ears and listen to the Sirens—and then how she jumped into the ocean and was getting ready to basically ... kill herself. She certainly never brings up what she told him and Annabeth after she listened and survived the Sirens—how she can control plagues. Percy didn't know how he could bring it up to her. He didn't know what to say to her, either. After that, Posie became even more closed off, and

              Percy wished she hadn't. She stopped talking to him much after that, their Iris Messages became fewer and fewer. Her letters stopped becoming as frequent. Percy thought it might be because she was living in the mortal world now—attending a private school in Carnegie Hill—but he saw her less and less. It was like she was purposely avoiding him, even now she only glanced at him.

              There were black and red balloons all over the gym floor, and guys were kicking them in each other's faces, or trying to strangle each other with the crêpe-paper streamers taped to the walls. Girls moved around in football huddles, wearing makeup, spaghetti-strap tops, brightly colored pants ( because they weren't allowed to wear skirts because of the dress code ), and shoes that looked like torture devices. Every once in a while they'd surround some poor guy like a pack of piranhas, giggling among themselves, and when they finally moved on—the guy would have ribbons in his hair and a bunch of lipstick graffiti all over his face. Some of the older guys looked more like Percy—uncomfortable, hanging out at the edges of the gym and trying to hide, like any minute they might have to fight for their lives. Of course, for Percy that was possible ...

              "There they are." Grover nodded towards a couple of younger kids arguing in the bleachers. "Bianca and Nico di Angelo."

              The girl wore a floppy green cap, like she was trying to hide her face. The boy was obviously her little brother. They both had dark silky hair and olive skin, and they used their hands a lot as they talked. The boy was shuffling some kind of trading cards. His sister seemed to be scolding him about something. She kept looking around like she sensed something was wrong.

              Annabeth frowned as she watched them. "Do they ..." She glanced at Grover and Posie. "I mean, have you told them?"

              Posie shook her head. "You know what happens if we do. That can put them in more danger than help them."

              "Once they realize who they are," Grover agreed, nervously picking at the skin around his fingers, "their scent becomes stronger."

              Percy never really understood what half-bloods "smell" like to monsters and satyrs, but he knew that your scent could get you killed. And the more powerful a demigod you are, the more you smell like a monster's lunch. "So let's grab them and get out of here," he decided, shrugging lightly.

              He started forward, but Thalia put her hand on his shoulder. The vice-principal, Dr. Thorn, had slipped out of a doorway near the bleachers and was standing near the di Angelo siblings. He nodded coldly in their direction. His blue eye seemed to glow. Judging from his expression, Percy figured Thorn hadn't been fooled by Thalia's trick with the Mist after all. He suspected who they were. he was just waiting to see why they were here.

              "Don't look at the kids," Thalia ordered the rest of them. "We have to wait for a chance to get them."

              "She's right, Percy," agreed Posie. "There's a lot of eyes around—not just Dr. Thorn. They're not monsters like him, but ... well, if they see a bunch of kids corralling two students outside, that's suspicious."

              Thalia nodded. "Like Posie's saying—we need to pretend we're not interested in the di Angelos. Throw Thorn off our scent."

              "How can we do that?" asked Percy.

              "We're four powerful half-bloods." Thalia shrugged, like that reality was easy to come to terms with. "Our presence should confuse him. Mingle. Act natural. Do some dancing—but keep an eye on those kids."

              Posie's expression dropped. "Dancing?" she croaked. "I don't dance ..."

              "You're dad's God of Music," Thalia pointed out.

              "But he's not God of Dancing," countered Posie.

              "Whatever." Thalia shook her head, cocking her ear to the music and making a face. "Ugh. Who chose the Jesse McCartney?"

              Grover looked hurt. "I did."

              "Oh my gods, Grover. That is so lame. Can't you play, like, Green Day or something?"

              "Green who?"

              "Never mind. Let's dance."

              "But I can't dance!"

              "You can if I'm leading," Thalia said. "Come on, goat boy."

              Grover yelped as Thalia grabbed his hand and led him onto the dance floor.

              Annabeth smiled.

              "What?" Percy asked.

              "Nothing," said Annabeth. "It's just cool to have Thalia back."

              Annabeth had grown taller than Percy since last summer, which he found kind of unfair. She used to wear no jewelry except for her Camp Half-Blood bead necklace, but now she wore little silver earrings shaped like owls—the symbol of her mother, Athena. She wore a T-shirt underneath a coat and some comfy-looking jeans. She pulled off her ski cap, and her braided hair with blonde braiding extensions fell out. She tucked some braids behind her ears, looking at Posie. "How's school?"

              The daughter of Apollo laughed lightly. "When I was going before I came up here, my math teacher ..." She winced, as if recalling a bad memory. "Maybe he wasn't an actual monster, but he was horrible. I was great in music class, though."

              "Surprise, surprise." Annabeth grinned, nudging Percy lightly.

              Posie shot Annabeth a look, but it seemed pretty light-hearted. "How were your classes, then, Miss Brainiac?"

              Annabeth's eyes lit up, the way they always did when she talked about architecture. "Oh my gods, Posie. At my new school, I get to take 3-D design, and there's this cool computer program ..." She went on to explain how she'd designed this huge monument that she wanted to build at Ground Zero in Manhattan. She talked about structural supports and facades and stuff, and Percy tried to keep up. He knew Annabeth wanted to be an architect when she grew up—she loves math and historical buildings and all that—but he hardly understood what she was saying.

              Posie seemed to understand—or she was good at pretending she did. Her brown hair was tucked behind her in one large braid, and it fell down her back like a rope. She wore gold earrings that were in the shape of cartoon suns—a small nod to her father, Apollo; the earrings hung just below her ears on a small gold chain. Percy noticed she even had new piercings—a gold orbital piercing on her left ear. Her brown eyes and tan skin were still the same; she had grown some too, but was just barely shorter than Percy, so at least he had that. She wore a knitted creme-colored sweater, brown jeans that had white stitching, and Chunky Daisy Creepers.

              The truth was Percy was kind of disappointed to hear Posie and Annabeth were so excited about their schools. They were both attending schools in New York City, so he had been hoping to see them more often, but he hadn't—it still felt like Annabeth was back in Virginia with her father, while Posie was stuck inside the bubble of Camp Half-Blood. Posie was attending school in Carnegie Hill, Annabeth was attending boarding school in Brooklyn with Thalia, and Percy was stuck in Manhattan going to MS-54. They were all close enough to Camp Half-Blood that Chiron could help if they got into any of them got into trouble.

              Posie looked at him, and her lips turned downward. "You don't like your school too much, do you?"

              "What makes you say that?"

              "Your face." Posie's eyes widened. "Uh—not that I'm calling you ugly, but that you look, well—"

              "Not happy," supplied Annabeth, the corners of her mouth tilting upwards.

              Posie tugged at some of her baby hair falling into her face. "Yeah, that's what I meant."

              Percy started to grin, but Thalia spoke up before he could say anything; "Hey!" She was slow dancing with Grover, who was tripping all over himself, kicking Thalia in the shins, and looking like he wanted to die. "Dance, you guys!" she ordered. "You look stupid just standing there."

              Annabeth wrinkled her nose, acting as if someone had stuck rotting food underneath her nose. "I'm not dancing with anyone here."

              Percy raised his eyebrows. "You sound sure of yourself."

              "No one here's my type." The daughter of Athena shrugged. "I'm going to the snack table."

              Posie rubbed her arms as Annabeth walked off, and soon, got lost in the crowd. For a long moment, she stared after Annabeth, then—she slowly looked back to Percy, who badly pretended he hadn't been staring.

              "Well ..." Posie tilted her head sideways slightly. "I suppose Thalia has a point ..."

              Percy was suddenly aware of how much sweat was building on his palms. "I guess ..."

              She winced like she was about to do something she'd regret and gripped Percy by the upper arm and pulled him into the dance floor. Percy hesitantly placed a hand on her shoulder as she clasped his other hand with her own. He suddenly became aware of the sprinkle of freckles splashed across her nose.

              "You've never attended school dances before, did you?" asked Posie, looking around to the others dancing around them.

              Percy curled one corner of his mouth. He did attend school dances ( because his mom insisted ), but he never danced with anyone. He was typically just playing basketball in the corner with some of his classmates.

              "I've never been to a school dance before," she continued before Percy could answer. ( Thank the gods! It'd be sort of embarrassing to admit that to her. ) Posie often took to talking more than normal when she was nervous. "I mean, I ran away before my schools had dances, and then ..." She shrugged, "There was one at my school but I didn't go."

              "You don't have friends in your private school?" Percy asked, trying to concentrate on anything but the fact that Posie had makeup on—Since when did she start wearing makeup?

              "I have friends at my school, they just ..." She considered for a moment. "They had their boyfriends to go with, and I was just never that interested in going. And ... crowds aren't my thing, really."

              Percy knew that, but it was like everything seeped out of his brain at this very moment. He tried to focus again, but his foot got caught on one of the crêpe-paper streamers and he stumbled, making Posie lean back.

              She blinked at him. "You okay?"

              "Fine." He cleared his throat loudly. "Just fine."

              She laughed slightly. "Better you tripping than me."

              "Ha-ha, Posie."

              She grinned at him, and despite what Percy wanted to do, they started dancing ( see in: Percy tripping over Posie's feet ) again.

              "So ... how is your aunt?" he asked, trying to keep a conversation going. That was the best way to distract himself. "And ... Isaque, is it?"

              Her smile fell and her expression flickered, like she was remembering something. "They're ... good, I guess."

              "You don't sound sure about that."

              Posie's eyes flickered over Percy's head and along the wall decorations. "I didn't get to spend much time with them before school started, and then ..." She pursed her lips. "School took up a lot of my time. And I started writing more music."

              "And those ... powers?"

              Posie clearly knew what Percy meant. Her eyes trained hard on the back of a boy's head for a long while before she spoke; "Um ... no. I—I don't know what to do about that. I mean, if I knew I would at least try, but I don't know. And I'm not being told how I can better my control—"

              "Chiron hasn't helped you?"

              Posie pursed her lips. "He says he's never seen another demigod control plagues."

              "Oh."

              Posie's fingers tightened around Percy's palm, and she stared at her fingers—like she was looking for potential signs of a green glow. When the green glow didn't start seeping through her fingers and rotting his hand, she let out a long breath. "About Aunt Shiloh," she changed the topic, "she's doing good, I suppose. She and Isaque act like I haven't been gone for years. They treat me like their own."

              "That's good," agreed Percy. "So ..."

              Suddenly Posie froze. "They're gone."

              He hadn't expected it and stumbled over her foot. "What?"

              Posie didn't pay his clumsiness any mind. She grabbed his arm and forced him to look at the bleachers. The two half-blood kids, Bianca and Nico, were no longer there. The door next to the bleachers was wide open, and Dr. Thorn was nowhere in sight.

              "We have to get the others!" Posie looked around frantically, scanning the faces of other dancers. "Oh—where are they?"

              Posie started to head through the crowd, but Percy grabbed her by the arm as he spotted something that made his heart drop. About fifty feet away, lying on the gym floor, was a floppy green cap just like the one Bianca di Angelo had been wearing. Near the hat were a few scattered trading cards.

              Posie spotted it just in time. She looked up with Percy, and they caught a glimpse of Dr. Thorn. The vice-principal was hurrying out a door at the opposite end of the gym, steering the di Angelo kids by the scruffs of their necks, like kittens.

              "Posie, we don't have time to find the others!" Percy insisted. He didn't have to run to Thalia for her to solve every problem. He didn't need her to solve his problems ...

              The daughter of Apollo gave him a bewildered look. "Are you serious?"

              "You do have Anthos and Arsis on you, right?"

              "I mean, yes, but—"

              Percy pulled Posie along, towards the door Dr. Thorn led the di Angelos through.

✿

This was not monster-hunting etiquette! When you hunt monsters, you go in big groups. You take more supplies with you—flashlights, ambrosia, nectar, anything but just your weapons. And you certainly don't go into the dark hallway you just saw the monster crawl into!

              The door led into a dark hallway. Posie winced when she saw how dark it was. Before you ask, yes she's scared of the dark. Sure, it's funny because her father is Apollo. She was only scared when it was pitch dark; she wasn't scared of nighttime. In fact, Posie loved night—she loved the moon and the stars, and the way they practically painted the earth. But this—a dark doorway that had scuffling up ahead—did scare her.

              For a moment, she expected a comment from Onesimus—but nothing. He had gone silent, but she struggled to just accept that. Even now, she was so desperate to hear his voice, that she would take a jab at her for being afraid of the dark as a daughter of Apollo.

              There was a shring! and Riptide grew in Percy's hands. Posie unsheated Anthos and Arsis, and readied her fingers across the leather grips. The Celestial bronze blades cast golden lights on the rows of lockers. Percy started to jog down the corridor, leaving Posie to follow after him so as not to be left behind in the darkness. Percy opened a door that led back to the main entry hall; they had gone in a full circle. Posie didn't see Dr. Thorn anywhere, but there on the opposite side of the room, were the di Angelos. They stood frozen in horror, staring at Posie and Percy.

              Posie tucked Anthos away, approaching them. "Hey, it's okay. It's okay. We're not gonna hurt you."

              Maybe Posie didn't choose the right words, or maybe she didn't speak with enough conviction—because the di Angelos still watched her with fear. What was wrong with them? Where was Dr. Thorn?

              "My name's Percy," the black-haired boy said, stepping forward. "And this is Posie. We're going to take you out of here, get you somewhere safe."

              Something was off. Bianca's eyes widened; her fists clenched. Only too late did Posie realize what the look Bianca had meant—she wasn't afraid of Posie and Percy, she was trying to warn them.

              "Posie!" Percy yelled, pushing her out of the way. A loud WHISH! rebounded through the hall as Posie fell and bounced across the floor three times. Percy slammed into the wall, a large spike sticking out of his shoulder. Posie scrambled to her feet when she spotted Bianca and Nico shivering together with fear. She rushed for them, holding out Arsis.

              A cold laugh echoed through the hall. "Yes, Perseus Jackson," Dr. Thorn drawled. His accent mangled the J in Percy's last name. "I know who you are. And who your friend is—Josephine Easton."

              Posie's eyes flickered to the spike sprouting from Percys' shoulder. Luckily, it looked like it was just his coat and shirt pinned to the wall. She hoped it hadn't pierced him. She did notice the green paste-like substance coating it—poison. Posie gritted her teeth; she couldn't afford to blink. If she missed Thorn, he might hit the others with another spike. She may be able to withstand the poison because of her affinity for sickness, but the others wouldn't be so lucky.

              A dark silhouette now moved towards them. Dr. Thorn stepped into the dim light—he still looked human, but his face was ghoulish. He had perfect white teeth and his brown/blue eyes reflected the light of Percy's sword.

              "Thank you for coming out of the gym," he said. "I hate middle-school dances."

              Percy tried to swing Riptide, but Dr. Thorn was just out of reach. WHISH! and Posie huddled closer to the di Angelos, putting her free arm out. A second projectile shot from somewhere behind Dr. Thorn. He didn't appear to move. It was as if someone invisible was standing behind him, throwing knives.

              Next to Posie, Bianca yelped. The second thorn impaled itself into the stone wall, a millimeter from her face.

              "All four of you will come with me," Dr. Thorn growled. "Quietly. Obediently. If you make a single noise, if you call out for help or try to fight, I will show you just how accurately I can throw."

✿ DEC. 17TH, 2023 / annie is on a mission to get perposie together (and i can't blame her LMAO)

i didn't expect to include a percy pov here but i've just realized i've NEVER described posie beyond black hair and dark eyes- like i forget when i have ocs with faceclaims 😭 percy's so in love and he doesn't even realize and he's sad posie's pulling away but its bc she likes him and is stressed w/ everything going on 😭😭 i love them so much

anyways,, thoughts? opinions??

(not edited nor proofread)