chapter ten!
010. peace and fear

savreen

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    SAVREEN DIDN'T remember much about her childhood. She didn't remember much of her father, but she had a few memories of her grandparents, her Dadi and Dada that she treasured. She lost them, too, when she was young. She didn't remember all of the stories they told her, and she was sure that they didn't tell her all of them. But she remembered some stories they'd tell her about ghosts. She wasn't sure why. Some of them frightened her when she was a child. Perhaps it was some way to try and make sure she didn't stay up past her bedtime. But she remembered briefly how her Dadi mentioned ghosts were malevolent because they had suffered terrible deaths▬Bhuts, she called them. They haunted trees, abandoned buildings, crossroads, and deserts ... As Savreen got older, and she grew up without any more stories, she stopped fearing ghosts. Ghosts weren't real. But now that she has learnt so much about the world, and so much about the world hidden behind the Mist, Savreen started to open her mind. Now, she was fearful of ghosts once again; fearful of anyone who may have died a violent death, because then they will return to be violent once again. 

    And now, here she was, sitting in a room where ghosts had possessed her friends. She remembered how Leo had said he was both there, and also not, when he had fired on New Rome. Savreen grew a little angry at whatever these things were for making Leo do something he would have never done if he had been in control. 

    She glanced at Piper, who at the sudden silence around the table, looked less confident. Her friend met her gaze, and she was searching for reassurance and help. Savreen nodded. 

    Piper managed a little smile, finding the confidence and courage to explain to the others her gut feeling▬the chill down her spine. Savreen knew, because she was feeling it, too. 

    In the end, after a moment of silence after Piper finished, Hazel took a deep breath and sat up straighter in her chair. "Piper is right."

    Annabeth tilted her head, tense. "How can you be sure?"

    "I've met eidolons," murmured the daughter of Pluto. She hesitated. A few rubies had suddenly appeared on her plate. "In the Underworld, when I was ... you know."

    "So..." Frank watched Hazel for a moment, like he wanted to say or do something to comfort her, but was afraid of doing the wrong thing. Instead, he ran a hand over his short, buzz-cut hair, anxious. "You think these things are lurking on the ship, or▬?"

    "Possibly lurking inside some of us," said Piper. "We don't know."

    Jason stared at the table. He then clenched his jaw, and his hand curled into a tight fist. "If that's true▬"

    "We have to take steps," the daughter of Aphrodite quickly said, her confidence growing. She glanced at Savreen once again. "Sav and I can do this, together."

    Percy watched their glances, frowning. "Uh ... Do what?"

    "Just listen, okay?" Piper told him. "Everybody listen. Sav▬"

    At her prompt, Savreen took a deep breath and shuffled to the edge of her chair. She closed her eyes, and even though she felt tense under everyone's expectant and confused stairs, she did her best to focus. When Jason and Leo were under the manipulation and charm of Medea, it was the effort of her and Piper working and using their powers together to snap them out of it. Piper's charmspeak and the amplifying effect Savreen's necklace had on her harmonic influence had proven to be quite powerful on their own, but when used to compliment the other, not even the ghost minions of Gaea would be able to ignore them. 

    Savreen felt her necklace start to glow with warmth underneath the collar of her tee shirt. The warmth surged through her, and she could feel her power increasing as if someone had just supercharged a generator. When she opened her eyes, she watched the soft pink haze▬like a light blanket of mist surrounding the table.

    "Uh ..." Percy hunched up, glancing at the mist around them and looking very concerned. "Whoa, what is that? What are you doing...?" it hovered close by him, and his tense hesitation left him with a gentle sigh. 

    She hated it. She hated it so much. She hated watching her powers turn others compliant and without thought. It was more than just offering a calming presence to comfort nerves. Savreen was capable of telling them whatever she wanted, and having them do exactly that without any resistance and any thought. This wasn't peace.

    But right now, it gave Piper the perfect opportunity to reach the ghosts hiding inside them. The daughter of Aphrodite glanced at every one of them before saying: "Eidolons, raise your hands."

    Her charmspeak washed over the table like another thick fog. Almost immediately, Leo's face went slack. He raised his hand. Savreen felt her chest tighten. Jason, Percy and Cain did the same. Their eyes were now glassy and gold in colour▬cold and without any warmth. Savreen forced herself to concentrate and the mist around the table started to move, circling only those with their hands raised.

    As soon as the mist left Frank, he noticed Leo holding his hand beside him. He gasped and scrambled out of his chair, pressing his back against the wall. 

    Annabeth stared at Cain, horrified for a moment. "Oh, gods," she whispered and even waved her hand in front of his face as if to try and break the trance the eidolon had over him. "Can you cure them?"

    "We have to," said Claire, gently resting her hand on the table near Percy's. It wasn't a question, nor was it a wish. It was a demand. Savreen felt a little intimidated. But she understood. It was crazy, but when she glanced at Leo ... somehow, she understood. We have to, she echoed in her head. We will. 

    Piper took another deep breath and focused on Leo. "Are there more of you on this ship?" she demanded, her voice rich with power.

    "No," replied Leo in a hollow voice that didn't belong to him. It had no joy and no charm▬no laughter. "The Earth Mother sent four. The strongest, the best. We will live again."

    "Not here, you won't," a vicious tone accompanied Piper's charmspeak when she heard the ghost speak with the void of her friend's voice. "All four of you, listen carefully."

    Cain, Jason and Percy turned towards her, too. Savreen would be lying if she said she didn't feel a breath of fear to see them expressionless. 

    "You will leave these bodies," commanded Piper. 

    "No," sneered Percy. 

    Cain made a soft hiss that didn't belong to his voice. "We must live."

    From the wall, Frank fumbled for his bow. "Mars Almighty, that's creepy!" he gasped and his grip was shaking. "Get out of here, spirits! Leave our friends alone!"

    Leo faced him. "You cannot command us, child of war. Your own life is fragile. Your soul could burn at any moment."

    Savreen didn't know what the eidolon meant. But she saw Frank grow pale and his skin become a sickly grey tone▬as if he had been struck a mortal blow and lost the ability to breathe. He struggled to draw an arrow, his breath shaky. "I▬I've faced worse things than you. If you want a fight▬"

    "Frank," Hazel stood up, holding a hand out to him. "Don't."

    Next to her, Jason was on his feet as well, drawing his sword and Savreen followed, frantic. "Wait, stop▬!" her words left her lips with a desperate cry, but the eidolon listened. They all listened, following her commands and turning to face her. She hitched a terrified breath. "Put down your sword," she swallowed the bile and continued.

    Jason stared at her, but slowly, he lowered his gold weapon and set it down on the table. 

    Savreen nodded. Her palms were clammy. She glanced at Leo, Percy and Cain, too. "Listen to Piper," she murmured. 

    Cain shifted as if to stand up and the entire table grew tense when the son of the god of fear moved. Annabeth reached out to grab his shoulder as if to try and hold him back. Cain wasn't a scary person despite his parentage. In the months since Savreen arrived at Camp Half-Blood, she has gotten to know him better and could agree when others said he would never hurt a fly. But right now? She knew that no matter what others said, Cain Richards was capable of hurting much more than a fly. "Daughter of Harmonia, these powers you fear hold no control over the dead."

    "Sit down," Savreen ordered, even though her heart was racing and her hands were shaking. She felt her heart twist painfully and the necklace burn▬the fear of all it would bring and all it had already brought her, the fear of tragedy that controlled her life just as she controlled them starting to overwhelm her. Until she realised that was the eidolon trying to use Cain's powers, and she clenched her shaking hands. "Sit down," she said again, firm and curt, "and listen to Piper. If I have to ask you again, I will show you exactly how much I can control."

    He listened. Cain sat down, and all four eidolons were silent and waiting for Piper's verdict against their own will. Savreen fumed for a moment, surprising even herself. She knew the others were looking at her, taken aback by her change in tone. 

    Realising that they weren't going to resist, Piper pursed her lips and gathered the remainder of her courage. "You will leave these bodies," she repeated with more force than she had before. 

    Jason's face tightened. His shoulders tensed and his forehead beaded with sweat. "We▬we will leave these bodies."

    "You will vow on the River Styx never to return to this ship," continued the daughter of Aphrodite, "and never to possess any member of this crew."

    Their collective hisses made Piper's glower harden. "You will promise on the River Styx," she demanded, and there was no way they would be able to say no. 

    They were trying to resit. They were trying to fight. But the battle had already been won. "We promise on the River Styx," they all said together.

    "You are dead," said Piper evenly. 

    "We are dead," they agreed.

    "Now, leave."

    At the command, all of them slumped forward. Percy face-planted his pizza and Claire jumped. "Oh▬!" she went to reach him too late and winced when she heard the thud muffled by pepperoni, cheese and tomato paste. "Sorry." Though, for a moment, she seemed like she was trying very hard not to laugh. 

    Annabeth was prepared for Cain, grabbing his shoulders and holding him up so in the end he slumped back into his chair with a dazed, "Ugh..."

    Piper and Hazel were there to help Jason as he slipped out of his chair, but Leo wasn't as lucky. Savreen gasped and flung herself forward to catch him. She grabbed his wrist, but his dead weight tugged her down with him. She squealed and both of them went stumbling down onto the floor at Frank's feet. He stared down at them, making no move to help. 

    Leo accidentally elbowed Savreen in her stomach and she gasped, smacking his shoulder in response. "Ow▬!" he said, both from the fall and her retaliation. "What was that for? Ugh, what just happened? My head hurts."

    "My everything hurts," grumbled Savreen and turned on her back to lie there, staring up at the ceiling. "Thanks."

    Leo didn't recognise her sarcasm. "No problem."

    "Are you all right?" Hazel asked the two of them sprawled out on the ground. 

    Leo pulled himself up and offered her a weak thumbs up. Savreen pushed to sit up, too. "Just spiffing," she heard Leo say in a terrible English accent, and just like that, she grinned. Relieved and ecstatic to see that he was back, she launched herself forward and hugged him tightly. Closing her eyes, she buried her head in his shoulder and missed the way Leo's face lit up. 

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    SAVREEN HUGGED her knees to her chest as she sat on her cabin bed. She fiddled with the wrapper of the chocolate bar Jason had grabbed from the dining room▬He had figured the best medicine from being possessed for him and Leo was sugar, and since he didn't want Piper and Savreen to feel left out, he got them candy, too. The group of them had all huddled into Savreen's room after the entire fiasco, finding comfort with each other, just alone, for the first time since everything had happened. She found relief from her troubling thoughts and fears the moment Jason showed up with Piper and Leo at his side. In a team where it felt as though they couldn't be further from working together, it felt better to at least have people Savreen knew she could trust with her life.

    "Is this what being hungover feels like?" grumbled Leo, lying across Savreen's bed at her feet, sprawled out and still complaining. 

    "No," Savreen and Piper answered him. 

    Jason tilted his head at them. Piper shrugged. "What? We've been to parties. We invite you but it's always past your bedtime."

    Leo snorted at the joke while Jason rolled his eyes. "You mean they're always past curfew," replied the son of Jupiter and Piper bit back an amused smirk. "I'd prefer not to be eaten by the camp Harpies, thanks."

    "How are you feeling?" Savreen asked Jason gently, having not been able to check on him since. She finally managed to get the wrapping undone. 

    "Small headache," he admitted, hugging one of Savreen's pillows to his chest from where he sat on her desk chair. "But I think that's a staple, now, considering how many times I've been knocked out already."

    "Hey, at least you didn't get turned into a guinea pig," offered Piper and the two of them snorted their soft laughter. Savreen frowned. Leo propped himself up on his elbows, confused.

    "Wait, what?" he chuckled, incredulous. "What did I miss? Who got turned into a guinea pig?"

    "You can't mention a thing to anyone outside of this room," stated the daughter of Aphrodite dramatically. "Claire told us this in trust we'd keep it a secret from everyone." They told Savreen and Leo the story of Percy's guinea pig experience in whispers and watched them guffaw in shock and amusement, laughing. 

    "That makes me feel so much better about this guy," Leo chuckled, shaking his head and falling back down onto the bed. "Makes him seem as disastrous as the rest of us and not like he's some▬"

    "Greek God▬?"

    "▬Superhero▬?"

    "▬Entitled person with a hero complex?"

    Leo frowned at his friends once again, very dubious. "I was gonna say high school jock, but okay?" He stared at Jason, concerned. "Do ... do you need to unpack something with that comment? Some self-esteem issues you wanna share, Blond Superman?"

    "No, no," Jason shook his head quickly. "I just▬You guys agree that I would have kicked his ass if it came to it, right? We were nowhere near the sea, and I have the entire sky▬wind, lightning, over ten years of tactical fighting experience... And he thinks he can take me on with no help?"

    Piper pursed her lips and just reached over and squeezed her boyfriend's shoulder as if to say: It's okay. None of them were going to say to Jason's face that he also had a little bit of a hero complex. They shared amused smiles, finding their best friend endearing nonetheless. After Jason lost all of his memories and was thrown onto that bus, the three of them got to finally know the real Jason▬But they also watched him lighten up and soften his walls; he laughed more, and he smiled more. Jason was given an environment at Camp Half-Blood where he could be carefree, and it allowed a side of him that was not as serious to show. 

    Piper then sighed and sat back beside Savreen, shoulder-to-shoulder. "I don't know if Percy will trust me anymore," she admitted softly. "Not after I let his horse knock him out."

    Jason laughed softly at this. "Don't worry about it. Percy seems like a nice guy, but I get a feeling he needs a knock on the head every once in a while."

    "Dude, again." Leo threw his wrapper at Jason who frowned, perplexed as it dropped to the ground. "You're making this very personal, Sparky."

    "I think his pride was wounded more than his head," Savreen added with a soft, amused smirk▬mischievous and playing along in all good fun. 

    Jason made a face at her and picked up the wrapper. "You know what, Sav?" Her eyes brightened with silent laughter at his empty threat. 

    Piper didn't share any of their amusement. She frowned at her fingers. All that happened out at the sunflower field kept her on edge. "You could have killed him," she then said, all jokes aside. She met Jason's gaze and his smile faded. "You could have."

    He fiddled with Leo's chocolate wrapper. "That wasn't me," he murmured. 

    "I know, but it's just..." she sighed and shook her head. She hadn't eaten anything of her chocolate bar. "Something Gaea was saying▬that the eidolons were saying and asking of Claire ..."

    Leo frowned. "What?"

    Piper hesitated. She held her breath and clenched her hands for a moment. "It ... it seems like that two members of our crew are going to die▬or have to die. A boy and a girl▬"

    Jason cut her off. "I don't accept that," he said, and that stern determination returned as if he were speaking to a legion preparing for battle. "We are going to stop Gaea. All ten of us are going to come back alive. I promise you."

    Savreen frowned to herself. The word promise made her uneasy. It reminded her of the line in the prophecy▬An oath to keep with a final breath. A promise kept by death. But whose final breath would it be? She felt a lump in her throat. She didn't want to lose any of the people in this room. She didn't want to lose anyone on this crew, no matter whether she was close to them or not. But if it were Jason, Piper or Leo ... 

    It seemed pretty obvious that all ten of them weren't going to make it home. She clutched her necklace, feeling that old sense of guilt and blame. Tragedy followed Savreen Arora wherever she went, and it harmed the people she cared about. And now, by accepting the necklace's power, she may as well have signed a contract with tragedy as the main consequence. She can't help but feel that if something were to happen, it would be her fault. 

    Unless it was going to be her.

    She remembered what Nemesis had said. The words she spoke out of the very reflection of Savreen herself. Wouldn't you like to sacrifice yourself instead of others, for once, daughter of Harmonia?

    She swallowed harshly, terrified. Savreen thought she had gotten over her fears. Truth was, even when she wore this necklace, there would be no way she'd ever escape them. 

    Savreen felt eyes burn into her, and she knew exactly who they belonged to. She met Leo's gaze and saw his concern and his determination to see through her to understand what was going on in her mind. She quickly looked away because she knew he'd be the one to find out. 

    Something else crossed Piper's mind and she leaned forward. "The legend that Annabeth mentioned," she murmured and their attention fixed on her once again. She focused on Jason though. "The one about the Mark of Athena ... why didn't you want to talk about it?"

    Leo sat up, curious as well even if he tried to hide it. Jason's face became grim and caged under their demanding stares▬they all wanted answers, and deep down, they knew Jason had them; or at least, some of them. 

    He sighed, expecting the question. At first, Savreen thought he might shut them out, but then he lowered his head and explained: "Pipes, I ... I honestly don't know what's true and what's not. That legend ... it could be really dangerous."

    "For who?" asked Savreen, frowning. 

    "All of us," replied Jason, his voice weighed with dread. "The story goes that the Romans stole something important from the Greeks, back in ancient times when the Romans conquered the Greeks' cities."

    They waited for him to say more, but he seemed lost in thought▬he seemed somewhere else. That sad look in his blue eyes that was always there seemed to grow. 

    "I'm guessing they didn't steal the Ancient Greeks' favourite olive recipes?" muttered Leo. 

    "I don't know," sighed Jason. He then backtracked. "I mean, no, not olive recipes▬they didn't steal anything like that, but I just..." he shrugged. "I don't know exactly what was stolen. I'm not sure anyone in the legion has ever known. But, according to the story, this thing was taken away to Rome and hidden there. The children of Athena, Greek demigods, have hated us ever since. They've always stirred up their brethren against the Romans. Like I said, I don't know how much of that is true▬"

    "But why not tell Annabeth?" asked Piper. "She's not going to suddenly hate you."

    Jason didn't seem so convinced. "I hope not," he settled for in the end. "But the legend says that the children of Athena have been searching for this thing for millennia. Every generation, a few are chosen by the goddess to find it. Apparently, they're led to Rome by some sign ... the Mark of Athena."

    "We should help her, though," said Leo, frowning. His frown deepened at Jason's hesitance. "Right? If Annabeth is one of those searchers, and you know stuff ... We should help her."

    The son of Jupiter looked very uncomfortable. "Maybe," he muttered. At their curious frowns and shared looks, he added: "When we get closer to Rome, I'll tell her what little I know. Honest. But the story, at least the way I heard it▬it claims that if the Greeks ever found out what was stolen they'd never forgive us. They'd destroy the legion and Rome, once and for all. After what Nemesis told you guys▬" he glanced at Savreen and Leo, "▬about Rome being destroyed five days from now..."

    An unsettling silence fell on the group of friends. Savreen watched Jason. He had always been so brave and so strong▬rigid with discipline and confidence because he had to be. He was a leader, but more importantly, he was a fighter. He shouldered so much responsibility, but he was great at never making it seem as though it was weighing him down. Right now, Jason Grace didn't just look scared by this legend▬he looked terrified. 

    Leo pursed his lips and crossed his legs, sitting up properly at the end of Savreen's bed. He clenched his hands as if trying hard to not let a part of him burst into flames at his nerves. "What was it the prophecy said? The line▬" he glanced at Sav. "Only fear can guide harmony in acceptance, Or face true mournful, chaotic discrepance... I'm sure they mean discrepancy. That means a difference. There are differences keeping both sides apart▬Roman and Greek. There are differences keeping this team apart. Maybe whatever this thing is the Romans stole is the greatest difference harmony must overcome."

    Savreen stiffened. "Basically, you're saying that however the Romans and Greeks act about this Mark of Athena ... it's up to me to make sure nothing terrible happens? I have to stop the destruction?"

    "Tía did say you were the true bridge that connects both sides," went on Leo. "Maybe this is what she was alluding to?"

    "Whatever this thing is▬the Mark of Athena," Jason leaned forward, too, pale and grave, "it's like Pandora's Box. As soon as it opens ... whatever comes out, it's not going to be good."

    "I▬I can't just stop something from happening if I don't even know what it is?" whispered Savreen, confused and startled. "H▬How can I do that all by myself?"

    "You won't be alone," Piper told her, taking her hand, but that wasn't what Savreen meant. She appreciated it nonetheless. 

    Leo pursed his lips, still thinking very hard. "When speaking to you, Sav, Nemesis mentioned Cain. His father is the god of fear. The prophecy says that fear will guide harmony."

    Savreen pursed her lips and glanced at the door to her room. She had been avoiding speaking to Cain like Nemesis said. It wasn't him she was scared of, not really▬but instead it was why Nemesis found it so important to mention. "To acceptance," she murmured, finishing the line. "But what am I accepting?"

    "Who knows," Jason's eyes were distant as he gazed at the wall of the cabin. "But if there's one thing I know about prophecies and fate, the more you try to understand what is being said and what everything means, the harder it gets. You learn as you go. That is how the Fates decide destiny works. You can't control it, because even if you do, it always ends up at the same destination. I think the best thing to do is that ... if what we know now is that you're meant to talk to Cain," he shrugged. "Talk to Cain."

    Afterwards when Piper and Jason both decided that rest sounded very appealing, Leo decided to stay. Savreen expected him to return to the engine room and wish for time alone as he tried to keep the Argo II going, but he didn't. 

    The door was closed ajar and then Leo shuffled closer. He smiled at Savreen, quiet and calm as he moved to sit beside her at the head of the bed. Leo Valdez wasn't calm. He was everywhere and anywhere all at once▬his thoughts always racing to the finish line and then racing some more. But Savreen often disagreed. Fire was unruly and unpredictable, yes, but when lit in the hearth of a home, it was comforting, warm and it was calm. 

    Leo let out a long sigh and slumped dramatically, his head resting against the wall and Savreen managed a little amused smile. "When was the last time we've spoken▬just us two, with no one else around?"

    Savreen shuffled so their shoulders touched and leaned her head back to rest on the wall, too. She smiled and shrugged, chuckling softly. Then she also sighed and closed her eyes briefly, focusing on the warmth that spread through her just with Leo beside her. "Too long ago," she murmured. Her eyes opened and she glanced at him, and at the very same time, so did he to look at her. They shared a soft gaze. "Are you sure you're feeling okay?" Before he could answer, Savreen quickly added: "You don't have to lie to me, you know that, right? We're best friends, and we've got each others backs. Always."

    Leo pursed his lips. He was fiddling with a few screws he had pulled out of his toolbelt. "I'm okay," he said and the sad look in his eyes switched immediately; a mask that hid everything deep inside behind that crooked grin. "My head feels clear▬no longer possessed by evil Gaea demons. We're evil Gaea-demon free."

    Savreen chewed the inside of her cheek, frowning softly once Leo looked back down at the screws. He then decided to discard them back into his toolbelt before pulling out pieces of bendable wire. He began to twist and pull at them, subconsiously creating▬always making his own form of art with nimble fingers. She held her breath for a moment, hesitant, before sitting up straighter. "I listen to you," she whispered. Leo glanced up again, meeting her gaze. He seemed confused by the soft firmness to her words. "I will always listen to you. And I need you. I'll always need you. You can't listen to what Nemesis said, okay? She was just trying to get into your head. It's what she likes to do▬stir up things. It's what all the gods like to do. But they don't know us like we do, okay?"

    When Leo didn't say anything, she nudged him gently with her elbow. "Okay?" her voice softened even more.

    Her best friend watched her. He was silent, until he swallowed back the bitterness festering in his throat and nodded. "Okay," said Leo. Savreen smiled. 

    Happy with his response, she settled back beside him. "Good," she said. "Because I'm not doing this without you."

    Leo blinked. He still hadn't looked away from her. "Why?" he asked, taken aback by her statement.

    Savreen met his gaze again, and felt something hitch in her breath at the look on his face. She wasn't sure what it meant▬nor was she sure how she felt about it except her heart seemed to skip a beat. For a moment, she forgot the answer she was going to give him. Savreen's brows knitted together and her lips parted in a soft surprise when she realised the both of them had stared at each other for a long time without looking away.

    That realisation made her jolt out of it and blink, facing forwards. She pushed down the strange flutter and grinned. "Because you're special," she said, thinking of all the times he would say he was a 'special boy' in response to everyone's surprise over his gifts.

     She heard his soft chuckle and her smile brightened. It made every weight on her shoulders lift and every troubling thought disappear. Leo's chuckles slowly faded to a warm silence. He continued to fiddle with the wires, wrapping one around the others at the edge to tie them together. 

    Leo focused on what he was doing for a moment. "You going to talk to Cain?"

    Savreen shrugged. She stared at the door to her cabin. "I don't know what about, but I guess I have to. Nemesis said ... she said that we might have to unleash the worst of ourselves to win this. That fear comes hand in hand with peace."

    "Weren't you also just saying not to let what Nemesis said get to you?"

    "I know," she said, but then shook her head. "I don't know. But she mentioned Cain. She said that he will answer all my questions. I don't know what questions I want to ask him. I don't even know what Nemesis▬or this prophecy▬means by harmony and fear working together. You can't have peace and harmony with fear, and yet she said you have to. That's▬that's not peace, that's..." Control, she had almost said, and a chill ran down her spine. 

    Savreen swallowed harshly and felt her necklace grow warm against her skin. Wasn't that her power? Wasn't control the ability the Necklace of Harmonia had given her? What she had just done to help Piper clear the eidolons from the minds of their friends?

    Noticing the troubled expression on her face, Leo said: "Look, let's worry about that tomorrow. After all the shit that's happened today, I think we all need to get some sleep. Besides, if Coach Hedge catches us up after curfew, there's gonna be some very aggressive cupcake-calling."

    She chuckled at that thought. She imagined Coach Hedge waving his baseball bat, red-faced and shouting: "You call that running? Varsity thinking, cupcakes! Get on with it!"▬just like he used to back at the Wilderness School when they wouldn't run fast enough during gym class. 

    "Tomorrow," Savreen agreed. She was tired▬they were all tired. She then thought of something. "Leo▬"

    "If you need help, I'm there," he answered her question even before she got the chance to ask it. Savreen smiled. "You know me, preciosa," her smile tugged with amusement at the nickname. "You don't even have to ask."

    "You'll find me," she whispered, the words bringing a familiar warmth to her chest. 

     Leo nodded. "Always," he shuffled off her bed and handed her the object he had been working on. "I'll see you tomorow." Leo saluted her and she chuckled, before leaving her cabin. Once he was gone, Savreen glanced down at the wires in her hands, and that flutter in her chest returned to see the wires bent and twisted▬all of them somehow tied together to make an intriciate flower. 

    (Yes, Leo Valdez was special. He was special to her).

    A soft, tender smile graced her features. 

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    a/n: slightly a filler, but also not. i changed the conversation piper and jason have alone at the end of her chapter to be something that includes sav and leo because i miss the four of them just hanging out <3. they're a family idk if i created plotholes with this scene they're a cute family <3333

    the leo and sav moments are also important and always welcome so no, this ain't a filler haha. i just wanted to add more to the relationships that fit my own fanfic universe and my own like writing style. rick writes these relationships and they have development, but i love little moments outside of the storyline. like additional scenes between characters that are comforting. i like writing them. jason is my best boi <3

    but this chapter is shorter than the others so i do apologise.

    i am tired, so i don't know if the second half of this chapter makes sense lol. did a huge haul of things for uni and moving away so i'm a bit buggered haha. 

    (limited editing).