“Hey, buddy.” Hunter said to Ulysses as he pet his pegasi’s neck. “I haven’t seen you in a while. You doing okay?” The winged horse let out a whinny and stamped his feet. Hunter smiled and fed him a sugar cube. Hunter threw his pack onto Ulysses’ back and patted him on the muzzle. He hadn’t ridden Ulysses in so long. Hunter had ridden him a lot when he was in Olympus, but now he didn’t have many places to go. “I’ve missed you.” He said as he fed him another sugar cube.
“How far is it, Marina?” Penny asked with a bright smile. She walked over to a pegasi and put her bag on its back before walking over to Will and taking his hand.
“Well…California.” Marina responded. “It’s on the opposite coast from us so probably a-“ She was interrupted by Will busting into laughter. He looked up at the group.
“Sorry. Hurricane told me a knock knock joke.” He said with a laugh. “Horse humor….What were we-What?” He turned to Hurricane. “Yeah. I know. That’s—No I—Would you stop—Fine.” He turned to Penny. “Hurricane says you’re very attractive. I can’t say he’s wrong, though.” He said with a shrug. Penny blushed and kissed his cheek.
“Thank you very much, Hurricane.” Penny said with a smile as she lightly kissed Hurricane on the nose. Hurricane let out a whinny and Will groaned.
“He’s never going to shut up, now.” He said with a sigh. Kyle cleared his throat.
“Can we get going? Before I waste away.” He said with a smile as he brought out Petunia and put his bag on her back. “We’ll get there by dinner, assuming we leave soon.” He said as he fed his Pegasus a sugar cube. Will finally looked up at the group.
“Yeah. My bad.” He said with a chuckle. Hunter shook his head and felt a warm hand enter his and hold on tightly. He looked up and gave Philippa a tired smile.
“Hey. How are you?” Hunter asked as he gave her hand a friendly squeeze. She sighed and leaned into him a little.
“A little tired. I couldn’t get my hair right.” She said with a small pout. Hunter smiled and brushed it behind her ear.
“You look great.” He said with a smile. She hugged him and kissed his cheek before leaving her bags in his arms and running into the stables. She pulled out her Pegasus which she had named Dixie. Hunter raised an eyebrow at Marina, thinking that she might know something. Something that might explain why Philippa had changed so suddenly. He thought that maybe Marina had said something. Hunter hated the idea. He could fight his own battles and he didn’t need someone else being in this relationship for him. Hunter sighed and walked over to Dixie and put Philippa’s bags on her back. “If we’re all ready…” He said with a small shrug.
“Let’s get going. We’ll stop for lunch or set down for a break when Marina starts digging her nails into my stomach.” He said as he helped Marina up onto Petunia’s back. Marina hated riding a Pegasus with all of her being. She named her Pegasus Jimmy and they got along fine, but she hated flying. Penny, Will, Philippa, and Hunter all climbed aboard their own individual pegasi and as soon as they did, they took off into the sky.
They reached cruising speed and height despite Marina’s screaming and Will’s nervousness due to the altitude. Something about an angry uncle. Hunter looked over at Philippa who smiled at him. She loved riding pegasi. Dixie had been her Pegasus ever since she picked one at camp originally and she had become very close with her winged horse. She described it as falling, but with security. Hunter steered toward Dixie and rolled under her before coming up on the other side. “Hi.” Hunter said with a chuckle. Philippa giggled and steered Dixie into a spin and came up beside him.
“Hey.” She said with a smile. “I forgot how good you were with that pony of yours.” She said with a wink. Hunter scoffed in feigned offense.
“Ulysses is a war-horse. He has lead me into many fights and battles.” He said with a smile. She rolled her eyes and smiled back. Hunter loved her smile. It was soft and showed her perfectly straight teeth. It made Hunter feel warm and comfortable. She giggled and took off ahead, diving and weaving acrobatically. Hunter smiled and followed. He dove behind her working in synchronization. She finally rose high and then dove, plummeting and twirling straight toward the ground. Hunter followed next to her in an aerial dance. She finally turned upward and zoomed back up into the sky, Hunter following closely behind. The two of them finally zoomed on either side of Kyle and Marina. Marina let out a shriek and Hunter laughed a little when he saw Marina squeeze Kyle tighter and Kyle cringe.
“Okay. Relax. Relax.” He said with clenched teeth. “You’re going to break my ribs!” He shouted. Marina finally let him go a little and he waved to Will and Penny. “We’re taking it down. Let’s break for lunch.” He said as he gracefully started to descend. Hunter stopped laughing a little and looked over at Philippa who blushed a little and bit her lips before winking at him and zooming downward. Hunter flinched a second before following her, racing her to the ground. They landed in a clearing a few dozen yards away from a busy street. Hunter landed first and immediately slipped off Ulysses, putting his hands up in victory.
“I win. I am victorious.” He said confidently. “Ulysses and I are the best forever.” He laughed as Philippa landed.
“Oh, please. Calm down.” Philippa said with a smile. “Dixie and I let you win. We know you would have pouted otherwise.” She said with a giggle as she walked over and took his hand.
“Thank you for scouting a spot for us to land.” Kyle said as he finally set down. “Hunter. Little help.” He said, looking down at Marina’s hands that were wrapped tightly around his waist. She had her eyes closed and her breathing was heavy. Hunter looked at Philippa a moment who looked on with concerned eyes. Hunter let go of her and walked over to Marina and lightly placed his hand on her leg. He felt her stiffen a little, but he didn’t back away.
“Come here, Marina. You’re okay.” He said as he opened his arms in a welcoming and comforting way. She quickly broke away from Kyle and moved into Hunter’s arms, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. Hunter held her in his arms tightly, keeping her grounded. She put her head on his shoulder as her breathing eased again. Hunter recognized the smell of fire and smelting metal. It wasn’t a gentle smell, but it was strangely comfortable for Hunter. “We’re on the ground, Marina. You’re okay.” He whispered, holding her firmly.
“Thank you.” She said quietly, burying her face into Hunter shoulder. Hunter chuckled a little at how worried and scared she was, finding it a little silly. She was one of the most courageous and smartest people he knew, but she was afraid of flying on the back of a Pegasus. He patted her back just as Kyle slid off Petunia’s back.
“You’re welcome.” Kyle said as he stood behind her and smiled. Hunter broke the embrace and Kyle took over, holding her tightly and kissing her lightly on the head.
“Alright. Crisis averted. Let’s find food.” Will said, approaching on Hurricane’s back. He was really just trying to make it lighthearted, but Hunter agreed. They should figure out food.
“I saw a shopping center that way.” He said as he took Philippa’s hand again. He cleared his throat and looked around. “Unless we want to camp here and Philippa and I will go kill something.”
“Shopping center.” All of them said, raising their hands. Hunter laughed a little and shrugged.
“Let’s go, then.” The six of them left their pegasi there and started through the woods. They found the Oak Sports complex shopping center.
“Chipotle! Oh, and Panda Express!” Penny said, pointing at the restaurants.
“What’s Winstead’s?” Kyle asked as he pointed to an older looking building with a bright pink neon sign that said ‘Winstead’s’.
“It looks like a diner! I haven’t seen a good diner since when I was a kid.” Philippa said excitedly. Will, Penny, and Kyle looked at her quizzically.
“When you were-“
“Let’s go! Come on, guys!” Philippa hurried across the street and ran into the restaurant. It looked right out of the 50s. “Serving Kansas City for over 65 years.” She read off the menu as they grabbed a table.
“Hi, everyone! Welcome to Winstead’s.” said the waitress whose name tag read Dalton. She smiled at them and pulled out her notepad. “Can I offer anyone a milkshake? Maybe a skyscraper to share?” She asked enthusiastically.
“A skyscraper?” Will asked with a raised eyebrow. Dalton pointed to it on the menu.
“It’s a really big milkshake usually for 2 to 4 people. We’ve had individuals race to eat them though.” She said with a nod. Will looked down at a menu before rubbing his chin and looking up at Penny.
“Oh, Will that’s gross.” Penny said, sticking her tongue out a little.
“15 drachmas says I beat you.” Kyle said with a smile at Will.
“20 says you’re both going down.” Hunter added in. Marina, Philippa, and Penny all looked at each other and rolled their eyes.
“We’ll take 3 skyscrapers and 6 doubles with everything and 6 half and halfs.” Marina said, pulling out her debit card. “You’ll do great, baby.” She said, kissing Kyle’s cheek. “But Hunter will probably win. You’ve got that runner’s body. You’re a stick person!” She said with a smile as she put an arm around his waist.
“I’m just not even in the running?” Will said, sounding slightly offended. “I really like ice cream. That’s worth something, right? That puts me in the running?”
“We’ll just see, okay?” Marina said, putting her head on Kyle’s shoulder. After a few moments of small talk, the food arrived along with the skyscrapers.
“Dalton?” Philippa said as the waitress turned to walk away. “Would you be our judge?” She asked with a winning smile. Dalton happily nodded and waited for the three boys to be ready.
“On my mark. 3…2…1!” She said and immediately they started eating the ice cream. Hunter took the tactic of eating the ice cream while it melted and then drinking what was left. He glanced up and looked at his competition who had different ideas. Will looked like he was trying to put the entire opening of the glass in his mouth and was failing. Kyle was drinking and scooping at the same time. It didn’t allow him to chew though, forcing him to take long breaks at a time. The girls at the table ate their fries and onion rings and watched as their men ate their weight in dairy product. Hunter smiled and took a second to wipe his hand on a napkin and kissed Philippa lightly on the cheek, leaving a ring of melted ice cream.
“Gross!” She said as she wiped it off. Hunter laughed a little as he brought the glass to his lips, finally drinking the liquid in the bottom. He could see the bottom when he heard a glass hit the table.
“Done!” Kyle shouted as he put his hands up in victory. Hunter finished his and set it down and was followed by Will a moment of two later. Kyle smiled and laughed before closing his eyes a moment. A loud burp was heard and he slapped a hand over his mouth. “Let me out.” He said, his voice muffled by his hand. Marina moved and Kyle hurried out, sprinting to the bathroom. Hunter took deep breaths and managed to keep the ice cream down.
“I warned him.” Marina said with a sigh as she walked toward the bathrooms. Hunter chuckled a little, but regretted it as he felt ice cream start to bubble again. He immediately stopped and took a deep breath again.
“I would say that you’re the real winner here.” Philippa said quietly as she patted his stomach. Hunter laughed briefly, holding his stomach again.
“I would agree, assuming I don’t explode too.” He said quietly.
“I’ll never have ice cream again.” Will said as he leaned back in the seat. He put a hand on his stomach and breathed slowly. Penny kissed his cheek and put her hand on his.
“You’ll be okay. Deep breaths.” She said quietly. Hunter heard an audible grumble and watched as Will clapped a hand over his mouth.
“Move. This was not worth it.” Will said as he pushed past Penny and ran to the bathrooms.
“I stand victorious.” Hunter said quietly. Penny rolled her eyes and walked to the bathroom, shaking her head slightly. Philippa ran a finger down his jawline.
“Congratulations, Hunter.” She said before kissing him on the cheek and wrapping her arms around him. Hunter smiled gently, but his smile fell.
“I don’t want you to think that what I’m about to do is a reaction of you kissing my cheek, but if you’ll excuse me.” He said quickly be putting a hand over his mouth and running to the bathroom. He looked at the other two guys hunched over the toilet, throwing up the ice cream and their breakfast. He ran to the last stall and evacuated his bowels, in a harsh and quick manner. He groaned as he stopped and took deep breaths. “Was it cold coming back up for you guys too?” He asked with a burp.