Hunter rode next to Philippa, keeping an eye on Denny. This whole thing seemed questionable. The combination of Dana’s sudden need to stay at camp. And not to mention his dream. Was Chiron actually Chiron? Was Dana actually Dana? Was Denny actually Denny? Was Philippa actually Philippa? He had no way of knowing. He didn’t know who that woman was and he knew nothing about Denny and know Denny was going with them on a quest. He was being forced to trust Denny. There was no use in making accusations. They had a goal. They had a quest and Denny was there to help them.
Philippa was making small talk with Denny and it looked like they were getting along. She was laughing and he was laughing. It was odd actually. Hunter didn’t want to trust Denny, but if Philippa did then he must be okay, right? Hunter trusted Philippa and he had known her long enough to trust her judgment. He flew a little bit closer and listened in.
“So, why were you chosen to come on the quest?” Philippa asked, sitting casually on Dixie’s back. Denny smiled and shrugged.
“I was bringing in some new kid when the injured came in. Dana needed to stay and so Chiron asked me to take her place.” He glanced back at Hunter for a second with a look that made Hunter worry for a reason. What was it with this satyr? He needed to tell Philippa about his dream. Before this satyr did something bad.
“But why you? Surely, there were other people there.” Hunter asked, coming off a little rudely. Philippa looked at him.
“Hunter…” She said quietly. She nodded toward Denny and mouthed. “Be. Nice.” She put a firm look on her face and Hunter gritted his teeth and grimaced a little.
“It’s okay.” Denny said with a sigh. “Why send a satyr, right? What can they do?” Hunter cursed under his breath.
“No! No. That’s not—“
“It’s okay. I get it.” Denny said, putting his hand up to quiet Hunter’s frantic protesting. “It’s not the first time some demigod has looked down on satyrs. No godly parents. No use. I get it.”
“I’m not a demigod. I’m a hunter.” Hunter said insistently. “Of Artemis, you know?” Philippa looked at him, shaking her head.
“It must be tough being a satyr.” She said softly, putting a comforting hand on Denny’s shoulder. “You’re basically just babysitters for whiny demigods. I’m sorry, Denny. Some people just don’t understand.” She said, shooting a look at Hunter. Hunter opened his mouth to protest, but he sighed and just gave up.
“It is tough, sometimes.” Denny said, looking back at Hunter with that look again. Hunter wasn’t sure what it was. At first he thought it was a looked of anger, but it seemed more…devious. Almost a look of mischief. “I mean, I put all of my time and energy into finding you guys. I do my best and when it’s safe, then I’m just doing my job, but when something goes wrong I should have tried harder and it’s all my fault. You demigods have it easy.” He said sadly.
“Oh, it’s okay, Denny. I’m really glad you’re here with us.” Philippa said with a comforting smile. “We’d probably still be pondering the southern fort thing without you.” She reassured him. Hunter sighed and rolled his eyes.
“We should set down soon. For a break.” Hunter said, ignoring all of the blather coming from Denny. Hunter sighed as Denny and Philippa kept talking and he started to descend. He did it rather quickly, wanting to be out of earshot of their conversation. It probably wasn’t the wisest thing to do. There was fairly heavy fog and visibility was so low, Hunter wasn’t sure how high up he was. That is, until he almost hit a giant metal beam. “Whoa!” He shouted as it seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Hunter pulled up hard and Ulysses barely dodged. Hunter slowed way down and turned around to see what it was. It was obviously very tall and it was curved at the top. “This is—“
“It’s the St. Louis Arch.” Denny said as he flew up next to Hunter. Hunter scowled at the satyr.
“Know-it-all.” He said under his breath. Philippa smacked his arm and Hunter sighed. “We can set down here in St. Louis. We’ll find something to eat and hopefully not draw too much attention to ourselves.”
“I don’t know…” Denny said with a sigh. Hunter clenched his fists for a second before turning to Denny, opening his mouth to shout or lose his mind, but Philippa stopped him.
“What is it, Denny?” She said, looking at the satyr happily.
“St. Louis. It’s a dangerous city. I mean, things could happen. I’m sure there are monsters or something. We should stop—“
“THIS IS MY QUEST!” Hunter shouted in frustration. He was getting a little sick of Denny. Not because he was second-guessing him. It was a combination of everything. Hunter didn’t like Denny and he could tell there was something up with him. Hunter had never seen Denny until today, but everyone just seems to know him. Hunter knows camp better than anyone. How did he not know this satyr? “We’re landing in St. Louis and that’s final.” He said firmly, taking a deep breath. Denny pulled back a little, looking hurt.
“Hunter, I can’t believe you!” Philippa said, turning to Denny.
“Don’t take the advice of a satyr. I get it.” He said quietly. “What does a satyr know? They’re much too busy screwing things up and chasing naiads.” He sighed and gave a sad look at Philippa before clearing his throat. "Let’s go, then. We’ll take a break in St. Louis. I’m sorry, sir.” He said bitterly. Hunter closed his eyes a moment and was trying to find words to say, but he was just so frustrated all that came out of his mouth was a strange screeching sort of growl. He threw his hands up and then just started descending into St. Louis.
He landed in some woods near the arch and they tied their pegasi off. Hunter immediately stormed through the woods. He was frustrated with Denny and he was frustrated with Philippa and he didn’t understand why she thought he was being needlessly mean to Denny.
“Hunter! Wait!” Philippa said, running after him. Hunter just kept walking, but he slowed down enough so that she could catch up. Hunter glanced behind to see Denny slowly walking behind, purposefully looking sad. Hunter grimaced and continued walking toward the street. “Hunter, what is wrong with you?” Philippa said in hushed tones.
“Philippa, I…I just don’t like Denny.” Hunter said quietly. She scoffed and smacked his arm.
“That’s obvious at this point!” Hunter looked at her then glanced back again to see Denny shoot him that look again.
“Philippa, there’s something up with Denny. I uh…I had a dream.” He said quietly. He spoke quickly, but he told her all about the dream. The woman. The spiders. Her transforming into Denny.
“What, so Denny is some kind of goddess or shapeshifter or something who can control spiders and walks around naked except for a dress made of spiderwebs?” Philippa said in disbelief. Hunter sighed.
“Look, don’t just…blow me off.” Hunter said with a sigh. “I know, I’m not a demigod, but that doesn’t mean I can’t have dreams that mean something.” He glanced back at Denny who had somehow moved right behind them.
“So, where are we going?” Denny asked, putting his arms around the two of them. “What do you have a taste for?” He said as they emerged onto the street. Hunter stopped and looked around.
“I don’t know. Something fast probably.” He said, glancing around. “There’s a Wendy’s and there’s a Burger King.”
“Burger King. Absolutely.” Denny said, sticking his tongue out in pleasure. “I love me some chicken fries.”
“Burger King, it is.” Philippa said with a smile. Hunter hesitated a moment before taking her hand and leading the group to Burger King.
When they walked into the Burger King, Denny hurried to the line and started waiting. Philippa dragged Hunter to the line and got in behind Denny.
“What’s the holdup?!” Denny said from his spot in the line. “Do you have to kill the cow back there?!”
“Denny, calm down.” Philippa said quietly. Denny turned around angrily and glared at Philippa. He had a look that even made Hunter jump a little. The scowl turned into a smile which was followed by an odd laugh.
“I’m just messing around.” Denny said with a laugh. He punched Hunter lightly in the arm and smiled before turning toward the line again. Hunter glanced at Philippa who glanced at him and they shared a sort of ‘what in Olympus’ name was that?’ kind of look. 3 people later and some grumbling from Denny he finally reached the line.
“Could I have all of your ready chicken fries, please?” Denny said with a sigh. The bracefaced teenager behind the counter blinked for a second before smiling.
“Yessir.” She pressed some buttons on the register. “That’ll be 34.16.” She said with a smile. Denny had been looking off in the distance and finally looked back.
“Oh. I already paid.” He said with a nod. The girl blinked for a second before smiling.
“Yes. My mistake.” Hunter furrowed his brow for a second. He didn’t exactly remember seeing Denny paying, but he had a feeling that he did. He shrugged and stopped worrying about it. The smells of food and seeing all 6 orders of chicken fries come out made Hunter hungry. Starving actually.
“Those look so good.” Philippa said, licking her lips at Denny’s tray of food. “I’ll just get a salad. I feel like a pig.” She said, putting a hand on her stomach. Hunter scoffed.
“You are gorgeous, Philippa.” Hunter said with a smile. She blushed and kissed his cheek. The two of them ordered and soon got their food. They sat down next to Denny who was half done with his chicken fries at this point. Hunter sat down and ate a few fries. “So are you going to eat the cardboard too?” He asked with a chuckle. Denny looked at him oddly.
“Why would I do that?” He asked with a raised eyebrow. Hunter thought for a second.
“Well, I..I saw a satyr eat cardboard once. I thought it was a satyr th—“
“Oh! I got it!” Denny said with a scoff, chicken fry crumbs flying off his small goatee. “All satyrs are the same. Do you happen to have garbage or something? Maybe some lint? I’ll just chomp that down like your living garbage disposal.” He stood up and stormed off to the bathroom, leaving Hunter to be stared at by Philippa and everyone else in the building. Hunter slouched a little and went back to eating his food.
“He knows that’s not what I meant.” Hunter said quietly before stealing some of Denny’s chicken fries. Philippa slapped his hand, causing him to drop the chicken fries.
“I cannot believe you sometimes…” She said with a scoff as she started eating her salad. Hunter sighed and grumbled quietly as he kept eating. Denny eventually walked back to the table and started eating again.
“I’m sorry. I just can’t stand ignorance.” He said with a pointed look at Hunter. Philippa patted his arm in a comforting way. “It’s okay. It’s okay.” Denny took a look at the remaining food on his tray and shuddered. “I’m not hungry anymore.” He said pushing his tray to the middle of the table. Hunter looked at him and wanted to just hit him. Denny looked at him with anger until winking at him once. Hunter furrowed his brow and was about to shout at him, but Denny spoke first. “This is…I’m gonna be sick.” He said with a sigh before walking back to the bathroom. Hunter stared at the empty chair before turning to Philippa who was glaring at him.
“Philippa, I didn’t do any—“
“You made him throw up!” Philippa said, pointing toward the bathroom. “I had no idea that you could be so terrible. Especially to a poor satyr!” She stood up and looked at him, shaking her head for a moment, before walking toward the bathroom where Denny had disappeared a moment earlier. Hunter looked over at a small family that was staring at him like he was insane. Hunter cleared his throat.
“Our cousin. Denny.” Hunter said quietly. “He thinks he’s half-goat. And has stomach ulcers. And eats cardboard.” Hunter studied the ground for a moment before shrugging toward the family and putting his head down on the table with a thud. He sighed and lifted his head up, putting his head on his hand with his elbow on the table. He lazily put fries in his mouth, eating them, but not really enjoying them. He looked down at the table and grabbed all the food. He stole some chicken fries and wrapped them in a napkin, slipping them into his backpack. He threw the rest of it away and stepped outside to wait for Denny and Philippa. They finally emerged from the restaurant and Hunter saw how close Denny was to Philippa. Hunter knew it was nothing, but it did make him a little jealous.
“Shall we?” Philippa said with a sigh. Hunter shook his head and they started back toward the pegasi.