The streets were filled with people, all rushing somewhere, cars racing past, horns blaring as they drove by, and the air smelling of exhaust. Leo loved it! The city felt alive, and he felt a part of it as he walked, dodging passersby as he went. His sister, right beside him, was keeping up, yammering about some project his other sibling had going on.
Leo looked to his sister Nyssa, his second-in-command at camp, as she informed him of the various projects ongoing at camp and smiled. She has really started to get into the role of co-councilor. Soon he could pass being head of the cabin to her.
As he thought that, he looked up at the sky; he was looking forward to leaving camp. He planned on setting up shop somewhere. Don't get him wrong; he'll miss camp and his friends, but he feels like he's old enough to go on his own. So plans were made, and soon he'll act on those plans.
It took Leo a while to notice that he was walking alone; he was so deep in thought that he didn't notice Nyssa had stopped walking. He stopped, looked back, and saw her staring at a display of a store.
He walked back and nudged her. "Yo! Sis! What happened?" Leo asked.
"Look," Nyssa replied without looking away, eyes glued to the store display.
Curious, he too looked at the display to see what caught her attention. At first glance, Leo saw it was a display for luxury brands, bags, shoes, dresses, and jewelry. The kind that children of the goddess Aphrodite would normally be into, 'Not daughters of Hephaestus,' thought Leo. Though, to be fair, Nyssa is still a girl despite spending most of her time in the forges. There have been a few times when he has seen her talking with a few Aphrodite campers. And she has been hanging out with a son of Ares recently.
Leo smiled fondly at his sister when he thought of her interest in "girly" things stemming from wanting to get closer to a boy. Leo felt happy for her and hoped her love life got blessed by their father's wife, unlike his. Thoughts of his siblings love lives brought forth memories of his own romance, or lack thereof. Leo's thoughts went to Calypso; he wondered how she was and where she was. Ever since their breakup, Leo has tried to move on and forget the Titaness. But that was easier said than done. especially when he was alone.
Leo shook his head to clear his thoughts and looked at the display again.
The display was showing an advertisement for what Leo thought to be a jewelry store, a high-end one at that, judging from the apparent rain of multi-colored stones falling on a model. The shot started at the feet of a woman, showing heels encrusted with jewels, moving up to the model's waist, where a belt of red, blue, and yellow gems was wrapped around. The shot continued to the model's neck, now showcasing a necklace of braided gold and silver with a pendant made of bright sapphires and emeralds.
Leo was baffled by Nyssa's interest in the advertisement; he didn't think that she was the kind of girl who would be overly enthralled by such luxuries, even if her motivation for it was to "pretty" herself up for a boy.
He racked his brain as he stared at the advertisement, trying to see what actually captured his sister's attention. It wasn't until the shot moved to the model's face that he understood.
The shot panned up, showing first the model's ears sporting a diamond earring with a silver dove motif dangling below. And as the model spun, her hair gathered behind the model's shoulder.
The final shot was focused on the model's face, looking straight at the camera with her hand in the frame along her face, showing a brilliant ring of silver with a big pink diamond surrounded by rubies. Slowly, the name of the store, "Celestial Creations," is interposed on the model's smiling face.
Leo was left shocked, his mouth open as he stared unbelievably at the model's face. A face he has not seen for 3 years. A face that he has missed terribly. A face that now brought back all the worry and stress he felt when it disappeared all those years ago. Memories of a day when Chiron announced her departure from camp due to trauma. He remembered the frantic IM he had with her, the apologies, and the promises to keep in contact. Of the last news he heard from her, Of her staying with her father. Her brief romance with a woman named Shel and their sudden breakup.
The last time they talked before he lost contact was when she told him how she decided to ask her mother for help and advice. Then silence, from her, then from the gods. Worried, Leo went to Olympus to ask directly the Goddess of Love, who informed him that she was sent somewhere safe where she could heal and possibly find new love.
Leo remembers trying to get information as to where exactly she was sent, but the goddess denied him that. She said that her daughter does not want to be contacted until she is ready. The goddess advised him to be patient and to respect her wishes. Still, Leo tried everything he could think of to get in touch with her, but to no avail.
Now, in a random shopfront, he finds the face of a long-lost friend. One he thought he would never see again.
The beautiful, smiling face of one Piper McLean.
Leo found himself being shaken by his sister, asking, "What do we do?"
Still staring at the screen, Leo absentmindedly reached into his toolbelt and pulled out a smartphone, one of his finest inventions. A joint project between Hephaestus, Athena, Hecate, and Iris campers. A marvel of Greek engineering, modern science, and ancient godly magic. Put together into a monster-safe mobile device for demigods to use.
Using the mobile's camera function, Leo took a photo of Pipers face, then quickly shoved the phone back to his toolbelt, grabbing Nyssa's arms. He turned back to the parking lot where they left the car after dropping off the Roman campers that visited camp, explaining why they were in the city.
"Hurry!" Leo almost shouts to Nyssa as he speed-walks, dragging his sister along. "We need to let everyone know!" Leo followed up.
And as they disappeared among the crowd, Leo thought of how the campers would react to the news. But above all, how will he react to actually meeting Piper after so long?
Leo smiled as he planned their eventual reunion.