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vii. the odd familiarity of him
even if it felt like a detention center,gale was enjoying his lunch. perhaps it was because percy was sitting next to him (don't ask, gale didn't have an answer) or the fact that they were about to go on a quest that was basically impossible and he was trying to shut his pessimism up, but the only thing right then and there that piqued his interest was his sandwich and milkshake.
reyna made a brief speech wishing them luck, and octavian ripped open a beanie baby and pronounced grave omens and hard times ahead, but predicted the camp would be saved by an unexpected hero (more like professional children's toys murderer). the campers went off and on their way to do the given activities provided at camp.
the five of them got up and headed toward the barracks to pack for the quest awaiting them. gale pulled out an old blue backpack from a couple years ago and threw anything he could find in it, clothes, lotion, all that stuff, and if gale hadn't packed it, arcana would sure as hell would pack it. while searching through his belongings looking for things to pack, he came across something that he hadn't seen in so long, it felt like years since he had last seen it. it was a withering string bracelet, entwined with white and blue string that fit nicely onto gale's wrist. he remembered the accessory, it was one he and jason made years ago when they found out their lightning was different colors - white for gale, blue for jason. he tightly secured it around his wrist (as much as he could), hoping the accessory would bring him comfort and luck on this quest.
he looked to his right to see percy staring at an orange shirt, the one he wore yesterday, the one that was in ruins from whatever percy had to go through getting here. gale, from afar, took a closer look at the shirt. part of him recognized it, weirdly, the orange color, with that symbol that might've resembled some kind of horse, and the writing, c, m, al, and blo. gale guessed those letters came together to actually form words, but the missing letters were either unreadable or nowhere to be found.
he shook the odd feeling off, zipping the backpack close and hoisting it on his back. they eventually left barracks, joining arcana and hazel, and hopping on hannibal as their roommate bobby gave them a ride. unnoticed by gale, percy's eyes were glued onto him. percy's mind was always riddled with questions about what was going on, but it felt like there was a big red question mark on gale's head. ever since percy showed up at camp jupiter and saw gale, he felt there was something familiar about the blond, but he shook it off, thinking it was the side effects of being on the run for so long.
mars showing up basically confirmed that gale was oddly familiar. he forgot what exactly it was that the god of war said, but whatever it was that triggered it, it confirmed that gale truly was familiar. the way he smiled, how there was that one dimple on the right side side of his face, all of that and more was so familiar, and it sent his mind spiraling. the grace last name was familiar too, but it wasn't in the way gale was familiar, and percy felt that if he thought about it anymore it would just cause more headaches than he truly needed.
