Chp 174 - Nico's POV

                                    

                                          
A/N: Oh, boy, are you guys READY? Who is prepared to go DARK? Get your masks and oxygen tanks, my darling readers, because we're about to dive DEEP (and you CANNOT pass by this chapter without dropping a comment, it's one of my best to date). The conversations might be a little too mature for their age, but no one here really cares about this kind of detail.
Nico's Flashback
MONDAY, 20th February
Nico entered his room, the only place he hadn't searched yet.
What if she actually escaped?
And where would she go? Besides, I have trouble believing she'd be able to sneak past Cerberus.
Still, we just got back from school and her food bowl is still untouched.
"Pssst, Anima, come on. Where are you hiding?"
Kneeling by his bed, he checked underneath, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw the white fur curled up in a ball.
Of course, she would find the darkest and most forgotten corner of the whole house to take a nap.
I won't judge, since I would've done the same in her place.
I just want to be sure she didn't eat because she was sleeping, not because she's sick or anything.
Lowering his body to the floor, he reached underneath the bed to try and grab the kitten, that managed to be just out of his reach. He huffed and tried to stretch more, but barely brushed the tip of his fingers on her soft fur. His eyes squinted in a glare, but the sleeping kitten remained undisturbed.
Now what? Should we move the bed? Or wait it out?
Oh, remember what Annabeth said? What if we bring her food here? Maybe the scent will wake her.
Right, I'd forgotten she said that.
He grabbed one of the pouches with a puree treat Annabeth had advised him to get and kneeling back by his bed, stretched his arm with the treat in hand and waited. Before he could ask himself if this was going to work, Anima stirred, her nose reacting to the treat before her eyes even opened. Nico couldn't help but chuckle.
"In the end, your stomach speaks louder."
Did you still have any doubts?
He moved the treat closer to himself, baiting his pet to follow until he could grab her and remove her from under the bed. Anima didn't seem to particularly care, to focused on scratching his other hand to bring the treat closer to her mouth.
I think it's safe to say she didn't eat just because she was sleeping.
Taking the kitten to her food bowl and making sure she was eating before leaving, Nico went back to his room, kneeling to see under the bed again.
Should we try to block her access?
How?
I don't know, but I'm sure Niel would be able to come up with something.
What about just pushing some shoe boxes to the far side? She can still hide beneath the bed, just close enough that we can grab her if this happens again.
How many do we need? At least five? Do you even have enough shoe boxes?
... No. But Hannah might. Her new wardrobe just arrived, right?
We could ask them.
Something on the floor caught his attention, and he reached his hand to slowly pull it in his direction. Finally picking it up and removing some dust and lint from it, it took them less of a second to recognize it as one of the blades Nanni would use before Nico arrived.