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"Hey Leo!"
Leo yelped, startled, as Curvo leaned his elbow on the halfblood's shoulder. The noises of the workshop blocked out everything other than what he was focused on, especially with multiple people working at a time.
"Whatcha making?"
Leo straightened up, putting down the big metal pliers he'd been working with. "Hey Curvo. I'm, uh, making a... necklace."
"Cool!" the Keeper said cheerfully, peeking over Leo's shoulder. "Ooh, shiny. Who's it for?"
"For me obviously." Leo deadpanned. "You don't think I would rock this?"
"You'd need more than that to make you look good," Curvo replied equally seriously.
"Hey!" Leo giggled, then gave in. "No, it's for... well, she's not here. Yet. It's for a girl, for Valentine's Day."
"Will she be here?"
"I hope so."
Being a Keeper, the boy didn't give up. "Where is she now?"
"I don't really know. But we promised we'd be together for Valentine's Day. She promised."
"Okay, good luck. Call me over if you start doing any cool fire power explosion stuff." Curvo waved goodbye and wandered over to bother some other forge-goer.
Leo sighed and picked up his pliers. May the plot holes look kindly upon him.
~
Something was missing. The chain was finished, and the locket was cooling in the mold, but it still needed a final touch. More gold? Crystals? Something colorful...
Well, when in doubt head to the caves.
That absolutely wasn't a real quote from anyone, in fact the Keepers advised caution if not complete avoidance of the deeper parts of the caves. But it was hard to tell when the Keepers were being serious, so Leo could ignore them. Right? And Leo had pretty good experience with caves anyway. They didn't scare him at all, and these ones in particular were awesome. The workshop had an easy access fireman's pole down to the deep caves for ease of treasure seeking. Leo grinned and wrapped himself around it, then slid down with a whoop.
This part of the caves had little lighting, so Leo lit his hand on fire and skipping off into the darkness. He ran his unlit hand along the rock wall. It was slightly damp from underground springs that ran along the side of the tunnel. He could have spent days in the caves, but he was on a mission. He had to find something pretty to put in an amulet.
That didn't sound like a very impressive quest.
Oh well, at least the caves were cool.
~
After a good few hours of searching, Leo emerged with a smile on his face and a shiny rock in his hand. He practically skipped into the forge and shouted over at Curvo.
"I found a shiny rock!" Leo shoved the orange and blue rock into the Keeper’s face.
"Ooh, boss," Curvo said, examining the rock. "It looks like apatite and calcite, very cool."
"I know, right?" Leo grinned, "I'm gonna smooth it a little more and attach it to the bottom of the locket, like an extra charm, and I found these too."
Leo produced two tiny spheres, one blue and one orange. "This is for me," he explained, holding up the orange one, "and this one’s for Calypso.”
"Boss," Curvo said approvingly as Leo practically skipped off to attach the gems.
~
Leo was growing more and more jumpy as the hours went by. Everyone else was happily decorating cookies and hanging up pink and red streamers (or pulling them down, in the case of Théo and other small children). A few people were playing twister, with upbeat music playing in the background. Leo was all but oblivious to any of this, perched on the back of a couch facing the door. He held a small brown box and was wearing a purple tie that didn't suit him at all. He straightened hopefully every time the door opened, which was often with all the people bustling in and out. But no Calypso.
Someone behind him called out time to give presents, but Leo stayed in place. Unlike some other people he only had one gift. He felt a little bad, but he hadn’t had much time.
A few people tossed presents at him, or gently placed them next to him, depending on the person. The various games behind him finished and restarted, two or three couples ended their slow burn arcs. Finally the vacuum was brought out for the confetti, and people scattered. But still the door hadn't opened for the right girl.
A Keeper came up behind him. "Leo...?"
"Yeah?" Leo mumbled, not turning around.
"It's eleven thirty."
"Oh."
Káno put a hand on his shoulder. His eyes were sparkly as he glanced up at her and then quickly down again.
"There's still time," Leo said weakly.
"Yeah. I'll wait with you," Káno offered.
Leo nodded. Káno led him around to the front of the couch and grabbed him a cookie from the tray.
"It's cold now, but it'll still be good."
Leo nodded again numbly and took a bite. It was indeed delicious. He threw another look at the door behind him, despite himself. Káno took his hand wordlessly. They waited half an hour, saying nothing, just watching the clock.
11:59
"She said she'd be here," Leo repeated.
"I know." Káno squeezed his hand. "Maybe next year."
12:00