𝐌𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐅𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐒 [pjo]

ten; a little bit of tears

━━━a little bit of tears

.・゜゜・───・゜゜・．

                        Callahan and Percy hadn't held an actual conversation since that night, and the whole crew of the Argo II was starting to notice that something was going on. Hazel kept glancing at Callahan like she was made of glass, and Piper knew. She just knew, her eyes sorry and wide every time she looked at Callahan.  Annie, though, Annie was the one being torn from the inside out. She had woken up that morning to a cold and empty bed, and she had fallen asleep like that for the past two days. She had tried to talk to the two of them about, reaching out to brush against Callahan's shoulder, but she shrugged it off every time. Told her it wasn't a big deal, and that they were just having an argument. Annie knew it was something more than that. Something a lot more. 

"Charleston" Percy spoke up, hobbling around the deck like an old man, "we have to go to Charleston." 

"Charleston?" Jason shuddered, "what's in Charleston?" 

Annabeth put a hand up, stopping Percy from answering. She glanced at Callahan for a split-second and then gestured to Frank, "Start from the top. Leave nothing out." 

The group of eight crowded around the quarterdeck and listened to Percy and Frank recount their story, accompanied with a soundtrack of Coach Hedge and his random "Awesome!" and "yeah!" and aggressive air-punching. 

Callahan stayed to the back as the story was told, her eyes tracing Percy's form in search of injuries. The teenage boy didn't notice, but Annabeth did. She watched with careful eyes as Percy and Callahan stared at each other when the other wasn't looking, and she placed a soft hand on Percy's shoulder. The boy leaned into her as he recounted the adventure, and Callahan swallowed. She nodded to Annabeth in thanks and sighed lightly when Percy narrowed his eyes at her. 

Behind Callahan, Piper leaned against the control panel, her hair a mess of braids and white feathers. Her kaleidoscope eyes watched Callahan carefully, and she responded with a smile when Cal arched a brow in question. 

"A map to what?" Piper asked. 

"The Mark of Athena." Percy glanced at Annabeth, eyes wary. Across from him, Callahan repeated the action. 

"Whatever it is," Percy continued, "we know it leads to something important in Rome, something that might heal the rift between Rome and Greece." 

"The giant's bane." Hazel supplied, and Annabeth nodded. 

"The giants mentioned a statue," Percy said, "in my dream." 

"ok, that's good," Callahan replied, "but what exactly is it? I mean, do we even know what we're looking for?" 

Callahan glanced at Annabeth, her girlfriend a ball of nervous energy. The blonde was worrying on her bottom lip, staring off into the distance about something not good. Her shoulders tightened, and something dawned in her eyes that made Callahan nervous. 

"I-I'm close to an answer," Annie said, "I'll know more if we find the map. Jason, what's in Charleston? You don't seem to like it much." 

"I-uh-I went there with Reyna years ago." He replied, glancing for a split-second at Piper, "we were salvaging imperial gold weapons from the C.S.S. Hunley." 

"Whoa!" Leo said, a spritely smile taking over his face, "that's the first successful submarine. From the Civil War. I've always wanted to see it."