aces: leo valdez¹

003

in which; shinny new pets are much
scarier than one would assume

HANA WAS BARELY AWAKE WHEN THE DRAGON landed in the green. Quick reactions erupted from all campers (and satyrs, who ran around screaming 'don't kill me!')

She reached for the deck of cards in her back pocket but realises it wouldn't be much help, as the celestial bronze-edged cards wouldn't do a lot of good against the dragon unless she could curve them into it's joints. So she draws the dodgy short sword instead- about two feet in length, the blade was chipped on one side and felt horrifically unbalanced. But Hana didn't have time to worry about her weapons because the dragon was flying. With wings. That was definitely something more relevant to distress about, it never used to have wings. Before the start of the school term Hermes cabin had elected to help cabin 9 rounding up the celestial bronze dragon- they were quick on their feet but no luck, only a few second-degree burns.

Honestly she was lucky she fell asleep in actual clothes, it was definitely better than some of the other campers' fashion statements. People adorned armour and pyjamas pants, daggers and slippers. They were in no shape to deal with another cabin stopping right now. The poor Demeter kids were still sulky from last time because all their favourite seeds were lost in the fire. The conch shell sounded in the distance, alerting campers to evacuate.

Archers draw their bows and others stand guard with shining bronze swords or pointed spears. The dragon had swept down in circles, approaching the green without even spitting any fire. There was a rider. The scrawny boy and newest member of cabin 9 sat atop the dragon, Leo Valdez was grinning ear to ear when the dragon landed on the soft grass. "It's cool! Don't shoot!"

Hesitantly, the archers lowered their bows. The warriors backed away, keeping their spears and swords ready. They made a loose wide ring around the metal monster. Other demigods hid behind their cabin doors or peeped out the windows. Nobody was anxious to get Close. Hana understood why, she had tangoed with this bad boy before. The dragon was huge. It glistened in the morning sun like a living penny sculpture -different shades of copper and bronze. A sixty-foot-long serpent with steel talons, drill-bit teeth and glowing ruby eyes. It's newest feature was a pair of bat-shaped wings twice its length that unfurled like metallic scales, making a sound like coins cascading out of a slot machine every time they flapped.

"It's beautiful," Piper muttered. The other demigods stared at her like she was insane.

The dragon reared its head and shot a column of fire into the sky. Campers scrambled away and hefted their weapons, but Leo slid calmly off the dragon's back. He held up his hands like he was surrendering, except he still had that crazy grin on his face.

"People of Earth, I come in peace!" he shouted. It was clear he had been waiting to say that, a satisfied grin lined his face- this boy was insane. He looked like he'd been rolling around in the campfire. His army coat and his face were smeared with soot and oil. His hands were grease-stained, and he wore a tool belt around his waist (probably a gift from his new cabin mates, they never went anywhere without one). His eyes were bloodshot. His curly hair was so oily it stuck up in porcupine quills, and he whole vicinity smelled strangely of Tabasco sauce. But he looked absolutely delighted. "Festus is just saying hello!"

"That thing is dangerous!" Clarisse shouted, brandishing her spear. "Kill it now!"

"Stand down!" someone ordered. To everyone's surprise, it was Jason. He pushed through the crowd, flanked by Annabeth and Nyssa. Jason gazed up at the dragon and shook his head in amazement. "Leo, what have you done?"