𝐌𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐅𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐒 [pjo]

twenty; the old god Achelous

━━━the old god achelous

.・゜゜・───・゜゜・．

"This is bullshit."

The trio trudged through heavy foliage, sweat trickling down backs and foreheads thanks to the unforgivable heat.

"you'd think godly islands would be, I don't know, godly?" Callahan muttered, pushing sweat off her brow and swatting at a buzzing fly. Beside her, Piper snorted in agreement.

Mosquitoes hissed over narrow ponds, cicadas adding heavy songs to their melody, and red and black striped snakes sunned on boulders. It reminded Callahan of Camp Half-Blood in an odd way. The walk itself wasn't that bad, her tanktop made It slightly more bearable, but so far no river god.

"Maybe we could fly over?" Jason suggested, blonde hair stuck to his forehead.

"We might miss him, though." Piper whispered, "Besides, I'm not sure I want to drop in on an unfriendly god. What was his name? Etch-a-Sketch?"

Cal snorted, smiling at Piper when she turned to glance at her, "Achelous."

"right, Achelous."

"Says here he's a potamus." Jason broke in, stumbling over rocks and twigs as he read Hercules's guide.

"He's a hippopotamus?"

"No. Potamus. A river god. According to this, he's the spirit of some river in Greece."

"Since we're not in Greece, let's assume he's moved," Piper said. "Doesn't bode well for how useful that book is going to be. Anything else?"

"Says Hercules fought him one time," Jason offered.

"Hercules fought ninety-nine percent of everything in Ancient Greece."

"Yeah. Let's see. Pillars of Hercules..." Jason flipped a page. "Says here this island has no hotels, no restaurants, no transportation. Attractions: Hercules and two pillars. Huh, this is interesting. Supposedly the dollar sign—you know, the S with the two lines through it?—that came from The Spanish coat of arms, which showed the Pillars of Hercules with a banner curling between them."

the two kept chatting, Callahan went back to watching her feet as she walked. Her feet were throbbing a little, the long walk causing her arches to ache and she grumbled when she stepped on a particularly sharp rock.

She found herself glancing over her shoulder then and again, hoping to catch the Argo's sails. She was curious as to what was happening on the deck, if Annabeth knew not to send another party or if Percy was pacing the deck the way he always did when nervous.

The sun was sinking, creeping closer to the horizon and Callahan shuddered. She hated magical islands.

"Stop," Jason said.

Callahan stumbled to a stop, almost bumping into Piper.

There was running water up ahead, and the more she listened the louder it got. The three of them crept through the trees warily until they got to the beach of the river. It was maybe forty feet wide but only a few inches deep, a silver sheet of water racing over a smooth bed of stones. A few yards downstream, the rapids plunged into a dark blue swimming hole. Callahan shuddered at the darkness swimming there.

There wasn't any noise outside the running water, and it was weirding her out. The dark water was alluring in a creepy way, it looked cool and relaxing. Callahan turned to find Jason toeing his shoes off, tugging off his socks in excitement, a bright grin on his face. She shivered, glancing at Piper to find her sharing the same concerned expression.