ᴾʰᵒᵇᵒᵖʰᵒᵇⁱᵃ [ᴶᵃˢᵒⁿ ᴳʳᵃᶜᵉ]

iii.

Aza pointed to the box of green tea when Piper silently offered them options, not wanting to interrupt the story, "But Luke had this way of making everyone friends. He's the only reason I can tolerate the Stolls - Hazel, if you ever meet them, don't trust them," she and Piper made eye contact and both laughed quietly, "So eventually, we just found ourselves seeking each other out. We were also the youngest campers for quite some time, and the two of us were of the handful of year-rounders. Then Percy came around, and we were twelve, and it was sort of like he was the missing piece. Like he balanced us out, and kept Annie and I together whenever we butted heads. He... he's sort of like Luke, like that. He keeps people together, so yeah... I really miss them. They're my best friends, even when they totally ignore me to go do..." she shivered, "whatever it is they do."

"Percy remembered Annabeth's name, at first. When we found him. That was all he remembered," Hazel mused, and she pushed herself onto the counter, popping a grape into her mouth once she settled, "And then when he got his memories back, the first thing he said was: something, something, Aza's going to kill me."

Aza smiled softly, and she accepted the mug that Piper handed towards her, pouring a small bit of milk into the mug. Hazel handed her a spoon, and after stirring she added a bit of sugar, "It was terrifying when he was gone. Just poof, out of the blue," she clenched her jaw and sighed, taking a small sip. "At least he and Annabeth are together, I guess. But I can't help but wonder... should I have gone in after them? In an infernal darkness of fear and negativity, I..."

"You wonder if you could help them," Hazel asked, and when Aza nodded she sighed and shrugged softly, yawning slightly. "Maybe. A third ally would never hurt, but – we need you here, Aza. You might be one of the most experienced demigods; we need you to lead us."

"Jason could led us," Aza sighed, and she swallowed thickly. "Or Nico, or Piper, or you, or Frank. It doesn't matter who the leader is; all of us are–"

"You're the most powerful," Piper cut in. "Or at least, that's what I think. I mean, Jason is plenty powerful, but–"

"You're terrifying," Hazel said with a soft chuckle. "I feel a lot safer with you on this ship."

Aza stared at her teacup, and she felt the sudden burden of responsibility settle on her shoulders like a heavy coat. She was glad that Hazel felt safer with her; her lips pulled into a soft, prideful smile - but that also meant that if anything bad happened, if anything went south, it would be on her. She sighed and said, "I'm glad you feel better with me here – thank you for the tea, Pipes. I'm going to go to bed." She gave them a small smile and left without another word.

It wasn't uncommon that mortals were willfully blind to the monsters that often lurked nearby, waiting for the next demigod to pass by. But Aza had to admit, she had never seen so many of them gathered in such a small area, without even any mortals seeming to find anything odd about their day.

Her day had started relatively normally - for the first time in a while, she woke up according to her own body, and even had enough time to shower and braid her hair in twin french braids. After dressing in light-weight cargo hiking pants and a plain red t-shirt, she had eaten breakfast in the dining room. Of course, that was where her peaceful morning had been interrupted; Hazel had burst in and insisted she and Leo, who sleepily ate his eggs, had to come to the deck.

The Argo II had docked at a busy wharf. A shipping channel about a half mile wide stretched on one side; on the other, the city of Venice spread out - red-tiled roofs, metal church domes, steepled towers and sun-bleached buildings all in soft reds, ochres and pinks. Where streets would have been, green canals etched their way through neighborhoods, each one overflowing with motorboats. Tourists mobbed the sidewalks along the docks, mingling in tourists shops and cafes.