𝙻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚕𝚢 || 𝙿𝚒𝚙𝚎𝚛 𝙼𝚌𝙻𝚎𝚊𝚗

𝔽𝕖𝕞

Frank grunted. The big guy was wearing a blue tracksuit this morning, like he was ready to go for a jog in the sunflowers.

"The gods haven't been very good at following that order," he noted. "Besides, if the gods have gone schizophrenic like Hazel said-"

"And Leo said," added Leo.

Frank scowled at him. "Then who knows what's going on with the Olympians? Could be some pretty bad stuff out there."

"Sounds dangerous!" Leo agreed cheerfully. "Well... you guys have fun. I've got to finish repairs on the hull. Coach Hedge is gonna work on the broken crossbows. And, uh, Annabeth - I could really use your help. You're the only other person who even sort of understands engineering."

Annabeth looked apologetically at Percy. "He's right. I should stay and help."

"I'll come back to you." He kissed her on the cheek. "Promise."

They acted so easily with each other that Thea could almost see where Nico's anger was born. All her life, she had wished for something as simple as that - a love that could last. At one point she thought she had it too. But now, close to a year after Lilith died, she was questioning whether it was just the war that bound them together and not anything as pure as what Annabeth and Percy had.

Lilith was a friend, if anything. A great friend, but thinking about her before had only brought grief - an emotion she had mistaken for heartbreak.

Frank slid his bow off his shoulder and propped it against the rail. "I think I should turn into a crow or something and fly around, keep an eye out for Roman eagles."

"Why a crow?" Leo asked. "Man, if you can turn into a dragon, why don't you just turn into a dragon every time? That's the coolest."

Frank's face looked like it was being infused with cranberry juice. "That's like asking why you don't bench-press your maximum weight every time you lift. Because it's hard and you'd hurt yourself. Turning into a dragon isn't easy."

"Oh." Leo nodded. "I wouldn't know. I don't lift weights."

"Yeah. Well, maybe you should consider it, Mr-"

Hazel stepped between them. "I'll help you, Frank," she said, shooting Leo an evil look. "I can summon Arion and scout around below."
Now, Thea would love to act out now, to tell them all to fix their issues elsewhere so that they could move from the sky, but she would be lying if she said it wasn't mildly entertaining.

"Sure," Frank said, still glaring at Leo. "Yeah, thanks."

Hazel turned to Percy. "Just be careful when you go out there. Lots of fields, lots of crops. Could be karpoi on the loose."

"Karpoi?" Piper asked.

"Grain spirits," Hazel said. "You don't want to meet them."

"I'll take your word for it," muttered Thea, finishing her pancake and giving Hedge the napkin.

"That leaves four of us to check on the mile marker," Percy said. "Me, Thea, Jason, Piper. I'm not psyched about seeing Mr D again. That guy is a pain - to me at least." He looked over at the daughter of Hades. "But, Jason, if you're on better terms with him -"

"Yeah," Jason said. "If we find him, I'lI talk to him. Piper, it's your vision. You should take the lead."

Piper shivered, a barely noticeable motion, but Thea saw, and she unconsciously moved a little closer, as if her daughter of death aura would go against itself and comfort instead of the opposite.
"Of course," she said, trying to sound upbeat. "Let's find the highway."