pulchritudinous - leo valdez x male oc

❤ chapter four ❤

Until he met the exploding statue, Cadence thought he was prepared for anything. He leaned on the railing, watching Annabeth pace the deck of their flying warship, the Argo II, observing her as she checked and double-checked the ballistae to make sure they were locked down. White flags, a symbol of peace, flew from the mast in an attempt to keep things civil when they first arrived. 

She had gone over their fifteen backup plans with the crew multiple times and at this point, Cadence would literally sew her mouth shut if she tried to say anything about it again. However, she got their war-crazed chaperone, Coach Gleeson Hedge, to take the morning off in his cabin and watch reruns of mixed martial arts championships, so maybe she wasn't totally worthless. The last thing they needed as they flew a magical Greek trireme into a potentially hostile Roman camp was a middle-aged satyr in gym clothes waving a club around and yelling "Die!" 

Cadence assumed everything was in order, since Annabeth was on the job, and the mysterious chill that surrounded the ship since they launched had dissipated, at least for now. As the warship descended through the clouds, everyone on the ship seemed anxious, save for Cadence. He was just bored, honestly. Although, he couldn't help but wonder what would happen. What if the Romans attacked them on sight? The ship definitely did not look friendly.

They had at least tried to give the Romans a head up. Leo sent one of his special inventions, a holographic scroll, to alert their comrades inside the camp. Hopefully the message had gotten through. Leo, idiotic as always, wanted to paint a message on the bottom of the hull, but Annabeth vetoed the idea. Thank god. 

Too late to turn back now, I guess.

The clouds broke around their cull, revealing the gold-and-green carpet of the Oakland Hills below them. Cadence pushed himself off the railing and walked towards Annabeth, where she was standing by the bronze shields that line the starboard rail. Everyone took their places. 

On the stern quarterdeck, Leo rushed around like a madman, checking his gauges and wrestling levers. Cadence watched him with a blank stare. He's seriously ADHD. He moved back and forth from place to place at a speed that could only be compared to that of sonic the motherfucking hedgehog. 

Piper paced back and forth between the mainmast and the ballistae, practicing her lines. 

"Lower your weapons," she murmured. "We just want to talk." Cadence grit his teeth in an attempt to hold back from the urge to drop his bow. The bow itself was basic, given to him by the Apollo cabin, but would do the job good enough.

For a child of Aphrodite, Piper tried hard to play down her beauty. Today she dressed in tattered jeans, worn-out sneakers, and a white tank top with Hello Kitty designs (Maybe as a joke, but either way, Cadence thought she was slaying.) Her choppy brown hair was braided down the ride side with an eagle's feather. 

Then there was her boyfriend, Jason. He stood at the bow on the raised crossbow platform, where the Romans could easily spot him. His knuckles were white in the hilt of his golden sword. Otherwise he looked calm for a guy who was making himself a target. Over his jeans and orange Camp Half Blood T-shirt, he donned a toga and a purple cloak, strange fashion choice in Cadence's opinion. 

Cadence, unlike Annabeth, did not try to hide his distrust of the son of Jupiter. 

He acted way too perfect. He followed the rules (eugh,) always did the honorable thing. He even looked perfect. Like he was really hot. Cadence was a little jealous of Piper. Although, he could tell Annabeth was a little worried he would betray them. She thought they might sail into Camp Jupiter and he would say, Hey, Romans! Check out these prisoners and this cool ship I brought you!