Inferno (Leo Valdez x OC) (2)

Burns

I didn't get to jump back in the lake. Some people clearly aren't as supportive of my freedom as Leo.

Percy and Annabeth had walked away to check back in on Jason after making me promise I wouldn't go back in the lake.

Usually, I wouldn't listen. However, they threatened to take away my mini cheddars.

I wandered back over to Leo and Hazel grumpily after my conversation with Percy and Annabeth.

"Hazel, you better come with me. I built a stable belowdecks in case Arion wants to-"

"He's more of a free spirit." Hazel said, patting the horse's side. "He'll graze around the lake until I call him. But I want to see the ship. Lead the way."

"Wait." I furrowed my brows. "Wait..."

I gasped. "Oh my god! That's Arion!"

Leo slapped a hand to his forehead. "Frank literally told us that earlier, you did a whole dance about it."

I grinned. "Oh yeah." I turned to Hazel. "How did you get him to trust you?"

Hazel shrugged. "He likes gold, I'm good at finding gold."

I nodded slowly, squinting at her. "You said you were Nico's sister? So, you're a daughter of... Pluto?"

Hazel nodded, looking down slightly.

"That's so cool!" I said, noticing her discomfort.

Hazel looked up, slightly shocked. "Really?"

"Yeah! Wait so Nico can control shadows and the dead. You said, finding gold was fairly easy for you, so do you control precious metals and stoof?"

"Did she just say stoof?" Hazel asked Leo quietly.

"You get used to it. She's got three languages. English, Welsh and Anwen." Leo sighed.

Hazel nodded, smiling at me slightly. "Yeah, I control precious metals."

I grinned. "I used to collect rocks and crystals when I was a kid, still do actually. When I went hiking, I used to find really nice ones."

Hazel smiled. "That's nice. I've never really been hiking."

I gaped and turned to Leo. "Has a single person on this dam boat been hiking when not doing it for a quest?"

Leo shrugged. "Don't think so."

I shook my head. "My gods. This is so disappointing." I muttered to myself, beginning to walk in circles.

Leo snorted. "Anwen, what if we all went hiking after the quest is over? You could take us on a trip?"

I paused in my pacing to grin at him. "Can we?"

"If the others are up for it. If I get tired you are carrying me though." 

I nodded slowly. "I can live with that arrangement. As long as we go somewhere I know."

"We'll figure out the details later." Leo waved a hand. "Pre-planning is stupid anyways."

I nodded. "True, we never follow the plans."

Hazel smiled. "Alright, well, what about that tour now?"

"Oh, yeah." I said, hooking an arm through Hazel's. "Right this way." I pointed ahead of us before realising that was the side of the boat. "Oh, never mind." I turned around to where Leo was stood, grinning. "This way! And wipe that smirk off your face gremlin." I marched over to the stairs while Leo followed laughing.

The Argo II was designed like an ancient trireme, only twice as big. The first deck had one central corridor with crew cabins on either side. On a normal trireme, most of the space would've been taken up with three rows of benches for a few hundred sweaty men to do the manual labour but the Argo's oars were automated and retractable, so they took up very little room inside the hull. The ship's power came from the engine room on the second and lowest deck, which also housed sickbay, storage and stables.