σ. traumatophobia - fear of injury
Jason returned only moments later, carrying an old piece of wood. gauze, duct tape and a smock. He spread the supplies on the floor next to him, gently holding Aza's arm. She groaned as he lifted it, sliding the wood beneath it.
"I think my shoulder's dislocated," She said through clenched teeth. Jason nodded wordlessly and shuffled behind her. He gently lifted her, propping her up against his chest awkwardly.
"This is gonna hurt," He warned, finger combing her hair away from her left shoulder and brushing it over her right. Aza nodded and tilted her head to look into his eyes.
"Do you remember how to do this?" She questioned, clenching her teeth as he shifted her once more. Pain shot through her arm and shoulder like a jolt of electricity, causing the muscles in her body to seize and spasm momentarily.
"Of course," Jason reassured, but it was painfully obvious to both of them that he was lying. He gave her what she assumed was supposed to be a reassuring smile, but it instead looked like he was the one in pain. Aza nodded, biting down on her lower lip so much that small beads of blood began to trickle down, gently wetting her chin.
"So, Jason said as he examined her shoulder. "what's up with your eyes."
Aza rolled her russet-colored eyes and sighed. "Don't we have bigger things to be worrying about? My shoulder, for example?"
A small smile tugged at Jason's lips. "I'm trying to distract you," he teased her gently. "Now tell me, Aza-Everett, what's up with your eyes?"
Aza sighed. "So my father is Phobos, the god of fear. His father is Ares, god of war. Ares has these... eyes that are... well, I don't even know how to describe them honestly. When you look into them, all you see is scenes of war and destruction," Aza shivered gently, remembering the time she had looked into the god's eyes. "My father has the same thing, except when you look into his eyes you see your biggest fear. I inherited them from him."
Jason nodded, preparing to pop her shoulder back into place.
"All I see is a mist," Jason mused. "It's confusing, I don't know what it is. It scares me."
"That's sort of the point - GODS OF OLYMPUS!" Aza yelped when Jason forced her shoulder back into its socket. She shivered, giving a pained moan, but she had to admit her shoulder felt much better.
Jason grinned at her as he shuffled back to kneel beside her left arm, gently lying her back onto the concrete floor. He began preparing his splint as Aza continued, trying to distract herself from the searing pain that came along with her arm being splinted. "I guess cause you lost your memory, your biggest fear is the unknown."
Jason nodded absentmindedly, shrugging his shoulder gently. The silence that followed was mostly comfortable, but there was a hint of insecurity that lingered in the air after talking about Aza's eyes that both could feel, though neither particularly wanted to address it. Aza found talking about her eyes difficult; she knew that they scared everyone, and that no one was completely comfortable with them, and Jason knew that.
"I actually..." He trailed off hesitantly swallowing heavily. "I actually like your eyes, Aza. They're terrifying, absolutely terrifying, but because they're so beautiful."
Aza didn't know how to respond. A blush burned across her face, and her mind raced so quickly that she didn't even comprehend Jason finishing her splint, beginning to wrap the smock to prop up her arm. He reached behind her, his hot breath hitting her cheek lightly as he wrapped the ties of the smock around her neck, fully propping her arm properly.
"Thanks," She finally managed to say awkwardly, looking everywhere but him. She didn't know if she could ever look him in the eyes again, not after he said that. He had to be lying - there was no way he could find her eyes beautiful, could he?
As if he knew what she were thinking, Jason gave her a small smile and reached to move her hair back behind her back, sending chills down her spine as his hand brushed against her scalp, tingling lightly. "I'm not lying, by the way," he reassured, pulling back with a small blush across his cheeks. "there's just something about them."
A small silence settled over the two. Both demigods fell lost in their thoughts, trying desperately to fight the blushes that fought to burn their cheeks. Aza didn't think she had ever been complimented on her eyes like that before; she had only been told that they were nightmarish - that she was a nightmare for having them.
Neither demigod got to say anything more, because a sudden mop of brown hair popped up, and Leo gave them both a dazzling grin. "Aza, I'm glad you're okay!" Leo cheered, sauntering closer and crouching near her. "I thought I was gonna have to be scraping little
pieces of you off the floor!"
"Lovely image, Leo," Aza rolled her eyes. "How's Piper?"
Leo grimaced. "That's what I'm here for," he turned to Jason. "I set her foot - or, well, I tried my best. I'm gonna go scout around for Festus; I think he fell outside the warehouse somewhere. If I can find him, maybe I can figure out what happened and fix him."
Jason hesitated. "You shouldn't go alone, Leo." The boy merely shrugged, reaching into a toolbelt around his waist and pulling out a flashlight. "I'll be fine. You guys go meet up with Piper and don't run off without me."
Aza couldn't even protest before the boy scurried off, his hair flopping wildly. Aza sighed, shaking her head. "He shouldn't go alone. You stay with Piper, I'll go find him."
She began to awkwardly clamber to her feet, wheezing heavily. A sharp pain shot up her spine, causing her muscles to twitch and spasm, but she forced herself to ignore the pain and the dull ache that beat like a drum. Jason instantly swooped down, wrapping one arm under her armpits and one arm under her knees and lifting her quickly.
The daughter of Phobos let out a startled squeak, accidentally banging her head against Jason's chin as she whipped her head to look at him. "Wha-"
He placed her gently on her feet, stepping back with a satisfied smile. "If you tried to get up by yourself you'd hurt yourself more."
Aza rolled her eyes and cracked her kneck, gently shaking out her legs. They felt like jello, and part of her wondered if she'd collapse at any moment.
Jason noticed, looking at her with concern. "I'm not sure you're in any position to be helping out Leo. Why don't you come with me and keep an eye on Piper. We might have to fix whatever brace Leo made for her, after all."
Aza hesitated, glancing back in the direction Leo had run off; it didn't feel right to leave one person alone. Jason seemingly sensed this and placed a reassuring hand on her good shoulder, squeezing it gently and giving her a small smile.
"Come on, Aza, you're injured. I'll make you a deal; if we hear anything strange or if you think Leo's in trouble, you can go check it out."
Aza nodded; that sounded reasonable enough. She allowed Jason to wrap his arm under her good arm, helping her walk seeing as her body was still screaming in pain, just slightly less loud after having some of the nectar.
The two sat wandered towards where Piper had landed. The girl was now propped up against the wall, her foot bandaged in a makeshift splint. Leo had tried his best, Aza was sure, but it didn't mean he did well.
"You should definitely fix that," Aza nudged Jason lightly once they reached the girl. She settled down across from Piper, giving the girl a small smile, but it wasn't reciprocated by the daughter of Aphrodite, who looked at Jason like he was the only one in the room.
Jason nodded, moving to work on Piper's ankle while Aza fidgeted awkwardly. A thick layer of tension settled across the three demigods, but Aza didn't quite know why. She couldn't think of anything she had done wrong to create or contribute to the tension; all she had done was fallen off a fifty-ton bronze dragon and break her arm, and none of that had anything to do with Piper.
Once Jason finished fixing the less-than-adequate splint that Leo had made, he said, "You look better." Jason gave Piper a small, nervous smile that for some reason made Aza's stomach twist. She hadn't noticed before the way his scar curved slightly whenever he smiled; hell, she didn't even remember him having a scar on his lip before that moment.
"You did a good job. Where'd you learn first aid?" Piper questioned, wiggling her leg slightly as if to emphasize her point. Jason merely shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck as he shuffled back. "Same answer as always. I don't know."
Aza snorted, barely managing to conceal the small smile that tugged at her lips. She felt bad, but honestly it was sort of funny to Aza how Jason managed to do these impressive feats - summon lightning, brace someone's ankle and answer questions, and recite a whole prophecy in Latin - all without knowing how or why he was able to.
"But you're starting to have some memories, aren't you," Piper pressed. It almost felt to Aza like she was looking for a certain answer, like she wanted Jason to say something specific. "Like that prophecy in Latin back at camp, or that dream about the wolf."
"It's fuzzy," Jason said. "Like deja vu. Ever forgotten a word or a name, and you know it should be on the tip of your tongue but it isn't? It's like that - only my whole life."
Aza got the feeling that Piper did sort of know what he meant - after all, the girl had thought she had a three-month long relationship with the blonde, only to find out it had been fabricated.
"That photo in your pocket," Piper blurted suddenly. "Is that someone from your past?"
Jason pulled back, shaking his head slightly in shock. Piper's kaleidoscopic eyes widened and she instantly said, "Sorry. None of my business. Forget it."
"No, no, it's okay," Jason's features relaxed slightly. "Just, I'm trying to figure something out. Her name's Thalia; she's my sister," Aza's eyes widened and she sat up straighter. As Piper smiled oddly at Jason ("Why - Piper why are you smiling?"), Aza shuffled closer to Jason, causing the smile to drop from the other girl's face.
"Jason," Aza drew his attention to her, causing Piper's lips to twitch into a frown, but Aza didn't know why. "what did you just say your sister's name is?"
Jason turned to her, his blonde brows furrowing. "Um - Thalia." Aza gulped deeply, motioning to his pocket. "Can I see?"
She could vaguely remember Jason looking at the picture whilst they rode on Festus, and she remembered seeing an inky black blotch, like spilled ink - but now, she remembered that it was exactly how she used to describe her friend's spiky hair. Jason frowned. "Why?"
"Jason, please," Aza pleaded. She would've continued, but the instant she said those two words, Jason crumbled and gave in, pulling the photo from his pocket. Aza hesitantly took it from him, holding it up so the light would illuminate it enough for her to confirm that she was right.
He was Thalia's brother.
"Gods of Olympus," Aza murmured, turning back to him with wide eyes. "You're not dead after all."
Jason frowned. "Um - what?"
"I know her," Aza said, causing his eyes to light up slightly. "I know her - she's my friend! Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus. Gods, this is crazy!"
Jason smiled. "I get the feeling I'm supposed to find her. Hera left me that memory for a reason," he said to Aza. "It's got something to do with this quest. But... I also get the feeling it could be dangerous - I'm not sure I want to find out the truth. Is that crazy?"
"No," Piper interjected, giving Jason a smile that quickly fell when he turned back to Aza.
"Nothing's ever easy when you're a demigod," Aza shrugged. "But this, this is definitely important."
Jason didn't get the chance to answer, because below the catwalk, metal crashed against metal, creating a noise that echoed throughout the warehouse. Jason stood, taking out his coin and flipping it, snatching the golden sword that appeared out of the air. He peered over the railing, "Leo?"
There was no answer. Jason crouched back down next to Aza, giving her a nervous look. "I don't like this."
"I'll go check," Aza volunteered, clambering to his feet. "He could be in trouble."
Jason hesitated, looking at her uncertainty. "Aza, your arm..." The daughter of Phobos made a face, reaching for her bag. She dug around, pulling out the baggie of ambrosia squares and taking half of one, eating it quickly. It tasted like the blue blue-berry pancakes Sally Jackson after the second Titanomachy, whilst the girl recovered from the horrors. A small, sad smile painted across her face - she had to find Percy. If not for her and for Annabeth, then for Sally - the woman had been so kind for her the past few years, Aza owed it to her.
"See, good as new," Aza pointed to her arm. She ran her finger across the inscription on her bracelet and her celestial bronze sword instantly appeared, falling comfortably into her good hand. "I'll be fine Jason, I promise."
She crept off into the dark, looking for where the sound originated from. Once she climbed down the stairs onto the floor, she called out, "Leo?"
"Yes, it's me," Leo's voice called back to her, coming from behind a large pile of crates that piled almost to the ceiling.
"Leo, what are you doing back there, come out here," Aza called, rolling her eyes. There was a loud shuffling sound, and the echo of footsteps that were most definitely too heavy to be Leo.
Aza barely had time to process a large hand knocking her back, sending her flying back towards the wall, and then everything went black.