↳ chapter thirteen ₊˚.༄
[# an unlikely friendship]
IANA KEPT THINKING ABOUT MADEA'S OFFER. SHE SHOULDN'T EVEN BE considering her words, especially now since the woman is dead. But she kept looking over her shoulder, hearing her words over and over again.
"What are you interested in, dear Iana?" Madea had questioned her whilst Leo lost himself in the aisle of appliances. Her eyes were gleaming with curiosity.
Iana wasn't exactly keen on starting a conversation with the saleswoman. She was even tempted to not answer and simply punch Madea (she really had to work on her anger issues) but she opted for balling her fist as she trained her eyes on Leo's dazed figure. "I'm not exactly sure what you mean,"
The woman chuckled at her, shaking her head lightly. "Of course you know. You're a daughter of Hecate, are you not? We witches must stick together."
Her words gave Iana an uneasy feeling, and she was sure Madea could tell from the way she continued. "By the end of this, we could be working side-by-side for a better future. I could make you into an exceptional witch, just like how Circe taught me. We—"
"If you think offering me empty promises for power is gonna make me switch sides, then think again." Iana cut her off, the ends of her hair threatening to turn red. She scoffed at the thought that the saleswoman assumed an offer on a shining platter of greed would make her betray her own friends.
Madea's expression changed. "But you do wonder about your spirits, do you not?"
Now that had caught her attention. Her head whipped around, a stunned expression plastered on Iana's face. "How do you know that?"
The woman only shrugged with a devious smile. "I could teach you, you know. Teach you how to read people's minds, how to come up with a potion so powerful even the scent alone can succeed in its purpose. Join me, Iana."
That's what she kept on saying. Madea had been so adamant about the fact Iana had to side with her, to side with the giants. But why? What was so special in her even Madea wanted her talents? Iana couldn't think of any.
Eventually, the smoke from the burning department store faded in the distance. Leo said something to the dragon as it shuddered, but her thoughts had consumed her far too much to even engage in a conversation.
A light pat on her shoulder managed to bring her attention back to reality after a while. Iana looked back to find Jason's worried expression. Because of their rearranged seating positions, the lineup went like this; Leo, Piper, Iana, Jason.
"Are you... okay? You just look a bit out of it,"
"I'm fine, just thinking." Iana muttered, looking away from the blond.
"We're going to have to put down soon," Leo warned them. "Couple more hours, maybe, to make sure Medea's not following us. I don't think Festus can fly much longer than that."
"Yeah," Piper agreed. "Coach Hedge probably wants to get out of his canary cage, too. Question is— where are we going?"
"The Bay Area," Leo guessed. "Didn't Medea say something about Oakland?"
Iana remembered what Madea said about Piper's father, the message delivered by his assistant that made both their bloods boil. But now wasn't a time for anger. The short haired girl placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Piper, your dad's in trouble, isn't he? He's trapped somewhere in Oakland."
Piper let out a shaky breath. "Look, Medea said you would both die in the Bay Area and that EJ would join the other side. And besides... even if we went there, the Bay Area is huge! First we need to find Aeolus and drop off the storm spirits. Boreas said Aeolus was the only one who could tell us exactly where to go."
Leo grunted. "So how do we find Aeolus?"
Jason leaned forward. "You mean you don't see it?" He pointed ahead of them, but Iana couldn't see anything except clouds and the lights of a few towns glowing in the dusk.
"What?" Leo asked.
"That... whatever it is," Jason said. "In the air."
Iana caught Piper's gaze. Their baffled expressions were almost identical.
"Jason, do you mind elaborating on the 'whatever it is' in the air?" The short haired girl made air quotes.
"Like a vapor trail," Jason explained. "Except it's glowing. Really faint, but it's definitely there. We've been following it since Chicago, so I figured you saw it."
Leo shook his head. "Maybe Festus can sense it. You think Aeolus made it?"
"Well, it's a magic trail in the wind," Jason said. "Aeolus is the wind god. I think he knows we've got prisoners for him. He's telling us where to fly."
"Or it's another trap," Piper's tone wavered.
A shift in the air told everyone about how Piper was feeling. She sounded so broken, like they'd already sealed their fate. Like it was her fault.
"Pipes, you all right?" Leo asked her worriedly.
"Don't call me that."
"Okay, fine. You only like it when Iana calls you that. I get it, you're biased. But if your dad's in trouble and we can help—"
"You can't," she said, her voice getting shakier. "Look, I'm tired. If you don't mind..."
She leaned back against Iana and closed her eyes. The girl went still in shock, eyes widening before holding Piper's waist hesitantly. Iana's lips formed a line. She felt so sorry for her, for the place she was in. Being on a quest to save a goddess while your own father was trapped somewhere with a giant waiting for the day to kill him.
And the worst thing was, she didn't know what to do. She didn't know what to say to comfort her, how to act so she won't feel pitied (because nobody likes it). Back in the Wilderness School, two of them used to know exactly what to say and do to make one another feel better, no matter how shitty their teachers were or how inconsiderate every single clique would be.
But this was different. A quest wasn't child's play. They were heading straight into danger, like how a bull would run straight into a matador's red cloth. Iana could've told you every single occurrence that led them one step closer to death from the back of her hand. And she had a feeling that number would only grow.
"Catch a few Z's," Jason's voice caught her attention, though his words were directed to the dark haired boy manning the reins. "It's cool. Hand me the reins."
Leo started to say. "Nah, I'm okay—"
"Leo," Jason cut him off. "you're not a machine. Besides, I'm the only one who can see the vapor trail. I'll make sure we stay on course."
"Alright. Maybe just a few..." He didn't get a chance to finish the sentence before slumping forward against the dragon's warm neck.
That left Iana awake with Jason once more.
"You want to rest, too, Iana?" he offered.
"I'm good, kinda want to think for a while."
"If it's about the thing that's been following you—"
"No, not that." she shook her head, carefully fiddling with the hem of Piper's shirt so she wouldn't wake up and her anxious self would have something to do. "Back at the department store, Madea kept making these weird... signs, like she's trying to lure me into her side. She offered me power, gave me the option to buy her recipe book on potions, and said something about..."
"Yes?" Jason asked.
"That I'll turn my back on you guys, whether I liked it or not." Iana's voice was shaky, almost as much as her hands. She looked down at her best friends' sleeping figure, envisioning herself betraying her. "But I don't want to do that."
"You shouldn't overthink it, Iana. Desperate people say things they don't mean just to make things go their way."
She knew Jason was only trying to be optimistic, but false hope was the last thing she needed. "I guess you're right," she managed, not wanting to disappoint him by letting on that his words weren't actually doing anything.
The boy behind her continued. "And though I've only known you for a few days, you're not one to betray people for power, that's one thing I'm sure of."
Iana hadn't turned to look at him, but she guessed he could sense the small smile on her face.
"How 'bout you, blondie?" she decided to ask.
Her question seemed to catch him off-guard. Startled, he questioned. "What about me?"
Iana shrugged, locking her fingers together as she rested her hands above Piper's stomach. "I mean, I can't be the only one spilling out all my problems. Feels like I'm burdening you with them." she mumbled the last bits of her statement.
"Hey, you're not burdening anyone."
"Stop changing the topic!" she snapped, turning around as she narrowed her eyes at him. "Now it's about me comforting you," Iana pointed towards him sharply.
Jason chuckled at her. "Well..."
• ────── ✾ ────── •
Iana didn't remember when the metallic dragon started plummeting from the sky, but here they were, falling into their potential deaths yet again. And her fear of heights hadn't gotten any better. The only thing stopping her from screaming her heart out was Piper's hand that was gripping hers tightly.
"Not again!" Leo yelled. "You can't fall again!"
The group was holding onto Festus by a thread. Iana caught a glimpse of what Leo was doing, opening a panel on the dragon's neck. Its wings flapped once but judging from her friend's face, things weren't going in their favor. Below them, the city lights flashed, like lampposts in the dark as they plummeted in circles. Any second now, and they'd be crushed by the ground.
"Jason!" Leo screamed. "Take EJ and Piper and fly out of here!"
"Are you crazy?" Iana looked at him wildly.
"We need to lighten the load! I might be able to reboot Festus, but he's carrying too much weight!"
"What about you?" Piper cried. "If you can't reboot him—"
"I'll be fine," Leo shouted. "Just follow me to the ground. Go!"
Jason wasted no time and grabbed the two girls. The three of them unbuckled their harnesses and in a flash, they shot into the air.
This time, Iana squeezed Piper's arm. As they landed some-what smoothly on the snowy grass, she could spot a river nearby, the sound of its currents crashing against rocks filling the silence of the night (besides the struggling sound of their group). Jason had led them to a wide snow-filled lawn inside a tall brick perimeter fence that caged in a white mansion, the entire structure blazing with light.
Somewhere in the nearby distance, a small burst could be heard, a faraway sound of metal being cut to shreds and then— BOOM!
In the wreckage, Iana could make out a familiar figure, passed out and covered in mud and grease. Her heart fell to her stomach. She was the first to rush over to Leo, Piper and Jason following behind.
Please, no, she silently begged. Don't be fucking dead.
She could feel tears pricking her eyes the longer he stayed unconscious, before being startled by a clump of frozen grass spat her way. Thankfully, her reflexes were quick.
"Where—" Leo started.
"Lie still." Piper looked like she would burst out into sobs any moment. "You rolled pretty hard when— when Festus—"
"Where is he?" Leo sat up abruptly, looking around in a daze.
"Seriously, Leo," Jason said.
"Please, you could be hurt." Iana's voice was shaky, far more unstable than she realized. "Something could be broken. Don't try to—"
Leo pushed himself to his feet. Then he saw the wreckage.
Iana followed his line of sight and finally got a good look at the mess. The canary cages that had flew with them rolled in different directions, landing on their sides perfectly.
The same thing couldn't be said for Festus.
The dragon had disintegrated. His limbs were scattered across the lawn and his tail was hanging on the fence. The main section of his body had plowed a trench twenty feet wide and fifty feet long across the mansion's yard before breaking apart. What remained of his hide was a charred, smoking pile of scraps. Only his neck and head were somewhat intact, resting across a row of frozen rose bushes like a pillow.
"No," Leo sobbed. He ran to the dragon's head and stroked its snout. The dragon's eyes flickered weakly. Oil leaked out of his ear. "You can't go," Leo pleaded. "You're the best thing I ever fixed."
The dragon's head whirred its gears, as if it were purring.
"It's not fair," he said.
The dragon clicked. Long creak. Two short clicks. Almost like it was saying something, but only Leo seemed to get its message.
"Yeah," he said. "I understand. I will. I promise."
The dragon's eyes went dark. Festus was gone.
Leo cried. Iana realized it was the first time she had ever seen him cry, or even be vulnerable. The most he had ever done was rant about his worries to her. The short haired girl didn't know what to say, so she opted for rubbing his shoulders in a (hopefully) comforting manner.
Finally Jason said, "I'm so sorry, man. What did you promise Festus?"
Leo sniffled. He opened the dragon's head panel, displaying a burned and broken control disk. "Something my dad told me," Leo said. "Everything can be reused."
"When did your dad talk to you, Leo?" Iana knit her brows.
He didn't answer. He worked at the dragon's neck hinges until the head was detached. It looked like it weighed a hundred pounds, but Leo managed to hold it in his arms. He looked up at the starry sky and said, "Take him back to the bunker, Dad. Please, until I can reuse him. I've never asked you for anything."
The wind picked up, and the dragon's head floated out of Leo's arms like it weighed nothing. It flew into the sky and disappeared.
Piper looked at him in amazement. "He answered you?"
"I had a dream," Leo managed. "Tell you later."
Nobody pushed him for any further explanations, he could tell them after he had time to grief the metallic dragon.
"Where are we?" he asked. "I mean, what city?"
"Omaha, Nebraska," Piper said. "I saw a billboard as we flew in. But I don't know what this mansion is. We came in right behind you, but as you were landing, Leo, I swear it looked like— I don't know—"
"Lasers," Leo said. He picked up a piece of dragon wreckage and threw it toward the top of the fence. Immediately a turret popped up from the brick wall and a beam of pure heat incinerated the bronze plating to ashes.
Jason whistled. "Some defense system. How are we even alive?"
"Festus," Leo said miserably. "He took the fire. The lasers sliced him to bits as he came in so they didn't focus on you. I led him into a death trap."
Iana shook her head. "There was no way you could've known, don't blame yourself."
"But what now?" Jason wondered. "The main gates are locked, and I'm guessing I can't fly us out of here without getting shot down."
Leo looked up the walkway at the big white mansion. "Since we can't go out, we'll have to go in."
author's note!
i am always on my iana & jason best unofficial siblings agenda. also yall should check out my tiktok (folklorepoets.wp) for edits of my fics if ur interested!! also my phone is so laggy rn like it literally opens and click shit that i didn't press AGHH
anyways, have a nice day and stay safe y'all!!