lightning in a bottle » jason grace

nine

CLARION

   She dreamt of Rome. Vendors calling out in the streets, flowers at every stall in the market, the voices of hagglers, a fountain or three, and the unforgiving Italian sun.
   Clarion had been there before, several years ago. She knew where she was — Campo de' Fiori. She squinted as Giordano Bruno stared back down at her, the sun behind his head like a halo.
   "He was burned at the stake, you know — like a witch." Clarion's head snapped to the left. As golden as can be, a man sipped on what she guessed was coffee next to her. "He was a friar, though. Forward thinker—"
   "I know," she said sharply.
   He looked at her then, blue eye shining behind rose-colored glasses. His hair was pulled halfway up into a bun and stubble raised over his jaw and chin. He wore a pale yellow Kiss Me, I'm Irish shirt and what could've even been mom jeans, she wasn't sure. Adorning his feet were bright yellow Converse.
   "That's not a very nice hello for your father, Clary girl," he mused, taking another sip.
   "You didn't say hello either, dad," she retorted. "What in Hades are you wearing? You aren't even remotely Irish."
   He laughed. It was a musical baritone that would've drawn eyes if they were somewhere real. "Nobody else knows that."
   She stared at him for a moment. He hadn't visited her dreams in a long time, and she hadn't seen him in person since her mother's funeral. "What are you doing here, dad?"
   "Can't I just visit my Clary girl?" He looked at her with sincerity, but she'd always been good at detecting lies. Desperately wanting to believe him and knowing that she was lucky enough to see him at all, a lie was still a lie.
   "Cut the shit." Her eyes stung as if she was going to cry, but her vision stayed clear.
   He squinted at her for a moment before humming. "Interesting. Do your eyes hurt?"
   Clarion blinked a few times in confusion. "Yeah, why?"
   He murmured something along the lines of "unique... where.." She couldn't catch anything else.
   "Dad," she quipped. "Why are you here? Why are we in Rome?"
   His face softened. "Nari liked Rome. She said you did, too," he paused. "When she was angry, your grandmother would say that she had the fire of a thousand suns in her eyes."
   "And?"
   His golden eyebrows furrowed above his rose glasses. "Something... big is coming, Clarion. Very big."
   She cast her eyes to Giordano again, his eyes almost judging. "I know," she said again. Her father's confirmation that whatever was coming was going to be ugly set an even deeper pit in her stomach. The worst part was not knowing what they were up against.
   "You need to be careful," he warned. "This... won't be good."
   "Thanks, Mr. Sunshine," she snipped sarcastically.
   His jaw set firmly. "I'm trying to warn you."
   A sneer set on her face. "Appreciate the effort, old man. Truly."
   His face took on a matching expression momentarily before he was looking at her forehead. He held out his arm abruptly. "Come here," he said quietly.
   Cautiously, she stepped forward. Apollo wrapped his arm around her shoulders and brought her closer. He pressed a gentle kiss to her bandaged forehead. Unable to help herself, she leaned into the embrace, allowing her father to hug her. The simplicity of a parental gesture of affection forced her to swallow the lump in her throat. Sure, the affection her siblings provided was amazing, and her stepfather tried his best, but nothing could replace the feeling of a true parent holding you. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she buried her nose into his chest.
   He smelled like fresh cotton, fall air, and everything good and warm in the world.
   Apollo held his daughter tightly, but let go too soon. "You need to wake up, Clary girl. Remember what I said."
   Her shoulders were being shaken and her eyes ripped open to find her siblings scrambling before she could say goodbye. "Dragon! Get your bows!" Will ordered harshly.
   Clarion pulled her bow from the bottom of the bunk above her and leapt from her bed. She ran outside, blinded by the rising sun, and slid into position with her siblings, arrow nocked. She was still in her jeans and Will's sweatshirt from last night, but she felt refreshed and clean.
   The dragon was giant, bronze...
   And Leo Valdez was on it's back.
   "It's cool, don't shoot!" He shouted.
   Disbelief and awe filled Clarion in waves. Of course it would be Leo. Sweet, smart and crazy Leo.
   The dragon shot a column of fire into the sky, causing Clarion and the others to keep their bows steady. Leo slid off the dragon's back and came forward with hands up in surrender. His smile looked insane, wide bloodshot eyes and toothy. He was covered in grease and soot. His hair stuck up in greasy spikes and the strange smell of Tabasco filled her nose. 
   "People of Earth, I come in peace!" He shouted. "Festus is just saying hello!!"
   "That thing is dangerous! Kill it now!" Kim, an Ares girl shouted back, brandishing her spear.
   An authoritative voice cracked through the crowd of demigods. "Stand down!" Clarion didn't have to turn to know it was Jason, but the tone reminded her too much of Percy. He pushed past her, flanked by Annabeth and Nyssa. "Leo, what have you done?"  
   "Found a ride!" Leo crowed excitedly. "You said I could go on the quest if I got you a ride. Well, I got you a class-A metallic flying bad boy! Festus can take us anywhere!"
   Clarion lowered her bow and re-sheathed the arrow. Moving to stand beside Nyssa, she saw the girl's face of utter shock and awe.
   "It— has wings," Nyssa stammered. Her jaw looked positively ready to fall off.
   "Yeah!" Leo exclaimed. "I found them and reattached them."
   "But it never had wings. Where did you find them?"
   Leo hesitated before speaking. "In... the woods." Liar. "Repaired his circuits, too, mostly, so no more problems with him going haywire."
   "Mostly?" Nyssa and Clarion asked simultaneously.
   On cue, the dragon's — Festus' — head twitched and titled to the side. A black substance poured out of its ear and all over Leo.
   "Just a few kinks to work out," Leo said, grinning from ear to ear.
   "But how did you survive...?" Nyssa seemed unable to form a full question in her awed state. "I mean, the fire breath..."
   "I'm quick," Leo said. Too quickly. "And lucky. Now, am I on this quest or what?"
   Jason scratched his head. "You named him Festus? You know that in Latin, 'Festus' means 'happy'? You want us to ride off to save the world on Happy the Dragon?"
   Festus flapped his wings and twitched.
   "That's a yes, bro!" Leo cheered. "Now, uhm, I'd really suggest we get going, guys. I already picked up some supplies in the—um, in the woods. And all these people with weapons are making Festus nervous."
   A small hand tugged on Clarion's arm, pulling her away from the main conversation. Philly held up a knapsack and talked in fast whispers. "There's ambrosia, nectar, bandages, some rations, another pair of jeans, a couple shirts, a warm jacket, some needles and thread, and a pan flute in case you get bored. Will left something in there for you, too. And Austin packed some candy bars for you," she said quietly. Her big blue eyes seemed bigger as they began to water. "Be safe, or you're getting diarrhea for six years." Her little voice trembled.
   Clarion pulled Philly to her chest. "Safer than Mister Cheese," she assured. Mister Cheese was Philly's guinea pig back home. He was always guarded by Missus Cheddar, Philly's tabby cat. "Keep them in line, Phils." She pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
   Philly backed away, bringing her hand to her forehead in salute before darting behind their other siblings.
   "I never formally asked you if you wanted to come," Jason said, suddenly behind her. She whirled and ended up getting smacked in the face by the end of her braid.
   Sputtering, she shoved her hair away. She could tell that he was holding back a laugh by the way his lip tightened. "Not UCB of a choice, is there? Queen of the gods or gods know what else."
   He frowned. "There's always a choice."
  She scoffed. "Yeah, and you chose to get mind wiped and placed somewhere you don't belong?" Regret smacked her square in the mouth as soon as she said it, but it was too late. "Let's go." Pushing past him, she was able to see Luna giving Piper a boost onto Festus' back. The daughter of Ares approached Clarion with a whir of her mechanical leg.
   Clarion coughed when Luna slapped a solid smack on her back. "You've got this, sunshine. Make us proud."
   "Thanks, Luna," Clarion said wryly. Her heart pulsed in her head as she further realized what she was getting into. The dragon would be flying. She would be in the air.
   Hades.
   Annabeth slipped in front of her before she could take another step. She held up a bag that clinked when it dropped into Clarion's hand. Drachmas.
   "Let me know if you find... anything," Annabeth said. Let me know if you find Percy.
   Clarion nodded firmly. "Of course, Annie." They clasped hands gently before letting go.
   The blonde's grey eyes narrowed in on her forehead. "You're healed already, huh?"
   Gingerly touching her hairline, Clarion felt that she had no pain.
   Apollo had kissed her head.
   "Yeah," she murmured. "Guess so."
   "Good luck," Annabeth said quietly before walking away.
   Piper was still blushing from whatever Luna had said to her when Clarion hauled herself up behind her. Festus had surprisingly comfortable seats, but it didn't provide her any relief at the upcoming height they would be soaring at.
  
   It was worse than she thought it would be. Frozen air bit at her skin, despite the dragon's ability to heat an entire house if asked politely, and there was nowhere that Clarion could look without being able to see that she was way too high.
   Leo guided Festus like an absolute champion, as if he'd been doing it all his life. He turned his head, grinning manically. "Cool, right?"
   Hades, no. It wasn't cool.
   "What if we get spotted?" Piper asked.
   "The Mist," Jason and Clarion answered simultaneously. Clarion snapped her mouth shut and let him explain with wave of her hand. "It keeps mortals from seeing magic things. If they spot us, they'll probably mistake us for a small plane or something."
   Piper glanced over her shoulder at the two of them, brown eyes gleaming in uncertainty. "You sure about that?"
   "No," he admitted.
   Clarion thought of the aeternae attacked her in her backyard. Her stepfather thought an angry goat had come from the mountains near their home. "I'm sure. Hecate created the Mist to keep humans unaware of the supernatural world. There are few humans who can see through it. We'll be fine."
   Piper eyed her. "Then why are you shaking like a leaf?"
   "Clarebear doesn't like heights," Leo chimed in. When the other three demigods looked at him in confusion, he shrugged his shoulders. "Was that not common knowledge or—"
   "You're scared of heights?" Piper asked incredulously.
   "You fall off the Empire State Building and into the Grand Canyon, then tell me you still like heights," Clarion snapped.
   Piper's eyes averted downwards and to the side, expression turning quizzical. Clarion turned enough to catch a glimpse of a photo with a dark haired person, but that was all she got before Jason was tucking the photo into his pocket with a blush.
   "We're making good time. Probably get there by tonight," he said.
   "And where is 'there'?" Clarion truly had no idea what they were doing or where they were going.
   "To find the god of the North Wind," he responded. "And chase some storm spirits."
   Clarion paled.

A/N: hey love bugs! how are y'all? thoughts, reactions, comments? I love hearing from you!

And so the quest has officially begun.

Drink some water and get some fresh air if you can <3