becoming ● reyna ramirez arellano

fourteen: the heartbroken

Nico felt bad. He really did.

It was obvious, apparently; Nico never managed to hide in the shadows for the important things. As soon as Maia was situated in the Sick Bay, all eyes turned on him. Nico wasn't scared, but Jason Grace wasn't the calmest of people when he was glaring at you like you'd killed his favorite pet.

And besides, he could never resist Will Solace what he wanted – the guy was like an eternal ray of righteousness and sunshine. Nico knew the son of Apollo and Maia cared about each other a little too much, and though he wanted to be envious (of Will for taking Maia away from him), he couldn't bring himself to lie.

    To Will. Lying to Percy Jackson he had no problem with. He was a little less frantic on the IM than he had been when they first found out Annabeth was missing, but refused to say anything until everyone was in the room. Everyone kept their silence as Reyna went to check on Maia. It didn't take a genius to figure out something was wrong, even if Percy was no genius.

    He looked between Jason and Leo before finally resting his eyes on Nico, piercing sea green, like the rushing tide below the Argo II. But Nico wouldn't give in; he glared back, hoping his terrifying parentage outweighed Lupa's training.

    "We're here!" Maia opened the door, all smiles, as if nothing of importance had happened in the last 24 hours. She looked a bit pale, face almost matching the bleached white of her hair, but steady. If Nico didn't know better, he would think she was just getting over a bad cold.

Will followed, looking like he had murder on his mind. His arms were crossed, hands gripping at the freckled skin near his shoulders, veins pulsing – Nico's throat felt dry, the dude was angry, but he didn't think it was fear he was feeling. Immediately, Nico squashed the thought down, shuddering, not now; not again.

Reyna left the door open – the room really wasn't made for 6 people and there was no one to overhear them anyway. "Well?" She asked cooly, also not looking at Maia. In fact, it was only Leo that squeezed her shoulder, shooting her a reassuring glance when no one else did. Nico wanted to, but you know, he was still glaring at Percy.

"So," the older boy sighed through the IM, evidently choosing to leave well enough alone. "I've figured out where they're holding Annabeth. You're not going to like it."

Jason's voice was dry. "Do we ever, man?"

Percy snorted at that, even though it was obvious to everyone that those two had their little competition going on. "Yeah well, Arachne's got her." His shoulders slumped, all the fight pouring out of him. Even Nico was sympathetic. "How soon can you meet me there?"

"Um," Leo started, looking around at all of them in apprehension when it was clear they expected him to give the answer. Nobody wanted to give an angry Percy the wrong answer. "Um..."

"Where are we right now?" Maia asked patiently.

"France," Leo answered, looking unsure. "Marseille."

Nico knitted his eyebrows together. "That's so not how you pronounce that."

Maia ignored him. "So, Marseille to Rome. That's what, a day? Day and a half?"

"Yeah but," Leo winced. "The engine got ruined in the attack. It's an easy fix, but I can't do it while we're running. We need to dock somewhere and we'll make it to Rome in two days, assuming nothing else goes wrong."

"Like it always does," Reyna said dryly. "Do you know what's waiting for us?"

"Uhh, something about Bacchus and tutus?" Percy scratched his head. "Dream was vague. I think there was a tiger and confetti. Hope that helps."

"It doesn't," Maia said cheerfully. "But take heart, and don't go cruisin' for a bruisin' before we get there!"

Percy blinked. "I don't know what that means," he said slowly. "But I make no promises. Bye Maia." He nodded to the rest of them, eye-bags, frown, fury, and all, and then he was gone.

"Well," Maia turned to face them, once again pretending that everything was alright. "Hopefully we're ready when the time comes."

"Sure," Will muttered. "So long as we don't have to trust you, we'll be fine."

Reyna shook her head in surprise, almost warning. Jason rolled his eyes. "Knock it off," he ordered, hitting Will's shoulder. "No infighting."

Maya shot him a grateful look. When Jason didn't return it, her shoulders dropped. It seemed that most everyone felt betrayed, but none really felt angry. Nico didn't reward himself that luxury; he could have helped her if he wasn't so stubborn, he would still if Maia allowed him to.

"We still need to dock. I need some soda," Leo spoke up timidly. "Like for a car battery."

Maia raised her eyebrows. "You put coke on your car battery?"

"Okay," Jason snapped out of it. "Who's going?"

"I'll go," Maia said immediately. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I've been sleeping. Well-rested. I'll go."

"Yeah, that's going to happen."

Leo looked nervously between the daughter of Hera and the son of Apollo, a dangerous combination for sure. "Maia-"

"I don't know, Rivers." Nico was about to shove his hands into his pockets before realizing he was wearing skinny jeans. Oops. That would've been awkward. "You'd have to be extra cautious. We'd have to send extra protection."

Maia stiffened; she didn't glare, but it was a close thing. "Well," she said icily. "Seeing as how I've been protecting myself for a good 70 years now, I don't think you have to worry yourself."

They lapsed into silence. Nico knew they were digesting the new information – 70 years was a long time, sure; it didn't change the fact she had the Hunter's immortality for most of it. That was like Nico saying he'd been a part of the disco scene when he'd been stuck at the Lotus Hotel.

"Maia," Jason the hero, peacekeeper, type-A, therapist said. No, Nico wasn't bitter, why do you ask? "Maybe we should tal-"

    "No," she said snappishly. "We're not talking about it." She faltered momentarily, tacking on a, "please."

    "Look," Reyna said placatingly, which was surprising. Nico thought she would be egging Jason on. There was something between the two girls but Nico had yet to figure out what it was. "I'll come with you, Maia," she said, speaking directly to her. "And no one," she glared to emphasize, "is going to say anything."

Nico watched carefully as Maia breathed out a sigh of relief.

Reyna looking out for maia >>>> don't worry, this isn't like sky blue when they found out darias thing lol

-M