the great wave | percy jackson

𝑖𝑥 - pash

Perseus
ѱ

They gathered on the quarterdeck so Leo could hear what was going on. Percy and Frank took turns telling them about getting trapped in an aquarium, Keto and her brother Phorcys, and the valuable information they'd learned about the twins and Gaea. Coach interjected from time to time with helpful stuff like, "That was awesome!" or "Then I kicked her in the head!"

    At least he seemed to forget about him and Ash falling asleep in the stables the night before. But so had Percy, because they had much, much bigger things to worry about. He couldn't get the image of those poor sea creatures in Phorcy's Follies out of his head, kept sedated and in captivity, forced to provide entertainment. Thankfully, his girlfriend seemed to sense his distress, rubbing his back soothingly as he spoke; warmth and calming energy radiated from her hand, relaxing his muscles and making him rather sleepy, if he was being honest. He may joke sometimes, but she really did always know how to make him feel better.

    "That's terrible," Ash said, gently kissing his shoulder. "We need to help them."

    "We will," Percy promised. "In time. But I have to figure out how. I wish..." He shook his head. "Never mind. First we have to deal with this bounty on her heads."

    Annabeth gripped the hilt of her dagger. "A bounty on our heads... as if we didn't attract enough monsters already."

    "Do we get WANTED posters?" Ash asked a little too excitedly.

    "And do they have our bounties, like broken down on a price list?" Leo added.

    Hazel wrinkled her nose. "What are you guys talking about?"

    "Just curious how much I'm going for these days," Leo said as Ash nodded sagely. "I mean, I can understand not being as pricey as Percy or Jason, maybe... but am I worth, like two Franks, three Franks?"

    "Hey!" Frank complained.

    "Half a Frank for sure," Ash quipped, earning a grateful look from Frank and a scoff from Leo, who Percy raised an eyebrow at.

    "Knock it off," Annabeth ordered. "At least we know our next step is to go to Charleston and find this map."

    "A map," Piper said, leaning against the railing. The son of Poseidon couldn't help but smile a little when he recognized the shining copper feather braided into her hair. "But a map to what?"

    "The Mark of Athena," Ash said, sharing a significant glance with Annabeth. He always hated when they did that.

    "Well, whatever that is," Percy butted in. "We know it leads to something important in Rome, something that might heal the rift between the Romans and Greeks."

    "The giants' bane," Hazel added.

    Percy nodded. "And in my dream, the twin giants said something about a statue."

    "Um..." Frank rolled his not-exactly-Chinese handcuffs across his palms. "According to Phorcys, we'd have to be insane to try to find it. But what is it?"

    Everyone looked at Annabeth, who shifted uneasily.

    "I-I'm close to an answer," she said. "I'll know more if we find this map. Jason, the way you reacted to the name Charleston... have you been there before?"

    Jason shot an uncomfortable look at Piper, though Percy wasn't sure why.

    "Yeah. Reyna and I did a quest there about a year ago." Ah, so that was why. Man, why were their love lives all so tangled up? "We were salvaging Imperial gold weapons from the C.S.S. Hunley."