ᴾʰᵒᵇᵒᵖʰᵒᵇⁱᵃ [ᴶᵃˢᵒⁿ ᴳʳᵃᶜᵉ]

xvi.

Jason knew better than to argue with Aza as she approached him with a cup of water, filled to the brim. It splashed over the sides and onto the back of her hand as she bent towards where he sat, leaned against the mast. Percy sat beside him, and Aza passed a second cup of water to Annabeth, who held it against her boyfriend's mouth and helped his head tilt back. Jason took several grateful sips, and he blinked weakly, gathering enough energy to give Aza a grateful smile. Hazel and Frank bickered just out of earshot; she glanced at it every few seconds, but she had never been very good at reading lips. All she saw was lots of arm waving and head shaking.

"You okay, Boltboy?" Aza asked, forcing her eyes to tear from the couple so they could have privacy. She slid her gaze back to Jason and gave him a half-smile, "You spent a lot of effort making that storm." He gave her a shaky thumbs-up, and she laughed, glancing over at Annabeth. Percy didn't seem to be in much better shape. She almost felt tempted to give them a sip of nectar, but it would be a waste of resources; they would recover in time. The storm they had created through combining their powers was enormous. She couldn't imagine how much of their energy it had taken.

Aza glanced back at Hazel and Frank - they had both frozen and lowered their arms. She glanced at what they were staring at, turning to peak over her shoulder; Leo had come down from the wheel. The others came to gather around the mast. Frank shifted his weight from side-to-side, his eyebrows deeply furrowed. His voice came out in more of a grumble, "No sign of pursuit."

"Or land," Hazel added; she looked slightly green. Aza glanced out at the horizon to check herself, but there was nothing but the rolling ocean waves in every direction. If Hazel was prone to getting seasick, she was going to be miserable. They were practically sailing to No Man's Land - the Mare Nostrum, which seemed to frighten the Romans enough that she was reasonably confident they wouldn't follow. But that also meant that they couldn't rely on any help from camp.

Leo patted his toolbelt and turned to Annabeth, "Did you find the map you wanted?"

She nodded, but she looked painfully pale. Aza smelt sulfur and cinnamon mixed with old books, and she curiously studied the curly-haired blonde, whose knees shook. Her best friend tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and glanced at Aza, as if she could feel her gaze, "I'll have to study it. How far are we from those coordinates?"

"At top rowing speed, about an hour," Leo shrugged and shook his hand in a 'sort-of' motion, "Any idea what we're looking for?"

"No," Annabeth sighed, "Percy?"

He raised his head; his sea-green eyes were bloodshot and droopy, his voice wavering, as if it took all of his energy to speak, "The Nereid said Chiron's brothers were there, and they'd want to hear about the aquarium in Atlanta. I don't know what she meant, but she also warned me to be careful. Keto, the goddess at the aquarium: she's the mother of sea monsters. She might be stuck in Atlanta, but she can still send her children after us. The nereid said we should expect an attack."

"Wonderful," Frank muttered.

Jason tried to stand, but he collapsed nearly instantly and Aza quickly grabbed the sides of his arms, slowly lowering him so he sat with his back against the mast. His cheeks turned slightly red, but he did his best to gather his voice, "Can we get the ship aloft? It we could fly–"

"That'd be great," Leo swept a curl behind his ear, his voice slightly bitter, "Except Festus tells me the port aerial stabilizer got pulverized when the ship raked against the dock at Fort Sumter."

"We were in a hurry," Annabeth's eyes narrowed, and her teeth clenched together, "Trying to save you."

"And trying to save me is a very noble cause," Leo held his hands in the air, shaking his head slightly in placation, "I'm just saying, it'll take some time to fix. Until then, we're not flying anywhere."