How Do You Say Gods- Sea of Monsters

8: WE BOARD THE PRINCESS ANDROMEDA

Happy New Years! I am so unreasonably thrilled to see the update change to holidays for no good reason! Staying on schedule Monday keeps me just as excited!

PJOPJOPJOPJO

Magnus did so without a second thought, maneuvering Alex's fingers with gentle confidence (which sort of looked like using a needle with your pointer finger on top of your other hand,) but when Alex was still smiling and wagging his index about even as he turned to yell in exasperation about the book, "I swear if that's yet another Disney Princess to keep track of!" Magnus's brain went back to short-circuiting as he realized Alex hadn't needed to ask him to do that. Hearth had been right there, hell Alex could have asked Thalia. Yet Hearth was now watching Percy with his usual intent focus for having to lipread, and Thalia keeping Percy focused on anything for a solid minute seemed a full-time job, so that must have been why Alex picked him.

'Ironic name for an invading army' Thalia mentally corrected him, but dared not hint a word of the Greek myth behind the cruise line's name lest it unnecessarily jog any of Percy's memories. Still, she always wondered at Luke naming his monster ship after the princess the mythological Perseus had saved.

I was staring at the waves when Annabeth and Tyson found me.

"A very awe inspiring and dramatic scene I'm sure they were sorry to interrupt," Will chuckled, imagining Rachel trying to get Percy to sit still in front of the ocean long enough for a sketch Percy had always refused.

..."I didn't call you guys," I said. "I'm fine."

"Fine being an operative word here, what with a little thing like someone's life being on the line," Jason disagreed.

"But then who-" Annabeth noticed the three yellow duffel bags. "What—"

"No, no, it was a who," at least Percy hoped she didn't now think he could spontaneously make camping supplies appear.

'Is that why Athena's symbol is an owl, that's the first word out of their mouths?' Hearth grinned.

'My cousin will learn sign language just to tell you to shut up,' Magnus promised.

..."We'll get expelled, you know. Trust me, I'm an expert at getting expelled."

Nico touched his ear just to make sure it hadn't fallen off, and he still didn't quite believe it Percy was still waffling about going on this quest.

..."So? If we fail, there won't be any camp to come back to."

"Preach," Alex nodded. This seemed weirdly obvious and very strange nobody seemed to be discussing this more.

..."I promised I'd keep you from danger. I can only do that by coming with you!

"Or tying him to a tree," Magnus frowned.

"Dude," Percy frowned.

"What? I'm just saying she's not using a lot of problem solving here," Magnus insisted.

"Then you'd have to feed him," Alex helpfully reminded, "and let him out to use the bathroom, who wants the responsibility? This sounds easier."

"Of course going to the cyclops den sounds easier to you," Magnus said without a trace of surprise.

... why she had a grudge against Cyclopes. There was something she wasn't telling me.

"Which seems to be a recurring pattern with her," Jason huffed.

"We're all entitled to our secrets," Thalia said quietly as she rubbed where her bracelet covered long healed ropes.

Jason quickly looked from Nico and away and didn't argue the point.