Elia Sully and The Prophecy

Happy, the Dragon

"So we have a fighting doctor...that's cool." Kayla commented.

As I was about to respond, we heard a loud roar outside. "Huh? What's happening?" Austin asked. We scrambled outside the stables to see a large, bronze, flying creature flapping its wings. "Oh, shit...the dragon's back." Kayla cursed. I stood there looking at it in disbelief. Dragons must be very large creatures here. "Come on." Kayla nudged me as she ran back to the archery place, grabbing a quiver of arrows and a bow. 

I reached down for my bracelet, separating them and transforming them into my bow and quiver of arrows.

I raised the bow and arrow to shoot at the dragon as the conch horn blew and the satyrs were screaming, and that's when I noticed a familiar figure sitting atop the dragon's long neck. Leo was grinning like an excited child. "Leo?" Piper rushed up next to me, yelling? "Don't kill me!" He shouted from above as the other campers ran outside, wearing pajamas or armor. 

The bronze dragon landed right in the middle of the green, with Leo yelling, "It's cool! Don't shoot!" He raised his hands, but lost balance and he fell forward, hugging onto the dragon's neck. Kayla, and I looked at each other hesitantly as we lowered our bows. The Ares and Athena kids backed away, but kept their swords and spears ready.

The dragon was really huge. It glowed under the morning sun like a copper coin–different shades of copper and bronze. It was about a sixty-foot-long reptile with steel talons and razor-sharp teeth. Its ruby eyes glowed hauntingly. Its wings were twice its length, unfurling like a ship's sails. I was in awe and frightened at the same time. "It's beautiful," Piper muttered. "Yeah..." I agreed, and the others stared at us like we were crazy.

The dragon reared its head and breathed a column of fire into the sky. The campers scattered away and hauled up their weapons, but Leo calmly slid off the dragon's neck, holding up his hands like he was surrendering. 

"People of Earth, I come in peace!" He shouted. 

He looked as if he fell into a campfire. He stood there with his army coat and face smeared with soot, his hands grease-stained, and a new tool belt wrapped around his waist. His curly hair was so oily, it stuck up like arrows, and a weird smell was coming off him. Other than that, he looked absolutely delighted and excited. 

"Festus is just saying hello!" He said.

"That thing is dangerous!" One of the Ares kids shouted, brandishing her spear. "Kill it now!" she demanded. 

"Stand down!" I heard Jason ordering. He pushed through the crowd followed by Annabeth and Nyssa from the Hephaestus cabin. He gazed up at the dragon, shaking his head and looking amazed. "Leo, what have you done?" He asked. "Found a ride!" Leo replied, beaming. 

"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!" He explained, gesturing to the dragon as it wagged its long tail. The campers ducked behind it and moved closer to the front.

"It–has wings," Nyssa stammered with her mouth wide open. "Yeah!" Leo said. "I found them and reattached them." He explained. "But it never had wings. Where did you find them?" I noticed Leo looking hesitant for a moment. "In...the woods," he answered. "Repaired his circuits, too, mostly, so no more problems with him going haywire." He assured. "Mostly?" Nyssa asked.

The dragon's head twitched in response, tilting to one side and a stream of black liquid poured out of its ear, all over Leo. "Just a few kinks to work out," Lep said. "But how did you survive...?" Nyssa asked, looking at the dragon in awe. "I mean, the fire breath..." She started. "I'm quick," Leo replied. "And lucky. Now am I on this quest, or what?" He asked.

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?" He asked. The dragon twitched, shuddered and flapped his wings. "That's a yes, bro!" Leo agreed. "Now, up, 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." He added, but Jason frowned. "But we haven't planned anything yet. We can't just–"

"Go," Annabeth spoke up. She didn't look nervous at all. "Jason, you've only got three days until the solstice now, and you should never keep a nervous dragon waiting. This is certainly a good omen. Go!" Jason nodded, before turning to Piper and I. 

"You ready, partners?" He asked us. Piper looked back at the bronze dragon. "You bet," She replied. "Yeah..." I chuckled, nodding my head as well.

I was about to walk towards the dragon, but Will grabbed my arm, turning me back to face him. "Here." He said, giving me a ziploc of ambrosia squares and a whistle. "When you're surrounded by monsters, blow on this whistle. It'll stun them." I nodded. "Alright. I will." I replied.

...

...

Piper, Leo, Jason, and I found ourselves flying on the back of Festus. The air was freezing cold, but the dragon's bronze hide was generating so much heat that we were flying on a large campfire. And the grooves in the dragon's back were designed like high-tech saddles, and it was easy for me to hook my feet in the chinks of the armor. It was like I flew on a giant creature that was similar to a dragon before...

We sat in single file with Leo in the front, Piper, then Jason, and then me in the back. Leo used the reins to steer the dragon into the sky. The coast of Long Island was only appearing as a hazy line behind us. We climbed into the gray winter clouds.

Leo grinned, looking back at us. "Cool, right?" He asked. "What if we get spotted?" Piper asked. "The Mist," Jason said. "It keeps mortals from seeing magic things. If they spot us, they'll probably mistake us for a small plane or something." Piple glanced over her shoulder. "You sure about that?" She asked. "No," He admitted.

"We're making good time. Probably get there by tonight." Jason told us. "Where are we heading?" I asked curiously. "To find the god of the North Wind," Jason replied. "And chase some storm spirits." He added.