Started With A Dare - A POTHENA STORY ✔

We Jump Off...Again

ATHENA'S POV

As we fell, my supposedly flawless and out-of-the-world brain decided to fail me and shake me out of consciousness. I felt Poseidon's grip on my hand tighten as my eyes rolled to the back of my head. I didn't stop him - I couldn't as it felt like all the energy that was once in every limb of mine had drained. Besides, I...sort of didn't want to let go.

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"Sleepy sleepy owl head."

Poseidon's voice rang in my ears when I snapped awake. I was about to accuse him of waking me when I realised that we were on a ship - more precisely, possibly his ship if Chiron didn't play tricks on us. He had taken the job of not only making sure we were on the right ship, figuring how to set the ship on autopilot and starting our cruise, but also that of carrying me in bed, which for some foolish reason made me go slightly pink. I guess this Zeus god - my dad - wasn't so bad after all, considering he made the choice of giving us deluxe rides when we could've gotten worse.

Perhaps it was only because he knew our luck would just go downhill, opposed to the sweet rides he had offered us.

All of a sudden, the ship shook. Hard. The mug of hot chocolate I didn't know how Poseidon managed to create on the nightstand spilt slightly. The vase next to it wasn't so lucky - it was supposed to be magically stuck to the nightstand, but the strong force of the movement threw it onto the cold hard floor and shattered it into a million pieces. The other single bed which was next to mine and had creative embroidery of the sea on it quivered. Even the ceiling felt like it was about to fall.

Poseidon's sea green eyes widened in horror. Grabbing my arm without hesitation or consent, the boy pulled me onto the upper deck and we saw the obstacle we faced.

The sky looked fine and incapable of causing a storm - in fact, it was the sea that got us in shock. The waves were twisting in an unnatural motion, similar to that of a vortex. It triggered a memory of the goddess I supposedly was - watching a young boy who looked strangely alike to Poseidon around the age of 13 sail these seas on another ship, trying and failing to survive the unnatural disaster with...my daughter?

Poseidon nudged me frantically. "Whirlpool. Legend. Scylla and... Chary...dis? Wh-WHIRLPOOL!"

I looked and realised that he wasn't kidding. I then remembered the brief explanation of how one of Scylla and Charybdis had a never-ending thirst for the sea water, thus creating the gigantic whirlpool. Trying not to be relieved when I realised that the ship was barely sailing by the whirlpool on Scylla's side, which according to Chiron was safer...but not safe.

Before we knew what exactly to do, Miss Scylla the Vicious Sea Monster made a terrible decision - she started clawing at our ship, bring us closer and closer to her. The whirlpool wasn't doing much to help either. I looked around and formed a quick way to escape - in fact, probably the only way.

I reached into Poseidon's jeans pocket, making him jump as I took out his trident and uncapped it with a shink. I proceeded to take out my own spear as well, trying to form them in the right shape.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Poseidon shouted as loud as he could over the ferocious winds. To me, it sounded like nothing more than a whisper, but I knew that we would have to somehow get cough drops from wherever we were going soon.

"I'M SO SORRY POSEIDON, WE HAVE TO ABANDON SHIP!"

"ABANDON WHAT?"

Scylla tugged us closer with the support of the whirlpool. Right at that moment, it felt like I was about to be lifted up by the power of the wind - but that was exactly what I planned to use.

I tore off a huge part of the mast, praying it to be strong enough. "POSEIDON, CAN YOU MAYBE SEE IF YOU HAVE SAILOR KNOT-TYING SKILLS AND MAKE A NICE LITTLE GLIDER FOR US?"

He was too far to hear...and we were running out of time. I pulled him close and repeated the request right by his ear.

Poseidon turned to me and looked me right in the eye. Not now, Athena! My brain had decided to go frantic for other reasons...that I couldn't quite place myself. Too late, brain.

"Athena I-wish-I-knew-what-your-last-name-was, you are completely out of your mind."

"I-I'll just pretend I heard 'out of this world'. Thanks, I love how you think the same way about me as I do!" I shouted back. That was a lame comeback. I mentally slapped myself and ripped off a bunch of ropes from the mast, causing us to be closer to Scylla and danger in general. I knelt down beside Poseidon and got to work with the knots one by one - the perfect opportunity for my wit to aid me again.

"QUICK! SCYLLA IS PULLING US LIKE A HUMAN VACCUM CLEANER! I HAVEN'T HAD MY LAST SLICE OF PIZZA WITH EXTRA OLIVES YET!"

Poseidon pursed his lips and worked even faster, his hands almost turning into a blur. "YOU MEAN OLYMPIAN VACCUM CLEANER, OLIVE GIRL!"

We were down to the last knot and the way our ship was barely dangling by Scylla, we were about to be swallowed in 5 seconds flat. That was when my brain decided to freeze as our hands touched because of trying to tie the knot at the same time.

"Ahem. Ladies first." Poseidon backed off and held tight to the pole that held our torn mast next to us.

My hands were shaking so hard I didn't know how they stayed attached to my body. "Fish, I'm a rebel. Break the rules for me, please..."

I didn't need to repeat because he had already started doing the knot before I started talking. In the span of time that was enough for Poseidon to eat three double cheeseburgers, the sea gulped down our ship without leaving any crumbs.

Oh, wait. We are the crumbs.

At the last second, Poseidon took our masterpiece in one hand and my hand (yes, again) in the other and jumped, letting our weak makeshift glider ride the winds to as high as we could go.