TERRIFIED . . . annabeth chase

thirty eight.

note :: there's google translate. i am terribly sorry. especially to all italians.

ROME WAS GORGEOUS.

Val missed being here, despite her bitterness for it before. The complexity of the city called to her, and the simplistic parts are what kept her here.

She walked in front of Percy and Annabeth so she couldn't look at their faces as she expertly dodged through the cars and the Vespa drivers, striding her way through tourists and pigeons. She'd always felt at home in the city, and with her sunglasses on and her dress flowing around her thighs, she felt as if she was still in New York.

Once Val had gotten away from the car exhaust on the main roads, the air smelled of baking bread and freshly cut flowers. She let out a sigh, letting a small smile on her face, the first real one she'd smiled the entire day.

"Tina!" And then the peaceful moment evaporated. She turned to watch as Annabeth and Percy tried to catch up with her. She let out a quiet huff, but let them catch up to her. "You walk fast," Percy noted. "For someone that's 5'4."

"I've been down these streets before," Val said, trying to keep her voice light, but there was a layer of annoyance. "We're trying to find the Tiber, right? I wasn't listening earlier."

"Yeah," Annabeth frowned. "But are you okay, V? You're acting more . . . irritated, than usual."

"I am perfectly fine," Val's eyes darted around until she spotted someone familiar, and grinned. "Lorenzo! Hold that thought."

She showed Annabeth and Percy around Rome as she collected treasures from old friends that she'd made, trying to ignore the ghosts that were around. There was something about Italy that sprouted more ghosts than even near the Underworld — Val didn't know what, but wherever she went, whether it was Sicily or Venice or Rome, she saw a lot of ghosts. A bright spirit that reminded her of Aphrodite. A Lare looking at them through a window. A ghostly couple walking down the street.

Finally Val had found a friend of hers ( Chiara her beloved ) that actually gave useful directions to the Tiber. She shouldn't have trusted Enzo. He was horrible with directions, but down with illegally getting money. Not that Val and Kayla had done anything of the sort.

Val had said her goodbyes to her new friend that she'd just made before taking out her wallet, taking a euro and turning back to Percy and Annabeth. "Soda? This is one of the better places."

The sodas helped with the heat, but Val was sweating by the time they arrived at the Tiber River. The shore was edged with a stone embankment. A chaotic assortment of warehouses, apartments, stores, and cafés crowded the riverfront.

The Tiber itself was wide, lazy, and caramel-colored. A few tall cypress trees hung over the banks. The nearest bridge looked fairly new, made from iron girders, but right next to it stood a crumbling line of stone arches that stopped halfway across the river — ruins that might've been left over from the days of the Caesars.

"This is it." Annabeth pointed at the old stone bridge. "I recognize that from the map. But what do we do now?"

Percy gestured to a nearby café with tables overlooking the water. "It's about lunchtime. How about we try out Val's incredible knowledge of Italy?"

Val grinned at him. "It's all cause of Nico," then her smile faltered. Right. He was still missing.

They picked a table outside by the river, and a waiter hurried over. He looked a bit surprised to see them — especially when Percy said they wanted lunch. Val cursed herself for getting distracted, and shook her head.