Daughter of Wine

Callida

After the mast is up, I go with Leo down to the engine room. He's had so many ideas for special projects, I'm not sure exactly what he wants to work on today, but I honestly don't really care what it is. I've been so stressed and exhausted, and Leo's been working on so many projects that I feel like I haven't had a moment of peace. 

"-and the thrusters here are going to... are you even listening?" Leo frowns at me, and I realize he'd been talking. He's sitting on a crate in front of me, explaining some tube-looking thing.

"Sorry." I mumble, pulling my arms to my chest. "Sorry. I'm just, not feeling like myself today." 

His frown changes to a look of concern. "You okay, mamacita?"

I nod. "I'm fine. Just a little... cabin fever."

"Cabin fever." He repeats. His shoulders slump. "I have been keeping you pretty busy in here, haven't I?"

"It's okay, though-"

"No it's not." He shakes his head. "Sorry, I forget you're not as into all of this as I am. You're a sunshine girl. I guess I've been a little selfish."

"No!" I exclaim quickly. "Not selfish. I like helping you." I wrap my arms around him reassuringly. 

He leans his head back and kisses me on the cheek. "I'll make it up to you." 

"You don't have to make anything up to me." I insist. "We're a team."

He chuckles. "We do make a really good team."

"Of course we do." I sit down next to him. 

"We kicked ass with those dwarves." He notes. "You come up with the crazy plans, and I execute them. We're like... like Captain Kirk and Spock." 

I raise my eyebrows. "And which one are you?"

"Well, I'd have to be Spock, right?" He asks with a chuckle. 

I shrug. "I can be Captain Kirk." I lean forwards and nod my head to the machine. "Alright, explain this to me again. I promise I'll listen." 

~

"Poison cows?" I ask, trying to grasp the concept. 

Hazel nods, her face tinged green. "Katobleps. They eat the vines growing through Venice."

"Ate." Frank corrects. He has grown in size, and has gone from muscular to chubby, thanks to a blessing from Mars. He looks like he finally fits his weight. "Not eat. Ate."

"And you killed them all?" Jason asks doubtfully. 

Frank nods gruffly. He seems angry, almost.

"So the book. It was an almanac?" I ask, my head buzzing. "You met Triptolemus?"

Nico shudders. He has a piece of corn silk stuck in his hair. "Yeah. Loved him."

I can't help but feel jealous. He's the god of farming. I love farming. "It was a farmer's almanac." I tell myself, leaning back in my chair. "Of course it was."

Hazel frowns. "I think you're focusing on the wrong parts of this. He said that we have to drink poison at the House of Hades, and that we have to bake this barley into cakes. Apparently it'll allow the poison to take effect but not kill us."

"Sounds great." Leo shifts uncomfortably in his seat. "Yummy yummy barley cakes."

"Life-saving barley cakes." I agree. "So, we've done Venice. Now, we sail to Epirus. Unless anyone else needs any pit-stops?"

Everyone looks around at each other nervously. My heart is pounding in my chest, but I manage to keep my cool. We all know what awaits us at Epirus. It's dangerous and terrifying, but it's what we need to do. I can sense the anxiety levels in the room rising rapidly.