orenda [leo valdez]

v. The Frozen Penthouse with Ice Brat

Have you ever flew on a fire-breathing dragon above the clouds called Festus to save the Queen of Gods? No? Kira would definitely recommend, it was a great, never-to-forget moment. 

She felt more free then she ever had in her whole life. She knew her background, she knew her mission, she wasn't stuck at some glorified prison-school. 

The dragon gave off a ring of heat to protect them from the freezing temperatures. Leo taught the three of them how to how to hook their feet in the chinks of the armor, and Kira wasn't even afraid of falling. She trusted Leo.

Leo used the reins to steer the dragon into the sky like he'd been doing it all his life. She admired his back, she sat behind him, and then Piper, and finally Jason. 

The wind whipped in their faces, and Kira couldn't help but smile at the sensation. 

Leo grinned back at them. "Cool, right?"

"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."

"You sure about that?"

"No," Jason stated blankly. "We're making good time. Probably get there by tonight."

"Where are we heading?" Piper asked after a moment.

"To find the god of the North Wind," Jason said. "And chase some storm spirits."

There was a long silence after that, everyone lost in their own train of thought. 

Kira thought about her dream, how her father had told her that  she wasn't using her full potential. She felt like she was letting him down, but she was not going to throw all her morals out the window. 

She knew she would have to fight on the quest, but she promised herself it would all be self defense, and she would only hurt monsters who tried to hurt her friends.  

"Shut up, me," Leo said suddenly. Kira furrowed her brows, concerned. 

"What?" She asked.

"Nothing," he said. "Long night. I think I'm hallucinating. It's cool."

"Leo, do you want me to take over? I totally will, I don't mind." Kira said sweetly. "You just got to teach me how to steer him,"

"Nah, just joking." Leo decided it might be good to change the subject. "So what's the plan, bro? You said something about catching wind, or breaking wind, or something?"

Jason went over the plan, which was pretty straightforward. They had to find a god named Boreas, who would hopefully give them more information.

"His name is Boreas?" Leo had to ask. "What is he, the God of Boring?" Kira snorted softly. Leo smiled. 

"Second," Jason continued, "We have to find those venti that had attacked them at the Grand Canyon—"

"Can we just call them storm spirits?" Leo asked. "Venti makes them sound like evil espresso drinks."

"And third," Jason finished, "We have to find out who the storm spirits worked for, so they could find Hera and free her,"

"So you want to look for Dylan, the nasty storm dude, on purpose," Leo said. "The guy who threw me off the skywalk and sucked Coach Hedge into the clouds."

"Think about it, Leo. We could save Coach Hedge if we find him," Kira said softly.

"That's about it," Jason said. "Well...there may be a wolf involved, too. But I think she's friendly. She probably won't eat us, unless we show weakness."