𝙩𝙪 𝙢𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨 - p. jackson [₂]

𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒙𝒍𝒗𝒊𝒊𝒊.

―✧―

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐑𝐆𝐎 𝐈𝐈 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐃.

just as leo had finished his modification on the ship, a big storm goddess came and almost destroyed everything. theo did his best to help with the modifications, but most of his time was taken up with trying to figure out how calypso's crystal fit in the astrolabe.

over the course of three long days, leo finally got the ship more or less back to working order just as they made port at the island of mykonos, which probably meant it was time for them to get bashed to pieces again.

percy and riley went ashore to scout, an idea which was happily received by everyone.

theo was working with his spellbook, hoping to create a spell to help with his astrolabe problem when riley knocked on the door.

"we got gelato!"

instantly, theo's day got better. the whole crew sat on deck, without a storm or a monster attack to worry about for the first time in days, and ate ice cream. well, except for frank, who was lactose intolerant. he got an apple.

the day was hot and windy. the sea glittered with chop, but riley had managed to fix the stabilizers the day before.

curving off to their starboard side was the town of mykonos — a collection of white stucco buildings with blue roofs, blue windows and blue doors.

"we saw these pelicans walking around town," percy reported. "like, just going through the shops, stopping at the bars. it was funny."

"it was horrible," riley shivered.

hazel frowned. "monsters in disguise?"

"no," percy said, laughing, "just regular old pelicans. they're the town mascots or something. riley was just creeped out by how they looked."

riley rolled her eyes, but didn't argue. "there's a 'little italy' section of town. that's why the gelato is so good."

"europe is messed up," leo shook his head. "first we go to rome for spanish steps. then we go to greece for italian ice cream."

as august first got closer, only forty-eight hours left, the entire crew seemed to get more and more upbeat. or maybe not upbeat, but everyone seemed to be pulling together. as if this were the final lap — everything they'd planned for was coming to a close, one way or another.

piper set down her ice-cream cup. "so, the island of delos is right across the harbour. artemis and apollo's home turf. who's going?"

"i'm going with theo," leo said immediately.

everybody stared at him.

theo was about to protest, but leo gave him a (partially) reassuring look. theo sighed, decided to stay silent.