kaleidoscope gold ● jason grace

ashes

"Hostia," Leo muttered as he entered the Mess. "It's freezing out there!"

    "You're always cold," Piper pointed out.

    "Yeah but," he sat down, teeth chattering dramatically. "This time I'm cold enough to swear people out in Spanish."

    "Isn't Nico the only one on deck?"

    Leo snorted before nodding. "Apparently, Spanish is very similar to Italian."

Piper couldn't remember the last time it was just the two of them, maybe when he had teased her about her pajamas? It always seemed like one of them was on a side quest, and since they left Split, Piper had spent more time with Percy Jackson than her best friend.

She thought about Camp Half-Blood when Leo had dubbed them the tres amigos. Unless Piper was with Annabeth, she was with her boys in Leo's workshop. And before that, when it'd just been her and Leo at the Wilderness School, they had snuck out past curfew so many times that they ruined their sleep schedule.

More than anything, she missed that day when Chiron had allowed them to get a ride from Argus into the city. They had taught Jason about boba tea and all the years of TV he had missed out on; unfortunately, DVD's at Camp Jupiter were a hidden treasure, and they definitely didn't have Netflix. It had been one of the best days of her life.

Funny how things changed.

"When this is all over," Leo leaned back in his seat, to the point where Piper thought he was going to fall over, "you, me, Jason, beach day."

"With our luck, we'd run into crab monsters," Piper said, shaking her head. She couldn't even fathom an 'after' at this point.

    "Okay, we'll bring Percy along."

    Piper shot him a small smile, trying to be appreciative of Leo's cheerful nature. Recently, she had been thinking of the nuances of the prophecy; trying to analyze each line with optimism, but it was tricky. English had never been Piper's favorite class, but the symbolism in 'storm' and 'fire' were too noticeable to overlook.

    "Hey," Leo caught her attention. "Come on, talk to me, Pipes. What's wrong?"

     "I know we're not supposed to think too much about prophecies," she said. "But I've been thinking about it. Let me ask you this first, do you think we'll have a hand in defeating Gaea? Like, you and me?"

    Leo raised an eyebrow. "Well," he said, uncertainly. "I don't really see the alternative. What, you don't think everyone will be there for the final fight?"

    "No," she exhaled. "That's exactly what I think. To fire or storm the world will fall.."

    Leo nodded, picking up on what she was putting down. He was a lot smarter than anyone gave him credit for and Piper wondered why he didn't show it off more often. "And you're saying I'm fire," He stated, breaking out into a grin. "You think I'm hot!"

    "So, I didn't say that," she swatted his arm. "But yes, if you're fire then-"

    "Jason or Percy could be the storm," he was talking to himself now, reiterating Piper's thoughts perfectly. "And well, the world has to be Gaea. But the or..." The realization sunk in. "You think one of us will die."

    "Yeah, and Jason's already in Tartarus," she pointed out. "So what if...?"

    Leo hesitated to comment, "but Percy said they were okay."

     "For now," Piper argued. "But here's the thing. I don't think it's Daria that Gaea's trying to kill. I think it's Jason."

    Leo frowned. "You lost me."