Dancing with Death

The Argo II Crash Lands

Eliza forced the fuel line back into place. "Come on, Festus. Work with me." She wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of her arm and twisted the fittings tight.

"How's it looking?" Annabeth called from the doorway.

Eliza sighed. "Not great. I could use a little help from a certain Son of Hephaestus right about now."

"He's still unconscious." Annabeth lamented.

"Seriously." Eliza whined. "How hard did your boyfriend hit him?"

Annabeth released a loud sigh. "Apparently harder than necessary."

"Well, put him to work as soon as he wakes up." Eliza tightened one of the bolts before it could shake loose. "I'm not sure how much longer I can hold this thing together."
                                    *   *   *
Eliza stumbled out of the engine room, covered in grease and shaken up. She snatched a little microphone off the wall. "I little warning would've been nice."

"Sorry." Leo drew out the word in mock remorse. "How about next time I sit in the engine room and you land the crashing trireme."

"Landing a warship sounds much easier than holding the entire engine together with nothing but a wrench." She countered.

"Would you two cut it out." Annabeth's voice broke into the transmission. "Eliza would you please get up here."

"Yes ma'am." Eliza shoved the wrench into her back pocket and made her way up to the top deck.

They'd basically crash-landed into the Great Salt Lake in Utah. Apparently, everything Leo needed to make repairs was in the area. That being said, they decided to split up. Frank, Percy, and Annabeth agreed to go after the tar; and Hazel volunteered to go with Leo to get some Celestial Bronze.

"I'll stay here." Eliza offered. "Someone has to protect the ship."

"Are you sure?" Annabeth asked.

"Piper, Jason, and Hedge will still be here." Hazel pointed out.

Eliza nodded. "Jason is incapacitated; Piper is watching him; and... do you really think Hedge could handle it?"

"Hey!" Hedge shouted from where he stood on the ballista. "For your information, I can handle anything."

"Right." Eliza chuckled as she shot the satyr a sarcastic look.

"Alright, Eliza." Leo stepped forward. "You can stay. Just... do me a favor and keep him away from the helm." He jerked his head towards Coach Hedge.

Eliza smirked. "Easily done."

Leo nodded and led the others off the boat. "We'll be back by sundown at the latest."

Eliza felt her chest tighten as they disappeared. "You'd better be."
* * *
The sun quickly sank towards the horizon as Eliza lay on the deck of the Argo II.

The sound of hooves against bronze reached her ears.

"Don't even think about it." She raised her head enough to meet Hedge's gaze.

"What?!" The satyr scrambled for an excuse. "I wasn't..."

"Yes, you were." Eliza interrupted. "Why don't you go check on Jason and Piper?"

The coach huffed harshly and stalked away, grumbling something about nosy teenagers.

Eliza chuckled and laid her head back against the deck.

A few moments later, she heard heavy footfalls on the starboard side of the ship. "You're back." She sat up and turned to find Frank, Annabeth, and Percy drenched in tar. "Well, you look awful." She pinched her nose and almost gagged as they walked closer. "And you smell even worse."

Frank raised an eyebrow. "Gee thanks."

Eliza shrugged, still plugging her nose. "Did you get the tar?"

"Yep." Percy hefted a metal bucket full of the black sludge.

"Good." She held back another gag. "Now go shower."

"We don't smell that bad." Percy protested.

"Really?" Eliza opened her free hand and a flower bloomed in her palm. She held it out to Percy. "Compare."

Percy rolled his eyes and took a long whiff of the blossom.

"Now smell your arm." Eliza said, her voice muddied from the lack of airflow through her nose.

Percy sighed and moved his nose to her forearm. Taking a quick sniff, he flinched as if the smell had physically hurt him. "Yeah, maybe you're right."

Eliza nodded emphatically. "Go wash."
* * *
The wind tossed Eliza's hair as she leaned on the side of the ship, eyes closed, basking in the peace and quiet.

"Free for a smell test?" Percy's voice broke the silence.

Eliza turned.

Percy's hair was still damp as he stood, arms spread as if inviting her into a hug.

She raised an eyebrow. "I'm surprised you got yourself clean." She grinned . "And yes, you smell much better now."

Percy chuckled and leaned back against the ship's railing. "So, Eliza... I think you're the only one on this ship I know nothing about."

"Nice to know Annabeth has a respect for privacy." She propped herself on her elbows, gazing out at the landscape rushing by below. "What did she say?"

He sighed. "Just that your name was Eliza and you're a daughter of Persephone, err Proserpine, I guess."

Eliza smiled. "Well, I suppose that's all you really need to know."

They stood in silence for a moment, then Percy turned to face the horizon. "I heard some of the legionnaires at Camp Jupiter call you 'Angel of Death.' What was that about?"

Eliza scoffed. "Right to the point, huh? That's a very personal topic."

"Sorry." He cleared his throat. "Maybe we should start with something easy. What are some of your quirks?"

"Quirks?" She gave him a look.

"Yeah." Percy struggled to explain the term. "You know, thing that are unique to you. Weird little habits or rituals that you do. Quirks."

She chuckled. "Well, I guess one would be... I have a personal vendetta against Sherlock Holmes."

"A What?" Percy almost choked on his own laughter.

"Yeah." She shrugged. "Whenever someone mentions him, I want to slap them, or worse."

Percy finally reeled in his laughter. "Okay, that's a pretty good quirk. Any others?"

Eliza shrugged, a little embarrassed. "Umm... I have a somewhat concerning obsession with Death, which Leo can attest to."

Percy studied her unreadable expression. "Is that why they..."

"No." Eliza cut in. She took a deep breath. "The Legion has developed a superstition... that, wherever I go, Death follows." She hugged herself. "And they're right." She turned and walked away, the cool night no longer comforting.

A/N
Yay! This was a fun chapter.
Hope you enjoyed it. 😁
-Cheshire