ᴾʰᵒᵇᵒᵖʰᵒᵇⁱᵃ [ᴶᵃˢᵒⁿ ᴳʳᵃᶜᵉ]

iii.

Aza-Everett was unsurprised as she watched Annabeth pace the deck of the Argo II, checking and double checking each and every detail. For the fifth time, Aza reminded the curly-haired blonde, "The ballistae are all locked down - the 'we come in peace' flag is flying. Everything will be okay, Anna." The daughter of Phobos placed a comforting hand on the blonde's shoulder, and she offered a reassuring smile, "What can go wrong?"

"You and Gleeson start beating the Romans with the first reasonably-sized object you can grab, and then the Romans, of course, will retaliate, and then we'll have to use the ballistae, and then all of this planning for peace will have been for nothing," The daughter of Athena spoke quickly, and Aza got the feeling the curly-haired blonde had been picturing that exact scenario for weeks.

"I promise to be on my best behavior," Aza's tone turned playful and she winked at her best friend, "Until we see Percy. Then I grab the first reasonably-sized object I can find and start beating him."

Annabeth sighed, and Aza quickly realized that now wasn't the time to tease her best friend, so she squeezed Annabeth's shoulder and gave the girl a genuine smile, "Everything is going to be okay - remember, we sent that scroll to give them a heads-up?"

"Maybe if you'd let me paint 'WASSUP?' and a smiley face, they'd be nice," Leo grumbled as he passed the two girls, waving his wii remotes in the air wildly - the son of Hephaestus had somehow found a way to hardwire the remotes to control the sails. Annabeth rolled her grey eyes as Aza agreed, "It couldn't have hurt."

Behind them, Aza heard Piper practice her charmspeak as she paced back and forth across the deck, "Lower your weapons. We just want to talk." Without realizing it, Aza took one of the hidden knives from her boots and placed it on the deck, turning around to have a nice chat with the girl. When Annabeth snickered beside her the girl snapped out of it, scowling and hiding her knife once more.

Jason stood at the bow, where the Romans would easily be able to spot him - Aza blushed when he caught her stare, his brilliant blue eyes twinkling at her. He looked unrivaled; aside from the white-knuckled grasp on his golden gladius, the son of Jupiter looked eerily calm. He wore light-wash jeans and an Orange Camp Half-Blood shirt, but over it had donned a toga and a purple cloak. He had explained to Aza it was a symbol of his old rank, but she didn't quite grasp what a praetor was.

Aza's blush only deepened when Jason smiled at her, and she quickly looked away - Annabeth had been staring at the two, her grey eyes swirling. The daughter of Athena had never said it, but Aza knew that she was wary of Jason. Aza didn't blame her; if she hadn't gone on a quest with the boy, she would have wondered if this was all some elaborate trap, and that she and her friends were just offerings to his Roman friends.

As the Argo II slowly began to lower through the clouds, a tidal wave of fear hit Aza all at once, burning her nose with a scent like skidding tires. She could almost see it pulsing through the air in waves of energy, hitting the girl steadily like a stormy tide.

Aza breathed in heavily, forcing herself to steady her breathing and soothe her beating heart, remembering that she could be empowered by fear, not just kept captive by it. As she breathed in, Aza imagined the tidal wave of fear to lap at her ankles, letting each roll of the tide imbue the girl with confidence and strength. She turned towards her best friend and held out a hand in offering, "Would you like me to?"

For the first time since Aza could remember, Annabeth nodded, fixing her steely eyes upon the daughter of Phobos. A small smile graced Aza's lips - finally, she could use her powers to help relieve her friend of the burden she carried. She placed her hand on Annabeth's shoulder and allowed herself to root around the blonde's mind. It wasn't hard to find the girl's fears - they called out to Aza in a soft purr, and the daughter of Phobos felt a surge of power, like a current had sparked from Annabeth to her.