madness and ecstasy // leo valdez

-oh shit, family reunion-

Jason, Leo, and a still out of it Teqi were sitting opposite Annabeth. Piper was sitting as far away from the angry blonde as she could while being on the same side of the chariot. Pony boy was driving the Pegasi. "Where are we going?"

"A safe place," Annabeth said. "The only safe place for kids like us. Camp Half-Blood."

"Not that shithole." Teqi slurred.

"Half-Blood?" Piper snapped. "Is that some kind of bad joke?"

Annabeth seemed to be interrogating Jason, So Teqi, who was sitting next to Leo with her knees under her chin, started wrapping bandages [she had found them in a compartment in the chariot, how she knew where they were was beyond him.] around his bloody hands. It looked like he was preparing for a fight, until she pulled a packet of stickers out of her white jeans. Soon the blood-stained bandages looked morbidly cheery.

Annabeth glanced down at them and sat up straight, glaring, then snapped at the still giggly girl. "Do you know Thaila Grace?" Leo saw Jason turn to look at her, but Teqi was the first to reply.

"Yahhhh, Thals is awesome man, how's the whole 'I must become an immortal Hawkeye of the moon and run around with a pack of feral chicks goin for her?'"

"How do you know her?"

"Dude jus because she is your friend doesn't mean she can't have others. Dunno if she is my friend still anymore. She probably hates me now...." She finished sadly, looking the most serious she had since the whole grapevine incident. Leo squeezed her hands. He had no clue about whatever the fuck was happening right now, but he didn't like it when she was sad.

"No hearts for me?" He asked jokingly, gesturing to the sticker sheet, which was now empty except for the heart stickers. She didn't answer, just lifted the sticker sheet and let the increasingly strong wind rip it from her shaking fingers.

Lightning flashed. The chariot shuddered, and Jason yelled, "Left wheel's on fire!"
Piper stepped back. Sure enough, the wheel was burning, white flames lapping up the side of the chariot. The wind roared. Leo glanced behind them and saw dark shapes forming in the clouds, more storm spirits spiralling toward the chariot—except these looked more like horses than angels.

Piper started to say, "Why are they—"

"Anemoi come in different shapes," Annabeth said. "Sometimes human, sometimes stallions, depending on how chaotic they are. Hold on. This is going to get rough."

Butch flicked the reins. The pegasi put on a burst of speed, and the chariot blurred. Leo's vision went black, and when it came back to normal, they were in a totally different place.

A cold grey ocean stretched out to the left. Snow-covered fields, roads, and forests spread to the right. Directly below them was a green valley, like an island of springtime, rimmed with snowy hills on three sides and water to the north. Leo saw a cluster of buildings like ancient Greek temples, a big blue mansion, ball courts, a lake, and a climbing wall that seemed to be on fire. But before he could really process all she was seeing; their wheels came off and the chariot dropped out of the sky.

Annabeth and Butch tried to maintain control. The pegasi laboured to hold the chariot in a flight pattern, but they seemed exhausted from their burst of speed, and bearing the chariot and the weight of six people was just too much.