ᴾʰᵒᵇᵒᵖʰᵒᵇⁱᵃ [ᴶᵃˢᵒⁿ ᴳʳᵃᶜᵉ]

xii.

AZA had grown to hate the Athena Parthenos; she was reminded of her best friends' fall each time she looked at it. Even now that Annabeth, with Percy's arm slung over her shoulder, stood beside Aza, she glared at the forty-foot statue as Leo's mechanical hoist system gently lowered it onto the hillside, all the daughter of Phobos could see was her best friends, holding hands, hurtling into eternal darkness.

Jason removed his arm from around Aza's waist to awkwardly pat a teary-eyed Reyna, who told them her pegasus Scipio had suffered terribly in a gryphon attack, and she had to put him out of his misery. Aza's heart clenched, and she felt pressure begin to build behind her eyes at even the thought – part of Aza wondered if she'd ever be able to have a pet. She wouldn't be able to handle the heartbreak.

Immediately, Aza offered to take Reyna's pain away, if only for a few hours; and she was surprised when the girl agreed. Aza inched closer and placed a gentle hand on the girl's scratched bicep. She met Reyna's eyes for a moment and gave her a small smile before closing her eyes.

She was sucked into Reyna's mind immediately, and almost became lost – there was so much more beneath the surface; traumas that she hid so well – but Aza didn't want to pry, and so she selectively combed through the girl's emotions and felt the energy flow through Reyna's forearm. When it crept to Aza's tanned skin, both girls instantly felt a weight lift and Aza opened her eyes to offer a more sincere smile.

After using the shield, Aza was exhausted; her limbs felt heavier than usual, like someone attached lead weights to her hands and feet. Her burden, too, sagged on her shoulders like the weight of the sky, which Aza knew all too well; she was scarily helpless to the fears, dancing in the back of her head, that crept from the deep abyss of the Tartarus she had created to contain them. She hadn't felt the same weakness in over a year.

Aza wanted to assume Karisa was merely trying to scare her away from the shield, but her sister was right. She knew now that the shield was a double-edged sword, capable of so much power at the cost of the wielder. Even a half-hour in the sickbay, with Piper, Annabeth and Percy all finnicking over her, didn't help.

Finally, Aza pushed them away and, after threatening to pull out her sword if they didn't leave her alone, the four left the Argo II and joined the others on the hillside, though Percy couldn't help but to walk behind Aza once he noticed she swayed with every step, just incase she fell.

Reyna circled the forty-foot statue and examined it, her eyebrows sewn together. As the others watched, Annabeth fiddled with her blonde curls and Aza reached over to gently tug on one, offering her a sly wink and a smile as she retracted her hands. Annabeth stuck out her tongue and gently slapped Aza's hands as Percy, on her other side, tugged on another blonde curl. He quickly retracted his hand and looked away, taking a second to wink at Aza before he whistled a merry tune.

Annabeth groaned, "It's not fair – there's two of you; gods, I forgot how much I hate you two."

"You loooove us," Percy poked his girlfriend's cheek with a brazen smile.

"Be honest," Aza grinned at the two, "You guys wished I was there. You missed me, Annie."

"Only 'cause you're a brute," Annabeth rolled her eyes.

Their attention was drawn back to the statue as Reyna called, "It looks newly made."

"Yeah," Leo tossed Aza's picnic blanket towards Percy and motioned for him to spread it out, "We brushed off the cobwebs, Aza dealt with the spiders, we used a little Windex. It wasn't hard."

Their picnic was made instantaneously thanks to Piper's cornucopia; as soon as Frank set out the plates, she held it like a bazooka and shot food with such force that Aza and Percy were forced to race around the border of the blanket, dancing around plates whilst they caught saran-wrapped sandwiches that bounced off the ground. Aza never would have guessed it was possible for a kiwi to ricochet off the ground with such force that it brushed past her fingertips even as she jumped to catch it; and then she and Percy collided and both fell to the ground in an attempt to catch a liter-bottle of Diet Coke, which exploded the second he opened it.