ᴾʰᵒᵇᵒᵖʰᵒᵇⁱᵃ [ᴶᵃˢᵒⁿ ᴳʳᵃᶜᵉ]

β

IF there was ever a lucky day for Aza-Everett, it certainly wasn't the one that began in a cold sweat. She knew how the day would fare from the start, as soon as she found a new hole in her brown leather jacket – which wasn't un-prone from tears, she had to acknowledge, but combined with the way she banged her knee on the end-table and tripped over a sword, couldn't lead to a good day. It only seemed to go downhill from there.

It hadn't been long after Nico, Reyna and Gleeson left with the Athena Parthenos that the remaining crew members – namely, Percy, Annabeth and Aza – began trying to contact Camp to no avail. It was only the early hours of the morning as she threw her drachma at the floor for what seemed like the hundredth, where it ricocheted off the wood and bounced from the edge of her bed (narrowly missing Jason's shoulder).

"Take my offering, you stupid rainbow goddess!" Aza stomped the golden coin with each word, "Take – my – stupid – offering! Show me Camp! Show it to me, or I swear–"

"Can I stop?" Jason asked, and he shifted to sit atop her bed in order to avoid any further close-calls. He paused misting the air with a squirt bottle, "I mean – it's just that... we know Iris Messages haven't exactly been reliable, and I don't think she'll be inclined to help if you keep calling her the 'stupid rainbow goddess.'"

Aza's voice was sharper than the knife she itched to throw at the drachma, "I wouldn't call her that if she actually took my offering and showed me Camp!"

She threw her hands into the air and shook her fist at the ceiling, "Just show me my stupid cabin! Show me Clarisse! Show me Sherman-Fucking-Yang, for all I care – I'm giving you one last chance: connect me with Camp before I connect my fist –"

" – Aza!" Jason placed the squirt bottle on the floor and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Love, please stop threatening Arcus – Iris, sorry. At this point, I think we can assume it won't work. I'm sorry. Look, it's almost breakfast, and then we have to leave. We can try again tomorrow, I promise."

Aza crossed the room to sit beside him. "What if tomorrow isn't good enough? Time is a resource we can't afford to waste, Jason."

He rested one of his palms atop her knee and squeezed it gently. Though she'd always been hotheaded, recently his girlfriend had been a taut string about to snap: just like in the nightmares Gaea tortured him with. Aza would always begin so bravely, with a beautiful sneer upon her face, and she would fall just the same. Their Achilles to the end, and just as quick to anger. Just as thirsty for vengeance.

"You have to trust us, Aza," He finally shrugged, "You have all this faith in yourself, but where's your faith in us?"

"I do," Aza's brows sewed together, and her head whipped around, "It's not a matter of my faith in you. I – It's that... I can't protect them. I can protect you, and I can protect everyone on this ship, but not them. I don't like feeling out of control, Jase."

He leaned closer, "Can I tell you a secret? No one does. I –"

"Don't patronize me," Aza stood and rolled her eyes, "I'm not an idiot: I know everyone likes having control. But you don't get it, Jase. My job is to protect you. I'll never be nearly as important as you, the Roman golden boy, or Percy – who decided the fate of Olympus – or Annabeth, who designed an entirely new palace. Or Frank, as a praetor. And I know that. And I'm okay with that. But, it means that I have to get you there. Do you know how many monsters I've fought alone, because I knew my chances – while marginally slim – were greater than my friends? How many blows I've taken for all of you? Don't you remember Lycaon?"

"You do a lot for us, but don't diminish how we feel," Jason's eyebrows sewed together and he, too, stood, "Don't you think we'd be devastated if you got hurt? Do you really think Percy, or Annabeth, or I could carry on as if nothing happened? If you don't consider that, you're selfish."