𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐄𝐘𝐄𝐒 || leo valdez

𝐕𝐈𝐈: vereo scare everyone to death

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩

        VERONICA AWOKE to headache.

As she opened her eyes, she heard the mechanic hum of Festus, who was snoring softly.

Leo sat beside the control panel and was leaning forward, sleeping.

"Oh my gods." Veronica whispered to herself.

She slowly tried to stand, careful to not make any noise. She shook him awake softly.

"Valdez, wake up." He didn't move an inch.

She groaned and punched him in the shoulder, waking up Leo AND Festus in the process.

"Hey look who's finally awake! Its time to get up sleeping beauty." Veronica said. Leo rolled his eyes.

"You could've done it in a nicer way." Leo grumbled, sitting up and wiping the dirt off himself.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"

"Mhm. Anyway, Hera's in danger, and if we keep her there for much longer, she will quite literally never let us hear the end of it." Veronica rolled her eyes. "Even if she is a giant pain in the ass." Veronica studied the cloth around her. She was wearing Leo's army jacket. She raised an eyebrow and gestured to it.

"What? You were freezing, and im a gentlemen." Leo shrugged while smirking.

"Okay sleeping beauty. Now, are we going to show the camp your dragon or what?" Veronica questioned.

"Our dragon. You helped me find him too. But yeah, let's go." Leo powered Festus on, then sat down behind Veronica.

"Touch me again and you'll be abandoned in the woods." Veronica snapped. Leo instantly put his arms down.

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩

        VERONICA INSTANTLY REGRETTED THIS. There they were, sitting atop a giant bronze death machine, Leo grinning like a lunatic. Even before they landed, the camp alarm went up. A conch horn blew. All the satyrs started screaming, "Don't kill me!" Half the camp ran outside in a mixture of pajamas and armor.

The dragon set down right in the middle of the green, and Leo yelled, "It's cool! Don't shoot!"
Hesitantly, the archers lowered their bows. The warriors backed away, keeping their spears and swords ready. They made a loose wide ring around the metal monster. Other demigods hid behind their cabin doors or peeped out the windows. Nobody seemed anxious to get close.

Veronica couldn't blame them. The dragon was huge. It glistened in the morning sun like a living penny sculpture —different shades of copper and bronze—a sixty-foot-long serpent with steel talons and drill-bit teeth and glowing ruby eyes. It had bat-shaped wings twice its length that unfurled like metallic sails, making a sound like coins cascading out of a slot machine every time they flapped.

The dragon reared its head and shot a column of fire into the sky. Campers scrambled away and hefted their weapons, but Leo slid calmly off the dragon's back. He offered a hand to Veronica, who ignored it and slid off after him. Leo held up his hands like he was surrendering, except he still had that crazy grin on his face.

"People of Earth, we come in peace!" he shouted. "Festus is just saying hello!"

"That thing is dangerous!" an Ares girl shouted, brandishing her spear. "Kill it now!"

"Stand down!" someone ordered.

To Veronica surprise, it was Jason. He pushed through the crowd, flanked by Annabeth and Nyssa.