Wildfire (Leo Valdez x OC) (1)

We meet the angels of boring reads

It was not a joke.

Leo went on to explain about a woman called 'Tia Callida' who was actually Hera in disguise and how she'd appeared to him while he was at camp. He also told us about a strange woman in earthen robes who seemed to be asleep and seemed to know the future. I froze, the only person who noticed was Piper and she just shot me a confused look.

"That's... disturbing," Piper said.

"Bout sums it up," Leo agreed. "Thing is, everybody says don't trust Hera. She hates demigods, and the prophecy said we'd cause death if we unleash her rage. So, I'm wondering... why are we doing this?"

"She chose us." Jason said. "All four of us, we are the first of the eight who have to assemble for the Great Prophecy." I sighed; I really didn't want to deal with another Great Prophecy. "This quest is the beginning of something much bigger."

"Well, that's comforting," I muttered.

"Besides," Jason continued, "helping Hera is the only way I can get back my memory. And that dark spire in my dream seems to be feeding on Hera's energy. If that thing unleashes a king of the giants by destroying Hera – "

"Not a good trade-off," Piper agreed. "At least Hera is on our side – mostly. Losing her would throw the gods into chaos. She's the main one who keeps peace in the family. And a war with the giants could be even more destructive than the Titan war."

Jason nodded. "Chiron also talked about worse forces stirring on the solstice, with it being a good time for dark magic and all – something that could awaken if Hera was sacrificed on that day. And this mistress who's controlling the storm spirits, the one who wants to kill all demigods – "

"Might be the weird sleeping lady," Leo finished. "Dirt Woman finally awake? Not something I want to see."

We flew in silence for a while. The wind got colder, and below us snowy forests seemed to go on forever.

"Why don't you get some sleep." I said to Leo. "You were up all night."

"You won't let me fall off?"

I patted his shoulder. "Trust me, I never lie."

"Right," he muttered. He leaned forward against the dragons neck and closed his eyes. As we kept flying, I made sure every time Leo seemed to be slipping, I would nudge him back to his seat.

I had been on many quests, but I had always had someone who I knew well. Usually, Annabeth or Grover but after a while others like Percy and Tyson. Yet here I was, flying on a dragon with three people I met literally a few hours ago, going to save the queen of the gods.

I felt Piper tap me on the shoulder, I turned. Jason seemed to have fallen asleep against her. Leaving only us two awake. She was looking at me with concern. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"What?" I said.

"You seem upset." She said. This girl was too good at reading people, she reminded me of Annabeth in that sense.

I sighed. "It's just, I've been on loads of quests, but never with people I just met, all quests I've been on Annabeth came with me, or Grover, or Percy. But here I am, and Percy's missing, I haven't seen Grover in months and Annabeth can't be here."

Piper looked at me with pity. "I mean you've spoken to me and Leo before, and if it makes you feel better, I don't think any of us are going to judge you if you mess up something, we're all new to this and you never know, could be a good bonding experience." She smiled, I laughed quietly.

"Thanks Piper," I said. "You're a really nice person, I hope you know that."

As I was about to close my eyes to go to sleep, I could've sworn I saw her frown and mumble something.