𝓢𝓹𝓪𝓻𝓴𝓼 || Leo Valdez X OC

8) oui oui baguette

I google translated the french so sorry if it's incorrect lol

~~~

Now that she was on this dragon for more time, flying on the dragon was the most amazing experience ever, Ada thought.

Up high, the air was freezing cold; but the dragon's metal hide generated so much heat, it was like they were flying in a protective bubble. Talk about seat warmers! And the grooves in the dragon's back were designed like high-tech saddles, so they weren't uncomfortable at all. Leo showed Piper and Jason how to hook their feet in the chinks of the armor, like in stirrups, and use the leather safety harnesses cleverly concealed under the exterior plating. They sat single file: Leo in front, Ada behind him, Piper, then Jason. was very aware of Jason right behind her. Ada was tempted to wrap her arms around Leo again, but that probably made him uncomfortable last time so she relented.

Leo used the reins to steer the dragon into the sky like he'd been doing it all his life. The metal wings worked perfectly, and soon the coast of Long Island was just a hazy line behind them. They shot over Connecticut and climbed into the gray winter clouds.

Leo grinned back at them. "Cool, right?"

"What if we get spotted?" Piper asked.

"The Mist," Jason said. "It keeps mortals from seeing magic things. If they spot us, they'll probably mistake us for a small plane or something." Jason, since they boarded the dragon hadn't looked at Ada. Cold shoulder much? Ada couldn't care less.

Piper glanced over her shoulder. "You sure about that?"

"No," he admitted. Then Ada saw he was clutching a photo in his hand-a picture of a girl with dark hair.

She gave Jason a quizzical look, but he furrowed his eyes and put the photo in his pocket. "We're making good time. Probably get there by tonight."

Piper looked sad, as if she wondered who the girl in the picture was, but she didn't want to ask; and if Jason didn't volunteer the information, that wasn't a good sign. Ada was twisted behind and gave piper a forced smile.

Piper didn't smile back.

She asked a safer question. "Where are we heading?"

"To find the god of the North Wind," Jason said. "And chase some storm spirits.

^^^

Leo was totally buzzing with energy.

The expression on everyone's faces when he flew the dragon into camp? Priceless! He thought his cabinmates were going to bust a lug nut.

Festus had been awesome too. He hadn't blowtorched a single cabin or eaten any satyrs, even if he did dribble a little oil from his ear. Okay, a lot of oil. Onto someone who he thought would've been mad because of it. She didn't look thrilled - whenever Leo asked if she was okay with the oil drenched on her, she wiped some on him or said, "Take a guess!"

At least she was a good sport.

So maybe Leo didn't seize the chance to tell everybody about Bunker 9 or the flying boat design. He needed some time to think about all that. He could tell them when he came back. Ada had already agreed to zip her lips.

If I come back, part of him thought.

Nah, he'd come back. He'd scored a sweet magic tool belt from the bunker, plus a lot of cool supplies now safely stowed in his backpack. Besides, he had a fire-breathing, only slightly leaky dragon on his side. What could go wrong?

Well, the control disk could bust, the bad part of him suggested. Festus could eat you or your friends.

Okay, so the dragon wasn't quite as fixed as Leo might've let on. He and Ada worked all night attaching those wings, but he hadn't found an extra dragon brain anywhere in the bunker. Hey, they were under a time limit! Three days until the solstice. They had to get going. Besides, Leo had cleaned the disk pretty well. Most of the circuits were still good. It would just have to hold together.