in my dreams. - P.J.

v : one step at a time

V.      PERCY   !
⋆ ★
one step at a time

                 Percy hated flying. Well, he didn't hate it. Just the idea of Zeus obliterating him just by being in the sky made flying not the most relaxed situation. So Frank turning into a dragon for him, Annabeth, and Anya to fly into town kept making him nervous every time he swooped farther from the ground. It wasn't like they could just peacefully float five inches from the ground. Any closer and the mortals would take notice of the creepy, scaly dragons they thought were birds holding three eggs seconds before. So, Percy didn't hate flying. He just . . . mildly disliked it. Disliked it enough to know he is never getting on another dragon ever again.

He tried to think positively. Positive. Happy thoughts.  Blue pancakes. Winning a sword fight. Not being killed at sixteen last year. He heard Anya chuckle behind him. Thinking positively was harder than he thought when he knew Anya was reading every single thing he was thinking of. The worst part was he barely had control of what his brain was doing. Controlling what he said aloud was one thing, he couldn't exactly keep tabs on every single thing he was thinking up in his brain. But her powers were impressive, he couldn't lie. He had always been around people who could tell he was lying, like Annabeth, who Percy first thought was a mind reader. Never in his sixteen years of living did he think he would meet a girl who could.

Anya didn't hide the fact she wasn't a fan of Percy. Then again, Percy realized there was an occurring pattern of people not being his biggest fans before they turned into his friends. Take Annabeth, for example. At first, they hated each other and only tolerated the other for his first quest ( which she invited herself on ) at the age of twelve. Now, she was his best friend who he couldn't imagine his life without. Who knew all that was needed to build a friendship was annoying the other to death? And they were on yet another quest that could end in them dying. Perfect! If only Grover was there to brighten up his spirits. Then it would be just like old times.

"Stop near the edge of the city," Annabeth yelled to make sure Frank didn't tune out her words. The wind was strong as they flew over the towns. Percy was thankful his own hair was short enough for it to not be a problem but he felt bad for Anya and Annabeth - two girls who definitely did not have short hair. He wondered if he could pull off the long hair look . . . Nah. He'd just look like a hippie with trauma if he did grow it out.

Frank landed at the end of the trees, far enough away for no one in town to notice him. He transformed back to his normal self, only more sweaty from using his powers. It took them a while to actually enter town seeing as he was so exhausted, it was a three-person job to make sure he stayed conscious.

"New rule: you take it easy, Frank," Anya said. Her voice was silvery to Percy - it was clear, light, and especially pleasant to listen to. She gave Frank a small square of ambrosia to snack on in the meantime. "We don't want you to pass out on us if we have to escape, alright?"

"Or accidentally turn into a bird," Percy added. Anya didn't find his comment funny. Her black eyes glared right into his.

Anya reminded Percy of a Disney Princess. In the way she walked, with perfect posture and her head always held high. Her hair was also pretty - shiny, long brown hair. Not to mention the freckles on her nose and cheeks which stood out in the summer sun. Percy had been around several colored eyes in his lifetime - his own were bright green, Annabeth's were gray, and he even noticed Piper's were multicolored. But he had never seen someone with pitch-black eyes the way Anya's were.

"Where to in town?" Annabeth asked. She pulled out a magic application ( called a GPS ) from the phone she wasn't allowed to have. "Should we check out Home Depot?"