You'll Learn to Love Me (Leo Valdez x OC)

Chapter 86: High Emotions

"Shit, shit, shit!" Laylana cursed as she collapsed into the sand. Calypso knelt next to her as Laylana mumbled to herself, trying to remember what she was doing wrong. They had been going between flying and setting up camp on the ground for what felt like forever, but in all reality couldn't have been more than 2 months. Laylana figured out she had only been "dead" for a few days while Festus flew to Ogygia, so it wasn't like she was dead for hundreds of years. 

"It's fine, we'll figure it out." Calypso threw an arm around Laylana's shoulder. 

"I've been at this same stupid issue for a week, and I can't figure out what's wrong!" Laylana punched her fist into the sand. "Not to mention I still have to fix the navigation system. We're still in Greece and I have no idea how we are still alive." 

"We haven't been attacked yet today. There's a positive to this." 

"You jinxed us. I give it ten minutes now." Laylana groaned as she looked back at Festus. "You're giving me a hard time here man. Why couldn't you be more difficult with Leo?" 

Festus creaked. 

"Oh, but see he fixed you then!" Laylana defended. "And the first time we crashed was all Khione. But here... Festus what do I have to do?" 

He creaked again.

"If I could strangle a dragon, I would." Laylana groaned. 

"What did he say?" Calypso asked.

"That I'm doing everything I should be." Laylana answered, pushing herself to her feet with Calypso. "The surface repairs are fine but it's the leg I'm worried about. Every time we land we get thrown and one of these days we're gonna break something."

"You already cracked your ribs two weeks ago." Calypso poked at Laylana's side, causing the girl to hiss in pain. "You still haven't fully recovered." 

"No shit..." Laylana sighed. Her torso was wrapped in hastily made bandages from clothes that Calypso had ripped up to keep her from moving them wrong. Unfortunately, she had no ambrosia or nectar with her, so her healing was that of a regular person's. "I'm sorry, I thought we'd be at least more up North at this point. But I really don't want to crash again." 

"You still have his neck to fix too, right?" Calypso mentioned, which only made Laylana groan again.

"Don't remind me. It's entirely fused so he can't move his head much." Laylana moved back over to their bags, which had not only their clothes but also various tools that Laylana had gathered (stolen). "We need his defenses when we cross the ocean, which means I have to fix his neck. But I have no idea where I'm gonna get the bronze to construct a whole new one. And I have no idea how I'm going to do that, I can't melt it or cast it." 

"Hey, don't worry, we'll figure it out." Calypso reassured her. "You're smart and you know what you're doing. We can fix his leg, then go hunt for more celestial bronze. Maybe there's a blacksmith somewhere that could help us?" 

"A blacksmith that knows how to construct a new neck for a massive bronze dragon?" Laylana repeated. "Yeah... fat chance." 

Calypso shrugged with a sigh. "Take a break. Come on, let's build a fire for the night. I'll start gathering some herbs for the stew." 

"We need more meat, right?" 

"We ran out last night." 

"I'll talk a run through the woods then." Laylana unsheathed her daggers. "Any you prefer?" 

"As long as it's not snake again." 

"You read my mind." Laylana grinned. She twirled her celestial bronze dagger before flipping it over and handing it to Calypso. "Take this just in case. You're pretty good with a knife. I'll be back soon. Stay safe, Callie."