Leela - More than a Half-Blood

Leo

     CLICK CLICK WHIRR, Festus signaled that he was about to land. I gently guided him toward a clearing near the mountain and began the landing sequence. Being the macho man I was, I closed my eyes and prayed to the Gods to let me live through this landing. Festus and I had always struggled with the landing part of flying. 

       After an extremely rocky touchdown, I nudged Calypso. The poor thing had motion sickness. I guess that's what happens when you're stuck on a stationary island for Millennia. I helped her off Festus and sat her down on a rock.

     " Stay here sunshine," I cooed, "I'm just gonna unload Festus so the guy can relax."

     She nodded as she cradled her head

     " How about we get you some nectar," I coaxed, "I'm sure you'll feel better."

     "That," she choked, "would be perfect."

     It killed me to se her like this; her face was flushed and she was shivering. I ran to Festus and unloaded him as fast as a Satyr would eat at a buffet. That, if you don't know, is ridiculously fast. Picking up a canteen of nectar and a few squares of ambrosia, I scurried on over to Calypso.

     The moment she finished off a square and took a swig of the nectar, the color rushed back to her face. She jumped up, planted a kiss on my cheek and ran off toward the mountain.

    "Catch you there Nuts and Bolts!" She teased as she ran off.

     With a stupid grin on my face, I took off after her. I almost forgot why we were there until I heard the moaning of the mighty Titan. Each bellow sent a shiver down to my bones. The agony in his voice was worse than Jason stuck in the bathroom after bean burrito night. (you DO NOT want to hear that story)

     I followed Calypso through the passageways in the mountain until we reached a pitch-dark cavern. Needing a light source, I raised my arm and brought a fire to my palm.

     "Is it just me, or is it hot in here?" I smirked.

     " Neither." She giggled and ruffled my hair.

     As we drew closer to Atlas, the moaning got loader and  the cavern got larger. Water from stalactites created puddles on the floor; perfect havens for lizards and spiders. If only Annabeth was here, I wondered, she'd  scramble out of this spider wonderland hollering like a mad ape. I sighed at the thought, i'll be home soon enough; might as well catch some spiders to pull of a mega - prank on the Athena cabin.

     My thoughts were interrupted when Calypso elbowed me in the ribs. I scowled at her, but she motioned for me to look ahead.

     My tongue caught in my throat. 20 feet in front of us was Atlas, the mighty titan. He was on his knees, all of his muscles were taut. Above him, the sky, in all its glory was burdening his arms. The sheer power of the heavens was threatening to crush Atlas into a pancake, but Atlas didn't want to be a pancake, so he stood strong. 

    "Father," Calypso exclaimed, " it's been too long!"

     She quickly closed the gap between them and stood, uncomfortably, in front of the Titan. After an excruciating silence, the Titan looked up at his daughter with bitterness in his eyes. 

     "I see you've come with the adversary." Atlas spat.

     It didn't take a genius that he was referring to yours truly.

     "Father, this demigod is the one who freed me from that cursed island, I am forever in his debt." 

     "Silence child," Atlas growled, " I thought you were better than your sister, my foot!"

     Anger bubbled inside me; if said one more thing to insult Calypso, I was going to make sure he turned into a mush of godly guts.

     "Father," Calypso choked, "please, let me expla-"

     "Silence!" Atlas bellowed, "if you still wish to prove your worth to me,then agree to my terms."

     Calypso glanced to me, the question evident in her eyes, what do i do? I observed the tears in her eyes and the desperation in her voice. The only thing she wanted now was to have the trust of her father ; I could relate. Go for it, i mouthed. She sighed gratefully. 

    "What exactly are these terms, father"

     "That," Atlas began, "I believe you know"

     "I'm not familiar to what you are hinting to." 

     She sounded confused and conflicted as Atlas let out a bellow of a laugh.

     "You remember Narcissus, don't you?"

     "Yes, I do" - her eyes widened - "you don't mean!" she began

     " Yes child, that's exactly what I mean." - he glanced at me - " You must go and free the fool, break the curse and conjoin two broken hearts. "

    Calypso gave me  such a desperate, broken look that I could only guess what Atlas meant. I nodded to her as she stood to face Atlas.

     " Father, we accept to your terms" - her voice broke - " goodbye."

    With that she turned and sprinted out the cavern. I was just about to follow in her suit when Atlas acknowledged me,

" Boy,"- he gave me a pointed look - " love is not always what it seems; it can always come around and bite your backside."

     With that, he gave the most blood - curdling howl of laughter that sent me darting for the exit. Outside, Calypso was sitting on a rock. As I made my way toward her, I realized she was sobbing. I put myself next to her and wrapped my arms around her. It seemed like the best thing to do at the moment; I had never really comforted a crying girl. She leaned into me and sighed.

     "You do know that I am very grateful for you keeping your promise right?" She looked up at me.

     "Of course sunshine." I replied meeting her eyes. I wanted her to know that I was there for her and she could tell me anything. 

     " And you know I would never do anything to purposefully hurt you." She asked.

     I nodded. Why was she telling me this? Sighing a last time,  she got up and hauled herself onto Festus.

     " We have to go find Echo and Narcissus." She stated, not meeting my eyes .

   I shuddered at the thought. Not so long ago my friend Hazel and I had our own encounter with Narcissus. Lets just say crazy nymphs, bronze shields, and handsome men were no match for BAD BOY SUPREME. 

     I quickly loaded up Festus and hopped on.

     "Hold on, Sunshine"

     "I am", she replied.

     I glanced back. She was holding on to Festus's scales rather than to me. Weird.

     "Are you sure you're ok?" I gazed at her.

     "I'm fine." She replied, still not meeting my eyes.

     I was wondering if I had done something wrong. Why was she avoiding me like this? Did I have bad breath? Was there something in my teeth? Girls are complicated, I thought to myself. 

     WHIRR CLICK CLICK WHIRR, Festus asked where we where headed. I tapped a message on his back, take us to Salt Lake, Utah. We're gonna meet Mr Narcissus, again. He creaked a complaint and took off.

     The whole ride was enveloped in an uncomfortable silence. I'm not talking about the peaceful rest type of silence, i'm talking about the something bad is gonna happen type of silence. For better or for worse, we were on our way towards Mr. Even My Snot Is Better Than U.