Shattered

Piper

They were back on the road again, and to the daughter of Aphrodite it was absolutely amazing. For a few hours, she didn't have to worry about offended the spirits of her childhood, getting into arguments with Reyna, that her grandpa had led a double-life, or even the ever-looming threat of Avalon since they were taking the highway (because seriously, who would attack when they were surrounded by innocent people?). They had just dropped off Awinita and Bambi at an Amtrak station in Billings and were on their way south to Yellowstone, but until they got there, Piper was going to enjoy every moment.

"I'm going down down baby your street in a Range Rover!" Piper sang at the top of her lungs along with Reyna, Atlas, and Veronica. "Street sweeper baby, cocked ready to let it go!

They were not good singers by any stretch of the imagination, which made it all the more entertaining. Betty White's windows were rolled down to let in some fresh country air, but whenever they stopped the mortals in the cars next to them would look at them strangely before rolling up their own windows. Not that it helped, as Atlas' deep voice could not be drowned out.

"Shimmy shimmy cocoa what?!" Reyna sang from the backseat, her head bobbing side-to-side, her one hand throwing up her interpretation of gang signs (not even close Reyna). "Listen to it pound! Light it up and take a puff! Pass it to me now!"

This is what the Argo II should have been! Piper mused to herself, as the car erupted with laughter at the sheer absurdity of Reyna's performance. She had known before the Argo II had even left camp that it would be a serious journey, but she had thought that with a crew consisting of mostly teenagers there would have been more time to be, well, a kid. There were moments, but everything was kept strictly PG, otherwise Hazel and Frank would combust. Honestly, by the time Gaea had been laid to rest, she had been ready to backhand the daughter of Pluto if she started to fan herself one more time. Seriously, grow a figurative pair...

The music faded and was quickly replaced by the voice of the station's DJ; reminding everyone listening that Yellowstone was closed to the public until further notice. This actually made Piper a bit more relaxed about her first mission as the Gayegogi. With only the demigods and creatures of the Nation within the park boundaries, people who were trained to handle these kind situations, it meant that she didn't have to worry about some poor family getting ate by the dreaded Uktena.

But for a few more hours, I'm not going to worry about. The daughter of Aphrodite reclined her seat slightly, tucked her arms behind her head, and placed her feet up on the dash. She glanced to her side and saw Reyna had a similar idea; laying across the passenger seat with her feet resting against the window, the Native American Mythology book in hand, and a relaxed smile on her face. That's new... and a little alarming...

Ever since their group bath, Reyna had mellowed out considerably. She and the praetor could have conversations that didn't descend into flat out bitch-fests after five minutes, so much so that she was actually starting to enjoy Reyna's company again. Reyna was even getting along with Atlas and Veronica, discussing military strategy with the titan and treating the daughter of Mercury as an equal rather than a soldier. It seemed to Piper that now that Reyna was resigned to just deal with whatever came their way on their journey to Camp Half-Blood the Latina had adopted a healthier state of mind.

"Piper!" Reyna spat, jerking upright and tossing a Gushers box at her head. "Did you eat all the tropical Gushers and fill the box with freaking condoms?!"

Before she had a chance to defend herself; and she certainly did not do that (though it was a good idea), the one-armed Latina began to kick her in the head. It wasn't a strong kick, meant to be more playful than anything, but it still caught her off-guard. She dodged the next kick and unbuckled her seatbelt.