All Aboard!

Chapter 9

"Steady on our heading Grace, Arellano call down to the engine room and have them speed up the engines! We should get out of shallower water before nightfall!" Nico was in his element, commanding a ship once again with the wind in his dark, neatly tied back hair and the sun on his tanned face. Reyna nodded her understanding and headed down the stairs to the engine room.

"Could you stop flipping all the switches!? You have no idea what half of them do!" 'You could inform me. I offered to learn!' "You don't sit still long enough for me to explain anything!" Reyna ran into the room to see a fuming Clarisse and an amused looking Lavinia shouting at each other from opposite sides of the engine. "What's going on in here? Are we not getting along?" Clarisse stared daggers at Reyna while Lavinia attempted to look sorry but failed as she still had a smirk on her face.
"This annoyance has done nothing but drive me crazy since she woke up at 5am!"
'5am Lavinia? You know the sun is up at 4am, just because this is not our usual vessel does not mean you can start slacking now.'
The smirk was wiped right off her face at Reyna's admonition and it was Clarisse's turn to smirk.
"Clarisse the Captain has requested that you fire up the engines, he wants us out of shallow waters before sundown."
Reyna headed back up the stairs shaking her head, leaving the two girls to continue arguing.

Percy and Jason were talking animatedly yet quietly when Piper approached them.
"So what's news boys, spill it!"
'We have no idea w-!' Percy replied while Jason said "No news, there's no ne-!"
"Ok I'm gonna pretend I believe you and... boom that's over, so what are we talking about?"
'Jason was just asking my opinion about a moment, or not moment, he might have accidentally interrupted if it was something...' Percy trailed off looking slightly embarrassed while Jason looked like he wished the earth would swallow him whole.
"First tell me what this possible moment was, then we'll discuss the ridiculousness of you asking Percy for advice."
'W-what it's not ridiculous!'
"Shhh, it's Jason's turn to talk!"
Percy opened his mouth to argue but decided against it at the fierce look on Piper's face. She turned to Jason and raised her eyebrow.
'Ok so I went down to the kitchen to speak to Leo and Nico happened to be there too, I guess they had things to discuss, and they were looking at each other and kinda holding hands.' "Looking at each other how?"
'What do you mean?'
"Was it the way you and Percy look at each other when everybody else is being serious or the way you an I look at each other?"
'I wasn't paying that much attention but I guess it was closer to a you and I look.' Jason shrugged.
Piper squealed and then covered it up with a cough.
"I'm sure it was nothing, just some captain bonding before Nico took over the ship. You probably just misread the moment."
She left them to muddle things over while she went looking for Leo.