"A break?" Percy reiterated, voice tinged with wary longing. "Piper, as great as that sounds, we can't afford to take a break."
Surprise and irritation filled Piper; she'd expected arguments (it would've reflected badly on them were they completely absent), but she hadn't expected her fiercest opposition to be Percy.
"Can we afford not to, though? How much longer can we handle this stress without repose?" Piper fought for composure as she endured the Six's, and Nico's, scrutiny, fought for control over her urge to charm-speak her way into victory. It was an urge she'd indulged in for far too long, and now she suffered the consequences of honoring petty boredom.
Annabeth folded her hands atop the table. "We do not have the time for a break; however, I agree with Piper," she said. "The quest will not be fulfilled fully if we are unable to rise to the challenges."
"How are we supposed to do that?" Percy argued. "Last I checked, none of us had power over time. We may function better with more rest, but we can't afford to put our well-being over the world's."
"What if, by putting the world first, we destroy it?" Jason asked. "What then? We would've wasted our time, and everything we've been doing would be worthless."
"My friends and I saved the world once without a break; we can do it again." Percy fiddled with Riptide and looked at Piper. "I'm sorry. I want a break as much as you do, but I don't agree with it. Not if we have to sacrifice time defeating Gaea."
"Maybe we don't have to worry about time," Hazel offered. "Maybe we could bend or freeze it for a little while, enough for a break."
"We'd have to look for a spell," Frank replied, "and that would waste time, too. If we found it, we would've spent so much time searching that we might as well have just taken the break."
"I agree with Piper," Nico murmured. Shock rippled through the seven like a large, silent wave. If his despondent nature was overlooked, Nico could've been a child of Poseidon, the way his emotions grew turbulent and stormy, only to be tethered into shockwaves of calm chaos. It was easy for Piper to understand his affections regarding Percy, blessing of Aphrodite aside.
"Why?" She blurted, doubts flying unbidden from loose lips.
Nico blinked. "I'm exhausted. I came aboard for support and rest, but I'm not the only one who needs it." His gaze flickered over Jason before returning to hers. Genuine concern marred his apathetic mask, a sight shocking not in the humanity itself, but by its recipient.
The recipient being, naturally, completely distracted by Nico's support to notice the other behavior.
Piper cleared her throat, and six pairs or eyes focused on her, Percy's gaze conflicted, and Nico's downcast, studying the table's patterns absentmindedly. "I-"
Leo's jaw dropped, and his star struck expression silenced the daughter of Aphrodite completely.
"Calypso?" The son of Hephaestus leaned forward in his seat, eyes clapped upon a figure behind Piper, and she felt rather than saw attention fall away from her.
"No, dear." A feminine chuckle chimed pleasantly as Piper turned and beheld her mother, blonde hair gathered in a braid and clothed in jeans and a plain shirt. Her form flickered, flashing bodies of several different women, earthy teenagers and beautiful models alike, even, briefly, a younger version of Poseidon, before it settled into the woman Piper always saw.
Conflicting emotions filled Piper at the sight of her mother, at the tug in her mind and heart towards Aphrodite's presence and power.
Piper felt the glamour fall away from the goddess, shaping her into a universal rather than personalized beauty. The simple elegance relaxed the daughter of Aphrodite, luring her into an arguably false sense of security.
"I heard you were having problems," she replied as she strode over to the opposite end of the table, where Percy sat uneasily. "Problems involving breaks and whether or not to take them."
"Why would that concern you?" Nico snapped. "You're not the goddess of slumber or laziness."
Aphrodite smirked. "I'm the goddess of love, Nico, son of Hades, and you'd do best to remember that." She stared at the son of Hades, their gazes locked in a battle of wills, before Nico glanced sheepishly away.
"Why do you care?" Frank asked, not unkindly.
"What can I say, I'm dying for proper entertainment? There hasn't been this much angst and love in a quest in forever, but it'll be wasted if you continue ignoring it in favor of obsessing over the world's fate."
"I'm sorry saving your hide is dull," Percy replied. "Don't you care about the world? About Romans versus Greeks?"
Aphrodite laughed. "Love's the same no matter what, Percy Jackson; it doesn't change regardless of race or belief or time. My Roman and Greek counterparts aren't at odds, much. Love is a universal constant. As for my brethren," her eyes flashed, and Percy shrank ever-so-slightly in his seat, "I love most of them very much, and I'd like for their offspring to be properly prepared to save them and the world."
Annabeth eyed Aphrodite warily. "What's the catch?"
"Hmm? What did you say, dear?"
"There's always a price or catch with godly interference. What is yours? And how are you going to provide us with a break?" Annabeth replied.
"I want restored balance and love, of course," the goddess replied, eyes latching onto Piper's in a knowing stare, "and the how is quite simple. You'll rest through dreaming."
Leo snorted. "We're not stupid; we know you have to sleep to get rested."
It was Aphrodite's turn to roll her eyes. "You want a break from the quest, I'll give it to you. Dreams are separate from time; you'll be able to rest and recuperate with each other without worrying about the quest."
"You can control dreams?" Hazel asked.
"I'm the goddess of love; of course I have power within the realm of dreams. Besides, Hypnos owes me a favor or two. I cannot put you to sleep, but I can control what you dream."
"How will we know our feelings are real?" Frank asked. "How do we know you won't tamper with them?"
Aphrodite's eyes narrowed, and her fists clenched and unclenched before her face melted into detached tranquility. "I do not mess with feelings that do not have their place," she replied as she rested her hands on the table. "Now, will you let me help you, or not?"