Hazel gently put a hand on her half-brother's shoulder, signifying comfort and just simply reminding him that they were there for him.
"Nico? What do you mean it's her?"
"T-the woman." Feeling a sense of dread overcome him, Percy shifted over to where Nico was and saw the blonde son of Jupiter doing the same. When his eyes landed on the picture, something smart came out of his mouth. Something along the lines of 'huh?'.
"Nico, there's..." Hazel hesitated. "There's nothing there."
"Can't you guys feel it though?" The son of Hades looked at us with expectant eyes, yet received nothing. The other three exchanged glances. Visions? Daydreams? Omens? Hazel gently addressed him.
"Feel what?"
"A dark sort of energy... Or something, it's like... Like..." he struggled for words while furrowing his brow. "Like magnetic push or pull. But if you squint, there's a, um, black mist thingy surrounding it," he animately waved his hands and pointing at the paper. Percy squinted, but only made his vision obscure.
"Holy mates, he's right!" Jason's blonde head whipped around his shoulder in surprise.
"Marc?!"He half-exclaimed, half-asked.
"Why, would you look at that. There' a black fog hanging around that paper. Look's like the devil's work himself! And hey, lookie there, there's somethin' in the corner," he pointed and Nico pulled the paper closer to him. There was a black blot of ink that didn't seem to be deliberately put there. But when they looked closer, it seemed to be a picture of a dog in the yellowed corner. Percy and Jason did a double-take.
"Which goddess uses a dog as a symbol?" Percy's voice had a hint of worry in it. " 'Cause I don't wanna run into any minor gods."
Nico frowned. "Why?"
"They're not exactly the most pleasant..." Percy trailed off while Jason looked at them.
"They could be skinny cows," he pointed out, drawing out the syllables slowly. Hazel rolled her eyes while Marc chuckled. They both earned looks from the children of the big three.
"It's a wolf." Percy frowned, Jason blinked several times, and Nico blushed. "Oh."
Jason stared at the paper. "But still, who-"
"-uses a wolf as a symbol?"Percy cut him off. They glared at each other for a bit before laughing. Hazel muttered something like 'boys' under her breath and then turned to Marc.
"So," she hesitated.
"Of course, I can let you young'uns hitchhike. I mean, no more of those things... Right?"
Percy cleared his throat. "Not in particular. We probably scared them away..."
"Well, I've gotta go soon. Hop right on in."
Nico stared at the mortal while the others got into the car. "You're not scared or anything?"
"Why would I be?" Marc replied in a pleasant matter. "I've always been an adventure man. You know, nothing can hold me down. I blame it on me father. Well, get in. Ol' Tommy seems to like you enough to tackle you." Nico got in and was almost immediately covered by the bear-like canine.
After most of the day with only minor monster attacks that didn't seem to be troublesome, they shared a quickly lunch/dinner with fruits and granola bars from what they've packed. (And Percy seemed asked for everything with a 'damn' in front of it, and silently smiling about it; Hazel raised her eyebrows suspiciously before Percy told her it was in inside joke.) After finishing and getting comfortable, Jason spoke up.
"We should be getting rest, since you know, we might meet trouble on the way there." Jason sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, positioning his backpack so it would stop pressing hardly against his back.
Hazel replied by nodding and yawning while Percy just gave him a look that said 'no, really? We're a quartet of traveling demigods, all children of the big three. I wonder what's going to happen?' Nico, it seemed, was already asleep. Hazel followed suit. The son of Poseidon felt the slow rumble and growl of the car beneath him give some comfort as he thought about his mother's own rackety car, but he felt like he couldn't sleep until the problem was fixed. So he contemplated to staring dumbly at the scenery.
"You know, Percy," Percy jumped and his eyes shifted over to the blonde, who was watching the half-Italian carefully, with a special light in his eyes. The brunette's insides seemed to rearrange themselves and his mind ran almost purely on instinct. For what purpose, he didn't know. He replied curtly. "Yea?"
"Nico's a good kid," Jason said, looking over the the son of Poseidon. Percy steady met the other's gaze.
"I know."
"Don't do anything that would hurt him. Because if you do, I will have to do something to you."Percy's eyes held a dangerous glint to it, as if challenging him. Silence answered Jason, so he addressed the greek again. "He's got more than enough on his mind... And if you come to realization of something, don't react any differently to him. Don't feel like he needs your pity. Even if he's lost his memories, he's still there. Nico's not gone, Percy. Never will be." The brunette was about to give some short reply, but he saw the desperation in the son of Jupiter's eyes. He wasn't trying to convince only his comrade; he needed to convince himself.
"I know. I've always known. Now as your senior, I can tell you off to bed," Percy grinned weakly. Jason returned it and then fell asleep. Looking up,the green-eyed teen realized that the day was almost over. A full two day without Nico's memories. A Full two days without recover.
"If only I had gorgon blood...' he thought outloud. He raised a hand to gently stroke the peacefully sleeping son of Hades's hair; it was soft to the touch. "Are you gonna hate me once you remember?" He sighed. His feelings didn't matter; all he needed was to see Nico complete and happy.
The huge dog (more of a bear, Percy thought) looked t him with amber eyes and gave a soft bark, as if reciprocating with him. "I know boy, I know. I'm screwed."