HAZEL
It took Hazel two minutes and everything but a slap to get Frank to move.
"Frank!"
He was looking at her kindly and nodding like he understood while holding her around the shoulders like he was afraid she'd try and jump again if he wasn't. Which of course she would have.
She couldn't very well tell him that a voice from the sea was telling her to jump, even if she had seen it in a dream. He'd have really thought she'd lost it then. But one thing was for certain, they had to get in the water before that wave hit or it wouldn't matter what Frank thought of her mental state.
"Frank you have to trust me." She spoke as calmly as she could and forced herself to stay still. Sure enough, Frank relaxed a little as well. He let go of her shoulders and shut his eyes.
"Gods, you better be right," he muttered. "Ready then?"
She nodded and they stood, taking a deep breath and slipping in before they could think better of it.
About two seconds went by before she started to panic.
She had been holding Frank's hand. Now she wasn't. She had somehow managed to lose him in the time it took for them to enter the frigid water. She thought maybe she was dead.
No, she thought. That's a stupid idea. I'm the daughter of Pluto. I'm sure I'd know if I'd died…again.
But then where was Frank?
Something bumped her.
It was rubbery, cold. It brushed against her shoulder and she was poked by something triangular. A dorsal fin.
She started to wish she were dead. There was no way she'd be fighting off a shark, not when she could barely feel her fingers let alone hold onto her spatha. Even if she could manage to do that much, she'd need some Fortuna level luck to land a strike.
The animal slid up beside her, gently nudging her side. It didn't appear to be trying to eat her and if anything seemed to reflect a kind of urgency in the way it was trying to pull her along.
And then it turned to face her.
A large and rather bulbous nose looked her in the eyes and squeaked excitedly. It was a dolphin. A dolphin who, dare she think it, even looked a little familiar.
"Frank - " she hazarded, to which the bottlenose bobbed up and down vigorously. Clearly a Yes. "Oh, thank the gods." Hazel swung herself around and hung onto the dorsal for dear life. Dolphin-Frank seemed to sigh in relief and whistled something that she imagined translated to "About time" before spinning himself and propelling them easily away from the rocks.
"We have to get the others." But Frank had already started for the next island and only sped up his pace.
He rode high on the water and motored along as efficiently as if he'd been born with a tail. Hazel clung close to his back, only looking up and over the top of his head when they began to slow in approach to the rocks.
At first she didn't see anyone. There appeared to be nothing but, well, more rocks. Until one of them moved, that is. A glint of gold flickered from the shifting rubble and a tiny bust of air blew a cloud of dust spiraling into the air.
"Jason?" she said, her voice hardly as loud as she'd wanted it to be. The lump groaned and a battered Jason Grace sat up in front of them. He mumbled something about what sounded like pirates and swimming before lifting his head to Hazel and Dolphin-Frank and focusing his gaze.
"Hazel, why are you riding a dolphin?"
"It's Frank, now come on."
Frank whistled and bobbed his head at Jason, ordering him into the water. Jason shrugged and sheathed his gladius, shivering as he slid himself into the waves.
"Where to?" he said to which Hazel merely pointed to the next island.
They had to keep moving.
Jason didn't waste any time though either, cringing as he dropped in beside them and motioning for Frank to take the lead. And they propelled away toward a dark haired, rigid figure.
Nico was not nearly as torn up as the rest of them. If anything, he had a little more color than usual and stood a little straighter. On the other hand, he didn't seem to notice when they crashed into his shore and Hazel started yelling an explanation. He didn't seem to realize the problem of their current situation.
"Nico!" Her voice had gotten hoarse and her head pounded from the cold. This was not the time for Nico to space on her. "Nico, we have to - "
"Shh. I think I've got it." His voice was crisp but strained, slightly jittery like he was coming off of a sugar high.
Behind her, Jason smiled like he knew something the rest of them didn't.
Hazel didn't know what to say let alone what to do. Something was clearly up and Nico was in the center of it - she wasn't quite sure, no, she was very sure that she didn't want to interrupt.
"They're coming…"
"Who - "
"They're close…"
"Where - "
"They're here."
