To RandomFanAuthor- hehehe
To HoO Fan- She's a good character! We need more love for Callie!
To zantarak- WHAT DID HE SEE, WHAT DID HE SEE?
To hi- awww, bless your cottons! ^_^
The whirlpool with teeth was quickly named Charybdis, courtesy of Calypso. And then as a daughter of Poseidon from their resident daughter of Poseidon, who now sat with her ears covered and yelling at her half-sister to shut up.
And to make the whole thing even more amazing was Charybdis' buddy, up on the cliffs. Scylla, Calypso remembered, a child of Keto. Six heads that rained down around them, more near misses than they could count as Festus swept and rolled and flapped around frantically.
"Great!" Leo panicked through gritted teeth. "Just what we need!"
"Left, go left!" Calypso cried, clinging to Festus's plating. They nose-dived instead. Louisa bellowed defiantly, bow in hand. She swivelled at the waist, firing so quickly, they did not see the arrow. Scylla screamed, pained and outraged. One of her heads reared, golden ichor splattering from her eye socket. She slammed her head against the cliff-face, the arrow shaft snapped and was lost to Charybdis' waters.
Festus's freefall snapped to a halt ten metres above the water. They had felt the pull of Charybdis from above, but it was almost a hundredfold now.
"Shut up!" Louisa ordered, firing an arrow into the centre of the water. Sky blue goo erupted, lost to the raging currents in a heartbeat. She shot at Scylla again, this time striking her in the snout. It was as greatly appreciated as the first assault, the cliffs shaking with her contempt.
"Leo, get us out of here!" Calypso squealed as Festus barrel-rolled again.
"Trying!" Leo confirmed. Beneath his palms, his dragon's metal hide was warming, rapidly, over-exerting as he beat his wings.
Charybdis had another trick she had kept in her pocket. Louisa could hear her chuckling through the swirl of her power, momentarily quietened as the monster shut her mouth. Her stomach coiled, Festus shot forward without the resistance, but it was not enough. The water sloshed over Charybdis, still caught in the momentum of her vortex.
The trick came. A torrent of water, a thousand firehoses coiled into one furious column, spat straight at them on an exhale that lasted forever. Louisa slammed her bow out before her, both hands, elbows locked. The trick reached them; she caught the thick of it on her fists. It recoiled, sprung back in a wide spray from an unseen barrier. The price of it- she felt bones shatter in her arms, the pain blackening her vision. She swayed forward, set to slump on the dragon's tail and slide right off.
Calypso saved her. She snatched her arm around Louisa from behind, clutching at Leo with her other. Charybdis' mouth yawned into a chasm, the whirlpool screamed with renewed ferocity.
But they were away from it.
It was not a relief.
While Charybdis groaned and heaved, readying another blast, Scylla cackled with glee. Calypso snatched up Louisa's bow, firing clumsily. Scylla had learned, the arrow shattering uselessly on her scaly hide. Festus dropped like a stone, the force from her clamping jaws bristling through their hair.
Leo steered Festus as far to the left as he could go, wing scraping on the cliff-face and leaving white gouges in the stone. "Which way?" He shouted.
"Through the strait!" Calypso pointed, grabbing the front of Louisa's shirt as she nearly fell again. She had gone green, breathing shallow. Her arms hung uselessly at her sides, the jostling of their manoeuvres only deepening her new colouration. "Stay awake, Lou!"
Leo leaned forward in his seat, encouraging Festus on. They just needed a minute. That's all, just a minute and they would be away from this. They would land, get Louisa fixed up, get some rest. And go home.
Home.
The thought resounded through his chest, as warm and rich as a summer's day at Camp Half-Blood. He could practically smell the strawberries.
Calypso pulled Louisa to her as best she could. Scylla's screech tore through her ears. She turned forward, blinking sea spray from her eyes.
That's how quickly it happened. A single blink. And Leo was gone.
