"ducunt volentem fata, nolentem trahunt" (Fate leads the willing and drags along the reluctant.) ~ Seneca

"So to sum it all up, these people," Percy said, as he took a bite out of a granola bar. They were on an airplane headed for London. "Are practicing magic," he took another bite. "Which disturbs the balance of the Mist, and disrupts orcalur sight. And now," he wiped crumbs off his face. "Hecate is mad, and is giving us a deadline of two months before she will blow the entire place up, or drag it down to the underworld, or tortur-"

"You are correct in the essentials," Annabeth interrupted, her eyes still focused on her laptop, her fingers clicking away rapidly. "The Mist itself is a hard to understand force, but try and picture it as a wall. Sorcery from Hogwarts," she sniffed, her disapproval of the–"absolutely ridiculous name," as she remarked earlier–evident. "Is creating holes in the wall. Enough holes, and the whole wall comes tumbling down."

"So I was correct."

"In the essentials."

"Where it mattered." Percy argued, causing Annabeth to roll her eyes in reply.

"Either shut it or take your lovey-dovey conversation to the bathroom," Clarisse's annoyed voice rang out. "Some of us have to sleep."
"Hey-" Percy started.

"Oh, I almost forgot, Leo will be joining us a while after. He said he has a special surprise he's working on." Piper said softly, before looking out the window.

"Huh, I wondered where he went," Percy remarked.

"We're almost there, I can see land." Piper replied.

"Rise and shine, sleepyhead," Will patted Nico's hair, earning him a dark glare from the latter.

"Stop it," Nico muttered weakly, his cheeks slightly blooming red.

"Aww, but you're so cu-"

"Clarisse, aren't you gonna stop them?" Percy fake-whispered. Clarisse gave him a glare in response.

"I ship them," she replied, before tossing her hair back and turning her head away, as Percy muttered about injustice.

"Attention, all passengers, flight attendants and crew members, we will be reaching our destination in approximately half an hour." a scratchy voice from the PA sounded. "Thank you for flying with (insert name here) airlines."

XXXXX

"According to Chiron and this map, we are supposed to board a train here," Annabeth pointed to a drawn out circle. "And end up here." She pointed to a remote location in Scotland. "But before we get to the school, we have to pick up supplies, because we are supposed to pretend to be fifth year exchange students from Ilvermorny. For now, whe are supposed to stay at a hotel here," she pointed to another marked location. Annabeth frowned, as they stepped outside of the airport. "We're bound to attract monsters, since we are such a large group."

"I've got something that may help," Piper replied as she dug into her seemingly endless handbag. "Here, try this," she said as she pulled out what appeared to be a perfume bottle. "It's Cairon Poivre," she explained to the flabbergasted look on Percy's face. "Monsters hate the smell. Don't waste it; it's expensive." She sprayed herself, before handing the bottle to Annabeth, who, after spraying herself likewise, gave it to Percy. He decided to follow suit.

"Bleugh, what is this stuff?" he complained, quickly giving it to Clarisse.

"Stop being such a baby," Annabeth chided.

"I'm not-" Will's fake cough interrupted them.

"Anyways," Annabeth began, her face noticeably red. His one was most likely even more red. "The Mist will disguise us, though it won't change our magical fluency. Therefore, we need someone to test if someone can't use magic, otherwise it might draw suspicion."

"Hm, good point," Will remarked, looking unusually serious. "I think I may have an idea."
"I hate all of your ideas," Nico grumbled.

"We go and see Pytheas," Will continued, as if he wasn't interrupted.

"Pytheas?" Annabeth questioned. "You mean the explorer?"

"The very one!" Will's signature cheery smile was back on. "He's a son of Apollo, and an old friend of Chiron.

"Wouldn't he be, you know, dead?" Percy asked.

"Yup! His ghost resides in Thule."

"Thule? As in the north pole?" Nico asked.

"The Mist's north pole," Annabeth replied. "Like how there's a difference between the magnetic north pole and the geocentric north pole, the Mist's north pole is where the Mist pours out from." Her expression turned thoughtful. "And since he lives there, he must've felt the disturbance in the Mist. Will," she said, turning towards him. "Sometimes, I feel like you are a genius."

"I know, right?" Will said, smiling sunnyly (apparently this is how you spell it?). "Now wouldn't this be the perfect time to compose a haik-"

"NO!" several voices rang in the chorus.

"Relax, I'm just joking," he said, as they rounded the corner.

Spent waaay too much time researching perfumes and Pytheas.