In which we get some Reyna!
Replies:
Thickneck: Eh, go for laugh, I do.
Undeath9087: Yeah they will have a significant role to play in the future.

Reyna was stressed to begin with. Oh she was glad to see that Bianca was alive and- well, if not well then recovering- and the thought of the other girl in Tartarus made her stomach go tight and uncomfortable. And gods but a part of her wondered if she should have agreed to let Bianca be the one to do this- oh she knew that the other girl was capable but, well, she found herself worrying about her more than she probably should.

It was infuriating- she couldn't understand the strange feelings- oh she cared about her people- about the legion but- she found she'd never felt quite so protective before. Not of one single person anyway.

The sight of Bianca after their first large jump had almost brought tears to her eyes- and she'd had to fight her every instinct not to pull the girl into her lap and hold her close. It wouldn't have helped her after all, Calypso was the one who was good for that- she was a naturally gifted healer- she had potions and draughts and poultices.

Reyna had actually found herself feeling almost jealous at how Calypso could help Bianca when she couldn't.

But that was Calypso's role. She was their healer, Bianca was the one who could get them great distances and Reyna and Gleeson Hedge were the fighters there to defend them and the statue. Not that they'd had any attacks yet- just an exhausted daughter of Hades- and Reyna did kind of hate that fact- the knowledge that Bianca had hidden her Greek heritage did sting- but not enough to stop that clawing worry in her gut.

And so, with all of that praying on her mind, Reyna hadn't thought it could get that much worse so quickly.

She'd been wrong it seemed- because they slipped out of the shadows mid air- maybe five thousand feet in the air to be accurate. And Reyna hadn't expected her first view of southern Italy to be from so high up.

To the west, along the crescent of the Gulf of Naples, the lights of sleeping cities glittered in the predawn gloom. A thousand feet below her, a half-mile-wide caldera yawned at the top of a mountain, white steam pluming from the centre.

Reyna's disorientation took a moment to subside. Shadow-travel left her groggy and nauseous, as if she'd been dragged from the cold waters of the frigidarium into the sauna at a Roman bathhouse.

Then she realized she was suspended in midair. Gravity took hold, and she began to fall.

If she'd have been any slower grabbing onto Bianca then she'd have almost certainly fallen to her death- out of the corner of her eye she saw Calypso grabbing onto the ropes around the statue and grabbing Hedges arm.

Reyna was grateful for that, it meant that she didn't have to worry about them right away. She could focus on Bianca.

She gritted her teeth, forcing herself to ignore Calypso and Hedge's screams as she tightened her grip on Bianca, "Bianca!" she screamed the name- and Bianca- who had been briefly passed out flailed, panicking- and it was lucky Reyna was as strong as she was or she'd have been knocked away and fallen to her death.

"W-wha?!" Bianca's expression was panicked-which was fair enough, waking up to find yourself plummeting to your death couldn't be fun- though- was it just Reyna or had the fall slowed somewhat- she managed to turn her head to look at Calypso- who's eyes were closed-she was doing some sort of magic, winds were buffeting them up, slowing their fall-but Reyna doubted she could do it for long.

"Bianca!" Reyna looked back at the other girl- who's dark eyes were wide with panick and terror, "You need to shadow travel us out of here!

"I-I can't-" Bianca's voice was horrified, "I-I'm not-I'm not strong enough!"

"Kid she can't slow us that much!" Hedge screamed the words, "And goats can't fly! Zap us out of here or we're gonna get flattened into an Athena Parthenos omelette!"

"I- I can't-" Bianca was crying Reyna realised, "I'm sorry-"

"No- no-" Reyna closed her eyes, forcing herself to think. She could accept herself dying but Bianca dying? The Parthenos getting destroyed? Their quest failing. No. No she wouldn't accept that. So she had to get them out of here.

And if Bianca didn't have enough strength then Reyna would give her some. "You have to get us out of here or we'll fall into Vesuvius. I need you to trust me." and gods but Reyna could hardly hear her own voice over the roaring winds, could Bianca hear her?

But she could see Bianca swallowing hard. Staring at her, and then she nodded, and Reyna tightened her grip even more around the other girl, the world almost narrowing around them, their eyes still locked on one another. "I'll lend you my strength. Do it." and she could feel the torch and sword symbol of Bellona on her forearm growing painfully hot. As if it was being seared into her skin for the first time.

Bianca let out a gasp- color seemed to return to her face all at once- her lips parted and they moved- but even as close as they were Reyna couldn't make out the words- and then they slipped into the shadows once more. The air turned frigid. The sound of the wind was replaced by a cacophony of voices whispering in a thousand languages. Reyna's insides felt like a giant piragua – cold syrup trickled over crushed ice – her favourite treat from her childhood in Viejo San Juan.
She wondered why that memory would surface now, when she was on the verge of death. Then her vision cleared. Her feet rested on solid ground.

The eastern sky had begun to lighten. For a moment Reyna thought she was back in New Rome. Doric columns lined an atrium the size of a baseball diamond. In front of her, a bronze faun stood in the middle of a sunken fountain decorated with mosaic tile.

Crepe myrtles and rosebushes bloomed in a nearby garden. Palm trees and pines stretched skyward. Cobblestone paths led from the courtyard in several directions – straight, level roads of good Roman construction, edging low stone houses with colonnaded porches.

Reyna turned. Behind her, the Athena Parthenos stood intact and upright, dominating the courtyard like a ridiculously oversized lawn ornament. The little bronze faun in the fountain had both his arms raised, facing Athena, so he seemed to be cowering in fear of the new arrival.

On the horizon, Mount Vesuvius loomed – a dark, humpbacked shape now several miles away. Thick pillars of steam curled from the crest.

"We're in Pompeii." Reyna breathed out- and Bianca let out a groan.

"That's not good." and Bianca collapsed- Reyna felt her own legs buckling as she felt the backlash- she'd expected some of it of course; it happened every time she shared her strength.

But it hit her harder from Bianca than it ever had before- it was a mix of grief, fear, guilt pain shame- it made Reyna dizzy, but her arms didn't loosen from Bianca even as Hedge got to work loosening the harness that attached Nico to the statue- and then Calypso was pulling Reyna back and she let her, trying to ignore the feeling of loss that caused as she was pulled away from Bianca- who was pale and shivering.

"Give her this." Calypso was throwing Hedge a bottle of something, and Bianca took it from the girl without question, her grip on it white knuckled as she drank.

It did seem to help somewhat, though she still didn't look good- she'd been pushing herself too hard Reyna was sure of it- shadow travelling frequently with so many people and the Parthenos- not even considering the distance of the leaps- it was taking a toll on her.

She was getting paler and paler, her eyes looked almost sunken. At her side the sceptre of Diocletian was glowing an angry purple like a radioactive bruise- almost the same shade as the bags under the girls eyes.

"How did you do that?" Bianca asked after a moment, her eyes glued to Reyna. And Reyna found her cheeks flushing slightly at the almost studious gleam in Bianca's eyes.

"I don't like to talk about it." she said slowly, resisting the urge to rub her still hurting arm, "But it's a power from my mother. I can impart strength to others."

Hedge looked up from where he'd started rummaging through his rucksack. "Seriously? Why haven't you hooked me up Roman girl? I was super muscles."

"It doesn't work like that." Reyna frowned, "I only do it in life and death situations and it's more useful in large groups. when I command troops, I can share whatever attributes I have – strength, courage, endurance – multiplied by the size of my forces."

"A useful gift." that came from Calypso- who was looking drained too- though nowhere near as bad as Bianca, or even as bad as Reyna felt.

"It-" Reyna shook her head, "It's not that special really. And as I said, I can only use it in life or death situations.
Hedge grunted. "Too bad. Super-muscles would be nice." He went back to sorting through his pack, which seemed to hold a bottomless supply of cooking utensils, survivalist gear and random sports equipment.

"Mellie loves you as you are." Calypso giggled- and the Satyr blinked before grinning proudly at that, almost preening at those words.

"Of course she does. What's not to love. You think she's okay?"

"She was doing well when I left. And I left her with all of the Apollo cabin caring for her. They might not have Will but they are capable. I am sorry that I left her but-"

"No, no I get it, you wanted to see your boy." Hedge nodded, "Valdez was in the pit, you knew something was up. I'd have done the same."

And Reyna turned her gaze away from them at that- her gaze focusing on Bianca, who was biting her lip, staring at her uneasily. "You stumbled." the daughter of Hades said after a long moment, "When you use your power- d-do-" there was a hint of fear in her voice, "Do you get some sort of feedback from me?"

"It's not mind reading." Reyna said quickly, "I don't- it's nothing like that. Not even as strong as an empathy link it just- it's a temporary thing, a wave of exhaustion. Primal emotions. Your pain, I take on some of your burden." she explained- and she hated that look on Bianca's face, the terror. "Whatever- whatever you feel so guilty for- whatever you're afraid of-" she pitched her voice lower, "I'll help. I know you probably don't feel comfortable talking about it and that's fine but- if I can help- if I can do anything you can talk to me."

"I-" Bianca swallowed hard. "I'm fine, really." Bianca turned her head away- and Reyna saw her stifling a yawn.

"You should rest. After two jumps- even with my help- you look exhausted."

"Nico wouldn't be." Bianca muttered the words, and there was guilt in her voice. "If I'd have just trained-"

"I'm sure your brothers good-" Reyna cut her off, a determined look on her face, "But I'd choose you over him. I know you Bianca-"

"No you don't." Bianca shook her head, "I lied to you Reyna-"

"I- I'll admit I'm not so happy about that but you're not a bad person Bianca. I know that much. I've seen how you are with Hazel- you care a lot. And whatever you've done- I trust my gut and I trust you. "So get some sleep Bianca. And don't be so hard on yourself. You deserve better than that."

And she watched as Bianca hesitated, looking around.

"I guess you're right. But Reyna this is the last place I would have chosen to land. It's full of lemures."