PERCY
Percy wasn't sure what to think.
He and Blackjack had just flown nonstop from Atlantis, a little more than a day's journey for the perhaps over-zealous pegasus. Blackjack seemed to know where he was going, but Percy was totally lost. He started to think they were going in circles.
And then a hippogriff riding Hazel was flying towards them.
Percy hadn't even been sure that hippogriffs existed, let alone could talk and make rhymes. This one in fact did. Go figure.
Poor Blackjack was still uncertain about their new companion and all but refused to fly next to Hazel. He opted for staying close behind where he could keep an exhausted eye on the hippogriff.
Before long, an island which Percy could only assume to be Delos stretched out below them and they made to land.
He could make out the white of the tents and the residual smoke from a fire long burnt out. None of the demigods were out though and Percy had to remind himself that they didn't know he was here yet.
They set down, Hazel and her hippogriff much more easily than Blackjack who by that point had only had a solid single night's sleep in four days. He nearly collapsed and Percy had to help him ease down to the sand where he remained, breathing heavily and letting out a grateful whinny every now and again.
There you go, boss, he said tiredly, long lashed eyes beginning to shut on him.
Thanks, Blackjack. You're amazing. You need to sleep though now. That's an order.
Aye-aye, boss. Whatever you say.
He was out before either could say anything more. Percy smiled. That horse was something else. He'd have to make sure he got extra extra sugar cubes when they got back.
When they got back.
Gods, it seemed like they'd never get back. Percy wasn't even sure how long it'd been since they'd left Camp Half Blood. It seemed like years.
He looked around, saw the tents he'd been missing. All the pegasi were crowded around them and had looked up when Blackjack landed. None came over but inspected his sleeping form from afar. Percy got the feeling they all knew what he'd done.
Hazel stood closer to the surf, her back to him, with the hippogriff. She appeared to be talking to it. What they were saying Percy couldn't tell, but finally it bowed deeply to her and took off again.
She turned back to Percy and smiled, motioning for him to come over. "I don't know if anyone's awake yet, but I'm pretty sure they won't mind being woken up," she said, walking confidently up to one of the tents and poking her head inside before Percy could object.
"Annabeth," he heard her whisper and within seconds she was backing back out of the opening, a frizzy haired, sleep deprived looking Annabeth Chase close behind.
He felt lightheaded. He willed himself to keep calm, but part of him wanted desperately to run and hide until he could come up with something clever and heroic to say. But suddenly she was looking up, stopping short when she saw him. She looked back at Hazel in disbelief, Hazel who simply smiled victoriously and slipped back inside the other tent to wake the others, and she was running.
She was moving so fast, her expression so severe that Percy prepared for the impact of a fist to the jaw, clenching his eyes shut and bracing himself. She slammed into him and hugged him so tightly he staggered a little under the force. She buried her face into his chest and didn't say anything.
"Hi," he said, a bit shocked she wasn't yelling at him for disappearing again. She laughed softly and looked up, pulling away and kissing him. She was crying, he realized.
"Don't do that," she whispered and he hugged her close again.
"Sorry. Bad habits."
He heard footsteps in the sand and looked up to find Nico, Jason, and Leo walking towards them, all three smiling widely.
"Jackson," Jason said. "Nice of you to join us."
Annabeth let go and slipped her hand into his as they met the group half way.
"Hope I didn't miss all the fun," Percy said.
Frank, Calypso, Piper, and Hazel had emerged from the other tent and were now hurrying towards them as well.
Leo stood next to Annabeth and the rest circled up around them. "Told you," Percy heard him say quietly. Annabeth rolled her eyes and elbowed him with a smile.
"So," Jason continued. "What happened?" It was the question Percy had been rehearsing his answer to for days now. He also was yet to come up with an appropriate response. Besides simply explaining where he'd been, which he wasn't so confident he could do successfully, what could he tell them? He had hoped maybe no one would ask right off the bat and he'd have a little time to think on it more.
"Huh," he said, hesitating far too long in an attempt to form a sentence longer than "Nothing much," something he was so very close to uttering. "Well, that's kind of a loaded question…I mean - "
"How 'bout breakfast?" Leo piped up, a suggestion to which Annabeth nodded vigorously and urged Percy to do the same. "I for one am no good till I've eaten something, and I have the feeling this story'll be a doozy. I vote we eat before."
Jason shrugged indifferently and tried to help Leo with preparation. Percy watched and fought to restrain a laugh as Jason struggled to not look offended when Calypso all but pushed him out of the way in the middle of his beating some eggs.
Percy and Annabeth slipped away down the beach, well away from the others, and sat down heavily on a sturdy patch of rocks just at the water's edge. Percy sighed and kicked a shoe off, letting his foot drop with a soft plink in the surf. "Well then," he said, glancing over at her. "What did I miss?"
Annabeth looked at him like he was crazy. "Whoa, hang on. We just got you out of explaining your story, now you expect to be filled in all at once?"
"Ha - no. Little hypocritical, huh?"
"A little bit." She smiled. "I can give you something though, I guess."
She explained briefly the encounter with Lelantos just after the Cetus incident, their stay on that mysterious island with the irregular tides, the whirlpool and how Blackjack seemed so reluctant to leave, and finally their journey here, to Delos.
"I'm just glad you're alright," Annabeth said once she'd finished. "I was so worried - we all were so worried."
"I know, I'm sorry. I wanted to follow but I was - delayed," Percy said with a tiny scowl.
"By?"
"I ran into Poseidon, or, rather, Poseidon ran into me. After Cetus went down, I sank down with him and my dad found me, took me to the palace. Atlantis, more specifically."
Footsteps approached and Percy saw Jason walking towards them. "Mind if I join you guys? Calypso has commandeered the breakfast production and it seems I've been demoted."
Percy laughed and nodded, Annabeth scooting over on the rock to give Jason room to sit.
"Hey, and what was up with Hazel's fancy bird?" Percy said suddenly. "The hippogriff?"
Annabeth shrugged. "I'm not sure we really know," she said, looking to Jason.
"Yeah, no. We're not really sure. We know it was there with Hecate, and from the little Hazel explained after you two got back, it was a messenger for Apollo as well."
"Apollo? What would he want?"
"Apparently he and Hecate want to help us. The hippogriff showed Hazel where Oceanus and Koios have set up production, so if that's not a good lead, I don't know what is."
"Would she be able to find it again?" Annabeth said.
"She says she would. Apparently it becomes covered with water during the day, so we'd have to go at night which might complicate things."
"Food!" Leo's voice carried down the beach, a small path of smoke trailing its way up into the sky from camp and the smell of bacon and eggs strong on the breeze.
"I think that's our summoning," Percy said after a second. The three stood and made their way back down to the tents where all eight heroes and Percy huddled around with their plates so they could hear just what had happened to the son of Poseidon.
