Morris

Georgina found him at the very edge of the mountain.

There was no water to submerge himself into, no island on which to hide. Plus Georgina had really excellent eyesight. She had probably followed him down the rocky slope, one hand on her bow so she could shoot him if he did anything stupid. Python was only a few miles away now, but he was big enough that they could see he was fast asleep. Morris wasn't sure why he had purposefully come so near to danger—maybe he was vying for a fight. He realised that Python was kind of a snake and a dragon. He had heard him described both ways and wasn't sure why nobody had thought up a more specific term. But he was bright green, with a tail like a snake's but with the head and body—and wings—of a dragon. He could probably breathe fire. Morris decided not to think about that.

"So," Georgina said, plopping herself down on the gravel next to him. "Your boyfriend kissed some other guy."

Georgina was five foot zero, wore bright striped socks underneath her combat boots, and listened to Boy George constantly on the journey over. Too bad she was stronger than she looked, or Morris would have been tempted to attempt murder.

As it was, he just looked at her with no attempt to disguise his dislike that she was intruding on a private moment. Georgina just shrugged, unabashed.

"At least you didn't catch your girlfriend kissing some other guy."

Morris laughed, which felt hollow. "Yeah, because that would be such a bad—" he fell silent at the look on her face.

Maybe she wasn't such bad company after all.

"You know," Georgina said after a few minutes' silence. "It could be worse."

"Could it?" ad

Had she moved to another continent for somebody she loved? Was she treated with suspicion because of her godly parent?

"Yeah."

"All right, sunshine girl, enlighten me."

"We could be getting attacked by monsters," Georgina suggested. "But we're not, because Python's keeping them at bay. Your dad might have been turned into glitter by Zeus, but he wasn't, because he's snug at the bottom of the ocean. Your boyfriend might have cheated on you, but he didn't, because he didn't ask to get kissed by Will Solace. He asked a healer to keep him anchored to the living world to stop himself from dissolving into a puddle of Underworld ink."

"What?"

"I was there." Georgina didn't look like she was getting any joy from gossiping. She just looked like she was trying to glue a team back together. "Sitting in a tree, cleaning my bow. Nico shadow-travelled back to camp and it's really dangerous for him and Will happened to be the one who caught him and he did what he had to do to keep Nico alive. You should thank him."

Morris didn't know how to respond. He knew that Nico occasionally had trouble shadow-travelling, but he thought it was an old problem, one he had under control. If Georgina was telling the truth, it would explain why Will and Nico had pulled hastily apart, both talking at a hundred miles an hour, calling Morris back as he stormed off. Course, it would also mean that Morris was acting like a total idiot, and Morris didn't fancy admitting that yet.

Nico

So now Nico was boyfriend-less. A year ago the concept wouldn't have seemed anything but inevitable; now he thought he understood why the Aphrodite cabin dished out ice cream to the recently-split-up.

Morris made it clear that he didn't want anyone to follow him down the mountain, but Georgina dropped out of a nearby tree and went anyway. Well, good luck to her, Nico thought. He'd be doing burial rites in no time.

"Okay, everyone, we need to make a plan." Will Solace jarred Nico out of his thoughts (he seemed to be good at that) and motioned everyone to sit around the table. Nico was about to protest that two of their party was missing when he saw Morris and Georgina slip into the room. Neither of them said anything, but Morris looked at Nico for a moment then nodded. At Nico? To himself? Gods, he was frustrating.

"We have two choices," Will was saying. Nico blinked and forced himself to make eye contact with him while simultaneously berating himself for finding him attractive. "We can attack Python in direct sunlight, when we're strongest, or at night, when he's less likely to sense us coming."

"He already knows we're here." Nico spoke up, partly to distract himself from his thoughts. "I got within half a mile of the Temple and the spirits basically said 'get out while you can'. Python didn't look like he sensed me, so I sent in a couple of skeletons to check. He incinerated them without even opening his eyes. I think he's like Gaia was—pretty much comatose but conscious enough to wake if we provoke him."

"So we may as well attack in the middle of the day," Rose concluded, nodding. She had skin the colour of black coffee, but her hair was as blonde as her brother's. She had Apollo's gift for music, was rarely away from some instrument or another, and had brought a tiny lyre with her. She played it constantly and it filled the tent with background noise that complimented, rather than clashed with, the sounds from outside. The lyre seemed to be joining in with the chirp of cicadas and the rustle of the breeze. Nico found himself wanting to stay in the tent and listen forever, which gave him an idea.

"Do you think we could lull him into a deeper sleep with your music?" he asked. "Then Georgina, Will, Morris and I could attack on all sides."

"I'm a medic," Will objected. "How can I attack if I'm keeping you all from dying?"

"Do your ultrasonic whistle," Nico suggested. "It's definitely a weapon."

Everyone who had heard Will's whistle—which was everyone—smiled. Well, Morris looked like he was undergoing a painful dental procedure, but it was a start.

Hopefully.

As the group sat round the table in a manner very reminiscent of the rec room back home, arguing over a plan of attack, Nico was scared to properly look at his boyfriend. The few times they caught each other's eye, Morris looked away. Why had he kissed Will back? It was only a moment, a hardly tangible moment, but he had. Maybe he was too young to be in a serious relationship. Maybe this was a sign that he and Morris should take things more slowly, maybe see other people.

Maybe, subconsciously, that was what had been bothering him all quest long. Returning to Europe reminded him of making friends with Reyna, of Coach Hedge and Mellie and their tiny kid. He thought of when they returned home, how he had almost stayed at Camp Half-Blood, until a fit of anxiety sent him travelling again. Then he had met Morris.

Nico decided that if—when they defeated Python—he would confront Morris, with Jules-Albert as a backup if necessary, and explain everything. Morris might understand. If that went wrong, he found himself deciding, he owed Camp Jupiter a long visit.

Ahh the suspense... reviews would be good thank you!