Jason is tired.
It's been almost a year since he woke up on that bus. Almost a year since he had any idea who he is or what he's really supposed to be doing.
For a while, he's felt like things are on track. He has friends he would die for, a girlfriend who loves him, and a quest that gives him purpose. As long as he has those things, it doesn't really matter what he was before. But, once those things are gone...Jason has no plan for what he's meant to be after.
To storm or fire, the prophecy says.
It's possible that Jason won't even have an after. If he does, though...Well, he has plenty to think about.
Camp Halfblood would take him in. He has Cabin 1 there if he needs it once this is all over. He has Juliette and Piper and Leo. Even Annabeth has been looking at him with less and less suspicion with every passing day. That solution seemed like a no brainer until Reyna showed up.
Jason doesn't remember her, just for the record. But, he remembers that she's important to him.
Seeing Reyna up there on the prow of the ship, dwarfed in one of his spare SPQR shirts yet still radiating authority, he got flashes of scenes from their past - times he's seen her look the same: clasping that purple cape around her shoulders for the first time upon her promotion to praetor, looking up at that stern, yet pleased expression after she finished feeding him colosseum sand for breakfast.
He knows that they were friends. He knows they were siblings in arms. Maybe that's why he feels he owes it to her to have this conversation before she's out of reach again.
"Do you have everything you need?" Jason asks, walking alongside Reyna as she heads towards to Athena Parthenos to depart.
She adjusts the fastenings of her arm braces, frowning at them like they aren't being very cooperative. "I believe so," Reyna says stiffly. She finishes tightening her newly repaired armor back down and comes to a stop beside the statue. None of her party has arrived yet. She turns to Jason and folds her hands behind her back. "What can you tell me about my companions?"
Jason thinks. "Well, Nico's great. He'll have your back, even if he won't admit it. He's very powerful, just not very friendly. Hedge..." He winces. "Just, keep him away from explosives, and you'll be fine."
Reyna nods.
The evening is cool out. The sun is almost completely behind the rolling hills on the horizon. Juliette is probably inside fussing over Nico before she lets him escape into the night. Hedge is likely buffing one of the dents out of his baseball bat or something. It should be just the two of them up here for a little longer.
"Reyna, listen-"
She holds up a hand, and Jason stops. Her eyes are narrowed.
"I don't need your explanations, former praetor Grace. The gods' plans are beyond mortal understanding," She says stiffly.
Jason looks down. Reyna's military boots are gleaming and toed with Imperial Gold. His worn grey sneakers look silly across from them.
"Maybe so," He grants her. "But, maybe I need to say them. To you. Even if you don't need to hear them."
Reyna frowns at him, catlike eyes flicking back and forth between his own like she's deciding if he's tricking her or not. Whatever sign she's looking for, she must not find it. With a hesitant purse of her lips, Reyna nods for Jason to continue.
"Thank you," He says in relief. Jason straightens his back, sets his jaw, and pushes down his emotions. "In December, I awoke on a school bus in Arizona with no memory of who I was. Not even my name. I was with Piper and Leo, who you met in New Rome," Reyna's face darkens at the mention of the son of Hephaestus, but Jason presses on. "They told me that I was Jason. That I was fifteen years old. But, it wasn't until my first night at Camp Halfblood that I remembered even my parentage."
Reyna hasn't made a new expression yet. She seems to be waiting for all of the information until she makes a judgement on how to feel about what Jason is telling her. It sort of relieves him.
"We were sent on a quest for Hera - Piper, Leo, Juliette, and I. Along the way, we met my sister, Thalia. We also faced several enemies of Rome, all of whom were more than eager to remind me of where my oaths lie."
Jason closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. When he opens them, Reyna's face still hasn't changed. Her shoulders look tense, her knees locked, but that seems to just be her permanent posture. She looks no different than she probably would if he were reading her a grocery list.
"I don't remember you," He admits softly.
Finally, there's a flicker. Reyna looks away before he can clock what it is, instead choosing to gaze up at the frozen frown on Athena's stone face.
Jason hesitates, but ultimately decides to take a step closer to her. "I don't remember much of anything about my life at Camp Jupiter. I can remember...flashes."
The rain. The cyclops. A pair of upturned green eyes.
"But, nothing solid."
Finished for now, Jason crosses his arms as he waits for her response. They stand there for a moment, both looking up at the Parthenos - at the giant, glaring symbol of all that stands between the families Jason is torn between. The signature clanking of someone climbing down the Argo's rope ladder echoes up the hill, and Reyna finally turns back to him.
"Those oaths of yours that lie in Rome," She ventures. "Do you still uphold them?"
Jason feels a pain in his chest. He rubs his fist against it. "...I don't know."
Reyna studies him. Then, she adjusts her sword belt and nods. "Alright, then. I suppose we can't hold you to them if you can't even remember swearing loyalty to begin with."
"I'm still loyal," Jason says urgently. "I'm still the son of Jupiter."
"But, what else are you now?" Reyna asks. When Jason frowns in confusion, she sighs, and the first glint of amusement Jason has seen in her shines her brown eyes a little brighter. She steps up to him and tugs the Iris charm on his necklace up to eye level. "It seems both camps have left their mark on you, my former colleague."
Jason blinks at the shard of crystal dangling between his eyes. Then, he huffs a laugh and pulls it back to rest against his chest. "Oh, no, that's not...Juliette gave that to me. It's not from the camp."
She looks at him like he's stupid. It makes him replay his last sentence in his head, but Jason doesn't find anything wrong with it. She crosses her arms.
"Juliette. The girl with the copper hair? Of course, her name is Juliette." Reyna sighs.
"Um..." Jason's a little nervous where she's going with this.
"Your puella rosae, right? From your dreams."
Oh. Oh?
"I told you about her?" Jason asks in awe.
Reyna apparently only looks like the teenager she is when she rolls her eyes.
"Your heart has been torn between camps since long before December, Jason Grace. She must be special for you to have fallen so hard twice."
The wistful words are spoken bitterly. It makes Jason feel that pain in his chest again.
"Reyna, for whatever my disappearing has put you through, I am so sorry," He rushes the apology out before she can stop him. Reyna's just looking over Jason's shoulder towards the voices approaching up the hill. "I have no idea how to make it up to you, but please know I'm going to try. Just," Jason winces anxiously. "Stay safe. I want to get to know you again, and you'll need to be in one piece for that."
Reyna smirks a bit. But, she closes her eyes and clenches her jaw, and her face returns to a blank slate. "I don't plan on dying anytime soon. Scipio gave his life to get me here. I plan on following through on what I need to do for the good of New Rome."
She extends a hand toward Jason. He offers her a fond smile and clasps it into a firm handshake. They exchange a nod, release one another, and Jason turns to head back to the ship as Nico and Hedge crest the hill.
Before he gets too far away, Reyna's voice calls out. "Jason!"
He turns expectantly, and Reyna swallows, appearing a bit hesitant.
"You smile more now," She tells him.
Jason watches her, waiting for more. She closes her mouth. She's apparently done with her observations.
"Oh," He says. "Okay."
Her cheeks flush slightly. She looks down at the necklace resting on his purple shirt. "Twelve years of service is a long time. You deserve to smile."
Jason's eyebrows go up, but Reyna turns around before he can say anything in response. She marches to the other side of the statue, armor reflecting the last bit of sunlight left peeking through the grass, and very pointedly ends their conversation.
His goodbyes with Nico and Hedge are shorter. Nico's willing to offer him a business-like handshake in between good natured death threats concerning Juliette's wellbeing. Hedge actually tears up a little before giving him a rib cracking bear hug and shoving his beloved baseball cap firmly onto Jason's head.
The moment Apollo stables his chariot for the night, the three of them secure themselves to the statue and melt into shadows. Jason watches the place they disappeared for a few minutes. Just in case.
Then, he sighs, nods to himself, and returns to being the hero that the gods asked for.
Juliette is sitting on the deck when he reaches the top of the ladder, staring off in the direction their friends disappeared in. Her back is to Jason when he approaches. He lays a hand on her waist once he's near enough and lowers his voice in sympathy. "Worried about Nico?"
She lets out a breath, puffing out her cheeks. "I'm always worried about Nico. I've been worried about Nico for, like, four years straight."
Jason chuckles. "He'll be fine. Reyna'll take care of him."
"She's terrifying," Julie shudders. "I thought she was going to skin me alive."
"Now, you know how I feel."
"Reyna is 100 times more scary than Percy. Percy once got a dum-dum stuck up his nose."
Jason barks out a surprised laugh, although why he's surprised, he isn't sure, and Juliette turns around in his arms to look up at him with a smirk. Once her eyes land on him, though, she freezes.
Jason quirks an eyebrow. "Are you okay?"
She gapes at him, cheeks turning steadily more red the longer she stares. Self consciously, Jason starts feeling around his face for mess from lunch or something.
"What?" He asks nervously.
Juliette snaps out of it. She shakes her head and clears her throat. "You're wearing a baseball cap."
"Yeah," Jason confirms, reaching up to place a hand on the black and grey hat in question. "Coach gave it to me before he left."
"Oh," She says. Her voice sounds squeakier than normal. "It's...backwards."
"Does it look bad?" Jason worries. He reaches back to grab the bill of the hat in preparation to spin it around. "It was just in the way climbing the ladder. I won't wear it this way if it looks-"
"No!" Juliette interrupts loudly. Jason's eyebrows go up in surprise. "I mean, no, it looks good. Keep it. That way."
If possible, her face turns even darker red. There's no way this reaction is all about his hat. She's been really busy today. Did she work herself sick? Jason blinks at her in concern. "Are you sure you're okay?"
Juliette's mouth opens and closes like a fish. Words elude her for a moment, and then she rearranges her face into a decisive frown. Jason can't help but rear back suspiciously at the new expression. Especially when she reaches out and clasps one of his hands to pull him towards the interior of the ship.
"Come with me," She orders.
Jason lets her drag him along, confused. "I have watch duty in a few, Rosa. I'm supposed to swap off with Frank."
"Well, Frank can wait," Juliette declares.
"Where are we goi-Has this storage closet always been here? Why do you know where all of the-I'm going to stop talking now."
"Thank you," She murmurs before pulling the door shut behind them and slamming her lips onto Jason's.
"Do you guys think I should write a will?" Leo asks.
The two girls look at him in tired exasperation, but Jason props onto an elbow in interest. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, I mean," He grins. "On a scale of 1 to 'already full of maggots,' we're definitely closer to the 'no need to make plans for college' end of the imminent death spectrum. So, should I have a will?"
"We're not going to die, Leo," Jason frowns. "We won't let it get to that."
The younger boy just waves him off. "Yeah, yeah, but back to my question."
Juliette rolls onto her stomach where she's splayed out on the pink floral comforter she dragged onto the deck for the night. Jason turns his head to bury his face in his pillow. Maybe suffocating himself will prevent his traitorous eyes from tracing the line of her legs underneath the sweatpants she stole from him.
The 'our chaperone is gone: celebratory sleepover under the stars' is well underway, and all of their eyelids are starting to droop more with each new topic. He hears Juliette yawn and shuffle around a bit more. "What would you even have to will to anyone?"
Jason looks up as Leo crosses his arms defensively. "Hey, I've got stuff! Festus, for one! I mean, he's gonna need a new papa if McShizzle is down for the count, right?"
"I guess," She sighs. "Who's the lucky godparent of your two ton bronze dragon, then?"
Leo hums in thought, digging out oil from under his fingernails and making Juliette cringe dramatically in disgust. "I guess Nyssa would make the most sense. Just as long as you guys promise to give him enough belly rubs and tabasco when I'm gone."
They all grumble sleepy agreements, and he nods in satisfaction at his choice. Jason rests his head on his arms. Piper sighs as she rebraids her long brown hair, and it draws his attention. "Something wrong?"
Piper shrugs. "This song, for one. Who put this noise on?"
"How dare you," Juliette gasps. "Don't you ever speak of our Queen and Savior Taylor Swift like that again."
"If she releases better music, I won't have to."
"Are you trying to scrap right now, McLean?! 'Cause, I'll scrap, if you wanna scrap."
Piper rolls her eyes and flops back onto her pillow. "No need to get your ponytail in a twist. I'm just thinking about what we're all gonna do when we get back home."
Jason sits up criss cross. Juliette takes that as an invitation for her to roll over to him and plop her head into his lap. He shakes his head in amusement and obligingly starts carding his fingers through his clingy girlfriend's hair. "Do you have plans in mind?" He asks Piper.
The girl shrugs again, but she bites her lip like she's more hesitant about answering than she wants to let on. "I mean...I haven't seen my dad in, like, seven or eight months now. I should probably check in on him. Maybe go back to school."
Leo wrinkles his nose. "I'm not going back to school."
"Shocker."
"Hey!"
Juliette and Jason laugh. Leo just squints at Piper in outrage. "I'll have you know, Leo Valdez is a man amongst chimps on this planet. No school could handle my sheer intellect."
"Then, what are you gonna do?" Piper asks irritably.
Leo's smile flickers.
"Oh, you know...Probably build some stuff..." He clears his throat and pulls his covers up to his chin. Jason glances down at Juliette, who seems to be frowning sympathetically at the boy. Something melancholy flashes across her face, and she snuggles back into Jason's hand more closely.
"How about you, Superman?" Leo's question is muffled by the filthy scrap of cloth he claims is a blanket. "Got other superhero duties to attend after this?"
Jason sighs.
Isn't that the million drachma question.
He coils a strand of Juliette's hair around his finger with a scowl. "I have no idea. I haven't really thought past Gaea yet."
A lie. A very bad one, but Piper and Leo both shrug and nod.
Juliette doesn't seem to buy it, though. She reaches back to poke Jason between the eyes. "Well, obviously, you're coming to Manhattan with me for at least a little bit. You've got to meet Sally and Paul."
He goes still. It makes her snort.
"Relax. Percy's apparently the scary one, and you seem to have survived him just fine."
"So far..." Jason grumbles. Truthfully, he hasn't spoken enough to Percy since he got out of Tartarus to really test that theory. The guy has been primarily holed up in the med bay with Annabeth since they got done with lunch earlier. Juliette just grins innocently and honks his nose, making Jason huff at her with a begrudging smirk. "Well, what about you?"
"Gonna go out for prom queen?" Leo mocks.
"Absolutely," confirms Juliette, dead serious. "Gotta keep cheer captain on my resume too."
Piper makes a disgusted hacking noise that leads to her sister's sock being thrown at her face. Leo mimes shaking pom poms while letting out a demented impression of a bimbo-giggle as Jason just shakes his head fondly at their antics. Juliette sits up with a grin and hugs her knees, looking years younger and starry eyed.
"Seriously, though," She says. "Once this is all over, we're gonna stay together, right? I don't think I want to face high school without you guys."
Leo, Piper, and Jason all exchange glances. Significantly less sarcastic ones than were being flung around a minute ago. After a moment of silence, Piper shrugs.
"I'm down. Public school can't be worse than wilderness academy, right?"
"You'd be surprised," Juliette snarks. Piper just shrugs again.
Jason looks down at the little Clark Kents on his pajama pants. He traces the glasses on the man's face and thinks about Reyna's parting words.
"I don't remember ever going to school," He says quietly.
The admission doesn't shock anyone. Juliette just rolls her eyes. "Oh, you'd be a total teacher's pet."
"He so would," Piper agrees with a smirk.
"You'd probably remind teachers about quizzes and stuff," Leo gags.
Jason blinks at them. Assessments are important, aren't they? Isn't that the purpose of school? "Is that bad?"
"Not if you don't mind getting beat up behind the bleachers," Juliette tells him sweetly. Then, she looks Jason up and down and pokes him in the bicep. "Although, you'd probably do fine."
Leo snorts. He swings up and pats Jason aggressively on the shoulder. "You could keep me from getting shoved in lockers."
"Did that actually happen to you?" laughs Juliette. "I thought that was just a thing in Disney movies."
He scowls at her. "Of course, you'd think so, prom queen."
Jason has no idea what they're talking about, but he laughs anyway. His beautiful girlfriend sits up taller and beams.
"So, it's agreed then," She declares. Juliette reaches a hand into the center of their little circle, pinky extended, and puts on a very serious expression. "Once all of this is done, we're going to school together. We'll be like the demigod Breakfast Club."
"Oh my gods, that's exactly what we are," Piper mumbles with a haunted expression.
Has Jason seen that? Is that the one with the rule where they aren't allowed to talk about Breakfast Club?
Juliette waves her hand around impatiently. "Well?"
The three other teenagers look at each other. Then, Piper shrugs and links their pinkies. "Sounds good to me."
With a nod of approval at her sister, Juliette shifts her focus to Leo.
He looks more hesitant. There's anxiety in the set of his shoulders. Jason watches him tap rhythmically on the deck of the Argo for a second before deflating. With a drawn out sigh and a wince of...guilt? Leo sits forward to link his callused pinky to hers. "A'ight, you win. But, I expect to be introduced to all your cheerleader friends. Papa Valdez needs the appreciation he deserves."
Juliette quirks an eyebrow at him, something skeptical and knowing in her gaze, but nods her agreement.
It's Jason's turn. She wiggles her eyebrows at him and raises her pinky to eye level as he worries at the scar on his lip.
Making promises while they have a death prophecy - two death prophecies - hanging over their heads feels like a bad omen. Jason swallows the lump stuck in his throat.
"I might need to go back to New Rome for a while-" He starts nervously.
"So, when you get back to New York," She shrugs.
He tugs at his pjs.
"I still don't know where my place is exactly. Camp Halfblood might not be right for me-"
"So, we find a school with dorms, then."
Jason purses his lips. He reaches up to scratch his neck, trying to come up with a better excuse, and brushes against the Iris charm hanging from his otherwise bare camp necklace. The cool crystal against his fingers crumbles the last of his defiance. He looks at his friends sheepishly and grips his necklace like it's a lifeline. "I'll have no idea what I'm doing. I'm not good at talking to mortals."
Juliette, Piper, and Leo all look at each other. Then, they grin at Jason like he's an idiot.
"That's what we're for, dummy," Juliette says softly.
"We'll show you the ropes," nods Piper.
Jason looks them over. Slowly, a smile worms its way onto his face. He really does smile a lot around these guys, doesn't he? With a quiet laugh to himself, Jason reaches forward and shakes pinkies.
The other three erupt into cheers, and an irritated Annabeth ends up yelling at them to shut up from below deck.
Julie has seen a few of Beryl Grace's movies.
She got curious during a hang out with Rachel a few months ago, and the two of them tracked some down. She thought about showing them to Jason to see if the reminder of his mother's face might do him some good. The films ended up being...disturbing, though.
Beryl Grace was beautiful: golden and shining like Jason, but with Thalia's razor sharp smiles. She seemed intelligent and did well for herself in Hollywood. When she spoke, though, there was nothing in her eyes. Not happiness. Not sadness.
Nothing.
Julie decided that wasn't something she wanted to remind Jason of. Apparently, Gaea has other ideas.
She watches the boy she loves regress back into the lost child in a den of wolves that he once was. His blue eyes are wide and vulnerable, his grip on his gladius slipping as he takes in the specter of his mother before him.
This was supposed to be a quick mission - just a way to gather information on Gaea's forces and movements so that they know what exactly they're meant to do next. Nobody ever expected it to go this far. Now, though, their disguises are blown, they're surrounded by enemies, and Jason is facing the one person who might actually be able to crack his impenetrable guard.
"Mom?" He breathes out, chest heaving. The pain in his voice is like a punch to the gut. Juliette pushes through the crowd of ghouls to try to get to his side.
"Yes, dearest," Beryl smiles at him, opening her arms wide. "Come. Embrace me."
Shit. Julie keeps navigating the still crowd and prays to Hades that Jason can withstand the allure of a forsaken spirit.
"You're-you're not real."
Good boy.
Julie finally shoves the last enemy out of the way and is at Jason's side in a heartbeat. She attaches herself to his arm, and the fear and uncertainty her pores begin immediately soaking in springs tears to her eyes. She clings to Jason, and he leans into her like a toddler holds onto a parent's leg.
"Of course she's real," scoffs Michael Varus. "Did you think Gaea would let such an important spirit languish in the Underworld? She deserves justice as much as any of us."
Juliette throws him a vicious glare and turns to Jason. "She's real, but that's not her, Soldier Boy. She's been twisted. I can sense it."
It's true. There's bitterness and resentment cascading off of Beryl's form like high levels of radiation. She can practically taste it all the way over here. The specific signature of the aura is something Julie's only encountered one other time.
"Twisted!" Beryl gasps delicately. Blonde waves tangled across her thin shoulders. "Yes. Look what has become of me. What I have been reduced to," She wails. Juliette grips Jason's arm harder as the woman's translucent form floats closer and hovers a few inches off the ground. "This is all Jupiter's fault. He abandoned us! He wouldn't help me! I didn't want to leave you in Sonoma, but Juno gave me no choice."
She sounds sincere, but there's that emptiness in her eyes again. Julie looks up at Jason. He's still staring at his mother in horror and heartbreak, but with the childlike awe of a son admiring the woman who created him.
Beryl clings to that awe. She floats closer and reaches out to touch Jason's face. Julie yanks him back to stand behind her, and the ghost cuts her eyes at her before focusing back on her son.
"Why are you fighting for the ones who stood between us?" Beryl rasps. "Join these suitors. Lead them. You're the only one who can. And, we can be a family again."
Juliette can't do anything but serve as a meat shield between the mania and the boy shaking behind her. She doesn't know what his face looks like. The only clue she has to what he's thinking is the cloud of pain boiling against Julie's back like a sunburn. He must stare at his mother for a long time before finally taking a deep breath and answering her proposition.
"You left me," He states. Beryl starts to shake her head, but Jason speaks up louder. "That wasn't Jupiter or Juno. That was you. You left me."
"Dearest, I told you I would come back. Don't you remember my final words to you?" She floats even closer as she asks, and Julie finds herself being swept backwards as Jason reverses their protective positions. Beryl rears back like his distrust is deeply insulting, but Jason just grips his gladius tightly and Juliette presses their backs together, arrow nocked.
"You don't have to die," The mania tells him softly.
Gee. Mother of the year, isn't she?
Julie can practically hear Jason's teeth cracking with how tightly he's grinding them together. With Deianira, the only way to dispel her form was to bring her peace.
"What do you want?" Julie asks the ghost. "Why did you leave the Underworld?"
"I want life!" The woman hisses. "Youth! Beauty! Things a pretty little brat like you could never appreciate. Zeus could have made me immortal. He could have taken me to Olympus. But, he abandoned me," Beryl turns to her child with a kind, motherly smile. There's still nothing in her eyes. "You could set things right, Jason. You're my proud little warrior."
A choked sob escapes Jason's throat. He presses further against Juliette's back, and she digs her heels into the floor to keep him standing upright. She feels him shake his head. "No. You're a mania. A spirit of insanity. That's what you've been reduced to-"
"I am all that remains," Beryl says softly. She must be inches away from Jason now. Julie has to force herself to keep her eyes trained on the enemies behind them rather than jumping around to pull him away. "You have forsaken your Roman oaths. You will never be kin to the Greeks. Embrace me, my son. I am all you have left."
That is not true. That is not true.
Julie lets go of her bow with one hand to search out his and lace their fingers together.
Jason is not, and never will be alone. Juliette would burn the world before she'd let that happen. She isn't sure how to get that message across with just a squeeze of Jason's hand, but she tries anyway. Jason's voice comes out croaked and broken, but he squeezes Julie's fingers back and raises his sword between himself and the remains of his mother's soul.
"No. My loyalties haven't changed. My family has just expanded."
The monsters around them start lifting their weapons as well, snarls forming on the previously bored looking faces of ghouls. Jason lets go of Juliette's hand, but his sword doesn't drop an inch. The muscles of his back prepare for battle like he's done this a million times before.
Hades, he probably has.
"I am a child of Greece and Rome," Jason tells his mother. "I am no child of yours."
Juliette is from the Appalachian Mountains. Jason always forgets that until she's yelling at him.
"Do you normally just stand there when people stab you?" She hisses, yanking the overskirt off her old lady costume and pressing it mercilessly into the bloody mess of his stomach. Jason cries out, and she just glares at him. "Shut up! You're so fucking stupid, and I hate you. Suck it up while I save your life."
Her accent is making all of her "r"s sound like pirate-english. It amuses Jason's dizzy, blood-loss-addled brain to no end. "Yes, ma'am" He chokes.
His back was only to Michael Varus for a split second to check on his allies, but that had been enough. At least the havoc Juliette wreaked on their half of the battlefield after seeing Jason go down likely cut their battle time by a good half hour.
Piper and Annabeth come crashing to the ground beside them, having finished off the last of their enemies. Without hesitation, Annabeth takes over for Juliette, and Piper digs the ambrosia out of her backpack before letting her sister shove her aside to rummage through it herself, blood coating her tanned arms up to the elbows.
Jason chews the squares Piper feeds him obediently. Annabeth's fingers are trembling where she's holding pressure on the wound. She looks to Juliette fearfully as their medic uncaps a canteen of nectar and moves her aside to splash it on the open gash.
The pain in Jason's middle flares enough that he cries out again. Then, the warmth of the nectar and ambrosia starts making it go numb. He slowly relaxes, lulled into distortion by the taste of overly processed Honey Buns.
"It's smoking," Piper observes, looking horrified. "Why is it smoking?"
"Imperial Gold," answers Annabeth, also seeming on the verge of panicked tears.
"Shit!" Juliette exclaims as she dumps Piper's backpack over and lets the contents spill across the stone floor. "Did you not get a go bag before we left?" She snaps.
Piper pales, and Annabeth swears under her breath as well.
Both girls get shoved aside as Juliette fills the entire field of Jason's vision. In his loopy state, the sight makes him smile.
"Stop looking so happy," She growls. "You just got stabbed."
Jason lets himself be manhandled as more fabric gets wrapped horribly tight around his midsection.
"Jason, I-I'm-" Annabeth's voice chokes. Jason turns his head to look at her, and there are tears flooding her usually steely grey eyes. "I'm sorry. About your mom."
The pain comes back. This time, it's in his head and his heart as the sight of Beryl's tragically beautiful features haunt his memory.
"But the way you handled that...It was so brave."
Juliette's hands stall for a second. One swipes across the back of Jason's fingers, their skin making brief, slippery contact, and the pain in his chest dims enough for him to breathe.
"It wasn't her," He tells himself, trying desperately to banish his mother's face from behind his eyes.
Juliette swipes the back of his hand again, eyes focused on his wound. "It wasn't," She agrees. "She was a mania."
"Like Deianira," Jason mumbles.
She nods.
Once she finishes knotting what seems to be Jason's own costume skirt, Juliette sits back on her heels and starts wiping the blood from her hands onto Piper's dress. The other girl looks too guilt ridden to be annoyed.
"Oh gods..." Annabeth groans. Jason looks up to see the fabric already turning red. "Oh gods..." She mutters again.
Jason sighs. "Thanks. I was worried it might be bad-"
"It is bad!" Juliette snaps. "You got stabbed by Imperial Gold, you stupid idiot!"
Her accent says angry, but the long kiss she presses to his hair says worried. Juliette turns to the other two with an anxious scowl. "I'm going to fly him to the ship. I'll tell Leo to come pick you guys up."
Annabeth and Piper nod, and Jason wonders if this is what it feels like to get high as his brain spins a hundred different directions and he watches his girlfriend start turning into a terrifying beast with teeth the size of Dasani water bottles.
Before she can fully reach wyvern form, though, Jason gasps. "Wait!"
Annabeth and Piper frown at him impatiently, and Juliette hovers in a terrifying half-transformation that's pretty much a human with a snake for a head. Jason tears his eyes from the nightmare inducing sight to point at the bed at the center of the courtyard.
"An enchanted marriage bed," He reminds them, panting from the pain. "This seems like the perfect place to contact Juno."
Jason's never seen a snake look so put out before in his life.