45 Adjusting The Course

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"So, where are we heading next anyways?" Autumn asked, fixing the steering wheel in place. "I trust you two have a general destination in mind right?"

"Yeah...." Annabeth wiped her face clean, walking over to their new crewmate. "About that. Mind telling me who the heck you are?"

Luke also made his way over after giving one final glance towards the raging blizzard happening over at the island, of which was now almost a pinprick on the horizon. If someone had told him a few months prior that he'd be sailing away from a monster whose left eye was bigger than an Olympic sized swimming pool on a pirate ship that came straight out of a Pirates Of The Caribbean movie, he probably would have laughed. Yet, here he was doing exactly that, narrowly escaping what surely would have been a quick end to his life as a demigod. Only reason he was still kicking it in the here and now was due to Chions quick thinking and spot on judgement to bring Autumn along. Without her, they probably wouldn't have even left the shoreline, getting an up close and personal look at the bottom of the ocean instead.

"Your name is Autumn Lowe right?" Luke stopped in front of her. "Chion vouched for you so we'll keep you aboard but I'm gonna need to ask you some questions."

"Sure," Autumn replied, a completely unbothered look on her face. "Ask whatever you feel to be necessary."

Luke nodded.

No matter how the blonde looked at it, this girl reminded him so much of his white haired friend that it was a little intimidating. While having no similarities in terms of looks, their mannerisms, speech patterns, and quick wit was nearly identical in every way. With Chion, it hadn't been a big deal since it was obvious he was on their side, but Autumn was quite a different story. She clearly possessed cunning that far surpassed theirs solely based off of what was already witnessed and without Chion present to match, Luke would have to tread carefully. Meaning he couldn't afford to NOT give her an interrogation. It wasnt even including whatever power she wielded as a demigod, the same power that allowed her to control the vines back in the forest.

(("Holding her at the same level as Chion though might be giving her too much credit,")) Luke noted, glancing back and froth from Annabeth and their new companion. (("She has some level of intelligence but it's hard to say what that is. We'll have to treat her like a vial of Greek Fire until he gets back."))

"Let's start with some general information," Annabeth said, leaning against the master of the ship. A gust of salty wind whipped through deck, scattering her curly blinde hair in all directions. "Name. Age. Parentage. Height. Weight."

"Why do we need to know her-"

"Autumn Lowe. 12 years old. 152 centimeters. 40.3 kilograms. Daughter of Demeter and Releus Lowe."

"Daughter of Demeter?" Luke repeated aloud, a tad surprised she had given the information so freely. ((" I guess it makes sense. Those vines...."))

The image of Autumn giggling whilst squeezing the three island workers flashed through the blonde teens head. He still wasn't aware of the girls past nor of who they were so it wasn't like he could judge her fully. Still, he couldn't help but look at the plant slinging child in a more negative light because of it.

"We have some time to kill before we get to our destination. Or so I'm assuming." Autumn glanced at the vast stretch of ocean situated before them. "Why don't we fix our heading and then I'll fill you in on my dull and dreary upbringing."

Annabeth let out a breath as she once again pulled out the Compass from her pants pockets, flicking the top of it open. And, just as before, the needle continued to spin on itself, first clockwise then counterclockwise, completely at random with no real sense of direction. Most would assume that it was broken and just toss it. However, Annabeth highly doubted Chion would give her something that was in dire need of repair. Not to mention that the only reason they had gotten to C.C's Spa and Resort was BECAUSE of the compass. There had to be something she was missing.

"Oh, is that Sparrows Compass?" Luke asked, looking over Annabeths shoulder. "It really does spin in a circle. Must be why he named it as such."

"Sparrows....Compass?" Annabeth repeated softly, a bit confused. "As in Jack Sparrow?"

"CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow," Luke corrected. "If you had attended movie night, you'd know the reference. Sparrow had a compass that could lead the holder of it to whatever they truly desired. Destination, object, or otherwise. Played a crucial role in the movies."

"That sounds super handy." Autumn also took the time to peer over Annabeths shoulder. "Much better than a standard compass."

(("Obviously he wouldn't have named it that without a reason. Question is, how did it work in the movie?")) It was probably the first time that Annabeth had regretted skipping out on one of Chions movie nights. Though there was no way she'd actually admit that out loud. "How did Captain Jack get it to work in the movies? Any rituals or such?"

Luke shook his head. "Just close your eyes and picture that which you truly want."

A brief image of Chion flashed through her head but she immediately buried it deep within the recesses of her mind before it could fully rear its head. For the time being, she had to push forward and focus on the task at hand. What they truly needed, and by extension what she herself needed, was to get the Golden Fleece and complete the quest. Once that was done she could put all the remaining time into a search and rescue for Chion. With that in mind, it was easy to pull up the image of what she wanted in that moment.

And just as was hoped, the arrow within the compass stopped spinning, going slower and slower until it halted in its tracks, pointing them in the direction of the Golden Fleece.

"We need to turn to the left," Annabeth announced, looking over to Autumn. "We have our destination. Hard to Port!!"

"Aye Captain." Autumn moved back towards the steering wheel. "Hard to Port."

"Oh, so you understand ship terminology?" Luke asked, hand on his chin. "Interesting."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "You dont need to watch that movie to know those terms. There are plenty of stories in mythology about ships as well as lessons regarding old vessels that I've read about. There isn't anything you can learn in movies that you can't learn with diligent studying."

"Can it teach you how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?"

"Obviously."

"Pft. Wrong. The world will never be able to answer that. Such a novice answer."

"Do you two always bicker like this?" Autumn cut into the conversation before the blonde daughter of Athena could properly form a rebuttal to Luke's teasing. "Its very entertaining. Among all the years I've been alive, today was perhaps the most entertaining I've ever had."

This comment actually made Annabeth stop and think, because it was probably the first time that she really had to analyze her relationship with Luke. The change had been gradual, so gradual that she hadn't even noticed, but now that it was being pointed out, it was almost as clear as day.

Ever since Luke had returned from his filled quest, he had been ever so distant. He had been present but it felt like a portion of him had disappeared, to where sometimes Annabeth would swear she could see his frustration and anger. He talked to her a lot less and focused on his training, working out and practicing whenever he wasn't focused on his duties as a camp counselor. Try as she wished, she couldn't figure out the problem or help him in any meaningful way.

However, during the last month and a half, when Chion had first appeared, Luke had gradually did a one eighty.

At first, the white-haired adolescent had only brought confusion and a cold shoulder when he arrived. However, as time progressed and Chion had warmed up to everyone, so too did the campers and the general atmosphere including Luke. What had been a mundane day to day camp experience was transformed into wondering what the youth was gonna pull out of his pocket next. Movie Nights, Greek Fire expirements, creating Tear Gas, and much more. It was impossible to stay negative whenever Chion was around, as if it was some sort of latent power. Luke was obviously no exception.

From a closed off individual into one that could freely share his feelings and even banter just like they used to when they were younger. Thanks to the presence of dear old Brain Freeze, her relationship with Luke had never been stronger. Again though, it wasn't something she'd freely admit to anyone, especially not Chion himself.

"Do we always bicker like this?" Luke echoed, tilting his head. Whether he was giving it some actual thought was anyone's guess. "I'd say yeah. Though I got nothing on her and Chion. Those two get into arguments over everything."

"Everything? They must not like each other then."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," Luke said with a smirk. "They argue in the best way possible."

Autumn gave a look of genuine confusion. "There's a good way to argue?"

"Of course." Luke watched Annabeths face out of the corner of his eye. "They once argued over whether or not a hotdogs could be considered a sandwich. It was so adorable to watch."

"But a hotdog isn't a sandwich."

"THANK YOU!!" Annabeth exclaimed.

-"It's more like a taco."

"Never mind," Annabeth immediately said, regretting her reaction. "You're just like that snow clogged idiot."

Luke burst into laughter.

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Guess whose still alive. Hehe.