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"So… Percy's at your camp?"

"Yes." Jason nodded. Leo was drumming his fingers on the table next to him. "Like I said, Juno made an exchange, to unite the Greeks and Romans." He looked to Annabeth. Her expression was grim, grey eyes flaming. Chiron sighed, rubbing his hands together.

"Louisa will not be happy."

"Who's Louisa?" Piper quirked a brow. Nervous laughter fluttered around the table; Chiron and Annabeth exchanged looks. She turned to Leo and Jason. Leo was squinting suspiciously at Chiron, tapping his finger on his chin. Jason hunched his shoulders, brow furrowed. She had seen that look on him plenty of times this past week.

"Short." He said. "Dark hair. Swears a lot."

"Yep." Lou Ellen slouched in her seat. "She will literally kick off a storm if she gets wind of this."

"Why's that? Who is she?" Piper tried again. No-one answered. There was a clatter outside and the door slammed open. A girl stumbled in backwards, swearing furiously under her breath. As one, several people around the ping-pong table pointed at her.

"Short. Dark hair. Swears a lot." Leo mused, ticking invisible boxes in the air. The girl kicked away vines tangling around her leg.

"Fuckin' Dionysus, I swear, I'll wring his neck. Get the fuck off." The plants retreated. She huffed, stomping her newly freed foot and turned to face the room. Her eyes swept the occupants, glittering sea green. Dark circles ringed them, her hair was scraped back in a ponytail that was in desperate need of brushing. Her orange camp shirt was filthy with dirt and… blood? Her jeans were no better off and her sneakers seemed to have trekked through a thousand miles of mud and monster dust. "Let's make this quick, I need a ba- fuck." Her gaze fixed on Jason. The mildly annoyed look from the plant attack had been fading, but it rushed back a hundred-fold. Thunder boomed overhead, her fists clenched. Leo could have sworn her eyes darkened.

"Lou," Annabeth said, holding her hands up, "just stay calm, we'll explain."

"No. No." Louisa shook her head, hands curling into fists in her hair. "No, no, nope." She spun on her heel and was gone. There was a second clap of thunder; this one shook the room. Jason was on his feet in a second.

"She's-"

"Very angry." Leo remarked. Annabeth motioned to Piper and they hurried out. Chiron ordered the others to return to their cabins. "Not you two," he told Jason and Leo, "you two need to meet Louisa."

"But Chiron, she's-" Jason began, cut off by another burst of thunder. Leo clapped his hands over his ears.

"What's going on?" He asked, a little too loudly. Chiron's grimaced, leading them out. They reached the porch. Leo gave a start, lowering his hands and gaping at the sky. Jason felt his heart sink.

The bright day was gone; clouds the colours of bruises threatened to drop from their domain. They were stationed so low, it was almost claustrophobic. Leo yelped when thunder struck again, hands straight back over his ears. Chiron swept forward, Jason hot on his heels. Leo could see the girl- Louisa, standing between the cabins and the Big House. Annabeth and Piper hovered by her, going no closer than ten foot.

"Leo, come on!" Jason called. Leo scrambled after him. Where was everyone? He glanced over his shoulder as he ran. He saw kids standing in front of their cabins, ushering people in. Hardly anyone was left. He squinted; he could see movements in most of the windows, faces watching the sky. He almost ran straight into Chiron's rear end, darting to the side at the last possible moment. Jason flung out his arm and he smacked into it.

They were close enough to hear Annabeth and Piper, both yelling. The wind was picking up, it whistled sharply through the trees. Thunder rattled the ground, they instinctively ducked at the noise. Jason tucked his arm around Leo, keeping him behind him. Leo peered around him. Chiron was calling for the girls to retreat, eyes darting to the sky every few seconds.

"Jason, what's going on?" Leo tapped his shoulder. "Is she doing this? Louisa?"

"Yes."

"But… how?" Something cold splashed his cheek and he looked up. A drizzle began.

"Lou, please, I know you're upset-" Annabeth was saying. Louisa stood with her back to the boys, her shoulders hunched. Her hands lowered, clenching into fists at her side, as she lifted her head a fraction. Leo didn't see her expression, but for Annabeth to take a step back from it… he felt queasy.

"Upset." Louisa repeated. "Upset?" Annabeth waved Piper back. Piper hesitated, looking to Chiron, to Jason. Both of them beckoned her over.

"Poseidon." It clicked in Leo's head. "She's Percy's sister."

"Yes." Jason nodded, holding his hand out as Piper approached. She gripped it fiercely. Leo saw Louisa stand straight. She tipped her head up to the sky. Something sharp hit his arm. He flinched, but saw only rain water.

The raindrops hit like stones, pelting their skin. Bruises appeared almost instantly. Annabeth moved away from Louisa, running at them. Chiron ordered them all back inside, ducking his head as the sky opened. Leo took two steps with them, but something compelled him to stop. The others carried on. He looked back.

Louisa screamed, wordlessly. Thunder joined her, a cacophony of eruptions that numbed Leo's ears. He saw the ground crack at her feet. She jabbed a finger at the sky. Leo could hear her distantly. At first, he didn't understand. She switched from Latin to English, swearing colourfully.

"FUCK YOU! WE'VE DEALT WITH YOUR SHIT FOR TOO LONG! BRING HIM BACK! BRING HIM BACK RIGHT NOW OR I WILL BREAK OLYMPUS DOWN MYSELF! BRING HIM BACK!" She glowered up at the sky. Leo realised she was perfectly dry, the rain veered around her. His heart hammered in his chest. Someone was calling his name. He looked down, finding his feet leading him over to her. Louisa was still screaming at the sky. "YOU CAN'T SHUT ME OUT!" He stopped at her side, about four feet between them. Green energy spilled between her fingers, fists clenched. The wind snapped past them, forcing Leo back a step. He bowed his head against the force, their hair and clothes whipping about. Past her, he could see the beach. The ocean was churning, violent, smashing into itself. She drew a breath, raising her hands. Leo stepped in front of her.

She stopped short. For a moment, their only movements was that of the wind.

What are you doing?! A small voice at the back of Leo's mind raged. Even Jason couldn't come this close! You're going to get yourself killed, Valdez!

"Let me help." He said. She blinked at him, visibly trembling. That strange energy was crackling up her forearms now, writhing with a force waiting to break free. Thunder bombarded the hills. A tingle wound down Leo's arm and he held his hand out. "I'm Leo. You're tired. Aren't you?" She sniffed. Whatever magic was keeping her dry faltered. Her hair stuck to her face. The rain seemed to weigh her shoulders down. It fell less heavily now. "Louisa, right?" She nodded. Leo waggled his fingers. "Don't leave me hanging." She shook her head, moving her hands away, half turning. The green light flickered the shadows over her face.

"No, I'll…" Thunder rolled again. But quieter. "I… I don't know you."

"No." Leo agreed, smiling lopsidedly. "You're a daughter of Poseidon, right?" She nodded, closing her eyes. "You any good with boats?"

"Yeah." Her brow creased and she looked at him. "Why?"

"Well… I'm going to build a boat. A warship."

"Seems fair."

"I'll call it the Argo II. We're going to use it to get to the Romans." A switch flipped behind her eyes.

"Percy."

"Yeah." The wind swirled around them. The rain didn't seem so painful, the sky not so dark. "I could use your help. I've never built a warship before." She frowned at him, examining his face. Trying to place him. "I'm new. Son of Hephaestus."

"I figured." She looked down. His hand was still outstretched to her. She reached for it, freezing and drawing back slightly when she saw the green energy still fighting there. She looked up, gaze travelling over the mass overhead, sunk to the horizon and widened at the sea. "This is bad." She said quietly, looking to her hands.

"It's OK. We can fix it."

"How?"

"Tell me about your brother."

"He's a dick, I'm gonna kill him." Leo laughed. She was genuinely shocked at the sound. "I'm serious."

"I'm sure you are. Can he do all this?" He motioned vaguely around them, not looking away. She hesitated, examining her surroundings again. She pushed wet hair from her face.

"A bit." She eventually managed. "I… he's better at… controllin' his temper than I am." She wiped at her face and sniffed. She half-turned again. "We've not met before." She said, watching Leo from the corner of her eye.

"No." He swapped hands, arm tiring.

"I… I feel like I know ya from somewhere though."

"Aw, maybe in your dreams." She gave a laugh.

"You wish." Another quick examination of her hands. No more green light. She grasped Leo's hand, cold but firm. "Lil' strange, ain't ya?"

"I get that a lot." He shrugged, tucking his thumbs in his belt loops. "At least you don't need that bath now." She shook her head, flicking her hands. She was instantly dry. The rain had stopped. Leo snuck a glance upwards while she re-tied her ponytail. The clouds were moving on. "Hey, we don't all have magic water resistance."

"Oh, sorry." She poked him dry. She looked over her shoulder. "Annabeth always tells me to calm down. Deep breaths, Lou; count to ten, Lou; go to your happy place, Lou." She swore in Latin. "I hate that. 'N' that other girl. Charmspeaker."

"Piper. She's pretty cool, you'll like her. Don't touch her tofu."

"Ew, why would I?"

"You've clearly not had Valdezed tofu. Don't bash it 'til you've tried it."