#You Need To Know About Valdez Alaska

[twoidiotwriters1]

The Curse of Oenone (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: My nephew helped me queue this one (he is a literal baby) -Danny Words: 2,379 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter // Next Chapter Listen to: 'Goldrush' -by Stela Cole

X: Are You Serious? Right in Front of My Salad?

I wake up with a start. My mouth is dry as if I've been running for hours. I just had the weirdest dream about Janus in a forest and now my mind is racing, so I get up. I leave Annabeth in Geryon's old bedroom and make my way downstairs. 

Nico is seated on a tall chair in the kitchen aisle, he doesn't look up as I walk past him, but as I'm filling a glass with water, he speaks to me. "How's Lily?" He asks hoarsely. "And Michael?"

I want to ignore him, but his voice is so broken my heart can't bear it. We spoke to his sister's ghost today, and Bianca told him to stop trying to bring her back.

"You know, now that you're all grumpy, you and Lily would get along even better."

"I don't want friends," he cuts me off, voice quivering. "Just wanted my sister."

"Nico," I leave my glass on the counter and cross my arms. "I grew up in an orphanage—"

"What's that got to do with—"

"Shut up and listen," I scowl. "I didn't know how it felt to have a real family until recently, and sometimes Percy annoys me on purpose, but no one cares for me the way he and my mom do. If Bianca, your only sister, was asking you to trust us, you should've listened."

"Like how you listened to Percy when he asked you to stay put?"

I tense. "That's different. Geryon would've killed him if I hadn't—"

He interrupts me bitterly. "Percy's not your real brother, and you'll never know what a real family is. You get in everyone's way trying to be a hero."

I try not to pout, but I'm not succeeding. "That's mean."

If Nico is ashamed, I don't sense it. "It's the truth."

"You don't talk to your friends like that," I say, voice quivering. "Bianca—"

Nico gets up and exits the room hastily, speaking through gritted teeth. "We are not friends."

"...Gaea told me that she needed the blood of only two demigods—one female, one male. She—she asked me to choose which boy would die." Piper explains during the meeting.

"But neither of us died," Jason replies. "You saved us."

"I know. It's just... Why would she want that?"

"Guys, remember at the Wolf House? Our favorite ice princess, Khione?" Leo mentions. "She talked about spilling Jason's blood, how it would taint the place for generations. Maybe demigod blood has some kind of power." 

"Oh..." Percy leans back in his chair looking nauseous. "Oh, bad... Bad. Bad." He turns to Hazel and Frank. "You guys remember Polybotes?"

"The giant who invaded Camp Jupiter," Hazel replies. "The anti-Poseidon you whacked in the head with a Terminus statue. Yes, I think I remember."

"I had a dream, when we were flying to Alaska. Polybotes was talking to the gorgons, and he said—he said he wanted me taken prisoner, not killed. He said: 'I want that one chained at my feet, so I can kill him when the time is ripe. His blood shall water the stones of Mount Olympus and wake Earth Mother!'"

"Jolly way of dying..." Ara mutters.

Piper makes a face. "You think the giants would use our blood... the blood of two of us—"

"I don't know," Percy replies. "But until we figure it out, I suggest we all try to avoid getting captured."

"That I agree with," Jason sighs.

"But how do we figure it out? The Mark of Athena, the twins, Ella's prophecy... how does it all fit together?" Hazel questions.

Annabeth leans on the table. "Piper, you told Leo to set our course for Atlanta." 

"Right. Bacchus told us we should seek out... what was his name?"

"Phorcys," Percy responds.

"You know him?" Annabeth looks at him with surprise.

"I didn't recognize the name at first. Then Bacchus mentioned salt water, and it rang a bell. Phorcys is an old sea god from before my dad's time. Never met him, but supposedly he's a son of Gaea. I still don't understand what a sea god would be doing in Atlanta."

"What's a wine god doing in Kansas? Gods are weird," Leo points out with a shrug. "Anyway, we should reach Atlanta by noon tomorrow, unless something else goes wrong."

"Don't even say that," Annabeth shivers. "It's getting late. We should all get some sleep."

"Wait," Piper intervenes. "There's one last thing. The eidolons—the possessing spirits. They're still here, in this room." 

There is nothing but silence for a few seconds before Hazel sighs. "Piper is right."

"How can you be sure?" Annabeth questions.

"I've met eidolons. In the Underworld, when I was... you know."

"So..." Frank looks around anxiously. "You think these things are lurking on the ship, or—"

"Possibly lurking inside some of us," Piper replies. "We don't know."

"Okay," Ara fixes her posture tensely. "Do you have a plan to get rid of them?"

"Yes," Piper looks at her. "I think we can fix this."

Ironic, how the skills that have proven to be handy so far are the ones she had as an Aphrodite and not the ones she worked hard for. "Okay," Ara nods with confidence. "What do we do?"

"We talk, and everyone else has to listen," her sister explains. "Your voice is stronger than mine, so it'd be better if you call out to them first, and force them to stay put."

"You're a better negotiator, though," Ara reminds her, "so you'll do the talking after I've got them in place."

"Deal."

"Girls, what are you—"

Ara hushes Jason and lifts a finger. "Be quiet, I have to focus." She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. The girl's skin glows pink, and the dark brown has been replaced with iridescent tints when she opens her eyes. "Eidolons, where are you?"

A ripple of warm air crosses the table. Leo, Jason, and Percy sit up stiffly, their gazes are the same golden color. "Here," they speak all at once.

Frank jumps out of his seat and presses his back against a wall. Hazel covers her mouth in horror.

"You are not allowed to leave your seats," Ara tells them.

"We won't move," they reply.

 Annabeth looks at the two daughters of Aphrodite with worry. "Oh, gods—Can you cure them?"

Piper raises her hand to ease her, and when she does, her palm trembles a little. Ara holds it as soon as she notices.

"Are there more of you on this ship?" Piper asks.

"No," Leo responds. "The Earth Mother sent three. The strongest, the best. We will live again."

"Not here, you won't," Piper's eyes blaze with anger. "All three of you, listen carefully. You will leave those bodies—"

"No."

"We must live."

"Then find another way," Ara glares at the Eidolon possessing Leo.

Leo's face twists into a smirk. "You are a spoiled child of Olympus. We do not answer to you."

"Mars Almighty, that's creepy!" Frank draws out his bow. "Get out of here, spirits! Leave our friends alone!"

Leo looks at him. "You cannot command us either, child of war. Your own life is fragile. Your soul could burn at any moment."

Frank manages to aim an arrow at Leo. "I—I've faced down worse things than you. If you want a fight—"

"Frank, don't," Hazel gets up, then turns to the others. "Listen to Piper."

"Daughter of Pluto, you may control gems and metals. You do not control the dead," Percy snarls.

"Listen, eidolons," Hazel spits out, "you do not belong here. I may not command you, but Piper and Ara do. Obey them."

Piper looks at Ara, the girl squeezes her palm and absorbs the fear her sister is feeling so she can speak. Piper takes a deep breath and tries again. "You will leave those bodies."

Jason grimaced. "We—we will leave these bodies."

"You will vow on the River Styx never to return to this ship, and never to possess any member of this crew."

Leo and Percy groan in protest, but their eyes are slowly changing colors.

"You will promise on the River Styx," Piper repeats, squeezing Ara's hand.

Ara shakes off the shivers she's getting from sponging Piper's anxiety, but she doesn't let go of her. "Promise!" The girl stomps her foot impatiently, and another ripple of hot air pushes out of her place on the table.

"We promise on the River Styx," the boys spit out in different levels of distress. 

"You are dead," Piper continues in a steady voice. 

"We are dead." 

"Now, leave."

The boys fall: Percy against the table, Jason over his chair, and Leo onto the floor. "Ow!"

"Leo!" Ara lets go of Piper and circles the table, she finds Leo sprawled next to his toppled chair.

"Are you all right?" Hazel asks the boys.

"Did it work?" Leo speaks groggily.

"It worked," Piper announces. "I don't think they'll be back."

"Does that mean I can stop getting head injuries now?" Jason groans.

Piper laughs. "Come on, Lightning Boy. Let's get you some fresh air. And Ara..." she tilts her body to see her over the table's surface. "Thank you."

Ara helps Leo to get back on his feet, she dusts off her jeans and looks at Piper. "You saved my brother and my boyfriend, I should be thanking you."

"What was that thing you did?" Hazel questions in shock. "You glowed pink!"

"Aphrodite's blessing," Ara replies. "I can use those from time to time, but not often and not one after the other, it tires me out too quickly."

"You have more than one blessing?" Frank asks in shock.

"She's got four," Leo replies hoarsely, rubbing the side of his face. "Gods, doll, you could've asked my ghost to land on his butt..."

Ara grins. "We should call it a day. Y'all go to sleep, I'll take the night shift."

Everyone starts to leave, but Percy stays behind to talk to Ara and Leo. "So..." He makes a face. "That sucked. I'm sorry for... you know..."

"It's alright, man," Leo shrugs. "I would've reacted the same way if some weirdo claimed to be my sister's sweetheart and then proceeded to bomb my house."

"A real fancy way to put it, Leo," Ara scowls.

"My point is—now we can start over, right?" Leo reaches out to take Percy's hand.

Percy shakes his hand with no hesitation. "Definitely." He glances at Ara. "I know Ara can take care of herself, but... just try to be careful."

Ara feels weird about the way he says it. Her mind goes to Hazel and Frank, and how they called Leo 'Sammy' the first time they spoke to him. She thinks Percy knows something about that.

Leo is checking the ship's status before ending the day. It could be done by just one of them, but he insisted and Ara refused to let go of him now that he's eidolon-free.

"Not that I'm complaining," he walks from one place to another with Ara hugging him from behind like a little kid. "But it wasn't that serious, doll. Getting possessed is kinda like the flu."

"It's not funny," Ara mumbles, squeezing his waist. "Last night he could've taken over while you were kissing me—"

"Yikes," Leo cringes. "Let's not go there."

"But it could've happened!"

"Nah," he taps the morse code for 'I love you' on the back of her hand. Leo does it without noticing, or at least that's what Ara thinks, she's never asked because she fears it'll make Leo self-conscious and then he'll stop doing it. "My Eidolon was scared of you—all bark and no bite. The reason why they felt brave enough to attack you in New Rome, was because you were caught off guard."

"Love your blind faith, but—"

Leo turns and wraps his arms around her. "No buts! You're strong, smart, and hot when you use your blessings."

Ara gets flustered and tries to step back. "Okay, I got it—"

The boy kisses her without warning. He hadn't kissed her like this in... well, probably never. When he ends it, Ara is speechless and light-headed, her soul-light glows as bright as gold. Sometimes he does things that make her doubt he's not a fidget of her imagination, the way he can make her forget everything that bothers her and all she can do is stay focused on him in just a matter of seconds.

"Talking about last night... you mentioned Hazel," he says quietly, paying close attention to how she reacts. "We're gonna talk about that, or..?"

Ara leans her forehead on his. "Do we have to?"

Leo frowns. "Yeah, think so. That girl and her boyfriend freak me out! I don't know what I did to them..."

"Percy knows, but I don't think he wants to tell me," she sighs. "You should ask them face to face."

Leo snorts. "And say what? 'Hey, are you two planning my murder?'—bet that would lighten the mood around here."

Ara rolls her eyes. "Obviously not like that! I'm sure there's a way to address this without making it awkward..." She holds his arms. "Do you think Hazel..."

Leo stares at her, and he doesn't know how, 'cause this has never come naturally to him, but he guesses what Ara's trying to ask him. "You think she likes me?" He squints. "I mean, I am more good-looking than Frank, but—"

"Leónidas!" She hisses under her breath. "I'm serious!"

"Me too!" Leo exclaims. "Okay fine, grown-up talk," his grip on her gets a little tighter. "I don't know. It's like she's scared of me or something... I'll try to talk to her if you want me to."

Ara's uncomfortable for a wide variety of reasons. Mostly jealousy, but she's having negative thoughts about a girl that she's supposed to look after, and to top it all she's Nico's half-sister. She tries hard not to antagonize Nico too much, but she's always finding ways to do so.

"I hate feeling this way." She makes a face. "When we got the celestial bronze, you guys had like... a moment. I'm still thinking about it."

"A moment?"

Ara blushes, knowing how ridiculous she's about to sound. Her eyes avoid his when she talks, they're no longer golden, but they still have power over her. "You locked eyes for a second. It looked intense."

Leo presses his lips together, stopping himself from laughing. "Hm."

"This is stupid, I don't know why I'm even—"

The girl turns to leave, but Leo pulls her close again, grinning from ear to ear. His soul-light brightens. "Arae Jackson, are you jealous?"

"No!" She exclaims indignantly. "Being jealous would mean I don't trust you and I do! I don't care if you talk to girls, I'm just—worried."

"Worried," Leo repeats tauntingly. "Sure. Whatever you say, sunshine."

Ara slips out of his grasp and hurries away. "I'm telling Frank you said he's ugly."

"Hey! I didn't—Ara—STOP!"

Next chapter →

Taglist.

@siriuslysirius1107 @ask-giggles1303 @asnyox-the-hoarder @im-planning-something-look @bandshirts-andbooks @coolninjapaper @thewaterlily @whenisthefall @1randomcomic @you-bloody-shank @sunflowergraves @owlalex44 @taylordaughter @typicalsolangelolover @writingmia @espressopatronum454 @slytherinnqueen @orbitingpolaris @obxstiles @ellipsisspelled @thepixiechicks

[juarezmelendez29]

A Magical Experience For Skiers: What The Worlds Finest Heli-skiing Is Actually Like

Our handpicked locations present the perfect canvas for your snowboarding journey, making certain an exhilarating experience down untouched terrain surrounded by the stunning fantastic factor about the Canadian Rockies. You ought to be an advanced skier capable of ski steep terrain and trees in deep powder. But as an alternative of launching by chairlift, the heli-skier is whisked by chopper to an awe-inspiring peak for a long plunge into a snowy paradise. The ultimate skiing expertise, it’s like flying on a cloud. In 1974 together with Glentanner Station Alpine Guides pioneered helicopter skiing in New Zealand. We fly with small teams and concentrate on security and nice Kiwi service. Utah, Colorado, Nevada, Washington, California and Idaho all have heli skiing. Many of these are situated at or near resort skiing and cater to one-day trips for bucket listers – though longer trips are also out there from some. Along your journey to go heli skiing Alaska, your feelings will be continuously barraged by the sheer magnitude of every little thing around you. If you’ve chosen to heli ski Alaska with Points North, you’ll have to travel to Cordova which is a complete adventure in itself. Cordova is not on any highway system, that means you can only access it by way of air or water. Alaskan Airlines provides direct every day flights from Anchorage, and you may also jump on a ferry at Whittier like the one that takes you to Valdez. Definitely the skiing and the welcoming, supportive staff. Plus my position could be very diverse – every day is different so it makes it very interesting. We always found ourselves driving many hours to access distant mountaineering and skiing. In 2009 we decided to maneuver to Revelstoke and have never seemed back. We love raising our household right here and sharing our love for the outdoors with them as they grow. Conditions differ throughout the winter season, and whereas we can’t management the weather, we will positive take advantage of it. There are many mountains on the earth which may be prime places for skiing and snowboarding but aren’t serviced by ski resorts, the federal government, or anybody else. This means there aren’t any straightforward gondola or ski raise rides to the top, and if a snowcat machine can’t drive there, you might be really solely left with helicopter access. If all or part of your group is interested in heli-skiing, Whistler is a good vacation spot, because it provides something for everyone! Kids can be part of a ski faculty program for the day whereas they expertise unbeatable big mountain terrain by helicopter. There are a number of major ski resorts in British Columbia that provide heli-skiing, including Whistler Blackcomb, Revelstoke Mountain Resort, and Panorama Mountain Resort. All these resorts provide completely different terrain and completely different levels of difficulty, so it's essential to decide on the proper one for your capability level. Guides are specifically educated to know the risks of heli-skiing and maintain you safe from avalanches, dangerous terrains, and other hazards. They know their mountains, and they’ll be capable of show you the place to search out the most effective fall lines, the perfect powder bowls, and far more. There are several different resorts and helicopter corporations to select from, so you'll discover the best package for your capacity stage and finances. Truth is, most heli-skiers aren't extreme backcountry explorers or skilled freeskiers. They are merely average skiers like several of us, looking to escape the crowds and need to expertise the pristine circumstances off the principle pistes. Emma Brooks is the creator of the popular ski blog "The Ski Lesson." She is a certified ski teacher with over a decade of expertise educating skiing to people of all ages and abilities. In addition to her work as a ski instructor, Emma shares her information and expertise on all issues skiing on her weblog.