Just the Guy with the Tool Belt - The Lost Hero

It had been a little over an hour since the three's departure from Camp Half-Blood. Festus glided beautifully through the clouds, running like clockwork (although not without the few shakes and oil leaks, he had to admit). They had settled into a gentle rhythm as the dragon occasionally flapped his lengthy metal wings to keep them aloft, their bodies softly swaying, synchronized with the movements of the metal beast.

The icy wind stung his face, increasingly bothering him the farther north they traveled. Every once in a while Leo would turn to see if the others were agitated by this, but seeing they took no notice he refrained from producing a pair of goggles from his tool belt. However, something that unnerved him more than anything was the silence. He knew that everyone had their own problems to think about and that his friends' quiet was to be expected, but he still found himself trying, and failing, to start up conversation with random quips and prompts. Leo finally gave that up when Piper became fed up with him and kicked him not-so-politely to get him to shut up.

For a little while Leo simply laid his head against Festus's warm metal neck, listening to the whirring and clinking coming from inside. When, or if, they returned to camp, he had several ideas he planned to use to help the dragon run a little smoother. A few of the belts, he'd noticed, needed replacing, some of the connectors weren't operating correctly, and he planned to oil up the chinks of the outer jacket. Speaking of which... His own jacket needed a bit of attention. Some of the seams were fraying, and the oil seemed set in it for good this time. He was too emotionally attached to it, though he wouldn't admit it, to get rid of it. It seemed like the only constant in his life for the past two years other than loneliness.

Which brought him back to something else he'd been wondering about.

He sat up and pulled a few parts out of his jacket pockets, adding a few from the belt as he began assembling it. So apparently the Fog or Smog or Mist or whatever had messed with his memory of the past few months at the Wilderness School, and Jason hadn't even been there. That only proved that his life sucked even more than he'd originally thought, since one of his two only friends had been made up. Well, not made up, per se, but more nonexistent. The Jason he thought he knew was not real. He supposed it could be worse; Piper seemed to be having trouble swallowing the news that Jason had never actually been her boyfriend.

Leo focused entirely on the little automation he was creating. His long, nimble fingers moved almost on their own, assembling and disassembling. Machinery, for him, was one of those things that if he stopped and questioned what he was doing for too long, he would lose his momentum. He remembered that when he was little his mama would often stay on the same project for days at a time, telling him that she didn't want her ideas to become stale. It made him feel sort of soft and warm in his chest whenever he noticed a little quirk of his that he had shared with his madre, as he felt that he hadn't inherited any of her qualities that made her so wonderful. Nothing but machinery and a touch of madness (but, of course, the good kind).

Leo's eyes prickled uncomfortably, and he wiped his sleeve at them in irritation. He hated that he couldn't even recall his best memories of Esperanza without feeling that aching feeling inside; like he was a machine that hadn't been put together properly and was missing a few crucial gears. Taking a deep breath, he finished his little automation and launched it into the air. The tiny replica of Festus had a shaky start, its wings flapping non-rhythmically for a few seconds before they spread and adjusted. Even Piper and Jason, lost in their own thoughts, watched as the tiny dragon pushed itself to keep up with its larger archetype. Leo grinned absently as he watched its flight. He'd idly considered adding three little miniature people on its back, but he'd decided not to as they had no real purpose. It was impractical to keep something that didn't aid in the function of the machine.

Leo stiffened, smile fading, casting a glance at Jason and Piper. But...what if that was exactly what he was? What if he offered nothing of significance to the quest other than transportation? Piper had her Charmspeak and a wider knowledge of Greek mythology than he, and of course Jason was the smite-all-the-monsters-with-lightning guy. Leo had a magical tool belt and powers over fire he was too afraid to use. There was no real comparison there.

As he watched, the smaller dragon froze up and dropped unceremoniously into one of the great lakes.