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[ Leo's been scarce for the last few days. He's shown up once or twice, but he's vanished just as quickly, with hardly a word to anyone except maybe his sister. Anyone observant may have noticed him sporting a new leather tool belt, but who really looks that hard? He's just a mechanic, after all.

So where's he been? That's a Cabin Nine secret. But when he reemerges, he's landing a giant dragon automaton made of Celestial bronze somewhere between the arena and the forges. Look, guys, he's got wings now! ]

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[ May as well throw some caution to the wind if she gets. ride ... ]

Really? You got seatbelts on the dragon for a few passengers?

No seatbelts; you just have to hold on tight. [ To him or Festus, he doesn't clarify. ] But we don't have to fly if you don't want to.

If you ever take him away from camp grounds, I think you should consider a few more safety precautions.

Anyway.

You should eat something.

[ He just shrugs. It's a thought for a later date. Much, much later. Festus still needs some work first. ]

Yeah. After dinner good, or later?

I'll meet you at your table after dinner.

[ With a small grin over her shoulder, Natalie hurries off the join the others at the Hecate table. ]

You got it, Misty.

[ A quick wave, and he is off to tend to his stomach. A growing boy's gotta eat! ]

[ This thing where Natalie eats on time is a rare occasion but she doesn't want to leave on an empty stomach. The meal passes by in a blue and Natalie hardly makes conversation because all she can think of it seeing this Bunker 9.

So off she goes to the Haephestus table, hands clasped behind her back. ]

Hey.

[ Leo has been famished since deciding that he was done with tacos for a while, and unfortunately breath mints do not a good meal make. So he's been wolfing down some pizza since dinner started, and he's just polishing off his second plate when Natalie shows up again. Making quick work of the last few bites, he brushes any spare crumbs away without much thought and stands with a smile. ]

You ready for this?

Ready as I'll ever be.

[ When he does stand, a smile pulls at her lips and she makes a brushing gesture against the right side of her face. ]

Uh, you missed a spot - there.

[ Who needs napkins when you've got arms? As they leave the dining pavilion, he keeps an eye out for the dragon, expecting him to already be in the woods headed back home... but nope, he's ambled over to the forges, eying the security automatons. ]

Looks like he's made a friend. Bet he and Millard get along famously.

[ At least as long as Festus behaves. Leo leads the way over and tells him the plan, climbing up in moments and offering a hand to Natalie for assistance. ]

All aboard Automaton Airways!

[ That's a dynamic duo if she's ever seen one. She stands by quietly, giving Millard a pat for herself.

There is a lot of room for embarrassment here, but Natalie climbs on anyway, pushing herself up and hoisting herself onto the dragon with Leo's help. ]

That's right, everyone should be jealous.

You bet they should! Not everyone can say they've flown a dragon.

[ As far as Leo's concerned, he now has the best automaton in camp. Sure, Reyna's dogs are great, but they aren't giant flying dragons.

He directs Festus away from the other campers to a clearer space, and they take off in one smooth motion, heading toward the woods. ]

[ Natalie might be inclined to agree. Festus is a lot more friendly than those dogs anyway.

She chuckles to herself at the calls of a few jealous campers, ignoring a teasing comment here and there and holds onto his shoulder, taking a deep breath. ]

[ Ha, the other campers are jealous. That's new! No one's ever been jealous of Leo before; but then, his life isn't really the sort of thing people wish for.

They reach the cliffs in good time, and Festus slows for a landing. Leo is still getting used to the flying thing, but together, he and the dragon do okay. The landing isn't exactly gentle, but it's not the worst they've experienced, either. ]

We're here!

[ But where is the question! It just looks like a wall of rock next to the woods. Funny, right? ]

[ Natalie stays silent as they fly over the camp and she admires the view and the lay of the land. She doesn't care that it hardly matches the splendor of what was one New Rome. It's home.

She does give Leo a skeptical look even if he can't see her up front. ]

Ooh, look, a bunch of rocks. Do we pull a secret lever or something?

[ He hesitates for just a second, but they've come this far. Why turn back now? ]

Or something.

[ Taking a breath to steel himself, Leo climbs down from the dragon. Walking up to the wall, he places his hand on the rock face, and fire blazes along the wall. A door appears in the flames that swings open noiselessly when he steps back.

He leads the way in, lights flickering on with the movement. Within seconds, a cavern the size of an airplane hangar is revealed, with rows upon rows of worktables, tools and equipment, storage cages, weapons, and more scattered over everything. Even the walls were covered with blueprints; the only clean area was a round platform in the middle of it all, upon which Festus made himself comfortable. An old banner hangs above him, the words faded and hardly legible. Dust still covered most things in the cave, but there was one table close to Festus's platform that Leo (and possibly Dany) had clearly been working at, the dust mostly brushed away. ]

This is it. Welcome to Bunker 9.

[ Home away from home. ]

[ Maybe she doesn't work with her hands or do anything to do with building, but Natalie can still appreciate the wonder of a good work space. She casually folds her arms over her chest once she cautiously follows Leo into the bunker. ]

This is like the Cave of Wonders for you guys, isn't it?

[ A pause with a glance at the dragon curled up on the platform. She snickers and corrects her reference. ]

Well, minus the genie and magic carpet.

[ Leo snorts, pointing vaguely in Festus's direction. ]

He's the magic carpet. Still working on the genie part. We still haven't explored the whole thing yet - might be in here somewhere!

[ Though judging from that movie, he may not want a genie in here. Sheesh, that guy was annoying. ]

You never know. You probably don't want a genie. I couldn't deal with anyone as manic as any Robin Williams characters.

[ Unintentionally voicing his thoughts, oops. Natalie walks along the work tables, once brushing two fingers in the dust to draw two parallel lines. ]

This is kind of steampunk, but it's not Victorian inspired. It's like ... Greekpunk, even though that's not a thing. [ She shrugs and pokes her head around some weapons hanging along the wall. Is that a tricked out crossbow? ] Now, these are cool.

Greekpunk.

[ He tries the word, recalling that his first impression of Cabin Nine was something like that - steampunk with a Greek twist. It's good to have a word for it. ]

I like it.

[ Leaning back against one of the tables, he watches as Natalie explores. It's like she hadn't even noticed the fire that opened the door, but he's okay with that. No need to freak her out, right? He eyes the weapons thoughtfully. They are awesome, if you're into that stuff - Leo isn't, really, but he can appreciate them nonetheless - but it's a shame none of them are being put to use. The engineering genius that had gone into the modifications is amazing. He hums in consideration. Gods only know how long it's been since anyone's seen those weapons, let alone used them. ]

If you want, I can fix one of those up for you.

[ Yeah, they're marvels, and Leo will be sad to see them go. But weapons, no matter how old, are meant to be used. They're doing no good on a wall. As long as they're safe - and he will be doing extensive testing later to decide that - and won't break, they should be put to good use. ]

That would be so cool.

[ Natalie trains diligently with her bow and arrow. She isn't the best at it, not as good as Apollo children or the Hunters, but she does a decent job once she clears her head and concentrates. Brushing some dust off the weapon, she pulls it off the hook to see that it's not a crossbow but a tricked out traditional bow, like something a superhero would have. It's sturdier, less prone to breakage -- and it looks like it can hold more than one arrow.

She holds it out, and aims an invisible arrow at the wall, then releasing. ]

I always use a bow as my backup, if I can't make something explode. It rarely comes to that, but this is a gorgeous thing.

[ Leo walks over to inspect the bow, gently taking it from her hands. The string could use replacing, he notes, just in case; can't have it breaking right when it's most needed. Maybe a little extra reinforcement. Cleaning, obviously, with all the dust. Granted, he's not an expert on bows, but if he takes care of all that, he decides, it should be good to go, quick and easy. ]

Gimme a day or two and I'll get back to you on this one.

Really? Hey, thanks!

[ Having a bow of her own - that is, a customized bow - is a new concept. It's encouragement for her to improve that craft so she may be better prepared the next time she wanders into realms unknown. A smile spreads across her face, appreciative. ]

Now I really owe you for helping me out so much.

[ That's right, Natalie keeps insisting that. He'd completely forgotten about the necklace thing, but he smiles back. ]

I'll put it on your tab. Just don't go out for fish for a few days.

[ Pointed look. ]

[ She catches that easily, wrinkling her nose. ]

No way, I am so not going to go out for fish any time soon, no surprise two day outings for me, no.

[ Though Percy does owe her real fish and chips, now that she's thinking about it. ]

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