Chapter 79 - Sore Feet (1/2)

Sigyn broke away from Theoric as they grew closer to check on Annabeth.

”Anna, are you okay, your not hurt anywhere? Make sure to tell me, I'll fix you right up, same goes for you Io, don't forget.” Sigyn caringly said as she gave Annabeth a once over.

Annabeth boasted showing her proud side- ”Nothing to worry about, as you can see I'm more than capable, it's part of my heritage.”

Io rolled her eyes at Annabeth's boasting while thanking Sigyn for her concern- ”Thanks, don't worry we know we can count on you.”

Sigyn hearing this happily hugged her- ”Yes! I'm glad your both okay.” then turned to hug Annabeth before stopping- ”Umm, I would hug you too but you need a bath.”

Annabeth taking notice of her bloody form agreed,- ”Yeah, I”ll do that as soon as I can.”

Meanwhile, Manousos greeted Theoric- ”Hello, I don't know if you heard but I'm the leader of this bunch, what brings you lot here?”

Theoric- ”Just on our way to Athens when we came across you.”

Manousos- ”We are also on our way to Athens when we got ambushed, It's a good thin...”

He was interrupted by a rather large fat man who was waddling over- ”Why hello there dear benefactors, I am Drusus Bucculeius Magnentius.” He said with a bow before continuing, his eyes wandering over Io and then Annabeth to check out the lovely woman who came to help him. ”And I would like to thank... thank...” He started to stutter, growing pale at the sight of her bloody appearance, sweating when he noticed the victims nearby.

”Uh, um, excuse me.” The fat man said bringing a handkerchief to his mouth as he quickly retreated trying to make it back to his stagecoach, but not before hurling his recent meal.

Manousos sighed in exasperation- ”You'll have to excuse him, he isn't used to these kinds of situations.” he explained seeing their disgusted faces.

Theoric- ”A sheltered flower is he?”

Manousos face scrunched up a bit not liking his lord being talked about like that, but seeing as it was his fault he kept it to himself, not to mention they were just saved by the girls which he's still embarrassed about despite his outward demeanor.

”I wouldn't go around openly making fun of him though, he is the son of Lord Decimus,” he warned.

Io stepped forward knowing the others would never ask- ”I apologize for any slight we might have said, I was wondering if you would allow us to accompany you to Athens?”

Io ignored Theoric's stare, unlike the others, Io wasn't some superhuman who could walk for days on end without rest, her feet were killing her and all she longed for was a break. This was her chance to get off her feet and hitch a ride.

At one time during the trip, she tried to talk them into getting horses but the others didn't seem all that interested, enjoying the slow time together. Annabeth was happy to spend more time with the person she had a crush on. While Theoric and Sigyn were happy to sightsee as much as they could along the way. Io on the other hand was pushing herself at this point to keep going but wasn't very vocal about it trying not to be a bother to the others.

Manousos- ”Sure, that would be no trouble at all, plenty of room now.” he morbidly joked.

Io frowned at the joke while Sigyn asked- ”How much farther is it to Athens by the way?”