Reyna bent over her desk. Since the battle in which they defeated Gaea, she had been swamped, by all things, in paperwork. Paperwork! First Praetor of the 12th Legion at Camp Jupiter, bringer of the Athena Parthenos to Camp Half-Blood and restorer of peace, and here she was sorting through routine weapon reports. It seemed ridiculously mundane, and if that wasn't bad enough, she hadn't had a full night's sleep since she returned to the West Coast. Files to be checked, requests to be approved, training to oversee, and recruits to be assigned. Even with Frank helping, and he was doing an extraordinary job, the normal duties of Praetor seemed like too much, even without all the extra work of signing treaties and negotiating boundaries. You'd think after Gaea was defeated there would be peace, but minor skirmishes were popping up everywhere. Many of the nature spirits were in outrage that they had not received the rewards promised to them by Gaea. Both camps were working in overtime to placate nature spirits and other magical beings, not to mention it seemed there were more claimed demigods popping up everywhere. At this very moment, Frank was overseeing a mission to the south where it seemed scouts had discovered a whole refugee camp filled with demigods and legacies who had been attacked non-stop for days by monsters and were close to death.
Reyna put her heads in her hands and sighed. I need a vacation. Her thought were interrupted by a knock at her office door. Aurum growled from by her side, and Argentum thumped its tail. Reyna took a breath. "Yes?"
"Praetor, Jason Grace is here to see you." the voice of her guard called from outside of her door. "May he enter?"
Reyna shuffled her papers into a more organized fashion, attempting to appear as if she wasn't completely overworked. She still wasn't on the best of terms with the former Praetor, and she bit her lip, preparing for the meeting. Surveying her desk, she decided it looked sufficient.
"Send him in." she said, a bit of resignation in her voice.
Jason Grace opened the door to her office and stepped in. Reyna studied for the first time since he had come back from Camp Half-Blood on that flying ship what seemed like forever ago, before the battle. She had seen him after the battle, yes, but she hadn't really looked at him. He wasn't the same Jason Grace she used to know. His hair was longer, tickling the edges of his ears, and bleached almost white by the Mediterranean sun. His face was tanner as well, and his jawline, although it was still as sharp as ever, didn't seem to be as tense as she remembered it. His entire face looked relaxed, and the gold-rimmed glasses gave him a slight bookish look. He almost looked cute, which threw her off a bit. He had always been attractive, hot even, but never had Reyna thought of Jason Grace as "cute". His arms and legs were as tanned as his face, and he was wearing an orange Camp Half-Blood T-Shirt, shorts, and black flip-flops. All in all, he looked... Greek. The entire effect was unsettling, and Reyna forced herself to stop staring. She shuffled the papers on her desk, simply to give herself something to do with her hands, and cleared her throat.
"Jason Grace. Hello." she stood up and extended her hand, giving him a welcoming smile. Jason took it and grinned, shaking it warmly.
"Reyna. Hey. Long time no see." He gestured to the chair off to the side of the room, approaching it. "May I sit?" Reyna nodded, and he pulled the chair up to the front of the desk, settling down. Reyna did the same in her own chair.
"So" she began, folding her hands in front of her. "What brings you to Camp Jupiter?" she tried to keep her voice calm, although it came out too calm, almost icy, and she cringed inwardly. Jason shifted in his seat.
"C'mon Reyna, no need to be so formal. You know me." he grinned again, looking at her as if they were old friends. Which, she supposed, they were. She smiled slightly. Jason cleared his throat and continued. "Anyway, I suppose you've heard from Frank the mission I took on? About traveling between the camps and making sure all the gods are honored correctly?"
Reyna nodded. "He told me. I take it you want us to build shrines to each of the gods?"
"Yes, and to take in their children if they have any. Camp Half-Blood already has cabins for some of the minor gods and goddesses, although by no means do we have cabins for all of them. And I know that you already take in children of more minor gods." Reyna nodded, and he went on. "I promised Kymopoleia she would be the first Goddess both camps honored. Nico is in charge of erecting a shrine in New York as we speak."
Reyna smiled at the mention of Nico. "I'm sure he's doing a good job. I assume you'd like us to build one as well?" Jason nodded.
"Do you think you could have one of the Centurions handle it? I have to hurry back to the East Coast, apparently a minor nature god is trying to stir an uprising among the naiads and nymphs." he sighed, seeming tired, but Reyna could tell it amused him.
"Of course. I can have Michael take charge for now." Reyna couldn't hide the wry smile on her face. Jason's good nature about trying to appease every god there was seemed to be getting the best of her. "Rest assured. We'll take care of it. It sounds like you have more important things to do right now." Jason sighed in relief.
"Great. I'll leave this folder with you; it's some of Kym's sacred animals and worshipping guidelines." He produced a thick manila folder and laid it on Reyna's desk. "I should be going. I'll see you around though." Jason stood up and pushed the chair back to its original position.
"Safe travels." Reyna called as the former Praetor exited her office. She smiled to herself. That meeting hadn't gone nearly as badly as she was anticipating. Reyna eyed the folder on her desk. That's a lot of information on one minor Goddess. Jason must have been working hard. She sighed. Back to work I guess.
"There's someone else here to see you, Praetor." her guard called again. Great. I don't catch a break, do I?
"Send them in" she called, voice heavy with resignation.
A tough-looking girl with black hair, blue eyes, and a silver bow slung across her back entered the office. Reyna lifted an eyebrow with surprise, and the other Grace sibling stepped up to the desk with a smirk.
"Long time no see, Roman."
