Hi! I'm alive! I'm sorry, this took forever to write.

Disclaimer: The only things I own are the plot and my OCs. And the Blade of Oblivion. 'Percy Jackson and the Olympians' and 'Mortal Instruments' both belong to Rick Riordan and Cassandra Clare.

I narrowed my eyes, as I watched the blonde girl swing around her daggers. Her moves were simple, but they would always hit their target. What they said was true: Josephine Stone was one of the best knife fighters in camp. And I needed someone to teach me how to use the Blade of Oblivion. I needed to be prepared when the time came.

But I couldn't stand Josephine. I couldn't stand her overconfident smile, the way her eyes could burn their way into one's soul. I couldn't stand her knows-it all attitude in general and her witty remarks in particular. We ended up in a fight almost every time we talked.

Yet, I didn't really have a choice. I needed training, and, with Annabeth out of camp, Josephine was my best option. It was just my luck.

I walked up to her, never tearing my eyes off of her weapons, just in case she decided to throw one at me for the fun of it. Trust me, it happened.

"Hi, Stone", I addressed her. She yelped in surprise, but when she turned to me, her hands where firm on her daggers, her body quickly taking a fighting stance. "What do you want, Darky Boy?"

I gritted my teeth, fighting back the urge to punch the smirk right off of her face. I stared at her, my brown eyes meeting blue-grey ones, cold as steel. "Well? Are you going to say something or not?"

"I need to learn." I blurted out.

She laughed. "To talk? You can't possibly be that stupid."

"To fight with a knife."

Her laughter died. She looked at me with renewed interest, a spark dancing in her eyes. This was going to be bad. "I see." she paused "And why exactly do you need to learn?"

"I can't tell you." I answered truthfully.

"I see. And what do I gain from it?"

I sighed. I had hoped I wouldn't have to do this. But, since I did, I gave her the one thing a daughter of Athena couldn't say no to. "Knowledge. I'll let you visit the Underworld and my father's palace. I'll show you how I can travel so fast."

She looked at me for a while, not answering. "I don't trust you, Darky Boy."

"I'm not going to make an oath on the river Styx." Well, that was a lie, but it wouldn't be a good idea to let her know how desperate I really was.

"Then, you'll have to show me something after every lesson."

"What when I run out of things?"

"The lessons stop."

"But I need them!"

"Then use your fantasy, Darky Boy." she spat, turning on her heels and walking away, leaving me alone in the meadow, asking myself what exactly I had gotten into.

That was the way our strange relationship started. I really couldn't exactly tell what we were. Not rivals anymore. But friends? We weren't that either. Allies, maybe, in some sort of strange and twisted way.

We spent at least an hour together in the meadow everyday, practicing. And then, I'd show her something. I started out with raising the spirits of dead strategists, geniuses, great personalities. She surprised me when she asked of Napoleon. He was a brother of mine.

She got bored quickly, asking for more. The Underworld, how was it organized? How had the punishments changed during the centuries? Sometimes, even I found it difficult to answer to her questions.

"How can you be so fast?" she asked one evening. I looked at her. Her face was red and she was breathing heavily. She half-lay, propped onto her elbows. Her damp hair stuck to her sweat-covered forehead. Her eyes were as hard as stone, and she was staring me down, waiting for an answer. She looked deadly serious. And that, coming from me, was a lot. "I can't tell you."

She sat up. "Why not? We had an agreement, Darky Boy."

"I don't trust you enough to tell you."

She sighed, running an hand trough her hair. "I see.", she let herself fall back on the ground. "Show me your sister, then."

"Bianca? Why?"

"There is something in you I can't put my fingers on just yet. And that's unusual for me. I know she meant a lot to you. She could help me understand you."

I shifted, fidgeting with the hem of my T-shirt. "Some dead should just stay dead, Josephine."

Her eyebrows shot up. "You called me Josephine."

"Of course not, Stone. Don't be silly."

"Now you deny the whole thing? How childish of you!", she teased.

"I'm not denying anything. Because I didn't do anything."

She snorted. "Yeah, sure. Keep telling you that."

"You truly are annoying, Stone."

She grinned. "Thank you, Darky Boy."

I grinned back.

"Are you going to introduce me to your sister now?"

"You aren't going to back down on that, are you?"

"No. No way."

"And if I introduced you to Ulysses?"

"I guess your sister would have to wait. For now."

We stayed silent for a while. She had curled up on her side, arms wrapped around herself, shivering lightly. She was probably trying to save body heat, I mused. I considered offering her my jacket, but quickly dismissed the thought. I wasn't about to freeze my ass off for her. She could bring her own coat.

"Darky Boy"

I turned my head towards her. "Yeah?"

"Let's go to the invocation pit."

"Why? It's such a pretty sunset, we should enjoy it while we can."

"In case you hadn't noticed", she growled "it's freezing."

"Really? I don't think so."

"Darky Boy, I'll say this only once: hurry the hell up, or…"

I grinned. "Or what?"

"Or I'll assure you a life lasting career as a castrato." She gestured to her daggers.

I swallowed. "I'm coming."

She grinned. "Good." She turned and ran away. I followed her, turning to look one last time at the meadow. I didn't know it yet, but I wouldn't be seeing it again for some time.

So that's it, for now! Did you like it? Yes? No? Leave a review and let me know!