Song I'm listening too- People are Crazy by Billy Currington

Thalia POV

Dear Diary

I have now been in the camp which Percy has made for several days, and still I am speechless on how to describe it. I feel it the perfect mix between nature and buildings. It's a deep valley far in the mountains, a secret place. At dawn the sunlight comes filtering like golden dust through the oaks and elms and sycamores. It is quiet; you can almost hear the sound of peace. Light blue smoke drifts up from the fires, mingling with the green verdant leaves above. Soft moss and dark green grass coat the forest floor, and there are flowers- columbines, foxgloves, bluebells, wood anemones and ground ivy. Ferns grow there too. Sometimes I would lie among them at dawn, catching dewdrops on my tongue. Let me stop there, I have sufficiently described one section, now let me describe the other. The dwellings are beautiful, the amazing blend between beauty and functionality. Many of the buildings are carved into the sides of a hill, or into the trees. It was like how I imagined hobbit holes, or the dwellings of elves that exist in fairy tales. The workmanship is simply incredible. Anything you can imagine seeing, somewhere, it is carved into the swirls of wood adorning the side of houses. I have been told that there is one being that does all the workmanship. Its imagination must be truly beyond compare, for I have never seen such skill, and the scenes showed… They are from every part of history, some showing what has been, others showing what is currently happening, and others that still show events yet to be. You must not look too deeply; otherwise you will be put in almost a trancelike state by the beauty, and only wake up hours later. Percy has somehow created a place, a special dwelling, for mortals, demigods and monsters lived here in harmony. When I asked the Kelp Head about it, he pointed out, rather brusquely I might add, that this is a place of peace, they have sworn not to disturb it, and fight for its defense and the defense of others only if needed. Plus, demigods need to get over their prejudices. Demigods will simply attack a monster sometimes just because they are afraid and it happens to be nearby. It is even worse for the monsters of legend, for everyone wants to fight them. I still have not seen the extant of this valley. I have seen a few other interesting characters who I do not think belong to the Greek Pantheon. Selene, the Titaness of the moon, has formed a friendship with him, and has a dwelling (so I'm told) at one end of the valley. Phoebe left after a day or two. She felt she couldn't live in close proximity to monsters and boys, so she struck out on her own. Oh! I nearly forgot to mention. Percy has a daughter now. He saved her and then adopted her. Her name is Chloe, and she is a clear sighted mortal. She is a beautiful little thing, with straight blonde hair and steel gray eyes. She actually looks like Annabeth did at a younger age, minus the princess curls. She has a very rapid fire way of speaking. What do I spend my time doing normally? During the day, I would stroll through the wild, and look up at the veritable giants of trees that towered over me. Golden beams of sunlight streamed through the canopy, perfectly catching the motes of dust. It truly is almost as if I stepped into a different world. At night, I could sit outside and look up at the stars. They seem much closer and brighter than I have ever seen them. The same constellations were still in the sky, including the huntress. This diverted my attention onto the subject of Zoe. I sighed. Zoe. Such an enigma. She is supposed to be dead, yet she isn't, and seems to be able to transform into a pair of hunting knives that almost have a sentient presence to it. Percy neglected to inform me of how that came about, and he would always change the subject when I asked. She seems to be able to tolerate males more now, and has become friends with Percy and a few others. When I say others, I mean demigods that Percy knew that vanished and were presumed dead. And Percy… well, she might be something more than friends with him. She may not admit it, at least not publically. Yet I have seen the way she looks at him. When I asked him if they were together, he shrugged. I will quote him. "Define together?"

"Have you gone on a date?"

"Yes."

"Have you kissed?"

"Yes. We are together, unofficially at least. I think. I could be wrong."

I decided to end my entry there. I leaned back and shut my diary. I flipped off the lamp at the desk I was using, and flopped onto my bed. I stared up at the ceiling as sleep slowly claimed me.

Percy POV

I sat on the couch at my house, with Zoe next to me. I thought back over the last ten years. I could never have imagined I would be able to do this. This "not really exile" (note the quotations) has actually been the best thing that could have happened to me. I have friends, a place that needs me. I no longer am thrown into a war every year or two. I don't have to listen to the gods anymore. If they ever came to try to come get me, they would have a Hades of a surprise. If I really needed to, there was a place at the end of the valley I could seek sanctuary at. It was ruled by a power even I did not understand. Zoe had been with me for the entire decade, as a weapon for the first three years before I got her out, and seven as a constant friend and companion. And for the last two years… something more. Something about this valley slowed or stopped ageing for anyone in the valley. Apparently, this was what had spawned the legend of Rip Van Winkle. Some guy had stumbled in and fell asleep, and came back out decades later. Zoe snuggled into me even further as she sat on my lap, then leaned up and kissed me. We were currently watching The Mask of Zorro, and had just finished. As she fell asleep on me, I stroked her long black braid and painted a gentle kiss on her forehead as she started drifting away. I gently picked her up and took her to her bed and slowly put her down. She grabbed onto me and refused to let go, so I let her pull me down so I was next to her, and continued stroking her hair and holding her as she fell asleep.