DISCLAIMER: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians which rightfully belongs to Rick Riordan. I do own my OC.

A/N: I'm back after a long hiatus! Sorry to all you readers who have reviewed, favourited and alerted for having made you wait for so long. I've got some things going on in my life right now, and of course, school. Those, and I've been busy monitoring my goldfish in case of a relapse and spent a lot of time on my now revived MapleStory account.

I've decided to remake the "Story Information" thing on my profile which some of you may remember. It's where I post the status of completion, previews, possible date of upload, announce any hiatuses (since it goes against the rules to post an A/N as a chapter) and other stuff. Basically, it's like a diary. I know I've mentioned the closing of Family's new title poll several times, and this time, I'm planning on closing it next month on Percy's birthday, August 18th. For certain. Please do vote if you have not yet voted. Coming back to FanFiction, it looks so different now.

Anyway, I apologise in advance for any mistakes, not up to standard, OOCness, boringness and any other problems you may have. And especially for my unannounced hiatus.

Chapter Nine

Elisa was back at the empty beach. Except, this time, she had snuck out at night, knowing full well the presence of the ravenous harpies lingering within the grounds of Camp Half Blood. With her knees tucked in under her chin and her arms around them, she closed her eyes and listened to the crash of the waves against the rocks. Beside her small figure, Fluffy the rabbit too faced the sea as they both sat on the wooden dock. Luckily for her, the winds breezed by and she didn't feel too cold.

It had been about two weeks since her arm had been out of the cast. She, like her siblings, healed sooner than every other demigod due to their father being Apollo and of course, some of them could mend their own injuries. It felt strange to use her once fractured arm again and would take a little getting used to before it felt normal again.

To Elisa, this night was just one of those nights when she just couldn't fall asleep no matter how many times she tossed and turned on her bed. She wondered how everyone else could cope with being so far away from their parents and just accept the life of a demigod. Elisa didn't understand how they could all slash with a sword or fire volleys of arrows with the intent of slaying monsters as if it were breathing to them. It didn't feel natural to Elisa at all.

"Hello there." The male's voice startled her, causing her heart to race in panic as she remembered that she had not brought a weapon with her. It would have been a fatal mistake if she were outside the sanctuary. She froze and cautiously turned her head to the owner of the voice. His eyes were the same as the sea she had been admiring at for a while as the pair of orbs looked down onto her face. He looked familiar, especially with those thoughtful eyes, black hair and crinkles in his face that showed he smiled often. She remembered seeing him at the stables and in her archery sessions. He was the boy who struck fear into the hearts of many when he notched an arrow to a bow.

"You're Percy, right?" Elisa asked slowly, her legs now dangling above the waters and her rabbit in arms.

"And you must be Elisa," he gave a small smile to her before returning his gaze to the sea. After a moment of silence he asked her, "What are you doing out here so late at night? It's not safe."

"Can't sleep," she mumbled quietly, looking down onto the small penguins on her flannel pyjama pants. He nodded in response, not expecting anymore as if he knew full well how it felt to be in her shoes.

"I come here a lot. It's a nice place to just think and calms me down. Don't you think?" Percy conversed. She nodded in agreement. "Before I came to camp, a lot of people thought I was a troubled kid. I mean I didn't purposely blow up the school bus, it just happened." At this, Elisa laughed, with Percy joining in. "I got expelled, detentions, suspensions, you name it. And then suddenly, my algebra teacher, Ms Dodds, turns into a fury on the day of the museum excursion and before I knew it, I was on a quest to bring back Zeus' master bolt."

Elisa wasn't quite sure why he was telling her his story but listened anyway. This was something she had never heard about as she had only heard the camp talk about him being offered immortality and saving Olympus. However, it seemed as if it was taboo to speak about the tragic war.

"I didn't know what was going on. All I knew was that I needed to get my mum back and to clear my name of something I didn't do. If it wasn't for Grover and Annabeth, I would be dead right now," he smiled to the sea as he remembered his younger days. "After the quest, I didn't get to see my mum often since I was always training for the outside world. I missed her a lot, and I often came here when I couldn't sleep." He paused. "The sea has a comforting feel to it."

Elisa could relate and finally it clicked in her mind why he was telling her this. He gave the answer to the question she always pondered about.

"But gradually, I noticed that I found another family here at camp. Everyone at camp belongs to the same family that only Camp Half Blood can give you. Even Mr D. There aren't many demigods in the world and we can relate to each other, you know what I mean? A lot of us understand the feeling of having a missing mum or dad and missing family back home. I still miss my mum while I'm here, but it feels just like a regular summer camp. Except with demigods. And trust me; summer will fly by before you know it." Percy turned to face Elisa with his trademark smile. "Being a demigod doesn't come naturally, it's something we all grow into."

Elisa registered everything into her mind, trying as hard as she could to never forget his words. He had told her something which no one had provided her the answer to as of yet. And as she listened, she couldn't believe how simple it really was.

"I hear Annabeth calling you 'Seaweed Brain' a lot," she gave him a jovial smile. "I don't believe it at all."

The only thing the son of Poseidon could do was chuckle and give her a thankful smile.

"But, how did you know?" Elisa cocked her head to the side, with Fluffy resting on her lap.

"We've all been in your shoes," Percy answered her empathetically. Standing up, he brushed off some sand which had blown onto him. Offering her a hand, he said, "It's late and those harpies really want to have some demigod meat for supper. We've been lucky they haven't found us yet. Do you want me to take you back to Cabin 7?"

Elisa could now believe that Percy Jackson really was as great of a person that everyone had said he was. Despite what Annabeth called him, she couldn't believe that he had a brain made of seaweed after this night. Her small hand made its way to his bigger, rougher hand as he gently pulled her up, taking her back to her newfound home at Camp Half Blood.

Thanks for reading and please leave a review.

I originally planned for Apollo to appear instead of Percy, but I thought the latter would be a better choice since he's been through it all. I'm not too satisfied with this chapter and I might rewrite it. Do you guys think Apollo should make an appearance soon?

I've also began a collaboration with my friend on Wattpad. The story is called "Sparks of Suspicion" and is published on my friend's account, FantasRosE. I'm not going to beg you to read it, but I'd greatly appreciate it if you do.

Thanks again for the reviews, story alerts and favourites. They really do make an author's day. (: