Real Feelings

The scathing pain still lingered somewhere.

Percy didn't know what had happened. He could still hear a faint pounding in his ears, his chest falling in uneven patterns. When his eyes had flit open, the son of Poseidon felt a weight drop from his stomach right to his very toes.

"Screw her," he muttered, cursing Aphrodite. That cunning little goddess! She had somehow managed to completely stun and make them appear back in the Amtrak train, unharmed.

Percy's gaze slipped, and—

"Wow," muttered Faith, staring at the attire she wore: a beige shawl hugged her neck loosely, its fine woven silk hanging off her shoulder and covering most of her turquoise shirt that took the shape of her thin bodice. She wore a grey knife-pleated skirt, with matching stockings that resembled the distance between the stars. Faith looked somewhat pleased with what she wore.

"I think I can agree with Aphrodite's sense of style," the hunter speculated, looking down at herself, "though I would've preferred something warmer."

Annabeth stirred beside her, and it was no more than a few seconds she was wearing a look of horror. Then, a choke of what sounded like restrained laughter escaped the daughter of Athena's lips.

"What?" snapped Faith in a child-like state, crossing her arms and glancing at Annabeth. "You look as ridiculous as I do!"

Annabeth still had the ghost of her smile on her lips. "Look what I'm wearing—an off-sleeve shirt and casual trousers. For your case, you look like a walking model with that horrendous skirt!" she cackled, fake-gagging. Faith only rolled her eyes and muttered a diligent curse.

"How long do you think we've been out?" said Annabeth, staring slyly at the railings and open sky that slowly became whips of grey.

Percy made a face as the ticking clock struck one. "Long enough to make it awkward for those who pass by our compartment, I think," he admitted, chuckling as he vaguely imagined the faces of those people who had seen them. "What do you think Aphrodite was doing there?"

"It's their nature," said Faith, unloosing her silken scarf from her shoulders. "She is a goddess who likes sparkly dresses and tacky clothing. And the place we went to had sparkly dresses and tacky clothing."

"Gods usually don't pop up anytime without reason," countered the daughter of Athena, pushing a thick strand of her goldens out of her face. "I have enough experience."

Faith spared a glance at Percy, who shrugged nonchalantly. "Annabeth's right; do you think the she-devil left something for us before she dropped us off here?" he said, plopping his bag on his lap and unzipping multiple pockets-hoping he'd find something out of the ordinary to help them on their quest.

Annabeth's face stilled, that determined look scanning the chilled room for anything odd. she spoke, her movements rough, "I was thinking . . . those things that ambushed me and Faith-"

Percy grimaced visibly, blanching.

"-those things that attacked me and Faith might've been sent by Hades," continued Annabeth, plainly hesitant. Faith fell silent, rubbing her beige shawl on the tinted pink scar that ran along her bare throat.

In the corner of Percy's eye, a distant flash of lightning echoed faintly.

Faith shuffled on her seat. "I guess that would make sense," she murmured, furrowing her thin eyebrows, "but why would the god do that? Do you think he's trying to stop us from reaching-"

"Lady Aphorei?" he said, considering the thought as a million possibilities crossed paths with his mind. Faith's lips thinned in a grimace, then a hesitant nod followed. Percy continued with a tang of bitterness, "Why? I mean, what's the point? Maybe Hades thinks we're a threat to her?"

Annabeth let out a snort at this. "We? A threat? I'm pretty sure he knows three demigods are no match for two godly beings. I'd say Lord Hades was trying to tell us a warning. To stay away."

It was Percy and Faith's turn to give the daughter of Athena an odd stare. Faith sighed, throwing her head back rigidly. Annabeth clasped her hands together, attempting to reason with the other two, "Oh, come on! We don't know why Lord Hades attacked us so suddenly, but he's probably trying to drive us away because-well, the goddess of memory, obviously. Lady Aphorei might be a minor goddess, but I'm going to be surprised if even Zeus refused to cower under her presence."

Percy almost smiled when a few rumbles of thunder sounded again, though it was broad daylight. The raging echo seemed to get nearer and nearer every time Annabeth spoke of the gods' names.

Annabeth rolled her eyes at no one in particular as she cursed the gods with several swears she muttered under her breath. Percy chortled when she called Zeus an 'overgrown toenail.'

On the other hand, Faith kept her vow of silence until she spoke, "Zeus is the king of the gods. Lady Aphorei . . . she—"

"She's a goddess who can mess with your mind. She's a goddess who could fuck up your memory whenever she wishes," interrupted Annabeth abruptly, shaking her head. "If ever, we should be terrified of her, not Hades."

"Surely there's a limit," snapped the wary hunter, her voice cracking in between her venom-laced words. "She can't just erase anyone's memory here and there. There must be a certain extent-maybe she needs time to recover every time she . . . she does it."

Percy knew what she meant. He would be branded a coward if he said he was not scared and anxious of their journey ahead. Imagining someone, with the power to take memories away completely-enough to make anyone insane—

Percy remembered vividly. Every moment of it. Being clueless and confused and lost. When he had retrieved his memory again, he hadn't really considered a moment to think how Hera had done it. Percy knew well enough that the snobby goddess had no ability to steal memories, and he was almost positive the she-devil had some assistance from somebody else. Who else could it be other than the goddess of memory herself?

He eyed the glistening china that occupied the wooden shelves hiding beneath all the thin glass on the drawer. Percy's sea-greens trailed the blurred shadow on the floor that grew darker and darker the further he went. Shocked, he found himself staring at Faith.

No, screw that. They both were staring at him blankly, as if they expected an answer from him.

Percy cleared his throat lowly. "Er, um . . . did I miss something?" he muttered, flushed in a deep red. The raven felt the two girls scoff at him.

"I was wondering," began Annabeth slowly, amusement sparking in those eyes at his blunt ignorance and confusion, "why Nico didn't tell us about Lady Aphorei all that much. He could've, at least, given us a few pointers about her before we left."

"What's that got to do with me?"

"Well, I thought he might've told you something," finished Annabeth, looking crestfallen, "but now that you've said that, I suppose you know as little as I do."

Percy paused, trying to put the pieces together. There was an accusatory tone hidden beneath the blonde's words. "You're saying," he began slowly, "Nico willingly refused to give out information to us? That's a bit . . . harsh. Maybe he didn't have time, or something like that . . ."

His words turned quieter and quieter until it began impersonating the silence that wove among the constant sound of the chugging train. Annabeth had a point; Nico had all the time to tell them about Lady Aphorei. The son of Hades couldn't possibly have been hiding a secret so confidential that he downright refused to tell them of the crazed goddess.

Faith inhaled sharply, crossing her leg atop the other as she creased her eyebrows in deep thought. When she had spoken after a long moment of missing words, Percy's gaze slipped up. "It doesn't make sense," she said derisively, "if what you're saying is that Lord Hades sent monsters to keep us away and his son had decided to give us very little information about the gods-be-damned Lady Aphorei, then-"

A shrill gasp came out of Annabeth, whose voice now sounded nervous and anxious. "Oh, how could I have missed it?" she moaned, shaken. "It's so obvious! Lady Aphorei is a threat to them! Hades has sent the only warning he could give us by sending monsters on our path—" Faith let out a choked sound which might've been a snort or a wheeze. "—and Nico must've been terrified out of his mind! I don't know why, but Lady Aphorei must have done something—"

"You're going way too far," muttered Faith quietly, to which Percy hesitantly nodded in agreement. "You're over-thinking too much."

Annabeth glared at them, those upturned eyes narrowing to small slits. Percy, having knowing his ex-girlfriend's history, knew how much Annabeth hated it when people tell her she was over-thinking. "I am not over-thinking," she said piercingly, looking like at any moment, she would collapse. "I am simply trying to work out our situation at the moment. We need to be prepared at all costs at what's ahead, Faith! This is serious, damn it!"

The hunter froze, an unease tension bubbling up. Percy swallowed the forming lump on his throat as he briefly sent Annabeth a hint of warning through his eyes. Faith had gone completely still, a bony white spreading rapidly on her tensed knuckles.

Faith raised a hand to her throat, as if in instinct to brush her dainty finger on the scarred pink line. "I know it's serious," she breathed, "and I know that we should be prepared at all costs. But it doesn't do any good to keep on making assumptions for what's to come-hell, we might even be mislead in the future."

"Mislead, all right," retorted Annabeth, cocking her head to the side as a few golden strands of her tangled hair fell and dangled. Percy watched in horror as the two girls exchanged rueful glances towards one another.

"I am almost certain of my guesses," the daughter of Athena continued slyly, "that Lady Aphorei is not just some beautiful goddess wandering about—she might be even the one that would kill you once we arrive in the Underworld!"

"I know that," Faith replied almost instantly, though Percy could see the downcast look she wore now. Like she'd given up, just by hearing those words. No sign of hope lay beneath. Annabeth sighed vehemently, hoisting her knees close to her chest; she did not bother to take off her rubber shoes. Resting her bruised chin on her knee, they impersonated the lull quiet that grew harder and harder to bear.

Percy shifted, peering back and forth between the two girls. He felt dismayed of the tension that kept arising. At one point of time, Faith coughed violently enough that Percy panicked and had a hard time finding the bottle of water he'd brought along with him. He didn't know how long it had been after that—it could've been a minute, an hour, a sunset, or even a whole week.

Disappointed.

Percy rolled his head back; he did not want to admit it, but he was almost disappointed at himself for not being there when the two were ambushed mercilessly. If it was really Hades who had sent those monsters after them, then the god of the Underworld should expect one furious Percy breaking in his territory. And maybe Lady Aphorei would get a good smack and a few creative curses from Percy for working with Hera and taking his memory away once.

Faith groaned, seeming to take all of the space in her shared little couch with Annabeth—who was soundly asleep. Percy ticked his head to the side, remembering how the daughter of Athena would always complain that he took most of the space in the bed they shared most of the time in his cabin.

Moments. Those were once moments he cherished and kept close, for he was scared to ever lose his memory again. Yet, now . . . did Annabeth still remember those moments with him? Or did it all mean nothing once they parted ways and become no more but friends?

When Percy scooted to the edge of the window seat briskly, the hunter's weary eyes snapped up. "Can I . . . go to your side?" she whispered quietly, closing her eyes for a moment before those browns greeted him again. Faith blushed a light pink, saying in an even quieter tone, "Sorry. It's cold here and . . ." she stopped, pausing for a quick breath as if saying those few words had been tiring. " . . . and the air conditioner is right over there, so it's really just making it worse for me. And, er, well—this thing, this thing I'm wearing . . . it's not really helping either—actually, never mind. I'm fine."

Percy's eyes sparked with both curiosity and bemusement at the stuttering brunette. He patted a firm hand on the wide space between him, plopping his leather bag on his lap. "Come here," he said softly, fighting back the urge to laugh as Faith's legs wobbled when she tried walking over to his side of the compartment.

"Have your legs chosen the wrong time to sleep?" Percy joked, earning a well-deserved smack that was as harmless as a lazy hold against a pillow. Faith simpered, wrapping her arms around herself in hopes of keeping warm.

"Do you have . . . have the blanket we used yesterday?" Faith stretched widely, yawning. "Or did the train staff take it?"

Percy smiled apologetically. "They did," he said, emitting a irate groan from the hunter. "But if you wish, your Magnanimous Holiness, to acquire a soft and warm blanket, then I will join you in raiding the train supply compartments."

Faith shook. Percy grinned when he realised Faith was laughing, shaking of pure delight.

"I think I rather like that name," she murmured, edging a bit closer with a glazed look on her face. "I can be the queen, you can be the peasant."

"Hey!" protested Percy, landing a hand on his chest for dramatic effect. "I am not a peasant! In fact, I'm probably a god."

Faith snorted at him, daring to lay her head gently on his shoulder. Percy stilled, not risking to move an inch. When the hunter had spoken, he nearly jumped in fright. "Calm down, Jackson. You're eerily tense. I like you better when you're as soft as a pillow, not as fucking hard as the cement."

Percy choked, trembling with laughter. "Say that again, but slowly," he said cheekily, "and you'll realise how wrong it sounds."

Faith wheezed, throwing her head back with a genuine grin on her face. "You're disgusting! Who knew the oh-so-great Percy Jackson's mind could be so dirty?"

"Oh, please. All of us are. I'm just one of those people who has a mind dirtier than normal."

The brunette chortled, running her hands through her hair. Faith pursed her lips for a moment, saying, "I want to see you and Thalia exchange dirty jokes. Now that," she clicked her tongue appreciatively, "would be worth watching."

Percy only shrugged casually, savouring her presence and her voice and her appearance. All of it-he had not really paid much attention to her when they first met. She was beautiful; in a calming way. Her brown locks took form of the waves as it hung limply on her shoulders, curving down until her-

Faith had began humming softly. He did not know the tune to which song she sang, but it seemed to remind him of the rushing winds coming to greet him on that Montauk beach. It reminded him of his twelve year-old self talking with his mother. It reminded him of the excitement yet anxious feeling that crept up his spine when he was told about the Greek world for the first time.

"You haven't told me," he started, suddenly regretting to raise such a topic. But before he could stop himself, the words came stumbling out of his mouth. "You haven't told me why you plan to abandon the Hunt."

Percy felt Faith stiffen against him. Her strong scent hit her-pine and wood, he realized.

"I . . . wanted to, I guess," she whispered, flitting her eyes shut. "I wanted to be free, love whomever I wished, to live. Being a hunter stops me from doing that."

"Have you told Artemis?"

Faith hesitated before mumbling a few incoherent words. Percy leaned over, asking her to repeat it. The brunette was rigid when she spoke once more, a little bit more clearer, "Yeah. I've told her everything, and she took it terribly well."

"She was fine with you leaving the Hunt?"

"Mhm," she hummed, though a bit of sadness lay somewhere. "I guess you could say my reasons to leave the Hunt were worth it."

"Tell me more," he insisted, frowning at the lack of information he got from Faith. His eyes on the blurring roads, Percy softly nudged Faith. A smile made its way onto his lips, realising that the hunter was asleep. Her lips were parted slightly, heaves of light breath escaping.

Then maybe, just maybe, at that exact moment-Percy wished he was one of the reasons she wanted to leave the Hunt.