I walked into the Big House with a carton of Demeters' Divine Orange Juice and I got out with the god of alcohol. Dionysus halted on the porch for a moment, so I did the same. 'There are a lot of people in the Big House right now. Are you okay with going to the strawberry fields?'

'Forever.'

'I am taking that as both a yes and a sign that you are beginning to feel better.'

We sat down on the little bench on the left side of the fields. It was still unclear who put the bench there, but right now I was grateful for it. There were a few Demeter kids walking around in the fields, but they were all the way on the other side.

'Nico di Angelo.'

'Sir.'

'Did you think about what happened at Denny's?'

I nodded. 'Yes.'

'Well, let me hear your thoughts, then.' I fumbled with the orange juice box.

'Well…'

'Wait, before we start, do you really want orange juice?'

I shrugged. 'I wouldn't mind something else…' The juice box changed into a steaming mug of tea, clearly with way too much sugar and milk in it.

'It's Indian Chai. With cinnamon and pepper.'

I smiled and pressed the cup against my chest, so that it could warm my body. 'Thanks. Yet, as I was saying…' I paused. 'I wasn't really saying anything yet. But what I was planning on saying…' . Come on, just say it, than it's out, I told myself.

'I… I am feeling better than when I was feeling after the attack on Denny's.' Never thought I'd say those words in any serious context. 'Obviously, I had time to process it after all…'

'Stuff only gets better with time if you don't bottle it up. If you do that, it might get way worse.'

I looked at him with big eyes. 'What do you know about the other gods and their eon old bottled up trauma's?'

'Nothing, and even if I did, we would still be here to talk about you.' He raised his eyebrows. Hm. Bummer.

'Yeah, yeah. Yet. Even though I… touched Will… by accident… um…' I looked at the chai in my mug while trying to find the right words. Dionysus did not say anything. 'Ehm… Say that I touched someone while I was still afraid of that and they did not turn to bones. That's all, nothing else.' I turned my gaze towards the strawberry fields, and then towards the Demeter campers, and then towards the grass; basically towards anything that was not Dionysus.

'I get the gist of it.'

'Right. So, even though I did that and I began to realise I was probably safe early on, I still get a bit startled when someone touches me or when I touch someone.'

'It is only normal that it takes some time to work through it. That is okay, as long as you actively put in the work to go through with it.'

'Yes.' He'd said that a hundred times before, but he'd probably just repeat it over and over again until I did not repress stuff any longer. 'Yesterday, I high-fived someone…'

'Good.'

I took a sip of my chai. 'Anyway, about the turning-to-bones-thing.' I shifted on the bench. 'While I am still afraid of it, it feels like it is something that I could use to my advantage.' I felt my muscles clenching. It sounded wrong when I said it like that. 'I don't… not that I…' I looked at my cup. This was more difficult than I had anticipated.

'Are you trying to say that you don't want to manipulate other people with the new power?'

'Yes, because of course I don't.' I took another sip of tea. 'I do not want to manipulate people with that power. But I do want to…' I looked straight ahead of me, while rethinking my choices. Suddenly what I was about to say seemed like the dumbest thing I had ever thought of.

'Even if it seems stupid or weird, say it anyway. Than we'll discuss togheter if it really is stupid or weird and why.'

'... I want to train the power. The power to… you know. We've been talking about it the whole time.'

'Yes, I know.' He looked surprised. 'Is it because you think mastering the power and learning to control it will help you control the fear that is behind it? The fear that you will hurt people?'

Yes, that is exactly what I meant. '...Probably.'

'That sounds like a good idea.'

'You think?'

'Yes. That way you learn how to control a strange new power and it will help you learn that you do not hurt others on purpose. Two in one.'

When he put it that way, it sounded a lot smarter than it did in my head a few moments ago. It sounded as sensible as when I first thought about it.

'Yes!' I shook the mug a little. A bit of chai dripped onto my hand, but that didn't bother me. It was not so hot anymore. I took a swig - the chai was creamy, sweet, spicy and delicious.

'Do you have an idea as to how you will train it?'

I stared at my hands. 'I could not come up with anything else than slowly letting apples wither. Those are not really creatures with bones, but I can't go around randomly hurting those, so…'

'How about the rats?'

'The rats?'

'Did I not tell you about the rodents? Before you came to the Big House, Chiron was talking about the rats in the storage. That is why there were so many people there. I wanted to exterminate them, but if you have a use for them…'

'No!' I shook my head. 'I don't… they are alive too. You know what, do give them to me. I'll put them in a cage. I'll care for them.'

Dionysus gave me a strange look. 'Alright, then. Train with apples, play with rats.'

I shrugged and drank the last bit of chai. 'It just feels wrong to ban the rats to the Underworld.' Dionysus looked at me.

'That sounds like something for a future session.' Man. Did I just shoot myself in the foot.

'...Perhaps.'

'Absolutely.' We looked at the strawberry fields for some time.

'Don't you have rats to catch?'

'Well, Nico, I am glad you are getting better. That does not mean you should start giving the gods a big mouth.'

'Yes, sir.'

'Glad we got that straight. No go to your apples. I've got rats to catch.'

A/N: And that wraps up part 3! Don't worry, I'll write more. The next story will probably be about Nico's experience with king Minos, which we can see in battle of the labyrinth. I am thinking about a chapter about Hades after that. Thanks for all the tips!