The twelve of them were in another lesson bored as ever. Hades and Hestia had insisted on them becoming fluent in the current Greek language and not what they had learned back at camp. It wasn't that hard to learn, but it was still very much irritating.

No one really seemed to enjoy learning except Ariadne, Annabeth, and Will. Which granted Will and Annabeth they could understand, but Ariadne not so much. But then again, the girl had never not been good at anything she put her mind to. Except probably archery, but Apollo's essence had fixed that.

Chris was looking around in the room tiredly. He saw Thalia practicing her wind powers from her desk and Katie was making flowers bloom out the wood of the tables. Connor, Travis, and Percy gave up all pretense of learning and were fast asleep at their stations. Nico was paying attention though he wasn't too happy about it. Being king meant he had to get more lessons than the rest of them, but Ariadne helped when she could. Rachel was treating it as if she was in a regular mortal school, but she still looked bored if the pictures being drawn onto her arms were any indication. Ariadne, Annabeth, and Will were dutifully taking notes and asking questions. They were almost to the point where they could speak fluently. Well, Ariadne was. She claimed the language was similar to the language of the sea. But if Chris was being honest, whenever she and Percy spoke like that… it sounded like a bunch of dolphin cries. [He learned to never say it again when she punched in the stomach so that they both sounded like "dolphins".] As such, the zombie teacher Hades had provided for them almost taught her basic phrases of the language of the dead. Now that, the girl absolutely despised. The verb tenses and honorifics always tripped her up.

Chris turned his eyes to look at his girlfriend. Her hair was curling at the ends and he knew it wouldn't be long before she cut it into another pixie cut like Thalia's. She looked a little more relaxed than he seen her these past few weeks. With Ares' spontaneous visits, the girl was constantly on edge. Ariadne kept pulling off her to the training fields whenever she got too agitated and her powers began to act up.

Just the other day, Percy had to break up a fight between two naiads after Clarisse's brothers came for a visit and scared the tartarus out of her. The spar between the two best friends ended up leveling at least half the forest which thankfully, no dryads resided in. Even then, it hadn't really stopped. Clarisse was moving on auto pilot and Ariadne was surprising beginning to tire. With the dead that Clarisse kept summoning and subconsciously snapping from Nico's control, it hadn't been long before Thalia and Katie had been pulled it to give Ariadne a break and to try to calm Clarisse down.

It had taken to tying her up and taking her back to the grove. Pushing her down into her throne, it was like all the excess energy burned away from her. None of them had noticed how tense they felt until her power was gone. Her odikinesis was growing quickly.

Clarisse must have felt his eyes on her because she turned to look at him. She rose a brow before smiling in amusement. He smiled back at her before turning his attention back to the front. He didn't how long he zoned out before a sudden chill went down his back.

He straightened up instantly. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see his brothers and Ariadne jump up. The four of them had gained the attention of the rest of their family. He could sense Thalia's powers grow substantially.

"Chris," Clarisse questioned from beside him. But his eyes were drawn to the little strawberry that was suddenly on his desk. Chris had seen this before. A few days after the war when one of the younger kids in the Hermes cabin had been crying for one of the other children lost in the war. A strawberry had appeared in the middle of the cabin.

Then the leaves started to twist together [just as they did now].

The sound of a million hummingbirds filled the room. [The gasp Ariadne let out sounded shaky.]

The scent of strawberries where stronger as the fruit began to morph around the staff the leaves became. [It was exactly like his memories.]

The hissing of snakes was heard inside of their heads like a symphony. [It was a little painful just as it was then.]

The hissing, the scent, and the wings rose in the air. [Chris could feel his eyes squeeze shut.]

And then silence.

When Chris opened his eyes, he was met face to face with his father. A thousand years younger, but still very much his father. If Chris didn't know any better, he could have been Travis' twin brother.

"Lord Hermes," Katie gasped before they all kneeled to the ground. He could almost feel Ariadne's emotions. She had been closer to their godly family regardless of the ancient laws. He also knew that the relationship between her and his father transgressed time and space. It was evident in the way his father stared at her.

The god shook his head before turning to look back at his sons. "Rise, godlings."

His voice felt almost like a hug to Chris. Hermes smiled brightly as he looked at each of his children. He was quite curious about the others, but his children held most of his attention. He smiled brightly and Chris thought he was looking at Connor for a second. "Did you like my new entrance? Apollon said it was too dramatic and too long."

"Ah, it was a little heavy on the ears mi 'lord," Rachel stated quietly. Chris was kind of surprised that it wasn't Ariadne who spoken, but a quick glance at her showed tears silently streaming down her face.

Travis cleared his throat lightly angling his body to cover both Chris and Connor. His older brother had always been more protective regardless of who or what he was protecting them from. Like in their dreams after Chris had been saved and Luke tried to get him and Connor to trade sides. Travis would appear like a night in armor and fight their brother off. He would lose a lot of sleep transgressing into the dream realm and fighting off Luke, but he did it without fail. So, Connor and Chris made sure to watch over him whenever the elder wanted to take naps throughout the day. They didn't even prank him.

"Father, to what do we owe the pleasure?" Chris took peek over to their tutor to see them nod their head. So, Travis stated the right thing. Their dad's smile seemed to brighten even more.

"Well I don't have any plans for the day. All the messages have been delivered so I decided to come and meet my mysterious new sons. In the strange kingdom that Ares and Dionysus won't stop talking about."

"Well there isn't much to know, Father," Connor piped up. "But we'd still be honored to host you."

"Wonderful," Hermes smiled. Chris felt a shiver go down his spine. He knew that expression. He saw it every time he had looked in the mirror spying for Luke before he eventually left camp. So, their father was probably also spying for the Olympians also. The god's expression then turned a little mischievous as he turned towards Ariadne who had wiped her face clear of any tears. The girl was leaning against the table with the fiercest resting bitch face he had ever seen. "This is for you," he stated snapping his fingers.

A box appeared on the table and Ariadne looked at it as if he was poison. It wasn't hard to remember the prank wars the girl had participated in when the mood was just too somber from the upcoming war. She knew better than anyone to accept anything from a Hermes' kid let alone Hermes himself.

Steeling her nerves and sharing a look with her brother, Ariadne reached for the box. "Its from Apollyon." Ariadne froze before turning to eye Hermes suspiciously. His power of persuasion helped coin him as the god of lies in their time. She hummed a little under her breath before continuing to open the box. She looked at the contents carefully before smiling lightly. "Please, give my thanks," she stated handing over two large diamonds from the cave pearl.

Hermes' smile faltered as Ariadne clearly seen through whatever trick he was trying to pull before coming back full force. He smirked at her before turning towards Annabeth. "And this is from your mother." This time when he snapped three large scrolls appeared in front of the demigoddesses. Even from here, Chris could see diagrams covering the pages. Annabeth looked as if she was in candy land. "Thank you, Lord Hermes." She bowed before digging into her pockets for some drachma and nectar in the shape of kisses.

His father looked confused before he took note of Travis miming eating the snack. He did as told noting the honey drizzle on top of it. The god's eyes widen at the taste and Chris had the absent mind of wondering what it tasted like to him. "That was delicious."

Katie and Will blushed deeply, "Thank you. We've been trying out a new recipe."

Not that it really mattered. The godlings that stumbled across Stolen Treasures due to gossiping of the naiads and satyrs would eat whatever showed up in the catalogues. Their new recipes were mainly for Hades, Persephone, Hestia, Ares, and Dionysus. They had been trying to find the perfect mixture of mortal and immortal food. It was an instant hit if the way Persephone never failed to order a dozen of strawberry ambrosia brownies.

"I will like some of things before I take my leave today. In the meanwhile, I shall spend time with my sons," the god stated looking at the three brothers. Chris felt a shudder move through him. Was this how Clarisse felt now that Ares was showing attention? It felt weird to go throw years of neglection to suddenly being the thrust into attention. Don't get him wrong, he liked it also. But he was used to their parents being distant, so it was incredibly strange.

The only time the Hermes' cabin really had contact with their father was through Ariadne. Or after the war when he started showing up to personally claim his children. "We would love to, "Chris stated after a moment in shock. His brothers quickly nodded their heads in agreement as their father beamed. He snapped his fingers and three pairs of pédila appeared before them. Chris was a little disappointed to note that they didn't have wings, but he could still feel the twists in his hair moving into shape.

Hermes blinked at the sight of their hair sprouting little wings before he removed his petasos. He wore a golden band around his head which were like the wings on his helmet. "Ahh, I see. The mortals have been imagining me with wings on my sandals and in my hair so it would seem that you have gained that aspect also. Winged sandals though? I'll be honest and say that the thought does amuse me, but I haven't had the chance to go to Hephaistos' forge to have some crafted."

He was rambling, but it was also something more to it. Chris could feel the power behind his father's words. He was trying to get them to talk by infusing his words in persuasion. Chris snuck a look over to Ariadne to see her watching the god with a fond expression before she looked at him and rose a brow. He shook his head before turning back to his father. "What would you like to see first?"

Hermes tapped a finger to his chin before snapping his fingers, "I would like to try some food from Silena's Eatery. Dionysus says that the food is worthy of the gods after all."

Ariadne smirked as she walked forward before absently straightening out Connor's chiton and patting Travis on the shoulder. Chris startled and blushed when he felt Clarisse leave a kiss on his cheek before the two girls bowed. "Well do not let us stop you, mi 'lord. We hope you find your visit enjoyable."

Hermes nodded as he looked between the two before following Travis out of the room. Chris glanced back at the girls as Ariadne showed her whatever was in the box. The two of them share mischievous looks before he couldn't see them anymore.

Fates help them. This had better not be the start to a prank war.

Ariadne shouldn't have been surprise that Hermes had been the next god to visit them. But she hadn't been prepared for the onslaught of emotions she felt. It was like her heart being ripped right out of her chest. Hermes… her best friend was standing right in front of her and he didn't even know her. There so many things she wanted to tell him. She wanted to curl up into his side as he sorted out messages while listening to her ramble. She wanted his advice on how to proceed. She just really wanted her best friend.

It took everything in her to not break down and spill everything to him, but somehow, she had managed even if she did let out a few tears.

Now, she was at cave pearl letting the water wash away her worries. It kept her mind off the fact that one of her cherish people was right there in front of her but still was so distant. She let herself think about the box he had given her from "Apollyon". Which was of course a lie. The elder god held no interest in her. She could tell. The sun never felt like it was shining directly on her. As long as Hyacinth was alive, she would never gain that feeling again.

She wondered if it made her a horrible person to know that the prince was to die soon but doing nothing to prevent it like she was doing everything else. She huffed. No, if it is his time, it's just his time. Who was she to interfere in the works of fate and death? Everyone died eventually.

Closing her eyes peacefully, Ariadne let herself sink to the bottom for a short nap. Later, she would test out the twin swords bestowed with the power of the sea with her brother.