And so the in between fic begins- I hope you all enjoy it- it's longer than the last Minific, mostly because there were a lot of things I wanted to happen in between Labyrinth and the Last Olympian that I felt deserved some spotlight. I hope you all enjoy it.
Things had settled a lot since Percy's fifteenth birthday party- they'd been good, all things considered. Luke had moved back in, and with him came Thalia- he didn't like being too far from Percy after learning about the whole being kidnapped by Alabaster thing- and after the revelation of what could have happened.
Percy was secretly kinda happy about that- she might grumble about how he was too protective but- well it was nice being the baby sibling again.
That did- of course, mean that the house was pretty much pure chaos- after all, there were six demigods living there, three of whom were big three kids and the three others were decently powerful in their own right.
Paul had been told the truth too- and the conversation had been a very very long and complicated one- but he hadn't run screaming so that was something- though Percy was kind of sad to notice that he had yet to propose- Percy was slightly worried that he'd changed his mind about it- it would be understandable but still, her mom totally deserved happiness.
And of course there was Drew- she had gone to camp, and she'd been welcomed by her siblings- none of them knew her history, Percy had spoken to her family and Chiron privately about that and it had been agreed that it was for the best that people didn't know Drew had once worked for Alabaster- though Percy was pretty sure Clarisse knew.
But Drew hadn't wanted to be a year rounder, so she'd managed to get into a school in Brooklyn- one that had a boarding option- though she would slip out to the Jackson Household more often than not, annoying Annabeth and Rachel since Drew very much enjoyed screwing with them- she'd figured out that the trio were dating and- for some reason had decided she wanted to be a pain in the ass and interrupt their attempts at private time every chance she got.
Percy secretly thought it was because Drew was still worried about her- the other girl really wouldn't admit it but Percy was pretty sure that Drew saw her as a little sibling- she might as well have moved in with how often she ended up staying the night in the spare room.
Nico didn't mind her too much, and Luke generally rolled his eyes- willing to put up with the daughter of Aphrodite's snark given what she'd done, and Leo didn't have too much to do with her, but Thalia, Annabeth and Rachel did not like her at all.
Thalia saw her as shallow and spiteful- which to be fair she was- it just wasn't all she was, and Annabeth and Rachel really, really disliked the fact that Drew constantly interrupted their private time.
Percy could understand it, really she could, and it annoyed her at times too- but if she told Drew to go away Drew usually did- Percy was probably the one person she did listen to- the only person she'd allowed herself to form a connection with, since Percy didn't even remotely fear her or her powers- which Percy knew Annabeth and Rachel both felt weary of- not that she blamed them after Drew had showed up one day after school and kicked them out of Percy's room because 'I need girl time with your girlfriend so scram'.
They'd been very put out to realize that they'd been controlled- though Drew had swore not to use her powers on anyone Percy cared about again- not unless there was a
really, really good reason.
She'd refused to apologize though. Drew didn't do apologies.
Still, things were good- Percy had even been keeping up with her therapy sessions with Mr. D. She didn't flinch at the sound of locks clicking anymore- she could even lock herself in her bedroom without freaking out- she hadn't even known that would be a problem until she'd done it to get some privacy when she was getting changed- she loved her army of siblings but they did have a habit of barging in unannounced- and she'd have probably freaked out less if the lock hadn't jammed when she'd tried to unlock it.
That hadn't been a good day- if it wasn't for Luke's gift with locks they'd have probably had to break the door down to get her out.
She'd felt kind of humiliated afterwards- though everyone had been really nice about it- still she had screamed the house down when she couldn't get out and she'd been a mess for hours afterwards- the only reason Annabeth and Rachel didn't completely despise Drew was the fact that she'd visited that day and- despite how dismissive she'd acted, she'd been the one who had managed to actually get Percy back to something resembling normality.
It was the last day before Winter break- Percy was looking forward to Christmas- she planned on visiting camp- though they'd go home on Christmas eve and stay for a few days before returning to camp so that they could celebrate Christmas with Paul, who had said he was very much looking forward to it.
And Percy, personally thought that it should be illegal to have any exams on the last day of school- she knew Annabeth and Rachel agreed wholeheartedly- her girlfriends were in the same English class as her, thank the gods- so she actually stood a chance in this exam since they'd helped her with the studying- and both she and Annabeth had enjoyed the evenings when Rachel stayed over for a few hours and read the assigned book out loud to them- to help them get through it given their dyslexia- which was usually done all sprawled out on the bed together, Percy led with her head on Rachel's lap and Annabeth pressed into Rachel's side, head resting on the red haired girls shoulder- and honestly Percy wouldn't give up those moments for the world.
It was shocking how easily Rachel had slid into their relationship.
Percy shook her head, dismissing her daydreaming thoughts about the study dates. If she failed the essay her girlfriends would kill her- they'd spent ages working on it with her to try and make sure she'd pass.
She pulled a face, glaring down at the page which was filled with her admittedly very messy handwriting before her attention was drawn to the stage at the front of the auditorium- her eyes going wide as a familiar, huge hellhound burst onto the stage, barking like crazy and trampling over the Christmas trees, Santa's elves and the rest of the Winter Wonderland set.
Percy's pen literally slipped from her hand and her mouth dropped open in shock at the sight. "What the-" she saw Annabeth and Rachel shooting her wide eyed looks- and they tensed, ready for panic- but instead several kids started snickering and laughing and a few of the girls started cooing- which- okay Percy personally felt that Mrs O'Leary was the most adorable hellhound in the world, but not many people would really agree with that.
The English teacher, who was stood at the front of the room sighed loudly as he adjusted his glasses, "All right. Whose poodle is that?" and Percy let out a breath, glancing at her girlfriends, who gave her relieved looks in return. Well at least the mist wasn't making her into something scary- though the gods only knew how it had made the huge dog look like a poodle.
"She's mine." Percy held up her hand, her face flushing a bright shade of red when people started snickering and one boy started whistling 'Mary had a little lamb' which caused more laughter.
"Enough!" the teacher snapped the word, "Percy Jackson this is a final exam I cannot have poodles-"
The bark Mrs. O'Leary let out almost shook the room. She wagged her tail, knocking over a few more elves. Then she crouched on her front paws and stared at Percy- a sure sign she wanted Percy to follow her.
"I'll get her out of here Dr Boring. I'm finished anyway." that was a lie- and Percy knew from the looks that Annabeth and Rachel were giving her that her girlfriends knew she was lying too.
"We'll come-" Annabeth started to stand, Rachel right behind her but the teacher glared.
"Sit down you two. Miss Jackson you may leave but if this happens again you will be in trouble-"
"I'll make sure it doesn't!" Percy shut her test booklet and ran towards the stage, "Mrs O'Leary- here girl-" except she bounded for the exit instead and Percy had no choice but to follow with kids still laughing as she left in a mad dash- and she could almost feel her girlfriends fury and worry as she raced outside.
It would be fine, there wasn't much time left in the exam and Percy would text them both once she'd caught up with Mrs O'Leary- thank the gods for Leo's brains, the whole Jackson family now had Demigod proof phones, it was awesome, Percy actually felt like a normal teen with a phone these days, and he was making a bunch for other kids at camp- and making money off of them, if other campers gave him a phone he'd do his thing with it and give it back for ten bucks- a small price to pay to be able to contact everyone easier.
Percy let out a frustrated noise as she ran- seriously! Mrs O'Leary had the worst timing.
She followed the hellhound down East 81st street towards the river and Percy groaned.
"Slow down! Heel Mrs O'Leary! Where are you going?"
She was getting some very strange looks from people passing bye, but it probably wasn't the weirdest thing people had seen- though Percy was regretting not taking the time to grab her jacket- it was freezing.
She cursed colorfully under her breath as she kept sprinting after the hellhound, who was refusing to listen to any of Percy's orders- and that was weird because she was usually fairly well behaved.
She'd turn back to bark every so often as if to tell Percy to hurry up.
She managed to run three blocks north straight into Carl Schurz Park.
By the time Percy had managed to catch up with her she'd leapt and iron fence and disappeared into a huge topiary wall of snow covered bushes.
Percy faltered for a moment at that before she let out a loud groan and she moved backwards slightly before taking off at a sprint, running at the fence and leaping into the air, managing to get a good grip when she hit it, hauling herself up, and then over before she dropped down into the frozen shrubbery, cursing and shivering- wishing she'd put on a thicker sweater- but then she hadn't expected to get caught outside without her jacket had she?
She shook her head, focusing on what was happening.
On the other side was a clearing – a half acre of icy grass ringed with bare trees. Mrs O'Leary was sniffing around, wagging her tail like crazy. Percy didn't see anything out of the ordinary. In front of her, the steel-coloured East River flowed sluggishly. White plumes billowed from the rooftops in Queens. Behind her, the Upper East Side loomed cold and silent.
Percy narrowed her eyes, pulling Riptide from her pocket, though she didn't uncap it yet- she wasn't sure what was going on but something was, so she made her way up to Mrs O'Leary quickly. "Hey girl. Are you okay? What's up with you-"
Mrs O'Leary lifted her head. Her nostrils quivered and Percy tensed even more, then the bushes rustled and a golden deer burst through, it had metallic fur and horns that looked like genuine fourteen-carat. It shimmered with an aura of golden light, making it almost too bright to look at. It was probably the most beautiful thing Percy had ever seen.
Mrs O'Leary licked her lips like she was thinking, Deer burgers! Then the bushes rustled again and a figure in a hooded parka leaped into the clearing, an arrow notched in her bow.
Percy moved instantly, darting in front of the figure, uncapping Riptide in a smooth motion before- "Percy?" and that was a voice Percy recognised and her eyes widened.
"Wait, Bianca?" she lowered her sword as Bianca lowered her bow and arrow and pushed her hood down.
"Holy Hades I didn't recognise you for a second there." Bianca beamed as she moved forward, and Percy met her half way, giving the other girl a hug. "You look older-"
"Yeah, well not all of us are eternal maidens." Percy let out a bright laugh, "Jeeze, you scared me half to death Di Angelo." and Bianca looked good Percy noticed- she looked happy. That was good, she hadn't seen the other girl in- gods it had to almost a year, though she knew she and Nico did stay in contact via Iris messages "What are you doing here Bi?"
"I was following the golden deer. It's the sacred animal of Artemis. I figured it was some sort of sign. And, um…" She nodded nervously at Mrs O'Leary. "You want to tell me what that's doing here?'"
"Oh, I guess Nico didn't mention the fact I got a new pet-"
"You have a pet hellhound?"
"Yeah. She showed up during an English exam, led me here."
"So we've both been brought here by animals that we were bound to follow-"
"Ah." Percy blinked, "Well, whatever's up I'm sure we'll find out soon."
"Guess we will." Bianca gave a wry grin, "Maybe I'll take the chance to check up on Nico after whatever this is is-" they were cut off by the bushes rustling, and both of them moved as one, Percy raising Riptide and Bianca instantly nocking her arrow and pulling it back ready to shoot.