Athena was intimidating.

That was putting it lightly.

Annabeth wasn't used to being towered over, at least not by other women, but she could feel the chill of her mother's gaze, those deep, grey eyes literally looking down on her. Her expression was unreadable, and despite assurances to the contrary from her friends, Annabeth wondered if her own eyes were so cold and calculating.

A strong gust of wind blew past the open window. Aside from the flutter of her pencil skirt and her dark brown hair, which was neatly plaited over one shoulder, there was no reaction from Athena. Annabeth, however, shivered.

She dropped her bag, her instincts at war. On one hand, she was desperate to run up to her mother, hug her, tell her how much she missed her, talk about normal things like school and class… on the other, she wanted to bolt out of the room and never look back.

Neither option would make the goddess particularly happy, so instead, Annabeth nodded her head curtly, "...Mother."

"Was your night enjoyable?" Athena gestured to the bed, sitting herself on Annabeth's desk chair. The blonde crossed the room easily, answering as she did.

"Yes, thank you."

"Good. And class?"

"Fine. Why…" she bit her lip, settling on the mattress and facing her mother, "Why are you here? Not that I'm not happy to see you," she added quickly.

Athena smiled, or at least the corners of her mouth turned up. It didn't quite reach those cold eyes.

"Straight to the point. That's why I'm here, Annabeth. Of all my children, you have yet to disappoint."

Those words weighed heavy on Annabeth's shoulders and she felt her heart rate pick up. Was she here to ask for a quest? It would be an honor, but she didn't have the time for such things right now! Surely her mother knew this?

"The Temple," Athena continued, "you've heard of it, of course?"

"Yes… your Temple." Of course she had heard of it. It was meant to be the largest testament to the gods since Zeus' was built in the 1800s, and it was intended to be dedicated to his right hand; Athena.

That cold smile tightened.

"Mine. It's meant to be, yes, however we've hit a… snag."

"Snag?"

"Poseidon." The goddess sighed heavily, standing to slowly pace the small area of Annabeth's bedroom, "He disapproves of course. He never forgave me for Athens… neither the original nor the new one."

"So… he wants it for himself?"

"It would be better if he did. Such an unreasonable request would be rejected instantly by Zeus- no, Poseidon wants it for all Gods. Something to feed everyone's power." She turned to face Annabeth again, "A seemingly fair gesture, but it's clear he intends to undermine everything I have worked for the past millennia."

"Ah." Annabeth waited.

"And so… Zeus has agreed to allow the people of New Athens to decide it's fate."

"A vote?" That had never happened before. The nation had its own government of course- the Gods were present, and people knew of them, but they did not care to actually govern the people of the world beyond their domains. That led to being asked to do things, being blamed for events, and all sorts of mess the Gods had no time for. So to allow this sort of sway from the public…

It was kind of a big deal.

Annabeth swallowed, an idea of what her mother was about to ask already forming in her mind, "And so we… campaign?"

"Yes, Annabeth, exactly. And I want you to lead the charge."

"W-what?" her blood ran cold. It was a high honor, for a god to request help from their children, and Annabeth was glad her mother thought of her first, but even then, the responsibility… It was a lot to take in.

"Must I repeat myself?"

"I… n-no, mother, it would be a privilege!" Despite her misgivings, Annabeth's mind was already racing with ways to convince the city that a temple dedicated to Athena would be the best course of action.

"Good." A real smile now, and Annabeth basked in it, "And should you succeed… I would like you to design it."

What?

Annabeth gaped at her mother. A whole temple… to build herself?! The possibilities flooded her mind, her plans, her hopes, her dreams- all falling into place as Athena continued.

"Well I shall send over the details in the morning, you must be tired."

"Wait, mom, I-" so many thoughts rushed through her mind, questions that needed answering.

"Goodnight." But just like that, Athena was gone, and Annabeth was alone in the dark of her room.

When Annabeth turned on her phone the next morning to text Luke, begging him for help, she wasn't expecting a message to already be there.

7:21AM SEAWEED BRAIN
morning wise girl!

She bit back a smile, though confusion clouded her thoughts. She'd never gotten a "good morning" text before, other than the occasional one from her father, which she hardly thought counted.

8:07AM WISE GIRL
You're up early, aren't you?

8:07AM SEAWEED BRAIN
gods i am, arent i?
not my choice haha
can u believe that my friend convinced me to take an 8am class with him?

8:08AM WISE GIRL
The horror!
So… you're texting me from class now?

8:08AM SEAWEED BRAIN
duh
its boring as hell haha

8:09AM WISE GIRL
What class?

8:09AM SEAWEED BRAIN
hero theory
i thought it sounded cool, right?
learning about guys and what made them heroes and all that
didnt realize theyd require so much thinking
can u believe we have to write a paper?

As the texts came flooding in, Annabeth rolled out of bed and began padding around her room, getting ready for the day. Might as well, if he was going to talk so much. She knew the exact class he was referencing, and knew plenty of guys like him who took it for the same reasons; it seems like an easy grade, but was deceptively complicated. Not only did they require you to understand the motivations and weaknesses of past heroes, but you had to analyze your own.

8:14AM WISE GIRL
So have you figured it out yet?
Your weakness and stuff?

8:14AM SEAWEED BRAIN
oh man haha
why, gonna use it against me?

8:15AM WISE GIRL
Maybe.

8:15AM SEAWEED BRAIN
is it lame if i say "other people"?

8:15AM WISE GIRL
What do you mean?

8:16AM SEAWEED BRAIN
like
my loyalty to them haha

8:16AM WISE GIRL
That's not lame at all
I think it's kind of sweet.

8:16AM SEAWEED BRAIN
so? what about u?
whats ur biggest weakness

Annabeth hesitated, in the midst of brushing her teeth when his question came through. She expected it, of course, and having taken the class herself, it wasn't like she wasn't familiar with her own fatal flaw, but there was something… intimate about revealing it to someone else. Of course, he had done so easily, and to a stranger no less. She wondered who that said more about?

8:18AM SEAWEED BRAIN
come ooooooon
i told you mine!

8:18AM WISE GIRL
Hubris.
You know, like pride.

8:18AM SEAWEED BRAIN
i know what hubris is!
in fact, i enjoy it with crackers quite often.

Annabeth couldn't contain her snort, bending over to spit toothpaste out in the sink before responding.

8:19AM WISE GIRL
Not hummus you dork!
Gods, your head really is full of kelp

8:20AM SEAWEED BRAIN
hey now
im not the one whos biggest weakness is a delicious and savory dip

8:20AM WISE GIRL
Has anyone ever told you you're an idiot?

8:21AM SEAWEED BRAIN
for sure
but i like when u do it
;p

Was he… flirting? Had they been flirting? That was weird… right? They didn't even know who was on the other end!

Definitely weird. Totally weird.

So why was she so tempted to keep doing it?

8:23AM WISE GIRL
I'll make sure to tell you more often then

8:23AM SEAWEED BRAIN
i look forward to it

With a grin, she set the phone down and began the rest of her morning ritual, thanking the Gods for the millionth time that she had her own bathroom- Freshmen dorms were saddled with communal baths and it had been the worst mornings of her life, trying to get ready surrounded by noise and other girls. She preferred the quiet, feeling each day like she was preparing for battle, putting on the armor she'd wear until her head hit the pillow at night, and that was easier when there was room for contemplation and meditation.

Plus, she liked having the mirror all to herself.

Blonde curls that had been pulled up into a bun for sleeping were falling out and around her face. Her legs were long, her arms too, and her skin, once deeply tanned due to her summers spent at camp as a child, was lighter now, but still dark enough to offset her grey eyes magnificently. She wondered about her text-friend again. Would he be disappointed by what he saw if they met? Would she be his type?

Demigods were known for many things, but their attractiveness was often whispered about. Annabeth found it silly- Demigods had fantastic powers, they were monster killing machines, and yet mortals wanted to discuss how they looked? But now, staring at herself in the mirror, she was a little grateful for the trait.

With a sigh, she finished up and flicked off the lights, pulling on her clothes, and slinging her bag over her shoulder

She pressed her phone to her ear as she left the room, already dialing Luke's number.

Voicemail, of course.

"Luke! Hey, I have a favor to ask you…"

Luke Castellan was a genius at celestial law. He'd been top of his class at graduation, and had accepted the job at a firm in the city almost immediately after, though he had offers from all over the world.

Godly law and mortal law were quite different. For starters, the Gods didn't have to answer to mortal courts and governments, but upon being revealed to the world, it became clear that certain things like "fairness" and "justice" mattered to the mortals the Gods wanted to worship them. The Greeks lost quite a bit of their following for various transgressions, and Zeus trying to smite them only drove more away, and so he saw fit to establish the celestial courts, where gods could be tried for their crimes and punished accordingly, or if some zealous mortal wanted to sue them, they certainly could try.

The goddess Themis was the overseer of the system. And if there was a conflict over who a temple was going to be dedicated to…

Luke would have some ideas.

"I don't have any ideas," the male demigod straightened his tie and leaned back in his office chair, leaving Annabeth flabbergasted across the desk.

"But… you know all about this stuff!" she protested, leaning forward as a desperate tone entered her voice, "More than me at least!"

"I'm a lawyer, Annabeth, not a campaign manager." He smiled, apparently stifling a laugh as she got more flustered, flopping back in her chair.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do," she bemoaned, playing with her phone in her hands. It was off, of course, but despite the current pressing situation, she couldn't help but wonder about her text-friend.

Luke sat up straighter, templing his fingers. "Well, if I were you, I'd start by doing a bit of canvassing."

"Canvassing?"

"Polling."

"I know what canvassing is."

He nodded. "Right. Get an idea of what people want, what they think of Athena, the other Gods, how they think it would help them… The power of one temple to one God would be far more than one dedicated to many."

He looked thoughtful now, as if something had just occurred to him, "There may be legal precedent for Athena to get her temple first."

"Really?!"

"It's a long shot, but I'll pull up the relevant cases and see if there's anything I can do for you."

Annabeth shot up out of her seat, smile wide, "Oh my Gods, Luke, thank you that would be… amazing."

"And even if I don't find anything, I'll still do my best to help you win this thing. Promise."

"Won't your dad be upset?"

"Hermes? Nah, I doubt he cares that much." Luke stood as well, coming around the desk to walk Annabeth to his door, "At least, I'd be surprised if he did."

She turned to say goodbye, positively beaming, when it happened.

Luke leaned down and kissed her cheek.

Annabeth's whole body went rigid. He had never done anything like that before. She felt her hands grow cold and her face fell to a look of confusion. Luke only laughed at her shock.

"I'll call you tomorrow, Annabeth."

"Um. Yeah, good, thank you."

He closed the door, and Annabeth was left feeling… weird. She pretended not to notice, but Luke had been acting more… affectionate, recently. Maybe they just were that close, maybe he thought nothing of it, but something was bugging Annabeth that she couldn't quite place. She didn't like it.

Still reeling, she made her way out of the J&J Law Firm offices and stepped out onto the busy sidewalk. The sunlight made her blink several times, people walking to and from jobs, meetings, and other such city business. The very people she needed to convince.

Part of her wished her mother hadn't asked for her help, never offered to let her build the temple either. It was so much responsibility, she thought she might be crushed under it.

But, after taking a deep breath, she started down the road, in the opposite direction of the school and towards the subway. She needed to get out of the city, clear her head a bit. The woods would be a good place, teeming with monsters and and other unsavory folks.

Annabeth Chase was looking for a fight.