Fire crackled gently from within a fireplace, bathing a living room in soft hues of red and orange. Chiron sighed, looking out a window at the two new demigods entering his camp. It always hurt him so, to see two innocent children coming into a world where they likely would die young.

The odds only increased, if his hunch was correct. Children of Hades always had tough lives, even when compared to other demigods.

"Hey, Chiron."

Chiron turned around frantically, hooves scraping against the hardwood floor. He hadn't heard anybody come in, and usually the gods were courteous enough to announce themselves. His bow was half way off of his back when he spotted a black haired, green eyed boy leaning against the door.

He squinted for a brief second, before he placed him.

"Perseus!" Chiron said. "What brings you here?"

Percy smiled, walking forward into the room. "Sorry for startling you like that, Chiron. I was sent by Hestia to aid the children of Hades, to prevent them from falling into enemy hands."

Chiron frowned. "Enemy?" His complexion took on a dark, worried pallor, the dancing lights of the fire making him look as ancient as he was. "You can't mean…"

Percy nodded. "The Great Prophecy is in motion."

Chiron sighed, turning round once more to look out at the camp, at the demigods under his guidance and protection. His heart clenched as he realized just how many of them he'd be losing.

Percy advanced forward, his footsteps echoing on the floor as he came to a rest beside the aged centaur. For a few, long minutes, the two merely stood beside each other, two old soldiers from different eras wordlessly comforting each other.

"It doesn't get any easier." Chiron finally said. "Teaching them, watching them grow, only to watch them fall."

Silence reigned again for a long while. Percy sighed, and hesitantly began to speak. "I remember when Hestia first took me from Ares, and into her care. I was so confused, barely even capable of social interaction."

The demigod shook his head softly, staring into the infinite, lost in memory. "I was so, so tired. I couldn't sleep, I'm physically incapable of it, but I was still tired. My mind was just overwhelmed by everything." He laughed. It was a morose sound. "I had spent over half a century knowing nothing but war, my days filled with nothing but blood, mud, and death. And then, suddenly, I was introduced to the wonders of middle-class America. I was huddled in the corner of the upstairs bedroom like a scared cat."

Chiron closed his eyes. He empathized with Percy, he was one of the only people that could. Behind his eyelids, he could still see it, the endless battlefields of the Titan war, the unyielding carnage as one of the mightiest pantheons on the planet was split in two. The worst part of it all wasn't the savagery, or the violence. It was the silence that came after.

Percy continued to speak, tearing him out of his anguished reverie.

"And then Hestia sweeps into the room like a divine angel. Out of all the things she could do, all the things I expected her to do, she gave me a flower, made of embers from her hearth. I ask her why, why give me this? Hades, why even go through the effort of giving a shit about me at all? I'm built to die for them all in the end anyway." Percy looked at Chiron, and smiled warmly. "She told me that, just like that flower, a thing isn't valued because it lasts. It's valued because of how it interacts with the world while it's there."

Percy turned away from Chiron, to look out the window, at the demigods beyond it in the camp. "Those demigods, they help a lot of people. I've seen it. Just yesterday, one of your pupils, Annabeth, saved the lives of those two children of Hades, going up against a manticore with nothing but a length of metal. Some people will go their whole lives without truly living, without achieving some kind of purpose. Not a single one of your students is among that number."

Chiron smiled bittersweetly. He closed his eyes. "I can see how it's easier to think that way. Thank you, Perseus."

Percy smiled softly. "Thank Hestia. She's always had a way with words."

Chiron inclined his head, his smile growing warmer. He returned his gaze to the window. "Aye. That she does. She's made you soft, more human." He turned to regard the old demigod, and nodded. "I approve."

The centaur paused for a moment. "Prophecies should not be taken at face value, Perseus. It is not set in stone that you will die."

Percy sighed. "Thank you Chiron, but both you and I know that the prophecy doesn't leave much in the way for interpretation."

"Even the seemingly obvious in prophecies are often not as certain as they appear."

Percy put a hand on the centaur's shoulder. "Chiron, let it go. I've had decades to come to terms with it."

The two old soldiers stared at each other for a long moment, before Chiron finally looked away. "So you have."

The centaur's gaze drifted over to the forest at the outskirts of the camp. "How long will you be staying?"

Percy shrugged. "The only orders I have are to accompany the hunters until further notice. As long as the hunters remain here, so shall I."

Chiron smiled. "In that case, while you're here, would you be willing to help with some training?"

Percy chuckled incredulously. "Me? Training kids? What do I look like to you?"

"An unprecedented opportunity for the demigods under my charge to get some much needed real world experience."

Linebreak

Percy walked out of the Big House, grumbling to himself under his breath. "Me? Training? Whatever you say, Chiron."

Something, or someone was approaching him, and Percy instantly jolted himself out of his musings, looking up and around himself. A few meters away, there was a small crowd of people approaching him.

He studied them, eyes flickering in long held habits as he analyzed them. Sons and daughters of Ares, he assumed, if their impressive statures and red eyes meant anything. His hands clenched, their crimson stares awakening memories in him, memories he'd rather stay buried.

The small group, a quarter dozen strong, quickly surrounded him. The leader of the group, a tall, strong demigodess clad in armor that screamed of Ares' involvement, stepped forward.

"Oi. You lost?"

Percy couldn't help it. He was expecting legitimate danger, not high school politics. He laughed loudly and openly. "Are you three really trying to haze me?" He gasped out incredulously. "Everybody else in your camp, and you pick me."

The group only shifted closer to him. Percy shook his head mirthfully. "You are, aren't you?"

He shifted his stance, lowering it, his demeanor instantly shifting. "Well, Chiron did ask me to teach you." He muttered.

The demigoddess leading the small group charged forward, a spear levelled in front of her, and Percy merely watched, unimpressed. He pivoted on a foot, and caught the spear just behind the head, immobilizing it regardless of how much the demigoddess strained. A mild electric shock shot through him, but compared to what he'd been hit with in the past, it was nothing. He was easily able to ignore it.

"You went through the effort of encircling me, and yet you only attack me 1 at a time?"

He leveraged a bit of his strength, and shoved the spear back, pushing its wielder back a few steps.

"Try again."

The demigoddess gave an enraged roar and charged once more, giving a crude signal with a spare hand. Percy watched out of his peripheral vision, as the two sons of Ares charged him from either side.

"Better." Percy said. He waited a few moments, and then just as they were about to impact him, he simply stepped backwards. "However, when surrounding someone, you should never attack along the same axis, lest you risk friendly fire."

The two demigods collided with each other, barely managing to keep from stabbing each other with their swords. Perseus leveraged this moment of distraction, stepping forth and sweeping the legs out of one of the demigods, and pushing them in the opposite direction. The sons of Ares went down into a tangle of limbs, and Perseus strode through the space where they'd been.

The demigoddess was still charging him with his spear, and Percy simply dropped to a knee. The spear went over the top of his head, ruffling his hair. As it missed him, he pressed the palm of his hand to the underside of the spear, standing up and forcing the spear upwards. The movement destabilized the daughter of Ares, sending her staggering back. All it took then was him stepping inside her failing guard and a shove to her chest to send her to the ground, joining her siblings.

He looked down on them for a moment. He couldn't deny that he felt at least a modicum of pleasure in doing this, in trouncing the spawn of Ares. It came nowhere close to equalling the half century of warfare he was forced into, but it nonetheless felt good. He forced the feeling back, and a tinge of shame shot through him as he recalled Hestia's teachings.

Denying the temptation to gloat, he instead stepped forward, continuing his pseudo lesson.

"You keep overextending." Bending over, Percy picked up the spear that the demigoddess had dropped, idly twirling it in a hand for a moment. "A spear is meant for short, quick thrusts. Ideally, your spear shouldn't be in the same space for more than a few seconds."

The spear settled into his hands, and he demonstrated, three lightning quick thrusts shooting the spearhead forward before it returned to his side. "Like that."

The children of Ares got to their feet, confused, and Percy tossed the spear back to the demigoddess. "All that being said, the spear really is the ideal weapon for you." He looked her up and down for a moment. "You certainly have the muscle mass and height to be a formidable spearman."

He spun on a foot, continuing to talk while they were still on the hindfoot. "And you two, sons of Ares. A sword isn't meant to be a primary weapon on its own. A shield would have benefited you two greatly. I doubt you would've collided in such a dramatic fashion if you had a shield. No need to charge at me, you could've just kept me pinned in, giving me nowhere to go but forward." He pointed to the demigoddess, staring at him dumbfoundedly. "And in that scenario, going forward would have only lead to me getting skewered by her."

"Who the hell are you?" The daughter of Ares growled inquisitively, lowering her spear. Her siblings followed their example, sheathing their swords at their sides.

"I'm Perseus Jackson." He smiled, thumping a hand to his chest. "Call me Percy."

"I'm Clarisse." The girl said, holstering her spear behind her back. "And I'll call you whatever the hell you want, Percy."

She inclined her head ever so slightly, a gesture of grudging respect. "Us sons of war respect strength. And today, you have proved yourself stronger."

Percy gritted his teeth, his hands clenching as he heard the hated philosophy of Ares. "No." Percy denied, angrily slashing a hand forth. "Strength is not an absolute thing. Strength alone does not, and will not win the day. A good warrior is not merely strong, he is also intelligent, he is empathetic, and he, perhaps most importantly, is disciplined enough to be all three."

Percy strode forward until he was standing directly in front of the daughter of Ares. "So, raise your head, Clarisse. Do not use this incident to place yourself underneath me. Use it to further yourself, aim to surpass me. One day, perhaps, it will be me on the ground."

Clarisse raised her hand, and looked him in the eye. "As you say, Percy." She stuck out her hand, and Percy accepted it, shaking it.

"Percy!"

The demigod in question glanced over, widening with concern as he saw Annabeth bent halfway over, hands on her knees. She'd evidently ran across the camp to find him.

Percy let go of Clarisse's hand, turning towards her. His hand began edging towards the butt of the rifle on his back. "What's the situation?"

"We're organizing teams for capture the flag! I was sent to get you and Clarisse!"

"Capture the flag?" Percy echoed, feeling oddly out of place, even as Clarisse nodded as if this was a usual event, walking towards the distant treeline.

Annabeth was turning to run back to the treeline when she heard his puzzled query. She turned to him, obviously impatient.

"We always play capture the flag when the hunters arrive here at camp."

"Oh?"

"Yes, Percy!" She crossed her arms, glaring at him. "And I figure with you, we stand a chance for once."

"A chance?" For a person with very little social interaction outside of traumatized civilians and combatants, this conversation was going way too fast for him.

Annabeth looked down. "Yeah. A chance. The hunters win every time." For a brief second, Percy thought she looked oddly vulnerable. The moment came and went, and she met his eyes with the usual amount of fire.

"So? You game?"

Percy let his gaze drift until it rested on the Big House. He recalled Chiron's words. He sighed.

"Yes, Annabeth. I'm game. Tonight, the campers win." His reservations against participating disappeared, and Annabeth's face brightened, a wide smile crossing it. "Okay, Percy! See you there!"

Percy watched the daughter of Athena run off for a moment, before sighing once more, and directed his gaze heavenwards. "Chiron and Zoe were right, Hestia. Gods, I've become soft under you."

He abruptly chuckled. Maybe he was going soft, but if he could make more people smile like that, then perhaps it was worth it. He began to stride forward, following Annabeth and Clarisse's lead.

Prideful eyes followed the old demigod, as a small child watched her charge. Fiery eyes flickered with emotion, and Hestia smiled.

New Chapter. Sorry if its not up to standard, I'm really busy with all the occupational training that comes with my first posting. I know I'm paying this fanfic too much attention to the detriment of my other fics, but honestly I'm not good enough of a writer to juggle multiple projects and keep up with work and shit and the same time. I largely write as a way to relieve stress, I'll legitimately write up chapters in free time on my phone, the google docs app is pretty much where most if not all of my writing gets done. I'm no professional writer, if you want superb quality go find the people who actually get paid to write lol, like that one RWBY author, Couer I think? Don't know it off the top of my head. I have no idea how the guy does it, managing multiple fics and pumping out multiple chapters for each weekly. Holy fuck dude, godspeed to you man. I could never.