Authors note: Welcome to the 4th chapter, continue to let me know how to improve my story and enjoy! I am loving writing this story though I did drift from the storyboard a bit and had to adjust some things. Read on and enjoy it! I do not own PJO or the characters involved.
Percy awoke with a start, he was shaking from his nightmare but there was a weight on his chest. He looked down and saw Aiode sleeping soundly using him as a body pillow. Her hair was messy and there was a little bit of drool pooling onto his chest. She was snoring softly as the sun poured into the room. He looked around and recalled last night.
They ended up talking all night about Percy's quests and all of the things Aiode had seen. They made jokes and laughed and Percy felt wanted for just his company. She wasn't in awe of him and she didn't demand he tell her anything that he didn't want to talk about. It was easy. She was by far the easiest person to talk to he had ever met and he loved talking to her about anything and everything.
He slithered out from under her before moving to the kitchen to make breakfast for the two of them. He found eggs, peppers, onions, spinach, bacon, and coffee. He scrambled the eggs and once they were cooked enough he made two omelets before putting two mugs of coffee on the table and walking over to the couch. He saw her stretching and yawning just as he approached. "I made breakfast." He said with a smile before offering his hand to her.
Her cropped tee was disheveled as she reached up and wiped the drool from the side of her face. Once she was done with that she smiled at him tiredly before following him to her dining room table and beginning to eat. Percy sat down and so did she. They ate in relative, tired silence, but it was comfortable, there were no words that needed to be said, they were both too tired to think of a conversation, so they ate and enjoyed their dark roast while listening to the songbirds outside the window. Shortly after they had finished eating and Percy and the muse shared a cigarette over coffee, he left for the throne room to talk to the other Olympians about his jobs and how to adjust to his new lifestyle.
As he walked along he said hello to the minor gods and goddesses that were milling about Olympus. The architecture was beautiful and the landscape of the city on the mountain was breathtaking. His wings came back out once he left Aiodes house and were packed tightly against his back as he walked through the city he now called home.
Once he arrived in the throne room he saw his uncle lounging on his alone. Percy walked over to his throne and sat down sideways with his legs dangling off the armrests facing him towards the king of the gods. He felt reenergized and powerful as he sat on his throne; embracing the feeling with a small smile before forming a ball of ice in his hands and throwing it up in the air and catching it each time it came down. "Hey, Uncle," Percy said as he stared at the sky and the ice ball that was currently falling just to the right of where his face was.
Zeus turned his attention to the much younger Olympian. "Yes, Percy?" he said calmly as the new conversation drew him out of his thoughts. His foot tapping on the marble below his throne came to a halt as his posture shifted to Percy.
"What is my job now that I am an Olympian? Yes maintain my domain but how do I do that effectively?" Percy inquired.
"Your existence and sitting upon your source of power maintains it enough but it's your choice when to cause storms or snow. Stick to the seasonal way of things and try to only effect places that your domain isn't unheard of; which during the winter in most places, your domain is quite powerful if you ask me," he says nodding along as he counts off what it all means to him.
Percy seemed impressed by his new abilities before looking back at his wings. "And am I allowed in your domain without harm now that I have these?" Percy said looking back at his wings that draped over his throne.
Zeus laughed and said, "I swear on the Styx that you will always be safe within my domain, at least from me." Thunder booms in the distance and Percy nodded in thanks to his uncle. Before Zeus asked him "Is that all?"
Percy smiled at him before nodding and replying with "How will I know when meetings are called?" He asked as he stood from his throne still facing the king.
"It feels like an alarm is going off in your head," he said as he slowly started to drift back into his thoughts.
Percy nodded before deciding that he needed to visit his mother and Paul and let them know the news. As he walked out of the throne room he decided to test his wings out. As he walked to the edge of Olympus overlooking New York City he looks around before expanding his wings to their widest point before jumping off.
He feels himself free-falling as he plummets towards the earth. His wings suddenly catch the wind and he starts flexing the muscles in them causing them to flap. At first, it is uncoordinated and he keeps plummeting before he finally catches a rhythm and he starts to fly. At first, he circles above manhattan looking for his mother's apartment building before spotting it and closing his wings in before nose-diving towards it, once he feels that he is close enough he expands his wings once again and begins to level out souring towards the roof. As he approaches at lightning speed his wings flap causing him to essentially stop mid-air before landing softly on his feet. He breathes in as his heart rate slowly goes down from the adrenalin from his first flight slowly fades he flexes the muscles in his back and stretches relaxing and retracting his wings slowly into himself yet again.
He breathes out and feels his face yet again forgetting his beard is there. He smiles before walking to the stairs off of the roof. Once he gets there he opens the door and heads down. The apartment building isn't anything fancy but it is homey, at about 30 years old its well kept with fresh paint lining the walls he walked two floors down to the elevator and hit the button for the 28th story. When he got off he turned to the right and walked to the last door on the left. He took a deep breath and then knocked. He was greeted with a "Coming!" from his mother as he waited outside.
When the door opened and his mother looked at him she just stood there gaping at him before muttering "You got tall and hairy." before coming to her senses and hugging him.
"Hey, mom. I came by to tell you some things." Percy said once they had separated and Sally opened the door further letting Percy walk into her apartment.
She motioned for him to take a seat on the couch and ran back into the kitchen after hearing a buzzer go off. He takes the time to look around the apartment. He sees old pictures of him and his mom as well as some of him and his friends from camp before noticing a picture from when everyone had come over for his 15th birthday. He also noticed wedding pictures of her and Paul. He smiled at those pictures realizing that his mother had finally found happiness.
She stepped into the room carrying a tray of steaming blue chocolate chip cookies and a cup of milk. "Okay, Percy looks like you have to explain yourself yet again, so… I'm listening" she said motioning for him to continue.
"Okay, well, I am an Olympian. Dad and a few others convinced me yesterday night to accept their offer and well… I did." Percy said before standing up "And I got a few new Limbs." he says as he expanded his pure black wings behind him. "And yes, they are functional."
Sally stared with wide eyes at the wings that nearly touched either side of her living room. "You are a god?" she said with wide eyes before standing up and embracing him. "This is the best news a mother could hear… My baby isn't in danger anymore," she said before starting to cry into his shirt.
"Yeah mom, you don't have to worry anymore. I also met someone that I get along really well with. Her name is Aiode and she is one of the 7 Muses. We hung out all last night and we really hit it off. I think I'm going to ask her out again tonight." Percy said with a smile as his mom slowly pulled away from him. When she looked him in the eyes he saw this twinkle of happiness and ease in her and all of the stress he had caused her over the years seemed to evaporate.
"Percy, I am so happy for you," she said as she took a cookie and pressed it into her son's hands before he essentially stuffed it in his face leaving crumbs in his otherwise well-kept beard.
"Thanks," he said between bites as he looked around again. "I missed your wedding." He said as the realization hit him.
"Yeah, it was 10 months after you disappeared. Lucky you called the month prior otherwise I wouldn't have been able to celebrate my new marriage without worrying, at least as bad as I had been," she said tentatively regarding the last year.
"It has been a tough go…" Percy regarded carefully while lowering his head in what looked to be shame. He had lost everyone under his watch and came out the soul survivor; that tends to take a toll on a person. While Sally acted like she didn't know how serious things were for her son sometimes, she knew. She got a weekly report from Chiron about his whereabouts and the quests he was on. There was always the fear that he would die on a quest but somehow he always seemed to make it back to her. And now with the news that he couldn't die he felt that a breath of fresh air filled her lungs for the first time.
He was alive and well and there was nothing that could make sally happier. They continued the conversation; her asking about his friends and his response of "Dead" or "missing" popping up almost every time. As she heard more and more about the war that he had been in the more thankful she was that he had survived. It was a surprise that he had lived and she didn't realize how true that statement was until now when she was hearing about the horrors of the giant war first hand. She knew her son was brave but she never quite realized how brave.
Once they had finished talking and Percy decided to leave he left by going back up the way he came and flying over the city and up towards the clouds that he knew was olympus. He soared through the sky passing birds as he went higher and higher. His breath slowly tightening as his altitude raised. As he kept soaring up at a remarkable speed the city finally came into view. He saw the ledge by the throne room that he could land on and opted to go for that. Once he was close he pulled up by flapping the opposite way his wings were going and touched down gently before stepping into the throne room and laying eyes on his icy chair that seemed to be radiating with power.
Percy walked over to his throne and sat down before closing his eyes and getting some rest. About 20 minutes rolled by and he was the only one in the throne room before Artimis walked in calmly and saw the massive winged figure asleep. She sighed and sat in her own throne before starting to sharpen her knives and dull one of them to the point it just seemed to be a blunt pole. She turned to percy with the short dull knife in hand and threw it next to his head where it banged and fell to the floor before dissipating back into her hand. Percy woke with a jump and looked at her incredulously. She smirked his way and once percy was relaxed enough he rolled his shoulders and he looked around.
"Hey Artemis, Do you know who I should talk to about my living situation?" Percy inquired before rubbing what's left of the sleep from his eyes.
She seemed to think about it for a second before turning to face him. "No, I don't think I know, but Athena might, you should talk to her." Percy beamed at her before getting up and walking to the olympian library, before he was out of the throne room he called back to Artemis "you are a goddess."
Artemis rolled her eyes at that statement with a "Duh." before he was out of eyesight.
Percy casually headed through the sprawling greek city in front of him and embracing the views all around him. He was surrounded with such beauty that his senses were overcome with awe. He was down right impressed as he walked further and further into the city before he saw the olympian library and once inside the one occupant of the Olympian goddess Athena standing behind a table towards the center of the room pouring over her notes frantically looking for something.
He stood quietly watching while leaning against a pillar. She reminded him so much of his lost love. She had her blonde curly hair bound back in a ponytail while wearing a simple grey sweater and mom jeans that somehow fit her perfectly. Her face was almost identical to Annabeths but different in small ways; such as the glasses that rested on her nose that made it obvious that she wasn't Annabetha nd once that thought had crossed Percy's mind he decided to make himself known by clearing his throat.
She looked up at the young Olympian with a look of curiosity written on her face before asking him "What can I do for you Percy?" He smiled in turn and took a few steps closer and said "I have no Idea where my new house is and I was told to go to you?"
She smiled at that and said "Oh! One minute let me just find your key." She shuffled around her table before holding up and ornate crystal key before handing it to him. "If you just follow the road outside of the library down the mountain you have the last palace before the edge; thought since you have wings that that would be a good idea." she said while smiling. Percy nodded back and said "Thankyou. Oh, and by the way… You look a lot like Annabeth when your mind is taken by work. We should go out sometime so I can tell you all about her antics." He said with a smile before she gave a small one back and replied with an "I'd like that." before percy turned and walked out of the Library and followed her instructions walking back to his house.
Once he got there he noticed that there was snow on the floor and he smiled before continuing to walk towards his home. It was a cozy cabin much like Aiodes but his was surrounded with snow and was the size of a very nice vacation home. He walked in and found the nearest bedroom deciding to sleep and just tour his new home the next day. He did have forever after all. He fell into his bed and was asleep before his head hit his pillow.