I thought we should check in with our dear Jason in Elysium, see how he's been doing since he died. I've discovered he's quite lonely down there, and decided he needed a new friend.

Jason was starting to forget things.

When he first arrived in Elysium, he kept a close watch on his friends on the surface. There were places you could watch over you family members from. He used to go every day, checking first on Piper then Leo and sifting through the rest of the Seven, as well as Nico. As they moved on from his death, he slowly stopped going as often. He made sure to go at least once a week, when he remembered.

It seemed that the longer he was in Elysium, the harder it was to remember the mortal world. People here were so happy in death. He didn't know how to be happy was he was still grieving the loss of his friends. They would remember him, but would he eventually forget them?

He didn't want to forget them. He refused to forget them. So every morning when he woke up, he wrote their names down, their parents, and a memory he had with them. He had a collection of papers that listed the same things over and over.

Piper McLean. Tristan McLean and Aphrodite. Birthday picnic in Rome.

Leo Valdez. Esperanza Valdez and Hephestus. Flying to Quebec on a metal dragon.

Percy Jackson. Sally Jackson and Poseidon. Fighting Kymopoleia underwater in the Mediterranean.

Annabeth Chase. Frederick Chase and Athena. Figuring out Jason and Percy had been traded by Hera.

Hazel Levesque. Marie Levesque and Pluto. Fighting Sciron.

Frank Zhang. Emily Zhang and Mars. Giving him praetorship to fight through the the House of Hades.

Nico DiAngelo. Maria DiAngelo and Hades. Talking to Cupid and getting Diocletian's scepter.

Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano. Julian Ramirez-Arellano and Bellona. Being praetors together.

He carried the paper with him, always making sure to wear clothes with pockets, and looked at it before he went to bed.

Elysium had days and nights, with plenty of things to do during that time. Spirits didn't really need rest, so Jason would spend nights walking along the beach, watching the heroes on the Isle of the Blest. Until he was walking down one of the side streets one night and decided to get food—also not a necessity, but something he discovered he enjoyed exploring.

There were spirits from all walks of life down here and many of them were apt to share their culture's cuisine. The food from inside Carrigan's Irish Pub smelled enticing and since it was the only place open on the block, Jason decided to go in. The was music piping in from speakers somewhere and a girl who looked to be Jason's age was wiping down a nearly deserted bar. She glanced up when he walked in, flashing him a smile from behind a sprig of curly red hair that had fallen loose from a messy tangle by the nape of her neck.

"Hi," she said, setting the rag down behind the bar. "What can I get fer you?"

Jason noticed the lilt in her voice, the way her words seemed to growl.

"Uh, anything," he said, sitting at a stool across from her.

"Sounds like a plan."

She headed through a door to what he assumed was the kitchen and came back moments later with a plate loaded with food. She set it down in front of him, pulled out a frosted glass, and filled it with something from under a tap.

"You think I can eat all of this?" Jason poked at a piece of meat with his fork.

"I think yer stomach will be fine," she replied, handing him the drink. "And I also think you happen to need a little liquid luck if you're gonna get started with your afterlife."

Jason stopped, mid-chew, then remembered himself and swallowed. "What do you know about my afterlife?"

"I have eyes, boyo, I can see you struggling to figure out what to do without everything you knew up there," she said, pointing at the ceiling, where a fan lazily churned the warm air. "It took me a while to get over dying. Now I've opened my pub and I'm just waitin' fer my brother to get here."

"Your brother?" Jason shoved another forkful of food into his mouth—it was undeniably delicious.

"He was about seven when I died." She pulled out another glass and filled it, taking a sip. "We were orphans in Belfast, the government wanted to split us up when a couple wanted to adopt only him. Said they didn't have room fer a seventeen year ol' girl."

She shrugged, like the rejection did seem to faze her at all.

"He dinnae wan' to go, so he ran away the night before they were gonna pick him up. I ran away to find him. When I did, he was crying in an alley. I was talkin' to him, tryin' to get him to go back. I needed a few months to age out of the system and then I could file fer custody of him. Some druggie found us and tried to rob us. I told him we dinnae have any money but he pulled a gun, fumbled with it, and shot me clean through the heart."

Jason noticed she didn't seem to have a problem telling her story and wondered how long it had been since she died. So he asked.

"I died almost a year ago now. My brother, Sammy, he's about eight now. I told him to go with the couple before I died, and he's made it his mission to be superhero." She laughed. "The rat hasn't learned to use his power yet, but he's gettin' there." At his confused gaze, she added, "We're both children of Hypnos. It's how I was calming him down before I died."

"Why weren't you at camp?" Half the plate was gone now, and he still wanted more, but first, a sip of the drink. It was bubbly and tasted like apple juice.

"It was durin' the school year. We were about to go to Camp Halfblood in two weeks or so." She looked down at her bar. "Sammy dinnae go that year, because of the war."

Jason studied his hands. "I was in the war."

"I could tell. You looked restless."

He heard her shuffling things around. "What's yer name, lad?"

"Jason," he replied. "Jason Grace."

A pause.

"I'm Carrigan O'Connor, owner of this lovely place." She stuck a hand out above his plate, forcing him to look up at her.

"Well? Are you gonna to shake my han' or not?"

So this lovely little gem spawned from the idea that Jason was just a tad bit lonely down in Elysium without his friends, and the happy place didn't seem to be making him, but rather forgetful. I also just thought of Carrigan and thought she'd be a perfect companion for him.

Thoughts?

Should I continue this in a new fic? Should I just leave this little drabble as is?

Might put up a poll on my profile on it.

In the meantime,

Read on, lovelies,

The Duchess