~•3rd POV•~
When Hestia woke up she was on the most comfortable bed she had ever seen. It was the perfect temperature, not too cold and not too hot. It was made out of a jelly like substance, making it mold perfectly to her body. The sheets were like silk cloth, smooth, and slightly cold.
When she opened her eyes she was surprised to see she was on a bed made of water. The sheets were a thin layer of snow. She looked around and realized she was by the hearth in the throne room. She also noticed the figure sitting legs crossed with his hands making an X in his lap.
When she looked closer at the figure she realized it was Percy. When Percy visited her the other day she was ecstatic. Percy was her favorite Demi-god. He was able to bring hope to an entire army by just stepping onto the battlefield. He was also humble, he had done so much for the gods, yet never brags or asks for stuff for his own good. He always thinks of others first, and is extremely loyal. His looks just added to him, she always thought he looked handsome, but now that he was back, she thinks he looks somewhat "hot". She has had a crush on him since the Second Titan War, when he gave her Pandora's "Box". He was the first to honor her in millennia.
She got off of the bed and sat in front of Percy. While she sat she studied Percy's features. He was taller than he was six years ago. He was way more muscular than he used to be, not like a bodybuilder, but more of a lean swimmer. His features were more defined, and he looked carved out of marble. His hair was a snowy white color, and even though she couldn't see his eyes, she knew they were an icy blue color that she could get lost in for years.
She was so absorbed in studying Percy's features she didn't notice his eyes open. He stayed silent as she looked him over before saying, "Good morning Hestia." Hestia jumped slightly at the sudden voice before looking up to Percy's face. "Good morning Percy, thank you for making me a bed." She said. He smiled and replied, "No problem, how did you sleep?" "Very well, the bed was really comfortable." She responded smiling.
"Good, but if you don't mind me asking, I thought gods don't need to sleep, so how come you did?" Percy inquired. She smiled before explaining, "You are correct gods don't need to sleep, but it helps regenerate power faster. The gods who use their domains more commonly sleep to keep themselves energized. Like how Artemis is always using her hunt domain, so she sleeps at night with her hunters. Same goes for me, I am constantly using my domain of home to comfort and bring hope to people. It is somewhat draining so I have to sleep."
Percy nodded in acknowledgement before saying, "Today I begin training the campers, would you like to join me at camp?" Hestia raised an eyebrow before asking, "Won't you be busy training them?" Percy chuckled before explaining, "I'm going to make clones made of ice to do their training, that way they can all have a personal trainer."
Hestia nodded in understanding before accepting Percy's hand to get up. They both walked out of the throne room talking about the meeting last night. They walked to the edge of Olympus before teleporting to camp. When they got there they went to the dining pavilion where everyone was eating. Everyone quieted down when the two walked in together. Percy nodded to everyone before walking with Hestia to the head table.
The campers went back to their conversations like before. Percy and Hestia continued to talk about random things, simple enjoying each others company. When everyone was done eating they went to arena and waited for training to begin. The gods even showed up to watch the first training session from Percy.
Percy walked into the arena in full combat armor made of ice. It had intricate designs all over it, ranging from swirls to scenes of blizzards. He walked to the front of the crowd and began to talk. "Hello everyone, as you know I am Percy Jackson. I will be leading your training for the rest of this war. You had best keep yourself in shape because I will not be as lenient as Chiron. Now to begin you will all need to get on full combat armor."
Percy waited till everyone was in armor. The older campers had heavy armor, it covered almost their entire body and weighed about 30 lbs. The younger campers had light armor, it covered their chest, legs, and head, and weighed about 10 lbs. When everyone was ready he began to speak again. "Good, not everyone will be running five laps around camp. I expect you all to run your fastest. No tripping each other or you will be doing another lap, understood?" Everyone nodded wearily. "Good, now begin running." He said and walked over to Hestia and sat down.
"Why aren't you running too?" One camper complained. Percy sighed and got up, "Ill be back in five minutes tops." He said to Hestia, earning an odd look from her. He just smirked and walked to the front of the campers. "Ok, I'll join you, but I will be going full speed as well." He said smirking. Everyone cheered and got ready to run.
Percy made a bow out of water and aimed it in the air. The bow was completely made of ice, aside from the string. The string was made out of a thin layer of water. He pulled back the string and an ice arrow materialized out of thin air. He fired the arrow straight into the air, and after about five seconds it exploded into a blizzard.
Once everyone saw it explode they began to run. Percy turned to bow to vapor before beginning to sprint. He shot forward with such speed the ground broke beneath him. Everyone stopped and watched in awe and surprise as Percy shot forward at speeds close to 100 mph.
In only a few minutes he finished his fifth lap and stopped. He smirked at the still gaping campers and said, "Well, are you going to start running, or am I going to have to get Mrs. O'Leary to chase you for the five laps?" He asked only half jokingly. This snapped the campers out of their shock and they began to run, in fear of Percy's threat.
Percy just chuckled at the scramble campers and sat down next to Hestia. They began to talk like nothing happened. They talked about the state of the hearth, how Olympus has been the past six years, some of Percy's adventures, and more random things. They ended up sitting in the stands with Hestia's head on Percy's shoulder and Percy leaning on the seats behind him.
Almost an hour later all of the campers were back at the arena finished with their laps. They were all panting heavily from the long run in armor. Percy just chuckled and whispered something in Hestia's ear and she smiled and nodded. A second later there was flash in the middle of the arena. When the light died down there was a large table covered in ambrosia squares.
"Alright everyone take one square, you will need it for the rest of training." Percy yelled so everyone heard him. Everyone happily complied and ate a piece of ambrosia, immediately feeling better. "Great, now each one of you will be paired with an ice copy of myself. It will have all of my memories, so it will be as skilled as I am. It is going to gauge your combat abilities so it can teach you at your level." When he finished explaining he summoned a copy for each camper. They all ran off to find an area where they could train without bumping into each other.
The gods and Percy watched as the ice copies began to teach the campers combat skills. They gave tips as they fought and demonstrated moves. As the gods watched they started talking. "So Percy, I've been meaning to ask, but how do the ice copies talk?" Athena asked. Percy smiled at her thirst to knowledge, it was so much like Annabeth's.
"Well I make them in a similar way that I reform myself after teleporting. When I create them, my subconscious creates the insides, like when I teleport. The ice copies have lungs, hearts, and vocal cords, making it possible for them to talk and breath." He explained. Athena nodded in understanding.
"You said when you make them you put the part of your mind that controls them into your subconscious, how can you do that?" Athena asked, wanting to know as much as she could. Percy smiled and began to explain. "Well, as you all know I studied with Japanese monks for two years. While I was there I was able to increase my control over my brain. While everyone uses all of their brain daily, it is completely subconsciously. I was able to tap into my subconscious, so I can consciously control my brain. I can stimulate specific parts of my brain, like my Limbic System, or my memory center. By stimulating my limbic System I can achieve perfect memory. In the same way I do this I can stimulate the part of my brain that controls my powers in such a way that I push it into my subconscious."
Athena looked intrigued while the other gods looked at him blankly. Percy laughed at their look and explained in a more child friendly way, "I can push buttons on my brain and make it do what I want." He got many 'oh's and 'ah's from this. "Wow, when did you get so smart Percy?" Apollo asked. Percy chuckled, "While I may have only gone to combat schools while I was gone, they still had some cuticular classes."
They continued to talk like this till dinner. Percy had, had Hestia summon lunch for everyone so they didn't have to go the dining pavilion for lunch. Percy turned all of the ice copies to mist and told everyone to go have a well earned lunch. Hestia and Percy walked to the dining pavilion together talking the entire way. After everyone ate they went to campfire singalong. Hestia practically dragged Percy with her to the campfire.
When the singalong was over everyone went to bed to get some sleep so they could survive tomorrow. Percy and Hestia walked to the beach and sat down watching the waves in comfortable silence. Hestia was sitting in Percy's lap and Percy had his arms wrapped around her with his head leaning against a tree behind him.
They sat there enjoying each other's warmth in the cold night air. After a while of relaxing Percy got up with Hestia still in his arms. With an arm around her shoulder he began to walk to his cabin. When they arrived at his cabin Percy let go of Hestia.
Percy smiled and kissed her forehead and said, "Goodnight Hestia, I'll see you in the morning." Hestia smiled and blushed slightly when Percy kissed her. "Good night Percy, today was fun, so I had better see you tomorrow." She said smiling. She got up on her toes and kissed his cheek before flashing away.
Percy stood there smiling like a fool for a minute before shaking it off and walking into his cabin. He walked to the middle of his cabin and summoned a mat to sit on. He sat down and began his death trance.
Little did he know that there was a powerful being watching the entire encounter from the shadows, already scheming up a way to use this to its advantage.