A/N: Finals are over! I am so happy for that! No more studying for a whole 16 days! Anyway, because of finals my creativity is low at the moment, but I wanted to put something up before the holidays, because I will be leaving and will unable to write anything. So, the chapter is really short and I am sorry about that.
Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson. It belongs to Rick Riordan.
I found myself walking in the direction of the East River. Why? I don't know. All I know is that I didn't make it there. I was just moving without thinking because my brain had a different conversation going on. I really wanted to talk to Chiron but my drachmas were back home and I didn't have a car to go drive to Camp. Anyway, I was just walking along when I felt the hairs on the back of my neck prickle. Spinning over my shoulder with lightning speed, I raised my sword just in time to stop claws from raking my back.
I saw a big round ball of red fur as I dodged the next swipe and slashed at the claws. But before I could even get close, the fur vanished. I stumbled forward at the thin air and looked around. My adrenaline kicked in and I could feel my heart racing. Monsters don't normally disappear. So, where did the fur ball go? Thankfully the street was relatively empty, but the few who were around, stared at me strangely. I caught a glimpse of something red bounding down the street.
"Nothing to see here!" I shouted at the people, before sprinting off.
As I ran, I became confused. The fur ball was literally just in front of me and now it isn't. It disappeared. Again. Why was it doing this? Where was it going? I turned in a circle, sword out, ready to attack, and then I saw it again. We played this game for, I don't know how long, and every time I got close to capturing and killing the monster, it disappeared. It wasn't until the fourth or fifth time that I saw something else. A beautiful, brown colored dog went near the fur ball and almost caught it. That was when I saw the fur ball wasn't exactly a fur ball. It was a fox. I came closed to the dog and fox, and then stopped. The fox had disappeared again and the dog disappeared after it. I turned back towards home. I was done chasing the monsters. There was no point.
A memory tugged at my brain. It was a few summers ago at camp, after visiting the Sea of Monsters, and Annabeth was still teaching me myths. "There was one," she said, "that was paradoxically impossible. The Teumessian Fox, fated to never be caught, was being hunted by the dog, Laelops, who was destined to catch everything. They were stuck in this perpetual game of cat and mouse. Tired of the game, Zeus turned them to stone and cast them into the stars."
"Forever?" I asked Annabeth.
"Forever." She agreed. "They are impossible together. A conundrum that can never be solved. And as you know, it is not in Zeus' personality to allow this."
So, if the fox and dog were supposed to be forever in the sky, why are they back on earth?
I trudged home, drenched in sweat.
"Percy?" my mom called. "Is that you?" I grumbled a yes and went to see her. Her brown hair was no longer long. She cut it a few months ago, right after the Titan War. She said that change was good. Out with the old, in with the new. She also quit her job at the candy store. She is working at the bookstore now, slowly working her way up the social ladder. She is hoping this will help her meet publishers so she can send in her own books.
"So, I heard you skipped the last hour of school." My mom said. I shrugged my shoulders.
"Yeah. I just needed to breathe. Mr. Baker wanted to talk about the gods today." Mom gave me a small smile.
"I thought you would love that."
"Yeah, but, it's complicated."
"You would rather just be known as Percy, instead of Percy the demigod?" My mom asked.
"Yeah. Exactly like that." I didn't want to tell her about the impossible fox and dog just yet. I wasn't sure if it was something to be worried about yet, and I didn't want her to have the extra stress.
"Okay. Well go get cleaned up. When Paul gets home, we are going to have dinner."
###
A month passed before I told anyone about the Fox and the Dog. In all actuality, I forgot about them. I was busy dodging Drew's questions and Evan's quizzical stares. The more the world accepted the gods, the more questioning my friends became. I knew that I would have to tell them soon, but I wasn't ready yet.
In the month that passed, the mortals started believing in the Greek myths. There were conferences and meetings and they finally began to accept the new world around them. Unfortunately, there were still many unanswered questions and my flimsy excuses to Drew and Evan weren't holding up anymore.
"Percy!" Drew called me over when I entered school. He and Evan were talking by their lockers, waiting for the bell for class to ring. I walked over slowly, not wanting to rush over.
"What's up?" I asked.
"Nothing much." Evan said.
"My brother was supposed to be coming home this week." Drew said. Drew's brother was over in Afghanistan and knew that Drew was looking forward to him coming home.
"Supposed to?" Evan questioned.
"Yeah. His leave was extended to another six weeks. I guess they can't afford to let anyone go right now." Drew said bitterly.
"At least he will be home in time for Christmas." Evan said.
"But that is another six weeks of waiting, not knowing what is happening." Drew was sounding desperate.
"I know what you mean." I told Drew. "The waiting is unbearable, not knowing if your family is coming back. You would almost rather be there, right in the middle of fighting, just so you know if they are safe." Evan eyed me suspiciously.
"Exactly. How do you know that? As far as I know, no one in your family has been in the military." Drew said.
"You might be surprised." I said. I was mentally yelling at myself. I had let my guard down and slipped.
"Well, are you ever going to tell us?" Evan asked. "We are your friends. You can trust us."
"I know. But you might not believe me." I said. There was no pretending now.
"Try us. We know you have been a fugitive more than once." Drew started to say. "A few years ago you were wanted for kidnapping your mom."
"Hey! I was proven innocent in that!" I said angrily.
"We know, but there are other instances. You blew up two schools, went MIA this summer, and refuse tell us anything. It is just odd." Evan said.
"Whatever." I said. My blood was starting to boil. I had never gotten this angry before in front of my friends. It was almost like when I met…Ares. I spun around and saw Clarisse standing in front of the door. That's when it clicked. My friends wouldn't have confronted me like that without reason. It was because Clarisse was here, making everyone just a bit more touchy than usual.
"Listen. I'm sorry, but I have to go." I said to my friends. I nodded my head slightly in Clarisse direction so she would know to follow me and left to find an empty classroom. I found one down the hallway and waited for Clarisse.
When she entered, I crossed my arms.
"What are you doing here?" I asked her.
"Nice to see you too, Prissy." Clarisse said. "I'm here to talk to people." I gave a small snort. In the four years that I have known Clarisse, she has never been the one to talk, more like point and grunt.
"You?" I said, dumbfounded.
"Yes, me!" She snapped. "The gods have asked all satyrs and demigods who are willing to, to go to schools and answer question mortals have. I, unlike you, don't have a death wish against the gods. I will do what they say." I blinked at her. She seemed more on edge than normal.
"Alright then. Did something happen?" Her eyes moved nervously from side to side and she went to grab the sword at her side.
"Have you seen anything…unusual?" She asked. My thoughts went to that day with the Fox and the Dog. Did she mean that? What was going on?
"Define unusual." I said.
"Like not normal. Things that shouldn't be happening!"
"Besides Hestia fading?" I said. "Yes. There was one thing that happened. There was a Fox and Dog, they should be in the stars, but I found them hunting each other." Clarisse closed her eyes and muttered in ancient Greek, a saying for warding off evil.
"That has been happening a lot recently, things that shouldn't be happening." My mind was trying to figure it out, but I couldn't piece it all together. I needed Annabeth to figure it out.
"Has Rachel said anything about it?" I asked. Rachel was our resident Oracle. Currently she was at a boarding school her father wanted her to go to,but I figured Chiron would have given her a call when weird things started happening.
"No. I mean, we asked her, but she said she couldn't see anything, like the future was blocked."
"Okay. Not good." This was one of our longest conversations we had had without trying to kill one another. "I have to get to class. Try not to blow my cover while you are here." She smirked.
"Still haven't told your friends? Don't worry. I won't tell them." She said, in a serious voice for once.
"Thanks." I said stopping in the doorway. I turned back to face Clarisse. "Don't get yourself killed. Because if you do, I know I will be blamed for some reason." She gave a ghost of a smile before waving me to leave.
A/N: So it was really short. Sorry about that. And it isn't edited. If there are any mistakes, let me know, please. Thanks for all your reviews. They make me really happy when I read them. Have a happy holiday.