Alright chapter 2, this one is a little longer but not by as much as i was planning. If I had kept going I was not going to have a clean stopping point for a while as I have lots planned very shortly. I'm also not entirely sure how long I should be making the chapters, I had one review already hoping for some longer ones so I hope this is to you liking. I think it's about 1300 extra words on top of the last one if you discount the author's notes on both and that one was still right around my average for chapters posted in the past. Anyway thanks to those of you who have reviewed so far it is very appreciated and I hope you continue to enjoy.

Chapter 2 Introductions

"You never know how strong you are, until being strong is the only choice you have."

Percy woke up early enough that it was still dark outside as he got up off the couch. A quick glance at the nearby clock showed him it was around four thirty. This was nothing out of the ordinary for him. He knew he still had a few hours before Bella would wake up to get ready for school, and maybe an hour or so before his uncle as well. With this in mind he quickly, and quietly, changed into a pair of shorts and an old ratty tee shirt to prepare for his morning workout.

Percy winced slightly as the front door creaked loudly in its hinges, hoping he did not wake either Charlie or Bella. He closed the door behind him and walked out to the edge of the drive way before he started doing some stretches to warm up. When he felt like he was ready he took a quick look around the neighbourhood to make sure no one was watching him before taking off at his desired pace. Percy wanted to keep a low profile but he also did not feel like taking it easy this morning.

The world record for human sprinting is held by Usain Bolt who set the record for the 100-meter with an average speed of 37.58 kilometres per hour. His top speed ever recorded, for a much shorter distance, clocked in at 44.72 kilometres per hour. To put these feats in context the sprinting speed of an average human is considered to be around 24 kilometres per hour, a full 20 kilometres slower than the record.

If anyone had been aware of the average pace of 53 kilometres per hour that Percy was setting for the entirety of his morning run, it would have been immediately obvious that Percy was beyond human. Especially since his run lasted more than 25 kilometres, and instead of smooth flat ground he was running through the forest with uneven footing and tripping hazards everywhere.

The path Percy had picked at random eventually lead him to the nearby beach. There was a time where no hesitation would be found in Percy to jump straight into the water and spend a good chunk of his morning swimming around and interacting with the marine life. This morning however saw Percy stop around halfway through the sand before the water.

'I can't even remember the last time I went in the ocean.' After the war thoughts of the water usually lead him to thoughts of his father, seeing as it was his fathers realm and all. Such thoughts in turn would lead to all the things he had to do as a son of Poseidon including the war and all the painful memories associated with it. As a result Percy had subconsciously started to avoid the ocean even though he always enjoyed his time in it. 'Maybe soon' he thought before turning back to return to his temporary home.

More time had passed than Percy had realized. It seemed he had zoned out for a while staring at the water and contemplating entering or not. When he reentered the Swan's residence he found his uncle Charlie sitting at the kitchen table with a fresh cup of coffee and some toast while reading the newspaper.

"Good morning" Charlie said while setting the newspaper down on the table to talk to Percy.

"Morning" A quick nod accompanied the shortened greeting as Percy made his way over to the coffee pot to get himself a cup. Percy really did not need the coffee to wake up, he was a morning person and whatever grogginess he felt had dissipated with his morning exercise. That being said coffee was still enjoyable and, while he did not go out of his way to get it, Percy had made a habit of partaking in the popular morning ritual when it was readily available.

"You must have been up early. I didn't even hear you leave and I've been up for a bit. You weren't kidding when you said you like to exercise huh?" The last question was said rhetorically as Charlie noticed the sweat covering Percy's body.

"Ya I woke up a while ago and decided to get a lay of the land so to speak. I used to have a set path I would take back home so I wanted to try to find one around here too."

"Well good for you staying active like that. Did you find a path you like?"

"I found one that wasn't bad but I haven't decided yet if it's what I'll do regularly. There is still a lot of area around here that I still need to explore so I might find something i like even more."

"Fair enough. Well I'm off to work and it should go without saying but feel free to help yourself to whatever you want for food." Charlie stood up while saying this and grabbed his gear and headed to the door.

"Alright thanks uncle c. See you later."

After Charlie had left Percy simply stood in the kitchen for a few minutes as he finished up his coffee. He opened up the fridge but really did not feel like cooking anything so he closed it again shortly after before grabbing a couple of granola bars out of the pantry. A quick glance at the clock told him his cousin should be getting up soon to get ready for school. Since he was sure Bella was either up or getting up in the next few minutes he did not feel bad about gathering a new set of clothes and heading into the bathroom to shower.

The sound of the shower running was what woke Bella up but she realized her alarm was set for three minutes from then so she did not mind. With the bathroom currently occupied she made breakfast her first priority and began cooking a simple plate of bacon and eggs with hash browns. When she sat down to eat Percy joined her in the kitchen all freshened up after his morning run.

"Smells good bells, good morning too by the way."

"Good morning to you as well. Did you sleep okay on the couch last night?"

Percy shrugged as he snagged a piece of bacon off her plate and ate it. "Just fine, I was up early but that's pretty normal for me."

"How early?"

"I think just before four thirty then I went for a run for about half an hour. Enjoyed the sights a bit."

Bella looked at him in surprise at that response. She knew it had been a little after eleven when they all separated for bed so assuming he fell asleep instantly he would have gotten a maximum of five and a half hours sleep. She had done so in the past a few times and knew several people who would do so on occasion but not as a regular thing and nobody she knew including herself felt like running on that little sleep. Not to mention she could not see any signs of fatigue from him at all.

"You must be quite the morning person huh?"

"Yep and I've always enjoyed a little exercise in the morning. I find it a great way to wake up, It's kinda like my morning coffee. Of course I enjoy coffee too now and again."

Another piece of bacon found itself in Percy's grasp before quickly being eaten as well. At this Bella narrowed her eyes slightly at her cousin.

"You know there is more bacon in the fridge if you want it right? You just have to cook it up."

"No thanks I'm good." Percy had a teasing glint in his eyes as he responded. 'I wonder if she is going to be more direct and tell me to stop eating all her bacon or if she will let it slide'

Bella opened her mouth as if to respond again but seemed to change her mind and just set to finishing her breakfast before Percy could eat anymore of it. She would not have minded cooking for him if he had asked. However when she opened the garbage to throw out her egg shells she saw the discarded granola bar wrappers and figured that had been Percy's breakfast, as her dad did not usually eat them himself. As a result she had not bothered to cook anything for him but was beginning to regret not cooking more bacon.

After breakfast was finished and the kitchen was quickly cleaned Bella busied herself with preparing for the school day. It was a Monday morning so the week was just beginning. Unfortunately for Percy the school year had already begun so he was two weeks behind and was going to have to play a little catch up to start the year. 'As if school wasn't bad enough already without the catch up work' he had thought to himself.

"So Percy you ready for your first day?"

"No... but let's go get it over with." Bella chuckled again at Percy's dramatic response.

"I'll drive you in my truck. Although you might want to get your own vehicle soon. Especially if you are planning on getting your own spot to rent, I wont really be able to drive you at that point."

Percy shrugged in response. He was not too worried about transportation, if he was on his own, as he could simply run where he needed to go and stick to the woods to avoid being spotted. A vehicle would certainly help him to keep a lower profile. It would also have it's uses for longer trips or in case he felt a little lazier.

"Ya your right I'll have to figure something out soon."

"I have a friend I could talk to for you. He fixes up vehicles in his spare time and occasionally has one to sell. He actually fixed up my truck before my dad bought it for me."

"Sure doesn't hurt to ask. I can always find something on my own to though if he doesn't have anything available."

It did not take long for Bella to pull into the school parking lot. The two of them got out of Bella's truck and started making their way to the front office to pick up Percy's schedule and required books that the school had set aside for him.

"So we are a little early as planned so once we get your schedule I can give you a quick tour of the school and show you where to go for all your classes."

"Okay sounds good."

The office was deserted aside from the woman working at the desk so it did not take long to get Percy's books and schedule.

"Okay Percy, so it looks like you have math in first period, that will be very close to where I have trig so I can show you where that is when classes are about to start. After that it looks like you have chemistry. When that's over it's time for lunch, that's the cafeteria building over there. Looks like the only class we share this semester is gym directly after. I find that about as enjoyable as you will probably find your final class of English to finish your day."

Percy got a good chuckle out of Bella's comparison between gym and English. At the same time though if she truly found it to be as bad as he did English he could not help but feel sympathy for her. "Are you kidding gym will be the only bright point of this entire day. I'd happy trade your gym period for any of my other classes but seeing as we have it at the same time that's not going to work. Anyway lead on tour guide."

By the time Bella had finished showing Percy around it was getting close to the start of classes. This was made obvious by all the students who started to show up as most of them liked to wait almost as long as they could before going to school. A sentiment that Percy fully agreed with. Since it was Percy's first day several of the new students walked up to them to greet him. Most simply said hello and moved on but Bella's group of friends stayed to chat a little longer.

"Hey I'm Mike, you must be the new student, Bella's cousin Percy right?"

"That's correct, nice to meet you mike." The two shook hands and Percy noticed mike wince ever so slightly at the strength of his grip. 'Odd I didn't think I used too strong of a grip, I know uncle Charlie didn't indicate it was too much when I shook his hand. Maybe mike is just a bit soft but I might have to try to lighten my grip a little."

"Hello Percy my name is Jessica. It's a pleasure to meet a handsome guy like yourself."

Percy looked towards the new speaker and saw Jessica openly checking him out. 'Well she isn't shy at all is she.' Percy also noticed the smile on mike's face drop a little as she greeted him before plastering one back up but it seemed a little forced. 'Looks like a little something between those two but clearly not a fully committed relationship yet.

"Nice to meet you too Jessica." was the simple reply not encouraging Jessica's flirtatious behaviour. Mike seemed to relax a bit at that. "Are these the rest of your friends Bella?" Percy asked while gesturing to three more people hanging back just a little bit.

"Yes these are my friends Angela, Eric, and you already met Mike. That's Lauren over there next to Jessica who you also met."

Percy picked up on the distinction between Lauren, Jessica and the others gathering that they did not exactly get along. The fact that Lauren gave Bella a bit of a withering glare made that extra easy to pick up on and Jessica looked slightly uncomfortable and maybe a touch sad.

'If I had to guess I'd say she used to be friends with Jessica but something happened and she probably never got along with Lauren.' "Well hello to you three as well." Percy nodded his head towards the three he had not yet spoken too. "It's nice to meet you all."

"Hello" All three of them replied. It looked like they were going to say more but the bell rang cutting off further conversation.

"I guess we have to go but we'll see you all at lunch okay?" Bella said before leading Percy to his first class. The rest of the group just nodded before carrying on to their respective destinations.

Nothing truly note worthy happened in either math or chemistry classes aside from Percy starting to get a headache from trying to read his text books. He did not have to worry about finding a seat as there was only one available in his math class so he took the only spot left. In his chemistry class there were two spots remaining but both at the same table so he just picked one at random. There was also a large pile of assignments and homework to be completed within the next two weeks on top of the stuff still being assigned in the meantime. Percy really hated high school. 'Can I go back to training and fighting monsters everyday please?!'

"Hey Percy over here"

Percy looked up when his name was called and saw Bella near the cafeteria waving him over. He made his way over to her but did not say much.

"So how were your first two classes?" Bella asked with a little concern when she noticed the slightly glazed over expression her cousin was wearing.

"Awful so much worse than I remember. I don't think I can do this for a full year. Look at this giant stack of work I already have to do and this is just half a day. I'm completely doomed, doomed I say."

"Again with the drama you know there are worse things than school work right?" Bella was laughing at Percy's statement but she sobered up a bit when she noticed Percy flinch a bit at the end of her response.

"Yes... I do." A brief moment of silence fell upon the two of them as well as a contemplative and melancholy expression across Percy's face after his sullen reply. Percy knew far better than most just how bad things could get. School work really did not compare but focusing on it to complain about made it a little easier to keep a more positive outlook. If he was to instead focus on the pit he would probably be barely functioning.

Not wanting to stay in the awkward silence that had overtaken their conversation Bella decided to move things along. "Come on we should go grab our food." Despite changing the topic Bella was not willing to glance over what had just transpired. 'Clearly something bad has happened in his past that I just reminded him of. I have no idea what that is or how to go about figuring out what it is or how to help him with it, but that reaction was not one of someone who has recovered from the trauma. Maybe I can get Edward to read his mind a bit tomorrow and figure out what's going on.'

Percy followed Bella into the cafeteria and then to the table where Angela, Eric, Mike, Jessica, and Lauren were already seated.

"Hey guys." Bella greeted the group as they both sat down, Percy simply nodded at them.

After a quick round of greetings Percy leaned over to Bella and asked her a question rather quietly to not disturb the rest of the conversations. "I thought you mentioned a few other friends, where are they?"

Bella was about to respond but Jessica, who was listening in to Percy speak, beat her to it. "You mean the Cullen s? They are never here when the weather is nice, they always go camping as a family. There used to be five of them that attended here but now It's only three of them since Rosalie and Emmett both graduated last year before getting married... still weird" she muttered the last two words quietly to herself but it was still audible to the rest of the table. "Anyway now there is only Edward, Bella's boyfriend, plus Alice and Jasper who are also together... also weird."

Bella sighed at both Jessica's interruption and opinion on the couples who lived together as "siblings". "Yes the Cullen s but like Jessica said, and like I already told you yesterday, they won't be here until tomorrow. I'll be sure to introduce you tomorrow."

Percy nodded his head as she finished speaking. "That's right you did mention that sorry I forgot. Well something to look forward to tomorrow then I guess."

Jessica decided to jump back into the conversation again in an attempt to keep Percy focused on her. "I wonder if you are going to be as infatuated with them as Bella is. Too bad they are all paired up all ready you might actually be good enough for them to consider you on their level."

"What do you mean?" 'Why would she assume I'd become infatuated with people I haven't even met yet?'

"Well they are all gorgeous, like unnaturally so. Sometimes I swear they aren't even human. You aren't so bad yourself though, I feel like you could give them a run for their money. Like I said though non of them are single anymore now that Bella snatched up Edward. I'm sure a handsome guy like yourself won't have any trouble finding a girl he likes around here though."

Jessica really was not being to subtle. Everyone at the table could hear how suggestive her tone had become near the end and the wink she gave Percy as she finished her statement was also picked up on. Mike once again was not overly pleased but did not visibly react at the table. Bella simply rolled her eyes at Jessica's behaviour, while Percy himself was a little caught off guard by how forward Jessica was being.

"Umm thanks... I guess" Despite his paranoia and belief that if people seemed off to mortals they very well could be monsters in disguise, Percy ignored her comment on the Cullen s not being human. He was sure that was simply Jessica exaggerating and besides his cousin spent time with them all the time. If there was really something off about them he figured Bella would have picked up on it.

Percy was spared from continuing the suddenly awkward conversation by the bell ringing signifying the end of their break.

"Time to go. Bella you said you also have gym right? Let's go." Percy did not leave much time between the bell and his departure from the table for anyone, especially Jessica, to try and continue the previous conversation. He did not have anything against the girl but he was simply uninterested at this time.

Bella caught up to Percy quickly as they made their way to the only class they shared. It turned out Bella was not the only familiar face for him in the class as it was also shared by Mike and Lauren.

"Okay everyone gather around please. We have a new student joining us today and I'm sure a bunch of you have already met so I'm not going to bother with introductions. Instead we will get straight to warm ups before we start with basketball."

Percy was very happy to hear all that from the coach. He had been forced to introduce himself in both of his first two classes and he really did not care for it so skipping it this time was a welcome surprise. He was also excited for this class as it was the one he could actually excel at. The only problem with the otherwise great class was that he was simply too good at anything physical to fit in as normal. This meant he had to hold back significantly in order to not give himself away as more than human which was not entirely enjoyable but this would still be a much needed break from the rest of his classes.

"We will start with five laps around the gymnasium followed by twenty push ups, sit ups, and jumping jacks. When you complete your warm ups please line up and we will divide you into teams for the game."

'Alright I know I have to hold back but just from looking at everyone here I think I'm one of the most athletic looking people. So I should be finishing before most if not all of them. I'll maybe hang slightly behind one or two people.'

Everyone took off running and Percy settled in near the front of the pack. He was only behind a couple of the players from the football team and slightly ahead of Mike. He noticed Bella was near the back of the pack and shook his head as he watched her trip over nothing but her own feet and hit the floor. 'She wasn't kidding when she said she hates this, she is extremely clumsy.'

After everyone finished their warm ups, of which Percy did extra to stay busy which received a couple of looks, everyone was split into teams. Percy and Bella ended up on the same team as Lauren and a few other random students while Mike was on the opposite team.

Around a minute into the game Percy wound up with the ball but quickly got double teamed in coverage. He knew this meant someone else was being left wide open and he spotted Bella near the side of the court all alone. "Bella heads up" As he bounced the ball towards her he saw genuine fear cross her face before awkwardly trying to grab it but missing spectacularly and getting hit in the face by it. The ball went out of bounds off of her leading to a turn over and the other team quickly scoring.

'Well now I know why she was left wide open.'

On the next possession Lauren ended up trying to break the ball out of their defensive end. While Bella was not paying attention she ended up passing it directly too her and the ball was once again on a collision course with Bella's head.

"Heads up!" Mike tried to warn Bella but Bella still would not have had time to react. Thankfully Percy was able to intercept the ball before it could collide. Percy sent a quick glare Lauren's way, as he could tell that had been intentional, and Lauren momentarily recoiled in fear before composing herself.

Once again Percy was about to get double teamed by Mike and one other that Percy did not know yet. This time however he decided to do it himself and made a quick spin move around Mike that actually had him hit the floor as he tried to change directions to stop Percy. A quick layup later and they were back in it. Percy got a couple impressed looks as in his temporary frustration at Lauren he had not held back as much as he maybe should have. He toned it down a bit for the rest of the game which resulted in their team losing but his performance was still best on the team and impressed several other students.

Unfortunately for Percy this brought the end of the period to a close with only a small break to get cleaned up before heading to English for his final round of torture for the day.

"Hey nice moves out there new kid."

Percy looked around to see who was talking to him. He realized it was one of the top players from the opposing team that he had gone head to head with a couple of times.

"Thanks and the names Percy by the way, You are?" Percy extended his hand after his introduction which the other kid promptly shook.

"Logan, I'm the captain and quarter back of the football team. I figured I'd offer you an invite to the team. You wouldn't even need to try out I can tell you'd be an improvement over most of our receivers."

"I appreciate that but I'm still settling into both the school and the town. I've got a lot of stuff I need to catch up on so I won't be able to join right away but maybe in a week or two." Percy did not really have any intention of joining the team but he did not want to appear rude and simply refuse right off the bat. His excuse was very valid as well with all the catch up work he was being assigned. Not to mention he still wanted to take some of his free time away from the school to find his own place to stay and a vehicle as well.

"Alright fair enough. I'll be looking forward to you joining soon then" Logan left after that ending the conversation.

When Percy left the locker room he found Bella still in the gym waiting for him so he made his way over to her.

"Hey I wanted to thank you quickly for stopping the ball from hitting me the second time. I also wanted to yell at you for hitting me with it the first time." Bella punched Percy's shoulder playfully. "By the way your pretty good at basketball, guess that comes from how much you work out huh?"

"No problem bells but you really can't blame me for you getting hit with the ball. That was a very standard pass and I even called to you to let you know it was coming. I couldn't have know how bad you were at that before hand."

"I told you I hated gym and you have already seen how clumsy I am. I figured you would have put two and two together."

"Fair point" Percy shrugged and had to concede it seemed rather obvious in hind sight. It was still funny to watch though. "I'll see you after this last class I guess."

"Yep see you later" Bella then turned and left to make her way to her own class leaving Percy to enter his.

English was by far the worst part of his day. Admittedly he was forced to read in his other classes as well but at least with math and chemistry he got small breaks from it as they discussed different things or while he worked out a problem in his head. In English it was constant reading and his dyslexia was killing him. Also the pile of work he was assigned included several books he was going to have to read on his own. Once again he sat at a table by himself, Jessica was also in the class but he ignored her attempts at flirting. Needless to say by the time the final bell rang he was more than ready to leave the school for the day... or much longer than that.

"Hey Percy so you survived your first day" Bella said with a big teasing grin as she saw the state Percy was in when he met her by her truck.

"Just barely. Honestly I'm not sure if I will make it through the week at this point let alone the year."

"Oh come on it won't be so bad. Besides it will be a lot easier once you have caught back up. You won't be getting this much assigned everyday and like I said before I'm willing to help you out. I'm positive Edward or Alice can too by the way I'll introduce you to them tomorrow."

"Your probably right and thanks again for the offer to help. Like I mentioned I want to try tackling on my own first. To be honest with you I might even put off meeting your other friends tomorrow at lunch so I can focus a bit on my work."

There were a few reasons Percy decided to try and put off the meeting with Bella's remaining friends. The first was as stated so he could focus on trying to get the mountain of work assigned to him down to a more manageable level. The second reason was simply that in moving here there was a lot to take in and he would feel a little bit more comfortable slowing down the amount of new information he had to take in. He had already met many new people in a short amount of time so taking a day away from more of that would not hurt.

While the two reasons to delay the meeting may have been enough on their own there was a third reason mostly in his subconscious that may have been the biggest factor of the three. Jessica's words at lunch had spoken to the part of him that had learned to always be cautious. The mist obscured mortals vision of monsters but even still sometimes they could still realize there was something unnatural. While Percy had mostly dismissed her offhand comment about the Cullen s not being human his instincts still told him to be cautious so he wanted to observe them himself before meeting them face to face.

Bella was disappointed that Percy did not want to meet them. Alice and Edward were easily her two favourite people so she wanted to spend time with them and Percy at the same time. She knew it could be tricky as they would have to conceal the truth from him but if they had managed to fool everyone else in the town she figured it would be no problem. She did not like hiding the truth from family, just like with Charlie, but she also figured it was the only option as they simply would not understand or take well to the news that she was hanging out with vampires.

"Well that's too bad but understandable I guess. You'll probably see them around the school anyway and I can still introduce you later if you don't end up meeting them on your own."

"Sounds good. Anyway let's get out of here. We've been here far too long already."

Bella laughed but agreed and drove them home.

When they got home Percy mostly went to try and finish some of the work he was assigned. Bella helped him a few times when he asked her a couple of questions he was not able to figure out on his own. Aside from that she did a little bit of her own homework but mostly focused on getting dinner prepared for when Charlie arrived home.

Once Charlie got back from work all the assignments got put away as the three of them sat at the dinner table to eat. Bella had made a simple spaghetti with meat sauce and a loaf of garlic bread but everyone enjoyed it.

"So Percy, I mentioned yesterday that I might be able to find you a place to live for cheap if that's still the way you want to go." Charlie paused to wait for Percy's response before continuing.

"Ya that's still the plan."

"Alright then. I talked to my friend Billy down on the reservation and it sounds like they have a small cottage for rent near the beach. He's willing to give you a good discount on it too since it has just been sitting there unused and your my family so he's willing to go even lower as a favour to me."

The price really did not matter to Percy but he did not have a good way to say that without it seeming weird. Also he did not want to offend anyone by refusing their kindness. "That sounds awesome thanks Uncle C."

"Good we can go down there tomorrow so you can have a look at the place before you make a decision."

"Hey this actually works out great. I was thinking Jacob and Billy might have another vehicle they could sell to Percy as well so he can get around on his own easier. Maybe I'll go with you guys and we can try to get both of those things sorted out tomorrow."

"Good thinking Bella, I'm pretty sure they do actually have a couple different options that Jacob has finished fixing up."

"Sounds good to me. Getting both done at the same time would definitely be convenient. I have to admit I'd like to get my own wheels soon too. No offence Bella but if your truck was any slower I'd probably just get out and walk to school." Percy felt he needed to tease his cousin at least a little bit. She had not oven once strayed over the speed limit when she was driving him too and from the school.

"Hey my truck does just fine. Besides I was doing the speed limit the whole time."

"Exactly" was Percy's reply.

"Ahem, you do remember I'm a cop right? I hope I don't catch you speeding once you are driving."

"Don't worry you won't" It was left unsaid whether Percy was not going to speed or if he simply believed Charlie would not find out but both parties left the conversation there.

The rest of the day progressed without much of note happening as the three of them basically did their own things until they were ready for bed.

"Alright good night you two. I'll see you tomorrow and we can make our way down to the reservation to deal with Percy's driving and living situation before dinner."

"Sounds good. Goodnight dad/Uncle" came the two replies at the same time.

Both Percy and Bella went to bed shortly thereafter as well.

As Percy slept he had a dream. This was nothing unusual as it happened nearly every night but this time it was not a nightmare from his past but instead a conversation. This would often happen to demi gods but it had been a while for Percy and he was surprised to see his father.

"Hello Percy... We need to talk."

"Father" Percy replied somewhat stiffly.

A somewhat lengthy silence followed the short greetings so Percy took the time to take in the surroundings. He recognized the area as his father's throne room in Atlantis and assumed Poseidon was broadcasting his presence to Percy from there.

"It has been a while since we spoke. I think the last time was during the party to celebrate our victory over Gaia and her forces but even then we did not talk much. You also have avoided entering my realm in recent times. I know you have moved to the opposite coast as well. I have to ask, How are you son?"

"I'm..." Percy was going to reply with his usual response of fine, but a stern look from his father cut him off before he could. "Recovering I guess."

Poseidon sighed at the reply. 'Well at least he was a little more honest than usual. Recovering is probably the best answer I could have hoped for. It has not been long since he moved from New York and I know nothing good was happening out there.'

"Well that's a start... You know all of us on Olympus, myself included, owe you a debt that can never be fully repaid. I want you to be happy Percy, and I know you are not. I want to help you but I'm not sure how, especially when you seem keen on rejecting my presence as well as my gifts to you."

Percy flinched a little bit at that. He had been avoiding his father and his realm entirely so Poseidon was not totally off the mark with his last statement. He felt a little bit of anger at the mention of gifts, if his powers were his gifts he would have gladly traded them for a normal life at least at the moment. To be fair there were times in the past when he had truly enjoyed his aquatic abilities.

"It's nothing personal father. You and your realm simply reminded me of things I'd rather forget."

"THAT IS NO WAY TO HANDLE THIS SITUATION!"

Percy was almost startled all the way back out of his dream to consciousness again. Poseidon had seen or heard about how everyone had tried to help his son and all of them had failed up to this point. Everyone had been extremely sympathetic and acted like they were walking on egg shells around Percy not wanting to hurt him but also not forcing him to face what he had gone through properly. Poseidon was tired of failure and he was not willing to fail his son, not this time, not again.

"Wha..." Percy was too surprised to make a coherent reply but his father did not give him time to do so anyway.

"You can not simply forget things because they are unpleasant. It's not healthy and frankly it's disrespectful to those who have fallen. Would you forget the sacrifices of your friends just because the memory of losing them hurts? "

"No"

"Good because that would go against your very identity. You did not forget that our enemies were plotting against us and hide yourself away. Instead you took the fight to them multiple times as you knew it was the right thing to do, it had to be done didn't it?"

"Yes"

"To get over trauma it is better to remember it, to face it, than to try and forget. Let's face it you will never forget all of those who died in battle will you?"

"Of course not."

"And you will not forget the battles you had to wage?"

"No"

Poseidon softened his tone for his next question. "You will not forget your time spent with Annabeth either will you?"

Percy sighed as if defeated "Never"

"Then what point is there in trying to?"

A silence stretched on for several minutes after Poseidon's rant. Percy had no answer for his fathers final question. It really did seem pointless to try and forget but remembering still hurt. After a while Poseidon accepted silence as his answer.

"You can not forget, nor should you. Our experiences are important parts of our lives as long as we can learn from them and move forwards. You my son need to move forwards. That is why I was happy to hear of your decision to move to... what is the town called again?"

"Spoons I think."

"Right anyway, I'm glad but there is more you need to do. You need to stop denying who you are and part of that includes entering my... our realm again. I know you have always enjoyed the ocean as is only natural. Your powers to explore the ocean and experience marine life they way you can are still my greatest gift to you and i know there is a lot of pain associated with them in the past but you need to be able to separate the good from the bad."

Again Percy stood there in relative silence. He knew the words his father had spoken to him were the truth, he had heard similar in camp therapy but with less conviction behind them and they had quickly yielded when he resisted. He also was simply in a slightly better mind set than back then and was more open to the advice now.

"Your right... I will try... soon. Thank you father"

"Your welcome son, I should have been around more to give you advice as you grew up but I will do my best to make up for it now. Anyway that should be enough for one night but we will talk again."

With that the connection was cut and Percy awoke once again in the early stages of the morning.

Earlier in the middle of the night there had been an important discovery made by another elsewhere.

Sam was on patrol in his wolf form around the reservation this particular morning. There was always at least one of the Quileute wolves on patrol and Sam had taken this one. Everything was going as expected until he came across a new sent near the beach. At first he thought it was simply a new human who had decided to visit the ocean but upon inspection something seemed off.

The sent smelled like the ocean, which was a hard thing to pick up on since it was literally right next to him. There was something else unique about the smell but he could not tell what to was but it was also faint. He doubted any of the other wolves would have picked up on it and even he was not sure that his mind was not playing tricks on him. 'Maybe they went for a swim, it would be very cold but it's possible' that thought was scratched when he noticed the footprints that had not yet faded never reached the shoreline.

Sam decided to follow the trail as his curiosity was getting the best of him. 'Better safe than sorry but it's probably nothing.'

Now a little know fact about dogs, they can often tell how fast someone was travelling by the scent. Skin particles generally fall off the body at a consistent rate so by the concentration of the scent they can often tell how fast they are moving. This information is largely useless for humans, even dog handlers who use them for tracking as there is no way to get that information from a dog to a human. The difference is when a human can become a dog or a wolf in this case.

'This seems wrong if my instincts are correct this person was moving far too fast for a normal human. I need to check the prints' Sam tried to find a few good prints belonging to the individual he was tracking. 'This doesn't seem normal'

The difference in stride length from what he had observed on the beach where he assumed the individual had been walking and what he was observing here did not match with the usual differences between walking and running. 'This is closer to tracking vampires but not quite as exaggerated. The speed they must have been going to get carried this kind of distance per stride is impossible for an average person, almost looks like they were jumping every step.'

Sam continued to track the scent but he started to lose it when it reached Forks. There were a lot of overlapping scents and while he probably could have picked it out and kept going he would have risked exposing himself to the town. 'Well It's not a vampire so it's probably okay but I'll be keeping an eye out for anything weird for a while. It could still be nothing, I am getting tired so maybe I just missed a couple prints. It's the first time I've come across this scent too so maybe I'm miss judging it.'

While Sam made his way back to the reservation people started getting up and about to start their days. It was a new day in forks and it was going to be a big one. For a couple of people at least.

So the next chapter should be a big one. The rest of the main characters will be getting introduced and most of the foundation for that has been set. Thanks again for reading and as always any feedback, ideas or criticism is always welcome.