I am so sorry I couldn't update on thursday. two reasons: homework, and the internet died for a while. D; so i apologize to everyone out there. btw, i'll be updating on Sundays from now on, not including tomorrow. Thank you to everyone who reviewed! i love reviews, you know...

disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. And neither should you...

Not the Most Pleasant of Jobs

For the longest moment, I tried to figure out if there was a minor goddess called Phoebe, or something. Then I realized she meant Phoebe the titan. Slow, but… hey, I got there, didn't I?

"You're a demititan," I finally said.

She lifted her chin and then went back to concentrating on the paper.

To put it shortly, and not so nicely, Diana creeped me out. The way she rarely spoke, the way she looked – at me – everything about her was unnatural.

For the longest time, I watched her. Connor kept waiting for me to do something else, so I did and said, "The floor's cold. Why don't you get up?" I held out my gloved hand, as the back of my mind unpleasantly whispered it was the same hand that the gray sisters' tooth touched. She considered it and then reached for it. Her sleeve fell back, exposing her bare skin up to her elbows.

My eyes widen with shock.

She glanced up as I hastily tried to rearrange my expression, but it wasn't fast enough. Then she pulled the sleeve down and dropped her hand, turning around and ignoring me.

I got up and walked out of the cabin. Connor followed me.

"She has cuts. Red cuts. And a deep one too." The words formed condensation in front of me. I let go out the rest of my breath and watched it escape in a steady stream. "She can't be more than twelve."

Connor looked back at the cabin. "How about we get back to the Big House?" he suggested, his tone carefully modulated so that I couldn't tell what he was thinking. We trudged back, snowflakes falling gently onto the ground. All the while, I wondered. What's your story? Who saved you… do you hate them?

Diana was someone who'd been broken.

Back at the Big House, I took my seat and noticed how everyone's gazes were anywhere but meeting mine – or anyone else's. "Well, how did she get here, if she's a demigod?" I asked.

Annabeth spoke up. "A satyr was searching for demigods, and he probably thought she was one too. No one knew she was a demititan until yesterday."

"That's all we know about her? Her name and her parent?" I asked. And the fact she's depressed… People nodded around the table. "Did you know she's also tried committing suicide?"

"We know," Katie Gardner said. I didn't think she noticed Travis was making goo-goo eyes at her.

"It's not the best idea to put her in a camp full of swords and arrows, don't you think?" I said dryly and then added, "Not to say she should be kicked out. What are we going to do with her?" I looked at each counsellor, and then at Chiron, who answered, as I expected, being the senior figure and all.

"For now, she will remain here and train like any other demigod," he said. "When the issue about demititans is resolved, we will decide her future."

"Any chance that this decision is to throw her onto the streets?" It was possible. The gods weren't fond of the titans, with the whole war thing and all. But Diana was the daughter of Phoebe – did Phoebe join in the wars?

Chiron nodded, his eyes looking quite sad. He didn't like the idea of abandoning her as much as I did. "It is possible, and there is nothing we can do about it if you don't convince the gods."

There. He said it. I was now responsible for what happened to Diana. Maybe I should've prepared my arguments a bit more… But how was I supposed to know a demititan would arrive in camp – and a suicidal one too?

At least, I thought she was still depressed. She just had that character. Someone who'd given up in life. If it was simple, we could just let her do whatever she wanted – and it would end with her dying by her own hand, and it would just be a problem who willingly got rid of herself. But it wasn't that simple. I wouldn't let her just do away with herself. If she did, I'd never forgive myself. Even if it weren't my fault. For a specific reason, I decided to become responsible for her – freely, this time.

~0~

The atmosphere became lighter once the counsellors adjourned the meeting. Percy and I headed to the sword fighting arena, to brush up on our skills. I was sure Percy had no problem with it and probably practiced a bunch of times, but I hadn't had much practice. When I had just been home for a matter of hours, I'd taken out my sword – and my mom, who happened to be carrying a feather duster at the time, waved the thing at me and said, No sword fighting in the house. But I couldn't do it in the backyard either – Mist or no Mist, people would stare. So I just left it in my room, unless I was going out, and then I carried it with me all the time.

"Ready?"

"Hardly. Can I go practice on a dummy before I face you?" I asked. "Please? I don't want to be sliced up into tiny pieces."

"Haha. You must've had at least some practice." He saw my expression and then frowned. "You didn't? How did you cope with the monsters?"

"Well, I avoided being home a lot because my mom wouldn't appreciate having a Cyclopes tear down her front door… and half the house… again. Outside? When they attacked, I guess I got training then, but I'm really not as good."

He raised his sword. "Then let's practice now."

An hour later, I had a collected of bruises and cuts. I wasn't sure if there was a piece of unblemished skin anywhere. He could've been easier with the training and everything, but I'd hardly opened my mouth several times to complain when he battered me again.

"Break!" I gasped out before Percy could add another dark splotch on my left arm. "Please."

He handed me a water bottle, the water inside chilled from being outside for so long. I felt like I was drinking in liquid ice. Which technically was water, but it was that cold. I even thought of pouring the bottle over my head – that always helped with the energy – but with weather this cold, it would probably just give me mini icicle extensions to the ends of my hair.

I waited for Percy to finish, staring down at my boots – so not suitable for the cold, or swordplay – and then leaned down to feel the snow. I grabbed a bunch and let it slowly trickle through my fingers. Then I snatched another handful, and brought my hands together, compacting it until the snow was firm. Then I threw it at Percy.

Really, I couldn't help myself. The snow was just right, and the face was worth it. Plus, Percy had his share of injuring me. I laughed sadistically and then squealed as another snowball sailed past my shoulder. "Missed! You suck at aiming." The next snowball plopped into my mouth. I coughed, spitting the snow out, and dropping the ground to gather more snow.

A few rounds later, I ducked snowballs and ran towards the armoury for shelter. The room was cold, and I only had a few seconds to hide until Percy came with the wrath of his snowball army. I found a nicely sized shield and placed it in front of me just as Percy burst through. I held my breath and leaned against the soft wall.

Soft?

Wall?

No. I was… leaning against something… Something soft… like a coat. Hot air breathed into my ear.

Someone.

"Boo," the person whispered.

I shouted and kicked the shield away from me, dropping to the floor just in time to avoid the snowballs. They landed on the person's face and he rose, snow sticking to his face, and wiped it away with his sleeve.

"What in Hades?" he cursed angrily. His face had been covered with dust, and now, half his face was gray with soot, looking like he was wearing some mask.

I attacked Brenton with a hug, and then let go quickly. "You're here! You're supposed to be in Ohio."

He stared down at my leg. "You're here. And you're supposed to have a broken leg. Missed me?" he teased, grinning as his hazel eyes brightened. "Thought so. Ohio didn't work out for me, with the monsters and all, so I came back. Why are you here?"

I sobered up. "The new demititan. And the winter solstice is in a few days…"

"Ah, yes," he said gravely. "Hope I didn't scare you back there."

I punched him. "You were hoping to scare me. Anyway, Percy, this is my friend Brenton. Son of Hephaestus."

"Is he just a friend or do I have to beat him up like big brothers do when he breaks up with you?" Percy asked. I threw him a withering look, glad the armoury was sort of dark because I was blushing. "Kidding. Nice to meet you."

They shook formally and then Brenton suggested that we should get back to swordfighting. I wanted to disagree and catch up with him, but Percy told me that I really sucked at swordfighting and needed the practice. So I did, promising Brenton that I'd visit him some other time.

~0~

That night, I snuggled under four layers of blankets inside Cabin Three, which shielded Percy and I from the cold outside. It was a quiet night. Some haunting tune echoed outside. It was a familiar tune.

~0~

The camp was different in winter. It was quiet, and a sense of tranquility hung in the air. After breakfast, I took a walk in the forest. Nico and Mrs. O'Leary joined me, though I was hoping for the walk to be one of those quiet, reflective ones. I didn't have the heart to tell him no, and soon enough, I had a hyperactive hellhound treading my heels, and the prince of hell by my side as I shivered in my thin coat.

"Gray sisters?" Nico asked. I'd just been filling him about my ride to Camp Half-Blood and all the while, he had this look of terror on his face, which was rare as he was the son of the guy who represented the darkness and ghosts and all that. "How did you survive?"

"Barely did, actually. It's unpleasant. I won't go into details to save your stomach."

"How generous." He took out a treat out of his pocket and told Mrs. O'Leary to stop sniffing a tree root. She obeyed, reluctantly, and only after she'd barked at a squirrel to her content. I pulled down Percy's winter hat so it covered my ears. Because it was big on my head, it dropped down to my nose, covering my eyes, and I took it off instead, preferring cold ears to not being able to see. "So. How's school?" Nico asked. "Or do you not know?"

I huffed. "I do know. And I guess I should be proud for saying that, but school is boring. My tutor isn't bad, but the work I have to do to make up for missing grades… Annoying. Especially reading Animal Farm. I still didn't get it. Technically, animals can't run their own farm. Lucky you. You get no schoolwork."

Nico stopped in the middle of the path as Mrs. O'Leary did her business. "Ancient Greek. That's all. Chiron tried to get me to learn some math, but I ditched it."

"And Mr. D?"

"Doesn't care. I think he's still trying to hoard wine into camp without his dad noticing." I searched for a sarcastic reply.

Au clair de la lune… Mon ami Pierrot…

Why did that tune sound familiar? And why was I thinking of that? The lullaby was faint in my head.

"Do you hear that?" Nico asked. The melody slipped away, partly because Mrs. O'Leary was panted right by my ear. I gently pushed her snout away.

"You hear it too?"

"Unless I'm hearing voices in my head."

"Shh."

Prete-moi ta plume…

"Let's check it out," I suggested. Nico didn't argue. Curiousity was overwhelming now. Who was singing… in the middle of the forest… all alone? Maybe not alone, but the voice was really nice. I thought of my friend Cailey, living in Buffalo, and then pushed the idea away. She was in Buffalo. Unless the gray sisters managed to reach her too.

We took about five steps when the voice broke off in the middle of the song. The last words hung in the air. Ma chandelle est morte… morte… morte… I caught my breath, feeling something awful had happened to the person. I didn't know French, but muerto in Spanish sounded similar enough to morte. Dead. I was ready to take off into the run when the words returned and I felt relief.

Je n'ai plus de feu…

"Diana?" I called. "Is that you? Diana?" The fragile voice had struck a result. I broke in a run and veered off the path. Nico shouted and chased after me, cursing as we dodged trees. Branches tore at my coat, the sharp edges digging into my arms. "Diana!" The river, frozen from the cold, still had thin ice. Diana could fall in… She could want to fall in. I stepped out of the cover of the trees just as Diana stepped onto the river surface.

"Diana," I said slowly. She looked up at me. Her hair was neatly brushed and her clothes were neat – no wrinkles or anything. I guess she wanted to look best in death. "Come back to the ground."

"No," she said, her voice wavering just slightly.

"Listen, if you fall in, I'm… I wouldn't let you die. I would force the water to work with me, and so that you can't drown." I held my hand out. "Come on." Diana kept looking at it as she breathed quickly – from anticipation, or from fear? I reached out further, waiting for her to connect. She raised her hand, as if to shake it, but it was gripped around something transparent.

An icicle. My eyes focused on the tip. They could be used as a murder weapon, despite my thoughts on how blunt or breakable the tip could be. In fact, in the riddle, the perfect murder, the icicle was the answer. You could stab it into someone. The ice would melt, taking away any evidence like fingerprints. Not that I ever had the serious urge to go and murder someone with an icicle.

Diana waited for me to react and then raised her arm. I yelled and tackled her, pushing down on the thin ice, and then having the wind being knocked out of me during the impact, and then having water rush into my lungs as I took my next involuntary gasp of air. The ice had broken, and now we were in the river.

Of course, I had no problem with breathing in water, and was recovering from the shock, when I remembered about Diana. My eyes searched the water as I whipped my head back and forth, trying to see a lock of dark hair, or her cut wrist. I grabbed onto a green object in the water – her jacket – and held on tight as I kicked back up and my head broke the surface of the water.

She stopped thrashing and took in gulps of air wildly. I pushed her onto shore, wondering why she didn't just hold her breath. But survival instinct always rules. Nico hauled her to a safe place and her head turned, and she gave me a stabbing look.

I pulled myself onto solid ground and balled up my cold fists. Not even one grateful word. Why didn't I leave her in to drown? It would be a lot easier. I watched with cold anger as Nico took off his coat and laid it over the shivering girl. She looked so small and pathetic at the moment I stopped clenching my fists. "Let's go. She'll catch a cold out here."

I looked back to the river where the hole in the ice had already resealed itself. If we'd been under there longer, we would've been trapped in a watery grave.

~0~

"Achoo!" Diana sneezed. Will Solace hurried over to her bed with a steaming cup of hot chocolate. I felt a pang of jealousy, because all I'd gotten was a cup of tea, and turned to Percy.

"I've been here for not even two days. How can you expect me to watch over her until the winter solstice? If she's not going to cooperate, I'm just going to tell you, I can't do it."

Annabeth had been studying the girl critically. "She'll be in bed for a while. I doubt she can find a way to kill herself by choking on her hot chocolate," she said wryly. "But it's not a good idea to let her on her own. Weren't you supposed to be watching her?"

"Chiron told me to prepare my arguments for the winter solstice, and kind of watch over her, not stalk her," I said and clasped my hands around the cup. "I think we need to take shifts. Even while she's resting up here. You never know when someone carelessly drops a roll of bandages by her and then –"

"Don't give her any ideas!" Annabeth snapped.

"She's listening?" I twisted my head to find that Diana's eyes weren't on her hot chocolate, but rather on us. I sighed. "You know what? You should go."

"But –" Percy protested.

I glared at him. He looked kind of offended to be taking orders from her little sister, but Annabeth dragged him away.

Diana watched. I faced her, crossing my arms, and trying to look authorative though that was kind of hard to do when you're stuck in bed. "Why? We've offered you anything but hostility, and you repay us by finding the next sharp point you see. I don't like having to save you all the time, and if you have any sense of what's right, or what's wrong, you'll do us a favour by staying alive."

She merely stared back. "Then why did you save me, if you really hate me that much?"

"I don't hate you –" Okay, I did. It was so obvious that I detested having to become babysitter to a suicidal freak.

"You didn't have to."

"It's my responsibility. If you die, I feel the guilt," I said.

"Why?"

She was curious. I felt something catch in my throat, and then something like sadness. Then the anger returned, and I spitted out, "None of your business."

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