Chapter 15: Gifts and Discoveries

"Cheers to our legendary hero, Percy Jackson's 27th birthday!"

"And 9th death anniversary," Nico muttered bitterly. Everyone ignored him, as usual, as they roared and cheered for their hero's birthday.

It was always like that ever since Percy died. Without the person who was helping him to make friends, he was ignored all over again, and he felt like the innocent ten-year-old in the Hermes cabin fourteen years ago. People didn't stay away from him anymore, and that was the only improvement. He wasn't talked to if he didn't talk to them, which the said action wasn't likely. He shouldn't mind it, since children of Hades are ought to be outcast and they aren't socialites either; but why did he?

He never knew. And he didn't want to know.

Sullenly, he made his way out of public eye, not that he wasn't already. His boots clanged against the marble floor of the pavilion; he winced at every step. Life had not been good ever since he died, but that was to be expected for a son of Death. Only, it had been worse.

It was not like everything was all sad and solemn; it was just that these people could go on with their lives like nothing happened, and that was the thing that made him angry. No one talked to him, probably thinking he was always bitter to the world and hated people in general, just like his father. It was depressing.

He wished he wasn't born. All he did feel was pain, anyway. He was useless. He let everyone down. Percy, Bianca, Hades; the camps. Annabeth.

Nico kicked some dust from his boots. Merely thinking about her left a bitter taste in his mouth. People were always arrogant and feel like they know everything, like when they thought that he had a crush on her. The thought made him want to punch a wall.

He reached the Hades cabin. Life wasn't happy; it never had been for him. Everything reminded him of him. Even the cabin where he stays right now—something he'd gotten from him after the Titan war.

Yet he rarely made use of it.

He retreated into the cabin. The inside was all dark and dreary, as usual. Greek fire torches made an effort to give the black interior a bit of illumination, futilely reflecting against the obsidian walls. The small house was empty, not even showing any sign of disturbance or so much as a human scent. He eerily wondered if someone would ever live in it like a real home.

Probably none, he thought, exiting briskly. The outside wasn't really as welcoming as the inside; although the whole cabin wasn't really welcoming to begin with.

Then again, everything wasn't when he died in Tartarus. Nico wanted to destroy everything, he wanted to burn this place to the ground, he wanted to remove this place off the mythological map: this place he called home. How dare he even leave this wretched place with him when all it did was pain him of good memories, even the briefest ones when he was still a child?

No. He shouldn't get back to it. I mean, he's dead for about ten years now.

Then again, when he kind of sneaked in the Asphodel a few days ago..

Nico expected a 'you didn't need to sneak in for this' or a 'wow I didn't expect you' or maybe a 'won't you get in trouble for going here?' or perhaps a more modest and simple 'thank you'. But silence merely settled back in after he uttered the last syllable of 'advanced happy birthday'.

Being a son of Hades, he saw ghosts the way normal people see other people. In return, they saw him the way normal people see ghosts. And, that is to say, not often, as the ability to see ghosts is rarely gifted to mortals. Most few who harbor it used the ability to interact and send wandering spirits to rest in peace, which saved much of his work. But most who have fear and lack courage, go insane for the rest of their lives. But he was far from scared. The apparition simply would not talk to him.

Nico believed that the ghost can see him. He was a demigod. The Mist had little to no effect on him. He was his friend. Why wouldn't he?

Hazel had interacted with him. The others couldn't, although he wanted nothing to do with them anyway. Clearly, demigods were more knowledgeable than mortals were. Or was it because Hazel was a daughter of Pluto that she could..?

Perhaps. Demigod or mortal, their memories would be erased when they enter Asphodel. Maybe. But why didn't Hazel's?

"Thank you," the ghost replied quite blankly, which was to be expected.

Nico blinked. So his memories didn't get..? "Percy, I—"

The Ghost King made a grab for his arm, trying to deliver his point, but it passed right through him. He wasn't sure what happened. He was a son of Hades. He could touch them. Nico tried again.

"Percy, what hap—" He made another grab for his face, but again it passed through him.

"You cannot," it said. "I am an illusion."

"It's not funny," Nico breathed, glaring at him. "You may be an illusion to mortals, but not to me. Do you think I'm stupid—"

Another desperate grasp for thin air. His image shimmered. "Yes," it deadpanned simply. "Brimming."

Nico scowled. He was starting to believe what the ghost was saying, but he couldn't be an illusion, could he? He sighed. "Look, Percy, I just want to—"

For the last time he tried to touch him, his hand passed through the translucent figure and it completely dissipated. Nico's eyes widened in horror. Did this mean that he's—

"He isn't dead." Suddenly, he found himself on the beach, staring at his reflection on the water. "Or maybe he is in Elysium." His father lied for some unknown reason, but he didn't dare think that he was in the Fields of Punishment. He doesn't deserve such a fate.

Why his father lied, he never knew. He never knew what was so important about keeping him from knowing. About prohibiting him from visiting. Maybe it was because of that illusion? Was it his father who set it up? If so, does this mean that he isn't truly dead?

He sighed wearily. Not possible. Maybe he was a little too hopeful. He, even with his girlfriend, barely survived. He could only imagine the pain and thirst that both of them went through. Yet from what he knew, Percy Jackson always seemed to do the impossible. What if he was... really?

"I'll... find you," he whispered to himself. Glumly, he walked away from the scene, trying to encourage himself before he shadow-traveled into a tree.

"Hmm," a goddess mused, staring at the scene on her mirror. "So Percy Jackson might be alive. Should I tell Father or..?" She muttered to herself for a few moments, before concluding. "No, no. It'd be a disaster. Better find out for myself first.."

With the strong stench of perfume, she poofed out.

"I think it's time for us to strike back."

Everyone present turned to Athena, donning questioning looks. She raised a proud eyebrow. "You can't expect us to just stand and take the attacks, right? Our children are getting weary," she explained, pursing her lips into a thin line. "Ten long years of defending, and the help from Lady Chaos has yet to come. I say that we make our move."

"What shall we do to do so, then?" Zeus inquired curiously. "They are stronger than our children, and have more in terms of numbers. They are more intelligent than that of our normal monsters," he reasoned.

"We follow the monsters," Athena said simply, as though it could be done as easy as it was said. "We have seen monsters retreat. We will just send some demigods to follow those monsters and get some information. Make a plan to destroy it. Easy as pi."

Most of the gods frowned at her. "It's anything but easy—for our children, at least. They might get killed."

The goddess's eyes flashed with annoyance. Clearly, she didn't like her ideas being vetoed. "Then let's send a god to do it. After all, we just need information. We won't break any Ancient Laws, unless the god slays a monster at their will," she improvised, smirking proudly at herself.

"Assuming this... plan would work," the king of the gods then said hesitantly, careful not to offend her daughter. "Let us send for Artemis. She is the most suitable for the job."

He turned to Apollo. "Go get your sister. If ever she asks the matter, tell her that it is of a solo hunt," he instructed. The god of the sun nodded and flashed out quickly without warning, making the rest of the gods blink at the sudden flashbang.

…

"The coast is clear, my lady."

The mistress relaxed and lowered her bow. She looked around the area, noting the thick layer of silvery dust that caked the hill. Some monsters had retreated, those lucky fiends. These were a lot more intelligent than the average monsters that they'd been fighting. Then again, she was sure they were organized and led. She did notice another thing though.

But before she could think about it, a blinding light flashed beside her momentarily. She rolled her eyes. She was ready to hit her brother as he materialized, but then she caught a glimpse of a worried frown on his face, before it wavered into a big smile. A tight one. Very unusual.

"Apollo," she greeted tentatively. "What's the matter?"

He glanced at her, as if he just noticed her. "Father's calling you. He says it's about a solo hunt."

Artemis blinked, surprised. That was probably why he looked so worried. Her mind wandered back to the last time she went on a solo hunt. She had been caught in a stupid trap because she was currently preoccupied with something. She remembered that Apollo had been looking for her, worried sick, unlike the jolly and flirty one that she'd become accustomed to.

What if she falls into another trap? There was no Percy to save her now.

She mentally slapped herself. Quit acting like Aphrodite, damn it Moony, she heard him say in her head. She felt like pulling her hair out of its roots.

"Let us go then." Artemis beckoned her lieutenant, Thalia, to come near. The girl jogged over them, wearing a curious expression. "Apparently, Zeus needs me in this council meeting," she told her. "I might be gone for a while if this solo hunt is as important as it seems. I'm leaving you in charge while I'm gone."

Thalia's eyes widened. "So we have to stay in here a bit longer? You know that the girls hate it here."

The goddess sighed. "Unfortunately, yes," she replied in dismay. "Try not to burn down any cabins." And with that, she went with her brother and flashed to the throne room.

They reappeared on the city of Olympus. As they started walking to the large room where the others were, Artemis remembered the retreating monsters. Could it be that they would ask her to follow those? But then she remembered a thing she noticed. Right away as they arrived at the wretched camp, a battle was ongoing, and it looked like it just started.

As the goddess of the hunt, she had sharpened senses, which she used to follow and track down monsters. With keen eyes, she carefully noted that the monsters changed gears almost inconspicuously, going for the areas which didn't have any Hunters defending. Whenever she sent out some Hunters to cover the spot, the monsters were adjusting again, preparing themselves for the Hunter who was just getting her briefing.

And her mind drew up of one conclusion: spy in the Hunters.

But.. Why would her hunters betray her? Had she not led them well enough? A sharp pang shot through her heart. The feelings like this gets to her, and she really felt like she failed them. Her surrogate daughters.

They opened the throne room doors and she was met with a sight that she didn't expect: the other gods were actually quiet and waiting for her. This should be important, she thought in anticipation, anxious to get back to her hunters.

Once she sat on her throne, Zeus told her about this solo hunt. "The next time should they attack, follow the retreating ones. Get some information, so we at least have some background of these monsters," he was saying. "Or you can choose to track the monsters that escaped in the, er, recent skirmish."

"I will track them," she decided on the latter. "I want to get this over with as soon as possible."

Her father nodded grimly. "And please, daughter, be careful."

"I will not make the same mistake again," she replied firmly.

"If that's the case then I believe we are done." He sighed and nodded, about to dismiss the council.

"Also," Artemis cut in before he could speak. "I think we have another spy."

"Are you sure about this, sister?" Athena asked her, leaning forward, intrigued. The goddess of the moon had a hunch that her sister had already thought about this before, and was only waiting for someone to notice as well. She's the goddess of wisdom—of course.

"Yes. Before I even execute a command, the monsters had swayed to it as though all of them have heard me. And I don't let myself get immersed with the campers."

"So you're saying that you're thinking one of your hunters is a spy?" Poseidon asked, shocked that she would even think of such a thing. It pained her to do so as well, truthfully, but if their loyalties lie with the enemy then they would have to be taken care of—and fast.

She nodded quietly.

"We'll have a close lookout then," Zeus decided. "I will instruct the cabin counselors and a few of the other campers to watch the hunters discreetly. Dionysus, tell Chiron once you come back." The wine god grunted in response. "This Hunter shall be then punished for her treachery." Artemis wanted to object, but she remained silent as she knew her hunter had brought this upon herself.

The king of the gods leaned back on his chair, looking around at the council. "Does anyone have anything else to say?"

"I do." The gods turned in surprise to see Aphrodite raising her hand with a smile. It was a smile that told them she knew something they didn't.

"What is it?"

"I may have just learned something..," she began with a murmur, rubbing her hands together delicately like she was planning another love scheme. "It is when I was looking down at Camp Half-Blood a while ago; particularly at Nico di Angelo, Hades' son."

"Well? What about him?" Ares raised an eyebrow, impatiently tapping his foot.

"Hmm," the love goddess exhaled softly, pursing her lips. "It seems young Nico has discovered a secret for quite a while now. It concerns—"

Abruptly, Artemis stiffened, her eyes widening. It attracted the attention of the whole council, and even made Aphrodite pause on her words. The prayer beat itself around her mind, disturbing her. The girl seemed... panicked, in danger.

Artemis, help... pain... traitor..

Her lieutenant was in trouble. Her silver eyes flashed with fear for her half-sister. "I'll be right back." She quickly flashed out.

There was a moment of silence, before the love goddess snorted. "I can't possibly let her hear this, can I?"

The gods looked at her, confused.

"A man. He's alive," she said vaguely, her kaleidoscope eyes beginning to dart around as though expecting the other goddess to return so soon. "Hades confirmed it."

"Uh, duh?"

"Somewhere, lost.. The hero. The greatest."

"You look like you're ready to faint."

"Percy Jackson.."

"What about him?" Apollo asked impatiently.

"He's lost.."

"What?"

"He's not dead."

"What do you mean?!"

"Percy Jackson is alive."

Thalia spun around, a hand to her pocket automatically.

Ever since the short time Artemis had left her to lead the hunters, she always felt that something was out to get her. Like a monster was breathing on her neck, when technically, no monster could get past the borders except if they were summoned, which she was sure that even idiotic campers won't want to do. She was getting paranoid.

Deep breaths, she told herself. It's just your ADHD. Nothing's wrong. It's just you.

Even she wasn't so sure.

After surveying the area behind her, slowly and deliberately, she continued walking forward to the forest. Hopefully, she could get fine time alone. Maybe it was just her nerves and her thick guard—which probably stretched a ten-meter diameter. Maybe she was just stressed and yes, paranoid.

She was now within the woods. Regardless of her solitude, she still checked around for people and monsters. She reached a secluded area in a specific part of the north woods, where there was a fairly big patch of dry soil in the middle of tall grass, wide enough for two butts to fit in, behind a huge rock that was surrounded by large trees, which was supposedly the border between the beach and the forest itself.

She felt another disturbance. She spun and tilted her head slightly to the left, swiftly missing a flying projectile aimed towards her head. She glanced at the trees ahead of her and caught sight of a long piece of thin wood attached to a feather—the body of an arrow; before it became a blur and disappeared.

Thalia narrowed her eyes and brandished her silver bow, notching an arrow to her bowstring. And whoever said that asking out to no one in particular, 'who's there?' was a great idea, was utterly stupid. No one would answer anyway. And besides, the assailant could move a bit less quietly when you're making your own noise, and that would be a disadvantage.

Something glinted on her right. Quickly, she crouched and sent an arrow flying to that direction. As the person dodged it, she caught a glimpse of silver. She became confused. Why was a Hunter shooting her? Unless it was just someone jousting her to have a spar..

No. Not another one.

She felt a tap at her back. She threw her arms around and grabbed it, still holding on to her bow. Dang, that bow's got sharp ends.

It cut something invisible, and down fluttered something metallic. Something whitish.

She looked at the invisible person in disbelief. How dare this hunter take her best friend's magic item without permission? She wouldn't let her get away for that, Hunter or not.

She made her bow disappear, and wrestled with the hunter. No doubt, wrestling with someone you can't see makes it harder to concentrate. And it makes you look crazy.

After some time (she didn't really know what happened, it just happened) she found herself on her stomach, being forcefully fed with the soil. Her hands were tied behind her back. She was immobilized. She felt useless. She felt angry at herself.

"What do you think you're—" she began, but the still invisible girl pushed her face onto the ground, muffling her voice. She then felt something cold press against the back of her neck, making the skin tingle. The anger that she previously felt was replaced with trembling, chilly fear.

"I'm sorry," the Hunter whispered almost guiltily. "But you're mine now."

Thalia couldn't think of anything else as the blade slowly pressed through her skin. She could already feel the hot trails of blood that fell from the small wound. Artemis, help... pain... traitor..

Then her eyes widened. The snippet of hair that she cut earlier was directly in front of her.

She recognized whose it was.

Percy entered the Geo-Simulator, a little surprised to find Zoë and Ouranos with his water element teacher. He checked his schedule the night before, and he was sure that those two didn't go with Pontus' time slot.

"Uh," he muttered, unsure of what to say without offending the other two.

"Don't mind us," his best friend said, walking with the sky god to the sidelines. "We just came here to, um," she paused, glancing at the god beside her briefly, her face coloring, "observe you. Yes. We want to know how you do in other classes."

"Or maybe she just came to check on you." The god smirked, receiving a sharp elbow from the hunter.

"Uh, yeah." Percy frowned between the two, feeling quite lost. "So.. You'll watch us from there?"

They nodded. "Pretend we're not here."

He could only think of how creepy that someone was watching him train and fail. "Um, okay."

"Percy!" Pontus exclaimed suddenly, making him jump. "So today we're gonna start with your advanced elemental training. Lucky for you, I'm still your teacher. Looks like you're stuck with me." He had a smug look on his face.

The son of Chaos simply stared at him.

"Oh fine, you're no fun." The sea god sighed, running a hand through his hair exaggeratedly. "So have I thought you how to control steam?"

"No.."

"Snow?"

"No."

"Vapor-traveling?"

"I don't think so."

"Well yeah, I'm gonna teach you all about that. Vapor-traveling—now that's the awesome one," Pontus seemed to sway to the decision to teach him this traveling method first.

"What is it?"

"Simple. You break yourself down into small particles, will yourself to heat, evaporate, condense, travel to your destination, and finally, build your flesh up to the way it was before," he said it in a nonchalant tone. Meanwhile, Percy resembled a fish, opening and closing his mouth repeatedly. His teacher said it like it was the easiest thing to do. Like it was easier than archery.

"Why do I need this?" he asked, remembering something. He gave himself a mental pat on the back for thinking of a good excuse not to learn this method. "I mean, I already have portal travel. That was so much easier."

"Sometimes you don't have time to concentrate and open a portal," the sea god began. "You won't have time to open the dimension between Void and the Humanity, and definitely not to defend yourself should you do so."

"Yeah, and then they're all: this is a better way to travel because this much nicer, quicker, and more efficient. You can use this while fighti—"

"Exactly." Percy blinked. He realized that he'd tried to imitate the voice of the teacher in front of him.

"Yeah, now I think you need to warm up first, so you'd feel nice and whole," the god suggested, giving a grin. "Who knows, you might just lose that particle of yourself in the process."

The heir gulped and started doing his drills.

"Are you feeling whole now? I'd hate to make you fly with missing limbs."

"Ugh." He groaned as the bone snapped back into place. He sighed in relief. "Much better."

"Okay, well, you know your last five years of our lightning training for spent on early flight training, right?" Ouranos reminded him. "Because you were suddenly good with those lightning. You were done with that."

"Yeah..," Percy said slowly, remembering the time when he told Artemis about the start of that training session. Good thing she didn't ask about how it went.

"Lemme see if you've been practicing."

His mouth popped open. Admittedly, he hadn't got time to practice since he was beat and all over the days. But roughly, he tried to do as his teacher told him. He used the winds to propel him upward, which didn't take much of his strength now, thanks to all the endurance training with Gaea. He did what Superman or Jason would do, and was glad that he didn't at least fall from the sky or lose control. He attempted to do a trick and fell to the ground, groaning. That somersault didn't work out too well.

"Hmm," Ouranos mused, caressing his chin. "I think you're ready."

"For what?"

"For this." There was a sharp scraping sound, like the sound produced by a sword being sheathed. Curiously, the son of Chaos sat up, only to be met by an astounding sight.

Ouranos had... wings. The feathers were metallic, glinting the exact hue of the sky. The tips of it were gold, beautifully lethal. The weapons of flight stretched wide, taller than the god himself, if he was in his human form. They looked durable enough to take the god to a flight twice around the world. Without stopping.

"Whoa."

"Get ready."

"What? What are you—ah!" Percy gasped, falling to his knees. He felt like his back was being exposed, being torn apart like two powerful forces fighting each other for dominance. Then he felt like someone was taking his ribs from his back.

That was when he screamed. The pain was just as immobilizing when he bathed in the River of Order, if not a little less.

His shirt was heavy with his blood, the thick liquid soaking it like his own sweat. He briefly wondered why he got wounded since he had invulnerability. Unless—Artemis! His worry thoughts blurred out of his mind when the pain continued, now almost unbearable. Then there was a sound like paper tearing, and he knew that his shirt was nothing more but shreds of sweat and blood.

After many agonizing moments, his throat was dry, and his voice was crackly and hoarse. He could no longer scream.

There was another scraping sound, similar to when Ouranos had extended his wings, but much rougher and brisk. The pain had faded, and he slumped in relief. He stayed there, panting. His hair, grown long from having been neglected to maintain, hung in front of him, looking slick and stringy.

"Quite impressive," the sky god muttered to himself. "You managed to just stay in one place and not writhe around, unlike most who do. Very good."

"What... did you do to me?" Percy croaked, his throat and back sore. "Is Artemis fine?"

The god raised an eyebrow. "Wha—oh," he realized, blinking. "She's fine. I merely gave you a gift." At that, the heir sputtered.

"You call that... that suffering a gift?"

"No. The outcome of the suffering."

He frowned and looked behind him. His eyes nearly bulged out of its sockets as he took in the large, feathered pair of monstrosities sticking right out of his back. It actually looked deadlier than the god's.

The feathers, as sharp as what he saw earlier, were dominantly as dark as the empty void, with recessive strands of dark blue and silver. As he touched them, he felt that it was warm and soft like a wool sweater, but when he got to the silver tips, he instantaneously retracted his hand, his fingers stinging, but not bleeding thanks to the blessing. They were sharper than what he'd imagined.

"Beautiful. Deadly. Silvery." Ouranos smirked, wriggling his eyebrows at his student. "Like someone I know."

Percy blushed golden. He looked to the ground, where the tattered remains of his gold-stained shirt lay. Forgetting the tease, he took them and got to his feet, stretching his back and by default, his wings. He looked at his mentor. "What do I wear then?"

"Worry about that later." The god waved his question away. "I'll take care of it. For now, try retracting your wings."

He thought about folding them, and the wings, as though having a mind of their own, straightened behind him like a shark's infamous fin and zoomed into his back. Another shink like from a sword, and the wings were gone, folded into his back.

He felt around it, and all he could touch were two thin slits placed in a vertical parallel formation with his spinal cord in the middle. As he touched the openings, he felt like he was covering his mouth. It was as if the wings needed to breathe too. It also tickled slightly.

"How.. How did that happen?" he asked, baffled.

"Well.." Ouranos shrugged, running a hand through his hair. "Your guess is as good as mine."

"I feel... like I have no wings," he said plainly, earning him an eye roll. "If I folded them to me, shouldn't it still feel weighty or something?"

"That's also what you feel with your wings out. It's a part of you now. Think of it as another pair of legs."

"Yeah," Percy said, a mental image of a pair of ballet legs sticking out of the water as he swam coming to mind. He blinked, taking the weird image out of his head. "Uh, yeah."

"Anyway, I'm teaching you to fly with it. It would get you a thousand times farther than your hovering, and faster, too." The god smirked, and stretched his wings, and zoomed upward like a hundred kilometers per minute. The heir stared after him open-mouthed, before spreading his own wings. He winced as it broke through his open flesh, still not used to the feeling. Hopefully it would go away soon. For now, he had to learn flying like a bird.

With that thought in mind, he followed after his teacher.

"How was your hellfire training, Son?"

"Um, good," he replied vaguely. "Tartarus was... dark."

Chaos blinked. "I'm not commenting on that," she said, frowning. "I think we're in for some stargazing today."

The heir stared at her. "Seriously?"

The creator merely nodded. "It's a lecture, actually," she said, smiling fondly as he groaned. "Before you go on missions, you need to learn the places first."

"So all those other planets would appear on the sky?" Percy asked, his eyebrows scrunched up. "I don't think that's possible."

"With me, it is." She led him to the beach and all its black-sanded glory. "Sit down, and let me teach you all about the planets I made."

"Order named it, of course," he muttered, sitting down with her. When he looked up at the moon, he felt the usual tug, but now it was much stronger. Maybe because they were now aware that they were made for each other? He noticed something off about the silver disc, and he thought he was seeing things when he saw a human-shaped blob on its surface. He shrugged it off. It might've been a crater.

Sighing, he tuned in to what his mother was saying.

…

"Ah! Finally." Percy smiled widely as he spread his arms as if to hug the bed. He nuzzled the soft cushion contentedly. After a while, he got his sketchbook and pencil and propped himself up with his elbows. He turned to a blank page and began to draw what he saw earlier.

After a bunch of scribbling, he invoked a set of colored pencils and began to run them over his drawing manually. As he finished, he took a look at his work. There were three blue planets, two purple, eight brown, four green, and one red. With different shades, of course. But the only odd thing that he noticed that he actually colored another, the one in the center, silver. The moon, he realized.

But what was it doing there? Sure, he saw the moon earlier, but that wasn't Artemis. She was the moon of Earth. Or maybe he sees all moons the same? Maybe he sees all moons as Artemis, the reason why he drew it? Still, it wasn't a planet. It didn't belong in the drawing.

He made to erase it, but then he noticed the exact same blob he saw from earlier. He couldn't have drawn it on purpose, could he? He drew his hand back. Maybe he should just ask Artemis about it.

With that thought in mind, he kept the sketchbook to his side and went to sleep.

Percy found himself at the usual forest and sat down at the nearest tree, waiting. As he watched the air ripple, he thought of something. Why not surprise his new girlfriend?

So he stood and hid himself, summoning another rose, this time a red one. He was well aware of what it meant, and that was what he really intended to express. The next time, maybe he'd give her three to a dozen. Wait, when did they get together again? Two days ago? Or was it a day ago there..

He shook his head. Never mind. He'll just ask her the date. The one in the, uh, calendar.

She materialized completely. Her head swiveled around, looking for him. He suppressed a grin as he crept up behind her.

He tapped her shoulder, and then found himself holding her hand, which was a centimeter away from his face. He chuckled. "Is that your way of greeting me?"

Her face contorted into a frown, but the sides of her lips were twitching, as though forcing back a smile. "Preferred."

He grinned. "Well, I have my own." He took his free hand from behind his back and presented her the rose. He loved it when she blushed. "This is, ah, for you," he said, his grin turning into a shy smile.

She took it with soft smile. He loved the way her face lighted up when she did that. But then he was surprised at what she said next. "Actually, I have something for you, too."

Percy watched, confused as to why she bothered to give him something back—had she known about the rose? Impossible—as she reached into her coat pocket for something; hesitating. "Show me your bow."

"Um." Pausing, he summoned his bow and put it in her outstretched hand. She examined it, and he couldn't help but think that maybe, just maybe, she'd snap the bow for how awful it was. Or maybe it was the user. But yeah, either.

To his relief, she gave it back. "It's for newbies."

"Um, yeah," he responded, unsure where she was getting to. He shouldered his bow.

"You aren't anymore."

He blinked, not having thought about it before. "Oh."

Artemis rolled her eyes at his response, but smiled nonetheless. She took out her hand from her coat pocket, revealing a small silver box in her grasp. "This is for you."

He stared at the box uncomprehendingly. Why would she give him things all of a sudden? He never asked for any. "What—"

"Happy birthday."

His mouth formed into an 'O', as though he only realized just now that it was his birthday, and he looked up and smiled at her. "I just—thank you so much," he said with so much sincerity it made her blush despite herself. "I never expected this."

"It's just for today," she said jokingly, punching him on the shoulder. "Don't expect another one anytime soon."

"I won't," Percy promised, chuckling. He opened the box and his jaw abruptly dropped. It was a ring made out of Olympian silver, the same silver that was used to make her and her hunters' weapons. There was a turquoise as the center stone, gleaming bright with symbolism. There were two peridots beside it. Needless to say, it was—

"Beautiful," he breathed. He slipped the ring into his right index finger, muttering as he did so, "Are you proposing, though?"

She bit her lip. She knew that he'd meant it as a joke, but she still hated this man for flustering her like that. "So, do you like it?"

"Like it?" he asked incredulously, and for a moment she felt like she would melt. But that disappeared when he added, "I love it!"

"Twist it," she told him, ignoring the fluttering in her stomach.

He did, and it turned into a beautiful silver bow, with designs etched into the weapon. He saw a Greek inscription, saying, To the love of Artemis, now and forever. She could see deep gratitude in his eyes as she watched the man she had come to love gaze at the bow in awe. Finally, he looked back at her.

She saw him open and close his mouth like a fish and rolled her eyes, once a boy, always a boy, she thought amusedly. But then he closed the distance between them and engulfed her in a hug, and right at that moment, it was her turn to look like a fish.

"Thank you so much. You don't know how much this means to me," he said, retracting from the hug. He looked thoughtful for a moment, glancing at the silver bow, then at the bow at his shoulder. For a scary second, Artemis thought the bow would only be used by the means of a display item, hung in his room like a bronze bull's head.

What surprised her was when he took the bow from his shoulder and threw it away. "Guess I won't need this anymore," he said offhandedly.

The huntress gaped at him silently. "You're using it?"

"Why not?" He shrugged, giving her a smile. "Besides, it's from you."

She blinked. "Uh, yes.."

Percy grinned and he led her to a nearby tree and sat down, looking up at the moon. Seeing it again, he remembered something. "Moony, while I was training I saw something there."

"What?" she asked, taking a look for herself. "In the moon?"

He nodded. "There was... something."

She squinted. "I don't see anything." It was true. There really wasn't anything unusual about it.

"But I saw—" He glanced at it again, and frowned. "That's weird. The heavenly bodies I set in this are the real ones. The landscape might change, but the sky doesn't."

"Maybe it was just your imagination," Artemis suggested.

"Yeah, maybe it was..," he mumbled distractedly. Then he shook his head and the grin came back to his face. He lied down on the grass. She joined him, and there they were, gazing up at the stars, side by side. The night was serene, and everything was fairly illuminated by the moonlight, just as it should be.

The goddess wanted to mention something about the incident where she found her lieutenant sprawled out on the forest floor, gazing at a strand of hair in disbelief. She knew how much he cared for his family and friends, his cousins. How would he react if she said that a traitor had tried to kill her?

He'd bring the girl justice, of course. If not death, then punishing her severely would be the best to bring down on her. But the goddess had unconditional love for all her huntresses, whether they were traitorous or not. At the time, she still regretted bringing the girls who had forsaken her terrible fates.

She decided to keep her mouth shut. She still didn't know who the traitor was, anyway, but she was painfully certain that it was her hunter.

"I miss you," the heir admitted suddenly, startling her. She turned her head to look at him. "I hope I can go back to Earth soon."

"I do too," she agreed, smiling reassuringly. "I'll be waiting."

He smiled at her as well. "Me too. It's just that.." His gaze turned wistful, and he looked back up at the stars. "Chaos said she would test me until I proved myself worthy to come back. I don't exactly know when that would happen."

"Chaos doesn't see how worthy you already are."

Percy sighed softly and gazed at her with his starry, sea green orbs. She found herself lost in his mesmerizing eyes, drinking in every gradient, every detail. He leaned in until his forehead was touching hers. "Have I told you that you're the second to the women I love the most?"

She deflated, and glared. What a mood lifter. "What did you say?"

He merely chuckled and cupped her face tenderly. "Next to my mom, Sally, of course."

She couldn't protest as he proceeded, kissing her. Boys. They could give every girl a heart attack if they wanted to. For both good and bad reasons. She practically melted in his arms, when he pulled away. He grinned at her cheekily. "That surprised you, didn't it?"

Artemis punched his arm, but not too hard. "Don't do that again."

"But you look so cute when you're glaring."

She snuggled closer to him, burying her face into his chest. "Oh shut up and hold me."

AN: Thank you for reading, have a nice day! ~SmartzyFan