Percy Jackson
No one had asked Annabeth to organize the details of Piper's shift to New York. Really, no one had. With all parties involved in the mood suffering from ADHD, they would have otherwise certainly free-balled it.
No, now Annabeth had set up a command post in the kitchen where she stood with a clipboard containing a catalog of all boxes and furniture they would be taking along and more importantly, what would be staying behind or get tossed out.
Frank, Jason, Leo, Silena, and himself had come out to help with the move itself, with Leo being tongue-tied around Silena for the firstfew minutes offering a minor highlight.
Tension lay in the air from the moment Jason had joined them and even Percy, who considered himself quite oblivious, picked up on it. The way the warm smile Piper had greeted them with fell the moment her boyfriend entered. It was fairly obvious that the two had been fighting.
But Jason cleared his voice and joined the small crowd, clearly not willing to address whatever had transpired between them. Percy chose to hold him showing up in Jason's favor. Judging by the tension, it might have been easier for him to be a no-show.
However, Percy chose to make the best of it. It was especially nice to see Frank again and when Frank was assigned to disassembling Piper's queen-sized oak bed Percy had volunteered the tall and buff, Asian kid.
Soon he and Frank were quickly catching up. It quickly turned out that rumors of his current life had reached him and his own girlfriend, Hazel, in a somewhat distorted manner and they had been under the impression that his life was way more exciting and scandalous than it actually was, make of that what you will. Percy had been happy to free him of that notion.
"Do you know what's going on between Piper and Jason?" Frank finally asked. "That was,...tense."
Percy only shrugged, not sure it was his place to share the story.
Just as they managed to remove the first set of screws, Silena drifted into the room and beamed at them, bearing a plate with snacks. Percy was by now used to this and could weather the full force of Silena's smile. However the normally shy, and well-mannered Frank visibly stiffed, his face quickly turning red as he struggled to find words.
"Hard at work boys?" she asked cheerfully.
"Ahm yeah...I mean yes Ma'am," Frank stuttered.
"Ma'am? Do I look that old?" Silena asked innocently.
Frank blushed scarlet. "I mean no, sorry Silena..." his voice faltered and Silena only smiled gently in response.
"Do you two want any snacks?"
Still flustered Frank accepted one and Silena's smile grew even wider, her deep blue eyes sparkling. "Annabeth wants you to take apart the wardrobe as well. Apparently, Leo had a minor whoopsie and accidentally burned the other one while trying to load it on the truck," Silena added sweetly.
Still blushing furiously, Frank nodded vigorously and Percy gave Silena a slightly exasperated look who only winked at him and drifted out of the room on light feet.
"Can she Charmspeak like Piper? It feels different..." Frank asked weekly, clearly embarrassed about the affair once Silena was safely out of earshot.
"Nah," Percy said. "It's just her."
"And she is your slave?" Frank asked doubtfully.
He didn't sound overly disturbed over the notion, but then he was a Roman legionnaire.
"I prefer roommate," Percy corrected.
Frank nodded. "Can you not tell Hazel about this?" he asked. "I would never,... She is just-.."
Percy laughed and decided to sphare him. "Don't worry man, I won't."
They continued working and finally Frank glanced over at him. "So she betrayed Camp to the titans? She seems so nice and ..." Frank trailed off.
Percy shrugged. "Silena got in way over her head," he defended her. "And tried her best. She paid for it dearly and is still is. Still, Silena is pretty cool. The nicest person you will ever meet."
Frank only nodded himself.
"Anyway, congrats on getting back with Annabeth," Frank finally changed the subject. "She okay with the Silena situation?"
Percy snorted. "It is complicated...Silena isn't going anywhere, and neither is Annabeth. Don't even get me started on Khione or Circe, I have no clue what to do with them."
Frank broke a grin. "I wouldn't want to trade with you, one girlfriend is a full-time job!"
Percy laughed and pulled out a screw and tossed it in the bag and with Frank's help freed one of the bed's sidebars. "Believe me, I know. You and Hazel solid?"
Frank's face lit up with joy like a labrador that had just been presented with a new snack. "Hazel is amazing, we are doing great. She wanted to be here today but she caught the flu yesterday," Frank explained.
"I am happy for you. At least some of us get to have a healthy straightforward relationship," Percy joked.
Frank smiled happily and finally they finished off with the bed. "So godhood isn't working out for you?"
"You kidding? Becoming a god has screwed me over more than anything else and I am just recovering from it. The only good thing that has come from is that Silena is back among the living," Percy summarized.
"Note to self, turn down godhood," Frank joked and Percy slapped his shoulder.
"Now, let us get to this fucking wardrobe," Percy finally announced.
Suddenly Leo burst in. "So dude, how did the Fero work out?" he asked. "Need a debrief."
Percy grinned. "It worked as advertised, she survived a Kraken and blew multiple Scylla heads apart," Percy reported and then went into further detail as they disassembled Piper's wardrobe, pointing out the boat's adequacy in containing Circe and the vessel's overall sturdiness.
Once the disassembled furniture was brought out into the living room and Percy had circled around once more to be certain that they hadn't missed anything when he heard that loud whisper of a heated argument that was meant to be private.
"I don't know what to do Piper, every time we talk or see each other, we end up fighting and arguing! And then there was that kissing incident," Jason growled.
"She kissed me. I stopped it and haven't talked to her since," Piper argued. "That was not my fault."
"It still happened, Piper. But that's beside the point. It's been impossible for me to get so much as a kiss from you these days," Jason exclaimed.
"Well, you never taking to me, Jason. It's always complete silence, even when we hang out. And whenever I try to talk to you, you run off or shut me down. What? You don't get to fuck me yet? Is that what this is about? You want it that desperately?" Piper demanded and Percy could hear her voice cracking. Then he heard fabric rustling and imagined Piper was tearing some garment off.
"You want this?" Piper snapped at Jason, a rare note of venom that would have even impressed Drew Tanaka. "Here, you want tits? Is this why you've been giving me the cold shoulder?" Piper demanded. "Because if that's what your problem is you can fuck me right now? Who cares if I am not feeling ready? Let it out on me! How do you want to do this? Up against the wall!"
"Shut up!" Jason growled. "You are acting like a lunatic!"
"Pardon me?" Pipe asked, her voice dangerous and soft as velvet.
Suddenly Percy awoke from his shock and realized that this conversation was truly none of his business and hurried off, a sinking feeling settling in the pit of his stomach as he realized that his friend's relationship had crossed a threshold they couldn't return from. Things were being said from which Percy could not see any return.
Silena Beauregard
Silena knelt down next to the moving boxes and tagged them with Hermes Express Delivery stickers for delivery to Annabeth's living room. She was just making sure it was the right box from Annabeth's inventory list when Percy entered the living room, looking rather worried.
"What's wrong?" Annabeth asked, picking up on Percy's mood at least as fast as she had. Frank and Leo stopped what they had been doing and looked over.
As if to answer the question, a door slammed and Jason followed Percy into the room, his face red as if he wasn't yet sure whether he was angry or sad. "Ahm, sorry, guys. I should leave now. Hope you have a nice day," he announced with a quivering voice, turned around and walked out the front door without looking back.
"What the fuck is going on?" Leo asked when a moment later Piper stepped into the living room, her eyes red.
"Sorry about this," she announced, her voice hitching as she fought back sobs and her eyes turned red. "What happened?" Leo asked, looking around, confused. Silena immediately understood what had just happened and looked at Piper with pity. "Before you hear anything from anyone else, Jason and I just broke up. It was a mutual thing, don't take sides please," she announced as tears began to run down her cheeks.
"Oh gods, Piper!" Annabeth said, and immediately rushed over to firmly embrace the daughter of Aphrodite.
Leo cleared his voice. "Piper, you look taken care of. So sorry this happened, but I got to go check on my homeboy," he declared solemnly and Piper nodded tearfully, leaving Leo to hurry after Jason.
Silena too slowly stepped closer to Piper and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Gosh Piper, is there anything I can do?" she asked gently.
"No," Piper said and shook her head tearfully.
Silena glanced back at Percy and Frank and nodded at the box and mouthed, "Finish this up, will you?"
Percy nodded and beckoned, and Frank and the two young men went straight back to work.
"Fuck, this is a disaster," Piper said, tearing at her hair in distress.
"Piper, it's going to be fine," Annabeth assured her. "Same drill as when Percy and I split. Tonight we watch legally blond with a shit tone of ice cream. How does getting completely shitfaced sound?" she asked.
"Great but I am not twenty-one!" Piper complained. "My dad killed me last time!"
"I don't care," Annabeth replied. "I'll ask Thalia to come over too! Just remember, no matter how pointless guys and dating might seem right now, do not join the hunt! Thalia can be sneaky like that."
Piper sniffed and nodded, "Thanks!"
Leo might have left but there wasn't much left to do in any case. Piper also had swiftly become next to useless but between himself, Frank, and Annabeth's originating, they managed to pack up and catalog the rest of Piper's belongings.
Finally, after marking the boxes for transport and paying the fare, five golden drachmae, they sent the boxes along with Piper's mini cooper to Annabeth's apartment. The latter claimed Annabeth's parking spot in the underground parking garage. Not that Annabeth owned a car, but apparently she still had a spot reserved regardless.
Once their work in Oklahoma was done Piper looked around her home own last time, but not quite in a sentimental manner. It seemed to Silena as if Piper was looking for them but just couldn't find them.
With a heavy sense of finality, the door fell shut behind them and the clock licked as if kicking Piper out into a new phase of her life with an undeniable finality.
They climbed onto the Pegasi and without any more ceremony, they finally flew off into the afternoon.
After one or two hours of flight, they finally returned to New York.
It was then that they finally parted ways again. Frank took a giant eagle back to New Rome, and the rest of the Pegasi to their respective destinations.
After a flight through a clear sunset, Percy too broke away from the formation over Olympus to land at their home while the rest of them proceeded to Annabeth's apartment.
Percy Jackson
When Percy returned to his home in the early hours of the evening it was deserted, save for the unwilling occupants. Either Juniper had retreated to her tree, or she was somewhere on Olympus, though he suspected the latter. So far whenever he approached Juniper revealed herself, rushing to greet him with much the same enthusiasm as Mrs O'Leary did. Dutifully Mrs. O'Leary came trotting out of the shadows the moment he entered and sniffed in excitement. "Hey, girl!" he greeted the hellhound and affectionately scratched her chin.
"Woof!" Mrs. O'Leary barked happily and dumped a large bronze shield at his feet. The hellhound enthusiastically wagged her tail back and forth, knocking aside several deckchairs in the process.
Percy sighed, picked the shield up, and tossed it across the courtyard like a frisbee.
Mrs. O'Leary rushed through the furniture like a wrecking ball and Percy figured Silena would not be happy at all once she finally returned home. Percy tossed the frisbee a few more times until she finally allowed him to proceed downstairs.
Finally, Percy remembered that Silena had approached him about Khione. Well, with nothing better to do it seemed as good of a time as any to approach the subject.
So he proceeded down to his private dungeon where these two beautiful goddesses sat behind celestial bronze bars, Khone in her dirty white dress and with her characteristic faint glow and Circe in Annabeth's orange Camp Half-blood shirt, still chained to the wall, sat around all day, waiting for something to change. Circe glared at him with pure loathing but said nothing as he stepped closer.
Just then Percy realized putting Khione and Circe in the same room might have not been the wisest course of action. The two prisoners had a lot of unsupervised time they could talk in. But it was far too late for any such considerations.
"Good afternoon ladies," Percy greeted them, trying to sound as friendly as possible.
"Lord Perseus," Khione greeted him, her voice a cautious neutral.
Circe said nothing, instead only continuing to glare. He could very much live with the silent treatment.
"I am going to need to borrow you for a moment," he announced to Khione lightly.
Khione hesitated for a moment but then nodded slowly. "Yes, my Lord."
Circe switched targets for a moment to glower at Khione before going turning her attention back to him.
For a moment Percy considered chaining Khione's wrists but chose not too. With her powers taken, Khione would be no stronger than a mortal woman of her size, stature, and training. Judging by her run-in with the Centaurs, Khione had no close quarter combat training to speak off. If he couldn't handle Khione under these circumstances, he deserved what was coming to him.
He opened Khione's cell and let her out. "Behave yourself," Percy warned.
Khione pursed her lips but nodded. "Yes, my Lord," she repeated herself.
So Percy led Khione from the vault and sealed Circe back inside. He still wasn't completely comfortable with having prisoners, but fortunately, Circe was kind enough to make things easier.
Finally, Percy led Khione into the dining room and had her sit down.
"So, my Lord. How may I serve you?" Khione asked evenly as Percy sat down.
"Are yu and Circe getting along alright?" Percy asked, just to break the ice.
Khione's neutral cold expression darkened for a moment. "Her presence grows tiresome," Khione announced. "But I guess it could be a lot worse."
Percy cracked a smile. "Yeah, sorry for leaving you with her. Unfortunately, I am short on prisons."
Khione didn't smile but in her defense, his joke had been so bad it could have come from Leo.
"I hear you and Silena have been getting along quite well?" Percy continued quickly.
Khione nodded and folded her hands on her lap. "She has been quite hospitable. You are fortunate to have such a loyal and beautiful servant."
"Yes, I am," Percy agreed wholeheartedly. "-and it seems she has taken a liking to you. Silena asked me that I should let you out of your cell from time to time and I am considering taking her up on it."
Khione's lips parted slightly in surprise but then she looked up at him, her expression neutral. "I see," Khione announced, her voice guarded.
Then her eyes flicked up to the ceiling and she raised an eyebrow.
Following her gaze, Percy realized that they weren't alone anymore. Juniper had clearly returned and was now in the water. She was also completely naked.
"Ah," Percy remarked and sighed. "Khione, meet Juniper. As you might know, she is a dryad in my service."
Khione shook her head. "I did not know, but it seems dryads have not changed."
"Yeah," Percy agreed, forcing himself not to look back at up Juniper. "So, if I were to let you out of your cell, would you agree not to cause me a headache? No fighting, no trying to run away? No diabolical scheming to bring Olympus down to its knees?"
Khione didn't answer for a long moment, letting her gaze sweep and shifting up to where his newest servant was relaxing in the water above them.
"What considerations would you expect in return?" Khione finally asked, keeping her voice cool and careful.
"Nothing, only that you don't make me regret this. If you do..." Percy trailed off, letting the unspoken implications hang in the air. "The fewer women chained up in my basement, the better. Silena will be in charge, you will assist her with whatever she does and if that works out you can spend more and more leisure time outside of a cell."
"I will do no such thing! Are you seriously expecting me to scrub on your floor like a common slave?" Khione asked, a taste of offense seeping into her voice.
"Well, technically you are a common slave,..:" Percy pointed out diplomatically.
"I am still a goddess," Khione reminded him, her arms crossed in defiance.
"Are you seriously complaining about the conditions of your confinement?" Percy asked perplexed. "Not to sound like an ass, but we both know your situation could be considerably less pleasant."
"And yet you feel the need to remind me, Lord Perseus. Yes, I am your prize of war," Khione announced. "You have me imprisoned in your home and pleasantries aside, we both know what you can take from me whatever you desire. You have made that very clear by having me and Circe drink that potion. I might be convinced to swear that I will not defy you so you can parade me around in front of your guests, but do not expect me to kneel and eat from your hand like some dog. I will not mistake your offer for generosity!"
Khione spoke with her usual crystal clear voice and whatever warmth her voice might have held before, now it had reached zero Kelvin. There was no anger, but Percy almost shivered under her gaze.
At least he had tried, Percy told himself, guessing that this conversation best be adjourned. He could tell Silena had tried.
"It was worth a try," Percy announced and rose to his feet.
When Khione didn't move Percy finally beckoned at her to rise. When she didn't move Percy took her arm and pulled her to her feet. "I think it's time to get you back in your cell," Percy announced.
Her skin was as cool as ever, and Percy quickly released her.
When Percy brought Khione back to her cell, he felt Circe's eyes boring into him the moment he entered. Once Khione was safely under lock and key in her cage, Percy left and sealed his two favorite problems in their vault and headed upstairs. As he stepped out onto the courtyard Juniper popped up at the side of the pool and offered him a shy but stunning smile. Her skin seemed to shimmer in the greenish light play from the pool and evening sun and her reddish amber hair was tied up in two long braids that slightly reminded him of those head tails from StarWars. It seemed to draw attention to her elegant, pointed ears.
"Hey Percy," she greeted him and climbed out of the pool, and began walking toward him completely naked. She was just as short and slender as Silena but lacked the daughter of Aphrodite's curves and muscle tone but shared her and Annabeth's long legs. Her breasts were small, even proportionately, and her nipples seemed to be inviting attention. What struck him was that apart from her head, Juniper seemed to be hairless, or at least cleanly shaven. The only fitting adjective that could possibly describe her was that she looked as if she was tightness incarnate and was cute in the extreme.
He had long since grown used to her shy demeanor so her walking up to him the way she did while casually naked was offputting. The way she neither seemed to be hiding anything nor promoting it. Probably a dryad thing, Percy figured.
"How was your day?" Percy asked, keeping his eyes on her face and not her body.
"Very good, master. Olympus is a beautiful city. There is so much to see! After I completed my chores, of course." Juniper announced with a smile.
"Of course," Percy agreed, having seen the nymph doing some cleaning earlier.
"You were talking with Khione," she noticed.
"Yeah, trying to find a more long-term arrangement," Percy admitted and sat down on the deckchair, the one that had Juniper's pillow and a blanket folded on it. While she might have been given her own room, so far Juniper had preferred to sleep outside.
"Are you satisfied with my service so far?" Juniper asked, finally stopping mere inches in front of him.
"I do not have too much experience at keeping a home clean, but I try my best," she assured him, her cheeks turning an even darker shade of green.
"You are doing fine," Percy reassured her and coughed awkwardly. The way she simply stood there, hiding nothing. Her scent reminded him of pine needles and forests. It was strangely intoxicating, lulling his mental faculties while slowly drawing him in. Just as Percy realized he was slowly leaning forward, breathing in her scent, Juniper moved and sat down beside him.
Percy shook his head slightly and shook the daze off, mildly concerned that whatever Juniper was doing, it could even influence him as a god.
"I think we are alone now," the dryad announced softly and looked up at him with wide eyes.
"Yeah, sure!" Percy confirmed awkwardly.
"Just so you know, if there anything else you would like me to do for you, you need only ask," she announced evasively and blushed even deeper.
Knowing exactly what Juniper was offering Percy cleared his voice and got up.
"Ah yeah, I will!" Percy assured her. The fact that one of his best friend's ex-girlfriends, a girl he had gotten to know as shy and agreeable, more or less pressured him into taking her in as a slave, was weird enough on its own. But having her sitting here, acting the way she was...While it might offer some temptation, his awkwardness more than made up for it.
"I must go speak to the twins," Percy voiced the first thing that came to his mind. "Training and stuff!" he elaborated at the dryad's confused expression.
Juniper blushed deeply and looked away. "I am sorry, Master," she stuttered. "I did not wish to make you uncomfortable, may I be excused?"
"Yeah!" Percy said quickly. "You are free to spend the rest of the day however you want."
Well, this is the chapter post first edit. Post any mistakes you see on discord and I will correct them ASAP.
I hope you guys are doing alright. Do leave your usual amazing reviews.
Henry Locker over and out