Percy Jackson

With his small dream team assembled, everything happened surprisingly fast. Thalia and a small handful of the huntresses shifted to his place about half a week later. That was about the same time Jason arrived and they started planning.

He was pleased to find that Silena seemed to regain a lot of her old cheerfulness with more people around her as her extroverted personality finally got the social input her brain needed. Percy barely knew Thalia's group. Unfortunately, not too many of the ones he had gotten to know during his first war were left at this point. Fortunately, the ones Thalia had brought were mostly among the number of old-timers, so he recognized those. He was more than happy to be able to rely on both their experience and their grit.

Percy knew that Silena wished to stay under the radar of the demigod community as she didn't wish to face those that she had betrayed. To spare Silena the humiliation, he had kept their interactions strictly platonic. However, something told him that the days where Silena could stay out of the limelight were rapidly coming to an end.

However, that was another story. After two days of gathering supplies, planning, and Percy researching the conditions of his participation in any quest they were off north. In the end, it was Artemis who explained the finer points of the rules. As long as he played by demigod rules, he should be fine. It's what she apparently did with the hunt.

Silena would remain back to watch the house with Ms. O'Leary to watch her back. Percy had encouraged her to invite old friends over. With him underway he would not have to answer any hard-to-answer questions about their exact relationship for Percy was quite confident that if any modern Woke College campus were to judge the word rape would probably fall.

So they all met up at Grand Central and took a train north. For those with the eyes to see, they were probably quite a sight. Two young men were escorted by a group of half a dozen girls with silver camo jackets and war bows slung over their backs. By now, Percy had managed to memorize their names.

There was of course, Thalia who requires no further introduction. Then there was Juliette, a perpetually annoyed fourteen-year-old who, even after centuries, hadn't gotten past puberty. There was Amberley, a cautious and levelheaded blond that reminded him of Annabeth a bit. Then there was Ariadne, who Percy got the feeling came from ancient Greece though it had been hard to get her to talk to him. Melissa was also one of the more approachable girls, not shy to punch Percy rather hard when she felt that he had paid her too much attention. He hadn't...she had been raiding his bar with Silena, his gaze being dedicated to the latter. Truth be told, thirteen-year-old girls weren't exactly his thing.

There was also Lisa, a darker-skinned sixteen-year-old that always seemed rather tongue-tied around him. Thalia later elaborated that she knew and apparently hadn't gotten the "hate boys" message yet.

There was Penelope, a twelve-year-old brunette with disturbingly cold eyes. According to Thalia this one had been rather close with Phobe and Zoe and hadn't gotten over her two friends' demise yet. That one, regardless of her short stature, freaked Percy out a bit.

They found the compartment they had reserved just for their group and somehow, all of them managed to fit in without violence breaking out and before long they had a bunch of folks with ADHD staring out of the window with the growing desire to do something.

"You know, you really should have called in Annabeth..." Thalia announced after a few minutes of increasingly awkward silence. "She's most acclimated to putting up with you on quests."

Percy felt Jason on his other side flinching and gave Thalia a long pointed look, aware that everyone is watching the two of them. "Well, asking her would be quite an awkward endeavor at this point in time."

"How about we steer clear of touchy topics like girlfriends or ex girlfriends altogether?" Jason offered helpfully. "Otherwise these will be the longest sixteen hours of our lives..."

"Maybe we'll get attacked by monsters," Lisa announced hopefully. "That'll pass the time."

"How about that doesn't happen," Percy offered. "No one needs to die for this mission, especially not before we get there."

"We could take a monster or two," Juliette declared confidently.

"I am sure you could easily best any imaginable enemy in glorious melee combat but how about we don't get sidetracked by some premature fatality," Percy suggested diplomatically.

Juliette didn't seem to agree with him but Thalia did, which settled the matter. Minutes turned into hours and before long, boredom ruled them. With nothing better to do, they ended up playing UNO for hours on end. He was mildly amused and taken aback by how competitive the female part of their group played the game.

Sixteen hours was a long time to kill and even a borderline hostile card game couldn't keep them occupied up more than a few hours.

Silena Beauregard

As it turned out Silena had grown very used to having Percy around herself, even in these few days. Now that he was away, ...well she was very much aware. Suddenly the house was very large and very empty. Some part of Silena even regretted that she hadn't joined Percy on the quest. There were only so many times you could clean everything and being alone again in a house with prison and BSDM dungeon was a bit weird. There was something strangely masochistic in oiling and polishing the whips meant to be used on her. She had visited the latter more than once, even if only to find a vibrator and then marvel at how anyone could enjoy anything. Being cuffed or tied to the bed, she could see that. But some of the stuff there...? She failed to see how anyone could form any passion there.

One could only clean the house soo often and before long she found herself strolling around the divine city. Percy, ever generous, had reminded her that she was welcome to leave their home and Olympus. She loved Olympus with its splendid elegance but she just couldn't resist. She was very much extroverted and so the allure of the city below was simply too great. Streets bustling full of life.

So before long, she found herself sitting in a Starbucks. One of the advantages of being Percy's slave, apart from the sex, was that technically she had no personal property so Percy was the one to foot the bill. And after being quite liberal with handing out blow jobs she did feel somewhat entitled to a treat. Truth be told, after originally wanting to impress Percy she found herself very much enjoying herself. She might be a slave, but when she was giving head she was completely in charge. She decided if he felt pleasure or pain and how long she prologued the torture. So after swallowing quite a few loads by now she didn't feel very bad as she got herself very fancy coffee with a fancy Italian name with a file of still oven-hot muffins.

"Hey, excuse me?"

Silena turned around and found a guy of an athletically built guy of African American heritage. He wore an NYU hoddie and assumed he was a college student.

"Hi, I'm Hunter. I think you are really pretty and wanted to know if I can have your number?"

Silena smiled kindly. She had promised herself long ago never to turn someone down too harshly, provided they minded their manners. He was cute, but she didn't have a number to give even if she were inclined to do so.

"I don't have a number," she replied honestly. "Sorry."

"Can I at least have your name?" he asked. Silena knew he'd be trying to look her up and social media and truth be told didn't know if her accounts still existed or were turned into a memorial by her old cabin.

"I am very much taken," Silena admitted apologetically.

"Oh man, sorry for bothering you," he said.

"It's quite fine, I am flattered," she replied and smiled and sipped her drink, smiling to herself. She still had it.

In gray leggings and a tank that showed off quite a lot of her perfectly flat and toned stomach, she looked hot enough to make any supermodel jealous, and she knew it.

Silena ended up staying longer than planned. Shopping malls were too much for her to say no to and she still needed some stuff.

In the late afternoon, she finally returned to Olympus and entered the empties but still quite lively streets of Olympus and found her path being blocked by a trio of very familiar teenagers.

"Silena Beauregard," the daughter of Demeter greeted, her wide grin spreading across her face.

"Hey guys," she greeted them weekly, realizing that the cat was now truly out of the bag.

Katie, Travis, and Connor quickly swarmed her for a quite enthusiastic group hug. Travis and Corner had grown considerably since they last met. Silena was struck once again by how she managed to be the shortest person around by such a margin.

"By the gods, since when are you back?" Katie gushed and Silena's eyes suddenly felt really wet.

"Not long," Silena pressed out as Connor seemingly did his best to crack her ribs and discreetly used his shirt to wipe her eyes dry.

"Since when are you back?" Travis asked.

"Who cares! Your alive!" Connor cheered and Silena found herself giggling. Their enthusiasm at her resurrection truly was touching and it warmed her heart a bit. Just then Katie picked her up and twirled her around twice. "Katie!" Silena complained, still laughing. "Let me down, girl!"

"How have you folks been?" she finally asked once she regained her breath. "Percy told me that you all have kept busy."

"We have," Travis confirmed.

"I would have called you guys but I needed some time," she assured them, suddenly feeling stupid that she hadn't reached out much earlier. They stood in a circle, grinning stupidly for a few seconds.

"So, where is Percy? Connor asked. "Above us normal Denigods now?"

Silena snorted. "Nah, he's just off on some quest for the council. Such a sweetheart, though."

"What are you guys doing on Olympus?" Silena finally asked.

"Looking for you dummy, no one was at Percy's place so we just waited for you to show up," Katie explained. "How about we find someplace to eat, I'm starting."

Silena shrugged. "I know a cute Pizza place down the street..."

"I'll take that," Katie said. "Anything else, and we'll need to put up with Travis and Conner complaining that they can't find anything to eat," she explained. Remembering the gossip she had heard concerning Katie and Travis, she took her old friend's word for it.

The restaurant in question, staffed by a handful of Nymphs and a Cyclops, the latter apparently being the cook, they quickly got a table.

"We're only four..." Silena noted when she noticed Katie pulling over the fifth chair.

"We're expecting one more," Katie explained and exchanged a conspiratorial grin with her loverboy.

"Who would that be?" Silena asked cautiously.

"That would be me?" an all too familiar voice announced and a familiar blond suddenly appeared next to me, her stormy gray eyes locking onto her with the intensity of a Dreadnought's rangefinder.

Annabeth had always been pretty, very pretty. Easily capable of keeping up with anyone from her own cabin and that without even trying. Long golden luscious curls with proud and ridiculously symmetrical facial features compiled with the bearing and demeanor of a warrior princess. Her complexion was still warm yet fair. However, she seemed to be more cautious under the sun, lacking her earlier tan.

To add to the mix, Annabeth's tall, slender form was athletic. Maybe B cups. Her short-cut jeans showed off her long and toned legs. and Silena knew that she spent a lot more time working out than Silena did. She still showed off her lack of sense of fashion which was a pity. A worn-out orange camp shirt? Like really? Then, Annabeth had never put much worth into her appearance and the only times Annabeth seemed to care about her appearance had been around Percy.

Silena had never told Annabeth quite how many guys at camp had asked her for advice on how to court Annabeth. Unfortunately for them all that had started after Percy had saved her after her capture and she only had eyes for him. She was also ironically one of the few people not aware of how exactly how pretty she actually was. Or if she did, she simply didn't care.

Silena grinned broadly and then froze. Word was, Annabeth was not over Percy, and Silena sincerely doubted that Annabeth would appreciate her intimate familiarity with Percy's dick.

The smile melted right off her face again. Something in the depths of those gray eyes told her that Annabeth knew. At that moment, Silena was painfully aware of how skilled of a fighter Annabeth Chase had been before her own demise and she very much doubted that the Daughter of Athena had lost any of her edge during her absence. She could probably fight her way through Travis, Conner, Katie, and then still knock her teeth out.

Annabeth smiled though and mouthed, "later." Whatever business they had between them, and violence might very much be a part of that, would be taken care of that.

So Silena did the next best thing. "Anni," she called out and hugged the daughter of Athena tightly. Annabeth might have a problem with her, perhaps even rightly so. But Silena was still so damn happy to see her.

"What have you been up to," she asked.

"Keeping busy. I finished rebuilding the large piece of Olympus, now working my way through the residential areas. I don't actually design most of them, but I still have to sign off on them, and that one Centaur architect keeps cutting corners."

"I would have come earlier but..." she trailed off and the smile melted away, and something else, an angry weariness, took its place. That look of an old war dog that did not have much strength left to give. It wasn't a look that a girl that wasn't even twenty yet should ever have.

"Forgive me for spoiling your resurrection party but I need some air," Annabeth announced, her voice hard and measured.

"It's alright, I understand," Silena explained, trying to put at much subtext into her words as possible.

Annabeth nodded. "See you guys, got stuff to do."

Without another word Annabeth rose and walked off again with Katie, Travis, and Conner looking after her with apprehension and concern.

Soon they were offered glasses of iced lemonade and finally settled down as they waited for dinner. "So, what are you now exactly?" Connor asked tactfully while stuffing his face with slices of baguette. Travis too perked up in curiosity while Katie visibly flinched and glared at the two boys hard enough to make them shrink back.

"It's fine, I guess I can say this much. Basically, I am meant to be somewhere between a maid and concubine, I think," she explained, being as bashful as possible.

It worked like a charm and Connor's cheeks flushed a bright red. "I voluntarily entered into this arrangement, and Percy wasn't asked beforehand. Fortunately for me, Percy is a perfect gentleman so for the time being he is stuck with me,..." she said, hastily cutting down on any bad reputation Percy might get from this.

She hardly needed rumors spreading that she was being held against her will and was being taken advantage of. With her luck, her fellow campers would declare her a damsel in distress and would send out some quest to save her, nor did she need anyone challenging Percy to defend her honor.

"So you too are basically roommates," Katie summarized, though Silena could tell that the daughter of Demeter had guessed what she had been up to.

"Pretty much," Silena admitted, grateful that Katie had put it in such basic words. Silena also knew that no matter how she tried to sell this, some would be imagining something akin to Fifty Shades of Grey.

Now that they had progressed past the metaphorical elephant in the room and her return was put into context, they could catch up.

Silena was thrilled to learn that Katie and her old nemesis Travis in a committed relationship for six months now. Connor now had a criminal record. "Oh Connor...," she had said when she heard of the shoplifting incident as she ruffled his hair. "I hate to say that I did see this coming."

Connor grinned, completely unashamed. "Well, booze shouldn't be banned for people under twenty-one," the son of Hermes defended himself. "The only regret I have is that my bro Travis was not arrested with me. Hoes come after Bros."

"Connor, did you just call me a Hoe?" Katie asked sternly.

"Now I did it," Conner sighed. "Sorry Travis, Katie is perfectly lovely," he then added.

"It is me you need to apologize too," Katie explained with some exasperation and Silena got the feeling that the two of them were competing for Travis's attention. Silena suspected, though, that unfortunately for Connor, he lacked Katie's Ds. On the other hand, while guys often seemed so basic and straightforward, they sometimes ended up doing truly mystifying things like spending the night gaming instead of with their significant other.

Despite Annabeth's untimely departure-she ended up enjoying herself a lot more than she would have thought possible. It might not be quite as good as sex, but the reward definitely had more longevity in her emotional world. Being surrounded by living people she knew laughter, and telling stories was soothing for her soul.

Not that she blamed Percy. He was great company. However, he just couldn't feed her extroverted soul. She needed this. Katie seemed hellbent on catching her up on all the gossip, and rumors that Drew was giving Mr. D head. Silena very much doubted that to the point of dismissing it out of hand.

Silena had often thought Drew just needed someone in her life too would see through her act and simply accept her despite everything. However, judging by what she had heard from Piper and now Katie that was yet to happen. Now that she thought of it Percy would likely be the kind of guy Drew needed in her life, but the same could be said with just about every other girl and there was only one Percy.

To her great amusement, Clarisse had recently had a pregnancy scare. Silena knew that she owed the daughter of Ares a reunion a heartfelt apology, and probably so much more. She knew things would never be as they used to be. While she was sure to revive friendships of her former life as Percy's servant, getting overly close to others could cause her and Percy problems down the line.

What surprised her slightly was how many names now that Silena no longer knew. She left like a relic from a time long past.

All good things had to come to an end, though, and finally, it was time to head home, with assurances that they would meet the next day.

Only when she spotted Annabeth sitting on the steps leading up to her home's front door did her apprehension return. "Annabeth," Silena greeted her, forcing herself to sound upbeat.

The daughter of Athena looked up in her for a long moment. "For the record, I'm happy your back," Annabeth finally broke the silence.

"I'm happy to see you too. You want to come in?" Silena offered.

Annabeth nodded slowly, and Silena let them into the flat.

Immediately Ms. O'Leary appeared before them and allowed herself to be patted by both her and Annabeth before trotting off again. They sat down on deck chairs, bathed in the pool's ambient blue glow.

"What is the exact nature of your employment here?" Annabeth finally began.

Silena explained how Hades had offered this deal and Annabeth nodded as if having guessed as much. "Did you sleep with Percy?"

Silena sighed. "Maybe a little... Listen, we were both drunk, vulnerable, and lonely..." Then for the sake of honesty, she added. "...and then I just couldn't stop. He is kind of hood at the sex thing."

Annabeth snorted. "He is. Just don't ever tell him I said that. I planned to talk to him, but then you turned up and I saw you buying that lingerie..."

"Oh..." Silena said. "You thought we were going serious?"

"We both know Percy isn't the guy to sleep around randomly. You are also one of the few girls good enough for Percy and with your situation, I didn't want to screw with your chance for a future and happiness," her voice was low and sad.

Silena smiled over at Annabeth, feeling rather touched. Territorial and jealous, Annabeth had actually backed off for her sake. "Annabeth, there is nothing more than a friendship with benefits going on between Percy and me. He's still hung on you and I am not quite ready yet to move on from Charlie. Fun and casual hookups aside, the terms of my service to Percy specify that I am supposed to be a loyal and willing slave. I have no wish to find out the hard way, whether that also includes possibly shifting to being a girlfriend and I wouldn't want both. I want my committed relationships to be on eye level and as long as I am a slave, that won't be the case. No matter how off-handed or laid back Percy is."

Annabeth nodded as if this seemed reasonable to her. "So, he hasn't moved on yet?"

Silena shook her head.

Annabeth stayed silent as if lost in thought.

"You're not doing too well, are you?" Silena asked.

"I'm fine," Annabeth assured her and offered her a smile that seemed oddly empty.

"If you need anything..."

Annabeth only nodded. "What are the chances of bringing Charlie back?" Annabeth suddenly asked, her eyes narrowing.

Silena sighed, "I thought about it. Having Percy around might just have made it possible. Sadly he has already chosen rebirth when he realized we could never be together in the Underworld. I think he thought I would do the same to give us the chance to meet again in a new life. However, due to the nature of my death, and the fact that he might use me down the line the servants of Lord Hades made sure I would never be allowed to be reborn."

They sat in silence for a long few moments. To finally break the heavy silence, Silena feverishly thought of a topic.

"So, Centaurs are now designing stuff?" Silena asked, picking up on her earlier comment, and Annabeth snorted. "Yes, apparently, they have a proud history as scholars. As far as I can do, all these excel at is hollowing out marble columns far beyond my mother's and Hephaestus' safety margins, and what I agreed on beforehand. They are as bad as some mortal car mechanics."

"So what do you do all day, apart from..." Annabeth asked.

Silena shrugged. "Cleaning, I guess. Before Percy came, I didn't actually leave the house. Now I guess I will need to find a few suitable hobbies."

Finally, Annabeth got to her feet. "It's getting late, and I should get going. I have to head back down to the city."

Silena rose as well and hugged Annabeth again. "Gods, you've gotten tall," she muttered.

Annabeth gave her a small smile. "Good night."

Silena showed Annabeth to the door and locked it.

Just like that, she was alone again and mentally recapped the day and somehow ended up at the concluding moments of her last life. The pungent smell of the acid inside her war helm. The sound of blood rushing in her ears and the agony of her skin melting away.

"Ahm no..." Silena muttered and shook her head as if to shake loose the unpleasant thoughts.

When her thoughts next shifted back to Charlie, she lost no time in fixing herself a Mojito and quickly took a sip to steady the hands she only now realized were shaking hands.

So, here we go. This is it, the plot is progressing. I do hope you've enjoyed yourselves. Work is pissing me off, a lot. But I was on the way out, two months later than I originally planned. Thanks to that, my new job is now in jeopardy.

Still trying to get my stuff for pilots training in order.

Anyway, I don't assume anyone cares. I am just venting. I've been doing some editing over the past few days, and may do some more.

Do leave a Review,

Winter Wolf over and out.