Dinner was short on account of the excitement surrounding Percy and Thalia's match. As per tradition, Diana had accepted bets on who was going to win in a best of two rounds match with the first round being purely combat based with only one of their chosen weapons. In this case, Thalia had her spear and Aegis while Percy opted for Riptide (as everyone expected him to). For this, the bets were heavily skewed toward the daughter of Zeus as many considered spears to be better weapons in this sort of fight. Add a shield into the mix, and Percy was in for a tough fight so he expected relatively little support.

The second round was going to be an all-items, all powers brawl. Whatever went, aside from maiming and killing of course. And truthfully, it was the more entertaining of the two. Bets had become slightly more centered, but many of the hunters had chosen to side with their sister. Only a select few had bet on the son of the sea. After Diana had collected the tolled amount of drachmas, everyone made their way to the arena. Bets went on everything from winners to how long the matches would take and everyone was eager to see two of the three strongest demigods fight it out. As such, bets were quite high with many betting a decent portion of their monthly allowance and even portions of their savings.

Percy could only grin as he and his cousin stepped into the ring. It'd been a little while since he'd stretched his legs properly. His last battle had been with Ares nearly a month ago and he'd hardly picked up a sword since. Of course, that wasn't going to stop him from absolutely annihilating his cousin but it was worth considering. After the requisite banter, the two found themselves in dead silence, slowly circling around the ring. As per usual, he'd let his opponent make the first move and Thalia knew that. Try as she might to wait him out, she was far too impatient.

With a burst of energy, the young woman sprinted forward, throwing her shield like a discus before stabbing forward in a series of lightning-quick blows. Percy had simply batted the offending projectile away before moving to deflect each blow. His defense held perfectly as he matched every thrust, stab, and swing with perfect ripostes and parries. He'd hardly moved a foot in the entire time, standing his ground and forcing his cousin to go on an extreme offensive. It would have never worked with their powers, but it was an excellent tactic as he conserved stamina while his opponent was forced to attack.

Of course, attacking hadn't been his opponent's only intention as she was able to swiftly recover her thrown shield before pressing Percy again. Where he'd initially been able to remain in one place, he was now forced to move and dodge. Thalia wasn't going to be threatened by his blade nearly as much with her shield there to block putting the young man at a steep disadvantage. He could hear a few of the younger hunters talking excitedly while the older ones observed in interest. That quickly faded to the back of his mind as he was overcome by the sound of metal clashing as he exchanged blows with the daughter of Zeus. His attacks were quick and came with extreme precision, allowing him to poke at his opponent from different angles all while fluidly avoiding blows.

He was nearly caught by Thalia wildly swinging her shield as he'd gone for another attack, but he'd been quick to jump back. While her attacks were swift, they weren't anything that he couldn't handle. He had an idea, but it was risky. Thalia often liked following up a series of stabs with a sweeping blow to keep him at a fixed distance ahead of her and that would be his opportunity to strike. She tended to choke up a little on the handle when she was stabbing but let the swing come almost to the edge of the leather-bound end.

Sure enough, he waited for the vicious flurry of stabs and thrusts to end. As soon as the swinging attack got close enough to him, he let himself drop like a stone, bringing his sword up just barely after the blow passed over him so that he could lock it in place. Against a stronger opponent, this maneuver would have surely failed but given his superior strength, he just barely managed. He was just barely able to lock the spear in place, sliding his blade up the handle towards her hands. Of course, she simply blocked it with her shield, placing it between the oncoming blade and her hand, but Percy had expected it. It blocked her vision of his other hand, letting him grab onto the spear shaft while bringing his blade back so that he could swing it freely.

Sure enough, Thalia tried to swing it back towards him, but he was stronger than she was, allowing him to keep it from moving enough for him to swing his sword arm, reversing his grip mid-swing so that he was sort of thrusting the blade towards her. Not wanting to be stabbed, the immortal huntress let go of the spear and focused entirely on her shield. From there, it was a simple matter of getting past her defenses, a matter that took only another thirty seconds. The huntress had nearly recovered her spear, but Percy had ended it just before she could get to it.

As such, round one went to Percy, naturally accompanied by a chorus of groans from the hunters. Round two began shortly after the end of the first. Truly, this was the fight that truly mattered. The first round was often just used as a warmup, even if people were still allowed to bet on it. It didn't carry the same bragging rights that the second round did.

This time, Percy took the offensive, stalking forward and sidestepping or swiping at the body of the spear so that he wouldn't get shocked by the metal point. For the same reason, he tried avoiding Aegis altogether as his cousin simply channeled electricity across the surface whenever his sword came close. Again though, it was something he could potentially use to his advantage.

Of course, this time he was having a lot more trouble finding space. With limited areas to counterattack, his windows were often a lot shorter. Still, it wasn't impossible given his plethora of weapons, using throwing knives to disrupt charges or chained attacks while keeping his opponent at bay with water, be it through creating spears of water from the ground, or by using it to slow her down. It was enough to give him space, even if said space was small.

Percy batted the oncoming spear away only to have to dance out of the way as a small bolt of lightning struck the ground where he'd been standing less than a second earlier. It looked like Jason had been borrowing from his sister's playbook during their last fight given how similar the moves were but Percy had no time to think about that as he narrowly avoided the next attack before launching his own. If he could overwhelm her on her spear side, she'd be left in a much more vulnerable position.

He parried the point away once more, spinning past it and using the momentum to swing his blade hard. The young woman tried to block with the other end, shifting it upwards to catch the oncoming blade, but Percy simply let it go as soon as the two were about to come into contact, instead opting to roll forward and spring off his hands in an aggressive kick. It caught the daughter of Zeus right against her hip, both blowing her away and staggering her slightly. From there, Percy drew his trident in a swift motion and twisted the prongs around his opponent's spear, sinking the head of the trident all the way into the dirt so that Thalia wouldn't be able to move her weapon.

In another fluid action, he drew his blade once more and used the gift from his father as a sort of pole to get a little height so that he was just barely above the brim of the shield. Once again, it was a matter of simply thrusting his blade forward at an angle she wouldn't be able to block. As such, Thalia was forced to drop both of her weapons in favor of not getting skewered. At that, both matches went to the Son of the Sea. Thalia grumbled a little bit about losing but easily took her cousins' offered hand with a smile. Once again, he was greeted by the sound of annoyed hunters as he pulled the daughter of Zeus up to her feet.

"Next time," Percy couldn't help but laugh at his cousin's attitude.

"You say that every time," Percy replied humorously.

"You're just lucky it's not an archery contest."

Percy agreed, "Safer for everyone that way."

Thalia snorted, "Still don't know how you manage it."

He shrugged, "Maybe the Fates thought I was just too good with a sword so they had to limit me to close range."

"Yeah yeah whatever," Thalia rolled her eyes, "Can we sit down and eat already?"

Percy just laughed as the two made their way over to the campfire. While they'd already had dinner, they had elected to have dessert afterwards. Diana hadn't been joking when she'd said that his mother had made enough for everyone as there was enough for everyone to have at least three. Percy got the distinct feeling that they would all be gone though, and Thalia handily agreed.

Many had already tried them before as Thalia had been gifted a plate worth of them to use as a training reward. There were supposed to have been enough for everyone, but the daughter of Zeus had elected to steal a number of them. That had turned many of the hunters mutinous. They'd only been placated after Artemis had explained that she'd insisted, covering for her Lieutenant. Of course, with that came a promise of everyone getting to try them and an undisclosed punishment for said Lieutenant behind closed doors.

Having heard the story after it happened, Sally had insisted on making far more than necessary. Of course, visits to the hunt were few and far between and as such, she'd only done so twice. Percy grinned as everyone began filing into the small pavilion area. A few held small pouches of golden coins while others looked on in annoyance. It seemed that only a handful had bet on him in the first round, leading them to come off far better than their sisters. Regardless of that, he could see they were eager to get their treats. They were civil for the moment, but he knew there was going to be a mad scramble towards the dining tables as soon as Diana gave them permission. It made enough sense. It was sort of hard to find sugar while hunting since Artemis tried to avoid grocery shopping and mortal cities in general. That didn't mean they didn't get it though. The goddess often summoned treats for her hunters, but that only occurred maybe once or twice every two weeks.

Percy hadn't minded living that way when he'd done his short tenures with the hunt, but he imagined that after a while, he might have acted the same way. It did bring up the question of how many of the hunters had some sort of sugary treat as their ambrosia but he didn't have much time to dwell on it as the goddess of the hunt gave her hunters permission to take their snacks. He imagined a little cartoon dust cloud coming up as he found himself wholly alone by the campfire. He laughed lightly behind his hand before resting his cheek on his fist.

This time of the year, things were still quite frigid, even if it was warming up so he elected to stay by the warm fire. Many of the hunters would go their own ways, either milling around making conversation with each other or going back to their own tents. It was a well-known fact that the goddess of the hunt liked everyone up nice and early so many elected to go to bed earlier whenever possible. Of course, they didn't know that they were in for a slow day as Diana intended to let them sleep in for a while as she sorted a few things out on Olympus, chiefly upgrading some of their gear.

It was something that both goddesses tried to do as often as possible. Some would receive enhanced weapons as gifts from their parents, while those who didn't would receive special blessed items from their patron. Percy noted that the moon goddess treated her hunters like a mother would her own children in that sense, often making sure that each of her hunters had some sort of blessed item or gift from her own armory.

He admired that about her. Even before his wish for the gods to take better care of their children, the goddess of the hunt had been all about it. To be fair, she was a maiden goddess that protected young women so he expected as much. She was, after all, one of the most worshiped of the Greek deities for a reason. One only had to look at the ancient world as evidenced by one of her temples being one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. If people were that happy to worship her, it made perfect sense that she had to have good morals and strong character. That did make him wonder how worship worked exactly, but he was forced to push that thought to the back of his mind as the goddess in question sat beside him.

"You did not get up."

Percy shrugged, "Wanted everyone to have theirs since I have them all the time. Plus, it's really warm by the fire and really not warm everywhere else."

Diana spoke after a moment of comfortable silence, "Then I imagine you would prefer to stay here rather than walk with me."

The young man sat up a little bit, tilting his head to view his companion, "All you need to do is ask. And a walk sounds good, cold or not."

Diana's eyes didn't leave the fire, "Do you need a change of clothes?"

Percy shook his head as he moved to stand up, "Just need a place to change. I've got clothes in my bag."

A small smile played across the goddess's face, "Then you may use my tent. I don't think that yours is set up at the moment. We both know my Lieutenant enjoys procrastinating."

Percy glanced at her before shrugging. Worked for him. If he recalled, the goddess's tent was usually on the north end of camp. He voiced his thanks before jogging off. Thankfully, it was easy enough to find given its larger size compared to the other tents. Even though the other tents weren't small, her's was certainly designed to be worthy of a goddess. He recalled many of the trophies that she'd kept in various areas as he stepped through the flaps. It was times like these that the hero of Olympus was glad that she wasn't the taxidermy sort of hunter. All the busts of animals would make him feel a bit weird if they were just there all the time.

Aside from that though, changing was a quick affair with Percy opting for a thick, wool/cotton blended shirt and a heavy, brown jacket on top of some fleece-lined work pants ending in a simple pair of brown boots. He felt a bit like a lumberjack or some sort of adventurer but he refocused after a moment so that he could summon his ring and necklace onto his person. He hadn't bothered taking his watch off so it was there as well. He thought for a moment before calling forth one of his many knives and slid his belt through the sheath's little loop. Percy regarded himself for a moment before smiling. It really did make him feel like some sort of wanderer and he quite liked the look.

It seemed that Diana was a fan as well as she gave him an appraising once-over, "Was this something that Venus bought you?"

Percy shook his head, "Pretty sure this was from Chiron actually."

"It does seem rather practical for the love goddess."

Percy laughed, "She'd definitely tell me that I need to accessorize more to really bring the look together."

Diana cocked her head as her eyes traveled over him once more, "You look fine as you are, though you may be a little cold."

"I'll probably be fine," Percy shrugged, "I always run a bit hot anyway."

"You don't seem very sure of yourself."

"I'm not," Percy joked.

Diana tapped her finger against her cheek, "You really should wear something warmer. I'll just summon it for you since I have no interest in waiting."

The young man paused for a moment as he thought. Honestly, he liked the way the outfit looked a bit too much to change out the jacket so that was staying. It was also worth noting that the son of the sea wasn't really the type of gloves either so that left him at an impasse. Maybe a beanie? That did remind him of being a child for some reason so he quickly discarded that idea. One quickly replaced it though.

"Oh oh oh," Percy started hopping around excitedly, "can I have a scarf then? I really want a scarf."

"Why a scarf?"

Percy looked at the goddess as if it should have been obvious, "Because scarves are neat. I used to have this really cool one that I got from my mom but I grew out of it so I haven't been able to wear it."

Diana cocked her head and sighed, but she snapped her fingers. His smile relayed pure joy as brown fabric with a simple teardrop pattern at the end appeared around his neck. The goddess could only watch as he tugged on it happily while adjusting it. She supposed that it was worth it given the radiant smile she was getting. Of course, it didn't stop her from making a teasing comment.

Percy just laughed it off though, "You're just jealous that I look better in it than you would."

Diana rolled her eyes as she tapped her arm slowly, summoning a matching item for herself. Percy fake groaned before rescinding his statement with a laugh, "I take it back. Definitely looks better on you."

The goddess rolled her eyes playfully, "Another win to me then."

"So, where are we off to then?"

"Wherever we please," the moon goddess said simply. Many of the hunters had retired for the night with only a few of them being huddled around the fire. A quick goodbye later, and the two were off. Night had fallen not long ago, but there was still plenty of light due to the almost full moon sitting low in the sky. Sure, there were plenty of shadows cast by the tall trees, but Percy could see quite easily despite that. Diana, being a goddess, had no such issues with light.

Some of the fog had disappeared due to the temperature dropping, making it easier for Percy to see the floor. Hopefully, he wouldn't be falling any time soon. Of course, there were still large swathes of fog in the depressions of the forest floor as they pooled there against the warm ground, but he could manage those well enough.

"Has the day been enjoyable for you?" Diana's question broke the silence they'd been sitting in, but he didn't mind. He quite enjoyed talking to the moon goddess.

"It's been great. It's been a pretty good week actually."

Diana nodded, "And you are alright?"

Percy hopped over a puddle of water, "Yeah why? Something on your mind?"

The goddess said nothing for a moment before speaking once more, "Nothing more than concern for you."

Percy glanced at the goddess, "Did something happen?"

The goddess shook her head, ducking to avoid some webbing, "I do not want you to feel pressured."

"By what?"

"Many things," she paused, "I know that I can be rather overbearing at times."

The young man laughed, "I don't mind. Pretty sure I've done enough more than enough leading. Sometimes you just want to follow, you know?"

"You may not mind, but I feel as though almy commandeering nature is not the most accommodating for friends."

"Commandeering is not the word I'd use to describe you," Percy chuckled, "Strong-willed for sure, but I've never felt like it was a bad thing."

"And what else would you say?" Diana asked curiously. Some of the color returned to her voice.

Percy kicked a small rock as he slipped his hands into his jacket pockets, "That you're one of the few people I trust to have my back."

"In a fight?"

"In life," Percy said simply, "We both know I'm not in the best of places, but I do know that you've got me."

He could feel the goddess perk up a little more, "That is a lot of trust to put into someone."

"Then you know how much I trust you," Percy said, pulling his scarf up so that it covered the lower half of his face, "You ever feel like a ninja doing this?"

The goddess couldn't stop the smile that broke out across her face as he danced around a little, hopping from place to place, "I cannot say that I have thought about it much."

"I remember dressing up like a ninja for Halloween once," Percy paused, "It's weird to think about how many monsters I saw and thought that they were just really good costumes."

"I imagine your mother was on edge the entire time."

Percy agreed, "For sure. We'd always be back early. I wonder if it would have been different if I hadn't lived in New York."

"I imagine so," Diana thought for a moment, "The smell of all the mortals likely protected you."

"And I got more candy because of it."

"You would focus on that."

"Hey," Percy joked, "It was the most important thing to a kid."

"Then that would be your favorite mortal holiday?"

The young man nodded vigorously, "How many days of the year do you get to dress up as whatever you want and go parading around the city without a care in the world?"

Diana chuckled, "It suits you."

"Does it?"

The goddess nodded, "I could certainly imagine a smaller version of you running around the city and terrorizing everyone in a cute little costume."

"Pretty sure that wasn't too far off what actually happened," Percy rubbed his nose, "you'd have to ask my mom. Sure she knows plenty of good stories about me."

"Like you wearing your mother's heels and falling down a set of stairs?"

Percy groaned, "She told you about that?"

"She informed me of a number of things."

"Huh," he paused, "Like what?"

"That you mailed your mother Medusa's head."

Percy snickered, "In my defense, I was twelve and my stepdad was a piece of shit."

"He got less than he deserved," Diana shrugged.

"But he was worth a big chunk of money when she sold him," Percy paused as he considered the ramifications of that particular statement, "Probably shouldn't say that out loud."

Diana agreed but quickly moved past it, "And from there your mother wrote her first book."

Percy nodded, "Interesting turn of events right?"

"Story of your life."

"Yeah I guess so," Percy's smile died a little as a question poked it's way into his head, "So why'd you really want to walk around?"

Diana stopped altogether, rather abruptly at that. Percy was quick to follow, seeming a little concerned as the goddess spoke. She had the same measured look from earlier and he couldn't help but feel like he'd asked the wrong question, "A number of reasons, Perseus. Largely because I enjoy our time together for one."

" Agreed but that's not really what's on your mind, is it?" Percy asked, leaning back against the trunk of a thick tree. He could tell that she was trying to remain upbeat but it seemed like she had something weighing on her and he knew from experience that it was often better to just talk about it.

The huntress spoke quietly and he could see the tenseness in her body, "I'm sure you realize that my… Tenure here, if you will, is coming to an end tomorrow."

"It is."

Diana opened her mouth to say something but couldn't seem to find the words, so Percy was the one to talk again. Strangely, the two seemed to have swapped roles. Percy, normally fidgety and energetic, was the calmer of the two. Diana was the one who couldn't seem to relax, her fingers drumming steadily against one arm as she shifted the balance from foot to foot.

He understood well enough. It wasn't often that the Roman goddess got control. It meant that her short stints were filled with higher highs and lower lows. It was nicer to see everyone, but leaving them also cut deeper. Percy had felt that way himself during his partial isolation, but he'd learned a few ways to handle it.

"Just come see me again," Percy said easily as he summoned a knife to his hand, tossing it around casually, "We've got the rest of our immortal lives to do whatever we want right?"

"You make it sound so simple." Diana seemed to waver a little.

"Isn't it?" Percy started, tossing the blade towards the goddess. "And even if it isn't, who cares? You're my friend, and I've got you just like you've got me."

The goddess smiled a little at that but it was quickly drowned out by a melancholy look, "There is no saying how long it could be."

"But it'll happen," Percy's reply was simple, "we're friends, plain and simple. Immortal friends at that."

"I am not the easiest friend to have."

"So?" Percy's voice was confident, "Things aren't as fun if it was all smooth sailing. And, who cares how easy it is to be your friend? Through and through, we're friends and that's all that matters."

A bit of the color returned to her face, "I count myself lucky to have you then."

Percy just laughed, "Care to continue our walk?"

The goddess nodded after a moment as her mood brightened. Branches of the galaxy spread out before them, illuminating the night and the moon seemed to be glowing a little brighter just to contrast itself with the stars.

"Let's do something."

Percy let his head fall to one side to look at his friend as her voice broke their silence again, "What do you have in mind?"

They'd taken to sitting in a small open area, backs again the trunk of a large redwood. Confidentially, it happened to have a Greek name given to it by the mortals but that wasn't important.

He could hear her shifting a little, likely pushing herself up a little to turn to him as he spoke, "Not sure yet. Something fun though."

Percy thought for a moment before coming up with an idea, "How interested are you in defacing statues?"

She turned to look at him with mild interest, "Vandalism?"

Percy grinned, "There's this one smug statue of Ares at camp that just rubs me the wrong way. It's either that or blowing up eggs in Apollo's microwave."

Diana blinked, "Those are two vastly different things."

"Eh," he shrugged.

"Both then," Diana said after a moment, "We'll iron out the details on the way."

Percy pushed himself up with a wide smile, "To Olympus then."

In Monaco at the moment. Absolutely beautiful here but the heat is killing me. Quick thank you to everyone who reviewed. It means a lot to me even if I can't respond at the moment. On that same note, massive thank you to all of you who read this story. Anyway, keeping this short. If there are any typos, I'll fix them when I get back. Cheers and enjoy!