Chapter 22.
When he arrived, he sat back down in her kitchen. After a few minutes, Reyna returned to the kitchen with her hair wrapped in a towel, presumably after taking a shower. She smiled as she walked over before sitting down on him again.
"Have you been sitting here the whole time?" she asked, amused. Percy shook his head before replying,"No, I went to talk to my parents for a few minutes. She nodded before looking away, giving Percy a perfect opportunity to take out the necklace with the scythe and slip it onto her neck.
She looked down in confusion, feeling the necklace be put on until she gasped as she looked at it. "What's this Percy?" she asked, turning to look at him. "It's a necklace that will allow me to know when you need me in case you're ever in danger or just want to see me."
She smiled widely before taking his face in her hands and kissed him deeply. He returned the kiss until she broke apart to take a breath. Percy pulled out his own necklace, grinning at her surprised expression as he slipped it on.
He pulled her close, whispering, "Now you'll know I'll always be yours." Reyna smiled warmly, snuggling close to him in response.
They spent the rest of the morning together until Reyna had to leave for a senate meeting. Percy hung around the city until he felt Artemis enter his mind. "Percy, we've arrived at camp. Your presence would be appreciated."
"I'll be right there," he replied before breaking their mental connection. He quickly traveled to Reyna's home, leaving a note explaining why he was gone and expressing his love for her, promising to see her soon.
Upon arriving at camp, Percy swiftly transformed into his wolf form and darted around until he spotted Zoe heading into the big house. He bounded over to the door, nudging it open with his nose, relieved to find it slightly ajar.
Slipping inside, he made his way down the hallway, following the sound of voices until he reached a room where the cabin leaders were gathered around a table, with Zoe and Artemis among them.
He barked to announce his arrival, startling the campers. Zoe and Artemis turned and greeted him warmly. "Ah, welcome back Percy," Artemis said, smiling. Percy responded with a happy bark before enveloping himself in shadows and reappearing as a house cat. He leaped onto the table, strolled over to Zoe, and settled into her lap, purring contentedly.
Zoe chuckled as she began to stroke Percy's fur, diverting her attention momentarily before refocusing on Chiron, who appeared amused but also slightly perplexed.
"Anyway, Chiron, you were saying?" Artemis prompted, redirecting the conversation.
Chiron shook his head slightly before continuing, "Yes, as I was saying, the campers should expect to receive a quest sometime in the next couple of days. After that, we can discuss our next steps."
The cabin leaders nodded in agreement before leaving the room. However, Chiron's curiosity was piqued by the sight of Percy wearing a collar while sitting in Zoe's lap.
"Why does Percy have a collar?" Chiron inquired, his gaze fixed on the unusual accessory.
Both Zoe and Artemis looked down at Percy, confused by Chiron's question. Indeed, Percy's necklace had transformed into a collar, though the pendant remained visible. "I'm not sure, he didn't have it last time we saw him," Artemis responded, sharing in the confusion.
With a nod, Chiron bid them farewell and left the room. Zoe carefully lifted Percy from her lap and placed him on the table to inspect his new collar.
"Percy, what's with the collar?" Zoe asked. Percy looked at her before meowing in response and tilted his head.
"It has a golden shield as a pendant, which leads me to believe it's a necklace when he's human. And if I had to guess, Reyna probably has one as well," Artemis speculated, examining the collar closely. Percy let out another contented meow and swished his tail before closing his eyes and stretching in the traditional cat way, before settling back down and gazing up at Artemis.
With a smile, Artemis gently picked him up as they left the room. As they returned to the cabin, the other girls looked up, their expressions brightening upon seeing the furry companion in Artemis's arms.
"Girls, as you can see, Percy is back. The campers are awaiting a quest to be given, so for now, we can relax until then," Artemis announced, scanning the room. The girls nodded in response, their attention mostly on Percy, who was snuggled in Artemis's arms, purring contentedly.
Artemis smiled before carrying Percy into her room and gently setting him down on the bed before heading to the bathroom. When she returned, Percy was curled up in a ball on her pillow. She smiled at the sight before sitting down on the edge of the bed, causing him to raise his head and look at her.
"How was your visit with Reyna?" Artemis asked gently.
"Meow," Percy replied, in what Artemis thought was a happy tone, but she suspected it also held a hint of sadness, which concerned her. After a year of Percy being in different animal forms, she had grown used to understanding what he was trying to say by his tone of voice.
"What happened?" she asked, worriedly. Percy meowed softly before putting his head back down as Artemis felt him enter her mind.
"Reyna saw me hugging and talking with Hades's daughter Bianca, and she thought I was cheating on her. She's okay now, but Venus's words really hit her hard," he explained.
Artemis nodded, her anger at Venus's cruel words evident. "Well, hopefully you guys resolved things," she replied.
"Yeah, we did. I gave her a necklace that matches with mine, except where mine has a golden shield, hers has a black scythe. That way if she's ever in danger or just wants to see me, I can feel it," Percy explained.
Artemis nodded, understanding the need for such a necklace pair. As Percy retreated from her mind, he stood up and stretched before jumping to the floor and walking to the door, looking back at her expectantly. Grinning, she stood up before opening the door for him.
She watched as he slipped out, making a beeline for Zoe, much to her delight, as he settled down on her legs while she sat on her bunk talking with the other hunters.
Later that afternoon, the hunters were all gathered at the archery range with Percy as an eagle, watching from on top of another stand. He observed them intently before spotting a hint of gray above them. Looking up, he saw a gray barn owl perched in a tree, its gaze fixed on him.
Suspecting that the owl might be a disguised Athena, Percy took off from the stand he was perched on and flew up to her, coming to a stop and landing on another branch across from her.
Entering her mind, he addressed her calmly, "Lady Athena, what are you doing here?" Percy wasn't particularly fond of Athena for outing him at the meeting, but he attributed it to her curious nature, so he didn't hold it against her.
"Hello, Percy. I was hoping you'd notice my presence. I wanted to ask if you would watch over my daughter, Annabeth. She's done well on the last couple quests, but the Labyrinth isn't something to underestimate," Athena replied.
Percy's tone softened as he listened to her request. He was grateful that Athena cared so much about Annabeth, especially considering her complicated and neglectful lineage.
"Yes, I will watch over Annabeth. You have my word," he replied warmly.
Athena ruffled her feathers before responding, "Thank you, Percy. I really appreciate it," and with that, she flew off the branch, disappearing in a gray puff a few feet away.
Percy watched her go before looking down at the hunters, who were looking around, seemingly confused with his disappearance.
He flew back down to his perch and settled down as the hunters returned to their training, smiling as they saw him return. He turned around as he felt Artemis approach from behind.
"Percy, what was that about?" she asked, confused. Percy tilted his head in response, confused on what she meant. "You left your perch to fly into the trees up there for like 20 seconds and then came back down," she clarified.
Percy screeched quietly in response as he entered her mind. "Athena was in the tree as an owl. She wanted to ask if I would watch over Annabeth as she was concerned the questers would underestimate the danger the maze holds." he replied.
Artemis nodded at Percy's response before addressing the hunters. "Girls, be prepared to move out of camp at any moment. With Percy needing to watch over the questers, we need to be ready to regroup with them anywhere when they come out of the maze."
The girls acknowledged her instructions with nods of determination before hurrying back to the cabin to prepare their gear. Meanwhile, Artemis turned her attention to Percy, who gracefully leaped off his perch and transformed mid-air, landing on the ground as a wolf.
With a nod from Artemis, Percy barked in affirmation before darting off after the girls, his swift movements guiding him effortlessly through the forest. Artemis followed closely behind, her graceful stride matching the wolf's pace.
Upon reaching the cabin, they found the girls in the midst of packing. Artemis disappeared into her room to gather her own belongings, while Percy settled at the door.
Once they were packed, they made their way to lunch. The girls settled themselves at the table while Percy comfortably settled on Artemis's lap, transformed into a house cat. As they ate, Zoe glanced over to Artemis, a question on her mind.
"My lady, we aren't going to be traveling through the maze with the questers, are we?" she inquired.
Artemis shook her head gently before responding, "No, Zoe, we aren't. Our job is to be prepared to meet up with the questers if they are delayed and exit the maze. Percy is tasked with ensuring their success, and as he's assigned to us, we must be ready to assist him if needed."
Zoe nodded, her gaze drifting down to the snoozing Percy nestled in Artemis's lap. "He definitely does embody animal traits. He's always napping as a cat," she remarked with a laugh. Artemis joined in the laughter before affectionately patting Percy on the head, eliciting a contented purr from him.
She smiled before turning her attention back to her meal. After lunch, the group headed back to the cabin for some relaxation.
Meanwhile, Percy embarked on some detective cat work. While the others enjoyed their downtime, he ventured to Zeus's Fist instead. Upon arrival, he immediately set to work, his keen senses guiding him as he searched for cracks in the rocks, intent on locating the entrance.
After some diligent digging (pun intended), he successfully uncovered the entrance. Nestled in a small cove between the two largest rocks of the formation, dead center of the fist, lay the concealed entryway.
Percy turned around and began to make his way out of the rocks, fully intent on returning to the Artemis cabin. However, as he turned, he found Artemis standing there, her gaze fixed upon him. "Meow?" he meowed inquisitively, tilting his head in response to her stare.
Artemis smiled before directing her attention to where Percy had emerged from. "What are you doing out here, Percy?" she asked, her tone laced with curiosity. Percy flicked his tail in response before darting back into the crack, with Artemis following closely behind.
Once inside, Percy pointed out the visible glowing delta symbol with his tail. "You were looking for the Labyrinth entrance?" Artemis asked, turning to him.
Percy meowed and nodded his head in affirmation. Artemis nodded in understanding before turning to leave, with Percy trailing behind her.
"That's good we now know where it is. Come on, let's head back to the cabin." with that she bent down and picked him up before starting the walk to camp.