Disclaimer: i no own pjo
Finals week is over now :D i can rest easy now
T-T
Wow...
Percy looked back at the building. It looked like an ancient grand parthenon from the outside, but on the inside it looked like the interior of a normal building.
If he wasn't inside of it a few seconds ago, he would've thought that it was just the ruins of an old temple. The transition from the inside to the outside was so clean and flawless that he didn't think much of it, but it was truly impressive.
The space just filled itself in.
Percy couldn't describe it with any words besides that.
There was no discomfort to his eyes or anything. It was like it was hiding in plain sight.
He was astonished and wondered how it worked.
How did other people see it? Or rather, would mortals see it the same way?
Would they just see the parthenon and nothing else? What would happen if they walked into the "ruins" and they ended up in the hospital? Would they even be able enter the hospital first place?
Anyways, it was good that the god of the hospital wasn't hostile towards them. He felt dangerous.
Beatable?
Perhaps.
But dangerous.
Percy wondered how Artemis knew the man.
The man, whose name he didn't get.
He didn't look like the type of person to be a doctor.
It kind of felt like he hated his job more than anything.
Because he did not want them to stay for long, even though he was the one, who had just woken up. That guy wanted them out of there as soon as possible.
Maybe because he had other patients?
But, the hallways were empty...
Did that mean he the only one working there?
That poor guy.
No wonder he felt so cranky.
His boss must not like him to be working a fairly big space all by himself.
Would he able to do it?
Probably not.
Percy felt some admiration for the man.
He was forced to work all alone, and still decided to stay.
If it were him, he might've left.
That being said, that doctor must've been a really good one because his body felt good as new.
Minus the slight feeling of weakness from not training for however long he was out.
Was he able to see the inside because he was with Artemis or did it have something to do with his powers?
Because, he didn't have magic powers in the Isles. Well. Not to his knowledge at least.
From what Artemis had said, demigods were born with their powers, and he should've experience some weird things happening when he was younger, like seeing creatures that other people couldn't, or things happening that he couldn't explain, or having trouble reading.
Those things, though, never happened.
The only other way to get powers was from somebody else, and Percy didn't think that someone gave him powers without him knowing. His sense were sharp, to say the least.
Even if he was sleeping, there was no way he wouldn't notice something wrong with his body.
But...
His body was taken over without him knowing, so maybe it really was a possibility?
His hands unintentionally held Artemis tighter, momentarily feeling down at the thought of it. His head throbbed faintly as his footsteps slowed, not stopping completely. An blurry image floated in his mind of a figure that vaguely resembled Artemis, but he couldn't quite tell. Her lips were moving, saying words that he couldn't quite make out, but at the same time it felt like he knew what she was saying.
A cold sweat crept down his neck. He felt a compulsion to stop and touch his head like he was forgetting something, but he realized that he couldn't with Artemis filling his hands.
What was that?
His breathing was slightly rough, and the wind felt rather chilly all of a sudden.
Artemis's steady breathing plus her warmth, helped him regain his bearings.
His eyes blinked in confusion.
That was...?
What was he doing again?
That's right. He had to get back to camp.
Percy shivered slightly. When did it get so cold?
Thankfully, Artemis felt warm to the touch like a human radiator. Percy felt as though he could hug her all day if he could...
Artemis, meanwhile, didn't seem like she felt it at all. Probably because, she was a god.
She was sleeping away without a care in the world.
As for where camp was?
He had no idea where it was. He had no idea where they were. Finding camp shouldn't be too difficult, though. He could easily pinpoint the direction.
Looking up at the sun, it was rather early in the morning around 9 o'clock.
Closing his eyes for a moment, he concentrated, remembering what the position of the sun was when he was at camp. His forehead felt a bit warm as he mentally pinpointed to a certain direction. The crescent on his forehead dimly glowed while his eyes was closed.
When he opened his eyes, Percy confidently strode in a particular direction.
Judging by the angle, it would take approximately three hours or so if he took his time.
Strange, that it was so close, not that he was complaining or anything. But, it felt weird that it was pretty "close".
Perhaps, he should be a little greedy this time, and hug Artemis to his heart's content.
T-T
Inside a small spring.
The outside phenomena wasn't something she had ever seen before, thick bellows of white smokey clouds rushing overhead like a swarm of angry hornets.
There was no sound.
Only fog.
A woman with walnut brown eyes and light blue skin kept her body underneath the surface of the water like it was a one-way protective shield. On both sides of her head were two aquatic fins instead of ears, and a fish-like tail instead of legs, suggesting tht she wasn't completely human.
She would be completely naked if not for her long flowing marine hair that miraculously covered all of her private parts.
She didn't know if the clouds would do anything to her little home, or if she was worrying over nothing. She shot out a thin snake-like water projectile at it, however, upon contact with the smoke the water projectile vanished like it didn't exist in the first place.
Thus snuffing out any lingering desire she had to venture out and see what it was. Holding her breath, her cheeks were puffed up like balloons as a small trail bubbles made their way up to the surface, staring directly at the smoke, unblinkingly.
It didn't look like she could do anything, so Ixia took the "watch and see what would happen" approach. Perhaps, it would retaliate? Since, she did attack it.
The rushing smoke continued to rush over like nothing happened in the first place.
And after another few seconds of nothing, she released her breath, causing a mass of bubbles to erupt from her mouth.
Unlike a normal human, who would start struggling underwater, it didn't look like she was in any danger of drowning. It was almost as if she could breathe water instead of air, which, of course, she could since it was the naiad, Ixia.
Thankfully, it didn't seem as though the smoke was interested in invading her little sanctuary, giving her a sense of relief.
As long as she was in her spring, the smoke wouldn't effect her.
Ixia considered it small since there wasn't that much space to swim around, but in reality it was quite extensive, bigger than a mortal's swimming pool with its own water display as well.
There was also a hidden crevice that couldn't be seen despite the waters being entirely clear, and the only way you would know it was there was to go into the waters yourself. Even then, it would be difficult to find if you weren't looking for it.
Of course having lived her entire life in her spring, Ixia knew all the ins-and-outs of her home.
Ah well.
There was nothing she could do besides wait it out. Her tail transformed into two long seductive legs, and she used them to paddle herself in the water, humming a soothing tune that she came up with.
Although Ixia looked carefree, she tried to secretly peek at the smoke to see if it was going to do anything, but the way she did it was anything but subtle.
Hm..?
She heard something unusual.
The sound of boots stomping against leaves.
Ixia was guarded. She knew the difference between the sound of wildlife and something else.
And it certainly sounded to heavy to come from any native animal that usually came by.
Did the clouds not affect people?
No, it was too suspicious.
She swam into the hidden crevice with a convenient peep hole to watch from.
The sound of footsteps came closer and closer until they stopped right next to her spring.
Ixia heard a girl's voice say, "I think it's around here..."
The tuffs of grass shuffled before she saw the fog parted with a pair of legs. Instead acting how it usually does, there was a circle-like barrier around that person as if the fog was trying to avoid her.
"Don't touch. Stay here," Ixia heard the girl whisper, followed by a hum of agreement.
The naiad didn't know how she knew that her spring was there, but this was the second time someone has found her spring within the last hundred years. In the last eons, there had been no case where two people found her pool within a hundred year timeframe. But suddenly, it has been discovered twice, not including the other person, in the span of five years.
It was abnormal, considering that the pool always abided by that rule.
Ixia didn't think it was a coincidence, especially when this strange thing was also happening the same time.
The first person that found it was Mr. Perseus.
Recalling the interaction, she had a faint smile on her face.
He had found her spring on a mere accident. He stumbled across her spring; its defenses not doing much to hinder his entrance. Usually this would be seen as a small hill with a few trees on top, and it was enchanted with a spell that made people wander away from the spring like zombies once they enter its perimeter.
Ixia didn't know if it was luck or fate that he entered, but she was happy to help him since he didn't know the true nature of her pond. But unlike that person, there was a clear reason why this person had come.
However, Ixia could be as vigilant as much as possible, but there was not much she could physically do. She wasn't exactly the strongest.
And her water manipulation was rather basic.
The only reason she had been able to lift Mr. Perseus that time was because he didn't resist.
The illusions around her spring were powerful, but that was it.
Once someone got inside, they essentially had free rein over the pool if they knew how to use it.
But, there was no way-
"The dreaming pool..."
How? Did she-
"Naiad. I know you are here. You should come out before something happens."
Ixia did not move. Once could be a fluke. Twice was certainly a bait.
"Three times you would know for sure."
Upon hearing the final part of her thought process, word for word, Ixia reluctantly left her hidden spot.
It was a young girl seemingly fourteen, dressed in hunting attire.
Cautiously probing, "What would a protector of maidens be doing here?"
"I see that you are pretending not to know who I am."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Ixia looked away in defiance.
"Regardless, that's not something you need to know. All you need to do is help me with something."
The naiad looked unwelcoming towards the proposition.
"And if I don't?"
"Well," the girl's expression didn't change, "I don't think you have a choice?" Her tone was overbearing as if everything was under her control. She had an arrogance that made Ixia want to do the opposite.
However, as much as Ixia wanted to defy her, the naiad knew that she really had no choice.
In a resigned voice, she sighed, "What do you want."
Turning around, she pulled someone with her own bubble from the fog.
"I need you to do that to her."
Ixia frowned while looking at the child that was put in front of her.
"Isn't she a little young?"
"I'll help."
"... Alright."
The young girl looked up at the small huntress, confused, clutching the older girl's clothes.
"Sofia?"
Ixia felt that the little girl was pitiful.
"Sofia" looked kindly at the little girl and said, "Do you trust me?"
The little girl nodded her head slightly.
"Then could you trust me this once and follow that lady," pointing at Ixia, "for a second?"
Ixia extended her hand to the little girl. Her voice sounded enchanting, "Take my hand-"