Song Rec: "Dear Fellow Traveler" by Sea Wolf. So this is an artist that I just discovered and he's one of my first forays into the genre. I grew up listening to people like Hozier, Passenger, Lord Huron, and Rainbow Kitten Surprise and this, to me, is very much along that same vein. Anyway, I love this song. It's one of the more popular ones, but again, that's for good reason. It's a song I associate with Perseus. The idea I have for it, or my own little story line is that this is sort of like Percy singing to Artemis. They don't know much about each other in the beginning of this story, and that very much mirrors my own story right? One night, they find themselves alone and they start hanging out, doing their own thing and going off on their little adventures. All that lines up and whatnot, but if you recall, I had no intention of them getting together. Percy, initially, was going to let his grief and his issues consume him and eventually lead him to his death, and this song demonstrates that well. In that version of my story, he'd find Artemis and they'd be nearly inseparable as they are now, but he wouldn't be able to fully attach to her and let his past let go and so they'd drift apart, both in life, and then later when he dies. But he'd dream of her, and he'd long for the life he could have had instead of the one he lived where he returned to his loneliness and isolation. Anyway, let me know what you think.

Percy yawned as they strolled through the rather busy streets.

"I know it's a city and all," he joked, nudging the goddess a little, 'But you'd think it'd be empty this time of night."

Diana smiled as they walked side-by-side, "We're about to leave so don't complain too much."

"Where's the fun in that?"

Diana rolled her eyes amusedly, "Right. Are you hungry?"

Percy hummed thoughtfully, "I could eat."

"Fast food on the road?"

"You sound almost excited by that," Percy teased, "I really would have thought you'd be someone who preached all natural diets and unprocessed foods only."

"Food is food," Diana shrugged, "Mortals do some things right and you and I don't really need to worry about what's in it."

Percy laughed, "Is this your way of saying you don't enjoy when I cook?"

"Not at all," Diana nudged him, "But I will say I miss being in your kitchen."

"It is a little harder trying to make stuff without all my stuff, not that I'm saying I need it."

"But it's easier when you're comfortable," the moon goddess agreed.

"When was the last time we ate out?"

"Three days ago when you got sucked into that debate about love," Diana answered easily.

Percy laughed, "You weren't supposed to answer that so quickly. I was hoping you'd think about it for a second, not just give me a straight answer."

"Why's that?"

"Means you're counting."

"Oh be quiet," Diana laughed happily, "You know it's not like that."

"Right, right, sorry. I know all of us can't be as smart as you are."

Diana smacked his arm, "You know I'd happily eat whatever you make."

Percy grinned, leaning into the goddess a little so that he pushed her, "And I'm glad to hear that. But fast food does sound amazing right now."

"See!"

Percy laughed happily as they bickered all the way back to the car. It'd been a good day so far. They'd spent most of it wandering around the city. Denver was a pretty cool place when you weren't being chased around by monsters. Oh well. They'd decided to stop off and see the sights so to speak. There were a few cool things. Art museum, science museum, still-life museum. Lots of museums. Still fun though.

They'd had another reason for stopping off there though. It was one of the easier places to shift directions to head up to Yellowstone where they'd be meeting up with the Hunt again. Percy was rather excited about that. Diana was as well, but that was a given. Still. It'd been a little bit since they'd seen them. It'd been about three weeks? Maybe longer? He wasn't exactly keeping track. Part of that was because it felt like it'd been only a couple days. Really, things were going pretty quickly. At least he'd gotten to see Thalia more recently. Still, he was quite happy to be able to see them again. That did remind him to try and organize something between his other friends. He was sure it was about time they did another group hangout.

"Did you have anything specific in mind?" Percy asked, opening the truck door for the goddess before getting in himself, "I personally like the sound of burgers but I'm open to suggestions."

"I raise you In-N-Out," Diana said simply, having taken a moment to think about it as he'd opened his own door.

Percy laughed as he sat down and buckled his seatbelt, "What is it with gods and their In-N-Out?"

"Good food," the huntress shrugged.

"Or maybe it's a twins thing."

"It was a me thing before Apollo found out," Diana grinned, "But who can blame him."

"And where did Hermes find out about it?"

"Apollo."

"Of course," Percy grinned, starting the engine, "Over or under thirty dollars do you think?"

"You can get a lot of food for that much," Diana said thoughtfully, "But still probably over."

"Between the both of us, definitely."

"After that, what should we do?"

"Not sure," Percy shrugged, "Yellowstone's only what, eight hours away?"

"Give or take."

"Let's head up tomorrow then. You said the hunt won't be around for another two days?"

Diana nodded, "I could get them here earlier if you'd like."

Percy shook his head, "No no that's fine. I was thinking we could find a nice little spot and just relax tonight. Maybe sit around a fire or something."

"I like that."

"Then it's a date," Percy grinned, "And if they're not going to be around for another day after that, we can use that time to explore or do whatever we feel like. Maybe scope out a place for that paintball thing."

"How should we divvy the teams?"

It took them most of the car ride over to figure out who would be on which team, but they managed. They'd had an uneven number of players, but one of the teams was going to get Diana so that balanced out a little. Then again, he was sure that she'd be able to wipe them out without really trying. Still, the thought excited him. It was going to be a fun little thing. Plus, he'd made sure that he and Thalia were on different teams so that they could mess around a bit and maybe bet on it. Percy would be damned before he let Thalia beat him at something.

They were going to spend a little more time talking about the details while they were inside, but both Diana and Percy were far too eager to eat honestly. They'd pulled into the mostly empty parking-lot and placed a temporary hold on their conversation until after they'd ordered. Percy spaced out for a second though as they sat in the car, and Diana took a second to look around, at least until a shimmering message appeared in front of them. She nudged Percy so that he was paying attention.

"Wonder if it's Nico," Percy guessed, "My bet's on him."

"Probably," Diana agreed.

It was Annabeth Chase, actually, which was… something.

Diana glanced over at Percy as the image became clearer, showing the girl in detail.

"Percy?" the daughter of Athena called out quietly as the message wavered a little bit before focusing in on Diana.

"Oh," Annabeth seemed surprised, "Hello."

"Hey," Percy leaned so that they were both in view of the call, sliding right up next to the goddess, "Did you need something?"

"Nothing, just," the girl trailed off a little, sneaking in a glance at the goddess out of the corner of her eye. Diana understood that well enough, even if she was mildly annoyed by it. Still, it didn't bother her enough to say anything about it.

"I'll meet you inside whenever you're done," the goddess offered a quick smile to Percy and a knowing look to the daughter of Athena before opening the door and stepping out.

Percy was a little surprised but didn't argue, simply nodding before turning back to the Iris message, "What's up?"

"Sorry to call so suddenly," Annabeth looked a little flustered as she gently smoothed down her shirt, "are you busy right now? I can call you back later."

Percy half-shrugged, "Not really? Did you need something?"

"Not at the moment," the blonde shook her head, "I just wanted to reach out. Talk for a bit maybe?"

"Oh. Sure," Percy thought it was reasonable enough even if he wasn't exactly excited by the prospect, "How are things going with you?"

"Fine. Busy. You know how the gods are."

Percy's mouth twitched, "They've got you running around still?"

"More like I have myself running around, but I suppose."

Percy chuckled half-heartedly, "That sounds like the "you" I know."

"Haven't changed that much," Annabeth smirked, "How are things with you?"

Percy shrugged, "Pretty good. Traveling at the moment. About to be by Yellowstone. Any places that you'd recommend visiting?"

"Not particularly."

"Yeah I figured," Percy rubbed the back of his head, glancing at the building. He was so close to food, and yet so far at the same time.

"You're thinking something."

Percy gave another half shrug, looking back at the architect, "Wondering why you're not asking your actual question."

"I was getting there," Annabeth looked away, smiling softly, "Are you free sometime? Maybe tomorrow?"

"I can be," Percy said it slowly, trying to figure out what exactly she was asking. She gave him a knowing look as he continued, "Did you have something you needed help with or something in mind?"

"I thought we could plan something," Annabeth explained easily, brushing some of the hair off her shoulder, "You know. With everyone. It's been a while since we've had one of those and I imagined it might be a good time since a bunch of us will be in New York."

Percy felt a bit relieved by that, "Sure. Tell me when and I'll be there. Not like I exactly have a job to tend to or anything like that. It's been a while since you've joined."

"Yeah," she nodded, suddenly seeming uncertain but Percy didn't bother pointing it out, "I'll let you go then."

"Sure. Just let me know when You've got a time nailed down."

"I'll call you sometime soon. Probably tomorrow morning. Are you going to have Nico pick you up?"

"Maybe. Or Diana if Thalia's coming. And that sounds good" Percy said, about to swipe through the message before pausing, "and good luck."

"With?" Annabeth seemed to take note of his mention of the goddess as one of her eyes narrowed slightly. He'd come to recognize that as a sign of both annoyance and of her thinking. He couldn't be too sure which at the moment. Still, he paid it no attention.

"Everything, I guess," he gave her a small smile before swiping through the message and letting out a small breath.

Well. That hadn't been as bad as he'd thought it'd be.

His mind was a bit jumbled as he stepped out of the car, taking a moment to run a hand through his hair before he made his way inside. Diana appeared to have already ordered and was sitting down at one of the tables by the window. She smiled at him as he walked up.

"You look," Diana chuckled, letting her statement hang.

"Confused?" Percy joked, "A bit."

"What was that about?"

"She wants to do something."

Diana's mouth twitched, "What sort of something?"

"Oh like a party thing," Percy let out a long breath as he slipped into the seat in front of her, "Want to come?"

Diana glanced at the counter, "Is that okay?"

"Of course," Percy's eyebrows furrowed, "Why wouldn't it be?"

"It's a little different when you are organizing versus when someone else is," Diana shrugged, "I wasn't exactly invited."

"You are now," Percy grinned, "Besides, Thalia's invited too and I'm sure Nico will want to talk to us all about that whole monster thing."

Diana nodded slowly, "Then yes, I'll join you."

"Thank fuck," Percy laughed quietly, "I wasn't sure how I was going to hold up. Olympus is pretty stuffy as it is, plus Annabeth - no offense to her."

Diana chuckled, "Need your emotional support?"

"Something like that," he grinned, "it'll probably be later in the day, knowing us. I'm sure she's still working tomorrow."

"Working?"

"Annabeth likes to keep herself busy with all of her architecture stuff. You know how Athena is, always busy with something. Same thing with her kids. Always got their mind on something or other."

"Who else is coming?'

"Not sure," Percy shrugged, "Probably just the usual crowd. I do hope Frank and Hazel are in though. Haven't seen them in a bit."

"I'm sure that will be fun," Diana nodded.

Percy paused for a moment to stare at the goddess, "What's wrong?"

Diana looked back at him, "Nothing is wrong."

"Promise?"

Diana smiled, "You'd be the first to know if something was. I'm just curious."

"About?"

"The daughter of Minerva," Diana explained, "she seemed off put by my presence."

Percy nodded, "Yeah I noticed that. I was wondering why you left."

"She seemed uncomfortable."

"Yeah, I wonder why."

Diana chose not to explain that, assuming that he was joking, "I wonder if the same thing will happen at your little get together."

"Not sure," Percy shrugged, "I'd be much happier if you were there with me, but if it bothers you, we don't have to go."

"We?"

"Yeah. I don't want to leave you alone."

Diana chuckled, "I have my hunt. And we'll still go. I'm just curious how she'll respond."

"She didn't seem to recognize you."

"Yes well," Diana smiled, "I don't exactly take this form with many people. The amount of times my hunters questioned me about it made me consider changing it, but I ended up sticking with it."

"It would be a little awkward to travel around with a little girl. People look at me funny."

"True," Diana rolled her shoulders a little, "I've become more fond of this form too."

Percy paused again for a moment, "Okay what's up? Seriously."

Diana stopped for a moment, "I'm not sure. Did you notice something?"

Percy made a face, "it feels like you're floundering, I guess. You normally have this almost supreme level of confidence that makes me think you know exactly what you're doing at all times, even when you don't. Right now though, it seems like something's weighing on your mind."

"I suppose you're not wrong," Diana admitted, tilting her head down a little, "I feel odd, for certain."

"Why's that?"

She wanted to tell him that it was due to the nasty, curling feeling of jealousy that had wormed through her when she'd gotten out of the car, but she wasn't sure how to explain it, "Nervousness, in part. Maybe a little resentment as well."

Percy seemed surprised, "Resentment?"

"Not towards you," Diana shook her head, "but towards your former partner, as immature as that is."

Percy paused for a moment, taking in what she'd just said before absolutely cackling which drew the attention of some of the other patrons, "You're fucking me. Why do you feel that way?"

She chose not to mention the first part of that statement simply because she wouldn't have been able to stop herself from making a rather crude joke. Still, she couldn't entirely stop herself from saying anything at all.

"I wish," Diana mumbled quietly before speaking up, "I'm not too sure honestly. This is a rather new feeling for me."

Percy rolled his shoulders a little as he sat up, making sure that he didn't accidentally hit or in any way disturb Diana who happened to be right next to him. It was decently early in the morning from the looks of it. After their food, they'd chosen to drive a little bit of the way towards the national park before deciding to stop and relax for the night. You know, sit around a fire, talk until they couldn't stay up any longer. Normal things.

From the looks of it, it seemed to be around half past six, maybe a little later, but he didn't mind. He was planning on going right back to sleep anyway. They'd only gone to bed a couple of hours ago anyway, so he was more than happy to lay right back down and enjoy his time. Still, he figured if he was up, he might as well watch the sun come up a bit. Well. It was up sort of. It was just obscured by trees. It was enough to brighten things up anyhow, with just the barest hints of light peeking through the thick branches in front of them.

The sky was mostly a pale blue, decorated very loosely with clouds, and Percy thought it was rather pretty. And, he could see the moon quite nicely. In more ways than one he supposed, but he was referring more to the celestial object in the sky. Quite the sight regardless of how he spun it though.

Hmm. Now would be an ideal time to have a dog. Maybe he'd get on that when he settled down a little. Or maybe a cat? Perhaps both. He quite liked that thought actually. Going on hike with Diana and a pup of their own. That sounded quite nice really. Percy glanced down at the goddess, who for all intents and purposes, was dead to the world. She wasn't often a heavy sleeper, but she had her days. He thought it was rather cute.

But more on that dog thought. Percy considered it again as he laid back down, settling into the truck bed and blankets next to the goddess. What sort of dog would they get? Well. Maybe he was getting ahead of himself. He had to ask her out first. Figure out what they were. Would she even want to be friends with him if she didn't share his sentiment?

Percy shifted a little at the thought. No. It would be better for both of them if he just confessed. Or, at the very least, he was going to tell himself that. Sure. They could dance around it. He could tip-toe every waking moment in constant fear that she might realize. Or, he could do what he'd always done. Faced it head on. It hadn't failed him in the past, so maybe there was a good precedent there. And as much as he'd have liked to pick Apollo's brain a little, he was equally sure that conversation wouldn't be of much use for the first hour. The son of the sea would be lucky if the god didn't ramble on about how he was correct for longer than that.

Percy let out a soft breath, watching as a few clouds floated lazily ahead. Alrighty then. Back to sleep it was. His mind was a bit loud for his taste, and so he was going to sleep it off. Percy was sure he could deal with it later. Now, he was going to focus on something else. His companion specifically perhaps?

Meh. While pleasant, that particular line of thought was leading him right back to the other dilemma that he'd specifically intended to avoid. Whoops. Well he was only human.

Or, actually he wasn't - but still. He grumbled a little to himself as he leaned back. Couldn't he just fall asleep already? That'd be much nicer.

Percy closed his eyes and let his head rest on the pillow, pulling a few of the blankets up towards his chest as he did. And there he lay. Until he didn't anyway. Try as he might, he just wasn't able to fall asleep. Great. Alright.

Percy pushed himself up softly, making sure not to move too quickly so as to not disturb the goddess as he slipped off of the truck bed. If he wasn't going to sleep, he was going to run. That usually worked. Except when it didn't. Still, it was better than laying around and hoping that he'd fall asleep. At least something would be happening.

The son of the sea took one glance back at the goddess as he slipped on a pair of shoes that he could sprint around in. Unluckily, there wasn't any nice body of water around, and so he was forced to go for a run. Still, he'd be lying if he said it wasn't a pleasant morning other than that and the whole sleep thing. Birds were chirping, the sun was coming up, and he had slept well thanks to his friend.

Percy paused, mid-step and nearly fell because of it. Maybe he should rephrase that last part. Oh well.

As soon as he was far enough away from the truck, he began to run. At first it was a light jog, running around the area and taking in the sights, but the speed quickly increased after a few minutes. It was a very pretty area. He was pretty much surrounded by trees on all sides, forcing him to make his own little paths. That did occasionally come at the cost of speed, but he was more than okay with that.

This wasn't so bad, honestly. If he wasn't going to be able to sleep, this was a fine alternative. Then again, it'd meant leaving Diana and that was something he hadn't been all too keen on doing, especially as he recalled the way they'd fallen asleep. She'd actually been the first to sleep, which was a bit abnormal, but he took it as a sign of trust. Normally, she was up far later, partly on account of the fact that she didn't need to sleep at all. Percy snickered at the thought. If she did need to sleep, he imagined that the goddess would probably be nocturnal.

You know. Moon. Hunting. Things you could do at night. Archery too he supposed so long as you had the talent. He could already see Thalia and Diana snickering together if he ever tried to shoot a bow in the dark, assuming that he didn't accidentally skewer one of them in the process.

Mmm. That wouldn't be good. Percy had already put several arrows through tents that had been nearby the last time he'd practiced so he didn't exactly have the greatest track record. Artemis hadn't been able to stop herself from laughing after that, and Thalia spared no expense making sure that he knew exactly how poor of a shot he was. Still, he enjoyed that part of their relationship. She was never afraid to speak her mind to him. Diana was much the same, and maybe that was the reason he liked her so much. Then again, he liked a lot of things about her, so he wasn't going to limit it to that.

That brought him to a stop. Not intentionally of course, but it was a stop nonetheless. Really, he was going to have to get on top of this whole thing sooner or later. Percy paced around for a second, pausing to look up at the sky, before going back to thinking.

His only conclusion was that restless energy sucked.

Thankfully, he was quickly distracted by some of the wildlife around him. A couple of the birds seemed to observe him, peering down at him from their little branches while a small family of white-tailed-deer ambled around. When had they gotten there exactly? Percy glanced around himself, taking a moment to consider his surroundings. Looked like the woods to him, and yet it seemed that a decent portion of the wildlife around seemed to be by him. Odd, but appreciated nonetheless.

Well, he might as well take a moment to enjoy it. He wasn't exactly unused to the presence of animals, especially because of his choice in friends, but the son of the sea found that they rarely sought him out when he was on his own. Actually, they hadn't at all before he'd started hanging around the Huntress, but they'd slowly begun to more and more. Regardless, he found himself sitting down, watching passively as nature did its own thing around him. One of the less scared - or perhaps just more trusting - fawns had no issues coming within several feet of him. A few followed after that.

"Hello," Percy offered it a little, slightly awkward wave as he sat on the little rock he'd found. Some of the animals turned to him again, and he felt distinctly stupid for having done that. How was it that they all managed to have that same slightly amused look that Diana always gave him when he'd done something idiotic? Then again, perhaps that was due to their similarity.

Still, it put him at ease, especially as he thought out loud. Some of the animals would look over, maybe twitch an ear or something along that line, and then continue going about their business. And eventually, after Percy had satisfied his need to talk out some of the odd thoughts, he decided that it was time to head back to their little camp. It'd been a somewhat productive conversation that he'd had with himself, which was odd given that he was - you know - talking to himself, but who was judging?

Realistically, the deer, birds, or whatever wildlife was around weren't, and nobody else was around. So nobody was judging him. Right up until he slipped while trying to stand up, leaving him sprawled out on the ground. Then all of the wildlife seemed to be judging him. One particular bluebird decided to land next to Percy, supposedly to get a better look at him.

The little bird chittered at him as he pushed himself up, causing Percy to groan, "Yeah yeah I get it you don't have to yell at me."

The bird cocked its head, seeming confused. Percy also cocked his head, realizing that he was now arguing with a bird. If that wasn't an indicator of how his day was going, he wasn't sure what was.

At least Diana hadn't seen that.

"Are you okay?" he could hear the goddess's distinct giggle somewhere off to his left.

Well. Scratch that then. Maybe that was why all the wildlife had been around him.

He groaned again, letting himself roll over instead of fully standing up, "Just fine."

Diana laughed, and he could feel her walking up towards him, leading him to try and shift so that he could see her. He didn't even have to look to know that she was smiling, but he was still glad he did. She looked rather radiant at the moment, and he was suddenly very happy at the way things had turned out, especially as she sat down right next to him.

"Interesting morning then?" Diana smiled down at him, leaning over a little so that one arm was supporting her.

"Something like that," Percy tilted his head a little so that he could look at the goddess properly. She was sort of sitting behind him, almost perpendicular to him. Part of him noted that he could almost let his head lay in her lap, but he ignored that impulse, "I thought you were asleep."

"I was," Diana let her head tilt back so that she could see the sky, "but I woke up not long ago and came to find you."

"That's funny. I was just about to come back."

Diana looked back at him again and smiled, "And what were you doing out here?"

"Oh you know," Percy shifted a little on the ground, "thinking."

"Talking to yourself as well?" Diana asked as she ran her hands overtop the blades of grass they were sitting on.

"Were you listening?"

"Nope," Diana smiled again, "But a few of the animals were."

"Snitches," Percy grumbled.

"Be nice," Diana poked his forehead, "They didn't say anything about it to me."

"I was wondering why they were hanging around me."

"They like you. You also just happened to be talking about something very interesting apparently."

"Yeah," Percy let his hand rest on his stomach, trying ignore the fact that his animal friends had definitely heard him talking about his feelings for their patron, "I guess that's fair."

"Is that why you came all this way?"

Percy shrugged as well as he could given his position on the floor, "I guess."

Diana looked down at him again, taking a moment to regard him, before seeming to make up her mind, "Are you okay?"

"I'm not bad, if you get what I mean?"

"I do," Diana nodded, smiling as she did. She seemed to pause again before shaking her head.

"Did I worry you?" Percy asked, looking up at the goddess.

Diana shook her head again, this time taking a moment to run a hand through his hair, bringing her fingertips down gently through it, "No."

Percy froze for a moment, both wholly appreciative of the feeling, and wholly surprised at the same time. It was a soft, casual touch, but he couldn't help but think there was some charge behind it. Percy hardly even noticed himself leaning into it, but the goddess didn't mind and he sure as hell didn't either, "That's good."

Diana watched as his eyes closed a bit, letting herself bask in the feeling of her friend's proximity. Some part of her rather wanted him to shift so that his body just a bit so that he was pressed a little more firmly against her but she ignored it, content with the moment. She gently let the pads of her fingertips flow against the crown of his head, slowly drawing her fingers through his hair as she spoke, "Couldn't sleep?"

"Something like that."

"I didn't keep you up, did I?"

Percy shifted so that he could look up at her, "No no nothing like that. Just restless, I guess."

Diana seemed to relax a little at that, "I know the feeling all too well."

"Yeah. It might have to be an ocean night tonight, if you're okay with that."

"I doubt you will ever hear me complain about that," Diana laughed softly, "After your little party then?"

"Technically, it's not my party," Percy let his eyes close again, relishing the goddess's touch, "If it was, it'd be yours too."

"Semantics," Diana would have waved her hand, but she was rather engrossed with her current task, "Easy day then?"

Percy hummed in affirmation and the goddess smiled softly, speaking softly "Would you like to lay back down then?"

Percy let his eyes crack open, "Give me five more minutes like this and then I'll be your teddy bear again."

"Deal."

Hey. Sorry I was gone so long. Decided to take a little impromptu trip to Athens for a little while because why not? Anyway, it's rather late and I want to get this chapter up so I'm not going to say too much, but I did see that someone asked why I named this story "Daylily" and I'll answer that next chapter since it's a bit long winded. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy and let me know what you think. I decided we needed some actual fluff because I needed to scratch that itch. Anyway! Have fun.