Grover has always, always understood the importance of being a Keeper.
For so many demigods, far too many demigods, a satyr is often the difference between life and death.
Since the dawn of Westward civilization, when his satyr ancestors decided they wanted to become more than the wretched creatures they were portrayed as in the pottery vases and tied themselves to Camp Half-Blood, satyrs have undeniably left their hoofprint in the shaping of history.
Preserving nature, nurturing growth, and protecting the sanctity of all life are the satyr ways. Whether it be promoting nature and all its beauty or lending a hand to stem the growing statistic of godling deaths, satyrs take up the call with duty and honor.
Grover knows this.
Grover is young compared to his contemporaries, one of the youngest to achieve his Searcher's License in centuries. His dream, to be the one to find his god Pan, is tantalizingly close.
But Grover is meant to protect everyone, not just his own dreams.
That is why it does not bother Grover to halt his search for Pan to sniff out demigods, especially as the war with Kronos ramps up.
"..."
Percy and Grover. Grover and Percy. G-Man and Perce.
They've watched each other's backs ever since they've met. They laughed, bled, and commiserated together.
When Grover first met Percy, this scrawny twig of a boy with too bright green eyes and far much more bite than he looked like he could give, but smelling like (an ocean) of power, Grover could admit he was afraid.
The last time he smelt something so powerful had not ended well. Thalia was a child of Zeus, and young Grover was the one to find her. Out of the dozens of satyrs who could respond to Zeus's notice, Grover had to be the one to stumble across the ragtag trio of demigods. Thalia, Luke, and Annabeth.
And everyone knows how that story ends.
He never stopped blaming himself.
Until Percy came along.
They, everyone, are just kids.
"..."
Acid rests on his mouth as he hangs back and observes his best friend acting his age for once, looking free of the burden of prophecy.
Instead of facing down the God of War in person, Percy is facing down the God of War's holographic imitation.
Grover knows it won't always last, but he'll try his best to give his best friend some type of relief. If that means letting him enjoy some card games while he sniffs out monsters, Grover is happy to do it.
Percy Jackson is his best friend.
.
Nico is having a blast.
His biggest concern right now is beating Percy at a game Nico knows like the back of his hand.
No grades, no worries, no overbearing but lovable older sister.
Almost.
Bianca is here, just not hanging over him like usual.
They have cookies, and typically Bianca wants to ensure they both eat healthily but obviously an exception must be made for the blue cookies.
So this is good.
She and Percy are talking about class and sharing info on how to beat him.
"..."
Not that they will, Nico will make sure of that. He fully intends to win, after all. But it is nice that his sister is being friendly. Honestly, she would be a lot more popular in school if she just talked to people, then everyone would know how cool she is and want to be her friend. Not to mention it would make it easier for Nico to meet new people too.
Still, Percy is really cool and patient. He's glad they're spending time together. Ever since meeting him, Nico feels like school is so much more bearable than before.
"..."
Bianca laughs at something Percy said that Nico couldn't hear.
Nico's mouth moves out of its own accordance.
"How cool would it be if gods were real, right?"
Nico does not notice Percy's suddenly sharp eyes.
"Do you think they'd be cool? I feel like Hermes would be a busy guy, but maybe Apollo could teach us how to shoot arrows!"
Nico does notice how Percy's attention is solely on him.
He continues, "I think I'd like to meet a few, like Heracles and Achilles! They must have some awesome stories to tell!"
He grins in genuine excitement. Stories come to life, daring challenges, and the chance to be a hero!
What could be better than that?
"Is there anyone you'd like to meet, Percy?"
.
Bianca does not remember the last time she felt this relaxed.
The cafeteria is cold and smells of freeze-dried food. The bench is tough and unforgiving. She is watching her brother's children's game with small running commentary from a boy she barely knows.
But she ate delicious cookies, her brother looks happy, and this boy she barely knows is cracking jokes which make her laugh and who has told her he finds her name pretty.
Bianca is content.
Percy just planted the funniest image of a Minotaur with underwear, 'bright white Fruit of the Looms' according to him. Ridiculous, who even comes up with that kind of stuff?
When Percy's attention snaps to Nico after his question, Bianca feels the shift in the environment.
Bianca has been subject to that question before. It's to be expected. 'Bianca, wouldn't it be cool if Peter Pan was real?' or 'If you could light yourself on fire like the Human Torch, would you?'
Nico has an active imagination, even conjuring the beasts of his myths into their daily lives.
So why was Percy so suddenly tense?
.
Percy stares at the expectant eyes of a child.
Who would he like to meet from (his) ancient history?
What dead relative would he like to speak to?
"..."
If Percy could answer honestly, he'd wish to never meet anyone from the godly side of his family ever again. Leave him alone and leave him to play games and spend time with his mom, Grover, and Annabeth, with Nico and with Bianca. Goodness, he never wanted to be a demigod. If he had the opportunity to live a life without an ounce of godly DNA in his system, he'd take it in less than a heartbeat.
Except he'd never have met Grover or Annabeth, or even be at Westover in the first place, so no Nico and no Bianca.
All the good and all the bad in his life, his fortunes and misfortunes, come from who he is.
A demigod. The exact thing little Nico is looking up to.
What to say?
He remembers telling Hermes last summer, before embarking on a quest to save Grover and recover the Golden Fleece, that Hercules was his favorite constellation.
Annabeth had taught him the stars and, while he knew the stories and acknowledged them to be true history, knew on some level that Hercules must be doing godly duties wherever he must be, it was not until he connected it to the constellation that it really, truly, finally sunk in.
That someone had actually had it worse than him, once upon a time.
That his luck wasn't so rotten in comparison.
Nico was waiting for an answer.
Before Percy could answer, he caught Bianca's eyes. She, too, seemed to be waiting to hear his response, leaning in with her wide eyes and curious face.
He still didn't know what to say.
"I think..." his lips are chapped, "I think you're never supposed to meet your heroes."
It is what he finally decides to say.
Nico looks deflated, as if he was punctured on the side. His forehead rests on the table in a way Percy knows from experience hurts. It is the position one takes when they feel particularly disappointed but either feel as if they cannot push further or would rather not spend more energy on the subject.
Bianca looks pensive. Thoughtful.
"Why do you think that?"
Another question to answer, and he does not want to lie to Bianca.
"Well, I guess it's just something I've always heard, you know? Like, 'don't count your chickens until they've hatched' or something."
Why did, Percy thinks, I settle on that?
"But I guess... well, if I have to look up to someone, I don't want them to be jerks, you know?"
"Because you don't want to be disappointed?" Bianca engages.
"Absolutely." The confidence in his response must surprise the siblings as they both stare at him. "If I'm really going to look up to someone, to" he looks to Nico, "want to be like them, I want to make sure the person I end up becoming, the person I'm looking up to, is someone worth looking up to. Someone... good."
Percy feels like he ended lamely at the end, but Bianca nods along to his words happily so he'll chalk it up to a small win.
Percy laughs. "I mean, if I had to say who I would want to be more like, it's gotta be my friend Annabeth."
"Annabeth?" the twins echo.
He looks at them oddly, he swears they said her name weirdly.
"Annabeth is a close friend of mine. She's wickedly smart, loves architecture, and is one of the best friends you could ask for." he finishes firmly.
Percy can't help the bubbly laugh which erupts from him, "She could kick my ass 12 different ways no sweat, and I'm really lucky that we're friends" he finishes firmly.
"She sounds cool," Bianca releases after a brief silence.
"But where is she?" Nico interjects. "Why isn't she here if she's so cool?"
"Oh, she's in New York right now going to an all-girls school" Percy can't help but roll his eyes. "She hates it, from what she tells me, but they have this magnet program for math that she's taking." Percy was unaware math was so important to architecture, but spend enough time around Annabeth and some things will stick eventually.
"She must be good at math," Bianca observes.
Percy rolls his head side to side, "Yeah, but it is less that she's good at it and more that she needs to be good at it. She wants to be an architect, you see. Make something that will stand the test of time and all that."
Percy does not feel uncomfortable sharing Annabeth's personal aspirations, he knows from experience that she needs little (if any) prompting to tell someone her dream job.
At times, Percy really envies Annabeth's surety. She has such a focus on that dream, the vision of her future.
Percy can barely plan his week in comparison.