Song Rec: "Caraphanelia" by Pierce the Veil. How can you recommend SwS without PTV? You can't. Anyways! Love these guys. They make some awesome music and I've loved them since I was a kid. Considering getting the Collide with the Sky girl as a tattoo. Who knows though? Anyway, this was done as a collaboration with A Day to Remember, who I also love. Really, this song just checks a lot of boxes for me and it's one that I return to a lot. I know it's not for everyone, but I do absolutely adore it. And I don't think that really comes as a surprise. I'm a weirdo with tattoos who plays guitar and writes bad fanfics like it's some fucked up poetry. I know what I am, you know. Even if I am half-joking.


Also, 50 chapters. Wow. Over 250k words. Double wow. And over 1,800 people? Yeah. This is by far the longest singular piece that I've ever done and I still love every moment of writing it. I've read all my life, and this just seemed like the step in that journey, you know? I just wanted to thank everyone who's been part of this journey. I'm glad to be sharing it with you guys. Thanks again.


What they were going to do come night was still a toss-up, even after they'd eaten dinner. Camp seemed to be extra busy for some reason. Percy wasn't exactly sure of why that was, but he didn't exactly mind it either. Really, it was rather nice. Sometimes he missed the liveliness of Camp Half-Blood. Other times - particularly when someone was being an idiot - he didn't. The hunters were both more and less behaved. They didn't do much of that petty squabbling that campers did. They did, however, get bored easily. There's only so much training and exploring the woods that someone can do before it begins to grate on the nerves.

Still, they were far and away better at managing it than the campers were. Small pranks, impromptu games - anything to distract them. And, because there weren't any cabin chores or divisions, everyone seemed to band together. Misery was more shared, but so was joy. He wasn't exactly sure why he liked that idea, but it certainly did have its appeal.

Diana certainly seemed to think so, especially given the fact that she took special care to make sure each and every member was okay. He imagined that made a lot of sense, given the way that she viewed them similarly to her own children. She would, if she ever chose to be, make for an excellent parent.

Unfortunately, Percy didn't get to finish that line of thought as an Iris message appeared before him. Nico, if he had to guess. It took a second to connect, but when it did, it confirmed his suspicions. The Ghost King was sitting idly on the other end, seated in what Percy knew to be his study in Hades.

"Busy?" Nico grinned at him.

"Not really," Percy returned the look before glancing around to see if he could spot Thalia or Diana. Both seemed occupied, "What's up?"

"Talked to Thalia earlier, but just wanted to tell you about some stuff that's been going on."

"With the monsters, right?" Percy was pretty sure that would be the answer, but it didn't hurt to ask.

"Yep," Nico nodded easily, pulling what looked like a manilla folder from a drawer in his desk. It seemed that the young god took more after his father than he thought, "There's been more monster activity recently, as we saw pretty clearly."

Percy let out a quick breath, "No kidding. I distinctly remember two arrows sprouting out of my shoulder."

"Yeah well," Nico shuffled the folder open so he could look at something, "You might want to watch out for that. Current company and all."

Percy laughed, "Only if I make her mad."

"Don't you mean them?" Nico looked up amusedly.

"You know Diana's the one to watch out for. And Thalia I guess," Percy said easily, rolling his shoulder a little at the memory, "Anyway, what's with the folder?"

"Getting there, getting there," Nico said easily, pulling out a bit of paper, "According to Thanatos, monsters have been grouping up more. Not like they had been a few years ago, but more than they have recently. Big groups wandering around. But we haven't seen many of them."

"Because they're in the Labyrinth," Percy nodded, "Have they been going anywhere in particular?"

"Yes and no," Nico sighed, holding up a chart for Percy to see. He had to squint a little to see it, but he could clearly make out a few key points on the map. Key West, LA, Denver. Usual suspects for activity. What was more concerning was the small croppings near several of the landmarks Percy and Diana had personally visited, "See an issue here?"

"Yeah," Percy nodded, "There's one in Yellowstone."

"Yeah," Nico nodded, "While they've yet to do much, I worry that they might. Thalia told me that you actually passed through the biggest group of them when you were in Nashville."

"Yeah we did pass through there. Didn't really notice anything though," Percy agreed, "Did you ever end up finding anything out when we went hunting?"

"Not as much as I'd have liked," Nico shook his head, "but they seem to be grouping up somewhat oddly. Not sure if it's just because it's been long enough that they're restless, or if it's for some other reason. It's hard to tell since they've got the combined intelligence of a brick."

Percy sighed, "Alright. I'll let Diana know. Maybe we can do another one of those hunting things."

"Yeah," Nico nodded, "Notice anything odd around you?"

"Not really," Percy shook his head, "But I suppose I'll be on the lookout."

"Sounds good," Nico acknowledged, "Tell Diana I said hi."

"Sure," Percy chuckled before swiping through the call.

And, since he seemed to be in an Iris call sort of mood, he decided to take a second and call his mother - see how she was doing. And probably tell her about his current dilemma. That being said, it would have to be done in the privacy of his own tent, and so he quickly made his way in. It didn't take much effort to summon up a bit of mist, and it took even less to fish out a drachma. Soon enough, he was sitting on his bed, looking into his mother's apartment.

"Hey Mom," Percy called out. He saw that his mother jumped a little before whirling towards the sound of the call, "Uh, sorry."
He rubbed the back of his head as she smiled, "Sorry love. Wasn't paying attention."

"Am I interrupting anything?" Percy asked, "I can let you go if you were busy."

"No, don't worry. Just writing," Sally Jackson held up the notepad she'd been scribbling in, showing off a few of the pages, "What's the occasion?"

"Do I need an occasion to call?"

"No, but your face tells me you need advice about something."

Well. He couldn't exactly deny that.

"Can I," Percy paused, looking a little uncomfortable, "tell you something that I realized recently?"

"Of course," Sally nodded easily as she went back to writing. He could hear the soft scratching of her pen.

"I think I'm in love with Artemis. Or Diana? And Diana? Yeah."

Sally looked up from the pad in her hands, smiled, and looked back down while chuckling to herself, "That's good. I think she's going to be happy to hear that."

"What makes you say that?" Percy paused, somewhat taken aback by the casual way his mother had said it, "And is that all you have to say?"

Sally simply nodded, "Yes it is. The poor girl has been working a nine to five giving you signals that she likes you."

"What?"

Sally looked up again, "Artemis has been trying to tell you that she loves you since the little party on Olympus where you spoke to Annabeth again."

"And you know this how?"

"I've asked her," Sally said it so nonchalantly that Percy almost didn't understand.

"So you've known?"

"Percy, my beloved son. My pride and joy."

"You're about to insult me," Percy sighed.

"Anyone who's not blind and deaf could have figured it out," Sally finished, "how many friends do you think know exactly what their friend is thinking? Or spend every waking moment together? Or sleep in the same bed? That's a pretty good indication. And if that's not enough, how many people, I don't know, outright say that they like you without some sort of feelings?"

"She's said that? And how did you know that?"

"Chiron wrote. And both directly and indirectly, I'm sure," Sally nodded, "I wouldn't have witnessed it, but I'm sure that she's been none too subtle about it.

"Oh."

"Oh," Sally nodded, "So what's your plan?"

Percy stared blankly for a moment, trying to put everything into context. Suddenly, it seemed that seemingly random memories were jumping up at him. He vaguely remembered something she'd said when she'd turned him into a puppy, but the thought was gone quickly, "What?"

His mother chuckled to herself, "I asked you what you're going to do about it."
"Oh," Percy blinked a few times, "I guess I should ask her out, right?"

"I'm almost certain that asking her out is the bare minimum of what you should do."

"Meaning?"

Sally sighed, and Percy felt a bit stupid, "I think you're a little past simply going on a date. Hate to break it to you, my son, but you've gone about this entirely backwards. You're supposed to date, then admit you're in love."

"Shit," Percy cursed more to himself, "Uh."

He blanked for a few moments, and his mother only looked up expectantly as the silence grew longer, "I guess I need to figure out a way to tell her."

"Is that all you've gathered from this oh son of mine?" Sally grinned.

"Alright alright you don't have to make fun of me," Percy sighed, "I hear you."

"Just plan a nice evening or something for the two of you, and tell her. I'm sure she'll lead from there. She's been rather paranoid that you don't like her back."

"Okay," Percy nodded to himself once, then looked back towards his mom, "I'm going to start planning now."

"Good luck."

And with that, the call was disconnected, leaving him alone with his thoughts. Part of him was still trying to grasp the fact that Artemis - and by extension, Diana - had feelings for him. Then again, the marginally more intelligent part of him was trying to explain that of course she did. He'd come to that conclusion on his own already. Sort of?

Right. Well. What did he know about planning dates?

Thankfully, that was something he was good at. Flowers were easy, finding something that they'd both enjoy was also easy, how to dress was easy - If it was all so gods-damned easy, why hadn't he gone about it yet?

Percy flopped back on his bed, took a moment to stop himself from screaming, and sat back up.

Great. Crisis handled.

Well, now he was going to have to find some way to distract himself. Planning could happen later tonight or something as his frazzled nerves were causing him to blank. On the bright side, it seemed that he'd moved along from debating whether or not she reciprocated his feelings to debating how to go about asking her about it. Or rather, telling her he supposed?

That was progress. Probably. Maybe?

Percy shook his head and pushed himself off the bed. It was indeed progress and he was being stupid. And so, he reasoned that if he was going to be stupid, he might as well go and do so with the goddess that seemed to be inhabiting many of his recent thoughts.

Percy brushed it off. She would definitely pick up on his mood if he kept moping around. And, he supposed that he best tell the goddess about what Nico had said , especially since she'd missed both calls. It was highly likely she'd know something none of the others would, or would have at least thought to ask a question he didn't. It wasn't that big of a deal though. Seeing as they tended to avoid them, Percy imagined they wouldn't need to do more than keep tabs on things, especially when both he and the Huntress herself were around.

Percy's mouth twitched at that thought. Even though it was absolutely true, he couldn't help but feel a little annoyed with himself for saying it. At least he hadn't said it outloud - even if he'd yet to get out of his own tent. It wasn't something he liked saying about himself. Even if a small voice that sounded suspiciously similar to Diana's pointed out that it was true.

Speaking of the goddess though. She seemed to have shifted off towards the edge of camp given that he couldn't spot her anywhere else. It was generally quiet around. It was only the sounds of the wilderness around them really. Most of the other hunters seemed to have gone off to bed. He could discern a few of the night watches in their various positions, but he wasn't all too bothered. It seemed that the Lieutenant had already spread the word to be a little more cautious as he was fairly certain that there were a few more than usual.

"Are you busy?"

Percy just barely managed to keep himself from jumping. Even though he was certain that his hearing had gotten better recently, the goddess still managed to sneak up on him.

"Not at all," Percy let out a breath, causing the goddess to smile widely, "Don't even."

"It's hard not to," The moon goddess's smile was infectious, especially as she gently grabbed his sleeve and led him towards the edge of camp.

"I'm sure it's great if you're not me," Percy sighed, "I prefer not jumping out of my skin any time you feel like having a laugh."

"And I prefer that you do," Diana shrugged easily, shooting him a smile over her shoulder.

"A conflict of interest then," Percy smiled, even despite his complaining, "Where are we going?"

"I wish to check on our pack."

Percy smiled at that. It had always been one of the tasks he'd enjoyed, "Any reason in particular?"

"Not really," Diana shook her head.

"Works for me," Percy smiled, "They always seem so lively."

"As are most of my hunt."

"True," Percy chuckled, watching as the goddess moved towards a small section of the woodland.

In truth, the hunting dogs - though they were certainly closer to full on wolves - often simply traveled alongside the hunt. They'd follow them loosely, sticking towards the edges of camp, though they'd often come into it just to see what was happening. They didn't, however, join the hunters during any of their stints in the various cities that they might pass through. Instead, they simply found a nice spot to wait.

And, somehow, they seemed to know where to go. Probably had something to do with the fact that they were magical dogs, but who knew?

Diana, of course, seemed perfectly at home as several of them approached, appearing out of the woodwork. The goddess herself simply sat down in the middle of them all, petting any that came up to her. Percy joined her. A few of them spared him cursory glances, but many of them seemed more interested in simply sitting down around them. If he recalled, the goddess would often offer them food when she visited, though she did limit it a little. Best not to interfere too much lest the younger ones pick up bad habits. Oddly enough, that was a sentiment that she shared regarding her younger hunters too, though not necessarily in the same way.

"Where did you run off to earlier?" Diana asked casually, turning to view her companion as she offered one of the dogs something.

"Talked to Nico, then to my mom," Percy explained easily enough, "Miss me?"

"As much as I could in the hour you were gone," Diana smiled easily, watching as the various canines mulled around them. Percy thought they seemed a little more alert than they usually were, but it was hard to say. The Huntress seemed to be relaxed still, so that was good. He had to stop himself from staring as Diana asked him something else, meaning that he didn't quite hear it.

She, as he found out when she repeated herself, had been asking about Nico. It didn't take him long to fill her in about everything as it seemed that Thalia had already explained most of it. She didn't seem to have many questions either, but he expected that given that it looked like the goddess had already set up a few extra precautions. Their current haunt seemed to be evident of that. Really, she only offered the pack treats as thanks for doing something specific.

And, honestly, Percy thought it made a lot of sense that she'd ask the animals to keep a watch. As he knew from Grover, animals tended to be a lot more sensitive to monsters and those sorts of things, and he had to imagine that magical dogs would be especially so, even if they seemed perfectly tame. They did seem rather docile as they ate directly out of the goddess's palm, but he was acutely aware that they weren't.

"What's got you thinking so hard?"

"Nothing in particular," Percy answered, trying not to look too hard at the goddess for fear that she might somehow see through him, "You know that thinking is hard for me."

"Ah yes. I suppose it would be," Diana smiled before offering him a large chuck of the meat, holding it out for him to take, "Would you like?"

"Uh," Percy stared at the uncooked bit of flesh with no small quantity of uncertainty for a moment, mind almost completely blank. He'd been trying so hard not to reveal anything that there hadn't been any room for other thoughts, "I'm not sure how I'd eat that but sure. Might as well try right?"

Diana stared at him for a moment before smirking, "I meant so that you could feed them as well, Perseus."

"Oh. That uh…" Percy rubbed the back of his head, "makes more sense."

"I'm sure it does," Diana gave him a cheeky grin before offering the meat to him once again, "Go on."

Of course, he didn't get the chance to take the offered piece because one of the dogs took it from her hands while staring at him.

"It seems that they too are judging you," Diana chuckled.

"Well they are yours," Percy looked towards the others who seemed to be watching on amusedly, "I'd suspect they share at least some of the same temperament as you do."

"True enough," The goddess smiled, "Though can you blame them? You did just do your best to demonstrate that thinking is in fact not something that you do often."

"Ha ha," Percy mock-laughed, "Everybody laugh at Percy."

A few of the dogs barked and Percy just sighed as the goddess's laugh rang sweetly through the space, "You did ask."

"Right," Percy sighed as he looked around, "Guess I did."

"Surely you would have learned by now?"

"One would think," Percy said dryly, "I consider it to be a talent actually."

"How so?"

"Idiocy such as mine comes very rarely."

"Especially given that you are actually rather intelligent when you want to be," Diana said, running a hand against his arm soothingly, "You do argue rather well, and you can be quite perceptive."

Percy smiled a little at that, "You know that I really like arguing with you?"

"Do you?" Diana laughed a little at that, "And why is that? I don't think that I have ever heard anyone say something like that to me."

"Well, for one," Percy smiled softly, "It never really feels like we're arguing, you know? More like a dance to me than anything."

"Really?" Diana asked curiously.

"Yeah," Percy nodded, "I think it's part of why we get on so well."

"How so?'

"Well think about it right? Arguments for most people seem to be bad things. Me versus you. But if you think about it as something that both of us are doing, it doesn't have to be that bad. Instead of something negative, it becomes more like a dance where one of us leads. Sometimes we swap - or there are even times where it's really just one of us making the good points - but it's always like it's a game."

"I think I rather like that idea," Diana gently knocked his shoulder with her own, "I do think we carry on rather well."

"And as I'm sure we both know from experience, it doesn't always feel like that."

"Actually, I think that I might have less experience than you in that regard. Arguing with one's brother is not like arguing with one's lover."

Percy chuckled, "Guess not. And I'll be the first to say that it wasn't much fun arguing with Annabeth."

"Why's that?"

"I think we argued in bad faith sometimes," Percy explained, trying to find the exact words he was looking for as he went, "Like sure, there were times we jokingly had arguments over what the best color was or things like that, but towards the end, it seemed like it was all about winning. One of us had to win, and one of us had to lose. And I think I hate that."

Diana didn't say anything, but he could see her expression shift a little as he continued, "Like I remember that there were times - and this isn't me complaining about how "oh I couldn't ever win an argument" but - it felt she would take every little thing I said and twist it against me so that I couldn't get a word in. It wasn't about getting to the heart of the issue at all. But with you, I feel like we play off each other and it's more about understanding one another and I love that so much more. Not that I loved arguing with her that is."

The Huntress smiled softly at that, "I think that I both understand and agree. Would it be fair to say that it always felt like something catastrophic when you argued with her?"

Percy let out a quick breath as one of the dogs laid its head on his lap, "That's a good way of putting it, yeah."

Diana didn't say anything for a moment, but Percy could tell that she was thinking something. And she felt rather strongly about whatever it was, especially given the way that she seemed to bite back the first comment.

Percy had noticed that about the goddess. She would, if she thought it was needed, hold back a comment or something along that line. And every time, she'd have this distinctly annoyed look, though it always seemed that she was more annoyed with herself than anything else. It was always the same look too. Percy thought it was rather cute actually. She'd have this almost bashful look at times - though he assumed that those were for particularly bad thoughts.

"What were you going to say?" he could hear the way his smile worked its way into his voice.

The goddess's mouth twitched a little, and Percy wanted to laugh, "I hope that we never end up like that."

That took him a little by surprise since he was usually the one to voice thoughts like that.

"Yeah. Me too," Percy leaned back a little, fanning his arms out behind him so he was looking up at the trees, "I have a hard time even imagining that, so let's hope."

"Let's hope indeed."


So. Just so we know. I do have the confession written already. How we get there, I still have write and that's half the fun. Unfortunately, I've been super busy with university and whatnot. Doing research is time-consuming but very worth it if you're considering. Also, as far as the chapter goes. It's alright. I think there are fun parts but it's not one of my favorites. I much prefer the ones coming up. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy!