Chapter 4 Hunger-Virgins-Goddesses

Sally with her arm still wrapped around Perseus, led the group of teenagers down the long hallway that was just inside the door of their condo. Its walls covered in pictures of her, Perseus, and a man that Thalia and Annabeth were guessing was his stepfather. Grover, having seen Paul when he and Sally had come to pick Perseus up at Christmas, already knew who the man was in the pictures.

"I'll go get us some plates so we can eat," Sally told the teens, as they exited the hall into a spacious living space. The back wall of the room was nothing but windows, adding to the bright open feeling the room gave. "I'll be back in a second and you can tell me then why it is you've 'quit' Yancy."

As his mother left the room, he took the food from the girls and made his way over to the coffee table. Laying the boxes down, Perseus claimed a spot on the couch as his own. Grabbing the remote control from the same coffee table he had placed the food on, he turned the television on, switching it to a channel that showed only music videos. Glancing back over at his friends, he saw that they had yet to move from where they had stopped when first entering the room. All three looked stiff and uncomfortable in the new environment.

"I know my mom didn't say take a seat, but that's only because it was implied," Perseus said, smiling at them. He was guessing the reason behind their inaction was a lack of being outside of the camp they had talked about. "She's not too big on getting carried away on social protocol. Just relax, grab a seat and enjoy being away from camp for a bit."

His words were enough to calm the three and bring smiles to their faces. Making their way over to where he was, Thalia and Annabeth took up spots on either side of Perseus, while Grover sat on the edge of one of the armchairs.

"Your mom seems nice," Grover commented as Thalia nodded, agreeing with him. The young satyr had set his crutches across his lap so that they wouldn't be in anyone's way.

"Yeah, she's great." Perseus agreed, beaming at the mention of his mother. "Paul is too... though I have no idea where he is at the moment."

"Perseus," Annabeth said, gaining said boy's attention along with the other two's. "Do you and your family spend a lot of time near the ocean? I only ask because in the hallway there were a few pictures of you at the beach and there are even more in here."

Perseus nodded. "Yeah, we do," he answered, not knowing why the amount of time they spent at the beach would be important. "My parents have homes on both the east and west coast that are all right on the beach. We live in them most of the time, even during the winter months. We had planned on going to one of the places close to here after the school year ended, but after what's happened today..."

Annabeth nodded as he spoke, as if he had just confirmed something she had expected. Perseus was going to ask what was up, but was stopped when he felt a tug of his vest.

"Who's this cute little fella?" Thalia asked, giggling as she held out a picture frame for the others to see. Perseus grimaced when he saw it was a picture of him holding a surf board that was few sizes bigger than he was at the time the picture was taken.

Letting out a dramatic sigh, he glared lightly at her before responding. "That's me two years ago." Perseus snorted at the surprised look on Thalia's face. "I wasn't joking when I said I was short at the start of the year."

"You look like your six or seven there," Annabeth pointed out, smiling softly at the picture of the small Perseus.

Perseus shook his head in amusement. "God," he sighed, "it was awful being ten and having kids younger than myself, towering over me."

"I remember when I first met you; I thought you were a grade schooler who had gotten lost." Grover said, as he let loose one of his strange laughs. Perseus suddenly realized what his friend was actually doing was bleating, causing him to chuckle along with the satyr. "Then come to find out, you're the one I had originally smelled. It was mind blowing to have such a strong scent coming from such a small boy."

Perseus tried glaring at his friend through his laughter with little success, when the sound of someone entering the room from the opposite direction his mother had left, reached the group of teens.

"Sally, honey," came Paul's voice from the doorway leading to the bedrooms, followed closely by the man himself, "do I smell... pi-zza?" Paul paused to look at each teen sitting around the mentioned food, just as Sally entered with a stack of plates.

"Paul, look Per-" Sally started, only to stop talking when Paul moved quickly across the space separating him and Perseus with a huge smile on his face. Pulling his son to his feet he wrapped him in a loving hug that Perseus gladly returned.

Breaking the hug, Paul held him out at arm's length. Perseus groaned internally when he saw the man let out a fake sob. "I'm so proud of you, Percy," he said, continuing his act, covering his mouth with his hand, blinking back tears that didn't exist. "Not only do you bring pizza home to your father, but you also show up with two pretty little girlfriends."

Perseus, along with Annabeth and Thalia turned neon at his words, much to Paul's amusement. "I have no more to teach you my son, you're a man now!"

From across the room, Grover's struggling to hold back his bleating laughter at the scene unfolding before him reached the three demigods, making the situation and their blushing even worse. Sally shook her head, torn between trying not to laugh at how her son and the two beautiful young ladies he had brought with him were reacting, and worrying over the crutched boy breaking a rib as he attempted to stifle his laughter.

"Damn it, Blowfish," Perseus scowled. A deep blush had made its way onto his cheeks as he punched the man in the arm. He refused to even look at either Thalia or Annabeth, not wanting to see how they had reacted. He may have only met them a few hours ago, but to see a look of rejection or disgust on their faces would be enough to kill any boy his age. "It's not like that between us, we're just friends."

Paul looked taken aback for only a second before he looked to each of the girls. Thalia and Annabeth, both of whom were a pretty shade of red, nodded that Perseus was telling the truth.

"Oh," Paul said, sounding a bit disappointed as he looked around the room. When his eyes landed Grover, Perseus couldn't help but get a bad feeling when he saw a mischievous look appear in his step father's eyes. "Oh, I get it," he said knowingly, patting Perseus on the shoulder. "Well, if he makes you happy Percy, then I am too."

It took Perseus and Grover far longer to figure out what Paul was implying than it had Thalia and Annabeth. The two female year-round campers had forgotten about their earlier embarrassment and were now losing themselves in laughter. Thalia was holding her sides as she shook silently, while Annabeth was covering her mouth and nose in an attempt to hide the cute snorts she was releasing. Both their faces now red for entirely different reasons than they had been seconds before.

"Wha-what?" Perseus gasped when he saw Paul smile cheekily at him. "You ass," Perseus yelled, playfully tackling the now laughing man, leading the father and son to an impromptu wrestling match. However, it was as Perseus attempted to pick up the fully grown man that the laughter that had broke out around the room slowed to a halt.

Perseus, while being tall and well built for his age, was still only a boy. He still had a few months to go before turning thirteen, and should have been unable to lift Paul, a man who was well built from all the time he spent outside with his wife and stepson being active.

Paul was aware of the awkward air in the room as Perseus set him down. The two adults knew his biological father was what had led him to being able to display such a feat of strength, but thought that the children were unaware of the forgotten and hidden truth of the world and those who ruled it. Whereas Perseus and his group didn't know if Paul was in the know when it came to who his birth father was.

Chuckling, Paul reached out and patted him lovingly on the head. "It seems coming to New York was the right thing to do, eh?" He said, referring to the changes Perseus' body had gone through. "Why don't we sit down and eat. While we're at it, you can tell us why you and three of your friends aren't in school."

The group quietly served themselves and ate with little conversation taking place between them, none of which pertained to why Perseus and his group had left Yancy. As Sally came back into the living room after having put the leftovers away, she sat next to Paul, who wrapped an arm around her pulling her close to him.

"We didn't get to talk about why you've run away from Yancy while we ate, but now we really should." Sally said, as she fixed the, unknown to her, demigods and satyr with a concerned look.

"Alright, I'll start," Perseus said, turning the attention solely upon himself. "The short and sweet version is, I killed my math teacher," he said bluntly.

Paul's eyes widened to double their normal size at the same time Sally looked to be entering the early stages of having a stroke. Annabeth buried her face in her hands before dropping both into her lap, shaking her head she moaned her new friend's name, amazed at the bluntness he had just shown. Grover let loose a strangled, indignant cry of shock.

Leaning just a bit further toward the boy next to her, Thalia pulled Perseus the rest of the way to her till her lips were next to his ear. "Too short and definitely not enough sweetness to that version, Perseus. You might want to add just a hint more details to your story and quickly, your mom looks to be on the verge of an aneurysm."

"Okay, killed might be too strong of a word," Perseus said, drawing questioning looks from his parents. "It'd be more accurate to say I turned her to dust, sending her back to the underworld." Sally and Paul had the same reaction, together they sent the three other teenagers looks before turning back to stare at Perseus.

"Yes, they know about the Greek gods, seeing as they're the ones to tell me about them." Perseus told his parents. "And I'm guessing you know all about what my biological father is from how you reacted to what I said." Paul nodded that he did in fact know, choosing to not say anything.

"Perseus," his mother said, looking as if she were becoming increasingly worried by the second. "What all has happened to you and your friends?"

And so he told her all that had happened to him and how the other three all came into play, leaving out only the strange hungry feeling he would get when he looked at Thalia and Annabeth. He knew the feeling wasn't normal and that was exactly why he chose not to speak of it. Grover was his best friend and he could see himself becoming a lot closer to the girls in the future. He didn't want to chance them thinking he was a freak, resulting in them not wanting anything to do with him.

"And this is all that happened?" Sally questioned him, staring him straight in the eyes. He couldn't shake the feeling she was hinting at something that she didn't want, or couldn't reveal to him. "You didn't get any strange, foreign feelings as all this happened did you? Something that you've never before felt, anything at all?"

Perseus knew at that moment she knew something was up with him and she was either trying to hide what she knew about the strange hunger he was experiencing, or she didn't know anything specific and was just grasping for straws. Feeling betrayed and not knowing why, he shook his head no, while trying to keep his cool, knowing how much an outburst from him would hurt her.

"Other than being freaked out by an old woman turning into a giant old bat, and my causing an earthquake, no," he answered, a bit of his normal sarcasm slipping into his voice. "Everything was peachy."

Sally let out a long tired sigh; she knew her son would be upset when he finally did find out about all that was going on. She was also aware that when he found out that she couldn't reveal who his father was, his already short temper would become worse, not to mention she couldn't say anything about Cane's gift to him until after he had awoken them.

"I know you probably want to know who your father is." Sally said to her son with regret deep in her voice. It was at that moment Perseus knew he wouldn't get any answers from her.

Unlike before, Perseus wanted to be angry with his mother over the lack of information she was supplying him with. The only thing that kept him from blowing up was how she and Paul had always treated him, never before had they kept anything from him unless it was absolutely necessary.

"But I'm sorry to say Perseus, and you can ask your friends if this isn't true, but the gods enjoy revealing who their children are." She said disapprovingly. "To take that chance away from your father would be to invite his wrath upon us. And trust me when I say, he is not someone you want to cross." Perseus need not ask if what his mother said was true, for as soon as she said this both Grover and Thalia were nodding that her words held truth to them.

"Perseus, if you truly wish to know who your father is, just think of your life up to this point," Annabeth told him, sounding a bit upset about something. Said boy stared at the girl with cloud grey eyes questioningly, he didn't know why, but he had the feeling his new friend was avoiding making eye contact with him. "I've figured out who your father is after only being here for a short while. Try and think about where it is you feel most comfortable... You may not notice how it makes you feel since you've grown up near one most of your life."

Perseus, Thalia, and Grover, all looked surprised at the news that she had figured out who his father was. "You're a very bright young lady," Sally commented, smiling at her. "She's right honey," she said, turning to her son. "Where are most of our homes located?"

It was like a light switch had gone off for not only him, but for Thalia and Grover as well. Annabeth's earlier question coming to the forefront of all their minds. Even in his earliest memories he could recall there always being some type of large body of water close to anywhere they lived, even when they stayed at hotels that had pools, there was always some natural form of water less than a couple miles away.

"Well, when you say it like that, you make it sound obvious," Perseus said pouting lightly, earning smiles from all around, the exception being Annabeth who was looking intently at her lap.

"Wow," Grover said, staring at his friend with respect shining in his eyes. "That makes what you did to Ms. Dobbs all the more impressive. I wish I had been there to see you turn her into a pin cushion!"

Thalia smirked deviously at the satyr. "Oh, so you would have wanted to be in the thick of battle with one of the Furies?" Grover's dark skin lightened at her words, as a stricken look crossed his face.

"Since you know what you are now, and about the dangers that are out there waiting for you, you'll have to go to Camp Half-Blood." Sally said, looking very upset that he would have to go. Paul looked to be as upset as his wife was about the news his son would be somewhere they couldn't visit him. His wife had told him all about how they, as mortals, couldn't enter the camp made for children of the gods. "You have a week to get there before monsters start actively hunting you down."

Perseus nodded. "We're to meet a representative for the camp tomorrow, whose going to pick us up and take us there." The other three knew he was lying so that they could go to the amusement park he had talked about earlier and somehow were able to keep straight faces and not draw suspicion on themselves.

"If that's so, then I think I'll need to get you girls something to sleep in tonight," Sally said, rising to her feet.

Perseus jumped up at the same time as this. "I'll come with you," he said, following her out of the room. As they walked down the hallway that Paul had come through, Sally wrapped a loving arm around Perseus' shoulder, pulling him close to her.

Still holding her son to her side, Sally pushed the door to his room open before leading him inside. "Are you angry with me?" She asked, as she turned him loose.

Seeing his mother looking as worried as she did made all of his earlier anger disappear at once. There was no way he could stay angry with her, she was his mother, and had always done all in her power to make him happy.

"No, of course not," he answered, as he wrapped her in a hug burying his head in her shoulder. "I won't lie though; I'm extremely pissed off at my supposed father."

"Perseus," she said, pulling back from him just enough to see his face. "Your father loves you very much-"

"Mom," he said, surprising her when he cut her off. "He may love me, but he has a funny way of showing he cares about people. He broke his vow to his brothers to be with you, just long enough to get you pregnant, then disappears not to be heard from again. And not only did he bring me into this world, damning me to be hated by his two brothers, even before I was a thought, he was putting you at risk. Had Zeus or Hades found out about you, then there would have been nothing to stop them from coming after you."

Sally smiled, as she pulled her beloved son into a tight hug. She could feel the love he held for her, and as a mother it was the best possible feeling in the world. "I could have ended the relationship between your father and I at anytime," she told him softly. "I'm just as guilty in all this as he is."

Perseus chose to not say anything, knowing that the shake of his head would be more than enough for him to convey how wrong she was. Pulling out of the hug, Sally ran a hand through the slightly long portion of his hair with a smile on her face.

"My baby boy has grown so handsome," she giggled, as his cheeks gained a light dusting of red. Recalling what Cain had said about him having multiple partners in the future, she couldn't help but wonder if one of the two girls in the living room, if not both, could possibly one day be her daughter-in-laws. "So, which of those lovely ladies in there do you like?"

"Mom," he moaned childishly, making her smile widen. "I expect that kind of thing from Paul, but not you."

"Sorry, sorry," Sally apologized lightly, holding up her hands in surrender. "I was just curious is all. They're both so pretty, I just figured..." She trailed off, looking at him knowingly.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Perseus said, walking over to his dresser to grab some clothing he had outgrown for the girls to sleep in.

"I'm sure you don't," Sally replied, coming up to his side to help pick out things for the girls to wear.

Together the mother and son found a few pairs of sweatpants and basketball shorts for the girls to choose from, along with a few shirts that would be big on them. Sally having done what she came for turned to make her way back to the living room, but was stopped when Perseus reached out placing his hand on her shoulder.

"Uh, mom, if it isn't too much of a bother, would it be alright if we were to hang out in here for a bit?" He asked, suddenly feeling shy. He knew that it would be a while before he saw her again and wanted to spend some time alone with her before he and the others left. "You know... talk for a bit."

Smiling motherly at him, she nodded as she took up a spot on his bed. "I'd like that."

IDC:LT

Having had a long enjoyable talk, the mother and son returned to where Paul and the others were at in the living room. Before anything could be said or anyone could notice their arrival, Perseus caught sight of Grover's nervous twitching and the annoyed looks gracing the girls' features.

"It was hilarious seeing Sally's face when she found out that Perseus had been caught kissing a girl who was two years older than him." Paul said, laughing exuberantly.

Perseus flushed scarlet, letting out a small groan he rubbed his forehead with his free hand trying to compose himself. He had completely forgotten that his parents had been called when he had been caught out of his room, after hours, with a ninth grader. Not stopping to think that he might hurt his step father, he drew back the hand holding the clothes he had picked out for the girls and threw them as hard as he could into the back of the Paul's head, effectively stopping any further comments by his step father and announcing Sally's and his return.

"Blowfish, stop talking," he groaned out, walking over to the still laughing man. Perseus grabbed the clothes that were still wrapped around his father's head before continuing on over to the girls. "Here you go," he said, handing them each a few of the items Sally and he had picked out for them. "They're not much, but they're better than having to sleep in what you have on now."

Thalia moodily muttered a small 'thank you' at the same time a stone faced Annabeth nodded her thanks to him, neither of the girls looking at him as they did so. Together they rose to their feet and made their way over to Sally, asking her where they could go to change at. As his mother led the two girls to one of their guest rooms, Perseus sent an accusing glare at his still chuckling step-father.

"Why would you tell them that?" He growled out. "They'll probably think I'm going to try doing something perverted to them now!" The thought of either of the girls reacting to something he did that they deemed perverted, sent cold chills down the boy's spine.

"No they won't," Paul denied, waving his hand dismissively to his son's worries. Getting up, he headed for the kitchen with Perseus hot on his trial.

Just before he crossed the threshold leading to the kitchen, Perseus stopped and looked back over his shoulder at his friend. He was still sitting in the same armchair as he had since arriving, looking around as if he didn't know what to do. "Come on, Grover. You don't have to sit still like a puppy." He laughed at his sheepish looking friend. "You're more than welcome to move around without being told to. This is my home and as far as I'm concerned yours as well, and I'm sure my mom and dad feel exactly the same way."

"Thanks Perseus," Grover said, making his way over to his friend and clapping him on the back. "That really means a lot."

With Grover on his trail they made their way to the kitchen to see Paul's backside as he bent over searching the fridge. Letting out a shrill whistle, Perseus grabbed a stool at the island counter in the middle of the room.

"You see that G-man," Perseus said, pointing at the bentover man. "That right there is pure sex appeal!"

Grover stifled a snicker at the same time Paul popped up, holding the left over pizza with a fake glare plastered on his face. "Fine then, Percy. I won't tell you why I told the girls about your late night rendezvous with that girl you were caught kissing." Laying the food before the two boys, Paul sent his son a smug look that said 'yeah, I've got cha!'.

"Fine," Perseus sighed, grabbing what seemed like his hundredth slice of pizza that evening. "Tell me, oh great and powerful one, why it is you were trying to ruin my reputation?"

"I did it to see if they liked you," Paul answered simply. However, unbeknownst to his son, Paul's motive behind wanting to find out if the girls liked Perseus was along the same line as Sally's. Both wanted to know if the girls could possibly be his future mates.

Perseus stared at him incredulously, not believing what he had just heard. "You do know that I just met them today, right?" He asked, not bothering to keep his condescending tone hidden.

"And that matters why?" Paul shot back. "Every person you meet in this world will judge you from the first second they see you. So why shouldn't someone be able to like a person they've just met?"

Perseus was going to reply, but found no comeback for his father's words. Looking over at Grover, who was eating on a piece of cardboard, the satyr shrugged his shoulders. "He's got a point, Perseus. I remember the first time I met this blueberry bush named, Afina." Grover's eyes had glazed over at the mention of the fruit bearing bush he was crushing on. "I knew from that moment on I'd never again look at another!"

Perseus made no effort to hide his snickering, while Paul just looked at the strangely hairy teen in bewilderment. "I'm - happy for you," Paul said awkwardly. "Just a bit of advice, don't cheat on Afina with a rose bush. You'd get yourself into all kinds of trouble... and thorns." Paul grimaced, sending Perseus over the edge of just snickering and into a full blown laughing fit.

Grover having caught on to what the man was telling him turned red. "I didn't mean the actual bush! The girl I'm talking about is a dryad, you know, a wood nymph."

"Oh," Paul said, over Perseus' laughter. "I thought you were into some weird type of voyeurism," Paul muttered under his breath looking relieved. He'd support Perseus in almost anything, but the thought of his son running around with a tree humper was just too much for him to be okay with. "My misunderstanding aside, you'll be happy to know, that the girls like you at least enough to get jealous about you kissing a girl before you ever met them. Which could mean that they like you a lot or could be a sign of a very possessive female."

Hearing this sobered Perseus right up, though he still looked doubtful as to whether or not Paul's words held any truth to them. "Thalia might have been upset by hearing about that, but I'm not so sure about Annabeth. She seemed a bit miffed about something, before I left to go get the clothes for them to sleep in."

Grover cleared his throat gaining the other two's attention. "Annabeth holds her mother in a very high regard," he said, speaking more to Perseus than he was to Paul. "It's well known that Athena and Poseidon don't get along very well. This may be the cause behind her behavior. It was obvious she liked you at the very least as a person before. But now that it's out that you're the son of her mother's rival, she could feel that she has betrayed Athena, the only parent she feels cares for her."

"That's stupid," Perseus blurted, looking to Paul for support. "She can't really think that she's wronged her mom by being friends with me. I mean it's Annabeth, I've known her for only a few hours now, and even I can tell you she's too smart to believe something that dumb!"

"Actually, she's not too far off," Grover told him sadly. "While it's true Athena is one of the more level headed goddesses, she can still hold a grudge as well as any of the other gods and goddesses. And while she may not be mad at Annabeth for being friends with you, she more than likely wouldn't approve of it either."

Throwing his hands up as he let out a long sigh, he slid off his stool and made his way for the doorway. "I'm going to go take a shower," he called over his shoulder.

When the green eyed boy had disappeared from their view, Paul sent Grover a knowing smile. "For him to have only met those girls a few hours ago, it seems like he's awfully aware of them and how they're feeling." Grover didn't reply, just smiled and nodded as he tore into another piece of cardboard.

IDC:LT

He had always felt comfortable in water, like anytime that he was in contact with the liquid he was truly safe and at home. But now that he was aware of the connection he shared with it, it was as if the bond he had with it was on a whole new level.

His body, which had started to hurt and ache again for the first time since eating and drinking the Ambrosia and Nectar Annabeth had offered him, felt better than ever after coming into contact with the steaming hot spray delivered to him by his shower head. He was happy that he was using his private bathroom, knowing that had he been where people could hear him, they would have gotten the wrong idea hearing the sounds of his pleasure filled moans.

He didn't know how long he had let the scalding water pour over his body; he did however know that had the water not started to chill he would have stayed longer. It was as he was getting out of the shower that he realized that he should have been burned by how high he had the hot water and frozen after being hit by the icy stream not long after, but here he was, standing naked in the middle of his bathroom as comfortable as could possibly be.

Assuming his sudden ability to handle varying temperatures of water was a gift from his 'father', he wrapped a towel around his waist and entered his bedroom. He would later be thankful for doing so, because as soon as he entered his room he was greeted by the sight of his three friends hanging out in his room.

All three looked fresh from the shower, Thalia and Annabeth both sporting the clothes he had brought them earlier. Grover was sitting way too close to the front of the TV, enraptured by a nature documentary on the life of wild goats in Asia. Thalia was propped up against the headboard of his bed listening to his IPod. He assumed she liked what she was hearing from the small nods she was giving and the smile gracing her features. On the other side of the room was Annabeth, she stood before his bookcase and appeared to be a few chapters deep in the book she was holding. Perseus chuckled drawing the attention of the others when he realized the gray eyed girl was reading one of his favorites.

"Well, this is awkward," he said, making sure he had a firm hold on his towel.

"Perseus, why are you naked?" Grover asked, turning back to the television. Having lived in the boy's dorm at Yancy, he was used to seeing other guys running around half dressed. Annabeth, on the other hand, was nowhere near used to such things, and had turned back to the book she had been reading as soon as she saw that he was shirtless, a deep red staining the tanned skin of her cheeks. Thalia, on the other hand, didn't look away. With a blush that rivaled Annabeth's, she drank in the sight before her. Perseus didn't know whether to be pleased he held an appeal to the pretty girl, or if he should feel like a piece of meat from the way her eyes traveled over his exposed body.

"I just got out of the shower," he answered, at the same time it dawned on him that they may have heard him moaning like a ghost earlier. Looking at the three, he didn't see any signs that he had made a fool of himself to them, causing him to relax a small bit. "I guess I was in there longer than I thought if the three of you were able to get washed up in the same amount of time it took me." Walking toward his bed where he had left his bag, he could feel Thalia's eyes on him, causing goose bumps to rise on his arms. "So why is everyone camped out in here?" he asked, trying to distract himself from the staring girl.

"Go put some clothes on," Annabeth snapped, as she stared pointedly at the book she had been reading. "Then we'll tell you why we're all in here!"

"Awww, what's wrong Wisegirl?" Perseus asked mischievously. He was hoping teasing the girl would get her over her aversion of being his friend.

Reaching to her hip, she drew her knife from its holster, holding it where he could catch a glimpse of its shining bronze blade. "Either you go put some clothes on, or I'll show you just how accurate I am at knife throwing."

He would have liked to think she had been joking, but as he rushed into the bathroom with his bag over his shoulder, he could feel her waiting for him to make another smart remark.

"Alright, I'm coming out," Perseus called into his room after having clothed himself. "I'm covered, so don't do anything I'll end up regretting."

Closing the book she was reading, Annabeth made her way over to Thalia, sitting next to her on his bed at the same time Grover turned around to face the room. "The reason we're all in here is simple." She stated, meeting his eyes for the first time since she had guessed who his father was. The look in her storm-like eyes was distant and hard, unwilling to show any type of familiarity to the boy she had previously thought of as a nice guy. It may have been wishful thinking on Perseus' part, but he could have sworn that for a second, deep down in those cloud colored eyes of hers was a small flash of regret. "If on the small chance any monsters were to track us down here, they would ignore all others to get to this room that is filled with the smell of strong demigods."

"By ignoring others, you mean to say my parents," Perseus stated, sounding grateful. "You're doing this to protect them. It means a lot to know that you guys are looking out for them. Thank you." Thalia and Grover both smiled at him, while even Annabeth lessened her stern look a fraction as she nodded to him.

"So," Thalia said, jumping off the bed to steal the remote from Grover who let out a cry of protest, but wasn't able to steal it back from the dark haired girl. "What scary movie are we going to watch first?" She asked impishly.

IDC:LT

"Morning mom, dad." Perseus greeted as he entered the kitchen the next morning.

He and the others had spent half the night watching movies with him and the girls trying to scare Grover. It had been early morning before any of them had drifted off to sleep. When he woke up, Perseus was surprised to find all of them lying close together on his bed, not because of the size of his bed, but because he figured one of the two girls would have kicked them off before falling asleep the night before.

"Good morning, honey." Sally greeted back. Leaving the stove where she was making breakfast, she reached him, wrapping him in a tight embrace, just as he was taking the orange juice out of the fridge. "Did you and your friends have fun last night?"

"Yeah, we watched those shaky camera, ghost movies." Perseus said, his smile making its way into his voice. "Grover was close to having a nervous breakdown the entire time."

"Sounds fun," Paul commented from behind his laptop. "Oh, by the way Perseus, I thought you might like to know, Yancy called this morning. Apparently, our son ran off in the middle of the night. You wouldn't happen to know where we could find him, would you?" Paul asked, grinning like a mad man.

"No idea," Perseus answered seriously. "I hope he's alright! A good looking kid like that is bound to be in danger if he was to go wandering around on his own."

"Nah, don't worry about that," Paul said jokingly. "He's a bit of a pest! Any kidnapper that gets a hold of him would have him returned within the hour."

"Okay you two, enough of that," Sally chided though her voice was filled with mirth. "Perseus, go wake your friends up, the foods ready."

"All right," he said, hopping to his feet. He was just about to leave when the conversation about why the girls and Grover had stayed in his room the night before came to mind. "Um, mom, dad!"

"Yes sweety, what is it?"

"With not only myself, but Thalia and Annabeth being here, there's bound to be a strong scent here. I think it would be best that after we leave today that you guys do the same. That way there's no chance of either of you getting hurt because of us."

"Perseus, we'll be fine," Sally stated firmly. "You just worry about getting to that camp safely."

"No," he denied defiantly, turning to face her straight on. "It's a very real danger being around my smell." Even with the conversation being as serious as it was he still felt foolish saying what he just had. "Do you honestly think I'll be able to focus on anything if I don't know if the two of you are alright?"

Paul looked his son in the eyes seeing the determination there. Nodding, he stood up and placed a hand on Sally's arm, just as she was about to respond to Perseus' words. "If it means that much to you Perseus, we'll go. I promise!" He vowed meeting the young man's gaze.

"Thank you." He said gratefully, before turning and leaving the kitchen to make his way to his bedroom, where his friends were still at.

Gently pushing open his bedroom door, he saw that the others were unsurprisingly still asleep. Thalia and Annabeth had both slept under the covers while he and Grover had laid at the foot of the bed.

Chuckling softly at the sight of a sleeping Grover chewing lightly on the blanket he had pulled to his chest during the night, Perseus made his way over to the bed, intent on waking Thalia up first since she was closes to him. It was as he reached out to shake her shoulder that she rolled over exposing the creamy skin of her neck to him.

It was as if a jolt had shot through him when he saw the curve of her slender neck. Repeatedly the pulsing hit him again and again as he watched her sleep. The feeling of acceptance and hunger was back full force, but along with those feelings of need and want was a sense that she had something to offer him. That if he were to give into his wants - no his needs, then there would be a reward to be gained from her. Not only that, but that he could claim her as his own.

It took his now sluggish, clouded mind, a few seconds to comprehend that the pulsing was happening in time with the slight twitching he could see in her jugular each time her heart beat.

She was just so beautiful and perfect. And her smell... Perseus closed his eyes to take in a deep lung full of her scent. She smelled of fresh rain and power. It was mouth watering to the black haired son of the sea.

As he opened his eyes, he found himself leaning in towards her neck. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew that when he got close enough he would taste her, and it sent a thrill of pleasure through him to know it.

"Perseus, wh-what are you doing?"

He jumped when he heard Thalia say his name. Tearing his eyes away from her neck which had started to turn a faint red, he saw that she had awoken while he had been captivated by her pulse and beauty. The cause behind the red that had slowly started to stain her neck was a blush that became more intense the further into her face he got. Her eyes held a startled, yet embarrassed, look to them.

"I," he started, but stopped when he realized that he didn't know what to tell her. "I don't know," he whispered breathlessly, stepping back from the bed and her.

An awkward silence fell between them where Perseus alternated between looking her in the eyes and staring at her still exposed neck. The surprise she had felt when waking up had made her heart beat faster than before, resulting in the jolts hitting at a much faster rate. At the same time he was he was feeling her heartbeat, Thalia gazed up at him with an unreadable expression.

Not knowing what else to do, he turned to leave. It was as he reached the door he stopped, looking over his shoulder he said, "Wake up Grover and Annabeth, breakfast is ready."

"Perseus," she called, stopping him as he had once again started to leave.

"Yes?" He asked, without turning to look at her, afraid of what he might see in her eyes.

"If you had stolen my first kiss like that, I would have kicked your ass!" She informed him in a tone that he couldn't get a read on.

It took him a few seconds to understand what her words meant to him. He was so relieved that she had misunderstood his actions that a chuckle escaped him that quickly turned into full blown laughter. Shaking his head he left the room without another word.

IDC:LT

The group of teenagers had breakfast and were on their way within hours of waking up. Grover and the girls had given Perseus and his family the time and privacy to say their goodbyes to one another. It had been rough on him and his parents, leaving each other as they had. Unlike when he had gone off to school at the start of the year, now they were separating and didn't know when they would see each other again.

The only good thing about leaving was knowing his parents would be out of harm's way. Paul and Sally left at the same time as Perseus and his friends had, just as his father had promised they would. It had taken some fast thinking and a quick tongue on Perseus' part to keep his parents from making them take a ride from them to the place where they were to meet the 'camp representative'.

It took the group almost two hours to reach the amusement park, but they all agreed it was worth the long ride. As they piled out of the cab one by one onto the curbside, they stood in a loose group and stared up at the numerous rides they could see from their place just outside the parking lot. With smiles on their faces they knew that there were tons more rides inside that awaited them.

"Grover," Perseus said, meeting his friends worried eyes. "You better tighten those shoes of yours up, because your furry ass is going on all the rides the rest of us get on!"

"Perseus," Grover whined weakly, as he bent down to do as his friend had told him to.

"Since Grover has his feet on let's go," Thalia yelled. Grabbing Annabeth by the hand, the two girls took off for the entrance, with Grover following close behind.

Perseus was about to take off and follow them when a group of three people down the sidewalk a ways caught his eye. Each one was wearing a black hoodie that obscured their face, making it impossible for him to tell where they were looking, but from the angle of their bodies he was guessing they were staring at him.

His demigod nature getting the better of him, he was about to call out to the group of what looked to be teens, when Annabeth called out to him instead. "Splish Splash," she yelled from about a quarter's way across the black top of the parking lot. "You're the one funding this trip, we need you."

Perseus could feel the annoyance coming off the girl in waves. The cause of her ire was that she was being forced to rely on him, the son of Poseidon for something. Looking back to where the group of hoodie wearers had been seconds before, he found the spot empty of anyone and anything. Shrugging his shoulders dismissively, he took off after the others as fast as he could, forgetting about the three dressed in black all together.

IDC:LT

"Really, pizza again?" Annabeth asked Thalia, who had gotten the same food they had eaten the night before from the concession stand where they had gotten something to eat.

The blond's amusement was clear in her voice. "I thought you'd be burnt out with it by now. After all, you did have it for dinner last night and again this morning with your breakfast." Thalia being very mature about the whole thing, responded by sticking her tongue out.

The group had arrived at the park at around ten, and it was now close to five o'clock. They had started toward the front of the park, going to each and every ride they could (skipping them only when there was too long of a line), and had slowly made their way toward the back of the park, or the opposite entrance to the one they had entered through.

The group of four had all enjoyed themselves immensely, even going so far as to forget about the weirdness that had arisen between Perseus and the girls. At first the air between Perseus and Thalia had been awkward, which was understandable when waking up to the situation that the girl had. But as time progressed things went back to the way they had the day before, with the two joking and playing around with one another. And while Annabeth wasn't acting the same toward him as she had the day before, she was willing to chat and laugh along with him and had even thanked him for paying for everything and for giving them a chance to get out for a while.

"You might want to slow down on those enchiladas, Grover." Perseus warned his friend who was eating more like a chained junkyard dog than he was satyr. "You were looking a bit queasy on some of those rides earlier, and we've yet to hit the biggest roller coaster in the park."

"I'll be fine," Grover reassured him in between bites. "How lucky are we? Cheese enchiladas at a concession stand." He moaned as he tore into his fifth enchilada, showing no sign of slowing down.

Perseus shook his head at his friend's antics as he picked up his burger. He was just about to bite into his own meal when out of the corner of his eye he spotted a hint of black, that brought the three he had seen earlier in the day back to the forefront of his mind. Looking around he found the same three as before standing a ways off watching their group, or if his gut feeling was right, were watching him.

Wanting to find out if his feeling about them was correct, he rose to his feet and started to walk off in the direction of the bathrooms.

"Perseus," Annabeth called out to him, "where are you going?"

"I'm going to the restroom. I'll be back in a minute." He said before turning and jogging off.

As the bathrooms came into sight he glanced over his shoulder to see that the black wearing three were following him as he had expected them to do. Picking up his pace, he decided to circle around and get the girls' help dealing with the threesome. He knew that once he gained control over his powers he'd be more than capable of protecting himself, but as it was now he hadn't had the chance to test out his powers at all, add to this that there were three people chasing him and the chances of him stopping whatever it was they wanted to do lowered drastically.

It seemed his speeding up had led the group to believing he was trying to flee, making them speed up to inhuman speeds. Perseus had just seconds to see that the area he had run to was under reconstruction and was devoid of people, before having something that felt like a sledge hammer crash into his side, sending him flying into the entrance of one the rides that was being worked on called, 'The Phoenix'.

Slamming through the metal sign knocked the breath out of him just seconds before the force of him hitting the earth jarred him so violently that he bit straight through his tongue. Coming to a rolling stop, his attackers walked lazily toward his downed form, laughing at him as he pushed himself to his knees, spitting out blood.

"He's quite handsome," said the one located furthest to the right revealing her to be female. Now that they were up close, Perseus could tell that the other two were males from the width of their shoulders and broadness of their chest.

"Awww, poor pretty boy go boom," mocked the male furthest to the left in a thick Spanish accent. "Don't worry man, go ahead and go to sleep. It'll make things a lot easier on you if you're not awake for what we're going to do to you. And don't worry, those two pretty chicas you were traveling with, we'll take good care of them."

"Enough!" Snapped the middle figure. At once the two to his sides shut up, taking a step back in a sign of obedience. "We're here to kill 'his' heir! Not for you to taunt him like a child, and certainly not to fawn over!" Reaching up the figure pulled his hood down, shocking Perseus with what was underneath. All of the teen's features were lost on the son of Poseidon with the exception of his completely red eyes and his rotten milk colored skin that showed sickly looking blood veins popping up all over his body.

Perseus retched at the sight. "Dude," he said, forgetting the pain his being thrown was causing him. "You need to..." he trailed off, shaking his head not sure what to say. "I don't know what you should do, but you need do to something, and do it fast. Because... damn, you're ugly."

The male who had removed his hood growled at the insult, exposing long thin canines that were reminiscent of a snake's fang. At the same time, his two companions hissed, both of them taking a threatening step forward.

"Vampires!" Perseus gasped. He didn't recall anything about vampires in all his time studying Greek mythology, but here one was, ready to pierce him with its fangs.

With a jolt that wasn't all that different from the one he had experienced that morning, he realized that he was somehow connected to the vampires. After all, earlier that morning he had been seconds away from biting Thalia. And since he had met the girls he had felt a multitude of strange things toward them. But if he was one of these 'vampires', why was it he didn't look as beat up as Ugly did? Was the leader alone in his looks, or was that why the others had yet to lower their own hoods?

"I'm going to enjoy draining the life out of you!" The lead vampire growled, making his fangs more prominent. He dashed forward at a speed that Perseus knew he could never keep up with, pulling a short silver sword out of his hoodie as he came. His followers copied their leader's action by quickly drawing their own swords before coming at Perseus.

Catching sight of a steel pipe lying a few feet away from him, Perseus dived for it, knowing it would likely do little to nothing against the swords. It was as he was coming out of his roll, the pipe firmly in his hand, that he realized that something was wrong. All three of the vampires had seemingly frozen mid stride. Their leader bent so far forward that he should have fallen on to his face.

Not sure what was going on around him, he kept himself tense and ready to react for any sign of movement from his three attackers.

"Calm yourself young Perseus." Spoke a warm voice from behind him. Whipping around with his pipe held high, he found himself blinking owlishly. Instead of there being some big bad monster behind him ready to eat his flesh, he was facing the most beautiful child he had ever seen.

The small girl looked to be eight or nine years of age and had hair that hung well past the base of her spine, it's color an amazing shade of red that made her finely tanned skin look as if it shined. It was her eyes however, that struck Perseus the strongest. Instead of having orbs like a normal human would, she had what appeared to be pits of fire burning in their place, each one giving off small trails of wispy smoke. In all she had a breathtakingly beauty to her that had Perseus wondering how far that beauty would go once she aged into a woman.

"Who are you?" Perseus asked, as he lowered his makeshift weapon. He felt like a fool for having acted like he was going to bash the small girl with the pipe he held, its length almost as long as she was tall.

"My name is Hestia." She announced with a kind smile, filling Perseus with a warmth that was similar to that which he received whenever he was hugged by his mother, or when he and Paul would play around with each other. "Goddess of the hearth, home, the right ordering of domesticity, and family. But at the moment, I am but a simple messenger for a friend who has faded from this world, and a bringer of gifts."

"How did you freeze them?" Perseus blurted out, not knowing how to reply to the girl who claimed to be a goddess. Though from the way her eyes were pits of fire and her otherworldly beauty he was inclined to believe her.

"It was a gift from the same friend I mentioned before." She answered kindly, knowing that most demigods were a bit slow the first time they met a god or goddess. "It's too bad that I'm only able to use it this one time," she commented lightly, "it would be a very handy trick to possess, wouldn't you agree?" He nodded, glancing over at the still unmoving Vampires.

"Freezing your opponent in mid-battle could definitely come in handy." Looking back to the goddess he saw that she looked to be perfectly content on waiting for him to gather himself. It was then that it hit him that he had a goddess waiting on him.

He fell painfully to one knee, bowing his head to her, one of his favorite goddesses that he had learned about while in Mr. Brunner's class. She had given up her spot as one of the twelve major gods and goddesses to avoid war breaking out.

"It's an honor to meet you, Lady Hestia." He felt a hand that radiated warmth, grasp him lightly by the chin and lift his head to where his green eyes locked with her pools of fire, her current form was so short in stature that he needed only lift his head a fraction to do so.

"There is no need to bow to me Perseus." She chided lightly. His eyes searched her face hungrily drinking in her features from up close. He found himself wishing he could see what her older form was like.

"I'm sorry to disagree with you, Lady Hestia." His cheeks had warmed, letting him know that a blush had made its way to his face. "But if even a fraction of what I have learned about you and your actions is true, then you above all others, even those of the major twelve, merit not only mine, but all others' respect."

She beamed at him causing his heart rate to speed up. Leaning forward she placed her small pink lips to his forehead in a kiss that only increased the warmth that had spread through his body.

"He was right," she commented, "you do know how to charm a lady." Perseus tried to form words, but found himself sputtering like a fool. Reaching out she placed her small hand to his mouth ceasing any more of his attempts to speak.

"I cannot tell you who sent what I am about to gift you, but in time you will know who he was." Taking a step away from the still kneeling Perseus, Hestia's hands burst into wild flames that slowly grew in size until they suddenly died out. Where the fire had been only seconds before were now two blades. In her right was a sword made out of the same celestial bronze that made up Thalia's spear and Annabeth's knife. In her left, however, was a sword of the same length and form, but where the first was bronze this one was a black that seemed to suck in the light around it.

"This is Anaklusmos, or in English, Riptide," she told him, as she held out the bronze sword for him to take. "It is not from the same person I spoke of before, but from your father. He gave it to Chiron to gift to you. Since I was coming to deliver this one," she held up the black sword, "I brought this one it as well."

Perseus took Riptide from her and instantly felt a connection to the blade. Its weight and length both feeling right to him, as if it was an extension of his arm.

"This however," she said looking to the black blade. "Is from the man I spoke of. He sent this along with a message." Taking the black blade when she offered it, Perseus felt just as strong a connection to it as he had the first blade. Rising to his feet he gave them both test swings that led to him beaming as a rhythm made its way into his movements.

"They look good in your grasp," she complimented him, bringing the blush that had only just faded back to his cheeks with a vengeance. "The second blade is made from what is called, Stygian Iron. It, unlike other magical metals, has the capability to harm not only monsters, gods, titans, and those who share their blood, but mortals as well."

"What is its name?" He didn't look at her as he asked this; it unnerved him to be as drawn to her as he was when she was in such a young form, even if she was far, far older than he.

"It has none. It is for you to decide what its name shall be." He nodded absentmindedly. "When you wish to store them you need only think of doing so."

Doing as she said, he pictured them both in their own sheath, at once they both shrunk until Riptide was a ballpoint pen and the black unnamed blade had turned into a pebble. Perseus looked at the two items that had previously been swords with a hint of amusement.

Seeing his look she giggled softly. Taking the pen and pebble from him, her hands once again burst into flames. When she started to reach up and out to him with her hands still covered in their flames, Perseus made no attempt to pull away, impressing the goddess as she grasped the lobes of his ears where they had been pierced. He experienced a slight burn as a sizzling sound filled his hearing for less than a second before the feeling and sound faded away.

"There," she said in her soft, warm voice. "A way to seal your weapons that is more to your style." Before he could ask what she had done, she summoned a ring of fire that he could see his reflection in. Where before he had brown plugs in his right and left ear were now a black and bronze one respectively.

Thinking that he wanted his blades in his hands, the two swords appeared in his hands at the same time the plugs turned back to their original brown. "Nice!" He beamed at the small girl.

"Now then, for his message." Perseus' smile dropped, unconsciously straightening his back. "Soon you will know why you have been filled with a hunger and want for certain others. Until that time comes to pass, know that you are nothing to be feared, unless you wish to be so."

Perseus had gone stock still at the mention of his hunger for others. Someone who had faded from this world had known that he would crave to bite people. Why would they send him a weapon, and better yet why if they were sending him a message didn't they put anything in it that made damn sense and that would help him not want to eat every pretty girl he saw, including the goddess that sat before him.

He had been unaware of the feeling at first, but now that his mind had drifted to what had happened earlier that morning, he could feel his hunger and want rising. But unlike it had been with Thalia and Annabeth where it had been in tune with their heartbeat, here with Hestia it was one constant buzzing that vibrated him to his very core.

"I expect great things from you, my Perseus," she said, reaching up on tiptoes to run a hand through his hair. "You will save many lives, change just as many as you save, and bring great changes about." She looked to the floor and was quiet for a few second before she looked into his eyes. The pits of fire that made up her eyes were filled with an intense new burn to them, which they had not held before. "You may even bring about changes to things which have been in place since they were sworn to millennia ago."

Perseus wondered what she had meant by the last part, but all brain function stopped as his earlier wish was granted. Slowly before his eyes the young girl grew to the same age as him. She was even more beautiful than he had thought she would be. Her hair now brushed the ground, the portions of her skin that he could see, had what looked to be shimmers of gold and red flashing over it, and her eyes were still the same perfect flames. The darker look still present in them.

The now older looking Hestia smiled prettily at him as she leaned up and kissed him on the cheek, catching the corner of his lips with her own. An intense warmth stronger than any he had felt so far burst through his body that he instantly recognized as lust. He so wanted to wrap his arms around her, to pull her close to him so that he could feel the heat of her body against his own. But it was not to be. She was a goddess and a virgin one no less. He knew that it would more than likely get him killed to indulge in this new craving that was consuming him.

When she pulled away he was standing behind the lead vampire and in between his two lackeys.

"Good bye... My Perseus." He could feel her sadness at having to say good bye, and found his own emotions mirroring hers. "Know that I can't interfere in the actions of the demigods, but anytime you need someone to talk to, all you need do is start a fire!" With those parting words she disappeared in a blinding flash.

Around him things slowly started to move once again. Trying and failing to shake off the longing he had held for the goddess, Perseus focused on the three who had planned to kill him for being someone's 'heir'. Had they meant Poseidon, or were they perhaps talking about the man who had sent him the sword and had known about his sudden thirst for others?

"It doesn't matter at the moment," Perseus growled to himself. He recalled what the one with the Spanish accent had said about Annabeth and Thalia, sending his anger skyrocketing.

As the world around him came fully back into motion, the ground under him started shaking violently. He knew that the tremors he was sending out could be felt all around the amusement park and hoped to the very depths of his soul that he wouldn't cause one of the rides to collapse and kill the innocent mortals.

"Where did he go?" Screamed the lead blood sucker, while looking around trying to find him.

"Forget him, what the hell is happening?" Yelled the Spanish accented one from Perseus' side.

"You fucked up coming for me." Perseus whispered, the earthquake happening around him not bothering him in the slightest. The two to his side turned to face him at the same time the one with his back to him spun around wildly. "You can go to hell now!"

Bringing his two swords up in a cross in front of his chest, Perseus suddenly and viscously lashed out, taking the heads off the two still hooded figures. The male instantly turned to dust that quickly faded away, but the female's body looked as if it had been absorbed by the blade.

Paying the strange occurrence little mind Perseus looked into the startled red eyes of the only remaining vampire. The hideous creature bared its fangs once again before charging. Its speed far outmatched Perseus', but that was where his advantage ended. Perseus it seemed was a natural at swordsmanship, add to this that he held two swords and that the violent shaking of the world around them wasn't affecting him in the least, and it left the son of Poseidon with the upper hand.

Just as the vampire blocked a heavy overhead blow from the unnamed blade, a scream of Perseus' name distracted the blood sucker just long enough for him to finish the fight. Swinging the bronze sword upward its shining blade caught the creature in the chin, splitting it and sending the now screaming vampire stumbling backwards. Not wasting time to see who had called out to him, Perseus dashed forward sinking the blade into his attacker's stomach. Just as it had done to the girl, the black blade sucked the now dead monster into its blade.

"Perseus," screamed Grover, as he and the girls stumbled over the still rumbling ground. "Calm down!"

Seeing that his friends were in danger, he took long deep breaths, calming the storm that was his anger. Slowly the ground's shaking slowed to a stop, leaving only the yells of frightened people in its wake. Looking around Perseus saw that other than finishing destroying the sign he had been thrown through, that the quake hadn't cause any real damage.

"Sorry about that," he apologized, as his weapons faded back into his piercings. "Did any of you know that vampires are real?" All three of his companions gasped at once, it was Annabeth's nod that informed him that they did in fact know that the creatures existed.

"I didn't smell any monsters until after I had finished one of my enchiladas," Grover admitted looking humiliated and remorseful. "I'm sorry, Perseus. If I hadn't bee-" The satyr stopped talking as a stricken look crossed his face. Looking around Grover took to sniffing the air with a bewildered look on his face.

"What's wrong?" Thalia had taken out her spear and looked ready to fight. "Are there more of them around?"

"No..." He replied, walking around in a circle, sniffing the air as he went. "It's faint, and I do mean faint, but I can smell a goddess!"

"Grover, as your best friend, I'm going to forget how creepy the last sentence out of your mouth was." Perseus commented, making the satyr blush. "But yeah, you should smell a goddess; there was one here not just a few minutes ago." It didn't go unnoticed how his eyes darkened at the mention of the goddess, causing both Annabeth and Thalia to glance at each other with unreadable expressions.

"That's strange," Grover said, paying the others no mind as he took long deep breaths trying to locate said goddess' scent. "Normally when a god or goddess appears they leave an overwhelmingly strong scent behind. But whoever it was that came to visit you, her smell is all but gone, except for-" With his nose leading him, he walked straight into Perseus.

"Grover, I love you like a brother, but that's where it ends." He said, catching the satyr keeping him from falling. "Try and remember Afina, next time you want to throw yourself at me."

"Perseus?" Grover said slowly, as he took a step back from his friend. "Why is the goddess' scent all over you?" Perseus fought the red that tried to make its way to his cheeks as he recalled the older version of Hestia kissing him.

When he said nothing Annabeth cut in. "Who was it that came to see you?" She asked sounding worried. Perseus guessed she was afraid her mother had found out about them traveling together.

"Lady Hestia." At his answer both Annabeth and Thalia looked relieved, though he was guessing that the daughter of Zeus's reason was different than the first.

"Why was she here?" Grover questioned.

"She brought me the swords that you three saw me with." He didn't think it would be a good idea to tell them that he had received a gift from an unknown, so he quickly came up with a half truth. "A gift from my father." Grover stared at his friend suspiciously, having not bought what his friend had said like the girls had.

Grover like all satyrs could read the emotions of those he was close to personally. So when Perseus answered there was a slight shift in his emotions that the whiskered chinned boy associated with lying. Not knowing why he was trying to hide something, but trusting he had his reasons, Grover let it drop.

"We need to get out of here." Annabeth told them as she made to leave. "If you have the smell of a goddess on you then we need to get somewhere that we can defend ourselves, without any of the mortals getting caught in the cross fire." Without saying another word the others took off after her.

Perseus was happy to see that despite having not been trained all his life that he could still keep up with the other three. They raced through the crowds of panicking people, all of whom were scared after the sudden earthquake. He felt bad for having lost control of his powers when he saw a small set of twins, a boy and girl crying as their mother and father carried them toward the same exit he and his friends were heading for.

After having pushed their way out of the crowded exits, they found themselves in the opposite parking lot in which they had entered. It was Thalia who first spotted the playground a few blocks down that was surrounded by woods.

"Look over there," she cried out. Taking off with the others giving chase. "It's likely there will be monsters in the woods, but at least there we can come up with what we want to do next, and it's somewhere that you can throw a temper tantrum." She shot at Perseus, giving him an evil grin.

"Keep it up, Barbie," he said jokingly. "If you aren't careful, you just might wake up in pigtails and a tutu."

When they reached the playground the area was devoid of children and adults alike. Perseus and the others headed for a swing set and were each about to claim a swing as their own when out of the woods burst a girl holding a drawn bow that was pointed at them. Her hair was long and silky black. Her skin the color of copper and her eyes were a coal black. Simply put, she looked like a Persian warrior princess. She was closely followed by a group of girls, all of whom also held them at bow point.

"Really?" Perseus questioned, raising his hands in surrender. "I'm going to be taken out like Bambi's dad?" He said, making a non worried looking Thalia laugh.

"Not that it's important at the moment," Annabeth commented without raising her hands, seeming to be as unaffected by the bow and arrow laden girls as Thalia was. "But it's Bambi's mom that dies, also it's a shotgun that kills her, not an arrow."

"Are you sure?" Perseus asked, his amusement at her correcting him while being surrounded by pissed off girls slipping into his voice. When she nodded, he released a small disappointed groan. "Excuse me ladies," he called out and regretting it right away when they all turned their bows on him at once. "Um, never mind!"

"Calm your selves my hunters." Came a voice from the woods, followed by a girl the same age as Thalia and Perseus, making the latter groan audibly as he felt the same buzzing as he had felt from Hestia envelop him once more. Her hair was smoky-auburn and her skin was as pale as snow. Similar to the way Hestia's had when she had turned older; the girl's skin held brief sparks of silver that would appear randomly over her face and the rest of her body. And just as it had been before with Hestia, the girl's eyes drew him in more than any other beautiful part of her. They were a silvery yellow that reminded him of the moon and glowed just as much as the lunar orb did on a cloudless night.

"You boy," the girl called out, snapping Perseus out of his momentary stupor.

Looking over at Grover, he saw that the boy was as smitten with the girl as he was, though he was doing a better job of hiding it. "What are the chances that she's talking to Grover?" He asked Annabeth and Thalia.

Before either girl could make a remark, Grover had bounded forward waving his hand wildly in the air. "Me? Did you mean me, Lady Artemis?"

"No," she replied emotionlessly, crushing Grover's spirit as she did so. "I mean the one behind you. Boy, step forward!"

"Oh joy," he said, in a voice full of false happiness. "Yes, Lady Artemis?" He'd never say it aloud for her to hear, but the stunning girl before him was his other favorite goddess.

"Why is it," she said, in a dangerous voice as her eyes flashed threateningly, "that I smell my sister maiden Hestia's scent all over you?"