917To be entirely honest, he should have been feeling pretty great about himself. Twice savior of Olympus, giant slayer, Bane of Kronos, and all the other bullshit titles they'd given him meant relatively little in the aftermath of it all. What good were titles anyway? Sure, he'd successfully staved off two wars, braved Tartarus, given his uncle and aunt the proper recognition they deserved - and yet, none of those feats truly meant much to him. What use were they if he had nobody to celebrate them with? And of course, this was only highlighted by the sounds of an Olympian party raged around him.
He chuckled mirthlessly to himself. Ironic that he was lonelier than ever despite being surrounded by countless people. Sure, he wasn't entirely alone. He'd never forget that, but at times the weight of it all was crushing. Many of his friends hadn't believed him it first, except Nico and Grover anyway, and to be fair, neither had he. It had been so horrendously out of character that it seemed nigh impossible. Of course, that hadn't stopped him from witnessing it with his own eyes. He wasn't entirely sure he blamed her either.
Some small part of him understood. The two of them simply hadn't been the same after their trek through the deepest pits of Tartarus. By Hades' name, he still woke up in a cold sweat some nights and it had occurred nearly four years ago. He'd seen it in her eyes after the war had ended. Everything seemed to catch up to them so quickly after everything was over. With the constant threat of death no longer looming above their heads, they had all the time in the world to think and in a mere fifteen minutes, his world had been shattered. She'd had the courtesy to seem apologetic about it and he supposed she'd broken up with him before actually doing anything. Their conversation hadn't amounted to much more than that. Hardly a goodbye, no apology, no closure.
And of course, Piper had pointed out a day after that she could have had an emotional affair with her new boyfriend before she'd actually came around and broke up with him. That did wonders for his shattered heart. He closed his eyes and let out a shaky breath. It would do him no good to dwell on the actions of others. With that being said, it was hard not to when it seemed like her then-new boyfriend seemed intent on rubbing their relationship in his face.
While he could understand that the heart wanted what it did, it almost hurt more when she said nothing about her new significant other's actions towards him. While he tried to avoid them as best as possible, there were still occasions such as this one where he was required to stay on Olympus. Nico had given him fair warning that they seemed to be looking for him and so Percy had simply surrendered himself to waiting for what he considered the inevitable.
Sure enough, they found him with relatively ease. He barely acknowledged his former friend and instead chose to focus on her new-found lover. He was some minor god that Percy had never heard of before. For the life of him, he could never recall his name, nor did he attempt to learn it. He had no reason to, rolling his eyes as the taunting began. It wasn't much more than petty insults, a few snide comments here mixed in with a poor attempt at conversation. Percy briefly glanced at the daughter of Athena before sighing, resigning himself to his fate. What exactly had he done to deserve this? He had become quite adept at ignoring the jabs and insults over the past few years but it still grated on his nerves. It was just excessive at this point, but saying that would do him no good.
He'd never quite understand what joy the minor god got by insulting him and he assuredly didn't understand why Annabeth let it continue. It seemed so completely out of character but it seemed that their stint in Tartarus had changed her for the worse. Then again, he'd occasionally see a glimpse of her old attitude, but that was few and far between. He took a deep breath and was about to excuse himself from their (one-sided) conversation but was quickly cut off by another voice joining them. He was caught off guard by the goddess of the Hunt interrupting the lesser god.
"Perseus," her eyes flashed silver as the minor god had the gall to look indignant. He quickly attempted to say something before seeing who he was attempting to speak over. She spared him a simple glance and he was quick to back off, not quite stumbling back but was still unsteady enough that it made Percy want to laugh. Wisely though, he focused on the goddess instead as she addressed him, "I wish to speak to you."
Percy, slightly startled, quickly bowed his head before standing up and making his way past the two other gods. They were away in mere moments. He took a few quick steps so that he was next to her.
"My Lady," he greeted cordially. She hummed some acknowledgement before bringing them towards a secluded garden, casually gesturing towards a bench and motioning for him to sit. He did so and carefully watched as she strolled leisurely towards the fountain at the center of the courtyard.
"I trust you can handle yourself from here?" she asked. Her tone didn't carry the same icy as it had mere moments ago. He was sure he could detect a few tones in her voice, but none of them were as harsh. If anything, it was quite pleasant.
"I beg your pardon M'lady?" his confusion was evident on his face. She glanced at him as she sat down at the edge of the fountain. Her face gave away none of her feelings.
"My Lieutenant asked that I rescue you from your predicament since she herself couldn't." Percy smiled slightly at that. He'd have to thank Thalia later.
"Then I thank you Lady Artemis," Percy said, bowing his head again.
She waved her hand and brushed him off before fixing him with an unreadable look, "Are you feeling well?"
Percy was unsure how to respond to that and it was evident in his answer, "Pretty okay?"
She turned to look up at the moon, "I doubt Thalia would let you say that so why do you say it to me?"
Percy opened his mouth before closing it again. He spoke carefully, "I did not think it appropriate to speak of my issues. It seems below your stature."
"I would not ask if I didn't wish for you to speak freely," Artemis said casually. She leaned back and let her arms slide out behind her to support her body, "I may not be a fan of boys but neither am I heartless, nor are you a boy."
Percy's eyes widened just a tad before a small smile broke his face, "I am honored M'lady, and I never thought you heartless."
She cocked her head slightly, "Enough of this formality. Just Artemis will suffice."
"I'm not sure I can do that," Percy said honestly. She rolled her eyes but continued on.
"I'm sure you will in time," Artemis waved her hand as she went back to staring at the Moon, "Now I believe I asked you a question."
Percy sighed ruefully, "I've been better for sure. I'm sure I should feel happy but everything feels wrong."
"And this stems from your relationship with the daughter of Athena?" she asked casually. He gave a half nod and she continued, "My Lieutenant said you'd say as much."
Percy couldn't help but fall back into his teasing nature, "Talk about me often?"
"Only so that she may express her frustration with your overwhelming stupidity," she replied easily.
"I'm not sure if I should be hurt or flattered that you talk about me," Percy gave a small smile.
"Perhaps a mixture of both?" her silver eyes flicked over him, "Though from what Thalia tells me, I'm not sure you have the mental fortitude for that."
He gave a mock laugh before a larger grin broke over his face, "I never knew you to be a joker."
She stared at him, "I'm not."
Percy chuckled and some of the normal sound returned to his voice, "I guess I walked into that one."
She waved him off and looked pointedly at the bracelet he wore, "What do you intend to do?"
"Why the sudden interest?"
"A man worthy of befriending my former Lieutenant is someone worth keeping an eye on," she spoke, idly trailing a hand through the water pooled at the bottom of the fountain. He suddenly found himself unable to meet her eyes, but the Huntress simply went back to staring off towards the night sky before turning to him.
"Accompany me," she spoke plainly as she stood, her voice pulling him out of his spiral of memories, "I have no desire to stay here."
He didn't either.
He could feel the ocean before he could see it. The briny smell and sounds of waves crashing brought him some semblance of peace. He opened his eyes to find the Goddess of the Hunt looking at him with an unreadable expression. He gave her a weak smile before she turned on her heel and easily began making her way towards the ocean. From what he could tell, they were slightly above sea level. Perhaps they were by a set of cliffs?
He shook his head to clear his thoughts and quickly bounded off after the goddess. His loud footsteps were in stark contrast to the Goddess of the Moon's own. She was almost completely silent as she walked lithely. If he hadn't known better, he would have imagined she was almost gliding across the snowy landscape. The loud crunch of his own footfalls made him cringe as he hurried after her. He briefly noted that her outfit had changed though he was more focused on keeping up with the rather quick pace that she was setting.
He was unsure if it was fifteen seconds or fifteen minutes before they reached their destination as his frantic mind had kept him occupied. He'd nearly barreled straight into the water as he slipped on a protruding branch and tumbled down the hill they had been making their way down. He groaned as he landed on his ass, letting himself fall onto his back as he came to screeching halt at the bottom of the hill. He was faintly aware of a certain silver eyed goddess's faint laughter behind him.
He was almost sure his face was bright red but he resigned himself to his fate and simply laid on the snowy beach. He could faintly feel the sand below the snow. It wasn't the worst feeling but it was slightly strange. He shifted his head slightly so that he could see the goddess of the Hunt as she strolled towards him. He could see that she had a hand covering her mouth but he knew she had a wide smile.
"Care to join me?" he asked her, not getting up, "it's pretty comfortable."
"In time," she strolled past him. He had to careen his head so that he could keep her in his vision. He watched with unveiled curiosity as she easily jumped up and began scaling a tree. He slowly let himself sit up as he watched the lissome goddess easily bounce from branch to branch of a rather bent tree. It curved beautifully over the edge of the small hillside and down towards the ocean below. Her steps were confident as she easily strolled along the long, rolling trunk of the bent tree. His eyes naturally followed the curve of the trunk and noticed a small bundle of branches that seemed to be clumped together. It looked quite similar to a hammock really.
He watched as she gave him a quick glance before grabbing a branch with one arm and gracefully swinging down towards the aforementioned bundle of branches. She landed easily and gestured for him to follow her.
He cocked his head before calling up to her, "I'm pretty sure I can't do that."
"I didn't take the Savior of Olympus to be so faint of heart," Artemis shot back at him. Percy grumbled for a second before a grin broke across his face. Challenge accepted then. His eyes traced the rough path that the Moon Goddess had taken and quickly sprinted over to it. He was going to need a running start to get high enough. If he was quick enough, all he'd have to do was use the base of the trunk as a foothold to jump off so that he could grab a branch and swing himself up. From there, it was a matter of balance and agility.
A small part of him wondered where they were. The majority of him though, was attempting not to fall off the trunk and make a fool of himself. He'd embarrassed himself enough in the past fifteen minutes. He grinned as he easily vaulted himself over an offending branch as he made his way down the trunk. Getting up had been easier than he'd expected. Now, the only hard part was making it down into the bundle of branches.
He steadied himself for a moment before taking a few steps and leaping towards an outstretched branch. He let his momentum carry him forward as he swung on it before beginning to fall backwards. All he needed to do now was time it right and he'd end up right in the brush. He trusted his natural instincts and let go a moment later than he would have. Fortunately, some of Annabeth's natural ability to do quick calculations had rubbed off on him. He'd have certainly slammed into the bottom of the bundle of branches and fallen if she hadn't taught him a bit.
His momentum carried him straight into the desired area, but he had a bit more speed than intended. His feet landed but he fell back and he felt his back hit the other edge of the bramble. He threw his arms up to stop him and ended up in a fairly comfortable position with his arms on either side, resting on the edges of the branches. He was fairly certain the execution had been messy but the results were adequate.
"Where are we?" he asked as he let his head rest against the edge.
"Siuslaw National Forest," Artemis made a sweeping gesture, "One of the few places relatively undamaged by mortals."
Percy sighed as he turned slightly so that he could observe the water, "Why?"
She didn't look at him as she responded, "You'll have to be more specific, Perseus."
"Why are we here?" he questioned.
"Consider it a favor," Artemis shifted so that she was hanging off of the branches. It impressed him how she maintained a posture that emanated regality and poise. Then again, she'd always seemed to have those qualities in spades even if she didn't particularly care for them.
"A favor?"
She hummed in acknowledgment, "For your father, and your friends I suppose."
"Why go through the trouble?" Her eyes met his before he looked away uncomfortably. While he wore his heart on his sleeve, he had always been rather bad about talking about how he felt. He looked back up when the goddess started speaking.
"We are greatly indebted to you," she said simply. She paused and ran a hand along a slender branch before her eyes focused on him, "But few are more than I."
His eyes crinkled in confusion, "What do you mean?"
"It is no small feat to hold the sky," she said simply. His hand unconsciously moved towards his gray streak of hair, as she continued "foolish perhaps, but immensely heroic regardless."
He ran a hand through his messy hair, "But why go to this extent?"
"A few reasons, I imagine. Because you once shouldered a greater burden for me. While that may not have been your purpose, you still held the sky for me," she extended an arm towards the moon and stared at it through her fingers, "and furthermore, many I hold dear hold you in high regard. Plus, it is not as if though we have not been acquainted before."
"Like who?" Percy snorted, "I doubt Thalia says many positive things about me."
"You are correct regarding that sentiment," she seemed distracted by something, trailing a hand over the gnarled wood, "But she is far from the only person I know. Hades, Hestia, Hermes, and Hephaestus all hold great respect for you."
"Lot's of "H" names," he chuckled.
"Holding the favor of an Olympian is no small feat, and to hold that of nine is nearly unheard of. That's not mentioning others such as Chiron or Pan."
Percy's brain struggled for a moment as he attempted to figure out who the nine were, "You said nine Olympians, Lady Artemis?"
"I did."
"If you don't mind my asking, who?" he fidgeted with a lighter he kept on him by simply opening and closing it, only occasionally striking the flame.
"Starting with your father and the four mentioned, I don't think it's much of a surprise that my younger brother likes you. Demeter might come as a surprise but given the items both in and on your hands, it seems to be a logical conclusion. And I'm sure you understand why Aphrodite supports you," she fixed him with an unreadable expression. He shuddered at the thought of the goddess of love before an odd thought came to him.
"And the ninth would be," he trailed off as Artemis stared at him. He searched her eyes but found no identifiable emotion.
"Is it not obvious, Perseus?" she asked, making a sweeping motion towards the area around them.
Not for the first time, he was rendered speechless. Sure, he knew she didn't hate him, but to hold him in her favor was certainly no small feat, especially given his sex. He stumbled over his words for a moment before pausing and taking a breath, "I am honored."
"I'm sure you are, Perseus." She rolled her eyes, "Is it such a surprise?"
He sighed, "To some extent. Did I ever thank you?"
"For what?"
He tapped the square face of his signet ring with his thumb and willed a hunting knife into his hand, "I don't know if the ring was your idea, but I am certain that you stored several of the hunting knives in it for my use."
Her eyes slowly scanned over the blade. He offered it to her. She accepted it and casually took one from her belt and tossed it to him. He grabbed it gingerly as she spoke, "Some of Hephaestus's finer pieces, I think. Still, a few mere hunting knives are not an adequate reward for your actions."
"I never asked for a reward, M'lady, so this is more than enough."
"One of the reasons I respect you. You never did ask anything for yourself," She smiled softly as she recalled the circumstances of him receiving his gifts and stashed the blade in her hand on her belt. She saw his confused look as his eyes flitted from her belt to the blade in his hand, "Keep it. May it be quick in your defense should your sword falter."
"I can't take this," he said quietly. It was far nicer than the one that he'd handed her, and that wasn't mentioning the fact that it was obviously meant for her. While it wasn't flashy by any means, the craftsmanship was far sturdier. A significant portion of his mind believed that it was nigh unbreakable, not that he wanted to test that, "This is befitting an Olympian."
"I recall talks about making you into an Olympian," she waved him off, "Consider it a mutual agreement then. With my blade, I reserve the right to call upon you in a time of need, and the same will be true for you."
"I would have come regardless," Percy stated simply.
"I expected nothing less," she turned to look at the moon before turning back to him, "I imagine the other gods will be expecting you."
"Pardon?"
She spoke casually, "Many have expressed their wishes to present you with gifts."
"I really don't need anything."
"Your father said you'd say as much but Hades and Apollo were adamant. Of course, your father was quick to agree."
That took him by surprise, "Why?"
"Demeter said it quite nicely if you recall," she spoke softly as she recalled the other goddess's words, "If you will not wish for yourself, we shall do so for you."
Percy blinked, "Apollo I can understand, but Hades?"
"You have done him the greatest service of all," Artemis stated plainly as she surveyed the man in front of her, "your lighter was a gift from him was it not?"
He nodded and offered it to her but she shook her head, "Yeah. He said Nico gave him the idea."
"A fitting gift," she said simply.
"Probably one of my favorites," he said as he tossed the stygian iron knife around in his hands. It was his first stygian iron weapon and while he didn't want to have to use any of his blades against mortals, it was good to know that he had a backup just in case he needed it. It also offered him slight versatility since he could throw it without worry. Plus, if there was anything that his years of quests had taught him, it was that one could never have enough knives.
He rolled the blade around in his hand and tossed it around in the air as he and the goddess of the hunt spoke about various happenings and their activities. It wasn't long before they both decided that they needed to wrap things up. It'd been a nice change of pace, for both of them (not that Percy knew that). It'd given him a much needed break, and a new place to explore, assuming Artemis wouldn't have an issue with his presence there.
As they flashed back into the garden they'd been in previously, he could hear the faint sounds of the party. Almost immediately, his previous headache flared up again. He wasn't sure if he was ready to go back in quite yet, but he knew that people would come looking for him if he didn't show up relatively soon. It was unwise to keep the gods waiting. He wasn't even entirely sure how this was going to work. He doubted they'd go through the trouble of calling a meeting, but that also meant that they'd have to simply stumble upon him during their meetup.
He brushed away any apprehension that held him back and made his way into the party. From what he could tell, his presence hadn't been missed in the slightest as what seemed to be a tipsy Jason clapped him on the back and pointed him in the direction of Hermes. Well, he supposed that answered his earlier question about how they were going to bestow these gifts he was supposedly getting.
He had always felt bad when receiving gifts, since he'd rarely had means to give back gifts. This was only further exacerbated with the gods. What exactly did he have that he could gift to an Olympian? He brushed past a few minor gods and said a few quick greetings as he made his way to where Jason had pointed out Hermes. He stifled a groan as several people greeted him, of which he could only recall about half. It was a hassle to extricate himself from that conversation but the mention of Hermes did the trick. Despite being drunk, everybody understood that it was unwise to keep an Olympian waiting, even if it happened to be one of the happier ones.
Percy rolled his eyes as he brushed past another gaggle of people and quickly ducked through a few columns to avoid the crowd. Luckily, he managed to avoid all but one crowd, and Nico was quick to see him and pull him away. He was getting quite tired of this but Nico quickly pulled him past another crowd and they found themselves making idle conversation.
"Not having fun?" Nico asked quietly, his eyes scanning the room.
"Parties aren't my thing," Percy responded, causing the younger man to grin.
"You and me both," Nico chuckled, "saw you and Artemis earlier. I'm assuming you got your gift from her?"
Percy smiled a bit as he recalled, "she gave me a hunting knife."
Nico's voice was unsure as he spoke, "That's pretty cool."
"Surprising more than anything," Percy chuckled, "I didn't expect it."
"She gave you all those hunting knives in your ring right?" Nico asked.
"Yeah she did, but she had those made for me," Percy shrugged.
"And she didn't have the one she gave you?" he asked curiously.
Percy shook his head, "It was one of her personal knives."
Nico blinked, "Like as in the one's she uses normally?"
"She pulled it out of her belt and told me to keep it. Said she would give me one favor too."
Nico's eyes widened before he laughed, "My dad's not going to want to hear that. That's not exactly a small gift."
A smile broke across the son of Poseidon's face, "You're telling me. Thalia's going to have a field day if she sees me with it."
Nico snorted, "Good luck if she finds out."
Percy snickered as they made their way towards the God of Travelers. The god's face split into a grin upon seeing the duo and he jovially greeted the two.
"Where were you Percy? I asked around but nobody seemed to know," Hermes always had been very straight to the point.
"Artemis wanted to talk," Percy shrugged. No point in lying since Hermes always had a knack for knowing when he was. Between him and Apollo, he could never get away with anything.
"How'd that go?" Hermes grinned at him.
"Got a hunting knife so pretty well," Percy said casually as he watched Nico slip away. He got the sneaking suspicion that Nico was still a bit uncomfortable around the gods.
Hermes' hand twitched for his phone but he ignored it as he spoke, "I get the feeling you're going to be getting a lot of knives tonight."
"You got me a knife too?" Percy grinned.
"Among other things," Hermes shrugged, "Apollo wants to know when we're going out next."
Percy laughed, "You guys are the ones with busy schedules."
"Figured I'd at least ask," Hermes rolled his eyes jokingly before pulling a small package out of nowhere, "Here. I figured you might like it."
Percy cocked his head as he took the package, "There's going to be a lot of this tonight, isn't there?"
Hermes laughed, "Did you really expect anything else?"
"Can't say I did," Percy said absentmindedly as he pulled out the knife Artemis had given him earlier and used it to cut through the packaging. He didn't notice Hermes' eyes widen a bit.
"Where'd you get that?" he asked, his voice barely masking his curiosity.
"It was Artemis's gift to me," Percy said easily as he pulled out two small packages, "Why?"
"Didn't expect for her to give you that as a gift," Hermes quickly got over his surprise as Percy opened the first of the packages. In it held a small snake ring that seemed like it would fit on his ring finger. It was a simple piece, with small scale detailing on the band and two snake heads joining at the top, slightly past one another. It reminded him of George and Martha. He grinned as he slipped it on.
"This is pretty cool," Percy said, "George and Martha came up with the design didn't they?"
A small hiss from Hermes' phone told him all he needed to know as Hermes grinned sheepishly, "In my defense, it was a really good idea. Let's everyone know too."
Percy laughed, "So what does it do?"
"Twist it," Hermes grinned. Percy did so and found a butterfly knife in his hand. His eyes widened a bit as he glanced up towards his friend. Hermes' grin looked like it was going to split his face in two.
"Like it?" Percy could hear the giddiness in his friend's voice.
Percy grinned, "Always wanted one as a kid but my mom said they were too dangerous."
"I wasn't sure what color you'd like," Hermes said. It had a beautiful silvery blade with complex patterning, and two thin polished wooden handles. The contrast of the brighter blade with the deeper reddish brown of the wood looked amazing, "I thought about blue but it just didn't seem right."
Percy chuckled, "I think it was the right choice. Never seen this pattern before."
"I doubt many have," Hermes grinned. Percy could tell he was quite proud of himself, "It's meteoric iron."
Percy cocked his head, "Never heard of it."
"Metal created by Ouranos himself as a gift to Gaia," Hermes said conspiratorially, "You should have seen Heph when I brought it to him."
Percy blinked, "This seems like too much."
Hermes waved him off, "You're too humble."
"You and Apollo love telling me that," Percy said dryly before inspecting the blade, "So it works on monsters then?"
Hermes lowered his voice a bit, "And mortals, should you need it."
Percy's eyes widened a bit, "where'd you find it?"
Hermes' eyes shone with mirth, "Trade secret, but there's more of it than you'd think. It's just hard to find pieces with good purity according to Heph."
"I'll have to say thanks to him when I see him then," Percy said as he spun the blade experimentally.
Hermes grinned at him, "Same deal as the rest of your weapons. It'll come back if you give it a couple seconds though it's not that great for throwing."
"Looks cool though," Percy said, causing the god to chuckle. He lifted the other package and gave his friend a questioning look, "This isn't going to be like the knife, is it?"
"It's just a personal touch. Thought it might come in handy," Percy pulled the box open to find a compact lock picking set. He gave Hermes a questioning look. The god shrugged, "Everybody needs one. Figured you could just store it in the ring we gave you."
Percy attempted to store it and found that it simply disappeared from his hand. He tried a few times and found that he could pull individual tools as he pleased, "Want to break into Apollo's later?"
Hermes' grinned maniacally, "Thought you'd never ask. On the topic of Apollo though, he's probably waiting for you to get done."
Percy rolled his eyes as he held up his hand to show off the newest ring of his collection, "Thanks again."
Hermes simply laughed and sent him on his way. Percy felt better as he strolled away. A lot of the tension had rolled off of him as the two had talked. Hopefully, it would stay that way as the night went on. His ears perked as he heard Nico appear beside him again.
"Where'd you go?" Percy asked curiously. The younger man shrugged.
"Went to check on Thalia," Nico said casually. Percy shot him an accusing glare and he put his hands up placatingly, "I didn't say anything to her."
Percy let out a sigh of relief, "That's not a conversation I need to have tonight."
"Do people ever willingly try to talk to Thalia?"
"Didn't you?" Percy asked curiously.
"It's different," Nico shrugged, "Might as well be siblings at this point."
Percy grinned at the thought, "Good point. Do you know where your dad is?"
Nico thought for a moment, "Probably in one of the gardens with Persephone."
Percy nodded, "I've got to talk to Apollo and then I'll probably go find him."
"I'll tell Dad you're looking for him in a minute then."
Percy thanked him as he spied the sun god. He turned back and Nico had already vanished. Percy was quite jealous of his ability to do that. He could have avoided so many issues with that skill. It did, however, remind him to visit Mrs. O'Leary at some point. Blackjack too.
He was snapped out of his thoughts as one sun god draped his arm around his shoulders. Percy rolled his eyes as Apollo flashed him a toothy grin, "I'm assuming you know the deal by now?"
Percy grinned, thankful that his friend was getting straight to the point, "Pretty much."
Apollo removed his arm and pulled yet another small box out of a little bag he had hanging from his shoulder, "Get used to it tonight."
"I'm going to be here forever, huh?"
Apollo ran a hand through his hair, "You said it. Dinner Friday?"
"Where are we going?" Percy asked as he opened the box to a rather large ring. It spanned the upper portion of his middle finger and hung over whenever he closed his hand in a fist. It was decorated with what seemed to be a crow, though it could have also been a raven given that Apollo had given it to him, "This isn't another knife is it?"
Apollo faked a look of offense, "Of course not! I got you something infinitely better."
Percy rolled his eyes as he looked at the decoration of the ring. It looked like a crow (or raven) that was mid-flight, its wings coming down to create the band while its back feathers fanned out towards the end of the ring. The front part of the ring was made up of the head and neck of the bird as it slowly came to a blunt point at the front end. The head seemed almost skeletal in appearance and there was a small sun character engraved in the skull.
"Do I tap it?" Percy asked as he slipped it on. Apollo nodded and took a step back as he did so. Percy gave him a curious look before tapping the ring, causing a rather ornate bow to spring into his hands. He blinked at it. It seemed to be modeled in the same fashion of the ring, with either limb being a wing with the string groove being the long feather of a bird's wing. It was black in color with the handle being wrapped in brown leather. It was further characterized by a few actual white feathers adorning it on one side.
"I told you it was better in every way," Apollo grinned. While Percy was confident that a seven year old could shoot better than he could, it didn't stop him from staring in awe at the weapon in front of him, "You're going to need it."
Percy cocked his head as Apollo said that, "What do you mean?"
The sun god just shrugged, "It's just a feeling. Make sure to practice!"
The sun god clapped him on the shoulder and quickly disappeared. Percy groaned. He was going to murder him whenever he saw him next. He fiddled with the bow in his hands for a second before drawing the string back. He hadn't noticed the little bits of pelt that served to silence the bow string until he drew it back. He made a mental note to invest in a few arrows. He stared at some of the detailing for a moment before willing it back into its ring form. He got the distinct feeling it would stay in that form most of the time as he made his way around.
Percy rolled his eyes at his friends' antics before staring into the sky. He got the feeling it was going to be a long night.