The Lion Boy

The Lion Boy Part 6

Annabeth POV

I woke up and yawned. Percy, the ever present warm lump at my side, was still sleeping. I liked having him by me. He protected me in ways nobody ever had before. It was comforting, and I appreciated it. Thalia and Luke were there too of course, we were a team now, but it wasn't the same. I knew they felt obligated to protect us, because no matter how well we did on our own, we were still younger than them. It was unnecessary of course, but they were another layer of comfort, help, that were there should I need them. It was nice having another girl in the group, and I think Percy liked having another boy as well that was human. Dynatos and Axi really didn't count, they were our parent figures as strange as it sounds, but they definitely had the personalities. I chuckled a little thinking about it, and in doing so accidentally woke Percy.
"Hey Beth." He said sleepily, and gave me a groggy smile.
"Hey Perce." I said, and smiled back at him. I ruffled his hair. (It was always really soft okay.) He groaned at me for it, but it was good natured.
"Aww Beth, you know it's always a mess. Did 'ja have to make it worse?" He said, his sleepy state slurring his words a little.
"You manage to pull off the scruffy haired look anyways Seaweed Brain. I did you a favor." He smiled and punched my shoulder lightly.
"Aren't you a saint." He told me.
"Don't you see this face? Of course I am. Now you might want to get up, the hunters have probably discovered our lack of food and need a cook. And I don't think they're the type to get what they want quietly." He groaned again and rolled over, falling out of the bed by doing so. I heard grumbling from the floor, although the only distinct sound I could make out was,
"Ouch." I laughed and poked his back.
"Get up you Seaweed Brain." He used his arms to prop himself up into a sitting position and glared at me. Then he fell back down, and through a series of worm like movements, made his way to the bathroom. I heard the sound of water running, and about five minutes later he came out, dressed in a sea green t-shirt and khaki knee length shorts. He shuffled to the kitchen with a smile, and left me to get ready. I didn't do much, but took a shower, threw my hair into a rough ponytail, and slipped on a pair of mildly short jean shorts as well as a grey t-shirt covered with darker grey owls. I joined Percy in the kitchen, where he had summoned a deluxe breakfast buffet complete with pancakes, waffles, cereal, three different types of milk, assorted fruit, yogurt and granola, bacon, eggs, hash browns, cinnamon rolls, and about ten other foods it would take to long to name. In short, he had a four course meal going. I grabbed a plate and started heaping on the food, knowing Luke, he would want a race to the beach and I was going to be well prepared.
The hunters were taking up places around the living room, dining room, and kitchen. There certainly were a lot of them. Artemis was sitting with Percy, discussing, was that Fall Out Boy?
"Uma Thurman?" Percy asked Artemis.
"It's a good one, but my favorite is Golden." Artemis pondered this for a moment before saying,
"You have good taste, but I like the beat of Uma better." She said agreeably. Percy shrugged, and took a bite of his food. It made some of his color return to him, as summoning that much food a tired him out somewhat. We were still only seven, no matter how cool our powers were. He smiled brightly at me when he noticed I was there, and waved me over. I sat and turned to Artemis,
"Not to be rude, but I didn't expect the moon goddess to listen to Fall Out Boy. How did that happen?"
She gave me an airy laugh, contradicting her tense air she had yesterday, when she had two arrows aimed for my friends.
"My brother Apollo knows all the good bands being the god of Music. As annoying as he is, I must admit his taste is impeccable." She finished thoughtfully.
"Fair enough." I said, finishing off my cinnamon roll, and stealing the center out of Percy's. It was the best part, and I didn't want to get back up to grab another, and have to eat the whole thing. Percy glared at me, but waved his hand, and his cinnamon roll refilled the gaping hole I had left in it. I looked over my shoulder, and saw a few hunters already having a quick nap, and using the lions as pillows. I smiled, those two honestly were big teddy bears. Artemis sighed,
"We really do need to be going. We're hunting a manticore right now, and I don't want to be leading it back to you." Percy smiled a little sadly but nodded.
"I understand, would you and your hunters like some food for the road?" He asked, as gentlemanly as always. Artemis nodded again.
"I think they enjoyed it." She said, looking around at the slightly larger stomachs of her hunters than normal. Percy hopped up nimbly, and scurried over to the closet where he pulled out a surprisingly large backpack. He gripped the straps firmly, and closed his eyes, furrowing his brow. I saw the backpack droop a little, and how Percy's arms flex a little, struggling with the weight of the pack. He walked back over, dragging the bag on the floor.
"That should be enough to keep you all going for a day." He smiled brightly. Artemis smiled back and I felt a slight twinge in my stomach seeing how well they were getting along. I pointedly ignored it. Artemis beckoned Luke and Thalia over to join Percy and I.
"Listen guys, if you ever decide you're tired of running around like you do, tell Dynatos and Axi to find a satyr. Not a faun. A satyr. With those noses I'm sure they'll be able to locate one easily enough. When you find one, tell it to take you to Long Island Sound. They'll understand." We all nodded, her instructions were vague, but since she was a goddess, and neither Hestia nor Rhea had warned us against her, I decided to trust her. She stood and opened her mouth,
"Hunters move out!" She barked. Percy opened the door for them and they filed out, with Dynatos and Axi getting a few hugs in the process. Artemis waved and then shut the door behind her, and just like that, the hunters were gone just as quickly as they had arrived.
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A/N: HOLY SCHNIZZLE. 1.53K VIEWS. WHAAAAAAT. I discovered this at around one in the morning about two days ago, and had to repress a fangirl attack so I would not wake everybody sleeping in my household. (As I was supposed to be and am supposed to be now) Thank you so much for all your comments and voting and love and support! It's such a boost for my confidence, and I hope I replied to all of your comments. You all deserved it. This chapter is roughly 1.1K words, so not to long, but not quite short either. I promise Mardi Gras is coming, I plan to make it in the next chapter, but things may change. In other news, I have a new story up. It's a AU story where Gabe abuses Percy, I had read quite a few, and decided to make my own with a little twist, it's called The Voices Inside My Head. Thanks for all the love you guys have been giving me! Updates are going to be a little slower during the summer for this reason; I write this on the Chrome Book (mini laptop) my School District gives me. I do not have it in the summer, and so I have to write on my iPad, or my extremely slow family lap top. I promise updates are coming as fast as I get ideas, but they are slower in the summer. (Ironic isn't it?) Thank you again for all the amazing support you guys have been giving me!
Your Favorite Demigod,
Isa Rivers