𝒎𝒊𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒓𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍 - 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒚 𝒋𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒙 𝒐𝒄

‧⁺˚*･༓𝑻𝑾𝑬𝑵𝑻𝒀༓･*˚⁺‧

They were the first heroes to return alive to Half-Blood Hill since Luke, so of course everybody treated them as if they'd won some reality-TV contest.

Phoenix was the first to greet Percy by slamming into him with a hug. He hugged her back, lifting her off her feet a bit. That was followed by a shorter hug from Grover and an even shorter one from Annabeth.

According to camp tradition, they wore laurel wreaths to a big feast prepared in their honor, then led a procession down to the bonfire, where they got to burn the burial shrouds their cabins had made for them in their absence.

Annabeth's shroud was so beautiful-gray silk with embroidered owls-Percy told her it seemed a shame not to bury her in it. She punched him and told him to shut up.

Phoenix's was yellow with a golden border. It had a large sun embroidered in the middle. Phoenix held it up to show Percy and he said it brought out the gold in her eyes which made Phoenix blush.

Being the son of Poseidon, Percy didn't have any cabin mates, so the Ares cabin had volunteered to make his shroud. They'd taken an old bed sheet and painted smiley faces with X'ed-out eyes around the border, and the word LOSER painted really big in the middle. It was fun to burn.

As Apollo's cabin led the sing-along (and picked all the songs per Phoenix's request) and passed out s'mores, Percy was surrounded by his old Hermes cabin mates, Phoenix who sat next to him on a log, resting her head on his shoulder, Annabeth's friends from Athena, and Grover's satyr buddies, who were admiring the brand-new searcher's license he'd received from the Council of Cloven Elders.

The council had called Grover's performance on the quest "Brave to the point of indigestion. Horns-and-whiskers above anything we have seen in the past."

The only ones not in a party mood were Clarisse and her cabin mates, whose poisonous looks told Percy they'd never forgive him for disgracing their dad.That was okay with Percy.

Even Dionysus's welcome-home speech wasn't enough to dampen anyone's spirits. "Yes, yes, so the little brat didn't get himself killed and now he'll have an even bigger head. Well, huzzah for that. In other announcements, there will be no canoe races this Saturday...."

Percy moved back into cabin three, but it didn't feel so lonely anymore. He had his friends to train with during the day. At night, he lay awake and listened to the sea, knowing his father was out there. Maybe he wasn't quite sure about Percy yet, maybe he hadn't even wanted Percy born, but he was watching. And so far, he was proud of what Percy'd done.

As for Sally Jackson, she had a chance at a new life. Her letter arrived a week after Percy got back to camp.

Percy read the letter which said that Gabe had left mysteriously-disappeared off the face of the planet, in fact. She'd reported him missing to the police, but she had a funny feeling they would never find him. On a completely unrelated subject, she'd sold her first life-size concrete sculpture, entitled The Poker Player, to a collector, through an art gallery in Soho. She'd gotten so much money for it, she'd put a deposit down on a new apartment and made a payment on her first semester's tuition at NYU. The Soho gallery was clamoring for more of her work, which they called "a huge step forward in super-ugly neo-realism."

But don't worry, Sally wrote. I'm done with sculpture. I've disposed of that box of tools you left me. It's time for me to turn to writing. At the bottom, she wrote a P.S.: Percy, I've found a good private school here in the city. I've put a deposit down to hold you a spot, in case you want to enroll for seventh grade. You could live at home. But if you want to go year-round at Half-Blood Hill, I'll understand.

Percy folded the note carefully and set it on his bedside table. Every night before he went to sleep, he read it again, and he tried to decide how to answer her.