The First Times

First Talking To The Death

Right after the funniest Hallowe'en of their lives, Nico and Will had another even they needed to step up a little.

Ana's tenth birthday.

Though the number itself is not a cause of big celebration, it meant a lot for them as if it was at that time they discovered that they were demigods. And, while Ana is not one- Apollo and Hades triple checked -they wanted to make it special somehow. Luckily, that year it fell in a Saturday and they could plan a full day of fun things to do.

Aunts and Uncles from all around wanted to participate, which meant a big party. Neither of the demigods had enough for a big party, but that all changed when Piper, Annabeth and Reyna took matters in their hands. Their words were 'not worry about it and we'll see you at the party'. Will had to reassure Nico that 'if they were on it, nothing bad was gonna happen.'

Knowing that 'Grandfather' Hades hated parties, Nico had an idea which required some permission. He first talked to Will, then to Hades. Will's only concern was that Nico could become weak afterwards. Hades', however, was a little more serious, as he feared that Nico couldn't control all the greedy ghosts, which is why he volunteered to do so.

No one complained, so that was a go.

Ana woke up the day of her birthday smiling a little sadly, she was happy to celebrate, but it wasn't the same without her Mommy and Daddy and Alex. She hugged her locker close to her, before getting ready for the day. As usual, since it was a special ocassion, Ana made breakfast under the careful look of her Dad and Papà, who ended up covered in pancake pre-mix.

After managing that Dad could do a braid- ended a messy one -Ana got dressed, as Papà said they had a whole day planned before the party at night. Excited, she followed the grownups outside, claiming their first stop was a McDonalds. Curious as why they had to stop there, Ana she asked so only to receive a cryptic message from Nico.

"It's a surprise."

Not able to get information out of them, Ana relented and gifted them with the story of how Thomas- Tommy for short for her -Grace, Piper and Jason's months-old baby had shown and scared his parents with his powers. Just as they were walking inside the fast-food restaurant, Ana was getting to the end of her story.

"And, what happened next?" Will inquired to her, who smiled even bigger.

"Uncle Jason started to fly around trying to catch Tommy, but he ducked before and Uncle Jason broke Aunt Piper's lamp." She giggled at the end of the story, making the grownups laugh.

"Man, I wish I was there..." He shook his head in disbelief.

"I have it on tape!" Ana admitted, pulling out a phone- present from Tío Leo. Nico picked her up and they started to watch the video on the ordering line, chuckling once in a while.

"Well, Will... Now you were there." Nico mocked Will, while Ana simply giggled and nodded.

"Ha ha ha. Very funny, Nico." Will replied, sarcastically, when they got to the beginning of the line.

"Hi! Welcome to McDonalds! What can I get you?" The cashier greeted them.

"I got this..." Nico smirked at turned to the cashier, confidently. "I want 10 Happy Meals, one order of nuggets, two Big Macs and... what do you want, principessa?" He turned to Ana, whose eyes were wide open. 10 Happy Meals?! Who were they feeding? An army...?

"I want nuggets!" She stated, nodding.

"Make that two orders of nuggets." He corrected himself.

"That'd be 75 dollars, sir." The cashier announced. Nico paid wordlessly and waited for the change.

"What are we doing with all those Happy Meals, Papà?" Ana finally questioned him.

"Oh, principessa... we're visiting some special people later." Ana saw her Papà smiling wickedly, but Dad frowning.

"Nico, be careful... she might not see it..."

"No, Will. This is my present for her. After all, it's Ana's birthday today and she should celebrate it with the family." Nico insisted, smiling at their daughter. Ana smiled back at him and leaned on his shoulder while they waited for their order. Once their order arrived, Nico took Ana outside while Will took the extra Happy Meals to their car.

Their lunch was simple and filled with laughter and silly anecdotes. Ana loved hearing things her Aunts and Uncles did, their adventures mainly. Soon, the nuggets were gone and the sodas were drank, meaning it was time to go. She thanked them for a wonderful day, but like Nico pointed out 'the day is not over yet' and that they had to 'visit your family' before heading to the party.

Despite Ana's energy, she held it pretty well when they arrived to the cemetery and Hades was waiting for them. Ana bowed her head a little, before launching at him, earning a chuckle and hug from the god.

"Very happy birthday, my dear..." He wished her, smiling. A rare sight. "Now, there are other people here that were waiting for you..." Ana held tight to Hades' hand while he guided everyone- Will and Nico carrying the meals -to a little secluded tree. There, three people were waiting underneath the tree. Ana didn't need introductions.

"Mommy!! Daddy! Alex!!" She rushed to greeted them, though she showed disappointment when she couldn't hug them.

"Don't be sad, honey..." Her mother spoke first, smiling. "Your Grandfather is keeping us informed about you..."

"You grew a lot, squirt." Alex teased her, earning a pouting Ana.

"I'm not a squirt anymore! I'm ten!" She proudly showed her fingers and poked her tongue out at Alex, who chuckled at her.

"Right you are... right you are..."

"Nico, Will." Mr. Burns turned to the newly parents, smiling. "Thanks for looking after out girl... We know she's in good hands."

"Of course she is, sir." Will acknowledged, smiling a little. "Plus, we brought something to have a picnic, would you join us?"

Later that day, Ana would share the tale with everyone who hear her, claiming 'it was the best present ever'.

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This is taken from Mortals: Meet... part 1. I had to fix some things to fit the timeline of the story, which I'll fix for the revise version too later. Please, I apologize for my continuity errors (though, part of me wants to keep them, like Conan Doyle).

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Good morning/afternoon/evening!

I'm gonna start by saying... OH MY GOD!! Is the last day of the year!! 2018 went away sooooooooo fast! I can't believe that, in less than 15 hours, it'll be 2019 for me! (Obviously, if you're closer than me, Happy New Year!!) I really hope 2019 is full of great things for everyone, new friends, new jobs, new romances and new experiences (depending on what you guys want, hehe).

This is also good to point out than in 15, my poll for my next story will be close, so you still have time to vote if you didn't!

The last post of the year...

The First Times: 1 chapter!

I'll see you all on the first Sunday of 2019!!!
xoxo, SilverHuntresses