DownPour

Awkward Moments

"Oh, fuck you, Jackson!" Michael laughed as Percy set down his skip card. "I had a good play!"

"Save it for next turn," Percy taunted. "If you can." Michael scowled and Percy continued to laugh.

Percy was currently on his bedroom floor with his three friends playing a game of Uno. It was maybe eleven or twelve, no one bothered looking at the clock, but it was dark enough to guess. They were staying over at his place for the night and, as all teens did, were trying to stay up as late as possible. Percy was a bit jumpy at it being so dark, which was normal since the gods had revealed themselves. Monsters had no care about mortals anymore. There was always a chance of being attacked.

Eddison played a two and Blaine put down a wild card. "Green!" He declared.

Percy groaned. "Come on, seriously?" But he put down his only green card anyway, a five.

Michael grinned and set down his challenge card. "Yellow, Eddison."

"Challenge!" Eddison barked. "Come on, show it!"

Michael smirked and flashed his cards. There was no green to be seen. Eddison groaned, drawing eight.

It was then that they heard it. There was a sound, echoing slightly and sounded like it was done with force. They all sat up straight, glancing around the room as if someone was in there with them. Nothing out of place.

They heard it again, and Percy looked to the window. There, sitting on his windowsill, was a brown speckled hunting falcon peering in at him with familiar yellow-silver eyes. A smile pulled at his lips. He knew who this was.

"Woah, dudes, look at the window!" Blaine suddenly exclaimed. The other two turned and looked at the bird. "What is that?"

"It's huge!" Eddison blurted. "Is that an eagle?"

"No, it's too small," Blaine answered. Eddison stared at him like he was crazy. "It might be a hawk of sorts."

"It's a falcon," Percy said. "A hunting falcon."

"A hunting falcon?" Michael asked. "Aren't those, you know, not in New York?"

"I don't know," Percy shrugged. "I just know what it is." He looked back at the goddess-turned-bird and noticed that she was fluttering her wings impatiently. When she saw he was watching, she stomped a foot and flapped her wings. She wanted him to come out. This late at night? With friends? Unusual, even for her.

"Get your shoes on," Percy said suddenly. "We're going outside."

"What?" Eddison said. "Are you serious?"

"If this is because of the bird, give it up. It'll fly away before you can get to it," Blaine stated.

"Just do it," Percy insisted. "Unless you'd rather stay in here."

"We'll come," Eddison sighed. "Hold up, will you?"

It was five minutes later when the four were marching out the door, quietly shutting it behind them to not wake Sally or Paul. Percy noticed Artemis diving down out of the corner of his eye and headed for the stairs. They went down to the lobby and exited the building.

"What the hell, man?" Michael said. "What are you doing?"

"I don't exactly know," Percy admitted. "Trust me, though. It'll probably be worth it." If Artemis was willing to risk his friends seeing this just so he could, it'd got to be good. Otherwise, she'd stay away.

"Is that the falcon?" Eddison asked. Percy saw Artemis zip past them, shooting straight forward. Percy broke into a sprint to keep up, racing after the bird as fast as he could. He heard his friend's footsteps behind him, straining to keep up. Artemis weaved through the streets, heading toward Central Park.