December 14th
It was the middle of December, but would that have stopped Grover from planting his new tree? Nope!
He used a bit of his powers to melt a circle of snow in a small park in New York. He'd been planting more trees in the park (technically illegally, but technically, the Big Three weren't supposed to have kids, but Grover had found four anyway) to preserve the wilderness as much as he could. Now, he could add a tree that would feed the rest of the trees better than he ever could.
So, he was just filling up the hole with dirt when a figure appeared out of the corner of his eye. It had a cloak draped over its frame and a hood covering its face, but Grover remembered it.
"Grover Underwood," the figure said.
The satyr turned to face a boy he had seen once before, last week when he offered a gift for Will. At the time, Grover hadn't thought too much about it and thought it was just someone trying to be helpful, but afterwards, he realized just how suspicious it was.
"What do you want?" Grover asked.
The figure pulled down its hood to reveal a copper skinned boy with black curly hair and freckles dotting his cheeks. His eyes were a light blue, so light that it almost looked white.
The boy smiled and ignored Grover's question, "Looks like your gift was a hit."
"Will liked it," Gover responded evenly.
"Don't you want another gift just like it? Free of stress."
That did sound nice to Grover. He had been freaking out a few days before the exchange, trying to come up with something, and that's when the boy had shown up.
He really wanted to say yes, to let this boy pick out a gift for him, but a sudden thought flashed through his brain.
Hey dude, where are you?
It was Percy. He had offered to help plant the sapling during his lunch break.
"Don't talk to your friend," the boy told him, suddenly very angry.
Grover wasn't usually the type of creature to disobey anybody or stand on his own, but this boy seemed to be trouble.
I'm in the tree planting park Grover thought Hurry
The boy scowled, "You're going to regret that."
Then, in a flash of light, he disappeared.
"I'm here!" a voice called from behind the satyr.
Grover turned to watch Percy run towards him, holding a take out container and two coffees in a cup holder.
Percy got to where Grover was standing and set down the things in his hands before sitting down and taking a few deep breaths.
"I. . . came. . . as quickly. . . as I could. . ." Percy panted. "What's the. . . problem?"
"I just-" Grover stopped mid sentence. He didn't know if he should say anything. The boy had said he would pay for communicating with Percy. What would he do if he found out he told him everything? He also didn't seem to be a boy, he was some kind of creature, and Grover didn't want to anger a monster he didn't know about.
"I just knew you would be late if I didn't tell you to hurry," Grover lied. He had never tried to lie to Percy, especially with their empathy link, but he had to try.
It didn't work as well as he hoped since Percy gave him a knowing look.
"You don't have to lie to me," Percy told his friend, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Just, let me deal with it," Grover told him. He looked up at his best friend, trying to communicate with his eyes that he needed him to back off.
Whether through the empathy link or otherwise, Percy seemed to get the message.
"Well, let's eat then," Percy shrugged, crouching down to the container and coffees he had left on the ground. "I got enchiladas!"
He opened the container and the smell of hot enchiladas wafted into Grover's nostrils. Sighing, he sat on the grass and began eating with Percy while they idly chatted about Christmas and girlfriends.
As they talked, Grover couldn't help but check behind his back when Percy wasn't looking.
***
Annabeth was excited to have a day off. No school, no Percy, no friends with needs, nothing but her and her books. So of course, that is exactly when her mother remembered she did in fact, have a daughter.
"Annabeth Chase." the goddess Athena appeared in front of her daughter who was sitting on the couch in her and Percy's apartment, with her owl resting in her lap. "I have a mission for you-"
"No," Annabeth said without looking up.
"What?" the goddess asked, appalled.
"I'm not doing any quests," Annabeth told her, still reading her book. "Especially not during the Christmas season."
"It-it's not a quest. . ." Athena stuttered.
"I do not accept," Annabeth told her. She looked up at her mother then, staring her right in the eyes.
"Fine," Athena scowled, "I didn't want to have to do this. . ."
The goddess snapped her fingers and Luke appeared in front of her. His skin was pale and his eyes were swollen and sunken with exhaustion.
"Luke!" Annabeth cried. She had gotten over her crush years ago, but he was still her family.
She stood up, dropping her book and her owl screeched at the sudden removal of her seat.
As Annabeth tried to approach her friends sickly body, her mother snapped her fingers again and he disappeared.
"Where is he?" Annabeth demanded.
"He is back in the Fields of Punishment," Athena replied with a smirk.
Annabeth almost gasped. The Fields of Punishment? Why? He didn't deserve to go there.
"He doesn't have to stay there," the goddess told her.
Annabeth looked up at her mother with fury lighting up every cell in her body. "How could you?"
Athena just smiled cruelly, "this will make you smarter. Make you make decisions quicker so that others don't have to go to such drastic measures."
Annabeth wanted to punch the goddess and throw her into Tartarus. She had once told Percy to respect the gods, but all of that went out the window after Kronos.
"What. Do. You. Want?" Annabeth asked, teeth clenched.
"I want you to get your friend, Thalia, and meet me in two days time at my Parthenos," Athena told her. "Then I'll tell you what you can do to save your friend."