Champion of Love

It's Okay, I Chose To Be A Child Soldier

Mission details were important. They helped keep you alive if you didn't know exactly what you were supposed to be doing.

So why was it that the gods often left these details out?

Percy only knew three gods personally- Aphrodite, her boyfriend Ares, and her son Eros. Aphrodite had picked Percy up off the streets after his mother was killed. He'd had a step-father, but he refused to live as that jerk's personal punching bag. He'd run away and almost been Hellhound chow within his first day on the run, but Aphrodite had scared it away with her aura and decided to take Percy in. She promised to give him a purpose–a reason to live and fight. She'd raised him with a little help from Ares and occasional visits from Eros after the nosy god found out about Percy all on his own after his mother refused to tell him her newest and juiciest secret. He'd been absolutely delighted to know that she was raising Poseidon's son as her own, believing it would be a huge scandal when the information got out.

Ares was a douchebag, but since his woman was sweet on Percy, the war god had decided to teach Percy how to fight. That way, he could get away with beating the kid up without getting in too much trouble for it. On the bright side, Percy was better trained than any of the godling brats in Camp Half-Blood, the only safe place for demigods(aside from Olympus, of course, but the other gods would never allow that).

Percy did his best not to let his ego get too big because Aphrodite and Ares both gloated and bragged way too much for his liking and he didn't want to be known for being annoying and embarrassing when the public was informed of his existence.

Aphrodite wasn't the best mother, not by a long shot, but she did try her best and Percy thought he'd turned out pretty good. He was only twelve(almost thirteen) and Aphrodite had told him he was already a very charming young man.

Right now, he didn't feel very charming, as he was being chased by a young Empousa by the name of Clarabell. She'd been in disguise as a new student at Yancy Academy in Manhattan, New York.

She was really pretty, but she attracted people in a way that made her suspicious. Where she wasn't doing very good at hiding her true self, Percy was busy scouting her out and also laying low as best he could. He had to fool Chiron the Centaur and Trainer of Heroes(who was disguised as a Latin Teacher and had likely come to the school because of Percy's presence). Grover, Percy's best(and only)friend, was a satyr working for Chiron and had been the one to call the centaur to Yancy because he'd scented Percy in the beginning of the year and thought he was an uninformed halfblood.

But, after an incident where Grover walked in on Percy slicing his sword clean through a Hellhound in the boys bathroom in the West Wing on the second floor, Percy had made the Satyr swear he wouldn't tell Chiron and, taking a risk, explained his Champion status. He enjoyed having at least one friend to talk to.

Aphrodite had raised him well enough, but Percy didn't think she'd understand if he complained about how much the gods sucked at ruling the mortal world. She'd probably get upset at him and "forget" to give him a heads up for the next few missions(he'd learned that lesson the hard way, and it proved that gods were just as prone to mortal pettiness and punishments as mortals themselves, if not even more so).

Percy was hidden from the other gods, and therefore most of the world, and had no friends because of it. He was lonely and desperate for someone to know him, to understand. And he got lucky–Grover was a good friend.

Percy kind of wished the satyr was here right now to help him with this crazy Empousa. Clarabell was young and fast. And she wasn't even trying to kill Percy! She wanted his blood. Well, actually, she wanted to keep him as her personal feeding body so she could keep him until he died.