Requested by amazoncrazysloth
Based in PJO universe. In case you don't know what it is, perhaps research or read? But what are you doing here if you like Greek myth and haven't read PJO??
- Athena
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Piper walked passed the great house on her way back to the Aphrodite cabin. As she passed her eyes were drawn to the porch where Chiron was talking with two women.
Chiron didn't normally have women over at his porch so her interest was immediately sparked. She hid right underneath them, careful to keep her head tucked so they wouldn't see her.
"Look, I understand you don't want to risk the dangers of losing these amazing kids and their wonderful talents, but you know we can't go directly to him. The ancient laws keep us from interfering ourselves." A female voice said.
It sounded a bit deeper, but also like she knew what she was talking about. It reminded her of her dear friend Annabeth.
"I'm not suggesting you do my lady. I'm just saying that without a prophecy I won't be sending any of these kids anywhere."
Chiron sounded slightly defensive of his demigods. Piper figured she would be too after the last ten years. She hadn't been around for the titan war, but she didn't exactly mind. Gaea and her giants had been plenty for her. She could understand why the centaur wasn't keen on sending any of them on a quest without the slightest bit of guidance.
"But imagine their glory!" A second feminine voice asked.
"What good is glory if they die?" The centaur replied.
"They're not just your soldiers, they are your children. Do you really not care what happens to them?"
Silence. Piper raised her head a little so she could see, hoping furiously that none of the people at the table would see her.
The woman on the left had a face like a mask. No emotion, as if she was made of stone. She placed a hand on the right woman's arm. She seemed more hurt by the statement.
"Of course we do." The left one said.
"But in the end we will always outlive them. We cannot get attached the way a normal parent would. They might as well die serving a better cause."
"So letting them die a gruesome death sounds better than letting them live?"
"Only for a monster to come by and eat them? That less gruesome for you?" The right one snapped.
Chiron's jaw clenched.
"That's not fair lady Nike." He said, clearly trying to keep his calm.
Raging out against a goddess was never a good idea. They might seem kind on the outside, but they could be just as vicious as a poisoned blade. Especially the two in front of him. Both of them seasoned warriors, trained and wired to sacrifice everything for the succes of their mission.
"What is not fair is that there is no other way. But life is not fair old friend, especially those cursed with immorality. Nike is right, whether they die on a battle field, a monster, sickness or old age, it does not matter. They die anyway. We cannot stop to mourn every loss as immortals for if we did we would never feel anything but pain."
"Lady Ath-"
"No. The sacrifice of few can save many in the long run. It will save all of us a great deal of pain and loss."
Piper felt sick to her stomach. Whoever would be sent on that quest was very likely to die. She needed to inform her friends of this. Especially Annabeth, cause if she was right that were Athena and Nike sitting at that table. When the two of them talked as grim as this, you could be sure the world was damned.
Annabeth was in the Athena cabin when Piper rushed in. She was making a couple plans for designs she had been speaking about with Chiron earlier this week. New demigods, with different parentage sometimes meant new cabins as well. She was happy to be of service and have her skill put to the test with these new projects.
"Annabeth we need to talk!" Piper said busting through the door.
"Uh, yeah sure." She replied, worried why her friend was so on edge.
"Your mother, she's here." The daughter of Aphrodite said between breaths.
"What?! Why?" Annabeth exclaimed.
"She's here with Nike, talking about a quest that needs to be done soon."
"With Nike? What kind of quest?"
"I'm not sure, but it didn't sound very good. Something they would fix themselves if they could."
"But they can't because of the ancient laws." Annabeth finsihed.
Piper nodded.
"Chiron wasn't big on the idea. He predicted a lot of demigods might die."
Annabeth's eyes darkened. If this was serious enough for both Athena and Nike to be here she didn't even want to know what the quest was. She wanted to crawl into her bed, hide under the covers and not come out until it was all over. She didn't know how many end of the world quests she could handle anymore.
Something seemed off to Annabeth though. Why would both her mother and Nike come here? It seemed like a message one of them could have easily delivered by themselves.
"Athena and Nike? You were sure it was both of them?"
Piper nodded again.
Annabeth's eyes darkened as she pondered the reason why they would both come here when only one was needed.
Elsewhere Athena and Nike stepped of the porch leaving a deeply worried centaur behind. The victory goddess tried to take a hold of Athena's hand, but the latter refused.
"Not here." She whispered.
"Why not? No one is around."
"Not here Nike. If even a dryad sees and tells them-"
Athena paused. The idea alone of her kids knowing she was dating someone who was not their own father made a shiver go down her spine. She knew there were going to be a few that would be disappointed with her. Some that would not like Nike at all because of her competitive nature.
The wisdom goddess didn't want them to judge her or see her differently because she was dating victory. She already had plenty of people on Olympus telling her that she slept with victory in order to achieve her succes on a battlefield. She didn't need that from her own children. Neither did she want them to judge her for choosing a woman.
As far as her kids were concerned her interest lied with men. But in reality it was quite the opposite. Women had always stolen her glances and heart, so she swore an oath to never lie with a man so none would question her about it. No one ever bothered to look further into the literal meaning of her oath.
No men, but she never said anything about women...
"They won't say a thing, I'll make sure of it." Nike stated.
"No, you will not intimidate them and you won't need to because there won't be anything worth talking about."
The daughter of Zeus clasped her hands together behind her back, taking them away from Nike's. Her hands itched for her lover's touch, but she refused to give in and regret it later.
Nike halted for a moment as her girlfriend continued to walk. She felt like she had been stabbed in the chest, trust her she knew what it felt like, except this seemed to hurt even more. The way Athena talked to her it seemed as if she was just another of the servants walking around her.
'Like it used to be...' She thought.
"Thena please!"
With a quick little run she caught up to the wisdom goddess and grabbed her by the wrist.
"You can't hide it from them forever."
"But I can damn well try." Athena said as she turned around raising her voice.
It sounded hard and cold, like always when she shut out her emotions.
"Eventually they will know."
"Eventually might be generations from now."
"Oh so you will hide us for eternity?"
"If I have to."
"I am not hiding for eternity Athena."
"Then you and I can not go on for eternity."
The daughter of Zeus turned on her heel and walked in the direction of the Athena Parthenos that stood tall on half-blood hill. Nike followed close behind, not ready to let the woman she loved so much drop her just like that.