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Chapter Text

Athena was restless. She had woken up and fallen asleep at least ten times, but never for more than ten minutes. She looked over and saw Poseidon playing with a ball of water he had created, transforming it into a horse, a trident, or anything else to pass the time. Athena rolled back over to gaze out the window and saw Helios riding his chariot across the sky. She spotted Hermes sprinting around Olympus, delivering messages, causing chaos, and being a menace. She looked at the gardens and saw Demeter tending to the newly awakened plants. Her daughter, Persephone, was not far away, growing beautiful flowers wherever she stepped, her auburn hair pulled into a bun.

Athena rolled over and stared at the ceiling, folding her arms over her chest while her wings rested against the pillow that cushioned them and her head. Apollo had called for recklessness, quoting: "Going to help that wet cat of a mortal after getting cooked rare." She didn't understand why it was such a big deal. Seriously! She was perfectly fine; she didn't need to spend an extra month in the cramped infirmary with Poseidon. She disliked how bright it was here. Who needs it to be so bright?! Oh wait, it's Apollo we're talking about... never mind.

Anyways, she rubbed her hand over the bandages covering half her face. She couldn't stand the texture of the bandages, especially when they were wrapped tightly around her flared-up scars and blind eye. She didn't understand why Apollo insisted on making her wear so many bandages on her body. She felt like a mummy, and not in a good way. A couple of days ago, she had tried to escape, only for Hera to find her and take her back. Apollo had said she wasn't in a stable enough condition for him to use a lot of his healing magic on her, which meant she would have to be in here for an extra week. This was something she heavily opposed, even if other gods were taking over her domains. When she heard that, she was very opposed to it. However, nothing horrible had happened yet, so she could only guess they had it under control.

She hoped Telemachus didn't think she had abandoned him. Odysseus would most likely say she did. She had told Hermes to send a message to Telemachus, but she could never be so sure when it came to him. She sat up and looked over at the flowers on the bedside table. Apollo had put it on by both Athena and Poseidon, saying: "This is so you two can have a breath of fresh air. You both very much need it." 

Most of the time the flowers were Hyacinths, but sometimes he would replace it with different flowers. Also, Asclepius would sometimes replace the flowers, and he always choose flowers he knew they would like. She liked him, he was quiet and would sometimes bring her things to read, and would bring Poseidon stuff from the ocean.

Abruptly the door the infirmary opened, and Apollo walked in. She thought he was just coming to replace their water, and all of that. However, he looked at Athena and spoke up. His voice had its usual warm tone to it.

"Athena, you have a visitor." He said before walking out almost immediately. Athena was about to ask who it was, but they walked in before she could ask. It was Aphrodite. 

She walked in and sat in the chair next to Athena's bed. Her pink, curly hair falling down in waves. Some of it was tied back, and some of it fell in-front of her shoulders. She was wearing one of dresses that covered her a bit better than what she normally wore. It had some pearls and seashells on it. The small wings on her hair were nervously folded against the side of her head. Athena could tell the wings resembled those of a dove, like how Athena's resembled those of an owl.

"Hello, Aphrodite," she greeted. A bit too formal for either of their likings. "Hi, 'Thea," Aphrodite said. Way more casual, and better, than Athena's.

"What did you call me?" She wasn't used to nicknames. The only one who called her any nicknames was Odysseus. "I called you 'Thea. If you don't want I won't call you it." Aphrodite explained. She seemed...nervous from what Athena could tell. Though there was a hint of something else she couldn't place.

"I came to check on you, since after you helped that humongous slaughter. Ares enjoyed it, that's for sure."Aphrodite said, giving a small chuckle at the end. "Oh, well I'm fine. You don't need to worry about me," She said softly. She didn't understand why Aphrodite was concerned. They were the furthest thing from close. Athena fidgeted with her hands, not knowing how to speak right then and there.

"How are you holding up since... y'know the game?" Aphrodite asked, she didn't regret visiting but it was starting to get uncomfortably awkward. "I'm doing fine, Aphrodite." Athena responded quickly. Too quickly in Aphrodite's opinion, it seemed like she was lying. However, it was a small gut feeling at most.

"Y'know Ares has been slightly less angry after what happened. Almost concerned," Aphrodite piped up. A hint of disbelief in her voice. "You're kidding?" Ares was only really like that around his lovers and kids. Otherwise he was angry. 

"Yepp...surprised Hermes when he didn't try killing him when he played a prank on him." Aphrodite joked, letting out a slight chuckle. Her small dove wings relaxed slightly, resting against the mess of hair Aphrodite has. "Wow, that's..." "surprising?" "Yeah, that." Athena sat there awkwardly again. How was she so bad at socializing?!

"You're really stubborn you know that? And not in the good way," Aphrodite mumbled. Obviously trying to get a rise from Athena. "W-wha-Hey!" Athena stammered. Playfully hitting Aphrodite on the shoulder. "You asshole!" She added on. She was obviously mocking offense, but Aphrodite still played along.

"Wow, that's the best you can come up with?" Aphrodite teased. She crossed her arms in front of her chest. She had a smug smile on her face, she'd gotten exactly what she wanted. "What? Would rather me call you a buttfungus?"

"A what?" Aphrodite choked. She didn't expect that to come out of Athena's mouth. "You heard me," Athena chuckled. Her owl wings fluttering in amusement. She let out a small smile. One side pulled further up than the other, since the lightning scars.

"You're insufferable. You know that...right?" Aphrodite said annoyed. Not really annoyed, more amused, but hiding it with annoyance. "I take that as a compliment, thank you very much," Athena bragged. She leaned back against the pillows, and folded her arms over each other. She was abnormally relaxed.

"Has anyone else visited you?" Aphrodite asked. She was sure almost all of Olympus visited her after seeing Athena. Zeus's favorite. Get struck down almost to death. "Nope. Unless they visited when I was knocked out or asleep, otherwise a hard no." Athens explained. She wasn't even mad about it to be honest. She didn't need their pity.

"Wait, really?" Aphrodite said her voice line with genuine surprise. Her dove wings flared out slightly. She wasn't expecting that answer out of anything. "Yeah, and I don't really mind. I like the quietness in here." She was happy she didn't have to see all their faces. Well it would've been hard to focus on them after being slammed into a wall full force. 

"Hm, that sounds like something you would like rather than socializing." Aphrodite joked, trying to hide her surprise. That earned a surprisingly loud laugh from Athena. She wasn't someone who showed emotions much, especially laughter. They were both very different in that sense. One who thrived on showing emotions, and was the goddess of love. And the other who hid her emotions behind a helmet and armor, and was the goddess of wisdom.

"So...how's your champion?" Aphrodite asked. She wanted to keep this conversation going. She didn't have a reason, but she just needed to. "Oh, Telemachus? He's OK. He's like a golden retriever, and I swear he and that one prince had something going on between them." She specifically added that last part to try and entertain Aphrodite's attention.

"Ooh, that's enticing. Oh, tell me more." Aphrodite perked up at the mention of love. Her dove wings slightly flapped. She did love to hear about things like this, even if it wasn't for sure. "Well, when I sent him on his mission he met Pisistratus who was to help him. During it they started to grow close, close to the point where you could assume they were more than friends." Athena explained, she wasn't big on romance, but it seemed like Aphrodite was very interested.

"I'll have to look into this," Aphrodite had a big grin on her face. Athena started to regret telling Aphrodite about that just to keep their conversation going. However, at the same time it was entertaining to see Aphrodite's reactions. 

"How long until you're ready to leave?" Athena perked up, not expecting that question. "A month or two," Athena answered. Her owl wings slightly relaxed. She messed with the feathers on her (owl)tail. She wasn't good at socializing by a long shot, and this didn't help with that one bit.

Throughout this entire conversation she was surprised Aphrodite hadn't made any snappy remarks towards her. They were never on the best terms, with Athena being a virgin goddess, and Aphrodite being the goddess of love, beauty, and lust. However, Aphrodite was surprisingly being abnormally kind to her, too kind. But, she didn't look into it since she didn't have a reason to other than a gut feeling.

"Well Thea' it was nice talking to you, but I'm going to leave you to your devices now. Hope you get better." Aphrodite got up, and started to walk away. She slightly paused at the door, her hand resting on the doorframe. Then she left her sandals clicking behind her.

Athena sat there for a moment she didn't know what to think about what just happened. Her small owls wings folded against her head as she thought about what happened. She fidgeted with her thumbs looking out the window. She noticed it was around dusk, and she knew Apollo would want them to get plenty of rest.

She laid down in bed, and faced the window. She felt herself fall asleep fast, faster than normal. Her arms relaxed, her wings fluttered over her eyes to hide any light that may disturb her sleep. Then she finally fell asleep.

When she woke up the next morning the sun shown brightly in her eyes, almost blinding her. It looked like Helios was in a good mood today. She sat up, and when she reached for the glass of water on her bedside table she noticed something. In the vase instead of the Hyacinths that were in there yesterday, there were red roses. There was a card by it. She grabbed the card and read it.

Thought you may like some different flowers. Hope you can stand being here for the next month or so. Don't try escaping again also. You've tired Apollo out a lot already. Don't make it worse.

-Aphrodite :)

When Athena read the note a small smile pulled at her lips. Her right side pulled higher up from the lightning scars. She was surprised by this kind gesture, but at the same time she wasn't. Her small owl wings relaxed against her hair, which was shorter now from being singed by Zeus' lighting bolt.

She set the card down by the windowsill. There was a wooden carving of an owl already on it, which was given to her by Telemachus. She looked out the window, guess Aphrodite did have some power over her. Even if it was only to make her smile.

Chapter Text

Athena looked over to Poseidon's bed and saw him with a surprised look on his face. "Are you OK, Poseidon?" she asked, slightly concerned. He stayed in that position for about a second longer before snapping out of it. "W-wha...what the?" Poseidon stammered, obviously surprised by something.

"What are you so surprised about?" Athena questioned, oblivious to what was wrong. She tilted her head like an owl, her small owl wing on the right stretching out farther than the left one. "Aphrodite left you roses! The flower that's like...the most romantic!" His Pelican wings flaring out as he said that exasperated him.

"Please, it's nothing. Her sacred flower is the rose, so she's going to leave roses and not a different flower." Athena said she didn't understand what the big deal was. Aphrodite didn't like her, nor did she like Aphrodite. Right? "Also, she has always had a grudge against me, and I haven't liked her either." That earned her a heavy sigh from Poseidon.

"How did you become the goddess of wisdom again?" He asked, realizing she was very oblivious to love in any form. "Because I'm not the one who got stabbed over ten times by a mortal in his late 40s." She snapped back. Her remaining eye was twitching in annoyance at Poseidon's jab at her. She noticed Poseidon's wings dip down like how a dog's ears would when sad.

"Do not bring that up! He had help alright!" He argued. It was a horrible argument, if she had to say. However, it was fun to see him get riled up. "Barely any help if I have to be honest," she teased. The two of them had one of the best-known rivalries, but they couldn't help teasing each other.

"He still had help! It still counts!" He yelled back, his Pelican wings flaring out again in annoyance. He was fully sitting up now, his fish tail lashing in annoyance. "I guess it does," she decided to surrender and end this argument. She had gotten a big enough kick out of it already. And personally, it was hilarious to see him annoyed.

"See! I'm right!" He exclaimed with pride, thinking she had genuinely given up. He gave a big, toothy grin, like if a shark tried smiling. That's what it looked like. "Yeah, yeah. Keep it to yourself mate." Athena mumbled. Knowing Poseidon he wouldn't let her live this down for a long time.

A little bit later the door to their room opened up. Not to either of their surprises it was Aphrodite. However, this time she was carrying something, "Is that petteia?!" Athena almost yelled. She loved that game, almost as much as she loved her owls. And that was saying something.

"You don't need to get so excited," Aphrodite laughed. She walked to her bed, and sat down in the chair by the bed. Neither Athena or Aphrodite noticed the look Poseidon was giving them. He noticed something the neither of them did. He looked away and slightly facepalmed his pelican wings tilting down.

"To be honest I'm even surprised you came again. Let alone with Petteia." Athena mumbled. Her ears perking up (Don't ask me how). "Wow, you think that little of me?" Aphrodite teased at Athena. The was now venom in her voice, she just liked it push Athena's buttons. "Anyways, I came with this because I wanted to see if you could teach me how to play Petteia." 

"You want me to teach you how to play Pettiea?" Athena asked almost exasperated. Most people only needed her help with things connected with her domains, and even then they only asked when it came to wisdom and war. No one, safe for Penelope one time, asked her for help related to her crafts domain. "Wait...how do you not know how to play Petteia? It's a really popular game."

"I only play games with Ares. He doesn't like games like this, so we haven't played it before." Aphrodite explained to Athena. She set down the game on the bed, she had arranged the peices on the board by how she thought they would go. "Well you already know how to arrange the board correctly," Athena noticed. She slightly turned the board so she was the black peices, and Aphrodite was the white peices.

"OK, let's get started. To play Petteia each person needs 16 peices, they're placed on the opposite sides of the board. You can move left, right, forwards, and backwards as far as you like. If the other person get two of their peices to kind of sandwich yours they get that peice."

"You can go in-between the other person's peices as long as you say 'safe' when you do it. The goal of the game is to capture all the other teams peices." Athena finished explaining. She looked at Aphrodite, surprised to see Aphrodite caught everything she just said. "I can repeat it if needed. I know I talk fast a lot of the time."

"Don't worry Athena I got it perfectly fine. Anyways want to play Petteia now?" Aphrodite challenged she knew most likely she wouldn't win, but at this point she didn't care if she won or not. "I can-wait do you want to go first Aphrodite?" She didn't want to seem rude, Athena stumbled only her words when she said that.

"OK, I guess?" Aphrodite mumbled. She didn't notice Poseidon silently mumbling to himself about how Athena's an awkward mess, and how Aphrodite needs to step up her game. However, Athena heard it. She gave Poseidon a glare, and that, surprisingly, shut him up. Fast.

Around ten rounds later Athena won most of them. She let Aphrodite win one, and Aphrodite on her own won another one. Poseidon wanted to join in wanting to beat the both of them. Aphrodite and Athena both beat him, for Aphrodite is was a close match. For Athena it was a really fast match.'

"So Athena...I have a question," Aphrodite asked. Athena noticed that Aphrodite was unnaturally nervous when she said it. Athena tilted her head like an owl, "What's your question?" Athena's remaining eyebrow was raised in curiosity. 

"Why did you vow chasity? I know Hestia did it because Apollo and Poseidon were suitors. I can't ask Artemis because she'd rather bit me than answer my question. So why did you?..." Aphrodite said awkwardly. She slightly fidgetted with robe.

"I knew someone would ask this eventually..." She sighed. She looked away for a moment. It wasn't her favorite story to tell. It wasn't even a story she'd told anyone. "You know how I wasn't on Olympus for 5 years after I was born?" Athena clarified, she knew Aphrodite knew that. She had been around since Kronos chopped of Uranus' genitals.

"Yeah? What about it?" Aphrodite asked. She was confused on where Athena was going with this. "Well, I was put down on earth. I was to stay at lake Tritonius until Zeus decided I could come back. When there I met the daughter of Triton. W-we became friends, some may say even more than friends."

"She was the better fighter of the both of us. Since she had more time to practice, and perfect her skills. We decided to spar for a sports tournament. Zeus showed up, finally decided to be a 'good dad'. Of course his pride got to him. Pallas was beating me, he couldn't let that be. So he went up to the clouds behind the stands, and distracted her with the Aegis."

She stopped talking for a moment. She had always felt guilty about this part of the story. Even though she knew it wasn't her fault. "She couldn't move or block in time, and I stabbed her. She died. Because of that I swore chasity." She looked to see Aphrodite's face and saw a pitying look. "Do not pity me, please.."

"Fine I won't," Aphrodite replied surprisingly calmly. She sat there for another moment not knowing what to say. She didn't realize until she said it, what she said. "You remind me of a cat, Athena." She murmured. She saw Athena's offended face, and heard Poseidon's chuckle from behind them.

"I remind you o-of a what?" Athena stammered. Her face red as a tomato. "I said you remind me of a cat." Aphrodite replied not at all bothered by Athena's embarrassment. "Don't tell me you can't see it," Aphrodite chuckled. Why do I get this warm feeling of seeing her embarrassed?

"Why would I see myself as one of those furballs?" Athena asked, definitely offended to some level. Her wings slightly flared out. "You're cold on the outside, not needing affection. Yet you're just a big softie." That earned her a chuckle from Poseidon, and a sharp glare from Athena.

"I am NOT a cat. I don't even like cats." Athena bit back. Some of her annoyance was fake, but most of it wasn't. "We'll see about that," Aphrodite threatened. "What do you mean by that Aphrodite?" Athena asked. A very slight hint of concern laced in her voice.

Aphrodite didn't answer her. "What do you mean by that Aphrodite?" Athena asked again. However this time was more urgent. "Don't worry 'bout it 'Thea," Aphrodite chuckled. She was having a field dat at seeing Athena's concern. It was entertaining to watch Athena stumble, especially since she was normally so composed and calm.

"Are you here to do something other than make fun of me?" Athena sneered annoyed. She wasn't entirely annoyed, but she actually started to enjoy this bickering they had going on. "Nope, besides why would I?" Aphrodite answered. With that shit eating grin of hers. Athena noticed Poseidon snickering at their bickering again.

"You got something to say, you algae?" Athena asked. That earned her the middle finger from Poseidon. "Got nothing to say other than you two are a match made in the underworld," and that earned him a punch on the arm from Aphrodite. Athena rolled her eyes before glaring at him hard. That shut him up.

"Anyways, it's starting to get dark so I'm going to leave you two alone." Aphrodite stated. Before she got up and headed for the door. However, she stopped at the door and looked at the both of them. "Don't burn, or flood, this place to the ground," she teased before finally walking out the door.

Athena sat there for a moment after she left before looking out the window. It had became routine now. Every night she would look out the window and watch Helios retire for the night and let Selene take her place in the sky. She realized at that moment that she would have to get used to Aphrodite visiting her more frequently. It was a nice break. She hadn't gotten any visitors for when she had been here up until Aphrodite.

"I miss my wife," she heard Poseidon mumble. She was honestly surprised Amphitrite hadn't visited everyday. However, she did have to take over Poseidon's duties along with hers as the goddess, and queen, of the sea. "Don't worry algae she'll probably visit soon. Besides she has a lot more work to do now that you're stuck here." She reassured him. She didn't know why, but she did.

She heard his grumble of appreciation before she heard the rustling of bed sheets. He was most likely going to bed now since it was getting close to that time. However, she stayed away watching the sunset. She always admired The Hesperides for this beauty they brung. She was reminded of those late nights when her and Pallas would go against King Tritons orders and sneak off to watch the sunset.

She laid down pulling the blankets up as she felt Hypnos start to pull her to his domain. Something she hadn't allowed him to do for hundreds of years until now. As her eyelids fell heavy she thought of the day, and how she actually enjoyed Aphrodites presence. She held grudges for a long time, but the one against Aphrodite didn't seem to be there anymore.

Chapter Text

This, this is why she used to never sleep. Why she wouldn't get a blink of rest for years. These nightmares that plagued her. Mortals wouldn't be able to believe a goddess even got nightmares. Except for Odysseus. Yet she got some that made her stay up for centuries just to avoid ever facing them. And after the games they only got worse from there.

She was...not here. Anywhere, but here. She was on the exact beach where she killed her, where she watched, and heard, her spear pierce her stomach. Then she saw her standing on the direct spot where Athena killed her. The spear was gone from her stomach this time, but it was replaced with a blood stained hole in her tunic.

"Athena..." she called out. Athena looked her in the face, it was blurred out. Had she really forgotten the face that plagued her dreams? The face of the sea nymph she fell in love with. "I-I'm so sorry..." Was all Athena could muster to say. She was so close to bursting into tears, but she couldn't. Zeus told her to not, because it was weakness, and a war goddess shouldn't have weakness.

"You killed me, Athena." She called out again. Athena walked closer, when she stopped she was only about three-to-five feet away from her. "I know," she didn't know what to say to the soul in front of her. To the soul that had died in her arms. To the soul that had taught her love for the very first time.

"Why," she rasped out. Athena couldn't answer that question. Even if she had the answer, she just couldn't. She had posed it as more of a statement than a question. "I didn't mean...I didn't mean to..." It took all of Athena's willpower power to not burst into tears, and fall to her knees. Why was she trembling? She shouldn't be trembling. She was a war goddess, not a child.

"Liar..." She growled out. Athena didn't know what to say. This was rare for her. She never had this happen before, but here she was. Speechless. "I-," what was she supposed to say? 'I know,' 'I'm sorry'? She went with the first option, finding it easier to agree than go with guilt. "I know," she replied numbly.

They stood there in silence for a moment longer. Athena was looking at her feet. Her hands were stuck to her sides trying not to fidget with anything, or show any weakness. Then she noticed...was that water? She was gone now, but now there was some water pooling beneath her feet. She stepped back as the water started to rise more and more.

"W-what?" Calm down, it's fine. You're fine. Don't overreact. She was staring at the rising water until she noticed, it was receding? But when she looked up she was...looking at the cliff. The exact cliff on Ogygia He-Odysseus had tried to kill himself that month ago. "N-no, not here," she gasped. She didn't know who she was talking to, but it helped keep her grounded.

It started to rain she noticed, just like that night. She saw Odysseus on the cliff standing, and around 20-feet away was...her...Calypso. She despised that nymph from the moment she started to look through Odysseus's memories on Ogygia. Even more since she knew why she was there, for siding with the titans, even if it was to stop her father, which would've been better in her opinion if it meant none of this would've existed. Or her existence for that matter.

She watched this play out again. She wasn't as scared as last time since she knew the outcome. Odysseus wasn't going to jump, he would call out to her, and Calypso would pull him back, right? However, when she watched it this time through something felt...off. She didn't know what, but it felt worse. She watched as Calypso triggered Odysseus's memories of all he lost, the ghosts pushing him on. To join them, to see them again.

This time, however, he didn't resist. He didn't...wait. Nononononononono, he wasn't supposed to do this. Instead of calling her name he stepped forward. She ran towards him, from wherever she was, she watched him plummet to the ground, to the rocks and ocean below them. She tried getting him. Tried grabbing him. Tried to do anything. But she still heard the crack of bones, and saw his body on the rocks. Limp. Dead.

It's your fault. A voice in the back of her mind hissed. The voice sounded like Zeus. It sounded like the voice that had favored her, yet had made her so hollow on the inside. The voice that had challenged her to a rigged game. The voice that called her defiant and struck her down seven times. Over and over. It's your fault. She knew that. It's your fault. It had always been her fault, right?

She laughed at that thought. She didn't notice the landscape fading into darkness. Why was she so torn on this thought? It was obviously her fault. No "maybe's" or "no's" just "obviously yes". She was...shaking? When did she start shaking? She didn't notice the ichor starting to stain her clothes, or her scars starting to flare up again.

She hated how weak she was. She hated how she was trapped in an infirmary. She as a war goddess? Right? She shouldn't be like this. She needed to be better. He wanted- no needed her to better. She reached her hand up and noticed...wetness? It wasn't ichor, it was salty. Was she...crying? Why was she crying? She shouldn't be weak enough to cry. Not now. Not ever.

She hated this. She hated everything about these past weeks.When she realized she was in a weird black void it only fueled her panic. It reminded her of her first years living, when she was trapped in Zeus's stomach. She had tried to calm herself down, but she couldn't. She felt more tears spill out, and ichor started to stain more and more of her clothes. She couldn't even comprehend her scars flaring up with everything else happening.

She needed to ground herself. To get out of this nightmare. She tried breathing -Just like Apollo had taught her when he found out about her nightmares- in and out. That is when she comprehended that her scars were flaring up. She tried to force herself to wake up, she knew she had to. She couldn't stay in this nightmare forever.

To her surprise the void suddenly shifted to the infirmary, and she sat up sharply. She felt sweat on her skin, but no ichor. Must've been the nightmare only playing tricks on her. Her scars were starting to go back to normal, and her breathing slowly settled. She could feel the bandages tightened around her scars, which didn't help at all.

She looked out the window and saw that Selene was about halfway in the sky, it must have been 12 am in the morning. She'd only gotten around 3 hours of sleep then. Which didn't surprise her because she'd always had a hard time sleeping, especially at night. The reason being is one of her sacred animals, the small owl, was mostly nocturnal and she guessed she took that trait on.

She laid back down on the pillows trying to ground herself. She knee she couldn't go to sleep again, not after that nightmare. It had taken too much of a toll on her, and she couldn't go through that again. She couldn't face her again.

It was about midday, and Athena swore Poseidon knew about the nightmares. Ever since the lightning strikes she was almost as easily exhausted as a mortal would be, and she hated it. She was messing around with yarn Apollo had brought by he said it would help with her boredom. Not like she would be bored since Aphrodite had started to come. Even though she'd been kinda pissed at the yarn because she thought he thought she was like a cat, she had enjoyed messing with the strings though.

She'd honestly been fighting sleep the entire day, she could tell Apollo knew. He had asked her why, and she had responded saying she was fine, which she was not. However, it wasn't any different from whenever she wouldn't sleep for months at a time during the Trojan War, or when she needed to get work done. She stretched her wings slightly, aching to be able to go outside and fly.

Her thoughts were suddenly cut off by an annoying ass laugh. She turned around and was met by Hermes standing in-between her's and Poseidon's beds. "Well hello darlings, you two are lookin' better already!" He said but her and Poseidon were 90% sure he was lying to make them feel better. "Cut the crap Hermes, why are you here?" Poseidon spat out. His pelican wings flared out annoyed.

"Calm your horses you haystack, I'm just here to deliver some messages to you two!" He laughed, and he pulled out a bunch of letters. Most with the water kingdom's crest, but one had some messy handwriting that said 'To Athena'. Hermes threw the letters Poseidon got, not caring to be carful with the letters. "Be careful with those!" Poseidon growled before looking through them, most likely looking for one from Amphridite. 

Hermes handed Athena the single letter she got and she found out it was from Telemachus. She was honestly surprised Hermes would deliver for a mortal, especially since he was busy a lot of the time. "Y'know Attie the kid who wanted me to give you this didn't take no for an answer when I said it the first couple a' times." Athena chuckled at that, it seemed like a very Telemachus thing to do. "Makes sense."

She opened the letter ignoring Hermes trying to rile up Poseidon. Inside was a piece of parchment, and a small bracelet made out of clay beads and other things. When she un-folded the parchment she was fairly surprised at how much he had written.

To Athena,

Please don't tell my dad I sent this to you. He doesn't like the idea of me talking and being friends with gods. He said you were most likely lying when you said we were friends. But you wouldn't have a reason to though?

Athena could see where Odysseus was coming from. Seeing from how she had acted towards him. Along with the trauma he had endured from mostly gods and divine beings. Though Athena was surprised that Telemachus was sending this even though Odysseus didn't want him to.

Anyways, I just wanted to know if you still wanted to mentor me? You've been gone for a while after what happened with the suitors. Are you ok? You promised on the Styx you would mentor me, and I would be surprised if you purposely broke the promise.

Also why didn't you mention Odysseus was your friend? He told me you used to mentor him, but when I brought up you called him your friend he said: "She certainly didn't say I was her friend when she mentored me."

She was happy the Telemachus knew she wouldn't break a promise like that, but slightly sad about how she had acted in the past that had made Odysseus think that little of her. She slightly tore a small piece of the parchment in her hands, that made her snap back to reality and realize how tightly she'd been gripping the parchment.

She'd been lucky it was a small piece that didn't have any writing on it. But she was still annoyed at herself for doing that over Odysseus. She didn't know how Odysseus meant so much to her, he had let go, why couldn't she? It didn't make sense.

Anyways(How many times am I going to say that?) please send me a message or really anything so I can know you're okay, and you didn't abandon me! I don't know why I would think you did, but that's what my dad said you were probably doing?

From, Telemachus

Athena needed something to write on. Fuck. Apollo didn't let them have anything like that in case something bad happened because of them. She needed to send a message or anything. "Hermes do you have some parchment and ink I could use? I need to send a message back to him." She knew she couldn't say his name in-front of Poseidon. "Oh... sure Attie!" Hermes said before handing her a piece of parchment and a pen and ink. She wanted to ask where he got it, but she held herself back.

She scribbled down a letter to Telemachus. Her hand writing was more shaky than normally, even though her normal handwriting wasn't that good. She guessed from all of the quick notes, and battle plans she'd written her hand writing had gotten worse from it. However, luckily, she could write fast so it didn't take long for her to write a letter that was a little shorter than Telemachus's. 

"Here Hermes, could you give this to him?" Athena knew Hermes would know she was talking about Telemachus, even if she couldn't say it in-front of Poseidon. "Did I ever tell you you're my favorite uncle?" "No?" "Because you're not darlin'. Wait what'd you say Attie?"

"Can you give this to him?" She repeated, slightly annoyed this time however. "Sure darlin'!" Hermes chuckled before grabbing her letter, and sprinting away. Athena let out a sigh she didn't known she was holding. She looked over and saw Poseidon looking at her.

"What are you looking at you algae?" Athena subconsciously snapped at Poseidon. She didn't realize until now how on edge she was. "Nothing misses grumpy pants," he snapped back. They were both sharing a glare at each-other before Poseidon grumbled and continued to reread the letters from most likely Amphridite and Triton.

Athena laid back against her pillow, running her hands through her burnt hair. She was so tired, but she couldn't face her again. Her wings rested against the side of her head, before moving to cover her eyes to block out the sun. Gods she hated this, she hated being stuck here like a thrown away rag.

She wished Aphrodite had come today, it would've made today at least somewhat interesting. But sadly no. She could feel Hypnos pulling at her, trying to get her to succumb to his realm. She tried fighting it, but in the end she lost as sleep clawed at her eyes.

Chapter Text

The days stuck in the infirmary had begun to blur after a while. Aphrodite had visited about twice since Hermes had delivered Telemachus' letter to her. It had been, what? Five days since then? Honestly, she had only started to realise his lightning toll on her. She'd been bored out of her mind on the days no one visited. Both she and Poseidon had. Except he would reread the letter from his wife, over and over again, to pass the time.

Amphitrite had visited him a day ago, and he was the most well-behaved she had seen him in a while. She'd also told Athena that Triton had been doing well. Not that she would care, right? Amphitrite had seemed less angry than Athena would've thought when it came to Poseidon telling her that Odysseus stabbed him. But she had always been one of the more levelheaded goddesses out of all of them.

When she left, Athena realised how different Zeus' relationship with his wife was in comparison to his brother's. Poseidon and Amphitrite had an open marriage that was surprisingly healthy, and Hades and Persephone had a closed one that, out of most married gods, was one of the best-along with Eros and Psyche-. Meanwhile, Zeus had multiple marriages before Hera, and only one had ended in a normal divorce. And when he got with Hera, she was sure it was only for Political reasons.

She hadn't been expecting anyone special to visit her since the only one who had visited her had been Aphrodite. So, when Apollo said she had a visitor, and she was allowed to go outside, she was honestly surprised. She'd been wearing a chiton that was about knee length with regular sandals. When she walked to the garden to see who had come to visit her, she was happily surprised to see Persephone there. "Hello, Persephone," she called before walking over and sitting next to her.

"Oh, hi Athena," Persephone responded. She had slightly jumped at Athena's greeting, most likely because she was in her own world. "How have you been since..." Persephone started before trailing off. She had been to the games with Demeter before heading off to the underworld for the winter. "I've been doing-" Good? That wasn't correct. "-Okay." It is what Athena settled on. She knew she hadn't been doing fantastically, but she hadn't been entirely bad. Not since Aphrodite had started visiting. 

"Hm, that's nice to hear, Thea," Persephone responded with a small smile on her lips. It seemed off to Athena. It didn't feel entirely happy, more like bittersweet. "Is-is everything okay on Olympus?" Athena asked, her voice tightening in concern. She hadn't heard anything from Apollo, but to be honest, he didn't tell them much about what was happening around Olympus. Or much of anything, which had been surprising to Athena. Since he had always been someone who talked a good bit.

"It's just that after you and Poseidon both had to be put in the infirmary, Zeus has been more on edge. Since two pretty powerful gods got taken out of commission," Persephone explained. Athena took a long sigh, honestly? She felt like Zeus had no right to be on edge when it was his own doing that caused her to be put out of commission. "...Okay," Athena mumbled before it returned to an awkward silence for a moment again. Gods, why did she have to be so bad at socialising?

"How's Hades been? Since it's probably been chaos down there for a good bit." Athena asked, she knew that after the war, it would be chaos with all the soldiers ending up down there. And it certainly didn't help that Poseidon killed almost 600, and Odysseus slaughtered another 180 men. However, only the latter was justified in her opinion. "Oh, he's been good. He has been surprisingly fine with the amount of work on his plate," Persephone explained. She slightly fidgeted with the ring Hades had given her when they got married.

"That's nice to hear," Athena responded. She had always liked hearing about others' relationships, even though she hadn't sought one out herself. It was...refreshing to say the least. She didn't know if this came from the fact of how Odysseus used to talk about Penelope so much, or how Ares, when they were still together, used to talk about Aphrodite. "How has your new student been? Telemacus right? Odysseus's son?" Persephone asked, which snapped Athena out of her mind.

"Oh, he's been good. I haven't been able to check on him in a bit, though. Since I've been stuck in this infirmary." Athena explained. It had always been easier to talk about others instead of herself. "Hm, wait! I have something for you." Persephone remembered before making a laurel made of olive branches and leaves appear in her hands. She handed it to Athena, "I thought you might like this." Athena took the laurel in her hands before putting it on her head. It wasn't anything fancy, and it was made of branches from her sacred tree.

"Thanks, Persephone," she said. It wasn't the fanciest of gifts, especially to gods, but to Athena, it felt even better because Persephone thought about it. "No problem! I thought since the games, you might appreciate a gift. Even though you've probably gotten better ones from the other gods since then." Athena looked at Persephone, "This is the first gift I've gotten from a god since the games. Telemachus gave me a carved owl not too long after we met." Athena tried ignoring the expression on Persephone's face when she explained it was the first gift she'd gotten since then.

"How many people have visited you since the game?" Persephone asked. She had an expression that Athena couldn't exactly place. "Oh, only you and Aphrodite," Athena explained, not seeing a problem with it. She and Persephone had always been close. Her, Persephone, and Artemis had always been close, but over the years they kind of grew apart. With Persephone becoming the queen of the underworld, Artemis started to spend more of her time in the woods with her hunters, and Athena had been busy with war and such.

Persephone sat there for a moment, thinking. Athena could tell Persephone wanted to say something, but she was hesitating to say it. "Athena, do you know why he struck you down in the game?" Athena looked down for a moment after Persephone asked that. She had told herself it had been because she disobeyed him somehow. "Yes, it was because I disobeyed him," She explained, but Persephone didn't seem to believe that reason. They sat there in silence for a couple more seconds before Persephone spoke up again.

"You do know there's more to it than that, right?" Persephone asked, and that's when Athena finally recognised that Persephone had a certain tone in her voice that she couldn't pin down exactly. "It is. I disobeyed him." She lied to herself, told Persephone. "Athena, you do realise he thought you were challenging his rule?" Persephone both asked and explained at the same time. Athena looked to the side, not knowing how to answer Persephone. She knew exactly where this conversation was going. She knew that Persephone knew about that.

"How do you know about that," Athena asked, more of a statement than a question. Only Zeus had known, and the only other person who knew about it... "My mum, Demeter, had found some old scrolls of Zeus and showed them to me. It was written in one of the scrolls, and it was pretty easy to figure out he had been lying about her leaving, and you being born from his thoughts." Persephone explained. That honestly made enough sense. Zeus had always not been exactly secretive with his things.

"Persephone, did around 108 souls recently appear in the underworld?" Athena asked, trying to change the subject. "Oh, yeah, why?"  Persephone stuttered for a moment before answering. She didn't understand Athena's change of subject. "Can you make sure of one thing for me?" Persephone nodded, "Can you make sure they get punished severely?" Persephone raised an eyebrow at Athena's request before remembering why they were down in the underworld. "Of course. Especially since, from what I know, they deserve it." Persephone agreed.

Athena was about to say something else before Apollo's voice cut through the air, "Athena, time to head back now!" Athena turned to Persephone, who was slightly startled by Apollo's voice. "Bye, Persephone, hope to see you around Olympus again when I get out of here," Athena said before standing up. However, she was barely standing up for a second before Persephone pulled her into a hug. She definitely didn't flinch at it. It took her a second before she returned the hug, and it was kind of awkward because of the height difference.

Athena broke the hug and started walking back to the infirmary. When she got to the door, she waved goodbye to Persephone before walking through the door. Apollo gave her some painkillers since the ones he had given her that morning were most likely about to wear off. He also replaced some of her bandages that covered the scars that still would bleed sometimes. He told her that from what he could see, she might be able to leave a bit earlier than he expected her to be able to.

She sat down on her bed, on top of the covers, because it was always too warm under them. She looked over to see Poseidon reading something Apollo must've given him to pass the time. She looked over to the window ledge and noticed that next to her stuff, there were a couple of scrolls. She reached over and saw that one was about the Titanomachy, and another was a combination of autobiographies from some of the warriors who fought in the Trojan War. She picked up the latter of the two scrolls and started to read it to pass the few hours left before she fell asleep.

"Hey, Athena," Poseidon called, which snapped her out of the scroll. Her wings perked up when she turned to look at Poseidon. Well, her head turned to look at Poseidon, which freaked him out. "What do you need, Poseidon?" She asked, she'd noticed that being stuck in this infirmary together had somehow resulted in them growing closer together. It wasn't bad, but at the same time, it would probably confuse the rest of the Olympians since Poseidon and Athena used to always be at each other's throats at every meeting.

"Do you think that the gods will think of me as...pathetic? For getting beat by a mortal, y'know." He asked in an uncharacteristic voice. Athena thought for a moment before answering, "Most likely? Yes, but they won't say it to your face, probably." She explained. She didn't understand why Poseidon had asked that. He was the god of the seas. Why would he worry about any of the other gods thinking of him any less than he already is?

She set the scroll down before lying down on her back, folding her hands on top of her chest, and looking out the window. She was scrolling through her thoughts, some regrets, some just random passing thoughts. But she couldn't ignore one of them. Why had she changed so much? It had been something she had been thinking about since she'd gotten back in the infirmary after escaping. She hadn't always been like this; she used to be like how anyone expected a god to be. But for some reason, she'd started to be more human; she started to understand mortals better, to...empathise with them.

Did Odysseus do this to her? Ever since he and she became friends, she started to slowly notice herself becoming less and less cold. It started very slowly, but after the war, she started to feel human emotions more. She started to do things the mortals did that the gods didn't do. Telemachus didn't help with this either. He had somehow broken down that wall that had slowly been weakening over the years. She remembered telling him about his father, and that was the first time she'd cried since...since her death.

She looked out the window one last time before turning to look at the ceiling. Maybe that wall needed to come down. Maybe she was changing...and for once, she was ok with that. She closed her eyes and a small smile fell upon her face as sleep took her.