The Cards Dealt

It Comes At Night

"Wait... Michael?! What happened! You look so different!" She exclaimed

Did she know me from before? No, it was more likely I was mistaken for someone

"I don't think I'm the same Michael you knew" I answered

"Oh gods what happened to you! What did they do-"

"No, what I mean is, im not the Michael from your camp.." I cut her off

"So.... you're a completely different person, just the same name?" She asked

"That's what I am, yes"

"......Sorry for that, it's just....you know how the gods can be, I thought they might've done something to... never mind"

I actually don't know how the gods can be though...

"But then, if you aren't Michael Yew, then who are you?" She questioned, suspicion seeping out of her words

"Apparently a new addition to your world, I'm Michael Hines, son of Dionysus." I stated

She seemed to be satisfied with that answer for the most part.

"You can call me Mike if it's too painful though" I added

"Why would it be painful? Maybe confusing at first..." she said

Did she not know about her friend? Maybe I shouldn't have said that. Though it appeared to be too late, as realization entered her eyes.

"What happened to Michael?!" She demanded

I guess she isn't a daughter of Athena for show

"I think it'd be best if someone you knew told you, I myself don't know the full story" I told her. This should be enough to satisfy her

"Then tell me what you know" she said

Or maybe...not

"I heard this from Connor, apparently he fell off a bridge. Connor said that his chances of surviving are pretty small..." I told her

"Oh gods..... this can't be...no... this is a war, people will die" she steeled herself

Impressive, she was quite strong willed for a teenager

"Where's Percy" she asked, though in a soft tone

"He went to go talk to enemy diplomats-"

Before I could even finish, she tried to get herself out of the bed she lay in. While she couldn't properly move, she continued to struggle.

"I-I need to go as well, I can't leave him alone" she muttered

I quickly grabbed her shoulder and pushed her back down. She winced at the sudden force, but it was necessary.

"Calm down, he isn't alone. He took Thalia and Grover with him.... and practically the rest of the campers" Upon hearing this, she began to ease up

She appeared to care a lot for this boy

"He'll come back eventually, rest for now, or he'll kill me for getting his girlfriend worked up" I said

"G-girlfriend?! With him?! No...no that's not gonna happen" she muttered

"Are you sure? You seem to have some attachment to him" I continued

"It's-its only as friends! He's helped me a lot, it's only natural I worry about him" she stuttered

She reminded me of a few girls I knew

"Hmm, well whether you admit it or not, your red face betrays your words" I teased

She instinctively raised her hands, trying to cover her face

"Please.... don't tell anyone, I'm not sure if I do like him" she tried to lie

"Well, whether that's true or not, I'm sure other people already know. It's not like you've done an amazing job at hiding it."

"Is-is that true" she asked

"Well I've only met you a few minutes ago, and I've already figure it out...so"

She buried her head in her hands

Our conversation wasn't an important one. No information was given, and nothing out of the ordinary occurred. It was a blissfully normal conversation, or as normal as stories from a mythological adventure could be.
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"-and then he just popped up at his own funeral, as if it was no-" Annabeth's words were cut as Percy walked back in.

He was dragging both Connor and Travis with him, and when I say dragging, I mean literally dragging

"Now apologize to both of them" he said

"We're sorry we left you alone" they muttered

"And" Percy continued

"It won't happen again" they said

"Now go help Will, he's probably angrier" Percy ordered

The brothers scrambled out of the door

"Sorry about that Mike, I'll take it from here" Percy said

I assume this was my cue to leave

"Alright, I'll leave the two lovebirds alone" I winked at them

Judging by both of their reaction, it'd pretty easy to see they're in love. It's quite fun teasing people.
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Walking back to the lobby, I saw many people sprawled on the ground and furniture fast asleep.

Looking around I saw a few awake, including Thalia

"Hey! Wannabe! Over here!" She yelled, apparently she didn't care about the sleeping kids

"Wannabe? Why's that" I questioned

"Because you're trying to use a bow like us, that's why you're Wannabe" she answered, as if it was obvious

"What happened at the meeting" I asked, ignoring the nickname

"We were given a choice, surrender and live; or fight and die" she said

"I assume we chose the latter" I said

"Of course, a life under Kronos would be worse than death."

That's true, if the stories are correct, Kronos and his Titans used humans as nothing but livestock

"Try to get some sleep, you're gonna need it." She said grimly

"What do you mean?"

I knew sleep was gonna be important, but she said it as if there was another meaning

"Their forces... we've been told they'll attack tonight" she said

This wasn't the news I expected, but I knew the battle would begin soon. Though there was no way I could sleep now, an emotion I rarely experienced was building up inside me.

That's right, I can't deny it. I felt excited.
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Authors note: This chapter was more of a chill one, but it did increase some intimacy between characters. (No don't worry, I don't mean that Thalia is gonna fall in love.) Battle should finally start.

Special thanks to JoshuaWilson583 for the comments, I appreciate the support. It's become tradition to give someone special thanks every chapter, so I'll continue doing it.

I want to give Ayanokouji a love interest, but most girls are off limits unless I want the PJO fandom to burn me at the stake. Any suggestions?