The Hard Way (A Female Percy Jackson/ Young Justice Crossover)

3

Percy was tired and cold and annoyed by the time she reached Alaska. Every moster she could think of seemed to attack her on the way up. It was beginning to get ridiculous. So when she got to Alaska, and she was underdressed, she didn't even bother tracking down Hazel's house anymore. Instead, she broke into the first house she'd come across. It was definitely abandoned, at least for the cold season. She knew some rich people had cabins up here so they could come and hunt in the warmer season. The door was locked, so she picked the lock and went inside.

It was just as cold inside as outside. Wind seemed to blow straight through the walls and windows, but it was still better than standing out in the snow.

The house was nice despite the cold, and once there was a fire burning it would warm up, she was sure. Thankfully there was a small wicker basket of wood sitting beside the wide stone fireplace that she could easily use. It didn't take very long either, even though she had never lit a fireplace before. She supposed the wood might have been really dry or something.

With a little more warmth circulating the cabin, Percy started looking around the cabin until she finally found a bedroom with a whole closet full of old fashioned clothes suitable for the weather. First, she changed into a nice fur dress, finding that by some odd luck, they were exactly her size. They were a little fancy and weird looking, but they were warm and that's what really mattered.

As warm as the bed looked with its piles upon piles of fur blankets, she returned to her fire. Fire would always be warmer than blankets. For a little while, she sat there just warming up and nodded off.

She felt like she had only slept for a few minutes, but when she woke up, she was blanketed in blue rose-like flower petals and the fire was out. For some reason, they comforted her, like another layer of warmth beneath temperature.

Weirded out by the feeling, Percy got up and brushed off the flowers. Looking through closets, she grabbed a broom and dustpan to sweep them up. When she opened the window to throw them out, she saw where the flower petals had come from—dark brown near black vines tangled up the whole backside of the building as if swallowing it up. Despite her previous dangerous encounters with the earth, she smiled at the pretty flowers blooming in the harsh seemingly lifeless cold. They were her favorite color afterall. She plucked a fully bloomed rose from the vine and tucked it behind her ear, remembering the childish ritual from her younger years. An inch away from the front of her mind lingered memories of the people she lost... But she forced those thoughts away in favor of excitement for her lovely temporary home.

It was a quaint place, with barely enough room for a sitting room split with a kitchen then a short hallway with one room on either side—a bedroom and bathroom. A single picture frame sat on the mantle, old fashioned and faded sepia capturing a solemn dark haired woman posing with a tiny baby wrapped in a strange white fabric. There were paintings on most of the walls, flowers by the windows, some more unique and abstract pieces to cover any bare walls, and a simple sunset above the picture frame. Percy wasn't usually the type to be interested in art, but she liked that sunset, a simple golden glow peaking over the mountainside to touch a frozen river... sharing a few final touches before nightfall. It looked like the end of a bad day and the start of a salvageable evening. But what did she know about art anyway?

In the bedroom, the demigod began looking in the closet and drawers a little more. Earlier, she was so cold that she had no interest in browsing the selection of things she could borrow while living here. Most of it was very old fashioned floor length gowns with fur linings on the insides. The color selection was slim with only white, various grays, and pale blue, but they all looked to be the same size, which was right around Percy's size. There were also several cloaks hanging as well with a few pairs of snow boots below.