Here is the next chapter for you guys! Hope you love it, my lovely readers!

Chapter Six: Rituals and Mending

Point of View: Zianthos

"Put me down Senna!" I growl and knock his legs out from underneath him. His arms wrap around my waist so I can't climb off of the ground. Zach helps him up and I struggle against Senna. "I hate you, you son of a-" Zach covers my mouth.

"Since when do you use that kind of language?" Thalia asks, covering her mouth when she giggles.

"Ugh!" I elbow Senna in the jaw.

He sets it back in place as he moves it around. "Dang Zi, your elbow hurts like Hades."

"Hycu is a really bad influence when he's hyper. I'm afraid it rubbed off on the lieutenant. Blame the animal lover-ah!" I send Zach flying into a cabin with my feet. I flip Senna over and land on top of him. He rolls over so he pins me to the ground. I push against him and he digs his knee into my middle so I stop moving. 

"Why must we celebrate?" I groan.

"Why can't we?" Zach asks, brushing the dirt off and coming to stand above me.

"Because I hate celebrations." I grumble.

"Oh come on. We never do anything. At least enjoy yourself." Senna complains.

"Why don't you like them?" Thalia asks with her arms crossed.

"They got ruined for me." I sigh as I admit why I don't like them.

"How?" Senna asks.

"Uh...I got my heart broken on my birthday." I mutter.

"Oh, that's awesome." Phoebe murmurs.

"Please. We aren't like her. Toshiro let us celebrate it. Remember?" Zach begs me.

"All I did was congratulate him and spend the rest of the day hunting or in my tent." I tell him.

"What?!" Lau exclaims.

"Yeah, the only time I stayed for the celebration was the first time I was there for one. I sat next to Lord Apollo and I was sort of...out of it. Nothing really registered in the early years." I smile sheepishly at them.

"Gah! That's all the more reason to celebrate it! Please!!!!!" Senna begs and shakes me.

A golden flash and Apollo stands above me, smirking down at me. "It's not that bad. You need to relax some. You're always so uptight."

I huff and roll my eyes. "It's called doing my job. It's the reason you guys voted me to lieutenant in the first place."

"Zi, just let us try and make it fun for you. We promise you'll want to do it again next year." Marshall looks at me pleadingly.

"Zianthos." Apollo says in that warning tone.

"Yes, my lord." I sigh. "Can I please walk now?"

Senna gets off of me, letting me get up and helping me. I brush off the dirt. "Gods, I swear you'll all be the death of me." I walk off.

Point of View: Third Person

Percy walks off muttering to himself, his comment stunning his brothers and Apollo. "Go after him Zachariah. You know how best to keep him from blaming himself. He won't stop once he's started. I've talked to him about this. Being here might be making him worse without him showing it. I told him to work on being open with at least us." Apollo says. Zach bows and runs off after Percy, who has already walked into the woods out of sight.

"Lord Apollo, will he ever be okay?" Thalia asks.

Apollo sighs. "Time is all I can give him. He's healed well, considering. We all knew he wasn't truly ready to come here, but he wouldn't have it. He came here knowing full well what would happen to him. He let you see him. You know who he once was. And he has already run into the girl. His limits are hard pressed right now." The other Hunters walk off toward the basketball court while Apollo talks with the Huntresses. "The boys didn't want him coming. Zianthos is not one to sit around though and is just as committed to this family as if he were the older brother. They admire his strength and will. But they know even the greatest have to get it all out at some point. They're waiting for him to break down or something. He hasn't thrown a single fit. He does as told, follows orders, and keeps them alive. They don't like seeing him like this and neither do I. What he told you is true. He's not the same person."

Thalia nods. "Can you tell me anything else?"

"During the time when he first joined, we had to build him up just like everyone else had to be. But he was more difficult. The other boys, they just lost an important female lover. They still have significant others out there, but they need to be found. Percy doesn't have a significant other. Annabeth was it. Losing her was so hard on him it almost killed him. The fatal flaw he carries multiplied it tenfold. It is why he takes so long to heal. The others took only a couple millennia to heal and for good reason. For Zianthos, it took that long to get him to talk to the others. He would only speak with me or his lieutenant, the former one he now holds the position of. Toshiro was fond of Zianthos and was closest to knowing how he felt. Zianthos's predecessor was released because he found his other half after 23,000 years in the Hunters. They passed away several hundred years ago. We got to meet one of my descendants from his line. The family still lives today. Zianthos watches them, I believe he does it to humor Toshiro and his lineage. You must understand something, back when Zianthos was who he was, he wasn't who he seemed. He played a part to keep you all safe. It's something he is very good at. But we have learned to see past the facade. He's cracking right now. We can all feel it. Zachariah forces Zianthos into everything the others do to get him to be more open like I have asked him to be. And every time he participates, he gets a little better. Zachariah is the only one able to break through his depression. He still carries it after all this time. It's melting and he can interact more easily now. He used to just tie Senna to a pole in the middle of camp and leave him there for a week so he would calm down. His way of dealing with making people leave him alone. Toshiro was probably the one who helped the most.

If you believed as Zianthos does, he only lives to serve now and love what he has left. That's it. If he can't be allowed that, I fear for what would happen to him. I realize he loves his new life more because he feels secure in the bonds he has made. We won't ever do anything to betray him. His soul depends upon having people around him, but losing someone so important makes it harder for him to accept people now, ultimately resulting in it being hard on him. I think that once this war is over and if Annabeth doesn't do anything drastic, he'll be able to come around a lot easier. He'll heal more if he goes through with his decision without receiving too much harm. Zachariah and the others never got around to the ceremony in the beginning that helped them. I would guess because Zianthos wouldn't go near them unless Toshiro was around. He's had a very difficult time with healing. I sometimes have to visit him to make sure he's okay. His soul still causes him trouble. It's blocking him from coping for the most part. That's what Zachariah wants to help him with." Apollo talks with the Huntresses.

"Oh, I understand. What about me?" Thalia asks.

"You were a sister to him. Annabeth weakened all the old ties. Poseidon's is renewed. Just move slowly with him and I'm sure he'll let you back in once he knows you won't hurt him. It was a female who hurt him. The boys aren't raised to hate girls, but they distrust a lot of them because of what happened to them. They like you because I do and can see you mean no harm unless they do something they'd never even dream of. He's cautious around you in particular." He answers.

"Why me? Why does he call me Lady? Doesn't he want to use my real name?" She questions.

"Well, you were Annabeth's best friend and he sees you as important to his job and life. But he prioritizes things as job first, himself later. He's not very open at all. What you saw so far today will be shut off tomorrow around the campers. He will only answer if he thinks it necessary and will only be open to his brothers and you girls. Explanations tonight, walls up tomorrow. He won't let you in so easily anymore. Just don't say anything to hurt those walls. They're there for a reason. Just help him bring them down slowly." Apollo tells her gently.