Added Note: Fingers crossed!!!!!

Chapter Eight: New Days

Point of View: Ebony

I wake up a little bit bigger than I was yesterday and know I am five. I see Phoebe is still sleeping and so is Thalia. I lick Phoebe's face and then bark loudly when her eyes flutter open. Thalia falls out of bed and Phoebe laughs at her. You can tell I'm laughing from the sound I make and Phoebe looks at me with a sparkle in her eyes.

"You're bigger." She giggles and scratches between my ears.

"Yes, I am bigger. But only a little bit. I can't be full sized until I'm eighteen again. I am five. Four years older than yesterday." I tell her. "I'll slow down a little bit now. By tomorrow, I should be seven. Then I can try shifting for Phoebe. Let day one begin!" I leap off of her bed and chase my tail as I wait for her to change, not looking. "Not looking, not looking, not looking." I say as I focus on my tail.

Phoebe giggles and picks me up. "Good. You still aren't that heavy. But don't sit on the table, okay?"

"Okay! Phoebe says so!" I exclaim and lick her face.

She smiles and carries me out, not waiting for Thalia, but she catches up anyway. "Still cute." Phoebe pets me.

The Next Day

Point of View: Third Person

A little boy runs around camp with Phoebe, giggling and pointing out things. But he has to adjust to two legs and being human. He howls in human form when he is excited and when he meets Artemis in human form, he becomes respectfully quiet before hugging her.

"Hello, Lady Artemis." He says, holding Phoebe's hand.

"Hi there." Artemis smiles as she looks Ebony over. "You've grown."

Ebony laughs and looks up at Phoebe with all the love in the world in his eyes. "Phoebe, come on. Something smells interesting this way." Ebony pulls Phoebe off toward the forest and everyone looks after them.

Artemis goes over to Thalia, noticing the downcast look. "Why so depressed, sister?"

"That's Percy, isn't it." Thalia states, not asks.

Artemis sighs. "It is."

Thalia just nods.

"I wasn't allowed to tell you. Neither was Phoebe. That's his choice and if you found out on your own it was fine. I'd like to know how you guessed." Artemis replies.

"He may look a little different, but I can still tell. But I doubt anyone else will. He acts a lot like Percy when I first met him and the way he notices some things and points out others. He's a child again and it's nice but very saddening to watch. I hope he's happy with Phoebe and whoever he chooses his mate as." Thalia ripostes.

"Ah, yes. I suppose he does. Perhaps he will grow to like you. Treat him better in this life. Just don't force him. He won't like it. His instincts were powerful before, I imagine they are far more prominent now. He will react and he will wander off as curiosity replaces the empty knowledge that Phoebe fills for him. He loves her far more than I have seen in just a friendship. It is most heartwarming." Artemis says.

Point of View: Phoebe

He looks like Perseus somewhat, but it is very hard to tell. It has been bugging me since he phased. He's proud about making me happy all the time. But he won't admit to saving the world. He's just a little ball of energy right now. I had to stop him from running off on his own. It's why we are on the trail of a scent. I couldn't let him go alone. Lady Artemis says just to let him grow like he is supposed to and learn about him.

"So, Ebony, how do you feel today?" I ask my wolf.

Ebony laughs and drags me over to a log, crouching down to sniff at it and still holding my hand. "Phoebe is brighter." He laughs again.

I don't know how he is so happy. He was sitting up and glaring at Thalia this morning in his wolf form before turning in front of Artemis and I after breakfast. He's been jovial all day and he keeps even me bright and cheery for a long time.

"What does that mean?" I ask curiously, expressing interest for both his sake and to sate my curiosity.

"Pretty, pretty Phoebe." He sings and then leads me to a tree and he looks up at it in wonder and amazement. "Big tree! Old tree! Nice tree!" I squeak as he carries me up into it, I didn't realize how strong he was. He sits on the highest bough, holding my hand and staring out at the forest he can now see laid out before him. "Wow." He sounds breathless and smiles hugely.

"Wanna tell me what you meant, Ebony?" I ask sweetly.

"Phoebe is brighter because she saw me in human form for the first time today. Brighter than Lady Artemis, mhmm." Ebony smiles and looks at my hand in his, happy to be alone with me.

"Can you sing?" I wonder.

"Does Phoebe want to hear?" His eyes sparkle.

I nod. "Yes, I really do. Will you sing for me?"

"Okay!" He agrees wholeheartedly. "What does Phoebe want to hear?"

"An older Greek song. Do you know any?" I reply.

He frowns and then he brightens right back up, looking hyper. But as he sings, his little voice carries across the forest and causes silence to fall all around us. His voice, even not fully developed, is very beautiful. And when he's done, I grin.

"Your voice is enchanting." I say.

"Phoebe likes it!" He exclaims cheerily. "I only sing for Phoebe. Phoebe, pretty Phoebe."

"Ebony, you always call me pretty and constantly. Why?" I become a little annoyed if it is a bit endearing.

Ebony laughs. "Because Phoebe is pretty. Very beautiful."

"But why do you tell me all the time?" I repeat.

He hugs me and I stare down at him before hugging him back. "Because you are my Phoebe and I am your wolf. I am supposed to let you know what I think about you. I love you, Phoebe, so very much. When I get bigger, I can protect you and I'll love you even more. Even when I meet my mate, I'll still love you just as much. I will always love my Phoebe." He tells me softly.

I smile some and giggle. "Okay. I love you, too, Ebony."

"Phoebe needs to learn the ways of Ebony." He laughs at me.

"Why do you always use my name? You could just refer to me as 'you.'" I point out.

Ebony shakes his head. "No, no, no. Huh uh." This makes me raise an eyebrow. "I love saying your name. It's like saying your name gives color to my world. Does it make you upset?"

"It's just a little different than I am used to." I smile a little.

"Oh, Phoebe is not used to my endearments." He laughs. "Silly, Phoebe."

It took him that long to notice? Oh, he wouldn't notice because his love blinds him to it unless he concentrates. He doesn't concentrate because he is supposed to love me and I him. He is young and forgets he hasn't told me yet. I see.

"How about you explain your endearments?" I suggest.

Ebony giggles. "My endearments?" Ebony points at a cloud. "Anything I see that is beautiful, I point out to you and then I always make a point to tell you, you are far better. My Phoebe is always far more beautiful than anything in the whole wide world. Phoebe is my world." He begins to explain. "Your name to me is like a blessed word and I love saying it. It brings me happiness and reminds me of the love I have for you and the love I see and feel you have for me. I want to show you my world and I want to get to know you. That's why I am spending time with you. I learn with you and it is so much fun. I love my Phoebe."

I blink and then smile. "That's lovely. Thank you."

He laughs and looks happier, if that is even possible. "What does Phoebe want to know?"

"Tell me all about you." I smile warmly.

"Me? Or who I was born from? You know all about me. I was only born a couple days ago." He tilts his head.

"Okay, then. Tell me about the man you were born from." I nod.

"Oh, Perseus Jackson. Grew up in Manhattan, had an abusive and drunkard stepfather who loved to touch him." He informs me and I begin to pale at his words. "Every day and night and every time the man could find to touch and beat him he would do so. Sally didn't know for five years. It started when she married him when Perseus was two. It went on for ten years, always too small from the years of abuse to ward off the man and as time went by, he became resigned to his fate.

You know the rest. His quests, the wars, his achievements, his betrayal. Now he's me. I'm him. But we are not each other. I am me and he is him. We are both, neither, and ourselves. One person, two people, and each a side of a single coin. I'm the new life, he is the old one. And he died a long time ago." He tells me.

"That's it? No happy memories?" I ask, my skin cold.

"No," Ebony shakes his head, swinging his legs back and forth as they dangle from the branch we sit on. "The ones he thought he had during the wars and between them weren't really real. His mother is dead and the very few comforting memories from her are pain addled with the trauma of his past. He doesn't have any happy memories. His childhood wasn't real and it never happened, it was always blurry with the haze of blood and panic and fear. He was never a child."

"Oh my." I whisper.

He snuggles up close to me, shivering. I feel warmer all of a sudden. "Phoebe is cold. All better now."

"What did you do?" I ask him.

"I made you warm." He answers sleepily, yawning cutely.

"Someone got tired fast." I giggle.

"My powers are a little much for my little form. I'm not big yet. I will be though, for my Phoebe." He falls sound asleep right here, leaning against me and holding my hand as he dozes off, snoring softly.

I smile warmly and sit there, waiting for him to wake up again.