Howdy y'all, sorry for the wait. I have all these ideas and putting them together just makes me hate my writing, but I'm trying.

As tired as Percy was from the previous two months running towards Camp Jupiter; then yesterday's draining show of power. Percy still woke up before anyone else. An internal alarm had gone off in his head, unable to go back to sleep.

He got up silently. Everyone else in the barracks still fast asleep, the sound of snoring permeated the darkened room. He donned his new purple shirt and some shorts.

Percy stepped outside to a dark morning, dew on the grass, and a couple hours until sunrise. Perfect weather for a run—as well as being a perfect time to clear his head for the first time in months.

Percy started his run. In the beginning he passed by rows of shops, advertising food, armor, gladiator equipment, weapons, coffee, and toga rentals. A chariot dealership had a big advertisement out front: Caesar XLS W/Antilock Brakes, No Denarii down!

At one of the corners of the crossroads stood the Principia, two guards still standing guard. Guess no one gets to see Reyna without them knowing. It seemed the Lares were early risers too. Some stood outside the armory, polishing ethereal swords. At the stables, a big glowing red dude with the head of a wolf guarded the unicorns.

Percy continued his run around New Rome for a few more laps.

Still with an hour until sunrise, Percy finished his run at the arena.

There were dummies in the back, and practice swords on racks to the side. His cohort may have been looked down on now, but it didn't have to stay that way.

Percy trained for the last hour, before sprinting back to his barrack in time for Legionnaire training.

Hazel wasn't kidding. He was trained on how to build a fort, early in the morning—after a casual workout with the rest of the fifth cohort.

Later was lunch, Hazel and Frank sat with Percy together again—alone.

"Hey," Frank spoke, "heard through the grape vine that you were sprinting through the city this morning."

"Sprinting?"

"Yea, we heard you were running like someone's life depended on it," Hazel said.

"No, just woke up and decided to explore the city a little. Get to know my new home some more. Besides," Percy smirked, "It was a light run. I can sprint much faster than that."

Hazel chuckled, "Alright, showoff. So Frank, you ready to receive the Mural Crown?"

Frank blushed, "It was nothing, really."

"Stop that, your plan got us over the wall, and the Fifths first win in months."

"Yea, man." Percy agreed. "Don't play yourself down, that was a good plan. You're a real leader."

"Thanks guys. Think we can keep the wins coming?"

"Yeah," Hazel said, "If Percy keeps fighting the same way. You must've had training, Percy. Nobody untrained can fight that way. How can you run so fast anyway?"

"As I've stated numerous times— I don't know. Can't remember." Percy rubbed his neck. "So, what're we thinking? Marines, Olympic athlete, Kung Fu extraordinaire?" Percy suggested.

"Jedi Master," Frank added.

Hazel laughed, "Mailman on the run from a pack of dogs." They all joined in on the laughter.

Lunch finished and they continued training. That night, Gwen presented Frank with the Mural Crown.

And for the next month that's how things went. Percy, Hazel and Frank became inseparable. Percy continued his morning routine of exercising alone, before the cooldown with the Fifth. Slowly but surely Percy started to regain the muscle he had lost.

Line Break

Percy was up, readying for his morning run. All was normal. No one else was up as usual. He'd run this route so often that he could think about other things and let his body do the work, as if he were on autopilot

He passed by the shops. As usual the Lares still gave him dirty looks when he passed by. But it seemed they had finally accepted that he'd be at camp to stay, since they stopped shouting insults at him.

He was passing by the Principia at the corner, nodding at the two guards as usual. It always confused Percy as to why the guards were there all the time, even if Reyna wasn't there. Maybe they were guarding something.

He pressed on until he felt a presence at his side. Looking over, he was surprised to see Reyna running next to him. What a coincidence. He could tell she was pushing to stay with him, so he slowed down, and that was when he got a good look at her.

As usual she had her glossy black hair in a single braid. She wore the normal white athletic shoes—the same ones the rest of the legion received; Percy included. She wore a black tank top and short-black shorts. She looked good. Percy had switched to just normal black shorts and the regular white shoes. His orange shirt was on its last life. The weather has started to warm up a little too, so he'd been going shirtless for a little while now.

They kept a good pace, faster than what the Fifth did when he trained with them. Reyna didn't address him, just ran. That didn't bother him, allowed for some thinking with some company.

His biggest worry was what Juno had said to him. He was exiled from where he'd originally come from. Is that why he lost his memory— taken so he wouldn't remember his origins or go back. He didn't think he was a terrible person, so what could he have done to be exiled, who even exiles people anymore, if he'd done something illegal shouldn't he have gone to jail or something to that extent? Erasing his memory seems over the top.

Why is it so hard to get some answers?

Percy blinked; he'd been sprinting as fast as he could, unknowingly. He slowed to a stop and turned around. Reyna was a couple hundred yards behind him.

She finally caught up—she put her hands on her knees as she hunched over catching her breath. "Gods, Percy," She said in between breaths. "How fast were you running?"

"Shit, sorry, got in my own head a little." He sat down. They were just outside the arena. Reyna followed and sat next to him.

"Anything you want to talk about?"

Was there anything he wanted to talk about? Sure. With the Praetor of the legion—someone who has the power to kick him out if things went bad, and she knew about his exile. Not such a good idea.

"No, it's okay. Just something Juno said to me before she poofed away. So, you decided to join me on the morning run today I see. I didn't think you were up so early."

Reyna flushed red. She's normally up a little later than this, but the rumors that Percy trained before legionnaire training had gotten her attention. So, for the past week she'd been talking herself into joining him.

"Of course I'm up this early. Can't have a legionnaire showing me up. Especially one who's on probatio." She jabbed Percy in the ribs. "Besides, I had to see for myself if the rumors were true."

"And which rumors about me did you have to check up on?" He smirked.

"Apparently, you are very fast—which as I just witnessed, is completely true." She paused.

If she says this wrong, then she might scare him away. Jason's been gone for three months now. Hundreds of search party hours and not a trace. She never had anything with him, romantically, at least not yet. Normally, praetors work together closely, it's not unusual for praetors to become romantically involved.

"Look, Percy." she continued. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

Oh, fuck. Did she know?

"Uh, okay, Reyna it's almost time to get back for training. Walk with me?" He offered her his hand.

They started to walk back. More people were up and about at this hour, retired legionnaires, Lares, and shop keepers. It was odd for them to see Reyna out so early, especially with someone. Since Jason had gone missing, she was barely seen unless she needed to be.

It was last month—the day Percy had shown up, and the same day that the Fifth had won their first game since their streak started. That was when she started to get a little better.

"Look Percy, I don't have much time left. This camp doesn't have much time left. If Octavian keeps pushing and pestering for new elections. . . I can't say no for much longer. The Feast of Fortuna is the latest I can push back until."

Percy was growing a little self-conscious. He wasn't expecting to be out for this long without a shirt. Being with Reyna was drawing a lot of the attention their way.

"And you think Octavian will win?" Percy asked.

"Yes, I do. It's when Octavian gets talking—"

"He's a talker. You're a warrior. Put him in front of the senate and he becomes the powerful one."

"Exactly. If Jason comes back there'll be no need for a vote. Octavian won't have the chance to win."

They were almost at the Fifths barracks.

"Percy," She stopped him. "If Jason doesn't come back in time, I'm going to need a partner in power—and I'd prefer someone like Jason. A warrior as you put it. Not a schemer."

She waited. Percy realized she was sending him an invitation.

His throat went dry. "Oh. You mean. Oh."

"I may not understand where you come from, Percy. But I believe the gods sent you here for a reason. You're a warrior, I've seen it firsthand. All I ask is that you work with me for the future."

"I'll help you, Reyna," He promised. "In any way I can. But I'm new here. You have a lot of good people who know this camp and its people better than I do. Most of the people here don't even like me. Even if I said yes, I'm not sure I could win. Like you said, I'm still on probatio, not even a full member of the legion."

"Well, we have until the end of June to change the camps opinion of you." She said. "Think about it, Percy. Together you and I could expand the power of Rome. The war against Saturn is over. We're in a time of peace. We only need to change their opinion of you." Percy rubbed his neck. "Look, if Jason comes back—good fine. You've got a good relationship with the legion. If he doesn't, I'd prefer to work with you. No one else could win against Octavian, you're new here, he's got no dirt on you yet, keep it that way. . . Just think about it, Percy." She started to walk away. Looking over her shoulder she muttered, "You'd find me a very helpful. . . friend." And then she was gone.

The horn sounded, signaling everyone to wake up.

She said the last part like it could have several meanings, and he could pick which one.

She had a lot of faith in someone she didn't even know. Should he tell her about what Juno said. Or hope that it never comes up. What if Octavian were to find out. That was a difficult thing to think about.

The next chapter should come pretty soon. It's done (As are the next two chapters), I just have some fine tuning to do.

Lemme know what you guys think, should I keep going? Is there something I should add?