"𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝, 𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫."

...She might. If he had a squeaky toy.

Most places have your run of the mill furry companions. We have... hellhounds.

Then, Nico advises against it.

He winced, not really knowing why he was going to continue, but... He did have a few leftover supersized doggy treats.

He should probably warn him not to get his arm chewed off. He's had too many undead soldiers turn armless after a summoning and they were not too pleased.

Already way ahead of the social distancing game.

Tired.

...Deadpans.

He takes a second before responding. “Hello, Percy.”

Suppresses a laugh.

“A little tired,” he admits. “Nothing new, just not sticking to a decent schedule. You?”

The corner of his lips twitch in amusement. “You deserve the small break,” he says, the slightest hints of sincerity laced in his tone. Though of course the life of a demigod will never prove to be easy, Nico was at least glad for the small bout of peace Percy was experiencing.

He’s awake, but at what cost.

He’s seeing double. Trippy.

“Bianca...” Nico whispered, his chest feeling inexplicably tight as his gaze hones in on her vision. “It’s...” After all these years, and it still felt like he couldn’t find the right words to say. Did he even grow up at all? “It’s been a while.”