Chapter Text
Percy didn’t think he was asking for too much.
And it wasn’t like he was ever in the habit of asking for things. He had fought in two wars. Been a child of two prophecies. Run numerous errands for numerous gods. Aided in quests that weren’t even his. Look, Percy didn’t think it was too much to ask for a teeny-tiny-itty-bitty reprieve.
It wasn’t like he was going away forever. Nor was he going to let anyone worry. Annabeth was in this college-prep summer school thing, so they wouldn’t be seeing one another anyways. He would write her and let her know, of course, but other than that it should be fine. His mother needed time with Estelle and Paul without Percy bringing a horde of monsters in, so really there was no reason to go back to New York – and as much as he loved camp… he needed a break.
His friends would be fine for a few months in either camp or New Rome. It was completely, totally, utterly fine if Percy ran off a couple weeks to live in Alaska.
As he said before, he didn’t ask for much… and what he did ask for was rarely given. It seemed impossible for gods to let him in have more than a few days of peace without blowing something or someone up. Therefore, he was going to the one place gods apparently couldn’t reach and having himself a nice little vacation.
Granted, he hadn’t had the best experience last time he had visited, but… it was worth a second shot, right? Right. Maybe could learn to snowboard or befriend seals or… did whatever it is people in Alaska do.
“…and that’s why I won’t be visiting as much,” Percy explained the small group of sea animals gathered around him on the ocean floor outside of camp. “I’ll be back by the end of summer. It’s just Annabeth is doing her summer-school headstart thing – which is amazing – and I really, really need a break,” he reiterated. A few barracudas looked at one another while flurries of little lord and yes, master floated around.
Percy wasn’t sure they really understood, but smiled anyways.
“Thanks,” he said and stretched, letting the water relax him for a moment before giving a long sigh. Despite his wondrous upcoming vacation… he needed to pack. Giving the dolphins a small pat and waving to the turtles, he thrust himself back up to the surface, letting water spray around him as he climbed his way back up to the shallows of the beach.
“I can’t believe you’re really doing this,” Rachel said from where she was patiently waiting for him. “Chiron would be so mad-”
“That’s why you shouldn’t tell him,” Percy said, shaking out his hair. He could, in theory, dry it with a wave of his hand, but the coolness of it on the back of his neck felt nice. Rachel fixed him with a stern look, but it quickly melted away. “It’s just a couple weeks. It’ll be fine. You can come with me!”
“Annabeth wouldn’t like that.”
“She trusts me,” Percy objected and Rachel gave a small shrug as she followed him back up towards the cabins.
“Well, I need to be here either way. I doubt my oracle mojo would work if I was in the godless lands,” she said dramatically, wiggling her fingers. Percy snickered in return. “I’ll let the others know and keep anyone from following you,” she promised and then reconsidered. “Unless it’s Nico. I can’t really stop Nico.”
“Nico won’t care,” Percy said. If anyone would understand needing an escape… it was Nico. Besides, he was too preoccupied with, uh, other things to really worry much over Percy at the moment. He smiled fondly as he eyed the Apollo cabin in the distance. Hazel and Frank weren’t expecting him in New Rome anytime soon, and Piper and Leo would be cool with it, surely… and why wouldn’t they be? It was a small vacation in Alaska. Nobody should care. Nobody would care.
“Uh huh. Be safe, Percy,” Rachel told him and gave him a quick hug before setting off towards her gremlin cave. Shaking his head, he turned towards his own cabin to grab his bag. He had been hoarding warmer clothes for months now in preparation.
Percy considered himself a pretty good packer at this point. Endless quests and learning to live off of nothing would do that you. With that in mind, he set to work to get everything he needed in under thirty minutes. Annabeth would have been proud.
Yanking up his bag, he flung it over his shoulder and peered out of the window. It wasn’t quite curfew yet, but late enough that everyone would be gathered around the campfire and not near his cabin to see him creep out. Still, he went through the window… just in case.
Step one was officially completed. Now, he just had to head to the stables to get Blackjack and-
“Going somewhere?”
Damnit. The wind shifted and the sea went still for a moment. Slowly, Percy turned – a little bewildered. He knew that voice… it just hadn’t been one he was expecting at this moment in time.
“Hey, dad!” he said brightly, giving a small wave.
Please, please, please don’t have a quest… Percy idly considered the irony that his dad would choose the one time he didn’t actually want to see him to visit. The Fates must be planning a comedy special or something.
Poseidon’s eyes trailed over him slowly – sharp and unamused. Percy frowned in return. He was under no false pretenses that his dad was… you know, not powerful and ancient. He knew Poseidon was not always easy-going, but… compared to the other gods? He was a smidge more laid back. Percy tended to get a smile or at least the illusion of humor.
“I was told you plan to leave for the land beyond gods.”
Percy stared.
“How do you know that?” He asked. It hadn’t been a huge secret, and (as previously stated) his father was an all-powerful being, but also… what in the name of Hades had sold him out?
Poseidon nodded towards the water. “The barracudas. They were quite concerned.”
Percy couldn’t believe this. The blasted fish snitched on him to his dad. That was low – and insulting. Even by mortal standards, Percy was old enough to be making his own decisions. He would be eighteen soon enough, which made him a bonafide adult… sort of.
Whatever. He would confront the traitors later.
“Yeah, I’m thinking I’ll be there awhile so… if you need something….” He gestured, hoping that wouldn’t be perceived as rude. “Sir,” he tacked on - just in case. “I mean, if it isn’t anything dangerous I’m sure another camper would be honored-”
“I am not here for a favor.”
Oh. Okay. Percy frowned… then what the Hell? Poseidon must have read his mind because his expression went stony and the waves seemed to whip back and forth dangerously. Percy let his eyes flick over them before turning to Poseidon again.
“I see,” he said politely. “Well, in that case-”
“Perseus, you are not going to where you cannot be reached.”
Interesting. Very… interesting. The funny thing was that Percy was pretty sure he was. Had Alaska been destroyed somehow? Lost? Sunk to the bottom of the ocean? Swallowed by an ancient snake? He waited for an explanation, but that seemed to be all Poseidon had to offer. Just a ‘no, you’re not going’ and then waiting for Percy to merrily accept this.
He adjusted his bag on his shoulder. “But you just said you didn’t need anything,” he pointed out and then took a long breath. His dad and him had been on pretty good terms in the past, but recently… well, perhaps Poseidon was not aware that Percy’s attitude towards him was slowly shifting. At any rate, right now he got the feeling it was best to take the more formal approach. “Father, if there is an issue while I’m gone then I can have another demigod contact me to come back-”
“You are not going where I cannot reach you,” Poseidon clarified flatly. Percy took a moment to digest that. Was… was he…? Was he actually implying that Poseidon needed to protect him? As if that wasn’t the most ridiculous thing the Fates had ever come up with. “If you are attacked you cannot receive my – or any other god’s aid,” he continued.
Percy blinked a few times. Right. Yeah. Sure.
“Good… point,” he said and tried to smile. “But I won’t be attacked if there are no gods,” he reasoned. “Besides, I’ve handled my fair share of monsters before. I doubt there will be any up there that will pose a problem.”
There. He was very flattered by the concern… a little. Not really, actually. He was a little annoyed by it. Sure, his dad helped out on the occasional adventure. Lent Percy a helping hand whenever he was on the brink of death. That was all during quests. You know, the little errands Percy ran to make him look good or keep the world from descending into nothing. It wasn’t like Poseidon had really ever protected him just because. They didn’t have the kind of relationship. Couldn’t.
“You did not live through so much only to die because you are out of my reach,” Poseidon said, sounding as irritated as Percy felt. “If you wish to travel then stay where others can aid you. Preferably, myself.”
Oh, yeah, sure because Poseidon loved to just pop up and visit. The audacity (look at that SAT word, Annabeth) was really something.
“I think-”
“This is the end of the discussion.”
Okay, wow. Percy bit his tongue. Back in the day, schools often showed those typical coming-of-age films for students who probably needed some relatable content for their normal, mortal lives. Percy was aware that most teenagers usually had some sort of angry breakdown during their lives where they might freak out and say they hate their parents or whatever.
Yeah, right, so… Percy couldn’t really do that without being blown up. One of the (many) perks to demigod life is that if you act too hormonal then you might just have a loving parent vaporize you into nothing.
That being said… part of Percy wondered if it would be worth it. He lived almost two years longer than expected anyways. Maybe telling the king of the seas to fuck off was the way he was always meant to go. And you know what? Maybe he would have if Poseidon didn’t just vanish.
He vanished. He vanished. Percy stood there, absolutely dumbfounded.
That was it? He just told Percy to abandon his plans and assumed his word would be taken as gospel? Didn’t bother to listen to his thoughts on the matter? Didn’t even give a better reason other than needing to be nearby in case… what? What could this world possibly throw at him that Percy hadn’t already tackled (without Poseidon’s help)? Unless there was another giant waiting for him… he was good.
Huh. Well then. Percy let his bag drop onto the ground with a thunk.
Honestly, if anyone else had asked him not to go… he wouldn’t. Rachel thought he was crazy, but if she had asked him to stay he would. If his mom had frowned and said she didn’t like the idea then he wouldn’t dare to even leave the state. If Annabeth said she wanted him to be with her then he would pop by her university no questions asked. Hell, if freaking Magnus Chase or Carter Kane or a number of other people jumped out at him and say ‘eh, we would prefer if you didn’t’ then he wouldn’t. Percy knew he was dismissing Chiron’s feelings on the matter by not telling him, but that was different. Chiron would lecture him and give his usual brand of sage advice, but in the end he would tell Percy to do what he wanted, so, really, Percy was just trying to avoid the sermon.
But this? How was he supposed to respond to this? Scratch that, he knew how he was supposed to respond. The longer Percy stood there though… the more certain he was that it would not be happening that way. Assuming Percy flew to Alaska on Blackjack, it wasn’t like there were any other sea creatures to tell on him. It wasn’t like there was anyone to stop him. And what was his father going to do? He couldn’t reach him in those oh-so-dangerous godless lands now, could he?
A much more reasonable voice in the back of his mind (perhaps his common sense) was letting siren noises go off.
This was stupid. Don’t do it. You’re overreacting. No teenage meltdowns. The end result wasn’t going to be getting grounded for a month – it very well might be getting eaten alive.
Percy didn’t often listen to common sense unless it had Annabeth’s voice.
Giving an indignant ‘humph’ of offense, Percy picked up his bag and marched off to find Blackjack. The voice warned him was being impulsive again, but the thing about being impulsive… is that you just did stuff without much thought. That was the definition anyways and Annabeth liked to tell him he was the textbook definition of the word.
Hey boss, Blackjack greeted him brightly. Ready to go? Got snacks? For you… and me? Lots for me too?
Percy smiled. He was glad that Poseidon hadn’t popped up to tell his Pegasus not to bring him. That would have sucked.
Grabbing an apple, he held it out for him to chomp down. Absently, he ran his hand over his neck, looking thoughtfully at the sea rolling outside of camp.
“How long do you think it’ll take us to get there?” he asked. Preferably, Percy would like to be there before anyone realized what he was doing, but if it would hurt Blackjack-
Eh. Not too long. I’m magical and awesome… A little over a day?
Percy could work with a day. The only risk was Zeus zapping him out of the sky, but he doubted Poseidon was having daily chats with his brother in which his name was brought up. He snorted at the mental image, picturing his father using a conch shell as a phone while Zeus sat on the other side of the line eating grapes.
“And I told Perseus not to go! So, if you see him flying by be sure to strike him down for me, darling brother of mine!”
“Oh ho! I believe I see the boy now – should I turn him into a tree like my daughter or would you prefer something aquatic themed?”
“Hm… maybe just give him a good dose of your master bolt. He was due for a taste sooner or later anyways.”
Percy chuckled into Blackjack’s mane. The Pegasus gave a small snort of confusion, but Percy only smiled and threw a leg over his back. The sirens were still going off… however, they were loudly overshadowed by the feeling of sharp indignation that had settled in his chest. God or not, if Poseidon couldn’t intervene in his life the first sixteen years then he had no business intervening the next sixteen years. He tightened his backpack.
“Come on, Blackjack. To Alaska!”
Percy was an idiot. A dead idiot. A dead, dead, dead idiot.
Who just casually disobeyed one of the most powerful beings in the world? Percy knew he would have to go back to New York eventually… and a very pissed god would be waiting. What was he supposed to tell his poor mother? Annabeth? Gods, Grover was going to be so annoyed with him…
He was lucky Blackjack loved him enough to actually take him to Alaska and not go find Poseidon like a typical traitor would (ahem, barracudas). Rubbing his temples, Percy looked around the vast land around him and grimaced. You would think at some point throughout the nine-hour ride that Percy would have realized this was dumb and turn around… no. It was only when Blackjack’s hooves crunched against the snow of one of the higher mountains that Percy fully felt the weight of his decision come crashing down on him.
On the bright side… Alaska was beautiful. Percy might actually enjoy it if it weren’t for the fact he had just signed his own death warrant. He doubted prayers would go through, but felt vaguely tempted to maybe throw one out to see if Poseidon’s anger might somehow reach this far north.
He mulled over his next move as he trudged down the mountain, chewing his lip as he used the snow to carry him down until he eventually caught sight of the city he had asked Blackjack to drop him off near. He let his powers ease and walked a little faster towards what he hoped was a hotel.
“You look like you’re about to pass out,” a voice said and Percy turned to see a woman curiously staring at him in a bundle of blankets. Percy fixed her with an exhausted smile. “Do you know where you’re going, sweetheart?” she asked. Percy shook his head. “Alright, let’s go then,” she said and walked over to link their arms. Percy eyed her warily. Monster? Giant? Titan? God?
The answer was none. Her name was Lorie and Percy decided without hesitation that he adored her. Within three hours of meeting her he had a small apartment rented for three months, food, and a decent amount of furniture. Percy figured she was too nice to be anything magical… and far too useful.
“I do it all the time, sweetheart. Tourists who decide to stay aren’t uncommon here,” she pointed out. Percy shrugged, tucking away his credit card. It was actually one of those endless credit cards from the Lotus Casino. Annabeth had given hers to that driver on their quest and Percy threw his away, but Nico happened to still have his. Given that Nico was apparently now a rich kid it only took a little needling to get him to let Percy borrow his.
“Still. I appreciate it,” he said and rubbed a hand through his hair. “I might honestly be here longer than I planned,” he admitted and Lorie raised an eyebrow. “I, uh, made my dad pretty mad before I left. Don’t think he’s going to want me back anytime soon and if he gets the rest of my family involved… I definitely can’t leave,” He said dryly. Lorie scoffed.
“I doubt it. Fathers always act angry, but they would never want you gone,” she said and Percy inwardly snickered. Maybe that was true, but Lorie didn’t know that the random Level 5 hurricane that they just saw on the news was probably named ‘Perseus’ for a reason. He truly, truly hoped it stayed out in the middle of the ocean and didn’t touch land… he doubted his father would be cruel enough to bring others into this, but if he did...
Percy would have to head back if it moved. There was no way he could live with the guilt if there was any collateral damage.
His stomach twisted a bit. He needed to remember that his dad was more than their limited interactions. Greek myths had been written about him fairly extensively… and he wasn’t always the good guy.
“Well, I’m sure I’ll eventually find out,” Percy said a little doubtfully. Honestly, this was ridiculous. He wanted a goddamn vacation and now there was a very real chance he might be living in exile. Rubbing his eye, he gave Lorie one last wave before looking around his new apartment and grimacing. Right. Time to face the music…
He brought out his phone and dialed. Oh, yeah. He had a phone now. Leo decided to be the best person in the world and made celestial bronze cellphone cases that kept monsters from finding them. He had also made him a similar laptop case for Percy’s birthday. He had been thrilled at the time, but now that he was pressing dial to surely be yelled at… Leo’s invention didn’t seem so great.
“What did you do?”
“Hey, Wise Girl,” Percy greeted and collapsed on the couch beside him. “So, you know how I’m an idiot?”
He glanced around. Were there many monsters still in Alaska? He figured there would be less with the giants gone… then again. He might be the only demigod for miles so his smell would be pretty pungent.
“Please tell me you didn’t pick a fight with a god,” Annabeth sighed and he could hear her rummaging around. Despite everything, it made Percy smile to hear the crinkle of paper and shuffling of drawers. When Percy’s silence filled the air, she sighed again. “Which god?”
“Uh, my dad?”
There was a long pause.
“…that explains the random hurricane on the news,” she finally said. “Your father likes you. Why is he angry?”
Percy looked around the apartment again and clicked his tongue.
“Probably because he told me not to go to Alaska… and then I went to Alaska. Enough about me though. How are things at school?”
“Wait. What? Alask-”
“Are you living in a dorm already? There were dorms at Yancy. I’ll warn you right now not to leave your food in an accessible place-”
“You’re in Alaska?” Annabeth demanded. Percy grimaced. “I thought you were kidding about that! Percy, why? I… are you…? Give me a second,” she said. Percy waited. “I love you… but you frustrate me so badly sometimes,” she muttered. “What exactly happened?”
So, Percy told her. Annabeth was a pretty good listener. It was nice to have someone to rant too and know that even if she thought he was a complete idiot that she would be on his side. Sure enough, the moment he finished there was another couple seconds of nothing before Annabeth gave a sympathetic humph.
“He does have a lot of nerve acting like you can’t go where you want,” she said and Percy threw his hand up. Finally! Someone who gets it. “We went to Greece on a flying boat. We went to Tartarus. Even outside of him struggling with his Roman form we did lots of dangerous stuff in the past… Hell, we fought alongside Egyptians. If there was a time to put his foot down it would be then. Why is he suddenly involved?” she asked.
Percy hit his leg. “I love you so damn much.”
“You still handled this badly,” Annabeth said. Her voice seemed torn between amused and distressed. Not an unusual tone for someone speaking to Percy. “If anyone is allowed to have that much nerve… it would be him. Why didn’t you just go to your mom’s?”
Percy ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “I really wasn’t thinking. I just wanted some privacy. The way he was talking made it sound like he was always checking up on me and – I mean, maybe that’s supposed to be nice? But maybe I just got a little prideful at the idea he thought he was taking care of me. Like I haven’t been almost dying for seventeen years straight. Like I didn’t have my memories wiped after being kidnapped,” he added bitterly. Annabeth gave a soft hum on the other end of the phone.
“You’ve survived this far because you’re powerful, brave, and sometimes even a little smart,” she assured him. Percy smiled weakly. “But right and wrong doesn’t really matter with the gods. I’ll reach out to Chiron. Maybe he can mediate. Until then, maybe just stay there until things cool down. Are you someplace safe?”
Percy looked around again. Not a monster in sight.
“Pretty sure I’m good. I’ll be careful though,” he said softly. “And it isn’t like a god can come by to bother me,” he added brightly. Annabeth chuckled. “But seriously, I do want to know about school… also, we need to talk as long as possible because I’m calling my mom next and upsetting Poseidon is one thing, but her? I don’t know…”
“If she’s sad you have to come back even if you are murdered.”
“Agreed.”
So, Alaska was great and Percy wouldn’t mind living here forever.
Maybe if Annabeth liked it then they could. The monsters were there, but pretty scarce and there were no gods to bother him for quests or wars. Not a single one! The only real downside was that his friends and family weren’t there with him, but he had already called almost everyone. The general consensus was that he was an idiot, but people would try to fan the flames for him.
“I can charmspeak your dad,” Piper had offered as Jason gave her a horrified look during the FaceTime call. He spluttered for a moment as Percy gave a delighted laugh at the offer.
“You cannot charmspeak Poseidon."
“I did it with Gaea!” She said and shrugged to Percy. “I’ll try it for you.”
“Piper, no-” Jason began, distressed, and turned to Percy. “Tell her no!”
“We’ll keep that as a last resort,” Percy snorted and Piper grinned at him as Jason muttered lowly under his breath while glowering between them. From somewhere in the background, there was a yell and Nico also appeared on screen. “Hi, Nico.”
“So, it’s true. You’ve escaped,” he greeted. “My dad asked if this was a demigod rebellion and if I was going to Alaska too.”
“It can be.”
“It absolutely cannot be!” Jason said and swung around to point a finger at Nico. “Don’t-”
“I’m kidding, Jason. We all know I’m screwed. Besides, it isn’t like Nico can escape his dad for long,” he added thoughtfully. “Unless you become immortal or something.” Nico flipped him off. “What? Just saying. If Poseidon hates me that much then I can at least avoid him for eternity when I die.”
“He doesn’t hate you,” Piper tried to reassure him. “I’m sure you’re not the first demigod who has had… uh, teenage… angst?” Percy looked at her. “I don’t know what to call the savior of Olympus running off to Alaska after an argument with the sea god, Percy.”
Eh. Fair enough.
“We’ll call it a coping mechanism.”
“Let me know if it works,” Nico said and when Jason turned to him, raised a finger. “It was a joke. Don’t start.”
“…I’m talking to Will about this later,” Jason said under his breath. Nico glowered in return. “Are you sure you’re okay up there?” Jason continued, refocusing on Percy. “We can figure out something. Maybe send Coach Hedge or-”
“I’m fine,” Percy promised. “It’s really nice up here. I’ll call Hazel and she can tell me what places to visit,” he shrugged. Jason gave an approving nod.
“You can try where she died,” Nico told him helpfully. “If you want a good glimpse into your future.”
“Is Will around?” Percy threw back conversationally. “I’m just realizing him and I haven’t gotten to hang out much yet. I haven’t had a chance to tell him about how sweet you were when we first met. Do you think he likes Mythomagic too?” He asked innocently. Nico’s eyes narrowed. “I’ll let you know if he can surf-”
“I hope a moose eats you.”
“Never forget I’m one of the few people who met you as an adorable kid. I will always have blackmail on you,” Percy said with a sweet smile. Nico made a noise of disgust before stomping off towards the infirmary.
Percy snorted. In truth, Will would be downright besotted to learn Nico had been (and probably still was deep down) a massive dork. He wasn’t going to tell Nico that though. Being one of the only people who remembered young Nico was the only leverage he had with him sometimes.
“You’re really okay?” Piper pressed. Percy bit his lip. While he did love Alaska during his brief stay so far… To be completely honest, it was a… different place compared to New York. He wasn’t sure how he was going adjust, but hey. No demigod battles to the death? He would work it out.
“Peachy,” he told her, hoping it was true.
…and it was true. Sort of.
It was about two weeks later that Percy had began to settle into a routine. It was kind of weird to learn how to live when you had… no responsibilities. It was weird. Really weird. Too weird at times. No monsters to fight? No people to save? It left him too much time to think.
The first few days were awful – full of guilt because he should be helping other demigods get to camp or New Rome. He should be making sure his mother was doing okay with Estelle. He should be teaching new campers how to use a sword or visiting Tyson or checking in with Grover, but no. No, he was here because he was childish and selfish and –
Nope. No. He had to busy himself or risk falling into a pit of despair. The nightmares were already bad enough. He had hoped they would get a little better with no gods to spur them along, but it appeared most of visits to Tartarus in the night were purely just trauma. Maybe he should call Nico or Annabeth and ask how they were doing with them… Percy felt like he had tried everything with no results.
Then again, nobody really talked about Tartarus. It felt too risky, in a way. Like saying it would make it more real.
“If you can survive that then this is nothing,” he told himself, somewhat doubtfully. Then set to work.
Fun fact: The Institute of Marine Sciences was in Alaska.
Percy would admit that actually seeking out educational opportunities wasn’t really this thing, but maybe Annabeth had been a bad influence. Either way, he had kind of conned his way into an internship position mainly to just chill with the animals.
“You wouldn’t rat me out to my father, would you?” He asked a tank of fish that he most certainly was going to break out of this lab at the first given chance. The fish didn’t seem to be preoccupied with ratting him out since they kept cooing brightly at his presence.
He wasn’t sure the whales would be so reliable. Percy wondered if it even worked that way. Could Poseidon send up sea animals to spy on him and report back? He considered it from his place at end of a dock, watching the beach curl around the island. Mountains towered high as Percy looked at the water with heavy consideration. After a few minutes of deliberation, he kicked off his shoes and dipped a toe into the icy water.
“Um… dad?” He called tentatively. There was little chance any god could hear him, but if anyone could reach out to him in so-called godless lands… it would be one of the Big Three. The water sloshed around, but there was ultimately nothing. Percy sighed. He wasn’t sure if he was relieved or disappointed.
This was relatively short-lived considering a second later the earth trembled. For a moment his chest went cold – memories of Gaea whispering beneath the surface before the water swirled as a reminder that she wasn’t the only one who could shake the Earth. Percy grimaced. Maybe he didn’t want to talk to his dad after all. Still, he put his foot back in.
All at once, he felt a surge of… something. It was hot and loud and demanding and – Percy yanked himself back out of the water with a scowl. Perhaps Poseidon wasn’t able to fully communicate given the circumstances, but he didn’t quite appreciate the whirlpool. What was he trying to do? Suck him down? Gritting his teeth, Percy reminded himself not to be an idiot.
“Have you considered that maybe you’re being the immature one here?” he asked, kneeling down to stick his hand in the water because apparently the ‘don’t be an idiot’ thing didn’t stick. The world shuddered. Percy looked over his shoulder – a little worried buildings might come down or – gods forbid – an avalanche, but the most that happened was some trashcans getting knocked over.
Groaning, he fell back and scowled at the sky.
He couldn’t do this forever. At some point he needed to see his friends and family again, right? Rubbing his eyes, he sat back up and marched back into town. Lorie was waiting for him, humming to herself as he walked into the door of the coffee shop he had learned she owned so that the bells attached to the door jangled.
“Adjusting?” she asked him pleasantly as she slid him a cup. Percy offered a weak smile as he mulled that over. Adjusting… maybe? He wasn’t sure. His life was full of adjustments. In truth, perhaps the most troubling part of Alaska was the consistency. He didn’t quite know how to handle it.
“I’m not sure,” he admitted.
Lorie fixed him a warm smile before nodding at a figure towards the other end of the shop with slightly pursed lips.
“Do you know him?” she asked. Percy followed her gaze. The man didn’t look familiar. Then again, it was hard to make out most of him given the layers of clothing and the fact his back was turned. “He said he was looking for you. I thought he might know your father or something,” she told him.
Percy tensed – a little startled by the last comment before remembering he had mentioned his father to her.
“Looking for me?” Percy repeated and rolled his shoulders back. His instinct was to get into fighting position, but he tried to quell his impulses and instead gave Lorie a nod. Maybe this was someone Chiron sent? It wasn’t impossible. He hadn’t talked to his mentor yet, but knew he was due for a call soon… and probably a massive telling off.
He would probably get a lot of those before this was all over.
Percy pushed out of his chair, grabbing his coffee to move towards the stranger. He tried to look for any weapons or claws, but the bulky jacket made it hard to be sure so he made sure to keep standing as he put his coffee cup on the table next to him.
“Hello?” he called and the man turned slightly at the sound of his voice. “I’m Percy. Lorie said you were looking for me?” He asked and the figure turned. Percy tried to get a good look at his face, but he stood up so fast that his whole body was pretty much a blur. “Great,” he breathed out.
The man walked over towards him, eying him in such a way that Percy was positive that this guy knew he was a demigod. It couldn’t have been a god though. A monster, perhaps? He put a hand on Riptide.
“Perseus Jackson?” the man asked and Percy nodded, stiffening as he waited. The man inched closer. Right. He seemed normal… for now. Though his voice did kind of seem familiar. Like he had maybe heard it altered? No, that didn’t make sense. Still, it was the only analogy he could think of. “I have a message for you,” the man informed him calmly.
Oh, great. A threat? A promise? A sentence? Or maybe it was from Chiron saying things had been resolved?
Before he had a chance to ponder on it more, the man suddenly jumped forward and decked him.
Which… alright. Fair enough.
Percy barely had a chance to react. There was a flash of sharp pain and a continued throbbing as that pain seemed to melt into his cheek. Pressing his hand to his face, he stood back up to meet furious eyes. His eyes. For a moment, he almost tripped backwards because if this was Poseidon he was so, so screwed.
Only… it wasn’t Poseidon. At least, not a form Poseidon had ever appeared to him in. Not to mention this guy was completely mortal. Semi-mortal? Percy couldn’t tell. He was too busy drinking him in. He didn’t look too much older than him – early twenties maybe? His hair was long and black, kept into a loose ponytail that went a little past his shoulders and –
Holy shit. There… there was no way… Percy tilted his head, trying in vain to match this human appearance to the godly version he had met a few years ago.
“Triton?” he whispered. The narrowing eyes served as an answer. “I – how are you here?” he asked, bewildered as he took in his brother. “Why are you, um, not… you know?” he asked lamely.
Triton bristled – eyes sharp and full of unrestrained hate.
“Why am I mortal?” he asked, practically foaming at the mouth. “What an excellent question, Perseus. Why do you think I’m mortal?”
Percy stared. He wasn’t going to like the answer, he was pretty sure. Luckily, Triton’s question appeared to be rhetorical because he continued without waiting for Percy.
“Probably because you decided to disobey a god’s orders and I was sent to retrieve you. Only, gods can’t exactly come here, can they? So, our father’s great problem-solving included turning me mortal until I bring you back.”
Oh… ohhhhh no. That was bad. Very bad.
“Ah,” Percy said and rubbed the back of his neck. “Um, I… Triton, look, I am so sorry you got dragged into this-”
“Great!” Triton said and crossed his arms over his chest. “Grab your stuff so we can go.”
Right. Percy looked at him. Triton and him had never been on friendly terms. In total, they’ve maybe actually seen one another like… three times? Each time included Triton’s passive aggressive comments and snide remarks about his mother. So, quite frankly, Percy wasn’t all that inclined to help out.
Selfish, a voice whispered in the back of his mind. Haven't you caused enough problems already? Look at what you've done-
Percy swallowed, cutting off the voice sharply. Look, logically speaking, the absolute worst thing Percy could do to his half-brother was wait a few more peaceful years and then return for Triton to get his godhood back before being pummeled to death. What were a few years to an immortal being like Triton anyhow? And that was worst case scenario... most likely Chiron would call by the end of the week and tell him to come home. Percy didn’t have to go right now.
Besides, if he was continuing on this immature streak of his then he would deeply enjoy seeing the god act as a mere mortal for a bit longer. Percy held out a cup.
“Coffee?”