Prologue
A six year old boy with jet black hair and sea-green eyes pulled a woman along with him on a busy sidewalk of New York City. "Mommy, mommy, hurry up!" He yelled, anxious to reach their location.
"Patience, Percy." Sally Jackson soothed, and pulled the young boy closer to her, keeping a tight grip on his arm the whole time "Where do you want to go now?" She asked the boy. She had promised him the whole day to do whatever he wanted with her, and though she was tired and badly needed rest, she would do anything for her six year old.
Percy looked at his mother with what one could call astonishment, though the expression was hard to pinpoint on a young child. On another face it may have looked insulting, but on his face it was only cute. He had assumed that his mother had known, of course, where he wanted to go, and was surprised that she didn't. "Ice cweam…" was all he said for her to get the message.
"All right Percy, it's right around the corner." Sally replied, rolling her eyes at her son's antics. She knew that Percy could pronounce his r's, but in order to get more attention from people, he sometimes developed a fake lisp.
Percy looked up at his mom, making sure she was paying attention to him. But a weird image in the corner of his eye, caused him to jerk to a stop and stare straight into the street. He'd seen someone staring at him, and the sight filled him with a foreboding and dread few children his age would know.
"Percy?" Sally stared at him with a confused and worried look. Percy's attention quickly snapped to his mom and then to the waiting sugar around the corner.
"Let's go, let's goooo!" Percy whine started again, pulling his mother's arm in the direction of the shop. Sally followed quietly, baffled at what on the road could have held Percy's attention for more that ten seconds. Sometimes, she couldn't entertain the ADHD boy for half that long.
The mother and son couple rounded the corner and entered the shop. "Alright Percy, stay here while I go get the ice cream." Sally said, depositing the boy into an empty booth and walking towards the line up.
Percy fidgeted in his seat impatiently, and after a few minutes he looked up to see his mother in a long line-up. It seemed like every child in New York wanted ice cream right now.
"Hi!" an eager voice beside him shocked him out of his thoughts, and he looked to see a boy a little big older than him with small horns sticking out of his curly brown hair. That wasn't the only strange thing about the figure though. The strange thing about the figure was that he had no shirt on, and where his legs should be...where his legs should be….
"It's not nice to stare..." The boy said matter of factly. Though it seemed as if he had no idea what was wrong with him. Percy looked at the boy in wonder, speechless. Because where his legs should be were long furry goat legs that ended in hooves.
"You're a satyr..." He whispered, enchanted. He was proud that he remembered what his teacher had taught him a few days ago.
"Yup, my names Grover, I'm here to help you!" The satyr replied, just as mysteriously, if not a bit louder.
"That's cool." Percy said, easily accepting Grover's reply. After a few moments though, his curiosity got the best of him and he asked, "Why do I need help?"
"Aren't you scared? People are after you, Percy." Grover stated, as if it were his duty to tell him.
Percy wasn't as disturbed or surprised at the news as any other child would be. He seemed to accept it easily, like he accepted Grover's presence. Maybe it was because Grover spoke as if he knew everything in the world - like many of the older kids at Percy's school. He didn't get to ponder on this thought because his mom had come and handed him his ice cream.
"Excuse me dear," his mom said, "I need to go to the washroom quickly. Stay. Here." His mother stated, with a look that told Percy she wasn't kidding. He was surprised she didn't greet Grover - she usually was very friendly towards kids.
"Don't eat the ice cream, Percy, or you'll die." Grover said, emphatically.
"That's not true…" Percy replied, but he knew that Grover was right. It was a feeling in his gut. Still, a six year old couldn't resist, and as he was about to take a little lick, a excruciating pain in his head stopped him. He immediately cried out, causing him to drop the treat onto the ground.
"Oh my God Percy, you almost died." Grover's voice didn't sound as friendly this time. Or even that emotional.
All Percy did was whimper in response, on the verge of crying.
"Shut up." Grover hissed. "Don't be a baby, Percy. You know I had to do that. You couldn't eat it."
When Percy still didn't respond Grover spoke again. "So let's be friends. I'll help you, okay?"
Still recovering from the pain, Percy didn't reply but instead looked away from Grover. "Okay?" Grover asked more forcefully, a threat in his voice. Percy could feel the pain in his head growing, and quickly replied, "Okay. But don't do that again."
Grover responded with a small shrug, not a yes or no - but a whatever.
Percy didn't notice the strange whispers in the shop though, directed at him. He didn't notice the other families, or the employees weird looks. As they wondered, why in the world was this little boy talking to himself?
