Of Poseidon and Athena
Disclaimer: none of the characters are mine, but belong to their respective owners.
"...And so it came to pass that Athena found herself one day bathing in a stream – there were already baths in those days, but Athena was shier when she was younger and didn't really like public baths at all – when she felt something wrong."
"Probably just a satyr or a demigod, up to no good," she mused, and whirling around, her hands on her hips, demanded:
"Show yourself!"
Athena's demand was granted, only it was not a satyr, or a demigod, or even a mortal, but her uncle Poseidon, god of the sea and other waters.
"And hello to you too, niece," he said sternly, his trident in his grasp.
Athena narrowed her eyes: in a small stream, Poseidon generally did not have most of his powers that were available to him in a larger body of water, but his trident made up for that. "What do you want, uncle?" she asked sternly, trying to ignore the fact that she was standing naked in a body of water – and the level of water was rising.
"Well, niece," Poseidon was not bothering with niceties either, "you have transformed my Medusa into a monster and didn't even apologize!"
"The two of you have desecrated a temple of mine!" Athena snapped back. "If I could get my hands on you back then-"
"But you didn't, so it is my turn," Poseidon replied almost brightly, "and according to my turn, I turn you into a river for 30 years – you will freeze in winter, deluge in spring and autumn, dry out during the summer – you know, the works!"
"What?!" Athena exploded, but it was too late, and the rest of her collapsed into water – and Poseidon was gone.
/
"And that was the crux of it," Ata Discordia Eric, the goddess of Strife, told her niece, Clarissa La Rue. "Athena did recover – 30 years isn't a lot of time for an Olympian – but neither did she forgive Poseidon for this trick. Oh, and she got over her issues with virginity, too."
"That's fine," Clarissa told her auntie, "but what do you want from me?"
"Well, since I am still banished from any god and demigod weddings, you'll have to go and take pictures," A.D.E. said brightly. "Percy and Annabeth are good kids, but their divine parents? They're something else!"
"I don't have a choice, do I?" Clarissa said sadly.
"Well, there's always the classic..." A.D.E. produced one of her infamous gold apples. "Uphold the family tradition and all..."
"I'll take the camera, thanks!" Clarissa said brightly and grabbed the still-offered device before scurrying into the guests' reception hall.
"Good girl," A.D.E. said as she looked at the departure of her niece.
End