A/N: Thank you all for the reviews, follows, and favorites!
Comments boost my self-esteem :)
The time in which Poseidon had requested to meet Sally was before sunrise. The sky was a crisp dark blue, sunlight not yet teasing from beneath the horizon. Gulls called hopelessly into the brisk morning breeze and the restless tide lapped at the shore.
Sally left her rental cabin and began the walk to where she had met Poseidon the day before. The closer she came, however, the more her nerves began to act up. What am I doing here? Meeting some stranger who calls himself "Poseidon". He must be crazy! I must be crazy! I am clearly delusional. This is just going to be another mistake, another regret that I will never live down.
She was just about to turn back when she heard a voice call her name, powerful despite the wind.
"Sally!" Relief flooded her when she saw he wasn't arriving from the sea this time and she knew that she had missed her opportunity to flee. Still full of uncertainty, she walked down the sandy dunes to where he was waiting for her.
Poseidon appeared very much the way he had the previous day, with his strong jaw, his defined figure, and his tall commanding presence. However, his eyes, yesterday matching the glittering clear green water, were today reflections of the dark early morning surf.
"Follow me. We have to hurry if we want to make it on time." He insisted.
She followed him without asking questions and although they walked in silence, it wasn't awkward at all. They trudged back up the shoreline and began a steady climb following a twisty path that wound around a steep hill. The sandy incline soon turned to grass which in turn changed into a rocky cliff face and just when Sally thought she couldn't go any farther, they crested the hill and what she saw took her breath away.
The dark blue sky had given away to a flushed rosy hue, alight from the sun that had begun to peak over the horizon. The ocean glittered a fantastic midnight blue, contrasting against the sky in the most brilliant way. She was certain that her mouth was agape in awe and she couldn't speak, only watch as the sky's pink tinged gave way to orange as the sun slowly rose higher in the sky.
The silence was finally broken by Poseidon's soft, strong voice. "I wasn't sure we'd make it in time... But I put in a good word to make the sunrise last as long as possible."
It was those words, so casual and off hand, that snapped Sally out of her trance.
"It's all true then?" She asked tilting her head to look up at him. He didn't answer right away so she went on. "Poseidon. God of the sea. Earth shaker. Tamer of horses."
He grinned at the last one. "Most people forget about the horses."
Sally's heart fluttered. She didn't know if it was because he had confirmed her suspicions or because she was afraid that "most people" were more innocent, solitary women he had lured to his cliff.
"I think I could tell." She began slowly. "Yesterday when you came out of the ocean, I could tell you were not entirely human."
"It's a gift you have, your sight. I can assure that most mortals would not have seen what you saw yesterday. What they would believe exactly is a mystery to me but surely it wasn't a god rising up out of the surf carrying a trident." He chuckled.
"Mortals." She clung to the word, how weird it sounded in context. Mortals. "So what your saying is that… everything as we, us mortals, know it is… false?"
Poseidon chuckled. "More or less. You're taking this surprisingly well."
"Well I guess when you're used to seeing one-eyed beasts,"
"Cyclops."
"…and giant demon dogs"
"Hellhounds."
"…Picking fights with human horse hybrids,"
"Centaurs."
"…You either begin to believe you're crazy or there's something else going on in the world… I took solace in believing the latter."
He grinned and turned to face her full on. The sun was almost completely visible now, the most awe-inspiring part of the show replaced with whitewashed pink skies.
"You're not crazy, Sally Jackson. You're extraordinary."