Today was one of those rare days where I had nothing to do.

Mom was at work, dealing with a double shift at the candy shop, Smelly Gabe was actually at work for once, and Ms Athena had become paranoid after I met Mr Hermes so our sessions have shortened and become more hidden.

Now, I was home alone, with no homework or worksheets left to do, and the creeping feeling of boredom.

I could sneak out to practice my powers, but I really didn't want to. I didn't really want to do anything at all, so I just left the TV on and stared at the same page of the Iliad.

Nothing at all.

oOo

Someone is knocking on the door.

It's far too early for anyone to come home, and we never have guests other than Gabe's poker buddies. Maybe Eddie the superintendent wanted something? I hope not- then I'd have to explain why I was home alone.

I sighed as I got up off the couch, letting my blankets puddle on the ground. No matter who it is at the door, I don't want to deal with it.

Just in case, I grabbed a kitchen knife and held it tightly behind my back.

"Coming!" I shouted, jiggling the sliding lock so I could open the door, but whoever's outside is still locked out.

I pulled the door open until the chain stopped me from going further, and gaped in surprise at the person at the other side.

"Triton!"

He smiled down at me. "Brother. Are you going to let me in?"

I slammed the door shut, unlocking it and throwing my knife onto the table, before yanking the door back open so I could throw myself at my brother.

He was obviously not expecting my flying hug from the way that he fell backwards onto the ground, but I didn't care, I was just happy that I wasn't alone doing nothing anymore.

"Hello to you too," he laughed, standing back up. "I see you've missed me."

"Yeah!" I chirped, ecstatic that my brother had turned up again. "What're you doing here?" I let him inside, closing the door behind him.

"That's rude, Percy, don't just ask someone what they're doing." He chided, but his smile was warm and amusement danced in his eyes. "I wanted to check up on you, and I have to talk to your mother about some things."

The smile dropped off my face.

"No!" I protested immediately, "You can't!"

"I can't?" He raised an eyebrow, "Did you not tell your mother where you've been? Percy, she must've been worried out of her mind-"

"No," I interrupted. "She doesn't know! Mom doesn't know about anything!"

All amusement fell off his face now, leaving him completely serious.

"Nothing? She doesn't- anything?!" He exclaimed, horrified. "Father didn't- you-! How do you know about your heritage then?"

"No," I quickly corrected. "I mean, she knows who dad is, but she doesn't know that I know or that I left the house by myself!"

Triton relaxed for a second, before going straight back to horror. "What do you mean that she doesn't know that you know? She's been keeping it secret from you?! What about your lessons; your tutors and duties and guards?"

That threw me in a loop. "I'm supposed to know about all of this?"

"Yes!" My brother looked terribly stressed at this. "Father should have sent someone to teach you, as befitting a Prince of the Sea- even if you are a bastard. You're the heir after me, especially since Kym and Rhode refuse to inherit and I no longer have…" He trailed off at that, but quickly started back up, "You're ten and you know nothing!"

He looked so distressed by this, I didn't know what to do. So I did what mom would do; I pushed him down onto the couch, then went to make some tea and find out if we have any cookies left.

oOo

When I came back into the living room with two cups of tea and some blue biscuits, Triton was muttering to himself and scribbling on the notepad that mom leaves on the coffee table.

He looked surprised when I put down his teacup in front of him, but smiled at me and said "Thank you."

I peered at his notes, then blinked when I couldn't understand a word of them. I probably shouldn't have been so surprised that a god was writing in a language I didn't understand.

"I don't know this language," I commented idly. "Do gods have another language other than Ancient Greek?"

Triton's smile was a bit strained. "This is Halmaheran, the language of the sea. There are other tongues that the gods use, such as the common Ancient Tongue or the Mageia of the magic users or the Skotoilan of the elders of the Underworld."

"This is something I should already know, isn't it?"

He sighed. "As a prince? Yes."

I nodded. I feel like there's going to be a lot more studying in my future.

Triton sipped his tea, running a hand through his long locks- just like I do when I'm stressed.

I kept staring at his notes, trying to figure them out. Halmaheran is just like Greek- it came to me naturally- but at the same time I was struggling way more trying to make sense of it. It's like trying to remember a language you were already rusty in and then got amnesia; it was familiar yet not.

The letters were flowing, much more than Greek, but at the same time it isn't like the Latin alphabet at all. It sorta reminded me of Arabic, but I recognised a letter, 'λ' or 'l', as just a weird linking version of the normal Greek.

"Percy." Triton spoke up, making me turn to him. "If nobody has told you about all of this, then how do you know about it?"

"I may be a dumbass, but I'm not stupid!" I told him.

He was quick to chide me for "Language!" but I saw his lips twitch in amusement.

"It's not like I haven't noticed that I'm not normal!" I complained to him, "Normal kids can't breathe underwater, or drink salt-water, or cause a minor earthquake because mom was getting married! The horses at Central Park talk to me! It's really obvious, and when I realised that I could read Greek without knowing it, I knew what's up."

"I see." He smiled at me, ruffling my hair.

But the most important question still hasn't been answered.

"What are you going to do now?" I asked, afraid of his answer. "I've never been taught any of this, mom doesn't know, and I don't want her to find out!"

"Father might not have sent a household or informed the kingdoms of your birth- but he probably has a good reason why." He gave me a tired, reassuring, smile. "So I'll take over. If we do this correctly, I can get you up to speed by the time you're thirteen."

"That'll be a lot of studying." I commented, but gave him a grin. "Thank you for this!"

He patted my head. "Of course, little one."

A/N

So, if you know me or are on this fanfic's discord server, you know that I love worldbuilding. Anyways, I wrote a whole language for this! Halmaheran is a fully functional language, and is highly based off of ancient greek but with some linguistics stuff of language evolution of spanish and everything. Yes, before you ask, I do study Classics and Languages.