Percy hadn't felt like joining the rest of the camp for dinner, so Grover had grabbed some food for both of them and they ate on the beach. They didn't talk about anything, they just sat with each other and watched the tide bring the waves gently against the shore. Despite the wind and rain around them, the sea was relatively calm.
Percy knew it wasn't because his dad was calm. Chiron's explanation, as well as Percy's own dreams, showed that Poseidon was nearly as furious as Zeus was. Percy had the feeling that the only reason why the sea was calm was because it was his dad's way of defying his brother. The sea was normally influenced so much on the weather. For it to be calm now, it was his dad's way of saying 'you don't control me' to the king of the gods.
Percy didn't know whether he was impressed by his dad's small defiance, or really annoyed.
Shortly after dark, around the time when the rest of the campers had left dinner and gone off to the sing-along at the amphitheater, Percy heard the clopping of hooves on the beach. Grover looked up somewhat nervously. Percy didn't have to look up to know who it was.
"Chiron," Percy said somewhat coldly. He wasn't really upset with Chiron, he was just frustrated with the circumstances, and Chiron was the messenger who just so happened to be there.
"Did you speak with Luke?" Chiron asked.
"Yeah," Percy said. "He said he'd think about it,"
"I wouldn't get your hopes up, Percy," Chiron cautioned. "Luke has been distant since he returned from his quest."
Percy frowned. "He hasn't been distant with me." Luke acted a little weird sometimes, but he was still really fiercely protective of the younger campers. Maybe Luke was distant compared to how he used to be, but Percy had only ever known him like this, and he didn't mind it so much.
"How's Annabeth doing?" Grover asked.
"Ah, she...well…" Chiron cleared his throat. "Let me worry about her. You two have a quest to prepare for."
"When do we leave?" Percy asked.
"As soon as possible," Chiron said. "The idea was for you to leave this afternoon, but it's too late for that now so you'll be leaving first thing in the morning. I suggest you pack and get a good night's rest before then."
Percy frowned ever so slightly. He really didn't have a whole lot to pack, unless he wanted to bring his minotaur horn on this quest. Percy didn't even have a bag to put his theoretical stuff in. Grover put a hand on Percy's shoulder.
"Let me take care of it." Grover stood up and trotted back towards the main area of camp, leaving Percy and Chiron on their own.
Percy stared in silence at the waves. He tried to ignore that Chiron was there, but he could practically feel his mentor's gaze at the back of his neck. He was used to adults always just looking at him, either because they expected him to set the school on fire at any moment, or because they were waiting for him to suddenly become as impossibly well-behaved and smart as they expected him to be. Percy wasn't sure which was the case with Chiron, and he didn't think he wanted to know.
"Golden drachma for your thoughts, Percy?" Chiron eventually said. Percy turned and looked to see the centaur holding a hand out to him. Percy just looked at the hand for a moment before he accepted it and let himself get pulled to his feet.
"I don't know if you want to hear what I'm thinking." Percy said. His thoughts were so chaotic and jumbled up, he didn't think that anything he said would even make any sense.
"Don't worry about what I may want to hear," Chiron said. He gestured down the beach. "Walk with me."
Percy took his shoes and socks off and carried them so he could feel the sand between his toes. He'd always found comfort on the beach. He'd always thought it was because of how much his mom loved the beach. Living with Gabe, Percy knew that his mom didn't get a lot of comfort and peace in her life, and he loved any place that could give that to her. Now, Percy wondered if it had anything to do with his dad, if he felt drawn to the beach because it was Poseidon's realm.
"I have no idea how I feel about my dad." Percy said. He clenched his hands tightly around his shoes. "Whenever I think about him, and how he was never around, and how he only claimed me now because he needs me, I just get so mad."
"Many demigods have gone through what you have," Chiron said. "It's perfectly normal." Percy was all too familiar with this kind of wording. Percy had spoken to a counselor at every single school he went to, and all of them said the same kind of thing. When Percy explained his struggles, his counselors all said that what he was feeling was normal. They never told him that it was wrong, or that it was right, just that it was normal.
Percy had always been irritated with the counselors when they said this kind of thing. They didn't sound sincere. He didn't feel that irritability with Chiron though. Mr. Brunner had never taken things easy on Percy or tried to reassure him with false promises and encouragement, and Percy had no reason to think that he was going to start now.
Besides, after everything he'd heard from Luke Percy knew that he was far from the only demigod who was angry with the gods.
"But...I don't know, I can't bring myself to hate him either." Percy said. He couldn't forget how soothing the ocean was, how the salty, cool breeze smelled like home. And the way that water listened to and healed Percy, it wasn't because of anything he did. It just happened. The water wanted to serve him. The element that obeyed his father, it listened to him too, and it felt pretty incredible.
"The gods are complicated beings," Chiron said. "It's understandable that you may have complicated feelings about them. It may be confusing to feel so many conflicted emotions at once, but I caution you to avoid pushing some of those feelings back."
Percy frowned. "What do you mean?"
Chiron sighed and seemed to consider his next words carefully. "It may be easier to let your anger consume you and hate the gods, or to embrace the blessings of the gods completely and do their will without question, but those extremes can be very dangerous, as well as harmful."
"You...you want me to continue being mad at the gods?" Percy furrowed his brow. That didn't sound right.
"I want you to be honest with yourself." Chiron said. "And if Luke accompanies you on your quest, perhaps you could help him to do the same." Percy had no idea how he was feeling. How was he supposed to help Luke when he didn't even know how to help himself?
"I'll try," Percy said.
"I have something that I've been meaning to give you," Chiron said. "I had wanted to wait until you were stronger and had more experience, but we can't afford to wait." Chiron reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a pen, a very familiar looking pen.
Percy took the cap off and wasn't surprised when the pen turned into a sword. The same sword that he had used to vaporize Mrs. Dodds. Percy hadn't paid much attention to the sword when he'd first wielded it, because he had been too busy trying not to die, but now that he didn't have to fight for his life he could take a moment to properly appreciate the feel of the sword.
Holding it felt so natural. It didn't feel too heavy, light, or awkward like all of the other swords at camp. This sword was balanced.
Chiron gave a brief history about the story behind the sword, that it was a gift from Percy's father and was called Anaklusmos, or Riptide. Percy barely paid attention. He was too busy admiring the sword. He wondered if it felt so right in his hands because of the build of the sword, or if it had something to do with his father. That passing thought was enough to give Percy pause.
"I, uh, appreciate the sword," Percy said. "But would it be okay for me to, you know, bring another sword too?"
Chiron frowned slightly. "Is there something wrong with Riptide?"
"No, it feels perfect," Percy said. "It's just...I don't know how I feel about the gods, and it doesn't feel right to rely so much on a gift from my father when I don't even know if I like him yet." That would make Percy no better than Annabeth or the gods, who were more than happy to use somebody to get what they wanted, but didn't want to put in the effort to deserve that gift.
Percy didn't want to reject the sword, because that would be insulting in and of itself, and it just felt so right in his hands, but he didn't want it to be the only weapon he had. It might be awkward to carry around two swords at once, but not if one of them was a pen. And Percy thought he should get used to carrying around a sheathed sword.
"If you want to take another weapon, I would see no problem with it." Chiron said. "But don't take too much. It can be just as dangerous to be over prepared than underprepared." Percy didn't know how that could be the case, but Chiron knew more about quests and heroes than Percy did. He probably knew what he was talking about.
Chiron paused as they stepped in front of the cabins. Percy stopped and looked up at the centaur. "I know you have a lot on your mind, but try to get some rest. You have a long day tomorrow."
Percy sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'll definitely try." Percy just hoped that he didn't have any dreams. He was about to go on a quest to stop Zeus and Poseidon from fighting. He didn't think that watching the two of them duking it out in his dream would be a great motivator.
"Thanks for the help, Chiron," Percy said, and he meant it. "You've given me a lot to think about." Percy put the pen cap on the tip of the sword, turning it to a pen again. He put it into his pocket. Percy gave the water one last longing look before he made his way to cabin three. Grover was taking care of the packing. Percy had asked Luke to come and the two of them had worked on some sword-fighting. The only thing Percy had left to do was try his best to get some sleep. He had a long day tomorrow.
Percy slept restlessly that night. He didn't exactly have any dreams, but he heard all kinds of muffled mutterings and grunts. He couldn't tell if the voices were furious, or terrified. He didn't know if it was just one echoey voice, or dozens of voices he was hearing. Percy couldn't even tell if he recognized the voices or if they were completely unfamiliar to him.
Grover woke Percy up an hour before dawn. Percy felt absolutely exhausted, like he hadn't gotten any sleep at all, but now that he was up and he knew that he had to get going he really couldn't imagine sleeping. Percy sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.
"Here," Grover handed Percy an apple and then tossed a backpack onto the bed next to him. "The camp loaned us some stuff." Percy took a bite of the apple and looked inside the bag. There was nectar and ambrosia, only to be used in case of emergencies, an extra set of clothes, and some money. It looked like a lot of cash at first, but Percy knew how expensive public transportation could be, and suddenly this money felt like absolutely nothing.
"There's no way this will be enough to get us to Los Angeles." Percy said.
"It'll be enough to get us started," Grover said. "We'll have to figure it out as we go."
"Well, that's reassuring," Percy grimaced. He knew that being overly prepared was dangerous, but this was just ridiculous. Percy had seen kids at school be more prepared for a sleepover at a friend's room across the hall. He couldn't just ask for more.
Percy closed and shouldered the backpack. He had never bothered to change out of yesterday's clothes, and since they were just going to be on the road soon he didn't see any reason to put on something new. He just slipped some shoes on, took one last longing long around the lonely cabin, and followed Grover outside.
Percy shivered slightly and wrapped his arms around himself.. The sun hadn't risen yet, and the wind and rain made it really chilly. Grover looked up at the sky nervously, but he seemed unbothered by the cold. The two of them walked towards the Big House.
Most campers were still asleep, but Percy was surprised at how many people were up and about at this hour. He saw Clarisse in the sword fighting arena going through practice drills with some other Ares kids. Four kids from the Apollo cabin were going for a run on the beach, and Percy knew that the others would be awake soon, because all of Apollo's kids were up early enough to watch the sun rise every morning. There were also a few kids from the Hephaestus cabin making their way to the forges, hoping to get some work in before it got too hot in the day.
Chiron was on the front porch of the Big House, sitting in his familiar wheelchair. Percy grinned when he saw Luke standing next to Chiron. Luke was always up early, Percy had wondered once or twice if Luke ever slept through the night at all, but he knew that the older boy wouldn't have come to the Big House for nothing. Luke didn't look dressed for training, but for traveling. He had a sword scabbard around his waist, and a large backpack over his shoulder.
"Does this mean what I think it means?" Percy said quickly as he ran up to join them. He didn't want to get his hopes up, but Luke certainly looked like he was ready for a quest.
"I figured you two would need somebody along to keep an eye on you." Luke eyed Percy for a moment before he smirked slightly and took off his backpack. Luke went through his things for a moment before he pulled out a jacket. He handed it to Percy. It was too big for him, but it was dry and warm. Percy drew the jacket tight around him. "Are you ready to go?"
"Not really," Percy admitted. "What about you? You look exhausted. Did you get any sleep last night?"
"Not exactly." Luke flinched and a dark look came into his eyes. "I kept on getting these nightmares...look, it's not important. Don't worry about me. I'll find a place to slip in a few hours of sleep on the road."
Percy smiled at Luke appreciatively. "Thanks, you know, for coming along."
"Hey, somebody's gotta make sure that everything goes according to plan." Luke looked through his backpack again and pulled out an old pair of shoes. "Here. My dad gave these to me when I went on my first quest. I thought you'd find some use for them. Maia!" The shoes spouted wings and started to hover in the air. Percy stared at them in awe.
Chiron cleared his throat pointedly. "Luke, may I remind you that as a son of Poseidon, Zeus would not be fond of Percy under normal circumstances."
"I can't fly," Percy said. "He'll shoot me right down."
"Not if you're in the underworld," Luke smirked. His eyes sparkled mischievously. "Hades' domain is underground, not technically in the air. If you can control the waters and attack from the skies, you should have no problem taking Hades' on."
"I wouldn't be so arrogant," Chiron warned.
"Don't worry, we'll be careful." Percy said. Luke's plan didn't sound half bad, but they needed to be cautious about it. Percy handed the shoes to Grover. "Watch these for me until we get to the underworld?"
Grover took the shoes with quiet respect. "Really?" The satyr looked anxiously from Percy to Luke.
The older boy grinned and shrugged. "Hey, you don't have to be the child of a god to use their powers. Dad may have given me the shoes, but I gave them to Percy, who gave them to you. You have just as much right to use them as anybody else does."
"Well, now that the three of you are here and prepared, it's time for you to leave." Chiron said. "Argus is waiting with the camp bus."
Luke's grin dimmed slightly. He looked pained. "Have you guys seen Annabeth?"
"Not since yesterday," Percy said.
"Me neither," Luke frowned. "She wasn't at dinner or the bonfire."
"She just needs some space," Chiron said.
"I know," Luke said. "I just thought…" He looked off towards the cabins as though he was hoping to see his friend out there. Chiron put a hand on Luke's shoulder, but he scowled and shrugged it off harshly. Luke shouldered his backpack and put his hands gently but firmly on Grover and Luke's shoulders. "Come on, let's get going. We've got a master bolt to find, and a gods' mess to clean up."