I've gotten so little sleep in the last few days- night work is hell when you're also doing day work.
Anyways, you may notice the tags for my fic have been updated. Hope you enjoy the Chapter!
Come yell at me on my tumblr: Percabeth4Life
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OO OO OO OO
Medusa held a basket at her side, her dress a traditional chiton. Her face was too far to see, but the hands flashed bronze in the light and the gold wings were impossible to miss.
"That's- that's Medusa-" Annabeth hissed. "But she looks- she looks different- we met Medusa, she didn't have the appearance from Pseudo-Apollodorus like this one does-"
"Psuedo-Apollodorus?" I muttered.
"One of the ancient Greek myths," She hissed. "But she- this one fits that description- the gold wings and bronze hands… and if she's truly like that description then her face as a whole is deadly to look at. But she- we met Medusa and she's not here-"
"Yeah," I muttered. "She's off to kill abusers."
"How niccce," Martha hissed, coiling tighter around my arm.
Annabeth opened her mouth, paused, shot me a look, then shook her head.
"I don't understand… but we need to be careful…"
I swallowed, watching the woman casually pluck a few apples off a tree.
"Gotcha."
"Yessss, ssstay hidden and essscape sssoon."
She finished off an apple, lazily plucking each seed out and popping it into her mouth. She finished three apples than carefully placed the other three in a basket at her hip.
She placed the basket under a tree and stretched, twisting side to side then stretching her arms up high, then in front of her.
Her bronze hands gleamed in the light as she arched up, her gold wings stretching out. They flashed, feathers highlighted in the sun light. I winced at the light in my eyes.
And then she turned to look directly at the bushes we were hiding in.
"You think I can't smell you?" she asked.
Despite the way her movements were filled with an easy grace, a lazy confidence, her voice was cold as ice.
"Come out, little Demigods."
I flicked my waterskin's lid off, sharing a look with Annabeth.
"You have no choicccce," Martha hissed.
Annabeth swallowed but nodded, and we stood. Annabeth winced, staggering slightly, and I offered her a hand of support.
She leaned on me as we straightened, one hand on her ribs.
Martha tightened on my arm. "Do not look up."
We faced the gorgon, careful to keep our gaze down so that we wouldn't see her face. Her feet drew closer, each step smooth and quick. I twisted my wrist deftly, my heart in my throat as I formed an opaque shield. It was clear enough to see through but distorted enough to protect us… hopefully.
She stalked right up to the shield, her gold wings glittering and her snake hair shifting with an audible hiss. I took a shaky breath.
The stiffness was now obviously her, catching in my joints and cracking over my skin. Though it was still different than before… there was no olive oil thick in my mouth like the Medusa we'd met before had.
Her claws gleamed bronze, catching my eye.
She hummed, though we didn't look up to her face through the shield I could feel her eyes on us. I noticed her hand raising and focused harder on the shield, keeping it sturdy.
"You are…" she rocked back on her heels. "You are a child of Poseidon… It has been so long since one ended up on my island."
I swallowed. Her voice echoed with longing, pain, and something… dark. My hairs stood up on my neck and I wanted to dive into the ocean and swim far far away. Martha's tongue brushed my arm, her scales rubbing comfortably.
"Are you-" Annabeth faltered when the gorgons snakes hissed, nudging the shield. "Are you Stheno or Euryale?"
Medusa (for it had to be her) laughed, a musical tone that made me want to look up. I kept my gaze on her hands.
"I am neither Stheno nor Euryale, they are my siblings. My sisters, born and raised as such. I've not before been mistaken for them, strange that. What makes you believe that I am anyone other than Medusa, the most infamous of the Gorgons?"
Annabeth's breath caught, her hand slipped into mine, squeezing it tight. "We- we've met Medusa-"
And it clicked.
This Medusa had no taste of Olive Oil.
Annabeth said she was as the Pseudo-Apollodorus stated, which was an ancient Greek myth.
The myth of Medusa being transformed by Athena was a Roman myth.
This wasn't the Medusa we'd met before.
I remembered my lessons where'd I'd gone over the myths and assumed the one we'd met was the Roman Medusa, the Medusa holding a grudge over Athena and Poseidon for what had been done to her.
That meant-
"You're the Greek Medusa," I said.
Medusa hummed, snakes coiled through my water shield and I hardened part of it to ice.
"Indeed," she murmured. "So, you have met my counterpart."
"What?" Annabeth asked. "What do you mean Roman-"
She chewed her lip, her brows furrowing in thought.
I didn't know what was safe with the Greek Medusa or not. I defaulted to my lessons.
Medusa was born of the sea, a child of Phorkys and Keto, old Sea Gods that ruled the dangers of the deep and sea terrors. She was a terror, a powerful, ancient, and dangerous one.
I had no idea what the etiquette was for her. I decided to go with the basics.
"Atula, naiye yopu?"
She cooed, "What a precious child. Ta en omavai. Y opu ro ika omasa?"
"Ta en omavai," I said politely, my smile strained.
Her eyes felt locked on me, her presence radiating something that put me on guard.
I didn't want to be here.
She was dangerous.
"And why might you be on my island, little demigods?"
"We're just-" I glanced at Annabeth.
She picked up the thread, "We're just looking for our bags. We'll be out of your way once we pick them up."
"Your bags? I did notice something of interesting nature washing up on the south beach, yes. But it's so far I rarely bother to go down there."
Her voice was silky, drawing us in delicately.
Annabeth squeezed my hand and Martha relaxed ever so slightly.
She didn't dare speak and draw attention to herself.
"Great!" I said cheerfully, forcing a smile on my lips. "We'll just grab them and be out of your hair- er—" I coughed "—we'll be gone soon."
"Oh no," she purred, her fingers brushing against my water shield.
I trembled, feeling Annabeth tense.
"The two of you- oh you remind me of Lara so much. I could never allow one with her eyes and one with her lips to leave. And your hair young girl, if it were just black it would be just right- Yes, you must stay."
"Wasn't-" Annabeth faltered. "Wasn't Lara the other Medusa's?"
Medusa huffed, "Lara is mine, and became hers as our histories interact. I am Medusa, the original, born and raised a monster. She is Medusa, one who changed and whose history adopted mine. My history is hers, but hers is not mine. Lara is mine, and thus Lara is hers."
Annabeth's brow furrowed in confusion.
"It's alright child, you need not understand. You won't be alive much longer. I'll pluck your eyes out and replace them with his… yes and dye your hair- it will be lovely-"
Annabeth flinched, and I leaned away from the shield.
"No thanks," I squeaked. "They're uh… they're better in our own faces."
"I'll pluck them out," Medusa muttered. "I'll fix her hair and eyes, dress her properly, then turn her to a statue in full color… one in Lara's likeness."
Hahaha, eaye ert areo.
"Please don't," Annabeth whispered, tugging my arm back.
"And you even wear a matching necklace, perfect. It will be as if she never died-"
My hand came up to clutch at my necklace. The necklace Metua gave me. The necklace that matched Lara's, that I remembered from Lara.
"It's a different necklace," I croaked, swallowing hard as I inched back.
Annabeth shuffled with me, clutching my sleeve
"Where do you think you're going?" Medusa asked lowly. "I haven't made Lara her statue yet."
Her wings flared, arching up and around like a bristling hen. Her claws flexed, bronze gleaming. A small shift of her weight drew my eye.
I realized what it meant.
The tension snapped.
I yanked Annabeth back, freezing the water in the air in an instant. Water and ice shards glittered through the air, Medusa surging forward with a snarl. Droplets wet my face as my wrist flicked and my power rose at my call, a familiar, instinctive, coil of water rose and spiraled out. Annabeth's knife gleamed, drawn with one hand with her other around her ribs.
Water spun, twisting out of my waterskin and growing in size as Medusa stepped forward, her claws flashing in the light as I lashed out.
Water cracked in a whip, slashing Medusa and sending her stumbling back with ice shards buried in her skin. Gold ichor spilled.
An inhuman screech made me wince, snake hair hisses in fury as we tumbled back back and down. We scrambled to our feet, Annabeth let out a hiss. A roar sounded and I swept my hand back, water crackling and freezing and snapping as an ice shard flew.
Medusa snarled, blood sizzled on the ground and snakes hissed.
"Percy! Her blood forms vipers!"
Martha unfurled from my arm and hit the ground with a thump, much larger than she had been a second ago.
I grimaced and tugged Annabeth along. Snakes hissed, from the ground the sound of hissing battle, from the sky faint with the sound of rustling. Wings snapped, and the air was filled with hard beats.
We ran.
Our feet pounded the ground, wildflowers crushed underfoot and the trees a blur. The once beautiful sight seemed malevolent, arcing towards us as we fled. Gold danced over the ground as wings beat, bathing us in dappled sunlight.
The ocean was so close, so far, so out of reach, right beneath my skin. I called for it, it called back. Waves crashed, the tide was rising from the peak of third tide, the ocean sang as I called. I reached for the depths so deep, beasts spiraling through the water, fangs flashing, lights glittering, fish swimming, and I knew it would answer me.
I tripped, nearly falling on my face. Annabeth's hand steadied me.
She was gasping for breath, her eyes glinting with tears. She had her hand on her ribs, her breath catching.
I was out of breath too I realized, each breath too little, too much yet not enough. My skin felt tight and it slowed me along with the coiling stiffness. And yet- the ocean depths swept it all away. I reached for the ocean, the ocean was within me, beneath me, around me.
It was right in front of us and all I had to do was reach. I reached and reached and smiled when the cool water coiled around me like an old friend. I could drown in its depths, I could live in its depths. Safety, comfort, it would always protect-
"You will not escape!"
I blinked, the world around me crashing into me and fishing me out of the ocean.
Medusa was right behind us, Annabeth was struggling to breathe.
The ocean was still in front of me though, still there, here, all around. I reached once more but kept myself from diving into its depths.
Stiffness locked my joints and I stumbled forward, Annabeth going down with me. The ocean was so close, the tide drew it further, but we had come so close.
So close I could taste the salt on my tongue and feel the seaweed on my skin.
So close I could reach out and touch it.
I yanked.
The tide decreed the ocean should be far, the ocean should be nearly at its furthest, but the ocean was in me and I could make my own decree.
The ocean roared and fourth tide came all at once.
The world froze.
Had the ocean not held me in place, so very cold, ice crystals dancing over my skin, then I would have collapsed.
Granted I was already on the ground-
I blinked quickly, spots in my eyes. I shook my head and turned to Annabeth.
My breath caught, "Annabeth! Annabeth are you okay?"
Her breath fogged the air, frost clinging to her skin and eye lashes. Her hair seemed almost white. She was trembling violently, a hand clutching her chest.
"C-c-co-" she shook her head.
I reached for the ice surrounding us, the cold in, on, around, my skin. I willed the ice to warm, to melt away.
Water splattered, frost hissed, I brushed the water off of Annabeth.
She pushed up, hissing in pain and clutching her ribs. I had a feeling they'd gotten worse.
"What-"
He jaw dropped as she stared past me.
"Percy-"
I rolled over, unable to sit up, and blinked.
I rubbed my eyes with shaking hands and stared one more.
My ears were ringing, maybe I had a concussion. Because otherwise-
"ω Θεοί μου-"
I blinked at Annabeth's words.
"Percy- what-"
I simply stared at the large iceberg sitting on the beach.
It was massive, curling elegantly like a wave.
"Percy-"
"I-" I stared, swallowing hard and trying to push up but failing. "I panicked?"
"'m okay," I muttered at Annabeth's concerned noise. "Fine. S'okay."
I stared up at the iceberg I'd formed.
"Oops?"
"You just- made a glacier-"
"Iceberg."
"Just on the beach- with sea water-"
I rubbed the ground and wondered at the grainy feel. It wasn't sand.
I glanced down and blinked at the salt.
Oh, that made since. Salt didn't freeze.
"Is…. Is she dead?" Annabeth whispered.
I blinked, zoning back in. I hadn't realized I'd zoned out.
I focused on the sensations Medusa gave.
Stiffness locked my joints, coiling into them with malevolence..
"No."
She swallowed, "We need to go. We don't stand a chance like this-"
I nodded, then stopped as the world went all spinny.
I didn't think colors were supposed to look like that.
"Percy," she said slowly. "Are you okay?"
"Spinny," I noted idly.
"He'ssss overexerted himssself," Martha hissed, scales whispering along the ground as she arrived. "He needssss ressst."
"Mmm," now that she mentioned that I noticed I was exhausted. "Sleep does sound nice."
"Percy," Annabeth said softly. "Can you stand up?"
I considered myself for a moment. My legs felt like jelly.
"No."
"I ssshall carry you both back to the boat," Martha hissed. "Climb on."
Annabeth hurried onto the large snakes back and leaned helped her shift her tail under me. I did my best to pull myself on, but I was exhausted.
I'd never done something so large with my waterbending before- I didn't realize it could be so tiring.
The scales were warm beneath me, power thrummed lightly beneath Martha's skin. I wondered at it, basking in the feel of light scales brushing over me, keeping me in place as she shifted forward. There was a faint brush of feathers, a fain taste of gold. Underneath it all was something endless, a cacophony of sound yet not even a whisper to be heard. I tried to focus on it, but it was too much.
My skin ached.
I went back to the surface, relaxing in the safety of Martha's scaled hold.
The ocean was beneath me, the boat rocking. The scales left but still brushed me from afar. I heard a faint murmur; a hand brushed my hair back.
I sighed, relaxing into the touch.
I fell asleep to the sound of whispering scales and rocking waves.
OO OO OO OO
Poseidon POV
I rubbed my head, glaring at the Wasare av Tetek.
I'd been trying to see through it, into it, for several hours inbetween my work. But it was stubbornly hiding its contents from me.
It was the worst possible timing for Okeanus to lock down his territories, considering I knew Perseus (and therefore Tyson) was there.
Two of my children were missing in the Wasare av Tetek.
The sea was very dangerous! Oh the beasts in the water may leave them alone, but there were numerous Monsters on land that feasted on any that dared to land on their island.
Perseus was competent, he was more than that. I had the best tutors in the sea teaching him! But the Wasare av Tetek was Okeanus' main territory outside of ert poreso porlisav av ert wasare.
And it was filled with his children, and their children's, creations. And Okeanus' own.
Even Keto and Phorcys had children there, and those were the most dangerous of all.
I just wanted to check on them, to be sure of their safety. Something so simple, I'd done it a thousand times over the last year… but Okeanus was interfering this time.
And I didn't dare message Okeanus and request sight into his waters, not with the tension rising in the sea nor the nature of the lockdown of his kingdom.
It was allowing people in and out, but all were checked, and none were allowed in the royal territories of ert poreso pavuv.
There was far too much official business going on, and several monsters had all but vanished.
No, I couldn't contact Okeanus. There were too many risks, for Perseus, Tyson, and the sea as a whole.
A ripple in the water drew my gaze up in time for Triton to sweep into the room.
He flicked his fingers and came to a stop before my desk.
"You have news?" I asked, eyeing his full feparu kateo.
He dropped several new aipone, airomo, and papote on my desk.
"I've contacted Neptune as requested," he declared, ordering the messages neatly for me.
I straightened, "Oh?"
"He states that Okeanus invited him to a meeting, but he turned it down as he has no interest in the Greek matters. He requests we keep our Greek conflict 'out of his seas' and says that he told Okeanus the same."
Well… at least I would not be at conflict with my counterpart. We'd never gotten along the best, but at least there wouldn't be any additional conflict.
"That will have to do," I muttered, accepting the papote of their meeting from Triton. I'd go over it later to see if he let any more information slip. I doubted it though, Triton was always good at finding such information.
I turned my gaze to the Wasare av Tetek once more.
"Okeanus is up to something," I said softly. "And considering how last summer went…"
"And his secretive actions started to be noticeable around Hom'amio Kalala as well," Triton said. "Ill tidings."
I rubbed my beard, staring down at the numerous reports on my desk.
"We need to learn what's going on. Send out a few more agents to scout, I'll leave the details up to you. Contact Camila-nee and Delphin, I have orders for them."
Triton nodded, flicking a hand in acknowledgement.
"And…" I stared at the Wasare av Tetek once more, "Send a quest to the Wasare av Tetek to find Perseus and Tyson."
Triton stiffened, "Persi is in the Wasare av Tetek?"
I smiled tightly, "Yes… he seems to have gained a quest there. I have tried to gaze on him several times, but Okeanus is hiding the sea from me. I cannot help but feel something is the matter."
Triton nodded seriously, "I've already assigned a quest to guard Persi. Belle informed me of their travels at sea… but for them to go there-"
I blinked, "You have a quest assigned on Persi already?"
"I—" he flushed, looking away "—yes I… was concerned for his safety. It is a team under Ororai Antonio Rodriguez de Luna. Including Klara Zhdanova, Kai Māhoe, Acantha Vallas."
Antonio-oro I knew, he was a very skilled team leader who had completed several important quests. He specialized in escort missions.
The names of the students… I ran through my subjects trained in the camps for a moment before identifying them.
Ah yes, Acantha who was skilled at Paipave and was working at gaining experience in Yavailu as well. And then Klara who… yes she was a skilled fighter, almost no skill in magic but put a weapon in her hand and she would win. And Kai, not as much of a fighter as the other two, but still good with his knives. His greatest strength was… ah, knowledge.
I idly twisted the facts about them around, Klara was the daughter of a paitia, the other two were children of civilians.
I nodded, they were a good team. Had a variety of life experience and a variety of skills. Combined with Antoniono experience and skill in leadership, strategy, and battle, they would do well.
"Please inform me in the future," I said mildly. "But that seems like a good team. Thank you for arranging it."
Triton nodded, "Yes Metu. I was… concerned for Persi's safety-"
I smiled, "I'm glad you care for your brother so much, but do be careful not to guide his life too much."
Triton's tail swished, "I want him to be safe."
"As do I, but if we do everything for him he won't grow. He's mortal, not immortal. We must let him grow and learn to live his life the way he wishes."
He looked away, teeth digging into his lip.
I sighed, "It's alright to help. Especially when he asks, you know this."
"I know… I know the laws, I know why they exist, I agree with them- I just- He's so young."
"All mortals are."
"It's hard to resist the urge to guard him until he's strong enough."
I smiled, "It's always hard to let our children grow up. There's so much to protect them from… but we must let them live, to grow and experience the ups and downs of life for themselves. That does not mean we aren't here to offer advice and guidance, nor does it mean we cannot assist or avenge them."
He sighed, "I know. I shouldn't struggle so…"
"You've not grown so attached to a mortal family member in a long time," I murmured.
I could not recall him being attached to any of my children. He favored the odd one, approved of others, but then… he never interacted with them so much at such a young age.
The last one he cared for so much was his own daughter, Pallas. With her… tragic end. It shouldn't surprise me that he was so protective of Perseus with that as his last experience with a child.
I sighed, "It's an exercise in patience."
"I don't like it."
He blinked as I laughed. It was not a happy laugh, it ached in my chest, the ocean swirling.
"We never like it. it's the hardest part of having half-blood children for a God. You must let them live and die on their own time. It is not in our nature to let those we care for pass, but we must. Life and Death are a part of the world, and we cannot interfere in Fate."
He sighed, "I know. I understand even. I just…"
"You care," I said fondly. "And that's alright. As long as you don't lose yourself to it."
"I won't."
I nodded, picking up another aipone, "You'd best finish your work, I've kept you long enough."
He twisted his fingers, folding two over another, "I shall take my leave then, Metu."
"May you have swift currents and calm waves," I murmured as he turned to leave.
He paused, sending me a soft smile, "And may your load be light and your water moon-bright."
Despite everything going on in the sea, and my sons missing in the Wasare av Tetek… home was doing well.
Most of the tension from hiding Perseus had faded away, and I was glad.
I only wished Perseus would stop risking his life.
OO OO OO OO
Acantha POV
I watched the coils of the currents as Antonio-fu'orono spell drew us closer and closer to the Wasare av Tetek.
I had divined the direction, and Antonio-fu'oro had woven a charm to guide us properly. Now that we were so close I could no longer deny that it was the Wasare av Tetek.
Antonio-fu'oro had realized we were certainly heading there yesterday and had paused for us to gather more supplies from a nearby town. Our pouches were fully packed and he himself was carrying a full med kit.
They didn't have everything we wanted, being just a small mer-enclave, but it was enough to stock up.
We'd hoped Persi-aia wouldn't be there, but it looked as if our hope was for naught.
Klara nudged me, "Look ahead, that's Kharybdis right?"
"I think so," I muttered, shooting a look to Kai who nodded.
"Now we must decide how to get in," he said.
"How did Persi-aia get in?" I asked in confusion. "Kharybdis devours all going through her waters."
"He likely went above water," Antonio-fu'oro said. "We won't be able to do so, but… if they timed their trip right and chose the right path they could make it safely."
"Will we go through the strait?" Klara asked.
"It would be a death sentence," Kai chided. "There is only one time safe to pass and it's all but impossible to manage."
"But if we go through the crashing rocks we'll be in an entirely different part of the sea!"
"And we don't have time for that," I agreed.
"Let me find when Kharybdis last devoured the sea," Antonio-fu'oro interrupted. "The beings around us may know a place to tuck away until then."
Kai hummed, watching Antonio-fu'oro leave. He seemed worried.
"What's the matter?" I asked softly.
"It's… well it's possible that there is a spot, they form and collapse quite often. But… if Persi-aia… if he's there-"
They stared ahead, at the vague shape coiled in the ocean so far away.
"We can see her from here, despite the distance between us."
"She's massive," Klara agreed. "But Antonio-fu'oro knows what he's doing."
"She is a the force of the whirlpool," I said. "But the spell- it wouldn't work if Persi-aia were dead… I don't think."
Kai grimaced, "The charm Antonio-fu'oro wove was based on a gift from Triton-re'aia. So long as the item it's tracking is safe, the spell will follow."
Klara frowned, "Well… Persi-aia is strong, I mean he stopped that war. I'm sure he made it safely."
Kai dropped onto the sandy ground beneath us, the water rippling.
"The Wasare av Tetek is… dangerous," he said. "It will be a struggle to survive… both for us and Persi-aia."
"True… but surely… I mean we were hand-picked. We were chosen for this, we must have the skills to do it."
"Triton-re'aia has a lot of faith in us," they agreed. "But… I mean- what if we're too late? What if we show up and find only Triton-re'aiano gift? What if Persi-aia is angry with us for the deception? What if-"
"It's okay," I said, taking his hands. "Hey, there's a lot that can go wrong, but it won't help us to think about all the bad. We need to work under the assumption that Persi-aia is alive. He may be injured, but he's alive."
"Yeah!" Klara chirped, nudging Kai with her tail. "We won't fail Persi-aia, or Triton-re'aia. Triton-re'aia is counting on us to protect Persi-aia, and Persi-aia needs us. We've got this!"
"Right," Kai muttered, fingering one of their aipone, running them over the writing on it. "We've got this."
Klara curled her fingers around their wrist, "We've got this."
A swish in the current alerted me to the return of Antonio-fu'oro.
"I've found a spot that should be safe for us to hold until after her devouring," he said.
Kai flicked up, drifting next to us as Antonio-fu'oro reached us.
"We'll need to tuck close, but it should hold us through the pull of her maw."
"Will it be close enough?" Kai asked. "We'll need to swim swiftly to survive."
He nodded, "It should be. The fish say they've used it as a shelter to do so a few times over the last week."
His tail swished, smoothly sending him arcing above.
"Follow me."
We flicked our tails, swiftly following him through the water and towards the rocks at the base of Skylla's perch.
In order to enter the Wasare av Tetek, one had to pass through the enchanted gate, a gate between the perch and the spiraling cliff on the other side, which Kharybdis claimed as her own.
It was never safe to pass by her waters. She may have only devoured all thrice a day, but she was more than capable of snapping up morsels in other times. All tame knew that if you wanted to enter the Wasare av Tetek, go through the crashing rocks.
But we couldn't, so we'd just have to trust Antonio-fu'oro to guide us right.
Kai explained as we swam. She apparently had one period of rest, a time where if you were quick, if you were quiet, if you were ready, you could slip past right after she'd expelled the excess of her meal.
We shifted through small spirals of rocks, slowly being worn down by Kharybdis' power, and dove closer to the seafloor.
Antonio-fu'oro flicked his hands at us, making a motion downward and guiding us to a hole in the ground.
It was tight, a craggy space that wouldn't allow us much movement, but it looked large enough for all four of us.
"This should do," he muttered.
I dropped lower, fingering the various gleaming items in the hole.
"We'll need to be most worried about stuff coming in rather than getting out. Acantha, can you raise a current above us when Kharybdis begins expelling the excess?"
I nodded, "It wouldn't stop us from being drawn in, but I can guide most things away from us."
"Excellent, we have some time so tuck your pouches close and press them tight. I'll see if I can't remove some of the things in here so we have more space…"
"Can I keep this knife?" Klara asked.
"You may keep anything you find here, but be aware that we must carry it."
He began tossing various items out. Wood shards, clubs, a few nets, a necklace, a shining gem, some books."
I drifted down, ignoring Klara carefully considering the few weapons present, and studied a folded and sealed cloth pouch. It had a splash of ichor on it.
Hmm, it seemed well cared for, other than that.
I picked it up and carefully unfolded it.
"What's that?" Kai asked.
"I'm not sure-" there was an note on the inside.
Dear Percy,
I did want to finish your gift before the quest. I did not do so. I am sorry. I hope that you like it. Press the button for it to be cool.
Love,
Tyson
Your Brother
I fingered it, staring at the Percy.
Halmaheran didn't have a c, and y's were commonly replaced with i's.
And Tyson… Tyson was the Kyklopes… Tyson was a friend of Persi-aiano, and apparently his brother.
I eyed the gold ichor stain on the cloth.
"I think this is a gift for Persi-aia."
All three of them turned to me.
"But then- did Persi-aia- Kharybdis-" Kai swallowed hard.
"It's alright," Antonio-fu'oro soothed quickly. "Triton-re'aia would know if he were dead, and we would be swiftly informed."
"What do I do with it?" I asked, studying the gift. Was Tyson- no, it must've fallen. And maybe another being bled on it.
Surely Tyson was okay, Persi-aia was always protective of him.
It was a strange yet lovely watch, shaped in an intricate wave pattern circling the center hands, with thin lines of seaweed acting as the hands on the clock and a background of a sandy beach. The numbers were in Halmaheran script rather than Arabic numbers. The band it was held on was made of woven bronze and fabric, glittering and sturdy.
I wondered what it did, but it wasn't my gift.
"Put it with your things. We'll return it to the Aipri when we catch up to him."
I tucked it away, carefully securing it in my pouch.
The ocean seemed to tense then, and Antonio-fu'oro hurried us into the hole to hide.
And then the ocean was devoured.
OO OO OO OO
Thanks for reading! Don't forget to leave a review, they feed my soul.
What did you think of Medusa? What about Percy's fight? Poseidon and Triton's conversation? Acantha's discovery?
Okay, so how the Greek/Roman split works in my story is clearly different. I just... don't vibe with them being "the same but different". They are connected, but they are not the same beings. Some monsters are (as mentioned in Percy's lessons) and some aren't, but their histories are still intertwined.
Medusa in the Psuedo-Apollodorus writings is noted to head that were "were entwined with the horny scales of serpents, and they had big tusks like hogs, bronze hands, and wings of gold on which they flew" (Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 2. 38 - 46 (trans. Aldrich) (Greek mythographer C2nd A.D.) :)
Halmaheran
Atula, maiye yopu=Hello, how are you?
Ta en omavai=I am well
Y opu ro ika omasa?=And you in return?
Eaye ert areo=What the fuck
Metua=Father
Wasare av Tetek=Sea of Terrors/Monsters
Ert poreso porlisav av wasare=the deep dark depths of the sea
Ert poreso pavuv=the deep dark waters
Feparu kateo=messenger pouch
Aipone=Thin rock slabs
Airomo=Braided Kelp
Papote=Messenger Shells
Hom'amio Kalala=Tempest Eve
Ororai=Teacher
Paipave=Hydromancy
Yavailu=Cyclomancy
Paitia=Captain
Metu=Dad
Aipri=Prince
Suffixes
-or0=teacher
-fu'orono=master teacher's
-fu'oro=master teacher
-aia=prince
-re'aia=high prince
-re'aiano=High prince's
Terminology
Chiton=a traditional greek dress
Pseudo-Apollodorus=A Greek Mythographer
Stheno=One of the Gorgons, All who looked at them were turned to stone
Euryale=One of the Gorgons, All who looked at them were turned to stone
Phorkys=God of the Dangers of the Sea
Keto=Goddess of the Dangers of the Sea-Particularly Sea Monsters
Delphin=General of Poseidon, a dolphin
OC's
Camila-nee=a mer general Percy met briefly during the full moon ceremony
Antonio Rodriguez de Luna=Commander of the mer quest group
Klara Zhdanova=member of the mer quest group
Kai Māhoe=member of the mer quest group
Acantha Vallas=member of the mer quest group
Come yell at me on my tumblr: Percabeth4Life
Come chat with me on discord: h-t-t-p-s : / discord . gg / 3tGNJhu