The very day, he was moved to cabin three. Silena congratulated him and gave him his bag back. The cabin was nice, he didn't have to share it with anybody. Enough room unlike the Hermes cabin. He got his own dinner table, chose all of his own activities and called a 'lights out' whenever he liked it and best of all, he didn't have to listen to anybody.
Nobody mentioned the hellhound, but he got the feeling they were all talking about it behind his back. The attack had scared everybody. It sent two messages. One, that he was the son of the Sea God, and two, monsters would stop at nothing to kill him.
Percy had ruined the only place that they could call safe.
Campers steered clear of Perseus, Cabin eleven was nervous to have another sword class with him because of his fight with the Ares kids. He just trained with whoever wanted to.
He was glad that Clarisse was getting more fond of him, she was one of the only people that would really spar with him, they butted heads sometimes whenever they argue but most of the time Silena is there to mediate.
Silena was knocking on his door and Percy was confused why. His bed hair must've been extreme and from what she could've seen of his room was that it was messy. The cringe on her face said enough and Percy felt a bit ashamed.
"Does it pour badly here?" He asked and looked at the sky. The sky looked like ink soup coming to a boil. A hazy curtain of rain was coming in their direction.
"It never rains here unless we want it to." Silena answered and followed his line of sight.
Percy pointed at the storm. "What the bloody hell is that, then?"
She glanced at the sky. "It'll pass around us. Bad weather always does." She blinked and got out of her head, "Chiron and Mr. D is asking for you at the big house."
Percy raised his eyebrows, "Do you happen to know why?" He asked.
She shook her head, "I don't." Percy looked around and shrugged, walking out and closing the door behind him. Together they walked to the big farmhouse.
At the volleyball pit, the kids from Apollo's cabin were playing a morning game against the satyrs. Dionysus's twins were walking around in the strawberry fields, making the plants grow. Everybody was going about their normal business, but they looked tense. They kept their eyes on the storm, just waiting for the moment of impact.
The two walked up to the porch. Mr. D sat there in his tiger-striped shirt with the usual diet coke. Chiron sat across in his wheelchair. They were playing against invisible opponents, two sets of cards hovering in the air.
Silena patted his shoulder and quickly turned around.
"Well, well," Mr. D said without looking up. "Our little celebrity." Percy waited. "Come closer," Mr. D said. "And don't expect me to fawn to you, mortal, just because old Barnacle-Beard is your father."
A net of lightning flashed across the clouds. Thunder shook the windows of the house.
"Blah, blah, blah," Dionysus said. Chiron feigned interest in his pinochle cards. "If I had my way," Dionysus said, "I would cause your molecules to erupt in flames. We'd sweep up the ashes and be done with a lot of trouble. But Chiron seems to feel this would be against my mission at this cursed camp, to keep you little brats safe from harm."
"Spontaneous combustion is a form of harm, Mr. D," Chiron put in.
"Nonsense," Dionysus said. "Boy wouldn't feel a thing. Nevertheless, I've agreed to restrain myself. I'm thinking of turning you into a dolphin instead, sending you back to your father."
"Mr. D-" Chiron warned.
"Oh, all right," Dionysus relented. "There's one more option. But it's deadly foolishness." Dionysus rose, and the invisible players' cards dropped to the table. "I'm off to Olympus for the emergency meeting. If the boy is still here when I get back, I'll turn him into an Atlantic bottlenose. Do you understand? And Perseus Jackson, if you're at all smart, you'll see that's a much more sensible choice than what Chiron feels you must do." Dionysus picked up a playing card, twisted it, and it became a plastic rectangle. A credit card? No. A security pass.
He snapped his fingers and disappeared leaving the smell of freshly pressed grapes behind. Then Chiron smiled at him, but the centaur looked tired and strained. "Sit, Percy, please."
They did. Chiron laid his cards on the table, a winning hand he hadn't gotten to use. "Tell me, Percy," he said. "What did you make of the hellhound?" Just hearing the name made him uncomfortable. Chiron probably wanted for him to say, 'Heck, it was nothing. I eat hellhounds for breakfast.' But he didn't feel like lying.
"It scared me," He admitted. "If you hadn't shot it, I'd be dead."
"You'll meet worse, Percy. Far worse, before you're done."
"Done…with what?"
"Your quest, of course. Will you accept it?" He stared at Percy.
"Sir, it sounds like I don't really have a choice here."
Chiron grimaced. "Well, details." Thunder rumbled across the valley. The storm clouds had now reached the edge of the beach. As far as I could see, the sky and the sea were boiling together.
"Poseidon and Zeus," He mindlessly said. "They're fighting over something valuable." He paused and put it all together, his dreams, everything, "Over something that was stolen, aren't they?"
Chiron sat forward in his wheelchair. "How did you know that?" Perseus' face felt hot. He wished he hadn't opened his big mouth.
"The weather since I have been here has been weird, like the sea and the sky are fighting. I've also been having these dreams." He explained.
"Only the Oracle can determine." Chiron stroked his bristly beard. "Nevertheless, Percy, you are correct. Your father and Zeus are having their worst quarrel in centuries. They are fighting over something valuable that was stolen. To be precise: a lightning bolt."
He laughed nervously. "Oh shit."
"Do not take this lightly," Chiron warned. "I'm not talking about some tinfoil-covered zigzag you'd see in a second-grade play. I'm talking about a two-foot-long cylinder of high-grade celestial bronze, capped on both ends with god-level explosives."
"Oh."
"Zeus's master bolt," Chiron said, getting worked up now. "The symbol of his power, from which all other lightning bolts are patterned. The first weapon made by the Cyclopes for the war against the Titans, the bolt that sheered the top off Mount Etna and hurled Kronos from his throne; the master bolt, which packs enough power to make mortal hydrogen bombs look like firecrackers."
After the short history lesson, Perseus asked "And it's missing?"
"Stolen," Chiron said.
"By who?"
"By whom," Chiron corrected. He could be a very good teacher. "By you."
My mouth fell open. "At least" Chiron held up a hand "that's what Zeus thinks. During the winter solstice, at the last council of the gods-" Chiron kept talking and Percy stared out in front of him. He's guessing that this is the best part of being a demigod, being accused of a theft he didn't commit.
"But I'm just a kid." He said breathlessly. It started to rain.
Volleyball players stopped their game and stared in stunned silence at the sky. Percy had brought this storm to Half-Blood Hill. Zeus was punishing the whole camp because of him. Percy felt mad.
"So I have to find the bolt," He said, slowly. "And return it to Zeus."
"What better peace offering," Chiron said, "Than to have the son of Poseidon return Zeus's property?"
He didn't want to be in between whatever power play the two have but he had to.
They talked about the oracle and Perseus stood up. He had to go four flights up and had to pull the cord of a green trapdoor. The door swung down and a ladder clattered into place. The warm air smelled like mildew and rotten wood. Reptiles, as well, especially snakes.
It made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He held his breath and climbed. The room was filled with hero junk, stickers with places. A long table stacked with glass jars. A giant snake's head, but with horns and a full set of shark's teeth.
A mummy sat by the window, wearing a tie-dyed sundress, beaded necklaces over its collarbones and a headband with black hair. The skin on her face was thin, leathery over the skull. Eyes glassy white as if it was replaced by marbles.
Looking at it sent chills down his spine, that was before it sat up and opened her mouth. Mist poured out, over the floor in tendrils. A distinct sound of hissing, Percy looked back at the trapdoor but it was shut by some power. Inside his head, a voice spoke, 'I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach, seeker, and ask.'
He wanted to run, but he was stuck to the floor. Forcing himself to take a breath, not too deep, it was dusty up in the attic.
She wasn't alive, The presence didn't feel evil. It felt powerful, ancient but not human. He finally got the courage and asked. "What is my destiny?"
The mist swirled more thickly, suddenly it showed three people sitting at a table, Luke and three others he couldn't identify, but knew that they were wizards by the clues that their clothes gave off. Luke turned towards him and spoke in the voice of the Oracle. "You shall go west, and face the god who has turned." Then another spoke, "You shall find what was stolen and see it safely returned" And another. "You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend." The last but palest man. "And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end."
Percy was stunned, but the mist started to retreat into a green serpent and slithered back into the mouth of the mummy. Giving a very big Slytherin vibe, he shuddered, god he hates snakes.
It was funny how much he hated snakes, especially when he strangled one as a baby, just like Hercules.
Her mouth snapped closed and it was quiet again, abandoned, an empty room filled with memories.
His audience with the Oracle was over.
When he went down, he didn't tell them the whole story. If someone was going to betray him, he doesn't want them to know that he knows. They discussed what west was but ended up with talking about his Uncle, Hades.
They put it all together like a puzzle, the monsters all come from Hades. "Great," Percy muttered. "That's two major gods who want to kill me."
A strange fire burned in his stomach. The weirdest thing was, it wasn't fear. It was anticipation. Now he was trying to frame him and his dad for a theft we hadn't committed.
"You're saying I'm being used like some doll." Percy said.
"I'm saying it's no accident Poseidon has claimed you now. It's a very risky gamble, but he's in a desperate situation. He needs you."
His dad needs him.
"So let me get this straight," He said. "I'm supposed to go to the Underworld and confront the Lord of the Dead."
"Check," Chiron said.
"Find the most powerful weapon in the universe."
"Check."
"And get it back to Olympus before the summer solstice, in ten days."
"That's about right." Percy let out a shaking breath. "I'm bloody fucked." After a pause, Percy knew what question to ask. "Where do I go? The Oracle only told me to go west."
"The entrance to the Underworld is always in the west. It moves from age to age, just like Olympus. Right now, of course, it's in America."
"Where?"
Chiron looked surprised. "I thought that would be obvious enough. The entrance to the Underworld is in Los Angeles."
Perseus blinked, "Is there always such an irony?" He questioned and Chiron just nodded, looking amused. "So I'm going to the City of Fallen Angels, LA?" Chiron nodded once more.
"First think about who you're going to bring. Two companions may accompany you."
"Can I do this on my own?" He asked. The air shimmered behind Chiron. Annabeth became visible, stuffing her Yankees cap into her back pocket.
"You can't!" She protested.
Percy huffed in amusement, "Lovely morning, innit?"
"Shut it, english." Annabeth said as she puffed up her cheeks. "I've been waiting a long time for a quest." she said. "You can't take this opportunity away from me."
Percy frowned at her, "You might have a hearing issue because what I am hearing is suicide instead of opportunity." He shook his head, "No-one is coming with me, I can do this alone."
"Who're you trying to convince?" Annabeth countered.
"Myself," He said and looked at her, "Confidence is key, innit?" He looked at Chiron, "I'm going on my own." Annabeth huffed and walked away, mad.
"If you have set your mind to it," Chiron said. "Have you thought of how you're going to go to Los Angeles, because we have this-"
"Where there is a fireplace, there is the floo-network, sir. I can get by the wizarding way." He said and smiled. Lightning flashed. Rain poured down on the meadows that were never supposed to have violent weather.
"No time to waste," Chiron said. "I think you should all get packing."
Percy has only been in America for three days and he is already being sent away, on a quest nonetheless. Across the whole continent. He took in a deep breath and walked over to his cabin, Annabeth standing outside.
"I think that you should reconsider." She said.
"I don't think so." Percy countered and shook his head, "I might get this done in record time." He said.
"That's just arrogant."
"No, it's an estimation." He countered and opened the door to his cabin, "Look, Annabeth. Whether you like it or not, I am going on my own. And that is final." he said and closed his door.
—
He had everything in his bag already, the clothes, toiletries, he had bags of money that Moody gave him. At the time it felt like too much but he was glad that it was given to him. Clarisse and Silena came by to give him two canteens of nectar and a medium-sized ziplock filled with ambrosia squared. For emergencies only.
He took out his books which turned out to be unnecessary weight. He took in a deep breath and he felt glad that Albus taught him about the mist and a few illusion charms. That way he could keep his identity somewhat anonymous and not get killed by the MACUSA.
Every wizard really likes secrecy.
Before he left, Percy went over his duffle bag again and charmed his clothes to shrink so that it would be less clumsy around his shoulder. Percy walked up to the big house and he watched as Luke came running up to him.
He still couldn't figure out why Luke was shown in the prophecy that the oracle told him. But he got an eerie feeling because of it.
"Hey, glad I caught up with you." The older guy said, "Wanted to say good luck," He held up the shoes, "Thought you could use these." He held up a pair of old sneakers
Percy accepted the sneakers with a confused look on his face. "Maia!" Luke suddenly called out and wings sprouted on the heels. Percy held them up as it didn't seem like a huge surprise, he knows of a lot more scary magical items that he should be afraid of.
"They served me well when I was on my quest. Gift from Dad. Of course, I don't use them much these days..." His expression turned sad. Percy didn't know what to say but appreciated that the blonde came by to say goodbye.
"Hey, man, thanks."
"Listen, Percy..." Luke looked uncomfortable. "A lot of hopes are riding on you. So just…kill some monsters for me, okay?"
Percy shook hands with his friend, someone he could call a friend ever since he came to the camp. He didn't feel like some random demigod put in the Hermes cabin that Luke had to take care of.
He shoved the shoes in the bag, he wasn't going to fly. Especially not risking anything because of Zeus' anger. He walked over to Chiron who put a hand on his shoulder. "I should have trained you better, Percy," he said. "If only I had more time. Hercules, Jason,they all got more training."
He looked at Chiron with a small smile, "I am trained, Chiron." He said. He certainly hopes, he is literally heading towards a huge city in a country he never visits with no supervision, no cellphone and no backup plan. Harry can't compare. "This'll reveal whether I am trained enough or not."
"All we can do, child, is follow our destiny."
"Our destiny…assuming we know what that is." Maybe he should be a tea-leaf reader, it could explain a few things, like, is he going to die by the claws of a hellhound? Guess he'll never know.
"Relax," Chiron told him. "Keep a clear head. And remember, you may be about to prevent the biggest war in human history."
"Relax," Percy said. "I'm so relaxed." The burden on his shoulders is to prevent a literal war. With a nod Percy walked down into the basement and he stood on the wood ashes of a fireplace. With dust in his hands, he threw it down.
"DOA Recording Studios, Los Angeles." He said and threw down the powder.
—
"Now why the fuck is there a British demigod here asking for an audience with my boss?" The front desk questioned in confusion. Perseus looked down at his quality suit and raised his eyebrow.
"Is that Italian?" He questioned.
"Yeah," The guy nodded, "I told the boss that people can see where suits are made from. But he keeps saying that people don't care."
"Well, obviously people do." Percy said, "However, I personally like British suits more. Italian ones are too loose, I can't even see your muscles man." He said.
"You don't?" Charon replied and looked down at his arms.
Percy shook his head, and tutted. "You're immortal right, you can get anywhere?"
"Anywhere where there are souls to reap." He grinned and nodded.
The godling smiled and took a small paper from behind the desk along with a pen and wrote down where he got his clothes fitted on him. He saw that they also tailored suits. "The British actually tailor to your body." He said.
Charon smiled, "I still can't let you go down."
Percy pulled out a few drachma and put it on the counter and held the note back with the address. "This enough?"
"Personal tailor and money." Charon said and squinted. His expressions changed completely and he slid the money over to him. "Step right up!" He said and the elevator opened behind him.
"But I'm telling you, Italian suits are for slimmer people." He said. "Most people that I know wear some traditional robes." Percy felt them going down.
"Robes?" Charon questioned, "I haven't had robes in a long time." He hummed.
Percy cocked his head, "Really?" He said, "But they're so reaper of death."
Charon straightened his suit as the elevator got to a ground level, "I like the way you think, but time moves on and so should us immortals." He said and they stepped onto a ferry boat, like the ones in Italy, "How about I drop you off at the palace?"
"That'd be much appreciated." Percy hummed and looked around, "There are a lot of people here."
"People?" Charon shook his head, "The moment that they've stepped through that elevator, they're a soul."
"So am I-"
"No, you're not." Charon said in amusement, "You're very much alive." The ferry stopped and they stood in front of a grand palace. "Come on then." The immortal said and walked to the front steps of the door. He cringed and waved away the skeletons protecting the door.
Percy looked around confused as to why it was going so smoothly already even though it was his first day. "Perseus Jackson." A voice called out and he sounded mad. "How dare you come here?"
"Hello, can I call you uncle?" Percy said and bowed before the lord of the underworld.
He looked confused, "No."
"Lord Hades then." He said, "I was sent on a quest to retrieve the lightning bolt."
"And what of my helmet of Darkness then?" He questioned, the skeletons turned at attention again and Charon casually slipped away, having underestimated the situation.
Percy was genuinely confused, "What of your Helmet of Darkness, sir?"
"The thief is playing dumb." Hades scoffed and looked around at the three Furies. Percy blinked, the kindly ones are in the house. "You stole my Helmet." He said, anger laced in his voice.
"I swear I didn't steal it." Percy said calmly.
"Swear it on the Styx." Thunder rumbled. "If you do, you die. If you don't swear, well, you'll still die."
"Lovely." Percy muttered under his breath, "I swear I didn't steal the Helmet of Darkness or the Lightning Bolt." Thunder rumbled and nothing happened to him. He smiled awkwardly.
Hades deflated in his seat and threw his head back, "What am I going to do now?"
"So you don't have the Lightning Bolt, sir?"
Hades shook his head, "No I don't." He sighed.
"Well, if I happen to find your helmet I'll bring it back to you!" Percy said with a smile. "Where happens to be the exit?"
Hades just blinked at him and motioned for a skeleton to come up. The skeleton walked and Percy waved as he followed the walking bones. "Brits." Hades scoffed, "How can they be so polite all the time?"
—
Percy hummed as he set himself up in a hotel, he took a room for himself. It was tricky but he somehow managed to convince the staff that he was of age and could rent a room.
That night he had a weird dream, it was just pure black but there was an eerie voice trying to convince him to join their side. Percy just said no but it was not received well as he woke up out of his dream turned nightmare.
For breakfast he sat in a diner eating when a motorcycle rumbled outside of it. With a clinging of the bell a macho man dressed in leather walking in. Percy tried not to stare as he seriously thought that people only dressed like that in the movies.
The man slid into his booth and Percy nodded at him. "Good morning." He greeted.
"Not a good morning." The man replied and leant over, his glasses dipping a bit and his eyes revealing themselves, fiery pits is what could be used as a description for his eyes. "You're doing this a bit too fast, kid." The man complained.
This man was a god, but he just couldn't figure out which one yet, "I'm just doing what I can, Lord."
"Lord Ares." The man snarled.
Percy looked over at him and finally saw the militaristic clothing and presence of him. He bowed subtly over the table. He put his fork down and stopped eating. "What can I do for you, sir?"
"Fight me."
Percy blinked and he thought he didn't hear it well, "Excuse me?"
"Fight me." Ares growled, "Right now."
"Why?"
"You don't ask a god why." Ares snarled and stood up, "Let's go."
Percy felt overwhelmed by the presence and power that Ares gave off and listened, "I don't see a need for a fight." He tried and followed him outside by the coast. He looked over at the water and cringed, he hadn't had the chance to enjoy it.
—
The furies flew around above him and Percy felt the weight in his bag turn heavy. He got out the Helmet and threw it up at them, "Give my regards to my Uncle!" He called out and pursed his lips.
Their fight had gathered a small crowd but Percy just subtly casted an illusion charm and walked away, looking around he searched for chimneys. "Bloody Americans, why don't they have chimneys?" He muttered and started walking.
The only place with a chimney that he could use was the D.O.A., he hummed and walked with the heavy bag in the direction of the studio. When he rounded a corner he suddenly stopped by a pop-up market.
At the dead-end of the street was the D.O.A. studio and he looked between the stone statues of people. The amount of detail on the faces was interesting, some were horrified, well most were.
A lot of them never smiled, he was pleasantly surprised when an actual living woman walked up. She looked a bit middle-easterns by the way her nose arched. "Anything caught your interest?" She asked, Percy assumes she has a lisp by the way she was hissing.
"No, I-" He caught something moving under her hijab. He froze and looked at it, the head of a tiny snape popped out and his eyes widened. He put it all together, the stone figures and the snakes.
Percy's hand immediately reached for his pen but he had to keep walking backwards as the woman neared him. "You look just like your father." She said, "Did you know that he would have stayed with me forever?" She questioned and Percy's step stuttered as he walked against a stone goblin. "If it wasn't for that ratchet Athena." She hissed.
His eyes were staring at her feet, he took his wand out. "Flipendo." He casted and the woman was shot back into one of the statues. Percy looked around but the street was abandoned.
The woman's sunglasses were knocked away and Percy's breath hitched. He looked at the shiny windows and uncapped his sword. He ran and swung at her neck. It was slightly off and only nicked her.
"Feisty! So heroic!" Medusa screamed out as she clawed him. He hissed in pain, "You're just like your father! Stay! Stay with me!" The woman shouted, desperation for her former lover leaked into her voice.
Percy looked into a closer window and swung again. With the sound of his sword cutting through skin, he heard a thud and a poof. He reached down and picked up the head by the still alive snakes.
He cringed and held back a gag. "Bloody hell." He said and took a t-shirt out of his bag and wrapped it up. He held it in his hand like it was some kind of shopping bag as he walked into the studio.
"You went shopping? Did you get a suit, cause you have some taste kid." Charon at the front exclaimed.
Percy laughed and shook his head. He held the bag up to the light. "Met a stone carving artist."
"Oh shit!" Charon exclaimed and a few souls looked over. "Your ass killed medusa."
Percy smiled, "I just came here to use the fireplace, do you happen to know how I can get up to Olympus?"
"Empire state building, 600th floor."
"600th?"
Charon nodded, "Don't let the clerk give you any bullshit about it. Just show him the head," He snickered, "Hate that guy, seriously."
Percy laughed and dropped a drachma in the little front box, "Bye Charon!"
"Bye Perseus!" The immortal waved after him and Percy quickly walked to the nearest fireplace and threw down some floo-powder.
—
"That doesn't exist."
Percy sighed and shook his head and understood where Charon was coming from. He dropped his head on the table and looked at the clerk. "The snakes still bite so watch out."
With wide eyes the clerk handed him a pass, "Take this and that head of yours. Make sure that no-one steps in the elevator with you."
Percy smiled politely and accepted the card. He picked up the head and walked into the elevator. He quickly let the doors close and he casually listened to the elevator music and eventually he got up to the 600th floor.
He stepped out and frowned. "Just like his palace." He said under his breath. Hades' palace was exactly the same as Olympus' palace. Why was he even casted aside?
Through his whole trek to reach the throne room, lightning bursted across the sky and thunder rumbled. The markets were empty and seeing how many stalls there were, he assumed that it normally was very full.
He approached the throne room and held his fist out to knock on the huge doors but it opened already. Angry, thundering voices were arguing in the room and Percy waved at the ones paying attention.
They were happily surprised but some waved back. The little girl by the fire was the first one to do so, then the man with winged shoes waved. "Perseus Jackson." An angry voice said. "Come to bring back my lightning bolt, you thief?" He questioned.
"Thief?" The man in a Hawaiian shirt roared, "You dare call my son a thief." Percy squinted at the man and he looked exactly the same as he did in the video message that he left at Gringotts. Only the grey hairs stood out a lot more.
"I didn't steal anything, I swear on the Styx." Familiar thunder rumbled. He turned to look at a familiar figure dressed in leather. "I took it from Lord Ares." He said before Zeus would rain down on his parade, "He was possessed."
"By who, son?"
"I don't know but it was ancient. When I was in the underworld it called to me even stronger, from the darkest pits." He answered and put Medusa's head on the ground. He rummaged through his bag and held up the lightning bolt.
Zeus held his hand out and it was like metal being attracted to another opposite metal. It clung to his hand and expanded into what could actually be described as a godlike weapon. He had a very small approving smile on his face.
Percy bowed to his father and then Zeus, "May I be excused. I have a lot of homework to do." he said and the bright god snorted from his seat.
"I'm sorry!" Apollo quickly apologised as Zeus sent him a look.
"You're excused, Percy Jackson." Zeus said, "So are the rest of you all!" He said and shone brightly. Percy immediately casted his eyes to the ground and closed it as multiple flashes went off.
Percy eventually casted his eyes up as the shining light stopped. He looked up and saw his father looking at him. "You did good, kid." He said and looked at the head, "I hope she didn't give you a lot of trouble."
He cringed, "She was very, forward."
Poseidon cringed as well and that is when Percy realised that they had the same grimace, the same smile and the same eyes. "That sounds like her." The man shrinked into one of a normal-ish height. "You're going to be tall." He mused and looked Percy up and down. "Just like me."
Percy raised his eyebrow at him and the man grew to a taller height. "This was how I looked when I met your mother. Trust me when I say that you'll be tall." He looked up and strained his neck.
"I heard." He said, his mother would talk about it sometimes. He looked at the sky outside and back at his father.
"I should go." His father said and Percy smiled a bit stiffly. "It was nice meeting you, son."
"You as well, father." Percy said and looked away as the man shone brightly.
He turned around but stopped as he heard a voice speak to him. "He'd spend time with you if he was allowed." The girl's voice said.
Percy looked at her, "Why isn't he allowed?"
"Gods can't see their children anymore. Zeus made that rule after Poseidon started to neglect his duties after he had spent so much time with you and your mother."
Percy felt a bit guilty for having such a short conversation with him. "Oh." He said quietly, he knew that his father cared. But he always thought that, if he cared so much why wouldn't he be there.
It was always on his mind.
"Thank you, Lady…" He knew the girl by the fire couldn't just be anyone.
"Hestia. There is no need for Lady." She said and smiled at him before standing up. "You are a kind person, Perseus. Stay like that." She said and shone as well.
He averted his eyes and waited until she was gone. He looked at the fire and walked out.