Disclaimer: I only own the plot and my OCs. Anything you recognize as not mine belongs to Rick Riordan, Greco-Roman mythology, and/or their otherwise respective owners.

Author's Notes: Hi, all! Hope you're doing well; I'm a lot better now. Next chapter will be posted as planned because of it. :)

Hope y'all enjoy, and until next week,

~TGWSI/Selene Borealis

Υἱός τῆς κυνός – Son of the bitch


~The Finding Home Saga~

~Finding Home~

~Chapter 22: I'm Given An Offer I Can't Refuse~


You know that feeling you'd get as a little kid when you were talking with certain adults – that feeling they found you cute and whatever, but didn't actually know what to do when you opened your mouth and started to talk to them?

That was the feeling I got immediately after saying, "So...hi, I guess? Nice to meet you?" to my own father and stepmother. Well, one of my stepmothers.

Both of them were looking at me with what looked like bemused expressions on their faces, as if neither of them had ever interacted with one of my dad's mortal children in person before...although, I suppose for all that I knew of them, they very well might not have, which made my stomach twist and turn rather violently.

Finally, just when I had about enough of the silence, just when I was about to be done with their bemused looks, Poseidon tilted his head and said, "You know, you do remind me of your mother."

I blinked in surprise. "I r – remind you of Mom?" I couldn't help but ask. No one except for myself had really ever said that before. Mom had only ever compared me to my dad, making the comments she did about my hair and my eyes, and Gabe had always assumed I got my...behavior from him. The behavior he said needed to be –

Poseidon smiled softly. "Your mother is a queen among women, child," he replied wistfully. "I had not met such a mortal woman in a thousand years...or perhaps even any mortal woman, for that matter, as kind and good as she is. You radiate her kindness, child, and her love. Although, I do think you got most of your rebelliousness from me, along with your hair and eyes."

"Your smile, though, is all hers," Demeter added kindly.

I frowned. "You've – you've met my mom before? Did you meet me before, too?"

I had a memory buried deep within the layers of my brain, the kind which you never remembered until something in particular brought it up. It was the memory of a smile, warm and soft, completely unlike my own and yet still familiar in so many ways.

Was she the reason why I had it?

Gently, Demeter nodded. "Once, when you were about eight months. You were a beautiful child. You still are," she said, her lips quirking. Then, a frown marred her beautiful face. "But then your mother had to go and marry that man, that...that υἱός τῆς κυνός."

I was pretty sure my mouth fell open at that.

Did...did Demeter, the goddess of agriculture, the harvest, and several other things, just cuss?

Poseidon shifted uncomfortably, something which I figured was entirely for my own benefit. The thought of gods needing to move or switch positions was just completely paradoxical. "Wife," he said. "You are getting ahead of yourself."

"No, I do not believe I am," she disagreed. Standing up, her form shifted and changed, becoming smaller until she was about the same height as my mom. Walking forwards, she stepped across the throne room until she was just in front of me. "Perseus, we can feel your anger, and we know that it is not without just cause. "You are angry because you feel that your father and, to the same extent, I have failed you. You feel that you were abandoned by us, that we allowed you to suffer the fate which that horrible man gave you."

Unexpectedly, tears filled my vision. When I had come to Olympus, I had expected my father to tell me something stupid, like how he had regretted my ever being born. And I had figured that all of this anger I was feeling, the anger about being a demigod, about Gabe, I wouldn't be able to address without him smiting me, his son or not, though I had very much been tempted by the thought anyways.

But instead, here was my stepmother, listing a fairly comprehensive inventory of all of my faults with them.

I couldn't quite believe it.

"Are you saying I'm wrong...if I feel this way?" I asked, voice small.

She gave me a sad smile. "No, child. If it had been either of our ways, you never would have been forced to endure him. We would have killed him where he stood the moment he even thought about harming you," she said, her eyes flashing something dangerous for emphasis. "But...it was not our way to be had. There are laws, ancient laws – "

"Zeus' laws," Poseidon interjected.

I stared at him.

Okay, was Poseidon now throwing Zeus under the bus, too?

" – that decree we cannot directly interfere with the lives of mortals," Demeter finished, pausing long enough to give him a slight glare. It was totally something which I expected my mom would do, which made me feel a little faint. Perhaps the gods were not as larger than life as I'd thought. "It has been this way ever since the fall of Mycenae, and I doubt it will change anytime soon. But we have watched, and we have listened to you, which is why we would like to discuss something with you."

"...Uh, okay," I said awkwardly, not sure of what else to say. It was like there was a whirlpool of emotions swirling within me, all of them moving too fast for me to really process them. "What – what do we need to discuss?"

Poseidon looked me for a long, hard moment, before he sighed. He, too, stood up, then shrunk himself down and walked over to us. Like this, he was about as tall as Luke, just a few inches shorter. "I presume that, during your talk with Styx, she told you of the prophecy?" he asked.

I blinked. I hadn't thought I had left that out, but apparently, I had. "Uh...yeah, I guess? I mean, you are referring to the prophecy that says 'A half-blood of the eldest gods, shall reach eighteen agai – '"

"Yes, Perseus," my father interjected before I could get any further. He was also smiling now, his expression soft and tender as gentle amusement shone in his eyes. "That is the prophecy I was referring to. But do you know what it means?"

"It means..." I started, only to trail off.

How much did the two of them really want me to know?

"It's okay, Perseus," Demeter told me soothingly. She reached up a hand to take a swipe at my bangs, something which my mom always did, then grabbed my hand and gently squeezed it. Her hand was hot and warm, like a living furnace or the ground on a hot summer's day. "You can be honest. We won't hold it against you. We just want to see what you already know."

"Well..." I said. "I know that it means I'm going to have to make a decision on my eighteenth birthday...if I survive that long, that is...right? I mean, I may not...probably won't..." here, I gave a show of shrugging my shoulders, as if the news didn't really bother me, and continued with, "Anyways, I have to decide whether or not to save Olympus and the gods, or to let it and you all be destroyed. Whether to let the...old age, I guess...remain, or to...bring in a new one?"

Demeter chuckled at my words, while Poseidon nodded. "All of that is true, Perseus," he said. "But that is not the meaning I was looking for."

"Uh – it wasn't?"

"No."

"Then what meaning were you looking for?"

"The meaning of those actions," he corrected me cryptically, and said, "Perseus...I do not regret you being born, will never regret you being born, and I am quite proud of what you have done in the past two weeks leading up today. But, that does not stop me from regretting that I, by being your father, have brought you a hero's fate, and a hero's fate is never happy, child. It is never anything but tragic."

My eyes suddenly stung even worse than they already had.

Demeter noticed my tears – but then again, how could she not? The two of them were so close, and even if they weren't, wasn't one of her domains motherhood? Wasn't she a mother goddess, just as how Hera and several other deities were? – and squeezed my hand for a second time. "Don't take your father's words too harshly, Perseus. We are simply worried for you, that's all. We both have seen snippets of your fate."

"M – my fate?" I felt my mouth go dry. Last month, I had met the primordial of fate herself, Ananke. It still wasn't a pleasant experience in my brain. "What, did you talk to Lady Ananke or something?"

She laughed and shook her head. "No, no," she said. "But our eldest son, Apollo, has shared with us the few things that the spirit of Pythia has shared with him. And it has made us...concerned, to put it lightly. You face several decisions in the near future, Perseus, that will not be easy. Several decisions that, if I was not going to offer you what I am about to offer, you would get in grave trouble for."

"I – decisions – offer?" I asked, the words tumbling from my mouth stupidly.

But Demeter didn't immediately answer my question. "I do not make it a...priority to meet the mortal lovers of my husband, your father, or even their children," she spoke, her words so quiet they were barely above a whisper. "With us gods, it is best not to meddle in each other's affairs. Zeus and Hera are a wonderful example of this. But, I digress: when your father told me of how special your mother was, I knew that you would be as well. I watched you for a time, until I met you, and when my beliefs were confirmed, I continued doing so, keeping you under a careful eye. It is why I sent Katie to you when I realized it wouldn't be much longer until you realized your...godly heritage. It is also why I am here now, because if there is one thing you have proven to me, Perseus, it is how brave, kind, and selfless you are, all of which are traits I admire, most of all in mortals I make this offer to."

"And what is your offer?" I questioned, doing my best to hold back my annoyance. No matter how complimentary they were, her non-direct answers were still irritating.

She smirked. "My patronage."

"Your...patronage," I repeated, frowning.

Patronage? That wasn't an English word, was it? 'Cause it sure as hell didn't sound like one.

At the presumably – no, undoubtedly confused expression on my face, she let out another laugh. "You don't know what patronage is, do you, Perseus?" When I shook my head to signify that "no, no I had no fucking idea," she explained, "In our world, Perseus, patronage is when a god who is not the parent of a demigod child decides to extend their protections over them. This means that the demigod will not get into as much, ah...trouble as they would otherwise for the things that they do, as long as their patron god is in approval of it. In exchange, the demigod becomes the god's champion, which means they can act as the god's voice to other mortals, and may additionally wind up doing them favors or quests from time to time."

...Wait, what? Demeter wanted me, a fourteen-, nearly fifteen-year-old kid who couldn't keep a filter on his mouth to save his life, to be her voice to other mortals, other demigods? And for me to do things for her "from time to time," in exchange for her protection? Protection she had just said I would need in the near future, for the decisions I was about to make?

Just how bad were those decisions?

"Of course, child, you do not need to decide on this now," she hurriedly added.

"R – right," I said, dazed.

"This is a huge decision for anyone to undertake," she continued. "Because it is life-changing, completely and utterly. Hence why it is something none of us have really done since the ancient times. But, no matter what you decide, Perseus, I do expect an answer by..." she trailed off, and looked over at Poseidon thoughtfully. Neither of them said anything, but I couldn't help but think they were having some sort of epic conversation in the span of a few seconds, a conversation which words weren't necessary for. "...July 4th. Yes, I expect an answer by July 4th. Is that enough time for you to make your decision?"

"I – uh – yeah, sure," I agreed after what felt like an eternity. I still had no idea what to say. "I can do it by then."

She smiled. "Good. Just ask for me when you have, child, and I will come to make things, ah, official, if your decision to accept my offer."

"But whatever you decide, Perseus," Poseidon said, his eyes alight with a fiery kind of pride. "Know that you are mine, and that we are both proud of you. You are a true son of the Sea God."

And just like that, my conversation with them was over.


Twenty minutes later, I was back on the streets of Manhattan, my mind spinning as I thought about everything that had happened, both that day and in the weeks before.

I had just been offered patronage by a goddess, something which, according to her and my father, hadn't happened for thousands of years, because both of them wanted to make sure I wouldn't get into any trouble for the "several decisions"that I was about to make.

But, once more, what were those decisions?

Of course, even as I thought about it, I already knew the answer.

I had to decide what I was going to do about Luke, because I knew beyond any shred of doubt now he had been working for Kronos. My dreams about the Crooked One had made it obvious, considering how Luke had been in one of them and had seemingly been on pretty cordial terms with the bastard, the torture he had suffered from him notwithstanding.

And if Luke was working for Kronos – well, it definitely wasn't an if, but I was just playing with the hypothetical here, because it hurt me too much to think about it in any other context – then it meant he had probably been the one to steel Zeus' and Hades' symbols of power, because Ares could not have done it due to the ancient laws he was bound to as a god. And, because he had done it, Luke was the lightning thief, the stealer of the helm of the darkness, and the traitor of Olympus.

And I had to decide whether I was going to turn him in or not.

I understood Luke's anger, his wrath towards the gods perhaps better than anyone else. Even though Poseidon and Demeter had told me they hadn't been able to save me from Gabe because of the ancient laws, Poseidon had broken the ancient laws before. Twice, though I hadn't told him I knew about the second time. And even if this one wasn't one that could be broken, Zeus had still made it himself, according to my father. High and mighty Zeus, who thought himself better than everybody else, or so had been made abundantly clear to me during my encounter with him.

But...even if I was angry at the gods, they were still family. I couldn't see changing them like yesterday's news, especially not for somebody like Kronos. The myths had shown what kind of person he was. I didn't trust him, could never trust him, no matter how much I trusted Luke.

Now more than ever, I thought a little sadly, I wanted to see my mom, to talk to her and ask for her advice, to listen to what she thought I should do in this situation. But, despite how close I knew our apartment and she herself was, I couldn't call for a taxi to take me to her. For one thing, I didn't want to disappoint her by telling her I had feelings for the traitor of Olympus, who was both two or three years older than me and a guy. I hadn't come out to her yet, and while I was sure she wouldn't care, this wasn't the kind of conversation to do that with. And none of that was mentioning how I was sure I would kill Gabe with my bare hands if I went back to the apartment here and now, which I was sure would make her more disappointed than anything else ever would.

Still, I tried to think of what my mom would say if I did tell her about all of this. I knew she would probably tell me it would be only right for me to take Demeter's offer of patronage, and it would be only right for me to turn Luke in, because he needed to face justice for what he had done. But, that being said, I knew she would tell me to follow my heart, too, because if I had feelings for Luke...if I was in love with him, then that meant...that meant...

...Oh, fuck it.

I wasn't going to turn Luke in. I couldn't. I didn't care about what he had done, and I was far too gone to just throw him to the wolves and leave him there to die, metaphorically or not. Besides, if my memory served correctly, Luke had until August to convince me to join Kronos. So, I had the same amount of time to convince him to rejoin the gods or, at the very least, stop working for Kronos. It wasn't going to be easy, I knew, but I was going to do it anyways. For Luke, for me, for the kids of Cabin Eleven, and for Annabeth.

There was just one thing I needed to do first.

I was going to have to become Demeter's champion.


Word Count: 3,045

Next Chapter Title: There's A First Time For Everything