Percy
I'm laying on my back, throwing a blue muffin in the air and catching it over and over. Annabeth's at archery, and I didn't feel much like putting more arrows in Chiron's tail. First week of my last summer at Camp Half Blood. Three months, Annabeth and I will be in New Rome for College. And four years later, I don't know. Maybe an apartment back in Manhattan, or even a house upstate. In Tartarus, Annabeth asked me what I'd want to study, and I wasn't sure. She mentioned Marine Biology, and I've been thinking about it ever since. That's something I could do. Something I could be good at. Maybe working at a marine life rescue center? An aquarium and working with kids? I don't know, but I like the possibilities.
*Knock*Knock* I hear on the door.
"Come in!" I yell.
"Percy." Chiron says as I hear him clip clop in. "We need to talk."
"Look, Chiron, I'm sorry I skipped Archery-"
"This isn't about Archery. Lassa, come in here please."
"Need me to show a new camper around?" I ask and sit up. A girl, maybe 11 or 12, comes into the cabin. She's on the small side, but looks athletic and strong.
"Hi." She says and waves at me. I get up and smile at her.
"Lassa, is it?" I ask and give her a reassuring smile. "Let's go on a tour. Want to start at the Armory? We can pick up a pretty cool sword for you."
"No thanks. I'm covered." She says. I'm about to ask what she means when two small swords appear in her hands. I guess from those bracelets she was wearing.
"That's a neat trick. Didn't know we even had that in the armory."
"You don't. They were a gift. From Poseidon."
"What?" I ask and look at Chiron. I can't have heard that right.
"Meet your sister, Percy. Thalassa Beth Jackson."
"So."I say as Lassa and I start walking around the camp. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that Estelle and Tyson aren't my only siblings. Walking next to me is another Poseidon Jr. Sea Scout, a half blood sibling. " There used to only be 12 cabins, one for each Olympian. Since a year or so ago we've built more for the minor gods. You stay in your godly parent's cabin." She turns her head to look at me. It's hard for me to get a read on her. She's quiet, maybe a little shy, but still carries herself with confidence. She seems to have a peace with herself most half bloods don't have for a long time, if they ever do get it. Physically I guess she looks like me. Same hair, eyes, and skin tone. Taking her in, I'd say She's about 5 feet, and her curly black hair is pulled in two dutch braids that reach all the way down her back. She's wearing a long sleeved, tie-dye, Simply Southern shirt and cutoffs with converse. Her wave bracelets/swords are loose on her wrists, there's a cross necklace over the top of her shirt, and when she speaks she has a southern accent.
"I guess that means we're roommates then?" She asks, a small smile on her face.
"Yeah." I say and scratch my neck. "I guess so." How is Annabeth going to react to this?
"Why'd you just start building the other cabins?"
"Do you remember 2 years ago, when all those crazy storms and stuff were going on all over the country?"
"Yeah. I live on Tybee Island. Those were hurricanes unlike anyone in town had ever seen."
"Well they weren't actually just freak storms. There was a huge war going on between the gods and the titans. Kronos was trying to make a comeback. There's a lot more to the story, but to answer your question at the end of the war the gods offered a camper here a gift of his choice. He asked that all Half-Bloods get claimed by the time they're 13, that all who sided with the titans got amnesty, and that the minor gods got cabins and recognition at camp." I decide not to tell her it was me. She'll find out soon enough, but I don't like the attention from the story. To her, for now anyways, I'm not the Percy Jackson who's been a part of two great prophecies and survived Tartarus. I'm just Percy, who Chiron assigned to show her around camp and happens to share godly DNA with.
"Why'd he do that?"
"To prevent resentment. The reason a lot of demigods and minor gods went over to Kronos' side is because they were ignored and overlooked. He wanted to make sure it didn't happen again."
"Ah. I guess that makes sense. Did you fight in the war?"
"Yeah. Everyone that's been here since then did. Wasn't a whole lot of a choice. You seem to know a whole lot about Greek Mythology, Lassa, even before we watched the orientation video." I tell her.
"Yeah. My parents never hid the truth from me. I grew up studying the myths. Is that real lava coming off that climbing wall?"
"Uh, Yeah. Don't worry though. It's easy enough to avoid, and if you can't we have really good healers. So you've really known you were a demigod your whole life?"
"Yeah."
"Knowing makes your scent stronger. How'd you survive this long?" She just shrugs.
"Providence. And living by the Ocean helped. It masked my scent somewhat, and I'm not bad at handling my blades."
"Providence?"
"Providence. What's the food here like?" I want to talk to her more about the providence thing. Does she really think the gods were looking out for her? If so, she's really putting her faith in the wrong place. But she seems to be changing the subject, so I'll drop it for now.
"The food's actually great. We have magic cups and plates. You just say whatever you want to eat and drink and it appears on the plate and in the cup."
"So I could just say Salmon Patties and Sweet tea and it will be there?"
"Exactly. Sweet Tea?"
"It's a Southern thing. Most Yankees drink it without sugar." She shudders. "Might as well call it dirty water."
"Yankees?"
"Anyone from North of the Mason Dixon Line. Don't worry, it's not derogatory." She smiles at me. "Damn Yankees is Derogatory. Yankee is just a description of someone up North."
"Okay…" I decide to let it go. "So can you control water?" I ask. She nods.
"And get healed by it. It's the only reason I've survived this long."
"My powers didn't start developing until I was 12."
"Awareness is a powerful thing. Knowing sooner helped them to develop quicker, I think." She explains. "Looks like We've come full circle of the camp. Should we go set up my bunk?"
"Right. About that." I scratch my neck thinking about an 11 year old sharing a cabin with me and Annabeth.
"What? Don't want to give up your solo cabin?"
"Well it's not exactly solo is the problem. I share it with Annabeth."
"Annabeth?" She asks as we get to the door. "Another daughter of Poseidon?"
"Daughter-in-Law."I explain and show her my tattoo. It's an olive branch wrapped in a circle around my 4th finger on my left hand. I got it not long after our wedding, never being able to get used to wearing the ring. I open the door, and Annabeth is sitting on our bed working on her laptop. She looks up and smiles at me when she hears the door open.
"Hey Percy! Who's this?"
"Annabeth, Meet Lassa, daughter of Poseidon." Her jaw drops open as soon as the words are out of my mouth. "Lassa, this is my wife, Annabeth."
...
Annabeth
"So." Lassa says as she looks around the cabin. "You two are married."
"Uh. Yeah. I guess that makes you my sister in law. Nice to meet you, Lassa."
"You too." She smiles at me. "Now I get why Percy seemed so hesitant to give up his cabin. I can stay somewhere else if y'all'd like."
"No, you're a daughter of Poseidon. This is where you belong." Percy says and comes over to kiss me on the forehead. "I'll have someone from the Hephaestus cabin make you a bunk later. We'll figure out how to set it all up."
"Okay, well I'll go ahead and get my bag from the big house, then I want to go over and see the Pegasi again. That buckskin mare really caught my eye." She smiles and starts heading out the door, but before it closes behind her she pokes her head back in.
"By the way, I may be 11 but I know about the birds and the bees. Y'all need some time alone, all you have to do is ask and I'll make a nice ocean floor bed." The door slams behind her and I look at Percy, who busts out laughing and lays down on the bed.
"Did she just?"
"She did." He laughs. "At least she understands. This might not be so bad after all."
"She's 11! I Didn't get the talk until I was 13! And Chiron only got around to it because one of my siblings got caught with Ryder from the Hermes cabin."
"You got the talk from Chiron?!" He laughs.
"Yes. Ugh. It was so awkward. Imagine getting the talk from someone who's part horse." He laughs even harder. His face is red and tears are streaming down his face while he holds his stomach. "Okay, Okay, Seaweed Brain, Hardy har har." I say with a grin. "Can we be serious now? We need to talk about this."
"Okay, okay." He says as he catches his breath. He wraps his arms around my torso and falls backwards on the bed, pulling me with him. "What are we talking about?"
"Lassa! Your little sister!"
"Well I just met her about an hour ago, Chiron brought her here for me to show her the camp."
"And what did you learn about her in that hour?"
"Umm I don't know. She's from Tybee Island, her mom can see through the mist, she's known her whole life she's a demigod. Her mom and stepdad never hid it from her. And she has the same water powers I do, she thinks they developed early because she knew of her lineage."
"She's really known her whole life? And survived this long?"
"Yeah. Apparently Poseidon gave her these two magic swords when she was born. When she's not using them they're the bracelets on her wrists. She says she's not bad with them, and whenever she got hurt she'd just get to the ocean to be healed."
"Impressive."
"There's something else about her. Something I don't know about."
"What do you mean?"
"The way she Carries herself. This quiet confidence and…peace. Like she already has all the answers she needs to know. I've never met another half blood like that. Not sure I've ever met anyone like that."
"Maybe she just had good parents?"
"Maybe but I think there's more than that."
"Well, we're sharing a cabin with her all summer. Maybe we'll figure it out. Speaking of which." She says and wiggles out of my grasp. Let's get it set up for her."
Percy
A few hours later, we've got the Poseidon cabin all set up. I went and talked to Jake from the Hephestus cabin, and before too long he made a white shiplap twin bed with dolphins carved on the headboard, a nightstand, and a trunk for her stuff. He said he had some Hecate kids add a "Mary Poppins" spell to it so she can fit anything she needs to in it. Some kids brom the Rhapso cabin sewed together a Pegasi down mattress, and Annabeth and I picked up some sheets and a pillow from the Camp Half-Blood gift shop. Lassa left her duffle on the front porch so I went ahead and stuffed it in her trunk.
"Looks good." Annabeth says As we finish up.
"Sure we shouldn't put up a privacy curtain?" I ask. Annabeth considers it and then shakes her head.
"Nah. We can't have sex if she's in the cabin with or without it anyways. We can just use the bathroom to change if we need to."
"Yeah, I guess so." I reply. "I'm going to miss having this place alone with you."
"It's only a couple of months. We'll be fine. And Lassa said we can just let her know if we need time alone."
"Yeah, but even so I can't imagine telling an eleven year old we need some time for sex."
"There's always the bottom of the lake."
"Or we could just have Blackjack give us a lift every once in a while to our Manhattan apartment."
"Might not be a bad idea." She smiles at me. "C'mon, let's go get Lassa from the stables and take her to Supper."
"Did you just say Supper?"
"Yeah. I guess Lassa's bringing out my Southern Vernacular more."
"You met her for 10 minutes!"
"10 minutes was enough." She remarks as we head out the door and start walking towards the stables.
"By the way, do you drink Sweet Tea?" I ask. A smile breaks out on her face.
"I love sweet tea! But I can't get it up here unless I ask one of the dining hall cups. Up North if you ask for it, they'll just tell you sugar packets are on the table. Not the same."
"Why's it not the same?"
"Well for the sugar to dissolve right you need to add it while it's still warm. You make sweet tea by the gallon, and mix anywhere from 1-2 cups of sugar in it depending on how sweet you want it, then stir it in before putting it in the fridge."
"I don't understand."
"That's okay, Seaweed Brain." She says with a slight roll of her eyes. "It's not meant for Yankees, I guess."
"There it is again."
"What?"
"Yankees. And not the Baseball team. Lassa said it earlier. Said it wasn't derogatory, but it didn't sound nice." She laughs.
"It'll be nice having Lassa around, I think."
"Why's that?"
"Cause I lost most of my Southern culture when I moved here. It'll be nice to have someone who understands it."
"Okay…Are we sure this is a good thing?" She kisses my cheek.
"Yes. It's for sure a good thing." I notice she's smirking and grab her hand, but decide not to continue talking about it. Maybe the less I know about "Southern Culture'' the better. A few minutes later we get to the stables. Walking in, I don't see Blackjack but I do see Lassa's head in one of the stalls. Walking over, I see her braiding the mane of Sahara, one of our mares. Sahara sees me and nickers.
Hello, Lord. She speaks in my head. I'm glad to meet Lady Lassa.
"Can you understand her?" I ask. Lassa nods.
"I grew up around normal horses. I didn't know Pegasi existed. I thought they were an actual myth."
"The first thing that talked to me was a Zebra."
"I used to have a mare. Her name was Dutchess. She was a Buckskin with black mane, too."
"Used to?"
"She died. Old age. My parents can't afford to give me another, so I train and teach riding lessons at a local stable."
"Oh. I'm Sorry." I tell her. I can only think of what it'll be like if Blackjack dies before me. Pegasi have a much longer lifespan than normal horses, similar to humans. A healthy one will live 80-100 years.
"Sahara told me she's pregnant." Lassa Smiles up at me. "She thinks it's a girl."
"Well, it'll be a while before she's due. Maybe another year or so." Annabeth tells her. "Her mane looks beautiful, Lassa, but it's about time for supper. Ready?" She gets up and brushes the dust off her shorts.
"I'll see you later, Sahara." She nods at both of us.
Goodbye Lord, Lady Lassa.
"Bye, Sahara." We all start heading towards the dining hall.
"Who's the Stallion?" She asks me as we walk.
"Blackjack, actually." I say and smile. "He's my pegasus. I rescued him from Kronos' Army about 4 or 5 years ago. Sahara came over from the Roman camp about a year and a half ago. Blackjack convinced her to stay."
"I bet it'll be a buckskin like her mama." Annabeth says.
"Or a much more rare solid black one like his father." Percy says.
"What's your vote, Lassa?" Annabeth asks her.
"Well, Sahara thinks it's a girl, and I agree with her. Mother's intuition and all that."
"And Buckskin or Black?"
"Hmmm. What color eyes does Blackjack have?"
"Blackjack? He has blue eyes."
"I think buckskin with black wings and blue eyes."
"Heh. Okay. We'll see next year."
We get to the dining hall, and all three of us go and sit at the Poseidon table. Chiron is already there waiting for us.
"Did Percy get you up to speed, Lassa?"
"Pretty much." She says. "I already knew a lot of it. Learned a couple new things."
"Excellent. As another child of the three eldest gods, and the sister of Percy Jackson, you will have some high expectations on your shoulders. Don't let it bother you. I will only accept your best, but your best will be sufficient."
"Uh, Chiron?" I cut in.
"Sister of Percy Jackson?" Lassa asks. I sigh. It was only a matter of time, but I was hoping it would last longer.
"Percy didn't tell you?" Annabeth asks. "Not surprising."
"Didn't tell me what?" she asks. I scratch my neck.
"Lassa, remember how I told you about that kid who made the deal with the gods? That was me."
"Made the deal with the gods, was the subject of the great prophecy and was one of the heroes of Olympus, survived Tartarus, and saved the world twice." Annabeth rattles off.
"Saved the world twice?" She asks, looking intrigued. That's actually the first thing I've seen her get excited about today. She's seemed quiet all day, and like she said, already knew pretty much everything I told her.
"Twice." Annabeth tells her.
"Well I think you have a fair bit of storytelling to do." Chiron says with a smile and clip clops over to the head table.
"Why Didn't you tell me?" She asks.
"I don't know. I guess I don't like the attention from it."
"Well I want the stories now!" She exclaims. Annabeth laughs.
"Maybe another time, Lassa." I deflect.
"He'll never get around to it." Annabeth warns. "But Don't Worry, I'm sure Melonie from the Mnemosyne cabin will be happy to tell the story tonight." She promises. I groan, and Annabeth smirks at me. But I look at Lassa and see her really smiling, and I get kinda excited too. We eat dinner, me having an all blue double bacon cheeseburger with blue cherry coke and Annabeth has pita and hummus with sweet tea, and Lassa looks like she's chowing down on salmon patties, mashed potatoes, and a Caesar salad also with sweet tea. I mostly keep quiet while Lassa opens up to Annabeth a little more about her life growing up. It sounds like she had two incredible parents, and her two little brothers remind me a bit of Connor and Travis with all the mischief she describes them getting into. Annabeth remarks on how lucky she is, and explains a bit about her own life growing up and how hard it was before she came to camp. And even though it's better now, how hard it still can be with her family sometimes.
"It's a lot better now that I'm with Percy, Though." She winks. I smile and grab her hand under the table.
"What about you, Percy?" Lassa asks me. "What was it like for you growing up?"
"Chaotic." I answer. "I got kicked out of the first seven schools I ever went to, and monsters had been stalking me my whole life. I Didn't find out I was a demigod until I was 12, and from there, everything just got a lot more crazy. I had a lousy stepdad who abused me and my mom, but thankfully he's not around anymore. My mother has always been amazing though. Super kind and patient. She's married to a really great guy now and just had a baby a few months ago." I smile. "Her name is Estelle. Cutest little girl you'll ever see."
"You'll find out pretty quickly, Lassa, Percy is a really great big brother to have."
"I've got two little brothers. I always wanted an older one." She gives me a crooked smile. I laugh a little awkwardly.
"I'll do my best to be what you hoped for." Just then Chiron gets up and bangs his hoof.
"Now that dinner is over, let's let everyone please head out to the amphitheater for the bonfire. Prior to tonight's sing along, we'll be listening to Melonie tell us the story of the last two great prophecies." That's met with some whoops and cheers. Melonie is the best storyteller at camp.
We file down to the amphitheater, and already the flames are at least six feet tall with everyone's excitement.
Melonie gets down to the front and starts with the very beginning, back in World War II when the first prophecy was spoken, how Zeus killed Maria DiAngelo, Hades cursed the oracle and put Nico and Bianca in the Lotus Hotel. 70 years passed, and then I got blamed for stealing Zeus's master bolt, Grover had to wear a wedding dress to avoid getting eaten by a Cyclops, The Golden Fleece healed Thalia, we found Nico and Bianca, Annabeth got kidnapped, I almost killed Thalia with a water cyclone after she blasted me with lightning, Held up the sky, Didn't die, me, Thalia and Nico saved the Underworld and created Bob the Titan, Rachel led us through the maze, Luke embodied Kronos, Ethan was a jerk, I took a dip in the Styx, Luke defeated Kronos, and so on and so forth until last summer when Annabeth and I had our wedding ceremony on the beach. Everyone gets into the story, a bunch of whoops, cheers, and awws going on the whole way through. Melonie, like her mother, is a really good story teller. At the end, Lassa looks up at me and smiles. She hesitates a second but gives my hand an awkward but genuine squeeze and then lets go.
"Y'all have an incredible story." She tells me and Annabeth. "There's definitely been a plan working in your lives."
"I don't know about that. I prefer to think we fought every plan against us and made our own path." Annabeth says, making me smile and kiss her cheek. Lassa squints her eyes, but stays quiet. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Chiron trot up to the circle and bang his hoof for everyone to quiet down.
"Thank you for the excellent storytelling as always, Melonie." He praises her. She smiles and goes to sit down. "In other news, I would like to introduce our newest camper, Thalassa Beth Jackson. Lassa, please stand up." He asks her. She purses her lips a second and blushes a bit, but smiles and stands up.
"Hi." she waves to the camp.
"Has she been claimed yet?" Someone shouts out. She stands up straighter and clears her throat.
"My-My father is Poseidon!" She declares to the camp. "I've known my whole life."
"But have you been claimed? How do you know?" The kid questions back. I look around and see the voice. It's another girl, maybe 13. She has blonde hair pulled back in a high ponytail and piercing blue eyes, so blue they almost have a glow about them I can see all the way from here. I don't recognize her, so she must have joined between last Christmas and now. I look up to Lassa and see her narrow her eyes at the girl.
"My father claimed me from birth. He left my mother a letter telling her how to get me to camp, and he gave me these." She says, and suddenly her swords appear in her hands.
"She has the same water powers I do." I offer.
"So?" The girl questions. "Poseidon is god of the seas, but not the only ocean god out there. How do we know she doesn't just want attention? Like there's another child of the big 3." The girl rolls her eyes. Out of the corner of my eye I see Lassa clench her fists, then hear a rumbling sound. After a second, the ground starts to shake under me.
"What the Hades!" Someone exclaims, and the girl who was questioning Lassa falls over. The shaking stops as quickly as it starts. I look up at Lassa. Her face is white and beaded with sweat, but the look in her eyes is stormy and fierce.
"How many gods of earthquakes are there?" She challenges. The girl glares back at her.
"I still say we can't be sure without a sign!"
"Erica, please! I think we've seen enough to know!" Chiron chastises her. "Lassa, please, Earthquakes are not necessary to make your point." She sets her jaw.
"Yes sir."
"You may sit down now." He tells her. Just as she's about to, a glow appears above her head, and the whole camp gasps. A trident.
Lassa blushes, but smirks towards Erica.
"It is determined!" Chiron announces. "This settles any disputes. All Hail Thalassa Beth Jackson, Daughter of Poseidon, Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses, god of the seas." I smile at my little sister, then get on a knee before her. Annabeth grins and does the same, then followed by the whole camp. Lassa looks uncomfortable with the kneeling, so I get up and squeeze her shoulder.
"Let me officially welcome you to cabin 3 Lassa." I say. She smiles at me gratefully as everyone gets up and sits back in their seats. "Now, Chiron, can we get the singing started?" I prompt. He smiles and takes his leave, and the Apollo kids come out and start singing the campfire songs, kicking off with Down by the Aegean.
"What kind of song is this?" Lassa whispers to me.
"One you'll get used to. Until you learn the lyrics, you can just clap along."
"Percy?"
"Yeah?"
"I was really scared to come to camp. I thought I was going to be all alone. I'm really glad to find out I have a brother. So…thanks, I guess, for being here." She says, shifting nervously. I look down, and feel a wave of affection wash over me. I've got another little sister. She's powerful and scared and cute. And I'll be looking out for her. So I reach down and do what she did earlier and give her hand a quick squeeze before letting go and rustle her braids a little bit.
"You're welcome. You've got Annabeth too, ya know. And I think it'll be nice to have a little sister around." She grins up at me.
"Thanks." She says, and starts clapping. I look back over at Erica, who is staring at Lassa with daggers in her eyes. I try to shrug it off. I don't want to be annoying and overprotective right off the bat. You make rivals at camp. Everyone does. Shoot, Clariese had it out for me since day one and that turned out okay. But I still don't like it. I stand a bit in front of Lassa, and catch Erica's eyes, Narrowing mine a bit and giving a slight shake of my head, I send a subtle but clear message. Back off. She purses her lips but rejoins the sing along, and I do the same. But I get the feeling Lassa's going to have some battles to fight pretty soon.