The color green had taken on an important role in Percy Jackson's new life.

It probably wouldn't have been his first choice. Blue would have been up there, probably. His mother had loved anything resembling the color of the ocean, so far as to dye all of her son's favorite foods since he was practically a newborn. He wasn't sure when exactly that preference had begun to wane, but he had a pretty educated guess. This new, older version of Sally favored more neutral tones that stuck near the middle of the spectrum.

Although, on second thought, Percy had caught his mother trending towards pinks and purples more and more since their reunion. It wasn't hard to see why - each outfit the man discovered in his wardrobe contained some variation of those two shades, with red making occasional appearances. Aphrodite's color scheme suffused every corner of her manor. The carpets, the drapes, even the paintings on the walls. Female staff wore rose skirts or blouses. Male servants accessorized with violet ties or amethyst cufflinks.

It was both a mark of allegiance and a form of protection. Perhaps a tad possessive, too. Fuck around with someone wearing her colors and you could be sure the goddess of love would not be far behind. The fact that Aphrodite's claim clearly extended over both Jacksons was more calming than Percy cared to admit.

It seemed that Percy's inclusion to mansion life had added a few new shades. A light sky blue was honestly his favorite. The sheets in his bedroom, his current pair of faded jeans. The man could see it leaking everywhere, as an accent color on the ceiling murals and in the inlaid marble floors. One of the maids who had delivered his dinner yesterday had sky-colored clips holding up her hair.

Sometimes when Percy blinked he could have sworn something small in his field of vision had changed shade, like a vase or a throw pillow. No one else ever seemed to comment on it, so he hadn't said anything. The lady of the house didn't seem to mind. If anything it was the opposite.

On his first real walk around the manor the son of Poseidon had spied a pair of staff switching out a wine-red couch in the foyer. The replacement was patterned in swirls of white and blue that looked suspiciously like clouds. He had been dubious of that choice, but the fact that it ended up looking as good as it did made it clear to Percy that he would never be an interior decorator. Overall the whole house was tinting a bit pastel, the dark and enticing blending seamlessly with the light and airy.

Halfway through the furniture swap one of the servants had caught Percy awkwardly watching. Before they could greet him, or his own mouth could have spouted something embarrassing, the god had turned heel and briskly walked away. That was the first of many such interactions on his first day roaming about. He hadn't had another breakdown, at least. Each successive day without one of those felt like an accomplishment all on its own.

The new blue wasn't the only color, however. It tended to air on the side of pleasant harmony, while the second did anything but. If Percy felt like the light blue was following him, then he knew that the teal-green was.

It was more than just what wafted from his pores with each breath, though that was so bright now that not even direct sunlight could hide it. Every footstep, shoes notwithstanding, left a neon afterimage on the floor for a split second. The air around his body seemed to be set to an endless gentle swirl which tinted the world around Percy just slightly as he passed by. White clouds constantly hovered overhead - his mother had joked that she could always tell where he was inside the mansion from anywhere on the property.

The first time the man had stepped into the pool all of the decorative tiles had flashed to various shades of green, spread out from the deep end like spiraling arms of a galaxy. Every servant in the courtyard had stopped what they were doing to watch. One even paused mid broom sweep. Percy had promptly dunked his whole body under the surface to avoid their stares.

Aphrodite called it 'leakage'. Percy's divine energy, just like any other powerful deity, was reaching out and affecting the very world around him. If the man believed the love goddess, which he did, the phenomenon following him was several times stronger than she remembered it being for some of the younger children of Zeus who sat on the council.

That was the positive. The negative? While it might have looked cool to an outsider, the whole 'leaking energy' thing was basically just a flashing sign to any other immortal that Percy couldn't control his aura. It also meant that he wouldn't realistically be able to step foot among normal mortals any time soon. The Mist was a powerful thing but even it had trouble hiding a god, let alone one who practically pissed out diving potential by accident.

So, that was why Percy was here. Meditating at the bottom of the pool. Or attempting to, anyway.

Why are you here?

Through his closed eyelids, Percy could see the gentle current moving around his body. Not that he would have needed his vision anyway, for how acutely he could sense each water particle. His fingers were fiddling with the ring on his left hand, resting on his bent knees. Riptide pressed into one thigh in his pocket.

What do you mean?

Despite being completely submerged, the son of Poseidon took a deep, frustrated breath. The water was cool in his lungs. It was empowering in a way he wasn't sure someone not connected to the sea could experience, but it wasn't enough. The tiles beneath his form, still dyed that saturated teal, vibrated with his agitation.

Why can't I touch you?

The source of Percy's ire was the flickering green flame he could see in his mind's eye. It appeared if he focused heavily for a few seconds, a manifestation of that swirling gale in the center of his chest. It was the same one from the sky bearer's dreams, identical in every aspect.

If anything, it seemed a tad . . . muted down here compared to when he was out in the open air. Something to do with his domains, maybe? The young god had tried this a couple of different places, all to equally lacking degrees of success.

The flame's licking, wandering tendrils were inside Percy's core. He could feel them, deep down in that place he couldn't seem to intentionally access. The man reached out a hand, eyes still closed. The motion didn't even stir the warm pool water. His fingers stretched forward until they bumped up against an invisible barrier. When Percy tilted his head down, there was a glowing string laid on the pool floor surrounding his knees.

"My Lord?" The voice from above was distant, warbled by the swirling liquid. "My Lord!" The repeated call was louder this time. Percy could feel the way the disturbed air rippled the surface of the pool.

Percy opened his eyes with a puff of breath. The motion didn't change much other than re-saturate his surroundings a bit. That, too, was something he had to get a handle on. Passive sensing through a deity's aura was one thing, but not being able to turn it off was another. The sky bearer tried not to grimace as he stood from his kneeled position, but he could feel the deep crease between his ashen eyebrows.

"Another failure." He muttered to himself. "Hoped I had had enough of those." The twist to his lips was decidedly sardonic. He stopped messing with his fingers in favor of running a hand through his water-logged curls.

"My Lord?" The voice outside the pool tried again.

Rolling his eyes, Percy willed a column of water beneath his feet. With barely a conscious effort he was shooting from the depths of the pool towards the distorted sun above. The man's momentum slowed impossibly just before he breached. Speed that should have had him blasting a hundred feet into the air merely pushed the newest Olympian just far enough that his dark high-tops were standing perfectly in line with the surface.

"Ah. There you are."

His visitor straightened as the young god appeared, the water around his feet rippling gently into a small whirlpool spiral. The sun was bright and warm on Percy's face, almost as solid as the feeling of the air touching his skin. The sky bearer allowed the warm liquid to run in thick rivulets down his head and over his tight lavender shirt for several moments before willing it off his form in a burst of steam. The teasing flame in his chest burned extra bright as the evaporated water left Percy's skin and clothes.

"Peitho." Percy's voice was a shade lower than normal, his lingering frustrations stirring the surrounding air. When he turned around, the smile on his face was half awkward and half genuine. "What did I say about calling me that?" It was a combination he was increasingly learning to live with.

"I'm not sure I remember, My Lord." He was greeted by a dark, glittering pair of eyes. "It seems to have slipped my mind." The mischievous tilt to her voice was practically an echo of Aphrodite's, if she had allowed herself to age a couple of decades first.

As the head of Aphrodite's staff, a position fittingly titled 'Housekeeper', the woman named Peitho was dressed to the nines in an impeccably pressed white and deep pink uniform. It contrasted nicely with her dark hair, which Percy had never seen outside of a swirled bun at the crown of her head. It was the same color as her wizened eyes, which peered up at Percy from almost a foot down from his own head level. The sensation was not too different from when he spoke with his mother, though Peitho appeared perhaps a decade older and several shades more tan.

Rather than lean towards the stereotypical or risqué, as one might expect in Aphrodite's house, the minor goddess had chosen an ensemble that was practical above all else. The apron was hardy and flexible, good for allowing movement, absorbing moisture, or keeping off dust. There were no frills on the darker blouse, or on the long skirt that ended just above a pair of pragmatic black chelsea boots with a heel that was maybe an inch on a good day.

Honestly, had you not known her specific domain was 'persuasion', Peitho's appearance might have had you off guard. It was Aphrodite's whispers in Percy's head that made him aware that the persuasion in question was much more than the physical kind, but often the mental and emotional sort that was much more cunning. And dangerous.

Peitho was smirking at him, hiding the expression behind a layer of strict professionalism. Perhaps the only reason Percy was able to pierce it was his shared memory from the woman's employer. Her hands were clasped behind her back respectfully as they regarded each other.

"Sure." Percy couldn't hold the amused snort that came from his lips. He pushed himself towards the edge of the pool. "We talked this morning." Percy stepped onto the solid ground with a shake of his head, the tiles underfoot glowing with the motion. "And you never forget anything."

While he called it a 'talk', it had been more like a surprise ambush. Percy had barely left his suite when a gaggle of cleaning staff swept past inside him fast enough to have his eyes spinning. Standing at the rear of the group was perhaps the person Percy had both hoped and dreaded to see, looking identical to how the man always knew she would.

Peitho had practically accosted him, but with verbal politeness and far too much head bowing instead of anything violent. Percy's own introduction had been stammering, uncomfortable by the respect in the woman's tone. If the fact that he was clearly hiding how well he already knew her put Peitho off, the sky bearer couldn't tell.

"Lying never suited you, My Lord," she had said, features set firmly. "I can see through your betrothed just as well, so don't bother trying." Percy had been left gaping. Peitho had taken the moment to hand him a baked English muffin on a tray she had been concealing behind her back, slathered in butter and ambrosia just how Aphrodite liked it. "Perhaps eating will get you to close your jaw, young master." And with that she was gone, heels loud against the marble floor.

The sky bearer didn't know how she had done it, but the barrier between them had been shattered both instantly and completely unexpectedly. In the end Aphrodite's oldest and most trusted friend treated Percy as if she had been his Housekeeper for hundreds of years, which she practically had been. That had been a great relief as well as a source of mild confusion paired with a bit of stress. How far did the knowledge of his affliction run?

The Peitho currently standing in front of Percy had a twinkle in her umber eyes and hands folded behind her waist. "You flatter me, My Lord." The woman's posture dipped not a single degree as her body was engulfed by Percy's thick green aura. "Forgive an old woman for her foibles." The ever-present breeze that followed the son of Poseidon around stirred the edges of her clothes, but not one strand of hair escaped her bun.

"Old?" Percy chuckled despite himself. "You're a thousand years younger than Aphrodite." When the woman brought her hands around, there was a fluffy pink towel in her grasp. "No thanks." The sky bearer waved it away with a hand, though he was a bit touched by the thought.

"Of course." The towel disappeared back into whatever pocket dimension the Housekeeper hid behind her back.

The banter wasn't exactly easy, but it wasn't horrible either. Percy found himself feeling bad for how terrible his conversations with his own mother had been at first. After his talk with his new fiancé two days ago, Percy was committed to reaching out and taking the bull by the horns.

The bull being life, in this case.

Still, his new approach to confronting his memories head on rather than avoiding them had cheered Sally's disposition significantly. That was all the evidence the sky bearer needed to know he had made the right decision.

Realizing he was festering in his thoughts, Percy took a look around to distract himself. The surrounding beach chairs were empty, stretching a few rows deep from the edges of the massive pool. Several spots were shaded by both the cyprus trees that ringed each section of the courtyard as well as white standing umbrellas decorated in swirling red hearts. All in all, another perfect day for the home of the gods.

Even from several dozen yards away Percy could hear the burbling of the hot tubs, smell the chlorine. More than a football field away to his left he could feel the lawn's cut grass stirring gently in the wind. There were no other staff in sight. The man knew that 10 a.m. was a standard time between shifts as the manor transitioned from breakfast protocols to preparing for lunch.

The slight creases in Peitho's face stood out in ultra-high definition when Percy looked back the woman's way. She possessed features that made it clear that she would have been completely stunning ten or twenty mortal years ago, faded to a sort of pleasant maturity that still had the power to set younger tongues wagging. Were he not engaged to the literal most beautiful being on the planet Percy might have found it more tempting to stare. She was watching him with increasingly amused eyes.

"Did you need something?" The man winced after realizing they had been standing in silence for nearly half a minute straight.

"My Lady has invited you for brunch, My Lord." Peitho still had that same damned teasing tilt to her tone. "It is being prepared as we speak and will be delivered to the training grounds as requested." Peitho dipped the crown of her head a degree, hands still folded behind her back. "I was tasked to retrieve you. At your leisure, of course." The spark in her gaze made Percy suspicious about whether or not the whole thing wasn't her idea in the first place.

"The training grounds?" The young god brushed Riptide's outline with a few fingers, suddenly a bit more animated. The tops of the surrounding trees rustled with his excitement. It's not like he had gotten anywhere on his own today, after all. And food did sound appealing, at least from his taste buds' point of view.

"Indeed." There was definitely a smirk on the older woman's face now. "I can escort you now, if you are ready. Afterward I shall inquire with your mother as well. Any requests from the kitchen?"

"No." Percy shook his head, his thoughts running ahead of his mouth. "And I know the way, thanks."

"Of course, My Lord." Peitho dipped into a curtsy that would have made it into the pages of a textbook a couple hundred years ago. With that the woman turned sharply on one heel and click-clacked her way towards the closest manor entrance, the bottom of her sharply ironed skirt waving in the wind.

"Huh." Now that Percy was standing by himself, it was hard to believe that this was what his life had become. Servants waiting on his every word, the power of two Olympians at his disposal. He took a moment to gaze around the opulent courtyard, taking it all in again. "Well, better get to it."

The sky bearer turned in the opposite direction, wandering his way through the rows of chairs towards the gap between the wings of the manor that led to the wider lawn. Percys lackluster words pretended that they weren't excited for what was to come, but the opposite couldn't have been more true. A few steps in and he was already practically power-walking.

The son of Poseidon could feel the ticking clock of the engagement party over his head at all times - four days, then three, now two. When he first entered Aphrodite's property he hadn't been able to do anything other than sleep. Now he couldn't find a wink of rest. It was good he didn't really have a need for it anymore.

Percy's next stop on Olympus proper would mean more than just a dinner and a dance. It would be his first encounter with the other Olympians as, theoretically, their equal. It would mean looking Artemis in the eyes again. It would mean confronting Hades, talking with his father, enduring the stares and glares of Athena and Ares respectively.

Gods, the Fates had called him a 'king'. He didn't know the least thing about ruling anything, let alone things as important as every river on the planet.

That thought had Percy grimacing as he made his way further towards the tantalizing stretch of green grass he could see past the courtyard tiles. Each footstep echoed heavily against either wing of the manor, despite the vast distance between the two branching arms of Aphrodite's abode. Trailing behind his form was a white mist identical to the clouds that followed him overhead.

There were birds on the roof again, forms silhouetted by the sun. Their heads seemed to turn and follow him, an illusion echoed by the marble statues that stood every several dozen feet. A circular gold locket thumped against the sky bearer's sternum with every step. Percy's thoughts returned to the coming party as he crossed the adorable stone footbridge over the tiny stream that cut the courtyard in half. A few cheerful tendrils of water splashed up at his passing.

Not only was the occasion in two days a private affair, but a public one too. There would be minor gods there. Demigods. People he may have known, friends and enemies alike. He needed to get control of his domains, and quickly. Being a son of Poseidon was no longer good enough.

That was why he was so excited to get to the training grounds. Percy stopped his hands from self-consciously checking the creases of his shirt or the fluffiness of his hair. Yep, there was no other reason to be in a hurry. None at all. Certainly not one with red-black hair and pink-brown eyes and a smile that had his heart twisted in knots.

It wasn't as if Percy and Aphrodite hadn't seen each other over the past few days, but it felt more like she was a particularly flirty roommate rather than his betrothed. The son of Poseidon expected that was because the love goddess was allowing him space to come to grips with everything, which was appreciated. That played well with the fact that Percy wasn't sure exactly how he wanted to push the relationship forward anyway. Each interaction felt more like they were testing out a bunch of tiny, successive lines in the sand to see what he was comfortable with.

What that didn't allow for was darker, important conversations about the war and the state of things outside the manor. Percy had been doing well recently, and he wasn't sure how willing he was to upset that rhythm. What if all the other children of prophecy were dead? Finding out if that was the truth would probably send him back into another poorly-timed mental spiral, which wasn't something he currently had the luxury to afford. Admitting to that weakness stung, but not as much as having his whole emotional stability upended again.

Was it healthy to run away in such a manner? Probably not. But Percy certainly wasn't a psychologist and he didn't know what else to do. He had other, more pressing problems. After the party they would talk. That was his promise to himself.

Percy's pace increased as he shook himself from his thoughts, again, before stuttering as he passed by a particularly reflective window. The face that gazed back was square and handsome, with a tiny bit of stubble that stood out around his jaw. The young god caught his own sea-green eyes. Should he shave? His facial hair hadn't really grown since he had regained his freedom but surely he should have-

The ashen-haired man nearly slapped himself to wrench free from that thought. Percy put a foot firmly into the ground and picked up the pace towards the lawn. He didn't notice the deep shoe-shaped impression he left behind.

"What are you, twelve?" Percy hissed the words to himself. The swirling gale in his stomach felt suspiciously like a swarm of butterflies at the moment. He could feel himself blushing as he passed through the wide gap between the ends of the east and west wings.

Stretching before him was a wide field, interspersed with auxiliary buildings of varying sizes. A cheerful cool breeze sent the grass underfoot waving hypnotically as far as the distant edge of the property. The sound was a relaxing swish-swish that undercut Percy's anxiety.

The man headed towards the largest, a still impressive two-story structure flanked by both a dirt race-track and a long archery range. Percy caught sight of a few purple-clad staff out on the far end of the range, one setting up a bullseye target onto the front of a large hay bale. The young god's newly exceptional eyesight could have picked out each strand of hair on any of the figure's heads. He considered waving, but they seemed pretty focused.

Aphrodite was waiting for him outside the front entrance. The man could feel her before he spotted her, see the wafting pink in the air before her physical form was revealed. Just as she always did, the personification of beauty had all of Percy's spit drying up in his mouth.

"Good morning, mon rêve!" The goddess was standing in front of a wide set of double doors. Her rose-chocolate eyes sparkled as much as her wide, perfect smile. "I am so glad to see you."

Before Percy could get his wits together, Aphrodite had jumped forward and pressed her lips to either side of his face. Percy thought that a traditional French greeting didn't involve actually kissing the other person, yet the warm shivers that erupted across his form were a testament to the fact that the love deity didn't seem to care.

Well, consider that line in the sand officially crossed and covered. He had no doubt the goddess could feel how hot his skin became. When she pulled back, Aphrodite popped out one hip in a stance that seemed tailor-made to allow his eyes the nicest possible view.

And what a view it was.

Percy would have to go back in time and personally thank whoever invented leggings and sports bras. That soft pink bottom and a chocolate-brown top were more than borderline sinful. Each tan dip and curve was showcased so well she might have been strutting down a runway in Paris. Even the goddess' bare shoulders and arms were distracting. Good gods, he could see part of her backside from her front side!

The sky bearer was pretty sure he knew why Aphrodite was wearing such an outfit, and it certainly wasn't because she was going to work up much of a sweat. The fiery spark in her eyes made that much very clear. For the first time Aphrodite had pulled her impressive dark-red waves of hair into a ponytail, the black and pointy end of which brushed against the back of her thighs in the breeze. It was as if Aphrodite was using his title as 'god of foxes' to very literally inform that fashion statement.

"Good morning, Aphy." Percy wasn't sure how the words managed to come out any sort of understandable. He almost fumbled the nickname, but its use earned him a grateful smile. "Training?"

Aphrodite seemed to be holding back giggles. "Oui. Peitho suggested the idea of starting early, since I had already planned for it this afternoon." He knew it. 'Minor god playing wingwoman' was apparently something Percy had to watch out for. Although . . . maybe he didn't mind. His mother certainly did that enough already.

Instead of leading Percy inside as he expected, the love goddess turned to float towards the archery range. "With the party a mere two days away, it seemed an appropriate time to begin such things." She added. "Brunch will be delivered shortly, but we can begin now." Aphrodite shot a look over her shoulder. Percy quickly wrenched his gaze upward. The goddess merely winked and turned her head back around.

"You may look, mon coeur. I can assure you that I do not mind." Her sentence was punctuated by a little extra shake of her hips that had Percy's entire head blushing red. Despite her words the man most assuredly did not look as Aphrodite approached the covered shooting line.

"How are you adjusting to the manor?" Her question was posed as lightly as the breeze. It was followed once again by the goddess' peering back at him with sparkling eyes.

"Okay." There was Percy's favorite word again. The sky bearer took the chance to glance around, distracting himself by admiring the sun's sheen across the grass. "I mean, it feels like I've lived here forever. So." He shrugged. It was mostly the truth, but Percy didn't feel like talking about his own demons very much at the moment. Percy ignored the spectral voice of his mother in his head that chided him for hiding his feelings.

"I'm glad." Aphrodite stopped and turned as they reached their destination, form shaded by a basic wooden roof turned fancy with the amount of delicate carvings on its pillars. Her smile was nearly blinding.

Percy stepped up beside the goddess, only realizing his hands had grabbed and uncapped Riptide when the gleaming blade sprung into his hand. He cast his gaze over the extended gap between their position and the set up targets, noting that the elusive staff members had vanished.

"What are we doing?" He asked, dubious.

The setup was not exactly conducive to the sort of thing Percy had been imagining. When the sky bearer had ventured out this far yesterday he had entered the building to find a stereotypical armory and various sizes of wooden dummies to fight. It had been his first test with Riptide that he could remember. It performed flawlessly.

The motions had been strange at first, but once Percy got into the flow of things he found his body and the blade weaving from form to form with a practiced ease that was a far more effective meditation than sitting at the bottom of a pool. Whether that was from the young god's domains or engrained muscle memory was up for debate. It simply . . . happened. Each thrust, each hypothetical counter was punctuated by the singing of his chosen weapon.

Either way, there hadn't been much left of the dummies when he left. Percy still felt a bit guilty about it, but not bad enough that he wouldn't do it again today.

"I'm afraid to disappoint." Percy found the hand holding Riptide turned away by a couple ghostly fingers. Aphrodite tilted her head, skin sparkling even out of the sun. "But it is not your swordsmanship that is most in need of attention, non?" She was right, but that didn't mean he liked it.

"I guess." Percy grumped. Aphrodite's replying snort was both apologetic and amused.

It was almost painful to cap the sword-pen and stuff it back in his pocket. Much like being around the love goddess, Percy found his body almost addicted to the sensation of the grip in his hands, to the shine off the blade. Either Riptide or his ring were almost constantly being played with whenever the man's fingers were idle. Percy wasn't sure where all of this restless energy had suddenly come from.

"I believe that the current issue at hand is your grasp over your aura." Aphrodite crossed her wrists behind her back. "It took me several years to learn to wrestle mine under control when I was young, you see." The goddess' expression was dangerous as she leaned close to his chest. "Did you know, mon cher, that mortals used to climax spontaneously whenever I drew near?" The expression on her face was as alluring as the increased view down the front of her bra. There was almost too much smooth, tan skin for his brain to even process.

"Um. No." Percy was blushing again, fighting the urge to adjust the front of his pants. "I didn't know that."

"Hmm." The goddess eyes narrowed playfully before she finally relented and backed out of his personal space. "You shouldn't have that exact problem, I don't imagine, but there is something similar. Regarder- Watch."

The goddess held up a closed fist. When her slender fingers opened, a burst of rose petals flew from her palm. They were the same dark red color as Aphrodite's eyes. The two Olympians watched as the delicate things caught the air, swirling around and around Percy like he had the gravity of a miniature star. One softly alighted on his left cheek.

"Yeah." Percy shifted on his feet, brushing the thing away with the back of one hand. It rejoined its brothers and sisters in orbiting his torso. "I noticed that. Leakage, right?" He wasn't sure what new information she was getting at. If anyone noticed how oddly the air and clouds behaved around him it certainly was himself. The ever-present shifting of the grass around them was evidence enough.

"Indeed." Aphrodite's smile turned more real and less teasing. "But I must confess that my quick explanation yesterday left out some important facts you may find helpful, malheureusement."

"Like what?" Percy perked a curious eyebrow.

"How to reduce it, for one." The goddess shrugged nonchalantly.

"Oh." He blinked. "Yeah."

"Si adorable." The goddess laughed. "I could just eat you up, my love." The hungry glint to her eyes made it clear she wasn't joking.

Percy swallowed thickly and glanced away. Aphrodite's mansion rose in the distance, its marble white a stark contrast to the blue sky above and the green grass below. The view was shining and majestic like something out of a painting.

"So what do I do?" The sky bearer was quick to move the conversation along. He dared a peek back at Aphrodite, who was smirking again.

"I'm no Athena, but I shall do my best to explain." With the way the love deity straightened, Percy was struck with the urge to start taking notes. "First, dearest, do you remember the contents of your proclamation?"

"All of it." The words of the Fates seemed burned into his psyche. Unconsciously Percy's right hand started fiddling with the band around his left ring finger. The swirling of the mist around the young god's form grew agitated.

"Good." Aphrodite tipped her head to one side. Her eyes briefly glanced down, and the roaming rose petals vanished into nothingness. "I don't think I need to tell you, mon coeur, that the words of the Fates hold a great significance." Percy shook his head in reply. "As such, the specific terms they decide to use can affect a great many things." The goddess swayed a bit from side to side, words picking up in pace.

"Okay." That made sense to Percy. Remembering the way his skin bubbled under their power was less than pleasant. The ring was twisting harshly against his knuckle.

"For example." The goddess held up one pointer finger, the nail painted the same color as Percy's shirt. "The word 'King' and the words 'Saint' or 'Personification'." Her white teeth sparkled as she smiled at him. "There is a difference, oui?"

"Yeah?" Okay, now Percy was becoming a bit lost.

Aphrodite's face fell a bit. "Hmm." She mused out loud, eyes narrowing. "This may be less effective than I hoped. I suppose you might be a . . . physical learner." She winked at him again. Just like the first time, all Percy could do was stand and blush. Thankfully, the goddess moved on and reduced his misery.

"Are you aware of my domains, dearest?" Aphrodite bounced a bit on the balls of her sneaker-clad feet. The motion had what could be called an interesting effect on certain bits of the goddess' anatomy. Percy forced himself to focus on her words instead. "Don't feel shy, now. Pas de mauvaises réponses."

"Love?" He hazarded. Despite her words it felt like a bit of a trap question. "Beauty. Lust. Those sorts of things." Percy's implanted memories hadn't gone back quite that far in Aphrodite's history but it felt like a good guess.

"Very close." The goddess smiled. "Officially, my major domains include beauty, love, desire, passion, pleasure, and fertility." Her grin turned sharp. "Lust was a worthy inclusion, however. J'aime ça- I like it." Aphrodite seemed to shake herself back to reality. "I digress. What's more important here are the specific titles attached to each."

"Major domains?" Percy latched onto the phrase.

"A lesson for another time, mon coeur." The goddess giggled at his excitement. The sound warmed his chest. "Let us focus on two for now. Love and fertility should do nicely."

The goddess held up both hands, one to each side with her palms facing up. Over her left, a tiny heart appeared floating in the air. When Percy looked at the other side he found what looked to be a miniature diagram of a womb.

"When I first arrived on Olympus, the Fates declared me the overseer of fertility-" Aphrodite raised her right hand before dropping it. "And the personification of love. A bit confusing, je sais." Her left hand rose the second time, the small heart cheerfully beating away. "Here is the distinction I learned."

Both images disappeared as Aphrodite dropped her arms. Percy was standing at rapt attention. Even his fingers had stilled their constant movement.

"Being the king or overseer of something means commanding it. You've experienced this for yourself, I believe." Aphrodite's gaze was warm. "Your father is the king of the sea and ruler of storms." That was a specific distinction Percy hadn't known. "When you manipulate water, what is the sensation like?" She waited patiently for his response.

"I don't know." He hadn't really thought about it before. "It just . . ." Percy could feel his eyebrows furrowing deeply. "I want it to do something and it does." That was the core of the frustration. The wind never seemed to listen. Even now he could feel it swirling, but any attempt at grasping it ended in failure.

"A correct enough assumption for a demigod, but not for an Olympian." Aphrodite's expression was more patient than Percy's own. "When I exercise my domain over fertility, I command." The goddess' hands worked a bit in front of her chest as Aphrodite searched for her words. "When I receive a prayer or sacrifice, I ask the woman's body to be fertile or sterile. Because I am the overseer of that domain, it does as I say." She seemed to settle on that particular course of explanation. "I am not each individual cell or nerve or hormone in her body that makes it so. Just as your father cannot be every single water droplet in the sea." The goddess rolled her eyes. "Dieux, I hate science. But the point remains."

". . .Okay." Percy was still with her. Maybe.

Aphrodite's face grew exasperatedly fond for a moment, clearly seeing through his reply. "Let us contrast, then. As the personification of love I do not command. Instead I am." The love deity's gaze bounced between either of Percy's eyes. "There is no need for a push and pull, for ask and reply. It is a particularly unique situation for direct descendants of the Primordials."

Percy wasn't with her any more. "Why do we use 'god' so much, then?"

"It's simpler, mon coeur." He received a small shrug in response. "Olympians can end up holding dozens of titles, all with very specific semantic differences. You are already well on your way to such a number. The term 'god' or 'titan' is more of a divine status, a title of bloodline rather than anything specific." The goddess tipped her head to one side, a bit of humor in her eyes. "For anyone not actively learning to be a deity it's not often worth the hassle to differentiate."

"Just my luck." Percy grumbled. The urge to uncap Riptide again just to keep his hands occupied was itching at the back of his skull. Aphrodite gave him a sympathetic smile as silence settled back on the pair. There were ghostly whispers in the distance.

Eventually the stunning love deity thought of a new direction for her teachings. "Perhaps it would be helpful to think of this hierarchy: minor gods represent, Olympians rule, and those above simple are. Titans personify specific phenomena or concepts. Primordials embody much more." Her face lit up. "It is as I described with Ouranos, oui? He is the heavens. He does not command the heavens. Comprendre?" There were several long beats of quiet, enough where the goddess began swaying again.

"So." Percy drew the word out while his brain chugged along. "When I control water, it's listening to me and deciding to do what I ask." There was a twisted sort of logic there. He had definitely felt that 'push and pull' Aphrodite had mentioned.

In front of Percy the goddess breathed out a great sigh of relief. Whether it was for him or herself the man couldn't tell. He chose to not be offended.

"Why can I do what I can with it, then?" That was the young god's next question. If the water was only under his command, why could Percy breathe it? Sense it and the things contained within it? That didn't make much sense.

"Hmm." Aphrodite's swirling eyes narrowed. The end of her long ponytail was waving leisurely in the wind. "Think of each particle as a particularly willing subject. They do as you command of their own accord. You ask them to move and they do so. When there is an intruder in their midst, they tell you. Oui?" Even the love goddess was looking a bit put out by her own words.

"And that's not how I am with the wind." Percy was resisting the urge to pace by fidgeting with his hands. "I'm a personification." If what Aphrodite was saying was true, then that meant . . . well, a lot of things. "And my problem is that I'm currently asking the wind instead of just, I guess, being it?"

The sentence made about as much sense coming out of the man's mouth as it did in his head. Was Percy supposed to believe that Atlas was strength, then? When he turned that thought over a couple of times it actually fit better than he expected.

"Parfait." Aphrodite clapped her hands in a pleased fashion. "Perfect."

"But how do I be the wind?" Percy dropped his chin, a frown edging over his face. "And how does that help solve my problem?" It seems his brain held a deep dislike for such abstract conundrums. The man was quickly developing a headache.

"I'll answer the latter, if you'll allow me." The love deity sucked her cheek in on one side. "Because you are the wind and the wind is you, my love, you may have found that you are both everywhere all at once and also only in one spot." She shook her head. "I imagine it's disorienting at times."

Percy shrugged. "Seeing and feeling in every direction is a bit strange." That was an understatement. The little joke was partially to hide his own frustration yet it earned him a dazzling smile anyway.

"It is the same with the clouds, non? I've seen your body spawning such fog on several occasions." Aphrodite added. As if spoken into existence, the light outside dimmed a single degree as something obscured the sun.

"Because I am clouds." Wow. That was a strange thing to say out loud.

"Precisely. 'Personification' titles are the most important and also the most powerful for a Titan." The goddess took it completely in stride. "Learn to accept and control those two domains and your presence should diminish significantly, love. When you will it, anyway. Une chose utile."

"Yeah, I get that." Percy wasn't lying. That part he understood. "And what about the rest?" Words like 'embodiment', 'lord', or 'saint' probably all had their own distinct meanings. What a pain.

Aphrodite shrugged, unbothered by her bethrothed's grimace. "I imagined that we would start as soon as next week, mon coeur. We both have an eternity for you to learn, after all." Percy couldn't ignore the warmth that flickered in his core at that sentiment.

"So. Being the wind." Percy pushed down the butterflies, forcing himself back to the main issue at hand. "How do I do it?" The sky bearer's fingers traced the outline of Riptide in his pocket, even as his other hand buried itself in his hair.

Now Aphrodite was the one wincing. "Une bonne question. That is the true issue." The goddess tipped her head. "I thought it might prove useful to work on a certain specific task rather than generalized control."

She waved a hand at the targets at the far end of the field, which Percy had completely forgotten even existed. The bullseyes were rather small from this distance to mortal eyes, but Percy could practically feel every strand of straw behind the paper as if it was lying in the palm of his hand.

"Pick an object. Anything you desire I can provide, mon grand. The goal is to strike the target using nothing but one of your personified domains." The goddess shot him a sideways look. "I would suggest the winds. It seems more suited to such a task."

"I've tried doing stuff like this already." Percy couldn't help either the growl that leaked into his tone or the way the soil rattled beneath their feet. Aphrodite raised a thin eyebrow. He sighed, slumping. "A pebble would be fine."

The goddess merely smirked and held out her hands. In her combined palms, a batch of perfectly rounded stones appeared. "I would have chosen something . . . more dignified. Diamonds, perhaps?" Aphrodite's faux haughty voice revealed the tease for what it was as she flicked her ponytail with a jerk of the head.

Percy snorted. His brain was too focused on glaring at the pile of rocks to come up with a witty reply. The conundrum ran over and over in his head. How do you be the wind? What would that even mean? Gods, this was too complicated. And this was only one of his domains!

Stabbing a wooden dummy was so much easier.

Automatically Percy went to do what he normally did. The sky bearer pulled on that heavy sensation in his gut while staring at his ammunition intently. As expected, there was no response. The wind around his form refused to even change direction. He furrowed his brows.

"Don't ask." The man didn't even realize he had mumbled the thought out loud. Aphrodite gave him a supportive head bob. For several excruciating minutes, the two stood in place.

Silently.

Motionlessly.

The goddess of love started when Percy finally raised a hand, outstretched fingers nearly touching her own. He could somehow feel the glowing green storm behind his irises. The sky bearer visualized reaching out, plucking one of the pebbles, and flinging it across the field. Instead of actually performing the motion Percy imagined the wind doing it for him. It felt closer, but still not like the right answer. The man growled under his breath.

"A word of advice, Percy?" Aphrodite's voice was soft yet affectionate. The young god found her swirling eyes waiting for his own when he glanced upward. "Being a deity is a matter of will. Desire. Volonté." The goddess' words were full of that sort of religious fervor only she seemed to be able to generate. "The world bends because we make it so. That is especially true for those with Primordial ties such as ourselves." She tilted her head up towards his face, her expression enraptured. "The wind does not move because you are strong enough to wield it or because you are its master. The wind blows because to do so is in its very nature. It must."

To a mortal that probably wouldn't have made much sense. In Percy's logical brain, Aphrodite's advice was nonsense. Throwing a pebble was easy to calculate mathematically. The stone lifted because you were strong enough to overcome the gravity pulling at it. That's how things worked. How they had always worked.

But to some other, deeper part of Percy the words resonated. It was that piece of him that was no longer human, those exposed nerves that the Fates' string had opened to the world. During his episodes the air swirled not because the young god was moving it nervously. It was because it was nervous. There was no distinction, no matter what his human perception of reality tried to create.

It was how Percy could crush stone and yet that same strength could never harm his mother. It wasn't because his hands were any less strong, but because he wanted them not to. The mountain moved, the marble crumbled, and the universe acquiesced because he willed it so.

At that moment Percy came to a new understanding. The only true limits to a deity were those of blood and conviction. Percy was heir to one of the greatest pools of divine willpower to have ever existed, infused with a partial soul of a Primordial. What good was that if he didn't use it?

The son of Poseidon sank within himself, not avoiding the green fire in his core but rather embracing it for a brief moment. It was that same strength that had held up the sky, that same rage that had defeated Kronos. He didn't try to ask, he didn't demand. For one beautiful moment him and the blaze simply were.

The sky bearer abandoned his logical reasoning and stared at the top-most pebble. The pebble wouldn't move if he imagined the wind doing it for him. The wind was him. It was no different than using his physical arm or fingers. So, what did Percy do? It was simple.

He moved it.

With a rushing howl, the wind around his form rushed into action. A spike of moving air, so fast it threatened to bring down the roof, impacted the back of the pebble. All of the gas in front of the thing disappeared in a single microsecond, creating a vacuum that instantly collapsed with a crack louder than a gunshot.

The tiny stone exploded from Aphrodite's palm, so fast that it would have been a blur to mortal eyes. Percy hadn't been able to summon the control to aim it, so the tiny thing merely spat off into the sky as if shot from a rocket. Along its trajectory all of the grass was forcefully bent to either side.

Percy tracked it up and up until eventually even his heightened senses lost it in the heavens. Some of the wispy clouds high above swirled aggressively for a moment before settling. Aphrodite was standing stock still with a startled expression. She seemed almost as stunned as he did.

"Woah." The word breathed from Percy's lips against his will. "I didn't eve- urgh." A sudden rush of nausea assaulted the sky bearer. His vision grayed a bit at the edges, pain blossoming in one side. Percy nearly fell over, footing unsteady.

Pebbles clattered to the grass as Aphrodite sprung forward to grab at his torso. It took Percy a few moments to regain his feet, the flame in his core flickering out of his control.

"Careful, love! Prudent!" The goddess' hands patted his shoulders, chest, and cheeks with fluttering, worried touches. "When I asked you to throw the pebble I did not mean that!" Her ponytail waved angrily in the breeze, a physical representation of Aphrodite's stress.

"Too much?" Percy had to swallow a couple of times to keep the sick sensation from crawling up his throat. The words came out a bit forced.

"Yes!" She exclaimed. Once the goddess was satisfied he wasn't going to fall over, she slapped a hand over her forehead. "Dieux! You're not ready for those levels of power yet, love. It's no wonder the backlash hit so quickly." The goddess wiped her face with her hand. "Peut-être que vous êtes un peu trop puissant!" With the angry way those words were delivered it was clear Percy wasn't supposed to understand them.

"Sorry." The man couldn't help the sheepish look to his face, especially once he no longer felt like throwing up. The goddess looked genuinely stressed, regal features twisted in displeasure.

"What in the Gods' name was that?!"

Percy's sensitive ears caught the distant sound of rushing feet. When he turned around, two rapidly growing forms were running across the grass. The one in front, and the figure who had presumably shouted, was his mother. The second, somehow perfectly balancing a tray of steaming brunch on one hand, was Peitho.

"Percy! Aphrodite!" As she drew nearer, it became increasingly clear that the elder Jackson was not pleased.

"Oh." Percy's eyebrows nearly rocketed off his head when he heard Aphrodite's voice come out so small. When he turned around, he dared say that the goddess looked a tad nervous. "Perhaps I should have informed your mother what the nature of our practice would entail."

"You didn't tell her?!" Percy's tone shot to an octave higher than normal.

"I did not think you would . . . you would do something like that!" His fiancé hissed back. The two glared at each other for several tense seconds before the goddess burst out into musical giggles. "Look at us, Percy!" Aphrodite tilted her head back to laugh out loud. "Arguing like two naughty children!"

Percy couldn't answer. He was busy staring at the goddess and trying really, really, really hard to bury the part of his mind that desperately wanted to kiss her.

"Pardon the interruption, My Lord and Lady." Despite running at an impressive pace the Housekeeper didn't sound winded in the slightest as she drew near. "Brunch has arrived." Peitho's eyes flickered between the two Olympians, a pleased expression growing beneath her professional façade.

"What in the world is going on here?" Sally's active lifestyle was paying off as she skid to a halt in front of her son. The woman's sweatpants and graphic tee were ruffled and sweaty. "What was that noise?" Her gaze skewered Percy in his spot.

"We are simply training-" Aphrodite's mouth closed faster than a bear trap when the irate mother's eyes turned her way.

"Um." Percy was sweating more than his mother at this point. "We really were training." He fumbled the words a bit.

"Training what?" Sally's eyes narrowed, foot tapping into the grass. "How to break the sound barrier?"

"This, actually."

Percy was rather pleased by his snappy comeback. He was doubly so when, with a not so insignificant amount of concentration, he reached out and lifted the tray of plates from Peitho's hands. Not with his hands, but with the air itself.

The connection to that inner flame was imperfect, strained. The thing was a bit wobbly on a couple of platforms of swirling wind, but the silver tray nevertheless floated into Sally's field of vision. The woman's jaw dropped.

"Percy?" Her question came out stunted as she reached out to tap at the tray. It stuttered in place but stayed afloat after Percy gave it a little bit extra concentration.

The sensation was so similar to holding it in his own palm that it almost completely threw him off. The young god wasn't sure he could have described it in words, even if he tried. Percy twitched as one of Aphrodite's ghostly thumbs smoothed out the deepening crease between his brows.

"Remarkable." The goddess breathed at his side. "To learn so quickly." Her tone was hot and heavy in a way that had Sally glancing over suspiciously.

"Well done, My Lord." Peitho sounded rather proud. The tan woman folded her arms politely behind her back as she strode up beside Percy's mother. Yet again, that tight black bun had remained completely flawless.

"Thanks." The word came out grunted. "Could you take the tray, though?" With snake-like speed the Housekeeper took back control of the brunch. Percy breathed out a sigh of relief, the building strain in his gut dying down.

"Alright." Sally grudgingly acquiesced after the show of power. "That was pretty cool, Percy." Her son had rarely smiled so wide as he did at that moment.

"Might I suggest a meal before more training, My Lord and Lady?" Peitho flourished the lid away with a practiced motion. She revealed several toasted sandwiches, fancier than any Percy could have ever put together himself. Two were coated in golden ambrosia, the third without. "A full stomach leads to a keen mind."

"Well put as always, Peitho." Aphrodite reached out to snag one of the dusted foodstuffs. The bite she took was dainty as a ballerina's pirouette.

"Okay." The sky bearer followed suit. Percy's first mouthful was far less dignified, but he did his best to make it controlled and not sloppy. "But after that I want to practice more."

"Eager?" Sally took her plain sandwich with a raised eyebrow.

Percy nodded emphatically, swallowing. "I only have two days to get this right." The sentence came out a bit more nervous than he intended. Still, the path to improvement had opened up. That was a great and welcome relief.

"Have you given any thought to what you will wear to the party, young master?" Peitho's words stopped Percy's hands in their tracks. "It is a highly important function, especially for a newly proclaimed deity." He didn't like the look in her eyes.

The sky bearer had barely glanced at the Housekeeper before a massive flare of power rushed across his skin. It was an intoxicating feeling, those spectral hands practically dragging his head back over to gaze at Aphrodite. The young god stiffened as a ghostly tongue ran along the edge of one ear before biting down gently on the top ridge. The sharp prick had Percy's body completely at attention.

"Oh, Peitho." The goddess' face was a mix between ravenous and needy. "What a wonderful idea. Tout simplement merveilleux. I'm afraid that my future husband finds himself somewhat unprepared in the clothes department."

There were flowing neon circles around Aphrodite's eyes as she pushed forward until she was standing against the sky bearer in what seemed to be her favorite position. The goddess' torso pressed into his own, that poor sports bra barely containing the way the goddess pillowed out of it.

She was soft. Too soft. Percy couldn't bring himself to move. One of her hands, real hands this time, dragged a set of nails up the outside of one thigh.

"What a shame, My Lady." Peitho smirked, completely unaffected. "It seems that My Lord shall need an outfit procured for him." Percy wanted to both scream for help and seize Aphrodite by the hips. What would happen after that was anyone's guess. "I suppose you shall do the honors?"

Sally slapped a hand over her face.

"What do you say, fiancé?" The goddess batted her soft eyelashes up at him. "Will you be mon mannequin for this evening?" Her fingers were treading into very, very dangerous territory. Percy swallowed and said the only thing that came to mind.

"Yes dear."