Looking at Camp Half Blood was hard.
Percy had been through a lot of hard things. He had lost his past life, accepted his new divine status, and tripped through so many political mind-fucks that he still wasn't quite sure his head was still screwed on straight. Oh, and that all was without mentioning the fact that he had held up the very bottom of the heavens themselves by himself. For six years.
Gazing upon the hidden valley was not that same sort of hard.
There was no muscle fatigue, no sharp stabbing pains, no hidden agendas or knives in the dark. It was a low, bone-deep sort of hard - the kind that suppressed the teal flame in his core rather than fueled it. There were little more than hot coals at the moment, jittering beneath Percy's skin like a restless canyon wind.
He couldn't muscle his way out of this one. The sky bearer almost wished he could have, but the sharpness of Riptide's blade was useless against this sort of enemy. Instead the son of Poseidon would have to content himself with a different arsenal, one consisting of the close warmth of the woman he loved and the thought of his mother waiting at home.
In some ways, that made him feel remarkably weak. In other ways, it made Percy feel strong.
"Its . . . big." He didn't even realize the words had escaped from his mouth until Aphrodite was nodding in agreement.
"It's larger than it was last you were here. By a significant margin, you see." The love deity, stunning as ever in her jeans and casual blouse, gently caressed Percy's ears with the low tone of her whisper. "N'ai pas peur- do not fear, my love. We shall see it all in due time." The way his goddess hung off his arm ensured that there was the maximum amount of body-to-body contact at all times. He didn't particularly mind.
"Yeah." Percy's voice came out wispy. "I guess we will." There wasn't much else to say.
What construction had been missing near the Sound were more than made up for when Lupa had turned and the young god had laid eyes on the actual body of the camp. Although, calling it 'camp' seemed to do the place a grave disservice. Any settlement that sported an honest to gods volcanic cliff-face parked casually in the center of an otherwise featureless grassy expanse deserved a higher title than that. What exactly that would be was still up for debate in Percy's head.
Even from the beach, the sky bearer had been able to make out the tops of several superstructures over the tree canopies. Things only became more impressive with unobstructed sight lines. There was so much more than just a couple works of impressive engineering and architecture.
The number of Greek columns within mortal eyesight alone was a bit staggering. They rose in clumps, always in groups of four or more. Some reached high into the sky, with great marble slab roofs at least two or more stories tall. The reaching, stone fingers acted like beacons to the eye. Ghostly afterimages dripped down their sides, coalescing across the ground like a thin fog only visible to Percy.
The whispers had only grown in volume. They were calling to him.
A slew of almost words, or not-quite language seeped through the sky bearer's ears and into his brain. It was the first time Percy could remember, since Othrys at least, that the voices had sounded so structured, so close to understandable. Each syllable had a different speaker, each tone unique in its haunting delivery.
I- pleas- just wa- aske-
"Here, darling." Aphrodite's voice was almost too soft to hear under the wailing in Percy's ears. A few phantom touches alighted on his knuckles, before the love deity's aura pried his grip from his jeweled band with slow, steady force. "Allow me." His goddess removed her top hand from where it rested on his bicep and smoothly threaded their fingers together. If the literal stone-crushing pressure bothered her, she didn't show it.
"Thanks." Percy managed to croak.
ercy- need to- claim- help-
Chiron looked back, attention drawn by the sky bearer's struggle. There was a deep crease between his bushy eyebrows. The young god couldn't meet the centaur's gaze because his own eyes couldn't stop looking, deeper and deeper into the center of the valley. Further and further Percy fell into the well of ghostly not-memories.
Past the towering black-rock cliff - the young god was still dimly questioning that - the road snaked next past one of the circles of the tall columns. The rising stone shadowed a copse of trees whose boughs curved over a small, contained area within. Percy's eyes could make out a raised stone platform in the center, surrounded by rows of ascending seats. It was an amphitheater. Even the word sent cold shivers down his spine.
Further past the trees there lay a wide, glimmering lake. The water had settled at the very bottom of the valley, naturally. Percy could feel the liquid calling to him, a gentle presence at the bottom of his gut. The lake's curves made the way the land pitched up towards the golden sheen in the sky all the more obvious. It was as if the earth itself was intent on hiding this little slice of ancient life. A mist of phantom faces floated just over the surface of the water.
They were looking at Percy. He merely squeezed Aphrodite's hand even tighter, forcibly held his aura back and breakfast down, and kept moving.
The lake, on a second examination, was barely big enough to have a harbor. The thing was little more than just a stone ramp down into the water flanked by a few floating platforms. There were several moving craft on the surface. Canoes, mostly, perhaps a dozen or so.
The main path split around the edge of the lake before reuniting on the other side. A second circle of columns shrouded a large eating area, half-shading a great number of tables. Several dozen identical white tablecloths sparkled in the sun. From there, Percy's view was obscured on the right by the woods everywhere else by a literal town's worth of buildings.
The oldest structures squatted in the heart of the valley, their age denoted by the grand manner of their construction and their taller rooflines. This 'town center' was arranged in an elongated U formation, one that looked suspiciously similar to a certain throne room on Olympus with a few pieces added. There was no way that wasn't intentional.
They made an eclectic bunch - one stood as a grand marble mausoleum, one sat covered in flowers and roofed with grass, and another had a massive boar's head pinned over the main doorway. The rest were equally as strange. All of them were dripping with shrouded memory, with the cabin covered in a rainbow of coral most of all.
Newer construction, mostly wood with some stone and possible cement mixed in, had sprung up around the central formation. They weren't flimsy, per say, but compared to the surety of the oldest cabins they certainly didn't catch the eye. Carved marble was replaced by the solid, mundane surety of carefully stacked logs. These were houses built out of necessity, assembled with safety and speed in mind. Aesthetics had been put to the wayside.
There was a staunch utilitarianism to the flow of the newer buildings. There were no great decorations to be found, other than a metal plate attached above the doorway with various words in what looked to be both Latin and Greek. Percy's superhuman eyes picked out the words unfailingly.
Some of the labels were decidedly normal, like a barber shop. Some bore nothing more than a single god's name - Mercury, Ceres, and strangely enough, just 'Apollo'. A couple of the larger buildings were adorned with military formation names, like '4th Cohort'. One read 'reserve armory', one 'laundry', and on and on. Unlike the strange horseshoe shape near the center, the more recent construction followed a strict grid system that made the large, snaking road that cut through the center feel winding and wasteful.
And, of course, with a great number of buildings it only made sense that there would be an even greater number of people, too. And that was . . . almost the case.
There must have been at least several hundred of them, maybe even more. The half-bloods were as diverse as the town they had built. Tall, short, thin, wide, and every shape in between with hair and skin of every color. They worked and talked and mingled, a swaying technicolor sea of life.
Some of the demigods were clearly adults, with mature frames and wizened faces. A small number were even older than that, with even a gray hair or two. A few had scars so prominent Percy could make them out from over a hundred yards away. A good number were young, like Eloise, barely old to sprint around the place without bumping into everything along the way.
The sky bearer's heart nearly stopped when one woman swept out of the 'laundry' building with an infant on her hip. The baby was still too young to have more than a couple tufts of fuzz on its tiny, round head. Percy hadn't really thought about the possibility of demigods having their own children. The sight was as precious as it was terrifying.
The young god observed a sort of unspoken buddy system, one only born from times of great danger. The half-bloods almost never moved alone. They flowed in pairs, triplets, sometimes quartets, but never solo. Where the smallest forms went a larger one always followed, keeping the children close to the middle of the pack and never too far away. None were allowed to stray anywhere close to the gold shimmer in the sky.
Of the demigod rainbow, two colors were the most prominent - a bright orange and deep, regal purple. The number of demigods wearing a shirt of one or the other seemed to outnumber those who didn't. Even the children had scaled down versions. Apparently long sleeves were out of style down here, because the tees were all identical save for the color and the letters across the chest.
The orange version had 'Camp Half Blood' in large black text sat above a small pictorial pegasus. The purple, by contrast, showcased 'SPQR' in gold surrounded by an embroidered laurel wreath. As he watched, Percy noticed that like tended to stick with like. Little packs of orange and purple roamed the camp, crossing paths but intermixing less than one might have expected. The children had the least regard for such a rule, as whatever distinguished the two groups seemed to matter little when tumbling through the street and chasing after one another with sticks and wooden practice swords.
Regardless of their shirt color, the population of half-bloods darted between buildings, ran in groups across the grass further out, clustered in the canoes on the lake. Above the town there were dark, swooping figures high in the air. When a pair clashed with a cascade of sparks Percy realized that it was pegasus jousting. The winged equines' larger forms banked slow but smooth, a stark contrast to the flitting birds that darted just over the low rooftops. This order, this society was something Percy somehow had not expected.
The sheer volume of the place was as deafening as the wailing it was generating. A good number of the demigods were covered by hazy shrouds of whisper and memory. Practically all were wearing orange. None of the memory fragments were as thick, as chokingly oppressive as Annabeth and Thalia and Grover's had been, but some figures bore enough shadows to trail in their wake like murmuring capes. Their voices were the loudest.
Just- could- now- if- find-
There were so many more people than Percy had expected. And yet? They were still too few.
There weren't enough little silhouettes to fill all the buildings, to banish the darkness from all the alleyways and put lights in every window. Some of the structures near the edges of the carefully planned neighborhoods stood empty. Their stillness implied that the occupants had moved closer to the middle of the camp, away entirely, or suffered some other unfortunate fate. The purple shirts outnumber the orange, yes, but not as much as the term 'city' would imply when compared to the word 'camp'.
Percy spotted dusty windows, untouched porch steps, missing signs for missing people. Each felt like a little needle pricking at his heart. They reminded him of the story of Michael and Selina. One gone, the other dead.
Still, no matter how the shadowy pallor clung to the town's edges, the center of Camp Half Blood radiated a sort of hard-won cheer. The demigods Percy watched still laughed, still smiled, still did chores and took walks. They played in the street or in the grass or on the lake. No matter how many buildings stood empty there was more than mere survival going on here, more than just a bunch of broken people picking up the pieces best they could.
No. Despite it all, this was living.
It was . . . good.
Something wet slid down Percy's face. Aphrodite's aura caught it with a smooth touch and whisked the tear away. The sky bearer didn't understand how he could be smiling and crying at the same time, but he didn't think he needed to. His goddess' fingers never ceased their little dance up and down his arm.
Things were more peaceful out past the edge of the camp proper. The relative quiet didn't mean the space was empty or unused - that couldn't have been further from the truth. Absorbing the sight let Percy keep his mind off the fact that a place where he had seemingly lived for several years was as familiar to him as the surface of another planet. Plus, moving his attention made the whispers die down. It was as if by not looking at the camp someone had turned down the volume dial.
There was no towering wall, no massive castle or sea-deep moat. Perhaps that's why Percy's brain hadn't really taken it in until that point. This wasn't Lord of the Rings, though, but real life. Instead, what the campers had built was unashamedly function over form. It was just like the way they had made their home. The construction was much more useful, and, as far as Percy could tell, far more effective.
It started with the ground gently sloping upwards towards the center of the great grassy field. The only clue that it was man-made was the fact that the road grew several shades lighter as it neared the top of the sloping hill, the color evidence that the original path lay long buried. From where Percy was standing, the ground level only a few dozen yards away was already as high as his knees. Were he still mortal, perhaps the young god would have noticed his steps getting progressively more difficult some time ago.
The sheer quantity of soil moved was astounding. The rise followed some invisible border, curving away only where it neared that strange, gold shimmer in the air to Percy's left. The hill died close to the edges of the woods on the other side. The sky bearer supposed that the thick forest made a suitable defense in its own right, especially if the hints of green skin and nymphish faces he spied through the underbrush were any indication.
The wide kill-field, for that's the only thing it could be, was bare of basically all vegetation. No bushes, no shrubs, and certainly nothing larger than that. As they walked Aphrodite subtly pointed out what had probably been an old tree-stump. The wood was shaved down so much that it was flush with the surrounding dirt.
"Impressive, is it not?" Lupa's growl made Percy's start with surprise. Her tone was mostly disinterested on the surface, but there was what could have been a spark of satisfaction underneath. "The legions carried out the plans as soon as we arrived." The wolf's great, lithe body moved with far more grace than was natural. The only evidence of Lupa's discomfort was the slightest hitch whenever her right rear paw landed on the ground.
"Plans drafted by a certain daughter of Athena you might know." By contrast, Chiron's clacking hooves loudly announce his presence. The centaur's gait was casual, his arms still folded behind (above?) his back. "With some help, of course." The sky bearer could hear the smile in his tone, tempered by something heavy and regretful. It made Percy question how much battle the now empty space had seen.
"My kind outnumber yours, centaur." Lupa scoffed. "Calling it 'help' is a disservice." There was a stubborn pride behind her words, same as the one held in the stiffness of her spine.
"There are no 'kinds' anymore, Lupa." Chiron firmly replied. His face was weary. "We both know that."
"You deal in idealism, centaur." The great wolf growled, sharp maw bared. "I deal in reality. Take away those silly colored shirts, then, and see what you get." Chiron had no reply. The exchange sounded like the sort that was had in one form or another at least a dozen times a day.
"It is." Percy interrupted, hoping to ward off the brewing argument. "Impressive, I mean." That seemed like the right thing to say. He was pleasantly surprised that his throat had been able to generate the words at all.
"Indeed." Aphrodite nodded, her words finally dismissing the little growing tension between their guides. Lupa's mouth shut with the click of teeth. "In the midst of much upheaval, as well." The love deity's hand was still entwined with Percy's. Her slim, delicate fingers squeeze in a gentle rhythm up and down his knuckles. "They make a resilient bunch, I've found." Aphrodite's perfect smirk was one of her gentle ones, the same kind she had worn when interacting with Eloise just a couple of days ago. "Present company once included, évidemment."
She added the last part with a gentle tap of her hip to Percy's thigh, identical to the bumps they had started sharing on their walk across the beach. The motion was rapidly becoming yet another new little tradition that held a great part of his heart completely captive. The sky bearer managed a smile in response for his betrothed, even if it only lasted a second or two. The pink wafted around her skin was almost pastel as he watched, the rose-chocolate swirl of her irises taking on a hypnotizing sheen under the direct sunlight.
Percy's own aura was much more active. His perpetual circular breeze sent the grass around their shoes skittering with a distant 'swish swish' that was thankfully pleasant on the young god's battered ears. Aphrodite's hair seemed to wave in sync with their motion, at least what parts of it weren't currently secured to his left wrist.
Far above, white clouds reflected sunny beams of light that landed warm against his scalp. The meandering things somehow never directly blocked out Apollo's sun, moved by Percy's desire for the distant warmth it provided. He could feel the air currents high in the atmosphere. Each sensation was muted compared to when he was standing practically amidst them on Olympus.
At least tuning out the whispers was slowly getting easier, like some sort of lightning fast exposure therapy. Percy could almost hear normally again.
Past the top of the artificial hill came a true staple of combat, ancient or otherwise - the trench. It was immediately obvious where much of the soil to build up the surrounding land had come from. As the ragtag group of immortals neared the edge of camp, which Percy was still doing his best not to really look at, the true complexity of what lay beneath the surface was made clear.
The sight was straight out of a war documentary. It was as if a great hand had taken the top off of an upsized ant hill, revealing a veritable spider web of interconnected tunnels. The main line itself was deep enough to stand without being exposed, except perhaps if you were as tall as Percy. Between the deepest point and the top of the first trench were several steps of varying sizes, each with enough room to accommodate two or three soldiers side by side.
Small shafts cut out from the peak of the soil made the whole thing look like castle ramparts from up close. The purposefully staggered construction was a different color than the surrounding soil, dark like an open wound. Near the edge of the North Woods the divots looked like brown staples holding the tear in the land shut with surgical precision.
Despite his best attempts, the sphere of Percy's influence had expanded significantly as his emotions stretched thin. The green mist crawling from his pores waterfalled over the lip in thick streams of teal fog. Even when the bottom of the trench was hidden from the young god's sightline, the contents were laid bare to his senses. The sky bearer could almost taste the upturned soil.
Percy could only be grateful that Lupa and Chiron either didn't notice or, more likely, were too polite to bring up the fact that the son of Poseidon was in the center of his own walking divine bubble. Maybe that meant it was less oppressive than he feared? Whatever the case, Aphrodite's pink remained completely unbothered by his leaking power. As usual.
There was enough space along the line for at least several hundred defenders to be completely covered by the trench wall, all standing shoulder to shoulder with their back to the camp. Each defensive position had its own stash of weapons and supplies literally carved out of the soil. The son of Poseidon could only imagine the hail of spear and javelin and arrow that would have flown over the top during a real battle. No wonder the camp still stood.
Behind the main line stretched the true marvel, however. A complicated, weaving network of carved earth that all snaked back towards the heart of Camp Half Blood. The artificial hill died after the main defensive trench, leaving the tunnels shallower and shallower before petering out. The lines eventually re-emerged from the soil a few dozen yards away from the edge of the buildings.
The great web had basically every defensive contingency covered. Holes carved into the sides of the trench wall led directly into the earth itself, likely for barracks, armories, and command positions. The dark mouths gaped with strong timber beams for lips and teeth. The maws were wide and shadowed even in the morning sun.
The more he looked, the more Percy could see the genius underlying the defenses. There wasn't a single patch of ground between the lines big enough for more than a dozen or so people to stand side by side, which would have forced an attacking force to take the land trench by trench by reinforced trench. Arcing through the center of the line was the larger main road. What looks suspiciously like massive caltrops had been placed up along the sides, in positions to be pushed into the path at a moments notice.
They were spiky, welded things made of rusted scrap and sharp pointed edges. It made them unappealing to look at, let alone try to fight or ride through. Hephaestus' kids must have had a blast making those - Percy suspected there were some nasty surprises hiding inside the metal (and probably the whole area in general) that he couldn't even see. Were landmines still in style?
Annabeth had done more than good work here, if Chiron was correct. This was spectacular work, the sort people wrote textbooks about. The entire scene was equally deadly and impressive. The fact that Percy could only half appreciate it due to the demanding voices in his ears was a bit of a shame.
While the newest Olympian was doing a bit of gawking, Lupa and Chiron had nearly crested over the lip of the hill. Aphrodite kept the young god moving along with a gentle pressure on his elbow. Her expression hadn't quite relaxed yet, but the glint behind her eyes had become several degrees less harried as the sky bearer had settled as best he could.
The silence surrounding the group was harshly broken by a clatter of bronze and a high-pitched yelp from inside the trenchline.
"Hey!"
The quartet of immortals stops in place as a blond head of hair popped over the lip of the soil wall. The motion upset a bank of Percy's teal fog, which swirled up and over itself in tumultuous clouds.
"Why is everything all green and heavy all of a sudden?" A pair of eyes the same color as the needles on a pine tree swiveled around before widening comically. "Percy?" His name came out low and uncertain.
There was silence for a few seconds.
The demigod in the trench kept flicking her gaze between Chiron and the sky bearer, as if they couldn't quite trust what they were seeing. The motion only got more panicked once Aphrodite gave the stranger, who looked only a bit older than Percy, a little cheerful wave. Besides the color of her eyes and hair, there was a certain earthly glow to the half-blood that practically screamed of Percy's soon-to-be aunt, Demeter. Or Ceres, maybe?
Everyone was still looking at him. Percy startled as he felt his betrothed give him a little nudge.
"Hello?" The ashen-haired god shuffled on his feet. The motion only aggravated the mist that was creeping from his soles and practically swamping the trenchline and the half-blood within. "Um, sorry." Lupa gave another huff of disappointment at his stuttering hesitancy. "Here, let me. Fix that." Percy got out with a wince.
The woman just blinked at him, watching in stunned silence as coiled ropes of Percy's aura receded back towards his form and vanished under his skin. Their motion across the grass sent her blond hair into a brief flurry. The young god held his breath until he was no longer dousing the area in divine potential, slowly letting his exhale out through his nose once he was satisfied. Percy could feel the crease between his eyebrows smooth once the effort was complete. The demigod opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again.
"Thanks?" She didn't seem to have a grasp on what to say either.
The group's resident centaur picked that moment to intervene, thankfully sparing everyone from the building awkwardness. "Ah, Katie! Good." Chiron sounded pleased as he stepped forward. "I'd hoped the schedule would put someone responsible on this shift." Lupa chuffed out a sarcastic sounding breath.
"Oh, yeah." The newly named Katie collected herself quickly, clearing her throat and ignoring the giant wolf. "Annabeth made sure of it this morning." Percy fought down a raised eyebrow as the blond's voice actually pitched down a note or two into a range deliberately more mature. "I'm just glad she decided for us. A fight almost broke out when people thought it would be on a volunteer basis."
The smile she gave then was genuine, but it lacked the same spark that her eyes had contained only a second before. It looked just a touch mismatched to her round, full features and the dark freckles on either cheek. Strange.
"Hello, Lady Aphrodite. Lord . . . Percy." By the time she was finished, Katie's face had settled into someone almost completely different.
"Good morning, little one." Aphrodite's reply was bright and melodic. It seemed her cheer from their beach conversation has yet to dim. "Katie, was it?" The hypnotizing pitch to her voice made replying automatic.
"Oh, yes. Katie Gardner." The demigod bobbed her head in a sort of awkward bow, since most of her below the neck was still hidden by the soil. "Daughter of Demeter." Percy knew it. "I'm the head counselor of my mother's cabin at the moment." Unlike when Piper had spoken of her title, Katie's voice was smooth and self-assured.
"You're not alone down there, are you?" Lupa sniffed, massive furry head held high. "Camp rules dictate two watchers on duty at all times." There was a note of reproach underneath her canine rumble. Katie stiffened for only an instant, before that calm, relaxed veil returned.
"Oh, no. Of course." The half-blood's head vanished for a moment, and there was a quick shuffle of shoes on dirt and a louder rustle of armor on fabric. "Pollux! They're here."
Percy wasn't sure the daughter of Demeter was expecting her voice to carry, but the area was so saturated with his energy that the sky bearer physically couldn't help but overhear. The words hissed beneath the trenchline were back to that higher pitch, almost frantic in their energy. When Katie's blond locks poked up again, her features were once again serene.
"Pollux is down here with me." She gave a sheepish half-smile. "I think he had a rough night, and must have fallen asleep." There was clearly more meaning hiding behind the polite explanation.
"I see." Lupa's tail flicked sharply. "Were he a legionnaire, such a lapse would be unacceptable. I'd have his direct superior enacting discipline within the hour." The great wolf's teeth and eyes gleamed in the sunlight as she towered over the trench. "Who is his head counselor?"
Things had turned in a decidedly tense direction, and all Percy could do was sit and bear it silently. Chiron looked like he was about to interrupt, but Katie beat him to it.
"Well, he is." Just as before, there was something sharper hidden beneath the blond demigod's serene expression. "He is the only Greek child of Mr. D left at camp." The older girl's face had tinted down, protective and a bit bristly. "It gets lonely." Percy wasn't sure he would find very many people willing to stand their ground against the massive immortal wolf and yet here this demigod was, doing so from literally beneath the level of Lupa's paws.
A resilient bunch indeed.
Katie's unexpected frost didn't stop her from attempting to wake her companion a second time. A motion that felt to Percy's aura like a sharp kick preceded another, even louder clang of bronze on bronze. An instant later a second head emerged over the line. It was like the sky bearer was standing in front of the world's strangest game of whack-a-mole. This new arrival, clearly a few years younger than the daughter of Demeter, had bags beneath his eyes so dark he might as well have been sleep walking.
"I'm up!" Pollux was another blond, but beneath his lighter locks those pudgy features looked so much like Dionysus that Percy was momentarily taken aback. "What's the deal, Katie? The wars over, it's not like-" Katie's head lurched to the side, and the sky bearer could sense her shoulder nudging the boy's own in a not-so-gentle way. Pollux' muddy blue eyes cleared up quickly as they followed Lupa's legs up and up and up to the massive wolf's pinched expression. "Oh." The son of Dionysus paled so quickly the only hint of color was the perpetual redness of his thick cheeks.
"Oh, indeed." Lupa drawled.
Somehow, Percy found himself holding back the urge to snort. He could feel Aphrodite shaking her head in her own silent show of amusement. This whole scenario was so strange, so completely silly that the young god felt the urge to pinch himself to ensure it was actually real. Situations involving Olympians were never supposed to be silly. Were things always this interesting around here?
With the way Chiron sighed, the answer was probably a resounding 'yes'. The centaur looked like he was resisting the urge to face-palm. Still, he was smiling beneath the exasperation. The fond expression was similar to how the half-equine immortal had gazed at Percy at first.
"Pollux, if you could, go inform Annabeth that our guests have arrived." Chiron's words weren't strictly leading, but there was certainly a bit of gentle verbal nudging going on. "I'm not sure if all the set up is done yet, so we'll be giving the Lord and Lady a quick tour before stopping by the Big House." The smartly-dressed centaur threw a look over his shoulder, as if judging whether or not that course of action is acceptable.
Lupa and Aphrodite, in turn, looked at Percy. Or, at least, a flick of the wolf's ear in his direction implied increased attention. Pollux did the same, the younger half-blood nearly tipping over Katie in his haste to drop into a half-bow that none of the immortals could see.
"Shit." The sky bearer definitely wasn't supposed to hear that.
The picture of beauty on Percy's arm giggled, and Pollux' face turned so red his freckles looked like a strawberry's seeds. Aphrodite was shining bright enough that Percy wasn't sure that much could have ruined her mood. It was a lovely sight. Her fox-tail hair hadn't moved from his wrist, the silken strands tight and more than content where they were. The darker black tips stood out in high contrast against Percy's pale skin.
"Okay." He shrugged, pulling out his favorite word once again. Chiron nodded sagely in reply.
Percy wasn't really sure he had the energy to do anything but go with the flow at the moment anyway. At least he wasn't playing with his ring again, though that was probably because Aphrodite was still holding his hand. Her fingers were smooth and warm. Their smaller forms were almost swallowed in his own.
When the son of Poseidon turned back to the trench, Pollux' blue eyes had remained wide enough that he could see white all around his irises. Katie hadn't stopped gazing at him either, like Percy was a puzzle she couldn't quite piece together. He met her gaze a bit awkwardly, which only made the woman's brow furrow the tiniest bit.
The daughter of Demeter had known Percy's name, which implied some sort of familiarity. Perhaps it was passing? There were only a couple ghosts swirling in the bottom of the trench, their presence dim and faded. There weren't enough to imply any real connection, most likely. The son of Dionysus didn't really have any. That made his comparatively violent reaction all the more perplexing.
The sky bearer could only make out a few words in the whispers. Even then, what concrete syllables there were gave no meaning. Strangely, the tones had condensed into one distinctly female and one distinctly male voice. There was a popping white noise in the background, almost like the crackling of a roaring campfire. Percy could smell just a touch of the smoke, taste just a hint of something hardy and savory.
There was a tugging in his chest, like a little string tied directly to the teal embers deep in his core. It was that same sensation that had driven Percy to embrace Thalia back on Olympus, before doing the same to Grover and Annabeth. Each little pull in the demigod's direction felt like a promise of something, as if following their suggestion would lead to some hidden reward. The young god couldn't help the way his gaze flicked between the afterimages and the very real faces of Pollux and Katie.
Could it be . . .? Is it really that simple?
Ignorant to the paradigm shift that was occurring in Percy's brain, Pollux nodded half-manically before ducking back down below the surface. "I'll tell dad too!" The teen shouted once he was out of view, the volume several levels above normal.
"Oh, that won't be-" Lupa practically jumped at the chance to interrupt, but she was too late.
"I'll be quick, promise!" And with that, the son of Dionysus was already gone.
The sound of Pollux's steps was loud and heavy as the half-blood dipped into the network of trenches and sprinted back towards camp. His gait was impressively quick, for what fat Percy had seen on his cheeks. The demigod was lost into the maze before long. Lupa only sighed deeply, closing her eyes to ward off some sort of mental anguish.
Even from the outer edge of the defenses, the four immortals had generated enough of a stir that there was already a curious group gathering at one of the exits. That was probably where Pollux was most likely to emerge, Percy figured. The growing crowd was talking amongst themselves, their distant voices just louder than the incorporeal whispers. He heard both his and Aphrodite's name several times.
As the young god watched, a pegasus complete with an armored rider swooped down over the group low enough for its wing beats to send clothes and hair whirling. Percy somehow felt that it wasn't the demigod but the mythical equine that was looking straight at him. The airborne duo peeled off and looped back deeper into camp a moment later.
"Do you still need me?" Katie's neck had apparently gotten tired of looking almost straight up for the whole conversation, because the demigod's next action was to throw her hands up on the edge of the trench. "I'm not sure what I can do, but I'm happy to help." With barely a grunt, the daughter of Demeter literally heaved her body upward and straight to her feet. "Just say the word."
The whole motion took less than a couple of seconds. It was quite the athletic move for someone who turned out to be wearing a full set of plate armor. Katie wound up standing almost head-to-chest with Lupa. The demigod's almost maternal tone of voice didn't quite mesh with the expression she was trying to put on.
The great immortal wolf, by contrast, appeared unimpressed. So unimpressed, in fact, that she almost radiated it. Such disinterest was probably easy when Lupa had the girl dwarfed in literally every conceivable physical measurement.
"Unfortunately." Lupa drawled. Katies' smile dimmed a touch.
Percy's brain apathetically noted that the daughter of Demeter was an attractive lady as far as demigods went. Her skin was that normal healthy tan that all Greek half-bloods seemed to share, which paired nicely with the piercing deep green of her eyes. There was a lot about the half-blood that made her lineage obvious - the shine to her wheat-gold hair, the lines of her full cheeks and rounded jaw, or the way the grass around Katie's shoes seemed to bend towards her feet just a touch.
It was becoming clear that the obvious familiar connection was something that Percy would have to get used to. The divine blood of Olympians often bulldozed through that of their mortal partners, leaving most of their children more down-sized versions of the gods than true hybrids. The son of Poseidon would allow that he did look a lot like his father, at least if Percy imagined himself with black curls instead of ashy white.
Katie's slim figure contrasted with the obvious strength of her shoulders underneath what had to be a dozen pounds of celestial bronze armor. She had taken a book from the strange dress-code that Percy's old friends had used to crash the dinner on Olympus, where a traditional pleated skirt and greaves sat on top of a pair of dark denim jeans and above a couple of standard gray trainers. Katie was wearing an orange shirt beneath her chestplate.
That explained some things.
"I thought it would be good to have a camper's perspective." It was Chiron again to salvage the situation, turning slightly to start a leisurely four-beat walk towards the gathering crowd in front of the town. "If Lady Aphrodite or Lord Percy have any questions, you could provide insight we might lack." Lupa actually did roll her eyes this time but the wolf didn't protest as she padded away, leaving Aphrodite, Percy, and Katie to take up the rear. "As a cabin counselor especially." The centaur added.
"Oh!" Katie glanced at the two Olympians, though her eyes nervously tended to stray down towards their shoes than their faces. "I- I'll do my best."
Percy had done enough positive self-talk to know what it sounded like. The sheath on the demigod's hip very obviously contained its sword. The sky bearer found his eyes drawn to it as Katie's hand lingered on the pommel unconsciously. The nervous motion was almost like looking in a mirror.
"Splendid." Aphrodite pushed a bit on the inside of the Percy's elbow, the gentle touch an unspoken signal to start moving along again. "Walk with us?" Her smile could have outshone the sun.
With the love deity so close, the blond half-blood must have received the full wattage right to the face. Katie didn't blush, as Percy definitely would have, but her eyes did contain a sort of frazzled awe. Katie nodded so fast that the sky bearer didn't think she had even taken it as the question it was rather than a thinly-veiled command.
The love deity's aura hummed a bit cheekily against Percy's skin as they watched the demigod fall into line. Her first few steps were a little too short, and it took a couple of moments for the daughter of Demeter to really find her groove. Percy figured that was what he had looked like for most of the walk, so he couldn't judge too harshly. Nervous people should stick together, after all.
Nothing was said for the next thirty seconds, which stretched into the next minute. Each beat brought them deeper into the heart of the defenses, until the road's color started darkening again and they were well past the half-way point. Percy's heavy steps stirred up loose dust around his feet, each particle practically assaulting his divine sense of smell. He distracted himself by keeping his eyes resolutely up and forward.
The crowd had grown.
The front section now was almost entirely children, the shorter demigods pushing through the longer legs of the rest to take the best vantage point for themselves. Percy fought the urge to look away, not wanting to dwell on how each figure that joined the throng added another drop of anxiety to the dark concoction of emotion in his stomach. As the group passed them by, the sharp points of the welded caltrops gleamed in the sun.
Percy only realized the tense atmosphere was because everyone was waiting for him to speak after he had let himself stew in the silence long enough to start nervously patting Riptide with his free hand.
"Katie?"
The demigod flinched at his voice. Katie very nearly tripped over her own shoes, but Percy steadied her with a few solid hands of air. The action was practically instinctual, so automatic that the young god hadn't even had the time to think through how strange it must have felt to be on the receiving end. He only let himself exhale when the blond didn't seem to notice.
"Yes?" Katie's stricken face smoothed remarkably quickly. She was doing that thing again, where her voice pitched deeper than normal and her smile seemed engineered to produce maximum comfort. "Can I help you Per- I mean, Lord Percy?" She winced at the title stumble, as if mentally preparing for some sort of verbal lashing. That made him frown.
Percy could tell that Aphrodite was listening keenly to the conversation, even if her eyes and ears hadn't so much as twitched. It had become a familiar sensation over the past week or so. There was something about the slightly increased gravity on his shoulders that gave it away.
"How would you say things are?" Percy arranged the words carefully, making sure to sort them on his tongue before opening his mouth. For some reason he found he really, really didn't want to come across as any more bumbling than he already had. "Around camp, I mean. How is everybody?"
The question emerged low, heavy despite his best attempts. Percy's swirling breeze prickled the back of his neck and sent his goddess' silk sleeves waving lazily. Both of Lupa's ears were facing their direction, now. Katie didn't speak for a beat or two, not as if she was caught off guard but more like she wasn't sure how to answer.
"Better." The blond's succinct answer expressed much more than just the single word would suggest. "There's some . . . tension, but it's better." The daughter of Demeter fidgeted with her hands, eyes roaming between Percy's chin and the rest of the camp. "With the war over, I think a lot of people are just confused on what we should be doing. How we should live, you know? We all do our best, but-" Katie's jaw shut firmly, before opening again a moment later. "It's the hardest for the Romans." She added the phrase as if it was simply a commonly accepted fact of life.
Percy believed her.
He also had an inkling that 'a lot of people' happened to also include a certain daughter of his aunt only a few feet away. Whether or not his technical cousin meant to give that away didn't particularly matter. The stark visual contrast between trench and town, between metal defenses and peaceful canoes, only added to the picture that the demigod's words painted in Percy's head.
"Do you-" Percy glanced back over when Katie spoke again. The half-blood looked like she was shocked that the words had escaped her lips. Like a breaking dam, however, the first crack quickly heralded a full collapse. "Do you actually not remember, Lord Percy?" When he examined Katie's face the sky bearer couldn't find a hint of judgment, only curiosity.
"Nope." Percy made his answering shrug and smile as nonchalant as he could manage. Aphrodite turned her head to smile up at him, her face proud and pleased. He must have done a good job faking it, then. "And just Percy is fine." He felt the need to tack that last bit on.
"Okay." Katie nodded, something behind her expression relaxing. "It's not like I didn't believe Annabeth, but I . . . I guess it doesn't matter." The demigod shook her head, waves of wheat-blond drifting side to side. "When we heard about the engagement, some people thought it was a prank or something. I just couldn't understand it." Her armor plates audibly shifted against one another with each step, the noise almost drowning out the distant birds and the muttering of the nearing crowd. "We weren't really friends or anything, but I like to think we were good acquaintances. Sorry for asking." Katie's lips quirked to one side apologetically.
"It's okay." Percy answered. A moment later, the son of Poseidon found he actually meant it. The realization was like a small weight lifting off his shoulders. "I'm down for making new friends." The teasing smile felt right on his face for once, like being inside the camp's borders helped the muscles remember how to perform the correct motions.
"You're a god now, Percy." Katie replied, her lips dipping down. "I'm not sure that's how that works."
"Tell that to Grover and Annabeth." Percy huffed. It still felt surreal that he was here to see them a second time and that they might actually be excited about it. "Maybe don't tell that to Thalia, though." Aphrodite mirrored his chuckled statement with a chiming giggle.
"I'm not looking to get punched." Katie laughed, the sound breaking free fast and loud. "Or electrocuted." The dash of humor made the half-blood look years younger than the mature, jaded woman she had been just a moment ago.
"She is a firecracker, that 'sister' of mine. I've met few demigods with that much spine." Aphrodite purred, smoothly entering the conversation. "Comme c'est typique- how typical." The bands of hair around Percy's wrist shifted. "A shame she ended up where she did." The sky bearer could only silently agree, fighting the frown tugging at his lips and the memory of the moon haunting his skin.
Aphrodite's last words made Katie's face freeze for a moment. Percy could almost physically see the wheels in her head turning as the daughter of Demeter tried to piece their meaning together. He wasn't sure she reached a satisfactory answer. Eventually the armored demigod just shook her head again and quickened her pace to catch up.
They were nearing three-quarters of the way into the camp proper, almost out of the trench-lined no-man's-land in between field and town. The quartet of immortals would have been impossible to miss, even if Percy wasn't a walking teal beacon. As if punctuating that thought, several pegasi rose from the center of camp to hover just over the roofs, like their riders wanted the best seats in the house for a coming show. What canoes remained on the lake were quickly making their way to shore.
Pollux was nowhere to be seen at this point, but Percy could acutely feel a hundred curious eyes on his form. Even if he couldn't, the growing din of whispers against his ears were more than obvious. Some of the demigods who he had seen gather initially re-appeared at the back of the throng, pulling on the arms of friends or waving down passers-by. Lupa and Chiron's pace kept its steady beat, four paws and four hooves landing almost in time.
Before, on the beach, Percy had felt as if he was sitting in front row concert seats. Now it was like he was the one standing on stage. Oh, and all the lights were shining directly on his face and everyone was silently watching. Waiting.
"Thalia's one of a kind." Percy had been so caught up in his nerves that he had almost forgotten he was still supposed to be a part of the conversion. Katie's sigh was genuine, fond, and tired all at once. "We never interacted much, what with the Hunters being so busy all the time." The demigod's tone had dipped into a darker place, that same space Aphrodite's always did when thinking about the war. "She always found a way to make her mark, though." Her words inspired Chiron to chuckle to himself quietly, giving away the fact that the group's two guides were still listening in.
"Artemis will not be joining the festivities, despite her entourage camping in the woods." Lupa didn't even turn her head to deliver the news, though it was hardly of the breaking sort to Percy. "Her Hunters are free to wander the camp, however, so we can expect some level of inauspicious mischief." The great canine sounded like she had much experience with that sort of thing. "Greeks." The last word was huffed under the massive wolf's breath.
Silence fell over the group after that. It was . . . more comfortable than Percy had expected.
The banter had eased Katie's stiff gait, something that the sky bearer found echoed in his own steps. The expression on her face was still a bit too sure, a touch too confident to be natural, but at least the atmosphere no longer felt like sandpaper against Percy's skin. Their little entourage was soon within shouting distance of the crowd, very nearly beneath the shade of the first few buildings.
As he looked at the gathered half-bloods, now so close that some of the younger children had started waving energetically, the son of Poseidon allowed himself to feel a little bit of hope. It was merely a spark, but it was enough to re-light that teal flame in his chest. Percy felt his back straighten and his shoulders widen. The change in posture was strong enough to inspire Aphrodite to shoot him a subtle glance. It was a sweet sentiment, but for once?
Percy actually felt okay.
The barest shift in mindset was all it took. Once he stopped viewing them like heralds of a coming doom, the watching faces shrunk before Percy's very eyes. What he found beneath was no great tribunal, no expansive panel simply waiting to pass judgment.
Instead, all of the people waiting were just that. People. And that made them almost like him, didn't it? At least in all the ways that really mattered. Frankly, Percy's interactions with the demigod he had met so far had been leagues less stressful than those with his new Olympic family. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.
That thought had the son of Poseidon hazarding a wave back to some of the children in the front row with his free hand. As they neared, Percy could make out each and every freckle or scar or birthmark. The newest Olympian's tentative motion stirred the grass all the way to the edge of the buildings. The young half-bloods froze, not expecting that reaction or the rushing air. A number of the more timid quickly fled behind the legs of the nearby adults.
Aphrodite giggled a bit and followed Percy's lead. Her wave was far more elegant than his own, the kind you would see from a queen that was more wrist than fingers. The love deity's face was soft - not quite the same delicate expression she had donned for her kids, the one that had prompted their first kiss, but it was something close.
Hestia had called all the Olympians, family, hadn't she? Logically, that distinction would also extend to their children, whether Roman or Greek. That mattered.
"Look at the young ones." Aphrodite sighed, in a voice just loud enough to have Katie perking up. "I don't know when that got old, but I was a fool to allow it to do so. The domain of motherhood is spoiled on Hera, I fear." The love deity's torso was warm and soft against Percy's side, her aura doubly so. "Plus jamais."
Percy was struck once again by the very clear fact that Aphrodite cared. The love deity might not have been able to see it for herself, not yet at least, but the sky bearer could. A response like that couldn't be faked. The ashen-haired god didn't resist the urge to squeeze his goddess' hand extra tight for a moment.
And then, there they were. Only a few feet away, with Percy practically towering over the entire crowd. They were a unique bunch, just like the town they had built around them. There was hardly any visual tells to distinguish who was Greek and who was Roman, aside from the shirts of course. The way the demigods seemed to cluster naturally was the biggest giveaway.
All talking had ceased. The whispers were quiet.
As one, a great chunk of the half-bloods dipped into a practiced bow and salute. A hundred fists met a hundred purple-clad chests with a loud and meaty sound. The motion happened so in unison that it sounded more like a single great clap than anything else. Some of the younger kids did it too, though Percy wasn't sure how many were just copying the adults to fit in.
The air surrounding the saluting group was somehow stiff, scripted, as if they had been prepared for such formality from birth. Their faces were careful masks, but many had sharp eyes that seemed to hide a dark mixture of exhaustion and annoyance. Percy had expected their gazes to land most often on Aphrodite, but such was not the case.
Somehow, between the two Olympians, the glares were almost equally split. The strange animosity had the hairs on the back of Percy's neck rising. Aphrodite remained effortlessly nonplussed. The sky bearer, not so much.
It was obvious these were the Romans responsible for the grid street system and the utilitarian houses. The half-blood's bows held those same right angles, showcased the same exactness as their construction. Lupa's eyes raked over the front few rows, like a drill sergeant searching for any hint of impropriety.
It took Percy a second to push past the acrid attention of the purple-clad campers. He couldn't quite stop the way his agitation only further stirred the air, and the valley darkened for a moment as the circling clouds above grew in size. After a breath or two the cumulus drifted away.
It bothered him. He wouldn't even try to deny it. But Percy was used to people not liking him after Olympus. Nothing the demigods could summon would compare to the very feeling of being unwelcome among his own divine family.
Instead, Percy was finding it increasingly difficult not to make eye contact with what he now knew were the Greek campers. Katie's shirt had given the game away, after all. The orange-clad demigod's faces were almost the exact opposite of their Roman counterparts - surprise, awe, and even hope were some of the emotions he found waiting.
The urge to just search for some hint, the barest touch of familiarity was burning in his chest. Instead, Percy stood straight and still while Aphrodite waved off the still-bowing half-bloods. Most still held their position for a beat longer than necessary. A tense atmosphere had bloomed, quick enough to make have Percy's free hand tapping habitually against his thigh.
Well. Here they were.
This was a meeting that had been brewing for the better part of a decade. All that time Percy had spent at the bottom of the pool over the past day had been to, theoretically, prepare him for this exact moment. Percy took a breath and steeled himself. The hour of truth had arrived, and when Chiron stepped up to speak he was ready to mee-
"Mom!"
A tiny rocket of dark hair and bright eyes exploded out of the crowd. Percy's chest collapsed as his preparatory inhale expired. One of the pegasi near the rooftops, chestnut in color with a dark mane, snorted in what was most definitely equine laughter.
"You're here!"
A pair of tiny pink sneakers beat ferociously into the soil as the living demigod projectile threw itself between the two immortals. Lupa let out a bark of warning, but the little bullet only slightly altered its trajectory to impact directly into Aphrodite's legs.
"You came!" Peering up from where her hands clutched at the love deity's jeans, Eloise's smile was a picture-perfect match for her divine mother's.
"Eloise!" Not a second later the stunned crowd parted again. Lacy's twin pigtails came out frazzled as the teen shoved her way to the front. Both daughters of Aphrodite were clad in bright orange. "You gotta' wait!" The girl's diminutive stature was apparently coming back to bite her, Lacy's chest heaving up and down as she panted. Her left hand lagged behind, entwined to a set of fingers several degrees larger than her own. "You were supposed to stick with me and Bennett!"
The new name explained the other hand currently attached to Lacy's. Before Percy's eyes, a dark-haired boy about her age practically tripped and fell through the lines after Aphrodite's daughter. The lanky teen was dressed in jeans and a purple tee, the dark color almost the same as his striking eyes. The barest hint of a few tattooed letters peeked out from beneath one sleeve - the moment the boy's head righted itself and his eyes landed on the group of immortals, the kid stiffened like a deer caught in headlights.
It was unclear whether Lupa's grumpy frown or Aphrodite's suddenly gleeful expression were the cause. The love deity's eyes were glowing pink, the neon swirls inside skewering the poor boy in place. The previously named 'Bennett' gulped audibly in response.
A few of the adult demigods turned their heads, like school children trying not to draw the attention of a particularly tough teacher by avoiding eye contact. When Bennett tried to inch away, the half-bloods behind his back closed ranks. The dark-haired teen let out a high-pitched squeak when he hit the human wall. He was only spared when the love deity's eyes moved down to the girl currently clinging to her jeans.
"Mes filles!" Aphrodite's arms slipped from Percy as she bent to affectionately tap her lips to her youngest daughter's forehead. Eloise practically vibrated into another dimension at the motion. "Of course we came. A promise is a promise, non?" The love deity struck with snake-like speed, snapping up the beaming girl with both hands before propping her on the goddess' opposite hip. The casual intimacy of the action had more than a few jaws dropping across the assembled crowd.
Percy quietly stepped away, despite how much he didn't want to. He wasn't trying to crowd, especially since Eloise didn't really know him all that well. Plus, the son of Poseidon wasn't sure at what moment Aphrodite would inevitably try to draw him in. Such PDA was still a bit beyond his courage. The eyes of the Romans were judging enough already.
"Yup!" Eloise nodded to her mother, her unique orange-red eyes serious as could be. "Sure is." The girl's pink light-up sneakers were so darling that Percy almost fainted when he saw them. The sky bearer must have made some noise, though, because the girl's head snapped his way "Oh." The little demigod finally seemed to notice him. "Hi." She squinted. "Percy, right? That's the guy you're marryin'." The last part was directed out the side of her mouth to her mother.
"Oui." Aphrodite spun to face Percy, taking her daughter along for the twirl like a ballerina's pirouette. "He is 'the guy', as you say."
Some of the watching demigods' mouths were gaping enough to catch flies. The orange and purple groups appeared equally shocked. From behind her child's dark locks, Aphrodite's swirling irises were alight with mischievous humor. Somehow, his goddess managed to make the pose both sinfully attractive and heart-achingly maternal at the same time.
Don't stare down her shirt. There are people here, Percy! Don't. Stare.
"Hey, Eloise." Percy leaned down a bit to put his face closer to her height. "It's good to see you!" The words were so easy to generate because the sky bearer meant them so wholeheartedly. The sky bearer makes sure to match the child's gaze even though he has to forcefully keep his eyes on her face and away from . . . other things. "I like your shoes." He smiled, a flicker of satisfaction uncurling in the young god's gut as the little girl blushed a bit and shied away.
"I picked them out all on my own." Eloise recovered to jut her chin forward, as if daring him to disagree. "Not even Piper helped." The girl's face was bursting with youthful pride. Percy was so busy fighting down a laugh he couldn't even come up with a response before the moment was interrupted.
"Alright, alright." A familiar smarmy voice cut through the air, parting the impromptu gathering with equal force. The sky bearer felt his smile drop away. "Let's break it up. Don't make me puke."
A number of the demigods grimaced to one another. The expression swept through the crowd like a contact disease. Hands pulled the little ones away from the cleared lane, vanishing them into the press of half-bloods.
"Nothing to see here, yadda yadda."
The tone was dismissive and apathetic in equal measure. Like Moses through the Red Sea, a dark-haired god strutted down the street like he owned the place. It was actually quite fitting in this particular case. The Roman sections were saluting again, though Percy could see their eyes flickering up to follow the new arrival's path. Most of the Greeks settled for a more reserved tilt of the head or shoulders.
Dionysus ignored them all.
The wine deity's faded blue eyes met Percy's own. A deep purple mist, darker than even the bold 'SPQR' shirts, brushed up against the edge of the newest Olympian's teal cloud. The pressure wasn't overpowering so much as passively probing, poking in and out either for amusement or as some sort of informal test. Percy did his best not to give any ground. Dionysus' eyelids never raised from their half-way shutter.
Instead, the son of Zeus smirked as the clashing colors brightened in the air. Some of the closer demigods were forced to look away from the spitting, hissing divine tug-of-war. The faded taste of grapes and wine brushed across Percy's palette. His veins were pulsing, each beat rushing with the distant burn of alcohol. The sensation was only a memory, if a strong one.
"The fuckin' party is in an hour, brats. You all can't wait for shit, I guess." Dionysus brushed a saluting Bennet aside with only a single finger. The edges of the crowd practically swallowed up the shaking boy. The dark-haired deity, by contrast, left Lacy untouched. "So get back to it." The top of the god's silver drink flask gleamed from where it was shoved haphazardly into one front pocket. "Whatever it is you all do, anyway. Don't make me repeat myself." A lazy wave over his shoulder was the only dismissal the gathered half-bloods received.
"Good of you to finally meet us, brother." Aphrodite's voice was a couple degrees more genial than Percy had expected. Eloise didn't echo the sentiment - her grouchy frown and pursed lips were weapons-grade. As the son of Zeus brushed past, Lacy finally re-boot and hastily stepped away a couple of paces.
"Save the pleasantries." The wine gods rolled his eyes. Dionysus didn't bother pretending that he wasn't clearly using parts of his aura to split apart the remains of the crowd, shoving bodies away when necessary. "You chose to come here, don't expect me to rearrange my whole fuckin' schedule." Percy wasn't sure what said schedule would have really entailed, given how rumpled Dionysus looked.
It was telling that, despite some demigods being nearly pushed straight off their feet, that there were no audible sounds of protest as the wine god approached. Most of the campers merely ducked their heads and moved away, still watching out of the corners of their eyes. Not even the fliers above were safe from the reaching, lavender aura. Most of the pegasus' riders banked away somewhere to Percy's right, deeper into the town.
Dionysus faked a yawn behind a hand. The wine deity barely glanced at Lupa and Chiron before his eyes turned to Percy. There was something sharp and aware behind his faux-sleepy gaze.
"So. Perbeus Nickleson. Nice of you to finally show up." The butchering of his name threw the sky bearer off for a moment.
"It's Percy Jackson." The words blurted out before the son of Poseidon could pull them back. He instantly felt like that was the wrong answer. Percy's name had a sort of ripple effect across the remains of the crowd. Some of the younger watchers grew eyes the size of dinner plates.
"Whatever." Dionysus snorted. "Don't care." With a practiced flourish, the wine god lifted his flash to take a long, gulping drink.
The sky bearer caught a glimpse of Lupa's eyebrow twitching, the one cut through by that diagonal scar. Chiron, by contrast, had a sort of long-suffering weariness beneath his beard. Katie was about the same, standing near Aphrodite's side with crossed arms and a pinched expression. Eloise was still pouting. A good number of curious campers were peering at the interaction from around the nearest buildings and from further down the street.
Aphrodite took advantage of the pause to beckon her teen daughter with a couple of hooked fingers. Lacy slumped in relief. The demigod had been standing still off the side, looking both half-lost and more than a little bit stressed. The girl took no time at all to quick-step towards her mother, power-walking in front of Percy to end up on Katie's side.
In lieu of a verbal greeting the sky bearer gave her a small smile as she brushed past, one that Percy was glad Lacy managed to return. The girl's quick embrace with her mother and sister included several sentences of whispered French. Whatever Aphrodite said served to perk Lacy up like she had just downed a double-shot of espresso.
Dionysus coughed loudly, unamused. "So, you lovebirds want the tour or what?" The wine god shoved the flask and both hands into his pockets, his garish orange and yellow shirt practically an affront to every fashion principle out there. "Of course, big P.J. over there could always do it himself- oh, wait." His smarmy smile was decidedly non-apologetic.
Percy bristled despite himself. It took a deep breath for the sky bearer to not give Dionysus exactly the rise he was fishing for. Aphrodite's displeased frown bounced right off her brother's shit-eating grin. Percy's silence queued the son of Zeus to start talking again.
"Well, what can you do." Dionysus seemed pleased by his lack of reaction. For the life of him, the sky bearer couldn't figure out why. "I suppose we all sorta owe you one, but don't get used to it. Consider this a 'welcome to the family' gift from yours truly." The wine deity chuckled, the sound sardonic. "I guess I could do the honors, being the nice god that I am. For old time's sake, before I can finally fuck off to any place that isn't here."
Lupa was quite obviously holding her tongue at the god's casual profanity. Percy had never seen a wolf look so affronted. Casually ignoring the great canine, Dionysus' blue gaze landed on Katie for the first time. The woman stiffened, but didn't wilt or turn away.
"Get outta here, kiddo." Dionysus jerked his head deeper into town. "Tell the 'party planning committee' or whatever the fuck they called it that we're on our way. Don't let them come down here." It wasn't a suggestion. "I've had to look at them all far too much already today, and those stuffy centur-a-whatsits give me a headache. Let the adults talk for a bit, yeah?" His smile and subsequent head tilt weren't exactly friendly, but his voice was nonchalant enough. "I'd shoo away my nieces too if I thought my sister would leave my head attached to my shoulders."
"Hmm. So you can be taught." Aphrodite mused aloud. Her expression was a facade of peace hiding unimaginable danger beneath. "Comme c'est surprenant- how surprising." Eloise giggled a bit at the jab and the spring of tension down Lacy's spine unwound the tiniest bit. The teen was practically stuck hip-to-hip with her mother, completely wrapped in a pink shroud.
For her part, Katie actually stood her ground and stared down the wine god for a few moments. Percy couldn't help but be a bit impressed. When Dionysus' dark hair started to rise and his aura thickened the air to a purple soup, the daughter of Demeter finally relented and turned Percy's way.
"Sorry." The sky bearer wasn't sure what she was apologizing for. Katie wore a smile that was a touch brittle. "It was good to see you again, Percy." It was the best the young god could do to return it. The demigod hesitated a half-step towards him, before deciding otherwise and moving back instead. "I'll see you around?" There was the barest hint of a question mark attached to the end of those last words.
"Yeah." Percy replied evenly. "At the party." The son of Poseidon fought the urge to twirl his ring by softly tapping against the pocket containing Riptide. "Someone has to make sure Thalia doesn't burn anything down, right?" When in doubt, turn to humor.
"Right." Katie seemed surprised by how quickly he had agreed. Her face lightened by several degrees. "See you then." The words, and her smile, felt a lot less like a question the second time.
Without further ado, the armored woman turned sharply and strode away. Katie's path took her directly to where a few children were peeking out from in between two of the closest buildings, their heads practically stacked on top of one another. The oldest couldn't have been more than six, two with purple shirts and one with orange. The kids' were watching with gobsmacked faces.
Katie forcibly shooed them away with a few practiced motions, ignoring the high pitched protests she received in response. The daughter of Demeter followed behind and was gone after one last look over her shoulder. A few of the other stragglers took the hint, mostly those with the Roman tilt slipping away. Percy wasn't sure he saw a single Greek half-blood do the same.
"So uppity." Dionysus snarked. The wine god reached up to start picking between two of his teeth with a fingernail. "Guess I'll need to switch up the routine." He sounded bored more than anything else.
The more Percy heard the god talk, the more he was struck by the sense that the wine deity's grating persona was more than just a persona. There was something unashamedly honest about it. That sort of 'couldn't care less' attitude was wholly unique to what many would have labeled as the 'weakest' son of Zeus. It took a certain flavor of courage to act that way, even if the young god had already heard him cower to his father before.
Percy could respect it, if nothing else.
"So, little brother, a tour?" Aphrodite was petting Lacy's head with her idle hand. If a human could purr, Percy was convinced she would have been. "Unless you'd rather stand and talk." The love deity's eyes flickered over to Percy's face. Even a couple steps away, Aphrodite's ghostly fingers had never strayed far. Most were either carding through his hair or sliding down his arms.
"I'd rather do literally anything else, actually." Dionysus snorted. "But we all don't get that luxury." The wine god locked eyes with Lupa, who had been watching in displeased silence, for a single moment as he turned. Chiron got the same treatment. "Let's get this over with." There must have been some sort of hidden message to it, as both lingered at the back of the group even as they started walking. The action pushed Percy and Aphrodite up closer to the black-haired son of Zeus.
"Thanks for the hospitality."
Percy wasn't even aware that the snippy remark had come from his mouth until the words were already out in the air. Dionysus paused, glancing back appraisingly. The sky bearer set his jaw. After a tense moment, the older Olympian looked away.
"I was worried, big sister, that your fiancé had no balls under those shitty jeans." Dionysus shot over his shoulder. "Unfortunately, he seems to have grown a pair after all." The wine deity resumed his leisurely stroll, not even waiting to see if the rest of the group was following. "Don't expect me to bring shit to your baby shower, though. I'd bet you'd make one ugly kid." The sardonic laugh that the god barked out next gave away the . . . joke? Percy thought it might have been a joke, at least.
The son of Poseidon glanced over to find said love deity in the midst of rolling her eyes. When she caught him watching, Aphrodite blessed him with a sultry look that almost literally screamed what she thought about the whole 'having a baby' idea. Percy couldn't help his subsequent nuclear blush, especially when a set of sharp, phantom teeth started nibbling on his left earlobe.
Unaware of the emotional havoc their mother was wreaking, both Lacy and Eloise had donned equally affronted expressions. Insulting Aphrodite's genes was literally a personal dig, after all. Percy was a bit surprised, but mostly pleased, that their mother hadn't reacted in equal offense. It was proof he had made the right choice, or at least he liked to think so.
In the rear, Lupa and Chiron were stone-faced as could be. Some of the more curious campers had started a staggered half-procession a few yards behind the centaur's rear hooves, just far enough away to act like they totally weren't following purposefully within earshot.
The back of Percy's brain had begun to tickle. The sensation had grown from nagging to incessant rather quickly. He wasn't quite sure when it had started.
Even as Dionysus started grumbling something about how there were 'too many fucking houses now', the young god couldn't pay full attention. The whispers were increasing in volume, even though when the son of Poseidon glanced around there were no demigods particularly closer than they had been before. That fluttering sensation against the top of his scalp reminded him of when the massive birds on Olympus swirled about directly over Aphrodite's manor.
Wait a minute.
Birds meant wings. The wings were what he was feeling. Percy stiffened, looking upwards even as the wine god led them deeper in between the rows of buildings. If there were no abnormally large avians around, that meant that there was only one candidate to-
Fwoosh, SLAM.
Like a dark meteor falling from the heavens, a great black form crashed into the road in front of the five immortals with their two demigod tag-alongs. The impact was strong enough to literally crack the soil, exploding the surrounding dust high into the air. The closest buildings were pelted with the stuff. Tiny stones and clumps of dirt pinged loudly off their sides.
Eloise shrieked into her mother's shoulder, while Lacy started nearly out of her impeccably maintained white Converse. Even Lupa and Chiron tensed, the great wolf's lips drawn back in what was possibly the scariest snarl Percy had ever seen. Aphrodite didn't even blink. The voice that emerged from the cloud stopped them all.
"I don't care-"
The first thing Percy saw were a massive pair of wings, their feathers the same color as blackest pitch. Unfurled, they nearly spanned half the width of the entire street.
"-how long you were gone, or what you were even doin'-"
A graceful neck rose up, attached to a rippling body of muscles underneath a coat dark as the night sky without the moon. The shining coat overtop had no blemishes, no deviation in shade or tone.
"-but you have got-"
With an accent torn straight out of 1940's New York City, a great black pegasus stomped out of the crater his picture perfect landing had just created. Wide nostrils flared with each heaving breath.
"-some explainin' to do."
The horse snarled, a sound only the son of Poseidon could parse correctly. Ghosts so thick Percy could have cut them with a knife were running down the pegasus' flanks, pooling beneath each shining black hoof. He could barely see through them at first.
"Always with the drama around here." Dionysus grumbled to himself on the other side of the equine blockade, brushing a few pebbles from one shoulder. Honestly Percy was shocked that the winged horse hadn't been immediately crushed by a purple splash of divinity, but the wine god's aura refrained.
"I see how it is!" A whinnying laugh burst forth from the pegasus, apparently uncaring of the potential danger. All of the others were either watching the equine, confused, or staring at Percy, equally as confused. "Couldn't even be bothered to show up for a whole stinkin' week, eh? Couldn't come and check on your ol' pal Blackjack even after he risked his neck helping wise-girl and your pals sneak off to Olympus." Those great feathered appendages retracted, the motion painstakingly slow. "It's not like I thought you were dead or anythin'."
The massive horse peeled back its lips in a feral smile. When the winged steed reared back onto his hind legs he could have been ripped straight off the hood of a Ferrari. The pegasus slammed back down with his full weight. Each hoof visibly dented the ground.
"So, boss."
A black pair of eyes locked onto Percy.
"What took ya' so long?"