I'm back! It's been one clusterfuck after another, but here's another installment. (With some Ascention progression!)

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Scowling, Poseidon flicked his wrist to banish the mess of limbs and scales on the work table before him. It'd been a milenia since he'd worked to make something so complex as what he was attempting, but for his sweet children, he had and would move the seas and lands.

Percy's aides and guards were all well and good, but recent events and revelations had proved they were not enough to protect his fragile son. He needed a guardian, and a guardian the sea god would make him. Something to protect him jealously from all harm him, be they mortal or divine, from the land, sea, or sky.

He had crafted Triton the first sea serpent, Rhode the Loch Ness monster, and Kym the kraken. His youngest deserved something just as great and awe-inspiring that spoke of his character. But he just couldn't seem to get it right.

Percy was unpredictable, but not in the same way as his little storm goddess. He was as driven as his brother, but didn't have an ounce of the deception Triton used to achieve his goals. Kind and gentle like Rhode, yet unwilling to hide away and let trouble pass him by.

So, his previous creations served no help in guiding this new endeavor.

Sweet like the summer seas and swift to turn at the sight of injustice, that was his boy. But how to create something that encapsulates this?

A shift in the waters, tinged with Percy's growing power, pulled Poseidon's focus from his frustration. Guiltily, he realized time had slipped by him and it'd been several days since Percy's return.

He'd felt his son and his daughter in-law's presence, as well a few soft strings of sea magic from the boy, undoubtedly under his Amphitrite's guidance. Though, why his wife had decided to teach his son, Poseidon couldn't fathom; Percy wasn't really the 'read these tomes and understand the theory' kind of student, which is what beginning to learn magic called for.

Calling his inventing for the day a wash, the god decided he should spend time with his little pearl and trust inspiration to strike him. There's no forcing art, as his shining nephew was fond of saying.

Triton's home office was rather austere and empty for as large a space as it was. The rise of the digital age had made it more so, though a few shelves of often-used books and scrolls still dotted the walls. His son's main postal building was a different story, but he liked to keep as much clutter tucked away as possible. The room's most defining feature, besides the large desk dominating the back wall, was the cozy little seating area Poseidon didn't remember seeing last time he was in the room.

While Triton was typing away at an email on a sleek laptop, both Libya and Percy were curled up on rather surface-influenced couches. A curl of pride rose in him at the thought of his heir's great love and consideration for his family. Triton wouldn't be caught dead on a couch like the ones now in his office, but he knew this was the style both his wife and baby brother were comfortable with.

His oldest glanced up and gave him a bow of his head in acknowledgement before returning to his work.

"What are you three up to?"

Percy startled from his reading and gifted him a bright smile that was equal parts shy and excited, and utterly adorable. He wiggled out of his rather uncomfortable-looking curl to tuck into his side. "Dad!"

It'd been an up-stream swim to help Percy get comfortable enough with them to seek out physical affection. The child was cuddlier than an octopus, touch-starved from his rough life. A month and a half of work paid off with Percy slowly gaining confidence to ask for the contact he needed. Poseidon would be a fool to deny he was coming to need it too.

Libya shot him a wan smile, obviously unsure of her place after running away. Silly girl. She was as much his as his blood daughters. If he didn't punish Kym these days for her much more violent tantrums, what made her think he would do anything to her for just needing space? He did the same thing from time to time- that's how his sweet pearl had come to be.

"Lord Father," she whispered with a bowed head.

"My child," he greeted warmly.

Libya's lip quivered like she was about to cry in relief as stress seemed to melt off of her. Was she really so worried? Libya was his family twice-over- his wife's (much younger) sister and his son's wife. She would always be welcomed back.

"Mother showed me some sea magic and it was really frickin' cool, so I asked her if I could learn some more. She gave me a book. And it's actually super interesting!"

Percy was so bright and animated, like he had been before the two wars ripped out his heart and ground his soul to pieces. He skritched through inky, ornamented hair before settling his hand around the nape of his child's neck. For his wife to find something that fascinated Percy enough to struggle through a thick book was a wonder indeed. Damn, he loved that woman.

He also didn't miss his wife's upgrade in title.

"Don't forget to tell Father that you have to be babysat when reading it. Who knows what kind of mischief you could get into on your own," Triton said drolly.

Percy shot his brother a glare even as he flushed in embarrassment.

"There's nothing wrong with that, kiddo," Libya was quick to add. "'S like a learner's permit, ya know? You just need guidance on the fundamentals first. I'm always happy to help, and I know Mother is too."

While Libya and Amphitrite were technically sisters, his wife had been more of a mother to her than Tethys ever was, and Libya's address to Amphitrite reflected that.

"I guess…" Percy mumbled.

Poseidon moved so that he was kneeling and looking his tiny child in his eyes. "We are not at war now, my pearl. There is no rush to learn this new field as fast as possible so you can use it to fight. I want you to take your time and savor learning something you actually want to learn. Enjoy having someone to help and guide your studies at the pace you need- I know that has been a rare occurrence in your life."

Percy flushed and nodded. "Yeah. Sure. Thanks, Dad. A-and thanks for the help, Libya."

He nodded, a warm smile coming to his lips as he surveyed the lovely little family he and his wife had created. Since the sea god have first laid eyes on the tiny, wrinkled form of his youngest son, he had wanted this complete family so very bad.

Poseidon loved all his demigod children, but Percy, his lovely little pearl, was different. Perhaps it was the whispering remains of the domain of Prophecy, but he loved Percy as fiercely as his wiley heir or his wonderful daughters. He did not love his youngest as a demigod, but as one of his divine brood - jealously and endlessly, ready to claw back his crown from the Forgotten Days of the Mycenaean era if that meant protecting them from harm. He always knew, somehow, that his pearl would be a most glorious god.

Even now, he could see the edges of his Becoming.

Percy's aura flared sharply before the child winced, fingers digging into Poseidon's clothing like barbed hooks into a fish's lip. He was quick to turn all his attention to his little one, even as his eldest zipped from his desk to join him in checking over the demigod for any wounds. Percy's distress was a palpable thing, flaring through the water and tinged with his growing power.

Poseidon swallowed back hysteria in favor of clutching his baby to his side. Was it a curse? Some unforeseen side effect of Tartarus? If Hera and Athena were conspiring to take his child, so help him-

"Percy, kiddo, what's wrong?" Libya asked in a quiet, soothing voice. She was always so calm in a crisis. Too level sometimes, even; she didn't even cry as Pallas lay dying in her arms.

"I-I dunno." His child winced again, leaning into the hand Poseidon snaked through his hair. "'S a voice i-in my head. Calling me. I-I-"

Triton grabbed his brother's shoulders, pale with worry. "Breathe, my seastar. Breathe… Where is the voice calling you?"

This… this was not supposed to happen. Percy was in the heart of his domain, safe and cared for. Poseidon didn't know what was affecting his child so, but it took a great deal of will to not break free from his mortal shell and crush the issue under his waves. No parent liked to see their child in pain, and he had the power to do something about it.

"Someone is calling me," Percy said distantly, as if being involuntarily summoned. All the pain and emotion had bleed from his body, but the thrum of his power grew stronger and stronger. He was not yet settled into divinity - the action was tearing his child apart. "I must go to Broad Sound. Someone is calling to me and they need help."

Poseidon was not about to let his child fall into some trap, but this pull was killing him. Percy's eyes were dull and dilated, his golden skin ashen. The tips of his hair and the ends of his fingers were slowly melting into water in an effort to transport the mortal child to the summoner's location. He must answer the call, but his power was so new and fragile, his legends not yet settled. If he joined fully with the sea, there might not be enough of his lovely child's divine being left.

His little one might disappear because some idiot was calling on him.

Triton, it seemed, was of the same mind. His simple silver tunic had been replaced by his lighter set of armor, his trident gripped tightly in one hand. "I will take him, Father, and watch over him. My love…"

Libya gave him a placid smile and a small kiss, obviously reliving what happened to her daughter when she died millenia ago. Calm and flat on the surface like the bracken she watched over, yet no-doubt raging with emotion and life beneath. "Stay safe, the both of you. Bring Percy home, sweetheart. I-I'll let Mother know what's happening."

He laid a heavy hand on his eldest's shoulder. Poseidon was so very, very proud of the god his sweet little serpent had become. "Call to me if there is trouble. Nothing is allowed to harm my children."

Poseidon didn't know if he should be terrified or elated that Percy was Ascending enough to hear what so obviously was a prayer and invocation for help. His little one was coming into himself, but becoming a god was no easy task. HIs mind and body had not caught up with the transition of his divinity, and this had caught them unawares.

Never again. Poseidon swore. He would not let there be a repeat of this.

Triton wrapped his currents around Percy, which seemed to bring more color to his cheeks and a spark of awareness to his eyes. "Come, Percy. We shall see who dares think they have the right to call upon my sweet little brother."

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Who is it? A god? Blackjack? A sea creature in peril? I'll try to make the wait shorter this time lol.