Percy didn't mind Dionysus.
That was certainly a revelation. To clarify, it's not that Percy particularly enjoyed the wine god's presence. That required a level of either patience and/or insanity that he didn't quite possess. Dionysus wasn't especially pleasant to be around on even the best of days, which this certainly was not. But still, somehow, Percy hadn't considered drowning himself in alcohol yet.
Ironically enough.
"You're my golden ticket to freedom, away from all the brats." The black-haired god's aura was dark in the morning sunlight, the almost sickly purple color filling Percy's nose with the scent of grapes and spirits. "There's enough drama going on up top as is. You being here is fuckin' Christmas, as far as I'm concerned." Dionysus' voice held none of the festive cheer his words would imply.
As they strolled down the main avenue, Percy watched as the street emptied before him. Demigods weren't quite tripping themselves to stay out of the way, but they certainly moved quickly. It made what was probably a pretty bustling place grind almost to a complete halt as their little group passed. It wasn't quite the cheerful welcome that Grover's excitement a few nights before had made him expect.
"Stop worrying about them so damn much. It's annoying." Dionysus had rolled his eyes when he caught Percy's furrowed brows. "If the little urchins couldn't handle this much they would have been dead by now." The sky bearer wasn't sure if that was supposed to be comforting. The older Olympian's dismissive language paired perfectly with the way Dionysus seemed to always somehow look down over his nose at the half-bloods, no matter how slouched his posture.
Percy's frown had spawned as he watched two adult half-bloods nervously back into the building that they had just exited only a moment before. It looked like some sort of plant nursery, if the vines crawling up the sides was any indication. The young god hadn't liked how they fled, skittish like spooked deer.
A group of smarter campers trailed instead at a fair distance, while the more timid peered out from doorways and through windows. Hushed Greek, Latin, and English rebounded back and forth, a very literal demonstration of the surprising speed of word of mouth. Percy was convinced that some of those in the back were ducking into alleyways and running ahead just so that they could pop up further down the path and stare some more.
The Romans seemed to lose interest relatively quickly. The number of stiff and formal salutes reduced over time, as did the count of visible purple tees. When they were around, though, the eyes of the older legionnaires displayed that same strange malevolence. It remained no matter which Olympian was the center of attention. Percy had to fight to keep his frown from growing.
It wasn't that he was really worried about his own treatment (and he certainly didn't care about Dionysus') but it was all rubbing him the wrong way. Aphrodite's kids had been nervous on Olympus, yes, but this was their domain by all rights. Their home. Percy wanted . . . well, he wasn't sure exactly what he wanted. Everyone to stop glaring at his goddess at least, for starters.
That internal struggle must have shown on his face, since the love deity's aura kept having to smooth out the crease between his eyebrows. It got to the point where Percy wouldn't have been shocked if that soft, ghostly thumb just stayed stuck to his face. The sky bearer did his best to keep himself under control, especially after his wind started forcibly unearthing fist-sized stones from the sides of the path. That hadn't made the stares any kinder.
"Far be it for me to suggest that I would ever disagree with our Olympian protector, but the Lord is correct." The deep rumbling growl from behind Percy's back made a deeply-buried, somehow still almost-mortal part of him incredibly nervous. It was the first time Lupa had spoken since the tour had begun. "The children of Rome, at least, know there is still much work to be done." There it was again, that combination of pride and rebuke that the great wolf tended to favor. "The time for leisure has been scheduled. Let them adhere to it."
Percy thought that was a bit harsh. He didn't say anything though, and Aphrodite's phantom finger had to make another pass over his tightening brows. He would thank her for it later.
"They are merely curious, Lupa. They mean no harm." Chiron's fatherly voice seemed to take the mounting tension out at the knees once again. It was an enviable skill. "Allow the children this much, today of all days." The centaur's polite and inoffensive tone was one honed from what must have been many years of experience.
The sky bearer wasn't sure which was more surprising, the fact that neither Dionysus nor Lupa reacted to the subtle rebuke. The great canine only huffed once, her gait uninterrupted. The disheveled god, on the other hand, grunted as if expending any more energy on the subject would have been a waste.
The son of Poseidon imagined that the sheer physical presence of having three Olympians in such proximity was contributing to the nervous behavior that Lupa was scorning. The very air surrounding the touring group seemed to waver, the space around them disturbed physically by their steps. Clashing hues of green and pink and purple left a subtle haze across every nearby surface as the Olympians passed. Percy figured he would have found it not hard to stop and stare, too.
Ever since his dramatic appearance, Dionysus had been the picture of disinterest. Even Dionysus' walk was slow and wandering. There was a bend to his spine that wasn't exactly new, if Aphrodite's memories were correct. With wild black curls that purposefully hadn't seen a brush in far too long and a tacky outfit with more colors than sense, Dionysus made no illusions about the fact that he wasn't happy to see them. He glared, he sneered, he drank from his flask and spoke his mind without fail.
That last point was the one that somehow made it all bearable.
"They can do what they like, I don't have to pretend to care." The wine god shrugged one shoulder with his delayed answer. "I'd give a 'hallelujah', but dear old dad gets annoyed at praise not directed his way."
The blatant disrespect made Lupa chuff and Chiron push down a grimace. Some of the half-bloods within earshot paled visibly before relaxing when the skies remained blue and clear. There might have been a bit of a distant rumble, but not much more than that.
"Huh. Seems the old man's got other priorities today." Dionysus briefly glanced at Percy as if he had something to do with it. "Anyway. The arena's further that way, closer to the forest." The disinterested god waved his right hand limply before stuffing it back into a pocket. "You used to hang around there a lot, Peter. Watching you get your ass kicked was the highlight of my day."
Percy rolled his eyes but held his tongue. The only thing he found when he looked in that direction was the most ostentatious of what must have been the original camp's cabins. The thing was absolute marble monstrosity that probably belonged to Zeus, he guessed. Its sloped roof and thick columns seemed to tower over the surrounding buildings, even if it technically wasn't any taller or wider. Peeking over the tip of the roof he caught a glimpse of some tall, sloping walls off near the edge of the camp that looked suitably arena-esque.
"You can't see much of it from here, but that's not my problem." The wine god continued, yawning. "Not anymore." The last words actually sounded a bit happy for a second.
Apparently content that he had 'shown' enough in that direction, the son of Zeus ambled on. The group followed as he hung a slight left to follow the land as it sloped upward, running towards the southern edge of the great shimmering barrier in the sky. It was subtle, but the packed density of the buildings had begun to lessen around them.
The opening space helped a tiny ball of tension in Percy's stomach unwind, one that he hadn't even realized he was carrying until it was gone. The cool breeze against his face lifted it away, the feeling like having the world's most perfect full-body stretch. The momentary relief distracted the sky bearer just long enough to let his lips run loose.
"How informative." Percy found his mouth muttering out loud. "Thanks." Only a moment later did he realize how sullen he sounded. The young god quickly prepared for some snappy comeback, but got nothing instead. If anything, Dionysus' aura felt decidedly amused for a single breath.
And that was the real crux of things, wasn't it? Percy had expected Dionysus to be grating. According to the distant voice of Aphrodite in his head, he basically always had been. And that was still the truth, no doubt about it, but the wine god was also somehow . . .
Refreshing?
There was no need to ask Dionysus' opinion, nor ferret out some hidden agenda. Everything spilled out plainly, dripping with sarcasm and a scathing wit. It wasn't so dissimilar to the way the wine in his flask flowed into his lips.
Dionysus despised it at camp and wanted out. He thought the demigods were whiny and ungrateful. He didn't hate Aphrodite, per say, but he found her newfound maturity stuffy and felt that Percy's attitude was irritating. Simple. Easy.
There was something honest about Dionysus' acrid displeasure. It lacked the smoke and mirrors, was missing its cloak and dagger. The absence of Hera's blood in the wine god's veins was evident in more ways than just his pudgy face and ruddy cheeks. The wine god had no interest in extended interaction, no desire to engage in subterfuge or manipulation - if anything, it was the exact opposite.
And honestly? That was something Percy could get behind. If there was one thing Dionysus wasn't, it was a pretender.
So, yeah. Percy tolerated him well enough. Relatively, of course.
So far, the wine deity's little 'tour' was barely more than pointing to one side and describing what happened to lay in that general direction. It often took the form of single words, such as 'armory', 'forge', or even once 'I don't really remember, so it's probably not important'. Not exactly informative, but that was likely the point.
"Quite the eloquent guide, hmm?" Aphrodite's velvet tone brushed across Percy's ears, each syllable soft and pleasant. Her musical hum rocketed shivers down his spine. "It may surprise you, mon amour, but this is actually one of his more . . . spirited performances." The love deity's sinfully painted upper lip quirked with the little pun. Her swirling eyes gleamed. "I wouldn't advise quitting your day job though, brother."
The last part was purposefully raised a few decibels. In response, Dionysus flipped them off over one shoulder. The god's other hand was otherwise occupied when he took a drink from his flask that was definitely too long for how small of a container it was. The rest of the group ignored the rude gesture, though Percy could sense Lupa's face twitching again.
Aphrodite smirked, playfully feigning covering Eloise's eyes. The small demigod in her arms blatantly peeked around her mother's fingers. It seemed the son of Poseidon wasn't the only one a bit flabbergasted. A few of the demigods in their little pack of followers looked as if they expected someone to be struck by lightning any moment now.
For his part, Percy had a bit of a hard time coming to terms with how sibling-esque the whole interaction had been. It was almost like his borrowed memories coming to life before his very eyes.
Unfortunately for the sky bearer and his probably touch-starved self, his goddess' arms remained full with her youngest rather than entwined through his elbow. He certainly was not jealous of a child, thank you very much. Besides, having two occupied hands didn't mean Aphrodite hadn't purposefully drifted close enough to still touch legs with every other stride.
The lack of space between them caught almost as many eyes as the divine beauty herself. Almost. Unlike her brother, the love deity didn't have to touch someone to trip them up. At least none of the ogling half-bloods were threatening enough to have Percy considering physical violence like last time. Small mercies.
"Hey Denise!" The cheerful tone that rang out could only belong to one peppy daughter of Aphrodite. Lacy had remained shadowing her mothers opposite hip, waving enthusiastically to whoever dared come close enough to catch her eye. "You look great today! Are those new jeans?" The girl's target, a Greek demigod trying to inch across the other side of the road, averted her face with a growing pink blush. Undeterred, Lacy moved her attention further down the path. "Hey Brandon! Have you been working out?" The girl was living proof that friendliness was as deadly a social weapon as anything else.
The younger Eloise watched each interaction from Aphrodite's arms with a fierce sort of intensity, as if the little half-blood was in the process of creating an entire textbook's worth of mental notes. That little crease between her eyebrows was back. It made Percy understand why his goddess liked smoothing his own out so much.
"Control your spawn, sister." After the fourth cheerful greeting Dionysus finally snapped, the words shooting from his mouth like a loaded gun. "The pesky thing is giving me a headache." Lacy shied away as a few dangerous licks of purple air snipped a bit too close for comfort. A responding flare of rose-tinted power from Percy's side sizzled against his skin, the force of it reducing Dionysus' over-the-shoulder glower to more of a pout.
"How about you control your drinking, hmm?" The ends of Aphrodite's hair rose like a cobra's hood, at least the parts of it not currently wrapped around Percy's wrist. The muscles in her face were deadly still. "Perhaps then your hangover would abate, embêtant ivre." The words dripped venom like a snake's fangs. Only a breath later, like the flip of a switch, the crushing gravity was gone and Aphrodite's smile returned.
"Mind your own damn business." Dionysus snarled, his steps hard and heavy against the soil. Percy could see where the chords in the god's neck were drawn tight. "You've gone soft, sister." The fact that the black-haired god kept walking forward regardless took away most of the bite to his comeback.
"Wine dude's a bit of a dick, eh boss?"
Those words unapologetically shattered the moment. Percy had to feign a cough in order to hide the shocked laugh that erupted from his chest. When Aphrodite glanced over he could only wave her off. Whether the narrowing of her eyes was playful or serious was anybody's guess, though it had the sky bearer flushing red all the same.
"Aw, c'mon. Nod if you agree, you don' even have to say nothin'."
Percy's embarrassment wasn't helped by the fact that it was the third time such a thing had happened in the last five minutes. Apparently, being immortal only meant that Percy could constantly keep swallowing his own spit and never suffer the consequences. Gross.
"Alright, alright, I get it. You know I'm right though."
If not for being especially mortifying, the experience was almost educational. It wasn't until a sarcastic peanut gallery had been added to the group that Percy realized how little he had laughed over the past week. Not just a little chuckle, but a true belt out loud, make your abs hurt kind of laugh.
The boiling-over amusement was like a haymaker flying in from left field. No matter how often Percy was hit, it was still a surprise every time. The newest Olympian had barely caught his breath back when a massive feathered wing thumped hard against his back.
"Woah, careful there boss." Percy managed a nod, aware that every eye in the vicinity was squarely on his face. A few midnight feathers, each longer than his hand, brushed across his neck as the wing withdrew. "Wouldn't want you to choke, yeah? Although, I guess it don' really matter anymore!" The words were followed by a whinnying laugh, one that only the group's resident son of Poseidon could understand.
Percy had, for the most part, liked everyone he had come across from his past life. Thalia was feisty, Annabeth was smart, Grover was empathetic, and Katie had been pleasant. But Blackjack, the majestic pure-black pegasus?
Blackjack was a riot.
The mythical winged equine wasn't just abusing the fact that no one else could understand him. No, he had taken that concept back behind the shed with an axe. Percy didn't even have to say anything back - his (apparently) trusty steed and old friend was having so much fun throwing unheard barbs that it was all the sky bearer could do to keep his laughter in check. The dark pegasus' mobster accent made each and every line just that extra touch more amusing.
"You know . . ." Percy could feel Blackjack's gaze as the winged equine pranced along on his right side. His recent divine growth-spurt put them practically shoulder to shoulder, though the pegasus' neck gave Blackjack an extra foot or so. "Some of the techy kids cooked up this sticky, black tar stuff a few years back. Nasty shit, I tell ya." Blackjack's mane tossed as he leaned his head over into Percy's space. It smelled of sea and sky. "There's a few buckets hiding around somewhere, I'd bet. We could pop this joint, dump a coupl'a gallons on Ares' cabin, and be gone with no one the wiser." The dark horse would no doubt have been waggling his eyebrows if such a thing was possible.
"I-" Percy stuttered out of the side of his mouth, trying to pay attention while Dionysus described how the original showers and camp toilets had been turned into a full sanitation building. Again, all without actually showing them anything. "We can't. Not now." It was almost like the son of Zeus was trying to make his voice and mannerisms as boring as possible. Percy wouldn't put it past him.
"You sure, boss?" Blackjack drew the words out. "It'll be just like ol' times!" The sky bearer couldn't reply, biting one cheek to keep his traitorous mouth from betraying him.
Honestly, the problem wasn't that what the pegasus suggested was tempting. It was that what Blackjack was suggesting was really tempting. Like, 'this is the kind of thing you definitely did at least once even if you don't remember so why not do it again', sort of tempting. Plus, pissing off Ares would probably earn Percy some good fiancé brownie points . . . maybe even a kiss or two.
Now that was a real reward.
With the way the pegasus was constantly leaning in, Percy knew Blackjack could read every inch of his mental struggle. The young god resisted the urge to shove the smug horse out of his space, but he could feel a smile still stubbornly hanging to his lips. That had the dark equine puffing out his chest like a preening bird.
"What, your last quest turn you into a snitch or somethin', boss?" The pegasus chortled, powerful shoulders swaying back and forth. "Don't worry, you can trust little ol' me to teach you how to have fun again." Blackjack was practically show prancing, knees bouncing high with every step. He sounded so sure it was hard not to believe him.
That was the other thing that made the dark pegasus so endearing. Everyone else, even Percy's mother, tended to tiptoe around his missing memories like walking on a floor of broken glass. He even did it to himself sometimes. Blackjack, meanwhile, came at the problem with all the subtlety of an eighteen-wheeler with the break lines cut. To say he was blunt was to imply that fire was hot or that Aphrodite was a little bit pretty.
"Oh. I thought they were jokin' or somethin'." That had been the pegasus' reaction after Percy had managed to hurriedly explain his situation. All the while, the sky bearer had been trying to ignore the fact that literally everyone else saw him talking to a horse like some kind of animal whisperer. "I stopped payin' attention, mostly. I figured I'm pretty hard to forget, eh? Congrats, though, I s'pose." Percy had almost face-palmed, though that damn smile kept tugging at his lips the whole time.
"You're really okay with this whole thing?" The young god had asked once he wrestled his emotions under control. Percy's voice had come out slow and uncertain. "I don't know if I'm even okay with it." The idea was hard to fathom.
"I mean, it's all horse shit if you ask me, boss." Blackjack had shrugged his wings, the great primaries vibrating against his midnight coat. His voice was rather nonplussed. "But I'd better be used to that by now, otherwise I would be much of a pegasus." It was a rather gross analogy, Percy supposed, but he couldn't deny it made some level of sense. "Things never go quite right when you get involved, anyway," the pegasus had chuckled. It seemed they both knew how much of an understatement that was.
And so, for a time, that had been where it lay. At least until Blackjack finally seemed to digest that Percy's missing memories actually meant that he had forgotten everything. As in, everything everything. That led the winged equine to get riled up over the strangest little details.
"You don't remember how to fly? Nah, that just won't do, boss." Blackjack had been particularly affronted by that notion, as if the concept was a personal insult. The pegasus had shaken his head vehemently for several seconds. "We'll fix that, don't you worry. All you gotta do is hop on. I'll take ya' up and your muscle memory'll do the rest." Percy had watched as Blackjack fluffed up his wings, like he was literally itching to take off with the very idea. "We got six whole years to catch up on. No time to waste, eh?"
The disappointing reality that they actually did have somewhere to be took far too long for Percy to explain.
Still, it was . . . nice. To be treated like he wasn't hurt, wasn't broken. Blackjack acted as if he had no hidden expectations of the young god returning to the person he was. That person was dead, after all, but the pegasus' didn't seem to particularly care.
"Beloved?" Percy was tugged a touch towards his left and back into reality at the same time. He resurfaced to find Aphrodite's silken locks pulling gently on his opposite wrist. "Are you alright, mon coeur?" The love deity appeared decidedly amused, cheek dimpled on one side. "Is this strange pegasus attempting to corrupt you, perhaps?" One of his goddess' phantom hands slid down his bicep, dragging pointed fingernails through the sleeve and across his skin.
"What? No!" Percy sputtered, face heating.
"More like succeedin'!" Blackjack exclaimed at the exact same time, plopping his snout right on the sky bearer's shoulder with a toothy grin.
"Get off!" Percy swatted the pegasus' head away with a shove of wind, but the winged equine only nimbly danced away. The childish urge to stick out his tongue blindsided Percy so suddenly he had already done it before he was any the wiser.
Blackjack merely laughed harder as Percy frantically retracted his tongue. The sky bearer's face flushed even darker than before. The knowing look Aphrodite shot him made the young god wish he could sink into the ground and disappear, but at the same time he was pushing down the urge to chuckle.
"I'll have to take your word for it, je suppose." The love deity's teasing tone was so potent it almost had a green-skinned dryad literally falling out their tree across the street. "However, we shall be discussing your . . . secrecy in due time, my beloved." The words fell sinfully from her lips. Percy tried to keep his face from completely melting as he jerked his head back around to pretend to listen to what Dionysus was saying.
The wine god was waving to the left, talking about some sort of 'arts and crafts' area that had been torn down and moved further away from the buildings a couple of years ago. Of course, the pegasus as his side wasn't going to just leave things there. That would have been too easy.
"I like your mare, boss. Feisty. If anyone was gonna woo a goddess, it had to be you, didn't it?" The son of Poseidon could practically hear Blackjack's smirk. Percy knew he twitched visibly, especially when Lacy hid a giggle on Aphrodite's opposite side. "She's got you whipped worse than my great-granddad, and he pulled prison carts! Ha!" The amount of horse-themed twists that the pegasus could put onto any sentence was apparently unending."So, you take 'er for a roll in the hay yet or what? Or maybe she takes you, I don't judge." Blackjack leaned in close, his next words a low whisper right into the sky bearer's right ear.
"You a secret bottom, boss?"
Percy's silence, and the fact that his entire head turned bright red, was the only answer the pegasus needed.
For the next thirty seconds, everyone else around only heard the black horse neighing and chuffing. The winged equine probably looked like he was having a seizure with how often he was stamping his hooves into the dirt. Percy, meanwhile, had to bear with the loud sounds of Blackjack almost literally laughing his tail off.
"I didn't know you could speak horse, Percy." Lacy finally commented, ignorant to the one-sided verbal destruction she was interrupting. The sky bearer latched on like a lifeline. He almost broke his neck by looking over so fast, not that that helped with Blackjack's laughter.
"There aren't any other kids of Poseidon or Neptune around, and Frank doesn't tell us what the animals are saying." Lacy's tone turned a bit pouty at the end. "Will I get my own pegasus, now that you're marrying mom? We're basically your dad's grandkids now." The girl sounded enchanted by the idea.
Percy blinked, his embarrassment taking a brief backburner. That was quite the question. He didn't think so? Though, the son of Poseidon wasn't sure he could really say. His father was enough of an enigma already. The peppy girl tapped at her chin with a manicured fingernail.
"The Romans call it 'legacies' or something like that. I never really paid attention." Lacy's unnaturally pretty face held absolutely no remorse for that little fact. "I want a white one!" Her bouncing walk was a near-skip that had the teen's pigtails bobbing in time with each step.
Lacy was doing remarkably well at hiding any discomfort from being practically swathed in divine energy. None of the half-bloods nearby dared to stray even a fraction as close. Ever since her appearance, Percy's teal and Aphrodite's pink had surrounded the girl like a technicolor cloak - the force of it was so strong the sky bearer wouldn't have been surprised if it was visible to even a demigod's eyes.
"I didn't really know either. There aren't many horses on Olympus." Percy admitted with a shrug, still fighting down the burning in his face. "And maybe." He tried to go with the least committal response possible.
The sky bearer ignored the fact that Blackjack had started talking once again. As long as he didn't react, no one would ever realize.
"We will." Eloise crossed her arms over her chest, apparently more than content to be carted around by her mother for the foreseeable future. "Otherwise I'll never forgive ya'." The girl narrowed her eyes in a perfect picture of childish anger. "I want a spotted one, like in all them ol' cowboy movies." Percy just evenly matched her gaze for a moment, but the young southern firecracker didn't waver.
"Do you even know how to fly a pegasus?" He asked, trying to keep his tone even.
"Do you?" Eloise shot back from her perch. Blackjack guffawed.
The young god was tempted to say yes, just to get back the upper hand and maybe rub it in a little as revenge for taking over Aphrodite's arms. Being the bigger person was always so boring. Percy's lack of an answer only made the girl's face pinch and fueled Blackjack's chuckles. Aphrodite was hiding a smile behind a delicate hand again. It was clear she was finding the whole situation nothing but entertaining.
"Not that you're paying attention, but we're here." Dionysus' voice prompted Percy to quit the little staring content he had been dragged into. What greeted him when he turned was by far the largest building he had seen at camp yet. "Yeah, yeah. It's impressive or whatever." The wine god at the front of the troupe had turned half-way round, hands shoved in his pockets and muddy eyes dark. "For a slum like this, anyway." He sniffed. "The brats call it the 'Big House'."
It was an apt descriptor. With four tall floors and a wide wrap-around deck, the Big House towered over even the largest buildings from the camp's center. Its construction was solid and sturdy. The visible decorative woodwork on display was less extravagant than the original Greek cabins, but not quite in line with the Roman buildings either. Honestly, it wouldn't have looked out of place on a fancy mortal home catalog, even if it was an issue from a few decades ago.
Part of the Big House's mystique was the exactness of its placement. Situated at the very top of the largest hill that ringed the valley, the structure had been purposefully set to garner as much attention as possible. It seemed even the other buildings were scared to come too close, as not a single one encroached any further than the bottom of the slope. You could probably see the house from almost anywhere within the barrier. Brightly painted wood paneling helped with that, what with the baby-blue color and shining white trim.
Far above, on a roof so tall most would have needed a pegasus to reach, an eagle sculpture with dangling chimes rotated slowly in Percy's wind. The whimsical sound was pleasant yet also out of place for how bustling and crowded the valley had become. It felt like a relic from another era, back when there were only a handful of buildings and Camp Half Blood was still a camp and not a burgeoning young town. The higher angle of Apollo's sun set the bird's bronze wings gleaming.
"Aw, shit." Apparently Percy wasn't the only one to notice. Blackjack threw his head as he exhaled, the puff of warm air sending the young god's gray curls whirling about his forehead. "You wouldn't happen to know the time, would ya' boss?"
"Eleven forty three." Percy's mouth answered before his brain had even processed the question. His words earned him a couple of confused glances from the other group members.
Blackjack narrowed his eyes, craning his long equine neck around. "You sure?" The pegasus' midnight wings shuffled a bit as he peered at the sky bearer. "That's pretty specific."
Percy could only shrug and nod. Another benefit of godhood? Counting the exact number of seconds since he had last glanced at a clock was sort of just sort of a thing his brain always did. No extra thought or energy required. Plus, it was hard to forget with the distant feeling of the sun god always tickling the back of his brain.
"Alright. Well, I gotta' split here for a minute." Blackjack's ears and tail dropped visibly. "While you've always been the real boss, ever since you went missin' the other pegasi call me boss." He rolled his pitch dark eyes. "And this boss got scheduled for a patrol before the party. Somethin' about checking out Zeus' Fist, or whatever. The kids need me to make sure no one gets bucked off at cruising altitude." The equine was definitely smirking with that last line.
Blackjack stepped away and started stretching out his wings, the motions only a tad exaggerated for his quiet audience. Eloise and Lacy in particular followed the feathered appendages with growing stars in their eyes. The pegasus tilted his head to one side, audibly cracking a couple of vertebrae.
"Zeus' Fist?" Percy asked, glancing over at Dionysus. He almost missed how Aphrodite perked up. "That wasn't in the tour." His voice came out more than a bit sarcastic. The wine god mostly ignored him, as expected, though the edge between purple and teal in the air did waver for a moment.
"Ah, it's nothin' too special. Don't worry 'bout it. I wouldn't'a shown it to you either." Blackjack trotted in place a bit, his hooves clacking loudly against the packed soil. "Isn't much more than a big pile of rocks." The winged horse snorted, the sound dismissive. "Doesn't even look much like a fist, if you ask me. More like a pile'a shit in the woods."
Percy was about to drop it, but something about the way his betrothed's eyes felt on the back of his neck prompted him to push. "Why patrol there then? If it's just a bunch of rocks." It didn't help that he was actually curious.
When the sky bearer turned his head towards the distant trees, his superhuman sight could readily pick out a lumped mass of gray near the center of the surrounding green. That must have been it. When his attention narrowed, Percy could have picked out the blades of grass at the thing's base even from a half-mile away.
The young god wasn't particularly surprised to find that Blackjack was right - the haphazard stack of boulders only tangentially resembled its name. It looked out of place, squatted in the middle of a vaguely circular clearing, but not any more than the great volcanic climbing wall from earlier.
"Oh, that's right! You weren't here." The dark pegasus paused his warm up, head tilting to one side. "I guess it's an entrance or somethin' to a place called the Labyrinth. Blondie figured it out a few years ago." Blackjack huffed out a breath. "Makes the whole place stink to Olympus, let me tell you."
Percy felt his entire body still. The world around his form paused, as if the air itself held its breath. Blackjack continued on, none the wiser.
"Even with the big ol' war over, it's still the most common place for monsters or whatever to pop out these days. We get a few small fry every week or two, and sometimes somethin' larger if we're lucky." The winged horse shook out mane and flicked his tail. "Some of the kids got sent down there durin' the war, on quests or whatever. I ain't seen many come back out." Something heavier suffocated his normally cheerful tone. "By the time the purple-wearin' kids showed up, wise-girl already had the place trapped up to the Styx and back just to be safe. Now the thing gets its own patrol schedule, too."
"The Labyrinth?" Percy's voice parroted. The words sounded distant, his lips moving without his control. Aphrodite's gaze bored into the back of his skull, two pinpricks of intense pressure.
"Yeah, boss." Blackjack leaned a bit closer. "Y'know, those crazy tunnels we ain't s'posed to go in?" The pegasus' started fluffing his wings out again, almost like a nervous tic. "That place is so deep and tricky that not even the gods can navigate the mess. Guess that means you too, now, huh?" Percy still wasn't breathing. "All sorts of nasty creatures call that place home, trust me. Hades, you could pr'olly hide a whole army down there if you wanted to."
You could hide a whole army down there.
The words seared themselves into Percy's brain like a fiery brand. The teal flame in his core roared to life, infusing burning energy from the bottom of his feet to the tips of his fingers. Lacy squeaked from Aphrodite's other side.
A whole army.
"Woah, hey! Turn down the breeze, boss." Blackjack trotted in place, shaking out his wings. Blades of grass swirled around the pegasus, spiraling into complex patterns the moment they were ripped from the ground by teal tendrils of energy. "I'm takin' off here."
"Oh. Sorry." Percy's body was still a step disconnected, like he was there and yet also missing at the same time. The green fog creeping from beneath his shoes faded back into the earth with barely a thought. "There you go."
An army. Hiding. An army needs a general. A general missing since the end of the war?
"Thanks." In only a few strong flaps, Blackjack rose smoothly into the air. The impressive force of each beat sent the torn grass back into a wild flurry. "I'll be back later, boss. You can count on ol' Blackjack." With a rather impressive little arial barrel roll, the winged equine oriented himself back towards the heart of the valley. "We still got catchin' up to do, yeah?"
"Yes." Percy almost felt in control of his vocal chords again. "Later." The bonfire in his chest was burning, burning, hungry and rekindled.
The sky bearer could feel the way his eyes were glowing, could see the skin of his hands glittering with teal sparks. Blackjack hesitated for another moment, visibly put off. Surely the pegasus must have felt the way the air around them flowed, circular and unnatural, each twisting current merely an extension of Percy's reaching, grasping self. Blackjack must have eventually decided that haste was better than delay. With one last glance he shot off like a pitch-black bullet arcing high over the town's rooftops.
Percy was smiling again. It felt sharp and cracked, like broken glass.
I
Found
You.
Percy slowly turned around. This time, it wasn't Aphrodite pulling him over with her hair. A gentle yet instant tug of the sky bearer's left forearm did the opposite, and once he caught the love deity's eyes Percy wasn't about to let go. Their gazes locked together, wrapped in the same chains that tied her vows to the side of his heart.
Eloise was stiff in her mothers arms, holding tight to the sleeves of her blouse. Lacy stood hesitant, the girl's near-perpetual smile dim and forced. A blank, unreadable expression adorned Aphrodite's perfect, beautiful mask. That swirling neon pink line around her pupils was back.
Dionysus was saying something, probably to try and motion them around to the other side of the Big House. Percy couldn't hear over the heartbeat in his ears. Chiron and Lupa had moved like they wanted to follow, but the sky bearer wasn't paying attention. Not anymore.
"He's here."
The words rumbled from deep in Percy's chest and directly into the ground. Pebbles, some twice the size of grains of rock salt, jittered around his shoes.
"I'm right, aren't I?" Percy's restless right hand drifted up, one finger gently running over the bands of fox-tail hair on his wrist. "Did you know that Atlas was here?" The world around the two Olympians was frozen, almost like Kronos' final moments on replay.
Percy wanted to know. No. He needed to know, needed to hear it directly from the mouth of the woman he loved.
"Percy." He hadn't even noticed when Aphrodite had placed her daughter back on the ground. "Please. Paix- peace, beloved." He only realized it when his goddess stepped closer and both of her hands were free to come up and caress his cheekbones with soft, fluttering touches. "Atlas is not here, you must understand." The love deity's eyes searched his own.
"The Labyrinth is here." Percy locked his arms strictly to his sides. The thrumming power in his veins manifested in an almost unnatural double-toned pitch to his voice. "And Atlas is missing. He has been since I killed his brother." If he was paying attention, Percy would have seen Chiron visibly falter with those words. He wasn't though, so he didn't. "Where else could he be?"
It wasn't just that the argument made logical sense. No, there wasn't even a single doubt in Percy's mind. He could simply feel it in his gut, like a radar ping that had just locked on. Riptide burned in his pocket, the edge of its blade thirsty.
"It is merely one entrance," Aphrodite corrected evenly, voice as gentle as the pads of her thumbs. "And there are many places across the globe shielded from Olympus' sight, mon cher. With the Titans, that is doubly true." Her eyes flickered between his own, the black of her pupil reflecting the teal whirlwind contained in his own. "You know this."
"And you know I'm right." Percy answered, clenching his fists. The growing chorus of whispers, that baying for blood in his core, didn't take kindly to the love god's reproach. "He's down there." Fog didn't so much fall from his fingers as it did plummet, as if the clouds themselves were determined to pierce the soil and unearth what hid below.
Lacy jumped just close enough to grab Eloise's hand before pulling her smaller, petrified sister back several yards. The half-bloods were blurry and indistinct through Percy's raging green aura. Even Lupa and Chiron were forced to back away, lest they be caught among the whips of slashing air or the splitting, cracking soil. Dionysus had merely plopped down on a porch step and reacquainted himself with his flask.
Aphrodite remained silent for a moment. Percy could feel her aura pushing against his. Calm, calm, it was saying, but he shut it out. When she opened her mouth, the love deity's words were sure and carefully chosen.
"It is what we suspected." The goddess had the courtesy to hide her flinch behind her mask, but Percy had always been able to see through it. He knew she could tell when his cheeks stiffened beneath her fingers. "But there has been no confirmation. Pas encore- not yet, at least," she quickly added. "Daedelus and his string were never recovered, neither by us nor the enemy." The clarification did little to sooth the burning in his core.
"Were-" The agitated air swirling about the Big House stuttered. Percy swallowed, tugging his face away from Aphrodite's touch. "Were you going to tell me?" The young could feel his fingernails biting into his palms, the stinging lines only a single anchoring thread. "Or were you just going to ignore it this whole time?"
Percy hated the fact that he had to ask. He hated it even more that he couldn't be sure of the answer. After all, Aphrodite had hidden things from him before. A couple of weeks wasn't long enough to completely forget.
"Of course. Of course, Percy." Aphrodite rushed to reply, only letting her fingers fall as far as his shoulders before grasping on again. Behind her veil the goddess' expression was wide, almost panicked. "I- As soon as we were sure, my love. Oui." The speed of his goddess' answer could have made it the truth, or could have made it an excuse. Percy knew one way he could check.
"Do you promise?"
Aphrodite froze. "What?"
"Do you promise?" Percy pressed. That little lock hung, open and waiting, between them once again. "Promise that you would have told me." Dionysus was watching, now.
The sky bearer lifted his left hand to grasp at Aphrodite's right wrist. He took great care to keep his grip no tighter than the hair around his own. Her skin skittered as if covered with static electricity, their bodies pulled together like opposing magnets. The love deity still hadn't moved, her palms pressing against Percy's collarbones.
He had never used his domain this way. He hadn't been sure he could. Retroactive promises skirted the lines already, and using them against Aphrodite made him feel a different level of scummy. Percy had to practically wrestle the flames to respond but respond they had, roaring through his veins and carrying away the last dredges of his hesitation.
The sky bearer was almost able to ignore the flash of hurt behind his goddess' gorgeous eyes. Almost.
"Would you make me swear it, my love?" Aphrodite made no attempt to pull away from his touch. For once, the smooth facade of her expression was identical to the face beneath. "I shall, if that is what you desire." Her tone was even. Artificially leveled.
The words were a smothering blanket thrown onto the blaze in Percy's core. It was like she had pulled the wool from his eyes, sheared through the fog in his mind. With each blink, the world around his form swirled back into focus.
"I-" He nearly stumbled in place, backlash almost taking him out at the knees. "I don't-" Percy wasn't sure what he was trying to say.
When the son of Poseidon could truly see again, he immediately wished he couldn't. The increased clarity only let him witness the deep gashes his emotions had torn from the hillside. It was as if a great clawed hand had reached down from the heavens and sheared away the top level of grass and soil, leaving behind a bed of fog and guilt in its wake. Back at the base of the hill, the group of trailing demigods huddled together, half of them crouched in battle poses or reaching for weapons of either the hidden or only remembered variety.
The worst part was the way Aphrodite's daughters cowered fearfully behind Chiron's bulk. The pain and fear in Eloise's eyes made him sick to his stomach. The centaur had a sad, pained expression on his scruffy face. His gaze was somehow almost as piercing as the way Aphrodite looked at Percy, so willing to submit yet so resigned at the same time. The young god fought the urge to close his eyes, to shut out the consequences of his lack of control.
What am I doing?
"No, Aphy." When Percy finally spoke, his voice came out hitched and rough. He could barely look her in the eye. "I believe you." The sky bearer dropped the love deity's wrist like it was painful to the touch, swallowing thickly. "I'm sorry." He wasn't just apologizing to Aphrodite, even though she was the only one who could hear. When Percy went to step away he was shocked when the grip on his silk shirt held firm.
"You do not get to escape that easily, my silver fox." Beneath her veil the love deity was a spring unwound, a crisis narrowly averted. Aphrodite's whispered tone was firm, but warmer than Percy deserved. "The apology is unnecessary, but if it is my forgiveness you desire then you have it, mon amour." Her eyes were soft and understanding.
Percy could fathom how compassionate his goddess' expression had become. Couldn't she sense the lead boulders of remorse in his stomach? Why would she hang on? He had hurt her. It was no different than what he had nearly done to his mother, back before that first fateful meeting on Olympus.
"You've always had it, Percy." Aphrodite smiled at him then, before slowly, ever so slowly, bringing her head to his chest and pulling the sky bearer into a gentle hug. "I understand that I, and the rest of my family, have not always been forthcoming." The musical vibrations of her tone seeped through his shirt and directly into his body. "You are right to doubt. Je ne vous blâme pas- I do not blame you for this. I cannot." Aphrodite was so warm and firm and right in his arms. Her last words were muffled by his collarbones.
"I promise I would have told you."
Never had the click of a lock in his head felt such like a personal defeat.
That was all Percy needed to return the embrace, careful and undeserving at first but tight not long after. He tried not to feel any more selfish than he already did, clinging to her so fiercely. Percy buried his face in his goddess' soft auburn waves to hide his shame. It was the sky bearer's turn next to whisper, this time into Aphrodite's hair.
"I'm sorry." He said.
"I know." She replied.
And that was that.
Percy realized something, in those next silent minutes. It was a choice, wasn't it? This whole 'trust' thing. That's what it came down to in the end. As long as he wasn't willing to bend and shape his new power to suit his selfish desires, then that's all it had ever been. Aphrodite had asked for his trust, back on his last day on Othrys and then again during his first on Olympus. How quickly he had forgotten his own promise.
Perhaps Hera wasn't the only one with a wasted domain.
"You done with your little tantrum, Peter?" Percy nearly growled into Aphrodite's scalp as Dionysus' drawl cut through the settling atmosphere. The wine god stood from the step, flask stowed securely once again. "You better be, otherwise Argus is gonna' come down here. I think the urchins would be sad if my dear older sister had to disintegrate him."
The wine god tipped his head towards the Big House, the motion finally drawing Percy's eyes up to a tall figure that had appeared inside the porch wrapping. Whatever he was expecting wasn't what he found. At first glance this new arrival could have been plucked straight from the California surf, what with the wind-swept blond hair and the sun-kissed tan. That was, at least, until Percy saw that every exposed inch of the man's skin was covered in peering blue eyes.
They were all locked onto Percy and Aphrodite's embrace. Some of the pupils roamed independently, while others seemed to all move in an eerie lock-step. The sight was equally horrific and fascinating.
"Argus plays security around here." Dionysus strolled close, barely even bothering to look down at the miniature-scale crater Percy had dug around their shoes. "It'd be a shame if the only giant who doesn't run his mouth were to bite the dust. I doubt you'd find hired help any quieter than him." From the way he spoke, it was clear the wine god valued said silence. "Plus, Hera might get a little prissy if her old servant went bye-bye." His smug smirk made Percy think Dionysus thought he was doing them some sort of twisted favor by mentioning that fact.
The newly named Argus, who was actually dressed rather sharply in a black two-piece suit, stood with folded arms and a pinched frown near the Big House's front door. The fact that the coat was covered in pictures of eyeballs didn't help, but Percy wasn't exactly in the position to judge. He hadn't picked out his own outfit, after all.
The giant's displeased expression matched the way the dozens of still very much real eyes on his boyish face narrowed suspiciously. He was tall enough to nearly brush his head on the overhanging ceiling. Percy suspected he might have even given Chiron a run for his money.
When Argus blinked, the motion cascaded across his skin like a waterfall. The sky bearer watched in sick fascination as flesh-colored eyelids closed everywhere from the creases of his forehead to the skin between his fingers. He couldn't look away, despite the slightly upset feeling it caused in his stomach.
"Our apologies, gentle one." Aphrodite spoke up as she pulled back a bit, though her hands remained on Percy's shoulders. It was hard to miss the way Lacy and Eloise exhaled in relief as their mother came away smiling. "There will be no disintegration today, I fear." The smile she shot the giant had what skin you could see of his cheeks tinting pink. "Thank you for your service, Argus. Merci beaucoup." The hundred-eyed man shuffled uneasily on his feet, before nodding sharply and turning to stride back inside.
"What, can't speak for yourself, Phineas?" Dionysus grunted, gaze finding Percy's over the love deity's shoulder. "It's your fuckin' fault." Much like Chiron and Lupa, who were still standing a few yards away, Argus hadn't even warranted more than a single glance through the whole interaction.
"That one wasn't even close." Percy couldn't keep himself from snapping back. His emotional control was already thin enough, and just because the wine deity was somewhat tolerable didn't mean the sky bearer liked him very much - deeply buried familiar love be damned.
"Oooh, scary." Dionysus rolled his eyes. "The little wolf has some teeth after all." Percy could see Lupa's fur bristle at the insinuation, and the scowl on the canine's scarred face only deepened. Lacy and Eloise looked especially glad to be on Chiron's opposite side. "Or should I call you baby shark instead? All that leaking power and I could still crush you like a grape." The son of Zeus' smirk was so different from Aphrodite's, sleazy and self-interested instead of teasing and familiar.
"Watch your tone." The love deity spun in Percy's arms to spear her brother with a glare, so quick her hair didn't even seem to move. "I didn't allow uncle or father to talk to him in such a manner. Putting you in your place would be less than half the task." The lethal threat the words contained made the son of Poseidon feel like he was holding a bomb with a barely unlit fuse. "My change was not so drastic as to keep me from reminding you." Aphrodite snarled. The surrounding tension felt posed to jump back with increased force.
"Woah, hey." Percy drew the almost hissing love deity back to his chest, only hoping he wouldn't get metaphorically bitten for doing so. "He's right, it was my fault."
It wasn't a pleasant admission as it passed through his lips. The words tasted of burnt ozone and recent regrets, but they had the desired effect of lightening the atmosphere. Dionysus' purple desaturated back towards the norm, even as he sneered in response. Aphrodite's floating hair settled, the love deity tucking her forehead beneath Percy's stubbled chin. She wasn't quite settled, but at least there weren't any more bolts of pink lightning spitting from her eye sockets.
"I didn't mean to rile everyone up." Percy couldn't help but glance over at the two half-hiding demigods. He made sure to meet their gazes individually. "Sorry." Neither smiled back, but at least the message had been delivered.
Percy had been stupid, he realized, by allowing himself to think that he was the only one his outburst had affected. Aphrodite had, time and time again, shown herself to be just as much the emotionally vulnerable woman as the cool, collected Olympian. The sky bearer had basically thrown that all back in her face. The thought tightened Percy's embrace, both on his goddess and his guilt.
"Hey, um-"
A familiar nervous voice had every head in the group swiveling around towards one corner of the Big House. The unfortunate target, one scruffy camper of the satyr variety, looked like he was a second away from diving back around the wall. Instead, Grover stood his ground on two shaking, hairy legs.
"Is everything okay? I just, well," The satyr's wide-eyed gaze bounced back and forth, taking in the entire scene before settling on Percy. Grover hadn't stopped wringing his hands in front of a clearly well-loved orange camp shirt. "I felt a lot of really, uh, negative stuff going down over here, not to mention all the wind and whatever, so I figured I would come over and check it out and Annabeth is really busy but everything is almost done so are we good?" His half-panicked ramble ended almost an octave higher than it began. When the satyr received nothing but silence for a few moments, Percy could see a great bead of sweat drip down his forehead.
"Oh, hey Grover!" Lacy, bless her heart, was the first to break out of her stupor. The smile she put on was several degrees less blinding than normal, but the teen daughter of Aphrodite found the courage to step out from behind Chiron's equine lower half. "That's that satyr empathy thingie, right?" The blond strategically stopped just shy of letting go over her younger half-sister's hand. Eloise's grip was tight enough to turn the teen's fingers white. "That's cool!" It must have hurt, even just a little, but Lacy's voice betrayed nothing.
"Hey Lacy." Grover shuffled, his wide hooves stirring up dust and shredded grass. "And yeah, it is." The satyr's attention turned to the demigod just long enough to not feel rude, but inevitably they were drawn back away. Grover swallowed audibly when he caught sight of the glowering Dionysus.
"I believe I'll take my leave." The satyr jumped in place as Lupa spoke up, several inches further off the ground than a human probably could. "The duty of a Roman never ends. My Lady, Lords." Percy hadn't heard many people capable of sounding so equally dismissive and disappointed.
Lupa's long tail flicked sharply, her face set in a grimace as she turned back towards the camp. The scars across her muzzle made the expression fittingly severe. "I expect to see the praetors as soon as the festivities conclude, satyr." The Mother of Rome didn't even bother looking over her shoulder as she ambled back down the path. The wolf's sheer bulk literally cast Grover into shadow as she slinked past. "Make sure the message gets passed along."
The scruffy satyr nodded several times in quick succession, his small horns basically a blur. Not that Lupa ever turned her head to see it - apparently she was just that confident in her orders being followed. Honestly, it made sense when you were a giant immortal wolf capable of snapping a man in half with one bite. Percy might have been jealous, until he remembered the fact that he could crush marble with his bare hands.
In the ensuing quiet, the sky bearer's ears caught Chiron sighing under his breath as he watched her go. The sound could have been either great relief or great frustration. Still hiding half-way behind one of his legs, Eloise was watching the whole scene with a pitched, frantic confusion. The girl had shrunk so far into herself that she was on the verge of collapsing entirely.
"I'll take that as my cue." Dionysus feigned a yawn, covering his mouth with a hand that did nothing to disguise the fact that the action was fake. "I won't spew on about 'duty' or some shit like that. I just don't want to be here." The god's lips perked up on one side. "You got this, right Grayson? Good." The wine god didn't even pause long enough for Grover to protest. "Don't bother me unless something lights on fire, yeah?" Dionysus paused, putting a fist to his chin. "Actually, don't even bother me then. Bother him instead."
The wine deity jerked a thumb in Percy's direction. A pair of muddy blue eyes met the sky bearer's own. The sadistic joy on Dionysus' face was clear for all to see. His next words had a stone settling deep in Percy's gut.
"It's all yours, Percy. Until next time, sister."
With a lazy two finger salute, the disheveled deity turned to shuffle away. Percy only realized what was about to happen when he saw Grover spin his head in the other direction. Chiron barely had time to reach impressively far down to firmly cover Eloise and Lacy's eyes before the wine god was gone with a bright flash and a sizzle of divine energy.
Wait. What?
The new few moments were silent, save for the ringing of the rooftop chimes in Percy's breeze. The newest Olympian could only gape at the spot Dionysus had just occupied. Aphrodite only sighed into his chest, her exhale hot against his collarbone. Percy didn't like the fact that it was more a sigh of resignation than one of surprise or annoyance.
"So . . . congrats?" Grovers attempt at humor was never going to sound anything but forced. When the son of Poseidon managed to bring his head around, the orange-clad satyr had shuffled over until he was only a couple paces away.
"Congrats?" Percy mimicked. His voice came out monotone and robotic.
"Well, I mean. I think you just got promoted, dude." Grover managed a toothy smile. "It sounds like you're the new god of camp, right? I mean I hope so!" He verbally backpedaled so fast Percy's head was left spinning. "I just think you'll be a lot nicer than Mr. D, so its not a bad change, if you get me. Most people are gonna be pretty happy, honestly." His grin was a bit too wide to be completely at ease. "We can add it to the list of things we're celebrating!" Percy could only stare at him.
"I- I can't be the god of camp." The sky bearer tripped over his own words, so rushed was his denial. There were a thousand reasons why that was a terrible idea. A million reasons. "I don't even remember camp!"
Percy's grip threatened to rip through Aphrodite's blouse, and not for the reasons she probably had been hoping. If not for her support, he might have already fallen over. The love deity's ghostly hands returned, not with vengeance but with comfort in mind. A full set of phantom fingers gently combed through Percy curls and over his scalp, while at least two others attempted to wring out the tension in his shoulders. They were unsuccessful.
"It is one of your domains, beloved. Such a change was inévitable." Aphrodite's whispered reminder was the last thing Percy wanted to hear at the moment. Just because she was right didn't mean she should have said it.
The young Olympian could only hope that the way he dropped his forehead into her own got that message across. Despite the mostly gentle bump, his goddess only smiled back up at him. It looked no less beautiful even from such a close perspective.
"You aren't alone in this." Chiron took that moment to step forward, leaving Eloise behind to get snatched up by her older sister. The centaur approached to stop at Grover's side, his hooves heavy on the upturned soil. "You'll have my assistance, as well as Lupa and all the camp leaders. Both Roman and Greek." Chiron stood tall and proud, hands laced behind the back of his tan suit jacket. "If you want it, of course." A genuine smile broke through beneath his trimmed, salt-pepper beard.
That wasn't the answer Percy was looking for. Not even the warm feeling of Aphrodite's skin against his own could calm the storm in his gut. He wanted them to protest, not agree! When the young god raised his head and glanced over, there was something deeply paternal in Chiron's expression. The combination of pride and affection made him decidedly uncomfortable.
That sense of wrongness was compounded by the fact that Percy wasn't sure whether or not he hated it.
The smaller-hooved satyr at Chiron's side seemed to draw physical strength from the centaur's presence. It stiffened Grover's spine and solidified his expression. Just like back on Olympus, Percy was treated to a flash of surety and confidence that his friendly exterior usually left smothered. When Grover nodded, the sky bearer wasn't sure he had ever seen him so confident.
"I'm not ready." Percy hated how choked up his voice came out. His eyes burned at the corners, but he refused to let any tears free. It was only the emotional whiplash of the last few minutes, nothing more. Gods, he needed his mom here.
Grover actually let out a laugh, moving close to tentatively place a hand on Percy's arm. "You said the same thing a long time ago, before our first quest. I know you don't remember, but it's true." His fingers lingered for only a moment before dropping away. The satyr's face was a mix of nostalgia and bitterness. "You did just fine back then, man. You'll do good this time too." His little smile was as empathetic as they come. Percy couldn't help but feel the littlest bit comforted.
"I don't believe anyone is truly ready." Chiron added. It sounded like the sort of thing he had said more times than he could count. And dammit if it still wasn't good advice.
"Hey, Percy?" The sky bearer stiffened. "You okay?"
When the sky bearer looked down, the sight of Lacy and Eloise clutched to each other was nearly enough to really bring out the waterworks. Both girls were undeniably nervous. The younger demigod in particular was still pale in the face and shuffling in her tiny light-up sneakers. With her free hand, the older teen was perpetually fidgeting with one pigtail.
Despite their obvious fear, Lacy had somehow managed to get the two half-bloods sidled right up only a foot or two away. Even with heads bowed, there was a certain strength to them that Percy couldn't help but envy. Two pairs of uniquely-colored, perpetually swirling eyes looked up at him and his goddess.
Percy couldn't have imagined the pressure his near emotional breakdown had put onto the half-bloods mortal shoulders - and yet here they were. Concerned for him against all ods. When the love deity looked over and saw her children, the loving coo she made nearly broke him in every possible way.
"Thanks, Lacy." Percy had to physically snatch his arm back from reaching out towards the two girls. He couldn't be sure what his hands would do - pat Lacy's head, draw them into the hug? None of the options seemed appropriate. "I'm okay." He settled for a white lie and a watery smile.
"Good." Lacy looked so physically relieved it almost made Percy feel a bit better himself.
"Parties are s'posed to be fun." Eloise mumbled into her sister's pant leg, her dark red-brown irises stormy. "You said so, Percy." The sky bearer hadn't known it was possible for the little girl to sneak her way even deeper into his heart, and yet here they were.
"You're right." Scrapping himself back together, Percy finally found the strength to push away from Aphrodite. Her touch lingered on his chest, yet she didn't resist the motion. "I did say that, didn't I?" Standing on his own was difficult, but not impossible. No matter how the ground swayed beneath him, the son of Poseidon would not be moved. "I think I've done a pretty shit job of making that happen so far."
Eloise nodded, her face still half-buried in Lacy's side. The older demigod giggled, her expression lightening. Free from Percy's clutches, the motion reciprocated or otherwise, Aphrodite didn't hesitate to bend over and plant a kiss on either girl's foreheads. That seemed to banish the last of the lingering shadows.
"You said everything was almost ready, Grover?" The air was cool against Percy's face, the sun warm on his ashy hair. Both sensations were enough of a grounding force to keep him stable. The teal flame in his core had died to a pleasant burn rather than an apocalyptic inferno.
The satyr snapped into a crisp, joking salute. "Sure did." He couldn't quite keep the amused smile off of the serious face he was trying to put on. "Annabeth's had people over near the volleyball pit for at least the last two hours. Thalia just showed up a few minutes ago, but her attention span is about as short as yours, my dude." Grover dropped his hand, snorting. "If we don't get over there soon, there may not be many left alive for the party."
Percy faked a chuckle, but it came out more real than he expected. "I can- I'll unpack all of this stuff later." The words were as much for him as anyone else. "But right now, we've got a party to get to."
Percy saw Aphrodite nod as she drifted back to his side. Her hands were soft and sure against his bicep. Lacy and Eloise followed their mother as if drawn by invisible strings - they ended up on her opposite side, like a little four-person line with the love deity at the center. Percy's heart was fit to burst. Othrys hadn't designed it to feel this much all at once.
"Yes. We do." Chiron's grin was wide and genuine. The smile lines around his eyes somehow made him seem younger instead of older. The young Olympian had a feeling it was because they weren't around quite often enough.
"Alright!" Grover let out an unapologetic whoop. When his eyes caught Percy's, the satyr's excitement had his normally brown eyes a shimmering caramel. "Just you wait, Percy." He clapped his hands together.
"This is going to be so awesome."