Just Add Water

and i'll never go home again

Percy dreamt of the ocean. Of the cool water gently caressing his feet, swirling and then letting go. He was there, amid the peace, the tranquility, of which the sea awarded him with. Rocks and pebbles twinkled in the sun like gold. Everything felt like gold in this daylight. He closed his eyes and breathed in.

It was strange because deliberately, he wasn't dry. He had no tail.

It was strange, but he thought nothing of it. Only stepped further in, wading into the sea.

Something called to him, a feeling glowing in his chest. Blue. This time everything was blue. The sound, his breath, the temperature. If there was a way to describe being underwater, it was that.

This time, however, his tail showed up, blue like the ocean. Blue like the calling—the ringing—that echoed across the currents. Or maybe the calling he heard was the gold of the upper world. He wasn't sure; he only swam and swam, his tail an extension to his body, carrying him faster on the water than he could run on land. It was thrilling.

But this wasn't just about the thrill; his tail had a purpose as well as his mind.

That feeling in his chest...it had only grown, guiding him towards something in this endless blue.

Hummm.

He heard it, now. A humming. Water swished in multiple directions, currents fighting for control. They tried to tug him every which way, but he wouldn't let that stop him from his goal.

Hummm.

The ocean felt like jello, the jello that his momma prepared for him whenever he got sick. It was becoming extremely hard to swim in these conditions.

Hummm.

But his destination was so close. Close, but not there. Soon. His heart and tail beat faster. Muscles clenched, unclenched...the feeling in his chest grew stronger than ever.

Come, someone whispered, in the back of his mind.

No. Leave.

Come.

So close. The water fought back. But still, he was so close —

Everything went dark. His eyes flew wide open.

Immediately, he heard his mother's voice. She was calling his name, soft as the afternoon tide. "Come on, Sleeping Beauty. Time to wake up. The pancakes are getting cold."

"Coming, Momma," he mumbled, unburying himself from the sheets.

He blinked away the sleep from his eyes and looked at his mom. She sat at the edge of the bed expectantly. Her eyes crinkled at the edges like paper, a sign that she was worried about something. Worried about him.

"Bad dreams?"

He frowned. "No. Just...it was weird."

She didn't ask for more, instead choosing to pat his leg that was still covered in bedsheets.

"C'mon, then. We can both eat breakfast, and after that, you can do whatever you want. Like...hmm, I don't know...swimming?"

Her grin was contagious, and it dawned on Percy where they were.

The sheets, he noted, weren't the ones of his room. They were worn and a bit dusty. This was a cabin, tucked away from the eyes of New York City, wooden and small enough for the bedroom and the kitchen and the living room to be relatively close. He'd been here many times. His mom had, as well. Here, she'd met Poseidon. Here, mother and son had spent their vacations relaxing by the water.