𝐃𝐄𝐉𝐀 𝐕𝐔 • Percy Jackson.

11

THE DAY OF CAPTURE THE FLAG he stared at the spray bottle on his left and the golden coin on his right hand. He held the coin up, glancing at it closer, squinting at how familiar it seemed. When he had been given these items he wasn't exactly thrilled, "You know, I was really expecting a phone..." All he got instead was the bullshit that phones could attract monsters. "How the fuck does electricity shit attracts monsters?" He got some long lesson on waves from Annabeth.

He watched as the air sprinkled with light and the colors of the rainbow washed over. He tossed the coin in saying, "Oh Iris, goddess of the Rainbow, please accept my offering." Before stating, "show me Inaya Shah." Low and behold the rainbow mist changed images and reflected a familiar work desk with the city behind the windows. His mother held a measuring tape twisted around her thumb and index finger as she mapped out a black silk onto a headless black mannequin stand.

Amani watched, feeling like sand had filled his throat, and he couldn't speak. After what felt like forever he managed to voice out an Amma. She turned around, staring straight into his eyes. She flinched back before shouting his name. She walked forward, her eyebrows furrowed. "Amani what is this?" He only shrugged explaining it was Iris messaging. "Where have you been-" she started, eyes flaring up in anger, before realizing just what his son was showing up on. "You reached the camp." She stated, her eyes going wide, and he nodded. "What...How?!" She shouted as she tried to reach out to her son, but the image only rippled like water before going back to normal.

"You were in queens...how did you get to Montauk?? Wait." She muttered to herself moving back and forth and he sighed. He really felt like sand had burrowed itself into his throat and he would choke on it. He rubbed his temple, "you used my card, didn't you?! Dammit if only I had them monitor it we could have found you sooner. You don't need that damn camp." She vexed, biting her fingertips. He glanced up towards her.

He caught onto those words, "so you knew about it." Inaya snapped her head up. "Now Amani." She started off, but he rolled his eyes. "No, you know about the camp. Do you know about the gods too? What I am?" He kept asking questions upon questions, it didn't stop at just those three. He didn't even realize how hoarse his voice had gotten by the end from shouting when he asked, "do you know who my father is?" His mother tried intervening, adding in her own anger and shouts, but he kept going demanding for an answer.

He was never given one.

He stared at the wall in front of him. "You're done?" Annabeth asked with a nod towards him, he nodded. "Yeah. I'm done." He didn't turn her way. "Capture the flag's today after dinner.' She reminded. He didn't respond, only staring at the wall. Her footsteps made a small sound against the grass and dirt until he heard nothing. It was only him. Only after he felt his heart slow back to rhythm did he give his eyes a final rub and walked off to sit by a tree in the strawberry fields. He decided he would skip his activities.

-

He blinked. The sky was orange, the light glinting through the leaves. "Finally!" Percy exclaimed, exasperated. "You left me alone with Annabeth during her Greek lessons, I had to deal with her and her lessons, alone!" He whined, sitting beside him with a groan. He looked towards him and shrugged, "could have skipped with me since you found me." Percy only shoved him off. "She'd go and tell Chiron or something." He grumbled with a roll of his eyes.

He only laughed in response. It faded into a solemn silence as he stared at his ring with a chest full of sand. He thinks back to the blurry conversation he had with his mother over the rainbow. He reminisces of the points of wonder that he had demanded an answer for, to get nothing in return but shouts of controlled confusion and shock. The ring itself, had also been subjected to thoughts of his own. The most prominent thought, how had Amma given this to me?