The Calm After the Storm (Fem. Percy)

Chapter 2

I stood in front of a door, waiting, though every single bone in my body screamed to run. I was an idiot to do this. My hands fiddled with the hem of my dress. The battered coral and metal stared back at me, daring me to run---to ding-dong-ditch.

I'd been led to this cobbled together house to knock on the door, and my guide swam for their life once I had. Ignoring the warning that was, I debated on knocking again.  It was possible they hadn't heard me the first time, or they were ignoring it and hoping I'd go away.

Just as I raised my fist, Amphitrite opened the door. We stared at each other. Then I realized that's rude and dropped my gaze to my feet.

"Hi." I clasped my hands together.

"Why are you all dressed up?"

"I don't" --I paused-- "know what's appropriate to wear in this situation." Formal-ish seemed like a safe bet. There's not exactly a guidebook for visiting gods. Well, there might be, considering Camp used to take field trips to Olympus, but Chiron had certainly never shown it to me, just like the orientation film that apparently gives all the warnings for events I experienced first hand.

"You aren't sick, are you?" She frowned and pressed her palm to my forehead. "You're slurring." 

"A tiny bit drunk."

"Yes well, I suppose I can't fault you for celebrating a victory.

"My mom would."

"You're an adult. I don't see why--"

"I'm sixteen." Fuck. Why did I... I sighed. "Yesterday was my birthday."

She froze. She slowly reached out and pulled me over the threshold, gentle as if I would break. Something passed over her face. Horror? Concern? Maybe it was anger. It was gone too soon for me to figure out. "You--- You came here to see your father?"

"I think I came to help with. . ." I looked behind me. The rubble strewn about made the rest of the sentence unnecessary.

"You think?"

"I haven't slept."

She stared.

"I can--I can go." Intruding was bad. My sleep-deprived brain knew that well enough. It would be daylight by the time I made it back to Camp. That wouldn't be so bad. It'd be busy. Noisy.

"No. No! No, you can--" Her hand covered her mouth. "You're family. He won't like it if you aren't treated as such."

Quickly, she led me through the large living room, slow enough I could notice the sofa, chairs, and a table tucked into the corner with ease, and into the adjoining bedroom. Appropriately large for gods but not for the size the house should be, it's looming walls made me feel too small.  I trembled, uneasy. My fingers dipped into my pocket to brush Riptide. It wasn't there.

Something was wrong.

"Poseidon? You have a guest."

Where did I lose it?

"Tell my brother I'll deal with him when I can."  Dad reclined amidst the blankets and pillows--dwarfed still, how many people could fit on that bed before you'd have to touch each other? Triton sat curled around him like a greedy cat on a lap, purring as our father absently carded his fingers through his hair. I raised my own hand to my hair and wondered for a moment if his hands felt different than Mom's.

"I wasn't aware you'd cheated on me to sire your brother," Amphitrite said. "Your daughter came to visit."

"Percy?" Dad sat up. "What are you doing here?"