𝓓𝓮𝓵𝓲𝓬𝓪𝓽𝓮

𝐗𝐈𝐗.. 𝐀𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐲 𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐝𝐬

"ᴜɴᴛɪʟ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪᴏɴ ʟᴇᴀʀɴꜱ ʜᴏᴡ ᴛᴏ ᴡʀɪᴛᴇ ᴇᴠᴇʀʏ ꜱᴛᴏʀʏ ᴡɪʟʟ ɢʟᴏʀɪꜰʏ ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴜɴᴛᴇʀ"
-ᴀꜰʀɪᴄᴀɴ ᴘʀᴏᴠᴇʀʙ

𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⭑
‧₊˚ ⋅ જ⁀➴๋࣭ ⭑๋࣭ ⭑

The next few days were sheer torture, exactly as Tantalus intended.

First, there was Tyson moving into the Poseidon cabin, his laughter bubbling up every fifteen seconds as he exclaimed, "Percy is my brother?" with the glee of someone who'd just hit the jackpot.

"Aw, Tyson," Percy would say, trying to manage a smile. "It's not that simple."

But there was no explaining it to Tyson. He was in his own version of paradise. Neither Percy nor Elara had the heart to burst his bubble.

Then came the whispers and snide remarks from the other campers. Percy was no longer the hero who had retrieved Zeus's lightning bolt the previous summer. Now, he was Percy Jackson, the unfortunate guy stuck with an ugly monster for a brother.

"He's not my real brother!" Percy would protest whenever Tyson wasn't around. "He's more like a half-brother on the monstrous side of the family. Like... a half-brother twice removed, or something."

But nobody was buying it.

Deep down, Percy couldn't deny his anger at his dad. Being Poseidon's son suddenly felt like a cruel joke. Annabeth, ever the supportive friend, tried to lift his spirits. She suggested they team up for the chariot race to distract themselves from their troubles.

Despite their shared disdain for Tantalus and the growing anxiety about the camp's future, they felt powerless to change their situation.

Until they could devise a brilliant plan to save Thalia's tree, they decided they might as well participate in the chariot races. After all, Annabeth's mother, Athena, had invented the chariot, and Percy's father had created horses. Together, they would dominate the track.

Elara opted out of the races, claiming it would be too easy to defeat everyone.

One morning, the trio was sitting by the canoe lake, sketching chariot designs. Some jokers from the Aphrodite cabin sauntered by and asked Percy if he needed to borrow some eyeliner for his eye... "Oh, sorry, eyes."

As they walked away laughing, Annabeth grumbled, "Just ignore them, Percy. It isn't your fault you have a monster for a brother."

"He's not my brother!" Percy snapped. "And he's not a monster, either!"

Elara went silent.

Annabeth raised her eyebrows. "Hey, don't get mad at me! And technically, he is a monster."

"Well, you gave him permission to enter the camp."

"Because it was the only way to save your life! I mean... I'm sorry, Percy, I didn't expect Poseidon to claim him. Cyclopes are the most deceitful, treacherous creatures."