𝒞𝒶𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓇𝓉𝒾𝒸 | ᴘᴇʀᴄʏ ᴊᴀᴄᴋꜱᴏɴ¹

1. Down the hall...

｡ ₊°༺❤︎༻°₊ ｡

My collapsed dream turned into sand,

and was taken away by the wind.

I won't be able to love anybody,

but I'm still looking for you.

｡ ₊°༺❤︎༻°₊ ｡

❤︎ Down the hall, Helena was facing an almost identical situation as Percy.

Helena and Ethan had been watching a random action movie she had put on when her father, Ares, appeared in front of them and blocked their view of the TV.

Ethan startled; some of his popcorn spilling onto the floor, but Helena remained unfazed.

"Can you move?" Helena said to her father. "You are kinda in our way."

Ares half-turned to look at the TV.

"Oh, is this the one with that buff guy you like?" Ares narrowed his eyes at the pirate sitting next to his daughter before he squeezed his way between them and stole some of his popcorn. "The Tate dude?"

"Tatum," Helena corrected offhandedly. "Yeah, it is."

Ares hummed.

"So, Mr. Pirate," the god of war turned to look at him. "What's your name?"

"Uh, Ethan," Ethan answered. "Nakamura."

"Japanese?"

"Yes," he answers before hesitating. "...sir."

Ares huffed out a laugh at the title. "No need for that, sir, bullshit kid. Spark is cool with you, and so is Mark, so we are cool. That shit makes me feel old."

"That's because you are old," Helena said, still staring at the TV.

"Spark," Ares said, placing a hand over his heart in mock offence. "How could you? I would understandthe attitude from Mark but from you? Betrayal."

"Why are you here, Dad? I'm trying to enjoy a movie." Helena rolled her eyes at her father's theatrics. "Stop being dramatic."

Ethan was not often confused, but their relationship was honestly so jarring.

Was this what it was like to have a parent?

"We have a lot to talk about," Ares frowned slightly. "You wanna start, or should I?"

Helena finally looked at her father. "What do you mean?"

"I guess that means I should start," Ares huffed. "Hey kid, you gonna stay for this?"

Ethan looked at Helena.

"I guess I'll stay," he said. "If you don't mind."

Ares shrugged. 

"Okay, the first order of business," Ares said, reaching out to grab Helena's hands and inspecting him. He looks at them for a few seconds before nodding. "Your hands are healed, good. Now, onto more important things: What do you two know about Typhon?"

Helena paused the movie and turned to face her father fully. Ethan recognises that face. She wore it often. The face when she knew the answer to something, she had studied—the curiosity, mixed with knowledge and intrigue.