BY fates design

Nicknames

A low rumble of thunder passed over the sky, "maybe I should stop saying their actual names." Cassiopeia muttered. "Wait, if we're going to the underworld maybe I should have asked for Eleana to come too, with her mum being Persephone and all." Percy commented. "It's summer, it wouldn't have mattered." Cassiopeia dismissed.
"Why?"
"Sephy isn't in the underworld right now." Cassiopeia shrugged as if it were obvious. "Sephy?" Percy rose a brow at the name. "We aren't supposed to say their names, not that that has ever really stopped me." Cassiopeia shrugged, her head tipped back against her seat. "If you don't say their name how do you talk about them?" Percy asked, leaning back slightly. "I use nicknames but most people use their titles like Lord of the dead, or king of the gods." She explained. "You have nicknames for them?" Percy's interest was sufficiently peaked. "Yep," she giggled quietly, "we have Zuzu, Sephy, Thea, air bear, he hates that one, Rara-"
"Rara?"
"For the queen of the heavens. Aphro, sometimes dite (die-et-y), phaestus, demy, arty, dino." Cassiopeia paused to think of the others. "Mmm, seidon or pissy depending on if he's in a bad mood, pollo/apple, that one depends, tia or hessy but she's sweet so you could get away with Hestia. Then there is herpes-" Percy burst out laughing, clamping his hand over his mouth so as not to wake the other two. "Yeah he would hate that name, then last but not least Dede." Cassiopeia finished.

A rumble of laughter erupted from the hall, while a couple of the gods, namely Hermes, Ares and Zeus, pouted and sulked about their names. "Oh, 0h, oh," Sirius chortled, "you, Bambi are a genius."
"Hey! Why am I herpes?!" Hermes yelled outraged. "Would you rather chlamydia?" Cassiopeia sassed, rolling her eyes. "Why does it have to be a sex disease?"
"Cause you're a whore."
"Excuse me!" He recoiled back with a dramatic expression. "What? You're telling me in your eons of life and sleeping with mortals and gods you never once caught an STD?" She rose a brow at him. "You have how many kids?"
"I umm I-"
"Exactly, you've had hundreds of kids and you expect me to believe you practice safe sex?" She shook her head and rolled her eyes once again turning away from the gobsmacked god. A wave of laughter spurted from the demigods and mages, even a couple of the gods like Artemis and Athena chuckled.

Towards the end of the second day, eight days before the solstice, they passed into St Louis. Annabeth craned her neck to look at the gateway arch, "I want to do that." She said, her eyes filled with hope and admiration. "What?" Percy asked. "Build something like that, you ever seen the pantheon, Percy?"
"Only in pictures."
"Someday I'm going to see it in person. I'm going to build the greatest monument to the gods ever. Something that will last thousands of years."
"That sounds amazing Annie." Cassiopeia smiled encouragingly at the girl, elbowing Percy when he snorted in laughter. "You an architect?"
Annabeth flushed slightly, barely noticeable against her dark skin, "yes, Athena expects her children to make things, not just tear them down like a certain god of earthquakes." Cassiopeia sighed at the arguing, it was a constant background noise that she had grown used to over the couple of days they had been on their quest. "Hey Grover?" She nudged the boy's foot with her own, "want to play a game?" She asked, holding up a deck of cards. When the Amtrak pulled into the station Annabeth stood up, "come on, we're going sightseeing." She said urging the others to stand. "Sight seeing?" Percy was clearly sceptical, Cassiopeia was too, but she knew how much Annabeth had wanted to see the Gateway Arch so simply followed along with a shrug.

Together they walked into the underground entrance of the Arch, Grover's nose immediately screwed up, "what, do you smell monsters?" Percy nudged Grover in the ribs. "Underground always smells weird, it's probably nothing." He brushed off, though that did little to settle the unease that clawed at Cassiopeia's stomach. "Hey Cass?" Annabeth turned to the other girl, "can I have the bag for a bit?" She asked. "Sure." Cassiopeia handed it over and watched Annabeth rummage through it for some water before slinging it onto her shoulder. They walked through the exhibition, Annabeth taking care to explain everything that was on display before they headed for the lift to the top. Beside them in the elevator was a woman with a dog cage in her hand, it jerked and snarled, "calm down sonny." She soothed the creature. "Your dog's name is sonny?" Percy asked the lady. "No." She replied giving no further information.