Why is Everything so Loud?! (Fem. Percy)

For Once, the Nightmare isn't Percy's

The warmth of another body I'd long grown used to had disappeared from my side. Chilled air brushed against my arms and shoulders, and, needily, I rolled over, thinking Dad had shifted in his sleep. I didn't hit a body, only a warm spot in the bed, still mired in the smell of him. He hadn't been gone long--or not at all, as I realized when I opened my eyes.

Amphitrite held Dad against her, running her fingers through his disheveled hair in calming motions, swaying slightly. His hands clutched at her shirt.

"You're okay," she soothed.

Oh.

I sank back into the bed. It felt  weird lying still and not being the one needing comfort. I'd grown so used to it that I half expected to be dragged under the haze when I woke up in the middle of the night. As it was, Dad's aura was weirdly...subdued. Usually wild and stretching, the strands making up what he couldn't fit within his human form were leaden, sluggishly twitching over the bed. 

A few were curled protectively around me--they weren't tight enough for me to think he was paying attention at the moment, though I sensed rather than saw Dad peer at me.

"I wish you would be nicer to her," he mumbled. 

"You're parading the proof of your infidelity around the palace. Be glad I've restrained myself this much." She had been restrained, hadn't she? No matter how much Dad didn't like her opinion towards me, she had every right to be upset. And by the gods' standards, to be much more like Hera. "Others would have killed her the moment you suggested bringing her into our bed."

"Then be angry at me."

"You know why I cannot." She sighed, exasperated. "You say you would understand it, but I've been married to you for far too long to believe such a thing." She paused. "You would not like it if I had a demigod child."

"No. I wouldn't." 

"Then why am I expected to like yours?"

"I'm not saying to like her. I'm saying to not take out your anger with me on her. She's a child, Amphi. You didn't see how she was acting at Camp. No one comes and talks to her except for the satyr who found her in the first place. She's isolated far more than she's ever been, she thinks everyone hates her, and I can't blame her considering no one noticed she'd been missing for a week."

The heat in his voice surprised me. Dad's temper hadn't flared much with me around--I did my best to ignore the times he'd been upset with me, and I subtly scratched at my bandages when that failed. There wasn't a reason for him to be upset. Sure, I was. But it was directly affecting me, and it was my fault in the first place.

"You're too attached." Amphitrite shook her head. "Save yourself and the world the heartbreak. It never ends well when a god cares for a mortal--child or not." She smoothed her hand over Dad's back. "Does her mother know you have taken her?"

"It may have slipped my mind." Dad pulled away and settled back on the bed. "If I'm up to it in the morning, I'll message her but..." He shuddered, tightened his aura around me--filled with the buzzing I'd come to associate with anxiety-- and I snuggled against his back; there were few things that could give a god nightmares, and I happened to share experiences with a few of them. He seemed to purr. I could feel his amusement: short-lived and quickly replaced with calm and love. 

We lay in silence, until Amphitrite drifted back to sleep.

"Are you awake?" he whispered. I said nothing. There was nothing to say, really, because I'd eaten everything Triton gave me, I washed behind my ears, I even flossed my teeth. All the dad-ly duties covered. What else could he want?

Well, I knew what I wanted. I wrapped my arm around him as best as I could. My nose smushed against his shirt as I dragged myself as close as I could to his firm frame before melting. The warmth he'd stolen away quickly returned to my body. A good thing too. I'd thought I'd have to sneak to Triton; Dad wouldn't have been happy to find me gone in the morning.

"You woke me up," I mumbled. That was a stupid thing to say. Too accusatory when I should've been asking if he was okay. Dad's been too kind, the least I could do was that, right? But the words died on my tongue. Wouldn't asking a god--one of the Big Three-- that be implying that they're weak? As much as he granted me leeway, he was proud.

It was probably the reason he was nice to me when I thought about it. Proud of me, that I'm his. I couldn't imply that he was lesser or---

"I'm fine." A strand poked at my cheek; I blushed, realizing he'd probably picked up on some of that. "Was just a nightmare." He frowned, a crease appearing between his brows. "Did you have one?"

That had been the entire reason he had me sleep in here. In case I had a nightmare, he'd be there to hold me--though holding me really meant putting me back to sleep or keeping me from feeling, which had made me scramble with excuses to stay in my own room with my horse plush. None of them were even entertained, I thought bitterly, before he scooped me up and silenced any protests from his wife.

When I don't respond, he hummed. "How about you go find your brother? I'm sure he's still awake."

That made me whine, and I nuzzled deeper into him.  "You're warm."

"Please, child."

The waver in his voice stacked upon the fear in my chest. I couldn't make him angry or he'd leave like he did earlier. He'd ignore me if I didn't do what he wanted--that should have been a good thing, getting some much needed distance from him. But I found myself not wanting it.

"I don't want to hurt you," he muttered. "Go find him."

HAVE CHAPTER

HAPPY INKTOBER! imma go draw and watch a vod and enjoy my nice break from work atm

hope you enjoy this not planned at all chapter--as in, i started writing this and dunno what happened

See yah