Sea and Death

Fresh, unbloodstained air

Minerva pov

I breathed above the water for the first time in a week. I walked onto land and waved to the Hippocampi. They chirped and swam away. Sharks swam near me. I smiled at them. "You are not of Agwe yet we can smell the sea in your blood." They said. "Who's Agwe?" I asked. "God of Water." They said. "My father is Neptune, Roman god of the sea and its riches." I said. "We know not this Neptune." They said. "Is Agwe the only god on the island?" I asked. "No. There is Erzulie, the beautiful goddess of love, Asaka, the earth, and Papa Ge, the demon of death." They said. "Thank you friends." I said.

I walked along the beach. I found a huge rock that was flat on top. I climbed it and sat, watching the sunset. A native who looked stately came up. "You could get hurt up there girl." He called. "I'll be fine. I've climbed into a volcano before." I said. He chuckled and climbed up. I moved over. "What is your name?" He asked. "Minerva Jackson." I said. "Minerva what kind of name is that?" He asked. "The perfectly lovely Roman name of the goddess of wisdom, weaving, and battle strategy. My mother was a history nut. Most people call me by my middle name, Thisbe." I said. "Thisbe. That's better." He said. "Perfectly awful story of my namesake." I said. "It can't be more awful than Ti Moune's." He said. "Thisbe and her lover, Pyramus were childhood sweethearts but their parents, neighbors, had a huge conflict. They were separated by a wall. They used to speak through a hole in the wall. They made a plan to run away together. Thisbe arrived at the meeting place first. A lioness frightened her and she dropped her scarf and fled. Her lover found her blood stained scarf and believed her dead and killed himself. She came across his dead body and killed herself. The berries on the mulberry bush nearby turned red and stayed that way to this day."

"That was a very sad story." He said. "I grew up hearing all the stories." I said. I looked up and saw empousa. "There's the sea brat!" One said. "Styx." I pulled out my knife and tapped the handle. It turned into a trident. I leapt down from the rock, landing in the water. The empousa hissed. I stabbed one. Another started climbing the rock. I pulled my trident out of the dust and threw it at the climbing monster. It shrieked and fell, exploding to dust. The last one turned to me. "Gaea will return and you, sea brat, will die." "I will fight to my dying breath and she will never wake from her sleep." I said, stabbing the vampire-like creature.

"You're hurt." The man called down. I looked at my arm, then, crouching down, dipped it into the water, healing it. I climbed back up the rock. "One of them got you." I pulled out my canteen of water. I poured some into my hand then poured the water onto his wound. It closed up. "Who are you?"

"This may sound crazy but the Greek and Roman gods are real. They live more north." I rolled up the sleeve of my poet's shirt, revealing my SPQR marks. "I am a member of the fifth cohort of camp Jupiter and my father is Neptune. I left because I couldn't watch my friends die for our parents' selfish reasons." I clenched my fist. My trident turned into a bracelet around my wrist. "Now it returns to its original form."

Thunder rumbled. "Drama queen. I'm not scared of your threats Jupiter or Zeus. Probably Zeus." I muttered that last part. "How do you know its not Agwe?" He asked. "I don't think Agwe would be so dramatic. Besides Jupiter/Zeus hates my guts." I said. As I said that I had to roll out of the way of lightning. "This isn't your territory, jerk." I yelled.

After that incident I continued to meet the man. We would sit on the rock and take turns telling stories. He never told me his name. Then my brothers showed up. "Sister." Tyson said. "Oh boy. My brothers. Just wait here." I climbed down. "What the Pluto are you three doing here?" "You disappeared. We were worried." Percy said. "Perce leave me alone. I'm done being Olympus's pawn." I said. "But I miss you sister." Tyson said. "I'm fine. You can IM or visit but don't just drop in." I said. "You on a date or something?" Percy asked. "I'm meeting with a friend. Leave us alone and scram." I said. The duo hugged me tightly and left.

"My brothers. They're a piece of work." I said. He smiled and continued the story.

Papa Ge pov earlier

"Creatures attacked you, while she was there. She is a threat." Asaka said. "She is a child of the sea." I pointed out. "Not this sea. She is not of us. Why do you care about her fate?" Agwe asked. "She doesn't want to be a pawn of the gods, which is why she came here. We kill her, she won't go to the place she belongs." I said. "You meet with her. She's turning you soft." Asaka said. "She told me stories of battles she's been in. She deserves to be with those who died for her. If we take her now we could have a war with her gods." I said. "You love her!" Erzulie said. "I do not." I said.

Minerva pov now

After he stopped talking, I leaned my head on his shoulder. It was icy cold but a nice contrast the island heat. He stiffened then relaxed. "Thisbe, I believe it is not a good idea for you to stay here." He said. "Why?" I asked. "Agwe and Asaka believe you bring trouble to the island." He said. "You can't know that for certain." I said. "I can because I am Papa Ge." He said.