The Pirate of Greece

Chapter XXXV (Percy)

Percy had done some pretty stupid things in his life. 

Provoking a small battalion was quickly becoming one of them.

His eyes roamed the crowd below him, swaying with the motion of the ship. He took note of his own crew huddled together closest to the mast, therefore, having to awkwardly angle their necks more than the rest. The enemy demigods were eyeing him carefully, hands next to hilts and shields partially raised, obviously unsure of what to do. 

Luke – as Percy remembered from their previous encounter – glared at him from the railings on the quarter deck.

"And who would you be?" 

Percy hesitated. He couldn't exactly just tell this guy his name. He wasn't very well rehearsed in the art of mysterious negotiations, but handing over information as simply as that didn't seem like the right move.

"No one of importance. And you are?" 

"Someone of importance."

Alright then. Quick witted, Percy thought. 

Before Percy could respond with his own witty response (which most likely wasn't very witty at all), Luke butted in again. The glare faded from his expression to be replaced with mild annoyance.

"Why are you on my mast?" he asked. 

The son of Poseidon didn't answer his question. He would've liked to say it was a strategic move. Placing himself out of direct enemy contact and into an advantage point. But, truth be told, he hadn't thought of it like that at all. It just kind of...looked cool. Percy decided it was best not to mention that.

He waved the question aside. "Also not important." 

"Boys," a very familiar voiced called from down below, "can we get rid of the male supremacy act and actually do something."

Percy looked down at his crew to see Piper looking between them with her arms crossed, not at all amused with their petty word exchanges. The fact that she was surrounded by enemies didn't even seem to faze her. Apparently, it was just a mild annoyance. Annabeth, who was standing beside her, was nodding in agreement. He also noted how they were coated with sea water. He inwardly winced. They'd make sure to remind him of that if they escaped. 

Luke straightened his posture and pretended to not have heard the daughter of Aphrodite.

"Your ship isn't sailing again, your crewmates are under my command along with your captain. You have nowhere else to go," the blonde-boy stated, attempting to stare down the son of Poseidon. 

At the mention of his ship, Percy couldn't help but glance at the Blackjack. Red hot rage threatened to take over at the sight of his vessel, slowly sinking into the water. It had only been held afloat for this long because of the coral acting as a buoyancy system on the other side. And, he suspected, Tyson was still furiously working away beneath the hold.

It didn't help his attitude when he saw what the Titan Army had done to his crew. Herding them together like a pack of stock animals. Utter frustration and fury threatened to drown him. The thought of ripping apart Luke's own ship was appealing to him with every second that ticked by. He would've loved to see how well they handled themselves when their only source of support was sinking. 

With the lack of wind and waves, the boat was rocking more than it should've been. Percy breathed in, subduing the rocky waters below that were responding to his emotions. The safety of his friends was his main priority. No matter how much he wanted to get back at Luke, he couldn't endanger the rest of them.