Aqualad (Aquagirl Companion)

9

I floated in the water, deep below the surface. I sighed. They're late.

As soon as that thought went through my mind, something almost hit me. And that something was a person.

Beckendorf smiled at me and offered a wave.

"Where is Percy?"

He pointed up towards the surface and I looked up to see my sister swimming down.

The moment she reached us she rested a hand on Beckendorf's shoulder. The son of Hephaestus took a deep breath.

"Oh thank the gods. How do you deal with this pressure?"

"We are meant for it." Percy said reaching into her pocket. She drew out a necklace which consisted of a cord and a small charm. "Put this on, Beck."

He took it from her and slipped it over his head. Percy let go of him and his eyes widened.

My sister laughed. "It is magic. Normally, I would advise against using illegal charms, especially those made by someone with one year of training. But I happen to have a high affinity for the mystic arts and it is relatively easy to imbue an object with some of my powers so you may breath and be unencumbered by the pressure."

Beckendorf took a careful breath and then relaxed.

Percy unzipped her jacket and pulled it off. "I know I can breathe without my gills-" she pulled her hair back and I could see her gills move. "-but I do not like the feeling of my gills being covered while underwater."

"Wait. What's with your guys' tattoos?" Beckendorf asked.

"The skin icons?" I asked, focusing. Mine lit and some if the water around me began to glow.

It is so nice to be able to share this portion of Percy's powers. Well, something similar I suppose. She has these powers gifted to us by the Conservatory on top of the ones she has from her father.

"That's so cool!" Beckendorf's eyes lit up in amazement.

I smiled and glanced at Percy. She stared at him, relief on her face. I frowned and turned to fully look at her.

"Is there something you are going to try to keep from me, Percy?"

"No." She shook her head.

"Lying would work better if I had not witnessed you successfully blaming someone else for breaking a vase."

Percy sighed. "We had an attack on Camp. The prophecy is drawing closer by the day..."

I took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, flinching back when our skin icons lit. It did not hurt, but it was surprising for that occur and even more so that a foreign sense of dread flowed through me before vanishing.

"What was that?" Percy stared at her hands.

"I am not sure."

"Then try it again." Beckendorf said.

"And if we get hurt?"

"We're underwater, Percy. I'm the person who should be the most worried."

I looked at my sister before grabbing her hand again. I focused and my skin icons glowed. The light spread to hers and instead of dread, curiosity washed over me.

"I wonder if this allows for us to sense each others emotions." I mumbled.

"Is this limited to us? Or can we do it with Tula and Garth?"

I swallowed. "I do not know, but you will need to be the one who asks."

Percy's eyebrows drew together. "What do you mean?"

"I dropped out of the Conservatory. Our king offered me the position of his protege and I accepted."

I thought she would be happy for me, but instead she frowned.

"What is wrong?" I asked, ignoring Beckendorf who was doing flips in the water.

"The prophecy is set for when we turn sixteen. In a year, whatever the gods have been working to prevent, will occur. I know the seas are not safe at the moment, but Poseidonis is one of the safest places for you to be."

"Wait, why aren't the seas safe?" Beckendorf stopped his spinning.

Percy swallowed and looked away. "The old sea gods have sided against us. It is all my father can do to keep hurricanes from destroying the surface world. And with Luke alive again, even if he is hosting the enemy, I don't want to kill a demigod. I know I can. We were trained to kill the enemy, but demigods are trained that monsters are the enemy not other demigods. And I want to save him. For Annabeth. He was the first person who cared about her, I don't want her to lose that."

"Percy, the moment he attempted to kill you, she lost that." I rested my hand on her shoulder. "He became the enemy when he betrayed the Camp. You cannot hesitate. If you hesitate-"

"I may get my allies killed, I know. I simply do not want to kill him if there is another way."

"He's not Luke anymore." Beckendorf said. "He's a husk. That...monster killed our family. He killed Lee."

Percy wiped her eyes. "Do not remind me. I do not want to see any more shrouds go up in smoke."

I wrapped my arms around Percy and kissed her cheek. "Fight bravely. I wish to have you join me by our king's side someday."

"The Atlantean affection thing is still so weird to me." Beckendorf mumbled.

"Well it would be because you were not raised with the same values that we were." Percy pulled away. "Come on, Beck. We should get back before Chiron gets upset."

"Yeah, and you can help me fix Mrs O'Leary's collar."

A smile lit up Percy's face as she looked back at me. "I have a pet hellhound now. Bye Kaldur!"

"See you later dude!"

"Stay safe!"

This is the...fourth chapter for today I'm pretty sure

I've lost track

But...

I'm seriously debating mixing up cookie dough just to eat it

Actually we might have some in the freezer I'm going to check

See yah