Some Pothena Moments

Chapter 5: A shady secret

Poseidon sighed. He was very annoyed and tired at the moment. More than he ever was, which wasn't surprising since he normally was calm and cheerful. But not now.

He was tired because he had been up all night, bothered by nightmares- yes gods could get these- in which Oceanus overthrew him and he got thrown into Tartarus while gigantic owls attacked him. He awoke screaming, completely distressed and disoriented, thinking he was in Tartarus. He hadn't been able to sleep after that.

Poseidon didn't often have nightmares, but when he had them, they were really bad. And they were almost always about the persons he loved or cared for.

They were often about Percy or Sally, in which they could either killed or would be used against him by one of his enemies. Once, he had dreamt that Zeus had kidnapped Percy and given him the same punishment as Prometheus; Percy had been attached to a rock and every day, a eagle tearing at his liver while Poseidon was powerless, forced to watch his most prized son being tortures. He had been both angry and upset when he awoke and the dream had haunt him for weeks.

Another nightmare he sometimes had was about Sally, Sally being abducted by a titan and used as toy, her screams tormenting him. The pleading and accusing look in her eyes making him feel miserable. He still felt guilty about leaving her and was scared she would be in danger because of him.

This time, he had been the subject of his dream. He had been tormented and alone, his friends and family nowhere to be seen. All he cared about either taken from him or destroyed. He had known it was a nightmare, but hadn't been able to wake up.

He really hated having nightmares. Although he was a god and didn't really need a lot of sleep, those nightmares drained him.

He had had them for a few nights in a row and , together with all the work and energy it required to re-built his palace, Poseidon felt weary and irritable. He didn't even enjoy bickering with Athena anymore. Not really.

Although they argued more than ever , mainly because Poseidon was irritable due to lack of sleep and a lot of stress, Poseidon didn't really enjoy it anymore. Not like he normally would.

Normally, he enjoyed having arguments with his rival. She might win, if not all, most of the arguments, but Poseidon enjoyed them. He didn't have to win to enjoy it. He never knew why he did, all he knew was that he honestly didn't want it to stop. It was something between them, something he hoped would stay that that could make his day.

If he believed Aphrodite, which he didn't, it ws their way of showing their love. Poseidon snorted. Right, like I could every love that mean, frigid and cold woman. She spends more time with books than people.

He didn't dare to admit, he did like Athena. More than he should. He shouldn't like her at all, but he did- in a twisted way.

He knew he didn't hate her and he certainly felt something for her. He just wasn't ready to discover what exactly his feelings were for her. It would be too complicated. Especially since Athena and he had so many differences and she seemed to despise him.

Even if he did love her, there was no guarantee she loved him back. She didn't even show she liked him, unless Aphrodite was right and their arguing was a way to hide their true feelings for each other.

Poseidon sighed, annoyed by his own thoughts. Why am I even thinking this? I must be exhausted if I am actually thinking about Athena in that way. She would never like me. She has been telling me she hates me for the past centuries. All my thoughts about her lately are just Aphrodite, trying to influence me.

Poseidon kept telling himself this, but he knew it wasn't true. Aphrodite didn't have enough power to make him actually fall in love, not even when he was exhausted. He was one of the big tree and she couldn't influence him that much. She could only strengthen his feelings or make him lust after someone. And even that wouldn't last long.