Percy Jackson - Forgiving, not Forgetting

Meeting the Family

                                                                  ~~~~Poseidon~~~~

 I didn't know how I felt about lying to my son. He acted different from the last time that I saw him, more commanding and authoritative. He didn't stand for crap or beating around the bush. Partly why I was indecisive on what to do.

We had all saw the little scene from last night and I was surprised that Apollo or Zeus hadn't tried to kill him. Percy was too caught up in the moment to realize that there was an Iris message behind them. We had saw everything, including the kiss. i was momentarily surprised by the fact that my niece actually liked someone and that it was my son. Although now that I think about it, I understood. Percy was the only male that Artemis would endure. He was kind, thoughtful, and always thinking of others before himself. Now, he was the same, but more cautious, as if he didn't trust us. The way he acted with Hades, Hestia, and Hera sent a familiar ache to my heart, heck even Ares was treated better than I. They acted like friends that were always fighting, but would have each others back. He ignored me, and basically any other god except my younger brother. But the only reason that is, was because he was king and leader of us.

Percy was currently staring at us silently, studying us again. I noticed that he did that before, as if to see if any thing had changed. He seemed guarded and wary, which I didn't like. I felt like I wasn't his father anymore. Suddenly, his head swiveled to me, like he knew what I was thinking. His eyes were emotionless, but his hands and legs were twitching, like he was fighting the urge to walk over and hug me. 

He kept staring at me, and I did the same. I blocked out the noise and kept my thoughts on my favourite son. In a way, this was my fault. I should have done more for Percy. Been there for him more. Damn the Ancient Laws. I loved my son more then I loved myself, he meant everything to me. The pain of when he died was horrible. Unrepeatable.

His eyes moved from mine so suddenly, that I found myself moving to the same spot. Artemis sat there looking at him expectantly, like waiting for him to do something. Percy must of made a face or something, because she suddenly creased her eyebrows in frustration. I saw Percy smile out of the corner of my eyes which sent Artemis crazy. I didn't know what they were doing, but it looked like they were talking with their eyes.

Artemis gave Percy a glare that brought shivers down my back. Percy didn't seem to care as he just meet her gaze straight on, unblinking. He frowned after few seconds, pulling away. He sighed, bringing the attention of all the gods onto him. 

His lips were pursed slightly as he looked over to Hera. His eyes flashed purple as well as Hera's. Percy looked around once, stopping slightly at me before continuing. 

Again, he sighed. Suddenly he disappeared of the room with a smell of the sea, returning later with not only himself, but with another body. On his waist, was the small girl that was abused. The one that Percy seemed so protective over. The girl with dark brunette hair and swirling blue irises. They looked so innocent and beautiful. She seemed lovely. Although she also looked scared.

Percy cleared his throat, bringing the attention onto him. He glanced around uneasy. "Sophia, this is our family." He said softly. He crouched to the ground and started to point at us as he told her our names. When he got to me, he crouched behind her ears, and told her something else. The girl, Sophia I think, smiled brightly. She bounded her way to me and jumped up on my throne. I was surprised, but smiled at the little girl in front of me. Before I could do anything, she hugged me tightly, forgetting my lack of air. I could feel my cheeks heating and my lungs burning. She let go before I could pass out from lack of oxygen.

She started rambling quietly about anything and everything, and I tried to keep up, but it didn't matter because she wouldn't give me the chance to talk. Percy watched us fondly, another emotion that he only showed Artemis and rarely his patrons. He was standing closer then before, just in reach to grab her in case anything happened, but was still far enough away to look casual. Athena seemed to notice this too, as she looked like she was trying to work out who the little girl on my lap was.

Percy cleared his throat again. Everyone, save Sophia who had just got off my lap and onto Artemis', looked over to him.

"As you suggested yesterday," Percy started. "I will be going to Camp Half-Blood within the next month. I will be going with the Hunters of Artemis. Just like yesterday, I will not withdraw my identity and will tell them that I am alive. I will not, however," He took the time to look at all of us in the eyes. "be revealing anything that would encourage the idea of me being associated with Chaos in any way. The only way that they will find out is if I want them to." He told us firmly.

The gods were silent for a second, which was unusual for the council of the gods. The only noise was Artemis and Sophia chatting, who didn't seem to care what we were saying. Almost synchronized, the gods all nodded their heads. Again, this was surprising because the gods never agree on something straight away, it always takes a few long and heated arguments before any choice is made.

The terms were affordable and didn't seem like much. All he wanted was to go with the Hunters and no one find out about his knowing Chaos. As long as the Hunters agree then it seemed fine.

My brother, Zeus, seemed to see the same as me. Nothing ad could really come from this. "Alright, we agree on your terms, but you need to go this week." He demanded.

That seemed to hit a spot in Percy. He first stiffened and tensed up, ready to fight. He took a deep breath to try to calm down. Zeus looked like he was debating to retract his sentence, but his pride stopped him. Perseus was still trying to calm down, unsuccessfully.

He looked up at him, with intense eyes. It wasn't that there was emotion within them, but they showed his true age. One where physical age doesn't count. Because mentally, Percy looked older then us, like he had seen more wars and battles then anyone, carried more burdens then you could think. If you looked close enough, it was as if you could actually see them. See the hardships he carries. Being with Chaos had to mean that he did thing that no one should do, things that should just be reserved for Chaos, not young men or women.

"Do not tell me what to do." Those few words were said so slowly and meaningful. I couldn't help but remember Percy when I visited him in his crib. So innocent and playful, mischievous even. I remember watching him and seeing that snake, ready to go kill it, only to see my baby boy starve the reptile of air when he was only a child. Or when I sent that cyclops to see if he was alright at the playground. Or even those times he was sent out of school. No matter what he did, I could never be more proud of him. Now, I felt as much proud as I did sadness. He was different now. It was as if the innocence was sucked out of him and replaced with memories. Good or bad memories, I was yet to find out. I just hoped he would give me a chance. A chance to be a better father or a better person.

Zeus was still to stuck up on his pride to stop, but anyone with a right mind could see he was scared. Scared of my son, a first.

Percy had obvious saw that he wasn't backing down, so he took it to the next level. Winds, lighting, rain, fog, and cracks appeared. But I knew that the lighting was not my brothers, but my son's. How he was doing this, I didn't know. All that mattered was that I made sure not to let anyone get killed.

My son cocked his head calmly. He was seeing how much it would take for Zeus to crack. And it wasn't long. Everything, including the crack marks on the floor, stopped and receded away. It looked like nothing had ever happened.

Perseus looked at Artemis and Sophia, and visually relaxed. They seemed to have a calming effect on him. Artemis smiled gently at him, furthering to calm him. He nodded at her. Artemis flashed away faster then you could say 'wave of the sea'. Zeus didn't complain out of fear of angering my son. Percy looked at us one last time.

"We will arrive when we want to. The Hunt has no wish to be at either camp for to long, and as I'm apart of the Hunt that includes me." He smiled a meaningless smile. "Thank you for agreeing with me. I'm sure the Hunt and I will," He paused. "eventually get there." 

And with that, he was gone. No flash, nor sound. No smell or any proof that he was there. He was gone.