Why is Everything so Loud?! (Fem. Percy)

Leaving and Bribing

Every god who had shown up was swarmed with their children, receiving hug after hug as they said goodbye. Well, everyone except for Dad.

I stood across from him, looking away.  Dad sighed and patted my shoulder. "Call me if you ever need me."

"You know I won't."

He pulled me into a hug and kissed my head. I didn't resist, not wanting to draw attention, but I didn't hug back. "Try to stay safe." And then he was gone.

I released my held breath and sat down. I didn't take any food today, just sat with my head resting on the table. I heard hooves on stone. I glanced up at Chiron.

"Do you feel well?" He asked, resting a hand on my back. "You haven't eaten anything."

"Cramps." I mumbled. "I'll be fine."

"Did you think about what you will be doing for fall?"

"I was thinking about visiting my mom today and talking to her about it. Is that okay?" I waited for him to tell me to Iris Message her. I almost hoped for it, but on the other hand I wanted to go. I wanted to hug her. It would be nice to be around a parent that wasn't hovering.

"Just be back by curfew."

I smiled and stood up. "Thanks Chiron!" I almost winced at the amount of enthusiasm packed into that sentence, much more than usual and a bit louder than I wanted.

He didn't notice anything off he only said, "Tell your mother we wouldn't mind having you in camp for the winter."

I nodded and rushed off to find Blackjack. Surprisingly, he wasn't in the stables. I frowned and looked over at Porkpie.

"Where's Blackjack at?"

Your dad was talking to him earlier, something about not letting you leave camp.

I scowled and walked over to him. I knelt down and brushed my hand over the head of his sleeping foal. She didn't stir. "You're a good dad, Porkpie."

So is yours. He's worried about you.

"I know. He shouldn't be though. I can take care of myself."

Parenting is complicated. You'll find something to worry about. If you really need Blackjack, he should be on the beach.

"Thanks. Um, do you want donuts or just a carrot?"

Sugar cubes are fine.

I smiled and grabbed some from a nearby bag. "Here you go." As soon as he finished eating them, I stood up and headed towards the beach.

The waves were large, but they broke well before the shore. Blackjack stood near the waves, close enough for the water to wash around his hooves.

"Hey, buddy." I said. "What's going on?"

Big Boss talked to me this morning. He said he didn't want you leaving camp.

"Did he say why?"

He tried to explain, but I didn't care. He gave me donuts.

"Well, I need a ride to my mom's. I'm need to talk to her about what I'm going to do for the school year."

Sorry, Boss. No can do. I gave-

"I will stop and buy you more donuts."

Why didn't you say so in the first place? Hop on.

I smiled and climbed onto his back. He took off and started towards Manhattan. The trip itself wasn't long, though stopping off to get donuts took longer than it should've.  Eventually, he landed in a nearby alley. I slid off his back, patted his neck, and headed towards the apartment.

I unlocked the door and opened it. My key from my hand. I caught it before it hit the ground. "Hey, Dad. What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same, Percy."

"Is Mom home?"

He shook his head. I sighed and sat beside him on the couch. "Let me guess," I said. "You're going to tell her."

"What else do you expect me to do? If you won't listen to me, I need to go to someone who you will."

"How about you do what I asked and keep your nose out of it?" I didn't look at him, staring at a few early family photos, along with more recent ones. "You didn't help us when we needed it most, so I don't need it now."

From the corner of my eyes, I caught him frowning. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing."

"Percy."

"If you really want to know, ask Mom. Just leave this-" I gestured to my arms. "Out of it."

Dad sighed. "I thought I told that pegasus not to let you leave."

"Bribing him is easy. Plus I'm his human. Even if you are a god, he's going to help me. Plus Mrs O'Leary could get me here too."

"I forgot about her." He sighed. We sat in awkward silence. "Percy, I have a question and I want you to answer it."

"What is it?"

"Are you scared of water?"

I clenched my jaw. "I told you, why would I be scared of something I can control? It's not like my fear of snakes."

"Uh, why are you scared of snakes?"

"Poly-whatever his name was had basilisks in his hair. One of your exs with snake hair tried to turn me to stone because I reminded her of you, her sisters tried to kill me, and snakes attacked me when I was little. Nothing that would leave me with a fear of them or anything."

Dad stared at me. His sea green eyes searched mine. He lifted a hand and brushed a piece of hair away from my face. "You need to tell me stuff like this. I'm your dad."

"Funny. I see no pictures of you and me. There's one of me and Mom, me and Paul, me and Tyson, me and Grover, me and Annabeth, but none with you."

So. I'm gonna give you a choice.

Poseidon

Sally

Those are the only things. I will tell you nothing else.

See yah