ATLOP: Trial by Fire

We Get Advice from a Poodle

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The night was miserable.

I helped bandage Annabeth up using the tools from my med kit. I used the purification stone to cleanse the cut of any germs then spread antibacterial paste on it before Grover cut neat strips of seaweed to wrap the injury.

I didn't want to risk trying to heal her with my waterbending without any training in case I messed up.

Once Annabeth was fixed up we moved further into the woods. I was still struggling to breathe, but at least I wasn't gasping for breath the whole time. I was just breathing hard and my chest was tight.

We settled down in a large, litter filled, clearing. I glared at all the trash.

Why did people feel the need to leave it everywhere? It caused so much contamination!

Annabeth suggested we sleep in shifts in case Medusa changed her mind or some other monster decided to come after us.

Grover called first shift (and flew up to sit on a branch) and Annabeth was out the moment she hit the soft blanket from my med kit. I couldn't sleep though, it was hard to breathe and uncomfortable.

I counted my breaths and shifted against my balled up camp shirt pillow.

I sighed, rolling over.

"It makes me sad, Percy."

I blinked and turned to look at him, "What does?"

"This..." he motioned to the clearing. "All the pollution, even the sky. You can hardly see the stars anymore. It's a terrible time to be a satyr."

I nodded in understanding, "Yeah... it sucks all around. The amount of pollution in the ocean is really bad. And the rivers aren't doing much better."

"Yeah, you know a lot about that I suppose, what with your dad being Poseidon." He looked at me, "Did you know all along? Who your dad was?"

I pursed my lips. "No. But I did know... I did know that my dad was a sea deity... just not which one."

You know, besides my incorrect guess... I cleared my throat, breathing carefully, it was still hard to talk for long.

He blinked. "Oh... How did you meet Triton? You said you knew him?"

"Well, I was practicing in the river, when I was... eight?" I managed a half shrug laying down. "He ended up teaching me... a bunch, he made sure I knew... how to use my power and that I knew how to act... I'm from the sea as much as I'm from land- after all, I need to... to make sure to know my heritage."

Grover nodded slowly, "So you knew... Ms. Dodds."

I nodded, "Yeah, and I knew you weren't human... and that Khiron was super suspicious. I honestly thought... um, I thought that you guys were trying to kill me."

His eyes widened. "What!?"

"You weren't human, you were- were super suspicious, and you were talking about... me behind my back... It's not like... It's not like you told me anything either. I just had to guess... what you were doing and went with the worst possible outcome. Hope for the best... prepare for the worst."

He winced. "Yeah... I guess I wasn't the best at keeping you safe."

I stared at the tree branches above me. "You tried."