Percabeth: As We Grow

🐱🐶Pet Pandemonium🦜🐟

Percy's POV

"I want a doggie." Zoë declared.

She was perched on the windowsill, looking at me expectantly.

"Where did this idea come from?" I asked her, laughing.

"Esperanza has a doggie. I want a doggie too." she said stubbornly.

Luke looked up from his thick book. "Daddy, I would like a parrot. Parrots are very smart like me and have been known to imitate human speech---"

"Doggies are better." Zoë said to her twin brother, then looked back to me. "So, Daddy? Let's go to the pet shelter now to get a doggie."

"Uh---" I began, but Zoë was already tugging me toward the front door.

"C'mon Daddy!"

"No, Zoë! We have to ask your mother first." I said, standing ground. "Wise Girl! Zoë wants a dog!"

"What?" Annabeth stood in the doorway. "No, Zoë. Dogs are messy and require a lot of care. You wouldn't want that much responsibility, would you?"

"What's responsibility?" Zoë tugged at Annabeth's shorts.

"It means---" Luke cut in, but Zoë spoke before he could finish.

"I love responsibility, Mommy." she said promptly.

Annabeth stifled a laugh. "Well, Zoë, what about when the doggie does its...poop and pee? You would have to clean up after it, because it would be your dog. You would have to feed and clean the dog too, because it would be your dog."

Zoë blinked. "That's hard."

"I would do that for my parrot, Mommy." Luke said. "Could I have one?"

Annabeth and I exchanged a look.

"Luke, if you are really sure that you can take care of a parrot, fine."

"Yay! I will teach it to talk lots." Luke declared.

"Me too, I will take care of my doggie very much." Zoë said quickly. "Pleeeeeeease, Mommy, Daddy."

"Are you sure, Zoë?" I asked.

"Yup."

"Then let's go." Annabeth walked out to the car, swinging the car keys in her hand. "Remember, they are going to be your responsibility."

----🌊💖🦉----

We stopped at the parrot rescue organization first. Zoë scowled.

"How come he gets his parrot first?" she said impatiently.

"Be patient, Zoë." Annabeth said, locking the car. "You get to see them too."

Inside, it was quite warm. Branches stretched out everywhere, and on every branch was at least three parrots.

"Wow!" Luke said, clapping his hands.

Zoë walked around quite annoyed at first, but she soon softened and said she wanted a parrot as well, taking a liking to each and every one.

"No, Zoë. Only one pet. If you get a parrot as well, no dog for you." I said to her sternly.

"Aw." Zoë said.

After we walked around for a bit, Luke made his choice.

"I want this one, Daddy." he said, pointing to a rainbow colored one. "He's called a true parrot, also known as Psittacoidea."

"Nice choice, Luke!" Annabeth said. "Say hi to him."

Luke was about to when the parrot spoke. "Sey he co tim." it said.

"What's it saying, Mommy?" Zoë's brows were furrowed."

"I think he's trying to copy Mommy." Luke said happily. "See? He's smart. I'm naming him Smartie."

"Isn't that chocolate candy?" Zoë inquired. Luke scowled.

We paid for Smartie and left with a small cage and Smartie inside. Luke wanted to hold the cage while we walked to the car but it was too heavy and left him sweating. The ride to the pet shelter was very noisy, with Smartie squawking every time the car hit a bump on the road. "AOF!" he repeated over and over in an attempt to copy Zoë's oof every time the car hit a bump.

The torturous ride finally stopped for a while when we arrived at the pet shelter. Zoë jumped out happily and ran for the door. I had to chase after her.

We left the parrot in the car with Annabeth and Luke. I chased after Zoë. She was already at the front desk.

"Hi, my name is Zoë Sally Jackson, I'm two and three months, and I would like a dog, please." Zoë said in what she thought was a very professional voice.

"Please excuse my daughter." I said to the young man at the front desk, panting. He chuckled.

"I don't mind, sir." he said, laughing. "You wouldn't believe how many kids come here to ask for pets. I'm Jack."

"Percy." I said. "So anyway, my daughter wants a dog, and---"

"No prob!" Jack said. "So...Zoë, was it? What dog would you like?"

"Big." Zoë said, gesturing with her hands. "Very big."

"Wow, a big dog, huh? Well, come this way..."

Zoë and I followed Jack. He led us down various corridors past the cats and small and medium sized dogs, then stopped at the big dogs.

"Here we are." Jack said, gesturing to all the big dogs.

There were about ten of them, all behind glass walls. Some trotted up to us and pressed their noses to the glass as if to sniff our hands. Others didn't even look at us. Still more were afraid of us.

"Which one will it be then, Zoë?" I said.

Zoë did a quick scan of all the dogs. "Every one of them!" she declared.

"What did I say before, Zoë? Only one."

Zoë pouted and this time walking slowly around the room, taking closer looks at the dogs. Finally she stopped at a golden retriever named Goldie.

"This one, Daddy." she said. "She is a girl like me! And she is gold. Gold dogs are good dogs. And she is very big."

"Goldie. 5 years old." Jack informed me. "Female. She is very gentle and loving despite her size and she loves children, especially girls, for some reason. She would be quite nice for your Zoë."

"You sure about this, Zoë?" I asked her.

Zoë nodded. "Please Daddy. I want Goldie."

"Okay, fine." I smiled at her, then looked at Jack. "We'd like to adopt Goldie, please."

"Sure! So, I'll just let Goldie out..." Jack opened the door of Goldie's room.

She bounded out with so much energy she almost knocked Zoë down and licked her face happily. Zoë giggled. 

"See, Daddy? Goldie likes me!" she exclaimed. "I can't wait to show her to everyone."

----🌊💖🦉----

After that, we bought a big silver cage for Smartie and food bowls and toys for Goldie. The house was crowded, what with Smartie shrieking at the top of his lungs, "I'M A PARROT!!!" and Goldie running around and knocking things down. Annabeth and I did not know how we were gonna cope with it all.