Drowning in the Siren's Song

Chapter 3

He finally reached the place Oak told him about. The pain from his injuries had slowed him down significantly, but at least he had healed after several bottles of water. But boy oh boy, was he exhausted.

He'd traveled through busses and taxis, using the money the dryads had gathered for him, which surprisingly, was quite a lot. He'd didn't want to know how they got it, so he didn't question it. At all. 

He'd found out that the 'forest' was a nature reserve, something which shocked him greatly. If it was a protected area, it would definitely be more problematic to live there, but he didn't want to live among humanity again. Just the thought of experiencing something similar to Gabe sent  shivers down his spine. Thankfully, there was only a single drowsy guard who fell asleep after just a bit of his humming. He was anxious about using his siren powers, but he didn't want to harm the guard.

As he scrambled over the gate, he could feel the excitement of the dryads. Because of Oak's blessing, the nature spirts as a whole, viewed him quite favorably. It was because dryads or naiads were not known to bless humans, and especially not demigods. It was a rare honor and he was glad for it. 

He walked through the rocky road, greeting the different dryads and the naiads of the nearby river and ponds who came out to see him. He introduced himself as a son of Poseidon to avoid any suspicions because Oak had told him that his eyes were strikingly similar to his father's. If he said he was a child of Neptune to justify his Siren's power, then they would obviously know he was lying. So in the end, he decided he simply decided to hide the fact that he was a Siren.

He went further deeper in the forest, inhaling the gentle smell of the soil and herbs. He wanted to be as away from the human eye as possible. He knew from his studies that nature reserves did not expose the whole area to humans, but only the outskirts, so he went in deeper, asking the trees for guidance here and there. 

At first, the spirits of the forest were taken aback by a human boy who'd seemed as if he'd wandered in by accident. He'd looked no more than 7 years old, but after a quick observation, they noticed that he had a 'nature's blessing'. He was blessed by a nature spirit, and a powerful one at that. Curious, they watched a bit more.

He was definitely an odd one. He was sure-footed but stepped lightly, not making a single sound on the forest floor. His movements were of a well-trained warrior instead of a carefree child, and his gaze was of an expert, touching leaves or flowers like he knew exactly what they could do. 

It was when he called to them, did they realize that he was not a threat. His eyes were intense, but gentle. He was respectful and polite, something which pleased them greatly. He introduced himself as Perseus, but asked them to call him Percy for reasons left unknown. He was a demigod son of Poseidon, a fact the naiads had already guessed, who didn't seem to like using his powers at all.

They spoke with him more, catting casually and enjoying the company of someone new in their homes. Just as they were growing fond of him, a loud crash was heard, and following that, a monster.

Though Percy had seen monsters, he'd never had to face one before. He would only glimpse them in passing, a man with a single eyes, or a tail peeking from under a coat. But they'd always looked humanoid, though weird.

But the monster in front of him was not even close to being called human. With a snake-like body and several twisting heads, it spat a sizzling green liquid at the trees, burning them. The heads hissed at him, approaching slow, the eagerness in their purple eyes unsettling him. 

A hydra. That's what grandmother described this monster as. 

He grit his teeth in anger. He could distinctly feel the dryads emotions, their pain and panic as they tried to salvage their damaged plants. It was a horribly similar feeling to when he faced Gabe, but instead of cowering and accepting the pain, he could fight back and he would. He recalled his grandmother's words, steeling himself for his first fight.

He called upon the water from the river and splashed it on the tress which were burning from the acid spit by the Hydra. It wasn't a solution, but it would at least prevent it from spreading and paining the dryads even more. While he was concentrating on the water, he started to run towards the Hydra, taking out the knife his grandmother gave. It was simple and cheap, but it was the best he had at the moment.  

Cutting off their heads was a big no-no but when he was learning about how to fight them, he had a hypothesis. What if he were to block their breathing? He wouldn't be starting a chain by cutting their heads but if it went right, he could kill it. 

He kept weaving between the Hydra's head to keep its attention on him; he didn't want any more of the forest damaged. Oak had put him under a strict fitness regime, but even he was surprised by how his body was engraved with the instincts of a fight. He didn't have to think much as ducked under it's legs and cut its underbelly with his knife. He kept making small cuts here and there, irritating the monster.

The reason he was stalling was to concentrate. Once he was sure, he escaped from among its heads, running fast and light to put some distance between himself and the Hydra. As expected, it ran after him, hissing and crawling. He called upon the water from the river, and split in into sections, urging each blob to settle on each head, cutting of its breath. 

It panicked and tried to spit more acid, but it just harmed its head more within the water. Its twisted and turned, trying to find a way to get rid of the water, but Percy's prowess was too high for it to do anything. Deciding to end things quickly, he compressed each ball around the heads, increasing the pressure till the Hydra was unable to resist at all. It was quite the scene, a giant Hydra thrashing like a dog with his head stuck in a box. 

The nature spirits watching in slight horror as the little boy stood in perfect calm, observing, ready to jump in if anything went wrong. But nothing did. Within a few minutes, the Hydra exhausted itself and with the continuous exposure to its own acid, turned into gold dust, disappearing into the air. The water splashed down, making the dried leaving on the forest bed sizzle by the remaining acid. 

Percy swept his gaze over the forest again, carefully checking whether everyone was well, before letting himself relax. The nature spirts were tending to each other, but thankfully only a few trees were harmed. He could see the surprise of the dryads and the naiads, and blushed slightly, uncomfortable under their heavy stares. 

"I apologize for using your water without permission, Ma'ams." He bowed to the naiads, sheepishly scratching the back of his head. His clothes were torn and he smelled like acid, his hair was a mess with leaves sticking out, but he looked extremely cute as he squirmed under their gazes, his round cheeks turning redder every second.

As if practiced, the nature sprits roared, congratulating and celebrating happily. It seemed like the Hydra had been terrorizing them for  quite a while. 
"You do not need our permission to use water, Prince." The naiad nearest to him ruffled his hair, turning it even more unruly, her clear blue eyes glimmering. 

"Thank you for your protection, child of nature." An elderly dryad spoke, her strict face melting into a kind smile. Her demeaner reminded him of his grandmother, making his chest hurt with a wave of home-sickness. He was going to miss her, but he was looking forward to his new life among these spirits. 

He returned her smile with a grin and joined the celebrations, proud of defeating his first monster.