¹On This Spring Day, percy jackson & the olympians

002.

ON THIS SPRING DAY
━━━━━ chapter two

━━━━━ PERCY HAD SIBLINGS. Well, a sibling. And a Cyclops at that.

               His name was Tyson, and he was the only friendly Cyclops Violet had ever met. He had to be at least two meters tall and with broad shoulders. He had messy, mousy brown hair and a singular, very large, brown eye.

               "Tyson," Percy introduced as Violet shifted on her feet nervously, "this is Violet. Violet—you know Tyson, right?"

               How could I not? she thought to herself. It's not like he smashed a couple of Colchis bulls last summer.

               The Cyclops blinked at the daughter of Eros bashfully, saying, "You are very pretty." With care, he engulfed Violet in a hug. Not knowing what else to do, she patted him awkwardly on the back before letting go. She loved hugs, just never shared one with a Cyclops before.

               Tyson was grinning widely, and Violet got a front-look peek at his yellow and crooked teeth. "I am happy Percy made another friend!"

               The black-haired boy flushed. "Yeah, Tyson. Me too."

               Tyson and Annabeth were already acquainted, having met and taken a quest together the summer before. The daughter of Athena seemed happy to see Tyson, but it was clear to see that she was being distant. She kept looking over at the forest.

               For a moment, Violet panicked, fearing that someone had seen and told Annabeth about her popping out of the shadows, but when Annabeth didn't say anything, she let out a sigh. If Annabeth had been suspicious, she would do something—at least look at Violet critically—but she didn't. Violet wondered if Annabeth was thinking about Grover and the Council, then. The satyr was nowhere to be seen, and Violet felt horrible for him. Finding the lost god Pan had been his lifelong goal. His father and his uncle had both disappeared, following the same dream. Last winter, Grover had heard a voice in his head: I await you—a voice he was sure belonged to Pan—but apparently his search had led nowhere. If the Council took away his searcher's license now, it would crush him.

               "What's this 'other way'?" Percy asked suddenly. "The thing Clarisse mentioned?"

               Annabeth picked up a stone and it skipped across the lake. "Something Clarisse scouted out. I helped her a little this spring. But it would be dangerous. Especially for Grover."

               "Goat boy scares me," Tyson murmured, tugging at the edge of his dirty shirt.

               Percy stared at his brother. "Why would you be scared of Grover?"

               "Hooves and horns," Tyson answered nervously. "And goat fur makes my nose itch."

               And that note ended their discussions over Grover.

               As they were leaving the lake behind, Violet stopped to stare at the forest.

               "Thinking about Grover?" Percy asked, stopping next to her.

               "What?" She looked at him. "Oh—yeah. I am. I—I hope the Council changes their mind."

               "I don't think that'll happen," he admitted. "You saw the way they looked at Grover."

               "With disgust." Violet nodded. "Yeah, I saw."

               Percy turned to look at her fully, and she watched for him to ask the question she had been avoiding since she arrived. "Why d'you bail on me back at Goode? I really could've used your help, you know. With the empousai."