RIPTIDΣ | PERCY JACKSON [ON HOLD]

two

its the next morning and Percy jolts up from a nightmare and Luke gets up seeing him scared. "you okay?" luke asks, "super" percy responds and gets out of his blankets. "we all have them, you know. intense, recurring nightmares. thats normal here. and the daydreams, and the ADHD, and dyslexia. demigods just process reality differently than humans do. for the first time in your life, youre just like everyone else" luke says

"so are you also...do you not know who your—" before percy could finish, luke finished his sentence. "am i unclaimed? no, hermes is my father. that doesnt matter, were all on the same team here." luke says disgusted by even saying the word he calls his father.

"why is that okay? why do they get to bring us here to just ignore some of us? also if hermes is your father, does that make vida your aunt? because zeus is her step-dad and that makes hermes her step-brother. isnt that a bit weird, since your, you know, dating her?" percy asks.

"gods dont have dna. you can call someone your brother but you will never be biologically related to them even if you come from the same parents. but also if you spend too much time trying to figure out why the gods do whatever it is they do, you'll drive yourself crazy. sooner you stop worrying about that, the sooner you can enjoy what this place actually does offer" luke explains.

"and whats that?" percy asked while luke shrugs. "glory" and starts walking away and percy follows. "demigods have always thought for glory. they used to call it kleos. its like this stuff that attached itself to your name. makes it bigge, scarier, more important. people listen closer when you talk, they work harder to be your friend, and they think twice about messing with you" luke says ironically while clarisse bumps into percys shoulder.

vida is watching from a distance, sitting on a peace of log, reading a book. "hey" percy says defensive while clarisse pushes percy back. vids jumped up making sure percy was fine. "hey. knock it off, clarisse, its like his first day, come on" luke says defending him. "wait, so this is the kid who killed the minotaur. is that right?"

"yeah? me and vida." percy was confused. "ill bet. look, you want attention around here, dummy? you better be ready for it when it comes." clarrise jumps at him while percy flinches back. clarisse and her friends laugh and walk away. "well, she seems nice." percy says and vida walks up to the two. "ares kids. they come by it honestly" luke says. "just ignore her." vida butts in.

"why dont they mess with you guys?" percy asked. "they know better" luke answers. "luke's the strongest swordsman at camp" chris says. vida clears her throat. "oh and vida is the strongest swordswoman" chris adds scared. "so, they leave you alone because 'glory?'" so if i get glory, clarisse wouldnt mess with me either?" percy asks. vida hums in agreement while luke answers, "exactly"

"and people think im a big deal?" percy says. "well, sorta, but—" luke was hesitant, "and my dads got no choice but to claim me." percy thought he got somewhere. "forcing the gods wont work" vida answers, "well, yeah, but... it would make it harder for him to pretend i dont exist, right?" percy asked. "maybe" luke answers. "well, great. where do we start?"