Stygian (Percico)

Chapter 6

Nico opened the door to see Sally and Paul standing in the hallway. It had been two weeks since that day in the park and Sally wanted to come in and check on Nico.

Sally and Paul were both in terrible shape. Sally was still red-eyed and dazed, and Paul looked depressed, just like the first time they came over since his death.

"Hey, come in," Nico said awkwardly. He wasn't expecting them to come, and talking to parents after their son has died is never a fun thing to do. Nico looked over at Stygian, who was whimpering on the side at the sight of the two people he never met before.

Nico knew dogs were sensitive to emotion, but the way Stygian was acting made him feel bad for the poor dog. It was like he was carrying all the sadness in the room on his shoulders alone.

Sally and Paul sat down on the couch with Nico and Stygian following them. Stygian sat in front of the couch, not taking his sad eyes off the visitors.

"So um, how are you doing, Nico?" Sally asked in a quiet and brittle voice. Nico cleared his throat, "Fine, I guess." Sally nodded and squeezed Paul's hand as a tear ran down her cheek. Stygian whimpered again and barked. "Stygian," Nico said warningly, but Stygian ignored him.

"It's okay, Nico," Sally said. "When did you get a dog?" Stygian whined and tried to jump on the couch before Nico grabbed his collar. "A week ago. I found him on the streets and decided to give him a place to stay."

"Oh, that's nice." Sally seemed to be sleepwalking. She wasn't fully in the conversation. Nico knew how painful the death of Percy was for him, he couldn't imagine how bad it must have been to lose a child.

Stygian became restless. Nico was aware he just wanted to comfort them, after all, that was what he was doing for him ever since he brought him home. However, he wasn't going to allow Stygian to jump on them.

Sally sniffed, "I just miss him so much." She started to cry into Paul's shoulder. He ran his fingers through her hair and held her tight against him. Nico tried to hold back his tears, it was so sad to see her cry like that.

Stygian had enough, however. He broke loose and jumped on Sally's lap, barking and licking her face. "Stygian!" Nico yelled. Sally turned back to the dog and pet his ears, "It's okay Nico. He's just being caring."

Stygian whined and licked her again, causing Sally to look at him. The moment she connected eyes with the dog, she froze. A gasp fell from between her lips and she pulled the dog into a tight hug by the neck. "Oh Percy!" she said with fresh tears in her eyes. Stygian wagged his tail and licked her neck and ear.

Nico frowned, partly confused and partly horrified that she would call his dog Percy. Paul had a sad look on his face, "Honey, that's not Percy." Stygian barked. "Of course he is! I know my own son Paul. Look at him." The dog barked again and jumped back to the floor to look at Paul. He only glanced at Stygian before turning back to Sally.

"Honey, please-" Stygian jumped on him, knocking him back off his feet and onto the couch. He barked several times, it was amazing no one complained about the noise.

Paul gently pushed the dog off his chest. "Okay, so what if he is Percy," he said carefully, "how would he be a dog?"

Sally looked over at Nico with the same question.

Nico was paralyzed. He didn't know what to say or what to think. Percy wasn't a dog... no.

Sally held Stygian in a tight hug, "Oh, Percy! I thought I lost you!" Nico furrowed his eyebrows, "he's not Percy." Stygian slipped out of Sally's arms and moved to Nico. Nico didn't move as the dog licked his cheek. "He's not Percy," Nico repeated quietly.