sky blue ● jason grace

whether

 Once Leo had anchored the Argo II between the pillars, Jason summoned the wind to carry him and Piper ashore. The man in purple was waiting for them.

He'd heard many stories about Hercules. It was hard not to when the guy was famous, and technically his brother, whether that was a plus point, Jason didn't know yet.

But as he stood in front of them, Jason couldn't help but think that he was too...modern looking. Roman myths had always seemed to be just that, but here was Hercules, the greatest hero of all time, looking like he spent his days drinking protein shakes and calling people "bro" for fun.

His feet were bare, covered in white sand. His robes made him look like a priest. His beard was fashionably scruffy, like Piper's dad, Tristan McLean—the sort of I just happened not to shave for two days and I still look awesome look.

He was well built, but not too stocky. His ebony hair was close cropped, Roman style. He had blue eyes like Jason's, but his skin was coppery, as if he'd spent his entire life on a tanning bed. The most surprising thing: he looked about twenty. Definitely no older. He was handsome in a rugged but not-at-all-caveman way.

He did, however, have a club which lay in the sand next to him. Coach Hedge would've been jealous.

Jason and Piper approached him slowly, though he didn't look very perturbed. "Hello," Piper said. Always a good start.

"What's up?" Hercules said. His voice was deep but casual, very modern. He could've been greeting them in the high school locker room.

"Uh, not much." Piper winced. "Well, actually, a lot. I'm Piper. This is Jason. We—"

"Where's your lion skin?" Jason interrupted.

Piper looked like she might hit him with Hercules's club. But thankfully, the god looked more amused than anything.

"It's ninety degrees out here," he said. "Why would I wear my lion skin? Do you wear a fur coat to the beach?"

"I guess that makes sense." Jason couldn't conceal his disappointment, this guy was nothing like he'd read about. "It's just that the pictures always show you with a lion skin."

Hercules glared at the sky accusingly, like he wanted to have words with his father, Zeus. "Don't believe everything you hear about me. Being famous isn't as fun as you might think."

"Tell me about it," Piper sighed.

Hercules fixed his eyes on her. "Are you famous?"

"My dad...he's in the movies."

Hercules snarled. "Don't get me started with the movies. Gods of Olympus, they never get anything right. Have you seen one movie about me where I look like me?"

"I'm surprised you're so young."

"Ha! Being immortal helps. But, yes, I wasn't so old when I died. Not by modern standards. I did a lot during my years as a hero...too much, really." His eyes drifted to Jason. "Son of Zeus, eh?"

"Jupiter," Jason said, slightly on-guard. There was something off putting about the guy standing in front of him. Jason was usually good at reading people, but he was still trying to determine whether or not Hercules was a threat.

What would Daria say? His girlfriend's voice had this uncanny habit of appearing in his head whenever he was trying to make a decision. Probably something that would make Hercules angry, might be better to avoid that.

"Not much difference," Hercules grumbled. "Dad's annoying in either form. Me? I was called Heracles. Then the Romans came along and named me Hercules. I didn't really change that much, though lately just thinking about it gives me splitting headaches..." The left side of his face twitched. His robes