Chapter Text
Percy was not stupid. A lot of people assumed he was, whether it was because of his ADHD, his Dyslexia, or his constant hallucinations. But regardless, he was not dumb. His mom used to tell him the stories of the Greek Religion, and he was very into the stories.
While he was asleep, dreaming, he processed what everyone had told him recently.
Greek Gods: Real.
His dad: One of them.
Zeus: Wants him dead.
Okay, that was a lot for him to process, so he shifted in his sleep.
A few times, deep asleep and healing from the car crash, he could see some figures.
A pretty black girl with an obnoxious orange shirt and a no nonsense tone as she spoke to whoever was on the other side of the bed.
“You drool in your sleep.” she said matter of factly as he stared at her.
Grover, maybe. It was hard to tell since he was used to the Grover he knew and this version didn’t have his hat on and he had goat legs and was a satyr.
Grover freaked out when Percy woke up to him, calling for someone named Will.
There was a kid, with bright, bright blond hair and sparkly freckles who lined up stuffed animals next to him and couldn’t be older than ten, yet he wears doctor's scrubs and carries a stethoscope better than anyone Percy’s ever seen. And he’s seen a lot of doctors.
The kid looked at him silently and then held up two packets of kiddie bandaids. “Superheroes or Disney?” he asked. Percy passed out before he could give a coherent response.
And in between these brief passages of consciousness, he had the deep dreams.
The most notable one was the Horse and the Eagle fighting. The Horse was racing into the ocean, which, Percy noted belatedly, he was also in. Weird.
The Horse ran up to Percy and started to shove Percy deeper into the water, from knee deep to even further into it.
Percy followed the Horse down, allowing himself to go deeper and deeper in.
It felt odd, to be covered in water but not to be wet. Odd. Like being coated in slime, but the putty-like kind of slime that doesn’t cling to you, just sits there. It wasn’t good or bad, it simply existed and he could feel it. Weird and unsettling. New. He wasn’t new to the feeling, but it was weirder in his dreams. Dreams were like that. Took something easy and turned it odd.
Also in the dreams, Percy comes to terms with the fact that his mom is gone.
He watches her die a million times, the strong grasp of the Minotaur over her. Her words as she stared at him, yelling at him to run.
Her dying. For him. Sacrificing herself.
He loved his mom, she was his only thing he had. He would have rather the Minotaur got him then her. He didn’t want to live without her.
“Percy?” said a voice as he woke up. It was Grover, and Percy could hear the worry in his voice. “Oh thank the gods you’re awake.” He was delving into his ranting that was just him talking without pause.
“Grover,” said Percy. “Please shut up.”
“Sorry.” said Grover, mouth clamping shut.
“Mom?” Percy asked, already knowing what the answer would be but hoping, foolishly he knew, that it wasn’t true. “She’s…”
“Dead, yeah.” Grover said, looking down. “I’m so sorry. I failed… I failed to protect you.”
“You protected me very well.” said Percy, always willing to comfort the people he loved. “I don’t blame you for my mom. Yes I’m sad, yes I miss her. But I don’t blame you.”
“Thank you.” said Grover, smiling slightly.
Percy looked over and his gaze fell on the Minotaur horn he had ripped off.
He could still feel the sensation of tearing it off. The strong bind and the feeling of ripping it away. The pull, and the attempt to get any grasp on the slick horn. Digging his nails into the keratin and ripping at the bone beneath. The Keratin shell sliding off.
Percy started to twist his fingers slightly. A nervous tic since he was little.
“I kept it for you.” Grover whispered. “Figured you might want a relic of your first fight.”
Percy held the horn for a moment, then threw it as far away as he could, the hollow keratin structure echoing against the wooden floor.
Grover looked at it for a second, then turned back to Percy.
Percy was a very maternal person internally. He loved to take care of people. So naturally, he noticed that something was wrong with Grover’s horns.
He didn’t bring it up, but made a mental note to talk to him about it later. If his best friend was 24 and his horns were that small… Percy didn’t know much about goats, but it just felt unhealthy.
He got up out of his bed quickly. “You said my dad is here, right?”
“Well…” Grover shrugged a little but Percy was already marching out of the infirmary.
Outside on the room he was in, Percy saw a young, college age man sitting behind a desk. There was a bottle of chardonnay open and he looked like every frat boy on TV you’d ever seen. His hair was black and curly and was covering violet eyes. He had a flushed face and his skin was tanned, and darker than Percy’s.
“Hello?” asked Percy.
“Hey?” said the man, looking up and frowning. “What the f*ck so you want?”
“Ehm… Do you know where my dad is? He’s a Greek God or something?”
The man rolled his eyes and took a long drink from the chardonnay bottle. “Am I supposed to know? Οι ημίθεοι είναι οι χειρότεροι. Τόσο γαμημένο άπορο. Ουφ.” It was pronounced Oi imítheoi eínai oi cheiróteroi. Tóso gamiméno áporo. Ouf. And Percy was surprised to report that, he understood what it meant. ‘Demigods are the worst. So f*cking needy. Ugh.’
“Are you a Greek God?” asked Percy. If there was one thing he’d learned from the myths, it was always best to be polite, and make sure that the person you’re talking to isn’t actually Greek God before cussing them out for being a bitch.
“Ναί.” Naí. ‘Yes.’
“Which one?” asked Percy. “No, wait, let me guess.” Based on the alcohol and the frat boy aesthetic, it wasn’t difficult to guess. “Dionysus.”
“Ding ding ding, right on the money,” he took another sip of the drink.
Grover ran up behind him, and he rested his hand on Percy’s shoulder. “Percy, sorry. This is Mr. D. He’s the director here at Camp Half-Blood.”
“Diony–” as Percy was saying the name, Grover slammed a hand over his mouth, and Dionysus, Mr D, whatever, glared. As he glared, Percy could almost see the horns and violent energy of the Mycenaean version of Dionysus materialize.
“Names have power, ημίθεος.” imítheos. ‘Demigod’ Mr D said. “Do not use them unless you are ready to face the consequences of what comes next.”
“Right, Mr D. Umm, Mr D, sir, why are you here at a Camp for Demigods. Aren’t you, like, a super powerful deity.”
“I am now, Peter. But I was also once a demigod like yourself and I do not intend to let Demigods die like they did in my day. They’re still gonna die, just less.”
Percy nodded, this was understandable. “Wouldn’t it make more sense for Artemis or Apollo to do that?” he asked. “After all, they are the deities of childcare and the protection of young kids.”
Mr. D shrugged. “There’s a difference between being a god who takes care of children and being a God who was a demigod.”
“Fair enough.” Percy turned when he heard another, and very familiar voice.
“Percy?” said the voice, and Percy turned to see Mr. Brunner.
“Mr. Brunner?” Percy asked in surprise. Then he noticed the real shocking thing about this encounter. “You’re a centaur.” he wasn’t sure why he said it aloud. There was a high probability that he already knew that. And by high, Percy meant 100%. However, Percy considered it useful to note his observations on the things going on around him.
It made life easier. He remembered things better when he said them.
“Percy, this is Chiron. The trainer of heroes.” Grover said.
It was very awkward for a moment and Grover turned to Percy. “Would you like me to give you a tour?”
“Umm, yeah, sure.” Percy said, desperately wanting to leave that situation.
The tour was nice, and Percy waved to each person he met.
“Why is there an Athena Cabin?” he asked, when they reached the end of the tour and Grover showed him each of the cabins. “She was an eternal maiden.”
“If Athena finds someone she considers to be on her level, or worthy of her, she will visit them, and see their child. She adopts them, in a way. Makes the child hers as much as theirs. If they don’t have a child, she will wait until they do.”
“Oh.” Percy nodded.
“Unclaimed kids go to Hestia cabin. She watches over them. Unclaimed kids under ten go to the Artemis cabin as she is the protector of young children.” Grover continued. “The Hermes cabin is often the demigods who watch over them the most though, as the Gods don’t come down to Earth that often. So they watch over the kids, since there are so many of them. Hermes is the God of Travelers.”
“Why is the Zeus and Poseidon cabin empty? They had so many kids in the myths. Especially Zues.”
“They made a pact with Hades after World War Two to not have anymore kids because the Oracle had a prophecy that a child of the eldest gods would destroy Olympus.” Grover explained.
“Wouldn’t that include Demeter and Hera then?”
“Well Hera doesn’t have any demigods, an act of loyalty to an unloyal husband. And Demeter apparently doesn’t count, even though technically the girls of the Six were born first.”
“Huh.” Percy nodded. “Okay.”
“Anyway, I should probably take you to the Hestia cabin. Luke’ll be there. He’s head of the Hermes Cabin and he’s the most protective of unclaimed kids. You’re gonna love him.”
