FLOWER POWER ─ percy jackson

iii. gods above

"Half-human and half-what?" Percy asked, and Aster sighed.

"I think you already know."

Percy's gaze fell, and he began to pick at the wooden railing nervously. After a moment, he looked up, his sea green eyes traveling over the lake. "God," he sighed. "Half-god."

Annabeth nodded. "Your father isn't dead, Percy. He's one of the Olympians."

"That's . . . crazy," Percy said, shaking his head.

"Is it?" Aster said, her gaze following where Percy's had been. "What's the most common thing gods did in the old stories? They ran around falling in love with humans and having kids with them. Do you think they've changed their habits in the last few millennia?"

"But those are just–" Percy cut himself off. "But if all the kids here are half-gods–"

"Demigods," Annabeth said. "That's the official term. Or half-bloods."

"Alright, demigods. Then who's your dad?"

Her hands tightened around the pier railing. Annabeth's dad was a sore subject, as was Aster's.

"My dad is a professor at West Point," she said. "I haven't seen him since I was very small. He teaches American history."

"He's human," Percy said, more of a statement of fact than a question.

Annabeth scoffed. "What? You assume it has to be a male god who finds a human female attractive? How sexist is that?"

"Who's your mom, then?" Percy moved on, slightly annoyed.

"Cabin six."

"Meaning?"

Annabeth straightened. "Athena. Goddess of wisdom and battle."

Percy turned to Aster. "So who's your dad? Mortal or not."

"He's– was a florist," Aster replied shortly, anxious to change the subject. "Demeter's my mother." She turned to face her own cabin. "Cabin four. Goddess of Agriculture."

Percy turned to follow her gaze, looking at her cabin. "I liked the flowers there," he told her bluntly.

Aster smiled, a real genuine smile. Probably the first one she had had all day. "Thanks. I did those."

Percy nodded. "Cool, like, you planted them?"

"No, I grew them. This morning," Aster said simply, which caused Percy's eyes to widen. Annabeth just watched their interaction with a small smile.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"See, some children of the gods inherit their abilities," Aster explained, leaning over the water. "Hermes kids can pick a lock in under thirty seconds, Aphrodite campers can charm people into doing whatever they want, so on and so forth. Annabeth is way smarter than the rest of us, even if she won't admit it." The blonde girl blushed and looked away. "Me and some of my siblings can grow plants at will. It's called plant growth acceleration."

With half a thought from Aster, a long piece of an underwater weed grew out of the water towards them. Under her direction, it wrapped around Percy's ankle, who jumped at the contact. Aster laughed lightly, then sent the weed back to the depths of the lake. Percy looked equal parts terrified and amazed.

"Whoa," he breathed, and Aster smiled.

"Pretty cool, huh?" she said. "I can also make plants move, and sense them."

"How do you do that?" Percy asked, still amazed at the lake weed growth.

"Just born with it." Aster shrugged, turning her back on the water. "It's the reason my dad's shop had the best flowers for miles."