cymophobia | percy jackson

𝑣𝑖𝑖𝑖

A few days after Capture the Flag, Ash was called to the Big House. She had a sneaking suspicion it had something to do with the rain that was falling upon camp. It'd been a weird few days since Percy had been claimed by Poseidon, but this was the weirdest yet. In her five years there, it had never rained inside the borders unless she'd asked.

She arrived to see Chiron and Grover sitting at the pinochle table. Chiron was staring up at the top window of the farmhouse while Grover was chewing anxiously on a tin can. The centaur was snapped out of his reverie by Ash clearing her throat.

"Ah, Asphodel," he said. "Come, sit."

She took one of the empty chairs warily; he'd used her full name, which was always a sign of something serious.

"Sir?" She questioned.

"Just a few more minutes," he murmured.

It was unlike Chiron to be so unfocused. After trying to catch Grover's eye unsuccessfully, Ash sighed and bent her leg up on the chair to rest her head on one knee, letting the other dangle.

A couple moments later, Percy came stumbling out of the Big House. Of course he had something to do with this. Ash and Annabeth had been waiting for the other shoe to drop on them since he'd been claimed. Ash was worried that this was it.

The boy slumped into the chair across from her, barely acknowledging her presence.

Chiron took a deep breath. "Ash, I know you are aware that something is gravely wrong on Olympus. Zeus's master bolt has been stolen, and he assumes Poseidon, and thus Percy, has something to do with it."

Ash gasped quietly, understanding immediately the magnitude of the situation. Her mind reeled with the possibilities: war, the destruction of the world as they knew it, etc.

"Percy has just been to see the Oracle," Chiron continued, turning to the son of Poseidon. "Well?"

"She said I would retrieve what was stolen." He replied shakily.

"That's great!" Grover said, chewing excitedly on his can.

"What did the Oracle say exactly?" Chiron pressed. "This is important."

"She... she said I would go west and face a god who had turned. I would retrieve what was stolen and see it safely returned."

Ash frowned. There was clearly more to the message than that; prophecies usually followed verse patterns and this just didn't sound complete.

Chiron was clearly on the same page. "Anything else?"

"No," he said. "That's about it."

"Very well, Percy," Chiron said, studying his face. "But know this: the Oracle's words often have double meanings. Don't dwell on them too much. The truth is not always clear until events come to pass."

"So where do I go?" Percy asked, clearly changing the subject. "Who's this god in the west?"

"And why am I here?" Ash piped in.

"The answer to Percy's question will answer yours, Ash. Think, who stands to gain in a war between Zeus and Poseidon? Who might harbor a grudge?"

Both demigod's eyes widened. "Hades." Percy said.

Ash shook her head violently. "That can't be true."

Chiron raised an eyebrow at her. "A Fury came after Percy," he reminded her. "And a hellhound got into the forest. Not to mention, he's the only brother that hasn't broken the oath to not have children. He must be infuriated by that."