Demigod of Prophecy

Early the following morning I woke up with Percy in cabin three. I didn't think it would bother me to see Thalia go. I thought I was sure about my decision, but watching her go the night before, I couldn't help but wonder if my choice to stay was the wrong one. Was I staying to try to find a new family in Percy and Poseidon? Or was I staying because I was afraid that I would either bring harm to the Hunters with my Prophecy or just disappoint Artemis until she kicked me out? Why wouldn't she? My own mother had done it.

Percy led me down to the dining pavilion for breakfast and on the way down he introduced me to his friends, Annabeth Chase and Grover Underwood. Annabeth seemed cunning, like she was always trying to figure out the next plan, while Grover seemed terrified. I didn't know what his problem was, but I could tell he was a nervous wreck.

Percy and I ate breakfast together, then he told me I would be training at archery with the Apollo cabin while he and Annabeth attended some kind of meeting with Grover. He said after that, he would come meet me and we would go down by the beach to start working on water skills. I wasn't sure what to expect. I could barely eat, and hadn't really eaten since morning mess at my school two days ago. My appetite had disappeared.

After breakfast, Will and I went to the archery range. Chiron was in charge this time, not Will, so we got to sit together and hang out since he didn't have to make sure things were done right.

"Alright, heroes! You are all, with the exception of young Ms. Adams, the sons and daughters of Apollo. You do not really need instruction, I am here more to supervise you. So, you know what to do. Ms. Adams, a word, please," he said, letting the children of Apollo free to shoot.

"Yes, Chiron?" I asked him.

"Will told me you did quite well with a bow and arrow last night. Is this true?"

"I did better than Aphrodite's children, but I guess most people do. I was good at range shooting with my rifle at military school, so I just had to adjust to the feel of the bow. Once I did, I did pretty good for someone who had never touched a bow before."

"Will you show me?"

"Okay."

I picked up a bow and arrow and walked to the range Will had me set up on the nigh before. After I walked back a little further than I was shooting the night before, I knocked the arrow and released it, hitting the bull's eye, just like the children of Apollo. I wasn't as far back, but I wasn't too far from where they were shooting from either.

"Very impressive, Ms. Adams."

"Chiron, please call me Selene. I don't wanna be reminded of my mom right now. It's too soon."

"Alright, Selene. But that was still impressive. Your brother can't shoot a bow to save his life. In fact, he is not permitted on this range because he almost maimed a few of Apollo's children when he first came to camp. It's nice to see you have different talents."

I stayed quiet and just fell in line with the Apollo campers to shoot. Will and I laughed and joked around until it was time to go. At this point, Percy came to find me and we went to the beach.

"So, Chiron tells me that you're banned from the archery range because you nearly maimed some of Apollo's kids. I don't know, but I don't think he'd appreciate that."

"Very funny," Percy replied.

"Really, you can't shoot?"

"No. Can you?" Percy asked.

"Military school, remember?"

"I went to military school, too. I can't shoot," Percy said.

"Oh well. So what do we do down here?"

"I need to teach you how to use water. Its not easy which is why its the only thing we're doing before lunch. Trust me, after we do this, you're not gonna wanna do anything but eat and sleep," Percy explained.

"Okay, I get that much, but how are you gonna teach me to use water? I'm not afraid of it or anything, and I know how to swim, but I don't know how to manipulate it."

"First, lose your shoes on the beach because you don't want to lose them in the Long Island Sound," he said as he started taking off his shoes. "Then, follow me into the water. We'll go about waist deep, this way we're surrounded by water, but not deep enough that it will automatically overpower us."

I took off my sneakers and socks and waded into the water with him.

"Okay, now what?"

"Now, I want you to focus on being able to breathe as if nothing is wrong. Breathe normally as if you are above water. Then while you keep focusing on that, go underwater."

I did what he said. When I first went underwater it was hard for me to breathe. It took me a minute before I could make my brain realize that I could breathe normally. It was weird. I had never been able to do that before. Weirder was what came next.

"Good, now stay underwater and come to me," Percy said in my head.

"How are you talking to me underwater?"

"We can communicate directly into each other's minds when we're underwater together," he replied. "Now come on."

I swam over to him and it was like the bubble around me and the bubble around him became one bubble.

"Okay. Now surface," he said to me.

We both came out of the water and I was still a little in shock. I could breathe underwater and I could talk to my brother while I was there.

"Now, I'm gonna go back to the beach. You stay here. I want you to concentrate and try to make the water move to attack me. Feel it inside of you. It's part of who you are. Just feel the waves flowing around you as the blood flows in your veins and will it to do what you want."

I tried for half an hour, feeling my energy drain more and more every time I tried to make the water attack him and fail. I was getting frustrated. Then he told me to switch sides to see if I could manipulate the water away from me if someone was sending waves at me to hurt me. This was when things got bad.

I didn't mean to do it, but I was tired and getting mad that I was able to do only one of the many things Percy was trying to teach me. After an hour of him trying to teach me to manipulate defensively, I accidentally used fire and evaporated the water all together. There were spirits of the Long Island Sound who got pissed off at me. That wasn't that important to me. What was important to me, was what I did to Percy.

When I looked up at where he had been standing in the surf, he wasn't there anymore. I looked around trying to find him, but I couldn't see him. I went to go in after him, but one of the nymphs stood in my way.

"Listen, nymph, get out of my way so I can find my brother, or that little fire I just created will be nothing compared to what I will do to you. Now. Move."

She was apparently smarter than I gave her credit for because she melted into the water. I dove into the water, praying to Poseidon without realizing I was doing it.

"Poseidon, please, help me find him. I'm not used to being underwater like this and the waters are so dark. I didn't mean to hurt him."

All of a sudden, these fish that seemed to glow were all around me and I spotted Percy, sinking and being pulled out by the current. Somehow, I caught up to him, even with how strong the current was at the time. I grabbed him and started pulling him against the current, surprising myself at how easily it seemed to come to me to get him back to the beach. When I dragged him onto the sand, I started banging on his chest, trying to get the water out, practically begging the water he swallowed when I hurt him to leave his lungs so he could breathe, and he did it.

Percy woke up and he was confused. I looked him over for injuries, and noticed that he was scorched by what I had done. I felt terrible. I really hadn't meant to do what I did. He was pushing me so hard and I couldn't do anything he was trying to teach me. I felt like a failure and lashed out. I could've killed the brother I had just learned I had.

"What happened, Selene?" he asked me.

I told him everything, even though I didn't want to. I explained how I had burned him, knocked him out and almost killed him. Then I explained going after him, getting him back, and bringing him around. Finally I just apologized to him.

Percy shocked me. Even with how hard he'd been on me all morning, he just got up, walked back into the water for a minute and came back, looking good as new. When he did, he hugged me, even though I had just admitted I nearly killed him.

"Why are you hugging me? I could've killed you!"

"Because, you didn't," he said. "Don't you realize what you did when you realized I was in danger, Selene?"

"Panicked?"

"No, you acted on instinct and you were able to tap into your abilities as a child of Poseidon," Percy explained. "You manipulated the current to get to me and to get me back to shore quicker. When you asked Poseidon for help, he sent the fluorescent fish to light the way for you. And you willed the excess water out of my lungs. You used your abilities to save my life. That's how I wound up learning how to use them. I didn't have someone teach me. I just started doing things. Like I wanted someone to get soaked by a fountain instead of pushing someone else in, and the fountain water jumped over everyone and onto her. Clarisse and her siblings tried to stick my head in the toilets here on my first day and I made all the toilets explode onto them because I did not want my head in that water. It was nothing I did on a conscious level. Don't worry. You'll get there. Just don't be afraid to try to use it when you can. Come on. We'll go back to the cabin to change and get ready for lunch. I think we both need to eat."

I was in too much shock to say anything, so I just nodded and let him lead me away. He was applauding me nearly killing him. What kinda weirdo was my brother?

Notes