Chapter Text
Percy was running.
He didn't care about the direction or the pace or the burning feeling in his short legs.
The only thing he knew was that a scary man with one eye was chasing him and that he needed to get back to his mama as fast as he could.
His legs were already covered in small scratches from small glass shards that covered the sidewalk, and his dinosaur socks had drops of red on them.
Percy looked back to see the scary man still behind him and his eyes started to sting with uncontrollable tears.
With his eyes glossy and wet, Percy didn't see a small stone and tripped on it.
His head hurt so so much and he couldn't stop crying or get up.
His head was spinning and when he tried to reach to his head, he felt something, a silk substance.
The scary man, with only a single eye, was getting closer and closer to a curled up Percy who couldn't stop crying.
And after a few more seconds, Percy felt himself losing consciousness and being forced to go to sleep, even if he felt like he should continue to run away from the big man.
Percy woke up in a place he didn't know.
But it was really pretty there.
He was surrounded by a lot of green. Green trees, green grass, green leaves. And it was a different kind of green than the one he was used to seeing in the playground.
It was a more lively green. Prettier.
The light from the sun was dimmed by the huge trees covering up the sky, but there was more than enough for Percy to look around curiously.
Percy got up on his legs, which took a few minutes. And started waddling excitedly towards a yellow flower patch he detected.
He happily giggled as he sat down in the middle of the patch and stared at one of the larger flowers, his troubles momentarily forgotten.
All he could think about was how beautiful and shiny the flowers were when the sun reflected on them, that he didn't even hear the sound of people advancing towards him.
"I thought I heard someth-" a man's voice was heard from behind Percy.
The voice stopped in the middle of the sentence.
Percy suddenly felt scared, thinking it was the big man that chased him to this place, but when he turned around, it wasn't him.
Behind Percy, were three men that had funny expressions on their faces. They even carried some big shiny swords, just like his knight doll did!
"Who is... what is a child doing in here?"
Percy wasn't scared any longer, if they had shiny swords, that meant that they must be knights too! And knights were good, so they wouldn't hurt him.
"You knights?" He looked up at them in awe.
The men glanced down at him, confused. "What?"
"You big and shiny!" Percy pointed at the middle one's sword.
The man in the middle just blinked at him owlishly and turned to his friend "what is a... knight?"
"I don't know sir" the one on his left answered.
Even though the question wasn't directed to him, Percy felt like it was his knightly duty to tell them what it was. After all, he had a knight doll, hence he was its commander and part of the royal guard of his room.
"You not know what knight is?!" Percy gasped at them "it a brave hero dat defen' da kind'om!"
After a short silence, the third man chuckled and elbowed the middle man's rib "if that's so, then it means that we are... knights after all"
The man said it funny, with some kind of really heavy accent. Actually, Percy didn't think that the man was speaking in English at all, it didn't sound like how Percy said the word. But Percy understood him, so he was speaking in English. He probably just came from a land far away where he protects his kingdom and that's why he spoke weird!
Now, Percy felt much safer asking for help after he knew that the men were good. Maybe he could even meet their horses! Knights always had horses!
"You help me? Me lost after big man-" Percy stretched his arms to demonstrate just how big the big man was "-chse' me 'ear and now me lost"
The middle one leaned down in surprise "some man chased you to here?"
Percy nodded, even if he winced at the reminder "yes! He's scary! And he only one' e'ye!"
That made the three men freeze at their place "one eye?... you mean to tell us that you outrun a cyclope!?"
"What' a cyc'lpe?"
"You..." the man seemed to blink his surprise away and his grey eyes seemed calm and no longer worried "it doesn't matter now" he smiled at Percy "would you tell us where are you from, brave warrior? So we could help you get home"
Percy puffed out his little chest.
Yes. He was brave. And strong. And really really fast.
Percy tried to brush his puffy ruffled black hair back to look more mature, with only half-success.
The man on the left seemed to hold in a smile at that, while the one on the right didn't even bother to hide it.
"I f'om New 'ork"
The three men looked to each other, to see if any of their comrades recognized the strange name.
"Hmm.. I've never heard of such a place. Are you sure that this is where your home is?"
Percy nodded confidently "yes!"
The man in the middle with the pretty grey eyes tried again "what about other places that are close to your home? Can you tell me about those?"
Percy nodded excitedly "yes! I f'om Ma'hhethen! And the Ce'ter Park and...and-" Percy tried to concentrate really really hard "-and the E'pire Bu'ding!" Percy looked up proudly to the three men after reciting two whole places in his city and not even including the hard-to-pronounce-name of the city itself.
The three men looked upon the other, confused, and more than a little concerned.
"Have you heard of such places before?" Asked the man in the middle.
"No" the two others said at the same time.
"Huh..."
The man in the middle with the pretty grey eyes seemed to be deep in thought, the two others looking at him for guidance.
"I- I'm Sorry child, I do not know where you hail from" the man sounded sad for Percy.
"If you would like" he continued "you can come with us to our camp"
Percy's eyes lit up. They were camping! So maybe they were knights on vacation!
Percy always wanted to try camping! It sounded really fun!
At the same time that Percy exclaimed "Yes!" the man on the left said "What??"
The man continued "sir, our camp is no place for a small child"
"Me no small!!" Percy crossed his hands "me big!"
"Of course you are! Very big!" The man on the right said, and Percy puffed up at the praise.
"This forest isn't a place for a child neither" the middle man said quietly "and unless you have a better idea, he'll stay with us until we figure out where he's from and how to send him back"
He crouched to be at the same eye-level as Percy "what is your name child?"
Percy smiled widely "Percy!"
The men blinked.
"Per-se? Such a weird name for a young boy"
"No Pers'! Percy!"
"Per-si?"
"Yes!"
"Okay then, Percy" the three men nodded at him with acceptance "my name is Odysseus" he sent him a small smile before he gestured to his comrades "and those are Eurylochus and Polities"
Now it was Percy's turn to scrunch his nose at the weird sounds of the names "O- Odius?"
The two men, Eurylochus and Polities, chuckled as Odysseus sighed "no, O-dy-sse-us"
"Ahhh!" Percy waved his arms "O-de-ss-es'
The man, Odysseus sighed once again, but a twist of his lips showed how amused he really was "close enough, Percy"
Percy beamed at him before he turned to the others "an'd-" Percy tried to concentrate really really hard on their names "Uric'ululu' and Polly?"
Odysseus snorted in surprise "yes Percy, good job! Uricululu and Polly!"
The two men in question sulked but didn't contradict him. Instead, Polities reached towards Percy and offered him his hand with a smile "let's bring you to camp Percy, yeh?"
Percy nodded and accepted the hand "me' hungry"
"We'll get you something to eat as well"
"Yay!"
The boy they found was so cute!
Polities never thought he had seen a more adorable sight than Percy's puffy cheeks and fluffy black hair.
And his green eyes! Just looking up at him made him want to reach down and squish the toddler in a hug. But somehow, Polites succeeded in holding himself from cooing at him for the entire conversation between his captain and the small child.
But when it was time to bring the child to the camp, Polties couldn't help but offer Percy his hand and cooing at him.
He was just so freaking cute! Polities thought he might die from the cuteness. And no offense to his commander's small child that he had last seen seven years ago before they left the shore of Iticha, this child was cuter. With his big green eyes and fluffy hair. Not that he voiced his thoughts to Odysseus, of course.
The boy, Percy, as he referred to himself, was stumbling excitedly beside him, only able to keep up thanks to their slow pace.
Percy - such a weird name for a boy. Which parents would name their boy with a girl's name?
But Polities reminded himself that Percy was probably from far away. Really far away if they had to judge based on the places Percy named.
Such a weird dialect.
And that raised the question - how in Zeus's name did Percy get here? How did he manage to get a Cyclope chasing him at the first place?
"Polly?" Percy looked up at him with his cute big eyes. Polities found the boy impossible to correct, he was trying his best!
"Yes Percy?"
"We ee'r yet?"
"Very close Percy"
"Me tierd"
So. Cute. "Want me to carry you?"
Percy nodded at him without a second thought and reached up to him with grabby hands.
Polities carried Percy in his arms, who now looked much less energetic and much more sleepy. Percy layed his head on Polities' shoulder and yawned.
Polities held himself from cooing once more and looked beside him to see an amused Eurylochus and his smiling capitan.
He then looked down to the dozing Percy in his arms.
Yep. He was keeping him. It was decided.
"Who is this child I hear you brought to camp?!" Agamemnon bellowed later, at the commander's tent.
"I found him at the forest-" Odysseus tried to start the conversation calmly, reasonably. Something that Agamemnon didn't seem very keen on doing.
"-I do not care where you found the child! But I do care about why is he inside my war camp!"
Odysseus looked around the room for the rest of the kings and princes of Hellas, and as expected, he found no aid offered from them. The only one who would actually have the kind of confidence to do so would be Achilles, and the smirk that stretched his lips indicated that he was enjoying this far too much to meddle in that.
"The small child was in the woods, alone. And he claimed to have been chased by a cyclope to these woods"
That made Agamemnon stop. "a cyclope?"
Odysseus nodded, glad to finally have King Agamemnon listen to what he had to say "my lord, don't you think questioning the child about the monster could help our army avoid unnecessary battles? We will surely lose soldiers if we run into the cyclope unprepared" he looked around to see that not just Agamemnon, but the rest of them were nodding at him "we can even use this information to our advantage! We could set up a trap for the Trojans"
"...yes" Agamemnon decided after a minute of silence where he thought about the idea "but where is the child going to stay for now. And what do you suggest we do with him after we are done questioning him?"
Odysseus pretended to think for a moment "the Ithacans will be happy to host him for his stay, my king"
"And what about later? After we are done with him? Ah Odysseus?" Ajax (-the great) interrupted "we can't just let him go!" He looked around the commander's tent and met the eyes of the rest of the leaders of the Greek army "he is most likely Trojan-" he spat the name "-this could all be their trick! To gather information of the structure of our camp!"
There were murmurs of agreement around the tent. Even Agamemnon seemed to think his decision over.
"We are talking about a three year old" Odysseus said slowly, trying to get the image into their heads "he can barely speak clearly, he will never be able to describe how the camp is built and even if he could, he doesn't even understand it!"
Odysseus sighed 'yeah sure... the Trojans sent a three year old to spy for them because that makes sense..'
"But-"
"Not to mention that he has no Trojan accent" Odysseus explained "and when we asked him where he is from, he told us about a place called ah... I think he said 'Yeoe-Orak?..."
Odysseus gave the rest of the commanders a once over, as if challenging them to contradict him "The child is from a land very far away from here, of that I am sure. I would be able to tell if a three year old was lying to me"
When no one made any other argument against the child staying with the Ithacans, they turned to look at the king of Mycenae.
"Fine" Agamemnon grunted "he can stay with you Odysseus, for now. Tomorrow I will question him"
Odysseus nodded, feeling victorious "of course" he bowed his head and then left the commander's tent.
Percy woke up only to close his eyes again and snuggle closer to the soft fabric that covered him. It felt like fur, which was really cosy and comfortable. Even if he slept on something that felt much harder than his bed at home.
Wait? So where is Percy if not home?
Percy woke up fully now and surged forward in panic.
Where was he? Where was his mama? This wasn't his home!
"Oww are you okay there Percy?"
Percy turned around to meet the smiling face of Polly, which made him remember what happened before he fell asleep.
Percy tried really hard not to cry, but he suddenly felt the need to have his mama with him and she wasn't there, and Percy didn't know where she was.
But even after he nodded to Polly and said "I 'okay" he felt tears gather in his eyes "just miss mama" he whispered and curled around himself.
He then felt warm arms wrap around him "I know, and it's allright Percy, we'll find your home okay?"
Percy nodded his head, still curled up, but now he felt a little better with Polly there.
Percy moved closer to Polly and let himself be dragged to the man's lap for a hug.
After a few minutes, Percy felt much better. They will find his mama soon, but until then, he can go to see all the knights! And he had Polly with him, so it wasn't so bad. Polly was really nice.
"We go 'exploring now?"
Polly laughed "yes Percy, let's go, I can show you around the camp but you have to promise to stay close to me, okay?"
Percy nodded seriously "kay!" Percy then stretched his arms towards Polly "up"
Polly laughed again "as you command"
When they were out of what Percy now realised was a tent, he clapped excitedly as he looked around the camp with awe.
"Look at that! Those'r swards! For 'fighting!" He squealed.
Polly chuckled "that's right"
"You use 'em for smashin' bad guys!?"
Polly didn't laugh this time, but he did have a small smile on his face when he answered "we try to"
Percy felt like Polly didn't want fo talk about that, so he decided to point other cool things out "are thisis oth'er knights?!" Percy excitedly waved his hands to a group of people with armor (knights!) sitting around a fire and talking.
The group of men in question turned around after hearing Percy, only to see a small child being held by one of their king's closest friends "who is the child?" Asked one of them.
Polities' smile is strained when he answers "we found the child in the woods near here, King Odysseus ordered that he'll stay here at camp until we could figure out where he hailed from"
The men nodded and turned back to their conversation, only the youngest of them kept looking at Percy. He smiled at him and made funny faces once he was sure that the rest of the soldiers were already deep in their conversation.
Percy giggled and said quietly, so only Polly could hear, "he funny"
Polly swung Percy in the air which got another giggle out of him "yes he is, now let's get you something to eat"
"Eat!" Percy nodded at him excitedly.
Polly put Percy down on a wooden log next to the fire and brought them both what seemed to be chicken, but it didn't taste like chicken.
Percy scrunched his nose in something akin to disgust "not good" he informed Polly and lifted his plate for him to see.
Polly's lip twisted upwards "not tasty?"
Percy patted Polly's hand as if readying him for the blow "taste like dirt"
Polly laughed and inspected Percy's plate "ahh? But it doesn't look like dirt"
"You have cookies?"
Polly looked down at him with something between amusement and confusion "what is a 'cookies'?"
Percy gasped and stood up, getting the attention of nearby soldiers as well "you not know what cookie is?!"
"Ahh-" Polly rubbed the back of his neck "I don't, sorry Percy"
"Cookies are da best!" Percy nodded confidently at him "they soft and sweet!"
How could they not know what are cookies?! Maybe because they have missions to protect their kingdom, and has to go far far away? Poor knights.
"Ahh sweet you say?" Polly grabbed him and brought him closer "someone here is spoiled"
"So no coockies?"
"Sorry Percy" Polly gave him back his plate of food "no cookies"
Percy sulked but didn't complain any farther. It wasn't Polly's fault that he didn't have cookies. And maybe later they could go to the store and buy cookies, like he used to do with mama.
Then, Percy could show Polly and his friends how to make them! And they could have cookies evey day!
Odysseus came back to the Ithacan part of the camp feeling victorious.
Beside Percy being able to supply the location of a possible threat, Percy was cute, even for a child. And after spending his days with gruff old men who cared about nothing but battles and glory, Percy felt like fresh air.
Not to mention how happy Polities seemed when he was talking to the child. That was the final thing that made Odysseus insist Percy stayed with them.
Polities was one of his closest friends, and after the many years of war, it was incredibly rare to see Polities' smile. A smile that hasn't dropped since they found Percy.
Odysseus scanned the camp and quickly located his friend and the child together sitting on a log.
He got closer to the two of them just in time to hear the last bit of their conversation.
"-but I real good at knighty stuff!"
"You do?"
"Ah ha! I train all da time! One time I eve' smash a big green monster!"
"You did? Oh! I didn't know I was in the presence of a hero!"
Odysseus smiled to himself and stepped forward "well, a warrior such as yourself would definitely be of great help to us"
Polities looked back at him with surprise. Percy, on the other hand gasped "that mean I can join you' knighty club?!?!"
Odysseus looked down at him with fondness mixed with some confusion "so that's what you were talking about?" He directed the question to Polities.
"Yes sir. Percy claims that since he successfully defeated numerous doll-monsters, he is fit to serve as a warrior"
Percy puffed his chest and looked at them with pride shining through his eyes "I do! I be the bestest knight ever!"
Odysseus still didn't know exactly what a 'knight' was, but he thought he got the general idea.
Odysseus shook his head sympathetically at him "I'm sorry Percy, but my knight training class is full"
Percy slumped back on the log. His lips wobbled and his eyes glassy "oof" he then looked at the ground "not fair"
Polities cooed at Percy and pulled him into a hug.
There was a small part of him that felt a little guilty.
Odysseus bid goodbye to his friend before he went on to find a few of his men that were in need of a reprimand talk.
Percy woke up when he felt a hand nudging his shoulder.
He yawned and looked up to see Polly and Ody, both looking a little funny.
"Hi Ody Hi Polly"
Odysseus smiled at him "hello to you too Percy. We are sorry for having to wake you up, but we have to do something really important today okay?" He looked sad to Percy, or maybe it was something that his young mind couldn't detect.
"Kay" Percy rubbed his eyes. His face still red and puffed from the sleep "what we donin?"
Polly got closer and helped him down from the weird stone bed, before crouching to be on the same eye level as him "we need you to answer some questions about how you got here Percy"
"And" Polly bit his lip "we'll need you to tell us more about the monster with the one eye"
When Polly mentioned the weird man that chased him, Percy withdrew to himself a little and he felt the bad memories returning.
He ducked his head so they couldn't see the small tears gathering in his eyes.
If he cried now, they'll think he isn't strong and won't let him be a knight.
"O-okay" his voice was small.
Percy then felt Polly's hand petting his hair and another hand holding him.
"Oww don't worry Percy, I promise it'll be quick" he sounded sad to Percy, and Percy felt bad for making Polly sad "can you be brave for me? Just for a little while"
Percy sniffed "me alayaw' brave"
Polly snorted "of course you are, you are the defeater of the great green monster!"
Percy looked up at him with big eyes that were still glossy. He then nodded to himself and quietly said "I brave" a few times.
Percy finally looked up at Polly and Ody that stood behind and puffed up his chest "I ready"
Ody smiled from behind "excellent, thank you Percy"
Percy took Polly's hand and they left the tent and followed Ody as he navigated through the camp "you wel'cme"
Polly laughed.
Percy was sitting on a chair in a very large tent. Even larger than Ody's tent! But there were no other people there beside Ody and another man.
When he, Ody and Polly got close, Ody told Polly he couldn't come in with them. It made Percy sad. His eyes went big "but why no?"
"Yeah" Polly seemed sad too "why not? I was with Percy for most of his time! I need to make sure he's okay in there"
Ody rubbed his forehead "he'll be fine, I'll be there with him"
Polly still seemed uncertain when he glanced at Percy's sad face, but eventually he gave in.
Ody nodded and took Percy's hand. But before he could take him to the inside of the tent, Percy broke free and started waddling to where Polly stood.
Percy tapped his leg and with the most serious face he could master asked "you waif for me?"
Polly crouched and hugged him "I'm staying right here"
When he and Ody got in, there was no one ther except for the big man. He looked mean.
Ody bowed to him and called him king-something.
Percy gasped "you king?!"
He must be the king that went with the knight here! He is their leader!
The man seemed startled as he looked down at him. At the same time Ody paled "ac-"
"OHHH!" Percy exclaimed and waved his hands in excitement "you let me be knight too!? I can fight real good I prowmise!"
The Agi- Agimini man looked at Ody questionably, surprised.
Ody stuttered "I'm sorry my lord..." he winced "the child seemed keen on joining the soldiers, or as they are probably called in his homeland 'knights'"
Agimini nodded his head, his face showing no clear emotion, but Percy thought his face was a bit less mean now.
Then Agimini came closer and started asking him questions about the man with the one eye.
Hermes liked to watch the Greek camp once in a while.
At the beginning, he had done it more often, but lately there wasn't anything interesting or new happening over there.
Mortals were fighting, some died. And the ones who didn't die woke up and continued to fight the next day.
He himself didn't really favor either of the two sides, well not exactly... He hadn't any grudge against Troy but if he'd have to choose, he'll say Greece. He had a great grandson for the king of Ithicha after all.
So once in a while he would send part of his essence to the camp to watch Odysseus and the rest of the kings planning their next attack.
This day was one of those times.
Hermes watched the many men in the camp going back and forth between tents and hearths, the servants washing the clothes and he even recognized a few more known warriors and leaders of the Greeks.
The usual.
But when he found Odysseus on his way to the Ithichan section of the camp, Hermes stopped.
Hermes stopped because Odysseus was walking hand in hand with a three year old.
A three year old. In the war camp.
Hermes blinked in surprise. He was sure that there wasn't a three year old the last time he had been here. And why would there be?
Hermes got curious.
He didn't need to know what was happening per say. But he would still like to know.
Hermes leaned in a bit closer.
Ody held Percy's hand and walked slowly beside him as Percy determinedly stumbled forward.
Percy's black hair was sticking in seemingly every direction possible and his knees were covered with dirt from the three times he fell over. But Percy didn't care.
Percy was hungry.
After all the questions Agimini asked him, Ody rushed him out from the tent to Polly and together they walked back.
"Faster!" Percy commanded, dragging Ody forward "need to eat 'fore it all gone!"
Ody laughed "the food won't disappear Percy"
"Nah ah!" Percy argued back "the people looked hungry! They make the food go bye bye!"
Polly chuckled but grabbed Percy's other hand so Percy could walk faster and steadier "in that case we should hurry"
They walked like that for a few more minutes, in which Percy was dragging their hands with too much enthusiasm, sticky hair bouncing on his head with each step.
But then, Percy stopped.
Percy suddenly felt weird.
"Percy?" Polly asked "why did we stop? Is everything okay?"
Percy looked around. He didn't know what he was looking for, but he had this strange feeling in his tummy.
He felt that someone was watching him, standing very close to here.
Percy turned around to where they came from, but he didn't feel like the person was there, so he faced forward again.
"I feelin' som-" Percy stopped his confused explanation mid sentence.
Ahead of them stood a young man with brown hair. Percy couldn't see his face because he was wearing this really silly hat, but this person felt weird.
He felt different from the other people that kept walking like he wasn't even there.
"Hi" Percy titled his head to the man, who tilted his own head to him in return with only the shade of a smile visible beneath his hat.
That made Percy giggle. Silly.
Polly blinked at the person ahead of them without really seeing him, before turning to Percy "who are you talking to Percy?" He asked, concerned.
Ody seemed like he started to feel the weird thing in his tummy too. "We.. we should probably head back" he said quietly and started rushing them both ahead.
Percy let Ody take his hand again and lead him to where the food was.
"Bye bye hat-man" Percy said quietly as he looked back. The man waved at him in return.
Later that day, Percy was left alone at the tent. Ody barged in saying that it was important and he and Polly had to go.
Polly made Percy promise not to leave the tent and scream for help if someone he didn't know tried to enter.
Percy didn't know why they had to go away but Polly said that after they came back they could go to play in the sea!
Percy really liked the sea so he agreed to wait in the tent, even if he was bored.
Percy played with the hem of the weird clothes Ody gave him in the morning, swinging his legs from the table he was sitting on when all of a sudden there was a big flash of light from outside of the tent.
The light was so big that Percy could still see it through the places where the fabric was thin.
Percy jumped to his feet, his mouth making an 'O' shape "woww" he whispered.
Then, the fabric door of the tent was rolled up and in came the man with the silly hat from earlier.
Percy didn't think that he needed to call for help. This man looked nice. Not mean. And Polly said to only call for help if he didn't know the person, but he had seen him earlier today.
Percy decided to take a few wobbly steps forward and wave up "hey hat man!"
The hat man looked down at him "hello child" he then stepped forward and glanced down at his face, focused "hmm..."
Percy blinked at him "who you are?"
The man startled in surprise, before flashing him a dazzling smile. the smile was the only part that was seen of his face under the hat "who do you think I am?"
Percy shook his head at him "how I know? You no telling me that" Percy scolded.
"Fair enough" the man chuckled, his smile shaping to be something a little bit warmer "I'm Hermes" he said with a voice that sounded important.
Percy nodded his head "see? Now I know" he then gave him an encouraging smile "good job"
Hermes blinked at him a few times, confused, the shape of his lips couldn't decide if to form a frown or a smile.
After a few seconds, Percy stepped forward and offered his hand to the god like he saw Ody do sometimes "I Percy"
The god who Percy now knew was named Hermes looked at the offered hand with hesitation. A few seconds later he seemed to come to a decision. He bit his lower lip and shook Percy's hand.
Hermes hesitately crouched. And when he was at the same eye level as Percy he tilted his hat back so the rest of his face was seen.
Percy smiled at the improvement "now I see you" he then leaned in closer to look at Hermes face better "you got shiny eyes Hem'es" he smiled sweetly.
Hermes chuckled "it's Hermes, darling"
Percy squinted his eyes "that what I sayed"
Hermes took a long time to answer to that as well. He seemed like he was debating himself. In that time, Percy waited patiently, just looking at Hermes face and poking the hem of his clothes. It was hard to wait for an answer, but Percy wasn't rude.
"Okay" Hermes finally said, simply. He then took Percy's hand in his, and much more calmly asked "where are you from Percy?"
Percy was quick to replay "f'om New 'ork! But I not know how to get back. Evea' Ody not know" Percy looked at the ground with sad eyes "bad man wif one eye chas' me 'ere"
Hermes' eyes expanded "a man with one a -cyclope?"
Hermes looked at him, concerned, and bit his lip once more "no child as small as yourself should face a monster like that"
Hermes then looked conflicted, but after another look at Percy's face, more accurately at his eyes, Hermes squeezed Percy's hand gently and stood up. "I have to go now" he sighed "but I'll come back, and if you ever need me you can call my name and I'll come"
Percy looked up and asked confused "but how you hear me if you far?" He then gasped "with magic? You magic?!"
Hermes chuckled "you can say so" and then a little sadder "bye Percy"
Percy waved his hand as Hermes left the tent "bye bye, I sse ya soon"
Hermes smiled warmly before the fabric acting as a door flopped back to place "see you soon"
Hermes felt what was supposed to be his heart beat faster after he flashed away from the Greek camp. He didn't know why he felt so attached, responsible, for that kid.
He only knew him for less then half a hour, and the kid didn't even know who he was, didn't recognize the god's name.
But... the kid couldn't be older then four... and being in a war camp at that age... and his sad eyes... and well... he was just so adorable that Hermes actually felt bad when he saw his teary eyes!
The child shouldn't be at that war camp. That was the decision that Hermes made when he flashed away. And he meant to do something about it.
Something that would be much easier to do then he originally thought. When Hermes first laid eyes on that child he didn't expect to see a mini Poseidon looking back at him.
It took him a good half a minute to get his shit together after that.
Hermes was convinced that Poseidon didn't know of the existence of the child, or at the very least didn't know he was currently living at the Greek camp.
Poseidon was renowned for being a protective father. So even if he wasn't the most present, he was still aware of his children's living condition and safety. And would never allow such a young child of his to live in such a dangerous place.
When Hermes informed him of Percy, Poseidon will surely take action.
And even if he wouldn't, Hermes would anyway.
Percy kept waiting for Polly and Ody to come back after Hermes left.
Hermes was a little silly but Percy liked that. It was nice to have someone to talk to when he was alone.
Polly siad 'stay inside okay?' but Percy didn't want to stay inside no more!
He wanted to go out and find Polly and then play together. But... if he went out Polly wouldn't take him to play.
Percy groaned and joined his hands in annoyance. His lips twisting into a frown.
Just at that moment, Polly and not long after him Ody, entered to the tent to find Percy pouting.
"Aww" Polly cooed, already advancing towards him "someone is sulky?" He pulled Percy to a tight hug.
Ths pout vanished almost instantly from Percy's face "POLLY!" Percy fiercely hugged Polly back "you came! You takin' soooo long!"
Polly huffed a laugh and just tightened his grip on Percy.
Percy looked past Polly's hair to Ody. Ody looked sad. Not real sad, just like Ody needed a nap.
Percy wiggled out of Polly's grip to look at Ody better "you need nap?"
Ody blinked in surprise "...what?"
Percy nodded in understanding "s' okay" Percy grabbed Polly's hand to take him out of the tent so they don't wake up Ody "you nap now and we come 'ere after"
Polly burst out laughing when Percy basically pushed him out of the tent and said "shhhh Ody go night-night"
Ody blushed "w-wait a second Per-"
"Night night Ody!" Percy said loudly, so all the men near the tent heard him as well "you nap an' we wake you afteah"
With that Percy dragged a still laughing Polly in the direction of the camp's exit "we play wif fishie now, you pwomised!"
It took Polly a second or two to calm down but eventually he smiled brightly and nodded "of course" he then added jokingly "and then we go wake up Ody from his beauty sleep?"
Percy nodded, completely serious "ah ha" he kept dragging Polly to where the shore was "but we play first"
Polly and Percy almost arrived at the exit of the camp by now. Many sent them strange looks, mainly to Percy. But Percy didn't mind, he was too excited.
Then, he heard footsteps behind them. "wait!" It was Ody's voice.
Percy frowned, confused, and turned around to where the voice was coming from.
Ody was a few steps behind them, walking (much faster) towards them.
"What you doin' here?! You 'pose to be sleepin'!" Percy asked, personally insulted.
Polly tried to disguise a snort as a cough with very little success. There were many other men in hearing distance and he didn't want to embarrass his king who was also his friend.
Percy, of course, did not care about such things.
Ody, half smiling, opened his mouth. Maybe it was to scold or maybe it was to laugh. Percy didn't know, because a second later the ground started shaking.
The men around them looked surprised at the earth beneath them before starting to panic.
Percy wasn't scared from the earthquake. But the men running around with fear written all over them did.
He looked up at Polly for comfort and tugged his hand.
Ody, suddenly stiff and serious gestured to them "we have to go".
Polly instinctively tightened his hand on Percy's arm and started pulling. Not roughly, but not gently either.
But before they could take a single step toward the Itichan side of the camp, a particularly strong wave crashed against the shore.
That made Polly and Ody jump and turn around.
Percy did too. He didn't understand why Polly and Ody were so scared. When the growned up were scared it meant that something really bad was happening. It made Percy want to to cry. But he couldn't.
Percy was a big kid. And big kids didn't cry.
But he still couldn't help the tears that gathered in his eyes, even if he really tried.
Now, everything was quiet. And Polly already let go of his hand, even though Percy really wanted Polly to continue holding it.
The men around them were all on the floor, kneeling with their heads down.
Polly and Ody were both on the floor as well. They looked scared. Polly was shaking and they both didn't look up.
And when Percy looked up, he understood why everybody were so scared.