Brothers
"HAHAHAHAHA."
The somewhat chubby man, with red cheeks, messy hair, and clothes that looked like something a tourist would wear in Hawaii, laughed while slapping his thighs hard, completely unable to contain himself. Around him, the campers could not hold back either and mocked without restraint, laughing at each other but always turning their eyes back to Percy and Tyson, now standing in the middle of the camp dining pavilion.
Even some satyrs were laughing uncontrollably.
Percy's face was serious. Almost cold. He listened to the laughter aimed at him and Tyson without saying a word. Tyson, on the other hand, did not seem to understand the reason for all the laughter. He smiled in an awkward, genuine way, as if he could not see the malice hidden in those idiots.
"Now… that you mention it… I can see the resemblance," Mr. D said, looking at Tyson and Percy before laughing again. "Sons of the old seaweed," he added as he slapped his legs once more. "Ah, it has been a while since I laughed like this," he said when he finished, still amused, before bringing his Diet Coke can to his mouth.
"Well, Mr. D, at least now we know where to put this beast," Tantalus said with amusement.
Mr. D simply waved his hand, not caring what happened next.
Percy gestured for Tyson to follow him toward Poseidon's cabin. He had too many emotions piling up inside him. It felt like he was carrying them all as he walked across the camp. Behind him, Tyson walked along, half happy and half confused, repeating over and over again:
"Percy… my brother?"
He said it as if it made him happy from the deepest part of his heart. They were no longer just disciples of the same master. Now they were also sons of the same father.
But, to be honest, Percy did not share that happiness.
It was not a completely different feeling. It was almost the opposite. Even though he got along with Tyson, and the cyclops was not a bad kid, just a bit dumb, Percy could not help feeling a slight discomfort stabbing into his chest.
He could have said that Miraak was Tyson's master, just to make the idiots at camp stop laughing. He even believed that Mr. D himself would have held back his laughter if he heard it. But for some reason, he did not want to say it.
Tantalus walked behind them, laughing at their backs. From time to time, that laughter escaped him again, genuinely irritating Percy. He really wanted to kick him and throw him out of the cabin, but as the new activities director, that could get him expelled from camp. And, as Tantalus had said, Percy was already walking on thin ice. Supposedly a traitor. A follower of another deity. Someone who did not truly belong.
So, surely, they would be watching his every move, waiting for him to make a mistake. Like some kind of spy.
Although, to be fair, if Miraak were to send a spy, it would not be him. Not even close.
The fact that he had let him go, both him and Tyson, already meant that he had something calculated. But since he had not given him any kind of mission, it seemed there was no real reason to worry.
When it was time to sleep, a new bunk appeared next to Percy's. Tyson's.
The following days were not something Percy could appreciate either.
He was no longer the cool guy who had recovered the Master Bolt for Zeus, who had faced Ares and lived. Now he was the possible traitor of the camp. The one who followed a supposedly evil god, enemy of Olympus. And the only reason he was not being hunted was a deal made between Olympus and that god. Percy would face a champion of Olympus in combat.
Not only did they look at him with hostility, as if wishing they were the ones to face him to prove their worth to Olympus and their parents, but they also mocked him to his face, trying to provoke him. And Tantalus seemed to enjoy it, increasing that tension, being the one who had spread all the information about the tournament.
Even those he had gotten along with the year before now avoided getting close to him. That made Percy start to wonder why he was there. Why his master had let him go, surely knowing that all of this would happen.
The most ironic part was that, in such a chaotic and dangerous moment for the camp, Tantalus, as the new activities director after Chiron's dismissal, decided to start a chariot racing competition. Chiron had been fired for being a son of Kronos, something Percy had mocked lightly, saying that if that was the criteria, then Zeus should fire himself.
The competition was something that had been done in the past, but it had been canceled long ago due to the many deaths and mutilations it had caused.
According to Tantalus, this would supposedly raise the camp's morale, since the monster attacks were just "seasonal attacks" that had already ended. All while ignoring Thalia's Tree, which looked more withered every day.
Percy entered Poseidon's cabin while he heard the daughters of Aphrodite laughing behind him. His expression was clearly irritated.
As soon as he went in, he saw Tyson sitting in front of a desk, apparently making something. When he heard Percy, he turned around quickly, his face lighting up with happiness.
"Brother!" he said with a huge smile.
"We are not brothers," Percy replied on reflex. "Yes, Poseidon is our father, but…"
Percy stopped when he saw Tyson lower his gaze slightly, a sad expression crossing his face.
"I'm sorry. It is a lot for me," Percy continued quickly. "You suddenly show up with the master, someone who took you as a disciple without even telling me, and now you are also a son of the same father. It is too much for me, and I do not know what all of this means."
He shook his hair, not really knowing what to say or what to do with all those tangled emotions inside him.
"That I am not alone. The master said it," Tyson said softly. "And no one will hurt me anymore with him. And with you. I will be above…"
"…everyone and below no one. Maybe only below the master," Percy completed with a slight smile. "The master really likes to say those words, and he always has to add that ending that ruins them," he added with amusement as he looked at Tyson. "You are right, big guy. We were already brothers without bringing Poseidon into our lives. We follow the same master," Percy said now with a softer smile.
That clearly made Tyson very happy, and he nodded quickly.
"The master is awesome," he said immediately.
Suddenly, the sound of the door being knocked broke the atmosphere. Percy moved to open it and see who it was.
He immediately saw Annabeth standing there, waiting, while the moonlight fell over her.
"Hi. This… do you want to talk for a moment?" she said as soon as she saw him, with a faint smile, before looking inside the cabin toward Tyson. Her expression shifted for an instant to something slightly annoyed. "Or… would you rather go for a walk?" she added.
Percy noticed that change. Just moments ago, he and Tyson had been having a good moment, so he looked at her for a few seconds.
"Sorry, I am talking with Tyson right now. If you want, you can come in," he said.
Annabeth's expression turned more serious.
"No, it is just… it is not right," she replied, shaking her head. "I will go check on the dryads to assess Thalia's Tree," she said, though a trace of sadness could be seen in her expression before she turned around and walked away.
Percy watched her back for a moment. He hesitated about following her, but Annabeth suddenly turned around.
"In your letters you said you did not have drachmas, that is why I could not contact you through Iris. But in the taxi you had a whole bag," Annabeth said, looking at him seriously.
"Oh. I did not. Those were made by Tyson as practice. I did not think they would work," Percy replied. "And you said you did not have any left, but you did have enough to pay for the taxi. Why did you not try to contact me all year?" he asked.
"That is what I am trying to do now," Annabeth said, holding his gaze.
Percy stayed silent for a moment. His eyes shifted slightly above Annabeth's head, as if he were observing something. It was only an instant before he looked back at her.
"Then you could give me a moment," he said finally, glancing toward the cabin.
"Do not worry. It is better if you go to sleep," Annabeth replied with a smile that seemed more forced than sincere. Then she turned around and walked away, her figure fading among the lights of the other cabins.