Triton could not recall the last time his father had bothered to celebrated his birthday. It wasn’t what one would call a very happy day as immediately after being born his father was eaten. There was once a time when their family celebrated the re-birth of King Zeus’ siblings but that had fallen to the wayside sometime around the fall of the Ottoman Empire and it had been more a celebration of Zeus’ rescue than anything to do with his siblings.
In Atlantis they celebrated his mother and her sisters’ birthday, his own birthday, his parents' anniversary and, even now, a day of mourning for his daughter Pallas, but never had they celebrated his father’s birthday, at least not like this. Which made his insistence this year all the more suspicious as it was not only a new request but it also lined up with the anniversary of the end of the Second Giant War.
Triton was beginning to think this was less a birthday party and more a trap. His father had been trying to get Percy to join them in Atlantis for a post-war celebration for a year now but the demigod had avoided each invitation with surprising skill. Triton supposed the boy had practice with avoiding Olympians even if it wasn’t in the traditional manner most people gained the skill.
There was no other real explanation on why the invitation his father had given to Triton to give to Hermes to give to Percy had been addressed not only to Percy but to his mortal family as well, unless he was trying to build incentive.
Triton admittedly didn’t know much about his half-brother but even he knew Percy was extremely protective of his family. The boy at least had the sense not to bring the daughter of Athena with him though the family did bring a baby that absolutely no one had known about before. The little girl apparently belonged to his father’s former mistress and her new husband.
Triton had been disappointed to learn the family’s last name wasn’t Blowfish like his father kept saying but the baby was cute and a rarity to the palace that hadn’t seen a baby since his Tritaea was born. The fact that Percy’s mother so resembled his own and therefore the baby shared a very strange resemblance to Pallas, had nothing to do with why Triton offered to show his half-brother and the baby around the newly constructed palace.
His father had been surprised but pleased at Triton’s offer and sent the three of them off with assurances to his former mistress that no harm would come to Estelle, as that was the baby’s name, with both his sons guarding her. Sally still seemed ill at ease as they left even if she had agreed when Percy nodded.
Triton watched the two siblings out of the corner of his eye as he led them through the kitchens and felt for a moment like he was watching two worlds in parallel. He had seen this image before but couldn’t place where. He eventually wrote it off as remembering how his father used to carry Pallas non-stop through the palace. Libya had been concerned with the practice, fearful that their daughter would never learn to use her tail or legs if his father kept it up.
“Can she not walk?” Triton asked, uncertain of how mortal babies worked. Pallas, despite Libya’s fear, had been walking the very next day after her birth and swimming within two.
“Huh?” Percy replied, turning towards him. Triton was about to repeat himself when Percy answered him. “Oh, no, mortal babies don’t start walking until about a year old.”
Triton’s brow raised. That seemed extremely inefficient, though the child didn’t seem to let such limitations stop her as she reached up above her brother’s head and pulled a pot down onto them.
“Ow,” Percy said, as the pot slammed into the side of his head before banging against the ground.
They were quickly ushered out of the kitchen after that which was not an uncommon experience for Triton. He was always getting kicked out of the kitchen whether it was his kids or siblings causing the chaos.
Their tour continued into the courtyard outside of the kitchen where his father kept his salt water spring. Just because the Athenians didn’t understand its uses didn’t mean the divine gift couldn’t be used elsewhere. The healing wards of the city often came to the fountain to make use of its healing properties. If the fountain didn’t have other uses, Triton would have requested it be moved to the largest of Atlantis’ wards.
Percy had placed his sister on the edge of the fountain seemingly mesmerized as he looked up at it. Triton wasn’t sure what was so fascinating about it other than the strong aura of his father’s power it possessed.
“This was the fountain from the competition for Athens,” Triton explained, moving closer as the baby started bouncing up and down in her brother’s hold. “Father had it moved here as he didn’t want Athens to have it, if they couldn’t even properly respect it. The mortals tried to drink it.”
Percy smirked. “Mortals and gods just have different priorities,” he said. “There’s like this whole hierarchy of needs they teach us in health classes. They were probably too concerned about food and water to think of other uses.”
“Mother said they simply lacked imagination,” Triton replied.
Percy shrugged. “It happens with people like that. They get so bogged down in facts and forget to put them to use. Too busy doing things by the book that they forget to live life as it happens. Too focused on the plan that they can’t enjoy the outcome. Too concerned with making the details fit that they let things that don’t go when they should have held on.”
Triton got the distinct feeling they weren’t talking about Athens anymore. Being a father himself, he knew the topic hadn’t shifted very far and wondered if his brother was talking about Athena’s daughter.
Before he could ask for clarification, there was a splashing noise as Percy’s sister fell face first into the fountain. The girl thankfully couldn’t drown due to his father’s blessing he had placed on both her and her parents, but she was still sinking into the water. In fact, she was sinking far deeper than the fountain could possibly go.
Percy jumped in after her without second thought and shouted as he too sunk into the fountain as if it held no end. Triton worried for a moment that somehow his father’s fountain really didn’t have an end to it or worse that the fountain had been trapped against people climbing into it. It wouldn’t be out of character for his father at the time.
Triton watched in horror as Percy and his sister became smaller and smaller as they slipped away and finally reached his own hand into the water. His hand hit the floor of the fountain as the water lit up with a bright light so blinding Triton was forced to look away from it.
When he looked back, Percy and Estelle were gone and the fountain looked as it always did.
With a sinking feeling in his stomach, Triton realized he would have to explain to his father that Percy and Estelle had disappeared into the fountain. Even worse, he would have to tell Sally Jackson he lost her kids.
“Move over, cousin,” Apollo said, sitting down next to Triton on the rock overlooking Attica’s newest city.
“Why are you here?” Triton asked, sliding over to make room. While Triton usually found the sky and land gods irritating at best, Apollo had made himself an exception in the years he spent under the sea learning from Triton’s father. Rhodes often called him an honorary sea god, a title Triton knew Apollo appreciated more than he’d ever let on.
“Why is anyone here? This is going to be so fun! I can’t wait to see the smug look wiped off Athena’s face. She’s been particularly annoying lately.” Apollo explained.
Triton hummed in agreement. He didn’t like talking about Athena and he really didn’t like the fact that she was who his father was facing off with but his mother had mentioned a surprise she herself made should his father win, so Triton was mostly here to see what had his mother so excited.
She and Rhodes stood in a nearby river where one of her nieces helped support her stay in the fresher waters but Triton had dared to get closer and risk attracting attention. The Acropolis was just in view where Triton could see his father standing next to Athena.
The king of the city, Cecrops, came forward. He was a controversial being amongst the gods from Triton’s understanding. He wasn't fond of living sacrifice which angered some of the more traditional gods but Hermes seemed to like the cakes sacrificed in replacements well enough.
His father went first, summoning the spring he had spent days working on. The water trickled thick and steady from the fountain in a never ending flow. The water was so clear it refracted near constant rainbows in all directions.
Apollo whistled lowly. “Iris is going to love that,” he said. “But should we really be introducing such a thing to mortals?”
Triton shrugged as he wondered what his dad was playing at. Prometheus had been punished for less but Zeus wasn't appearing from the sky to rain pain down on his father, so Triton hoped the King of Olympus knew and simply didn't care.
Athena looked nervously between Cecrops and the fountain but then the king did something unexpected.
He drank from it.
Athena’s jaw dropped, Apollo laughed nervously at Triton’s side and Triton felt a gasp slip from his lips before he could stop it.
The water was immediately spat back out and the watching gods, who had fallen silent in disbelief, began an up roar as they turned to their fellow god to discuss the latest audacity of mankind.
Athena's shock wiped from her face as she smirked over at Poseidon. She knew, as everyone else did, that the citizens of Athens had misunderstood the gift.
From the ground at her feet, Athena grew a tree. It wasn't anything impressive at first. No real magic or divinity to it. It was just a tree which was odd for a war goddess to make over someone like Demeter.
Apollo hummed. A pout pulled at his lips. “Its properties will allow for an oil with multiple valuable uses. Simple enough.” He sighed. “Simple enough for the humans to get.”
Which was exactly what happened. The Tree with its tasty fruits was seen by the King as far more useful to the city than a fountain with undrinkable water.
Then the most unexpected thing yet happened. King Cecrops declared Athena the winner and the ground started shaking as the salt water in the fountain lit up with a brilliant light.
“Give up, Lord Poseidon,” Athena called. Her voice shook slightly with worry. “I already won!”
Triton could tell from his father's speechlessness that he unfortunately wasn't the cause of the sudden earthquake.
“I'm not-” he said, only to fall silent when the light faded leaving a young man dressed in a green chiton and completely dry. In his arms was a bundle of white fabric that shattered the silence with an ear piercing scream.
The humans froze as time came to a standstill in a way only a few beings could manage. Only the gods were left free to move, some of the more skittish ones flashing away.
“What?” the young man whispered, looking around helplessly. His eyes bounced worriedly between Athena and Poseidon until they settled on the new olive tree. His head dropped and he stared down at his feet. “No way.”
This expression turned panicked as he looked back up.
“Did we just get-” Apollo didn't bother to finish his question as Triton hushed him.
The boy's eyes darted towards Poseidon as Triton’s father stepped closer then they suddenly snapped away and locked on something hidden from view by Athena’s tree.
The Fates stepped forward and Apollo cursed.
Triton’s mother raced forward from the waters to stand at her husband's side as Zeus suddenly appeared on the hill.
“What is the meaning of this?” Zeus demanded, looking from Athena to Poseidon.
“It has failed,” Lachesis said mournfully.
“I will weave it so,” Clotho replied. She didn't look pleased as she stepped closer towards the fountain. She held her arms out to the young man but he held the bundle tighter.
“No,” the young man said, voice unwavering in his ignorance to whom he spoke. “You can't have her. What happened? We were-”
The man cut himself off as if reconsidering what he wished to say.
Atropos joined her sister by the fountain. “It was foretold that Lord Poseidon and Lady Amphitrite would bore twins from their fountain of will and charity. Persozo and Ocestelle would be the sea's answer to Apollo and Artemis,” she started. “Some choices though are beyond even our control to make. Cecrops has chosen against the design and Lady Amphitrite’s gift has failed.”
The young man, Persozo, flinched and held the bundle, Ocestelle, closer.
“Against the design?” Persozo asked, worry creeping into his voice.
None of the Fates answered him.
“Your gift?” Poseidon said, turning to his wife.
Triton’s mother looked nervous. “I placed a sand dollar within your fountain before you left as an extra endurance,” she explained. “I did not expect a child, let alone two, to come from it. But what do you mean it failed? There are two children here, is that not what was intended?”
Lachesis shook her head. “There is a new god, Persozo, God of Divinely Touched Children and a new demigod, Ocestelle daughter of Lady Amphitrite but without the faith of the city, the sand dollar cracked unevenly, Ocestelle was not born fully divine.”
The silence that fell over the crowd felt like a death sentence as Ocestelle let out another ear ringing cry.
Triton’s mother approached his newest siblings slowly and held her arms out carefully to Persozo. Unlike with the Fates, Persozo, likely recognizing his mother, didn't hesitate to hand the baby over. Their mother shrunk to accommodate the child's small size and the crying finally stopped.
Her fingers dug into the folds of the cloth until a broken sand dollar sliver rested on her hand. Persozo reached up to his own neck and grabbed the matching, nearly whole piece that hung from a necklace.
An odd look, somewhere between contemplative and furious, was building on Persozo’s face but he rightly held his tongue, surrounded as he was by Olympians and the Fates. Triton slipped forward off his rock and barely noticed as Apollo followed.
“Beautiful,” Apollo muttered under his breath as they got closer. “To witness the Wrath of the Sea at birth.”
Triton ignored whatever that meant and stepped towards his mother. He also completely ignored where Zeus was questioning the Fates about the newest gods’ fates. Rhodes was approaching from the otherside, Amphitrite may not be her mother by birth but they were very close.
“Mother?” Rhodes asked, placing her hand on their mother's shoulder. “You are crying.”
Triton froze as his mother looked up at him. She shook her head with a shaky smile. “Pallas Ocestelle,” Lady Amphitrite declared, handing the baby to him. “That will one day be her title.”
Triton looked down at the child and his breath caught. His mother was right. Ocestelle looked exactly as Pallas did as a baby, though the silver streaks in her hair were different. Triton wondered at that, his gaze drifting to his new brother who had his own streak of silver, if it was a mark of their failed births.
“How can she obtain godhood?” he heard his father demand as if through miles of water.
“As any other hero must,” the Fates said as one, their voices sounding truly sorry.
“No,” Persozo declared, drawing everyone's attention. “This is a nightmare. It has to be.”
All three Fates locked their gazes on Persozo who didn't flinch. “You do not dream, Lord Persozo of the Treacherous Waters. There is no reality but this one.”
Persozo glared but said nothing as the Fates bowed to Zeus and flashed away.
“Council meeting,” Zeus growled. “Now!”
Amphitrite sighed. “She cannot come to Olympus. Watch her until we return with your brother,” she said, rubbing a gentle hand across Ocestelle’s forehead. The little girl fell immediately asleep.
Persozo looked him over as if assessing if Triton could really care for the girl in the hours he would be gone. Their father's hand landed on Persozo’s shoulder startling him from his assessment.
“Brave the Storm,” Persozo said in a strange tongue that had even Apollo, who was alarmingly quiet and observant through the whole encounter, glancing at him sideways. “I will figure this out and in the meantime, Triton will protect you.”
Somehow the words came out as a threat and Triton would have laughed at the young god if the events of the day weren't so serious.
The Olympians, his parents and newest brother all flashed away to Olympus. Rhodes and Triton were left standing invisible in the middle of the newly dubbed Athens as the mortals and time started moving once more.
“Another sea god on the council,” Rhodes mused, confusing Triton. “It will definitely be interesting.”
“What?” He asked.
“Oh, honestly, Triton, did you pay any attention to what just happened?” she asked, diving into the water without waiting for a response.
Triton watched the water ripple around where she disappeared.
“Lesson number one, Pallas Ocestelle, our sister is to always be ignored,” Triton said, holding the little girl tighter as he stepped slowly into the waves. “Lesson number two, mother is always right no matter what father's orders are. Lesson number-”
He had no doubt that being mortal, and asleep at the time, Ocestelle would not remember the rules he listed on the walk home, but one day she'd live by them, hopefully forever.
Triton had never feared death before, as a god he had no need to, though there was a time during the 1800s that he once feared fading before the 1990’s ensured his continued existence with a cartoon of all things.
As he made his way back towards the ballroom where his father’s birthday would now be in full swing, he felt like he was facing an execution. His father would be beyond angry and Sally Jackson had an entire camp full of demigods at her back to make his life miserable with if she chose to.
When he reached the door to the ballroom, he paused. Why would the former Oracle of Delphi want to torture him?
Shaking himself of the nonsensical thought, Triton stepped into the room and waved off the announcer. Triton had been announced four times that night, if people couldn’t figure out who he was by now that wasn't his problem.
He still couldn’t figure out why his father was so insistent on having a birthday party this year but with the end of the Second Giant War and the return of Triton’s youngest sister to the pantheon, there was plenty of reason to celebrate. Atlantis had seen non-stop celebration since Ocestelle’s rebirth but the newest goddess had been absent for most of them.
Persozo had claimed his twin was simply readjusting to the world but Triton suspected Ocestelle was much like she’d always been as a human - completely unenthused by the idea of a party.
“Are you okay? You look spooked,” came a long missed voice from behind him. Triton turned to see Ocestelle standing to his left and not for the first time, he thanked whatever power had brought his sister back to them. Demigods, it was his brother's demigods.
“I’m not sure,” Triton replied. “I think I needed to talk to our father about something but I can’t for the life of me remember what?”
Ocestelle hummed. A smile curled at her lips as she looked between him and their father. “Was it to perhaps wish him a happy birthday?” she offered, innocently.
Triton looked down at her and Ocestelle’s fake innocence broke as she laughed.
“Triton,” she said, looping her arm with his as she led him towards the dance floor near where Apollo and Persozo were dancing. “You need to relax more. It’s a party so unless an enemy is tearing down the walls of the palace, I think whatever you need to tell dad can wait.”
Triton sighed and allowed his sister to pull him into a dance. It wasn’t often that Triton was made to follow but he’d danced with his brother on enough occasions not to trip over his feet as Ocestelle led him around the floor.
“I feel like something has happened. Something changed and I can’t pinpoint what,” Triton explained.
“Is it a bad change?” Ocestelle asked.
Triton shook his head. It didn’t feel like a bad change. It was just an unnerving one, like he had woken up from a dream.
“Then why worry about it?” Ocestelle asked. “Maybe for once everything is exactly where it needs to be.”
Ocestelle dipped him then when he wasn’t expecting it and Triton found himself making eye contact with Persozo who was laughing at him from his own dipped position. As he was righted, Triton still felt like the world had taken a step to the left but watching his sister smile and take up Apollo’s silent challenge to a dance competition, Triton supposed she was right.
Something was very different than he remembered it being but if this was different, it was clearly for the better.
