#Apollo discovers the pleasure of being blackmailed by a demigod

[whispersinthedawn]

Between the Heavens and the Embers

Apollo snapped his fingers again. “Focus,” he commanded.

Percy sucked in a harsh breath, unable to believe that she’d slipped back away into believing herself an eagle in the middle of a conversation with a god, however amiable, by virtue of just recalling the past.

“I can hear things,” she finished pathetically.

It seemed to mean more to Apollo than it did to her, because the god drew back with a look of understanding on his face.  “It’s just an evolution of your battle reflexes.”

“Evolution?” Percy echoed.

“Have you never wondered exactly how you’re always aware of your surroundings?” Apollo asked in a tone so similar to Chiron’s when he’d been pretending to be Mr Brunner for her sixth-grade that it sent a sharp ache through Percy’s chest.

“You have the same number of sensory neurons as any other human. Your brain simply happens to dismiss less of the information as irrelevant than others’.”

“So, my brain’s lost even more of the restrictions than before?” Percy asked, unsure. It … didn’t seem right. She couldn’t claim to be the absolute best at biology, certainly not with Greek Mythology involved with its sapient sheep and talking trees, but she rather doubted being able to hear objects miles away lay within human capacity.

Apollo chortled. “Don’t be ridiculous. You’d be leaking out your brains if that were the case.”

Just as Percy had begun to relax, the god continued brazenly, “In moments of terrible stress,” Apollo glanced around their banal surroundings and amended, “or moments of great paranoia, demigods are liable to direct their untapped potential into cultivating their senses for a power-up.”

Percy frowned at him in silent inquiry even as her brain raced. She’d … she’d been trying to overhear the sounds of pursuit, hadn’t she? Denied the dubious respite of dreams, her hyper-active brain had instead slipped straight into her favourite pastime of imagining every single thing that could go wrong. And then her straining ears had captured more and more input until something about the eagle had captured Percy instead. 

“You’re transitioning – from human to something more … demigodly. You’re literally growing more sensory receptors. But your brain–” Apollo shrugged as if the state of her pitifully mortal brain matter was a foregone conclusion. “Brains are delicate. Elastic, but given to self-preservation. It’ll be a long time if ever until you adapt to your senses.”

“I’ve never heard of this before,” Percy protested, not truly dubious yet unable to accept his words as the unvarnished truth.

Apollo’s eyes glinted darkly at her with an unnamed emotion. It wasn’t sympathy or anything as self-blaming as an apology. But not entirely devoid of the bitterness that came from knowing the unfairness of reality.

“It’s common enough for demigods,” he told her with unprecedented gentleness. “They just tend to die before they can pass the information on.”

In moments of terrible stress or extreme paranoia.

If demigods sprouted new powers according to need – what constituted a greater need than the fangs at your throat, than the claws around your heart?

What greater danger than the monster about to kill you?

Percy swallowed. “Will I finish evolving by the time the train stops?” she asked without true hope.

Apollo chuckled disbelievingly. “I think not,” he said incredulously. “The nervous system can take up to thirty years to heal any damage – and you’re talking about creating new pathways altogether.”

Percy sank into her seat and wrapped her arms around herself. Angled her head so that Apollo could only witness her troubled profile while she herself could detect every single non-existent wrinkle on his refection in the side-view mirror.    

“I suppose I’ll die before mastering my powers too,” she whispered.

“Undoubtedly,” Apollo agreed without hesitation.

“Perhaps even on this quest,” she continued fatalistically.

“Perhaps,” Apollo dismissed with a callousness she couldn’t quite bring herself to believe.

Their eyes met through the glass of the mirror and caught.

“Are you sure you can take that risk?” Percy whispered. “Let that perhaps turn into a yes?”

***

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