Another Place, Another Time (Percy)

[STEPHANIE COAST]

Steph lied in her bed, wearing her orange t-shirt and a pair of khaki shorts, the strange, but typical attire everyone else wore at Camp Half-Blood. She never recalled seeing anyone wear orange anything back in her time. She herself sort of weirded out when she saw herself with it on in the mirror. Still, she was trying to fit in to this modern world, decades upon decades away from her own. She guessed she had no other choice. All she had then were Chiron and the campers. She had no living relatives outside of those connected to her godly father, Poseidon. That in itself was a lot for her to take in. Her real father wasn't Reginald Coast, but the God of the Sea. Furthermore, she had discovered that her father had been forbidden to have children since around the time she had been trapped in the Lotus Hotel, so her relatives were few and far between.

Steph looked up at the ceiling in the quiet cabin, wondering if anyone would pop by to say hello, given it was just after dinner. She had the option of joining the other campers at the sing-a-long, but she didn't know any of those crazy songs. She'd look like a goof. She let out a long sigh, admiring the ceiling a bit more as her thoughts drifted to her long-gone mother and stepfather.

PERCY JACKSON

[PERCY JACKSON]

Percy loved visiting camp. It was where he had learned to fight, made friends, and met Annabeth. A pretty special place. Of course any place was special if you cared enough about it. And boy, did Percy care about this place. He had risked life, limb, and sanity to keep it (and the world) safe. After traveling here this morning, hanging out with Jason, Percy was looking forward to going to his cabin and crashing on his bunk. It had been too long since he had actually been back here. He felt out of touch. Like butter spread over too much bread... nah, that would be if he felt thin.

Waving at campers as he passed, Percy sighed in the familiarity of it. He loved New Rome, any place Annabeth was he loved, but nothing could beat home. He opened the door to his cabin and threw his bag on his bunk, then froze. In the blink of an eye Riptide was out of his pocket, pen cap strew across the room hitting the wall and sword extended. The tip of the sword pointed at a young dark haired girl laying on the bunk opposite of his. "Who are you and how did you get in here?" He demanded. As he summed her up he realized there was something familiar about her, but he couldn't seem to put his finger on it. Maybe it was just her casual disregard of the rule... he understood that.

STEPHANIE COAST

[STEPHANIE COAST]

Steph almost fell off the bed when the guy barged in with the nifty bronze sword. She managed to catch herself and hid herself with the blanket on her bed, despite being full clothed.

"Well, you just gave me a fine case of the Heebie-Jeebies!" she said. "What's with the butter knife, pally? Plan to have a run-in with my bread basket?" Steph had to keep reminding herself that no one really talked like she did in the 1920's anymore. She took a deep breath and tried to speak as modernly as possible. "I was told to come here... by the horse-man. Something to do with that glowing fork symbol that popped over my head the first day I got here. I was told my pops is Poseidon the Sea God. Honestly, I wasn't trying to move in on the joint. They said I could live here while I was at camp." She then sighed and looked down as she lowered the blanket. "I... don't really have any other place to go anymore. I don't really have a any family left, not the ones I knew anyway." It was a bit of a sob story, but it was sincere. She looked back up and eyed the fellow curiously. "You... look familiar. Weren't you in that nutty hotel too once?"

PERCY JACKSON

[PERCY JACKSON]

Percy found himself lowering his sword as she spoke. She was... speaking English. He was sure of that. He just had no clue what she was saying. Apparently the confusion showed on his face because she began speaking in a dialect that actually made sense after a moment. And she was a daughter of Poseidon?

"Wait... your dad is Poseidon? Seriously?" He let his sword fall to his side, eyebrows narrowed as he stared intently at her, as if willing her to fix his confusion. "That means you're my sister." His words came out slowly and a little chopped. He had a sister? "Wait, wait, wait... how is this possible?!" He took a step back and sat down hard on the bottom bunk.

His mind was reeling. Some how, there was a girl here, who was his sister (half-sister, whatever), who talked like a crazy person. "You can stay here, it's fine." he said absently, reaching into his pocket and recapping Riptide. Her question jerked him from his contemplation. "Huh? Hotel?" Then things started to click in his mind. A hotel, crazy old speech, and the random appearance of a sister who shouldn't exist. "You mean the Lotus Hotel?"

STEPHANIE COAST

[STEPHANIE COAST]

The guy seemed utterly shocked about Steph being Poseidon's daughter. A lot of people seemed to have felt that way when they found out. Yes, she knew about how three of the Olympians, including her father, were prohibited from having kids, and had been for some time. However, her father and mother brought her into this world at a time when the Sea God had free reign to reproduce... or however that worked for deities. Then, he shocked her by saying he was her brother. Her... brother? She had a living sibling here and now?

"You're... you're my brother?" she said. "Well ain't that a kick in the head?"

She smiled a little when the guy put his sword away... by turning it into a pen... nifty. He then mentioned the Lotus Hotel, which made her assume he had been trapped there too. She knew she had seen him there, not for long, but she had. Maybe that was how he was her brother. Maybe he was born in the early 1900s too... or maybe before.

"Yeah, from what I was told, I spent quite a spell there. I walked in there in 1931 and then this salty old sailor-type shows up what I thought was a couple of months later and got me out... and then all of sudden it's decades and decades later. But... I did see you. Weren't you with a pretty blonde dame and that funny looking fella? Yeah, I saw you just before I was yanked out of there." Steph was obviously still having trouble with how time worked in the hotel.

PERCY JACKSON

[PERCY JACKSON]

A lot of strange things happened to Percy. He had fought the same monsters multiple times on the same day, he had rescued his best friend Grover from marrying a cyclops (long story), he had even sailed across the world in a giant flying ship that was flown by a dragon and crazy gear-head (hi Leo!). Having a secret sister wasn't really strange enough to make it onto "Percy Jackson's Top Ten list of the Weirdest Things to Ever Happen To Me". Her strange phrases might make it there, though, if she kept using them. " Well, I'm Percy Jackson." He said as he stood up and proffered his hand to her. "And... kick in the head? Please don't." He said softly.

Apparently, she had been in the Lotus Hotel since 1931! That made her... old. WAY older than him, but she didn't look like she was 79 years old. More like 16. But the Lotus Hotel was a crazy place. His friend Nico had been trapped there for almost as long as she had. Maybe they should do a sweep of the place and free any trapped demi-gods who were stuck in there. Maybe he would find he had a whole slew of sisters! Then again, once you went into the Lotus Hotel it was hard to leave. Like, really hard. He had only been there once. He had thought he was in there for a few hours, a day at the most, then BAM! A whole week went by! Percy was amazed she could remember anything about her time there, he had had a hard time focusing on anything except himself. Most of the people there were oblivious to everyone around them. Percy smiled a little, he was going to like having her as a sister.

"Yeah, my girlfriend Annabeth and our satyr friend Grover. We went in there a few years ago while we were on a quest. You remember that? Impressive." He went over to a little water cooler in the corner and got himself a drink. He filled another cup and brought it over to her. "So, how long have you been at camp?" He asked. Talking with his sister was almost normal now. He was pretty good at adapting to stuff.

STEPHANIE COAST

[STEPHANIE COAST]

Steph laughed when Percy Jackson introduced himself and asked not to be kicked in the head. She really had to cool it on the old sayings.

"Oh no, it's just an expression... an old one I suppose," she said. "Um... what's a good way of saying it now? Well, isn't this an interesting turn of events."

So it was true. Percy and his girlfriend, the blonde dame, and the satyr. Of course he was a satyr, just like the one the odd sailor brought her to. But a few years ago? She felt she had seen him a week... maybe two weeks before she herself left? Then again, she felt she had been in the hotel FAR less than almost eight decades.

"I mean, to me it was as if you were in there a couple of weeks before," she said. "But I guess time is something pretty screwy in that joint." She then smiled when Percy gave her a cup of water. She gave him a toast. "Thanks. Here's mud in your eye." She then took a sip. Wait, she hoped he didn't think she was actually going to toss mud at him. She really had to learn how to talk and act modern.

"Around three months now," she said. "There weren't many people here when I got here, but that swell horse-man, Chiron I think his name is, told me more came in the summer time, and by golly he was right."

PERCY JACKSON

[PERCY JACKSON]

Percy knew from experience that time in the Lotus Hotel was crazy, when he had been in there a week had felt like a day or less. He couldn’t imagine being in there for decades. And he really didn’t want to.

When she handed him the cup of water he took it, clicking his glass with hers when she toasted him... wishing him mud in his eye? that was probably an old phrase. Hopefully. ”Yeah.. you too.” He said hesitantly before taking a drink. ”What is that phrase supposed to mean anyway?” he asked after a moment or two of silence.

”Summer is when this place is really hoppin’.” He added in a wiggle of his eyebrows, hoping she would appreciate his old timey phrase... at least he hoped I t was old timey. ”But there is a lot more to do. And, you don’t have to do it alone! We are cabin mates, siblings, and now we get to do everything together! Hopefully you like me cause we are about to get to know each other really well!” He put his arm around her and beamed.

[STEPHANIE COAST]

Steph blushed a bit when Percy asked what the phrase "here's mud in your eye" meant? She really had to be careful about what she said going forward. Some of the old, harmless phrases from her time could get her in trouble now.

"Um... I don't really know to be honest," she said. "It's just something people said in my time when they make a toast. I should probably stick with 'cheers'."

When Percy said Steph wasn't alone and that they would do everything together, Steph teared up a bit. It really hit her. She had a brother. A tried and true brother. She stepped over and embraced him.

"I... I never thought I'd ever have family again," she said. "I'm... happy to be your sister. It's the bee's knees." She broke the embrace and chuckled. She then formed a curious look as she stepped back and gave her brother a little elbow room. "So... your pops is Poseidon as well. Can you tell me about all these zany water powers that I'm supposed to have? I heard I can really get myself out of a pickle with it if some monster tries to give me the old once-over."


PERCY JACKSON

[PERCY JACKSON]

She answered his question, saying that she should probably stick with the 'cheers' alone and he shook his head. "No, no. Actually I think it's pretty cool that you aren't trying to conform - you should say whatever makes you the most comfortable. Plus, maybe it'll catch on. I'll start saying it," he smiled, trying to seem... encouraging? Plus, if he started saying it other people might... granted, he lived in New Rome so it wasn't entirely helpful.

When she said that she thought she'd never have a family again, he tightened his arm around her shoulder slightly. He... was happy too. He knew his dad had other kids and now that the Great Prophecy was over that if any were left they would start coming out of the woodwork. She broke the embrace and he stepped aside, smiling at her as she spoke further about their dad. "Oh! Yes! Ooh, we're going to have to train together. I mean... if you're not free right now, I can show you an old trick I learned on my first day," he grinned devilishly.

STEPHANIE COAST

[STEPHANIE COAST]

Steph chuckled when Percy said that he might start saying some of the "old timey stuff" that she said. She wouldn't complain if he did, and maybe it would help her adjust a bit more. All in all, she was glad that he was open to letting her be her.

"Well... I'll try to get wise to some of the modern lingo," she said. "Seeing I'm going to be living in this time for quite a spell. Can't really go back to the 1930's... not that I want to in a lot of ways. I heard that Depression ended up doing quite a number on the world." She was surprised at all the things she missed in general- another world war, various movements that allowed people the basic rights they deserved, a whole lot of whacky stuff in the 1980's. She did wish she was there for some of that.

Percy then offered to show her a trick. She was instantly intrigued. She also liked the idea of training with her brother. Really, she just liked the idea of spending time with him in general.

"Sounds swell," she said. "Um... there's a new saying I kind of like... let's bust a move." She guessed it meant let's head out, but she felt she could have been mistaken.

PERCY JACKSON