Who: Poseidon, Veronica and Bernie When: Tuesday afternoon, May 16, 2011 Where: Veronica's apartment/out Warnings/Ratings: Poseidon's mouth at most
Poseidon's anger continued to roll against the mortal world though he'd yet to lash out to his full potential. The Olympians may be old gods to the mortals today, but he still had some power and he was ready to drag New York with him.
Right now he'd promised to see Veronica's brat, a kid he actually showed some attention to. He wasn't in the state of mind as he came toward the apartment building. It was now his second week in trying to contact Amphitrite with no answer. It stuck him in a vile mood as he slammed the phone shut with a loud curse just before knocking on the door heavily.
It was only a matter of time before his anger blew up dragging down who he could with him just for the sheer pleasure of it.
While it definitely wasn't a time where she'd want her son around Poseidon, she could only come up with so many excuses. She hoped Poseidon would behave, if only slightly, and she'd already made arrangements to go with them. The old God was far too volatile to be left with her son alone.
So when the knock came she sighed and made her son hurry to put on his jacket before opening the door. Sh could tell he was in a bad mood and just rolled her eyes before looking back. "Come on Bernie. Let's not keep your father waiting." She glanced to Poseidon then, "I'm coming with. Were where you planning on taking him?"
He shoved the phone in his pocket, dark and demanding eyes looming over them both once the door was open. "I don't need a chaperon," he said giving her an eerie smile.
He wasn't in the mood for her mouth. Bernie looked at him with that ridiculous white smile, Poseidon just snapped his fingers and pointed towards the hallway so he could have a word with Veronica.
"You needn't go," he said gruffly.
With a smile she nodded at Bernie to do as asked before looking to Poseidon, "yes I do. You're in a state. I don't know the reason and if I don't then Bernie doesn't either. I'd rather be a filter then have him annoy you, you say something you may not mean and hurt him more then you can imagine. You'll forgive the lack of trust."
She glanced back to where her son was, "I can play nice for him, and calm him down when needed. He looks up to you. You can ruin that, or you can take my aid."
Poseidon gave her a long look, those blue eyes burning into her skin without so much as a touch. He didn't say a word, as if in some strange way she could feel the vibe that was cutting him up and turning him inside out.
He let her pass before he stalked behind. "Just stay out of my way."
She held his gaze for quite some time before letting him in. She was going to keep in the background but keep an eye on them both. When she walked into the living room she ruffled her son's hair with a smile.
Poseidon towered over the kid. He looked as small as ever he was wondering when the little beast would start to grow.
"Let's go," he instructed finding there was a world of interest in that kids eyes that he'd not ever found in any of his kids before. What made this one any different?
For the life of her, she couldn't figure out why her son looked up to Poseidon so much. Gods knew she wasn't putting ideas in his head.
Bernie just grinned and nodded, following his father with his mother close behind.
The kid even tried to walk like him with his head held high, chest out, as if he could even begin to match that powerful stance Poseidon had. Kids were the damnedest things as they liked to poke their nose around where it wasn't needed. The brat was about as nosy and annoying as his mother as he chatted away about how he'd read up on Poseidon in school.
Poseidon snorted. Not really broaching into any conversation as he lead the way toward the park. The last time he'd taken the kid out they'd gone to the zoo, which had been weeks ago, a month perhaps if he'd been counting.
He wasn't acknowledging her son, and it irritated her. He could at least pretend to make an effort. With a sigh she caught up with the two and set her hand on her son's head. "I'm glad you did well in school love." When she saw where they were going she figured she could have brought the dog too.
Posedion was distracted, even Bernie could see that so when the tall god stopped he tugged on his sleeve.
"Hey! I'm talking to you," he said in a pouty voice with a grump that could match his father's.
"What?" he snapped back, running a hand against his face before trying to shake where his thoughts kept heading. It was making him a wreck.
Bernie pouted again crossing his arms over his chest. "You're weird today."
"I'm weird every day kid, what's it to you." He flopped down on an empty bench looking ahead where the harbor was nearby. His eyes flashed out towards that ocean wanting the water to rise up and flood this whole place. Bernie sat down beside him.
She sighed at his reaction. He could at least pretend. "he's just a bit out of sort love. I've got my bad days too." Smiling she stopped in front of her son and smoothed down his hair, not bothering to even sit down.
Bernie just frowned then, "yeah, like every month or so?" Which made her near burst out into laughing. She bit on her lip though, knowing Poseidon wouldn't take well to it if he was compared to a woman on some bad PMS. "No love, that's different."
She tapped her son's nose then, "oh you know what we forgot? Your boat. I'm sure your father would have enjoyed seeing that." Her tone didn't invite much argument. He could say something nice. "Made it all yourself right? From the kit your grandfather send over."
Poseidon eyed her sure that had she laughed he would have choked her right then and there. Then the kid could cry until his eyes turned red and see what he thought of his father then.
"Oh yeah! My boat!" he turned excitedly to Poseidon who had turned his gaze from the ocean water to the kid for the first time that afternoon. There was a dullness in the god's gaze but he'd give some sort of attention to the brat. Otherwise he'd chatter away all day and that would do nothing for his headache.
"What about this boat?" there was a light smirk, but hardly visible to anyone who wasn't paying attention. He closed his sunglasses over his eyes.
There. Now there was some communication. She was half tempted to yank the sunglasses from Poseidon's face, but she'd promised to be good. Instead she crossed her arms and listened to her son.
Smiling Bernie turned to his father, "well, grandpa send over this kit right? and you had to glue it all together and make a boat out of it. Mum's terrible at it, so it was just me. It's got a motor and everything, and it floated pretty good when we took it out to the pond the other day. And then Sklos, that's my dog, tried to grab it so we had to go."
The kid was at least showing interest into the maritime. It was a start, then again Triton may have had a hand in that as well. While his eyes were covered he at least pretending to stay in the conversation. He had to wonder how much wind the brat had in him.
Plastic boats. Pitiful. "Ever been on a ship, kid?"
Bernie shook his head, "no. Never had a chance to be on a boat really. I lived on a farm for a bit and then we came here." The boy looked to his mother then, "mum can we go on a boat one of these days? But not the ferry's. Those don't really count I think."
Veronica just smiled, "of course we can love. Summer's almost here so we'll see what we can do alright?"
Poseidon laughed throwing his arms against the back of the bench and looking up to the sky. For a moment he could take himself back in that sharp breeze that shot by. Feel as if he was back on the Greek Isles soaking in the sun and the salt water that used to hang on his body like a perfume.
"I've ran and been on all kinds of ships. Destroyed them too." Another chuckle. He'd been all over the world. It was then his thoughts went right back to their starting point again. Amphitrite had been with him through all of it, the Caribbean's, the pirating, the old coast.
It was then Bernie took notice of the tattoo against his forearm arm where the sleeve of his shirt was rolled up. It was the first time he'd seen it.
"Cool! What's that?" he pointed against the skin and the ring of of tattoos that lined a good two and a half inches of his arm.
"Tattoo's love." Bernie looked at his mother and frowned, "oh. They look cool, can I have them?" Before Poseidon could say yes, Veronica intervened, "not yet. We'll talk when you're sixteen. That and if you ever decide to convert and be Jewish like your Uncle they don't like tattoos."
Bernie nodded before looking back to his father, "were you a Pirate?"
Each tattoo he had on his body represented places he'd been through the centuries. Poseidon put his hand on the boy's head, a hand that nearly engulfed him ruffling his hair. The kid amused him, and it was the first sign of affection he'd ever shown him in front of Veronica. A sign she should take care to remember as he didn't act out often, very few of his kids were his favorites.
"I've got more than that," he pointed to his chest and then showed the one on the underside of his wrist.
His brow rose at the question, poking out from behind the shades. "Perhaps." He could practically see the kid's eyes turn to saucers.
Bernie just grinned brighter, "that is so cool. I dressed up as one for Halloween once." He shrugged and glanced to the tattoo on Poseidon's wrist. "It's pretty neat. Did they hurt?"
Curious herself Veronica leaned closer to glance at the tattoo's "and what do they mean? And remember Bernie, if you ever decide to put something permanent on your skin it should have meaning."
"Pirates were hardly good guys, not like your Pirates of the Caribbean films. They weren't Johnny Depp." He shook his head. "Hardly."
To the tattoo on his wrist he ran a finger against it, in black ink like the rest. "From my time in the Caribbeans. It's an African Adinkra symbol for 'He who wants to be king'. These were when I still stormed Greece." He was actually being chatty, maybe the kid did squeeze through a little. He hadn't noticed that Veronica seemed as equally interested.
He pointed to his chest again, "The trident," and then to his shoulder, "And the scorpion."
Bernie rolled his eyes to that, "well I know that. We learned about it in school." Veronica decided to intervene in case it was taken as bad. "Fitting." He could say a lot but the images spoke for themselves. "So I'm guessing the scorpion has to do with Orion? Wasn't he killed by one when he said he could destroy all the animals?" She knew quite a bit about the myths now she was involved with them. And it was never a bad idea to learn about her son's half siblings.
She smiled as Bernie looked up to her, "couldn't he walk on water?" He asked, and Veronica chuckled, "he could, and no we are not trying that. You're neither Jesus nor Orion." At her son's pout she had to smile.
"Someone's reading up," he should be impressed. He took off the shades. Orion was one of his, just as was the Cyclops, Theseus, among others. "Yes, Orion has something to do with it."
He looked down to Bernie who seemed even more fascinated than ever at the kind of things he was now semi-related to. "It's a trick he learned from me," Poseidon said with a chuckle. Then again, with the water trick he'd first showed Bernie, there was a lot Poseidon had been able to do, just not so much anymore without it wiping him out.
She rolled her eyes, "all of you people keep showing up. Best I learn about his siblings then be surprised." Smiling she ruffled her son's hair, who just batted her away. "Saves me some heartache later. And I've thought about tattoo's, if I could decide what I wanted."
Bernie just gaped before looking to his mother, "why can't I do anything cool like that?" She blinked and glanced to Poseidon before smiling. "You're too young." She didn't really know why. The age-thing seemed to make sense.
It wasn't the first time Bernie had wanted something else to happen like he'd seen that day in the park. There was something so amazing to an eight year old at things that he'd always been told were magic or science fiction. Poseidon had done a few tricks, but he kept it to a minimum as the kid made him feel like a circus show at times.
"She's right." These days if his powers were settled and a lot less than they were before, it made sense that it would take a half-mortal kid a little longer to show anything more than a stubborn attitude. "But it's not just all water," he stretched his leg out, sliding his foot against the ground. "How many titles can you name for me of me?" He asked quirking another brow towards the kid.
Bernie frowned and glanced to his mother before looking back to Poseidon, "well I know you're called the Earth-Shaker. Mum says you got something to do with horses too. There's a lot. I'm trying to learn but it get's hard." Veronica smiled, "bu you are learning and that's good. You'll get there." In her opinion it was a bit too much to ask to have her son know all the titles. Not even she knew them all.
Bernie just watched his father, "why was that? that you were called that? I thought there's this dude holding the earth and he makes it shake."
"Atlas holds the world. Tsunamis, earthquakes, that's all me." He said with an arrogant smile. Those times that even New York had experienced his light shocks were an indication he still had some pull. When his emotions were off kilter anything could happen.
"That's really complicated." Smiling Veronica leaned over to kiss her son's forehead when he said that. "You'll figure it out love. I doubt there's many who can keep it all straight anyway."
Poseidon hummed in his throat amused settling the glasses back on his nose. He looked back out to the ocean, distracted once again and getting up from his perch on the bench to walk towards the railing by the harbor.