All at Sea

02: Introductions.

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Dinner was stiff, to say the least. Percy was one of the first to sit at the table, discreetly pointed to her seat by Alfred who quickly saw her discomfort. She offered to help Alfred, but the elder refused her attempts. Percy sat uncomfortably as the rest of the house members made it into the dining room.

Bruce offered her a tired greeting when he walked in; he sat at the head of the table. "How are you settling in? Sorry, I couldn't see you in, people like that social worker are quick to come and reluctant to leave." Percy offered a polite nod of feigned understanding and the two fell into silence.

The next to walk into the room was the gaunt teen from before. He, again, paused before entering the room upon seeing Percy sitting with her hands clasped firmly on the table, doing all but rocking back and forth in her seat. He took up a seat three chairs down from Bruce's right, leaving him facing Percy. His straight black hair was in a grown-out wolf cut, fanning over his face to obscure the pasty skin, deep bags hung under his otherwise mesmerizing eyes. His presence felt painfully neutral.

"Ah, Tim," Bruce spoke between sips of water, addressing the ghostly boy, "this is Percy. I'll introduce her officially once the rest come down."

Tim stood from his chair and offered a hand to shake, Percy mimicked him and took his hand. "Timothy Drake-Wayne. It's nice to meet you."

"Percy Jackson. Likewise." Her reply was curt, not that she cared much at the moment.

"Percy, that's an interesting name," Tim attempted conversation, which Percy took up gracefully.

"Yeah, it's short for Persephone. Like the goddess. My mom used to be like really into greek myths and stuff. I go by Percy though." Percy's casual dialect seemed to clue Tim that she wasn't a business prospect, and the boy visibly relaxed in his seat, slouching slightly.

The conversation was kept to small talk until a tall, slinky, toned, young man joined them at the table, seated next to Tim. He was significantly taller than Tim and was nearly level with Bruce, though his skin was comparably darker than the others she'd seen, a honey color that made him seem even warmer and more inviting. Without prompting he introduced himself cheerfully, "Hi, I'm Dick!"

Percy tried to hide the snicker behind a cough, but Dick caught on and rolled his eyes playfully. "I'm Percy."

"Like that's much better," he told her accusingly.

"Anything that isn't genitalia is better, Dick."

"Are we making fun of Dick's name?" The same herculean teen walked into the dining room, he sat beside Percy, his body language left an underlying threat despite the calm words. Percy took note of a pale scar on his otherwise tanned face in the shape of a J. "It's my favorite pastime," he told the girl before turning to face Bruce, "a new one? Really? We ought to get you an alcoholics anonymous for taking in dark-haired children."

"Jason, be nice," both Bruce and Dick hissed at him while Tim made a face of vague interest.

"You're Jason, I'm guessing?" He nodded in reply and held out his hand to shake. "I'm Percy." The conversation came to a lull after that, Alfred bringing plates from the kitchen was the only sound until two more (oddly enough) dark-haired youngsters came in.

"There is a new one." A dainty little boy spoke upon seeing her, his voice was thick with malice; his emerald green eyes appeared to have venom laced into the very irises. A bronzed hand pulled his jacket back discretely to show an arrangement of ornate daggers. He moved to sit at Bruce's right hand, shooting Percy a haughty glare.

The second person entering the room was a lithe girl with chin-length hair, she stayed silent as her eyes narrowed while she analyzed the people in the room. From the doorway she spoke, porcelain hands signing along with her words. Her voice sounded excited if not raspy. "New. Sister?"

"Sort of, I'll explain once you sit," Bruce told her, gesturing gently at the seat directly on his left. Instead, the girl sat beside Percy and shot Alfred a pleading look while signing something. Alfred moved the plates from her original placement to the one beside Percy.

"I am Cass," she told Percy, making an effort to enunciate as she signed along.

"I'm Percy," she tried her best to spell out her name in sign, the alphabet being the only thing she knew. Cass responded with a bright smile and a happy nod. Alfred left into the kitchen with a bow before Bruce started speaking.

"Now that introductions have been dealt with, I'd like to explain Percy's situation." He punctuated the sentence by having a drink of his water, and upon seeing everybody holding off on eating he gave the 'go ahead' to eat as he spoke. "Percy is sixteen, and due to complications regarding her previous housing situation, she'll be living with us until further notice. She is the daughter of my estranged sister, making our home an ideal fit in the eyes of the foster system. I hope you will all welcome her with open arms."

The dinner remained quiet save for the sound of cutlery after the announcement, and save for an occasional whine from the youngest. By the end of it, everybody made their way to their separate rooms, Percy stopping to ask Alfred for directions when Cass offered to show her.

Cass led her through the halls with silent steps. By the time they made it to the door, Cass muttered something at Percy, still singing along. "Safe and happy here. Keep here safe, please."

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I do not own any Percy Jackson or DC content.

p.s. I am a firm believer in 'all the bat kids are minorities' and you can pry that from my cold, dead, hands. I hope to update this pretty frequently, so that's good. i hate describing characters without sounding a) racist b)absolutely in love with every single character, or c) like the mc is lusting over everything. um I love cass.
Please tell me if you think I've misrepresented any character or like people subcategory (idk if that makes sense) but lmk if you think there's anything I could improve in
in other news, I have to go to a quinceañera and I look absolutely fucking radiant in the dress

ily bye x

Saturn ♄