Drowning in the Siren's Song -II

Chapter 5

Percy had the ability to manipulate water at will and yet his throat was dry. He could jump in water and come out dry, and yet the sweat dripping down his neck made dark spots on his shirt. 

He was so engrossed in singing that he had completely ignored the presence of the crowd that had formed; half of which were men, heightening his panic. Now what to do?

Keria noticed his discomfort. She chirped aggressively, flapping her tiny wings to prevent onlookers from approaching closer. They looked at her like she was crazy and sent meaningful glances towards him, telling him to control his bird, but he could not be more grateful. 

Percy wriggled in place, hand hovering near his pocket where riptide was. There were no monsters around but yet he felt threatened.

Everyone starting speaking as soon as he was done. It started with soft murmurs and hushed compliment, but soon it turned loud. A baby wailed in protest as the people around him yelled in order to be heard. 

And in the midst of it all, Percy was stuck, no way out to run. His social skills were worse than the crying baby, considering that even she smiled at old ladies who fussed over her. There was no chance he could respond to all those people trying to strike a conversation with him. Even though they wanted to compliment him, all he felt was threatened. 

Keria was zooming around his face, the baby was crying, the women were inching closer, men boomed in the background and suddenly, there was a thin hand wrapped around his wrist, pulling him through the gaps of people. 

The first thing he did was see if it were a monster, but after feeling the warmth of the hand and dark curls round his head, he let himself be lead with half- lidded eyes. 

He reassured himself thinking that he could always break away and reach for the knives around his waist. And so he shut himself off and allowed himself to run. Hard, quick and fast. 

Before he knew it, the boy stopped and let him go. He was somehow very gentle, eyes darting to his wrist, checking to see if he had hurt him in the process. He whispered a quick 'sorry' after he saw the shallow marks his nails left. Percy, still too numb to give any reactions, let the moment of reply pass, cuing the boy to sit down and wait. 

The boy definitely had ADHD. Percy could see his actions in him. He kept moving and his fingers kept tapping. He occupied his time by observing him with big brown eyes, looking hard enough for him to notice but not in a way which could be called rude. He was fascinated watching Percy. His eyes held wonder and Percy could see his brain sprinting. 

While Percy's survival skills were in play, he noticed that he seemed to have godly blood since his eyes lingered at his waist where normal mortals could see nothing but cloth. He also seemed fixated at the leather band Artemis had given him. It looked ordinary, but he seemed to have noticed the subtle silver glow around it.

Once Percy could think more, he noticed how small he was. Maybe he was just young, but his wrists and ankles seemed ready to break. Percy could never have noticed if it weren't from experience. He'd had his own battles with starvation and knew exactly how to recognize a fellow survivor. 

The boy looked ready to ride the wind and yet the focus he showed grounded him, albeit it was extremely short- termed. It was amazing how he could do that. He would look at something for a few minutes straight, blink and then swivel around and repeat the process. What he was doing, Percy could not deduce, but his blatant habit was interesting to observe. 

"You can thank me later." The boy shrugged, smiling through closed lips. He had an impish air surrounding him. 

Percy was a bit taken aback since he'd only been around people who found smiling hard. Seeing him so accustomed to humor gave him a sort of mental whiplash. It took him a minute to find a reply. 

"Ah... ok." Percy awkwardly sat down next to him. 

It must've been extremely funny because his lips twitched twice and he burst out laughing, doubling over and slapping his thigh. It was loud and overwhelming but extremely contagious. He felt his mood lighten immediately. 

"I thought you wanted to escape," He looked up from where he was sitting, the faint traces of laughter remaining on his face. It was wonderous that such a boy who had grease on his face and dirt under his fingernails would be smiling so happily. 

"Yeah." Percy didn't really know how to thank him properly. He did ask him to thank him later so Percy would have to find a way. 

"Pity you won't be able to get the money. It should be gone by now." He genuinely looked sad. Percy could pick up the sympathy he felt for him, a stranger. 

He wanted to reassure him. "It's okay. Keria's still there." 
"The back bird?" He was quick to pick up. 
"Yeah." Percy nodded.
"What." He wasn't that quick.
"Ah..." Percy realized that he should've explained better. 

"She's smart. She'll protect the money until I get it. She's greedy too. And scary." Percy spoke hesitantly, English not coming to him as quickly as Greek or Latin. He also failed to realize that his explanation was still not enough and needed an explanation. 

But the boy was quite polite and nodded, letting the questions haunt him at the back of his mind. 'The tiny bird was scary? How was she going to protect money? Were birds that smart?' and so on.

While he was struggling mentally, Percy remembered the manners which were taught to him by the hunters. 
"I'm Percy." He introduced himself to the queer boy.

"Ah right. Manners." He laughed again. He got up with a jump, bouncing lightly on his feet. He extended a wiry hand, bowing dramatically.
"I'm Leo, your new best friend."