44. the real issue
G A Y L E
IN all my twenty-some years of living, I never in my wildest dreams imagined I'd someday find myself by a campfire awkwardly sat on a log between the queen of the gods and god of the sea himself.
My eyes wander away from the withering flames afore us, the only source of light and the only thing keeping us warm on this desolate night and towards Poseidon himself besides me, as he continues munching on the fish he had caught for us and cooked on the flames.
I can't help but scrunch my face up in disgust as I watch him devour that fish, bones and all. A sight powerful enough to turn even the greatest of meat lovers into strict vegetarians.
Not to mention, Ariel besides me is glaring daggers at the sea god so sharp, they'd cut through concrete.
I sigh, glaring down at my own fish with the loss of my appetite. "You going to eat that?" A gravelly voice cuts through my train of thought. My head turns to Poseidon, whose wide, hypnotic blue eyes glare back at me while in one swift motion, he's swiped the fish off of my lap and into his mouth.
"Unbelievable." Ariel mutters under her breath while she pretends to be more focused on her meal than she is Poseidon.
Poseidon's eyes widen in disbelief, as he turns his head towards Ariel, who flips her hair haughtily and looks away from him. "If you've got something to say to me, Ariel, you should —"
Ariel interrupts him by clearing her throat and turning her hazel-eyed gaze back to me. She smiles bitterly, and blinks a few times before saying; "Gayle, would you be so kind as to tell Poseidon besides you that I've got nothing to say to a traitor and a coward such as himself?" She then turns away from the both of us, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Well, this is awkward..." I mumble under my breath, turning to Poseidon to relay the queen's message. Only Poseidon has obviously heard her, and is not very pleased with her cruel words.
"Gayle." His voice echoes through the night, clear as crystal, louder than a thunderstorm.
I gulp, awkwardly scratching the top of my head. "Would you please notify Ariel that I have no idea to what she could be referring—"
"Oh, is that so?" Ariel interrupts, pushing herself up off of the log and clearing the dirt off with her palms. "You know, you're unbelievable. We're out there scrambling, fighting an unwinnable war against the titans and you — you're here... relaxing, scarfing down buckets of fish while your brethren are putting themselves on the line, fighting to save your ass—"
"My ass?"
"ALL OUR ASSES."
I shrink deeper into the center of the log, just as Poseidon gets up himself, the log tips over, and I shriek just as I realize I'm about to fall over. I had no idea how much weight Poseidon was putting on it.
Luckily, Poseidon grabs the log in his palm before it can topple over, stabilizing me.
However, his gaze remains firmly on Ariel, jaw clenched in anger at her words.
The atmosphere becomes thick with tension as my eyes dart between the both of them in anticipation.
"Do you think..." Poseidon pauses, taking the time to calm himself down. "Do you honestly think I'd be hiding out in this dust bowel if I had the choice? I mean look around Ariel," he waves his arms around, gesturing at the open space around us. "This? This is hardly my style. But I'm here. I'm here because this is the only place in the damn world where the titans can't find me, cause if the titans find me then you can pout those juicy lips and kiss the world goodbye."
By the time he's done, both Ariel and I are gaping at him in bewilderment. "Uhm, excuse me? Mr. All Powerful deity?" I butt in, catching Poseidon's attention. He turns to me with an arched brow, specs of amusement glistening in his glowing blue eyes.
"What do you mean by 'kiss the world goodbye'?" I ask.
He sighs, plodding back down on the log, only this time, the one side of the poor wooden log lifts to the heavens while the side he's on snaps into smithereens beneath him, like a seesaw.
Unwittingly, I slide to his side and find my body leaning on his side. My cheeks burst into flames in embarrassment as I hop off of the log and dust myself off.
When I turn back to him, there's a smirk on his plump pink lips. "Apologies. After all these centuries I still don't know my own strength." He shrugs.
Ariel rolls her eyes before I can say anything and pushes past me. "Can't you control yourself for a second, Poseidon? Focus."
Poseidon sighs, the playfulness in the air disappearing as he scratches his brow. He looks back up with worry in his eyes. "Fine."
"You're a scholar, aren't you Ariel?" He asks her. She nods in response, brow arching in suspicion.
"Then you've heard of Ragnarök?"
Ariel glances at me in confusion and returns her gaze to Poseidon, arms crossed over her chest.
"Of course. Doom of the gods. In Norse mythology, it means the end of the world of gods and men. When beasts and demons come forth and face off against the gods to the death." She turns to me with a sigh. "It's kind of like revelation. The apocalypse."
"That's a jumping off point. This is kind of like that. Only, instead of beasts and demons, it's more titans and the worst creatures imaginable." Poseidon explains.
Ariel's eyes widen at his word and she stumbles. "What? No... that's impossible, greek mythology has no stories like Ragnarök. The closest we've ever gotten to that is the Titanomachy and that's already happened!"
"I thought so too... until I went to see the fates in my dear old brother's domain a few months ago."
"They told me the titans would return and bring about the end of days. See, the titans plan on restarting the earth. Back to a time where even we, the gods did not exist, a time where they were the only ones in power. To do that, however, they need the blood of all twelve Olympians. Darkness will descend upon the lands. I'm talking fire and brimstone here. It will be much worse than the Titanomachy. So much worse. I have been hiding out here, in this land without magic, where even a god of my strength and magnitude can never be traced. It's the only place like this in the world."
Ariel glances down at her palms. "That must be why I can't use my powers. I'm not strong enough."
"Still," my voice echoes throughout the night, met by an echo of itself. "There has to be another way. What, you plan on spending the rest of eternity in this place as a means to prevent the titans from completing this ritual?" Grimly, Poseidon nods.
I shake my head. "That won't do..." I begin to pace as my head races with thoughts. "Even if you spend forever here alone, the titans will continue to wreak havoc on the surface, this plan isn't sustainable. They could even find another way to destroy the earth, without you. The only way to put an end to this madness is to kill the titans, or at least get them back into Tartarus."
"Titans cannot be killed. Our best bet is Tartarus."
"Even so, Ariel. Let's say we win and find a way to get them back into Tartarus, how much longer until they're out again? We need to get rid of them for good." I reply, biting on my lip.
"You can't kill a titan, Gayle. It's impossible."
"Nothing is impossible. You of all people should know that, queen of gods." I arch a brow at her. "If it has a heart, it can be killed."
"There is no other way." Poseidon counters, fixing his gaze on me. "I admire your drive and determination, but I've been around for eons. If there was a way to kill titans I'd have found it, sweetheart."
I try to ignore the pang of annoyance that assaults my chest at his choice of words.
How condescending.
"Or you just weren't looking before because you never had to worry about it, sweetheart. Maybe there's somebody we could ask. An ancient deity of some kind." I counter.
"I'm an ancient deity of some kind, and I'm telling you there's no way–" but before he can make his final point, his eyes widen as if he's just realized something. He turns to Ariel, who is watching him with an equal amount of curiosity as I am.
He gulps, turning back to me. "There may be somebody we could ask." He says, new found inspiration glistening in his eyes like they've just been shocked by electricity.
He snaps his fingers and waits while the world beneath us cracks open once again.
"Follow me."
***
A/N: I KIND OF IMAGINR POSEIDON AS JOSEPH MORGAN, ANYONE ELSE? ; )