Percy nodded. “Perhaps. But I think it goes a lot deeper than that. Does it have something to do with your family?”
I glared at him. “Can we please not go poking into my issues when we have other things to worry about?”
“Yes, please,” Hip groaned. "I'm done with this idiot.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. Until Atalanta came to town, Hip and I had hardly ever spoken. I always thought he was too cocky for his own good, but I never really treated him like some of the others in town did. Yet, ever since we were children, he held a level of hostility towards me. It was easier for us to avoid each other and for years I hardly gave him a thought. But now he was always around and constantly poking in all the wrong places. Anger built back up in the pit of my stomach and without thinking I shot up and tackled Hip into the pool.
Water surged around us as I grabbed at his shirt and tried to land a good hit on him. Our scales rippled over our skin as we tumbled through the water, cursing and kicking at each other. For the first time in my life it was almost if the water was working against me. My movements were slow whereas his were quick. He landed a punch to my shoulder and face while I had only managed to hit him once.
Suddenly I was being pushed away, a strong current pulling me from Hip and out of the pool.
Confused, I slipped and slid as I tried to scramble to a standing position. Without effort, Hip jumped out of the water and charged right at me, the pool water almost following behind him. I had heard rumors that Hip was a water elemental, but I didn’t think they were true. If he had full use of his power, I was totally outmatched. I wouldn’t just lay on my back and take it though. Slowly, I got to my feet and readied to strike first.
Before I could make another move, I felt a large hand wrapping around the back of my neck.
“That is enough!” Percy shouted, his hand on my neck tightening, demanding for me to stay still.
Far too quickly, the murderous rage on Hip’s face calmed, his fangs receding and his eyes returning to normal.
“He started it!” Hip shouted, pointing in my direction.
“And I’m ending it,” Percy snarled. “I will not have you two fighting like toddlers. There are bigger matters we must discuss.
It was rare to see the calm and collected librarian show anything more than mild annoyance when upset. Seeing him show genuine anger and dominance was a bit of a turn on. He was right though, we had other problems right now.
I nodded, and Percy released me. The water, which had been building up like a wall behind Hip, dropped and splashed back into the pool, spraying all of us. Hip looked behind him, eyes wide as if he himself had no idea what he’d just done.
I glanced around and saw Theseus and Ajax standing by the doors, Theseus looking worried while Ajax looking as stoic as ever.
“We should leave,” Ajax said.
Confused, I heard the commotion coming from behind the door. Shouts of confusion and banging on the door’s metal surface clued me in that we had drawn quite the audience. Theseus and Ajax must have been keeping anyone else from coming in.
Percy, who’s demeanor sank back to calm, tilted his head towards the emergency exit at the back of the room. “Let’s go then.”
The five of us were on the move, exiting the building and running into the woods behind the center. The tension was palpable as we settled amongst the trees, none of us looking at each other.
Thinking back to the matter at hand, I felt conflicted. Atalanta was her own person, and if she wanted to be with all of us, who were we to stop her? Jealousy raged in my mind, demanding to keep her to myself and have a normal monogamous relationship like the humans do. But if I did that, told her to choose, who was to say she would choose me?
It was actually Ajax who spoke up first. “We should establish rules.”
“Rules? You don’t suggest we go along with this? Share Atalanta?” Hip asked, voicing what we were all thinking.
“If it’s what she wants.” He shrugged.
Theseus and Percy—who stood as far as they could from each other in the small clearing— just nodded, not looking conflicted at all.
“And it doesn’t bother you?” I hopped in. “The three of you seem so okay with this.”
“Simple cultural differences,” Percy began. "Monogamy is uncommon for our kind. There are too few females, so it’s rare that you find one who doesn’t have multiple mates. It’s understandable for you two to shy away from the idea, having grown up around humans.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, who said anything about mating?” Hip sputtered, looking panicked.
“Is there another girl you're interested in, Hip?” Theseus asked an eyebrow cocked at the blond mer.
He shook his head. "No. It’s just…aren’t we all a little young to be thinking about mating? I mean, it’s like marriage, right?”
Theseus shrugged. “Some of us are a lot older than you think.”
I had always assumed Theseus wasn’t much older than me, but perhaps I was wrong. And while I knew Percy’s actual age, I could only guess about Ajax, who I kind of assumed was the same as Percy.
Hip’s brows furrowed. "I don’t understand.”
The elders hadn’t even told him this much? I felt bad for him in that moment, being so far out of the loop when it came to his kind.
“Merfolk are immortal,” Ajax said.
“It is a lot more complex than that, Ajax,” Percy said before looking at Hip. "but yes, we are a particularly long-lived species. Therefore, our age does not necessarily match our outward appearance.”
Hip’s jaw fell open, his eyes darting between the four of us before settling on me, his eyes full of accusation.
“Don’t look at me. You and I are the same age.” I said, shaking my head. I wasn’t sure about jumping on the mate bandwagon like the other three either, and I didn’t think we should be discussing it right then. “I don’t think we should be making such a decision without Atalanta here.” I looked down and muttered. "I also need apologize to her.”
Hip jumped on this. “Yeah, we should wait. Especially since this is just as big, if not bigger of a decision for her.”
Ajax and Theseus agreed. Percy, however, looked upset. Until then he had been resting as cool as a cucumber against a tree. Now he was standing straight, his foot tapping against the ground as he shifted around restlessly.
“Percy?” I asked, worried that he was angry with our decision.
At the sound of my voice, his eyes snapped to mine.
“Mm? Oh, yes. Fine.” He waved as if dismissing us, clearly distracted.
I was about to push for him to talk to me when I felt a tingling sensation that was all too familiar at the back of skull, and a knowing feeling washed over me.
I looked up to the sky, which was cloudy but calm. “It’s going to storm tonight. And it's gonna be a pretty bad one.”
“Can you tell where it’s coming from?” Percy asked, surging towards me, his expression intense.
“From the west. It’s on the ocean right now, picking up speed. Why?”
Hip jumped in, his eyes full of panic. “Didn’t Atalanta say that she was going out with her dad? To test out his new boat?”
I shook my head, staring at Percy. “You don’t think…”
Percy swore. “I knew it. I suspected this might happen with my developing feelings for her. We need to leave.”
Without any more information, Percy took off running into the woods towards the beach. The four of us stood there looking at each other, confused and afraid, before taking off after him.