Nadia twists her hands together as Percy fiddles with the door, a small metal object in his hand. The door makes a clicking sound, pulling a flinch from Nadia. Percy looks back at Nadia and gives her a reassuring smile.

"It's just the door, Nadia. It won't hurt you."

She can't explain that it wasn't just the shock of it, although it was that. For a moment, it wasn't the sound of metal against metal, but of metal against stone, sending a jolt of fear through her. Percy pulls the door open to reveal a house. At least, Nadia thinks it's a house. It's certainly something like it, but she doesn't think houses are structured like this, in a building full of many stacked atop and beside each other.

A young woman with pale hair is sitting at a table inside the . . . dwelling. Nadia will call it dwelling until she knows what this place is. The girl has a device in front of her, with her hands in a flurry of motion in front of her. A writing utensil is stuck over her ear. She looks up at the sound of the door and beams, standing from her seat.

"You're back!"

Nadia catches a glimpse of Percy's wide smile and he steps forward to hug the girl, his arms easily wrapping around her. He pulls back after a moment and motions towards Nadia, drawing the other girl's attention towards her.

"Annabeth, this is Nadia. My sister."

Nadia waves, not completely sure of what to do. "Hello."

Annabeth grins. "It's wonderful to meet you, Nadia. I'm sure this all must be very new."

Nadia nods. "It is. I'm not even sure what this place is called. I thought it was a house, but how are houses put together like this in a group?"

Annabeth bursts into laughter. "Don't worry, Nadia. We'll get you up to speed." Nadia blinks. Up to what? Annabeth continues. "This is called an apartment, it's kind of like a collection of houses. Let me show you how things work."

Annabeth gives Nadia a small tour of the apartment, demonstrating how to use the various instruments, all with unfamiliar names. The microwave, stove, fridge, those are all completely unfamiliar, and that's just the kitchen. The only thing that was familiar is the oven, and just the concept of it. That causes a moment of confusion for Nadia, how does she know how ovens work?

Annabeth takes Nadia into the bathroom next, only for Nadia to freeze at the people she sees inside. One of them looks just like Annabeth, but who is the other girl? She has blue-green eyes like Percy's, but lighter. Her dark hair is almost perfectly straight and her pale face has a softness to it. Where's her strength? She looks like she wouldn't be able to hold a spear, let alone use it. Nadia quickly shakes her head, confused by her own trail of thought. What is a spear? She points at the strange girl.

"Who's that?"

Annabeth stares at her. "That's you, Nadia. You're seeing yourself in a mirror."

Nadia shakes her head. "No, my hair is curly, even more so than yours. And I have a strong face, nothing like this softness. My skin is darker than that too."

"Nadia, look at your hand." Nadia looks down. What's wrong with her hand? "Do you see how light your skin is?'

"It's not that light."

Annabeth sighs. "It is, actually. And look-" She tugs at Nadia's hair, pulling a lock of it into her field of view. She releases it, and instead of springing back into a curl, it just drifts to lie against the rest of her face. "This is what you look like."

Nadia shakes her head, electricity running through her blood faster than the beat of her already racing heart. "No, it's not. This isn't me. This isn't me!"

The faucet in the sink below the lying image makes a sputtering sound, and water starts streaming from it. Annabeth shouts. "Percy, I need your help in here!"

It only takes a heartbeat for Percy to duck into the room, and a single appraising glance for him to figure out the situation. He grips onto Nadia's shoulders, forcing Nadia to focus on him, not the image he is blocking.

"Nadia, I need you to look at me, okay? Take a deep breath - one, two, three." Nadia inhales shakily, staring into the sea reflected from within Percy's eyes. "Good. Let it out slowly, and take another." The wavering of the world around her settles slightly with her breath, enough for Percy to recognize it and step back. "Annabeth, I'm going to grab the grounding stuff. Help her for a moment?"

Annabeth doesn't respond, but she takes Percy's place in front of Nadia, gently rubbing her hands up and down Nadia's arm. Her steel gray eyes cause a momentary spike in Nadia's panic, the loss of the sea in Percy's is shocking. But it doesn't take long for the gray to turn soothing, even more so than the sea in Percy's eyes. Annabeth doesn't speak, she just motions for Nadia to inhale and exhale.

When Percy comes back, he presses something cool into Nadia's hand. She can feel ridges on the item, a jump in the smooth surface of it. She looks down to see a shell, its surface covered in smooth, shallow ridges that taper to a point on one end and a wide opening on the other. The shell curves over the opening to close off all but the widest section. Nadia blinks in confusion, running her fingertips over the ridges in a repetitive motion.

"Why-"

Annabeth steps away a bit. "It's for grounding. It's supposed to keep you focused on something, to pull you away from the panic."

Nadia nods and murmurs, still staring at the shell. "It's working, I think. I feel-" She can't find the word in English and switches to her other tongue. She doesn't know why it's easier, but it is. "Centered. I feel centered. The world is a storm and before I was spinning with it, but now I'm in the eye."

Annabeth's brow furrows. "Was that Greek?"

Nadia shrugs and switches back into English. "I think so. That's what . . . my father said, at least. It feels more comfortable to speak in."

Annabeth nods. "That makes sense. Our brains are hardwired for Ancient Greek, it's instinctual. While you may have been learning to speak when you were hidden away and would have recognized what people were saying, you weren't fully able to develop the language."

Annabeth's gray eyes are sparkling with excitement at the theory, and it takes a moment for Nadia to realise that she is gripping the shell so hard in her hands that she feels like it could break. Why is Annabeth's excitement unnerving her? The answer comes a moment later, drifting into her head. It's a reminder of someone, but whom? Nadia shakes her head.

"Your eyes are gray."

Annabeth smiles at her. "I got them from my mom. All my siblings have them."

How many children of Athena are there? Percy had given Nadia a rundown of all the gods on the way to the apartment, but she still doesn't understand how Athena has children. She's supposed to be a virgin goddess, right? Wait, is she thinking of the right goddess?

"Your mom is Athena, right?" Annabeth nods. "Isn't she a virgin goddess? How-"

Annabeth laughs. "Percy had the same question. We're thought children, born the same way Athena herself was born."

"Every time one of you is born her head gets split open with a hammer like Zeus' and you come out fully formed?" Nadia shudders at the thought of that.

Annabeth blinks. "No, we're babies. And I don't think it hurts her. But how did you know that? I'm not sure Percy does, and he was the one filling you in."

Percy shouts from the other room, where he had drifted after Nadia calmed. "Hey!"

Annabeth shouts back. "You know it's true, Seaweed Brain!" She looks back to Nadia. "Are you better now?"

Nadia nods, lifting the shell. "This helped. It's a . . . triton shell?"

"Yes. Percy has it in part to annoy his brother, and in part because it helps. Why did the mirror unsettle you so much?"

"Because I know what I look like, and that's not it. That girl is a stranger."

"Is this based on how you saw yourself when you were dreaming?"

Nadia shakes her head. "I don't know how I know this, but I do. Straight hair doesn't feel right. That face doesn't feel right."

"Well I can't do anything about your face, but I could curl your hair for you? I'm sure one of the Aphrodite kids might know something to help as well."

"Thank you, Annabeth."

Annabeth smiles. "There's no need to thank me, Nadia. Do you want me to continue showing you things, or do you want a break?"

"Continue, please."

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Hmmm. What do you think of Nadia's strange knowledge? Where is it coming from? Why do you think she thought she looked different?(and again, let me know if you want me to add a characters chapter) Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!

~ Goddess of Fate, signing out