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“Pallas, no!” screamed Athena as she ran to the nymph, uselessly trying to staunch the blood pouring from her friend’s abdomen, pierced by her spear. “Please, please hang on-“
As much as he wished the circumstances were different, Triton knew nothing could be done about his daughter’s death. Still, he ran and cradled two bodies between his arms: one dead, one alive. As he ran his fingers through their hair- either to calm Athena or himself, he didn’t know- he caught Zeus’ eyes staring at him and, instinctively, he knew that this was no mere training accident.
That had been hours ago. After the medics had confirmed there was nothing to be done about Pallas’ state and that she was dead, something neither Triton nor Athena could wrap their heads around, a meeting had been called by Poseidon. They were all sat around a table, Poseidon glaring at a still-crying Athena who was sitting on Triton’s lap. The god uselessly attempted to comfort her by stroking her hair and wings, whispering comforting words and gently bouncing her, but none of those actions could make up for her best friend’s death.
“I told you from the start that she was a cursed child and should have never been brought into my home! Yet you didn’t listen and look where it brought us!” yelled Poseidon. Athena clamped her hands over her ears and began rocking herself back and forth, while Triton continued holding her close.
“It was an accident, brother,” said Zeus calmly, though his words didn’t quite ring true. “Still, I understand that it must be painful to lose such a bright young granddaughter. Perhaps we can agree on some compensation-“
“All I want is for that wretched girl to be out of my home!” interrupted Poseidon. “She’s been nothing but trouble since she arrived here. You should take her to Olympus where she can’t hurt my family again!”
The king of Olympus considered the offer and nodded, but he was cut off by Triton.
“Don’t say that! It wasn’t Athena’s fault, she didn’t know that would happen!”
“She threw her spear—“
“Come on now! It’s a common enough strategy and you saw for yourself how speedy Pallas was. She always dodged!”
“Well, this time she didn’t!” said Poseidon as he pointed at the young goddess. “She didn’t dodge and now she’s dead because Athena wasn’t smart enough to win that fucking tournament fairly-“
“Enough! Both of you!” yelled Zeus as he stood up and put his hands on the table. “I have decided that she shall come up to Olympus and take her place as my daughter. Happy?”
The king of the sea leaned back on his throne, crossing his arms. “It won’t bring Pallas back, but it’s sufficient, I suppose-“
“No, you can’t do this!” exclaimed Triton, holding Athena tighter.
The kings tried to placate him, yet nothing was working. He cradled Athena in his arms, covering her ears in hopes of shielding her from the insults being thrown around— as if she hadn’t just killed his youngest daughter, as if Pallas’ blood wasn’t crusted in her chiton— before finally standing up, with the young goddess still sobbing in his arms.
“I’ve already lost a daughter today, don’t make me lose another!” yelled Triton, the atmosphere in the room turning deadly silent. As soon as he realized what he said, he bowed to Zeus and stuttered out: “My King, I did not mean— it came out wrong- my apologies—“
“Silence, Triton,” said Zeus with an eerily calm voice. He thought about it for a minute, then sighed and spoke. “One day. I’m giving you exactly one day to resolve… whatever this situation is… and bring her up to Olympus, else I will come down here and drag her there myself.”
Triton nodded curtly, knowing that it was the best deal he was going to get. “Thank you, my Lord.”
Without waiting for an answer, he swam away, intending to make the most of the twenty-four hours before he would have the young goddess stripped from his arms and thrown into the cruel chaos that was Olympus.
Once they arrived in her old bedroom, he gently sat both of them on the floor.
“Little owl, look at me,” said Triton gently and almost regretted it when he saw Athena’s face, tears streaming down her cheeks, not disimilar to his own. However, he forced himself to breathe and keep looking at the one he had come to consider a daughter throughout the past few years. “Good. I— we both know what happened. I’m sorry. She— Pallas— may she rest in peace wherever she ends up-“
“I’m sorry!” sobbed Athena, moving to hug Triton. “I didn’t mean it— I didn’t— I thought she would dodge, she always did before—“
“Shhh, owlet, I understand,” murmured Triton as he stroked Athena’s hair. “Look, I have one day to get you ready for Olympus. Do you think you can help me?”
“I don’t wanna go,” whispered the young goddess, which only made Triton hold her tighter and struggle to keep his own tears in.
“I know, I don’t want you to go either, but you must. It might be a fun adventure, you know…”. Even he knew that Athena wasn’t impressed with his weak argument, so he settled for lifting her up and cradling her as if she were a fragile thing, a vase about to break. With how she kept crying, she might as well have been. “Come on, let’s get your things packed up. You’ll have a new room there—“
“I want this room,” she exclaimed, wings fluttering with her emotions.
“I know,” he said, because it was all he could say. No words could reverse Pallas’ death nor Zeus’ decision. He offered comfort in whichever way he could, humming a lullaby and gently rocking her as he packed up her things. When he was done, he sighed and put her down on the floor. “Do you want to go and get cleaned up?”
The goddess of wisdom shook her head, wrapping her wings around herself. “No bath, not now.”
“Okay,” he replied as he ran a hand through his hair. Usually, he would have been stricter, but Athena would have also been more agreeable and this was no usual time either. “How about I use a wet rag to clean your hands and face so you can eat?”
After looking at him for a moment, she nodded tentatively and took his hand. He summoned a rag and dipped it in water, wiping her face and hands quickly and gently enough to avoid a meltdown. He despised how close she was to crying, how she only kept her sobs hidden to not trigger his anger and, perhaps, because her body didn’t have the fluids to spare. Shaking his head as he pretended he could shake off his emotions at the same time, he picked Athena up again and brought him to his private kitchens.
“Not hungry,” mumbled Athena and Triton nearly caved at her pitiful tone. Nearly.
“I know, I’m not hungry either,” he confessed, looking through the cabinets. “I’ll make you a deal though: I’ll eat if you do. We both need to keep our strength up, after all.”
Triton quickly found a jar of olives, a few olive cakes and some strips of cooked meat he had saved. He decided to take those alongside some nectar and ambrosia, keen on getting the young goddess to eat whatever she would. Fates only knew how Olympus would handle her, and he wished to send her there with the best chances possible.
He sat them down on the floor and set the items down on a small carpet in front of them. At first, Athena only glanced at the food, then, slowly, grabbed a few olives and ate them.
Triton held her close as they ate together, even getting her to drink some nectar without much complaint. During the meal, she fell asleep, her small body too exhausted to handle the emotional toll placed upon it. Triton gently brushed away the crumbs of olive cake from her mouth and, once he wrapped the food and put it in his pocket, carried her to her bedroom.
The next few hours were a blur. All he knew was that Athena was sleeping soundly in her bed and he was packing her belongings into a bag, still not managing to convince himself that she was truly leaving.
And yet, after he had packed her clothes and all the silly trinkets she had made over the years— the music box she had found in Metis’ old room, the numerous drawings she had made, the battle plans, the mostly—straight clay mugs, the shell necklaces, absolutely everything— as if he wasn’t dooming her to a life spent under Zeus’ hand, as if she would never get to know the cruelty of Olympus.
A bag sat at the foot of her bed. The room was stripped of its beauty, of its childish chaos, and all that was left was a sleeping girl and a father who cried as quietly as he could.
“Please,” he whispered desperately. “Please let her be safe, as safe as she can be, at least, and let her know I love her, more than words could ever describe.”
He had never begged before, not when his siblings stole his toys as a child, not when he thought his parents were unfair, yet there he was: breaking the habit thrice in one day. He had begged for Pallas not to die, for Athena to not be ripped from his hands and, lastly, for her to be safe. Perhaps he had known even then that his begging would be in vain, yet he couldn’t stop. If there was anything he could do to ease her fate, he would do it in a heartbeat.
Unfortunately, the Fates were not kind to listen to his words and kept weaving their threads as both father and daughter wept for Pallas and for their lost future together.