Again, Percy glanced at Athena, seeing the way her eyes held a renewed strength and determination as she met his gaze.
"I am."
"Me too," he replied as his left hand reached for Cloelia's right, gently picking up the ashen limb and turning it palm up.
...
Athena mirrored the action, her right reaching for Cloelia's left. Then as one, both used the forefinger of their free hand, the nail turning into a claw with Percy's being an obsidian black with blue tip while Athena's was a bright red, to slice open Cloelia's palms. The godling remained unresponsive as the rusty, sludge-like ichor oozed out. Withholding a grimace at the sight Percy then used the same claw to slice open his own palm and let his platinum ichor pool into it.
A glance to Athena showed that the goddess was doing the same, her still golden ichor also showing flakes of the platinum color within it. Once both had enough blood collected, they looked at each other, and as one joined their bloody palms to Cloelia's as they spoke in turn.
"I, Perseus Theseus Jackson, herby adopt the goddess, Cloelia Marion Chase, as my own blood…"
"I, Pallas Athena, herby adopt the goddess, Cloelia Marion Chase, as my own blood…"
An aura started to form around their joined hands, a miasma of darkness flowing from his arm up Cloelia's while with Athena, it was a flame-like shroud of ambers and gold.
"As a father, to protect and guide…"
"As a mother, to nurture and support…"
The two auras grew, each enveloping a half of the godling without mixing at the middle with her head being the last part exposed.
"Embraced by the Cold and empowered with the Night…"
"Forged by the Fire and strengthened in Unity…"
By now the two halves had begun to merge as they covered Cloelia's head, a mix of cold darkness and warm golds swirling over her form as Percy felt a twitch from the hand within his grip. Percy took a breath to steady himself as power churned within both himself and Athena, their voices deepening and eyes glowing as the command was carried through.
"Be reborn, embrace your life anew, as our daughter!"
As the last word was finished, he felt a pulse come from Cloelia's nearly spent core, a return and calling before the mixed power shrouding her connected to it. Suddenly the almost lifeless hand within his grip squeezed back as a scream of agony ripped itself out of the child's throat. His own jaw tightened, eyes hardening as he felt the power not only merging with her but changing her.
The shroud of power started to swirl, as if pulled by a soundless drain, and slowly dissolve into Cloelia's trembling body. As more merged the godling started to become visible, the sight causing Athena to gasp and him to ground his teeth but there was nothing for it. They watched, unable to stop the suffering, as the very foundation of Cloelia's core and existence itself was forced to complete a change started when she absorbed his power from Riptide.
They watched as the glowing white-hot veins became visible on her steaming skin, her hair thickening and darkening as she arched her back and opened her mouth in a silent scream. Pulses of raw and volatile power came from her in waves as a wind was kicked up around them but none of the deities bugged. A nearly silent sob drew his attention for a moment to see Athena tearing up as she looked at her soon-to-be daughter, her lips moving in silent prayer for Lady Chaos to grant mercy.
'Come on, please bear with it.' His hold of her hand tightened as he guided his power within her, smoothing the merge where he could to the traces of his essence already making up part of her being. Minute by minute passed in a crawl as they waited, the silent godling having screamed herself hoarse as tears spilled from her shut eyes. And in a way they suffered in turn, watching as her trembling finally started to lesson as the changes completed before, with a final pulse of power, it finished. The area around them was steaming as the whimpering godling went nearly limp before Percy and Athena released Cloelia's hands and the dark god gently picked up the child as the slab of marble disappeared.
"Cloelia?" Athena asked softly, her breathing a little heavy from channeling such power so soon after her own changes as she drew closer and looked at the godling's face while Percy studied her in full.
Her body looked and felt like it had recovered a good amount of weight to it, with her skin looking just a little pale but overall healthy. Her breathing was light but even and a quick check of his new link to her told him she was stable, her core no longer fractured and steadily filling as it drew from both himself and Athena. However, his gaze fell to her right arm cradled against his chest, noting how the appendage was very pale, almost marble white in contrast to the rest of her rosier tone like Athena.
A soft murmur drew his eyes to her face as the godling stirred in his arms, her head moving as her eyes slowly opened. Hestia drew closer to look as well, their eyes widened as they took in his new daughter's eyes. Her right eye looked almost like his in his wolf form or when he suppressed his power, taking on an icy-blue shade that almost seemed to swirl within her iris. Her left however was a mirror to Athena's new eyes, glowing with the bright amber color.
The godling blinked slowly as she looked at Athena's face as her lips moved into a soft smile before her head turned forward to look at him. Her smile widened a little as a sense of warm came from her, a soft smile on his own face as Athena raised her hand and gently ran it through Cloelia's new, raven-black hair and one streak of strawberry-blonde hair in her bangs.
He met her gaze for a few seconds before her eyes slid closed, her breathing getting softer as she started to curl up in his arms. "Sleep well," he murmured before Athena sent him a look as he adjusted Cloelia into a more comfortable position.
The three deities shared glances before they moved out of the temple and across the field to a small cottage with a smoking chimney that hadn't been there before, a large tree casting some shade over the homely structure. This would be Athena and Cloelia's temporary home for a few days as both continued to adjust to their changes.
"Everything you need should be there," Hestia said as she opened the door for Percy to walk in first and allowing him to glance around.
It was a simply designed and furnished as it looked outside, with a large bed covered in thick red blankets to the back of the large single room, a small kitchen to the right side, and a crackling stone hearth to the left. Nodding to himself he moved to the bed, carefully setting his daughter down while Hestia and Athena walked in.
A snap of his fingers had the godling covered in a shroud of darkness for a few seconds before it dissipated to reveal her in baby blue pajamas. Once that was done, he carefully tucked her into the blankets and carefully used his thumb to wipe away some of the last of the tears as Athena and Hestia got closer before he got up and simply looked at his daughter.
It was like Raven all over again.
He didn't care who she had been or what the circumstances of her birth and heritage had been before today. Just seeing her filled him with the sense of protectiveness. She was his daughter now, nothing would change that.
He was aware of Athena standing beside him, both remaining silent as he let his thoughts drift for the moment.
"Thank you, Percy," Athena said softly, drawing his attention as she looked to him, a watery smile on her face.
"You're welcome," he returned, giving her a small smile in return. "And if you need anything, let me know," he added firmly, waiting until the goddess nodded in understanding before turning away.
The dark god then took Hestia's hand and the pair walked out, leaving the mother and daughter to rest. In a few moments they stepped out of Hestia's office, leaving behind the ever-warm fields and back into the marble halls of their temple. He paused then, his gaze moving to his wife and watching her intently.
Her own gaze was lowered to the ground as she nibbled on her own lower lip in thought. Knowing her tells all too well, he raised his hand to her chin and raising her head as she looked at him.
"How are you feeling?" he asked softly.
She didn't respond for a moment, simply looking into his eyes before the slightest smile formed as she answered, "Better than I thought I would be."
She didn't add more than that and Percy wasn't about to push it, knowing that Hestia still had some ways to go before fully accepting Cloelia's addition to the family. Still, the bond she'd formed with the godling through Athena was a start and he was proud of her for doing it.
He showed her as much as she leaned forward and softly kissed her on her forehead, getting a warmer smile from the goddess. The pair then moved on and headed for the throne room, their steps echoing as they grew into their natural size, the eyes of the Andy and Rhea being the only one's present.
"How did it go?" Rhea asked the moment they each sat in their thrones.
"As well as it could of, maybe even better, but we'll have to wait for the changes to settle and see," Percy answered after a moment as the feedback from his domains and prayers settled, a slight smile forming on his face as he sent a mental memory of Cloelia's new appearance along with his small exchange with Hestia just moments ago to both Rhea and Andromeda.
Both goddesses blinked as they digested the information, their features slacking for a bit before brightening into their own smiles at the end. Andy took it a step further as she left her throne and moved over to Hestia, sitting on the elder goddess' lap much to Hestia's surprise, wrapped her arms around Hestia's neck, and kissed her snuggly.
After a few moments Andy pulled back and beamed at Hestia as she said, "I'm proud of you."
...
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