1. Broken Bone

Poseidon wasn't sure what was louder the sickening crack of his son's arm or the sound that tore from the hero's mouth as the monster twisted it so hard you could see the bone break beneath the skin. The pain momentarily stunned the demigod, who took a ragged breath through his mouth as he sank to his knees. Poseidon watched in silent amazement as, before the monster could take advantage of his son's precarious position, Percy took one more rattling breath and pushed the pain from his eyes, neatly compartmentalizing the agony away for later. His friends needed him; he had no time for pain.

Percy gritted his teeth and, sweat visibly dripping down his ashen face, forced himself to his feet, bringing Riptide up as a buffer between himself and the monster. His arm dangled uselessly by his side, half cradled against his tattered shirt. His white knuckles grasped Riptide's hilt and, as the monster moved to finish him, Percy stabbed at its exposed underbelly. The monster dropped its hold of the demigod, who barely managed to keep himself upright as the only thing holding himself up removed itself. The monster didn't give Percy time to adjust to the sudden reduction in his mobility but surged forward, claws extended. Percy squared his feet, putting his weight into a good swing of Riptide that sent the monster scuttling back. Percy rebalanced himself, Riptide at the ready as across from him the monster prowled with narrowed eyes. The two surveyed each other, the realization slowly dawning that a stalemate had been drawn between the pair. Percy was weakened by the injury but on the defense now, meaning the monster would have to risk Riptide's bite to reach him. At least before Percy put himself at risk in his offensive against the beast but now . . . the two stared at each other.

"Come on then," Percy scoffed, his voice scratchy and uneven. His shoulders were squared, feet firmly planted in preparation of the pending attack. The monster licked its lips, head swaying slightly.

Percy followed every movement with eyes bright with adrenaline.

"Wait, what are you—?" Percy asked, eyes widening as the monster shifted and . . . sat down.

Waiting until the adrenaline wears off, Poseidon thought bitterly, gripping his trident tight as he watched the standoff from his useless place under the sea. It knew Percy with even one arm down was too great a threat to defeat . . . at least, until the adrenaline wore off and the pain grew too great to ignore. Then the monster could risk the offensive. Percy seemed to realize this too, his jaw clenching tightly.

"No, no," he muttered furiously. "No, you don't, you stupid, overgrown chihuahua, attack me."

Percy shuffled forward a step. The monster didn't budge.

"Attack me," Percy repeated, not doing a great job at goading the creature back into action.

Percy breathed heavily, expression half-wild. He knew he only had so long before the pain became too great to ignore. Poseidon could see the calculations running through his head (the distance to the monster, the speed of the previous attack, how fast could he move, how hard could he swing Riptide one-handed—)

Don't, Poseidon thought, alarmed. Where were the blasted demigods that flanked his son's side earlier? There was no sign of them now. Percy and the monster had backed into a dingy corner between two shabby brick buildings. Poseidon could sense, even though the strenuous connection between himself and his son, the water that rushed through the pipes of the buildings on either side of Percy, distant but—

Reach for me, Poseidon urged him, trying to press the thought into Percy's wild eyes. The water rushed through the pipes, churning against metal restraints. Reach for me.

Percy's eyes slowly panned to the right, looking at the side of the building. In a snap decision, Percy pivoted, the arm that held Riptide extending out as he reached inside himself for the power of his father. Poseidon heaved a great sigh as water burst through the wall, scattering bricks across the asphalt. The monster screeched but couldn't get out of the way fast enough. The blast of water sent the monster sprawling on its back, its legs kicking in the air. Percy didn't hesitate, springing into action; he threw himself forward and with one swift thrust of Riptide vanquished the stunned creature.

Percy gasped, stumbling a little from the sudden exertion. He blinked down at the spot where the monster used to be, reaching out with the tip of Riptide to nudge the golden dust it left behind as if to ensure his eyes weren't deceiving him. The ruptured pipe continued to spew water, spurting noisily onto the ground. Distantly, an alarm inside the building began to shrill. Poseidon thought for a moment then, with barely more than a twitch of the hand, changed the direction of the water so it splashed against his son's battered side instead.

The sudden pressure brought Percy back to himself. His head snapped up, eyes darting suspiciously around the alley, Riptide at the ready. When he realized there wasn't a threat, his shoulders slumped and he blew out a shaky breath. As he clumsily capped Riptide one-handedly, the water drew Percy's attention.

He reached out with his good hand, fingers spreading out under the spray of the water as he let the water dull his pain. A smile curved up his battered face, eyes softening.

"Thanks, Dad," he said with such fondness it made the inevitable lecture from Zeus entirely worth it.

A commotion around the corner shattered the moment; Percy seemed largely unconcerned as the son of Jupiter and Hephaestus barreled around the corner.

"About time you two showed up," Percy scoffed, stepping out to greet them.

"Sorry, we - oh gods, Percy, your arm!"

"Yeah," Percy said, face losing color as his feet left the safety of the pipe's spray. "Somebody catch me, I'm gonna pass out."

A/n Hello all I am alive, I swear. Someone sent me a 30-day whump ficlet challenge a like forever ago (sorry, I did love it a whole lot!) But here I am with my first ever ficlet collection. I don't know how well I am going to do with the whole 'ficlet' word length. I'll try to keep fics between 500 to 2k but we'll see. I have the first half already written. Most of the ficlets will center around Percy and Poseidon, with maybe a few other family members floating around there but these will mostly be father-son orientated. Also, don't fear, I haven't abandoned Art of Observation. It's coming, eventually.

Up next: Explosion