It’s not that he hated the animal; he just couldn’t ride them. Any kind of horses-magical or not- seemed to hate him. An Aphrodite girl actually threw a lipstick at him once because his presence caused her pegasus to whiny and started kicking basically… everything.  Oh, and fly but didn’t come back for weeks.  The son of Dionysus had a grudge against horses ever since; he didn’t like them back, didn’t want to be near them, didn’t even care even a person tries to bribe him to ride them. He disliked that four-legged mammal, period. 

However, Theo was ran out of entertainment inside the tent. The booze was not that good, and all the brilliant ones were purchased or reserved. So, the raven-haired boy pouted as he walked outside, absentmindedly pacing to his own nightmare without knowing; the stable.

His breath hitched in the most uncomfortable manner as he gazed around, eyeing every horses he could see, which was… quite a lot. Blinking a few times, he tried to dissipate his nervousness by cracking his knuckles, which only made matters even worse. All of the horses glared at him, snorting and blaring, and Theo was just about to run when-

“Don’t be afraid.”

He frowned and tilted his head, peeking to the last horse on the corner. Oh. Someone had been brushing the animal. The white stallion closed its eyes and seemed to enjoy the experience, while the brusher smiled at the son of Dionysus. His eyes was sea-green, and his hair was dark. The man’s build was quite good, like a swimmer; strong and tan. Theo couldn’t help but sensing something familiar; was he related to him?

“They can sense fear. But like any animals, they can sense various emotions.” Mr.Brusher stated while patting the horses’ cheek, then motioned Theo to come closer. At first, the demigod hesitated, but since he was curious… He stepped forward, and place his hands over the space between the animal’s eyes with the help of the other. Strange. The stallion seemed at peace. But as soon as Mr. Brusher release his hand over Theo’s, the horses’ eyes flicked open and he screeched, causing the boy to stepped backward quickly only to cause more commotion. “Oh cheap wine.” All of the horses whinnied together, galloping and almost jumping out of their place. But when the brusher raised both of his hands, the room went silence.   

Well, that’s odd.

Theo flexed his back and straightened his jacket, only to find the other was smiling. “You still don’t know who I am?” He asked, a concerned look plastered on his face. Shocked, all Theo could do was shake his head. The brusher tapped his chin, patted his light blue polo shirt and ran his fingers through his shoulder-length hair before speaking again. “Maybe this will jog your memory?”

Then out of nowhere, the man raised his hands. The raven-haired boy was confused at first, but when he saw water started circling on his palm, his jaw dropped in pure surprise. “The old man at sea- I mean, Posedion.”  He cleared his throat, bowing awkwardly afterwards. “Lord Poseidon. I’m sorry.”

“Horses seems to hate you, my cousin.” The sea god chuckled, shaking his head slowly before flashing his smile at Theo once more. “I don’t know why, but they just do. Bored out there? Otherwise you won’t come here, right?”

The son of Dionysus nodded absentmindedly, can’t pry his eyes from the god that still patting the horses’ face. “Sorry if I bother you, but uh… Why do you come here?”

Poseidon answered with a slight raise of his eyebrows. “Can’t a god have a good time? The atmosphere is quite nice. I called Dionysus and he wanted to come too, but… with the wine-“

“He can’t.” Theo finished, remembering his father’s sentence. No wine for another decade or something. “Well, um. That would explain the horses then. And the, um… water thing.”

Poseidon nodded slowly, now facing Theo while crossing his hands. “Okay, I lied. I have my reason to be here.” Then he produced a picture out of thin air; someone Theo familiar with. “Know this girl?”

The son of Dionysus evidently blushed afterwards; his hands can’t stop playing with the edge of his suit. “Yeah. That’s… Astra. My girlfriend. She’s vacationing with her folks, so I can’t really-“ 

“That’s enough.” Poseidon cut through the chase. “I know you want to marry her. Or you won’t be glancing over rings yesterday, before you came here. Is that correct?” His eyes were intense; Theo just wanted to curl up and hibernate under Poseidon’s glare. He managed to nod, though.

“Good. And even though you know about her gamaphobia, you still pull through.” The sea god stroke his chin, biting his lips in contemplation. “I just want you to know that you have my blessing.”

What? Theo glanced up in disbelief. Poseidon came all the way to this place just… to say that? When most people would be relieved, the boy wasn’t. At all. “Will something happened to her? Long term?”

Poseidon’s face was quiziccal, but he shrugged it away. “Future is a fickle thing.” He mused, brushing a random horse’s head before shrugging his jacket. Wait. He was leaving? “Wait.” Theo muttered, a little bit confused at everything. “Why do you give your blessing, all of the sudden?”

For a moment, Posedion only blinked and stopped walking. Then he looked back, flashing a sad smile. “Because I can. Now, will you promise to watch over her?”

“Sure.”

“In sickness and in poor?”

“Of course.” Theo started to blush.

“Even though she might be dead only a few hours from now?”

“Yes… wait, WHAT?”

Another mysterious smile from the sea god, and Theo was genuinely confused. Why would he say such thing about his own daughter? “Then I am not wrong for giving you my blessing. Now, good luck. And good bye.”  With that, Poseidon was gone, leaving only a small trace of sea salt smell.

Biting his lips, Theo immediately grabbed his emergency drachma and grabbed the crystal, doing a sudden Iris Message. “O Iris, Goddess of The Rainbow, please accept my offering. Show me Astra Parrish.” But no answer even after a few minutes. And soon enough, the line was terminated.