#look me in the face and tell me Percy Jackson didn’t bite as a child and I will tell you you’re wrong

[dark-elf-writes]

I feel like along with ADHD and Dyslexia biting people as a child would be another big hint towards demigod status.

[chasingpj]

𝐔𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐳𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐬

"I might spread a rumor about you and Percy rendezvousing at midnight. The Aphrodite cabin will have a hoot with that one."

pairing: percy jackson x child of hecate!reader

words: 4,931

warnings: none

timeline: post sea of monsters

if you want to be tagged every time I update this story, click here

a/n: hi hi! this is part one of a self-insert series I'm working on. in this story, y/n is a child of hecate, and this storyline follows the books. the current timeline here is post sea of monsters and will continue through the Heroes of Olympus books. though it follows the original plot, y/n has her own storyline and quests. i tried to make y/n gender-neutral but as I continued to work on the timeline for this project, i had decided that this fic is for a fem reader. guys, this is really just me projecting my fantasy into fanfiction lol. i feel like this is a slow start?? and there is a lot of info dumped in this so bear with me. it'll get better and I'll be working to improve my writing as the series continues. I was on a writing hiatus for a really long time and I'm out of practice so this is my way to get back and hopefully, exceed the skills I had when I was a consistent writer. anyways, if you have any feedback, let me know! I'd love to hear what you think. as i get deeper into the series, i might ask for some suggestions on what to do with the fic. anyways, i'll stop rambling and i hope you like it!

Part One Part Two

You ignore the aching in your neck as your focus is fixed on the herbology book in front of you. You’ve been seated at your desk for Zeus knows how long reading and taking notes in your Book of Shadows, determined to finish reading it as fast as possible. Your half-brother, Alabaster, insisted that you need to memorize all the herbs and their properties before he can properly teach you how to use them in potions. Even though you understand its importance, you hated introductory work. You are itching to get to the real stuff, resulting in you glued to your chair, studying through the night as your cabin mates were fast asleep in their beds. But as determined as you are, Ambrose, your familiar, wasn’t much help. Ambrose whines as he rubs his head against your legs like a needy kitten, making it difficult to ignore him.

“What is it, Ambrose?” You whisper, sitting back in your chair in defeat. You take a second to massage the back of your sore neck before turning to face the translucent hound sitting attentively at your side. His tail sweeps the floor as it wags excitedly, and a short huff leaves his snout as if he was proud to have finally gotten your attention.

Your eyes meet his, racking your mind to figure out what Ambrose needs to tell you. At first, you thought he wanted to play, but you didn’t have time for that, so you decided to ignore him. Usually, after being ignored for a while, Ambrose will give up, finding something else to occupy him. But tonight, he was particularly persistent, and he’s only like this when he needs to tell you something.

Before you can ask what he wanted again, Ambrose gets up from his seated position, running over to the small table that stands beside your bed. You furrow your eyebrows, the first thing you notice when you walk over are your crystals neatly placed in front of your spell books as usual. Seeing them made you suddenly remember what you had planned to do.

You had told Ambrose to remind you to charge your crystals and collect water from the lake since there is a full moon tonight and of course, Ambrose being your loyal companion, did exactly that. Before looking down at the hound, who now is breathing heavily, his tail somehow wagging faster than before, you smile to yourself.

“I told you to remind me earlier, didn’t I?” Ambrose snorts and runs around your feet enthusiastically. You couldn’t help but giggle at his excitement as you reached down to pat his head. “Good boy. What would I do without you?” You continue to praise him, grabbing a black pouch and carefully placing the crystals in it. You put your index finger to your lips, signaling Ambrose to be a little quieter despite his excitement. If he accidentally wakes anyone up, then you definitely weren’t going to be able to fulfill your plans.

You bite your bottom lip as you tiptoe out of the aisle between the bunks. You look around the notoriously cramped Hermes Cabin to make sure your assumption that everyone was asleep by now was correct. It wasn’t hard to make out the faces of your cabin mates since seeing clearly in the dark was one of your many gifts, so you carefully walked along the bunks, being as quiet as you could. You are especially cautious as you approach the front where your cabin leaders, the Stoll brothers, slept. You study them for a second, knowing for sure Travis was asleep since he was snoring and loudly at that. Before you can check if Connor is asleep, you hear him shifting in his bed. You stand frozen in your spot, hesitantly looking over and you were expecting to be met with the usual mischievous grin. Instead, his back was towards you now. You have a feeling in your gut that he wasn't asleep, the timing of his moving was much too convenient. You really didn't want to wait any longer though so you decide that you might as well leave before he could stop you.

You turn on your heels, walking over to the window before you push it open. You cringe softly as the hinges creak, and you look back at the cabin to double-check if anyone has woken up from the sound. You sigh in relief when you see no one has moved, and you turn back to the window, carefully crawling out of it. This wasn’t unusual for you. You’ve done this so many times that using windows as a mode of exiting and entering a room was as natural to you as walking in and out of a door, and soon you were hopping down onto the grass. Your back is pressed against the cabin as you walk the side of it. You look up at the trees and the sky, eyes scoping around for any harpies hanging around. After deeming that you were alone, you begin making your way to the lake, Ambrose walking by your side attentively and cautiously to make sure you are safe.

The night was clear; the stars and especially the moon shone brightly in the sky. You sigh softly, taking in the stillness of the night, admiring the glistening lake reflecting the full moon placed above it. You’ve always enjoyed how quiet and cool the nights were, preferring it more than the daytime.

Unfortunately, you couldn’t avoid it as much as you wish to. Most of your siblings can agree with you that they’d prefer to sleep in most days so that they can study and practice their magic at night. However, that wasn’t the schedule of the Hermes Cabin. It was pretty impossible to sleep in since the mornings were always hectic. In fact, the cabin was just hectic, period. There was always something going on, whether it was an elaborate prank or the guys arguing over who gets to shower first after coming back from training which usually resulted in an intense game of rock, paper, scissors. You can’t say that you didn’t like it; at least you were entertained.

You also always had someone to talk to, and because there were often new campers coming in and out of there, you have easily familiarized yourself with a lot of the kids at camp. However, like your mother, you did enjoy and yearn for the occasional periods of solitude. As fun as living with the Hermes kids was, you and your siblings did find yourselves getting a little irritable at their shenanigans. It was at those times, you did wish that your mother, Hecate, had a designated cabin.

You and your siblings had always said if they ever got a cabin of their own, they would make sure everyone had separate rooms and would have designated spaces to socialize and practice their magic so that it was quiet for the most part. Alabaster, especially, was really passionate about this topic. He complained how it didn’t make sense that your mother wasn't recognized since you and your siblings were a powerful little bunch. You all needed a space to practice your magic and practice preferably at night since you were the most powerful at that time of day; you were also less prone to making mistakes in your spell casting at night. You agreed with him and would get upset about it sometimes, but the Hermes Cabin was a place you considered to be a second home. The communal feel of the space was something you enjoyed, it was one of the few places where you felt fully accepted which was rare to find being a demi-god with abilities like yours. In return to the Hermes Cabin welcoming you with open arms, you accept the inconveniently loud environment as an admirable quirk and went on with your days.

Then to compensate for the lack of silence and solitude, you would often stay up late, taking advantage of the quiet to focus on your studies. Even if you had to sacrifice the amount of sleep you got, you felt like it was worth it.

It doesn’t take you long to arrive at the dock, sitting down close to the end with your legs folded under you. You first collect lake water in a jar before carefully taking out the pouch's crystals. Assuming you had only a few left in the pouch after laying most of them on the dock, you tilt it with your hand under it, only for the crystals to come out all at once. You fumble, hands trying to bring them to your chest, but with your luck, one of your crystals falls right into the water with a plop.

“Dammit!” You peer over the edge and groan, Ambrose whining at your misfortune as he stands beside you. You look down at the water, noticing Ambrose’s and your dim reflection in it. There was no way you could get that crystal now because you didn't know how to swim, and you consider that maybe tomorrow you can convince your twin brother, Atticus, to look for it or Alabaster if Atticus refused, which you were expecting him to.

Your breath hitches at the back of your throat, jumping back as a head of dark hair abruptly pops up from right where you were staring. Ambrose barks loudly next to you, equally as startled, and your eyes widen. You stand up hastily at the realization that Ambrose's loud barks in the dead of night will catch the attention of the harpies, and right now, that was more important to you than the mysterious person that just sprouted up in the water like a zombie coming out of a grave.

“Shush! Ambrose, quiet!” Your frantic command was enough to make him stop with a whine, and you sigh shakily, turning towards the camp to check if there were any harpies.

“I think you dropped something.” Ambrose moves in front of you protectively, a low growl coming from his chest as he cautiously studies the person. You look back where the voice came from and to your surprise and your relief, you find that the mysterious person in the lake was no other than Percy Jackson. You never had a conversation with him before, but you definitely knew about him. It was kind of hard not to know who he is since he’s been the talk of the camp since he’s arrived. Your thoughts about him weren’t any different from most of the camp. You’ve seen him fight and use his powers during capture the flag, and you were just as impressed as everyone else. You did have to admit that you found him to be pretty cute too. His eyes were gorgeous, clear, and bright like a shallow, cyanic sea. You also found it adorable how his hair always looked a little disheveled.

Your (e/c) eyes met Percy’s green ones before looking at your rose quartz in his hand. You smile sheepishly, noticing the amused look on his face.

“Ah, yeah, that’s mine.” You walk over to him, but as you get closer, so does Ambrose, and his growls get louder. "Ambrose, heel. It's okay," you say softly, and he stops in his place, but his stance is still at alert, his eyes watching Percy cautiously. You pat Ambrose's head before walking past him and over to Percy. "Thanks," you smile, taking your rose quartz from his hand.

"No problem… I don't think your ghost dog likes me," Percy jokes, moving to look past your legs at Ambrose, who’s standing tall on your left side.

"Yeah, well, you kinda scared the crap out of us," you point out, amused. You take in Percy's goofy smile as he pulls himself up from the water, and you notice that he’s completely dry as he settles on the edge before turning his body to look at you.

“It’s y/n, right?” He asks, and you nod, figuring he’s probably heard about you in passing from Connor and Travis since he was friends with them too. “What are you doing out here so late?"

"I could ask you the same thing," you retort playfully, making him smile. You move to sit down where you were standing. You spread the crystals neatly on the wood, making a mental note to get them before you go to bed.

"I couldn't sleep, so I came out here to hang out, but then a hippocampus swam up. One of its friends got stuck in a fisher's net not too far from here, so I went to help," he explains, and you nod. "I told you my excuse, so what's yours?"

You hum, "It's a full moon out tonight, so I thought I should take my crystals out. I also needed moon water for a potion, so I collected some for that," you point over at the big mason jar full of lake water. "It’s not as cool as your excuse,” you say playfully.

A short laugh comes from Percy, and when you look up from your crystals, you notice he was looking at Ambrose again, who was still in his tense stance. Ambrose was especially protective of you and Atticus, and it wasn’t unusual for him to be cautious of the new people you come across. You assumed that Ambrose was particularly tense with Percy since he had successfully caught you both by surprise.

"Ambrose, relax.” You pat the top of his head to soothe him. "Lay down." Ambrose whines, licking your hand affectionately for a little, and you can tell he was still uneasy about the other. He was hesitant, but he follows your command anyway, laying down with his head on your lap.

"You can touch him?" Percy asks, his eyes wide and curious as he watches you pet Ambrose.

"Yeah, I can touch ghosts in general. My mother is Hecate, goddess of necromancy, along with magic, the night and the moon," you tell him. "This is Ambrose. My mother gifted him to me to be my familiar, kinda like a guardian." You look down at the hound, smiling softly as you scratch behind his ear softly.

Ambrose is a burly Molossian Hound who lived in the time of Alexander The Great. From what your father told you, his breed was well valued in Ancient Greek and Roman times and was often used in war. It is easy to understand why the breed was used in war. Ambrose is huge and muscular, about 6 feet tall when he stands on his hind legs, and he weighs around 200 pounds. At first, Ambrose can come off as a little intimidating. You remember how your siblings had avoided him when you first arrived at camp before they realized that he was the clearest definition of a gentle giant. Even though he was trained to fight when he was alive, he was still as gentle as a well-trained house dog unless he was given a reason not to be.

"When did you get him?" Percy asks, his eyes focusing on Ambrose’s translucent body that looked like it is made up of this gray swirling vapor. He couldn’t exactly wrap his head around how Ambrose’s head was comfortably propped up on your thigh.

"We met on the night I was on my way to Camp so about 2 years ago. Without him, my brother and I probably would have never made it to the borders.” You look up at Percy, meeting his eyes again; you watch as his face softens as he shifts to lean back on his hand.

"Really?" You hum and nod, ready to drop the conversation there, thinking you shouldn’t bore him with the details. You didn’t really like talking about it much, but the way he was looking at you made you feel like he was inviting you to continue talking.

"We got separated from our father at the gas station a couple of miles away from here. He went inside the convenience store to get us snacks, and while he was in there, a cyclops had found us, tried to grab us out of his car. We jumped out and ran into the woods nearby," you explain as you look out at the dark horizon.

You remember the sound of your father yelling after you and Atticus and how it broke your heart hearing, for the first time, such despair in his voice. You knew your dad didn’t want to bring you guys to camp, but he knew it was in Atticus’s and your best interest to come here and be with other people like you guys.

When you and Atticus started developing your powers, your father had simply told you guys that you were special and to refrain from using your telekinesis anywhere else but home. He didn’t say anything more until one night, you and Atticus had gotten in a screaming match about a reason you don’t even remember. However, in your screaming match, the both of you were so angry that a green aura had formed around you both, and books, magazines, even cutlery were being flown across the room because of the sheer energy you were admitting as a unit. It was then your father had decided to take you and Atticus to the camp to control and learn about your powers before you guys destroyed the house over a dumb argument like who’s turn is it to have the TV remote.

"We were more concerned about the monster hurting our dad, so we decided on a whim to run in the forest. My brother and I have telekinesis powers, and I aimed well enough to send a rock right at the cyclops eye. We lost him a little after that, but we didn't know where we were. We made too many twists and turns; we had no idea what direction we came from. And then, this buddy appeared out of nowhere from a distance. I saw him glowing from far away and couldn’t make out what he was, but I felt that I had to follow him. So we did, and he got us to camp with no detours for any other monsters. He's been with me ever since," you say, and a low whine comes from Ambrose’s mouth as he nuzzles the side of his face on your thigh contentedly.

Percy nods, and he huffs softly, "You guys got lucky. How old were you and your brother when you got to camp?"

"12, we're twins. We actually got here a couple of weeks after you did,” you mention. You watch Percy’s mouth curve into a half-smirk.

“Wow," he says, amused, and shakes his head. “So you have a twin and a dead dog, no fair," he jokes. You giggle, rolling your eyes playfully,

"Oh please, and you have crazy water powers. You’re completely dry after swimming! I think that's pretty envy-worthy."

"Hey-,” he shrugs, taking a second as if to form a protest. “I guess you're right,” he admits and laughs. You laugh with him, opening your mouth to say something else but unfortunately, you were interrupted by a screech echoing in the distance.

Both you and Percy stand up quickly, trying to figure out which direction it came from. “The harpies,” you both mutter in unison. You bend down to grab your things, and you look at Ambrose.

"Go distract them, bud," you tell him, and Ambrose jumps up to his feet, and you watch as he runs away, barking to get their attention. Just then, you see the wings of the Harpies coming up from the trees of the forest. You turn to Percy, grabbing his hand quick,

“Incantare: Transpectus!" You exclaim confidently, closing your eyes to envision you and Percy becoming transparent on the dock. You've never tried doing this spell before, but you've gotten better at visualizing and setting intentions, so you had some hope in yourself. You open your eyes, not feeling any different, and you hoped that you just didn't make a fool of yourself in front of Percy. But when you look down at your hand hesitantly and notice it was hard to make out since you were see-through like glass, you sigh in relief. You smile to yourself, more than satisfied that you were able to pull that off.

"Woah, are we invisible?" You look over at Percy, able to see him just fine since he was under the spell with you. Percy looks down at himself, eyes widened as he processes he can’t see his body anymore. You observe him for a second, finding it cute how he looked surprised and obviously entertained at the fact that he was completely see-through. You feel yourself growing a little flustered, trying not to focus too much on the fact that you were holding hands with him.

"Something like that. C'mon, it won’t last too long," you whisper, and your grip around his hand tightens as you guys begin running to his cabin. You hear the harpies screeching in frustration as they swoop down to try and grab Ambrose, only for their claws to go right through him. While the harpies were growing more annoyed, Ambrose, on the other hand, was having way too much fun, running in circles and barking at them as if he’s teasing.

"Man, I wish I had a ghost dog," you hear Percy mutter behind you as you arrive at the steps of his cabin.

"Yeah, Ambrose is pretty great," you admit, watching him play with the harpies before shifting your gaze over to Percy. "Thanks for getting the crystal for me." As much as you wanted to stay talking to him, you knew you couldn't stay too long. You were still eager to finish studying, and Ambrose can only hold off the harpies for so long.

"It was no problem. It was on my way up anyways," he shrugs, and you smile, trying to ignore the fluttering feeling in your stomach. You look down, the two of you still holding hands even though the spell wore off already. You awkwardly let go of his hand, shifting on your feet.

"Well, I'll see you around," you say sheepishly, fiddling with your fingers.

"Yeah, I'll see you.” His hand comes up in an awkward wave. You nod, returning the wave. Your eyes meet Percy’s green ones one more time before turning on your heels and walking down the steps of his cabin. You notice that Ambrose is now long gone into the forest, taking the harpies with him to give you time to rush to the other side where your cabin is.

As you hurry back to your cabin, you couldn’t help but smile to yourself as you replayed the interaction you just had with Percy, and you couldn't help but wonder when would be the next time you could talk to him.

You carefully hoist yourself up, climb back into the cabin through the window, sighing softly once you get in. You slowly close the window, your face scrunching at the creaking sound, but you successfully get it closed before turning around, only to be faced with Connor Stoll standing a few feet away with his arms crossed over his chest. You gasp loudly, almost dropping the mason jar in your hand, being startled for the second time tonight.

“Oh, look who’s back,” he says, his lips pulled in his usual mischievous smirk, his right eyebrow raised as if he's suspicious of you. You shift, giggling nervously under his graze,

"Hey, Con.” Shit. You knew he wasn’t asleep, and a part of you wasn’t surprised that he had caught you sneaking out again. You weren’t too worried since Connor wasn’t one to be strict or easily angered, neither was Travis, but you can understand if he did get a little upset with you since the cabin could also get in trouble, and he worried about you getting hurt.

"You leave so often, I'm starting to think you're seeing someone," he teases, and you furrow your eyebrows, not really sure what he was trying to get at.

"I'm not seeing anyone. You know what I do when I sneak out," you tell him, putting your hand out to show him the jar full of water. After being caught the first couple of times, you had explained to Connor why you occasionally needed to head out at night. He was understanding of your reasons, telling you to try and not sneak out as often. When he did catch you, he always kept your outings secret. It came with a price, though. You were sometimes stuck doing extra chores, especially anything that had to do with cleaning, since he hated doing anything that had to do with mopping or sweeping.

"So that wasn't you and Percy on the dock?" Your eyes widen, and you feel your face get hot again. You shake your head, stumbling over your words for a second.

"Uh… n- that was a coincidence!" You hear him snort, laughing quietly as if he didn't believe you. Even though he couldn't see your facial expression very well in this lighting, he can still tell how flustered you were at his sudden question.

"Yeah, sure," he says sarcastically, and he hums, "Anyways, what are you going to do for me so that I don't tell on you?" He asks, and your mouth drops open. Usually, he wasn't so forward, and he never threatened to tell on you. "I might spread a rumor about you and Percy rendezvousing at midnight. The Aphrodite cabin will have a hoot with that one."

You gasp, "Connor, are you blackmailing me right now?" You narrow your eyes at him, and he shrugs,

"I guess you can say I am." You shake your head, walking over to your desk to put down your moon water before turning toward him and crossing your arms in front of your chest.

"... what do you want?" You ask, expecting him to make you take up one of his chores. But from the way he was smiling at you, you can tell that there was something more he wanted, and you were beginning to worry.

"Help me turn the Ares Cabin into bunnies," he says, and you shake your head frantically,

"No way! Clarisse will kill me," you whisper. Connor smiles,

"No, she won't. She can't kill you if she's a bunny," he points out, and your face falls flat,

"They're not gonna stay bunnies forever," you say, and you fiddle with your fingers nervously at the idea of the outrage you'd get from the Ares Cabin after shifting back from being bunnies. "I don't know, Con. I don't even know if I can turn all of them into bunnies at once."

Connor waves his hand at you, dismissing your concern. "I don't care for the logistics now. We can work on that later, but you have to agree to at least help me," he says. "Or I'm telling everyone I saw you smooching Percy on the dock."

"What!? We didn't even kiss. We talked for like 5 minutes!" You whisper-yell, your reactions much too entertaining for him, and he was having a hard time holding in his laugh.

"Your decision, y/n."

You sigh, throwing your head back. You look at the ceiling for a second as you consider your two choices. And you decide that getting your head potentially put on a stick by Clarisse was better than the burning embarrassment of Percy thinking you're spreading rumors about kissing him. "Fine, whatever. I'll help you do the bunny thing," you mumble, your shoulders slouched.

Connor nods with a proud smile on his face for trapping you into helping him. "Good choice. I will be going back to sleep now. Good night… again," he announces, turning on his heels and walking over to his bed. You frown a little as you walk back to your desk to study. Plopping down onto your chair, you decide that you’ll worry about Connor’s little plan later so you can focus on your studying. After a while, Ambrose comes trotting in, joining you by the desk as usual. You smile at him, praising the other for distracting the harpies for you before he lays down, his head laying on your foot.

As you study, you find that you couldn’t help your mind drifting back to Percy once and a while. You deem that there was no way that you could have a crush on him since you guys have only spoken once. In the midst of your internal debate to decide what you felt for him, you suddenly remember the crystal that was retrieved for you. You remember how Percy presented it to you, holding it out for you with his fingertips. It was your rose quartz. What a coincidence. You smile, rolling your eyes as you tell yourself that you’re thinking too much into it. You look over, noticing the dim illuminating light of the beginning sunrise shining through the curtains. You sigh, deciding that you should probably get to sleep and take advantage of the maybe, four hours of sleep you’ll get tonight. You close your herbology book before making your way to your bed, and with a soft sigh, you retreat under the covers, and finally, you surrender to your drowsiness.

masterlist

[hyacjnthus]

did someone ask for *dramatically takes off sunglasses* nico di angelo angst? nope, nobody asked for it

it’s been sitting in my google docs drafts for like months so here you go. read it on AO3

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who is in control? by plantedpluto

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For demigods, Friday was going great. It was just before Capture the Flag when Nico had followed Will into the infirmary to tidy it up. They both knew, especially with the skills those had learned from the Giant War a few weeks ago, people could fight brutally and Will might be stuck there for a while.

As Nico was flipping through the pages of Lou Ellen’s file - mostly potions-gone-wrong related injuries, screams erupted from down the hill, and Cecil Markowitz came barreling into the infirmary.

He was coated in water, a few cuts on his arms and a bite that looked like it came from a fish. Something wasn’t right. Something big wasn’t right.

“It...It’s Percy!” Cecil winced, waving his hands frantically as he talked. “He’s destroying the camp, summoning everything from the ocean!”

Will took Cecil by the shoulders to set him down, then looked back at Nico. He had a look that Nico knew anywhere, but now was the time to ignore it.

“You cannot be serious,” Will said, his voice hard.

“Will, you know what he can do.” Nico explained, a tinge of panic in his own voice. “If anyone can stop him, it’s me.”

Before Nico could leave, Will gripped his wrist, pulling him closer, and connected their lips together. Will had that warm and reassuring feeling, somehow more than usual. When they reluctantly pulled apart, Will hugged him. That only made Nico’s abrupt departure even worse.

To hide the fear, Nico sent a joking salute to the room with a smile, then left with the faux emotion dropping.

The scene was utter chaos. The magma of the lava wall had turned black into what he assumed was obsidian, a few cabins - including his own- crumbled to their individual materials, centre hearth completely extinguished with Percy standing over it, enveloped in water.

Nico hadn’t been very good at math, just now being tutored by Will to catch up, but he did try to calculate in his head the best plan of action.

Why was Percy doing this? Attacking camp with his powers? How were the gods, including Poseidon, just sitting there watching as their children avoided being slaughtered? Thank the gods there hadn’t been any casualties, but some were in such critical condition that Nico could feel their life force draining.

Prime example, Lacy from the Aphrodite cabin was whimpering on the ground, several cuts and bites on her skin. Nico knelt to her side, carefully running his fingers along them.

“Lacy,” Nico whispered, “It’s going to be okay, you’ll be just fine”

She picked her up under the knees and behind her head. He pressed his fingers to her neck and thanked the gods once again that she wasn’t dead. “Miranda!” he shouted at the closest child of Demeter. She looked inharmed, yet still in shock.

“Oh my gods, Lacy…” she muttered. “Nico what—“

“Take her to the infirmary, tell Will it’s critical, I’m going to stop Percy.” he explained before parting ways.

As Nico reached the middle, standing in front of the hearth, Percy’s white glazed eyes flickered to him when Nico drew his stygian iron sword. Riptide reflected in the water, glowing bright in the sunlight.

“Percy!” he called, purposely gaining the son of Poseidon’s attention before he could choke Pollux anymore. “What in Hades are you doing?”

Percy said nothing but let Riptide clatter to the stone. Was that a sign of surrender? Did he somehow begin to fear Nico when they were forced to fight against each other?

Nico placed his hand on the ground, summoning stone to lift him to almost Percy’s height, a few skeletal soldiers climbing their way up the sides, blocking Nico from the oncoming shark Percy decided to flick his way.

“Percy, stop this!” Nico begged, more soldiers replacing the crumbling ones. “You're destroying your home, what is wrong with you?”

Again, Percy would not answer, but his eyes flickered from clear, sea green to white and hazy. He was fighting for control, he was fighting against his power, he was fighting against what possessed him.

“Eidolon.” Nico whispered to himself. He needed Lacy, to charmspeak Percy out of his daze. Just as he heard Piper had done. But the oldest of the children of Aphrodite were gone, except for…

“MITCHELL!” Nico called to the splintering cabin ten. No answer. He called again, a boy stumbling out that he could barely see. Nico turned to Lou Ellen who appeared beside him, ready to fight, “Retrieve Mitchell, guide him to Percy for charmspeak.”

Lou Ellen nodded and a few warriors leapt from the top, fell to 201 individual pieces, then reassembled in a moment to follow the daughter of Hecate.

“I can destroy you alone, without destroying Percy Jackson.” Nico stated.

“Can you, son of Hades?” the possessed Percy asked, his voice like ice water. It made Nico shiver, almost like he was feeling someone die.

Yet, he really was feeling someone die. He was feeling himself die.

Nico could barely breathe. He felt like someone was squeezing his throat, someone repelling him closer and closer to Percy. He was forced to his knees, a feeling of heaviness towards his head. The chaotic nature of the sound around him seemed hollow until there was none, and tears streamed his face.

He could see his hands becoming paler, shriveling up like raisins when his blue and red veins depleted in colour in accordance with his leaking eyes, ears and now, nose.

Nico forced himself to his feet, fighting Percy’s control, pushing his palms firm on the stone to resist being smashed back down. He felt like he was doing push-ups with ten bricks on his back.

Getting to his feet, almost too weak to fight, he willed the undead to tear away the stones and crawl between the cracks close to Percy.

With one final thrust of his hands, an order, the undead attacked Percy and Mitchell whispered something in Percy’s ear. The son of Poseidon and Hades slumped down at the same time, undead crumbling to a pile of bones, retreating with the sloshing water back to the ocean.

__________

Nico felt himself get pushed up from behind, then laid gently across Percy’s knees. The eidolon was gone and he was captured in Percy’s sea smelled embrace. Percy tried to reach out for enough water to heal him, but no amount of ambrosia and nectar could replace all the blood that Nico lost that was now seeping into the grass.

Nico had minutes to live.

Percy studied Nico. His skin was transparent to the point where his veins were clearly visible under his pale tone. Dark blood seeped from his ears, starting to dry in clumps. A few tears escaped his eyes along with dark blood from the outside ring, eyes sunken in. Drops of blood from both nostrils slid down onto his lips and chin, which in turn spilled sideways as he was held.

“You controlled me,” Nico muttered.

“Not on purpose, I promise.” Percy said, feeling his eyes well up with tears. He furiously swiped them away, then stroked the hair from Nico’s bloody face.

“You’re Percy.” Nico enunciated, like he was reminding himself he succeeded. More glistening blood seeped from his lips as Percy nodded. “Your face…” he whispered deliriously. “Can I hold it?”

“Yeah, of course,” Percy said, drawing Nico’s hand to his cheek, holding it there.

“I didn’t realize the blood—“ Nico tried to pull away, but Percy kept his hand the way it was. If this was the comfort he needed, Percy could oblige.

“Don’t you dare apologize,” Percy urged. Nico didn’t say anything to that. His breath hitched in his throat, Percy realizing he was forcing his body to stay alive for longer, for what he needed to say.

“I’m scared to die,” he finally croaked.

“You’re going to Elysium,” Percy insisted. “You are. You’re dying a hero’s death.”

Nico laughed precariously. “I’m not scared for me.”

Will, Percy realized.

He was terrified of leaving Will alone. He knew how much the son of Apollo had been through; losing his brothers in the Battle of Manhattan, becoming a counsellor for tons of his siblings at fourteen, losing and saving more after the Battle with Gaea - no teen like him needed to live like that.

For the first time ever, Nico sobbed - hard. Tears dripped down either side of his face, spilling down to his ears. More blood escaped his lips which only made Percy’s heart clench more.

“Please, don’t let him be alone,” Nico begged, his breath shallow and almost gone. “Don’t let him ever be alone...please.”

Percy let his forehead touch Nico’s when the son of Hades’ body went slack, and his pupils contracted like he’d been having a staring contest with the sun.

Not for one minute did Nico di Angelo fixate on himself, he was afraid for Will. Nico didn’t fear death, he feared the loneliness he knew his love would feel, and that pain hurt him more than the wounds that had slowly killed him.

[kookie-doughs]

Y/N L/N AND THE HALFBLOODS

Percy Jackson X Reader -Y/N L/N met Percy Jackson and everything was now ruined.

CHAPTER 11: Prepare For Trouble And Make It Double

In a way, it's nice to know there are Greek gods out there, because you have somebody to blame when things go wrong. For instance, when you're walking away from a bus that's just been attacked by monster hags and blown up by lightning, and it's raining on top of everything else, most people might think that's just really bad luck; when you're a half-blood, you understand that some divine force really is trying to mess up your day. Which was actually what's happening. So there we were, Annabeth, Percy, Grover and I, walking through the woods along the New Jersey riverbank, the glow of New York City making the night sky yellow behind us, and the smell of the Hudson reeking in our noses. Percy and I walked side by side with our hand still connected. Grover was shivering and braying, his big goat eyes turned slit-pupiled and full of terror. "Three Kindly Ones. All three at once. I was pretty much in shock myself. The explosion of bus windows still rang in my ears. But Annabeth kept pulling us along, saying: "Come on! The farther away we get, the better. "All our money was back there," Percy reminded her. "Our food and clothes. Everything." "Well, maybe if you hadn't decided to jump into the fight—" "What did you want me to do? Let you guys get killed? I was not going to leave Y/N." "You didn't need to protect me, Percy. I would've been fine." "Sliced like sandwich bread," Grover put in, "but fine." "Shut up, goat boy," I said. Grover brayed mournfully. "Tin cans... a perfectly good bag of tin cans." We sloshed across mushy ground, through nasty twisted trees that smelled like sour laundry. After a few minutes, Annabeth fell into line next to Percy. "Look, I..." Her voice faltered. "I appreciate your coming back for us, okay? That was really brave." "We're a team, right?" She was silent for a few more steps. "It's just that if you died... aside from the fact that it would really suck for you, it would mean the quest was over. This may be my only chance to see the real world." The thunderstorm had finally let up. The city glow faded behind us, leaving us in almost total darkness. Do you want to see?

Yeah that would be nice.

It was as if it was morning, I could see everything clearly. I wandered my head to make sure I could see everything. This is cool. "You okay?" Percy asked. "Yeah," Not really a fan of the current silence I turned to Annabeth. "You haven't left Camp Half-Blood since you were seven?" I asked her. "No... only short field trips. My dad—" "The history professor." "Yeah. It didn't work out for me living at home. I mean, Camp Half-Blood is my home." She was rushing her words out now, as if she were afraid somebody might try to stop her. "At camp you train and train. And that's all cool and everything, but the real world is where the monsters are. That's where you learn whether you're any good or not." If I didn't know better, I could've sworn I heard doubt in her voice. "You're pretty good with that knife," I said. "You think so?" "Yeah maybe you can teach me some tricks. "Anybody who can piggyback-ride a Fury is okay by me." Percy smiled. I couldn't really see, but I thought she might've smiled. "You know," she said, "maybe I should tell you... Something funny back on the but..." Whatever she wanted to say was interrupted by a shrill toot-toot-toot, like the sound of an owl being tortured. "Hey, my reed pipes still work!" Grover cried. "If I could just remember a 'find path' song, we could get out of these woods!" He puffed out a few notes, but the tune still sounded suspiciously like Hilary Duff. Seeing a tree coming up I tried to pull Percy to avoid it but Percy immediately slammed into a tree and got a nice-size knot on his head. I suppressed my laugh by covering my mouth which made Percy glare at me. After tripping and cursing and generally feeling miserable for another mile or so, I started to see light up ahead: the colors of a neon sign. I could smell food. Fried, greasy, excellent food. I realized I hadn't eaten anything unhealthy since I'd arrived at Half-Blood Hill, where we lived on grapes, bread, cheese, and extra-lean-cut nymph-prepared barbecue. This kid needed a double cheeseburger. >We kept walking until I saw a deserted two-lane road through the trees. On the other side was a closed-down gas station, a tattered billboard for a 1990s movie, and one open business, which was the source of the neon light and the good smell. It wasn't a fast-food restaurant like I'd hoped. It was one of those weird roadside curio shops that sell lawn flamingos and wooden Indians and cement grizzly bears and stuff like that. The main building was a long, low warehouse, surrounded by acres of statuary. The neon sign above the gate was impossible for me to read, because if there's anything worse for my dyslexia than regular English, it's red cursive neon English. To me, it looked like: ATNYU MES GDERAN GOMEN MEPROUIM. "What the heck does that say?" I asked. "I don't know," Annabeth said. She loved reading so much, I'd forgotten she was dyslexic, too. Grover translated: "Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium." Flanking the entrance, as advertised, were two cement garden gnomes, ugly bearded little runts, smiling and waving, as if they were about to get their picture taken. I crossed the street, following the smell of the hamburgers. "Hey..." Grover warned. "The lights are on inside," Annabeth said. "Maybe it's open." "Snack bar," I said wistfully. "Snack bar," Percy agreed. "Snack bar," Annabeth joined. "Are you three crazy?" Grover said. "This place is weird." We ignored him. The front lot was a forest of statues: cement animals, cement children, even a cement satyr playing the pipes, which gave Grover the creeps. "Bla-ha-ha!" he bleated. "Looks like my Uncle Ferdinand!" We stopped at the warehouse door. "Don't knock," Grover pleaded. "I smell monsters." I turned to look at my knife. It had a light glow emitting from it. Probably because it was sheathed. "I think there's monsters." I was now reluctant and sided with Grover. "Grover's nose is clogged up from the Furies," Annabeth told him. "All I smell is burgers. Aren't you hungry?" "Meat!" he said scornfully. "I'm a vegetarian." "You eat cheese enchiladas and aluminum cans," Percy reminded him.. "Those are vegetables. Come on. Let's leave. These statues are... looking at me."

"Percy, I don't think---"

"It'll be fine." Percy took my hand and went in. Be careful and don't look. Then the door creaked open, and standing in front of us was a tall Middle Eastern woman—at least, I assumed she was Middle Eastern, because she wore a long black gown that covered everything but her hands, and her head was completely veiled. Her eyes glinted behind a curtain of black gauze, but that was about all I could make out. Her coffee-colored hands looked old, but well-manicured and elegant, so I imagined she was a grandmother who had once been a beautiful lady. >Her accent sounded vaguely Middle Eastern, too. She said, "Children, it is too late to be out all alone. Where are your parents?" "They're... um..." Annabeth started to say. "We're orphans," I said. "Orphans?" the woman said. The word sounded alien in her mouth. "But, my dears! Surely not!" "We got separated from our caravan," Percy said. "Our circus caravan. The ringmaster told us to meet him at the gas station if we got lost, but he may have forgotten, or maybe he meant a different gas station. Anyway, we're lost. Is that food I smell?" "Oh, my dears," the woman said. "You must come in, poor children. I am Aunty Em. Go straight through to the back of the warehouse, please. There is a dining area. We thanked her and went inside. Annabeth muttered to Percy, "Circus caravan?" "Always have a strategy, right?" "Your head is full of kelp." The warehouse was filled with more statues—people in all different poses, wearing all different outfits and with different expressions on their faces. I was thinking you'd have to have a pretty huge garden to fit even one of these statues, because they were all life-size. I was anxious so I tighten my grip on Percy.  It's stupid for walking into a strange lady's shop like that just because we were hungry. For a child of Athena, Annabeth sure isn't making wise decisions. I mean yeah I agree, you've never smelled Aunty Em's burgers. The aroma was like laughing gas in the dentist's chair—it made everything else go away.  But Grover's nervous whimpers, and the way the statues' eyes seemed to follow me, to add the fact that Aunty Em had locked the door behind us. Made me more cautious. Sure enough, there it was at the back of the warehouse, a fast-food counter with a grill, a soda fountain, a pretzel heater, and a nacho cheese dispenser. Everything you could want, plus a few steel picnic tables out front. "Please, sit down," Aunty Em said "Awesome," Percy said. "Um," Grover said reluctantly, "we don't have any money, ma'am." Aunty Em said, "No, no, children. No money. This is a special case, yes? It is my treat, for such nice orphans." "Thank you, ma'am," Annabeth said. Aunty Em stiffened, as if Annabeth had done something wrong, but then the old woman relaxed just as quickly, I had to turn to Annabeth to check if there was something wrong with her.. Quite all right, Annabeth," she said. "You have such beautiful gray eyes, child."  I wonder how she knew Annabeth's name, even though we had never introduced ourselves. "Percy, I want to leave..." I whispered. "Just a few bites Y/N. Don't worry." He gave me a reassuring pat. Our hostess disappeared behind the snack counter and started cooking. Before we knew it, she'd brought us plastic trays heaped with double cheeseburgers, vanilla shakes, and XXL servings of French fries. I wasn't gulfing down my food like Percy was.  Grover picked at the fries, and eyed the tray's waxed paper liner as if he might go for that, but he still looked too nervous to eat. Annabeth slurped her shake. "What's that hissing noise?" he asked. I listened, but didn't hear anything. Annabeth shook her head. "Hissing?" Aunty Em asked. "Perhaps you hear the deep-fryer oil. You have keen ears, Grover." "I take vitamins. For my ears." "That's admirable," she said. "But please, relax." I don't like it here. I'm scared. Be wary of all things. Aunty Em ate nothing. She hadn't taken off her headdress, even to cook, and now she sat forward and interlaced her fingers and watched us eat. It was a little unsettling, having someone stare at me when I couldn't see her face, and I figured the least I could do was try to make small talk with our hostess. "So, you sell gnomes," I said, trying to sound interested. "Oh, yes," Aunty Em said. "And animals. And people. Anything for the garden. Custom orders. Statuary is very popular, you know." "A lot of business on this road?" "Not so much, no. Since the highway was built... most cars, they do not go this way now. I must cherish every customer I get. My neck tingled, as if somebody else was looking at me. I turned, but it was just a statue of a young girl holding an Easter basket. The detail was incredible, much better than you see in most garden statues. But something was wrong with her face. It looked as if she were startled, or even terrified."Ah," Aunty Em said sadly. "You notice some of my creations do not turn out well. They are marred. They do not sell. The face is the hardest to get right. Always the face." "You make these statues yourself?" Percy asked. "Oh, yes. Once upon a time, I had two sisters to help me in the business, but they have passed on, and Aunty Em is alone. I have only my statues. This is why I make them, you see. They are my company." The sadness in her voice sounded so deep and so real that I couldn't help feeling sorry for her. Annabeth had stopped eating. She sat forward and said, "Two sisters?" "It's a terrible story," Aunty Em said. "Not one for children, really. You see, Annabeth, a bad woman was jealous of me, long ago, when I was young. I had a... a boyfriend, you know, and this bad woman was determined to break us apart. She caused a terrible accident. My sisters stayed by me. They shared my bad fortune as long as they could, but eventually they passed on. They faded away. I alone have survived, but at a price. Such a price." Annabeth gave me a look of worry. I knew she realized something. "Percy?" I shook him to get his attention. "Maybe we should go. I mean, the ringmaster will be waiting." Grover was eating the waxed paper off the tray now, but if Aunty Em found that strange, she didn't say anything. "Such beautiful gray eyes," Aunty Em told Annabeth again. "My, yes, it has been a long time since I've seen gray eyes like those." She reached out as if to stroke Annabeth's cheek, but Annabeth stood up abruptly. "We really should go." "Yes!" Grover swallowed his waxed paper and stood up. "The ringmaster is waiting! Right!" "Please, dears," Aunty Em pleaded. "I so rarely get to be with children. Before you go, won't you at least sit for a pose?" "A pose?" Annabeth asked warily. "A photograph. I will use it to model a new statue set. Children are so popular, you see. Everyone loves children." Annabeth shifted her weight from foot to foot. "I don't think we can, ma'am. Come on, Percy—" "Sure we can," Percy said. "It's just a photo, Annabeth. What's the harm?" "Percy, I don't want to..."  "It's just a photo guys." "Indeed it is just a photo Y/N," the woman purred. "No harm." I could tell Annabeth didn't like it as well, but she allowed Aunty Em to lead us back out the front door, into the garden of statues. Aunty Em directed us to a park bench next to the stone satyr. "Now," she said, "I'll just position you correctly. The young girls in the middle, I think, and the two young gentlemen on either side." "Not much light for a photo," I remarked. But joke's on her I could see quite clearly. Don't look. "Oh, enough," Aunty Em said. "Enough for us to see each other, yes?" "Where's your camera?" Grover asked. Aunty Em stepped back, as if to admire the shot. "Now, the face is the most difficult. Can you smile for me please, everyone? A large smile?" Grover glanced at the cement satyr next to him, and mumbled, "That sure does look like Uncle Ferdinand." "Grover," Aunty Em chastised, "look this way, dear." She still had no camera in her hands. "Percy—" Annabeth said. "I will just be a moment," Aunty Em said. "You know, I can't see you very well in this cursed veil...." "Percy, something's wrong," I insisted. "Wrong?" Aunty Em said, reaching up to undo the wrap around her head. "Not at all, dear. I have such noble company tonight. What could be wrong?" "That is Uncle Ferdinand!" Grover gasped. DON'T LOOK. Annabeth turned to my direction, "Look away from her!" she then shouted. She whipped her Yankees cap onto her head and vanished. Her invisible hands pushed Grover and and I pulled Percy with me. We were on the ground, looking at Aunt Em's sandaled feet. I could hear Grover scrambling off in one direction, Annabeth in another. "Percy, we have to move!" I shook him. But he was too dazed to move. Then I heard a strange, rasping sound above me. My eyes rose to Aunty Em's hands, which had turned gnarled and warty, with sharp bronze talons for fingernails. Percy was about to look higher then her hands and I instinctively covered his eyes. "Don't look!" More rasping—the sound of tiny snakes, right above me, from... from about where Aunty Em's head would be. "Run!" Grover bleated. I heard him racing across the gravel, yelling, "Maia!" to kick-start his flying sneakers. "Percy we have to move please!" "Such a pity to destroy a handsome young face," she said soothingly. "Stay with me, Percy. All you have to do is look up." "Percy please!" Percy pushed my hand away and looked to one side. I turned to look as well and saw one of those glass spheres people put in gardens— a gazing ball. I could see Aunty Em's dark reflection in the orange glass; her headdress was gone, revealing her face as a shimmering pale circle. Her hair was moving, writhing like serpents. Aunty Em. Aunty "M." How did Medusa die in the myth? But I couldn't think. Something told me that in the myth Medusa had been asleep when she was attacked by my namesake, Perseus. She wasn't anywhere near asleep now. If she wanted, she could take those talons right now and rake open my face. "The Gray-Eyed One did this to me," Medusa said, and she didn't sound anything like a monster. Her voice invited me to look up, to sympathize with a poor old grandmother. "Annabeth's mother, the cursed Athena, turned me from a beautiful woman into this." "Don't listen to her!" Annabeth's voice shouted, somewhere in the statuary. "Y/N carry Percy!" "Silence!" Medusa snarled. Then her voice modulated back to a comforting purr. "You see why I must destroy the girl, Percy. She is my enemy's daughter. I shall crush her statue to dust. But you, dear Percy, you need not suffer. We won't even hurt, Y/N." I swung Percy's arm around my shoulder. But he was too heavy.  "No," he muttered trying to make his legs move... "Do you really want to help the gods?" Medusa asked. "Do you understand what awaits you on this foolish quest? What will happen if you reach the Underworld? Do not be a pawn of the Olympians, my dear. You would be better off as a statue. Less pain. Less pain." "Y/N!" Behind me, I heard a buzzing sound, like a two-hundred-pound hummingbird in a nosedive. Grover yelled, "Duck!" I turned, and there he was in the night sky, flying in from twelve o'clock with his winged shoes fluttering, Grover, holding a tree branch the size of a baseball bat. His eyes were shut tight, his head twitched from side to side. He was navigating by ears and nose alone. "Duck!" he yelled again. "I'll get her!" I tackled Percy to the other side. Thwack! Then Medusa roared with rage. "You miserable satyr," she snarled. "I'll add you to my collection!" "That was for Uncle Ferdinand!" Grover yelled back. Pulling along an out of a dazed Percy we scrambled away and hid in the statuary while Grover swooped down for another pass. Ker-whack! "Arrgh!" Medusa yelled, her snake-hair hissing and spitting. Right next to me, Annabeth's voice said, "Y/N! Percy!" Percy jumped so high his feet nearly cleared a garden gnome. "Jeez! Don't do that!" Annabeth took off her Yankees cap and became visible. 'You have to cut her head off." "What? Are you crazy? Let's get out of here." "Medusa is a menace. She's evil. I'd kill her myself, but..." Annabeth swallowed, as if she were about to make a difficult admission. "But you've got the better weapon. Besides, I'd never get close to her. She'd slice me to bits because of my mother. You—you've got a chance." "What? I can't—" "Look, do you want her turning more innocent people into statues?" She pointed to a pair of statue lovers, a man and a woman with their arms around each other, turned to stone by the monster. Annabeth grabbed a green gazing ball from a nearby pedestal. "A polished shield would be better." She studied the sphere critically. "The convexity will cause some distortion. The reflection's size should be off by a factor of—" "Would you speak English?" "I am!" She tossed him the glass ball. "Just look at her in the glass. Never look at her directly." "Hey, guys!" Grover yelled somewhere above us. "I think she's unconscious!" "Roooaaarrr!" "Maybe not," Grover corrected. He went in for another pass with the tree branch. "Hurry," Annabeth told him. "Grover's got a great nose, but he'll eventually crash." Percy took out his pen and uncapped it. The bronze blade of Riptide showed. He turned to me and gave the glass then offered a hand. "Percy you can't be seriously bring her along!?" "I'll go with him." Taking his hand, we followed the hissing and spitting sounds of Medusa's hair. I raised the glass so I could guide us. I kept my eyes locked on the gazing ball so I would only glimpse Medusa's reflection, not the real thing. Then, in the green tinted glass, I saw her. Grover was coming in for another turn at bat, but this time he flew a little too low. Medusa grabbed the stick and pulled him off course. He tumbled through the air and crashed into the arms of a stone grizzly bear with a painful "Ummphh!" Medusa was about to lunge at him when I yelled, "Hey!" We advanced on her. I had let go of Percy's hand to bring out my knife. So if she charged, I could help Percy. But she let us approach—twenty feet, ten feet. I could see the reflection of her face now. Surely it wasn't really that ugly. The green swirls of the gazing ball must be distorting it, making it look worse. "You wouldn't harm an old woman, Percy," she crooned. "I know you wouldn't." I could tell he hesitated. From the cement grizzly, Grover moaned, "Percy, don't listen to her!" Medusa cackled. "Too late." She lunged at him with her talons. I ran and raised my knife to block her talons, Percy then swung his sword, then we heard a sickening shlock!, then a hiss like wind rushing out of a cavern—the sound of a monster disintegrating. Something fell to the ground next to my foot. It took all my willpower not to look. I could feel warm ooze soaking into my sock, little dying snake heads tugging at my shoelaces. "Oh, yuck," Percy said. His eyes were still tightly closed, but I guess he could hear the thing gurgling and steaming. "Mega-yuck." Annabeth came up next to us, her eyes fixed on the sky. She was holding Medusa's black veil. She said, "Don't move." >Very, very carefully, without looking down, she knelt and draped the monster's head in black cloth, then picked it up. It was still dripping green juice. "Are you okay?" Percy asked me, his voice trembling. "Yeah," I decided. "Why didn't... why didn't the head evaporate?" "Once you sever it, it becomes a spoil of war," she said. "Same as your minotaur horn. But don't unwrap the head. It can still petrify you." Grover moaned as he climbed down from the grizzly statue. He had a big welt on his forehead. His green rasta cap hung from one of his little goat horns, and his fake feet had been knocked off his hooves. The magic sneakers were flying aimlessly around his head. "The Red Baron," Percy said. "Good job, man." He managed a bashful grin. "That really was not fun, though. Well, the hitting-her-with-a-stick part, that was fun. But crashing into a concrete bear? Not fun." He snatched his shoes out of the air. "I didn't know Grover got Luke's shoes."  Percy recapped his sword. "I can't fly." He shrugged.  Together, the four of us stumbled back to the warehouse We found some old plastic grocery bags behind the snack counter and double-wrapped Medusa's head. We plopped it on the table where we'd eaten dinner and sat around it, too exhausted to speak. Finally Percy said, "So we have Athena to thank for this monster?" Annabeth flashed me an irritated look. "Your dad, actually. Don't you remember? Medusa was Poseidon's girlfriend. They decided to meet in my mother's temple. That's why Athena turned her into a monster. Medusa and her two sisters who had helped her get into the temple, they became the three gorgons. That's why Medusa wanted to slice me up, but she wanted to preserve you as a nice statue. She's still sweet on your dad. You probably reminded her of him." "Oh, so now it's my fault we met Medusa." Annabeth straightened. In a bad imitation of my voice, she said: "'It's just a photo, Annabeth. What's the harm?'" "Forget it," I said. "You're impossible." "You're insufferable." "You're—" "You're both loud and stupid." I growled. "Yeah!" Grover interrupted. "You two are giving me a migraine, and satyrs don't even get migraines. What are we going to do with the head?" I stared at the thing. One little snake was hanging out of a hole in the plastic. The words printed on the side of the bag said: WE APPRECIATE YOUR BUSINESS! I was angry, not just with Annabeth or her mom, but with all the gods for this whole quest, for getting us blown off the road and in two major fights the very first day out from camp. At this rate, we'd never make it to L.A. alive, much less before the summer solstice. What had Medusa said? Do not be a pawn of the Olympians, my dear. You would be better off as a statue. Percy and I shared a look. We got up. "I'll be back." "Percy, Y/N," Annabeth called after me. "What are you—" We searched the back of the warehouse until I found Medusa's office. Her account book showed her six most recent sales, all shipments to the Underworld to decorate Hades and Persephone's garden. According to one freight bill, the Underworld's billing address was DOA Recording Studios, West Hollywood, California. I folded up the bill and stuffed it in my pocket. In the cash register I found twenty dollars, a few golden drachmas, and some packing slips for Hermes Overnight Express, each with a little leather bag attached for coins.  "Found one." Percy called. We went back to the picnic table, packed up Medusa's head, and filled out a delivery slip: The Gods >Mount Olympus 600th Floor, >Empire State Building New York, NY With best wishes, PERCY JACKSON <3 Y/N L/N "They're not going to like that," Grover warned. "They'll think you're impertinent." I poured some golden drachmas in the pouch. As soon as I closed it, there was a sound like a cash register. The package floated off the table and disappeared with a pop! "I am impertinent," Percy said. I looked at Annabeth, daring her to criticize. She didn't. She seemed resigned to the fact that we had a major talent for ticking off the gods. "Great, well Fred and George," she muttered. "We need a new plan."

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UwU bb I'm just licherali rippin off now srry -kookie-doughs

Taglist?

@gayer-than-the-gayest-gay @the-natureofme @booknerd-3000

[perseusjackson-jasongrace]

Day 8: “Is this really the time for jokes?”

This may be the cutest thing I have ever written which is kind of rude to my jercy brain but whatever!

masterlist

I wrote a post for Percy's birthday that had a "headcanon" in it that inspired this fic

canon-compliant

Percy Jackson tucks a small box into his pants pockets, before adjusting the collar of his shirt and making sure the beaded necklace he never takes off still sits at the hollow of his throat, the trident directly in the middle. 

The unusually cool breeze that flutters through their villa brushes the back of his neck, instantly allowing him to breathe more easily. The bright blue ocean spreads out below them, calm and inviting. Like visiting his mother’s house. Or stepping into their apartment after a long day: his girlfriend curled up on the couch with her wire frame glasses propped on her nose, hunched over a book. It is comfort that he looks out on.

“Pers?” Annabeth calls from the bathroom.

“Yes Wisegirl?”

“Do you mind grabbing my heels by the bed, the blue ones.” Her voice bounces across the room.

He moves away from the mirror in the corner and gets onto his knees near the bed to find the shoes. Hidden between the side-table and the frame are baby-blue satin heels. Ribbons hang from the ankles and he knows they’ll look godly wrapped around her golden legs.

“Found them?”

He steps into the bathroom with a soft smile on his face, and hands them over. He takes her in and all the breath screams out of his lungs. His heart jumps in protest but he can’t bring himself to inhale. He’ll choke on her beauty.

She is wearing a soft, silk dress that hugs all the hard plains of her, and stops mid thigh. Her generally unruly curls are barely contained in a low bun, small strands already springing out and falling around her face. Her ears, usually decorated in her signature owl earrings, now adorn small jewels in her two lobe piercings. One he recognises as the earrings he got her for their fifth anniversary. Her helix piercing is still the same silver hoop they both bore after a drunken decision and a 24 hour tattoo shop. Percy’s mother was not impressed, but she wasn’t nearly as angry as the tattoo debacle.

“You ready?” His girlfriend squeezes his hand, looking at him with appreciation and love in her grey eyes.

“For anything.” He squeezes back. They had faced enough in their years that the words held more weight than most people could bear. But their shoulders had held the sky, and together they would hold the world.

“Where did you reserve a table?”

“At the restaurant we got to when we came here the first time. That one where you snorted your orange juice and we both laughed so hard the waiter thought we were dying.”

A giggle erupts from her and it lights up the room like neon sunshine. ‘I remember. Oh gods we were an absolute disaster.”

“I thought it was very cute of you to spurt orange juice through your nose and onto my white shirt.” He grins.

She shoves his shoulder and squeezes his waist. Her head brushes his cheeks, the heels giving her height on him she didn’t usually possess. He loves it. It makes it easy to kiss her. And he does. Long, and hard, and with enough affection to drown them both.

She pushes away eventually, “We’ll never get anywhere if we carry on like this. And i am not wasting another pretty dress.”

“Is it really a waste if i got to see you in it?” He pouts.

“Yes.” She raises a perfect eyebrow, giving him that look that says ‘i dare you to argue with me’, but there is so much light glittering in her eyes.

“Alright, alright. Let’s go Wisegirl.”

So they step out of their little slice of paradise for the week and onto the cobbled white streets of Athens. The night air is fresh, and full of ocean breezes, and pretty memories. He hopes to make a few more before they leave in two days.

The restaurant is not far from their hotel so the walk is short and filled with lingering touches and comfortable silences. Annabeth looks like a goddess as the moonlight strikes her dress at all angles and gives her an ethereal glow. The ribbons of her shoes wrap around her legs and make them look impossibly longer. He is sometimes struck so inexplicably by her beauty he feels like his ribs are splitting from his spine.

A waiter greets them and leads them to a table in the back where the lights are low and the candles are bright. The crimson tablecloths drape elegantly and Percy has to remind himself that he is not the undeserving little kid who wasn’t allowed to even look at things that cost more than fifty dollars. He is a grown adult, making his own money, deserving of all the things he has gotten and achieved in life.

As if sensing his hesitation, Annabeth gives his arm a gentle squeeze and then sits down at the chair he’s pulled out for her. One of the many lessons his mother insisted on drilling into him. Walk a partner to the door. Open the car door for them. Pull out their chair. He may be chaos in motion but he is respectful all the same. He is his mother’s child through and through.

“Can i get you something to drink?”

He looks at his girlfriend, smirking as they both recall the orange juice, and with one voice order the infamous drink. Along with lemon water and celebratory cocktails. Today they’ve been together seven years. Today he is twenty five years old. Today they are alive. Today they deserve to live.

He feels the little box in his pocket and he hides a grin. There are no nerves thrumming through his veins. He has never been more sure of anything in his life.

“I can’t wait to go to Onassis Stegi tomorrow,” Annabeth sighs, a faraway look in her eyes. “I hear they have the most beautiful exhibitions and their work is monumental.” He senses he’s lost her to architecture so he grabs her hand and gets lost with her.

“They’ve just completed a project to light up the Acropolis. Oh Pers it’s so beautiful we must make time to see it. I’ve been fascinated with it’s structural integrity ever since I was eight years old.”

He doesn’t hide his amazement at the fact that Annabeth was researching the structural integrity of anything at eight years old, but he doesn't interrupt her either. She has that look, cheeks flushed, grin wide, and hands animated that tells him she’s been dying to gush about this.

When he had first surprised her with the holiday she had burst into tears because there were so many things she hadn’t gotten to see the first time they had come to Athens. Whereas before they were tourists, with ancient roots in this beautiful city, now they are simply architect and boyfriend, social worker and girlfriend, Percy and Annabeth.

Their evening proceeds in a similar fashion: her gushing, him listening, trying to keep up; him joking, her laughing. When they drain the last of their cappuccinos and he feeds her the final bite of brownie, they are live wires dangling over cool water.

“Want to go for a walk along the beach?” He nods towards the walkway, where the ocean dances under the light of the moon.

She stares at the beach, a calculated look on her face. She glances at him and something crosses her face that he doesn’t have time to read. Even all these years later he is still figuring out the enigma that is Annabeth Chase.

“Lets.” She holds onto his shoulders, and unties the ribbons at her ankles.

Immediately she shrinks to her usual height at his shoulders , and he can’t help but place a kiss to the top of her golden head. She offers her shoes to him, before lopping her arm through his and tugging him along. They step onto the sand, which sinks underneath his feet and suddenly she is running towards the sea, curls flying, dress fluttering, and her hands rising to touch the sky.

“Come on Seaweed Brain!’ She yells. And he can see the happiness radiating of her.

Tugging off his own shoes, and socks, he races after his girlfriend, vaulting onto her back. With a grunt she wraps her arms around his legs and takes off at a sprint, feet splashing on the shore. He laughs into her hair and her reactionary smile lights his soul on fire. It is then that disaster strikes. 

Annabeth trips over a small rock, and they both go flying towards the sandy, shore. She lands on her stomach and he rolls right over her head and onto his back. They are a mess of limbs and wet sand and laughter like ringing bells.

“Guess you’re really falling for me,” He grins.

She wipes grains out of her eyes and pins her grey gaze on him. “Is this really the time for jokes, Seaweed Brain?”

“There’s always time for jokes Wisegirl.”

He hauls himself into a kneeling position, pretending to adjust his clothes, as she gets up and wipes off the fall from her now wet dress. The cream silk clings to her even more, and her hair is caked with ocean sand and tiny shells. She looks beautiful. 

He pulls the box out of his pocket and looks up at her. She is still distracted by her clothes and the water lapping at her bare feet.

“Wisegirl,” He says softly.

She looks to him, fire crackling in her eyes as if she’s preparing to frown at him for another joke. Her legs visibly shake at the sight before her.

“I have loved you since the day you stood over me and told me i drool in my sleep.” He smiles, and it echoes hers. “I will love you until we’re old and more grey-” Their eyes flick to the twin streaks in their hair. “And i get to tell you you drool in your sleep.” 

She rolls her eyes but there is mirth dancing on her chest.

“You are my best friend, the greatest warrior i have ever fought beside, and the only person that can choke on orange juice at the same restaurant three years apart.” Their laughter catches in their throat. “Would you do me the honour of becoming my wife?”

“Only if i get to say something first.” She smiles delicately. He nods. She continues, ‘I have heard sirens tell me my deepest desires, I have rebuilt Olympus, i have found the Athena Parthenos and held up the sky. We have even gone to Tartarus together. But my greatest adventure, and my most beloved pride, has been standing by your side.”

There are tears in both of their eyes; the drops land in the ocean and find their way home.

“Yes Perseus Jackson, I will marry you.” She leans down, cups his cheeks, and kisses him like time is merciless. “Over and over again. I will marry you and fight by you and love you, over again.”

“I love you Wisegirl.” He slips the sapphire ring onto her finger.

“I love you Seaweed Brain.” Annabeth Chase kisses him again. “Together?”

“Together.” Percy Jackson smiles. And their next adventure begins.

----------------------------------------------------------

Tags:

@nishlicious-01​

@leydiangelo​

@spoopylucy​

[xbaepsae]

the ebb and flow | part one

“But you do know that it’s possible for a child of wisdom and a child of the sea to be amicable. Maybe even be more than that. However, at the end of the day, it’s really just because of you and Jeongguk.”

[demigod!jeongguk x demigod!reader]

genre: percy jackson!au, mythology!au, demigod!au, enemies to lovers!au

word count: 2.2k

rating: pg-13

warnings: language, character tension lol

a/n: ahhh. today’s our baby bun’s birthday + dynamite is number one on billboard, so you know i had to deliver something! for a while now, i’ve wanted to start a drabble series (especially since i always feel pressured to write longer 10k+ fics). also, i love pjo so, so much. this idea has been on my mind for a while now, so i really hope you all enjoy! i can’t wait for you guys to read the next parts :) xoxo

→ series masterlist!

the fifth summer - in which you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place

Perhaps, challenging Cabin Three to an impromptu capture the flag game had been a bad idea from the start. However, you fully blame their head counselor for egging you on in the first place.

If Jeon Jeongguk would just learn to keep his damn mouth shut, maybe you wouldn’t have felt the need to defend yourself. The only reason you challenged Poseidon’s cabin in the first place was because he called your battle strategy weak. Thinking about it now, you honestly don’t recall how the conversation even got to that subject—after all, you and Jeongguk argued a lot most days—but you knew he was wrong.

How could you—a daughter of Athena—have weak battle strategy? The idea was absolutely absurd. Your mother was the goddess of wisdom and battle strategy; and as a child who literally sprung forth from her brain, you inherited every drop of her skills.

While you admit that the son of Poseidon is probably one of the more capable demigods here—though you’ll never dare say it to his face—he’s also arrogant, and arrogance never wins in a game of pure strategy. Thus, in the five summers you both have attended Camp Half-Blood, you’ve won more capture the flag games than Jeongguk has. Maybe he forgot that little fact.

“Are you sure you want to lose again, Jeon?” you asked him, a smirk stretched across your lips.

“I think you’ll be the one losing today, miss goody-two-shoes.”

Unfortunately, neither of you managed a victory this time because a certain someone from Apollo’s cabin spilled the beans to Chiron. You don’t even know how Jung Hoseok found out about the game, probably from one of those sneaky Hermes kids, but you were going to—

“Y/n, I expected better from you.”

You freeze up at the disappointed look on Chiron’s face. Although your pride is wounded, you know he’s right—you’ve always been a top-notch camper, which is why you’re head counselor of your cabin. However, when Jeongguk gets involved, you just can’t seem to think clearly. Beside you, you hear the devil himself break into laughter. He attempts to hide it as a cough, but Chiron doesn’t buy it and shoots him a glare.

“Don’t think I’m letting you off the hook either, Jeongguk.” The boy sobers up. “You both know better.”

“Sorry, Chiron,” the apology simultaneously slips past both your lips.

The centaur sighs. “It was quite reckless to get both your cabins involved like that. It’s only the first full week of summer, and things are already this bad?”

You know he’s referring to the first time you and Jeongguk butted heads together. It was your second summer, and Jeongguk accidentally shot a canon of water in your face while you were practicing your archery. Your natural reaction was to shoot an arrow back at him. Obviously, you both got a mouthful from Mr. D afterwards.

Since then, as each summer’s gone by, it’s been little things—like tripping each other, spilling food on each other, causing the other to lose at games. This impromptu capture the flag is probably the worst thing you’ve both decided to do.

“I promise it won’t happen again,” you speak up, biting the inside of your cheek.

“Can you?” Chiron lifts a brow.

Suddenly, Jeongguk nods. “Yeah, I sure can. Because it was y/n’s idea in the first place—”

“Only because you made me do it!” you interrupt, facing him now. “It’s always you and your cocky attitude that gets us in trouble.”

“Well, what about your pride, huh? You’re too damn prideful to admit that you. Can. Be. Wrong,” he spats. “Have you thought about that?”

You are riled up; you can feel your body shaking. “I’m never wrong, Jeon Jeongguk.”

“I think that’s enough, you two.”

Taking a step back, you release a deep exhale and turn to face Chiron again. “Sorry…again.”

He just waves your words away and clears his throat. “I will let this incident go”—your ears perk up at that— “only if you two serve a punishment.”

Your stomach drops at his words. In all of your years here, you’ve never done anything bad enough to warrant a punishment. You’ve seen plenty of younger campers receive penalties in the past, but you’re eighteen now and the thought of having to do something embarrassing in front of the entire camp makes you nauseous. No one would let you live that down.

“How about cleaning the Pegasus stalls for a week?”

“A week?” you exasperate. Cleaning stalls was much better than doing something during the campfire, that’s for sure. But still—a week is a long time. You have campers to take care of. “I don’t have a week to spare just to clean—”

“Okay,” Chiron interrupts. “We’ll make it two.”

Jeongguk shoots you a death glare, but you can’t help the next words that tumble past your lips.

“But isn’t Taehyung in charge of the stables?” You refer to the son of Zeus. “Why the—”

“Should I make it a whole month?”

“Two weeks is perfect,” Jeongguk grits through his teeth.

“Okay, I expect you both to be at the stables sharp and early tomorrow morning then,” Chiron smiles. “Just be glad Dionysus isn’t here this week or you both would’ve had worse punishments.”

After he dismisses you both, you begrudgingly follow Jeongguk out of the Big House. By this point, it’s almost dinnertime and you really should make sure everyone in your cabin is already at the dining pavilion. As you’re lost in thought about what to eat for dinner tonight, Jeongguk suddenly turns around and forces you to stop in your tracks.

“Thanks a lot,” he practically spits out venom. “Your big mouth gave us an extra week with the Pegasi.”

“Looks who’s talking,” you frown. “You have the biggest mouth there is.”

“At least I know when to shut up,” he retorts. “Now, we have to clean the stables every damn morning.”

You roll your eyes. “Don’t act like I actually want to spend more time with you than I already do, Jeon.”

Bypassing him, you ignore his grunts of protest and make your way to Cabin Six. Outside of the gray building, you already see some of your half-siblings making their way to dinner. You greet a few of them, but they’re not who you’re looking for. Walking inside the cabin, you search the stacks of the books and finally find who you’re searching for. As if he knows you’re staring at him, he looks in your direction. “Hey.”

“Hey, Namjoon,” you wave at him.

He sets the book he’s holding down and begins walking towards you. “How did the meeting with Chiron go?”

“Oh,” you awkwardly scratch the back of your head. “Jeongguk and I have to clean the Pegasi stables for two weeks.”

Namjoon scrunches his nose at that. “That’s unfortunate.”

“Tell me about,” you sigh, and then look him in the eyes. “Because of that, would you mind helping me with counselor duties these next few weeks?”

“Sure,” he shrugs. “I mean, it can’t be that bad, right?”

You consider Kim Namjoon to be your second-in-command. As a son of Athena, he is equally as brilliant as you—if not more so—and is a natural born leader. And in all honesty, he could’ve been the head of the cabin; except, he didn’t want to. Something about how he’d rather spend his days doing more productive things.  

“Yeah,” you nod, “just make sure everyone’s awake in time for breakfast—you know how some of the kids can be without proper nutrition—and morning activities.”

Namjoon seems to ponder this for a moment before agreeing and you both head off to the dining pavilion. You’re thankful that there’s someone like him in your cabin, that you two get to be technical half-siblings. Because it’s going to be a long next two weeks.

That night at dinner, as you’re drinking from the pavilion goblets, you feel a pair of eyes burn the back of your head. You don’t even have to turn around to know it’s from table three. Jeongguk’s predictable like that. And as you throw your food offerings into the fire and prepare for the nightly campfire, you never feel his gaze leave you.

***

A part of you wants to blame the fact that you hate Jeongguk so much on your mother’s rivalry with his dad.

Ever since Athena became the patron saint of Athens, you know she’s had issues with Poseidon. You don’t know why—olives are so much better than a salty water spring anyway. But you do know that it’s possible for a child of wisdom and a child of the sea to be amicable. Maybe even be more than that.

However, at the end of the day, it’s really just because of you and Jeongguk.

Ever since you were thirteen and started your first year at camp, you’ve hated him. What started off as a simple dislike became this thing where you can’t even stand to be in the same room as him. Every half-blood knows that you both are rivals, which is why you’ve never willingly been on the same capture the flag team or on a quest together. Not that you’d want to anyway.

Which is why it makes this punishment so terrible. You have no doubt Chiron knew exactly what he was doing.

Despite your repulsion towards the son of Poseidon, you wake up before the sunrises—which isn’t entirely unusual for you. But what is unusual is that you don’t even have time to pick up a book or look through your laptop. You already have somewhere to be.

After you pull on your orange t-shirt and a pair of denim shorts, you slip your sneakers on and make your way towards the stables. As you walk past the arena and volleyball courts, you’re surprised to see a few campers already walking around. A few of them give you curious glances, probably wondering why the head counselor of Athena’s cabin is outside at this hour; but you ignore their looks and continue marching ahead.

Once you make it to the stables, you already see Kim Taehyung unlocking the gate. He must hear you approaching because he turns around with a boxy smile on his face. “Good morning, y/n.”

You wonder how someone like him could be so cheery this early in the morning; on the surface, Taehyung appears rather nice—approachable, even. However, you know that he often has a storm brewing in his eyes. He isn’t afraid to zap people with lightning.

“Hey…”

“I’m so excited you and Jeongguk get to be here with the Pegasi. When Chiron told me about your p—I mean, when he mentioned that you guys would be helping, I thought it was very nice of him,” Taehyung finally unlocks the gate and beckons you to follow him.

Inside the stables, you notice that quite a few of the Pegasi are already awake and begging for attention. You pet one gently on the head, enjoying the soft hair underneath your fingers. Maybe this punishment wouldn’t be so bad.

“He wants to know if you have any carrots.”

Pulling your hand away, you realized you’re getting ahead of yourself. Looking towards the doorway, Jeongguk stands there with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face. You know he’s referring to the Pegasus, and you forgot that he could communicate with equines.

“Oh good, you’re here Jeongguk,” Taehyung claps a little too enthusiastically. “That way I don’t have to explain everything twice.”

The son of Zeus explains what he does every morning and every evening, and everything seems easy enough. All you and Jeongguk have to do is clean and feed the Pegasi. Taehyung mentions that he’ll swing by during the week if you two need help, but you let him know that he doesn’t have to do that—everything’s pretty self-explanatory.

“Also, you don’t have to worry about letting them out,” Taehyung continues. “Campers come to ride them during the day, so they should be fine when it’s nighttime.”

After he shows you two where everything is, Taehyung leaves you with the key and two to get to work. By the time you and Jeongguk are done with everything, it feels like hours have surely gone by. Although the work itself is easy enough, there are more Pegasi than you realized.

“How the hell does Taehyung do all of this by himself?” you ask once you put your broom away. You don’t expect an answer, but Jeongguk gives you one anyway.

“He’s been doing this since he got here. I guess he really likes Pegasi.”

Turning to face Jeongguk, you don’t miss the way sweat beads along his forehead and how he uses the bottom of his orange shirt to wipe it away. Your eyes travel down to the exposed skin of his abdomen, drinking in the sight of his tan and toned body. Before he can realize you’ve been staring for a second too long, you’re already halfway out of the stable.

Did I just check out Jeongguk? No, you shake your head; you were just looking at what was in front of you. Besides, he was talking to you anyway. You were not admiring him at all.

“What time are we supposed to meet back here?” his voice catches you before you can get too far.

You stop and turn back around. “I guess before the campfire?”

Jeongguk nods at that, and you proceed to ignore him for the rest of the day. At least, until you both have to be at the stables again later.

[mochideleche]

You can’t keep away from fate | CH8

Pairing : Percy jackson x demigod!reader

summary : The daughter of destiny- literally, along with inevitability, compulsion and necessity. Being the child of a primordial goddess doesn’t really assure you a quiet, calm life but when you return to new york after five years of being shipped off to boarding school, your once mundane life says goodbye.

A/N get your feels ready. As always please do comment what you think and any questions, and thank you so much for all the reads and notes, it really does make my day :) Hope you are all keeping safe and I hope you enjoy!

contents page

The next morning you bid your goodbye to percy and annabeth as they set off for the city. It was a bit difficult for you since the last time they parted for the Labyrinth only annabeth had come back. 

“Don’t do anything stupid” You said to percy, hugging him tightly. You didn’t want to let go and you could tell neither did he but time wasn’t exactly on your side. 

“I don’t plan on it” Percy smiled, “I promise i’ll come back alive this time” 

“hahaha”  you replied

You wanted to go with them, you wanted to be there when they needed help. You didn't want anything else to happen to your friends but you were needed back at camp. If luke’s army was able to get through into the camp, you needed to be there to protect it. 

You, Lee and Beckendorf were making your way through the forest towards zeus’ fist to help with reinforcements. 

You stifled a yawn as the three of you walked in comfortable silence. 

“Looks like someone stayed up late last night,” Lee snickered and Beckendorf joined in with his laughing.

“Shut up,” you muttered, considering throwing lee across the forest.

“So has percy finally asked you out yet? Or are we going to have to pretend that you two weren’t totally flirting the minute we found out percy was alive” Beckendorf chuckled and you sent him a scowl.

“I’m joking,” beckendorf chuckled putting up his hands in defence, “although we are pretty used to you two flirting by now” he added and Lee broke put into uncontrollable laughter. 

You knew people teased you about percy but not to this extent. 

“He’s got too many things on his mind right now, ” you stated, your voice tight as you remembered the hard look on percy’s face as he talked about his foreseeable fight with kronos. 

“True, life as a demigod is never easy but you can’t let that get in the way of living how you want” Lee said, lifting his nose up high.

“And where’d you get that one from mr philosopher” Beckendorf chuckled

“As a son of apollo I was going more for mr poet” Lee shrugged, “and if you must know i got it out if this miraculous thing” and he tapped the top of his head.

‘Miraculous alright, i thought you didn’t have one” you snickered and the three of you burst out laughing. 

the trees finally began to thin out and you entered the clearing where zeus’ fist was. The catapult was ready, stocked with newly delivered greek fire and the athena cabin had set up a command tent towards the left. 

You were preparing for war. 

The feeling made you nervous, it was the same feeling as stage fright- wobbly legs, hot flushes and an erratic heart if you thought about it too much. 

You’d fought monsters before, but not a battle. 

...

Percy didn’t want to leave camp but he had a titan army to thwart. just seeing you cry your heart out , it had made him want to cry- and that was saying a lot. And he was a bit guilty to say that it had also made him feel a little bit happy, seeing how much you had missed him. He got angry at himself for causing you so much pain, you didn’t deserve that. 

In the labyrinth he often felt like giving up; feeling the walls close in and feeling that he was no match for immortal monsters who would just regenerate once he killed them. 

But then he’d remember you, and that would cause him to think of all the other things worth living for. 

On the island of ogygia he was conflicted. 

Sure, when he first laid eyes on calypso he thought she was beautiful, but there was just too many similarities; her almond shape eyes, the way her hair flowed down her back and the kind look in her soft gaze reminded percy too much of you. 

In a way you were like a goddess to him, too perfect to be true. Sometimes he wondered if the gods had made a mistake and you actually were born immortal.

He’d lived every day in ogygia with you on his mind, i need to get back to Y/N. 

It was like you were his link to his life back in new york, you were his embodiment of home.

He felt torn between leaving calypso on her own and returning to fight luke but there was no debating when it came to you. 

So when he saw how quiet you became when he mentioned getting marooned on an island, he started to panic. He thought he’d blew it and you would never see him in the same light again. 

how did you even see him anyway? 

He liked how you blushed every time he called you princess, how you tried to hide the smile on your face every time he did something stupid and how you covered you laugh every time he said something sarcastic. 

You were always such a bright light shining in his life and seeing you so sad made percy’s heart break. 

I made her upset, percy thought. 

He cared a lot for you and made a promise to himself, if he’d survive the titan war, he’d tell you how he felt. he didn’t want to cause you any harm so he wanted to wait- see if he actually survived. 

Annabeth turned to percy as if she wanted to say something, then noticed the slight frown on his face and faced her own window on her left side. 

“Will told me how Y/N kept hunting down monsters when we were gone” she started, “he said everyday she’d always be called out of camp to help the cabin who was on scouting duty and when she wasn’t, she was in the forges with beckendorf reinforcing our armoury”  

Percy just blinked, the conversation seemed so out of the blue but he had a dreaded feeling he knew where it was going, “uhm- yeah, she’s a hardworker”

“And when you disappeared, she went over time. She was gone before dawn and only came back after dinner. She came back everyday covered in blood and monster dust- exhausted and almost unconscious. ”

Percy looked over at annabeth and she had her fists clenched, “Annabeth look i’m sorry i didn’t mean to-”

“I know you didn’t mean to!” Annabeth exclaimed, and snapped her head towards percy, giving him a look that could have sent him to tartarus and back five times. percy couldn’t help but back away from her. 

He quickly averted his gaze to the divider where he could see argus looking at them through the rear view mirror with some of his many eyes ( the rest on the road ) but as soon as they made eye contact he shut the divider close. 

Thanks for the moral support, Percy thought. 

“But do you know how much pain you put her in? First you let some mortal girl write her number on you arm, then you die, then you come back from the dead only to say you’ve been having a little vacation with a goddess who is made to fall in love with you and then you go off again only to go running to rachel! ” Annabeth was breathing hard, she seemed really angry.

This only made percy angry too- but he couldn’t help but be slightly confused. 

All this time percy thought annabeth had a crush on him, that’s why she was so worked up over rachel and why she had stormed out when he had said he was marooned on an island. He even thought that annabeth was jealous of Y/N and would treat her coldly, but that was the one thing he didn’t get- the two of them were best friends. 

Now he started to think that it wasn’t percy she had a crush on. 

“Why are you so worked up about this?” Percy asked, his voice rising. he didn’t mean to try and pry on what annabeth was really feeling, but he couldn’t help but attack her back, she was shaming him just like Mr d did and he wasn’t going to let that slide.

Annabeth clenched her jaw and percy thought she was going to explode, “You’re such a seaweed brain!” She shouted, “I see the way you look at her, the stupid way you smile when she’s around and how you try to do even stupider things to get her attention. So why haven’t you told her how you feel?”

Percy opened his mouth to snap something back, but he found no words.

“The second you come back you start flirting with her then you run off again without saying anything! I have no idea what’s going on in that head of yours but if you think for a second that you can play with her heart-” 

Percy felt the heat rising up his chest, “I’m not playing with her!” he shouted.

“Then why do you keep her in the dark!” Annabeth shouted back at the same level percy had and percy froze. There were many reasons why he had held back from telling you how he felt, but he’d never really voiced them out. It made sense it his head and it felt right but now if he needed to explain his reasons to annabeth, he wasn’t so sure. 

But then he remembered the promise he had made to himself, how after they’d finished this- if he survived at all, he would tell you how he felt. but he wanted to keep that to himself, his little secret. 

“Just tell her how you feel damn it!” Annabeth exclaimed, snapping percy out of his inner debate.

And just when percy thought annabeth was going to bite his head off, her shoulders suddenly untensed and she slumped in her seat, tearing her piercing gaze away from percy, “she’s already been in so much pain and she doesn’t deserve to go through any more” 

Percy looked at annabeth, normally after a fight she would keep her guard up for days, but she’d deflated so fast that percy forgot about his anger and worried for his friend. 

“I’ve tried my best to stir her away from you- say that you’re just trouble”

“Thanks” percy scoffed, his anger coming back but he pushed it aside so that he could hear annabeth explain. 

“but i’ve been friends with you for so long now and i know how good hearted you are and how loyal you are to those you care about” annabeth said quietly and she turned to face out the window.

Percy couldn’t help but feel some sort of pride, annabeth rarely complimented him.

“But i swear” she said, a little tightness creeping back into her voice,  “if you break her heart, i won’t hesitate to run my knife through you once all this titan crap if over, you understand?” she said, looking at percy with a hard look.

Percy couldn’t help but smile, annabeth had just given her blessing for percy to ask you out, “yes ma’am”

A ghost of a smile appeared on ananbeth’s face, “you’re such a seaweed brain”

....

Percy and his friends landed just in the middle of the cabins. They saw the battle raging on beneath them and percy dreaded to see it. 

They were out numbered by a lot. There were dracnae, empousa, telkhines, hell hounds and even Kampe- percy had wished they’d seen the last of her. 

Percy rushed forward and jumped straight into battle. 

Even after his fight with Antaeus percy still felt like he could run miles- a perk from being adhd. He slashed, striked and stabbed every time he turned, taking down monster by monster. 

But as he took down another telkhine, he saw a group of dracnae breaking off from the battle and slithering towards the cabins.

“Nico!” percy yelled as the younger boy stabbed another telkhine with his stygian iron sword. 

Nico immediately understood and held out his sword, “serve me”

The ground began to shake and a fissure broke open in front of the dracnae. About a dozen skeleton soldiers, wearing a variety of military uniforms emerged from the ground. One of them shot up, stabbed a dracnae and pounced after another. Nico fell to his knees. 

But before percy could go over and help him, he was knocked to the side by a huge black mass. 

As he tumbled he got a mouth full of fur and as he hit the ground hard, he caught a glimpse of two red eyes and mouth filled with razor sharp fangs, wide open and ready to bite.

Percy’s sword arm was squashed under the hell hounds great paw, he couldn't move- this is it, he thought. 

Then something whooshed past his ear, stabbing the ground next to him and the hound exploded into a cloud of black soot. 

Percy tuned away to shield his eyes from the dust and saw the blood covered, drakon bone sword buried in the ground next to his head. 

He sat up and saw you about twenty feet away, knees bent and arm still up from your throw, mouth slightly parted and a hard look on your face.

gods that was hot. 

Then you suddenly straightened up and scowled at percy, “Get up you idiot!” and you rushed back into the battle- taking down a laistrygonian giant whilst you were at it. 

Percy smiled, i love her. 

But percy didn’t have time to dwell over how pretty you looked killing that empousa or how badass you were when you kicked that demigod in the gut, Kampe was causing a riot and had just crushed the command tent, he needed to take care of that. 

He rushed forward, somehow finding annabeth along the way, “This might be it” percy said, half joking but there was a lot of truth to the statement.

“It was nice fighting with you” annabeth said.

“Ditto” 

And they charged. 

Kampe didn’t seem to see them as a threat, if she did, she didn’t show it. 

Percy and annabeth worked like a team, one distracting her whilst the other aimed for a strike- but kampe just seemed to be able to fight independently with both hands, her animal bearing waist snapping at their hands if they swung too close. 

Then as soon as percy saw an opening, he lunged only to be faced with a snarling face and amused eyes. 

And he was suddenly knocked back and his back hit the ground a second time but he fought to stand up again but it looked like he didn’t need to.

Kampe was preoccupied with someone else. 

“What’s a tiny little girl like you going to do?” she hissed, her clawed hands flexing around her bronze swords. 

In front of her, the only thing keeping her from charging at percy and annabeth, stood you. You too held both your swords at your sides but you stood calm and collected, shoulders relaxed and feet shoulder width apart. 

“I am the daughter of ananke, goddess of destiny- you shall fear me” 

Percy couldn’t see your face but he imagined it was just as pretty as you sent Kampe a death stare. 

But you stood still and did nothing, percy was worried that kampe would charge right at you and run her swords through you but she stood as still as you. It was like the two of you were having some show down until percy noticed the look of horror on kampe’s face. 

He mouth was opened like it was stuck in a scream and her hands dropped her swords and came up to grab her throat. 

Then she exploded in a fine cloud of yellow dust. 

You turned, face full of concern, towards percy and annabeth who stood shocked behind you, but you weren’t looking at them but behind them.

They’d both been so shocked at your “you shall fear me” comment that they became completely unaware of the laistrygonian giant behind them. 

Percy heard you scream, “run!” but his feet didn’t listen. But they didn’t need to. 

A black mass jumped in front of them and knocked the giant aside. 

“Good girl!” Dedalus exclaimed, running past and nodding towards percy. 

Then behind him came the hundred handed giant Briares screaming as he charged along side Mrs O’Leary.

Percy couldn’t help but smile, until he felt a punch on his shoulder. 

“I thought I told you not to do anything stupid!” You exclaimed, “That’s twice i’ve saved your life now-”

Percy kissed you on the cheek. 

You blinked, “okay maybe i’ll let this one slide,” and you turned around and began to walk away slowly, effortlessly swinging your sword out to cut a dracnae in half along the way. 

Annabeth nudged percy, he though she was going to swing her sword through him too but she had a sly smile on her face. 

Suddenly a horrible sound resonated through the air. 

All around him monsters began to drop their weapons and in the midst of looking around him dumbfounded, percy caught a glimpse of grover- his mouth wide open, releasing that horrible sound. 

The army began to fall back, scrambling towards the mound of rocks, but you weren’t going to let them get away that easily. 

As they narrowed down to fit through the fissure- pushing each other back to escape, you lifted up you hands and thrust them forwards.

The ground beneath began to rise, then shift in shape, almost like hands coming up from the earth. Then, the mounds of dirt came up and swallowed the last of the retreating army into the ground. 

If the camp wasn’t shocked before, they were now. 

You let your hands drop, and percy stood in shock at your back. Your long hair flowing down your back, being gently waved in the soft breeze. He noticed a rip in the back of your jeans but other than that there was no injury. 

then you began to fall to the ground. 

And percy rushed forward, arms out ready to catch you. 

...

You and percy sat next to each other by the court. you wouldn’t normally find yourselves sitting there but you just wanted to get away from all the dread that was left on the battle field. 

You sat quietly, trying to take in the loss of Lee, you hadn’t known him for long, but the fact that just hours ago you guys were laughing and joking made it sting even more. 

Percy too sat next to you, carrying the same guilt you had, that you could’ve done more, could’ve been there to save them. 

But in times like this, you knew you had the clearer head. 

You let your hand rest on percy’s and no other words were needed to be said. 

he looked at you, his eyes roaming your face as if he was looking for something, “not a scratch” he whispered, and you were taken a back. 

you opened your mouth to protest but nothing came out resulting in an intake of breath that sounded like a gasp, although there was nothing surprising about the situation to you. 

you turned your head away as if trying to hide the fact you had left the battle completely fine. 

“i saw you talking to nico” 

You let out a sigh of release, at least he’d changed the subject, “yeah, he’s an interesting boy, and it thought maybe if i was able to talk to him-”

“He’d stop pushing everyone away?” percy asked and you nodded. 

“Look, I know you’re like an angel and everything but don’t beat youself up if nico doesn’t decide to stay, he’s experienced a lot” Percy said, as he put his hands behind his head. 

You remembered your long talk with the son of hades. 

After you had woken up and helped around healing campers (much to will’s distaste as he scolded you to rest), you had immediately gone to find him. He was easy to find, sat alone at the edge of the battle ground, near the fissure he had created. You sat down next to him, introduced yourself and encouraged him to do the same. 

you wanted to know this boy’s story, what made him tick, but from what you heard from others that wasn’t going to be easy. 

He wasn’t willing to at first, turning away and telling you to go and help heal others instead, so you decided that you would tell him your story first.

Surprisingly, he had listened and even more surprisingly, he began to open up. 

“i didn’t remember much before westover hall” he began, fiddling with the silver ring on his finger, “All i had was bianca and so when i found out i was apart of this world of myths like my mythomagic game, well- i thought i had found another thing”

“But then she joined the hunters and i felt so abandoned” a hard look came onto his face and you thought that he was going to stop talking then, but he continued, “I wanted to hate her for leaving me so easily but when she went on the quest i couldn’t help but ask Percy to protect her and she died anyways” 

You swallowed hard, no matter how terrifying this kid may seem, he was still a kid. He had his fists clenched, pushing down on his knees that were brought up to rest just below his chin, his jaw clenched, “Bianca was the only one who accepted me and now she’s gone” 

“Nico,” you began and you fought the urge to place a hand on his shoulder, “I know we barely know each other but there’s a reason why i wanted to talk to you” 

The boy turned to you, his eyebrows raised in suspicion, “oh yeah?”

“Because percy, annabeth, grover, and even Thalia- they had talked about you to me all with the same concern. For someone who isn’t accepted, you sure are cared about” you smiled, seeing how he relaxed his shoulders a bit and turned to look at you. 

“You’ve met Thalia too huh?” Nico asked and you nodded. 

“During the time i went back to europe the hunters had taken a little trip to france and invited me along, I met her there and she asked me to join the hunters” you shrugged, remembering the daughter of zeus with short choppy black hair and startling blue eyes. 

You glanced over at nico who was staring at you with admiration, “you were invited to hunt with them, offered immortality and you said no?” 

You shrugged again “They'd offered me a place before back when i was on olympus, but i declined” 

Nico looked at you with scrunched eyebrows, as if he was trying to see what made you tick. 

“You may think that you don’t belong nico, but the people who care about you say otherwise” and you turned to look at the campers behind you and nico followed your gaze, “everyone here has gone through some terrible things, perhaps some not as much as others but it’s something that not every average mortal goes through. If there’s anyone who would have the least bit of understanding, it would be the people here. Yeah sure they may have their flaws, some may judge, but doesn’t everyone? even gods aren’t immune to prejudice. you need to start seeing these people as your allies, friends, perhaps even family and not as your enemies” 

“And they can’t start seeing how great of a person you are if you keep yourself away” you said slowly, seeing how far the kid would let you push until he exploded and ran away again. 

You saw him unclench and reclench his fists, he was thinking of what to say, maybe thinking how far he could run until you caught him. 

You had to kill the blow of your last statement, make it relatable, “I understand if what i’m saying sounds like complete centaur poop like i said, i haven’t known you for long and we’ve only just met but what i said about those who have known you for long, it’s true, they care about you” 

“they don’t care” nico spat out.

“Oh really? you said, “then why on earth did they insist on saving you then?” 

Nico looked away, “it was a stupid decision”

“Because they care, they want you here in camp half blood” 

You paused for a while, you thought you had blown it because nico straightened his posture as if to stand but he stayed seated, “I- i can’t stay” 

You nodded, “Okay, though i must admit for someone who’s new to this demigod stuff you’re rather diligent and resourceful when it comes to lone wolfing,” you smiled as you saw the boy raise his eyebrows, “and if you ever need a place to come back to, well camp’s always ready to accept you and if you don’t want to stay here,” 

You took a key out of your pocket and held it out to the boy, “i have a flat in brooklyn. I know you may not want my help or my pity and i respect that but it won’t do any good if you’re out there by yourself surviving in the wild. and if you refuse to stay at camp half blood, fine- but please, take the keys, and if you ever need a place to stay, go there” 

The boy looked at the keys in your hand, his eyes wide and mouth open in shock, “I don’t want-”

“Nico, I know i don’t know you, heck, I know you feel like nobody does, but-”

You words got caught in your mouth, you knew saying that you pitied him or felt sorry for him would just push him away even more. 

“There was a lot of people i couldn’t help today,” you said, the words coming out quietly, “And to be quite honest with you i wouldn’t be helping the gods at all if the world wasn’t at stake- they shouldn’t be letting their children take care of their matters” 

If your kind words won’t working then you would have to turn to your bitterness. 

“But i’ve learnt that if you hang onto your regret and hold grudges, you’ll only make things worse for yourself. It may be hard to let go but if you keep pushing yourself away things will only get harder. I get it, you may have not felt accepted in the past and have been through stuff that makes you think you’ll never fit in and i won’t try to pretend that i can completely understand what you’re going through. But i can’t stand to see another person lose themselves to hatred and bitterness, so if i can help you, that’s still something isn’t it?” 

Nico stared at you, his expression confused and interlaced with a slight scowl as if to say, are you being serious? 

“So if you won’t accept my help for yourself, then do it as a favour for me” 

He stared at you, the confused expression melting away along with the slight scowl. His face shifted into look that made him seem dumbfounded and impressed.

He plucked the keys of of your hand gingerly as if he was still deciding wether to take them or not, “what you did on the field, that was some powerful energy you radiated, how come you haven’t disintegrated?”  

You couldn’t help but laugh, “i guess i’m too stubborn to. But i could say the same for you, that raising of the dead trick was very impressive” 

You thought you imagined it, but a little smile appeared on the boy’s face, “thanks” 

“He’ll be okay” you said suddenly and percy turned to you,

“What?” 

“I have a feeling he’s going to be more open now” you said reassuringly with a knowing smile on your face.

“What does that mean?” percy said then his eyes narrowed and looked at you suspiciously, “what did you say to him?” 

You shrugged, “what i said to nico stays between me and nico” 

“Okay, i won’t question it miss ‘you shall fear me’ ”

you punched percy, “shut up”

“I’m sorry, i’m sorry” he said, rubbing his arm where you had hit him, “what did you do to kampe anyways?”

“I squashed her lungs” you said simply, taking both your hands and pressing them together like you were praying to help picture your explanation.

“You- you what?” Percy sputtered and you looked at him, your head tilted.

“You don't get it? Want me to demonstrate?” 

“No no no no- i get it now, a hundred percent” Percy smiled anxiously and waving his hands in front of him. 

You smiled smugly and leaned back against the bench, “idiot” 

“A concerned idiot,” Percy said, his voice now returning to a serious tone “Will told me how you were over doing it with your powers, when you collapsed i was so worried-” 

You put your finger to his lips, “im fine- what you don’t think i can handle a little-”

“Y/N i’m beingg serious” percy said sternly and you lowered your hand.

“Percy, i’m fine, just needs a little getting used to, okay?” You said as sweetly as you could to shake percy off your case, but you were very touched by how much he cared. 

He nodded his head, “If you say so”

“I do say so,” you stated, causing a smile to form on his face. His sea green eyes turning towards you and smiling, 

“Of course, princess” 

...

Normally you could control your dreams. This time you weren’t so lucky. 

You found yourself back in your palace on olympus, with its ivory walls, golden furniture and constant glow as if it had just been scrubbed clean- the generic layout for an olympian house hold. 

You were sitting at the dining room and was surrounded by your nymph maids who were clearing away breakfast. They didn’t say anything but smiled as they continued wiping down the table and taking the plates where your unfinished food sat untouched. 

“You really must eat more” a young nymph who came up beside you. She was young looking, about 19? but she was probably about 100 years old. She had long flowing hair as if there was a breeze pushing it back and freckles dotted her face, crinkling together as she smiled at you.

“I’m not hungry” you said, and you became aware of the concerned faces of the other servant nymphs in the room.

“You need to eat!” the nymph insisted, sending you playful reproachful look, “otherwise you won’t grow!” 

She was true about that part, you had been a little bit on the shorter side with your height as you grew up. 

Suddenly you stood up from the table, pushing back the golden chair you were sitting on, the nymphs face turned into horror as she backed away from you. 

Alll around you the golden haze that seemed to always brighten the room in an eternal golden hour dampened, the room tinged with a sickly green instead. 

You remembered the day quite vaguely and the memory had almost slipped out of your mind. But you did remember how terrified the experience has left you but it happened so long ago that it almost felt like you had read it in a book, like the event hadn’t happed to you.  

You hadn’t dreamed about this once since it had happened. normally you’d dream about reoccurring things and you’d be able to change something distressful into something less frightening but now you could only watch in horror as the scene unfolded. 

The green tinge had turned out to be radiating from you. You looked down only to see a thick mist swirling around you like a snake closing in on your prey. You felt the same as you had on the day it happened - petrified. even though you knew exactly what happened, you still got the same shivers sent down your spine. 

You felt your jaw unhinge and despite wanting to try again to change the course of your dream and trying to keep it shut, it pried open as if you weren’t doing your best to clench your mouth closed.

The same green mist poured out from your mouth, further filling the room with the sickly shade of green.

You mouth was opened but no scream came out instead your vocal chords began moving on their own- at least you thought they did. A voice ringed out through your body, 

“Seven halfblooded shall answer the call, to storm or fire the world must fall” 

You tried to release a cry, but you just began to choke on your own breath- still the voice continued

“an oath to keep with a final breath”

You couldn’t hear much against the pounding of your own heart but you saw clearly the rushing nymphs who tried to aid you but couldn’t seem to penetrate through the mist, satrys who ran out of the room, shouting for help, their faces laced with concern and fright as they glanced back at your body.

You hated to see them like this, servants- no, family who watched you grow up, you took care of you who taught you everything you knew, crying and paralysed with horror as they watched you be possessed by the spirit of the oracle of delphi. 

You continued to choke on air but you weren’t control of your own body anymore.

“And foes bear arms to the doors of death”

Enough.

You snapped awake, sitting up in a cold sweat and breathing hard as if you actually had been choking. 

You brought your hand to your mouth to cover it, shocked with how vivid that dream was. 

How your brain had unlocked that almost forgotten memory, you didn’t know. 

Then you blinked, closing your eyes for just a second, but you couldn’t open them again.

and then you felt yourself being sucked back into your dreams. 

You were again in the olympian palace of your childhood, but this time the golden haze was back and the mist was gone. But that was the least of your problems. 

You played sprawled on the floor, you felt the cool marble against you back and watched as worried faces of nymphs and satrys popped into your view, “Lady Y/N are you okay?” 

“I- I’m-’ you began, still trying to catch your breath, but a voice interrupted.

“No one shall speak of this” the voice stated, calm and collected for someone whose daughter was just possessed. 

The satrys and nymphs disappeared from your view and you were helped into a sitting position. 

Standing in front of you was your mother, she looked angry but a type of anger that spurred on worries. There were deep lines etched between her brows, which made no sense since your mother didn’t look a day over 25. 

She was a tall woman with long dark hair that was let loose to hang around her shoulders. She had an elegant face, pointed chin and high cheekbones which worked together to make her look highly intimidating yet extremely beautiful. Her slim figure was dressed in a loose silk dress that rested around her ankles and against the sunlight shining through the doorway she looked like, well- a goddess. 

But this was ruined by the way she stared at you. Eyes narrowed and looking hard into your soul as if somehow it was your fault you were encapsulated by green mist. 

She walked towards you and you didn’t find the strength to get up. She knelt down beside you, her dress pooling around her like a mini whirlpool of fabric, “are you alright? do you remember what you said?” 

the ‘are you alright?’ made sense, the ‘do you remember what you said?’ absolutely did not. 

You nodded your head, “seven half bloods-”

You mother shook her head, “no need to recite” she said kindly but you could tell that this bothered her. 

It hadn’t occurred to you then how you remembered what you had said, the only thing you were aware about was your own internal screaming. The first time you had actually heard the words clearly was in your dream and yet you still didn’t fully memorise the lines. 

“i’m afraid this is more graver than we thought” your mother began a look of grimace passing over her face. You didn’t know if it was the fact that she no longer was basked in the sunlight but she seemed to age as she scanned your face.

You couldn’t take it, just seeing your mother had made you far too emotional already, but seeing her worried and anxious seemed to just push you to breaking point. 

So you put all your will power into tearing away from that dream, it’s all in my head it’s all in my head.

you forced your eyes open causing your body to finally snap back into reality and grab ahold of itself. 

Your were still sat up in the position you left in, a layer of blankets around and the weak rays of morning sun shining through your curtained window. Sunrise? but you were pretty sure you had gone back into your dream when it was still pitch black in your room but you swear you had only dreamed for only a few minutes. 

shakily, you brought your head up to look at the ceiling. Somewhere, three floors above you was the mummified body of the oracle which held the green mist that had possessed you ten years ago. You were terrified. 

...

Percy thought he deserved a little bit of happiness. But alas, nothing could ever go in his favour. 

Yesterday, at the counsellors meeting they held, the subject about the many demigods luke had recruited came up and that led to very colourful argument between you and percy. 

“I agree, the numbers of demigods were very disturbing” chiron said, resting his elbows on the arms of his wheelchair, “and how luke had gotten his hands on so many, i cannot say” 

“Well we know where he got some of them,“ Michael Yew the newly appointed head counsellor of apollo said under his breath but it was clear that he had wanted everyone to hear. 

Across the table clarisse scowled, “You want to say that a bit louder?” and she made her way to stand up but silena held her down. 

By now word of chris rodriguez’s return had gone around camp. he was a demigod who had joined luke’s army but had been found in the labyrinth driven to insanity and then healed by Dionysus. He was reaccepted back into camp and no one had really objected against the notion- especially since he was clarisse’s boyfriend. 

“moving on,” chiron interjected, looking reproachfully at michael who was now in a stare down with connor and travis stoll, “I believe that luke must be actively seeking recruits, especially those who had not yet been introduced to their demigod lives. Our protecters are doing their best to keep the demigods away from the titan army but that is all they can do lest they are attacked or worse, have their own demigods turned against them”

“Isn’t there anything else we can do?” percy questioned, he remembered ethan nakamura, a demigod he had met in the labyrinth and did not have the heart to kill. Yet he had stabbed percy in the back and had been the final part in awakening kronos. He didn’t want any other demigods to be brainwashed and forced to lay down their lives for an evil cause. 

Chiron looked grimly at the counsellors, “I’m afraid our protecters are already spread out thin, especially now with grovers newly found mission to protect the wild on pan’s orders, there isn’t much we can do” 

“But there has to be!” percy complained, “Luke’s manipulating kids as young as 7 to fight for kronos, and we’ll have no choice but to fight against them. Can’t we send campers to help the protecters?” 

Chiron nodded, “I understand that percy but our numbers are already extremely low. And i do not want to be pessimistic but if we are to fight against kronos we are not in the best shape. we need everyone at camp half blood training and preparing, we can’t afford to send anyone away” 

Percy was filled with anger yet he completely saw where chiron was coming from. He opened his mouth to argue back- even though he knew he couldn’t win against chiron but you spoke up instead. 

“How about if I go?” you suggested politely and the whole table turned their heads to you, “I have a pretty good sense for demigods, and monsters as well. And I’ll be able to bring them to camp half blood and maybe find satrys and bring them back with their demigods too” 

Chiron paused for a second, considering this before speaking up, “that is a very brave suggestion, Y/N but it is far too risky-”

“I can do it,” you interrupted, the polite smile on your face disappeared and was replaced with a determined look, “I’ll bring back as many demigods I can” 

Percy stared at you dumbfounded, he wanted nothing more but for chiron to shut you down and tell you that you weren’t leaving camp on your own. 

It had been him who had suggested the idea in the first place, but he didn’t think that you would offer to go out scouting on your own. 

“she’s right!” Beckendorf spoke up,“ if there’s anyone at camp who could do it it’s Y/N” 

You sent a warm smile of thanks to beckendorf and percy sent him a death glare.

“Yeah, I must say if there’s anyone who can afford to miss training, it’s Y/N” clarisse supported and Percy started to panic as a wave of agreeing murmur echoed around the room.

“Then it’s decided, Y/N can go out and look for demigods-”

“No!” Percy stood up and the whole room stared at him in shock.

“No?” you questioned, slight amusement in your voice, “percy it was you who suggested-”

“I know” percy said, his voice tight, “but what I suggested is that multiple campers go”

You too stood up, your brow furrowed and your jaw set in a challenging look, “yeah but what difference does it make? Satyrs go out to find demigods by themselves, i’m just doing what they do” 

Percy had to fight to keep standing up, you’d never looked so angry and the fact that you kept your voice calm scared him even more, “Yeah but you’re a demigod out there by yourself, you’ll fall right into lukes hands!” 

“Oh so you think i can’t handle it?” you said slowly.

“I didn’t say that!” percy exclaimed, his voice raising.

“Really? because it sounded like you meant that” 

The rest of the counsellors and chiron had gone silent, their heads kept going back and forth between you and percy like they were watching an intense tennis match. 

“Well it wasn’t what i meant, what i’m saying is that this is a bad idea and you shouldn’t go-” 

“Don’t tell me what to do!” you shouted, and the whole room made a collective gasp, nobody had ever seen you lose your cool before and it was extremely frightening.

“don’t you dare for a second think you can order me around” you said quietly, clipping every syllable so that each word felt like a stab to percy’s heart. 

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Percy scoffed, the way you were flexing your hand as if wishing you could strangle him provoking him even more, “no matter how powerful you may be you can’t go out there by yourself” 

“Why can’t i percy?” you questioned and you sounded as if you could laugh, “if it was any other camper you wouldn’t be so defensive about it would you? you’d even jump at the chance to do the job yourself so why in the world does it concern you when it’s me?!” you voice rising again, your hands still in the position of when you had gestured to yourself. 

Percy stood there staring at you. He didn’t know what to say, what could he say? “because i don’t want the girl i like to go on a dangerous mission and risk her life before i get the chance to tell her how i feel that’s why”. He couldn’t even bring himself to speak because of the way you were staring at him with your eyes locked on him, narrowed. you were fuming, percy was surprised you hadn’t crushed his lungs yet. 

Even for someone your height you were without a doubt the most intimidating person in the room at that moment. And that included beckendorf who was the biggest guy in camp and the same height as you sitting down and clarisse who had her army boots resting on the table and was sharpening her pocket knife. 

Suddenly you turned to chiron, “when can i leave?” 

Percy let his mouth fall open, you were leaving just like that? 

Chiron looked at percy before answering you with a tired voice, “you can leave at sunrise tomorrow, i’ll have argus drive you to the city”

You nodded once, “Thank you, may i please be excused?” 

Chiron blinked his eyes slowly and nodded. You left the room with one fleeting hurt gaze at percy. And with that the guilt came crashing down on him. 

Annabeth sent percy a ‘you only had to go and do it’ look and stood up, “Chiron can i-” 

“Go” chiron said without hesitation and annabeth rushed out of the room. 

The room was silent for a while as chiron wheeled his wheelchair to the side to pour himself a glass of water. 

Nobody knew what to say, they just all stared at the door you had left through and avoided looking at percy. 

“You messed up big time man” Connor snickered, and katie gardener punched him. 

Percy sat back down in his seat, “She hates me” 

“You got that right” travis added, who too, receive a punch from katie. 

Later percy was hoping to see you at dinner, but you weren’t there. In fact, he hadn’t seen you all day, nobody had except for annabeth- of course, since you had locked yourself in your room “preparing” for your leave. 

Percy felt guilty, he didn’t mean for it to come out like that. But when you put him on the spot, asking him why he cared, he couldn’t have possibly just said why. 

“Hey percy!” 

Percy turned around, and found annabeth running towards him, oh my gods she's going to kill me.

“Annabeth I didn’t mean-”

She put her hand up, “I know, you had good intentions and i honestly i would’ve done the same”

Percy felt himself release a sigh of relief, so it looks like he wasn’t going to get a serving of knife in the gut. 

“But it’s the right choice, there are other demigods lives at risk here too, and Y/N our best choice for preventing that. Don’t worry so much, she’ll be fine” Annabeth reassured as her and percy made their way to the cabins. 

Percy looked over at the big house, he could see the lights in your room were on, “Is she still-”

“angry at you?” annabeth finished and percy nodded sheepishly, “she still kind of is. I don’t know what she was expecting though, a love confession? I think she was just more angry at the fact that you’d let anyone else go but not her” 

Percy sputtered, “no- uhm but, yeah but it’s only because-”

“Don’t worry, i know” Annabeth patted percy on the shoulder condescendingly, “but you should really go see her off tomorrow though” 

“I was planning on that already,” Percy said.

He had imagined of what you might say or more like what you might not. You might just ignore him completely and he’d look like a total loser or dead if he’d angered you enough. 

So the next morning at sunrise percy made his way to the top of half blood hill. Others had come to see you off at the big house where everyone was supposed to say goodbye, but percy didn’t exactly want your little ‘make amends session’ to be witnessed by everyone. 

He just hoped you hadn’t left yet. 

He could still sense you though, over time you had gotten better at hiding your radiance- how? percy didn’t know. But whenever you were close by he could just feel your presence. And he could feel your presence getting stronger as he approached the top of the hill. 

When he got there you stood leaning on one leg and arms folded, giving percy one of your stoic expressions. 

“I uh-” percy halted to a stop and suddenly was at a lost of words. 

He had expected to shout you name dramatically and have you spin around and face him in shock and then you’d run up to him and give him a hug, because he had come to see you off in the end. He didn’t expect for you to expect him and catch him off guard. 

“Uh, hi?” Percy tried and it took a good second before you finally gave him a response- a raised eyebrow but that was better than blasting percy of the hill. 

Percy took in a deep breath, “Y/N i’m really sorry for what i said yesterday it’s just, i don’t want you getting hurt okay? If something were to happen to you-” but percy faltered as he saw you smiling.

“You’re forgiven, but i wasn’t really that mad in the first place” you said softly and percy took this as a sign that he could walk closer to you. 

“And i’m sorry too” you said, “i shouldn’t have shouted back” 

percy laughed, “it’s okay” 

Percy’s laughing died out and the two of you stood just looking at the view. Despite standing so close, the two of you said nothing. It was just like the last time you had left camp, nothing had changed- it was something about half blood hill that made the two of you to not know how to say goodbye. 

“Just let me go with you” percy asked abruptly as he turned his body to look at you. 

You were taken by surprise but as always the emotion faded to that kind stoic face of yours, “percy, you have bigger things to worry about” 

Percy cursed to himself, why did his stupid fate always have to get in the way of things? He was extremely tempted right now to say screw bigger things, and just run off with you to find demigods, fight monsters- he didn’t care what the two of you did, as long as he was with you. 

BEEP.

The sound made percy jump and he spun around to see the white van that argus was waiting for you in, 

“I’d better go,” you said in panic and started walking away, “I guess i’ll see you later percy” 

Percy knew you were only acting so casual, as if you were going to be back that night, because you were scared that there was a possibility that you weren’t going to see him again.

You had always been an optimistic person and always tried to pretend that everything was going to be okay. “if you act like things are going to be alright then they will”  You always used to say to percy, since you said he was such a pessimist. 

So it made perfect sense to percy that you didn’t make this seem like your last goodbye. 

Percy hated it to be like this but he knew time wasn’t on your side, and he stood shocked and not knowing what to do as he watched you begin to walk away from him. 

Maybe it’s for the best, he thought and turned around to make his own way back to camp before he could run after you, whisk you up in his arms and lock you away from harm. 

“Percy!” 

He looked over his shoulder and was slammed into by you that the force nearly caused the both of you to tumble down the hill. 

The second he felt your arms around him he hugged you back, tighter. Percy felt his heart beating faster- it was already beating fast but it was only now he noticed it, as you pressed into his body and tugged at the fabric at the back of his hoodie. 

When you looked up at him you eyes were tearing up, “I’ll miss you, a lot” 

“I’ll miss you too princess” percy grinned. 

he almost let out a growl of frustration, the two of you could have had the whole of yesterday to spend with each other, but because of your argument he was only getting these last few seconds with you to say goodbye. 

“Don’t do anything-” you started, you voice cracking sightly but you were cut off.

Percy took a hold of the side of your face and place his lips on yours.

At first, percy was worried, he didn’t mean to kiss you without your permission and he was about to pull away and start profusely apologising, but you kissed him back. 

Then percy smiled into the kiss, he almost couldn’t carry on from how big he was grinning. 

He finally pulled back looking at your pretty face, for all he knew, for the last time, “stupid?” he smirked, “yeah, wasn’t planning on it” 

A smile cracked across your face, “idiot” 

Percy laughed as he finally let you go. 

BEEP.

You looked over you shoulder at the car at the road, argus was probably really annoyed at how long you were taking. 

You then looked at percy with a soft gaze and a kind smile, “Goodbye percy jackson” and you began walking backwards towards the road. 

“See you later princess,” percy chuckled, lifting his hand to give you a wave. 

And at that moment he saw your smile falter, it was like watching a tank filled to the brim with water crack. 

but before he could see anything else, you spun around and ran down half blood hill. 

And with an arrow in his heart, percy watched you race down towards the road, knowing very well that this could be the last time he would see the daughter of ananke again. 

[three-bunnies-in-a-trenchcoat]

More of my bad writing

Title: Legends Are Told

Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus

Characters: the seven, Nico, Reyna, various Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter campers

Tags: songfic, light angst (I guess?), hopeful-ish ending

Words: 1,032

Summary:

Heracles, Achilles, Theseus, Perseus, Jason, they all got their stories told.

They told their stories to their kids, and their kids told their kids, each time with less and less detail, until there is no story to tell.

The seven are forgotten as if they didn't save them all.

Some legends are told

Heracles, Achilles, Daphne, Perseus, Jason, they all got their stories told.

They weren't so lucky.

Some turn to dust or to gold

Percy's first monster, a Fury, and King Midas, who Jason, Piper, and Leo faced on their quest to free Hera.

They told those stories to their kids, and their kids told their kids, each time with less and less detail, until there is no story to tell. All that remains of their sacrifices is dust and ungrateful children who don't realize that the reason they have a cabin or an eagle to turn and look at is because of the bravery of Percy Jackson, of Hazel Levesque, of Annabeth Chase and Frank Zhang, and countless others.

But you will remember me

Remember me for centuries

Chiron will occasionally tell campers of their deeds. He will tell them how Percy Jackson reclaimed Zeus's lightning bolt and of how Thalia Grace stood on Half-Blood Hill, where the pine tree she was turned into after defending two other demigods from a pack of hellhounds still stands.

And just one mistake

Is all it will take

We'll go down in history

Percy actually does get into history books, as the kid who went missing, blew up the St. Louis Arch, reappeared in Los Angeles after a devastating earthquake, and claimed to have fought to get away from his kidnapper.

They still don't know what really happened.

Remember me for centuries

He's soon replaced by more interesting topics, like the first woman on Mars.

Mummified my teenage dreams

No, it's nothing wrong with me

The kids are all wrong

The story's all off

They twist the details, not giving credit to the real heroes.

It was Clarisse who slayed the drakon, not Percy or Annabeth or anybody else in the Battle of Manhattan. They don't remember her, though.

The glory is given to those who don't want it, instead of the ones who actually did it.

Heavy metal broke my heart

She dies a few years afterward. A fight with a dracaena. A sword right through the heart.

It was a death she would have wanted. An honorable one, one where she fought to defend her and her family, Chris and her daughter Silena.

Hardly anyone who didn't know her even knows that she did all that. Come on, come on and let me in

The bruises on your thighs like my fingerprints

And this is supposed to match

The darkness that you felt

No one remembers Nico and Reyna's journey through the shadows to bring the statue that now stands guard over camp and New Athens. No one remembers how he nearly faded away, lost to memories and darkness.

The strength it took, the courage, to fight them off and prevent a war is lost to time.

I never meant for you to fix yourself

And I can't stop 'til the whole world knows my name

'Cause I was only born inside my dreams

No one remembers Octavian, flawed as he was. No one remembers that although he seemed crazy, he was trying to do the best for his people, pushing for a new leader and to attack before they did. Reyna wasn't replacing Jason after months of him being missing, then they elect a kid they knew for all of two days. Then his friends bomb the city.

No one, of course, realizes this. For all that he's remembered, he remembered as a power hungry villain.

Until you die for me, as long as there's a light, my shadow's over you

'Cause I, I am the opposite of amnesia

And you're a cherry blossom

You're about to bloom

You look so pretty, but you're gone so soon

Who could forget Piper McLean, the daughter of Aphrodite strong enough to charm a primordial goddess to sleep, to make a automaton come to life.

Why should we remember? They say. She was just another weak, stuck up child of Aphrodite. Clearly someone else did it. Someone stronger, someone who could save their friends instead of someone who faints at the sight of blood.

As she cries over Jason's body, killed by a monster on his yacht, she vows never to let that happen again. She would rather die than watch someone else she loves die before her eyes.

No one bothers to remember the sacrifice she made for her younger siblings.

No one bothers to remember any of their stories.

We've been here forever

The gods, the gods could lift a finger to help them be remembered.

They don't.

They're gone so quickly, after all...

And here's the frozen proof

Khione comes after Leo one last time, freezing him before he can even notice the goddess behind him.

I could scream forever

Hazel dies screaming as her own tunnel collapses on her and Frank.

We are the poisoned youth

All demigods are. Because of who their parents are, they will live in fear for their whole life.

Annabeth and Nico both die to actual poison. Annabeth from a two headed snake bite, Nico from giving into the whispers of shadow travel.

Some legends are told

Atalanta and Theseus', yes, but not the ones about Annabeth Chase, architect of Olympus, Frank Zhang, praetor of the Twelfth Legion, or Zoe Nightshade.

Some turn to dust or to gold

Percy is the only one who dies a peaceful death, going in his sleep.

But you will remember me

Their children try to hold on, and Thalia tells everyone stories about them whenever she, Reyna and the rest of the Hunters are at camp.

Remember me for centuries

The hippocampi still hang in the Poseidon cabin.

And just one mistake

Is all it will take

We'll go down in history

Remember me for centuries

But they don't.

We'll go down in history

Remember me for centuries

One day, a camper finds ten handwritten books, in Ancient Greek and Latin, in the Big House attic. The Lightning Thief, the first one reads.

She opens the book. A picture of nine laughing teenagers falls out. She picks it up and sets it aside before turning to the first page.

Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood...

[roman-writing]

A Study in Hospitality (1/?)

Fandom: Fire Emblem Three Houses / Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Pairing: Hilda Valentine Goneril / Marianne von Edmund

Rating: T

Wordcount: 8,395

Summary: There’s a new student at camp half-blood. Hilda, daughter of Aphrodite, has been tasked with showing her around. A Percy Jackson and the Olympians AU

Author’s note: I’m so predictable for writing this…..

read it below the cut, or you can read it here on AO3

“The assignment was to fall in love.

The details were up to you.”

-Louise Gluck, ‘Averno’ 

–

Everyone was always excited whenever a new batch of half-bloods rolled into camp. Not that many of them would admit it, Hilda included. Mostly they pretended to be bored at the concept of introducing new students to the grounds, in the hopes that they would come off as cool and aloof.

Unlike the others however, Hilda didn’t have to try very hard. She could pull off cool any time, any day. And everyone knew it. 

So, when a sleek black limousine rolled up, students idled around the camp’s main square in the hopes of catching a glimpse of the new blood. The windows of the car were darkly tinted, which meant that nobody could get a good look inside. Honestly, it looked more like a hearse than anything else.

Hilda leaned against a pillar, and twirled a lock of shockingly pink hair around one finger. She arched a curious eyebrow at the limo as it rumbled to a halt with a high whine of brakes. 

It could use some new brake fluid. Technically speaking she could do it, but she wouldn’t be caught dead beneath the hood of a vehicle. She had an image to uphold. Not to mention the havoc it would wreak on her manicure.

“My money is on Ares,” Claude said beside her. 

Hilda rolled her eyes. “You say that every time.”

“Because I’m right.”

“I hope not. The last thing we need is more meat-heads.” Hilda scrunched up her nose at a few other students loitering nearby, who were all clearly in Ares Cabin. One of them was challenging another to do push-ups. Hilda watched as the challenge was accepted with gusto.

Shirts came off, and the two boys dropped to the grass of the central field. For all their faults, at least the children of Ares had some rockin’ bods. 

Claude nudged her, and she dragged her reluctant attention away from the Ares boys.

The driver had stepped out of the vehicle. An honest to god butler-looking guy, complete with waistcoat and spotless white gloves. He rushed to one of the passenger doors, and opened it.

An old man unfolded from the bone-white leather seats inside. His suit was ashen but impeccable and pinstriped. He had silver hair and a hatchet face. When he stood to his full spindly height, he seemed to loom despite his heron’s stoop and the silver-headed cane clutched in his hand. 

He was no god – at least none that Hilda recognised – though he could not have been fully mortal. Mortals couldn’t cross the camp lines. 

Seteth stepped forward. When he nodded his head, it was like a bow of deference. “Margrave Edmund, thank you for joining us. You are most welcome here. I will look after your daughter personally.”

Hilda and Claude exchanged puzzled glances. Generally Seteth preferred a more hands off approach, letting professors Hanneman and Manuela take charge of lectures and whatnot. Seteth only ever dealt with individual students for special cases. Like delivering punishments, or handing out missions.

The Margrave had eyes like pale and tarnished coins. He bowed his head in return. “Thank you, Cichol. I entrust her to your care.”

A strange shiver ran through the earth at the sound of Seteth’s true Titan name. Seteth himself seemed unperturbed by the casual use of it. Meanwhile Hilda was left wondering how the hell this guy – fancy titles or no – managed to get away with using that name without being struck down by spears of light from the heavens.

“What daughter?” Hilda whispered.

Even as she spoke, another figure stirred within the shadows of the limousine. A girl stepped from the vehicle after her father. Hilda blinked in surprise. Most newcomers were young. They tended to be anywhere between ten and fifteen years of age, when they first arrived at camp half-blood. But this girl could not have been under the age of twenty, or Hilda would eat crow.

She was tall, thin, and gaunt as a blade. She wore a dark dress that made her dark eyes appear even larger and more lustrous. There was an odd quality to her pale hair, like the sheen of blued steel. Hilda might have thought it were dyed, if this girl didn’t look like the least likely candidate for hair dyeing. Her skin held a pallor as though she rarely saw the sun, and she seemed to shrink away from the bright early afternoon light. 

The driver pulled a black suitcase from the boot of the limo, and deposited it at her feet. When he got a bit too close to her, she shied away from him. She tried to mask it as though she were reaching up to tuck a few loose strands of hair behind her ear. It did little to help her overall bedraggled personal appearance. Next to her sleek half-mortal father, she appeared disheveled, and not in an artful way. Honestly, Hilda probably could have tied a better messy bun in her sleep. 

Claude leaned over and whispered to Hilda, “My bet is rich heiress of old money.”

“Hmm…” Hilda took a moment to consider her best guess. “I’m going to go with: orphan adopted by screwball philanthropist.”

“Twenty bucks?”

“Oh, you’re on, pretty boy.”

They shook hands. 

“Marianne,” Seteth said with another of his pseudo-bows, “It is lovely to meet you. Please, if there’s anything I can do to improve your stay, let me know.”

For a moment she said nothing. She seemed afraid that Seteth was going to bite her or something. When she did finally speak, her voice was soft and tremulous. “Thank you.”

After speaking, she looked to Margrave Edmund as if for confirmation that she had said the right thing. He gave her none. Indeed, he did not so much as put his hand on her shoulder for comfort before nodding towards Seteth and folding himself back up into the limo. 

The driver – butler? whatever – shut the door behind him, then trotted around to his own door. Marianne did not turn to watch the limo go, though at one point her dark eyes flickered in the direction of the dust plumes that rose in its wake. Immediately however, Marianne lowered her gaze to her own feet. 

When the limo had gone from sight, Seteth gestured towards the suitcase. “Allow me.”

“No, it’s alright. I’ll take it.” Marianne picked up the bag before Seteth could even reach for it. She spoke so softly, it was difficult to hear her over the raucous noise of the nearby Ares boys. 

Claude hummed a contemplative note under his breath. “Either the heiress has something in that bag she doesn’t want anyone to see, or she isn’t as pampered as I’d originally thought.”

Hilda shot him a dirty look. “Why do you always think someone is hiding something?”

“Because they usually are.”

“Well, newsflash, but it reflects poorly on your own character. Just - y’know - an FYI.”

He shushed her, craning his neck as though it would help him better overhear what was going on further down the field. Seteth was leading Marianne across the centre of the field, the exact opposite direction from cabin eleven. 

“Not an undetermined, then,” Claude muttered to himself. “Aphrodite?”

At the sound of her own mother, Hilda snorted. “Aphrodite? Not likely. Look at her, and then look at me.”

“Alright, point taken. So, Athena, then.”

“I dunno,” Hilda tongued at the inside of her cheek. “She seems a bit dreary, even for the Athena kids.”

Hilda and Claude watched from beneath the shelter of decorative white-marble pillars, as Seteth led Marianne across the field. A number of other curious faces also turned to follow their path, eager to learn of where this newcomer fell into their ranks. 

Seteth stopped before the Demeter cabin, and knocked on the door. 

“Wait, really?” Claude said. “She doesn’t seem like a child of Demeter.”

“Wow. Prejudiced, much?”

Claude pointed towards a small cluster of the Demeter kids that had emerged from the cabin to greet their newest member. “Just look at them. And then look at her.”

Hilda pursed her lips at having her own words thrown back at her. But she had to admit, he had a point. She didn’t tell him that, though. His head wouldn’t fit on his shoulders otherwise. Children of Apollo were almost always predisposed towards a certain cocky arrogance, and he had it in spades.

But the new girl definitely didn’t look anything like the other children of Demeter. Where Marianne was narrow and gaunt, the Demeter kids were homey and apple-cheeked. When Mercedes, the head of Demeter cabin, stood beside Marianne, the contrast could not have been more stark. Mercedes held out her hand to shake, but Marianne backed away a step as if the thought of being touched repulsed her. 

Claude gave a sympathetic wince. “Oooh, chilly.” 

“Okay, okay if you’re so sure that she’s undetermined, then why doesn’t Seteth just put her in with the Hermes kids like all the others?” Hilda asked.

“I don’t know,” Claude mused. He had that look on his face he always got when he stumbled across a particularly convoluted puzzle. “But I intend to find out.”

Hilda patted him on the shoulder. “Well, good luck with that.”

When she turned to walk away, intent on heading back towards the arts and crafts centre to work on her latest jewelry piece, Claude called after her. “Wait -? You really don’t care about getting to the bottom of this?”

“Nope!” Without looking back, she waved at him. “Later!”

–

Before the day could end – heck, even before dinner – Hilda ran into Seteth on the path between the mess hall and the cabins. She only caught sight of him at the last second as she was rounding the bend and humming to herself, when it was far too late to leap into the bushes and hide. Just her luck. 

Raising her hand, Hilda greeted him with a cheeriness that was way too over the top. “Oh, Seteth! Good day to you, and farewell!”

And with that, she turned heel and began power walking in the opposite direction. Screw dinner. She could sneak into the dining pavilion later. 

“Just a moment, Hilda. How are you feeling?”

With a low groan, Hilda stopped in her tracks. She closed her eyes, and took a moment to gather herself before she could turn back towards him with a forced smile on her face. “Oh! Ah, fine! I’m - I’m doing just fine. Thank you so much for asking!”

His eyes were a piercing green. He never seemed to need to blink. “Is that so? I’d heard you had fallen ill to a headache, and one of your fellow colleagues took over your duties of sweeping the armoury for the day. How thoughtful of them.” 

“Well, you know how it is.” Hilda rocked back and forth between heel and toe. “My friends are just so kind and helpful like that.”

“Indeed. You should count your blessings that you have been so favoured.” His stare bore into her as though he were balancing her very spirit on the bronzed edge of a sword. 

“Oh, I do! I - uh - I definitely do. Count. Every day.” A nervous little laugh escaped her at that. She could hear her voice strain slightly beneath the charmspeak laced into her words. She never could refrain from a bit of hypnotism when she was angry or nervous. It was a bad habit from her younger days. 

Of course, it did nothing to Seteth. The magic washed over him like water from a duck’s back. “Excellent. I’m glad to hear it,” he said. “In fact, now that I know you have recovered, I have an assignment for you.”

Hilda’s heart skipped a beat. An assignment? She hadn’t been given an assignment in, like, years. 

Okay. Maybe it had only been six months. But that was forever ago. This camp was only so big, and even if she wasn’t a year-rounder, she was so bored. 

She immediately brightened. “Well, why didn’t you say so! Let’s hear it, then.”

Seteth’s hands were clasped behind his back in an officious pose. He looked like a statue. One of those stiff Egyptian ones. “I take it you, along with the rest of the camp, have heard about the newest addition to our ranks? Marianne von Edmund?”

“Yes,” Hilda said slowly, wondering if this was some sort of trick question. “Is she going to be joining me on the mission or something?” 

“Hardly. Marianne doesn’t know anybody here, and I need you to do what you do best.”

“Which is -?” Hilda made a gesture with her hands, implying that Seteth should expand upon that topic. She was very good at a great many things. He was going to need to be a bit more specific.  

“Befriend her, of course,” he said, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. 

She waited for him to continue, but he didn’t. She frowned in puzzlement. “What? Why me?”

“Because you are one of the camp’s most senior students -”

“Gee. Thanks.”

“- And because you know everyone, and everyone knows you. Which means that you can be a conduit for her to the rest of the camp. Introduce her to others. Make her feel at home.”

“Uhhhh everyone knows you, too. Why can’t you show her around?”

Seteth’s brows drew down. “I am the camp overseer. I have many duties to attend to, and while I hate to admit it, I cannot be everywhere at once. I am asking you to do this because I know you are the most capable for the job.”

“How many times do I have to tell you not to expect too much from me?”

“At least once more.” Something like the faintest hint of a smile touched the corners of Seteth’s mouth before vanishing once again. “Truth be told, I have always harboured high hopes for you. Especially after having trained your brother.”

It was true. Holst used to be the head of Aphrodite cabin. Everyone expected Hilda to do the same, which is exactly why she didn’t. 

Head of a Cabin? Yikes. Way too much responsibility. 

Hilda made a face. “No, thank you. And why can’t Mercedes have this assignment? She’s the head of Demeter cabin. She’s the one who should be showing her newbie the ropes.”

“It is important that Marianne is made to feel at home here. Unless you would like to excuse yourself from the sacred duties of hospitality?”

At that, Hilda’s blood ran cold. If there was one thing you did not mess with, it was xenia, the sacred concept of hospitality. She’d heard stories of those who broke the rules of hospitality, and she rather liked keeping her organs arranged in the way they currently were, thanks. 

With a huff, Hilda crossed her arms and accepted her fate. “Ugh. Fine. Whatever.”

“You are disappointed,” Seteth said. It was not a question.

“Well, yeah,” Hilda mumbled. She scraped the toe of her shoe against the ground, sketching out a misshapen heart in the dirt. “When you said ‘assignment,’ I thought you meant with, like, weapons. And monsters. And going out there." 

She gestured towards the treeline in the West, which demarcated the camp from the rest of the world. 

Seteth looked in the direction indicated with a heavy, thoughtful expression. "Trust me when I tell you, Hilda, that this assignment is the most important you will receive during your time here.”

Hilda snorted. “What? Showing around The Marquise Mopey?”

At that, Seteth’s eyes flashed. He looked at her, and she paled. In his face she could see the blood-drenched earth, the frenzied clash of spear and shield from time immemorial. Sometimes it was easy to forget that he was not in fact the soft-spoken gentleman façade he wore, but one of the five Kouretes. Ancient, Titan-born, and brother of the Furies. A deity of wild mountainsides, an inventor of rustic arts, the first of the armoured warrior-gods.

His voice was soft yet dangerous; it bore the weight of millenia when he spoke, “If I hear that you have been anything but kind and generous to our guest, you will answer to me personally. Do you understand?”

Hilda held up her hands as if to fend off a physical blow. “Woah! Relax. I wasn’t going to be all mean girls towards her, or anything. I love making friends!“

In an instant, the intensity faded from his gaze as though it had never been, though the air around him still seemed too warm. Or perhaps that was just the early summer heat. "Good. Then you’ll have no issue attending dinner with her.”

“Wait, you mean, like, right now?”

He arched a cool eyebrow at her. “Is that a problem?”

“What? No! Not at all! I’m going to crush this assignment. You’ll see. I’m hospitality incarnate.” Hilda ran a hand through her hair, and lifted her chin. “Hell, I’m the most charming person in this place! How hard can it be?”

–

As it turned out, it was hard. Very hard. 

For starters, Marianne was difficult to even track down. Hilda looked everywhere. Demeter Cabin was empty, but for Ashe, who was watering the plants out front even though he could make them grow just by snapping his fingers. He claimed Marianne hadn’t spoken more than two words to him since her arrival, before she promptly vanished like smoke. The last he heard, Mercedes and Seteth had been giving her a tour of the camp.

It took Hilda over an hour to find her. By the end, she had given up on asking people if they had seen a tall, morose newcomer since her arrival, because nobody had. Not a single soul. It wasn’t until Hilda had well and truly given up – honestly, screw this; she was hungry and it was dinner time – that she spotted her. Hilda was emerging from the armoury, having given up all hope, when she blinked. 

There, wandering at the edge of the forest, was Marianne. The dark blue of her long dress blended into the shadows of the woods. She looked like a lost spirit, the setting sun chasing her footsteps but never truly reaching her. As though the light were afraid to touch even the delicate gold embroidery of her hems. 

Hilda lifted her hands to her mouth, and yelled, “Hey! Hey, you by the forest!! Yeah, you!”

At the first sound of Hilda’s voice, Marianne had stopped. She pointed to herself, then looked over her shoulder, as though there were the off chance Hilda was actually addressing a tree behind her or something. 

“Don’t move! Just stay right there!” Hilda started jogging over, and boy if that wasn’t dedication then she didn’t know what was. These heels were not made for running. Seteth had better give her such a good fucking score on this assignment. 

Hilda slid to a halt, nearly tripping as her heels caught on a loose stone in the ground. But she made the recovery as gracefully as she could manage. Which was super graceful. Divinely graceful, even. Well, semi-divine anyway. Close enough. 

Luckily, Marianne followed instructions. She had not moved. Now, she blinked languidly at Hilda, her expression guarded, her stance tense, as though she were ready to bolt at any sudden movements. 

Hilda pointed into the thick darkness of the forest. “You really shouldn’t go out into the forest alone. There are all sorts of monsters in there. Didn’t Seteth or Mercedes tell you that? Honestly!”

Marianne glanced towards the woods, but she seemed curious rather than afraid. “What kind of monsters?”

“I dunno. Minotaurs. Dragons. Hellhounds. All sorts.”

“Right,” Marianne said slowly. “And those…are bad?”

Hilda stared at her. “Yes. Yes, those are very bad.”

Marianne’s shoulders caved inwards as she seemed to shrink away from her. “Sorry.”

Oh, geesh. As far as first exchanges went, they were off to a bad start. Shit. Dazzle time. 

“No, I’m sorry. I’m being very rude.” Hilda straightened to her full height, which barely reached Marianne’s chin even when Marianne slouched like she was now. Hilda smiled as brilliantly as she knew how – which was Very Brilliant, let’s be honest – and held out her hand. “I’m Hilda. You’re Marianne, right? Nice to meet you!”

“Oh. Um - Hello.” Marianne did not take her hand. Instead, she lifted her own to her chest, and gave a nervous flutter of her fingers before clenching her hand into a fist beneath her collarbone. 

A long moment of silence passed. Hilda lowered her hand. She tried to think of some way to break the ice, but each time a topic came to mind, it sloughed out of reach as though Marianne’s very presence rejected friendly conversation. Like trying to push together a set of repelling magnets.

It was the first time Hilda had ever been at a complete loss in a social situation. She wasn’t sure she liked it. 

Eventually, Marianne said, “I’m sorry. I’m not very good at interacting with people.”

“What? No! It’s fine. You’re fine,” Hilda lied. “I’m just glad I found you when I did. Next time you come out here, be sure to bring a friend. That’s all.“

Marianne stared at her as though she were a hydra and had grown an extra head. "I don’t have friends.”

“Well, that’s very rude of you. I’m right here, thank you very much.” Hilda grinned, and brushed some of her long hair over one shoulder with a flounce. 

If anything Marianne appeared taken aback. Her head jerked as if she had been struck, and she looked Hilda over. “What -?”

“No, no, you don’t need to say anything. A simple ‘thank you’ will suffice.”

“Th - Thank you?”

“You’re very welcome. Hey. It’s dinner time. Want to walk with me to the dining pavilion? I’ll point out everyone to you, so you know names and stuff. Sound good?”

“Um -”

“Great. C'mon! It’s this way.”

Gesturing for Marianne to follow, Hilda started walking in the direction of the dining pavilion. For a moment she heard no movement behind her. Then, hesitant footsteps. Marianne walked silently; Hilda could barely hear the rustle of leaves and the press of earth in every step. Hilda talked as they walked. She pointed out various landscapes and features, revealing hidden information about them that absolute squares like Seteth wouldn’t have told their newest member.

“If you want a really good time,” Hilda said as they strode along the pathway that followed the lake, “Take a dip in here at night.”

“What monsters are in the lake at night?”

“Absolutely none. It’s just fun!” Then Hilda amended, “Well, that’s not strictly true. I mean, there are totally monsters living in there. But the point is that at night the water is still all warm from the day, so it’s really nice. Plus it’s about the adventure of it, you know?”

That only seemed to puzzle Marianne all the more. Still, Hilda glanced over to find Marianne studying the lake with a faint gleam of curiosity in her eyes. 

Hilda winked. “I’ll take you out one night. It’ll be fun!”

Ducking her head, Marianne mumbled, “I’m not a very good swimmer.”

“No time like the present! Am I right?”

“I guess.”

“Don’t worry. I’m a great teacher. And I definitely won’t let you drown, or get eaten by a monster, or die, or - y’know -” Hilda shrugged. “- whatever. Because that’s what friends are for.”

To that, Marianne made no reply. She offered no further comments, allowing Hilda to carry the conversation all the way to the pavilion perched over the edge of the lake. Hilda was all too happy to do so; she filled up the silence with idle chatter. And yet, she never once got the impression that Marianne wasn’t listening. Quite the opposite, in fact. 

The sun was setting over the hills by the time they arrived at the pavilion. Their shadows lengthened along the ground. Hilda noticed but made no comment on how Marianne’s shadow was nearly twice as long as her own. Marianne was taller, after all. That must have been the reason why. 

The dining pavilion had not walls, only pillars lined with torches, but rain and wind never seemed to be able to get inside. Other students were already crowding the large tables that surrounded a central brazier bearing a bed of red-hot coals. Hilda stopped at the edge of the pavilion, and turned to Marianne. 

“Alright, first thing’s first. You can’t sit at another god’s table. That’s just the rules. So, you’ll be over there.” Hilda waved her hand towards the Demeter table, where Mercedes and Ashe were already seated. 

For some reason, that made Marianne shrink a bit more. She tugged at the ends of her long sleeves so that her hands were partially covered. The action reminded Hilda of a turtle trying to retract into its shell. “What if there’s nobody else in your Cabin?”

“Then you sit alone, unless you get special permission. It sucks. I know. But it’s only for meal times and sleeping. And luckily you and I don’t have to worry about that. Anyway, that brings us to our next point.” Hilda began to tick off names on her ringed fingers. “Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades Cabins are all empty. The Big Three haven’t had kids in, like, centuries, because their kids are always too powerful and kind of a pain in the neck or whatever. Hera Cabin and Artemis Cabin are also empty because goddess of marriage and goddess of virgins. Don’t like philandering, blah blah blah. You know the drill. Then we have the rest.”

Hilda pointed out each group in turn throughout the mess hall. “You already know the Demeter kids, so I won’t bother. There’s Hermes Cabin over there. Wanderers and thieves and lost souls. Undetermined kids go there, too. Anna is their leader. She’s the oldest student here. Don’t take bets with her. You’ll lose every time.”

Hilda moved along to the next group. Two of them had their noses in books while eating. “Athena Cabin. Nerds. All of them. Edelgard’s the boss there. Don’t let her pretty face fool you; she’s always calculating something behind the scenes. Or at least I always get that impression.”

“Then there’s the Apollo kids.” Hilda waved at Claude, who had caught sight of her. “That’s Claude. He sucked up the arrogance and charisma of all the other Apollo kids, but he’s not a bad guy at heart.”

“Next to them is Dionysus Cabin. Always check any food or drink they serve you. Enough said. There’s Hephaestus Cabin over there. Messy and creative. My people at heart if not by blood.” 

Hilda’s hand drifted towards the next table along, the largest of the bunch filled with rowdy teens and twenty-somethings all with more muscles than sense. "And of course Ares Cabin. Just a bunch of guys being dudes. Dudes being guys. And also Petra is there. She’s pretty nice actually. Just don’t get on her bad side. She loves a fight more than anyone else I know. And if anyone gives you any trouble, you tell me and I’ll kick their asses for you. Got it?”

Marianne nodded, wide-eyed and attentive.

“Which leaves Aphrodite Cabin, full of the greatest people you’ll ever meet, including -” Hilda gestured to herself with a stunning smile, “- yours truly.“

At that, Marianne asked in a faint yet curious tone, "Are you the leader of Aphrodite Cabin?”

Hilda scrunched up her nose as though at a bad smell. “Gross. No way. I leave that job to Lorenz, thanks.”

“Oh,” Marianne ducked her head. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to insult you, or -”

But Hilda waved her away. “Nah, you’re fine. Don’t worry about it. Let’s go grab some food. Oh! Before I forget.” Hilda pointed out the central firepit. “Remember to leave a bit of your food, so you can offer it to the gods after we eat. Very important. Don’t skip that step.”

Marianne nodded solemnly. Then again, solemn just seemed to be her natural state of being.

“Okay! See you later, then!” And with that, Hilda flounced off towards her own table.

Behind her, Marianne floundered for a moment, before drifting over towards the other Demeter kids, who greeted her with smiles. Hilda watched as Marianne did not return them, just sat as far away from the others, so that she was perched on the very corner of the bench. 

This was going to be a lot harder than Hilda had originally thought.

With a resigned sigh, Hilda tucked into her own meal. No sooner had she picked up her knife and fork however, than she felt something soft smack into the back of her head. A rolled up napkin landed on the table by her elbow.

Hilda looked at Sylvain, who was sitting directly opposite her. “Don’t tell me. It’s Claude, isn’t it?”

Sylvain grinned around his fork, pulling the utensil out of his mouth to answer, “Well, if you want a break from the guy, I’m always free.”

“Funny,” Hilda replied in a complete monotone. She twisted around in her seat. Sure enough, Claude was trying to catch her eye.

He lobbed something else towards her. This time, it was a little origami paper airplane with a wedge-like arrow shape. It flew straight and true, landing directly by Hilda’s plate. Groaning, Hilda unfolded the paper and read its contents. 

‘I thought you said you weren’t interested in the newblood?’

“Do you have a pen?” Hilda held out her hand towards Sylvain.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he handed her a tube of unused lipstick. She arched an eyebrow at him.

Sylvain shrugged. “It’s all I’ve got. Take it or leave it.”

Shrugging, Hilda uncapped the tube, gave its base a twist, and wrote her reply in bold scarlet. “Who even uses this shade?” she muttered under her breath. “I mean, I could totally pull it off, but -”

Sylvain had returned to his meal, but he said firmly, “I want it back.”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” 

Hilda finished. She capped the lipstick and handed it back over to Sylvain. Then, she turned to toss the paper airplane back towards Claude. Whatever magic he had infused in it while folding its edges still remained, for it ducked and dipped around other students right for him like a bird in flight. Hilda did not wait to see his reaction to her reply, which read:

‘Seteth asked me to look after her. And no, I won’t help you with whatever you’re planning.’

She was a few bites into her meal, when the airplane returned. She crumpled it into a ball, and chucked it into the brazier, where it burned. Behind her, Hilda could hear Claude’s sound of outrage. Sylvain snickered into his cup. 

From where Hilda sat, Marianne was just within view. Her slouched shoulders, her head bowed. Hilda watched with mild interest, as other students at her table attempted to engage her in conversation. Even those from other tables who were near enough tried to lean over and introduce themselves. They were all rebuffed. One by one. Without fail. 

Eventually, Marianne had finished with her meal. Or perhaps she was simply finished with being in so crowded a space. She was a slow eater, but she was one of the first to rise from her seat. She picked morosely at her food, as though everything tasted like ash. And when she approached the brazier in the centre of the tables, her plate was still mostly full. 

Marianne scraped her food into the brazier, and murmured something under her breath. The coals leapt to life with a dull roar, like the sound of distant waves against the shore. The flames burned a hot, pale, hungry blue, searing the food to white ash. 

The entire dining pavilion fell silent. The clink of cutlery faded. People turned to stare. Marianne stood before the brazier, clutching her plate and knife, glancing around at all the stunned faces. She set the plate and knife down, then scurried from the pavilion, her head lowered.

After she had gone, people resumed their eating, but slowly. Over the heads of the other tables, Claude mouthed to Hilda: ‘What the fuck was that?’

Hilda shrugged at him, and then pretended to ignore the rest of his gestures for the remainder of the night. 

–

Hilda did not think about Marianne for the rest of the evening. She went back to the arts centre, and finished off a new bangle she had been working on for the last two weeks. Even then, she was not completely satisfied with it, and tossed it back into the forge for one of the Hephaestus kids to re-smelt into something. 

After giving up on that piece, Hilda went back to the drawing board. She pulled out a notebook and pencil, and began sketching out ideas for a brooch. Or maybe a hair pin. It could have been either. The forge blazed on the other side of the room. This area of camp was always populated, even in the earliest hours of the morning or the latest hours at night. Someone could always be found tinkering away on something. And tonight that person was Hilda.

She eventually wandered back to her cabin, but only when the designs all started bleeding together. Rubbing at her eyes with a yawn, she went about washing her face, changing her clothes, and crawling into the top bunk that had been assigned to her years ago. She could hear Sylvain snoring on the opposite side of the cabin, and was tempted to throw a pillow at him to get him to roll over. 

At some point, she had fallen asleep. The next thing she knew, a pinkish light was filtering through the tinted windows right into her face. To make things worse, Lorenz was swanning about, handing out that week’s chore list to everyone. 

He reached her bunk bed. “Hilda.”

Hilda pulled a pillow over her head, and rolled over.

Lorenz circled around to the other side of the bunk bed, so he could wave her chore list in her face. “I know you’re awake.”

“No, I’m not,” Hilda groaned, her voice muffled beneath the pillow.

He swatted at her pillow with the folded up piece of paper, until she gave up and snatched it from his hand. 

“There,” he said smugly. “Was that really so hard?”

“Not all of us are up with the larks every morning,” Hilda grumbled, but he was already striding away to dish out everyone else’s responsibilities. 

Not bothering to sit up, Hilda hung her head over the side of the bed so that her long untidy hair fell over the side. She rubbed at one eye as she read over the week’s chores. 

Monday - 0900 to 1100 - Cooking Duties - Hilda Goneril and Marianne von Edmund

Tuesday -  1100 to 1430 - Pegasus Stable Duties - Hilda Goneril and Marianne von Edmund

Wednesday - 1500 to 1700 - Gardening Duties - Hilda Goneril and Marianne von Edmund

…Now, hang on just a damn second. 

Hilda rubbed at her other eye to make sure she was reading everything right. She frowned at the page, and held it a little closer to her face. 

Okay. She was definitely reading that right. Apparently hospitality homework extended to more than just a quick Intro to Camp 101. But really, Seteth didn’t have to go out of his way to pair them up for everything. It wasn’t like she was going to try to wriggle out of her assignment. That was just insulting. And completely untrue.

Hilda let her arm flop to the side, and the page of chores fluttered to the floor from her grip. She covered her eyes with her other hand, and groaned. Honestly this should’ve been the easiest assignment ever. If not for the fact that Marianne was so much work. 

“Is something the matter?” Lorenz asked from across the room.

“No,” Hilda sighed, dragging her hand down her face. “Everything’s just peachy.”

– 

The first chore was cooking. Or rather, it was preparing lunch meals for a group of younger students going out into the forest for the first time with Manuela. 

It went poorly. Neither of them were very good in the kitchen. Which was odd, because Demeter kids were all great at cooking. It was one of their Things. Right alongside having a greenthumb that would make an eighteenth century English landscaper cream himself. 

The food wasn’t disastrous, by any stretch of the imagination. They got the meals ready and packaged in time. But nothing tasted that great, and there was an awful lot of mess left over afterwards, which meant that Hilda moaned about having to clean up the whole time. All the while, Marianne remained silent, looking like she was at a loss on how to use a modern sink to wash the cutting boards. Like she’d been dumped into the present day from hundreds of years ago. 

Hilda did the bulk of the talking for the whole two hours. Every now and then, Marianne would make a noise, like a soft hum at the back of her throat, as if that were her sole form of contribution to the conversation. Once – shockingly – she even asked if Hilda could pass her a knife. When their fingers almost brushed along the handle, Marianne dropped the blade and stuttered on her apologies for two whole minutes. 

So, yeah. This assignment kind of sucked so far.

–

Monday passed without much incident. At ten minutes past eleven on Tuesday, Hilda wandered up to the pegasus stables for their shared chores. Marianne was already there. She had a handful of carrots, and was feeding one to a pegasus. The beast’s head leaned out of his stall as far as he could go in an attempt to get closer to the source of the treats. 

"Don’t be greedy,” Marianne chided softly. Even so, she fed the pegasus another carrot.

“Heyoo,” Hilda greeted. 

Marianne almost dropped the carrots in one hand. She turned to see Hilda striding towards her. “Oh. Good afternoon, Hilda. You’re looking - uh - well.”

“Thanks.” Hilda did not even take offense to the belated attempt at praise. It was more than Marianne had been able to muster up over the last two days, which meant progress. Baby steps. They would get there. Eventually. Very eventually.

Stopping beside Marianne, Hilda nodded towards the pegasus, which was still chewing on the end of the carrot. “You’re awfully good with them. Normally, they hate me.”

The pegasus spoke while still chewing, his words punctuated with loud crunching noises. “I don’t hate you. That’s quite a strong word. I’m indifferent about you.”

Hilda scowled. “That’s even worse, Grass-Head.” 

“My name,” the pegasus said in as acidic a tone as psychic words could convey, “is Minty.” 

Hilda rolled her eyes. “Oh, like that’s any better.”

“I like horses,” Marianne admitted. “My father used to let me ride his sometimes.”

At that, Minty stamped his hoof, which scraped against the stall door. “I would really appreciate it if you didn’t ride me. You smell like rotten eggs. But if you keep the carrots coming, I’ll let you pet me.”

“How generous,” Hilda drawled.

On the other hand Marianne hastily offered another carrot. Minty grabbed it between his teeth and began to chew, while Marianne reached up to pat his head and play with his silky forelock. 

Hilda gave her a sidelong glance. “So,” she said, trying to sound casual. “Your dad had horses?”

Marianne mulled over her words very carefully before responding. “Yes. Four of them. They didn’t talk, though.” 

“Did they still like carrots?”

“Uhm -” 

But Minty answered instead, “All horses love carrots.” He snuffled around Marianne’s hand, trying to reach the other bunch of carrots held there. 

“There are other pegasi here,” Hilda pointed out. Indeed, a number of other pegasi were watching this exchange from their own stalls, their heads eagerly extended above the doors.

“Ignore those guys,” Minty said. “They definitely don’t want these.”

“Greedy asshole,” Hilda muttered under her breath.

“I heard that.”  

“Whatever.” Hilda jerked her thumb over her shoulder, and said to Marianne, “I’m going to go grab some gloves, pitchforks, and a wheelbarrow. I would highly recommend wearing gloves, yourself.”

“Alright. I’ll come with you.” Marianne gave Minty one last carrot, taking the time to pat him on the head some more, before turning to follow Hilda. 

Marianne spoke a bit more today. Not much more, but a bit. The pegasi all took an interest in her, even if they generally did not want Marianne to touch them unless bribed with treats. They made odd comments about her smell, while remaining generally uninterested in Hilda’s presence entirely. 

Which was rather insulting, really. Hilda was not a person accustomed to being treated with indifference. And charmspeak did not work on pegasi like it did on people. Annoyingly. 

Hilda tried. She received a series of nickers that could only be described as amused in a mocking way. 

Afterwards, Hilda was sweaty and annoyed. She tipped a load of straw into the last stable, and raked it around, while Marianne chatted with the pegasus. If only it were that easy to get Marianne to talk to actual humans. Her sentences were still short and carefully combed of any personal information, but still. 

And at the end of it all, Marianne even offered Hilda a little wave and a hesitant, “See you tomorrow,” before they parted ways for the day. 

Leaning on a pitchfork, Hilda watched her go. “Weird,” she muttered under her breath, when she was sure Marianne was out of earshot.

“Yeah,” Minty said from behind her. “You’re telling me.”

–

By the time Wednesday rolled around, Hilda was just about ready to bail on chores entirely. Honestly, it was a miracle she’d made it this far in the first place. She should have been awarded gold stars for exceeding all expectations. Normally she would have weasled her way out of the week’s responsibilities by Tuesday. 

Not that it had anything to do with Marianne. Because it didn’t. Hilda just hated chores. She had a jewelry project she wanted to work on, some people she wanted to flirt with, and a monster hunt in the forest that sounded like way more fun than gardening. 

Plus, it was hot. The late afternoon sun was an unimpeded glaring yellow dot in the sky, and Hilda was boiling. She fanned herself with a pair of leather pruning gloves. Her eyes were shielded behind a pair of pink-lensed glasses, and her head was covered in a black-ribboned straw hat. 

Marianne stood beside her, hands nervously wringing another pair of gloves together. Whereas the sun glared down upon Hilda in full force, it somehow seemed to miss Marianne. As though she were sidestepping the light entirely. She still wore a dress with long sleeves, and long hems, and a high collar. 

“I honestly don’t know how you’re surviving in all that.”

Marianne blinked in confusion. “What?”

Hilda gestured with the gloves towards Marianne’s clothes. “Aren’t you baking?”

Plucking at her long hems, Marianne said, “No.”

Hilda blew a raspberry, and pulled her gloves on. “Lucky you. Alright. Let’s get this over with.”

An empty flower bed stretched along the ground at their feet. It skirted the edges of one of the main pathways between the cabins and the amphitheatre. The flower bed was narrow, but long, extending over a little hill and out of sight. Even looking at it made Hilda’s knees feel tired. 

She and Marianne had hauled a cart from the garden sheds, laden with trowels, liquid fertilizer, seed packets, and enormous quantities of small sprouting flowers. They had since unloaded all the flowers onto the path, ready to be planted over the next few hours. 

Hilda was picking up a trowel, when it suddenly struck her. She rounded on Marianne, excitement lacing her voice. “Hey, you’re a Demeter kid! That means you’re really good with plants and stuff, right?”

“Uhm -”

“Great! You can just -” Hilda wiggled her gloved fingers at the flower bed “- do that nature magic you guys are so good at, while I clean up. And we’ll be out of here in no time.”

“I don’t think -”

“Don’t worry,” Hilda said, already gathering up all the gardening supplies so that she could carry them back to the shed. She would make the trip in one go if it killed her. Only cowards had to make two trips. “Nobody will care, so long as everything is planted and growing properly. Besides, this way we can both get out early. Hey! I can take you to the lake for some swimming practice! Doesn’t that sound fun? Let’s do that.”

She didn’t give Marianne a chance to answer. She was already grabbing up the cart’s handle, and hauling it back over to the garden shed. 

The trip took a grand total of ten minutes. Feeling triumphant in her cleverness, Hilda sauntered back down the pathway. She was daydreaming about finally casting that new hair pin design in gold, when she rounded the corner, and froze. 

Marianne was kneeling on the ground. In a great circle around her, the seedlings had been arrayed. When Hilda had left, the plants had been green and bright. Now, the leaves and flowers were all black and wilted, and the earth around them dark as if scorched. Faint curls of smoke drifted through the air from the ground, and the smell was rancid. Like sulfur. 

“What -?” Hilda started to say, but she heard the sound of approaching footsteps. 

Marianne jerked to her feet, brushing off the hems of her dress with trembling hands. Before she could get a good look at Marianne’s face, Hilda turned, and found herself face to face with Mercedes, who looked between the two of them in astonishment. 

“Is everything alright?” Mercedes asked. Her eyes widened when she looked at the flowers at Marianne’s feet. “Goodness! What happened?”

"I -” Marianne’s lower lip trembled. She looked to be on the verge of outright tears.

Before she could say anything, Hilda stepped forward. “It was my fault,” Hilda insisted. “You know how I am. I thought I was spraying liquid fertilizer, but I’d accidentally grabbed that magic weed killer Ashe has been developing out in the sheds.”

With a nod of her head, Mercedes hummed. “Yes, that does sound like it would do the trick.”

“I’m so so sorry, Mercedes,” Hilda continued in her most wide-eyed, contrite tone. She smacked herself on the forehead with the palm of her hand. “I can’t believe I was so careless!”

Immediately, Mercedes placed her hands on Hilda’s upper arms, warm and comforting. “Oh, no! Don’t blame yourself! It was an honest mistake, I’m sure. It’s nothing we can’t fix.”

“You think so?” Hilda put a breathless quality into her voice to really sell it. There was no need for charmspeak here. It would probably work on Mercedes, but she didn’t need it. 

Mercedes nodded. “Absolutely.” 

“Thank you so much. You really are a life-saver, Mercedes.”

“No, no. It’s nothing. Helping is the least I can do.”

There were still the seed packets left over. They had escaped whatever magic that had blighted the area around Marianne. In Mercedes’ capable hands, it took a matter of minutes for the seeds to be scattered and growing all along the flowerbed. Still, a dead patch remained in one section of the flowerbed, where the seeds refused to grow, even beneath the force of Mercedes’ magical gifts. 

“How strange,” Mercedes mused, studying the patch with a quizzical tilt of her head. “The soil in this area feels odd. I don’t quite know how to describe it.”

If Marianne’s shoulders could hunch up around her ears any more, then her head would become a part of her chest cavity. 

Hilda tried to distract Mercedes. “You’re amazing,” she gushed. “I wish I had powers like that.”

It worked. Mercedes turned her attention away from the flower bed. “Don’t be silly. You have extraordinary powers yourself, Hilda.”

“Oh, no. Not like you, and the others. You’re incredible. Really.”

Throughout the entire exchange, Marianne remained silent. Her eyes were downcast. Something about the late afternoon light made them appear darker. 

It took another five or so minutes to convince Mercedes that they should part ways without carrying around any suspicions. By the end, Mercedes continued on her way towards the amphitheatre with a merry wave of farewell and a promise to more clearly label the experimental weed killer in the garden shed. 

When she had gone over the hill, leaving the two of them alone, Hilda breathed a sigh of relief. “Phew!” She took off her straw hat, and fanned herself with its wide brim. “That was lucky. Are you alright?”

“I’m - I’m sorry,” Marianne mumbled. She refused to meet Hilda’s gaze. “You shouldn’t have had to do - I didn’t mean to - I’m sorry.”

Before she could think to stop herself, Hilda reached out to place a hand on Marianne’s shoulder. But before she could touch her, Marianne recoiled. 

“Please, don’t,” Marianne gasped. Her eyes shone with unshed tears. She wiped at them with the backs of her hands, and staggered away a step. “Don’t touch me. Don’t -”

Hilda opened her mouth to speak, but Marianne had already turned tail and was stumbling away. She did not bother to take the path, and instead fled directly across the field. The ground in her wake bore dark blistering marks in the shape of her footprints, as though her every step were bleeding the earth dry. 

Hat in hand, Hilda stared after her. “What,” she muttered, “the fuck?” 

–

NOTES:

The title is a reference to “A Study in Scarlet.” Not that there’s any murder in this story, just to allude that there is a mystery

This AU does not perfectly follow the Percy Jackson world. It just takes some of the main tenants from it. eg/ the Titan Wars are over, and many Titans (such as Seteth) have successfully integrated with the rest. And yes I know that if the Hades cabin is there, I should include the others to make up the full twenty. But I’m lazy.

None of the Percy Jackson characters will be making an appearance. It’s just our FE crew here. 

[toutorii]

Broken Pieces Chapter 2

Broken Pieces Masterlist

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Warnings: Mild Language i think

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"Mom?" the kid slurred.

"No I'm not your mom kiddo," I replied to the half-awake kid. His eyes started to droop. "Just go back to sleep, you'll feel better."

He mumbled something before he passed out again.

"So, did you see his mom?" Annie asked me.

"No, by the time I got there it was just him, Grover, and Bull Baby."

We both jumped at the sound of the door opening, revealing Grover. He looked so depressed it was making me depressed.

"H-how is he?" He asked.

"He just woke up actually. Asking for his mom." I answered. Grover visibly flinched. "What happened Grover?"

"He- she-she r-risked her life, to make sure Percy and I were safe." He cried.

So, Percy, that's the kid's name. Most likely after Perseus, this must be a sick joke. But wait-

"Why was she there in the first place?" I inquired.

"Well-"

"Ngggh" The kid, Percy groaned.

I turned, checking what's wrong with him. None of his wounds are infected, I cleaned and treated them myself. I felt his forehead, it was a normal temperature. Then it clicked. He was having a nightmare. He began to thrash and whimper in pain. I held on tightly to his hand, trying to stabilize him.

After several minutes, he calmed down. His breathing was still a little irregular, but nothing too severe.

That's when Grover stated, "I'll watch over him now, you haven't slept at all in the past 24-hours. ."

Has it really been that long? I guess, now that I think about it, my neck really aches. I guess I should take a break. So I got up, very slowly mind you, and said my goodbyes to Grover and Annie. The minute I walked through the door to Hermes cabin I was tackled by none other than Connor Stoll.

"What happened? Who's the kid? Is he alright? Are you alright? You look like death. Have you slept at all?" He asked one right after another. I laughed softly.

"Hello to you too. I'm fine, just need some sleep. The kid is fine, he's currently resting at the Big House. Any other questions mom?"

He pouted, "Come on Phe, you had me worried. You snuck out of the cabin and never came back! You know how terrifying that is? You could have been dead, and I would have never known. Luckily I heard some rumors that you were in the big house. I tried to visit you, but they were limiting visitors to not scare the kid. But still! You can't just do things like that!" After his speech, he was nearly on the brink of crying.

Ouch, my heart.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you. But you know I can't get beaten that easily." I laughed.

"I know. It's just, that dream has made me paranoid."

"Huh? My dream has made you paranoid? Shouldn't it make me paranoid?"

"But the thing is, you don't fear death! Someone could tell you that you'd die today, and you would say something like, "Oh, guess I'll have to make the best of it then." And that scares me! You have no sense of self-preservation. It's very frustrating."

I frowned, not liking this worried Connor. "Con, you're being too serious. I don't like it."

"Heh, I guess you're right. I would invite you to prank the Demeter house, but I wasn't kidding when I said you look like death." He chuckled.

"Oh, shove it. I look fabulous." We both had a good laugh. "But seriously, I'm tired, go do whatever." And with that, he left. The Hermes cabin was currently at archery, so I could nap in peace. Thank the gods. The instant my head hit my pillow, I was out.

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"-ebe! Wake up!" My eyes shot open. Who dare interrupts my slumber. I shot up, glaring at the intruder, but immediately softening when I saw who it was.

"What do you need Will?" I asked the nine-year-old.

"It's time for dinner, and you need to eat."

"Okay, I'm up, I'll be there." I smiled at him, ruffling his curly blonde hair.

He laughed, "Okay, I'll see you there."

After he left I sighed, I wasn't really prepared to go down to the dining pavilion. But, whatever. It's not like I was trying to impress anyone anyway. I went down to the pavilion, trying to tie my messy hair into a ponytail, trying to at least look somewhat presentable. I was greeted with smiles from various campers. I went and got my food and walked to the firepit to dump a portion into the flames.

'Mom, whoever you are, please look after that kid. I have a feeling he won't have a very peaceful time here.'

I walked over and took my normal seat between Connor and his older brother Travis.

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"B-but, I don't understand. Why can't you just bandage the wound?" Will asked.

"Because it won't completely heal. The outer part will heal, but the tissue underneath will still be separated and damaged." I explained.

"Oh. So, is this how you do it?"

"Yeah, but you're way too stiff. Relax a little bit. You're doing fine." I assured him.

I was giving Will some lessons for first aid. Even though he has Apollo's healing powers, he needed to learn how to heal and treat someone without powers.

"How come you know all of this?" He asked me.

"Trial and error," I answered truthfully. He just nodded and went back to stitching up the pig belly. I looked at the kid. He was a good kid. His healing abilities are really spectacular for his age. I mean, it's no surprise cause he's a child of Apollo. But even Michael's not this good.

"Hey, Phoebe! Could you patch me up real quick? Got in a little trouble with the dragon." My good friend, Beckendorf said as he walked into the infirmary.

"Again? You sure you can tame it?" I teased.

"It doesn't need taming."

"So you're saying it just doesn't like you."

"Just patch me up." We laughed, as I got the needed materials to heal his burn wounds.

"Bite this," I said shoving a piece of cloth in his mouth.

"Wai-mph"

"These are nasty burns, and this aloe will burn like hell. i'm warning you ahead of time."

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"You just can't stay away from him, can't you?" Annie questioned.

"He's a patient of mine. I want to make sure he's okay. Plus, he just lost his mom, he'll need someone when he wakes up." I replied.

"Whatever. But you do know that he's the one from the prophecy."

"I really don't care Annie. He's a kid that's gonna be confused as hell when he wakes up. And Mr. D doesn't exactly make the warmest of welcomes."

"Well, I'm going to go do archery."

"M'kay, have fun."

After she left, I cleaned up the kid. I wiped the drool off his face and fed him some food. I stood and went to wash the bowl inside the big house. Grover passed by me and visited Percy on the porch. I heard muffled talking, the kid must be awake now. I walked outside and sure enough, I found Grover and Percy talking.

"Hey, kiddo. How're you holding up?" I tentatively ask Percy. He looks at me with a confused face, before realization dawns on him.

"You- you were that girl, who saved me." He said.

"I didn't exactly save you. You already did all the hard work. The name's Phoebe Jacobs. Nice to meet you."

He started to tear up. I panicked, did my name offend him?

"Woah kiddo, you okay? Did I offend you?" I asked worriedly.

"N-no. I'm fine." That was a total lie. "My name is Percy Jackson," He held out a trembling hand to me and I shook it.

"C'mon. Chiron wants to speak with you." I told him.

Damn. This kid's tough. He can't be much older than 12. But he still has been through more than most have in a lifetime. And now he's going to face an even tougher challenge.

Mr. D playing pinochle.

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And thats chapter 2! I was going to post this tomorrow, but nobody is gonna read it anyways, so why wait 😂. But I hope you guys are enjoying it, and I know Connor is SUPER DUPER OOC AND IM SORRY. But let me know what you guys think, and if you would be interested in my other OC insert ideas.

[sofiahahaaa]

Demigod Delinquents | Pt. 5 | The Squad Meets the Other® Squad

| MASTERLIST |

Summary: oOOoH! We meet the new kids, they are kinda adorable, and Jason is Not Scared of Ari. okay so this chapter is good i promise :) i promise

Rating: I don’t remember tbh but I don’t think abuse is mentioned... I promise that there’s nothing sexual or... anything. Nothing. Yeah.

A/N: I actually thought a lot about what I was going to write the characters to be like... and I didn’t want them to be a blatant cliche of any trio in the books many of you might’ve read. Honestly I just love Mera, but that’s kind of just how I wrote her. I hope you guys like it. And I hope the weird way I wrote things doesn’t make people not like the writing. What do you guys want to see in the story? 

~~~

Leo’s POV ~

To be honest, I was disappointed with Percy for leaving us to deal with Ace Campbell, but I couldn’t really blame him. I didn’t want to be with that guy a second more than I had to.

Now, we were sitting in our cell, shuffling some playing cards. We shared one cell, neighboring Ace– which I could tell Jason was not happy about. Curfew had rung out on a bell about 15 minutes ago, and a guard came by and crashed the door closed on us.

The cell wasn’t bad, in comparison to some.

Yes– I’ve been arrested before. Don’t get so worked up about it! Just some minor offenses… hijacking cars, getting into secure, NO-TOUCHY zones, etc.

I was am a troubled child.

But the cell really wasn’t bad. It had 4 cushy beanbags and 2 bunks, lined up on either side of the cell. It was roomy enough to pace around, which is what Percy was doing at the moment. And it was... clean. 

Percy informed me that it was a new facility– that this was one of the recently occupied wings. 

To be fair, the reason it was so nice was probably that it was Juvie, and this could be a lengthy home for the kids who had the worst offenses.

I couldn’t be upset about the setup. I was grateful that we were staying here rather than anywhere else. (Namely, the cells I had previously inhabited)

My mind drifted to Ace. I wondered what his background was. Did he... maybe... drive daddy’s Porsche into an elderly home? I could imagine that.

God, he made my skin crawl.

Percy dealt me two. Jason looked at his cards, almost looking scared. “No way. Deal me one.” Percy sighed and gave me another card. I slammed my cards on the table. “Blackjack!”

“So, is that how you play the game?” Jason inquired, still looking confused at his cards. I nodded.

“Blackjack’s namesake… Weird.” Percy mumbled, looking through the bars. “Hey Leo?...” He didn’t have to say anything. I saw them too.

“Wha– how did they get out?!” Jason exclaimed. I laughed knowingly.

“One of them has got to be a Hephaestus kid." I said out of the corner of my mouth. They shuffled along the catwalk soundlessly. “Hold on– I don’t know if this will work." I snatched a wrench from my toolbelt and loosened the far screw enough so I could reach through it.

“The lock is slightly to the left.” Percy suggested, and I took his advice. 

Once I had my hands on the lock, I tried to focus on the gears. “8,7,2,9. That’s the code.” Percy nodded. Jason was wide eyed with shock. The lock popped open, and the door slid to let us through.

"I can’t believe we’re breaking out on the first night,” Jason said incredulously, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

“This is perfect, Jason.” Percy insisted. I nodded in agreement.

“Don’t you see? Our time in the yard would be too crowded, too many people. But here…" I added.

“There’s nobody. It’s a perfect setup– like an icebreaker, for inmates.” Percy continued. Jason bit his lip, but stayed silent. We were a few paces in front of them.

“Wait here." I whispered. “We’ll crash into them, but subtly.” Jason looked weary of the plan. “Trust me, it’ll work.”

“How many of your plans have worked in the past, Leo?”

“Plenty. Just– agh, Jason, I was keeping an eye on them!" I tried to whisper shout. The kids were already close enough to see their faces. I recognized them from their files.

“Why are we doing this, again?” The tallest, a boy with messy beach blonde hair, slouched. His eyelids drooped in exhaustion, and his walk was a bit off.

"I told you, so we can figure out the code for the secret stash.” A kid with rich cocoa-colored skin said, rolling his eyes. He was Ari. The silver-tongued one.

“Of what?” The blonde-haired kid asked. The one I recognized as Mena– or whatever Hermes said her name was– groaned in frustration.

“Keaton, we have to get to the secret stash to have dirt so we can blackmail that stupid guard, Richardson.” Keaton, the tall kid, seemed a little confused still, so Mera braced his shoulder. He seemed to focus a little more at her touch. “We can explain more when we’re there. ‘Kay?”

“Yeah.” Keaton huffed.

“Now," I said, and on cue, we streamed into the hall, running into their gang. I saw a flicker of fear in Ari’s eyes. He caught his breath. Mena narrowed her eyes.

“Who are you?” Mena asked.

“Nobody in particular. Who are you?" I replied, carefully thinking over my response. Ari exhaled.

“Oh, nobody, really. I’m sure you wouldn’t mind leaving us and going back to your cells– would you?" I had to bite my tongue. He wasn’t as powerful as Piper, because he wasn’t aware of the power, but I almost had the impulse to turn and leave.

“Um, how about no thanks?” Jason said,  stepping forward. Percy still stood in the back, as if he were calculating them carefully. Ari looked taken aback, pretty much the exact face you’d get from someone who wasn’t used to people saying no to him. Piper had been the same way.

“Well…” He didn’t have a different plan, I could tell.

“Who are you?” Mena insisted. " I had a question. Answer.” Her gray eyes stormed… Athena, no doubt.

“Oh, right. My name is Leo." I stuck out my hand. “Nice to meet you…” She shook it begrudgingly. I saw Keaton flinch, he was squinting at us.

"I haven’t seen you around,” Ari commented. Percy’s eyes flickered to Jason, and then to me.

“We’ve been here a while. Maybe a month or so.” Mena didn’t look pleased with that response.

“Fine. Who are the rest of them?”

“Oh, Jason, say hi.”

“Hi.” He said quietly.

“Percy.” Percy shook Mena’s hand. “Percy Jackson.” Mena let go.

“Aren’t you that kid who fell off the St. Louis Arch?” Ari said, actual curiosity lighting up his eyes.

“Yeah… I was hoping you wouldn’t mention that.” Percy scratched his neck.

“We’ll be on our way, then.” Mena pushed.

“Wait!" I couldn’t help saying, and all eyes turned to me. “What are you doing out here? And... what are your names?” Mena shook her head.

Mena glared at me. “I am Mera.” Oops. Got her name wrong, then... “He’s Keaton. And they’re Ari.”

Percy nodded slowly his arms crossed and his finger tapping against his bicep. “But... what are you doing out here?” He repeated.

"I can’t tell you that.” Mena looked pissed.

“Why not, by curiosity?”

“You wouldn’t understand.” Mena looked like she wanted to shut off now.

Ari sidled up to me. "It’s about this guard, Richardson. He just… he’s horrible. But he’s only horrible to us. You’ll meet him." I had a sinking feeling in my stomach.

“Oh… no.” Percy managed.

“How old are you guys, do you mind telling?" I careened my head towards Keaton, who looked like he was older than the rest.

“Why do you want to know?”

“Oh, it’s like, it’s just... I don’t know? There was this thing...”

Mera scrunched her eyebrows together. “Tell them,” she said, finally.

“13.” Keaton said boredly.

“12…” Mera looked suspicious.

“11.” Ari said begrudgingly.

“Ah," I gulped. "I see.” Keaton was in trouble. “Well, okay, bye.”

“Goodnight.” Mera huffed, and dragged them further into the hall. “Those guys are weird." I heard her hiss.

"I kinda liked them.” Said Ari.

“Yeah,” said Keaton.

"I don’t trust them.”

"I think I do.”

“Yeah,”

“Keaton, say something more than ‘yeah’. We’re having an actual conversation.” Scolded Ari. Keaton whimpered, but Mera rubbed his arm.

"I guess…”

“Guys, let’s go back to the cell.” Jason urged.

“Okay." I took a breath. “Yeah. Okay. Let’s.”

We trudged back to our cell.

“How would you say that went? Good? Bad?” Percy asked me.

“For a first impression, so-so.” Jason was silent.

“Richardson. They said something about a guard called Richardson.”

“He has to be a monster.”

“No doubt.” Percy turned to Jason. “Have any input?”

“Well,” Jason started. “They have no idea they’re demigods. Ari isn’t aware of his power– he probably thinks he’s just good at convincing people. And Keaton? Hephaestus. Mera… I’m thinking Athena. Just–I don’t understand. Why here of all places? Why would they send them to a place like this? This is further upstate than New York City.” 

Percy nodded in agreement.

"I recognized her. Mera. I don’t know from where…”

"I think they were sent out here because of Richardson." I decided to mention, seeing as it was plausible. Jason looked at me.

“Hmm.” He seemed to wander off.

“Who is Richardson?” Percy inquired.

“One sec–I think I pocketed a brochure on my way over." I stuck my hand into my belt and closed it around the flyer. “Here." I read slowly. " It says Richardson is the Head of Peanut Butter.” Jason grabbed it from my hand.

“No, it says he’s the head of the Penitentiary.” Jason corrected.

"If Richardson is head of this place– that explains a lot. Why there are so many monsters here– why the demigods are here.” Percy jumped a little in his seat.

“Wait– guys, do you think any of them are aware?" I asked, about to fall off my chair.

“What do you mean?” Percy was almost jumping up and down.

“Well– what if one of them is actually aware that they’re a demigod, and they were trying to survive. Like, they can see through the mist and so they try to protect themselves– but they have no idea about Camp Half-Blood or Camp Jupiter." I tried. Jason’s eyes lit up.

“It’s so much safer if they don’t know about it at all. If we find out one of them is aware we need to get them out like 1000x faster.” Percy pointed out. I sighed.

“Yeah, but like–” Percy gasped.

"I just thought of where I know that girl from. Mera.”

“What?”

“She was part of the Hunters of Artemis.”

“Um… then why is she here?” Jason wasn’t buying it.

"I don’t know. She looks so… young…”

“She would be immortal," I added. Percy nodded, but he seemed off.

“No, like younger than when I met her before. Like she– I don’t know. When I met her, she was at least fifteen.” Now I was confused.

“Another dead end?" I suggested.

"I suppose. Let’s go to bed.” Percy sighed and went to his bed, while I climbed to the top bunk, above Jason. “‘Night.”

“‘Night.”

 I tried to sleep, despite what I could feel coming for us. Something was ahead. I just couldn’t place what was wrong...

[takaraphoenix]

“I bet it’s a boy.” - “I bet it’s a turtle.” - Nicercy

Nico was one of the biggest donors of the marine sanctuary slash aquarium. He was a filthy-rich lawyer and he had always loved turtles, so he decided to donate some of his money to keep the turtles safe around here. That, of course, meant he was a guest of honor at the regular big galas.

“You know. It’s befitting that you look like a penguin”, noted his date for the night.

“Shut up, Will”, grumbled Nico with a glare, elbowing his best friend.

The two had been inseparable since college – Will studying to become a doctor, Nico studying to become a lawyer. Will had been Nico’s first gay friend and had helped the back then closeted boy a lot. They were like brothers by now, had gone through thick and thin together.

“So, how are Botticelli and Titian doing?”, asked Will.

Two turtles Nico had kind of adopted, sponsored really. Without his donation, the sanctuary would not have been able to take them in and take care of them. As thanks, Nico had gotten to name them.

“Doing fine”, grinned Nico and ducked his head. “I visited them just earlier this week.”

“You and your ridiculous obsession with turtles”, chuckled Will fondly.

“I learned English with the Ninja Turtles”, shrugged Nico with a frown. “They were named after famous Italians, Will. There was nothing not to love about them. Turtles are awesome.”

“One day I will tell Percy that you made little masks for Titian and Botticelli”, warned Will.

Nico’s eyes widened and his ears turned red. Percy was the cutest marine biologist in existence and he worked at the sanctuary. A doctor too, tending to the animals when they were hurt. And Will was absolutely not allowed to ruin Nico’s suave reputation by revealing that Botticelli the green turtle and Titian the yellow turtle were kind of Nico’s TMNT OCs.

“Why do you hate me, Will?”, asked Nico miserably, shaking his head.

Will laughed as the two of them made their way toward their seats when Nico spotted the object of his affection. Percy Jackson. He was wearing a dark-blue button-down shirt and dress-pants but, as always, he had his black leather-jacket on him. He always wore that thing, even on the hottest summer days. Nico frowned though, because the jacket was laying on the ground. It must have slipped off the backrest of Percy’s chair. It was too hot and uncomfortable to wear the jacket in here. Motioning for Will to go ahead, Nico picked up the black leather-jacket with a smile. He blinked curiously as he felt the material for a moment. He had never felt this kind of leather before.

“Excuse me, Percy”, started Nico, resting a hand on Percy’s shoulder.

Something strange happened when Percy turned around to look at him. First, with a bright smile, but then the smile immediately got replaced by a look of horror and shock, staring first at the jacket and then at Nico, like Nico had just… betrayed his trust and killed his puppy or something. Frowning confused by that reaction, Nico placed the jacket back on the backrest.

“It must have fallen off”, offered Nico with a smile. “Wouldn’t want it to get dirty, I know how much you love this jacket. And I also wanted to… say hello. Hello.”

Instead of the usual banter or anything, Percy just stared at Nico in utter confusion. When Nico didn’t get a reaction for a while, he just cleared his throat and bid his goodbye.

/break\

“Percy. Percy, you alright?”, asked Piper concerned when her roommate came home.

Today had been some gala that she had managed to worm her way out of – she hated playing fancy dress-up. Percy however, he had gone in hopes of seeing his crush in a well-cut suit. For the past months, Percy had had a huge crush on one of the sanctuary’s biggest donors. Nico di Angelo. He regularly came to visit the sanctuary too and Percy would just stare heart-eyed at the way Nico talked to the turtles. It was endearing and ridiculous and cute. But also a little pathetic, because Piper had warned him not to fall in love with a human. Yet here he was…

“Someone took my skin”, whispered Percy, biting his lips.

“No!”, exclaimed Piper wide-eyed, jumping off the couch in panic, just to freeze. “Wait. But… You’re wearing it, Percy. What… happened? What’s going on?”

“Nico”, started Percy, taking a shaky breath. “He had it. He took it. A… And then he smiled at me and gave it back. Because it fell on the floor. H… He picked it up and instead of keeping it, he gave it back to me, with a smile… and… and…”

“Huh”, grunted Piper stunned, collapsing back onto the couch. “Ice-cream and alcohol?”

“I get the ice, you get the booze”, nodded Percy absentmindedly, swallowing hard.

Piper took a deep, relieved breath. “Honestly, if you lost your skin while under my care, King Poseidon would most likely skin me alive. You can’t do that to me.”

“Dad would never skin you alive!”, called Percy back with a huff. “You’re one of his best generals.”

Piper shook her head and took a deep breath. She might be, but if the prince of the ocean lost his selkie-skin to some human and didn’t return to Atlantis, that’d be her end too…

/break\

“You gave it back.”

Nico startled. He thought he was alone, watching the turtles. Botticelli and Titian were being their usual adorable selves again and Nico loved watching them. It helped him relax after a long case. At this time of day under the week, he usually had the turtles to himself, only a handful of families being close by and Nico didn’t mind sharing the turles’ attention with a couple eager kids. Turning some, he faced not a child but Percy. Percy, wearing his perfectly cut leather-jacket over his Los Angeles Marine Sanctuary shirt. The young doctor looked absolutely in awe as he stared at Nico.

“I’m sorry?”, asked Nico confused.

“Walk with me?”, offered Percy with the tiniest smile.

There was nothing Nico would ever deny Percy – and spending alone time on a potentially romantic sunset walk on the beach, just the two of them? Nico would have to be a fool to say no to that. Nodding, he followed Percy out of the sanctuary and toward the beach. For a short while did they just walk calmly side by side. Percy’s eyes were on the ocean with the same longing they always held when he looked at the vast blueness. Nico’s eyes were on Percy, as they always were when Percy was close by. He just looked so beautiful and serene.

“You gave it back”, whispered Percy as the sun was slowly setting.

“What do you mean?”, asked Nico. “You said that before too, but… What?”

“My… skin”, replied Percy, shrugging off his jacket and folding it over his arm.

“Your jacket?”, asked Nico for clarification, more confused than ever.

“My skin”, corrected Percy softly, slowly stepping toward the ocean. “You picked it up and… and you gave it back. Humans are… selfish. That’s what I was told growing up. Humans are greedy, dangerous and selfish. And when a human takes your skin, they will keep it.”

“Okay. Mildly freaking out by the way you talk about humans like you’re not one and also the whole skin-thing, equally… disturbing, Percy”, offered Nico, voice pitching a little.

“Have you ever heard of… selkies?”, asked Percy slowly, stepping more into the water.

“Uhm. The seal-women?”, grunted Nico confused. “They… they’re a fairy tale. Seals who turn into humans and when a man steals her… her skin… the woman would have to marry him?”

“Something like that”, shrugged Percy and tilted his head, a small smile on his lips. “When someone takes our skin, we can’t return home to the sea. We can’t return to our true form. And men… tended to use that for the one they want. But selkies don’t necessarily have to be female. And we don’t just turn into seals. We’re also called… merpeople, in many cultures.”

“…We…?”, echoed Nico, swallowing hard.

“Don’t freak out”, requested Percy with a smile as he let himself fall backward into the water.

Nico couldn’t help but step up, anxious against better judgment. Percy stayed under water for long. Too long. Nico was growing scared. But then he resurfaced and jumped Nico, pinning him to the wet ground. The water was shallow. Propped up on his elbows, Nico could still keep his face above water. The real shocker however was Percy. Percy whose lower half was no longer human legs. Instead a tail. A… seal-tail, flapping in the water. Percy was smiling brightly at him.

“I never really introduced myself”, hummed Percy. “I’m Prince Perseus, son of King Poseidon, leader to the selkies and ruler of the ocean. I’m… I came here to learn about humans. I didn’t want to believe that all humans are bad. It couldn’t be true. And… And then I met you and you’re… sweet. But when you picked up my skin and just gave it back to me… You’re something else, Nico di Angelo. And I… I like you. I liked you for a while now. But when you gave me back my skin…”

Slowly, Percy leaned down, making eye-contact with Nico. Nervously, Nico tilted his head and closed his eyes, wrapping his arms around Percy’s waist as the selkie kissed him.

“I just kissed a merman”, whispered Nico in awe, cupping Percy’s face.

“If you want to, you could… date a merman”, offered Percy with a cheeky grin.

/3 Weeks Later\

“You’ve been spending even more time at the sanctuary than usual”, pointed Reyna out.

Nico rolled his eyes and blushed. He had not yet told anyone about dating Percy, because they didn’t want the attention. But now Will and Nico’s two oldest friends – Jason and Reyna, friends since high school – were teaming up on him. Jason threw popcorn at him.

“I bet it’s a boy”, smirked Will knowingly.

“I bet it’s a turtle”, countered Jason with a shrug. “Our little weirdo is spending all his time with… uhm… Picasso and Pollock all the time anyway. What’s new.”

“Botticelli and Titian”, corrected Reyna. “And will you two shut up so I can enjoy the movie?”

If only they knew that it was actually… a seal. A seal-merman. Well, technically, Will was on point too, because it was a boy. The boy of his dreams. Who was a merman. And Nico’s boyfriend. He grinned, ridiculously pleased, as he got more comfortable between Reyna and Jason.

~*~ The End ~*~

Read this here on FFNet & here on AO3

[jflashandclash]

Traitors of Olympus IV: Fall of the Sun

Warning: Child abuse themes. Graphic depictions of violence.

 Thirty-Six: Maari

Things are NOT Fun and Fancy Free

             Pain stung her cheek.

           Merry found herself staring out the window. The spotted blackness outside wasn’t what she saw.

           For a split second, Merry was in her room back in Virginia, nine-years-old, with Fairy Odd Parents and Teen Titans posters on the wall. The weekend had been exciting. Scary, but exciting—Merry and her mother had gone out to purchase her first trainer bra. Without thinking, when Merry went to her father’s house for the week, she’d tossed it into the laundry hamper.

           Her father had hit her before, but she had always told herself that she deserved it, because she had acted out.

           That was the first time he’d beaten her.

           He’d stumbled into her room, drunk, shoving the bra into her face. “What the fuck is this?”

           She stepped backwards, already shaking in anticipation of the strike. “A—a—a trainer bra, Appa. I—I’m sorry. I promise I’ll wash it on my own—”

           “Lingerie. Already with the lingerie.”

           Merry didn’t understand. The bra and underwear set had ducklings on it. She and Am’ma thought it was cute.

           He slapped her across the face with a bottle of Kingfisher.

           The reek of beer from the bottle and his breath was overwhelming.

           When the pain spread across her jaw, she said nothing. She learned that protest could earn a second slap.

           But, when she felt her lip bust open under the third strike, she covered her head. The bottle switched to a fist as he screamed, “Whore! Just like your mother! Whore like your mother!”

           She cried all she could remember how to say, “Mannikkavum! Baba, Nil! Ennai taniyaka vitu! En?! [1]

           But he was too drunk and too far gone to hear Merry or to even think that he was calling his nine-year-old daughter a whore for something she couldn’t control.

           That was the first time Merry had identified madness and mania, the first time she’d learned how to lie so cheerfully. That was when she vowed never to do that to another, never to make them feel like that, never to hurt someone physically.

           But she was going to do much worse than that to Hiro.

           Merry embraced the mania, her panic, her fear, her delirium.

           A tugging sensation hit her gut. Before she let it overtake her, Merry focused her thoughts.

           Stick to the plan. Remember the steps. Still trying things the easy-peasy way. Keep Hiro calm. One last try.

           Merry looked down from the window, away from the smattering of store lights, back to Hiro. He still held the pistol, scowling at her. He looked tense, ready to defend himself if she struck back.

           She clucked her tongue, feeling blood dribble from a busted lip. Her voice shook. “That was unnecessary, Hiro. We’re here to talk. Aunti Merry wants to be your friend. I want to help you—“

           Hiro cocked his head to one side. A thought struck him, and his eyes widened with glee. Although her lip-reading was definitely on the rusty to nonexistent side of her skill set, she thought he mouthed, “Pacifist,” while spelling something out with his other hand. Then, “won’t fight back.”

           With his empty hand, he slapped her, almost experimentally.

           The sensation of panic welled in Merry’s stomach, rising to her chest, twisting her gut. She may have been a full foot taller than Hiro, but she suddenly felt very small.

           Hiro giggled in curious delight. A toy. A toy that doesn’t hit back.

           He slapped her again.

           And again.

           Her mouth tasted like iron.

           Easy-peasy way had failed.

           And Merry thought what she’d want to say every time to her father, Enough.

           She reached out, gently, and touched Hiro’s temple. She had never done this before, so needed the proximity to assure it would work. As Merry touched him, she exhaled, feeling the horrific tugging sensation in her gut transfer, feeling the years of panic, paranoia, mania, and terror drain out of her fingertips.

           For a moment, nothing seemed to change. Hiro took a step backwards from her, swatting her hand away.

           She gave him a sad smile, glancing up at the ceiling, then back down to him.

           Hiro stumbled another step backwards, almost knocking over his altar. His breathing accelerated. His eyes dilated.

           “A group of pirates once rescued Dionysus in disguise from an island and offered to take him home. However, all but one secretly agreed they should sell him as a slave,” Merry said. Her voice had stopped shaking. Instead, her tone felt slow, almost slurred. Her whole body felt warm, despite the cold and her lack of clothing. “Do you know what the oars turned into for those meanie pirates?”

           Hiro twitched violently. He swatted himself, like he felt a bug bite. There were no bugs. His eyes wildly searched around the rafters, like he sensed something was up there.

           The whirl of cars and noises of the city warped. They raised pitch and seemed to accelerate into a consistent sibilation.

           His eyes darted suspiciously to her, but he aimed the gun upward.

           From his reactions, Merry could tell he’d completely forgotten about baby Jackson.

           “Snakes,” she said. “They turned into snakes. Tufted Ears told me that you don’t like snakes very much.”

           The sounds solidified into a chorus of hissing.

           Snakes dangled from the rafters like streams for a party. Colorful ones, with red, black, and yellow stripes. Brilliant yellow vipers with prongs jutting out above either eye. Some were brown, with diamond patterns down their backs and a single horn protruding from the ends of their faces. Merry had never seen them before, so didn’t have more to work off of than Axel’s descriptions. But that didn’t matter. Her mind wasn’t doing most of the work to create the madness.

           Hiro’s was.

           He screamed, his voice coming out hoarse, like a record player forced to play for the first time in years.

           The twelve-year-old dropped the gun.

           Merry winced, waiting for the revolver to fire. Instead, it clattered onto the floor, harmless other than creating a cacophony with Hiro’s shriek. It was loud enough to make baby Jackson cry.

           At least Hiro put the safety lock on before he beat someone with his gun.

           He scrambled backwards, smashing into the mirror. The glass shattered, exploding all over his back. As he glanced back at what he hit, the mirror shards morphed to thin-legged black spiders with red blotches, fuzzy, massive, fat ones, furry flies with stingers the size of their bodies, and long, creeping scorpions.

           Violently, Hiro swatted at his back, his fingers returning bloody from their “stings.” Really, from the glass.

           Merry’s breath was ragged. Step three: corral Hiro to a corner of the room. Use his own fears, paranoia, and terror to make him create one of his fancy talisman bubbles. Trap him with his own mind.

           Merry felt the tug in her stomach increase. Her body tingled like it was on fire. The madness was flaring and she struggled to restrain a nauseating sense of euphoria. She understood now—why her real father, her biological father, always laughed when he retold the tales of how he punished people.

           Hiro tore off his dart suspenders and shoulder holster, ripping his burgundy shirt away to stomp on it. The spiders and scorpions crunched with the same tune of glass.

           By now, baby Jackson was sobbing and squealing too.

           “Hiro, little honey cakes, you can be safe if you just go in that corner,” Merry said. She took a careful step towards him, her body feeling light and wobbly. “It’s like that lava game. All you have to do is step in that corner.”

           She tried to clear a small segment of his mind, to lull him there, but the hiss of the snakes grew louder. A rattler dropped from the ceiling and fell onto Hiro’s arm.

           He sobbed and slapped the viper off, retreating beyond his tumbled altar table, closer to the outer wall.

           Merry couldn’t sort through it. She couldn’t understand Hiro’s mind, only see his madness.

           Vital addendum to step three: don’t lose control.

           Merry was quickly losing control of the situation.

           Rapid creation of step four: catch this little, crazy shit and sit on him until the cops—that her most Epic of Bystanders must have called--showed up. Then figure out how to explain how Merry was the victim, when she was mostly undressed, crushing a sobbing, apparently helpless, crazed twelve-year-old.

           Merry took another step closer to Hiro, reaching towards him. “Hey, Hiro honey—”

           Hiro saw something else above her. His screaming abruptly halted, despite another snake dropping down to rest across his shoulders. His jaw dropped open.

           Merry didn’t dare look up at the rafters to see what scared him so much, what horror his mind had manufactured. She needed him to look at her. She needed him to focus. She needed to focus, so she didn’t get lost in his madness, so she didn’t begin to believe these creepy crawlies were real, so she could gain back control or at least give him a bear hug that he couldn’t escape.

           But Hiro’s eyes had gone wide and blank. He took two more absent steps backwards, straight towards the drafty breeze from the broken window.

           Then it was Merry’s turn to scream.

           As Hiro slipped on the shattered, stained glass—

           --and she reached to catch him—

           And missed.  

           The hissing disappeared.

           Spiders and scorpions flickered back into glass shards.

           The blare of a cop siren whirred outside as the city panicked in the sudden blackness. Baby Jackson shrieked and screamed.

           Merry’s limbs no longer felt on fire. She felt cold and numb.

           Trying to keep her breathing even, Merry glanced around the room. The communication mirror was shattered, so she couldn’t tell Percy his little sister was safe. If she had to guess, the others wouldn’t have time to pick up a phone call from her or check a text, Unit Poseidon, cleared for action.

           Weakness and queasiness sapped the hum out of her. With the industrial din of the city, she did the one thing that she felt like she shouldn’t: she stumbled to the window to look down.

           In the glow of the headlights and flickered-on street lamps, she could see Hiro’s broken body mangled around one of the pinnacles a dozen feet down.

           He made sputtering, horrifying noises.

           Merry took a step backwards.

           The whole time she robotically dressed, picked up the sobbing Jackson, used a mix of Mist-work, lying, and Dionysus-play to direct the EMTs and cops that Sam Datta called up to save Hiro’s life, she wondered how else that could have ended.

           The thought stole the song from her until she was in Sam Datta’s taxi van, and he gently put a hand over hers—still gripping a crying baby Jackson—and said, “Hey. I don’t know what it was, but you did what you had to do to save this baby.” He swallowed and continued, “Let’s get her home safely, and let’s get you back to camp.”

           Merry didn’t realize she was crying until she blinked away tears. Her cheek burned and felt four times larger than it should have. She probably looked half-chipmunk. “Yea,” she croaked, clicking the music on her parka on. “We have another party we need to crash.”

 Written to/inspired by Arai Tasuku’s Alice (Full EP) with the majority coming from Speak Roughly To your Little Boy and Jackal, Don’t Come Near Me; I am a Monster.

 Thank you for reading! Don’t worry. Merry gets a much better resolution in the epilogue. I would not leave out bodacious girl hanging. <3

[1] I’m sorry! Wait—stop! Leave me alone! Why?!

[fanders-fic-awards]

Of Cookies, Owl City, and Presents (Summer Fic Comp 18)

Summary: it’s a fluffy lil scene at 3 am. There’s Owl City, cookies, and flour. Lots of flour. No, Owl City did not pay me to write this. I just really like Owl City. THEN I realized that I didn’t have enough words, so we now have more than that.

Warnings: none

Word count: 1391

Ballot

When Logan entered the kitchen of his apartment, sleepy-eyed and stumbling a little, he expected it to be empty. The lights would be off, the counters empty of food, his boyfriend still sleeping. After all, it was 3:14 am. Logan just wanted a gosh darn glass of ice cold water.

He was not expecting to see a mess of flour covering every possible surface—as well as some of the impossible ones—with Patton standing in the middle of all the chaos, confused and blinking.

Not nearly as confused as Logan, however.

“What are you doing, destroying the kitchen this early in the morning?” Logan asked, making his partner jump, turning to face him. A grin formed on Patton’s face, filled with joy and a little something else that made Logan feel apprehensive.

“Can you help me?” Patton pleaded. “It’s Virgil’s birthday tomorrow, or, well, today, actually, and I wanted to make cookies!”

Logan crossed the room to kiss his boyfriend. “You’re so lucky I love you.”

“Aww, that’s so sweet, Lo!” Patton gazed into his eyes softly. “You know who I love?”

“Who?”

“Virgil.”

“I’m breaking up with you,” Logan deadpanned. Roman would have been proud of the dramaticness. The sarcasm. “Betrayed, by my own boyfriend.”

Patton gasped. “Nooooooo honeybee I’m sorryyyy!” He made the special Patton Puppy Dog Eyes of Doom, as coined by Roman (“those things can kill, Logan! He has too much power!”).

“Fine, you’re re-boyfriended.”

“YAY!” Patton giggled, falling into his arms, and everything was worth it.

“Now,” said Logan when they finally separated, “shall we begin?”

And that’s how Logan found himself making chocolate chip cinnamon cookies (because Virgil had the biggest sweet tooth since Patton) for one of his best friends with his boyfriend at 3 am on a random Tuesday morning.

Owl City was playing from Patton’s phone, and said boy was singing along to Saltwater Room. Logan was content to watch his boyfriend fondly as he cracked eggs and opened a package of chocolate chips.

“I opened my eyes, last night, and saw you in the low light walking down by the bay, on the shore, staring up at the stars that aren’t there anymore,” Patton sang softly, stirring together the cookie dough. Logan suddenly saw the other boy’s head tilt, and his grin turned mischievous.

“What–” he started, but Patton had already taken his hands and pulled him into a dance.

“C’mon, Lo!” Patton giggled and twirled him. “Dance with me!”

If Logan had wanted to protest, he couldn’t have. Patton had him now. There was no escape from the jaws of love and hugs and dances.

Truly a terrifying fate indeed.

Logan loved it.

He obliged, swaying to the music. He twirled Patton, and he squealed and laughed in delight. Patton was full of energy, shooting around like an out-of-control rocket ship, and Logan was just along for the ride. He wouldn’t have it any other way.

The song changed to When Can I See You Again, and the dancing turned more energetic, alive.

“Don’t close your eyes cause your future’s ready to shine, it’s just a matter of time until we learn how to fly!” they sang together. Normally Logan was cautious about singing around others, but this was Patton. He’d seen him at worse, and better, times. Besides, it was 3 am. Who was going to judge him?

Twirling, shrieking, laughing joy. They danced around the kitchen, uncaring of the ingredients knocked off the counter in the process. Logan gazed into Patton’s eyes, which were in the position one’s eyes make when smiling. Was there a word for that? There should be. He vaguely remembered making a mental note to look up if there was. Words could not have described the happiness that filled the room that early morning Tuesday. It was only Logan and Patton and cookies and Owl City.

“Welcome to the rhythm of the ni-ight, there’s something in the air you can’t deny-y-yy!”

Twirl. Dip. Giggles. A forehead kiss. Small details that communicated complete and total love.

“It’s been fun but now I’ve got to go Life is way too short to take it slow But before I go and hit the road I gotta know, ‘til then, When can we do this again?”

They carried on, baking long forgotten. All Logan was aware of was his boyfriend’s laughter, his grin, his flushed cheeks. He pulled him into his arms, pressing a soft kiss to the tip of his nose and then his lips.

Patton laughed softly. “Lo!”

His soft voice was adorable, and Logan thought he might melt.

The song carried on into another, but they didn’t pay attention. If it had turned into a live broadcast of their lives they would have kept dancing the same way, so that’s what they did. Logan only noticed when something slightly unfamiliar came on.

“Is this… Is this Dear Evan Hansen? But Owl City?”

Patton looked sheepish. “Roman added it to my phone, and the cover of Waving through a Window is too beautiful!”

“Like you.”

“Aww, you sap!”

They only barely managed to get the cookies out of the oven on time to prevent a kitchen fire. That would not have been a responsible thing to do. It would have been very sad, actually.

———

The next day, Virgil and Roman let themselves into the apartment to find Logan and Patton passed out on the ground, Silhouette by Owl City playing on repeat from a low-battery phone, a sheet of cookies on the cooling rack, and the entire room covered in flour.

“Do I want to know what just happened?” Virgil said to the almost-silent room.

On the floor, the pair stirred. They stood up slowly, rubbing sleep from their eyes.

“Happy birthday, Virgil!” Patton exclaimed, looking at Roman.

“Your glasses are over there…” the latter said, wondering how Patton could have confused them. Then again, his vision was terrible. Like, Percy-Jackson-movie terrible. Blind as anyone who thought The Last Jedi was worth watching.

Virgil had not been expecting this to be how his birthday started, but he wasn’t complaining.

The four went in the other room, Patton bringing the cookies, Logan bearing gifts.

Roman grabbed a cookie and munched on it. “So,” he said between bites. “Wanna open your presents, babe? Not that my very presence isn’t a gift, but I’m curious now.”

Logan rolled his eyes, which really seemed Virgil’s job. Rude.

“Uhh, sure?” Virgil reached for his card and opened it. It was handmade (by Patton, obviously—you could tell instantly), and had a little drawing of the four of them and a heart. It was exceedingly, disgustingly, absolutely adorable.

Virgil loved it.

“Aww, thanks Pat.” Patton beamed.

When Virgil opened the card, a piece of paper fell out. He went to pick it up, and his eyes widened.

“No effing way…”

“Language, kiddo!”

Virgil waved around the paper. “Is this—I—what?!”

“Tickets to see the Night Vale live show? Yes. Yes it is.” Logan adjusted his glasses. “It occurs in October, so it’s a short while away, but consider it a birthday present in advance from us.”

Virgil was not one for tackling his friends in hugs. He preferred to hug people safely, without the danger of smacking your head or your friend’s on a magically appearing out of nowhere corner of the bed and having a fountain of blood spout out and having to go to the hospital.

This was a rare exception.

He flung his arms around Patton and Logan in shock and gratitude. Patton hugged back eagerly, while Logan patted him on the back, semi awkwardly.

“Thank you thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome.”

The rest of the present was a gift card for audiobooks, a Dark Owl Records shirt, and a “free hugs” coupon (expires never, unlimited uses, full value always).

Virgil loved his friends.

So much.

“Thank you so, so much for all of this,” he said. “You really didn’t have to—“

“Oh, we wanted to, my small little churro burrito child.” Patton was truly terrifying when complimenting people.

“I… what?”

“Smile and nod, Virge,” Logan said wisely. Virgil decided to obey his advice. Logan knew his boyfriend.

“And now,” declared Roman, “how about a complete play through of Little Big Planet 3? We never did get Swoop last time.”

Well, no one was going to turn that down.

nottodaylogic

[sassysweetstories]

Rivalry 2//Shawn Mendes Series

Summary: You are a demigod that’s been brought to Camp-Half Blood in hopes to find yourself and learn more about your powers. In fear of being bullied, much like before, you intend to stay behind closed doors until there in no choice but to come out about who’s child you truly belong to.

Ship: Shawn Mendes x Fem!Reader

Warnings: angst, fighting, swearing, fluff, blood, etc.

Tagged: @hard-satin @cynicallystiles @archer-whovian-violinist 

Notes: none of these gifs are mine. i saw another fic about demigods and i wanted to try and make it a series. the thoughts been festering in my mind forever now. i hope you like it. (also, none of the demigods and gods are really related. because of the parents fucking around, it’s not legitimate in this series. I ALSO RECOMMEND YOU TO LISTEN TO THE PERCY JACKSON SOUNDTRACK WHILE READING THIS. IT’S SO COOL)

Your P.O.V

After showering in the girls lounge, I exchange brief goodbyes with Annabeth before heading back to my house. It’s a great surprise to me that nobodies asked who I belong to, more relieved than surprised. I sling my bag over my shoulder while I rest my free hand on my sword, stumbling slightly because of the awkward weight exchange. I’m halfway to my house before a voice calls out from behind me. “Hey (Y/n)! Wait up!” Turning over my shoulder to see whom the voice belonged to, I can’t help but smile when I realize it’s Shawn. Even at this time of night, his eyes glint and shimmer under the starlight. Because of his gargantuan height, it doesn’t take long for him to catch up to me. “Mine if I walk you back to your house? I don’t want you to get lost or anything.”  

His excuse seems obvious but I oblige. “Of course. I could always use the company.” Almost immediately, silence falls between us. I don’t mind it but after a minute I find myself biting my lip with worry. “So uh-” I say, not sure what to follow with it. “-where do you house since you’re the son of one of the big three and all that jazz?” I see his chest fall, almost relieved that he didn’t have to start the conversation before answering, “Well Percy and I are not far from one another but far enough for privacy. He’s more towards the water but my house is um-” He pauses before smiling. “-it would be better if I just showed you.” Before I knew it, he laces his fingers with mine and a spark washes across my skin before dispersing. I try to catch up with his speed but he’s too excited to even register that I’m barely trailing behind. 

Upon arriving, his house is nothing but beautiful. Bright and warm and huge. He lets goes of my hand and I feel a sense of loss as he does so. I follow but cannot help but gape in awe. We climb up into the sky, his house more of a tree-cabin, if you will. We climb higher and higher until we cannot climb no more. The view from above is one I have only dreamed of. Without realizing it, I rest my bag on the floor and look out at the world. Camp Half Blood lies below our feet, still a hustle and bustle despite the hour but most of the kids are heading back for curfew. Behind them lies the ocean. It’s huge and long and beautiful. I gape and nearly cry at the image it’s so breathtaking. 

“Wow..” Is all I manage to say. He looks back at me from the railing, smiling from cheek to cheek. “I know right. I’ve always loved the sky and the view from up above. My mom use to always give me shit about going on roller coasters and stuff because it always made me feel like I was touching the sky, touching heaven or something. When I’m up here, nothing can touch me, ya know? It makes me feel closer to my father. I can always channel my powers but when I’m up above this high, I can really feel the energy coursing through my body. It’s amazing.” I watch his eyes light up in excitement as he explains the feeling he gets. I find myself smiling along, standing a few feet away from the railing. 

“Come here.” He beckons for me. I gulp and hesitate, peering over the balcony, my hands shaking in fear. “You alright?” Shawn asks me, genuinely concerned. I take a step back, rubbing my neck awkwardly. “I- uh- I’m not one for heights. I prefer the ground. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a breath-taking view. But if you look down-” I gulp. “Inevitable death. That. That scares me.” He laughs, pushing himself off the railing before taking my hands in his. Every time we touch, a spark runs through my body. It was a feeling I could get use to. “Just look at me, alright. This house is very durable, I promise.” He brings me closer to the edge and I feel my heart rate pick up. A soft hand makes its way onto my jaw and brings me towards a different direction, Shawn’s eyes. “Don’t look at the ground. Look at me, okay? Ha-” He laughs, looking between me and my hands. “-your hands are always so hot. Not like sweaty hot, just really warm.” 

I blush crimson at our facial proximity. He’s so close I’m not sure what to do with myself. “I’m sorry.” The words fumble out of my mouth without a filter. He shakes his head laughing. “No, no, no. It’s okay. It’s a good warm. C-Can I show you something?” Intrigued, I nod and wait for him to move. All he does is release his hands from mine, rolling his sleaves up a little. “Promise you won’t freak out?” The question is so innocent and quiet, it’s like hearing a little boy speak. He’s nervous I can tell. He thinks I’ll judge him. He is not like his father. He is not like these self-obsessed kids. Shawn is so much more than all of it. “I promise I won’t freak out.” He lets out a heavy breath of air before letting his fingers flutter wildly. Shawn watches my reactions, almost awaiting a negative result. When he doesn’t get one, he continues.

A bright blueish white light forms from his arms, wrapping up and down his wrists and palms before leaving his skin. They seem to thump and beat in time to his heart rate. The light leaves his skin, hovering above before he has complete and full control of it. It’s lightning, pure and simple. A form of energy he’s wielding all on his own. No wonder Luke wants him on his team. I feel Shawn’s eyes on me the whole time, expecting me to run or jump from him I’m sure. But I don’t. In fact, I pull in closer, curious by the energy he is giving off. I hover my hand over it and grin. “Shawn, this is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” When I look back at him, his shy state slowly evaporates. 

He expands his hands, matching my happy state. The lightning trails all around the room and it no longer looks like a cabin. It looks like a constellation of lightning spurs, shimmering right under the ceiling and all over the room. They don’t make the terrifying sound lightning makes when it crashes. It’s like a warm hum, if anything. Nothing that really scares you, just excites. I walk around the room, enthralled by it’s beauty. Running my hand over the bluish white beauty, I giggle when it passes through my skin. It’s an odd feeling, not at all painful. Looking back at Shawn, I find him watching me with a small smile. I’m not running from him. He can finally open up. Maybe- maybe if he can, maybe I can open up to him. 

With a drop of his hands, the lightning leaves us and the room is dark again. Turning over my shoulder, I am face to face with Shawn once more. I’m not sure how I got back here but I’m right where I was if not closer to him. “That was beautiful.” Is all I can say. He gives me a warm smile, one I feel as though I can finally trust. I want to trust him. I want to tell him everything. “Ya know, my father and I are very close. After banishing a few gods to where they truly belong, he came to earth and taught me all about control. He could have left like all of the other gods and goddesses but he didn’t. He taught me to harness my gift and use it for protection and good.” I nod along to his words, enthralled by the way he speaks. 

I want to confess to him because he told me something when he didn’t have to. I want to give him a warm memory to think of me as. Glancing down at my red ring, I can’t help but smile and confess, “I’m a daddies girl. My father was there through my moms pregnancy, and through everything after. Even when-” I pause, running my hand over the outline of the ring. “-even when my mother left us. He was constantly on business trips but he always come back to see me. And one day, he came back with this-” I take off my ring and show it to him with a small smile. “He said, “No matter where I am, or how far the distance, you will always be my little princess.” This ring is a reminder that I am strong, and even if I’m not accepted here, which I was afraid of, he would always accept me.” 

We both look at it for a minute before I slip it back on. The second I do, he takes my hand to get a closer look. “It’s gorgeous.” He says simply, but it means everything to me. For a second we just look at one another, admiring what the other has offered before I realize how late it’s gotten. “Oh, shit. I should probably get going. Don’t wanna lose my head before the battles not even begun, haha.” He laughs at my cinical joke before walking me out. “So, uh. I’ll see you tomorrow then?” I nod, pulling him into a quick hug before running off with a smile. Oh gods, I was for sure not going to sleep tonight. 

I don’t have much of a choice when it came to waking up this morning before the light from outside peered down on me. “Oh for the love of Gods, five more minutes.” I roll out of bed and dress myself in some of my armor before heading out to eat. My friends banter at the table and all sorts of things, I can’t help but laugh as Grover pecks my head as I sit down. “Good morning, lovely.” I exchange an odd glance between Shawn, Percy and Annabeth who all have a comical smile on their faces. “What’s got you so happy? Did you sleep with an Aphrodite girl or something?” He shakes his head, pulling up a chair before explaining. “I’ve got a bet on you, girl, for a hundred drachmas.” 

My jaw falls down to the floor. “What?! A hundred?! For what?!” Grover giddily explained. “For the battle today! Whoever is the last few remaining victors duel to become the champion of camp half blood. Shawn, Percy, Annabeth, and a few others have been victors at least once but the way you were moving yesterday with Annabeth, you’re sure to win today.” I blush at the compliment, glancing up at Shawn who gave me a reassuring smile, one that would make any girl swoon. “Thanks for the support but I don’t want you to get your hopes up if I lose. I don’t have your kind of experience yet-” Suddenly a rude voice interrupted the conversation. “And you never will. Names Clarisse. Daughter of Ares. You might wanna get out of that bet, goat. Cause this little girl ain’t got nothing on me.” 

A girl with long brown hair and piercing heartless dark eyes glares at me and my friends. All except Shawn, whom she practically melts for. “Hey there, Shawn.” He rolls his eyes, barely acknowledging her existence. The interaction makes me smile. “What’s so funny, bitch?!” Clarisse barks at me, which only makes me grin wider. Before looking her right in the eyes, I notice a small crowd starting to form around us as I spoke. I felt Shawn’s eyes shifting from me to her, warily. “Clarisse, was it? Tell me Clarisse, have you ever lost a fight?” She scoffs, shaking her head almost in shock by my question. “Ha! Never! And I don’t intend on losing to a little girl like you.” I push myself from the table and tower over her. 

“Nothing about me is little. But you’re winning streak is about to end. Better start praying to daddy, cause you’re gonna need all the hope you can get to defeat me.” She laughs at my threat but I can tell she’s shaken. “Who do you think you are?” I take a few more steps towards her until our faces are a few inches apart. “I’m the girl that’s going to make your life a living hell.” Clarisse’s face goes ghostly white, gulping as she slips by me, her posy not far behind. Stoned faced, my eyes never leave her as she exits the cafeteria. I take return to my seat and glare at all the people who’ve decided to watch the show. They disperse like wildfire. “That was totally bad ass.” Grover exclaims as Percy and Annabeth nod. I peer over to look up at Shawn and there it was again, this look of admiration or lust, a look I couldn’t quite pinpoint. 

“You sure you wanna fight her? She’s a child of Ares, after-all.” Percy asks with worry in his eyes. But when I look to my other friends for support, they are proud and sure of me, especially Shawn which surprises me greatly. “She’s ready.” He says confidently, eyeing me up and down with a glint in his eyes. The closer I look, the more I think the light is giving me a peek at the potential his lightning has to offer. I feel Annabeth’s gaze shifting between us curiously. “We should prepare for today.” I reluctantly look away from Shawn but I feel his gaze linger as we head over to the arena. The second Clarisse sees us, her eyes shift between Shawn and I and I find myself itching closer to him. She practically stops off like a two year old and it takes everything in me to not laugh. 

“I saw that.” Shawn whispered into my ear, his breath was hot and lot warmer than I anticipated. I feel my cheeks flushing at the realization that I’ve been caught. He giggles and the sound is like heaven to my ears. “Don’t worry about, sweetheart. Clarisse has had a thing for me for as long as I can remember. It’s almost impossible to be in the same vicinity as a woman with her scaring the poor thing. But it seems as though you scare her, in fact, it seems as though you’ve claimed me as your own. She might even leave me alone for once.” I blush seven shades of red as his previous statement, his lips inches from my ear. There’s no denying that he does things to me. I’m just not gonna admit that, well, at least not to him. 

Annabeth and I finish up early but as I walk, my gaze falls on Shawn who’s having trouble with one of the buckles. He looks so handsome all dressed up in armor, there’s no denying that. The sight makes my breath hitch. Sucking it in, I knock on the door and point at his buckle. “Need help?” He blushes before releasing his fumbling hands. They’re fucking massive, twice my size, in fact. His veins trail down his arm ending at his fingers. “Yeah, I always seem to have trouble when it comes to these buckles. They’re too small.” I laugh at his embarrassed state before readjusting them. “You’re fine. You’ve got big hands, after-all.” I’m almost too focused to not notice his eyes on me. “You worried about the battle? Or the one-on-one dueling afterwards?” He asks me. 

When I look up at him to answer, our faces are only inches apart. Automatically I pull my gaze away, half answering while I finish the last of his buckles. “The battle, not so much. I’m with Annabeth, after-all. We’ve got each others backs. A little more nervous to challenger Clerisse but she kinda deserves to be put on her ass. By the way, I don’t own you. I just wanted to rile her up a bit and that seemed just the way to do it.” I notice his smile drop a little but as I’m about to pull my hands away, he wraps his around my wrist. And there it was. A bolt of electricity trailing up and down my spine before dispersing. I shiver at the feeling which is nothing but exhilarating. “That’s a little disappointing. I kinda wanted you to own me.” My whole body feel likes it’s only fire, I pull my hands away blushing and fumbling. “Yeah-uhh- I’ll uh- I’ll see you out on the field- good luck-” 

Fuck, why does he do these things to me. Before I know it, I’ll be a walking flamethrower. I grab a purple ribbon and follow Annabeth out onto the battlefield. The boys aren’t far behind but I notice another boy following Percy and Shawn. Luke. Annabeth and I exchange a knowing look as they make their way over to the blue team. “This time we have three separate teams-” Annabeth explains. “Team Blue, Team Purple and Team Red. Most of Ares kids are on that team. Some teams have allies but don’t trust anyone except me and our friends from the blue team. Shawn, Grover and Percy are our allies. We are aloud to use our abilities to aid us but at the end of the battle, we will be broken down into the top ten to fight it out and see who’s the strongest demigod.” 

I listen intently to her words but smile at Shawn as we walk away from the other teams and make our way over to our base. “You and I will be their secret weapon. We will separate from the group as planned and take them out one by one, right under their noses.” I look at her then shake my head in awe. “Remind me never to piss you off, Annabeth. You are tactical and that’s scary.” She laughs at my comment, nodding to our other teammates in mutual respect before a fog-horn blew above us. “Time for battle.” She says with a grin. We break away from our team-mates and cautiously make our way over to the fighting zone. Ares kids are all joint together in a odd circle, spreading out here and there. 

We crouch low and share a knowing look. Now. She seems to say to me. We pounce out of the bushes and take them down one by one. Our fighting tactic is nothing but smooth, flowing as one. We kick and flip every person who dares to come in our way with minimal wounds to attend to. We hold our ground better than most. I check on a few boys and girls who have fallen and groan on the ground, all of which are easily treatable. We make our way closer to the center where most of the fighting is taking place. I watch as Percy single-handedly takes on two guards, defending himself well for a non-born fighter. Even though he is scared, it’s obvious he is, his fear protects him, keeps him sharp. 

That is until four more guards take their place. Though I have faith in him, the reality of the situation is that he cannot defend himself against six warriors. A voice breaks through and another body jumps in. Luke. His helmet is completely gone, probably thrown on the ground somewhere in the heat of the moment. Beads of sweat trickle down his arms and face, a sight I didn’t care much for. His armor doesn’t fit him at all. It’s too big and bulky, making him look scrawnier than he already is. “I’m comin’, buddy, I’m comin’!” He shouts to Percy as they stand back to back, ready to take on their opponents. 

“You ready to show these boys what real fighting is?” Annabeth asks me with a wicked grin. I nod before following her lead into battle. We jump above the boys and mercilessly slam down on their opponents. The warriors are far too shocked to handle our quick moves. The second they think they have us beat, we one up them before they’re well acquainted with the dirt. We turn over our shoulders to look at Percy and Luke who have their jaws to the ground in shock. “That’s how you kick ass.” Annabeth says with a big smile. I can’t help but copy her expression before it quickly left. More soldiers come out of nowhere and the fight triples. 

Somehow I move away from Annabeth and Percy and I’m left to face two merciless Areas fighters alone. I can take them, I know I can. I dodge all of their attacks as best I can, punching and kicking exactly where it hurts. That was until a third person jumped in, hitting me so hard I smacked into a tree and broke it in half. Groaning, I’m sure I’ve broken a few bones along with some minor internal bleeding. I spit out a red liquid that’s happen to slip from my lips. One of the Ares kids kicks me in the side as I try to get up, only pushing me further to the ground. God, the pain is unbearable. Clutching my stomach, I take sharp deep breaths and attempt to get up again only to be punched back down. 

Use your powers. Do it. No. I can do this without them. I am well acquainted with the dirt at this point. I’m about to go for my third attempt when I look up to see the three Ares boys growling down at me, one’s boot hovering over my face. “Nighty night, princess.” But before he could flatten my face, all three of them end up on the opposite side of the field. A bright light casting down on where they once stood. Glancing up with blurry eyes to see how they got there. A tall mass stood above, his back to me. Lightning cascading all across his body, spurs crash down by the boys feet. They fall, get back up, only to fall again in fear. They cower under the bolts that flash from above. Pushing myself up to lean on the broken tree, I notice that it’s Shawn. 

His breathing, which is usually calm and tame, is nothing but rugged and choppy. I may not be the best at reading people but I could tell he was furious. “Don’t. Touch her.” Shawn threatens. I try to remain conscious, groaning as I attempt to sit up better. The lightning disperses and a crowd begins to grow around us. I am not weak. I think as I push myself up and stand alone. Shawn turns over his shoulder and I expect him to have the same angry face he had before but instead it’s much softer, a look of concern. He takes less than three strides to get to me, resting his hands on my cheeks which are surprisingly cold despite the recent damage they caused. “Are you okay? Are you hurt? Did they hurt you? Are you bleeding-” His rapid fire questions come to a halt when I put my hand on his chest. 

“Shawn, I’m fine. A few bumps and bruises but I’ll be alright.” Maybe more than a few. He gulps nervously, tracing his shaky thumb up and down my cheek. “I thought-” Shawn pauses, his chest rising and falling at an unusual rate. I shake my head and smile. “I’m not going anywhere, alright? I’m a lot stronger than I look.” A loud booming voice catches our attention, drawing not only us away from one another but for the crowd to stop ease-dropping as well. Shawn let’s go of my face and replaces them atop my back. It’s soothing and I try not to flinch in pain when the contact is first admitted. “The top eight will compete one on one are as followed: Shawn, Matthew, Percy, Annabeth, Luke, Grover, Clarisse and (Y/n).” 

Most of the kids groan, sad they couldn’t reach the top ten, well, top eight today. Others cheer for their friends who have been chosen to represent them. Shawn’s eyes move to mine immediately, his face white with fear. “No. No way are you fighting after what just happened.” The rest of our friends make their way over to us, watching the interaction closely. I take a step back from him, happy that he’s concerned but mad at myself. “Shawn, I’ve been running my whole life. In fear of judgment or what might come to get me. I’m not running anymore. I’m gonna go get some meds from Chiron but I am going to fight. I’m sorry but you’re not going to stop me. Even if you are the son of Zeus.” 

I keep my head held high, too afraid to look back and see his facial expression. The kids part for me like the red sea, watching me pass. I will not let them break me. Heading over to the girls washroom, I splash my face with water and take a deep breath through my nose and sigh. What would dad say? Wrapping my hands around the sink railing, I glance down at my ring and smile. “Your powers are not to be feared. You are a phoenix, baby-girl. Born from the ashes, you can do anything. And if anyone says otherwise, know that I will always accept you.” I remember those words like they were etched into my soul. They were sometimes the only thing keeping me going. I take a deep breath and head back outside, smiling at Percy as we walk back to the arena. 

“Shawn’s just trying to look out for you. He just doesn’t want you to get hurt.” Percy says softly, almost wary of what I would do to him if he misspoke. “I’m not mad at Shawn. I get that he wants to look out for me and protect me but I am my own person. My mistakes and my accomplishments are my own. I’ve been running my whole life, Percy. I can’t run anymore. This is my fight to take, not his. And Percy, don’t trust Luke. There’s something off about him. Be careful.” Percy nods, pulling me into a good luck hug before standing by his opponent. Shawn isn’t far from him, jaw-tight in frustration. I send him a kind smile which he admittedly returns before standing across from Clarisse. “You ready to lose, little-girl?” I glare down at her with a dark smile. “You ready to have your tittle ripped from you, princess?” She huffs, taking a few steps back before crouching into a fighting stance. 

All of the opponents are set up against one another. Glancing down the line, I notice Luke fiddling with something in his left hand. His whole body shakes with nerves as his eyes dart from anywhere that isn’t his opponent. Why is he so jittery? Looking over to Annabeth, she notices the small action, too. Something’s very wrong or something very bad is about to happen. All of a sudden, a loud roar irrupts from behind us. Everyone grips their ears as the sound echoes, knocking a few trees over in the process. The sound repeats itself, only getting louder. Whatever it is, it’s big and it’s coming. The kids are running around aimlessly, scattering like rats. I find Chiron’s eyes and they are filled with nothing but fear. Pushing past the kids to get closer to whatever the monster was, another roar breaks out. 

I climb up the hill, I peer down to see a three-headed hound the size of a mansion crushing everything in it’s waking path with fire and it’s paws. Cerberus, the hellhound. How did he get up here? Looking over my shoulder, my eyes fall on Luke who sports a sinister smile. That bastard. He went as far as making a deal with Hades to sabotage the tournaments. “EVERYONE GET TO SHELTER!” I shout to those who cannot fight. In the midst of the disarray, I’ve lost Shawn, Grover, Percy and Annabeth. Time to use your senses. I tell myself. Taking a knee, I rest my hand on the warm dirt and search for my friends. In my vision I see Annabeth and Grover fight to get everyone to safety, not far from Percy and Shawn who attempt to tackle and tame the beast all on their own. 

I run down the hill and head directly into the war-zone, guns a blazin’. Clarisse gawks at me as I run past her and her lackies. “YOU’RE GONNA GET YOURSELF KILLED, YOU IDIOT!” But she doesn’t know what I can do. I run faster towards the chaos, dodging and evading the kids who are determined to run from the beast. Percy uses the water to stop the fires from coming while Shawn attempts to tame with beast with his lightning but that only makes Cerberus more angry. Lightning bolts crash down in spurs while massive tsunami size currents fend off the fire. It’s one hell of a scene that’s for sure. The boys are holding him off well enough, I almost think I don’t even need to get in to stop them. That is until Cerberus takes Shawn by surprise, knocking him down with just his paw. 

Shawn tumbles back, making a few dents in the ground but looks like he has minimal damage. Cuts and bruises shower his face as he attempts to get up. The scene makes my heart break. Percy’s too busy fending off the wildfires to notice Shawn’s position. All of a sudden Cerberus looks directly at the son of Zeus with a wicked grin. He’s going to roast him alive. Wide eyed and scared for him, I gasp. Cerberus breaths out a massive ball of fire. No. I don’t have time to think before I’m running right in the middle of it all. I stand in between Shawn and the ball of fire, more prepared than ever. “(Y/N)!! NO!!!” He screams as I’m engulfed in flames. I cross my arms and scream. “AHHHHHHH!” 

The burning sensation surrounds me and I can barely breathe but I feel more alive than ever. The fire drills into my soul and I feel as though I’m being reborn. My skin doesn’t burn or simmer like it would had I been a normal kid. But I am so much more. It’s an odd feeling, one I’ve been missing for some time. The warmth and power it gives me makes my heart soar, beating and pulsating faster than before. My blood boils and lights up brighter than the lightning Shawn conjures all on his own. I can control this energy, this pulsating burning sensation. It is all mine. As the fire disperses, I let my arms fall and stand up straighter, grinning as the steam radiates off me. A chorus of gasps erupt from behind but I don’t bother to look, too focused on the creature in front of me. 

The energy and color suppress and melt into my bones, charging me even more. Cerberus eyes me with awe but growls at the challenge I’ve laid before him. The air that leaves my nostrils come out like smoke, huffing like a dragon would. I barrel towards him, screaming as he mimics my movements. The dirt spews everywhere as his paws make gargantuan footprints as he moves. Growling, massive slobs of saliva fall from his gaping teeth. I don’t think, letting my body react all on it’s own accord. Jumping into the air, I punch him straight in the nose. He tumbles backward, smacking into a series of trees before shaking it off and barreling forward again. I stand still, looking directly into the beasts eyes. Flicking my fingers out, I let the fire within me out, coursing and burning stronger than ever. 

The embers outstretch his hulking mass, making the three-headed dog look small and limp compared to my fire. I am a living, breathing flame-thrower. Cerberus whimpers and backs up, genuinely intimidated by my abilities. The power coursing through and out of me stretch hundreds of feet above the trees. The heat will never die out, only growing as I feel it pulsating within my blood. Looking up at the shape, I smile. A phoenix, wings that gape and take up twice the size of the three-headed dog. “You are a phoenix, baby-girl. Powerful and stronger than anything.” My fathers words speak to me. I guess he’s with me in more ways than one. 

Looking back at the three-headed creature, he cowers. Taking a few steps forward, I let the flames die down. Gazing deep into his eyes, I show him who I am. How significantly similar we actually are. The fire around me dies out but my skin is still steaming, burning from within. Taking wary steps, I extend my hand to touch it’s middle head. His automatic reaction is to growl but seconds later he relaxes. You know me. I try to tell him with my eyes, sending visions with my bright gaze. Cerberus eases up, sniffing my hand, curiously. I take two more steps, talking quietly. “You won’t hurt me, will you, boy?” His terrifying eyes wash away and are replaced with warm brown ones. He looks more like a puppy now than a hulking hell-hound. 

Resting my hand atop his massive head, I can’t help but laugh in relief. “That’s a good boy. You’re a good boy. Who did this to you?” I ask, scratching his head. He grins, licking my hand excitedly. All of a sudden, the wind above picked up and the sky grew dark. A few feet away, a bright reddish orange light burst from the ground. The children step back in fear and I find myself doing the same even though I know who the bright light belongs to. Cerberus stands behind me, confident that I’ll protect him from whatever lies on the other side. The body of a man rises from the ground, black smoke surrounding him but eventually disperses. 

The horrifying redness of his eyes leave and are replaced with bright blue ones that I’m quite familiar with. Chiron comes out of nowhere, acknowledging him before bowing respectfully. “Hades.” The kids back up in fear, some gasping while others shake in their boots. None of them had ever been this close to a god before, let along one of the big three. Hades eyes Chiron with a faint respectful smile before looking over the crowd of kids. “Who the fuck summoned my dog?” His gaze fell on Luke and he huffed. “Chiron, I hope you punish him accordingly.” Everyone looks back at Luke with rage in their eyes. I can only imagine how torn Percy and Shawn are, betrayed by their friend. 

He takes another step forward, eyes falling on me. His angry state vanishes completely and he smiles. “Oh! Hey, sweetheart. How’s my little pumpkin doing?” Hades looks to Chiron with a warm smile. “Chiron, if it’s alright with you, I’d like to speak with my daughter in private.” Whoop, there it is. So much for discretion. The kids gawk at me as I walk away with my father. I’m too petrified to look back at my friends, especially Shawn. Chiron pushes the crowd back and aids in repair while taking care of Luke. I’ll deal with my friends later. Cerberus trails after us, huffing like a normal dog would. “Honey, I’m so proud of you. You need to know that. No matter what happens, I will always love you-” Taking my face in his hands, he continues, voice soft and warm. “If things don’t work out here, you are more than welcome downstairs, okay? I’m going to repair these mistakes and bring Cerberus home.” 

I grab his arm, afraid he’ll leave me so quickly. But instead my dad kisses the top of my head like he use to when I was little. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’ll come back to visit. And maybe I’ll bring Cerberus with me.” I crack a smile and pull him close. He wraps his arms around me and pecks my head once more before irrupting in flames. When I turn around, Cerberus is gone too. For the first time in hours, I take a deep breath of fresh air to calm my nerves which are still terrible. A bulky hand rests on my shoulder. Glancing up to see Chiron, who gives me a warm smile. “Everything will be okay, my child.” I take a deep breath and walk back to my cabin, not at all ready to face the others, especially my friends, the exact people who might hate me right now. 

Not long after I come home, I hear a knock on the front door. Gulping, I swallow my nerves and open up. Four bodies look at me with expressions I can’t exactly read. Before I can register anything, they invite themselves in. I want to touch Shawn, assure him I’m the same girl he met but he doesn’t meet my gaze, opting out to lean against the wall, jaw tight. I shut the door and wait for the judgment. “Annabeth told us about her mistrust towards Luke months before you mentioned something to me but I didn’t believe her. And then all of this happened.. Nobody died, thank the gods.. But (Y/n), why didn’t you tell us who your dad was?” He can’t look me in the eyes, none of them can. 

I bite my lips, trying to hold back the tears. “It’s the same reason you can’t look at me. I’ve lived my whole life being an outcast, just like my father. He’s not as bad as people have made him out to be. When my mother died from cancer, I thought he’d leave like ever other god or goddess but he didn’t. He stayed and he loved and cared for me. I never told anyone who I belonged to because I thought I’d have to run again. For once I found a place where I could be accepted. I didn’t feel the weight of the world on my shoulders anymore. And you guys never asked.” Grover looked up at me with a small smile. “She’s right. We never asked.” Percy and Annabeth nod in understanding but Shawn stays quiet. My anxiety skyrocketing. 

“We accept you. We’ll leave you two alone to talk.” Annabeth says before walking out with the boys. Shawn leans against the pillar, taking deep heavy breaths. I open my mouth to talk but I’m cut off by his sharp words. “You could have told me! I thought I meant more to you. But you’re-” He looks down at me with disgust. “-his daughter.” I clench my fists to hide my anger but my eyes light up. “Don’t you dare speak down to him! He’s a good person! He loved me more than anyone in the world! He cared about me when no one did! He’s the only person who’s ever given a shit about me! This is exactly why I didn’t tell you! You, and everyone else, are so hell-bent on believing whatever you’re told that you don’t even know the truth!” 

He scoffed, shaking his head. “The truth! You’ve been lying! Just like him!” I growl up at him, my hands growing heated with rage. “AND YOUR FATHER’S NEVER LIED?! THEY’RE GODS! IT’S WHAT THEY DO! I AM STILL THE SAME GIRL YOU MET, YOU BASTARD! YOUR FATHER IS THE ONE THAT BANISHED MINE TO HELL! DO I CRUCIFY YOU FOR HIS CHOICE?! NO! DO I LIKE IT?! NO! BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE ARE NOT OUR PARENTS BUT I SURE AS HELL LOVE MINE!” My voice hurts from screaming and I’m too broken to fight anymore. I bow my head in defeat, tired and slightly ashamed. 

“You could have told me..” His voice is so quiet, I almost don’t register that it’s his. “How could you have known how I would react unless you trusted me? I just wanted you to trust me..” I shake my head, hurt that he would think otherwise. “I do trust you, Shawn. I just wanted to tell you with time. You were the first person I wanted to tell. I just wanted it to be on my terms.. I was also petrified of this- this exact situation that we’re in, coming real.. And now it is.. I was so scared you would look at me differently and now you are.. You can barely look at me without feeling disgust for something you have no reason to be disgusted with.” 

He scoffed, still pretty heated. “HOW COULD I NOT BE?! YOU’RE THE DAUGHTER OF A MONSTER!” I look up at him, trying to hold myself together. “HE’S NOT A MONSTER! YOU SPEAK ILL OF MY FATHER BUT YOUR FATHER IS NO SAINT!” Shawn growled down at me, clenching his fists. “DON’T YOU DARE-” I cut him off, tempting his power as my father did for his, I’m sure. “DO WHAT?! TELL THE TRUTH?! MY DAD ISN’T A MONSTER! YES, HE’S DONE THINGS BUT SO HAS YOURS! YOU ARE NOT AS INNOCENT AS YOU MAKE YOURSELF OUT TO BE!” We size one another up, growling in anger as he screams. “HOW DARE YOU?!” Before I know it, he’s trying to up and leave. But I’m heated again, not ready for this fight to end. 

“WHAT?! NOW YOU’RE GONNA RUN BECAUSE SOMEONE DARES TO DEFILE YOU?! WON’T TALK TO ME NOW BECAUSE I’M LESS THAN WHAT YOU DEEM IS ENOUGH?!” He turns over his shoulder, screaming so loud I’m sure his voice will be hoarse tomorrow. “YES! YOU ARE JUST AS LOW AS YOUR FATHER! YOU ARE NOT WORTH IT!” I take a step back, shocked by the confirmation that he’s laid in front of me before he mercilessly slams the door, leaving me all alone. I don’t even realize I’m sobbing until my knees crash into the floor below me. I knew this was going to happen. Wrapping my arms around my body, I cry for loss of the boy I’ve begun to fall for. 

(I hope you guys liked it!! Comment below! I realize that most of this is based on the books but with a few tweaks here and there but I hope you guys like it!!) 

[firstade-universe]

I had a thought for a prompt.  Clarke is a demigod, daughter of zeus. And lexa is a daughter of hades. And they get along and do stuffs

(I sort of went Percy Jackson mixed with Disney’s Hercules on this one. Hope that works for the user who asked for it.)

“Clarke, be quiet.” Lexa whispers as she yanks the blonde down by the sleeve. The bank of the river they are standing on is just serene enough that the guardian at the falls just ahead could definitely hear them if one of them spoke loud enough or stood tall enough to be seen.

Clarke huffs as she squats next to the brunette. “I just don’t understand why you drag me along on these foolhardy adventures.”

“Foolhardy advent - Clarke. How else are we supposed to make the leap from demi-god’s to actual gods? We have to prove ourselves worthy.” Lexa explains in a hushed tone. She narrows her eyes and cocks her head to the side. “I thought you wanted that too?”

“I do. Well, I did. Doesn’t being a god sound kind of… boring?” Clarke fidgets in her place, toeing the dirt under her. “You’re my best friend and I get that it’s what you’ve always wanted, but, I don’t know anymore.”

Lexa regards her seriously for a moment, then nods and smiles. “We can talk about this later, after we save that kid from the river guardian. I want you to do what makes you happy too.”

They execute their plan perfectly and and return the missing child to it’s mother before returning back to their shared apartment, and Lexa cracks open two cold beers before settling down into the couch next to Clarke. It’s quiet and peaceful and Clarke lets her head drop back onto the couch and she sighs contentedly.

“So, what is it you want to do?” Lexa turns her body toward her best friend, looking eager for her answer, something the blonde hadn’t expected when she imagined this conversation.

“I’m not sure. College sounds fun. Maybe art school. I didn’t expect you to be so gung ho for me abandoning the cause.”

Lexa frowns. “Of course I support you, Clarke. You’re my best friend. I even supported you when you wanted to date that dirty hippy boy.”

Clarke laughs a full bellied laugh. “Finn was not a hippy.”

“Looked like one.” Lexa mutters. “Okay, so college. Which one? Where? When?”

“I don’t know Lex. But I’ll still help you til I figure it out, okay?” Lexa nods and they smile at each other as they clink their drinks together.

One Month Later

“Last mission a success. Tomorrow, Art school!” Clarke twirls happily under the stars, her skirt billowing out as she turns. Lexa’s leaning against the hood of her ‘65 Mustang, the one thing she has purchased with the wealth from her family. She brings her after mission celebratory beer to her lips and smiles at the carefree nature of her friend. “Do you think my dad is proud of me, even though I am not trying to become a god any more?”

“Immensely. Zeus would be an idiot not to be proud of you.”

Clarke stops her appraisal of the stars long enough to smile at her friend. Her smile turns into a frown when she sees the Azgeda gang making their way over to the hilltop where she and Lexa were minding their own business. Lexa notices and looks back over her shoulder to see the three approaching figures.

“Roan, Echo, Ontari. What is it that you want tonight?” Lexa bites.

“Well, looks like someone wants you dead, little devil.” Ontari skips around them in a circle magically unrolling a scroll which glows and floats in front of her. “Pissed off the wrong titan it seems. Tisk tisk.”

Clarke snatches the scroll out of the air and reads it. It’s a hitman’s contract for Lexa’s head. She gasps and claps a hand over her mouth. She looks up in time to see the giant fireballs both Echo and Roan are forming, then she looks at Lexa who is looking at her with so much sadness.

“I’m sorry, Clarke. Don’t worry, you’ll be fine without me. I’ll love you forever.” Lexa turns toward the inferno awaiting and she hears Clarke scream. Both Roan and Echo mouth their apologies and in unison, they launch their fireballs at her. Just as she accepts her fate and braces herself, she feels her body being flung away from the white hot heat. She hits the grass with a thud and she turns to see Clarke in her place. Her clothes are charred and her hair and skin are burned nearly beyond recognition. “No no no no no…” She scrambles to her feet and rushes back to her friend’s side, gently lifting her limp body into her lap. “Clarke, no. What did you do? Clarke!”

“It’s okay Lex. Let me go.” Clarke coughs. “I’ll love you forever, too.” Clarke’s life slips away and her eyes dim. The sky above them turns thunderous and a crack of lightning touches down a few feet from them.

“Fuck, Lexa, bring her back.” Roan demands. “You can do that, use your power.”

“It’s not the same. It’s not like that.” She mutters, still holding onto her friend. Lightning strikes the ground again and a massive boom is heard overhead at the same time. The three Azgedian’s look back to see a tall, well built blond man striding up the hill. Lexa doesn’t move as the man kneels next to her. “Hi Jake.” She sniffles as she uses Zeus’s earth name, just like Abby does when she tells tales of him.

“Hey kiddo.”

“This is my fault. It’s all my fault.”

He gently lifts Clarke’s off of her lap and lays her on the ground. “It’s not your fault. You’ve been a very good friend to her, and we are all immensely proud of you. Both of you.” Jake leans back over the lifeless body of his daughter and kisses her forehead. The he looks over next hill and sees the his old friend walking with the spirit of his daughter. As they get closer, Lexa tears up again. The man whispers something into the spirit’s ear and she smiles at Lexa before looking at her father. The the spirit frowns at her lifeless body, then lays down on top of it. A brilliant light flashes and Lexa shields her eyes with her forearm. When she looks back, Clarke is standing in front of her, completely healed of all injuries and emitting a soft, almost golden glow.

“Clarke’s act of true selflessness in the face of imminent danger was enough to prove her worthy to join us on Mount Olympus.” Jake explains.

“Clarke has chosen to stay here, on earth, Zeus. Her one request was to wipe away the contract on Lexa’s life. Which I appreciated.” Hades explains to the leader of the gods.

Jake’s eyes shine and he embraces his daughter. “Love you and I’ll be watching over you, always. I am so proud of you.”

“Thanks, Dad.” Clarke hugs him back. When their embrace is over he snaps his fingers and the contract for Lexa’s head shreds itself and falls to the ground.

“Oh, and you three.” Zeus points to Roan, Ontari and Echo. “You three better hope you never see me again.” They all turn tail and run as fast as they can away from the hilltop.

Hades silently makes his way to his daughter, hugs her and whispers in her ear before turning to leave along with Zeus. “Bye Gus.” He waves and this in the span it takes her her to blink her eyes, they’re gone. “Clarke.” Lexa rushes forward and the young women excitedly embrace. Lexa pulls back and cups the blonde’s cheeks. “Never do that to me again. That was so stupid Clarke. I lost you. I can’t lose you.”

“You think that was fun for me?” Clarke smiles, using humor to lighten the situation as much as possible. “Although, your dad is pretty cool.”

“Did you mean it when you said you’d love me forever?” Lexa leans in just a bit, waiting for the other woman’s response.

Clarke smiles and nods slightly. “Did you?” Lexa doesn’t answer, just leans in and claims her lips. The smirk doesn't fade from Clarke’s lips as the kiss ends. “Guess that’s a yes then?”

“That’s a yes.”