The Wind's Solemn Requiem - Percy Jackson

Chapter III

Chapter III

The two stared at each other, waiting for the other to break the silence. The moon was basking the area around them with an illuminated moonlight, making the inevitable reunion all the more memorable. Zoe had her bow slung lazily across her back, her eyes bore onto him, her arms crossed, a look of questioning evident on her face.

"Care to explain?"

Percy blew a raspberry, deciding that his shoes were now more interesting than ever.

"How did you even know it was me?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. She rolled her eyes, staring at Percy with a look of disappointment.

"Bitch please, did you really think that I wouldn't notice those turquoise eyes?" she answered. Percy gave off a sigh, giving a nod of understanding.

"Also, what's with your body?" she asked, mentioning his current predicament. He rubbed his temples, remembering why he was suddenly stuck as his twelve-year-old self.

Zoe caught the expression that he wore, a small smile creeping onto her face.

"Oh my-" she laughed wholeheartedly, earning a glare from the wind spirit. She continued to pay him no mind as she openly insulted her friend's current predicament.

"So... how are you... feeling about... your new body-" she tried to say in between laughs which once again earned another round of glares.

"Great." he mumbled sarcastically.

"So-" she started, wiping a fake tear from her eyes. 'Why'd you become dormant?"

That singular question was enough to make him, arguably one of the most powerful beings on the earth, tense up. He whistled, staring at the ground guiltily, refusing to make eye contact.

"Well-" he tried to explain. "I was out of energy, I had to regenerate or else it'd be very bad."

"So was I. Yet you don't see me sleeping for thousands of years now, do you?"

"I would've woken up sooner if I could." he reasoned. He really did want to wake up sooner, yet he found himself unable to for some unknown reason.

"Then why in the ever-living hell did you go through with it?"

He absolutely refused to meet her eyes, staring at the ground guiltily, his voice lowering quite substantially. "Yeah, that might have been an oversight on my part."

"Ya think?"

"Yeah, yeah-" he waved his hand dismissively. "I'm sorry about that."

Zoe's gaze softened, her eyes locking onto the wind spirit that she'd known for so long. The wind spirit that she had become friends with. The friend that she spent all her time with back in the day. The one that encouraged her to be herself and be free from the shackles of being a Hesperides. 

"It's all good. I've had centuries to mull it over." she waved her hand. "And besides, I can never stay mad at you."

"However," she smiled. "don't think that I won't constantly make fun of your predicament though."

"Figures." he muttered underneath his breath.

"Now onto the matter at hand." she stated.

"You've been summoned."

"On the other hand, I'm over the moon that I can finally see you again." she stated. "However, that means there's something bad that's brewing."

Percy nodded in agreement, the gods wouldn't just summon him randomly. If he was summoned, that had to be a reason. And that reason was something that even the gods couldn't handle.