𝙄𝙉𝙁𝙇𝘼𝙈𝙀𝘿; heroes of olympus

introductions (read: tension and glaring)

ERITH JAY
ERITH PRACTICALLY DIED on the spot.

She had never Sunspotted twice in one day, much less three times. As soon as she hit the deck, her legs crumbled. The world simmered in yellow and orange. Vaguely, she saw Percy standing over Leo, who was a motionless lump; Annabeth at the helm, hands flying; and the dark-haired Asian kid―Frank?―point at her and saying something.

Her ears rang. She looked down at her legs and found that she was shimmering out of existence.

She looked up as she felt Percy try to grab her, but his fingers brushed through her arm. His eyes widened in panic and he tried again.

This time, thank the gods, he managed to grab hold of her. He pressed his palm to her chest and the next thing she knew she was doused in water, coughing weakly, laying flat on the deck.

Frank stood over her. Percy knelt by her side, dribbling nectar into her mouth. It tasted like coffee―like the stuff she had drank when she had been on that quest with Piper, Leo, and Jason, right before they went to rescue Piper's dad.

Ironic that was a good memory to her, seeing as they had been five minutes away from doom at the time, but the memory made her sad. She missed that.

"Erith?" Percy asked, and her ears finally stopped ringing.

There was no more blood in her mouth. Her stomach didn't ache from the bruise Leo's foot had delivered. Her wrist felt fine.

"I'm here," she said. With Percy's help, she sat up and looked around. "What happened?"

Percy's brow was knit with worry. "Gods, no more... doing that thingy for you. You almost faded out of existence. You were literally like... a ghost." His tone was thick with panic. "You need rest."

"I feel fine." That was a lie―her ears were ringing so badly she could barely understand Percy, and the deck was tilting―was it supposed to be tilting like that? Her hands scrabbled for wood underneath her.

Percy gripped her by the shoulders, his touch gentle. "You're a bad liar."

She blinked furiously, because now Percy was doubling, tripling. "Uh..."

Then Annabeth was in her view. The blonde girl kneeled by Percy. "Is she alright?"

"No," Percy said before Erith could try to defend her case. "She needs rest. I'll take her down. She has her own bedroom, right?"

"Yeah," Annabeth said.

Percy helped her to her feet, but before he could take her anywhere, Erith said, "What about everyone else? Jason? Piper? Leo? Jasper?"

Percy's expression darkened. "Your friend Leo fired on New Rome."

"That wasn't him," Erith argued. She stumbled, dizzy.

"Then who―" Percy nearly spat.

"Percy," Annabeth said, her tone gentle but firm, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Erith took a deep breath, trying to steady herself to form a coherent sentence. "Listen. You wanted me on this ship, so I'm here. You have to trust me. If Leo is actually behind this, I will be the first to call him out. But until then..." she glanced at Leo, unconscious. "Until then give him the benefit of the doubt. Please. I know him."