Dancing With Death | Percy Jackson

intro.

percy might just have found the person he relates to the most.

"... if i were to give you this bone, would you tell me what is bothering you?"

"even if you didn't, i'll tell you what it is — and where did you get that bone?"

"the ground?"

nope — scratch that, he found someone he can somewhat relate to. you know, in terms of not knowing their godly parent? yep, she was like him — she and other kids in cabin eleven but she was the one that he talks to a lot and doesn't exactly laugh at him or create theories in terms of who his godly parent is. other than luke, that is. but he's a cabin counselor, and it's his responsibility to look after the kids in the cabin, so he doesn't really count.

"you know what i mean," Percy mumbled, sighing while the girl merely gave him a confused stare, almost surprised that he didn't know that the bones did, in fact, just sprout from the ground.

"um, i do not," the girl admits, shrugging before she threw the bone behind her, hearing it land with a faint pop! "but the bone was from the ground — i merely picked it up."

"how, exactly?"

her lips parted, before she fully answered the boy beside her, "because i... asked for it?"

"mhm..."

yup, other than not knowing their parents, he didn't relate to her at all.

rue hernandez-santos is weird — and don't come at him for thinking that, everyone (and he meant everyone) at camp thinks about it. she's either unfazed with everything, or confused with everything, almost as if she wasn't accustomed to the norms around camp. and her choice of words? very different. and like the bone earlier, bones don't exactly sprout from the ground for her to just pick up!

okay, maybe it's just her powers. you know, the summoning bones from the ground and sudden, stilling and dazing moments? still, it was weird — and she made it all weird about it.

and... he kinda relates to that. the powers thing. after all, they don't exactly know what is up with him and the water that he can, apparently, make a huge fountain out of the toilets. how does he know? well, a couple of days ago, he flushed some ares kids using the water from the — you guessed it — toilets! don't ask him how, he didn't know, doesn't know, and wants to know. all he knows is that he got mad, something definitely bubbled inside of him and just burst out — just in the form of a fountain of toilet water.

"do you ever just... wonder who your parent is?" percy finally lets out, throwing a rock back to the lake — watching it skip three times before it sunk. "like, godly parent." he added, knowing immediately that she would answer her mortal parent rather than her godly one.

"at times, have i done so," rue sighs, picking up a stone before doing the same he did, only two skips before it sunk, "others have expressed that my father might be lord hades, but i do not think so. first; because he took an oath to never sire any more children — and i believe that he is a man of his word — and second; he is a man, and i have a mortal as my father."

"fair enough," the green-eyed boy mumbled, trying not to choke on air at her next and complete honest words.

"but if it may be possible, lord hades might be gay for my father, but, i do not think he can go near my father, because he hates gays."

"rue—!" percy chocked out, surprised at her honest words, no trace of hesitance (and thank goodness there wasn't disgust, because gods know how problematic things will get if it were the case). "I— you—?"