Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
the events of the arena had sucked any remaining energy the four teenagers had, so the decision to make camp in the room had been a popular one.
maddie's ribs ached and her head spun as she bandaged up percy's arm, wrapping the cover tightly around a nasty cut he had gotten. the boy was leant back against the wall, eyes lazily closed, half-dozing. from her point of view, maddie could see just how tired percy was, and it worried her to no end.
there was an unspoken tension in the room, the main cause being the boy who had just run off a half hour ago. ethan nakamura had escaped with them from the arena, according to annabeth, and was there when maddie had regained consciousness. however, he hadn't stayed long, dismissing any help that percy had offered him.
no one spoke. rachel sat against a wall, her green yes dazed as she stared at one spot and didn't move. maddie felt awful that the girl had to go through all of this, not to mention that she didn't possess the same demigod advantages that the others did.
annabeth was searching th room for scrap pieces of wood to make a fire. maddie could tell she was deep in thought, just from the frown that had taken over her lips and the scrunched up eyebrows. it didn't take a genius to figure out that she was thinking about luke.
however much she hated it, maddie couldn't stop replaying the moments in the arena. the blatant reality of realizing she was fighting a losing battle was harsh, and the bitter aftertaste was no better. maddie as disappointed with how she had handled the situation, barely getting two swings in before she had been knocked out cold. and that wasn't the first time she had missed a fight because of unconsciousness, either.
she must have been subconsciously taking out her bitterness on percy's arm, because she hadn't realized how hard she was tugging the bandages around his arm until percy winced and opened his eyes.
"gods mads, what did my arm do to you?" he grumbled.
maddie blinked. "huh?"
she looked down. percy's arm had a red mark around where the bandage was, indicating the tightness.
she sighed, and unraveled some of the wrappings to start again. she could feel percy's eyes on her as she did it.
"you alright?" he asked, finally.
maddie huffed a laugh. "if i had a dollar for every time someone asked me that—"
"the constant annoyed look on your face is probably why. antaeus was stronger than any giant we've fought before, don't beat yourself up for what happened."
maddie rolled her eyes, annoyed at how easily percy could read her. "yeah, well, you still beat him, didn't you?"
"well only cause annabeth told me what to do. i would've died otherwise."
